The Improvement of Grass Lands. 
329 
carried out upon light-land farms ; for, if you do take the roots 
off the arable, you increase the growth of hay, and this swells the 
manure-heap in return. The use of corn and oilcake is of very 
great value in improving land : it pays first in the stock, and a 
second time in the land; and a largely increased number of 
store-stock may be kept by giving corn and chaff. It is sur- 
prising upon what a bare pasture sheep will thrive, if they have 
a small quantity of corn given them daily. 
The greatest evil in connexion with meadow-land — and in 
my opinion the great cause of its deterioration — is the system 
of allowing the grass to get old before it is cut, with the view of 
deriving a heavier crop. The proper time to cut is as soon as 
the principal grasses come into bloom. If the farmer waits 
for all the grasses to flower, the earlier portion will be getting 
old ; and as soon as the plant begins to form seed the injury 
to the land and also to the hay commences, and a very serious 
injury it is. This cannot be too strongly impressed upon farmers. 
As an illustration, I will mention the fact, that by cutting a portion 
of a field of clover for hay whilst it is in blossom and leaving 
the other for seed to ripen, a vast difference will be seen in the 
crop of wheat afterwards. Therefore, can we wonder at deteri- 
oration in meadow-land, when this is not only done one year 
but continually, and merely for the sake of getting a little larger 
crop, which, even leaving the injury to the land out of the 
question, is a doubtful gain, as the aftermath is diminished, 
whilst the sugar and starch, that are so valuable in young hay, 
are partly turned into indigestible woody fibre in the old hay. Dr. 
Voelcker, in a valuable paper (2nd series, vol. iii., Part I.), gives 
some interesting facts upon the time for cutting clover, which 
would also apply to grasses. He put out twelve plots, of 1 rood 
each. These were cut at different times, and showed the result 
that up to a certain period the crop increased both in weight 
and feeding qualities ; then first the quality began to fall off, 
and afterwards the weight. The experiment is also interesting 
as showing the large increase of food gained by leaving the grass 
to come to a crop, rather than grazing it short with sheep. 
Another important point connected with the deterioration 
from not cutting early is, that the function of plants is to propa- 
gate their species, and that therefore their tendency is to produce 
seed. This being accomplished, the plant, if an annual, dies; 
and if biennials or perennials, they are to a great extent influ- 
enced in some way, or get for a time into a dormant condition 
whilst recovering themselves. But if this seeding is prevented, 
the plant tries again the next year ; therefore, if the farmer 
wants hay and not seed, he must take advantage of his know- 
ledge and frustrate the plant's object. For wonderful are the 
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