490 On the Advantage of converting Cold Clay Arable Land 
times with bones, but more often with 1 to 1^ cwt. per acre 
of nitrate of soda and 3 cwts. of good mineral superphosphate, 
or 2 to o cwts. of Peruvian guano, or 10 tons per acre of farm 
dung. The young seeds were carefully grazed with a mixed 
stock of dairy cattle, young cattle, and sheep, care being taken 
to avoid damage by the treading of heavy stock in very wet 
weather, and by too close grazing by sheep ; and, on the other 
hand, by keeping the seeds well grazed down in the early summer 
to prevent the seed stalks from getting ahead, and thus checking 
the growth of fresh grass. 
Decorticated cotton-cake was freely given to the stock grazing 
on this turf, and after the seeds were down three years, sheep 
were kept on them through the winter months, a few roots being 
carted to them, and cake supplied in troughs moved about the 
poorer portions of the land. The process of seeding has been 
continued until the whole of the 80 acres was in turf, the last 
field having been seeded about six years ago. 
No person who has not had experience will appreciate fully 
the difficulty and tediousness of the operation of converting, 
into really good turf, poor strong land which has been constantly 
under the plough for generations, and in which every bit of 
vegetable matter has been used up by the practice of having 
periodical dead fallows dressed with lime. Even with the best 
plant of seeds, there is after the first two or three years a diminu- 
tion of produce, and considerable time is required before the 
turf is fully established. It is only by repeated liberal applica- 
tions of manure that such land can be made into productive 
turf. 
That portion of the arable land on the farm in question which 
was best suited for tillage, though lying in contiguous fields, 
was formerly in a number of small inclosures, surrounded by 
wide crooked hedgerows abounding with timber. The owner 
was induced to fell the timber, the tenant clearing out the fences 
and stocking the old roots, thus laying the 40 acres in two 
large open fields, which lying high and with a slope- to the 
south, are well adapted to the growth and harvesting of barley, 
the corn principally grown upon it. This land has been kept in 
constant tillage and in the growth of corn and roots, clover 
being taken only at long intervals. A mixed stock of dairy 
Shorthorns, young cattle, and beasts for fattening has been kept, 
and at some periods of the year a large stock of sheep has been pur- 
chased and fattened. The consumption of purchased feeding- 
stuffs, and especially of decorticated cotton-cake has been large. 
The liquid manure from the homestead has all been utilised, being 
partly collected without admixture of water in a tank, and 
carted with one horse upon an adjacent meadow, and partly 
