Report on Laying down Land to Permanent Pasture. 
i53 
2. Cbossrigg Hall, Westmoreland. 
I have in hand, of my own property, 488 acres ; and of this I have sown 
Jown, since 1862, about 160 acres. This I have done partly through the rise 
in the price of labour : more because mixed husbandry suits our climate better 
than arable culture ; but principally on account of the great permanent addition 
to the saleable value of land after it has become established as old grass. I 
selected, in the main, hilly situations, which, besides being difiScult to till, 
must always while under the plough be subject to a serious loss of top soil. 
As a preparation for laying down I have taken a turnip crop, or, if time and 
opportunity allowed, two turnip crops in succession, which were eaten on the 
land by sheep. I have also worked from both stubble and lea ; but in such cases 
the addition to labour in getting a fine tilth, and the necessity for buying more 
manures, add greatly to the expense. 
I think land should be almost as thoroughly drained for grass as for tillage. 
As to the time of seeding, I prefer the month of April, or as soon after as 
there is a good season : but rather than not have the land thoroughly pre- 
pared, I have waited through June. I sow all the seeds at once, and roll well. 
I recommend a little rape, in preference to a grain-crop, to be sown with the 
«eeds. To lay down to grass land which has long been arable is an expensive 
undertaking, if it is to be done with success. The land must be put in heart, 
and, as the rest of the farm requires all the farmyard-manure made upon it, 
a ton of crushed bones per acre, with some good artificial manure, should be 
harrowed in at the time of sowing. I find that to mow the grass at all before 
it has made a " sole " is disastrous. Depasture with sheep in spring, [and 
with bullocks and horses as soon as the seeds grow up to stalk. 
With our moist climate, light land is very convenient to plough, whereas 
the stoppage of winter work on heavy land is often a serious matter. On this 
accovmt I would give preference to having the latter as pasture. Poverty is, 
in my opinion, the only obstacle to laying down any description of land to 
grass, provided it be either naturally dry or fairly drained. A constant and 
abtmdant supply of water to stock of all kinds is very important. 
Upon the arable portion of my farm I get less pasturage than formerly, 
■because I have altered my five-course rotation into one of four, giving one 
year's grass instead of two. This circumstance has naturally increased my 
" acreable " outgoings for horse and manual labour, but this is more than 
counterbalanced by that saved on the rest of the farm. 
With regard to the ancient grass-land, I have tried all possible means of 
improving it, but it seems like striving against poverty, though I believe it 
■will ultimately repay me for the present heavy outlay. 
In conclusion, I believe that arable land, highly farmed, carries and fattens 
TDore stock than the same quality of land kept in good grass. 
Hugh Eigg, Lieut.-Cdonel. 
3. Sedgwick, neae Kendal, Wkstmobeland. 
The home farm which we have in hand is about 437 acres. The soil is 
sharp and stony, and moderately rich, -with surface tindulating; some parts 
have the subsoil open and gravelly, others close and hard — a compound of 
puddled clay and gravel. Since 1867 we have put down to grass 128 acres, 
partly on account of the increased cost and scarcity of agricultural labourers, 
but more because of the proximity of that portion of the farm to Mr. Wake- 
field's residence. We tried two different modes of preparing the land. In the 
first of these we took a crop of oats ; second year, swedes, partly eaten on the 
^ound by sheep ; third year, barley and seeds. The other method was — first 
