Eeport on Laying down Land to Permanent Pasture. 467 
seeds should be treated in the same manner as a newlj-born heir — as an object 
beaming with hope and promise, and one not to be left to shift for itself in 
careless neglect and poverty. It is in my opinion a wise plan to mow the 
first year, and then graze pretty hard with young cattle, of a description likely 
to pay for a few j^outids of mixed cotton- and linseed-cake. Sheep should be 
by all means excluded for some years, as they destroy the crow-n of the clovers, 
and cat out all the best grasses, to the advantage of the coarser varieties. 
There is little doubt but that five iiounds' worth per acre of a suitable mixture 
of phosithates, potash, and ammonia, would, at this stage, if onl^^ tenant- 
farmers could feel secure in their investments, be amply repaid in alter years. 
In any case, new pastures must receive liberal dressings and careful manage- 
ment, and, if so treated, I fail to see why hundreds of acres of almost barren 
clays should not be turned to a jirofitablc use, instead of being, as they are 
now, a heavy clog on the energy and capital of the unfoi tunatc occupier. Of 
course I am not assuming that the whole of any farm should be laid down to 
grass, as some provision must be made for wintering stock : but I would urge 
the practicability of laying down all strong land, where water is available, 
except that portion which can be profitably farmed on a four-course system 
of turnips, barley, seeds, and oats. When this cannot be done, and it is 
urgently necessary to keep a part in an arable state, I would suggest the fol- 
lowing plan as better than the old system of wheat-fallow, after which it is so 
difiScult to get clover; plant the oat-stubble (supposing it to be drained) with 
winter-tares in September, or early in October, graze the following summer 
with sheep, plough down deep in October, work well in spring, and drill with 
barley and seeds. In doing this, wheat woiild form no part of our produce, 
which would at first appear novel and impracticable : but I feel sure, if wo 
studied the simplest natural laws and local climatic influences with half the 
zeal with which we cherish old rickety practices, we should be better able to 
battle against seasons and other obstacles in om- path. This altered system 
would largely increase the quantity of young cattle, which might be wintered 
in covered yards, saving a large portion of straw (now only used as litter) to 
he consumed as chaff, with a few pulped roots, and, if possible, a dash of 
corn or cake. The result would be a vastly-improved manure-heap, whereby 
heavier crops would be grown on a diminished area; and this I take to be the 
desired end and aim of all good farming. 
James Wetherell. 
18. Chirburt, Shropshire. 
The extent of my farm is 360 acres. I rent it from year to year, and 
have no tenant-right. The soil and subsoil vary from a stiff loam on clay 
to gravel on sand, and light brash on soft rock. Our rainfall is a medium 
one. 
In 1867 my farm was made up of 153 acres of arable land, 153 permanent 
pasture, and 54 meadow : but since that time I have seeded down about 57 acres. 
In doing this I was mainly influenced by the increased cost of horse and manual 
labour, which, with seed and manure-bills, absorbed on this class of land the 
whole of the crop. 
I selected for laying down the most tenacious soils on the farm, and some 
hilly portions difKcult of cultivation. Two fields were sown after a bare 
fallow, well dunged, and the remainder after turnips, partly eaten on with 
iheep. I generally sow in April — the light seeds first, and then the heavy 
