478 Report on Laying down Land to Permanent Pasture. 
30. OxTON Grange, Southwell, Nottingham. 
I occupy, as yearly tenant, but subject to the Nottinghamshire tenant- 
right, about 454 acres.* Our rainfall, which in 1872 reached 39-54 inches, 
averages, for the last seven years, 27'48. I have seeded down, during the last 
twenty years, several pieces of land, chiefly strong clay of bad quality, which, 
even when wages were lower, did not pay me for cultivation. 
In preparing land for pasture I strongly recommend a good summer-fallow, 
so as to get it thoroughly clean, and, weather jiermitting, the seeds should be 
sown in August of the same year. Seeds will do better provided a white crop 
l^reccdcs the fallow, as I have seen them do badly when the previous years 
crop had been tares or other pulse. Land may, however, be seeded at any 
time between February and ^.ugust, taking advantage of suitable weather. 
My own seeds, which were selected for me by a seed merchant, having regard 
of course to the character of the land, were sown with a thin crop of barley, 
which last helped to pay the expense incurred. I have seen permanent seeds 
sown with ra])e, or with a crop of short-straw peas, answer quite as well as 
without a crop, always taking care that such ciop be thinly sown. 
In all cases where land is intended for permanent pasture lime should 
be applied a month or two before seeding, keeping the lime as near the surface 
as possible, and evenly spread. In no case pasture young seeds with sheep as 
long as you can avoid it. As a rale, I prefer that seeds should ripen before 
being stocked the first year, especially if the season be dry. At the end of 
the first summer a mixture of soil, lime, and manure, previously prepared 
(as I think this preferable to manure alone), should be applied. Newly laid 
down grass will often be found to fall ofi", both in quantity and quality of 
herbage, after the first three or foirr years, and it is then that some farmers 
feel tempted to break the land up again. This, however, should not be done. 
Rather apply another dressing of the soil and manure, chain-harrow this in 
with a few I'resli seeds, and give it a longer trial. 
My landlord now finds seeds for any land laid down by his tenants to 
permanent pasture. 
I should advise seeding down strong soils of bad quality, and keeping in cul- 
tivation land that will grow roots and barley : and I think it quite as important 
for clay land to be thoroughl^^ drained before seeding as for arable purposes. 
Patches of a field perished by wet will generally be observed to be the first to 
burn in dry weather. 
I have not myself tried inoculation, but believe the process is considerably 
more expensive than seeding down ; besides, a serious damage is done to the 
land whence the turf is taken. About thirty years ago a piece of land at 
Oxton was inoculated, the sods being taken from good land on to bad, which 
latter is bad to this day. A piece of land adjoining this was seeded in the 
crdinar}' way, and there is now very little difi'erence in the two plots. 
With regard to the arable portion of my farm, my system has always been 
to keep it two years in grass : it is then attended with less expense in labour 
and purchased tillages, more stock is kept on the farm, aud conseijueutly the 
land is maintained in better condition. Occasionally, where there is a good 
* I may add that the tenant-right custom prevalent in this county, good 
though it is in most respects, is deficient as regards grass land, as, in cases where 
land has been seeded down to pernianent grass at tlie sole expense of the tenant, 
the latter would, on quitting, receive only three or four years' tenaut-right ; or, 
in some instances, half the sec d-bill, in addition to any unexhausted tillages he 
bad applied. My opinion is, that in such cases (provided the work lias been well 
done) twenty years' tenant-ri^lit should be allowed to the outgoing tenant, in 
addition to any unexhausted tillages apjilied ; sueli compensation to bo paid by 
the landlord, as being a j)ermanent improvement to the farm. 
