490 Report on Laying doion Land to Permanent Pasture. 
tain, but is considered above the average. I began lajnng down permanent 
grass in 18G9, and liave since completed 200 acres. Previously the proportions 
of the farm were : — Arable land, 300 acres ; meadow, 28 ; jjermanent pasture, 
70. I changed my system partly from believing stock to pay best, and my 
land being suitable, and partly from the labour question springing up ; the 
quality of the soil, however, was the principal reason. I have found land do 
best for seeds alter barley or oats. I should certainly say drain land for 
grazing. I have used Sutton's and Wheeler's mixtures with equal success. 
I sow both heavy and light seeds together, and harrow with light harrows. I 
have run a Cambridge roller over, then sown the seed, used light harrows 
after, and found it answer well. I would recommend seeds to be sown 
with corn, as I have known them to fail when sown without. I prefer grazing 
the first year, and no mowing, then one small dressing with farmyard-manure. 
Manuring is best done in the autumn after the corn is off. I can give no 
detailed accounts of the jiaying part of this mode of farming, but am sure that 
whoever lays down permanent pasture to anj' extent must make up his 
mind to lose for at least four or five years. We have increased our stock 
wonderfully, and can scarcely stock the land enough for the first three months, 
but I should say we generally keep about the same number, as it throws up 
great quantities of herbage. I think the better the land the sooner it becomes 
valuable for grazing ; I have therefore kept our liuht soils for arable and_root- 
growing purposes. I have increased the grass on my still arable land from 
one year to two or three, and I believe it rests the land, and saves considerably 
in horse and manual labour. In improving old permanent grass, I have found 
nothing to equal decorticated cotton-cake given to our sheep and beasts. I 
only mow meadow-land, and that every year. Winter floods keep it good 
enough. Some grass land, which was thought middling grass, I grazed beasts 
upon, giving them cake. Now it will feed beasts without cake ; and as the 
price of beef is high, nothing pays better than feeding beasts, as there is no 
labour, or very little. Nothing, in my opinion, pays better than grazing, if 
a man is a good judge in buying his cattle, and lives near a good market 
to dispose of his beef 
R. Caulcutt. 
10. Weston Park, Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. 
As agent for Sir G. TJ. Philips, I farm 500 acres. Yearly tenancies are 
the rule in Warwickshire. A few of our principal tenants have leases, but in 
general farmers prefer yearly tenure, fearing revaluation at the close of the 
lease. A few estates concede payments for unexhausted purchased food and 
manures used during the later years of occupancy ; and such payments en- 
couraging continued higher cultivation are becoming more general. With us 
the landlord does the building, draining, roads, and new fences ; the tenant the 
haulage, whilst occasionally a percentage is charged on outlay. In the southern 
division of Warwickshire half the land is permanent pasture, ^and has been 
for ccnturie.'?, the lighter oolite soils towards Oxford.shire being more arable. 
Here seeds instead of remaining down one year remain several, and on the 
heavier soils during the last few years, on account of the increasing cost 
of labour, the area of permanent pasture has been extended. When the 
tenant finds the iicrmanent seeds he may plough them up ; when the land- 
lord, he may insist on their continuing permanent. We were mainly led to 
the extension of permanent grass through the unsettled state of the labour- 
market, and the satisfactory returns from live stock. We select fields for per- 
manent grass mainly on account of (1) nearness to the homestead, (2) being 
shaded by plantations, (3) liability to flooding. Some run the grass lands 
amongst the arable to facilitate the day and night transfer of sheep from 
