492 Report on Laying donon Land to Permanent Pasture. 
used to hold surface-water a yard wide. I was subsequently obliged to pvrt 
drains between the 30-feet pipes, as the surface-water remained too long for the 
wheat plant. Were I to drain again, 1 should place the 30-feet pipes as deep 
as possible to cause the surface-water to penetrate as slowly as possible. I sow- 
in the beginning of April, using Wheeler's mixture, the light seeds by hand, 
and the clover by seed-barrow% without a grain crop. In treating the young 
seeds, I propose to pasture with young cattle, and to manure the first winter 
with good manure and compost. Second spring I propose to top-dress with 
artificials mixed with fine earth or ashes. My landlord provided the seed on the 
condition that I should graze the first year with young cattle, and well manure 
the first winter. I prefer laying down my stiff heavy clay, keeping the light 
friable soil under the plough, my rotation being beans or vetches, cabbage, roots, 
mangolds, swedes, potatoes, wheat, with clover harrowed in in the spring.- Old 
permanent grass is much improved by feeding cows, sheep, and pigs with cake, 
corn, roots, &c. ; and by dressing with fine bones, superphosphate, ammoniacal 
mamires, and yard-dung. I am obliged to mow 100 acres annually for winter 
keep. On the whole I am of ojiinion that nothing pays so well as the judicious 
improvement of grass land, as I find the number of head of stock has been 
increased year by year. 
Let anyone who has a field of coarse innutritions grass, undrained, try the 
following : Drain with 2-inch pipes, 30 feet apart — l-feet deep if subsoil and 
outfall will allow. Harrow and cross-harrow, with sharp tines, in the end of 
February or beginning of March ; top-dress with 3 cwt. of good superphos- 
phate, 2 cwt. of guano, well mixed with ashes or compost, and applied with a 
manure-distributor. Sow good proportion of best renovating seed procurable, 
harrow with chain-harrow, and then roll ; finish by 1st April. Feed off \vith 
young cattle in beginning of July ; or, if dry weather, with sheep, hui'dled. 
on cake in June. Give a good dressing of manure and compost in Novenibor 
or December — 20 cartloads to acre. 
Cost. £ s. d. 
Cost per acre— Seed 0 15 0 
„ „ Drainage 6 0 0 
„ „ Harrowing and rolling . . . . 0 15 0 
„ „ Artificial Manures 2 6 0 
Yard-manure, Compost, Ashes, &c. . 4 10 0 
14 6 0 
Now, say the field before improving was worth 1?. per acre, it will now Ix 
worth 21., or a permanent improvement of 11. per annum for the expenditun 
— or a return of 7 per cent, for outlay. 
The landlord should incur the whole expense of draining and seed, i 
improvement be done at commencement of 21 years' lease on improved rent 
or a proportion of half at expiration of lease, if done by the tenant at com 
mencement of lease at old unimproved rent — as compensation to the tenan 
for permanent and unexhausted improvement. 
William T. Drew. 
12. SiDDiNGTON House, Cirencester. 
I have laid down a certain number of acres near my house, to have th 
luxury of looking on grass rather than upon fallows, but it has been done r.t i 
loss, even as regards the supply of food for stock, as well as the com-cro]' 
After the first two years, frcsli laid-down pasture requires great assistance 
I have used a great variety of manures, with more or less advantage. But 
i 
