On Laying down Land to Permanent Grass. 235 
blished " (p. 12). Had Messrs. Wheeler substituted the word 
annual instead of artificial, and perennial instead of natural, 
thej would have given, as I believe, the true cause of the 
deterioration of newly sown pastures. 
JMessrs. Wheeler also mention that deterioration is " particu- 
larly observable when the so-called cheap mixtures are used, 
which are principally composed of Italian rye-grass." It was 
my misfortune, before I had learned by sad experience, I fear 
in common with many others, who, like me, have purchased 
mixtures at either a great or a small price, to be greatly disap- 
pointed after the first two years. 
It will be observed by the examination of Messrs. Wheeler's 
and Messrs. Carter's mixtures for permanent pasture, as set out 
in Tables I. and II., how extremely small is their proportion 
of the grasses which my practice teaches to be good for such 
pasture. As, moreover, my experience has satisfied me, and 
in this I am fully confirmed by Mr. Carruthers, that, whereas 
upwards of 90 per cent, of rye-grass seed will germinate, the 
highest percentage of germinating seed in the permanent grasses 
mentioned in the following table is 60 per cent., and in the 
case of foxtail only 20 per cent., it follows that nearly half 
the grass seeds in these mixtures produce annual plants, and 
the remainder only are useful for permanent pasture. 
In the several Tables the number of seeds per pound are taken 
from Sinclair (page 245), with the exception of golden oat- 
grass, cow-grass, rib-grass, and trefoil. Subsequent calculations 
suggest that the actual number of seeds per pound may be con- 
siderably higher than Sinclair's estimates. But as I have not 
been able to test these, and have formed a high opinion of 
Sinclair's general accuracy, I have used his numbers in these 
Tables. 
In Messrs. Webb and Sons' pamphlet on the formation of 
permanent pastures, the following remarks on the after culture 
and management of newly formed pastures will be found at 
p. 5: — "In no case should the young seeds be stocked with 
sheep the first season, for, if so, much of the plant, especially 
the clovers and fine grasses, upon which the sheep delight to 
feed, will assuredly be lost, being pulled up altogether, or the 
crowns would be so bitten down that the plant may have 
difficulty in withstanding the rigours of an inclement winter." 
Again, p. 5 : — " We have a great aversion to the grasses of 
old or new permanent pastures being allowed to seed before 
they are cut for hay, for experience teaches us that many plants 
die altogether if allowed to ripen off after reproduction, and 
but few make vigorous growth afterwards." And at p. 7 :■ — 
"Many of our readers will have observed on newly-sown land, 
where little attention has been given either to the quality or 
