On Laying down Land to Permanent Grass. 253 
England, and to take a fair example out of each and fasten 
them in a packet. These four I sent to Mr. Carruthers for 
examination, and the report was nearly the same in each case — 
a fair amount of seeds, the bulk consisting of so-called perennial 
and Italian rje-grass. I have no doubt that Mr. Carruthers will 
personally be able to explain the results of his examinations 
better than I can. 
I had occasion this year to examine some newly-laid-down 
land in South Wales ; and in two cases, although the mixtures 
were supplied by two of the best seed-merchants, the bulk was 
rye-grass. 
On the estate of a gentleman in Kent, who had laid down 
upwards of 150 acres about thirteen years ago, there is hardly a 
good grass to be found, except a little cocksfoot and crested 
dogstail, probably blown by the wind, or dropped by birds. 
A tenant of mine having purchased a permanent grass 
mixture from one of the large seedsmen, at a cost of 355. per 
acre, mowed the land sown with the seed, and at my request 
Mr. Carruthers inspected the stack, and gave the following 
result of the examination of the hay, the clovers being excluded 
from the estimate : — 
Cocksfoot 12 
Meadow Fescue 2 
Sweet Vernal 3 
Crested Dogstail 
Rough Meadow-grass 
Golden Oat-grass 
Soft creeping-grass .. 
Couch-srass 
"Woolly soft-grnss 
Oats " 
Barley 
Brome-grass 
Eye -grasses 
Total 
7 
, 3 
, 11 
2 
941 
1005 
If we exclude the oats and barley, together with the worthless 
grasses which may possibly have been in the ground, and treat 
the remaining individual grasses as if they were pounds, we 
have the following remarkable and instructive results : 35 lbs. 
of good grasses, at an average cost of ^d. per lb., would cost 
11. 6.9. ?>d. ; and 941 lbs. of rye-grass, at 1 Jr/. per lb., would come 
to 5/, 175. 7c?. ; making a total of 11 Zs. lOd. The 976 lbs. of 
mixed seeds for permanent pasture, at ^d. per lb., cost 36Z. 125. ; 
making, on the data supplied by the hay, a difference of 
29Z. 95. Id. between the real value of the seeds and the price 
paid to the seedsman for the mixture. But this loss of nearly 
thirty pounds is nothing compared to the real loss when the 
consequential damage is taken into account. 
The land from which this crop was taken having subse- 
quently come into my own hands, I have sown a considerable 
quantity of good grass seed on it ; but I have found in this case, 
as in others, where originally a large proportion of rye-grass 
