20 
The Management of Grass Land. 
cattle refuse to eat it. Now this complaint cannot be applicable 
to those meadows which have been skilfully prepared and pro- 
perly managed. When rushes or aquatic plants make their ap- 
pearance, it is a sure sign that the meadow lies too flat, or that 
it is not sufficiently under-drained. 
The detail of all the minor arrangements, or general process of 
irrigation, would prove far too long, and possibly too tedious, a 
subject to occupy more space in this essay. 
Warping in moderation is carried out with success upon some 
grass lands, but it is most commonly adopted upon arable lands ; 
in either case it can be only successfully carried out upon those 
lands which approach the borders of large rivers into which the 
sea tide flows, or where floods containing alluvial matter in a 
state of suspension are frequent. The effect of warping is widely 
different in practice to that of irrigation. In the latter case the 
improvement is effected by water ; while that of warping is 
effected by a deposit of mud, or by the soil being increased. The 
season for warping is during the latter summer months, usually 
commencing at the end of July. This season of the year is pre- 
ferred, as the land returns quicker to its former dryness, and be- 
sides the tides are less mixed with fresh water, and are conse- 
quently found more effectual in their deposit. 
Hay-making (in connexion with the meadow lands) forms 
rather an important feature, and is attended with much anxiety, 
as no crop is more tedious to harvest, or repays better the 
extra care or pains bestowed upon it. It is admitted, and daily 
seen in practice during the season, that the further you travel 
southward, the better and more early you find the operations of 
hay-making, whereas the further you travel northward, or into 
the cooler districts, the less attention is paid to it: this is percep- 
tible to the stranger as he travels through the country from one 
extremity to the other. 
The making of hay has certainly for a length of time been 
carried to great perfection in the south, more particularly in the 
neighbourhood of London, as their harvest depends upon the well 
securing of their hay and clover crop. Previous to the introduc- 
tion of the " hay-maker," their established process was to perform 
every operation by manual labour. When the season has really 
well commenced, a calculation is made as to the required number 
of hands to carry on every department effectually, each person 
being provided, according to a commendable practice, with his 
own implements. The best or more accustomed mowers are 
selected for this operation, in proportion to the grass to be mown : 
the remaining forces are adjusted according to their strength or 
merit to suit the various occupations; and all are expected to 
retain their allotted stations during the season. The mowers 
