2 
The Management of Grass Land. 
advancement of the arable department, we rarely meet with the 
record of a single experiment for the improvement of grass lands, 
although it is well understood that this branch of agriculture is 
expected to furnish the majority of the supplies of both beef and 
mutton during the summer months. Moreover, seeing that the 
main skill and enterprise of the agricultural order is particularly 
directed to the united production of cattle, sheep, and corn, by 
the adoption of the " alternate husbandry" (and in many instances 
regardless of the " old grass lands"), the theorist is led to dwell 
upon the appa7-eiit working of the subject, and to draw the con- 
clusion that the arable land must be more grateful for the extra 
labour and artificial aid supplied, and consequently the quickest 
and more certain in its return. This, it is important to remark, 
is dady confirmed in practice ; for it is found that the majority of 
occupiers endeavour to increase their arable lands by obtaining 
permission to break up a portion of their grass lands, though it is 
a novelty to find them laying clown arable lands to permanent 
pasture. Hence it happens that a large proportion of the grass 
lands of England remauis unimproved, and in many instances ne- 
glected, particularly in those districts where there is an over 
abundance of grass land in proportion to the arable, which occurs 
in some districts to an enormous extent. This is fully shown by 
the following extract from Spademan's ' Analysis of the Occupa- 
tions of the People,' p. 35 : — 
Statute Acres. 
Amount of arable lands and gardens . 10,252,800 
Meadows, pastures, and marshes . . 1.5,379,200 
Wastes capable of improvement . . 3,454,000 
Incapable of improvement . . . 3,256,400 
Total acreage of England . . . 32,342,400 
The Grazing-fp-ound, or what is usually termed the " old grass 
land," abounds most in the midland, eastern, and marshy districts 
of the northern counties, which are usually termed the grazing 
districts, whence the principal midsummer and autumnal supplies 
of fat cattle and sheep are drawn for the London and northern 
markets. The grazing-ground, on farms of any size or import- 
ance, is generally divitled under two distinct heads, rich old pas- 
tures being designated and treated as " ox-land," and the middle 
or second-class j)astures as " sheep-land." Tlie latter is, however, 
frequently used to a great extent for cattle, and is perhaps more 
generally known as store or breeding land, though it is regulated 
entirely by the nature of the occupation. 
The Ox-land consists of that portion of the occupation which 
has been under natural grass from time immemorial. It is found 
to exist and flourish most on those plots which have the greatest 
