Becent Experiences in laying dotvn Land to Grass. 187 
[For Schedule of Questions, see page 126.] 
Mr. G. Mander Allesder — continued. 
2. Drainage is desirable, and has been carried out to a considerable ex- 
tent by means of steam mole drainage. 
3. Climate dry. 
4. In all cases my own selection : varying according to position of field 
and requirements. Cost fi-om 2os. to 45*-. per acre. 
5. Always some ryegrass, varying as above in quantity. 
6. Some with, some without. 
7. Provided suitable weather and necessary condition of land, I have no 
preference. 
8. Generally cut for hay. Sometimes pasture with cattle, never with 
sheep. Assist, with guano, fish-manure, or dissolved bones, unless I can 
dress with peat-manure, applied direct from the cattle-houses. 
9. I have not any recently laid down land older than three seasons. I 
believe that the ryegrass will not disappear. 
10. Do not put sheep on newly laid down grass — indeed, seldom have 
sheep " out of the hurdles." 
11. Entirely depends upon condition of land when seeds are sown, sub- 
sequent treatment, and quantity of seed used. 1 have some pieces only 
down three seasons which are rapidly becoming " good permanent pasture." 
12. There is one field on the farm which I am informed " fell down " 
about six or seven years ago. It is cow a fair pasture, but for the last two 
years it has been heavily manured with " farmyard," and has been dressed 
with dissolved bones ; last year it had a few seeds sown upon it. I have 
another piece which was foul when entered upon four years ago. Some 
clover was sown, and it was folded over twice, the sheep getting plenty of 
cake, and as many cabbages as they required. It is now a very useful piece 
of grass. 
14. Xot for my puvpose ; I have put down about 250 acres in the course 
of arranging a number of small farms so as to make one occupation. 
15. I believe that the great difficulty in laying down land to permanent 
pasture is the attempt to do so at too small a cost, I always add a few 
seeds each year to newly laid down land, at a cost of from 55. to 7s. per acre, 
and adopt the same plan on inferior natural grass. 
Mr. KegdsALD A. Wabrex, Preston Place, near Worthing. 
1. Deep loam on a subsoil of chalk, met with from 5 ft. to 15 ft. from the 
surface. My farm is on the flat, between the South Downs and the sea. 
2. No. The land is sufficiently drained by earthworms. 
3. Being close to the sea, the winters are mild. The summers are 
generally dry and rather trying for grass land. 
4. Seedsmen's mixtiu:es. 
5. The first experiments included ryegrass, but I prefer it without, and 
of late years have not sown any. 
6. Always in thin sown corn crops. 
7. I prefer sowing early in spring. If sown in autumn, the winter is 
apt to destroy the finer grasses. 
8. Mow the first year, and feed with cattle afterwards. If horses or 
sheep are turned on before the third year, they seem to pull up much of the 
finer grasses. Most arable land when sown down is at a lower standard of 
fertility than old pasture, and seems to require bone manure and other 
liberal treatment. 
9. Yes ; leaving small patches where it grew, which became mossy if not 
manured, 
