On Breaking up Grass Lands. 
187 
which he had an excellent crop. His next crop will be -swedes, barley, 'seeds, 
and then wlieat again. The method of jmUiiig in the turnips is not to be recom- 
mended as safe. Certainly not on all soils. About twenty years ago I practised 
it myself on lender sward with success, but on very tough turf full of the fibrous 
roots of vegetable substances, &c, &c. it failed. 
Case 4. 
This farmer in 1843 broke up a piece of pasture-land, thehalf of wliich he pared and 
burned in autumn, and after spreading the ashes, sowed wlieat and ploughed it in 
with a thin furrow, and obtained a very goo<l crop. Tiie other half he ploughed 
up without paring and burning. The land was liarrowed and dragged, and the 
wheat sown and dragged in. He had but a very bad crop, s<:arcely worth reaping, 
with abundance of weeds. The soil of this land averages 8 or 9 inches deep, on 
gravel, which rests on a subsoil of Oxford clay. The succeeding crops on a four- 
field course answered very well. 
Case 5. 
In 18-15 this farmer broke up a piece of land, and for the purpose of ascertaining what 
" would " answer best," he pared and burned the sward of the entire piece, and spread 
the ashes. He then sowed half of it with turnips, and liau them breast-ploughed 
in, covering the seed lightly with little more than tlie aslies, and liad an excellent 
crop. The other half was ploughed twice or three times, and liarrowed and 
draggefi, with the view of doing it well, and reducing it to a fine state previous to 
sowing turnips. The turnips were sown with the land in nice order, soon after the 
others just mentioned, and he had nothing. The soil was a light darkish loam, 
inclining a little to peat, on gravel, with a subsoil of Oxford clay some feet under. 
Case 6. 
This farmer, an intelligent man, occupying a large farm, in the spring of 1845 
broke up 11 acres of down-land, rather thin soil, on calcareous rubble, and deter- 
mined to cultivate it in two ways for the sake of experiment. He pared and 
burned the whole of it, and removed about half tlie ashes to other parts of the 
farm, which were drilled with turnips. He then spread the remaining ashes, and 
had about 6 acres of it breast-ploughed, covering the ashes, and shortly afterwards 
went over it with Croskill's clod-crusher, in an opposite direction to that in which 
the land had been turned over with the breast-plough, and cut it into squares. It 
was then harrowed, and the turnips drilled, which are a good crop. After remov- 
ing jjart of the ashes and spreading the remainder on the other 5 acres, he sowed 
turnips, using only half the seed, and then breast-ploughed the ashes and the half 
quantity of seed in, and immediately after sowed the remaining half of the seed 
on the top, and bush-harrowed it in. This portion did not answer anything so 
well as the other, but the turnips were a better crop than some of his neighbours 
obtained after sainfoin pared and burnt. 
Case 7. 
In describing how this farmer intends to break up 11 acres of land of two kinds of 
soil in the same field, I shall only give the methods adopted by him on previous 
occasions, and which have always succeeded. The field he has now under hand 
lies at the junction of the forest marble with the great oolite, and is in conse- 
quence variable, part on rock and ])art on clay. The clayey part h.is been well 
drained. He intends to plant the part on the rock with turnips, and the other part 
with swedes. His process will be as follows; To pare and l«irn the turf in the 
spring, as early as the weather will permit, and haul away half tiie ashes to be 
drilloil with turnips on other land. To rafter-plough, and leave it for a month or 
so to the influence of the sun and weather ; then drag it, to pulverize it as louch as 
possible, and after having harrowed it, to plough it clean, with a slight furrow, iuid 
then drill white mustard with a portion of the ashes, on tlie lightest part, reserving 
tlie other jiortion for swedes. The mustard will come up soon, and be ready (or 
sheep in about a month after being sown. The mustard is to be eaten oil" with 
