BreakiiKj up Grass Land. 
501 
standing between landlord and tenant has become one of mutual 
good feeling:, and vast improvements have been the result, and 
are still progressing;. One amongst the many laudable efforts 
now making for the benefit of agriculture is the attempt to abolish 
the old prejudices relative to breaking up grass lands : these igno- 
rant prejudices have long been the burthen and bane of every 
lease, of every old covenant, and they must be abandoned ; for 
few deviations from obsolete practice can be so beneficial as the 
conversion of inferior pasture lands to tillage, and indeed, for 
special uses, it may be desirable to include some of the very best 
grazing fields. These however, as a whole, are so valuable under 
pasture that but few inducements can be offered of sufficient im- 
portance to warrant their being so broken up. The question, 
however, may be asked, what is inferior grass land, or land of 
medium quality? In this neighbourhood every acre that will not 
fatten a well-bred sheep, of any breed, is inferior grass land ; and 
every acre that will fatten such a sheep, but not a well-bred ox, 
is merely land of medium quality ; land of good quality, or 
" good meadow or grazing-ground," will fatten either. 
The Advantages of Breaking up Grass Lands. 
There can scarcely remain a doubt respecting the propriety or 
profit of such a course, the advantages are so many and great, and 
the disadvantages so few. All lands of medium or even inferior 
quality will produce, under proper management, more animal 
food for man, and yield, a good crop of corn alternately into the 
bargain. Nearly all these lands will produce more profit under 
arable culture, if confined simply to grow food for cattle, sheep. 
See, than when under pasture ; for such is the extraordinary 
growth of the best artificial grasses, and the many varieties of 
edible and esculent roots, that a far, very far, greater abundance 
of food, suited to every season of the year, might be thus pro-^ 
duced, than could be grown spontaneously from the natural 
grasses, and of a more nutritious and fattening character. This 
practice, however, is not adopted, because the alternate course of 
husbandry is so much to be preferred. Land of this quality will 
not graze, to say nothing of fattening, more than from three to 
four sheep per acre, taking the whole year into account ; but 
break that land up, pare it thin, and burn in the month of June, 
havmg taken part of the summer's grass, spread the ashes evenly, 
plough, and sow with rape or turnips, and it will be found that 
the first year's produce will yield food of exceedingly nutritive 
quality, capable of fattening 12 sheep per acre, i.e. it will readily 
keep 10 sheep, weighing from 20 to 24 lbs. per quarter, for 16 
weeks ; and the condition of this land may be easily kept up if 
necessary, but in this state being too rich for wheat, it may be re- 
