Breaking up Grass Land. 
519 
Good Meadow, or G razing Grounds. 
Having already made some remarks upon land of first-rate 
quality, it will be only necessary no\v to notice the general average 
of such soils. Good grass hinds \yill make superior arable lands; 
and \vill yield, as previously shown, a far greater produce. This 
ought of itself to be a suflicient reason for converting them into 
tillajre; and it may be done, and the cultivation carried on under 
a careful svstcm of good husbandry, without being detrimental to 
the soil. Indeed it would be gross folly to impair its powers 
of production, and which the landlord would do well to guard 
against. 
The most certain and profitable mode of breaking up these 
lands is to take one or more crops of brown mustard, according 
to the strength of the land. The usual mode of preparation for 
this crop is to commence early in the month of March, by plough- 
ing the land at a moderate depth. It should lie three or four 
weeksj to allow time for the sward to decay and consolidate, or 
close with the furrow-sole. When sufficiently decayed, about 
one-fourth of a peck of seed should be sown per acre, and har- 
rowed in as lightly as possible, so that the seed be covered ; all 
loose sods to be gathered into the furrows. It will require hoeing 
in the month of May, and should be left rather thin in plants, 
supposing them to be healthy and vigorous. No further atten- 
tion will be required until ready for cutting, which will be in the 
early part of harvest. It is wrong to disturb the plant ; turnips 
thrive all the faster for being stirred, but it is not so with mustard ; 
its long taper root is best left alone. When ripening, the pods 
turn to a deep brown (almost purple) colour, and just as they, the 
pods lowest on erich stem, are turning to a lighter brown, the crop 
should be cut : the succulence remaining in the plant will fully 
ripen the seed. The great aim with all growers is to preserve the 
seed of a bright reddish-brown colour, as all the profit depends 
upon this being done. Light coloured, or grey seed, will only 
fetch about half the price of that of perfect colour. It is the 
an.xious aim of the grower to have it " in pie," or stack, without 
rain. If cut green it may be tied into sheaves, and set up to dry ; 
but the common practice (and perhaps the best, as il loses much 
seed if blown down) is to lay it in separate reaps along the 
stubble. The land should then be cleaned, skeleton-ploughed, 
and harrowed, and the dropped seeds made to grow. After the 
mustard a crop of potatoes might in many cases be taken, followed 
by wheat. Potato culture is so well known that it is onlv neces- 
sary to observe that the land should be winter-ploughed, and 
left so till near planting lime, then cross-ploughed, well worked, 
