672 
On  the  Farming  of  Somerset. 
to  cause  the  dropped  oats  to  vegetate  ; it  is  then  limed,  and 
ploughed  for  wheat ; and  though  the  plan  is  defective  enough, 
the  wheat  crop  is  found  to  be  better  after  oats  than  when  it  lias 
to  maintain  a vain  struggle  with  a flourishing  crop  of  bent  grass. 
Instead  of  this  course,  a better  system  has  sprung  up  among 
farmers  of  capital  and  intelligence.  Mr.  Roals  of  Brendon  farm 
set  the  example  of  laying  down  the  land  for  grass  after  a root 
crop,  without  any  intervening  corn  crop,  about  thirty  years  ago, 
on  the  top  of  Brendon  Hill,  at  an  elevation  of  1000  feet  above 
the  sea,  when  he  was  forming  the  water-meadows  described  in 
this  Journal,  vol.  vi.  p.  518.  Mr.  Corner  of  King’s  Brompton 
carries  the  system  of  root  cultivation  one  step  further,  by  begin- 
ning as  well  as  ending  the  tillage  with  turnips. 
The  old  rotation  and  the  new  may  be  thus  placed  in  contrast : — 
Old. 
1.  Ley  Oats. 
2.  Wheat  or  Oats. 
3.  Turnips. 
4.  Oats. 
5.  Grass. 
New. 
1.  Ley  Turnips  or  Rape. 
2.  Oats  or  Wheat. 
3.  Swedes. 
4.  Grass. 
On  the  plan  of  the  new  rotation  the  ground  is  broken  up  in  the 
spring,  about  the  time  at  which  ley  oats  are  usually  sown,  and 
prepared  for  early  turnips  or  rape,  which  will  be  fit  to  be  stocked 
in  August  and  be  eaten  off  by  October.  The  land  will  have 
been  well  manured  and  trodden  by  the  sheep,  and  a clean  fallow 
(unless  the  season  should  have  been  very  wet)  will  have  been 
prepared  for  wheat  or  oats.  The  crop  of  swedes  will  follow  the 
grain  crop,  and  the  grass  seeds  will  be  sown  in  the  following  spring. 
On  this  point  of  management  we  may  consider  the  opinions 
of  the  best  farmers  agreed — namely,  that  with  a view  to  the  great 
object  of  this  essentially  rearing  country,  a portion  of  the  farm 
should  be  laid  down  in  grass  after  roots. 
The  question  arises,  how  long  the  grass  is  to  remain.  To 
this  no  general  answer  can  be  given.  It  depends  partly  on  soil,, 
partly  on  degree  of  exposure,  and  partly  on  the  season.  I have 
taken  some  pains  to  ascertain  the  opinion  of  farmers  differently 
situated  ; and  1 think  that  which  most  generally  prevails  is,  that 
if  the  soil  be  a stone  rag,  retentive  of  moisture,  the  situation 
not  too  exposed,  and  the  season  favourable,  the  cultivated  grasses 
may  be  expected  to  continue  out  for  3 years  : — that  under  the 
opposite  conditions  they  will  certainly  not  remain  out  more  than 
two  years,  and  probably  not  often  survive  a second  winter.  All 
that  has  been  said  refers  to  grass  in  alternation  with  tillage.  But 
grass  is  sought  for  in  the  hill  country  in  two  other  forms — perma- 
nent pasture  and  water-meadow. 
The  subject  of  permanent  pasture  has  engaged  a great  deal  of 
attention,  and  the  opinion  of  the  most  intelligent  men  is,  that 
