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APPENDIX D : AGRICULTURE 
especially upon that grown upon poor or even middling land, as the 
grasses upon such land are bad, and the crop light and late, as well 
from late Spring feeding as from the poverty of the soil ; it is often 
badly made, and m these parts rarely if ever well stacked. From the 
scanty produce per acre the Farmer is obliged to shut up too large a 
proportion of the Farm for mowing, and that of course from the best 
of his old grass-land, which is too often by the needy farmer frequently 
mowed without a due return of manure, and thus it becomes mossy, 
and further impoverished. The scythe and the rake having to go 
over many more acres for the requisite quantity, a bad crop of hay 
is always made at more expense than a good one ; and from the too 
many acres shut up for Hay, the pastures are contracted, so that stock 
sufficient is not kept upon a farm, even in Summer. The necessitous 
and the m'gardly Farmer, both of whom endeavour to get more from 
the land than it can produce without help deceive themselves egregiously 
in this bad management of grass-land, Vv^hich is but too common in the 
northern Counties. Not only the old grass land, but the " seeds," as 
they are called, which alternate with their tillage, are generally ill 
managed. These lie not only two years, but pieces called seeds " 
may be found upon many farms which have lain five, six, or more years 
in an unprofitable state, arising from various causes. The first is from 
an over desire to plough more land than can be properly managed by 
the strength, manure and capital on the Farm. Secondly from a want 
of care or skill as to the kind of seeds best suited to the soil, or from 
niggardliness, both as to quantity and cost, the seed is collected from 
hay of old grass land (chiefly Holcus lanatus), and this is extensively 
propagated, the worst of all greatly called in the South by the name 
of " Yorkshire White Grass," the hay of which is known to be bad, 
and also the eatage. From land so laid down, or even with better seeds 
so scantily sown as to see the seed-fields whitened with Daisies, what 
profit can be expected ? It may however be expected, that some who 
have held their farms at a low or moderate rent, are disinclined to make 
their pastures look well, that they may have an excuse for breaking them 
up again, and giving them, what they call, " another round," that is 
another series of improverishing crops, commencing with a crop of 
Oats on one ploughing. Where the Occupier has land enough to let 
one half the Farm he in an improfitable state, while he crops the other 
half, this may do, but not long for it is evidently done with a loss to him- 
Bclf, his landlord, and to the community. A better system of cropping 
