PRACTICAL HINTS | ON GRASSES anv GRASS GROWING IN EAst ANGLIA BY WILLIAM SPENCER EVERITT Cornell Mniversity Library BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Henry W. Sage I8QI AASB ABR on BSNS OF 3081 RETURN TO ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY ITHACA, N. Y. Cornell University Library SB 208.G7E93 Practical notes on grasses & grass grow! WAAC NAM ; PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING IN EAST ANGLIA. PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES & GRASS GROWING IN EAST ANGLIA. BY WILLIAM SPENCER EVERITT. EDITED BY NICHOLAS EVERITT, “REP Will 0 the Wisp” —Author of *‘ Ferrets, their Manage- ment in Health and Disease,” elc., ete. LONDON: JARROLD & SONS, 10 & 11, WARWICK LANE, E.C, [AM Rights Reserved. ] 1897. sie Che Right Bonourable ‘THOMAS WILLIAM, SECOND EARL OF LEICESTER, 4.6., Lord Lieutenant of Morfaolk, EVTC., EYC., THIS WORK Is BY HIS LORDSHIP’S KIND PERMISSION RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. NOTICE. Should any reader wish for the Author’s advice or assistance (in order to avoid unnecessary correspondence), he will oblige by answering the following questions :— 1. Area proposed to be dealt with. Description of surface and sub-soil. a Nature of surroundings, whether the land is sheltered or bleak. 4. How drained, if the land is wet or dry. Ns Previous crops during the last decade. 6. Description of recent cullivation and present state. —T Purposes for which the crop is required, ADDRESS— W. S. EVERITT, OULTON Broap, LOWESTOFT. PREFACE. My father and grandfather having farmed no small acreage in the good old times, when wheat was eighty shillings a quarter, and the attention paid to our layers and pastures was not so great, nor the subject of such importance as it is to-day, I attempted to follow in their footsteps, taking my first farm in the year 1859. This farm was situated next to one occupied by Mr. W. Staines, who, it will be remembered, was among the first intro- ducers of indigenous clover. From the very commencement of my career I took a great.interest in the cultivation of grasses, and to this fact I probably owe my present position as one of the Jargest seed merchants in the Eastern Counties. Having thus had a considerable experience, practically and theoretically, I have ventured, at the request of many of my friends, to compile this little volume. The work cannot be considered an ambitious one, and if my readers will grant indulgence to my shortcomings, remembering that these notes are to a great extent but a record of my own experience, I trust they will find something’ at least interesting, and perhaps even of profit to themselves, in the following pages. I would state at the outset that I have no pretentions to be regarded as a botanist, and I have avoided the use of botanical 8 PREFACE. names except where I have, fur good reasons, thought it necessary to use them. The majority of these chapters have already appeared in The Field newspaper, and it is through the kind permission of the proprietors of that paper that I am able to reproduce them. I would tender my warmest thanks to those who have corresponded with me upon interesting questions in relation to grasses and to grass growing. From them I have learnt much which, but for their kindness, would have taken me years to ascertain by personal observation. In particular, I have to thank Lord Leicester, Lord Clifton (now Earl of Darnley), and Mr. Martin Sutton for their kindly interest in the subject whilst these articles were appearing in Zhe Fve/d, and whilst differing perhaps from them in some not unimportant points, I cordially admit the value of their criticisms on those questions in which we are not at one. I would also thank my son (of Norwich) for having edited the whole of this work for me, and for the care and trouble he has devoted to it, in order that it might be placed in the hands of the reader in its present form. WILLIAM SPENCER EVERITT OuLtron Broap, Lowestrorr, January, 1897. CONTENTS. PART I. CHAITER I.— OBJECTIONABLE AND PERNICIOUS WEEDS— Twitch, Couch, or Speargrass (Z7r¢ticum repens)— Black Grass (Alopecurus agrestis)—Running Grass (Agrestis vulgaris) — Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus)—Dock (Rumex obtusifolius)— Sorrell (Rmex acetosella)—Rib Grass or Plan- tain Seeds (Plantago lanceolata)—Buttercup or Crowsfoot (Plantago lanceolata)—Red Robin (Geranium molle)-— Stone Grass — Dodder (Cuscuta trifolic) as Oss ee II. —ONE YEAR’S LEY—TWO TO THREE YEARS’ LEY—THE AFTER MANAGEMENT OF CLOVERS AND PASTURES II.—PERMANENT PASTURE see IV.—LORD LEICESTER’S ELEVEN-COURSE SHIFT V.—CATCH CROPS vee see aa%s eee VIL—THE RECLAMATION OF BOGS AND SWAMPS ase PAGE 26 43 52 60 65 To CHAPTER CONTENTS. VII. HAY MAKING VIIIL— ENSILAGE AND TEMPORARY SILOS 1X.—CLOVERS — Common Red Clover (77/folium pratense, Linn.) — Single cut Cow Grass or Perennial Red Clover (Trifolium pratense perenne, Sutt.)\—Zig-Zag Clover (Trifolium medium, Hudson)—Wood- land Cow Clover (7+zfoldum pratense, var. Sylvestre, Sync) PART II. 1.—HEAVY SEEDS— Alsike Clover (Trifolium hybridum)—White Clover (Trifolium repens perenne)—Trifolium (Trifolium incarnatum and alba) — Yellow Suckling (Zrifolium minus)—Trefoil (Medicago lupulina)—Birdsfoot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) —Kidney Vetch or Sand Clover (Anthyllis vulneraria) — Yarrow or Milfoil (Achillea millefolium) — Lucerne — Sainfoin — Cinquefoil (Onobrychis sativa)—Sheep'’s Parsley (Petrose- finum sativum) —Tares or Vetches (Viera sativa)—Blue Lupins (Lupinus augustifolius)— Yellow Lupins (Lupinus luteus)—Rib Grass (Plantago lanceolata) — Burnet (Poterium sanguisorba) PAGE 73 79 86 10 CONTENTS. LI PART III. CHAPTER PAGE. I.—LIGHT SEEDS— Perennial Ryegrass, Pacey Grass, or Bent (Lolium perenne)—Italian Ryegrass (Lolium ttalicum)—Hard Fescue (Festuca duriuscula)— Meadow Fescue (Festuca pratensis)—Spiked Fescue (/estuca pratensis, var. loliacea)—Tall Fescue (Festuca eliator) — Sheep's Fescue (Festuca ovina)—Red Fescue (Festuca rubra) —Various-leaved Fescue (Festuca heterophylla) —Fine-leaved Fescue (Festuca tenutfolia)— Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass (Poa pratensis) Rough-stalked Meadow Grass (Poa trivialis)— Annual Meadow Grass (Poa annua)—Wood Meadow Grass (foa nemoralis)—Sweet Reed Grass (Poa aguatica) — Crested Dogstail (Cynosurus cristatus)—Meadow Foxtail (A lope- curus pratensis)—Sweet Vernal (Anthorvanthum odoratum)—Tall Oat Grass (Avena eliator)— Yellow Oat Grass (Avena flavescens) —Timothy or Meadow Catstail (Phleum pratense)—Cocks- foot (Dactylis glomerata)—Fiorin, or Creeping Bent Grass (Agrostis alba, or Agrostis stolont- Jera)—Schradus Bome Grass (Bromus schredert) —Awnless Crome Grass (Bromus tnermis)— Hassock Grass (Aira cespitosa)—Dog’s Tooth Couch Grass (77tticum caninum)—Marram Mat Grass (Ammophila arundianacea)—Sand or Sea Lyme Grass (Z£/ymus arenarius) — Esparto Grass—Nettles se zine we 127 PART I. Practical Notes on Grasses and Grass Growing in East Anglia. CHAPTER I. OBJECTIONABLE AND PERNICIOUS WEEDS. Twitch, Couch, or Speargrass (77itécum repens). Black Grass ( Alopecurus agrestis). Running Grass (Agrestis vulgaris). Yorkshire Fog (Hokus lanatus). Dock (Rumex obtustfolius). Sorrell (Rumex acetosella). Rib Grass or Plantain Seeds (/¥antago lanceolata). Butterenp or Crowsfoot (Plantago lanceolata). Red Robin (Geranium moile). Stone Grass. Dodder (Cuscuta ¢rifoliz). jC is as essential for one who would be a successful {| grass-grower to be thoroughly conversant with the weeds which are pernicious to one’s pastures, as it is for one to understand the various seeds which one is handling. We do not propose to deal with all the weeds which would fall under this heading, but merely to select a few of those which are generally a nuisance to the agriculturist and are likely to be found, sooner or later, in almost every pasture. Taking them in the order in which they, in our opinion, make themselves most objectionable, we will summarise, as shortly as we can, some of their general characteristics, how Missing Page Missing Page 18 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. Brack Grass (ALOPECURUS AGRESTIS). This would be more troublesome even than speargrass excepting that it only flourishes on moist and wet bottomed lands. It flowers and seeds very rapidly, having a head or spike similar to timothy and foxtail, only the head of the black grass is longer and slimmer, and its seeds assimilate the seeds of the ryegrasses more than the other two we have named. It is worthy of remark that this grass is one of the most rapid grasses in arriving at maturity, and it is an alopecurus in company with meadow foxtail, which is one of our most valuable pasture grasses, being both early and hardy, and were it not for the fact that it takes three years in arriving at maturity, it would find greater favour and be more constantly sown. Black grass has the same peculiarity as speargrass in propa- gating very rapidly from its roots, so much so, that many assert that it in time turns to speargrass, but a careful observa- tion will readily refute this. Black grass does not form so compact a mass as speargrass, and it is therefore more easily killed, but at the same time it is the more difficult to extermi- nate of the two, Black grass seeds more freely and rapidly than speargrass, whilst its seed lays dormant in the land, springing up with a persistency which becomes wearisome to the most patient; and on lands congenial to it it will take years before it can be got under. Runninc Grass (AGRESTIS VULGARIS). This grass apparently embodies the bad qualities of both speargrass and black grass; but in place of root propagation OBJECTIONABLE AND PERNICIOUS WEEDS. 19 underground it works more on the surface, as its name would imply. In appearance it is more ruddy than either of the other two named, and very rapidly it shoots out long runners, which spread over the ground, striking root at each knob, in a manner which to those unacquainted with it is truly astonish- ing. If left to itself it will become similar to speargrass, but it is not so difficult to destroy. In dealing with running grass great care must be taken, and if the land is forced by harrow and roll, any short pieces con- taining a knob which escape notice will take root and spread as soon as the crop is planted. Running grass is as great a nuisance to the pasture as it is to the corn grown. YorRKSHIRE Foc (HoLcUS LANATUS). This is a weed which, so to speak, comes by degrees, and nothing appears to feed on it. As-years roll on it gathers in strength, and appears in the form of unsightly tussocks, which must be stubbed up with a mattock, and no time should be lost in so doing. Although it throws out propagating roots, it propagates chiefly by seed. The seed is in appearance somewhat like foxtail, but the awn on each seed is so short that it is almost imperceptible to the naked eye; whereas the awn on foxtail seed is as long as the awn on the seed of Italian ryegrass. In colour, Yorkshire fog is a bright pea-green, and its foliage is broad and soft; but the large, numerous, and handsome seed spikes which it throws out vary very much in their colour, shape, and general character. The ugly tussocks of Yorkshire fog can be seen in almost every hedgerow, and it flourishes in profusion on waste lands, regardless alike of the quality of the soil and the situation. It exhausts the land more quickly than almost any other kind of grass, and smothers the good seeds with which it comes in contact. 20 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. A near relation to Yorkshire fog is Hassock Grass (AIRA CCESPITOSA), which is a giant species of Holcus; but as it thrives only on wet soil, more particularly on peat tracks and bogs, it is not of much moment under our present heading. Suffice it for us to say, the seed may frequently be detected in ' “wood meadow grass” by its irregular shape, thick ends, and shiny appearance, not forgetting the white hairy fringe at the base of the seed. Dock (RUMEX OBTUSIFOLIUS). In docks we find several varieties, the most conspicuous amongst them being the common smooth-leafed field dock and the crimpled hard marsh dock. We have heard it remarked that docks die of old age, but if the originator of that remark ever visits our Norfolk Broads, and takes note of and examines the venerable dock stools which everywhere abound, he will have no faith in the theory he has propounded. Immediate action should be taken whenever docks put in an appearance, and every root should be extracted from the land. If docks are allowed to stand they soon spread themselves in all directions, the seed mingling with the hay and corn, and sheep eating the seeds (which they cannot digest) assist in spreading the nuisance. One autumn some years ago chance led us to a field in the parish of Whinburgh, in Norfolk, where we noticed some dock roots in a wheat stubble, and our attention was drawn to an insect which had eaten out the middle of the dock roots. This insect was unknown to us, and we carelessly omitted further search. SORRELL (RUMEN ACETOSELLA). Sorrell is by no means a desirable adjunct to permanent pastures; its name implies its sour and unpalatable taste, and OBJECTIONABLE AND PERNICIOUS WEEDS. 21 on retentive lands it gives much trouble. The seeds are very similar in appearance to the seeds of dock, but they are smaller, their edges are toned off, and they have a white speck _ at their nib; their shiny appearance at once betrays their presence in seed samples. Sorrell should be dug out from the pasture land and killed. Rip Grass oR PLANTAIN SEEDS (PLANTAGO LANCEOLATA). This grass is only half a weed, as on light lands it is sown, and has a place in commerce, yet on good land it is a nuisance, spoiling clover seed samples, from which it is impossible to extract it after the seed is drawn from the cob. The difficulty —if difficulty it can be called—is easily surmounted by sifting before the seed is drawn from the cob. The artificial wind blows the clover cob away, and the rib grass falls directly to the ground. Rib grass seed is exactly like tiny date stones to look at, and sheep are exceedingly fond of it. They will thrive well upon rib grass, and it can perhaps with advantage be grown on land that is not good enough for much else. On these lands it will be found absolutely perennial, producing an abundance of wholesome herbage which sheep are immensely fond of; but rib grass is of little good for hay, and very difficult to make hay from. If sown, sow ro lb. to 12 Ib. per acre, mixing with other suitable seeds. BUTTERCUP OR CROWSFOOT (PLANTAGO LANCEOLATA). On nearly all pastures and moist-bottomed land this yellow flowering weed is a great nuisance. Although when its roots are exposed it is easily killed with the sun’s aid, it is most persistent in reappearing, the seed apparently lying dormant in the land. Its presence denotes lack of quality in the pasture, and it is alleged that if the buttercup is eaten by cows the 22 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING, quality of their butter is not affected for the better; it is perhaps fortunate that cows will not eat it freely, if they can get anything better. This weed is toa great extent indigenous to the soil, and when once it takes root it increases and multiplies most rapidly, and it can only be eradicated by the utmost perseverance. Rep Rosin (GERANIUM MOLLE). Red Robin, being simply an annual in permanent pastures, is not of much trouble, but in alternate husbandry it soon becomes a nuisance. The scythe is its most effectual remedy. In samples of white clover the presence of the seed of Red Robin is difficult to detect, and, when discovered, it is advisable to refuse to take the sample on any terms. In growth it is tall, and bears a red flower. Why it should be called Red Robin we are at a loss to understand, unless it is named after the seed, which is of a dull reddish hue. STONE GRASS. Stone grass, which is more commonly called “runners,” does not become particularly troublesome unless allowed to obtain a strong hold upon one’s land. It is chiefly found amongst giant and perennial red clovers, where it is easily detected, in the sample which it considerably deteriorates. These plants, which resemble diminutive rhubarb stools, send out long runners in all directions, hence the sobriquet quoted above. Its seeds are rough to the touch and quite round in appearance. An easy method of discovering whether stone grass seeds are present in a sample is as follows :—Take the sample, say, of perennial red clover, which you imagine is infested with the seeds of this weed, and place it upon a sheet of smooth paper ; OBJECTIONABLE AND PERNICIOUS WEEDS. 23 shaking the paper gently, the stone grass seeds immediately become separated from the main bulk, and they will run all over the paper, telling you at once whether your suspicions are confirmed. There exists, as everybody interested knows, machines for extracting weed seeds from samples of other seeds, but no machine that we have seen will clean or exorcise weeds from samples entirely. And, again, we would warn the intending grower to refuse samples in which ke notices suspicions of obnoxious weeds. Thirty years ago, perhaps less, gangs of women and children were wont to be engaged to weed one’s farm, but nowadays this custom appears to be unknown, through new laws and school boards, and the farmer should therefore be all the more careful what he puts on to his land, as, more often than otherwise, he will find a cheap sample a dear bargain. DoppER (CUSCUTA TRIFOLII). The last of the weeds with which we now propose to deal is perhaps one of the worst. Like most evils it is attractive on account of the interest one cannot resist feeling in it. Dodder, in our opinion, must be classified upon the border line which divides the animal from the vegetable world. It is a plant which feeds upon other plants, more especially upon clovers. In nature it resembles the water anemone, which is found in our rivers growing upon long sunken piles, and on the foundations of old landing-stages, whose green finger-like leaves are impregnated with a gelatinous looking matter by which it collects and closes upon its food; should the plant be severed from its hold and taken from the water and dried it emits a most offensive smell, reminding one of putrid fish. We have another weed (a water weed) which grows in our dykes, and lives upon fish spawn, fry, and vegetable particles 24 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. which it catches upon its leaves as a spider catches flies in its web. Dodder assimilates these two vegetarian anthropophagi, in that, when pressed in the hand, the gelatinous substance which is peculiar to them is also found in it, and if you place dodder upon a flat piece of iron, wood, or on a slab of marble, and feed it regularly with clover leaves during warm summer or autumn weather, it thrives and grows without soil and moisture which are so essential to vegetable life. Our remarks naturally refer to the clover dodder, the most common and the chief variety ; there seem to be many other varieties, with which it is unnecessary for us to treat. Although dodder is one of the worst weeds we have, it is not a very serious grievance, for it only affects clover which comes but once in eight years. To get rid of it the rake must be used, and the pulled-up weeds burnt. That the seeds of dodder lie dormant in the land we are convinced, and we have observed many instances to confirm our conviction. One case especially is fresh in our memory. Dodder appeared to the astonishment of a certain farmer on his land, which he had sown with English-grown seeds, clean and most carefully selected. He had seen no dodder there previously, and the inquiries he afterwards made told that dodder had been a stranger there for many years. He again grew his seeds, cut them, and used them without mixing other seeds with them; yet, in spite of this, dodder suddenly made its appearance in several places. Few farmers know dodder seed, or are able to distinguish it; a less number still know the seed of clover dodder, although hardly one will admit it if questioned. It is, perhaps, fortunate for us that the weed flourishes more in foreign countries than it does in our own, which is possibly accounted for by climatic influences. France seems to be more favourable to dodder than any other country we are acquainted with, and we are of opinion that (fortunately OBJECTIONABLE AND PERNICIOUS WEEDS, 25 for us) our autumns as a rule are too damp for it to ripen. A fine hot autumn will bring it out, and when such is experienced, its appearance should be searched for, and the nuisance dealt with as soon as it is discovered. The seed itself is very small, and in appearance more like a grain of soil; if examined under a powerful microscope, it will be found to be an indented brown seed, of round formation. It can easily be extracted from other seeds by sifting with a silt sieve. 7 The infected ground is usually in the form of a circle, which gradually but surely continues to increase, the dodder con- suming or smothering everything of a green leafy nature where it exists; we are glad to state that here, at least, when it has consumed the clover it seldom reasserts itself. Most of the remainder of the many weeds which trouble the pasture grown, come, we think, under the head of annuals, which we propose to deal with when writing upon ‘“‘The After Management of Layers.” CHAPTER II. ONE YEAR’S LEY. TWO TO THREE YEARS’ LEY. THE AFTER MANAGEMENT OF CLOVERS AND PASTURES, , HE continued fall in prices and depreciation of 4} agricultural produce is causing the majority of landowners and tenant farmers to lay down to grass more and more every year. They naturally reason that they cannot be worse off than they are at the present time, and such cultivation on their part decreases their labour bill, while the commercial value of the land remains unaffected. Upon this subject of laying down both temporary and permanent pastures, we now propose to offer some practical remarks and suggestions, and although many of our facts may not be novel to the reader, still there may be valuable hints among them which have hitherto escaped his attention. A most careful selection should be made in the first instance of seeds suitable to the land proposed to be dealt with, and not a general mixture taken at random, nor one which is sold as suitable for all soils regardless of district. A general mixture, which the seller advocates as suitable for any land, will be found not only wasteful in use, but sometimes more a nuisance to the grower than a benefit. Like the sower in the famous parable, some will grow up and choke the others ; some will not grow at all; and an even, strong, and thick crop must neither be expected nor looked for from such a selection. ONE YEAR’S LEY. 27 The grower must study his soil, its surroundings and situation, carefully selecting his seeds accordingly; his only alternative course is to go to a reliable, practical, and experienced seedsman, explain to him his requirements, and the nature of the soil proposed to be dealt with, and to leave himself almost entirely in his hands, One Year's Ley. The difficulty one has to contend with on a one year’s ley is that one’s seeds are almost invariably sown with spring corn. Now spring corn, notably barley, requires what the farmer calls plenty of mould. This is a light and pliable seed bed, which is obtained by ploughing the land early, and, after the: frost has completely pulverised the clods, and the March winds have dried the land, cultivating with grubber and harrow until such a bed is formed. Should one plough the land in a wet state, and no frost supervenes, one must harrow and roll until the big clods are reduced to smaller ones, and if under such circumstances one is unable to form pulverised soil, neither the grain nor the seeds will thrive. Whether the bed is pliable or not is easily ascertained by a very simple experiment. Push your foot into the freshly raised mould, drawing it along a little way, and if you can easily do this you have a seed bed suitable for your purpose as far as spring corn is concerned. It is no use attempting to force your land; your only course is to. permit it to get thoroughly dry, and the first rain will reward your patience, as after a shower the clods will slake readily and freely to the touch of the roll and harrow. Now arises the grass-grower’s great difficulty; he has formed a perfect bed for his spring corn, but it is absolutely unsuited for his grass and clover seeds, and he is compelled to sow these as the grain is coming up. 28 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. ‘Possibly there are many who disagree with this view. To those who are of such an opinion we cannot do better than refer them to their own fields for a confirmation of our state- ment. If they will only walk over their own layers, taking particular note of the crop close to the fences, and especially near to the gateways, they will find the set very different to the rest of the field. When arguing this question, even with practical results before us, we have sometimes heard what we have above alluded to attributed to moist ground; but it is not so, as can easily be seen if there are any low lying and moist places in the middle of the same field. In reality it is accounted for by the fact that the land has been more trodden and become more solid in the places we have indicated than in the remainder of the field, hence it becomes more suited to grass seeds, which like a tight bottom and a fine top. An instance may be quoted on this point. A few years ago we fed some sheep on a large oblong-shaped field. The sheep commenced to feed off the turnips in November, were close folded, and worked the short way of the field until March, when they finished and were withdrawn. As soon as they had completed a reach the plough followed (frost permitting), and the land was ploughed up the short way of the plough. Early in April, after the ploughing operations had been completed and sufficient dry weather had been experienced, we cultivated the field the long way of the plough, and athwart. The barley was sown, followed afterwards by clover seed and ryegrass mixture. When the crop had grown sufficiently to see the result, we found a grand layer on the end of the field where the sheep commenced to feed, gradually becoming worse and worse the nearer we approached the end where they had left off. At this end of the field the set was so bad that we ploughed the ley up. We had sown all the seed on the same day, and worked all the field in the same manner, which clearly proved to us that seeds, in some seasons, will ONE YEAR’S LEY. 29 not grow at all on land that has been forced, as was the case on part of the field we have alluded to; whereas, had we been patient and prepared a better seed bed we should have had a better layer, but should have been too late for the grain. This is but one of many examples we could quote in which the farmer has such difficulty in getting good crops of both seed and corn when they are sown together. What he generally does is to cultivate more in particular for the grain, sow his seed the hest way he is able, and curse the weather, or the merchant from whom he purchased his seeds, when disappointment occurs. With regard to the selection of one’s seeds, the first thing to ascertain is the particular Jé¢e noir of each variety, and to be careful when scrutinising samples to see that’ it is absent from the parcel chosen. We believe we are right in asserting that more weeds are propagated by farmers selling their seeds to one another, neither the buyer nor the seller recognising nor having the power to remove the objectionable matter did they know of its presence. But when the grower offers his seeds to a merchant seedsman, if it is a desirable lot it is usually bought at once; but if it contains pernicious weeds, has been frosted, heated, or consists mainly of shrivelled flat seeds, if the merchant knows his business he refuses to entertain it at any price. The grower then has recourse to a second-class man, who will buy anything at a price, and the seeds become worked off somewhere to lovers of cheapness; or else the seller falls back upon his neighbours and friends, more often with disastrous results to both. A thorough knowledge of grass and clover seeds is what few indeed can-boast of. There are so many varieties, they are grown under such varying conditions, climatic influences which sometimes entirely alter their character, and they grow so differently upon different soils and under different circumstances, that many questions onnected with them will always remain highly controversial. 3° PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. The man of common sense will gladly avail himself of the knowledge of others, and, however much he may have studied the subject of a good selection, he remembers that good seasons, good cultivation, and good management are also necessary for good grasses. The rough and ready rule-of- thumb management is no use; grass growing proper is an art in itself—we would almost go so far as to say it is a science; and so uncertain is weather and growth that, even with the best seeds and the best of management, success is never a certainty. In the selection of varieties, we hold that local knowledge is absolutely necessary. Certain descriptions of seeds are adapted to one particular locality, and will not thrive in another, the reason for which is not at all times clear. The quantity of seed per acre also varies under various conditions and circumstances, sometimes in such a manner as would be astonishing to the uninitiated. For example, it is an old adage that ‘a peck of heavy and a peck of light per acre” is the proper quantity to sow for one year’s ley, and the farmer of the old school, when the question is discussed, goes further, and adds, “Well, you may say what you like, but it was my father’s custom, and so it shall be mine.” Now a peck of red clover is quite as good a seed, if not better, than double the quantity of trefoil, and as ryegrass is invariably fit to cut for hay before clover, and as clover is such a tillering plant, not half so much ryegrass is required to mix in clover as in a trefoil mixture. Twelve pounds of good red clover (about three-quarters of a peck), and 14 lb. to 3 Ib. of perennial ryegrass, will be found a fair seed in many cases; but if the land is rough more may be necessary, and, if there is any doubt or fear of clover sickness, 4 Ib. of alsike, or white clover and alsike, may, with advantage, be mixed with it. Many mix trefoil with clover, but we strongly deprecate this practice except in special cases, ONE YEAR’S LEY. 31 because it must be remembered that trefoil is fit to cut some ten days earlier than clover. On land which will not grow clover well, ten years’ interval is good, but where this cannot be entertained and trefoil mix. ture is undesirable, we recommend the perennial cow grass, or a mixture of half clover and half cow grass, which also app'ies to doubtful or clover-sick land. On heavy or retentive land the cow grass and clover will probably be found the best mixture, but on light lands the alsike, trefoil, and white clover mixture will do best. No sane man, however, would think of growing anything else when he was sure of his clover. Trefoil, or, as it is commonly,called, “the black and white mixture,” black inferring the black seed pods of the trefoil, and white the white suckling, is properly mixed by adding to 24 lb. to 32 Ib. of trefoil, 2 1b. to 4 1b. of white suckling, and 6 lb. of perennial or pacey grass, or 12 lb. to 16 lb. of Italian. This is sometimes varied by adding to the white suckling, or replacing it with a little red suckling, which, if the spring happens to be wet and cold, will be found of great advantage. But if the spring be dry the red suckling will make a poor show. Where the feed is not required on a trefoil stubble, or if the land requires cleaning, it is an excellent plan to break it as soon as the hay is off, and, if one is fortunate enough to obtain sufficient moisture to bring the seeds up, sow during the month of July three bushels of spring tares with or without one bushel of barley bere. This will cover the land and produce either autumn feed, silage, hay, or soiling food. It comes on about Michaelmas, just at a time when second crop clovers are over, and cut daily and given with old hay is appreciated by every kind of stock. Should you not require the produce at all, plough all in, and such a course will be found equal to a heavy coat of manure, as the tares will collect nitrogen from the air and deposit it in your soil instead of the 32 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. sun being able to draw the nutriment away day by day from its naked surface. These black and white leys may sometimes be left down a second year with advantage, but an advantage is seldom gained should clover be so left, because it seems that in a favourable season clover will extract the accumulated wealth of eight years of certain ingredients ; therefore under the most favourable circumstances the results of the second year’s crops will be highly disappointing, unless perchance the yield from the first year be a poor one. We have tried this experiment many times, and a lesson has been taught us by bitter experi- ence which we have dearly paid for. We have now dealt with the general mixtures for spring sowing for one year’s ley, omitting mention of fancy mixtures, which should only be tried under exceptional circumstances and conditions. We have still the one year’s ley of catch crops to deal with. First of all comes trifolium, which is sown during the month of September on a bare stubble, and in an ordinary season requires no burying, and sheep, if turned on to the stubble at seeding time, are an advantage to it, as they pull off any extraneous weeds. A Cambridge roller or chain harrows, can be used with advantage, and they should be brought into requisition as soon as possible after the seed has been sown. Italian ryegrass is sometimes used as a mixture, or sown alone as a catch crop, and it should be used off in time, to sow turnips, but this seed requires more burying unless plenty of moisture be in evidence. Red suckling is sown on I ght-landed soil before the corn is cut or after it is garnered, and a crop of hay or seed is thus secured the follow- ing June. Sainfoin and lucerne are more of a permanent nature, the former being drilled across and across (over wart) in a corn drill in April, four bushels to the acre, the latter being cultivated by itself, of which we propose to speak hereafter. ’ ONE YEARS LEY. 33 Kidney vetch is only used on the very lightest of land, which may also be said of lupins. Of the latter, it may, perhaps, be regarded as a cause for congratulation that the seed is known to but few indeed. This remark will be appreciated by many an agriculturist in the neighbourhood of Thetford Heath. In choosing seed the best that can be obtained will in the long run be found the cheapest, excepting, of course, fancy or show samples. It is our experience that the same value of the best seed produces a superior result to the same value of an inferior seed. A good, well ripened seed of rotund nature contains, as a rule, the most vitality, hence it not only produces the most fruitful plant, but also a seedling which will stand more hardship than one produced from a weaker seed. Little does the uninitiated think how easily his eye can be deceived in this respect. As an instance of this, the most pleasing, the most brilliant, and by far the most attractive sample of white clover to look at is that which has been cut before it is ripe; a brown sample, provided it be the brown of sunshine and ripeness, is far more valuable to the grower than the one last mentioned, but when the brownness has been produced by exposure to showers the result is different ; here it is that the field for judgment and the eye of the expert tells its tale. Red clover seed should be purple and round. Yellow seeds are not so good as brown, more especially when the former are flat in shape, and the seed of the red clover should come from a cold, exposed climate, the seed from a southern clime often leading to disappointment. This applies to most seeds which are best worked southward, as, indeed, is almost any- thing in nature, certainly in the vegetable world. In a sample of trefoil one must look out for the seed of the wild trefoil, which is an inferior seed, easily detected by its aroma. We would recommend buyers to give a preference to c 34 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. English seed. They are often persuaded to take a parcel which, on inquiry, will be found to come from Luxemburgh or elsewhere. But French sainfoin is, in our opinion, better than English, if the sample be free from burnet, English sainfoin being often contaminated with blubber grass. French trifolium also will be found better than English if the sample be fine. 1t comes best from the Beauce district, and the same may be said of lucerne which comes from Provence. A word as to mending inferior and unsatisfactory leys, and we will bring our remarks under this heading to a close. The following is a good rule: “Mend, but never plough up.” There will almost always be found some sort of a crop, even if it is scarcely discernible, and, should it be very bad, sow 12 lb. to 20 lb. of trifolium in September, and let the land rest, excepting, perhaps, a Cambridge roll be run over it. If you disturb the land you will in all probability destroy what few tender plants there may be. On cutting the trifolium in June, if there is no bottom plough it up and sow tares, and treat as before described. Should there be half a plant, sow a mixture of either red suckling, alsike, Italian ryegrass, and white suckling, according to circumstances, and hope for the best. If the ley be patchy, sow above the last-mentioned mixture a small spray of clover or trefoil, and, if treated as we have suggested, you will, in nine cases out of ten, be glad you did not destroy the ley, and by so doing put not only yourself, but the land also out of temper, thereby raising a source of irritation and disappointment, lasting until every thing has had time to be put in order again. A new ley should never be fed in the autumn, unless it is very long ; even then it must not be fed hard, and only with cattle, as sheep and horses bite too close; and, remember, it is not what they eat, but the young plants they bruise and spoil, which so seriously impairs the spring vigour of the crop. It is a great disadvantage to have a young clover ley too vigorous TWO TO THREE YEARS’ Lry, 35 in the autumn, and one hardly knows what to recommend. The best advice we think we can give is to let it alone, and allow nature to work its course, checking the extraneous growth with the scythe at intervals, if such action is considered — necessary. Two to THREE YEars’ Lry. The growing popularity of two and three years’ ley is, without doubt, due to the fact that the alternate growth of roots and grain so exhausts the nitrogenous properties of the soil, that paying crops cannot be produced without liberal applications of manure or other costly dressing. This is further encouraged by the increasing expense of labour and the diminishing value of produce. The subdivision of large farms into small holdings, so often advocated by the theorist, is not practically successful, except in the neighbourhood of towns; even there it has already been overdone, and many an occupier of small holdings ruined because the market has been glutted with such stuff as he ‘produces, or his market has been forced upon him. Two years’ ley is happily exempt from this last-mentioned disaster, provided the grower can hold his hay. On many farms it is customary to keep a one year’s ley down for a second year, but this course seldom succeeds unless the ley be renovated and strengthened in the autumn with suitable dressing ; even then success is not certain. We should not recommend the course ourselves, but, if followed, great care should be bestowed upon the land so dealt with. There is this advantage, that when it is successful, it in a measure recuperates the land. On a two years’ ley the farmer grazes his stock, often feeding them with cake, grain, meals, or other artificial foods highly beneficial to the land, and when the sward is turned in and 36 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. allowed to decompose, a succession of excellent crops to alternate husbandry may be expected. It is a practical fact that permanent pastures always flag during the third or fourth year, but with temporary leys as soon as this flagging becomes apparent the farmer either carts a good coating of manure on to the land, or dresses it with road scrapings, the cuttings from banks, or he ploughs it up altogether, and saves himself further bad years. With a one year’s ley this difficulty is not so apparent, nor is the seed so costly as that of permanent pasture, because the finer and dearer grasses, which take years to establish themselves, are passed over for coarser, cheaper, and less permanent sub- stitutes. On heavy land a simple mixture of perennial cow grass, Italian ryegrass, cocksfoot, and similar seeds are often used as a shift course ; and on lighter land a simple mixture of common sainfoin and lucerne finds favour. We have known the latter to stand successfully for years. For a good ley it is essential to have good seeds and careful cultivation, remembering that, although the use of the roll may be detrimental to the growth of barley, it is (except when the land is wet) the best friend to young grasses. THE AFTER MANAGEMENT OF CLOVERS AND PASTURES. If a ley has been sown with a corn crop in a more or less loose and unsuitable bed, much damage may occur to the ley before the corn is harvested and the young plants can be properly attended to. This fact should be remembered, and so soon as the corn is harvested immediate attention should be given to the ley. Where the ley is weak, re-sow it with no sparing hand, and endeavour to thoroughly consolidate the soil with a roll, heavy in accordance with the nature of the land and the season. THE AFTER MANAGEMENT OF CLOVERS AND PASTURES. 37 It is a matter for regret when this precaution is neglected, as is so often the case. Asa general rule, in re-sowing more regard is paid to the farmer’s convenience than to the special circumstances of each individual case, and then astonishment is expressed that the layers have not done better. We would here impress upon our readers the importance of the roll and the scythe, which may well be designated “the seedlings’ friends.” The roll consolidates the land, and enables young grasses to get a grip on the soil, which is essential to their welfare; at the same time it retards the growth of speargrass. The scythe, provided it does not cut too closely, cannot be used too often. With it are destroyed thistles, poppy, charlock, and other annuals and weeds, whilst its use strengthens the growth of young grasses and clovers, which require checking when they exhibit signs of the very weakening process of flowering. It is easily observed how dwarfed are those plants which flower or seed too early. From the foregoing remarks one would rightly judge that as soon as the layers can be got at, they should be freely swept with the scythe, and rolled whenever necessary. On a one year’s ley, sown with rapid growing and coarse grass seeds, it is well known that if the seedlings flower in the autumn there will be but a poor crop in the summer when it is required. Many argue that the layer will be more benefited by feeding it with cattle or sheep in preference to using the scythe, but we would remind them that the moisture which causes the superfluous growth at the same time softens the soil, and the weight of cattle will jam up the land, and squeeze in and bruise the tender young clovers and grasses, much to their detriment. So far as sheep are concerned, they are, if any- thing, worse than cattle, for although they may not bruise and jam in the seedlings so severely or fatally, yet they do more 38 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING, general mischief by feeding the grass too closely, and they eat away the entire crown, leaving nothing but the roots, which the air and sun soon destroy. The observer will also find another disadvantage of grazing sheep upon his young layers on account of their partiality for the youngest and tenderest of the grasses, which they pluck out with a jerk peculiar to their habit of feeding, and if the seedlings have not got a firm hold many of the best and youngest plants will be plucked out and eaten roots and all. It is for these reasons we advise the scythe and roll, and deprecate feeding down with stock. The judicious handling of old pastures rests on somewhat similar lines to what we have named above; if they are handled differently what has been a good pasture will soon become next door to worthless. Old pasture should be fed two or three times each summer, first by fat or dainty mouthed cattle, next by rougher and hungrier cattle, and then by a flock. Moderate the feeding in accordance with the weather ; during drought it may be advisable to withdraw from feeding it altogether, but in wet weather, and when the pasture is growing freely, it can hardly be too closely fed. Afterwards the chain harrows should be run over it, the molehills and droppings of the stock scattered, and the field closed for three or four weeks. A strong, regular sward of fresh nutritious feed should be the result of this treatment, and in one summer the pasture should improve so much that it may be mown with impunity the next. It will be remembered that certain grasses are more particu- larly feeding grasses, others are more particularly mowing grasses ; hence the necessity for the hungrier animals, in order that the mowing grasses, which are not so much appreciated for feed, may be cleared off evenly with the others. On good land a pasture may be laid down to mow almost every year, but the land must be really good to do this, although it is sometimes done on inferior land when it has THE AFTER MANAGEMENT OF CLOVERS AND PASTURES. 39 been deftly handled between July and March, and farmyard manure (green manure will be found to answer best) applied during the three winter months, The earlier this is applied the better. Moulding is also a grand thing to recuperate pastures, provided the mould be good, although almost anything is better than nothing; but mould should not be carted on to the pasture during wet weather. Old banks are excellent for moulding, and will be found beneficial to any land; road- scrapings are better still, especially on stiff land: but on scalds, marl, and clay will be found to answer best. The © saline deposit from the sea (where procurable), in our opinion, is the best for all lands; whilst the mud and cleanings from ditches and ponds, which has been allowed to lay a year and been twice turned over and mixed with gas-lime, forms another excellent dressing which we should not like to omit to mention. The moulding should lay roughly on the land until the spring, when it may be pulled about with chain harrows until, practically speaking, it disappears. Should the pasture be weak, or there are grasses which appear capable of improvement, a re-sowing should be made before the last harrowing, and the land rolled with a heavy roll. We contend that a third-class pasture can often be con- verted into a first-class one in eighteen months or less, by the treatment we have above described, and if lambs, hoggets, or tegs, are folded on it ; the sheep being fed with roots, hay, and corn. We will quote one experiment made on a third-class rough marsh pasture having a peat bottom, the sub-soil, some 24 ft. below, being clay ouse. In the auiumn the rough rushes and grass were cut close down, during frosty weather forty load per acre of heavy soil was carted on to it, and 40 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. spread evenly over the surface; as soon as the spring winds had dried this moulding, renovating seeds were sown, roots and corn carted to the field, and hoggets were folded on it. This formed a crust, and the nature of the pasture was completely and permanently changed for the better; the rushes also entirely disappeared. Another spring experiment was tried on a marsh, where the clay ouse sub-soil obtained by cutting a new drainage dyke, was utilised as moulding. Here the beneficial results were still more striking. . On a subsequent accasion hoggets were folded and fed during a dry October, but this time the results were most disappointing, and the pasture was injured. Should the farmer have no empty cows, in calf heifers, or other hungry stock, we would recommend the use of salt, which can be sown over the rougher portion of the pasture. This often induces the cattle to feed there. Daily he should cut the rougher places, mixing the herbage thus cut with old hay, chaff, and salt, and laying it in a lump for a day or two until heat commences to generate, then add corn or cattle meal, and feed the grazing animals with it, providing a trough Gf it can conveniently be done) for each. We have utilised. petroleum casks cut in halves, and rough boxes knocked up from any odd boards for this purpose. When these troughs are first introduced the master bullock will run from box to box, but if they are placed wide apart he will soon learn from experience that his journeys are not productive of satisfactory results, and he will be content with the first box he comes to, or a box to which he shows a particular preference. The boxes may then be put closer together. We would also advise the farmer to move his boxes daily, ‘and strengthen them by cross pieces on the bottom; besides, this raises them from the ground, and has other advantages. By feeding thus there is no waste. Some advocate cake in THE AFTER MANAGEMENT OF CLOVERS AND PASTURES. Ar preference to other feeding stuffs, but we are strong advocates of meal, regulating the constituents thereof according to weather and the herbage, and at the same time exercising the teachings of practical experiments savoured with theory, which is invariably the course adopted by prudent men. When writing on alternate mowing and feeding, we touch 4 very controversial subject. Many farmers declare this practice impossible without in a measure destroying their pastures ; but practice proves the contrary, at least when the mowing is properly conducted. After mowing feed down well, and whenever convenient lay a flock, which have fed else- where during the daytime, upon the meadow at night, or the flock must be well fed whilst it is on the meadow. During the winter months, the meadow should be liberally dressed with manure, well harrowed, and rolled in the early ‘spring ; but this practice must not be carried on year after year, or many valuable feeding grasses may be destroyed, and it would be difficult to return to the alternate system, unless these feeding grasses were renewed by the re-sowing of suitable renovating mixtures. A pasture which is required to be always mown, or one which is required to be always fed, must be laid down expressly for the purpose for which it is required, whereas the alternate mowing and feeding requires, and will keep going, all grasses suitable to the particular kind of soil on which they are sown, and the selection of the seeds entails no little skill to ensure successful results. If a pasture is troubled with weeds, the roll and the scythe should be used with perseverance and a will, which soon shows effect ; but moss is not so easily disposed of, because it grows mostly in the winter, and thrives better where the meadow has been best farmed and left closely fed or mown down in the autumn. One way to deal with moss is to cover it over with farmyard manure or mould, which when well jammed in by stock in the 42 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. winter will prevent it from growing, and will render the grasses so vigorous that they are enabled to outgrow the moss in the spring. Unfortunately, our experience tells us that when moss is apparently exterminated from land in due time it appears again, if at all neglected, as bad as ever; but one must not be discouraged by this, as perseverance generally masters all things in the long run. It may be as well to also bear in mind that strengthening the soil encourages grass and weakens moss. When horses have been grazed for some time on a pasture it is imperative to follow them with cattle, or the pasture will deteriorate in a few years beyond recognition; and for the reasons we have before alluded to sheep should always follow and not precede any other kind of stock. A pasture must be fed evenly, otherwise the best grasses die out whilst inferior ones flourish, and, as a result, a first-class pasture sinks to the third or fourth-rate level. In the management of pastures one must avoid above alll things jumping at conclusions, and one must not rest satisfied. with first or even second results, because seasons vary so much in our tight little island that it takes many years of careful observation to arrive at true deductions. CHAPTER III. PERMANENT PASTURE. SAVING cultivated entirely for the grain crop and |) sown the one year’s ley in an unsuitable seed bed, perhaps half smothered by the growing corn, it should be the good husbandman’s duty, as soon as he has completed harvest, to look after the young layer. Why it is that this point so often escapes attention astonishes us not a little. No one would think of letting their children run wild with- out taking them in hand and getting them well under control, until, say, they arrived at the age of twelve or fourteen years, and at the same time expect them to do as well as those whose minds had been prepared to receive a suitable education. In the same manner the farmer cannot reasonably expect his seeds to do well after their root bed has been neglected for an entire year, unless he at once takes the matter in hand, and does all he can at the earliest possible opportunity. It is astonishing to us how well the layers do succeed, when we consider the negligent manner in which they are generally treated. After harvest is over the layers should be most carefully examined, any spots that are found to be weak should be at once renovated, and the field consolidated by such a liberal use of the roll as may be thought necessary. On no account 44 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. put this off until the spring, as is so often done, because it will be found too late to avoid the mischief which will have occurred, Although it is so desirable to have a loose bed for spring corn, it does not seem to be generally known that, if the season be dry, such corn will thrive best, and stand firmer in fairly compressed iand than it will in a too loose or too light bed. On this point we anticipate a difference of opinion, as the process must be modified considerably according to the land, circumstances, season, and situation; and we venture to assert that bush harrowing is a great help, not only to the grain crop, but also to the young grass seeds. Asa general rule, bush harrowing is anything but judiciously done, especially in the spring, and more often it tears, bruises, and injures the young and tender plants than it does good to the crop. Also in mending and trying to bury the renovating seeds, great judgment must be exercised, in order that more seedlings are not disturbed and spoilt than are added to by the new sowing. Under ordinary circumstances, and in what are known as the good old times, now long since departed, it would have been only proper to have said, first select the land which is suitable for a permanent pasture before you commence to lay down ; but nowadays, so great is the tension of depression on arable land, that, suitable or unsuitable, the land has to be laid down, or in many places allowed to go out of cultivation altogether. The land most suitable for permanent pasture seeds is that which has the combined qualities of being retentive, moist, and generous. On light lands, if the season be dry, good results cannot be expected, and one may find absolutely nothing at all unless grass seeds, which will naturally resist drought, be included in the mixture sown. On moist soil it is different. Let the land be ever so good, PERMANENT PASTURE. 45 if it is water slain, nothing can or will thrive that is of good value for feeding purposes. The reason is apparent; no land is so cold as that which is thinly covered with water, and the action of the sun’s rays renders it still colder, although one would not perhaps think so. A simple little experiment will soon prove this. Let the dubious one take a jar, fill it with water, wind tightly round the outside of the jar a flannel saturated with moisture, set it in the sun, and take the temperature of the water in it. After an exposure of some little time, again take the temperature, and it will be found to have fallen several degrees. Too much water will check the growth of plants which love moisture in reason; but drain your land, giving the moisture from heaven an opportunity of percolating through the soil instead of accumulating upon, or close beneath, the surface, and you will put all vegetable life into active operation. Rain collects the oxygen and nitrogen from the air, and when it percolates through the soil vegetable growth intercepts and absorbs it, scarcely losing a particle of the goodness it contains. Capillary attraction, or the drawing up of moisture from the subsoil (as a tree will suck it up by its roots, conveying it to its topmost branches), is arrested by stagnant surface water, but on drained lands this capillary attraction proceeds during a drought to the great advantage of the crop. Another simple experiment will illus- trate this. After a drought place a piece of linoleum, or floorcloth, on the dryest of land when the sun’s rays are on it. After a time take it up, and you will find that that side which has been placed face downwards will be damp, and the earth underneath it moist as well. On drained lands nature spreads her cloth of verdure over the surface of the soil, which has the same effect on the elements as the experiment we have quoted. A supply of moisture is drawn up from the sub-soil, which moisture is more or less laden with chemical compounds of assistance to plant life, and thus it is that by experiments 46 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING, and practical experience we ascertain the ways and means by which we may assist the laws of nature, and the folly of our trying to resist them. Again, one knows that fallen rain, impregnated with air, percolating the soil, causes decom- position to progress, not only with spent vegetable matter, but also with mineral matter, thus developing a further food supply to growing plants, which will not take place where the land is undrained and stagnant water allowed to collect. This also we will exemplify. If a post which has been deeply sunk into the ground be dug up after several years standing, it will be found that decomposition has been most active where the sun, wind, and rain have had full play, whilst that part of the post which has been sunk deepest, and where the sub-soil was wettest, will be found the soundest. So great is the power of resisting decomposition where neither air nor light can penetrate that a freshly severed branch of a tree sunk deeply in water, or buried deeply in wet ground, will be found after, say, forty years, as fresh and green as the day on which it was cut ; but when once dried, or partially dried, decomposition will start and cannot be arrested, only delayed. Another advantage of draining is that the land so dealt with not only absorbs, but retains the sun’s heat; and it will be noticed that the badly drained spots in a field are the first to succumb to heat as well as to cold, the plants growing thereon become starved, and their roots rotten. ‘To the importance of the arterial drainage of one’s pastures, we would add that it is most desirable to so arrange the water supply that as little water as possible runs off the surface upon which it has fallen, but at the same time no stagnant water must be allowed to accumulate. The under drains must be so deftly arranged in accordance with the nature of the land, and its slopes, that the water does not run into the drains too quickly, so that the crop on the land has not sufficient time to rob it of the valuable ingredients ; nor PERMANENT PASTURE. 47 on the other hand must the under drains be placed too deep, nor so far apart that the water lies dormant, and renders the land partially water slain, which as before mentioned is fatal to all plant life. Having planned and laid the drains as they should be, fenced and ditched where necessary, our next consideration is cultivation. In the early autumn the surface must be well broken by steam, or horse power, and the large clods gradually reduced by each successive working, until late in the autumn you will find you have either killed all the obnoxious grasses and weeds, or you will have worked them on to the surface where they can be allowed to remain until the first favourable opportunity after Christmas, when an experienced ploughman, with skimmers on the plough, will plough the land and bury everything. With the March winds the land becomes thoroughly dry, and a light roll may be run over it, followed by seed harrows with thick and short teeth which cause thousands of annuals to appear. Continue this process at short intervals (sometimes as many as three and four times) until the stock of annuals seems exhausted. About the middle of April advantage may be taken of the first spring showers to sow seeds. These should be sown in two sowings, the first lengthwise of the field, the second across, no part of the land being missed. ‘The land should then be thoroughly horse hoed, every part being cut, and this is followed by the seed harrows. The ‘surface is then carefully scanned and any objectionable weeds, roots, or seedlings removed. The surface drains are cleared, and it will not be found amiss to provide the drain slusher with a bag of seeds to sow on any part of the layer which he may be compelled to disturb, or that he is of opinion would be benefited by a little further sowing. As soon as the surface is dry enough, roll down the land, and all will have been done 48 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. that lies in your power to make the permanent pasture a success, Without doubt the most difficult problem in connection with permanent pasture lies in the selection of seeds, and we should but mislead were we to attempt to recommend general mixtures as suitable for any or all soils, whether they be light, heavy, medium, wet, or dry. We have no hesitation in asserting that there is scarcely a single grass which is suitable for all soils. In selecting a mixture for one’s pasture one must therefore make allowances. for the sub-soil, the probable exposure of the land to cold winds, hot sun, or to shade from trees, and for any other circumstances which are likely to prove factors in the question of selection. Each field intended to be laid down to permanent pasture should have a mixture selected especially for it, and it more often happens that the soil varies so much in one field that two or more prescriptions are necessary. But where the field is spotty, whether the spots have been directly caused by scorching of the sun’s rays or by too much moisture, the same mixture is generally sown all over the field, and another mixture or mixtures especially prepared for the faulty places, which are resown. The purpose for which the produce is required is another matter which must not be forgotten when the seeds are being: selected, and the mixture will of course vary according to whether you wish to produce ornamental sward, fine, ordinary, or coarse hay, early or late feed, quantity, and quality; and whether grazing is required for horses, cattle, or sheep. The growth of each variety is one of the most important points to be studied and remembered, or the coarser seedlings will crowd out the better kinds, and thereby make the pasture of little or no use. An example will speedily be found if an experiment is made with cocksfoot. On some lands this grass: PERMANENT PASTURE, 49 takes complete possession ; besides, it remains in the land. If too much cocksfoot is sown, the other seeds in the mixture will be wasted, and money would have been saved had they never been purchased. Italian ryegrass is a similar plant, but it has this difference, instead of remaining in the land it will disappear in a few years, having first smothered many of the fine grasses that have been planted with it. Red clover, good as it is, if added to mixtures for permanent pastures, will, in a measure, be disappointing in the same manner that we have mentioned the two grasses above; hence great judgment is required, not only in the selection, but also in the apportion- ment of the relative quantities of the seed to be used. Our English seasons are as fickle and changeable as a sandy sea beach, and a little luck is required to obtain all the right seeds for any particular season. For instance, florin, or red suckling, sown in a dry season will produce little or nothing, no matter how thickly the seeds may have been sown; but in a wet season half the quantity of seeds used in a dry season would be sufficient to have caused either of these plants to have taken complete possession of the land to the temporary exclusion of some, and permanently smothering other grasses. Moral, the coarser grasses and clovers must always be used with caution. The weight of grass seeds varies from 14 lb. to 28 Ib. per bushel. Calculations, therefore, should be taken on the basis of a pound, and measures should be discarded. In calculating the number of germinating secds a ‘somewhat controversial point is touched. It is calculated that in some grasses there are as many as from two to three million germinating secds in one pound, whilst in others there are but hundreds of thousands. In trefoil there are supposed to be 300,000 germinating seeds, whilst in red clover but 225,000, Now it is a well-known fact that 1 lb. of red clover will go as far as 2 lb. of trefoil, and the reason is not apparent till we D 50 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING, experiment, when it will be found that red clover spreads out tillers and branches, whereas trefoil is sluggish, and only flourishes under the most favourable circumstances. In mixing seeds as much care should be used as in sowing them. Having drawn up the list and obtained the requisite quantities, carefully weigh each, in order that no mistake be made, spread each variety out thinly on the floor of the barn or granary, one on the top of the other; round them into a long-shaped heap, and turn them over and over until thoroughly mixed. One turning is not sufficient, and three at least should be made. It is best done by a couple of men with wooden malt shovels working opposite to each other, so near that their spades meet at every effort. As soon as they reach the end of the heap, the men round it up with the shovel and the broom, and recommence to turn it. It is then bagged, tallied, and labelled, the label being marked to show all details. It is also advisable to so regulate the quantities that there is some over in case any part of the land may require re-sowing at a future date. Some agriculturists believe in sowing the heavy seeds, such as clovers and lucerne, together, and the light seeds by them- selves, but we fail to see the force of their argument. One of the reasons put forward is that the wind blows the lighter seeds away more than it does the heavier; but we contend that would be the case however they were sown. True grasses like deeper burying than heavy seeds, but this is arule not without its exception; we would recommend the ground to be gone over twice, the land being properly prepared with a bed firm below and fine on the top. Harrow gently, and yoa will probably be more successful than the man wha takes less pains to cultivate his land, and who tries afterwards to sow his seeds at different depths to suit their individual requirements, Land agents have a great advantage over others in learning. PERMANENT PASTURE. 51 to master this most difficult science of successfully handling permanent and temporary pastures. They have access to the books of a variety of agriculturists, in a variety of districts, and under a variety of circumstances. They are daily brought into contact with men holding different views upon the subject. They daily see both old and new pastures, and they have opportunities of ascertaining their history and all about them. If a gentleman from this profession be met with, who has taken an interest in the subject, who is a fair-minded man and one of common-sense, and who does not, in his own opinion, know so much already that he is above hearing the views of others, he is indeed a most desirable acquaintance, and one whose assistance and advice should be courted by his less fortunate or less experienced agricultural friends. ' CHAPTER IV. LORD LEICESTER’S ELEVEN-COURSE SHIFT. the early part of the present century (about 1837), Mr. Thomas William Coke, M.P., known as ‘‘Coke of Norfolk,” and distinguished as the greatest agriculturist of his day, was, we believe, elevated to the peerage and title of Earl of Leicester and Viscount Coke, solely on account of the great benefits he had accorded to the agricultural industries in this country. He it was who introduced the four-course shift system of alternate husbandry, and as we write we note that the present and second Earl of Leicester is brought into prominence by the depression in prices of grain, and by the consequential failure of the very system which his father had before him so- successfully introduced. The present carl is, in our humble estimation, as great, if not greater, an authority upon things agricultural as his father was. He has for years been experimenting upon temporary pastures, and has recently, at the instigation of Mr. Shaw- Lefevre, expressed his views in the Z7mes. The conclusions drawn from his observations seem to show that only the finest and most productive land can now be advantageously farmed under the “four-course shift system,” the weaker and poorer land requiring more manure than the produce will repay. In the latter case recourse is had to pastures, laid down with a mixture of more or less leguminous. seeds, which, in a few years, aided by the stock grazing thereon, LORD LEICESTER’S ELEVEN-COURSE SHIFT. 53 cause or permit the land to accumulate a sufficient store of nitrogen and other fertilising qualities, and render it capable of producing the four years alternate course before referred to. With all due respect to his lordship’s opinion, we would suggest that the interval, before the four-course system is taken, should be extended to seven or eight years at least, thereby favouring the grasses, which pay (if they do), in pref- erence to the grain, which does not, His lordship appends a list of seeds which he states he has found, after various trials at Holkham, to be best adapted for securing a pasture on poor soils for a period of not less than six years. Subjoined are the quantities and varieties of seed per acre, the total cost at the prices given barely exceeding 13s, :— SEEDS rOoR TEMPORARY PASTURE ON LIGHT LANDs. ae Name. Price per Ib, | Price. - sud: s. a. 4 Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata)............ oO 1l 3 8 #2 Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) ... oO 25 0 5 2 Italian ryegrass (Lolium italicum) ...... o 3h o 7 1 |. Timothy (Phelum pratense) ............06 o 6 o 6 I Tall oat grass (Avena elatior) ............ o 10 o 10 4 | Golden oat grass (Avena flavescens)...... 5.6 ° 9 2 Meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) ...... o 84 15 Hard fescue (Festuca duriuscula) ......... oO 7 o 7 I Tall fescue (Festuca elatior) .............55 I 3 I 3 1} | Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) ...... o 9 i af I White clover (Trifolium repens) ........ 2 Iz 2 | Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) ......... .. 304 0 10 17 "a His lordship goes on to say: “It is very desirable that the pasture should not be too closely fed by sheep during the summer months of the first two or three years, and it is better when practicable to mow the seeds the first year after laying down. The ryegrasses insure a sufficiency of herbage during 54 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. the first year or two before other grasses have established themselves, and the two oat grasses are included, as they have been found to be natural to the Holkham district.” So far as a five to six years’ ley is concerned, we entirely concur with the practical remarks his lordship has made, and by way of comment upon his table of selected seeds we would add a few observations of our own. We note that a prominence is given to meadow fescue, whilst foxtail, sheep’s fescue, and dogstail are ignored. Italian ryegrass, a biennial, also has a place, the reason for which would be hard to understand were it not for his lordship’s explanation ; but when it is remembered how this grass exhausts the land, starves and! smothers other seedlings, we rather doubt the wisdom of its insertion. Tall fescue we also think would be better omitted on account of its ergotty nature. The quantity of cocksfoot seems to us large, although, if the soil be very poor indeed, it would not perhaps be excessive. The mixture we have found to answer best for somewhat similar lands is the following :— ee Name. of germinating 3 Hard fescue (Festuca duriuscula) ... 0.0.0.0... 0-5 1,525,000 2 Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) ........::06ceececeee 809,000 2 Meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) ...........0008 462,000 2 Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis) .......:sssesesere es 522,000 2 Timothy (Phelum pratense) .........sesceeeeeeneees 2,500,c00 2 Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) .. 420,000 2 Trefoil (Medicago lupulina) .... me 620,000 I Dogstail (Cynosurus cristatus) ..........00+ case 795,000 I Sweet vernal (Anthaxanthum odoratum)......... 440,000 I Tall oat grass (Avena elatior) ..........:00 eee 115,000 I Yellow oat grass (Avena flavensis) ............... 840,0co I Alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum) ..............5 700,000 I Perennial cow grass (Trifolium pretense perenne) 200,000 1 White clover (Trifolium repens) ........ seeeeeeee 710,000 22 10,658,000 LORD LEICESTER’S ELEVEN-COURSE SHIFT, 55 Ten millions is the orthodox quantity of germinating seeds per acre, and our mixture shows half a million over that amount. This is, we contend, an advantage, as the sower can cut out a few should he choose to do so, but under the ordinary conditions of our average seasons the extra quantity will not be found excessive. We have omitted to append the prices of the seeds mentioned by us in the above mixture, because they vary enormously in accordance with the crop, season, and demand. During February of 1896, the Earl of Leicester very kindly conducted us personally over his Holkham farms, and thoroughly explained to us his system of an eleven-course shift. With his lordship’s permission we will now place on record a few of the mental notes we made during that most interesting interview. His lordship drew our attention at the outset to the main object for which he was striving, namely, fo make his poor light lands (the quality of which may be judged when we inform our readers they can only be rolled with a Cambridge drill roll, because if rolled with a flat roll they would be liable to blow), show a profit on his rent roll. At first, we must confess, we rather doubted the possibility of this, but before our visit came to an end we were convinced how eminently successful had proved the results of his lordship’s efforts in this direction. The two main points which have influenced this success are as follows: 1. The cutting down of the expenses toa minimum. 2. Farming in such a manner that the land fertilizes itself without the help of artificial dressings. One astonishing fact was impressed upon us, that it mattered little to the success of the four following husbandry crops whether the land had been, during its seven years’ rest, under herbage, cropped with natural or with artificial grasses, or whether the artificial grasses were free from or impregnated 56 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING, with weeds ; any weeds, such as thistles, being kept under by hard grazing and the scythe, Many years since a party of thoroughly practical agricul- turists visited Holkham to inspect the experimental farms. In one field that had been allowed to lie waste as an experiment, and been fed for seven or more years, they could not find (even on close examination) a single patch of cultivated grasses. When this field was cultivated like the remainder of those which had enjoyed a seven years’ rest, it gave precisely similar results. This is both astonishing and interesting, and there, doubtless, are many derelict lands in England that could be treated successfully on Lord Leicester’s plan if they were properly taken in hand. Of course, it must not be forgotten that the feed from a field in such a state would be inferior to the feed of pastures sown with cultivated grasses. Although Lord Leicester’s system, so far, has been confined to light and poor land within the park walls (no small area), we see no reason why it should not be equally applicable to heavy or to any other kind of land. ‘lhe courses are divided as follows :— In the first course, the land is ploughed up as soon as con- venient in the autumn, skimmers are used, and all is turned in and buried closely, so that decomposition may set in during the winter, and assist the increase of humus. 1 His lordship most strongly deprecates, under this system, the burning of quicks and other rubbish, and it was rightly pointed out to us that the so doing destroys the humus (derived by burying), and leaves but the smallest return of potash. Burning weeds on the land was likened to burning the money in one’s own pocket. In the following spring the land is cross ploughed, care being taken to keep the plough just under the autumn work to cut the turfs into squares as is required. Governed by the state of the land, the season, and other circumstances, a LORD LEICESTER’S ELEVEN-COURSE SHIFT. 57 grubber cultivator is used at intervals until late in June or July, when the vegetation will be found to have so far perished that it can be ploughed in. The land is then handled in the usual manner, and six pints per acre of rape seed is drilled in, 18 in, apart. Having been duly horse-hoed, the green rape is fed off by hoggets (wée tegs), and during the winter, corn, cake, or hay, is given in addition as may be thought desirable. It is then once more ploughed, which leaves it a good store of both humus and nitrogen for the next course. The second course consists of oats, which poor land, treated as above mentioned, reproduces in very much larger quantities than it has before under the old system. The straw is found to be similarly affected. Upon the oat stubbles we visited weeds were astonishingly scarce. The third course is commenced by treating the oat stubble in the same manner as is customary under the four-course shift, in preparing for roots. Ploughing, grubbing, and harrow- ing, destroying any seeds that may lie dormant in the land, and getting all in readiness for a crop of hardy common turnips drilled in on the flat in July. These are horse-hoed, cross-hoed with horse apparatus, and sometimes cut out by hand and singled, but this latter system of cutting out is rather the exception than the rule, the cost of labour being thereby materially increased. In walking over this course of turnips, which was being fed off by ewes and lambs, we noted, with some surprise, the total absence of twitch or any other weeds from the field. For the fourth course the land, after the roots have been fed off, is ploughed and sown with barley. Here again we noted a divergence from the common practice ; six pecks (one and a-half bushels) only per acre is drilled into this inferior land, instead of the larger quantity of from eight to ten pecks. The average crop during the season of 1895 (by no means a favour- able one) showed over ten sacks per acre, which exceeded 32s. 58 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. per imperial quarter on realisation. But the reader must remember that Holkham Park is only two miles, or there- abouts, from the sea, which would materially affect the quality of the barley, although the reason for this does not as yet appear to be clearly known. With the fourth course of barley is sown his lordship’s own mixture as set out above, varied slightly in accordance with circumstances. Whilst discussing it, his lordship stated that clovers were of very little value to him in Holkham Park, and that trefoil was worse than valueless, as, when it did succeed, his sheep did not care for it, and, if forced to eat it, it disagreed with them. Cocksfoot he considered preferable; it does not grow too coarse, and the stock eat it freely, especially during the autumn and winter months. The ryegrasses produce a crop before most of the other grasses have established themselves, but they gradually diminish. In all cases he deprecated a too close feeding by sheep during the summer months of the first two or three years of any pasture, and stated that to mow where practicable the first year after laying down was by far the wisest method of farming. We suggested that dogstail (Cyosurus cristatus) and sheep’s fescue (festuca ovina) might perhaps be added with advantage, but we were met with the uncontrovertible argument of expense, and that there would not be an equivalent return for the increased expenditure. A “maiden set,” constituting a fifth course, we found in excellent order, but thin at the bottom. This we were told would produce a good hay crop, with plenty of feed to follow. Inspecting ex route a last year’s hay crop we found the aroma good, but the material decidedly coarse. The sixth course, a second year’s ley, covered the ground nicely, but in February one is not able to judge the grasses sufficiently to pass remarks of much value. Here it is LORD LEICESTER’S ELEVEN-COURSE SHIFT. 59 explained to us that it will first be fed or mown as may be found convenient, fed hard in the early spring, and gently handled as the summer progresses, to keep out the sun, and avoid serious consequences from possible scorching. There is no objection to leaving some of the feed until the autumn, as later on the stock will gladly pick down what they have earlier ignored. At the third set, the seventh course, we notice king twitch commencing to assert himself, which he seemed to do with greater ease as the pastures become older, and in one place (the eleventh course) he had fairly established supreme command. The eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh courses are all pasture. : The cash returns from each field show that these lands under grass gradually decrease in value, and during the last three courses leave much to be desired if the seasons are at all unpropitious, but this is set off against the improved value when the lands again come under cultivation. Although the year of 1895 was considered by no means favourable, yet it was not looked upon in the light of a bad year, and if his lordship never experiences a worse he considers he will not have much to complain about. : This is contentment indeed, which our old proverb says “ig worth more than a kingdom.” We wish that all other agriculturists were only of the same opinion. CHAPTER V. CATCH CROPS. crop wholly or partially fails, or the land is occupied during a portion of the season, or an unexpected demand for cattle food is probable—such as a failure of the root or hay crop, or excessive cheapness of stock. Catch crops chiefly consist of white turnips, rape, mustard, Italian ryegrass, common ryegrass, oats, or bere trifolium (to cut green), red suckling, and other mixtures, according to requirements. Should the seed set fail in the spring too late for a subsequent grain crop, catch crops should be arranged from rape or kale, either of which can be fed down at least twice during the summer and autumn, and yet be off the land in time for wheat sowing. In place of wheat two crops of tares can be obtained; the first may be consumed in June, or early July, which gives plenty of time for ploughing and re-sowing a second crop before the close of the latter month, or the crop, when young, can be folded; in each case a second crop can be grown. If the crop be cut or fed off in June, it may be as well to sow a jumble of barley, oats, peas, tares, or buckwheat, which can be consumed by soiling, or siloing ; or rape, turnips, or mustard, CATCH CROPS. 61 as may be thought desirable; or a pulse crop, which latter would occupy the land the whole summer. If it is desirable to farm for hay or feed, and in the spring it is found there are not sufficient autumn seeds alive, or that it is not desirable or convenient to plough up the ley, and the opportunity of sowing trifolium, red suckling, Italian ryegrass, or other late autumn seeds has been missed, the only choice apparently left is to drill in tares, although this course is seldom successful, as they are difficult to establish, and very attractive to rats, mice, and birds. It is always advisable to consider catch crops in the autumn. Italian ryegrass will bear very late sowing, especially during an open season, and it is safe to sow it quite into October ; the land need not be ploughed, but it is desirable to bury this seed as much as possible. Italian ryegrass is so prolific that a slovenly farmer who has a stubble he can do nothing with, in consequence of twitch and other weeds, sometimes sows Italian ryegrass, with or without a mixture of trifolium, and harrows all he can with a view of smothering the weeds, in which he is often successful. Trifolium is good as a catch crop, but it must not be sown so late as Italian ryegrass ; it is not advisable to sow it after September, and it does not require burying. We have known great success follow from simply throwing trifolium seed on a foul stubble, and leaving it to its own resources. It is also used for mending weak layers, as is red suckling, white clover, alsike, and trifolium, mixed with Italian ryegrass, all of which will form.a good catch hay crop, but the mixture must be sown soon after harvest is over, every day’s delay lessening the chance of success. After harvest it is a common custom in East Anglia for flockmasters to plough up a clean grain stubble and drill in three bushels of rye per acre to form a catch crop, in most cases using ten loads of farmyard manure per acre (a desirable 62 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. plan) to help its growth, and prepare the land for the young turnips of the following year. This crop, during an average season, will be found ready for the ewes and lambs about the first week in April, but it is of comparatively little value at the end of the third week in the same month. Calculations should therefore be based on this knowledge, and only sufficient seed for a fortnight’s consumption sown. Should there, however, be a prospect of a great scarcity of spring feed, so the grower must submit to feeding a scant crop, or take the risk of an open spring, sufficient seed for a month may be sown, and the flock turned in to feed the crop during the latter end of March. On our farm we adopt the course we have quoted above. We manure well, and sow for a fortnight’s consump- tion by the flock, and our turnip crop afterwards is almost always heavy. When the rye seed gives out we fill up the drill with tares and wheat, and sow an area of ground sufficiently large to produce another fortnight’s feed. Over the land which we have apportioned for the second fortnight we sow about 6 lb. to 8 lb. of trifolium per acre, the seedlings from which the young lambs, taking advantage of their special hurdles, carefully pick off before the fold gets on, and the feed is very advantageous to their growth. Maize is now considerably used for catch crops, of this we have had but comparatively few years’ experience, and our knowledge hardly extends beyond the observation that it is greatly liked by milch cows, and gives good results in the dairy. It must not be sown until quite late in May in con- sequence of possible frost, which is fatal. Most growers prefer to sow maize thickly, which causes it to become more leafy, prevents coarseness, and is a greater safeguard against the depredations of birds, rats, and other vermin. From a bushel to a bushel and a-half of maize, with a similar quantity of tares per acre, is the best quantity, in our opinion, to sow. CATCH CROPS. 63 We add the tares because both are uncertain crops, and, as the same weather is not suitable to each variety, the grower has alternate chances of success from the one or the other of the two crops. Maize prefers a hot, dry atmosphere, with occasional thunder showers; whilst, on the other hand, tares like as much rain as they can get, and seem quite indifferent to any wet or cold during the months of June or July. So, should the summer be hot, the maize will, comparatively speaking, smother the tares; if, on the contrary, the summer is wet and cold, the tares will obtain the upper hand; but unless good rains supervene soon after sowing, to give the seeds an opportunity of striking root, both crops will be a failure. The crop arrives at maturity in accordance with which crop has the preponderance. If the tares, then in September ; if the maize, then in October. The crop should be taken off by the end of October, and the residue and the re-growings of early cuttings cleared by the flock in time to plough and prepare the land for wheat or other crops. There appears to be some difference of opinion upon the best description of maize to sow. Some advocate the Black Sea European maize, commonly known as Danubian, whilst others are equally as warm upon the merits of the North American flat maize. For our part we think it makes little difference which is sown, and the only point upon which the buyer need be careful is to make inquiries as to the port of shipment. Maize shipped from Montreal, New York, or other northern ports is always preferable to that shipped from any of the southern ports of North or South America, or from Australia, or the Cape of Good Hope. So far as other maize is concerned, avoid that shipped from Egypt, India, or Morocco. It seems quite proverbial that a bad hay crop signifies a bad 64 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. grain crop to follow. Therefore when this warning signal looms up before one, it is a matter for consideration and action, in order to avoid, if possible, a second failure. One plan is to cover the hay stubble with a good coating of farmyard manure at Midsummer, which keeps out the sun, and produces a crop of sour herbage of little value, except to plough in during the autumn. If the farmer has time, he had better break up the land at once, and take his chance with a catch crop. Should it be a clover stubble, it should not be disturbed until it is ploughed in the autumn, because a week’s rain will resuscitate it, and produce valuable herbage, and cause it to continue to collect nitrogen. Assuming that it has been determined to try a catch crop, several courses are open, with more or less advantage in each case, according to the state of the land, the farm’s require- ments, and the season. Many farmers plough in the flag with or without manure, and sow the crop without further delay, trouble, or expense, no matter whether they are sowing turnips, tares, buckwheat, tye, bere, rape, tares, or a selection. If an early hay crop has been secured, white turnips can be sown as late as the first week in August; but if the hay crop has been very late, then mustard is a last resource, as mustard is the quickest growing, the least able to resist an early frost, and the least valued of all catch crops. Any of the above-named crops can be fed off, soiled, or made into ensilage, or hay, as desired, or they can be ploughed in, which entirely depends upon the circumstances in each case. Sometimes the land is in such a foul state that it is desirable to sow no crop at all, but to take advantage of the late summer and early autumn, and devote attention to the cleaning of the land. Clean land, one can deal with as one pleases ; foul land, one must deal with tt as one can, CHAPTER VI. THE RECLAMATION OF BOGS AND SWAMPS, 44,1 is so pleasant to the tread, so pleasing to the eye, 441 to walk over a swamp on a fine June morning, that any attempt to convert it into a plain, even pasture marsh, would seem vandalism to the mere lover of simple nature. By so doing, the ever rustling sedges and rushes would be taken away, the waving cotton plants would be destroyed, the yellow irises, the golden marsh mallow, and the carpet of mauve bloomed cuckoo plants would all be obliterated from the landscape. These considerations were not taken into account in years gone by, when owners of swamps were able, with the assistance of capital, to carry their ideas into practice, and the “scaping ” of.snipe had perforce to give place to the lowing of cattle. Now that the wave of agricultural depression is on us, we find many instances where this order of things is reversed, and instead of swamps becoming marshes, many marshes are becoming swamps, because the pockets of their owners have been so bled by the times that they are powerless:to help themselves. It is an old English quotation that “hope springs eternal in the human breast,” and although many of us may not have the necessary funds at our disposal to carry out our ideas at the present moment, that happy day may not be as far distant as we imagine, and, looking at the bright side of things only, E 66 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. we will consider what could be done in the way of improving low-lying marshes, swamps, and bogs. The difficulties to be surmounted in the matter of this kind are, as a rule, considerable, ‘The first step is a careful survey of the land proposed to be dealt with. Regarding the reclamation of the East Anglian “ flats” or “meal meshes,” such as are to be observed round our coast line near Wells-next-the-Sea, we do not propose to treat. It would form a subject in itself, and would hardly come under our present heading. ‘These flats were very aptly described by a writer in the Spectator (November 16th, 1895), as “ The moorlands of the sea; unique, lovely, like nothing in nature but themselves, and their most general title is the least misleading.” Qur intention is to confine ourselves more particularly to inland swamps, and to give notes of our personal observation. Having surveyed the land, the map is marked where it is considered practical to make walls, and to cut dykes or drainage ditches. In making walls it may be necessary to pile, or to cut a trench and “ puddle in” with tenacious soil, as few walls are of effectual service unless a foundation of some kind is found or artificially constructed. In some cases it is advisable to avoid certain spots, or make a detour where the land that would be inclosed would probably not be worth the cost of inclosing. If the wall is made without touching a solid sub-soil the work may prove to be labour in vain where water is the boundary line, for when a storm arises and a heavy pressure is brought to bear upon the wall on a lee shore, the whole wall may in places lift and be washed away like a bunch of feathers. Where retentive soil cannot be found on which to place a foundation, an artificial one must be constructed, and a rib of good holding matter, such as chalk or clay, puddled into the centre of the wall; a row of willows is a good addition if planted near to the sides of the THE RECLAMATION OF BOGS AND SWAMPS. 67 wall. Salt mud or ooze is one of the best materials for forming a wall, and in most cases it is neither difficult to obtain, nor to freight to the place wanted, without an unreasonable expenditure. A ditch is almost invariably cut either on the inside or on the outside of the wall, which, in building operations not only assists as a roadway, but also helps to build the wall, the soil extracted being used for that purpose. When wall building round some swamps on our farm we ‘constructed two cheap and excellent “flats” (oblong flat- bottomed boats), capable of carrying from five to ten tons each. We found them most useful afterwards when repairing the walls, and in ferrying hay, osiers, and litter. One we have ‘converted into a houseboat, and it has been used for years by workmen, keepers, and others, and we have often been glad to avail ourselves of its shelter when caught in sudden storms whilst shooting. It is impossible for us to give anything but the most general outline of the subject matter which we are discussing, because each case must necessarily depend upon its own individual circumstances. Having completed the walls and banks satisfactorily, the next step is to cut drains and dykes, gradually enlarging them the nearer they approach their main outlet; in the case of the former where they join the dykes, in the case of the latter where they join main dykes, or the opening to a sluice, or drainage mill of wind or steam power. The vast improve- ments that have been made during the past few years in pumps and turbines for drainage purposes have greatly facilitated the reclamation of swampy land, and suitable machinery can be obtained for draining almost any land at a minimum of cost to what was the case a few years ago. In selecting the pump err rather on the side of getting one larger than is required than smaller; the extra outlay will never be 68 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. regretted. Perhaps it is unnecessary to add that the drains and dykes must always be kept well cleared of all weeds and water growth, so the water has easy flow, which is the keynote of success in drainage. The first effect noticeable in swamp reclamation is that the natural bog vegetation becomes thinner and more stunted in growth, moss begins to appear in large quantities, and a peculiar grass (somewhat resembling twitch grass, but blue in colour) puts in an appearance. About May 20th mow down as closely as possible all vegetation, which bleeds, weakens, and destroys the watcr-loving plants. In a short time little will be seen upon the marsh except a few straggling black rushes and the aforesaid moss and blue grass, which nothing will eat. By diligently moulding and sowing renovating seeds some useful grasses will soon establish themselves. In the selection of renovating seeds do not forget the nature of the soil used for moulding, the general nature and surround- ings of the land proposed to be sown, and make allowances accordingly. Observe those seeds which thrive best, and profit by experiments. Of the heavy seeds we have derived most benefit from alsike, red suckling, white clover, and perennial cow grass. In grasses the coarser are preferable to the finer ; fiorin and cocksfoot are better than either of the hard, tall, or meadow fescues. ‘The poas are not so suitable, except Poa aquatica, which is most serviceable if it can be obtained. At this stage the marsh (if it can be called a marsh) cannot be punished too much by stock feeding and jamming about on it. During the winter moulding is continued, and when the frosty weather comes cart on not less than forty loads per acre of heavy soil. In the spring, if practicable, fold fattening. sheep upon the marsh, feeding them with artificial foods, hay and turnips, etc.; follow with renovating seeds, and the transformation will be more rapid and lasting. THE RECLAMATION OF BOGS AND SWAMPS. 69 Treatment such as we have described forms a kind of crust which seems to give the better grasses good root hold, and in moulding, any soil will do, even if only sand; but the richer and heavier it is the better. When the reclamation of swampy land is under con- sideration, it should be remembered that inferior marsh hay is only worth from sos. to 70s. per ton, whilst good litter commands from 20s. to 30s. per ton; therefore, unless the improvements are thoroughly and efficiently carried out, they had better be left alone, as it would be a fatal mistake to destroy a quantity of good litter in order to secure a miserable hay crop, or perhaps no hay at all. The great advantage to be looked for by the reclaimer is the feed he hopes to obtain, because, although reclaimed bogs will not produce inordinately on a wet and cold summer, when hay and feed is so plentiful and store cattle so dear it does not pay to buy them, and often spring purchases turn out not to be worth their original cost in the autumn, yet during a hot, dry season, when both nay and fodder are scarce, and complaints are rife from all sides of starving cattle and burnt-up pastures,. these reclaimed bogs and swamps (favoured by the sun’s rays) produce feed of an abnormally fine quality, and in quantity what is truly astonishing. Most of the marsh lands of East Anglia, where the rivers are salt or brackish from the tide, have a sub-soil of alluvial clay, which produces the finest pasture, and will fatten cattle in summer without artificial assistance. This sub-soil is also excellent for banking, wall making, and of late years has becn. used considerably for the purpose of manufacturing bricks. In some places the turf is but a thin veneer to the bog underneath, and the nearer one approaches to the uplands the more will the depth of the bog prevail. Near to the uplands peat is the more predominant sub-soil, and in cutting dykes it is a wise course to use the excavations for moulding 70 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. the marshes near the river where the sub-soil of alluvial clay abounds, and wice versé. In one case within our recollection we adopted this experiment of moulding a marsh near the river with the peaty excavations of some dykes which we cut from a bog under the upland, folding sheep on it, and, afterwards renovating with seeds; in one season the value of the land was doubled. The first sign of improvement in reclaiming bogs and swamps will be the disappearance of the black rush (Schenus nigricans) and the appearance of the tussock rush (Caren paniculata). Botanists assert that tussock rushes, which are common enough with us, prefer spongy bogs to better-drained marshes ; but, with due respect, we venture to differ from them, because, although their presence is common enough upon the edges and drier parts of spongy bogs, our experience leads us to believe that these rushes require good land, which has been partially drained, and where the ordinary bog rush does not thrive so well. This opinion is confirmed by the fact that, as soon as the bogs are improved and the drainage is got on with, the tussock rush appears. A similar experience will be met with when a moist pasture has been neglected and its drains allowed to grow up. ‘The tussock grass, therefore, becomes, if we may so express it, both the harbinger of good and of evil. Weare glad to see it on the lands we are reclaiming, but we regret its reappearance on the lands we have reclaimed, which, by reason of our negligence or our want of means, have been neglected. For the removak of tussock grass the mattock must be freely handled; its presence denotes insufficient drainage and a surplus of water. The sedges and rushes common to swamps forms such a numerous family, and are so closely allied, that it would be injudicious on our part to attempt to deal with them individually. To give an example, we refer to the grasses (Graminee) and the sedges (Cyferacee), which differ from THE RECLAMATION OF BOGS AND SWAMPS, 71 ordinary flowering ‘plants by having their stems and _pistils inclosed in husks; they exist in hundreds of varieties. Next in prominence to the tussock grass we consider the black bog rush (Schenus nigricans), to which we have already alluded. ‘This rush only attains a height of one or two feet, and it can easily be distinguished by its short heads of black glumes, its tough and fibrous roots, which consolidate the surface of the swamp, upon which they grow to the exclusion of almost all other plants. Those who are inexperienced think sedges, rushes, and water grasses useless, except for litter, but such is far from the fact. The giant bulrush (Sci7pus Jacustris) is largely used in the manufacture of horse collars, especially those employed for breaking colts and horses with tender shoulders. Coopers use them for barrel making, and of late years they have been in great demand by furniture manufacturers; but in this latter industry French competition is making sad havoc. At Norwich, the centre of Broadland, ornamental rush work of a light description finds a ready sale, and many a poor marshman is able to add to his earnings by supplying the rushes which are used; but here even the influence of foreign competition is felt. The harvesting of bulrushes might at first sight seem simple and easy; it is not so. To obtain a good article which will find a ready market they must be most skilfully and deftly manipulated when first cut in June, otherwise they lose their beautiful glaucous colour, which is their most necessary essential. Certain reeds, sedges, and grasses are extensively used for thatching houses, cottages, and barns, making sheds and for bedding for cattle. The reed (Phragmites communis), which is common with us, is used more for thatching than for anything else. It is cut in November before it has lost the 72 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. leaf. When wanted by plasterers for foundations for walls ard ceilings, it is not harvested until December, by which time the winds and rain have taken off the leaves, and only the clean stalks remain, ornamented by their grey flowered spikes. For decorative purposes in ladies’ boudoirs, halls, or rooms, they are gathered during the first week in October, and are set in water for a few days in order to develop their heads of light cotton wool-like bloom, which they will retain for months if not exposed to the wind. For this purpose also the stately bulrush (Zypha latifolia), both lesser and greater, is in good demand, as are many more of our beautiful water grasses, which are dried and dyed with a variety of colours. The roots of many of these water plants are edible; they contain much nutriment and chemical compounds, but we have not heard of their being used for food in this part of the country, although we read they are much esteemed in Iceland and elsewhcre. CHAPTER VII. HAYMAKING. SAHIS industry is conducted in such a variety of circumstances and conditions, and the common methods of haymaking are so generally known, that it seems superfluous for us to discuss it; but were we not to do so, our work would be like a chain, a link of which was missing. The most important point to be observed is to fix upon the right time for the cutting of the crop. ‘There is no fixed rule for this, everything depending on the judgment and experience of the haymaker. As will have been gathered from our previous notes, some grasses make the best hay when nearly ready to shed their seeds, but the majority are best about, or sometime after, flowering time, and, as in permanent pastures, flowering commences early in May, continuing until August, even later, the difficulty of calculating the exact value of the many varieties and hitting upon a medium for cutting is apparent. If any doubts exist in the mind, it is far better to err on the ‘side of cutting too soon rather than too late. It may be true that the early-cut grass wastes more than grass cut later, but the quality of the hay is better, and the second crop will be stronger; also, in a late cutting the early grass will be greatly weakened by seeding, and if the pastures be cut year 74 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING. after year many of them will be killed, and, although you may feed sharply and dress the pastures with mould afterwards, it will not counteract the harm that has accrued to them by procrastination. The average loss of weight in drying grass to hay amounts to about one quarter of the amount dried. Should the hay be an artificial crop of alternate husbandry (clover or trefoil mixture, for instance), it is not advisable to touch the hay until it is sufficiently made to cock or carry on the same day, and the amount of bad weather this grass will stand without serious deterioration, so long as it remains unmoved, is really surprising. Should this hay be caught in a shower, a beautiful aroma will arise therefrom; but experience tells us that the greater this delightful aroma the worse will the quality of the hay become. Upon the slightest sign of approaching rain this class of hay should instantly be cocked ; the cocks being sized in accordance with its forwardness and dryness. If the hay is cocked in good order the cocks may be made very large, and they may be left undisturbed for at least two days, when it will gather a little heat. The cocks may then be thrown out to receive a couple of hours’ sunshine, after which they can be put in readiness for the carter, thus causing the first fomentation when on the cock, and checking the second heat until the hay is stacked, which is best for good hay. / Trifolium (Z7ifolium incarnatum) should be cut as soon as it begins to show colour, or it will become sticky and coarse ; besides, the longer it stands the more difficult its seed heads will be to deal with, they -being at all times difficult to dry ; and, if numerous, the hay will require an extra amount of attention, or the stack will heat in a manner not only deleterious to the hay but alarming to the farmer. Lucerne, sainfoin, tares, peas, or lupins, if made into hay,. must also be treated in a manner similar to what we have HAYMAKING. 75: before described. These plants are wont to lose their leaves. during the process of drying, and must therefore be treated in locks. These locks of hay are constantly added to, and made larger as the condition of the crop improves, until they grow into good-sized haycocks; but unless the most diligent care and attention is given, and the hay is turned as seldom as possible, a great deal of the leaf—the most valuable part of the plant—is lost. Should the season be wet, these plants are harder to convert into hay than an ordinary crop, but a period of fine weather must not be allowed to pass without advantage being taken of it, although the crop may not be quite ripe, or the maker quite ready to begin to work. Any other work on the farm should be postponed in favour of this class of haymaking. Management of perennial pasture hay is quite different from. what we have before mentioned, and the nearer we come to: London the better, apparently, is haymaking understood. The grass is put into small cocks the first day it is cut, in order that the dew may not deteriorate its quality. Unless. actually raining, it is thrown out again every morning, and recocked in the evening the cocks are made larger and larger as the hay becomes dryer. When sufficiently made it is carted to the rick, which is covered by canvas, corrugated iron, or other means, and the green colour is retained Only a small quantity is dealt with at a time, and the stack being some time in making continues to settle gradually, thus a vast bulk is stored. In rural districts further moved from the great markets, hay is spread as soon as it is cut; the next day it is turned by a machine, and is generally found sufficiently made to cock. It is then drawn into rows by a strong tooth horse rake, and cocked in the ordinary manner. In stacking, if the hay, on account of the weather, is. 76 PRACTICAL NOTES ON GRASSES AND GRASS GROWING, -over-made, a wide stack is desirable; but if the hay has been rapidly made, a long, narrow-shaped rick is better, as it is desirable to generate a gentle heat, and by this process convert the starch in the hay into sugar; if the heating be too strong, the sugar will be converted into acetic acid. On the completion of each course, a little salt may be sprinkled over the stack, but this must not be overdone. On some estates where large areas have to be dealt with, a frame- work is used, which is made something like a gate, having vertical bars with ropes fixed at each end, in the form of a bridle, by means of which horses are attached. This frame- work is used to draw up the rows of the hay until a large cock of five to seven hundredweight is formed, which, by reason of the manner of making, will be found to be drawn so tightly together and to be so compressed, that it can be left in the field for a week or more with impunity. Should bad weather set in after the hay has been cocked, the uppermost lock of hay or the caps to the cock should be removed and re-adjusted without interfering with the body’of the cock, except by turning the solid mass quite over, which prevents the bottom hay from becoming mouldy or unsweet, whilst the process can be attended to at any time of the day when it is not actually raining. In such weather, and when a favourable opportunity occurs, the cocks should be thrown out and aired before stacking. Having selected the ground where it is intended to raise one’s stacks, some little consideration should be shown for making the stack bottom. A free access of air must be allowed, so that it can pass between the stack and the ground. Iron appliances are often used, but where expense is a consideration, logs and trees will be found almost, if not quite, as good, and they will last for years. We deprecate the use of straw or litter, because it becomes tightly compressed, thus en-