Me cover. the abors

] repeat, led to the rived, the sider the nished its ops, but as much luced it,

bove obe night be riculture, h a slave, r Servants

is fit for ing such » in the 1 OF SIX- | the pas- doubt not ge. I do and burn the soil; on heaps, 1, with 2 - valuable ed will be he swarth injury of specially D woode nd when low and 1e grally

OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. 163

and has to my knowledge deprived many of their crops. It seems to me a convincing proof, for I have observed many old inclosures so ploughed yield very poor crops for two or three years, after which they have produced very fine ones.

It is my intention, in March or April next, to sow upon an acre of land in the centre of a large grass field, about fourteen pounds of white clover seed. The close was well manured from the fold-yard in November last, and has never yet been harrowed. After sowing and harrowing with a common harrow, to scratch the swarth a little, I mean to make it fine by means of athorn har- row, and wait the result of my experiment, which is in- tended to shew how far grass land may be improved without ploughing. Should it succeed, I shall take pleasure in communicating my success to you.

In laying down land for grass, I have often noted, that the white and red clever has been sown together, under a mistaken notion that the red would produce a burthen to compensate for the shortness of the white. The consequence has been this, the red being much stronger and larger, over-runs, smothers, and eats out the white for two or three years, or till its pipy stalks. become large, are cut or wounded, so as to take in a sufhcient quantity of water to destroy the root; when it dies, a

_ large chasm of bare land appears, and so many upon the

field, as bears proportion with the quantity of seed sown with the white. I have remarked that those vacuums are not speedily filled with other grass, unless the land be subject to a spontaneous production.

Gypsum or white plaster threshed in an unburnt state, I have tried as.a manure upon grass land, about three years ago, according to the rules prescribed by a pamphlet published concerning the use and good effects of that mi- neral in America; and am convinced, whatever virtues it

may possess in America, it has none here; at least the M 2