OF SCOTLAND.

547

But the system of soiling can only be pursued in fertile andwell-cultivated districts, where the crops of grass are luxu-riant. Where the grass is thin and weak, the trouble ofgoing over much ground, to collect a small quantity of food,would lower the superiority of house-feeding; nor would itbe perhaps so suitable to all kinds of live-stock. Young ani-mals in a growing state, will probably thrive best, when at li-berty to take their natural exercise in the open air, in questof their food. Milch cows, though they ought to be soiledin the middle of the day, may, at other times, be advantage-ously pastured. The same remark is applicable to fatteningstock.

It has been observed, that the partiality of the Scotch far-mers for artificial grasses, has not yet been sufficiently justifiedby experience; that clovers have not hitherto failed so muchas probably they will do from repetition ; and that the con-stant cutting of the crop for hay or soiling, will make the ar-tificial grasses fall off sooner than if they had been occasion-ally pastured. It is to be remarked, however, in answer tothese observations, that the system adopted in Scotland ofdeep ploughing, so seldom carried to the same extent in Eng-land, in a great measure obviates these objections ; that thenew soil, thus occasionally brought up, promotes the produc-tion of clover ; and that, whilst that system is adhered to, norepetition of clover is likely to be unproductive. This willparticularly be the case when the land is kept occasionally inpasture, which, by the most intelligent managers in Scotland ,is considered indispensably necessary even on the most fertilesoils. This is a subject that will be more fully treated of inthe following chapter.

§ 4. Of rye-grass and clover for pasture .—Although the re-porter is decidedly of opinion, that the soiling system is pre-ferable to pasturage, on all lands fitted by soil, situation, andclimate for that purpose; yet he is satisfied, that there are ma-ny descriptions of soil, which cannot yield sufficiently goodcrops of rye-grass and clover to admit of being profitably de-