The same practice as that recommended for getting rid of the crowfoot will apply in the case of all broad-leaved weeds; but, as docks and thistles are not so readily eaten by cattle, they may be either rooted up, or, what is a much more simple and economical mode, and yet quite as effectual, the incipient leaves may be kept constantly cat over close by the surface of the ground as soon as they appear. As the health, and even life, of the root of a plant depend upon the nourishment which it receives from the leaves, so, by removing the incipient leaves or buds from any plant the moment they appear, and continually doing this as long as any leaves or buds are produced, all plants whatever, and consequently all weeds, will ultimately be killed. In this way ferns, which are so injurious to pastures in some sandy soils, may with more certainty be destroyed than by any other mode; for their roots, or rather underground shoots, are so numerous and brittle, that it is scarcely possible to eradicate them by digging them out.

It is a common practice to mow weeds and ferns for the purpose of destroying them; but, as this mowing never takes place till the leaves have expanded, a considerable portion of nourishment has been already sent down to the root, and thus the object of the operation is in a great measure defeated. Our readers, therefore, will bear in mind, as a general principle, that all plants, from the loftiest tree to the humblest herb, depend not only for their growth, but for their continued existence, on the leaves which they produce; and that, as we before observed, by removing these leaves before they are folly expanded, all plants whatever, and consequently all weeds, may be destroyed. 408. Mosses frequently abound in pastures, and occupy a great port of the space that ought to contain plants of grass or clover. Where pastures are open and fully exposed to the influence of the sun and air, the appearance of moss in them is a symptom of extreme poverty in the soil; as in the case of lawns in the fronts of mansions, which have been mown for many years together without being pastured or manured. When moss is abundant in pastures which have been fed or mown, it indicates moisture, shade, and want of air and sunshine, accompanied, most generally, by want of manure.

The remedy in this last case is sufficiently obvious: some of the trees must be removed, or the hedges cut in and kept low, while the soil is sufficiently drained, and manured and pastured one or two seasons, without being mown. The reason why we recommend pasturing without mowing, is founded on the fact that all other plants are more injured by being deprived of their leaves than grasses; consequently, pasturing a surface, by eating down all the leaves close to the ground, must be more injurious to all other plants, whether weeds or clovers, than it is to the grasses, and must have a tendency to give the latter an advantage over the former. Sorrel is very abundant in some soils, and is almost always indicative of an excess of ferruginous earths. The remedy in these cases is the application of quicklime, which neutralises the ferruginous matter. The lime may be given as a top-dressing on the surface of the pasture; but it is most effective when applied after the soil has been broken up, and kept under corn crops a year or two, and then the lime applied when the soil is in a dry and powdery state like itself. Ant-hills are also very common in some pastures.

They may be destroyed by breaking open the hills, and scattering them abroad, repeating the operation whenever the hills begin to reappear; because the principle on which success depends is, the interruption of the insect's labours in hatching its young, and in laying up its food for the winter. If the interruption be continued, the ants will in a short time be dispersed and die. The naked spaces from which the nests have been pared off should be sown down with grass and clover seeds. Ants seldom appear except in worn-out grass lands; and the most effective mode of getting rid of them in this case, at least on a large scale, is, to break up the land, and to keep it three or four years under the plough, before it is laid down again. We can hardly recommend this practice, however, in the case of a paddock of a few acres; because, among other reasons, the loss of two or three years' pasture would be a very serious drawback to the comforts of the family. For so small an extent, therefore, we recommend draining, frequent top-dressings with manure or compost; and scattering in the seeds of rye-grass, fescue, and white clover, wherever the grass appears thin.

This ought to be done early in the spring; or in September, after a crop of hay is taken; and the ground ought afterwards to be thoroughly harrowed and rolled.

409. In order that the draining of permanent pasture may not appear a more formidable business than it really is, we shall here describe some of the cheapest and best modes of performing it, premising that the object is not to drain the subsoil of water arising from springs, but to collect what rain-water would otherwise stagnate on the surface, or soak into the ground, and be retained there longer than is beneficial for the health of the plants, or to such an extent as to render the soil unfit for the tread of heavy animals. The first thing to determine is the direction of the drains; the next tiling, their distance from one another; and the third, their form and the materials with which they are to be filled. If the surface of the land has been formed into ridges before it was laid down in grass, it will, in general, be found sufficient to make one drain in the bottom of each furrow; because we may fairly presume that the ridges were laid out in the direction best adapted for carrying off the water, and that they were formed of such a width as to leave their furrows sufficiently near one another for that purpose.

If the land should not have been laid out in ridges, and the surface should be nearly level, then, after having discovered the lowest side of the field (because there is no such thing in nature as a perfectly level field), drains ought to be made at 10 ft. or 15 ft. apart, and parallel to each other, from the highest side of the field to the lowest. If the field be very steep, however, then the drains ought to be made more or less obliquely across the declivity, so as to intercept the surface water, and, at the same time, not to carry it off with such a degree of rapidity as to wear out the bottom of the drains. Where the surface slopes in various directions, and consists of a series of eminences and hollows, then drains must be conducted in such a manner round the eminences as to intercept the water everywhere, especially near the bottoms of the declivities, and to carry it off to the boundary of the field, or to some general outlet or public drain. In strong clayey soils, having a moderate declivity, the distance of 15 ft. between the drains may be sufficient; in loamy soils, it may be more; and where the soil is a strong clay, and the surface quite flat, it ought to be less.

Under the last circumstances, we should not hesitate to recommend putting in drains every 6 ft. or 8 ft., and filling op these drains to within an inch of the surface with gravel, if it could be obtained, or with small stones (in the manner we have already described in p. 163.), or with turf and soil.