GRASS-LAND AND ARABLE 123 



districts often persists longer than Red Clover, and 

 this is I think a fact not sufficiently appreciated by 

 farmers. From the fertility point of view White 

 Clover is, of course, pre-eminent among clovers, and 

 the value of Wild White Clover as a rapid herbage- 

 former and fertility-conserver is now a proved fact. 

 White Clover is, moreover, the most permanent of 

 our herbage Leguminosas, and a widely distributed 

 indigenous plant, which may be largely developed by 

 adequate manurial treatment. 



From what has been said as to clovers it will be 

 apparent that Wild White Clover should *be an im- 

 portant ingredient in all leys that are to be left down 

 for longer than two years, and that late-flowering Red 

 Clover and Alsike Clover should take a prominent 

 place in mixtures for leys of two to three years dura- 

 tion. It is hardly necessary to add that phosphatic 

 manures and lime are essential to a proper develop- 

 ment of clovers, and that these ingredients either 

 applied to fields immediately before or subsequent 

 to the formation of a ley, by assisting sward forma- 

 tion, have an accumulative effect on the fertility of the 

 land. 



A ley, I have said, should give rise to clean arable 

 land when it is ploughed down. It will be well, 

 therefore, to enquire what weeds from a ley are likely 

 to foul the arable land and what weeds from an arable 

 land are likely to foul a ley. 



The following weeds in particular are equally harm- 

 ful on prepared grass and on arable land : 



Creeping Thistle. 



Docks. 



Sheep Sorrel. 



Bent. 



Creeping Buttercup. 



Creeping Wild Mint. 



