VARIATIONS IN PASTURES 145 



of food analysis and to know much more of the nature and 

 properties of the organic matter as it exists in pasture soils. 



[I had an opportunity recently of visiting the Romney Marsh 

 pastures with Dr. Russell and was much struck by the remark- 

 able difference noticeable between adjacent fatting and not- 

 fatting fields. The evidence seems to be all but conclusive 

 that the difference has been induced, in course of time, rather 

 than there was a difference originally between the soils of the 

 two kinds of pasture. It should be noted that both have their 

 value and that both are required, as ewes with their lambs 

 cannot be kept on the fatting fields, the herbage of these affect- 

 ing the milk and making it in some way deleterious to the 

 lambs. The appearance of the two pastures is strikingly 

 different : the one has the rich, deep green colour characteristic 

 of grass fully provided with nitrogenous manure, whilst the 

 other has the pale appearance of nitrogen-starved grass. 



The good graziers are most careful to keep so much stock 

 on the land constantly that the grass is fed off very close to 

 the ground ; the sheep are therefore fattened on very young 

 luscious herbage, whilst those on the not-fatting fields doubtless 

 partake of a growth of a more mature character. 



There must be a very considerable difference in the com- 

 position and food value of the two kinds of herbage. The 

 statement that differences cannot be detected by analysis is 

 merely a confession of impotence — a confession that present 

 methods of analysis are not really of any value — and proof of 

 the need in which we stand of raising the status of agricul- 

 tural chemistry. Instead of requiring the merest modicum of 

 knowledge, this branch of chemistry is probably one which 

 needs more discriminative power than all the others put to- 

 gether and until we recognise this little progress will be made. 



Although the number of species of plants on the two pas- 

 tures may be the same, it is obvious that there is a far more 

 luxuriant growth of clover on the fatting fields and that the 

 animals on these have more nitrogenous food at their disposal. 



Apart from the organic elements, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen 

 and nitrogen, relatively little of value is removed by the fatten- 

 ing sheep from the land ; consequently this is constantly and 

 highly manured by their droppings. The sheep with lambs 

 apparently remove more from the soil and return less to it 

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