972 



FORAGE CROPS. - MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



In the first year of dressing with burnt husk there was a falling off in 

 the yield, probably due to the fact that the late application had not allowed 

 the burnt husk to mix thoroughly with the soil. In the second year there 

 was an improvement. In the third, fourth and fifth years a yield of 30,50 

 and 64 % above that of the control plots was obtained respectively. Even 

 allowing for experimental errors, there is still sufficient margin to demons- 

 trate the beneficial effect of the dressing with burnt husk, which was due 

 probably to the physical improvement of the soil, which was of a clayey 

 nature, compact and impermeable. The after-effect of this dressing during 

 the 2 years (1913-1914 and 1914-1915) when it was suspended was manifest- 

 ed by an excess yield of 58 % and 38 % respectively; this decline, however 

 seems to suggest that the effect produced tends gradually to disappear. 



The experiment will be continued. 



lORAGE CROPS, 752 - Accumulated Fertility in Grass-land inconsequence of Phosphatic Manuring.— 



MEADOWS SoMERViLLE W. (Professor of Rural Economj' in the ITniversity of Oxford), in 'J'hf Journal 



AND PASTURES of the' Board of Agriculture, Vol. XXII, No. 12, pp. 1201-1209. lyondon, INIarch 1916. 



This new contribution of the writer to the manuring question .brings 

 out clearly the importance of the accumulated fertility'' resulting frcm con- 

 tinued dressing of permanent grass-land with slag. The greater production 

 of meat, milk and stable manure obtained by means of these fertilisers in 

 consequence of the increase in forage production only represents a part of 

 the benefit provided by such fertilisation, because, side by side with the grea- 

 ter production of forage, an increased fertility is observed in the soil, which 

 is probably proportional to the increased production, and is a beneficial 

 effect of manuring grass-land with slag which has hitherto not been suf- 

 ficiently appreciated. 



The experiments carried, out show that this accumulation of fertility is 

 in proportion to the cj[uantity of slag applied, the period during which the 

 fertiliser exerted its action and the response of the soil to such fertiliser. 



As a result of the use of this accumulated fertility there were obtained 

 at Cockle Park, in 1914-1915, 70 per cent increases in wheat crops, and the 

 5th mustard crop (1915) showed no sign of exhaustion of this fertilitj'-. At 

 Denton Hill and Arncot, where the grass land had been dressed with less 

 slag and for a shorter time, the increased production due to the accumulat- 

 ed fertility was less notable ; nevertheless it averaged 27 per cent for the 5 

 lands considered. 



In view of the possibility of a larger extension of the tillage area in 

 England, the writer points to the importance of this excellent slag manure 

 for natural grass land, as the farmers who have abundant!}' manured their 

 grass lands will be the first to benefit by this stored up fertility. As regards 

 superphosphate the Author is of opinion that even if it could do no more than 

 accomplish a 10 per cent increase in 2 tillage crops, this would be sufficient 

 in many cases to pay the original cost of the treatment. 



