Hubert M. Morris 145 



The character of the soil of the field varies somewhat, that of the 

 north-western portion probably containing a larger proportion of clay, 

 while that of the south-eastern portion is more sandy. 



The Lane Field has been a pasture for at least thirty or forty years, 

 and possibly longer, no one in the neighbourhood appearing to remember 

 it having been ploughed. For several years prior to 1914 the field had 

 received a yearly dressing of bone-meal, but from that date to the period 

 during which the observations were carried out it had been unmanured. 

 The field is regularly grazed by sheep, cattle and horses. 



4. Chemical Features of the Area. 



It was considered advisable, in order to define the conditions in the 

 selected field as exactly as possible, to carry out both chemical and 

 mechanical analyses of the soil of the field. 



Chemical Analysis (in percentages). 



Iron (Fe 2 3 ) 2-152 Phosphorus (P 2 6 ) 0-348 



Calcium (CaO) 0-57 Aluminium (A^0 3 ) 2-360 



Magnesium (MgO)0-609 Potassium (K,0) 0-60 



Nitrogen (N) 0-210 Sulphates (SO s ) 0-066 



Mechanical Analysis. 



28-53 



16-94 



6-71 



4-46 



Coarse sand (1-0 to 0-2 mm.) 32-40 



For the above analyses samples of soil were taken from various parts 

 of the field, to a depth of nine inches, these samples being afterwards 

 mixed. At a depth of about a foot a stiff stratum was encountered, 

 which appeared to have a much higher proportion of clay. Below a depth 

 of about six inches there was very little organic matter, which is accounted 

 for largely by the fact that most of the grasses were of the shallow rooted 

 kinds. 



5. Botanical Features of the Area. 



Relatively few species of plants occurred in the field. The predominant 

 grasses were the Crested Dogs-tail (Cynosurus cristatus) and the Bent 

 grasses (Agrostis spp.). There were, however, patches where Cocksfoot 

 (Dactylis glomerata) and Sweet Vernal grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum) 



