58 



Mr. Edward J. Russell 



[Feb. 20, 



We are thus self-supporting in the matter of potatoes. We do, 

 however, import about half a million tons per annum of early and 

 other potatoes ; we also export seed potatoes and some for food, in 

 all about one million tons per annum. 



Fodder and hay crops play a more important part than cereals in 

 the economy of the farm because they are the raw materials for a 

 highly important part of the farmer's business, the production of 

 meat, milk or butter. They are too bulky to transport in any 

 quantity, and farmers use only as much as they themselves grow. 

 The output of meat and dairy produce is therefore limited by the 

 quantities of these crops at the farmer's disposal. The quantities 

 produced just before the war and in 1918 were : — 



Production op Fodder and Hay Crops. 



Like cereals and potatoes, these crops are greatly affected by 

 artificial fertilisers, especially by phosphates, which increase not 

 only the yield but also the feeding value per ton. This is strikingly 

 shown in the case of swedes and turnips, which receive a large part 

 of the superphosphate made in this country. Mangolds respond 

 remarkably well to potassic fertilisers and to salt. There is much to 

 be learned from a systematic study of the influence of artificial 

 manures on the composition and feeding value of these crops under 

 the varied conditions of this country. 



A further reason for the important part played by these crops 

 in the economy of the farm is that they profoundly affect the fertility 

 of the soil. They do not remove from the soil all the fertilising 

 constituents which must be added to secure maximum growth : some 

 of these constituents are left behind in the soil to benefit the next 

 crop — a rare instance of double effectiveness for which the farmer 

 ought to be profoundly thankful. In the second place, even i he 

 fertilising constituents which are absorbed by the crop are not 

 entirely retained by the animal : considerable quantities are excreted 

 and pass into the manure, again to be added to the soil. There 



