60 Mr. Edward J. Russell [Feb. 20, 



from competition means the exclusion of weeds. In the old days 

 this had to be effected by periodical bare fallows. Nowadays a 

 different course is possible ; modern cultivation implements worked 

 by a tractor allow great scope for the suppression of weeds. There 

 is, however, one crop that must be grown periodically to ensure the 

 best results— clover or a mixture of clover and grass. Clover affords 

 valuable food for cattle during winter, and it also enriches the soil 

 iu highly valuable nitrogenous organic matter Much of this is the 

 work of the plant itself and could equally well be done by grass ; but 

 the enrichment in nitrogen is the work of bacteria residing in the 

 nodules in the clover roots and is unique among the phenomena of 

 the farm. 



Unfortunately clover, unlike other crops, cannot be grown fre- 

 quently on the same land, and consequently the farmer is unable to 

 make as much use of it as he would like. Investigators have for 

 many years been trying to increase the effectiveness of the clover 

 organism, but without result. Inoculation of the soil with virulent 

 strains has been tried, but it was unsuccessful in this country, 

 although results are claimed in the United States. The problem has 

 recently been taken up at Rothamsted, and one reason found for the 

 previous failure. The organism has several stages in its life- 

 history, one of which is a period of rest ; some conditions favour 

 a long rest, others a shorter one, and Mr. H. G. Thornton is 

 endeavouring to find out how to increase the activity of the 

 organism in the soil and ensure that its work shall be done. Atten- 

 tion is being devoted also to the causes of failure of the crop. The 

 clover crop furnishes some of the most important problems in arable 

 farming before us. 



In the meantime a working solution lies in growing an admixture 

 of grasses with the clover ; this reduces the risk of failure, while con- 

 si derably benefiting both soil and farmer. 



A typical arable district is thus a busy region in which both 

 farmers and workers are kept constantly occupied. The crops claim 

 attention all through the year, and particularly in summer, while in 

 winter the animals need attention. Four or more men can be 

 regularly employed per 100 acres. An organised village life has 

 developed having distinctive characteristics of its own and presenting 

 endless scope for the intelligent social worker. 



Grass farming, on the other hand, stands out in sharp contrast 

 with all this. The grass farmer puts his animals into the fields, and 

 Nature does the rest ; when they are fat he sells them to the butcher. 

 his essentially summer work, the winters are left free. x\s no man can 

 long remain idle, there has been an extensive development of hunting 

 and its attendant occupation, horsebreeding, in the English grass 

 regions. While the grass farmer's life is not all idyllic joy, it is at 

 any rate free from much of the worry and uncertainty of arable 

 farming, and it brings in sufficient money to ensure a modest com- 



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