Field-Experiments on Permanent Pasture. 439 



Peruvian guano alone, which in the preceding year gave the 

 most satisfactory result, showed no effect upon the grass crop in 

 1870, or rather showed a slight deficiency in comparison with the 

 average produce of the two unmanured plots. 



The decrease in the produce of all the plots, except that ot 

 Plot 4 and Plot 9, is too small to be ascribed to any injurious eflect 

 Avhich the manures might be supposed to have produced on the 

 second yeai-'s crop ; and the practical conclusion that may be 

 drawn from the results of the experiments in 1870 is, that with the 

 exception of the manures employed in 1869 on Plot No. 4 and Plot 

 No. 9, the remainder had no beneficial effect upon the hay crop. 



Produce in 1871.^ — -The moist spring in 1871 was favourable 

 to the growth of grass, and in consequence a heavier crop of 

 hay was made from all the plots than in the preceding years. 

 The plots were mown on the 10th of August, 1871, and weighed 

 green on the same day, and the weight of the hay made on each 

 plot was taken on the 17th of August, the results exhibited in 

 the Table on page 440 being obtained : — • 



A glance at the results of these experiments shows : — 



1. That the unmanured plots produced a very good crop of 

 hay in May. 



2. That the quicklime applied in 1869 caused a decrease in 

 the produce of 1871. 



3. That bone-dust showed but a trifling increase. 



4. That the mixture of mineral superphosphate and crude potash 

 salts gave the largest increase in 1871, the increase in hay over the 

 hay from the unmanured plots amounting to nearly 37 per cent. 



5. That common salt, as in the preceding year, caused a 

 decrease in the produce. 



6. That Peruvian guano alone produced a slight decrease, 

 and crude potash salts a slight increase in the produce of 1871. 



7. That the mixture of Peruvian guano and superphosphate 

 produced the second best result in 1871. 



Produce in 1872.- — The experimental plots were mown and 

 weighed green on the 9th of August, 1872, and the weight of 

 the hay made on each plot taken on the 21st of the same month. 



The Table on page 441 shows the results of the weighing, and 

 the increase or decrease over the produce from the unmanured 

 plots and other particulars. 



It appears from these experiments that the heaviest crop was 

 obtained on Plot 9, which was dressed in 1869 with Peruvian 

 guano and superphosphate, at the rate of 5 cwts. each per acre. 

 Potash salts alone and in combination with superphosphate also 

 produced a slight increase ; whilst all the other manured plots 

 gave somewhat less hay than the average produce of the two un- 

 manured plots. 



