IMPROVEMENT OF GRASS LAND 231 



were set aside for experiment, one being untreated, one 

 receiving 10 cwt. 92 Ib. of basic slag per acre, and the 

 third the same amount of basic slag and 8 cwt. of 

 kainit. The manures were applied in the winter of 

 1903-4, and the experiment has been continued since 

 that date. Sheep were grazed on the plots for twenty 

 weeks in summer, and the improvement judged by the 

 live-weight increase of these ; cattle were grazed when 

 necessary to eat down the grass left by the sheep on 

 the manured plots. The general results are as follows : 

 The total live-weight increases on the plots in the 

 five years 19048 were 258 Ib. per acre on the 

 untreated plot, 422 Ib. on the basic slag plot, and 

 516 Ib. on the basic slag and kainit plot. Even in 

 the fifth year the manures had a remarkable effect, 

 and the great increase on the treated plots over the 

 untreated plots is conclusive evidence as to the im- 

 provement effected. A calculation of the results in cash 

 showed that the slag and kainit plot has, in the five 

 years, given a gross return per acre in excess of the 

 unmanured plot of -5, 8s. 6d. per acre, or deducting 

 i t 1 8s. 6d., the cost of the manures, a net profit of 

 .3, i os. per acre in the five years, while the effects of 

 the manures were evidently not yet exhausted. At the 

 same time it must be remembered that thirty-two weeks 

 of the year were not considered, the experiment being 

 confined to twenty weeks in the summer months, and 

 this fact makes the result the more important. 



FUNGI 



Fairy Ring's frequently occur in pastures, and are 

 both harmful and unsightly. They may be dealt with 

 as described at p. 347. 



