CLIMATE AND SOIL 25 



scattered on to a heap of decayed weeds and soil contiguous 

 to a narrow footpath bordering the prepared field, and also 

 7 to 8 ft. from the hedge bordering the eastern side of the 

 land. The prepared ground adjacent was somewhat heavy 

 and damp, even more so than the rest of the field, and the 

 seed which fell in this part germinated quickly and eventu- 

 ally produced a moderate length of flax straw and fibre, though 

 somewhat below the average of the crop. The seed which 

 fell by accident amongst the decayed vegetation developed 

 later than the main crop owing to this portion of the ground 

 being much drier than the actually prepared part of the field. 

 When the rain fell, ten days later, however, the young plants 

 soon made their appearance and grew very rapidly until the 

 time of pulling and then averaged more than twice the diameter 

 and bulk of that grown in the field proper. It should, however, 

 be noted that long thick and strong flax straw is very fre- 

 quently characterised by an increase in woody matter, rather 

 than fibre. The foregoing and apparently excessive increase 

 in the diameter of the flax plant was undoubtedly due to the 

 fact that the heap of decayed weeds and soil contained a large 

 amount of decaying, organic, and nitrogenous matter which 

 resulted in a relatively greater production of woody matter 

 than fibre. The application of phosphatic manures would 

 neutralize the excessive action of the nitrogen present in soils 

 of this kind. The resultant and very desirable effect would be 

 an increase in the yield of fibre. 



26. Variety of Growths on the same Land due to Soil Moisture. 

 Mr. R. Verner (T. and J. M'Ervel, Ltd., Belfast), on the 

 22nd April, sowed in a given field, flax seed of a good quality 

 and all uniform in " pickle." The soil was well prepared, but, 

 like most other lands, it varied in solidity, natural moisture, 

 and local drainage. The weather at the time of sowing and 

 for twelve days afterwards, was dry, consequently the ger- 

 mination of the seed depended primarily upon the amount 

 of moisture retained by the soil. This point is very forcibly 

 illustrated at Fig. 11 which is a half-size reproduction of the 



