FORAGE CROPS. 359 



" Compared with the amount of nitrogen in the soil from the 

 brow of the hill, about ii cwt. more nitrogen was obtained in the 

 soil and roots from the bottom of the hill where the clover was 

 more luxuriant. 



" The increased amount of nitrogen occurred in fine root-fibers 

 and other organic matters of the soil, and not in the coarser bits 

 of roots which were picked out by the hand. It may be assumed 

 that the finer particles of organic matter are more readily decom- 

 posed than the coarser roots ; and as there was a larger amount 

 of nitrogen in this than in the preceding soil, it may be expected 

 that the land at the bottom of the hill, after the removal of the 

 clover, was in a better agricultural condition for wheat than that 

 on the brow of the hill. 



*' Experiments on Clover-soils from Burcott Lodge Farm^ Leighton- 

 Buz-zard. 



"The soils for the next experiments were kindly supplied to me 

 in 1866, by Mr. Robert Vallcntine, of Burcott Lodge, who also 

 sent me some notes respecting the growth and yield of clover, 

 hay, and seed on this soil. 



" Foreign seed, at the rate of 12 lbs. per acre, was sown with 

 a crop of wheat which yielded 5 quarters per acre the previous 

 year. 



" The first crop of clover was cut down on the 25th of June,^ 

 1866, and carried on June 30th. The weather was very warm 

 from the time of cutting till the clover was carted, the ther- 

 mometer standing at 80° Fahr. every day. The clover was 

 turned in the swathe on the second day after it was cut ; on the 

 fourth day it was turned over and put into small heaps of about 

 10 lbs. each ; and on the fifth day these were collected into larger 

 cocks and then stacked. 



"The best part of an ii-acre field produced nearly 3 tons of 

 clover-hay, sun-dried, per acre ; the whole field yielding on an 

 average 2J tons per acre. This result was obtained by weighing 

 the stack three months after the clover was carted. 'Fhe second 

 crop was on 21st of August and carried on the 27th, the weight 

 being nearlv 30 cwts. of hav per acre. Thus the two cuttings 

 produced just about 4 tons of clover-hay per acre. 



" The 1 1 acres were divided into two parts. About one-half 

 was mown for hay a second time, and the other part left for seed. 

 The produce of the second half of the ii-acre field was cut on 

 the 8th of October, and carried on the lOth. It yielded in round 



