358 



NATURE 



[November 25, 



iqi 



more than eleven days' supply of each, dairy farming 

 on grass of good quality might be expected to produce 

 296 days' supply of protein, or 193 days' total energy 

 supply, whilst arable farming on good land producing 

 food crops and meat would give 207 days' supply of 

 protein, or 296 days' total energy supply. Where 

 grass land is attached to the arable land, and all the 

 feeding materials are converted into milk, the energy 

 value of the arable farm is increased to 367 days' food 

 supply, and the protein yield to 383 days' supply. 

 Viewed from this standpoint, the need for a great 

 extension of arable cropping admits of no argument. 

 "Can the nation any longer afford to neglect the 

 development of the resources now lying latent in its 

 unproductive grass land?" 



Mr. J. M. Caie, of the Scottish Board of Agri- 

 culture, followed with a paper on "The Probable 

 Effect of the War on the Future of Agriculture in 

 Scotland." After reviewing the salient features of 

 Scottish agriculture and the tendencies of compara- 

 tively recent changes prior to the outbreak of war, 

 he outlined the principal economic causes that would 

 tend during and after the war to decrease the demand 

 for and lower the prices of agricultural produce. On 

 the other hand, certain other causes would be opera- 

 tive in diminishing supplies, or otherwise raising 

 prices. Balancing these two sets of factors, he in- 

 clined to the opinion that prices, both of bread and of 

 meat, will be relatively high, and that, though costs 

 may also be high, increased production will be 

 economically advantageous to the farmer. He did 

 not think that Scottish agriculture would contribute 

 a materially increased output of wheat, since condi- 

 tions of soil and climate impose severe limitations, but 

 there is room for expansion in the numbers, and 

 improvement in the quality, of stock. In conclusion, 

 he indicated the factors which would be operative in 

 bringing about this increase of numbers. 



Prof. T. B. Wood next spoke on the ways in which 

 the agricultural man of science can assist the stock- 

 feeder in utilising existing conditions to the best ad- 

 vantage. He instanced the introduction of new feed- 

 ing-stuffs and the prevention of waste in feeding as 

 matters in respect of which the scientific adviser can 

 give immediate and trustworthy guidance to the farmer. 



The subject of labour and labour-saving machinery 

 on the farm was dealt with by Mr. W. J. Maiden. 

 He emphasised the importance of earh'-training of the 

 agricultural labourer, and urged the desirability of a 

 reform of educational methods in the rural school 

 with this end in view. The development of the use 

 of machinery on the farm would be more rapid when 

 the implement-maker and the motor-maker joined 

 hands. Confused ideas which the effort to adapt 

 attachments suitable for horse-power, but utterly un- 

 suited for mechanical power, have established must 

 be cleared away. 



In the discussion which followed the foregoing 

 papers. Prof. W. H. Thompson gave an account of 

 his own estimates of the food production of Irish 

 agriculture which led to conclusions similar to those 

 arrived at by Mr. Middleton. 



A paoer on the economics of continuous propping 

 was subsequentlv given bv Mr. Thomas Wibberley, 

 in which he outlined the results obtained by him on 

 various farms in Ireland and elsewhere bv following 

 a course of continuous cropping. He claimed that 

 his system obviated certain practical difficulties of 

 cultivation that beset the ordinary systems, and that 

 it was not only more lucrative and more economical 

 of natural resources, but led to a considerable in- 

 crease in the output of food. The subject is one of 

 great interest, and it is to be regretted that limita- 

 tions of time did not permit of a fuller discussion in 

 the section. 



NO. 2404, VOL. 96] 



The third day's programme was designed to be ol 

 special local interest, and was devoted largely to 

 problems of milk-production. One contribution which 

 did not come under this head was the paper by Mr. 

 D. Macpherson and Dr. W. G. Smith on the classi- 

 fication, economic value, and possibilities of improve- 

 ment of the upland grazings of Scotland. Five types 

 have been recognised, and their distribution and • 

 characteristics closely studied. Methods of improve- 

 ment were indicated and discussed. 



Of the milk papers, attention was directed specially 

 to two dealing with the problem of the assessment of 

 the cost of feeding in the production of milk. 



Mr. J. Mackintosh gave an account of the methods 

 adopted at University College, Reading, in connection 

 with investigations on farms in the surrounding area. 



The outstanding point of difficulty is the assessment 

 of the cost of the home-grown foods consumed by 

 the cows. At Reading these foods are charged at the 

 estimated cost of production, whereas in certain cases 

 elsewhere market or consuming price is charged. 

 The effect of this divergent practice upon the results 

 arrived at was well illustrated in the succeeding paper 

 by Prof. Crowther and Mr. Ruston on the results 

 obtained on three Yorkshire farms. Thev showed 

 that whereas the estimated cost of food consumed per 

 gallon of" milk produced was roughly 3^J. when home- 

 grown foods were charged at cost of production, the 

 estimate was increased to roughly 5d. when an 

 arbitrary scale of "consuming prices" was used for 

 these foods. The subsequent discussion centred 

 mainly round this point, and showed considerable 

 division of opinion. Mr. C. S. Orwin urged stronglv 

 the desirability of the universal use of the cost of 

 production of the home-grown foods as the basis of 

 assessment, but practical farmers who took part in 

 the discussion inclined mainly to the opposite view 

 that market prices should be charged. 



Subsequently Dr. .\. Lauder gave an account of 

 experiments in which the effects upon milk-secretion 

 of an addition of calcium phosphate to the food of 

 cows had been studied. In no case could any measur- 

 able effect upon either the yield or the composition of 

 the mi'k be detected. 



Prof. Crowther gave an account of experiments 

 which seemed to indicate that the act of milking 

 may be of considerable significance in determin- 

 ing the yield of milk, and especially of milk-fat 

 obtainable at any particular milking. When the 

 " quarters " were milked separately he found that, 

 whereas in the case of the first quarter the per- 

 centage of fat in the secretion rose in the main 

 steadily from beginninfr to end of the milking, this 

 was not the case with the other " quarters." No 

 matter in what order the "quarters" were milked, the 

 pen-entage of fat was almost invariably lowest in the 

 n->ilk drawn from the quarter milked last. These 

 observations led to the conclusion that the time-factor 

 in milking must be of considerable importance. This 

 was confirmed by an experimental comparison of 

 quick and slow milking. A further comparison of 

 the ordinary method of milking and simultaneous 

 milking of the four "quarters" showed a difference 

 in favour of the latter, which might in practice be 

 appreciable if certain mechanical difficulties were over- 

 come. 



The concluding naper of the programme bv Mr. 

 .■\. G. Ruston on "The Plant as an Index of Smoke 

 Pollution" introduced another problem of great local 

 interest. Mr. Ruston dealt with the general type of 

 vegetation in smoke-infested areas, the general appear- 

 ance of individual smoke-damae^ed plants, and the 

 specific effects of smoke-damage in plants. His re- 

 marks were based upon the work on the subiect which 

 has been carried out by him and others during the past 



