CH. vi] Cost of Soil Improvements 103 



operation before the war was about 505. per acre. A 

 considerable area of land in the Pays de Waes, between 

 Antwerp and Ostend, was improved in this way. 



Chalk or lime is still more easily added : some 20-40 

 tons per acre of lump chalk are needed, but much 

 smaller quantities of ground chalk, limestone or lime 

 suffice. Organic matter can be added in two ways: 

 either by adding farmyard manure or other organic 

 manures, or by green manuring. The nutrient salts can 

 also be added in the form of various manures. 



The question of improving soil in many cases there- 

 fore reduces itself to one of cost. It has become the 

 practice in this country to regard the more costly and 

 permanent methods such as drainage as the land- 

 lord's business, and the cheaper and more transient 

 methods such as manuring as the tenant's business 

 for which, however, he is compensated if he quits the 

 holding before a certain interval of time has elapsed. 

 Now the landlord is not always able or willing to expend 

 money on costly improvements and the question then 

 arises : What line is the tenant to take ? 



In deciding what to do the farmer must remember 

 the universal law that the plant must have all its 

 requirements satisfied and excess of one cannot replace 

 insufficiency of another. He must therefore get over 

 each defect as he discovers it. First the obvious defects 

 must be corrected. Thus if the soil is waterlogged it is 

 no use putting on manure until a way out has been 

 found for the water. The farmer may be able to do this 

 by means of a few trenches or mole-ploughing, but if he 

 cannot the water will set a limit beyond which his crops 

 will not grow : it is therefore useless to spend time and 

 money in trying to make them. Next a good dressing 



