34 ESSEX PAST AND PRESENT 



1 The Organization of Agricultural Opinion, with Special Refer- 

 ence to Essex': A. H. H. Matthews, Secretary of the Central 

 Chamber of Agriculture. 



On Fridays, also, the leading members of the staff 

 hold regular levies of farmers, who come to them for 

 advice on some scientific or other problem connected 

 with farming. Then, an important work is done in the 

 way of field experiments. These have, mainly, the 

 double object of illustrating the principles of manuring, 

 and of investigating the manures best adapted for 

 permanent pasture and tillage crops on Essex soils. 

 Others relate to the best means of laying down land 

 to grass ; the improvement of grass land for feeding ; 

 the best varieties of cereal crops for cultivation ; the 

 elimination of field weeds ; fungoid diseases of crops, 

 etc. There are thirty different centres throughout 

 Essex at which the experiments are carried on. The 

 Education Committee supply seed and manure, a local 

 farmer provides land and labour, and, when the crop 

 is sufficiently advanced, the agricultural instructor goes 

 to the spot and holds a ' field meeting/ which is gene- 

 rally attended by from twenty to fifty farmers of 

 the neighbourhood. Reports on the results of the 

 experiments are published periodically, and circulated 

 through the county. 



These branches of the work are followed with keen 

 interest by the older farmers, who could certainly never 

 be got to attend the classes of a technical school ; but 

 there is still another branch which they appreciate, 

 perhaps even more, and that is the making of agricul- 

 tural analyses. These are undertaken, at very low fees, 

 ' for bond-fide agricultural purposes only.' They relate 

 to soils, manures, feeding-stuffs, milk, and water, and 

 the information given in relation to them is of an 

 essentially practical kind, likely to be of direct advantage 



