soils in the south and east were almost absolutely exhausted 

 of available phosphates before they " tumbled down " to 

 grass a generation ago, and the condition of the existing 

 vegetation shows that until phosphates are supplied little 

 wheat can be expected. In such cases a dressing of 2-3 cwt. 

 per acre of superphosphate or of basic slag at sowing time, 

 should be given. Backward wheat may be assisted in the 

 autumn or early spring by sulphate of ammonia (f to 1 cwt. 

 per acre) ; but it is usually too late to revive wheat which 

 is seen to be " going off " in May. 



Cases in which manures have proved useful have as a 

 rule been included in the summary of reports given below. 

 Where there is a poor matted turf, as in the Cornish case 

 (No. 131) mixed manure supplying f cwt, sulphate of 

 ammonia and 2 cwt. superphosphate is very necessary 

 for the oat crop. On poor pastures a dressing of sulphate of 

 ammonia before sowing oats seems to have been markedly 

 effective in several of the instances in which wireworm 

 threatened the crops, but the experience of the majority of 

 those who used it is probably summed up by the 

 Monmouthshire farmer whose comment appears on page 36 

 (Case 135). 



III. 

 THE TREATMENT OF LAND OP DIFFERENT TYPES. 



With the object of giving precision to the recommenda- 

 tions in the reports summarised in the Appendix, it will now 

 be desirable to indicate the kind of tillage called for by differ- 

 ent types of land. As soils grade almost imperceptibly from 

 one type to another, so the methods of management vary ; 

 but for each well-marked type of soil there are certain 

 approved methods. 



(i.) Medium and Light Soils. 



Second-rate Pastures. There is a very large area of land 

 of this description in England and Wales. Some of it may 

 be very old grass, with a thick matted turf, but the greater 

 part consists of grass land from 5 to 10 years old in the long 

 leys of Wales and the west of England ; or of pastures from 

 15 to 30 years old which have been allowed to lie in grass 

 because of the low prices of corn, such as those on the 

 Chalk in Wiltshire. 



Where there is a thick matted turf, early ploughing should 

 be resorted to, otherwise there will not, be time for the sod 

 to crumble before the crop is sown, and, as in the Yorkshire 

 case, No. 25, the first crop is likely to be a failure. When 

 this coarse-matted surface layet' is met with on light soils, 

 the land should be ploughed with a flat furrow ; the disc 



