SECTION V. FUTURE DEVELOPMENT 



Increase of Field Fertility by Good Management. 



A very important system by which management can increase 

 the amount of plant products is by developing the amount 

 of grass and hay upon the heavier type of land with the aid 

 of basic slag. When a field is under grass, and is used for 

 grazing, the plant food contained in the grass grown is 

 returned to the soil by the cattle grazing upon it, with only 

 very small losses. When, however, the grass is cut for hay, 

 and the hay fed to beasts, the manure will, for the most part, 

 be given to the lighter lands. Hence, by means of the 

 development of the heavy lands on a farm by basic slag, 

 the lighter lands are indirect^ benefited. On the very poor, 

 heavy boulder clay at Cockle Park, in Northumberland, 

 phosphatic manure has produced not merely double the 

 quantity of hay, but in quality the hay is twice as good as it 

 was before. In practice considerable losses occur in storing 

 manure, but there is no reason why they should be 

 proportionately greater with basic slag than without basic 

 slag. If, by these means, the amount of plant food added 

 to the lighter lands can be practically quadrupled by the 

 proper management of the heavier lands, then a portion of 

 the medium lands can be ploughed up and added to the 

 arable lands of the farm. Moreover, it has been shown 

 time after time that the replacement of grass by arable lands 

 does not necessitate the lessening of the quantity of stock, 

 but quite the contrary. Mr. A. D. Hall reckons that one 

 acre of wheat will produce four quarters grain and ij- tons 

 straw. This food material, fed to cattle, will produce 256 

 Ibs. of meat, or 360 gallons of milk. The same land, under 

 grass, will produce i| tons of hay, giving 120 Ibs. of meat, 



