43 



XXXV'J. "On Growing Tivo White Straiv Crops in Succession.''^ 

 E. J. Russell. Journal of the Board of Agriculture. 

 1915- 22, 533-542. 



It has long been a tradition of good farming that two white straw 

 rops should not he grown in succession, and this still survives in spite 

 of many instances to the contrary, including the classical case of 

 Broadbalk Field, where wheat crops have been grown every year since 

 1843. Two conditions are necessary ; the land must be reasonably 

 dean, and the crop must i)e supplied with satisfactory spring dressings. 

 The most suitable fertilisers are nitrate of soda or sulphate of ammonia 

 and superpliosphate ; these must go on early in the year, it is not safe 

 to wait until the crop shows signs of star\ation. Suitable dressings 

 are suggested. 



XXXVII. " The Washing out of Nitrates from Arable Soils during 

 the Past Winter.'' K. J. RusSKLL and A. Appleyard. 

 Journal of the Board of Agriculture, 1916. 23, 22-27. 



The rainfall during the winter months of 1915-16 had been excep- 

 tionally heavy, and the amount of percolation through the soil was 

 correspondingly above the average. There had l)een an unusual loss 

 of nitrates from the soil, varying in the different cases examined, from 

 5 to 125 lbs. per acre (reckoned as nitrogen); in the case of a field 

 Avorked as part of the ordinary farm the loss was 30 lbs. of nitrogen 

 per acre, equivalent to 190 ll)s. per acre of nitra'.c ( f soda, this being 

 as much as is contained in eighteen bushels of v»!.(.i-t and the corre- 

 sponding quantity of straw. A piece of fallow land lost very heavily. 

 'I'he actual figures were : — 



Nitrogen as nitrate : 

 lb. per acre, top 18 ins. 



Broadbalk, dunged, fallow 



,, cropped (wheat) 

 <ireat Harpenden Field, cropped (wheat) 

 Broadbalk, unmanured, fallow . 



„ cropped (wheat) 



H(M's, unmanured, fallow 



„ cropped (wheat) . 



In addition to the losses of nitrate the soil also suffers through 

 defloculation of the clay. Thus, at the time of writing the land was 

 depleted of its nitrates, and the clay had passed into a sticky unwork- 

 able state. Much of the damage could have been avoided had a catch 

 crop or a green crop to be ploughed in for manure been grown in the 

 previous autumn. The best remedies now available are soot, sulphate 

 of ammonia and lime ; methods of using these are indicated. 



XXXVIII. " Soil Analysis.'' E. J. Russell. Journal of the 

 Board of Agriculture, 1915. 22, 1 16-119. 



The value of soil analysis to the farmer is discussed. It mainly 

 ser\es to effect comparisons and may be of lielp in at least three 

 cases : — 



I. — When the farmer wishes to know whether he has a reasonable 



