19 



1 — By improvements in the method of sowing so as to 

 give the seedHng a good chance of establishing 

 itself ; 



2 — By dressings of chalk ; 



3 — By application of phosphates, and where necessary, 

 potash before sowing ; 



4 — By the use of farmyard manure (p. 55) . 



In some of our experiments the weights of the young plants .it 

 t!ie time of cutting the barley were : — 



Weight of 



Weight of 



I -'^'^"^ I Barlev 

 Clover plants. I ^ , .' „ 



L, , * . Cwts. per Acre 

 Cwts. per Acre ^ 



Control .... 



Slag and Lime 



Super and Sulphate of Potash 



Farmyard Manure 



Super and Farmyard Manure 



4.S 



11. _^ 



10.3 

 15.0 



21.2 

 31.7 

 26.1 

 28.2 

 26.5 



W'c arc not at present able to exj)lain altogether this action of 

 farmyard manure, but experiments in the bacteriological labora- 

 tory by Mr. Thornton indicate a special .'iction of some of its con- 

 stituents on the nodule organism, and seem to foreshadow interest- 

 ing possibilities in the cndture of the leguminous crops. 



4 — Green niatiurijio-. — The dilhcidtv of making sufficient 

 farmyard manure brings into prominence the need for green 

 manuring. ;\ field experiment has been started and the necessary 

 l.iboratory wurk is being initiated by Mr. H. j. P.'tge. 



-Mt hough the beneficial action of a plentiful supply of organic 

 matter in the soil is well known, precise knowledge of its mode of 

 action is lacking. Laboratory work on hiunus, commenced in 1919 

 by Mr. \'. A. Beckley (p. 37), is being extended by Messrs. H. J. 

 Page and R. M. Winter. Refined methods for the determination 

 of ammonia and nitrates in soils have been devised by Mr. D. J. 

 Matthews, and are being used to study the changes occurring in 

 the nitrogenous substamx'S in the soil, especially after the applica- 

 tion of green manures. 



THE POPULATION OF THE SOIL. 

 FAUNA AND FLORA. 



Every farmer knows the importance of organic manure in the 

 soil, but it is less generally realised that the effectiveness of the 

 organic manure depends on the activity of the soil organisms, 

 without which it would be quite useless, and in some cases harmful. 

 Although the organisms cannot be seen by the naked eye, they are 

 present in all fertile soils in vast numbers and in extraordinary 

 variety. An extended survey is therefore being made on definite 

 systematic lines with the view of learning as much as possible about 

 the soil population. No less than 10 workers are engaged on this 

 survey. Mr. D. W. Cutler, Miss L. M. Crump and Mr. H. Sandon 

 study the protozoa ; Mr. H. G. Thornton and Mr. P. H. H. Gray 



