AMELIORATION OF LAND 75 



perative, even if the immediate returns from 

 the operation cannot be depended on to 

 cover the outlay. In the case, however, of 

 grass land, profitable utilization is often 

 possible, even when the land contains much 

 more water than would justify its retention 

 under tillage. No doubt much over -wet 

 grass land could be considerably improved by 

 drainage, combined with other ameliorative 

 treatment, but it is doubtful whether in 

 many cases the improvement effected by 

 drainage would be such as to warrant the 

 outlay. Without resorting to drainage it will 

 often be found that the application of a phos- 

 phatic manure has a markedly beneficial effect, 

 and if the land has been laid down in high, 

 or fairly high, ridges, the surplus water will 

 soon find its way from the field. It is often 

 a matter for surprise how well basic slag, 

 for instance, has acted on land which, in 

 winter at least, is thoroughly water-logged. 

 Sometimes one even finds the slag acting 

 better in the furrows than on the ridges, 

 Here, as so often happens in agriculture, 

 results are no doubt much affected by local 

 conditions in other words, the character both 

 of the water and soil is an important deter- 

 mining factor. 



The theoretical considerations that affect 



