The Rothamsted Experiments. 



II.-EARLY EXPERIMENTS ON WHEAT. 



1. THE HOLKHAM EXPERIMENTS. 



OF the experiments on the growth of wheat, by far the most 

 noteworthy are those concerned with the growth of this 

 cereal for forty years in succession on the same land. But 

 there are two earlier reports which possess a special value, 

 inasmuch as they very well serve to indicate the type of 

 experiment which might be advantageously repeated either 

 by agricultural societies or by private enterprise. The first 

 of these, published in the R.A.S. Journal, 1855, bears the 

 title " Report to the Right Hon. the Earl of Leicester, on the 

 experiments conducted by Mr. Keary, on the growth of 

 wheat upon the same land for four successive years, at 

 Holkham Park Farm, Norfolk." 



With regard to the terms " light " and " heavy," as 

 applied to soils, it is pointed out in this report that, aa 

 applied to a surface soil, they afford a very imperfect indica- 

 tion of the probable native resources, and consequently of 

 the capabilities of growth without deterioration, of the 

 respective soils. Here is suggested a vein of inquiry which 

 has since been profitably worked at Rothamsted. The soil on 

 which the experiments at Holkham were made is described as 

 a light, thin, and rather shallow brown sand loam, resting 

 upon an excellent marl containing a large quantity of 

 calcareous matter. In such a surface soil there would be 

 combined the easily working qualities and the power of 

 rapidly yielding up manurial matter of the so-called " light " 

 soils, whilst in its subsoil there would be much of the native 



