IX.] FAIRY RINGS 239 



though the manure went to keep up the "condition," 

 and the crop was grown out of that rather than from 

 the manure applied. 



From the point of view of analysis the estimation of 

 the " condition " of a given piece of land is a difficult, 

 matter on which light is only just beginning to be 

 thrown by the determination of " available " plant food, 

 such as the nitrates and the phosphoric acid and potash 

 soluble in dilute acid solvents. By considering such 

 factors as these and the amount of humus soluble in 

 alkali, the ratio of the soil carbon to the nitrogen, 

 and the proportion of calcium carbonate, the agricul- 

 tural chemist may form an idea as to the immediate 

 state of the land. Doubtless, the prevalence and dis- 

 tribution of such necessary bacteria as those causing 

 nitrification are also important factors in determining 

 the fertility, but on this point we are without exact 

 information. It will be seen that "condition" is one 

 of the most valuable of the properties of the soil to 

 the cultivator; as it may be destroyed or created by 

 the tenant during his occupation of the land, it should 

 be as far as possible a tenant's asset, to be bought by 

 him on entry and valued to him on leaving. The 

 difficulty which even an experienced man finds in 

 putting a value on so intangible an item makes it 

 almost impossible to assess the condition of a farm, 

 but it is desirable in every way that the outgoing 

 tenant should be encouraged to maintain the condition 

 of his farm by giving him due compensation for the 

 unexhausted value both of manures and foods used 

 in the latter years of his tenancy. 



Fairy Rings. 



The significance of "condition" and its dependence 

 upon a supply of recently decayed organic matter is 



