736 TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION M. 
interest on working capital, upkeep of implements and working stock, occasional 
fencing, draining and pruning, idle time of horses and men, and general manage- 
ment and business expenses. 
| Crop | Sain a ad Value Profit 
| 
PS haewuths £ 8s. d. £8. d. 
| Lea oats, say, 5 qrs. Ovi GO 710 0 2 2 6 
Turnips, say, 20 tons : 8 0 0 10 0 0 20 0 
Potatoes, say,8tons . .j| 13810 0 | 17 0 0 310 0 
| Oats after roots, nearly 6 qrs. | 6 0 O 8 2 6 2 2 6 
Hay, say, 35 cwt. Ge es eed ee A Wey ee 20 0 
Graks es). Zia 258 Gah, 2am 6 _— 
The above figures suggest that the policy of growing temporary pastures, so 
common in the East.of Scotland, may be a severe handicap in agricultural pro- 
duction. It has some advantages. Temporary pasture is excellent for the 
rearing and early maturing of high-class cattle and sheep; it is also, when well 
laid down, a means of accumulating fertility, and it fits in with our system of 
farming ; but it is doubtful whether these advantages compensate for the differ- 
ence between the returns from grass and those from roots, grain, and forage on 
similar land. 
The purpose of this paper was to raise this important economic question. 
4. The Influence of Origin and Topography on Grasslands. 
By W. G. Smirn, B.Sc., Ph.D., and C. B. Crampton, M.B., C.M. 
The extent and distribution of grassland in each district of Britain depends 
much on the economic requirements, but the natural productive capacity is 
primarily determined by the nature of the soil and vegetation resulting from the 
past and present influences of climate and topography, and the distribution of the 
rocks, 
Extensive tracts of existing grasslands have, under man’s operations, replaced 
other types of vegetation, such as woodland, heath, moor, and marsh. Such 
grassland is liable to change, since it is only a phase introduced into the history 
of the vegetation. 
Other areas of grassland are of natural origin, and remain relatively constant 
under conditions which alter very slowly. 
Grassland may be grouped into (1) natural, (2) artificially induced. The first 
group may be further sub-divided into (a) stable, (6) migratory according to its 
natural origin, 
The area of stable grassland in Britain is limited, e.g., chalk downs, and 
exposed hills and bosses of limestones and basic igneous rocks. The migratory 
types are widely distributed on alluvial areas and rain-washed slopes along the 
river and coastal belts, and on the flanks of mountains. 
The changes which lead naturally to the evolution of grassland and other 
changes leading to its retrogression are therefore to be specially considered 
where maintenance or improvement of grasslands is in view. It is suggested 
that these conditions, taken in conjunction with observations on experimental 
plots, may aid in correlating information on different types of grassland. 
The stable types of grassland apparently owe their existence to the nature of 
the rocks and to the physiography which limits the growth of trees and pre- 
vents leaching of the surface or stagnancy. Apart from the stable types there 
are the migratory types mentioned below :— 
(a) Flushing of the slopes of moorland hills with water derived from springs, 
or with surface water bearing rain-wash, is favourable to the formation of grass- 
land. This is specially well developed where the rocks are rich in lime or other 
bases, and where the flushing is temporary and periodic. 
