2s6 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES 



straight away on an upturned sod makes a lot of difference, as does the 

 soundness and feasibiHty of the all-ley rotation, while we have the tractor 

 and modern implements. To make it possible to establish leys without 

 undue risk of failure on the heaviest soils is to-day, I feel convinced, 

 only a matter of sufficient experimenting as to ways and means. The 

 same is, I am sure, largely true of establishing leys in regions of low rain- 

 fall. Mr. Mansfield seems to have no difficulty in establishing excellent 

 leys in this district not remarkable for its high rainfall, while everybody 

 who farms on something akin to the four-course rotation after all establishes 

 leys. What is wanted in order to establish a foolproof and almost weather- 

 proof technique is much more experimenting. There is a right date to 

 sow for every district, while in the driest areas I doubt the wisdom of 

 sowing under a nurse crop, for the quicker growing cover crop must 

 compete exaggeratedly with the slower growing seedlings for what little 

 moisture there may be. It may be unwise under such conditions to 

 include even Italian rye-grass in the mixture, for this is always by far 

 the quickest grass seedling to get off the mark, while it would seem to be 

 of supreme importance to obtain a scrupulously clean seed bed, and to 

 bring in the mower at the first sign of weeds gaining dominance. The 

 successful grassing of new golf courses in regions of low rainfall, I think, 

 holds valuable lessons for the would-be ley-farmer — ' put as little as 

 possible to compete with the grasses you ultimately want ' would seem 

 to be the teaching. I would again emphasise that it is not sufficiently 

 realised that a ley sown without a nurse crop very soon starts earning 

 money on its own account, and where 4-6-8-10 year leys are at stake 

 it is poor economy to jeopardise the whole for the sake of a preliminary 

 cash crop. 



I cannot conclude my address without a little more detailed reference 

 to the ley itself. The chief points at issue are how to establish it, what ^ 

 to sow and how long to leave it down. Not one of these questions can 

 be answered in general terms, but there are in each case fundamental 

 principles at stake. The fundamental principle relative to duration is 

 the fertility attributes of the sod. From that point of view, and con- 

 sidering alike soil condition and manurial residues, my friend Prof. 

 Robinson (1937) in the informative letters he has so kindly, and if I may 

 say so, attractively, written for my major enlightenment, would seem to 

 agree with me that there is everything to be said for the four-year ley, 

 ending, as I would wish to insist, with at least two years of honest hard 

 grazing, with urination and spread of white clover. The general principle 

 here is ' to plough down the sod before it has by one jot deteriorated.' 

 It has, however, to be remembered that grazed swards do not leave behind 

 them a sod with a deep-going root system ; hayed swards develop a 

 deep-going root system. In the interest of general fertility and soil 

 condition I hold that it is sound practice, ever and anon, to plough down 

 sod with a deeply penetrating root system. Now from the point of view 

 of hay production, the highest yields are obtained from leys in their 

 first and second harvest year — that is to say, as long as late-flowering red 

 clover lasts. In general my view is this, that the best practice founded 

 on scientific principles would be to employ 1-2 year leys for hay and 



