Experiences up to the end of October, 1904. 139 



Bank Field Experiment. — The Bank field consists of 27 acres, rather 

 more than half of which is poor, stony, and exposed, and in some 

 parts very steep land. The remainder consists of fair medium soil 

 for that part of the country. For the last nineteen years 24 acres of 

 the field have never been manured, excepting with the artificials 

 used with the turnips. The remaining 3 acres have once — some 

 years ago — had some farmyard manure, and the seed mixture used 

 in 1900 was— 



This mixture, I think, is an improvement, as, at about the same cost, 

 there is supplied a larger quantity of the most hardy, drought- 

 resisting, early, and productive grasses. It is a safe mixture, because 

 the seeds of the large grasses are much less liable to fail than those 

 of the smaller ones, and it is calculated to leave a greater quantity 

 of vegetable matter for the succeeding crops. Later observation of 

 the suitability of the golden oat grass to this description of soil has 

 suggested the use of J lb. or 1 lb. per acre. After the first ploughing 

 of the grass and our usual rotation of cereal and turnip crops, it has 

 been found that the fineness of the tilth permits the use of a smaller 

 quantity of seeds than used in 1900 for the Bank field ; consequently, 

 the Inner Kaimrig and Harewells fields were laid down in 1903 with 

 only 10 lb. cocksfoot, 5 lb. tall fescue, and 5 lb. tall oat grass, together 

 with the other usual seeds, and thus far the results are entirely 

 satisfactory. Farmers, I observe, have a prejuijice against grasses 

 which, like cocksfoot and tall fescue, may become coarse, but such 

 grasses are either fine or coarse, as the farmer is intelligent or unin- 

 formed. The intelligent farmer sows plenty of the seeds, and grazes 

 the grasses so that they may be kept in a constant succession of young 

 leaves ; the uninformed farmer puts down a small quantity of the 

 seeds, with the result that each plant grows like a bulrush, whereas 

 by crowding the plants each one becomes small and fine. We have a 

 pasture of about 4 acres at head of Bowmontside field which was laid 

 down in 1887 with the intention of its being taken up again with the 

 rest of the field, but it was fenced ofif and left in permanent pasture, 

 as the land was so steep. The mixture consisted of — 



Lb. 

 Cocksfoot 16 



Perennial Ryegrass 4 



Hard Fescue 2 



Lb. 

 Perennial Red Clover 2 



White Clover 4 



Alsike - 3 



At a cost of £1 2s 5d. 

 This pasture has done well, and always remained fine, and even when 



