Outer Kaimrig Experiment. 161 



The parsnip was put down as an experiment, but I 

 have since formed the opinion that chicory is the more 

 suitable plant, and is superior to the parsnip. The 

 pasture — the seeds for which were sown May 8th, 1899, 

 with oats, which proved a good crop — has given much 

 satisfaction, and kept the following stock in 1900 : — 

 From April 27th to June 13th, 60 half-bred ewes and 

 twin lambs ; from June 13th to July 27th, 80 ewes and 

 twin lambs ; from July 30th to August 21st, 180 lambs ; 

 from August 21st to September 1st, 100 ewes ; from Octo- 

 ber 5th to November 10th, 60 ewes. The ewes and twin 

 lambs were increased from 60 to 80, as 60 ewes and their 

 double lambs proved quite insuflBlcient to keep the grass 

 down. The field latterly could have kept much more 

 stock, but has been lightly 'grazed towards the end of 

 the season, as it is first year's grass. I regard this field 

 as an interesting proof of what may be done with the 

 vast areas of run-out and poor lands in these islands. 

 The field is the most outlying one on the farm ; it is 

 extremely exposed, and has no plantation or hedge to 

 protect it ; its elevation is from about 700 feet at the foot 

 of the field to 800 at the top. It had been taken out of 

 the hill about seventy years ago, and worked on the five- 

 course shift, and has never been manured since, with the 

 exception of some artificials with the turnips, and the 

 manure (a most important exception, I admit, if we 

 consider all its effects) of a good turf grown with deep- 

 rooting grasses and plants. Those who have not seen 

 the field cannot believe in the amount of stock it has 

 carried, but the explanation simply is that, if you grow 

 a full supply of the most deep-rooting plants, you tap 

 depths quite out of the reach of the shallow-rooting 

 ryegrass, and certainly add about 30 per cent, to the 

 available rootage area of the field ; the large supply of 

 plants of rapidly-productive powers does the rest. 



