Cambridge University Experiments. 169 



EXPERIMENTS OF THE 



Cambridge University Department of Agriculture 



at Abbbtsley, with 



PERMANENT PASTURE ON POOR CLAY SOIL. 



At the meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society of 

 England, held at Park Royal, London, in 1903, 1904, and 

 1905, the Cambridge University Department of Agri- 

 culture exhibited turfs' from their experimental pastures 

 at Abbotsley, Hunts, and the Department made the 

 foUovdng reports : — 



June, 1903. 



" Four turfs from Abbotsley, Huntingdonshire, show- 

 ing pastures produced on stiff clay soil by various 

 ' seeds ' mixtures. The seeds were sown about June 

 1st, 1900, and 10 cwt. basic slag per acre was applied in 

 the following autumn. 



" Details of the seeds mixtures will be found in the 

 Fourth Annual Report of the Department. The turfs 

 exhibited are (a) from Plot I., a mixture of perennial 

 ryegrass and clovers — 47 lb. seeds, costing 14s. 6d. per 

 acre, moderately satisfactory ; (6) from Plot V., a 

 mixture of permanent grasses and clovers — 38 lb. seeds, 

 costing 45s. 9d., moderately satisfactory; (c) from Plot 

 VII., same as Plot V., but sainfoin in place of clovers — 

 50 lb. seeds, costing 46s., not satisfactory ; (d) Plot VIII., 

 sown with Elliot's 1895 mixture* — 45f lb. seeds, costing 

 39s. 6d., most satisfactory. On the poor clay soil of 

 Abbotsley eight different mixtures have been tried, and 

 at the present time Elliot's is much the most promising. 

 The soil is now evenly covered with herbage, which 

 looks as if it would be permanent. None of the other 

 mixtures have, so far, produced a close turf." 



• The Inner Kaimrig Mixture of 1895. Vide p. 31. 



