222 Mr. Murray^s Views. 



APPENDIX VII. 



The following letter has been received from a tenant farmer, 

 who has practised the Glifton Park system. The, description of 

 his method of taking turnips after lea will be found most 

 valuable : — 



" Dear Mr. EDiot, 



" I have much pleasure in giving you a few of my opinions 

 as to what I have learned from your Clifton-on-Bowmont 

 experiments, and the truths contained in yom- book, 'Agri- 

 cultural Changes.' From my own experience of the Clifton 

 methods of rotation and seeding carried out during the last few 

 years, I can speak with absolute certainty, and I am perfectly 

 satisfied that much of the poorer land in the south of Scotland 

 could be immensely improved by changes in the system of 

 cropping such as you suggest. One only needs to consider the 

 saving of manure bills, and the increase of crops by at least 

 20 to 40 per cent, both of grain and roots grown from land that 

 has been rested in good grass, and good grass means good live 

 stock and more of it. It also means a less labour bill, or rather 

 a better paying labour bill. It also means, and this is no small 

 consideration, cleaner land, freer from weeds and couch — so 

 prevalent in the old four and five course rotations — and thistles 

 in particular, as this pest can only be eradicated by successive 

 cultivation of the soil over a course of years, a fa)6t patent to all 

 visitors to CUfton-on-Bowmont. Four years ago I selected one 

 of my best fields for experiment on Clifton lines, and I am 

 pleased to say with extraordinary results. My first tm-nip crop, 

 taken after good grass which had lain four years, produced over 

 30 tons per acre. A crop of Banner oats following thrashed out 

 at 80 bushels per acre. The succeeding swede crop of 1906, 

 on which the East of Scotland College Manure and Variety tests 

 were made — and a very indifferent turnip season at that — averaged 



