AGRICULTURE 



growth of wheat and barley on the same plots, on the duration of the life of the clovers in common 

 cultivation, on the relation of manures to clover sickness, on the laying down of permanent pastures, 

 on fertilizers, on the utility of ' nitragin,' and in the feeding of bullocks and sheep. Many other 

 experiments have from time to time been carried on with reference to plant diseases and pests, green 

 manuring, ensilage, &c., as these and other questions have been forced upon the attention of agricul- 

 turists by meteorological and other conditions. As stated above, while the conduct of the farm is 

 in the hands of the Royal Agricultural Society, the whole of the expenses — amounting to an average 

 of nearly ;^900 a year — are defrayed by the Duke of Bedford. The agricultural details are under 

 the management of a scientifically-trained farmer. 



Since 1897 an interesting addition has been made to the equipment and work at this experi- 

 mental farm by the establishment of a Pot-Culture station. Its inauguration was in great measure 

 due to a bequest made to the Royal Agricultural Society in 1896 by the late Mr. E. H. Hills, a 

 member of the firm of F. C. Hills & Co., of Deptford, chemical manufacturers and makers of arti- 

 ficial manures, for the purpose of carrying out experiments on the value of ' the rarer kinds of 

 ash. These, he considered, might possibly exercise a greater influence on the growth of crops than 

 has been generally believed. Under primary ash Mr. Hills had classed phosphoric acid, potash, 

 lime, and sulphuric acid ; under secondary ash, soda, magnesia, chlorine compounds, oxide of iron, 

 and silica ; under tertiary ash, or the rarer forms of ash, he included compounds of fluorine, man- 

 ganese, iodine, bromine, titanium, and lithium. Many of the results derived from experiments 

 bearing on these and other agricultural problems made at the Pot-Culture station have been both 

 interesting and useful, while the appreciation by agriculturists of the utility of the experimental 

 farm and its adjuncts is rapidly growing.* 



Not far from the above farm, and nearly close to the Ridgmont station, is the Woburn Experi- 

 mental Fruit Farm, carried on by the Duke of Bedford since 1894. The first report, published in 

 1897 by the Duke of Bedford and Mr. Spencer U. Pickering, F.R.S., explains that ' the main object 

 of this experimental station is to ascertain facts relative to the culture of fruit and to increase our 

 knowledge of, and to improve our practice in, this industry.' 



The farm consists of about twenty acres, divided into about 662 plots, most of which are 

 devoted to experiments on various kinds of apples, while many are given to pears, plums, and 

 cherries. Some plots are devoted to small fruits, including strawberries. Five are called ' Demon- 

 stration Plots,' showing how small areas of * ground may be advantageously cropped with fruit by 

 farmers, growers for market, and cottagers respectively.' Several plots are used for experiments on 

 the arrangement of trees, and the hedges consist of fruit trees of different descriptions. Careful and 

 elaborate experiments are made in manuring, training, grafting, pruning, crossing, the mode of 

 putting trees into the ground ; and canker in apple trees and other diseases receive the closest and 

 most persevering attention. Elaborate methods of examination of results have been devised, and are 

 patiently carried out. For example, the measurement of the vigour of young trees involves the 

 measurement of the size of the leaf, the total leaf-area on the tree, the length of new wood 

 formed, and the number of new shoots on the tree ; and sometimes the total weight of leaves on 

 the tree is ascertained. Though the Experimental Fruit Farm has been in operation only a few years, 

 several very interesting and valuable results have been arrived at, and a great deal of important work 

 is being done, the results of which will appear in course of time. 



Under the Local Taxation (Customs and Excise) Act, 1890, and subsequently under the 

 Education Act, 1902, the Bedfordshire County Council have liberally devoted large sums to the 

 promotion of agricultural education. 



In 1 891 the County Council held a Summer Agricultural College in the Bedford County 

 School, at which thirty-four students (elementary school teachers) were eighteen days in residence. 

 Twelve lectures on agricultural geology were given by Mr. J. W. Wallace, of Heriot Watt College, 

 Edinburgh, and twelve on agricultural botany by Mr. Edric Druce, Cirencester Gold Medallist. 

 The lectures had special reference to practice, and visits to farms formed an essential part of the 

 course. For five years this college was held, under similar conditions, with some changes in the 

 lecture staff. In the third year the lectures were given by Professors Harker and Kinch of the Royal 

 Agricultural College, Cirencester, on the natural history of the farm and garden, and on agricultural 

 and general chemistry. The same lecturers attended the fourth year ; and in the fifth year, in place 

 of Professor Harker, who had died, there was engaged Mr. J. H. Dugdale, of Rowney Abbey, 

 Ware, who lectured on the principles underlying farm practice, and an addition was made of six 

 lectures by Professor Wilson, of Cirencester, on veterinary science. This was the last of the sum- 

 mer colleges, the County Council having decided upon other plans. 



In 1894 the Duke of Bedford offered to place the Warren Farm, Ridgmont, at the disposal of 

 the County Council, and to erect there the necessary buildings for a farm school. Accordingly, 



' Dr. J. A. V'oelcker, Rep. of the IVobum Pot-Culture Station (1900). 



141 



