320 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



December, 1913 



Woburn Experiments. 



— Wheat Land. — 

 Since 1876 the scope of the ex- 

 perimental work at Woburn has 

 greatly extended, and somz three 

 years aijo Charity Farm was taken 

 over, situated more than a mile 

 away, but having the advantatre of 

 being erpiintied with farm build- 

 ings, though in contrast to the 

 Woburn holding the soil is of a 

 heavier character. The thirtv- 

 seventh continuous crop on wheat 

 on the stackvard field indicates the 

 marked benefit to be derived from 

 liminjr on land that is naturallv de- 

 ficient in that sub.stance. The soil, 

 too, has been rende.rt'd acid and 

 sterile through repeated applica- 

 tions of sulphate of ammonia; and 

 the lime-dressed land, at the rate 

 of two tons to the acre, has for 

 16 vears shown the benefit of this 

 course of treatment. It is signifi- 

 cant that half a ton of lime to 

 the acre put on one plot in 1905 

 now shows si?ns of being worked 

 out, so that there would appear to 

 be a definite relationship up to a 

 point of the amount of lime ap- 

 plied and the duration of its ef- 

 fects. It mieht be added that the 

 season in Kng-land has not been 

 favourable to cereals on light soils, 

 especiallv sprine-sown corn, which 

 had not the strencfth to withstand 

 the drought in .Tune. The nitrate 

 of soda plots looked well towards 

 the end of .Tulv, and the farmyard 

 manure and rape-dust dressing 

 showed no marked difference, both 

 doing satisfactorily. 



— Barley Crops. — 



Barley, also in its thirtv-seventh 

 vear, had not perceptibly felt that 

 blighting and strangling effect of 

 the Tune weather. The K)12 lime 

 dressing produced a marked bene- 

 fit, and the effect of a dressing of 

 one ton to the acre in I'Qo.S is 

 now disappearing, affordiu'r valu- 

 able information on the duration 

 of the action of lime as applied 

 to land on which white crops are 

 grown. Tn an enclosure on the 

 same field various clovers and lu- 

 cerne are beincr tested, and the ef- 

 fect of treated or inoculated seed 

 is beinp- tried. Excellent hav crops, 

 as much as three tons to the acre, 

 have been carried ; while of lu- 

 cerne, the best results have been 

 secured from the Russian seed, the 

 Provence and the Canadian follow- 

 ing in the order named. The Ameri- 

 can is stated to be inferior. 



— Manuring Trials. — 

 Tn another field green manuring 

 trials are taking place, plou'.rhing- 

 in being resorted to, in contrast 



to the feeding oS, which is tried 

 elsewhere. It is the intention to 

 take an oat cxop to test the. effect 

 of stored up nitrogen in the soil. 

 Some magnesia experiments illus- 

 trate the influence of this sub- 

 stance on wheat, the application 

 being made prior to sowing. The 

 effect is a darker plant and im- 

 proved tillering. The latter objec- 

 tive is sought in another way by 

 trenching, the seed being sown m 

 a trench, covered, and allowed to 

 shoot. The new shoots are then 

 covered with soil until the service 

 is level. By this means it is claim- 

 ed that the tillerinir improves, and 

 the yield is, of course, greater; but 

 the points at issue are the practi- 

 cal possibility of such a system, 

 the cost, and whether thicker seed- 

 ing would not partU- reme'l\- this. 



On another part of the farm the 

 effect of nitrate of soda on catch 

 crops — mustard and trifoleum — is 

 being closely observed. Other in- 

 teresting tests are the comparison 

 of varieties of oats, thick and thin 

 barley seeding, and the manurial 

 treatment of permanent grass. A 

 new nitrogenous fertiliser — nitrate 

 of ammonia — is beiri'T contrasted 

 with the older established nitrate 

 of soda and sulphate of ammonia. 



— Pot Culture Experiments. — 



Pot-culture experim-ents have beeni 

 carried out since 1897, the station 

 for this purpose being established 

 mainly through a bequest from 

 the late Mr. E. H. Hills. The cost 

 of enuipment was .€ 1,200, and the 

 station is said to be the best of 

 its kind in the country. Some of 

 the experiments now in progress 

 are designed to .show the influence 

 of zinc, copper, manganese and cer- 

 ium salts on the wheat crop. The 

 relation.ship of lime to mafrnesia in 

 soils, and the solubility of basic 

 slag, the latter an important prac- 

 tical point, are being observed. 

 There are also experiments in the 

 eradication of the wild onion, the 

 influence of sulphur on crons, the 

 effect of spraving barlev with sul- 

 phate of copper, and lastly, experi- 

 ments on the heatincf of soils, a 

 branch of research originated by 

 Dr. Russell. 



— Tuberculous Cattle. — 



Some important calf-rearinsr ex- 

 periments at Woburn will soon be 

 brought to a close, the intention 

 be ng to detr.'on.stratp that bv heal- 

 thy rearing, calves from tubercul- 

 ous mothers can be kept healthy. 

 A little more than two vears ago 

 the institution procured a number 

 of tuberculous cows expectant of 

 calves. They had some difficulty 



in getting them, for farmers are 

 unwilling to admit that any of 

 their cattle are diseased. They 

 Avere obtained, however, and housed 

 and isolated at Charity Farm, 

 where they cah^ed. The young 

 were at once separated from their 

 mothers, and every step was taken 

 to ensure that they could not be 

 further tainted. They were re- 

 moved to a distant part of the 

 farm, attended bv men who had 

 never been near the cows, and fed 

 on alien sterilised milk. Many 

 died, but nine bullocks and six 

 heifers survived. The first were 

 fattened off and last May were 

 slaughtered, the carcases being ful- 

 ly (examined for anv sign of tuber- 

 culosis. None was foimd. The 

 heifers and . their calves will be 

 slaughtered shortly for a similar 

 test. Dr. Voelckler stated that a 

 satisfactory conclusion might be 

 drawn that animals, though boTU 

 of tuberculous parents, if kept iso- 

 lated under healthy surroundings 

 need not themselves be tuberculous. 

 The result of further experience in 

 this direction will- be awaited with 

 much interest hy graziers through- 

 out the' world. — Dalgety's Review. 



