1920.] 



Improvement of Gi^ss Land. 



The campaign by the Ministry for the improvement of grass 

 land in this country, outlined in a note in the issue of this 

 Journal for last month (p. 1058), was 



^of S'^Lanr^ inaugurated on Saturday, 14th February, 

 when Dr. Somerville, Sibthorpian Pro- 

 fessor of Rural Economy in the University of Oxford, delivered 

 an address at Leicester to a large gathering of farmers under the 

 chairmanship of Sir Thomas Cope, Bart., Chairman of the 

 Leicestershire County Council and of the County Education 

 Committee. 



Professor Somerville stated that in England and Wales there 

 are about 14,000,000 acres of permanent grass land, excluding 

 hill grazings, an area greater than that under arable cultivation. 

 \\'hile some of this permanent grass is of excellent quahty, and 

 not susceptible of much improvement, there is a considerably 

 larger proportion which is doing but httle either for the 

 individual or for the nation. One can meet with poor pastures 

 and meadows in all parts of the country, although they are, 

 perhaps, commonest on heavy land and on the chalk 

 formation. 



While a certain amount has been done to improve these poor 

 pastures, it is unfortunately true that many farmers regard 

 them with indifference. Yet most of this land is so easily 

 and profitably improved that farmers who are fortunate 

 enough to own or rent it have ready to their hand an opportunity 

 for such an investment of capital as a man of business would 

 envy. The return which much of such land gives to judicious 

 expenditure is usually far greater than in the case of arable 

 land. Assuming that a man has a field of wheat on which the 

 use of £2 worth of artificial manure sends up the yield from 

 3 qr. to 4 qr. per acre, he would be well satisfied with the 

 result. It would mean an increase of yield of 33 per cent., 

 and a net profit of about £2 per acre. Now the kind of 

 manure that is used to stimulate the growth of wheat 

 leaves but a scanty residue, so that little remains to help the 

 next crop, but in the case of much poor grass land the most 

 suitable form of treatment would continue its action during 

 several years, and in the aggregate would, in many cases, give 

 a retui-n of several hundreds per cent. Dr. Somerville spoke 

 of many cases where, before treatment, grass land has carried 

 during summer two store sheep per acre, and these during the 

 season have increased about 20 lb. each in five weight, or an 

 aggregate increase of 40 lb. per acre. As the result of treatment 

 the land has carried not two, but four sheep per acre, and instead 



