674 



Perennial Eyegrass. 



[Oct.,. 



PERENNIAL RYEGRASS AND WILD 

 WHITE CLOVER. 



Professor Gilchrist of Armstrong College, Newcastle-on- 

 Tyne, who has arranged to deliver a series of lectures in the 

 North of England in connection with the Ministry's grassland 

 campaign, addressed a meeting of farmers at Thirsk on 

 16th August, at which he laid great emphasis on three 

 important points in grassland improvement: — 



(1) The benefits following the inclusion of wild white clover 



in seed mixtures. 



(2) The value of perennial ryegrass, and the proper method 



of retaining and developing this grass. 



(3) The improvement of turf which results from proper 



treatment of grass. 



Wild White Clover. — At Cockle Park, as the outcome of 

 many years' experience, 1J lb. of wild white clover seed per 

 acre are now usually included in the seeds mixture for a ley 

 of three years or longer duration. A fair proportion of wild 

 white clover plants in the aftermaths of one-year leys has been 

 produced with J lb. or even J lb. of seed, but the first year's 

 aftermath in three-year leys, for which 1J lb. of wild white 

 clover seed has been included in the mixture, is much more 

 satisfactory, a good covering of clover being quickly obtained, 

 effectually checking the development of weedy herbage which 

 is otherwise rapid. The seeds mixture for three-year leys on 

 this poor clay is as follows: — 16 lb. perennial ryegrass, 10 lb. 

 cocksfoot, 4 lb. Timothy, 4 lb. late flowering red clover, 1 lb. 

 trefoil and 1J lb. wild white clover. The rotation is a six- 

 course one, and since 1912 there have been five 3-year leys from 

 which the average weights of hay in the first, second and third 

 years have been 42 cwt., 45 cwt., and 38 cwt., per acre 

 respectively. Such excellent results in the second and third 

 years are undoubtedly due to the inclusion of wild white clover. 

 The clover aftermaths have been of a most valuable character 

 for grazing, and as good in the second and third years as in the 

 first, while the turf at the end of the three years is always 

 excellent. 



The effect of including wild white clover in the seeds mix- 

 ture was further tested on Tower Hill Field in 1907-1917 on poor 

 stiff clay soil of low value. An addition of 4 lb. wild white clover 

 seed per acre to the mixture increased the hay crop by 6 cwt. 



