982 The Value of Lupins on Poor Light Land. [Jan., 



THE VALUE OF LUPINS IN THE 

 CULTIVATION OF POOR LIGHT LAND.'^ 



A. W. Oldershaw, M.B.E., B.Sc, 



Agricultural Organiser for East Suffolk. 



In various parts of England, especially in East Anglia, there 

 are considerable areas of very poor light land, much of which had 

 gone out of cultivation before the War owing to the fact that it 

 is of poor quahty. Land of this type is usually very deficient of 

 lime, and in all other necessary plant foods. In many cases 

 no grass seeds had been sown, but a natural herbage, chiefly 

 sorrel and poor grass, was permitted to grow. 



During the War, considerable areas of this light-land " grass " 

 were ploughed up, either voluntarily or at the instance of the 

 War Agricultural Committees. In many cases rye was sown on 

 the newly ploughed-out grass, usually with a fair measure of 

 success, and there can be no doubt that the Nation's food 

 supply was thereby considerably increased, with very Httle 

 expenditure of labour. The question now requiring an answer, 

 however, is, how can this land be kept in cultivation, in face of 

 a higher cost of production, and every prospect of a falling price 

 for rye ? Two alternatives may be noted : (i) the land may be 

 cultivated, or (2) it may be left in a practically derelict condition, 

 as it will not grow an appreciable quantity of grass. 



The writer for some years has had an opportunity of observ- 

 ing the effects of the growth of lupins upon poor light land, and 

 has come to the conclusion that they possess certain qualities 

 which render them of great value to occupiers of this type of 

 land. He also believes that their usefulness is not sufficiently 

 appreciated in this country. It is hardly necessary to mention 

 that lupins, in common with other leguminous crops, assimilate 

 the free nitrogen of the air. They are, however, unique, in that 

 they produce a luxuriant crop on extremely light land. 



In Suffolk, at the present time, the only variety of lupins 

 grown to any extent is the blue lupin. South worth, in the 

 "Cyclopaedia of Modern Agriculture," states that yellow lupins 

 have more succulent stems and larger leaves than the blue 

 variety. He tested the two varieties, however, and, on the 

 whole, obtained the better results from the blue lupins. The seed 

 germinated better, and usually produced a better crop. It has 

 been stated that the yellow lupin grows more slowly than the 



* Resum6 of a paper read at the British Association (Section M), September, 



1919. 



