1920.] 



Notes on Manures. 



1013 



article in composition, while the correspondents mixtures 

 are both better. With regard to the claim that the manufac- 

 turer has to pay double carriage and use new bags, it should 

 be pointed out that this would not apply to the larger fertiUser 

 manufacturers, but only to some of the smaller mixers, and 

 that against these items would have to be set the special dis- 

 count allowed to manure mixers but not to individual farmers. 

 In view of these considerations it can hardly be claimed that 

 a farmer would be justified in paying so high a price for the 

 material in question. 



Manuring of Seeds Hay.— In the west and north of England 

 and in Scotland the manuring of the seeds hay is well under- 

 stood and is a common practice ; in the Eastern Counties, 

 however, little if any manuring is done. The difference arises 

 from the circumstance that the seeds hay in the Eastern Counties 

 is generally pure clover intended for one year only, whilst 

 elsewhere it is a mixture containing grasses intended to remain 

 down two or more years. If the land is already in good heart, 

 is sufficiently well hmed, and has recently received a good 

 dressing of farmyard manure, the clover will probably want 

 nothing more. For some time, now, however, farmyard manure 

 has been scarce, and good dressings have been the exception 

 rather than the rule. In these circumstances the clover ley 

 may well receive more attention than is usually given to it. 



First and foremost it is essential that the land should be well 

 supplied with lime, as any acidity is fatal to the crop. 



It is also essential that there should be a sufficient supply of 

 phosphates, and if neither basic slag nor superphosphate has 

 been apphed recently to the land, one or other should be given 

 to the clover crop. Farmers in the Eastern Counties may well 

 pay serious attention to the experiments made at Saxmundham 

 bn the effect of phosphates on the clover crop. Not only was 

 the yield of clover increased but the succeeding wheat crop 

 benefited considerably also. The unmanured clover gave a 

 yield of 39 cw^t. of hay per acre in two cuts in 191 4. This 

 yield was raised to 51 and 53 cwt. per acre when 5 and 10 cwt. 

 of slag, respectively, weie applied. Four cwt. of superphosphate 

 per acre raised the yield to 56 cwt., which sho\\'s a very substan- 

 tial increase on the unmanured crop. Further, the additional 

 nitrogen fixed by the larger clover crop greatly benefited the 

 wheat crop. After the immanured clover the wheat crop (also 

 unmanured) gave less than 20 bush, to the acre ; after the slagged 

 clover the yields on the two plots were 26| and 31 f bush., and 

 after the superphosphate 25 J bush., per acre. The succeeding 



