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Increasing Basic Slag Supplies. [JUNE, 



I do not propose at present to argue out the national aspects 

 of grass and tillage farming. Speaking from a farmer's stand- 

 point, I am prepared to agree that in many parts of the United 

 Kingdom the advantages of grass fanning are obvious, for it 

 must be remembered that the food problem as the farmer 

 sees it is not the feeding of our 46,000,000 people, who have 

 long ceased to be dependent on his efforts, but the feeding of 

 his cattle, sheep, and other live stock. The two main human 

 foods grown by the farmer — wheat and potatoes — occupied 

 not more than 3,000,000 acres in the period before the War, 

 while 36,000,000 acres were devoted to the crops required by 

 his cattle and sheep. The value of the two tillage crops was 

 about £27,000,000, while his hve stock brought him in some 

 £125,000,000. 



Under these circumstances, the importance to the farmer of 

 grass, the natural food of his live stock, needs no demonstration. 

 Since grass is so important its present quality and the scope 

 for^ improvement are points to which I wish to direct your 

 attention. 



The Scope for Improvement in our Pastures. — So far as I am 



aware, there are no trustworthy records from which the average 

 production of meat by our finest permanent pastures can be 

 estimated. 



The best fattening pastures that I personally have met with 

 are in the Market Harboro' district of Leicestershire, and I 

 estimate that the richest field in the district, which I examined, 

 would on an average of years produce from 180 to 200 lb. of 

 meat without the assistance of oilcakes. The field in question 

 fattened a bullock per acre in the early part of the grazing 

 season, made a " forward store " without oilcake, or a fat 

 beast with oilcake in the autumn, and, in addition, would pro- 

 vide some keep for store cattle or sheep in the winter months. 



How many of our 33,500,000 acres of grass land come up to 

 the level of the pasture described above ? If one were to form 

 an estimate from the newspaper controversies that centred 

 round the ploughing up of grass land during the course of the 

 War, one would probably be prepared to believe that about 

 one- third, or possibly even one-half, of the grass land of England 

 was of fine qualit}'. In spite of the careful way in which the 

 Agricultural Executive Committees in most cases selected land 

 for ploughing, one heard constantly of their errors in destroying 

 fine grazings to provide land for corn. Their task was to 

 select no more than one- eighth of the grass land of England and 

 Wales for ploughing, and although, notwithstanding their 



