1922.] i\IooELAND Grazing in the North of England. 



799 



Grazing with Sheep and Cattle. — On moorland farms, graz- 

 ing with cattle helps greatly in improving the herbage, as cattle 

 eat far more of the stemmy herbage than sheep. At Cockle 

 Park, where pasture of the poorest character has been effectively 

 improved by basic slag, grazing with sheep alone gives gains of 

 about 100 lb. live weight per acre during each grazing season, 

 whereas when the plots are stocked with cattle and sheep about 

 double this live weight increase is obtained. The plots grazed 

 with sheep alone develop much stemmy herbage and clover 

 development is checked, whereas grazing with cattle and sheep 

 gives pasture with little stemmy herbage and a close and firm 

 bottom of grass and clover plants. 



Trials in Scotland. — Dr. Shirra Gibb, in 1906, reported on 

 trials of basic slag, kainit and lime on hill grazings at twenty 

 centres in Scotland.* The dressings per acre w^ere, 5 cwt. slag, 

 10 cwi. ground lime, and 2^- cwt. kainit. The slag and lime were 

 applied on half acre plots and the kainit was applied as a cross 

 dressing. 



The conclusions drawn were that basic slag may be expected 

 to do good on clay soils, with clay or tilly subsoils, which have 

 small clover plants and poorly eaten grasses, and that in such 

 cases kainit was not required. On moory, mossy and generally 

 black topped land slag was evidently helpful, with probably in 

 this case the addition of kainit. If the sod was very dense and 

 the roots thick and matted it v/as doubtful if any manuring 

 would pay. 



Ploughing out Matty Turf. — Much of the old grass land 

 ploughed out during the last years of the War had a thick matty 

 covering on the surface. This covering is a common cause of 

 poverty in moorland hay and grazing land and has been encou- 

 raged by grazing with sheep alone, or by continually mowing for 

 hay, usually late in the autumn. The application of nitrogenous 

 manures like sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda has tended 

 to develop this matty covering, as such manures encourage the 

 wirv grasses and check clover plants. On the Palace Leas 

 meadow hay field at Cockle Park, sulphate of ammonia, applied 

 continuously for over twenty j^ears, has developed such a mat 

 to a depth of over 3 in. of the same character as is to be found 

 on much of our moorlands, whereas where basic slag alone has 

 been regularly applied no such mat has been formed and the soil 

 is close to the surface. In the former case the aftermath is of 

 a harsh and wiry character which the grazing stock refuse to 



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* TTavj<ocfioits of (he Ilirjhland and Af/ricidUiral Society, 1900, p. 80. 



