1920.] The Improvement of Grass Land. 371 



(1) Scarcity of Potash. — This is sometimes the case on 

 sandy soils or on peats. In the case of meadows the deficiency 

 is much assisted by dressings of farmyard manure. On pastures^ 

 mineral phosphates should be applied, but only after the 

 deficiency has been proved as a result of small scale trials. 



(2) Almost complete Absence of leguminous Herbs. — This may 

 be rectified by renovating mixtures consisting largely of wild 

 white clover. In wet climates, where the turf is dense and bent 

 abounds, it is difficult to get any sort of seed bed for a renovating 

 mixture. On drier and on calcareous soils a sufficient crumbier 

 tilth can often be obtained, and renovating mixtures sown in 

 wet weather are often successful. 



(3) Physiological Dryness of the Soil. — This may be due to 

 a dense matted turf which actually prevents rain properly 

 reaching the soil below. Rough swards should be heavily 

 grazed with ponies and lime applied ; improvement can only 

 be slow. It is difficult to improve the swards on very dry 

 sands by surface dressing, as the soil needs abundance of 

 organic matter which requires to be ploughed in. • 



(4) Swards full of Weeds. — These are slow to improve by 

 top dressing, and in order to reduce mat herbs it may even 

 be necessary to apply a mixed dressing, including ammonium 

 sulphate, although under ordinary conditions it is not a sound 

 practice to apply nitrogenous fertilisers to pastures. On a 

 rough turf it is a great advantage to harrow in top dressings 

 with a toothed harrow. 



Breakingr the Sod.— It is most desirable that the sod should 

 be broken (i) when there is a coarse, matted sward, (2) where 

 leguminous herbs are absent on a dense turf, and (3) on ver}^ 

 dry, sandy soils. In the last case soiling crops should be 

 ploughed in, the field sown down with a cheap mixture con- 

 sisting largely of rib-grass, grazed with sheep, rebroken after 

 two years, soiling crops again ploughed in, and the land finally 

 re-seeded with a good mixture. The need for breaking the 

 sod is indicated even on fairly good fields if full of weeds. 



A good case for breaking can, however, often be made for 

 entirel}^ different reasons, namely, where the soils do not carry 

 high-class permanent pastures. There can be no doubt that 

 a grass rotation carried over the whole farm would give far 

 more grass keep, hay and grazing, and more both cleaner and 

 better arable crops than a part of the farm under permanent 

 grass and the rest under rotation with but the one or two-year 

 ley. It was from this point of view that the lecturer wished the 

 question to be considered. Sucli grass-land farming would. 



