19-21.] TiiK Condition of Pp^emanknt MkadovvS. 207 



THE CONDITION OF PERMANENT 

 MEADOWS. 



Professor R. G. Stapledon, M.A., 

 Uniccrsit ij College of Wales, Aherijatirijth. 



Introduction. — In 1920 there were over fourteen million 

 acres in England and Wales under permanent grass, and as 

 much as 80 per cent, of this area was cut for ha}-.* It is 

 not possible to form a reliable estimate of the proportion of 

 the hay land which is set aside as permanent meadow, but 

 there can be little doubt that most of the hay annually taken 

 trom permanent grass is harvested off the same fields year 

 after year. The total area cut for hay from both permanent 

 and temporary grass was over six million acres in 1920, and 

 approximately 73 per cent, of this area was permanent grass. 

 The above figures indicate that on the score of acreage alone 

 meadows are an important feature of our permanent grass 

 lands, but when considering the improvement of grass land 

 attention is usually given chiefly to the betterment of pastures. 

 During the War the writer — when inspecting grassland in a 

 number of counties in England and Wales — formed the opinion 

 that on the average the meadow land was more neglected and 

 relatively less productive in relation to its potential capacity 

 than the pastures. During 1920 opportunities presented 

 themselves for examining the relative condition of pastures 

 and meadows in greater detail in certain Welsh and south- 

 western English counties. The results of this further survey 

 confirm the view that tlie productivity of our meadows is very 

 far from satisfactory. 



The Weedy Condition of Meadows. — It is not only in the 

 matter of yield that there is room foj- much improvement: 

 perhaps the worst defect of meadow hay is its excessive 

 weediness. If the weed contribution to the Xatioi^'s meadow 

 hay could be expressed in tons alongside of the gross produce, 

 it woiihl bo an instinctive but not a j^lcasing figure to con- 

 tem[)late. \A'eeds are Tnil'ortunately not only a feature of 

 very j^ooi' meadows but are often almost etpially abundant on 

 meadows which ai'c regai'dcd as cxcclhMit. Tlu^ ninnbiM* of 

 weed species which contribute in really large amount 



« A-ricultmal Statistics, ll»2(), Vnl.LV (1). 



