Improvement of Poor Pastures. 



[JAN., 



An experiment extending over the years 1901-3 has been 



carried out at Cransley, Northampton, by the Agricultural 



Department of the University of Cam- 



The Improve- bridge, in conjunction with the Board of 

 ment of Poor fe J 



Pastures. Agriculture and the Northamptonshire 



County Council, with a view of testing 



the effects of different manures on poor pastures. A similar 



^series of experiments was conducted at the Northumberland 



County Demonstration Farm at Cockle Park from 1 897-1 899, 



.and the results were given in this Journal for December, 1899 



.(Vol. VI., No. 3). 



These pasture experiments have been conducted in the 

 following way : — A field of poor grass has been divided up 

 into plots of 3^V tn acres ; the plots have been differently 

 manured ; -^th acre has then been fenced off and a hay crop 

 cut, and the remainder of the plot has been grazed by carefully 

 selected sheep. The benefit derived from the manuring is 

 measured by the progress made by the sheep. 



A week or two before the grazing season begins, a suitable 

 flock of sheep in lean condition is purchased, and a certain 

 number of animals, varying with the quality of the pasturage, 

 is allotted to each plot At first each plot will take the same 

 number of sheep, but when the manures begin to tell the 

 numbers must be varied. 



Before being put upon the plots all the sheep are fasted for a 

 night (15 hours). They are then weighed and numbered, and 

 the best and worst animals are removed. After the flock has 

 thus been reduced by 15 to 25 per cent, the remaining sheep 

 .are divided into uniform lots. A sheep is selected for each 

 plot in rotation, and when the lots have been separated, they 

 are carefully inspected, and any changes necessary to secure 

 uniformity are made. When put on the grass the different 

 lots seldom differ by 1 lb. per head in live weight, and are 

 practically identical as regards quality. 



At the end of each month, for five consecutive months, the 

 sheep are again fasted and weighed, and the increase made is 

 credited to the plot. An unfasted sheep varies rapidly in 



\- An account of experiments conducted by the Bath and West of England Society 

 with a view to testing the effect of basic slag on poor pastures was published in this 

 journal for October last (Vol. XL, No. 7). 



