6l2 



Improvement of Poor Pastures. 



[JAN., 



ammonia, or dissolved bones should not be applied ; some or all 

 of these may be used after the first few years are over, but they 

 are not suitable when beginning to improve. As a potash 

 manure may be useful, especially after the second year, it will 

 be desirable to apply 4 cwt. of kainit to a few of the ridges that 

 have already received slag, so that the effect of potash may be 

 tested. The reason for these recommendations is that the 

 extent of the ultimate improvement will depend on the extent 

 to which the farmer is able to grow clover during the first year 

 or two. Anything that promotes clover will help to lay the 

 foundation of a permanent improvement and anything that 

 hinders clover at this stage will hinder improvement. 



These are the lessons which may be drawn from the Cransley 

 experiment so far as it has gone. The subsequent treatment of 

 the land does not come in for discussion at present, but a brief 

 consideration of the effects produced by clover on soil will 

 indicate what the subsequent treatment should be. In the first 

 year after basic slag has been applied, the growth of the clover 

 is not usually very marked, but in the second season there is a 

 very great development and the whole surface is covered by the 

 plant. The result is not only a great increase in food for stock, 

 but a great improvement in the soil itself, for : — (1) The land is 

 manured by the droppings of the stock ; (2) the roots of the 

 clover open up the stiff clay and let air in ; (3) the decayed 

 roots and leaves manure the land ; and (4) clover roots have the 

 power of enriching the soil by passing into it nitrogen collected 

 from the air. This last effect is very important. It is wel* 

 known that a good clover crop helps land to grow a good 

 wheat crop on arable land, and on pastures there is a similar 

 benefit. The only difference is that in the one case we have 

 red clover and wheat, in the other white clover and pasture 

 grasses. 



In consequence of the beneficial action of clover on the 

 natural grasses, these begin to spread, and in two or three years 

 they become abundant. It is fortunate that they do fill up the 

 soil, for clover itself would not continue to do so for any length 

 of time. The subsequent treatment of a pasture must therefore 

 differ from that adopted at first, for when the farmer begins 

 improving his land he must think only of the clovers, and the 



