igo6.] 



Improvement of Poor Pasture. 



673 



applied nor had any artificial feeding been given to the stock 

 grazing on it, except to an insignificant extent. The soil is a 

 stony loam resting on a bed of boulder clay, which covers the 

 rocks to a considerable depth. Of its class it forms a fairly good 

 pasture, which has been stocked for more than half a century 

 with a flock of Cheviot ewes, kept for rearing half-bred lambs, 

 along with a sprinkling of young cattle. 



Plan of the Experiment. — The experiment was carried on 

 through the summer season only for a period of twenty weeks 

 each year, except in 1901, when, owing to the late spring, the 

 grazing period was sixteen weeks only. 



As in similar experiments, the number of sheep put on each 

 plot was varied according to the condition of the herbage. The 

 manures applied per acre were as follows : — 



Plot No. I. — 7| cwt. basic slag, containing phosphoric acid equal to that applied 



on Plot 2 in the form of superphosphate ; in April, 1899. 

 5^ cwt. basic slag, containing phosphoric acid equal to that applied 



on Plot 2 in the form of superphosphate ; in January, 1901. 

 Plot No. 2. — 7| cwt. superphosphate (312 per cent, soluble), in April, 1899. 



5 cwt. do. (307 do. do. ), in January, 1901. 



Plot No. 3. — The same manures as on Plot 2, with the addition of \\ cwt. muriate 



of potash (47 per cent, potash), in April, 1899, and 1 cwt. 



muriate of potash (47 per cent, potash), in January, 1901. 

 Plot No. 4. — The same manures as on Plot 3, with the addition of i| cwt. nitrate 



of soda, in April, 1899, and I cwt nitrate of soda, in January, 



1901. 



Plot No. 5. — No manure. 



Effect of Manures on the Herbage. — Early in the experiment 

 it became apparent that while the manured plots gave a much 

 greater increase in live weight during the first two months of 

 the grazing season, the unmanured plot did quite as well during 

 the remainder of the season. In the first eight weeks of 1900 

 the total gain in live weight made on the unmanured plot was 

 169 lb., while on the superphosphate plot it was 269 lb., and on 

 the basic slag plot it was 270 lb. In the remaining three months 

 the total gain made on the unmanured plot was 187 lb., while 

 on the superphosphate plot it was 167 lb. only, and on the basic 

 slag plot it was 187 lb., or exactly the same as on the un- 

 manured plot. A careful examination of the plots, however, 

 provided an explanation of the failure of the manured plots. It 

 was found that the manured plots were full of the stems of 

 grasses carrying ripened seeds, while on the unmanured plot 



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