1910.J Summary of Agricultural Experiments. 579 



of 2 tons 5^ cwt. in the case of the second plot, and i ton 16 cwt. in 

 the case of the third plot over the untreated plot, the value of these 

 increases at 20s. per ton being £2 5s. 6d. and £1 16s. The cost of 

 treatment per annum with the culture was 3d., and that for the nitrate 

 of soda was 10s. 6d. The profit per acre per annum from the treat- 

 ment with the bacterial culture was therefore £2 5s. 3d., and from 

 the dressing of nitrate of soda £1 55. 6d. With regard to the un- 

 treated plot, there was a largely increased yield in 1906 over that of 

 1905, and this is to be attributed to the fact that the lucerne plants 

 were increasing their hold on the soil without any special assistance 

 from manures. The yield remained stationary in the two succeeding 

 years, but in 1909 there was a remarkable yield of 12 tons 10^ cwt. 

 per acre of green forage, which may have been due to the specially 

 favourable season, as both the other plots also gave much heavier 

 yields. The application in the spring of that year of the mineral 

 manures (superphosphate and muriate of potash) may also have had 

 a favourable influence, while another factor which may be taken into 

 account is the natural increase of bacteria suitable to the lucerne crop. 

 It was evident throughout the experiment that the bacteria did not 

 spread from the inoculated plot to the other plots. 



The results of the experiment showed that, although it is com- 

 monly thought that nitrogenous manures are unnecessary for a lucerne 

 crop, nitrate of soda can be very profitably employed during the first 

 few years of the growth of the crop. A cheaper and quite as efficacious 

 method of promoting the growth of the lucerne is to inoculate the 

 soil with the proper bacteria. 



The experiment showed that the lucerne crop can be successfully 

 cultivated in Scotland. The soil should be deep and rather light so 

 as to allow the lucerne roots to penetrate freely. Soils rich in lime 

 are preferable. The lucerne should be cut when at a height of about 

 12 in., and should give several cuttings in the season. The green 

 forage may be fed to all kinds of farm stock, and is especially suitable 

 for milking-cows. In only exceptionally favourable seasons in the 

 west of Scotland could the crop be turned into hay. 



Throughout the experiment the land had every year to be thoroughly 

 cleaned of the grasses which grew strongly on the ground during the 

 winter, and it is therefore recommended that the lucerne should be 

 sown in rows in order to facilitate cleaning ; otherwise the weeds would 

 overrun and destroy the crop. If properly manured and kept clean 

 the lucerne will occupy the ground for a considerable number of 

 years, and when it is finally ploughed up the soil will be enriched by 

 the highly nitrogenous root-residue, and should be able to produce a 

 succession of good grain or other crops. 



Improvement of Hill Pasture as Determined by Effect on Stocjz 

 (Aberdeen and North of Scotland Coll. of Agric, Bull. No. 16, 1910). — 

 These experiments, conducted at Glen Dye, in Kincardineshire, and 

 Ardross, in Ross-shire, and extending over the five years 1905-9, were 

 undertaken in order to ascertain a cheap method of improving poor 

 pasture by means of various artificial manures, the improvement being 

 determined by the increase in weight of sheep fed on the plots. 



At Glen Dye the soil was a sharp gravelly one, consisting of 

 decomposed granite, the subsoil blending into the rock. The herbage 



S S 2 



