580 Summary of Agricultural Experiments, [oct., 



of the plots consisted of inferior grasses and moss, with patches of 

 rushes and ferns. Six plots of three acres each were selected, ihe 

 conditions on each being similar, and the manures used were basic 

 slag, superphosphate, kainit, and lime. The growth and decay of 

 the plants had formed a closely matted layer of humus, two or three 

 inches thick, which prevented the mineral manures from reaching the 

 roots of the plants until some time after application. On such poor 

 pasture it was essential that the cost of manurial treatment should 

 be small, as the range of improvement would be narrow. 



Plot i received 200 lb. of phosphoric acid per acre in the form of 

 10 cwt. of basic slag ; plot 2 received, in addition to this dressing, 

 too lb. of potash in the form of 8 cwt. of kainit ; plot 3 was unmanured ; 

 plot 4 received the same dressing as plot 2, but 4 lb. of white clover seed 

 were harrowed in ; plot 5 received 10 cwt. superphosphate, containing 

 about 200 lb. of phosphoric acid ; and plot 6 was dressed with two tons 

 of lime per acre mixed with earth. All the manures were applied in 

 January, 1905, with the exception of that on plot 4, on which they were 

 applied early in 1906. The sheep chosen were Black-faced wethers, and 

 were weighed at the commencement of the grazing season and every 

 four weeks during the season. The grazing periods were in 1905, 20 

 weeks, in 1906 and 1908, 16 weeks, and in 1907 and 1909, 12 weeks. 

 In the first season the same number of sheep were grazed on each 

 of the six plots, but the influence of the manures in the second season 

 made it necessary to increase the stock on all but the untreated plot. 

 The results of the experiments at Glen Dye were as follows per 

 acre : — 



Plot. 



Manures. 



Total live weight 

 increase of sheep 

 per acre during 

 the five years. 



Live we'ght 



increase 

 over plot 3. 



Value of 

 increase at 

 3<f. per lb. 



Net loss 

 after deduct- 

 ing cost 

 of manures. 







lb. 



lb. 



s. d. 



s. d. 



I 



Basic slag 



243§ 



9i§ 



22 I I 



7 4 



2 



Basic slag and kainit 



252^ 



1004 



25 I* 



23 ii 



3 



No manure 



152 









4 



Basic slag and kainit 



242! 



9^h 



22 9 



27 9 



5 



Superphosphate 



213 



61 



•5 3 



26 0 



6 



Lime 



279 



127 



31 9 



16 3 



No system ot manuring therefore resulted in the production of 

 enough mutton to pay the cost of manures. Of the manures, 10 cwt. 

 of basic slag (plot 1) proved most satisfactory, and as cows, calves, 

 and sheep other than those reckoned in the experiment were put out 

 to graze on the plots both before and after the grazing season, it will be 

 seen that the manuring of plot 1 may perhaps be regarded as show- 

 ing a profit. Superphosphate supplying the same quantity of phos- 

 phoric acid as the basic slag (plot 5) was unsuccessful, probably on 

 account of the deficiency of lime in the soil. Kainit was not success- 

 ful, as the increased yield on plot 2 over plot 1 due to the application 

 of 8 cwt. kainit was only 10 lb. per acre in five years. The treatment 

 on plot 6 was also unsuccessful financially, as the cost of the lime, 

 the cartage, and the labour of mixing the compost and applying it 

 made such treatment too expensive for poor upland pasture. 



