858 Report on Manuring for Mutton Experiments, [jan., 



Central Europe and of the south of France are much richer in resin 

 than those of the north, of Eastern Europe and of the higher regions, 



(5) In winter, all the pines assume a more or less yellowish appear- 

 ance. Those of the north of Sweden and the high Alpine regions 

 show the most coloration, those of the south of France the least. 

 With the Scandinavian pines this coloration is, however, more intense 

 than further north. The point of the needle is chiefly affected. The 

 sides of the needle turned towards the ground, and those needles 

 which are entirely in the shade remain green and are only slightly 

 coloured. If such plants are removed to a hot-house, the needles 

 become green again, showing that the external agents producing 

 coloration in winter are the low temperature, and, in consequence, the 

 insufficient absorption of water to compensate for the relatively strong 

 transpiration. 



(6) The leaf-shedding disease (Schiitte) has been observed on all 

 varieties of the pine. Plants grown from seed gathered in the moun- 

 tains have suffered principally in this respect, but, on the other hand, 

 the Scandinavian and the French pines have generally escaped. The 

 last-named are characterised by their dark green colour and thick 

 foliage. 



OFFICIAL NOTICES AND CIRCULARS. 



The well-known experiments in the manuring of poor pasture land, 

 designed in the first instance by Professor Somerville, were commenced 

 in 1896 under his supervision at the Northum- 

 Report OH the berland County Demonstration Farm at Cockle 

 Manuring for Mutton Park> In lg98j Professor Somerville sub- 

 Experiments, mitted to the Board of Agriculture and 

 Fisheries a preliminary report which showed the necessity for further 

 experiments on similar lines, and in the following year the Board 

 approached several public bodies with a view to the organisation of 

 experiments in different parts of Great Britain. Eventually arrange- 

 ments were made with the Bath and West and Southern Counties 

 Society, the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, and the 

 Agricultural Department of the University of Cambridge, by which 

 those bodies agreed to undertake the further experiments required, a 

 substantial contribution being made by the Board towards the expendi- 

 ture entailed. The aggregate sums paid by the Board for the purpose 

 during the past ten years have amounted to ^2,055, in addition to 

 which the Board have made an Annual Grant towards the general 

 expenses of maintaining the Cockle Park Experiment Station. 



The result of these experiments has shown that the conclusions 

 which were drawn from the original Cockle Park experiment, and the 

 recommendations made, are applicable to very large areas of pasture 

 land in this country. 



Up to the present, however, though these results have been com- 

 municated to the public through the medium of separate Bulletins 

 issued by the Institutions carrying out the experiments, no general 

 summary or review of the trials as a whole has been available. 



The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries therefore suggested to 



