Influence on the Production of Mutton 



greatly diminished, where more vigorous species are allowed 

 to grow unchecked, as they are in a hay-field, and it is 

 usually supposed that it is the former plants which, to a large 

 extent, give "quality" to a pasture. 



It appeared to be desirable, therefore, that experiments 

 designed to illuminate the problem of the improvement of 

 grazing ground should be conducted on pastures, and not 

 on meadows or hay-fields, and one way in which it seemed 

 that this could be satisfactorily done was to determine the 

 results of treatment by ascertaining what live-weight increase 

 this treatment could produce on animals grazing the pasture. 



Judged by the area occupied by the various crops grown 

 in Great Britain, grass is much the most important of all. 

 In 1910 permanent grass covered nearly 17J million acres, 

 while rotation grass (including clover and sainfoin) extended 

 to nearly 4J million acres. Of the permanent grass 

 12^ million acres were grazed, while only a little over 5 

 million acres were used for hay. Of the temporary leys 

 about half was grazed and half was hayed. Of nearly 

 22 million acres, therefore, under permanent and temporary 

 grass (including clover and sainfoin) nearly 15 million acres 

 were used as pasture, as contrasted with 7 million acres 

 devoted to hay. The pastured area of Great Britain, in fact, 

 nearly equalled the total area of tillage land, the figures 

 being 14,554,168 and 14,667,224 acres respectively. Nor 

 does this exhaust the case for pastures, for besides the 

 15 million acres just referred to there are nearly 13 million 

 acres classed as "Mountain and Heath Land used for Graz- 

 ing," or a grand total of between 27 and 28 million acres 

 of pasture of one kind and another. 



Much of this great area is probably incapable of profitable 

 improvement : some because it is already near the upper limit 

 of productiveness, and some because it is at such an altitude, 

 or possesses such physical characters, as to preclude the hope 

 of economic amelioration. But after making large deduc- 

 tions, there remains a vast extent of pasture of a kind that 

 experiments and practice alike have shown to be capable 

 of easy and profitable improvement, and it is this class of 

 pasture which, alike in the interests of the individual and 

 of the nation, should be speedily taken in hand. The experi- 



