300 



THE INFLUENCE OF MANQRES ON THE i 

 PRODUCTION OF MUTTON. 



The present article may be regarded as a preliminary' 

 report on the experiments to determine the influence of 

 manures on the production of mutton through the agency of 

 pasture carried out at the Northumberland County Demons- 

 tration Farm, of Cockle Park, which is under the direction of 

 the Agricultural Department of the Durham College ot 

 Science. 



In coming to a decision with regard to the class of farm 

 that should be rented for agricultural demonstrations and 

 experiments, the Technical Education Committee of the Nor- 

 thumberland County Council were considerably influenced 

 by the desire to obtain a place that should contain a con- 

 siderable area of grass land typical of a wide extent of poor 

 pasture in the county. They believed that such land had in 

 many cases been systematically neglected, and that, if it' 

 could be shown how a profitable improvement was possible, 

 a considerable benefit would be conferred upon those inte- 

 rested in a similar class of land. The type of grass land in 

 question grows a somewhat rank, coarse herbage, consisting 

 largely of Agrostzs, which is not at all relished by stock, and 

 whether as pasture or as hay it is manifestly deficient in 

 nutritive properties. The annual value of such land is 

 seldom over los. per acre, though when whe^it was selling 

 at about 50s. per quarter much of it commanded a rent of 30s. 

 and upwards per acre. It is, in fact, strong clay land, very 

 similar to much that is m.et with in many parts of 

 England, and which now constitutes a class of pasture of low 

 feeding properties, and, in many cases, of doubtful " sound 

 ness." The strong growth of the herbage which it bears is 

 proof, however, that such land is not poor through absolute 

 dearth of plant food, but only because the plants that it 

 carries are deficient in digestible nutritive materials. In fact 

 it is conceivable that such land might be largely increased in 

 value if it could be induced to bear a better type of herbage, 

 without necessarily producing a larger weight of material, 



