Cultivation by Deep- rooting Plants. 317 



Roxburghshire, and little more than a mile from North- 

 umberland. It is about eight miles from Kelso and 

 four from the Mindrum Station on the Alnwick and Cold- 

 stream line. We had upwards of a hundred visitors to 

 this farm this year, mostly from various parts of Scotland,, 

 but some from as far south as Sussex. The farm is 

 always open to inspection, the steward shows visitors 

 round, and gives them any information they may require. 

 In my book, " Agricultural Changes," I have fully given 

 our experiences since the farm was taken in hand in 1887 

 up to October, 1900. My object here is partly to give our 

 experiences up to date, and partly to show that if we 

 certainly require a new system of agriculture we as certainly 

 require a new method of agricultural research. I will parti- 

 cularly call the readers' attention to the following results in 

 the Bank field, because they prove that, as regards grazing 

 and hay, we can now insure a high rate of production in the 

 very worst drought, and thus place farming on an infinitely 

 safer base than the one it at present rests on. The six para- 

 graphs which now follow have been taken from my letter of 

 November 8, which was published in the Scotsman of 

 November 11, 1901. 



"The Bank field consists of 27 acres, rather more than half 

 of which is poor, stony, and exposed, and in some parts, 

 very steep land. The remainder consists of fair medium soil 

 for that part of the country. For the last nineteen years 24 

 acres of the field have never been manured, excepting with 

 the artificials used with the turnips. The remaining 3 acres 

 once — some years ago — had some farmyard manure. The 

 seed mixture used — and the reason for using it — are given 

 on page 95 of my ' Agricultural Changes.'* It was sown 



[* At page 95 of his work, Mr. Elliot says, "The mixtures used in 1900 for the 

 Sheerbrough and the Bank fields were :— Cocksfoot, 141b.; tall fescue, 71b. ; tall 

 oatgrass, 71b. ; rough-stalked meadow grass, lib.; late flowering red clover. 2lb. ; 

 white clover, 21b. ; alsike, lib.; burner, 81b.; kidney vetch, 31b.; chicory, ,31b. ; 

 yarrow, lib. Cost, £1 19s. 5d. This last mixture, I think, is an improvement, as, 

 at about the same cost, there is supplied a larger quantity of the most hardy, 

 drought-resisting, early and productive grasses. It is a safe mixture, because the 

 seeds of the large grasses are much less liable to fail than those of the smaller ones, 

 and it is calculated to leave a. greater quantity of vegetable matter for the succeeding 

 crops." — Ed.] 



