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AGRICULTURAL AND MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



Manuring of Essex Pastures. 



The Technical Instruction Committee of the Essex County- 

 Council have recently issued the first part of a report upon 

 the field experiments conducted by them in that county. 

 This report, compiled by Mr. T. S. D)rmond, relates to the 

 treatment of permanent pastures. It covers the work done 

 during the six years 1 896-1 901, although some of the trials 

 have, of course, only been in progress for a much shorter 

 period. Field experiments are conducted in numerous 

 localities throughout the county, and those dealing with 

 pastures are nine in number. 



At two centres (Birch and Burnham-on-Crouch) the object 

 was the determination of the best and cheapest methods of 

 laying land down to grass. Much of the heavy London clay 

 land in Essex, which formerly grew corn, has yielded less 

 profit of late years from tillage crops, and in order to prevent 

 such land from going altogether out of cultivation, it is some- 

 times necessary to lay it down to grass. 



A field was selected for experimental treatment at Birch 

 in 1897. As this investigation is designed to last for some 

 years, no general conclusions can as yet be given, but an 

 ©utline of the scheme may be quoted. In order to ascertain 

 whether the land required drainage a portion of the field was 

 mole-ploughed. Seven of the most likely kinds of grasses 

 were sown on different plots, as well as mixtures of them 

 with clover and lucerne, while on another plot perennial rye- 

 grass was omitted from the mixture. Part of the field is fed 

 off by sheep ( with and without cake), while the remainder 

 receives dung, artificials, or no manure. 



