Manuring of Hay. 347 



Owing to the high price of corn in the fifties, most of the 

 good old grass land on the heavy clay soil of south-east 

 Essex, which usually formed about one-third of the area of 

 an arable farm, was broken up. Continuous wheat cropping 

 exhausted the accumulated humus, and even the mineral 

 constituents, so that when the price of corn fell it became no 

 longer profitable to cultivate the land. Some of it was sown 

 with grass seeds, and some was allowed to run of itself to 

 grass. In either case the result has been much the same, 

 for unless periodically manured, the better grasses soon 

 disappear, and weeds and wild grasses take their place. 

 Many thousands of acres in this part of the county are said 

 now to be " derelict," except that a few head of stock are 

 allowed to run over the land. 



An experiment was commenced at Hazeleigh in the winter 

 of 1898-9 with the object of improving this "derelict" land. 

 The field selected had been sown with grass and clover in 

 1876 : every sown grass has now disappeared, while brambles 

 and weeds spring up in all parts of the field. From the 

 results so far obtained it is clear that the improvement or 

 this " derelict " land is very difficult, and during three years 

 (all of which are, however, held to have been unfavourable) 

 the only manure which paid for its application was basic 

 slag, which may evidently- be used with advantage. 



Manuring of Rye Grass and Clover Hay. 



In the course of the past year experiments in the manuring" 

 of rye grass and clover hay were conducted, under the 

 direction of the West of Scotland Agricultural College, on 

 seventeen farms in the counties of Ayr, Argyll, Dumfries, 

 Lanark, Perth, Peebles, and Kirkcudbright. The object of 

 the experiments was to determine what quantity of potash 

 could most profitably be included in a complete hay manure ; 

 to compare the relative efficacy of muriate of potash and 

 sulphate of potash as sources for the supply of potash to the 

 crop ; to compare the relative efficacy of basic slag and super- 



