2Q4 



Influence of Manures on Mutton. 



also their effect on the herbage of the sub-plots, whose pro- 

 duce was mown and calculated as hay. The sub-plots also 

 offered the opportunity of separating the herbage into its 

 botanical constituents, as has been done each year, and of 

 making a chemical analysis of the herbage for the crop of 1 899. 



As the value of a botanical analysis depends entirely on 

 the accuracy of the methods of sampling and separation, it 

 may be mentioned that the sampling has each year been 

 done upon a system which was selected after very careful 

 consideration. This work, as well as the separations, were in 

 1899 undertaken under the personal supervision of Professor 

 Potter and Mr. F. O. Solomon, most of the actual work 

 of separating being done by two advanced students — Mr. 

 Hacking, Gold Medallist of the R.A.S.E. in 1898, and Mr. 

 Abram, Silver Medallist in 1899. The chemical analyses of 

 the soil and hay were made by Mr. S. Hoare Collins, the 

 Agricultural Chemist of the College. 



Each main plot is supplied with water for the use of the 

 stock, and in other respects all are much alike. 



A full statement of the manurial treatment is given in 

 Tables 1. and II, from which it will be seen that Plots 2, 3, 4, 

 5, and 10 have received nothing since the spring of 1897, and 

 that Plots 7, 8, and 9 received supplementary dressings of 

 potash, lime, and sulphate of ammonia respectively for the 

 season of 1899. 



The sheep used in 1899 (wedders by a Border Teicester 

 ram out of a Cheviot ewe,, were specially bought for the 

 experiment in the beginning of May. From the 120 that 

 were purchased 80 of the most suitable were selected and 

 placed on the plots on May 4th. The method of selection 

 adopted was to tattoo a permanent number in one of the ears 

 of each sheep and record its weight. All the weights were 

 then systematically examined, and a selection made of the 

 requisite number of sheep that deviated the least from the 

 average weight. By careful adjustment it was possible to 

 arrange the animals of each lot so that the average weight 

 was practically alike. Of the rest, six were used for stocking 

 an extra unmanured plot that has been in existence for the 

 past two seasons, a few were resold, and the rest were kept 



