On Permanent and Temporary Meadows and Pastures. 211 
involve an expense of 26s. W^d. If we allow for the hay the 
value of 65s. O^d. per ton, there remains a margin of 39s. 5cZ. 
to cover the expense of labour, rent of land, general expenses, 
(Sec. With a crop of hay of 2"787 tons per acre, there is a 
difference of 109s. IQd. between the cost of the manure and the 
value of the crop, a difference which should yield an acceptable 
profit. But, in the case of temporary grass-lands, laid down 
as I have pointed out, it is not unusual to obtain from 3 98, 
4"33, and even 5'97 tons to the acre : in such cases the profit is 
considerable ; and hay-growing appears to be one of the most 
lucrative operations to which we can turn our attention. I 
hasten to add that it is not always necessary to use so expen- 
sive a manure : in the majority of cases the nitrogen may be 
dispensed with, as either the soil is sufficiently supplied with 
it already, or because the process of nitrification in it is suffi- 
ciently active to set at liberty the quantity of nitrogen annually 
required. 
The best means to get information on this point is to make 
trials with the two manures we have just mentioned. If the 
nitrogenous manure does not produce a greater effect than the 
other, it is evident that it is possible to save the nitrogen, and 
to add about 16s. 2d. per acre to the profit. On soils whose 
analysis shows the presence of more than "25 per cent, of potash, 
a saving could also be made in direct ratio to the richness of 
the soil in potash. 
For guidance in this matter we need only examine the plants 
on the land. If the leguminous plants on it are well developed, 
and tend to supersede the graminaceae, we should diminish the 
dose of potash and increase the nitrogen. If, on the contrary, 
the graminaceae stifle the leguminosae, it is better to reduce the 
dose of nitrogen and increase that of potash. By this mode of 
proceeding it is always possible to maintain the growth of 
grasses in the most favourable condition, both as regards 
quantity and quality. 
It is, moreover, always well to dress the soil of temporary 
and permanent grass-lands with a certain amount of lime, say 
about 7 "9 6 cwt. per acre annually, to prevent sourness, to favour 
the decomposition of the organic debris, and to render assimi- 
lable a certain amount of the nitrogen it contains. This dress- 
ing of lime will not add to the expense of maintenance, for it 
will always be possible by its means to reduce proportionately 
the expense of nitrogen or potash, according as the graminaceae 
or leguminosae are most abundant. Lime is useful even for 
permanent grass-lands on calcareous soils, for it is not rare to 
find meadows sour on the surface which at 7"874 inches deep 
are highly calcareous. 
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