664 Report on the Trials of Implements at Reading. 
adverse criticism, of which, however, they do not complain ; 
but it may be said that some of their censors did not make 
sufficient allowance for the difficulties which must occur in 
carrying out a series of trials on such an extensive scale. 
Many of the public, who had been somewhat misled by ex- 
aggerated newspaper accounts of what was possible and what 
had been done, seemed to expect that the whole of the grass 
would be cut and stacked, and the machines set at work in the 
course of a single day. Others could not understand how wet 
weather could interfere with the process which, as they had 
been led to believe, superseded all need of sunshine or wind at 
the hay gathering. Some, again, said that all the competitors 
should have had exactly the same quantity of grass, of exactly 
the same quality, cut at the same moment, treated in precisely 
the same way, and delivered to them at the same time, and 
under conditions in all respects equal and the same. These 
are conditions which are applicable to experiments carried on in 
the laboratory and on a very small scale, but they would have 
been impossible of realization in the present case. What was 
attempted was the careful observation of the whole process from 
the first cutting of the grass to the trussing of the hay for 
market, and the consideration of all the circumstances, advan- 
tageous or otherwise, under which each of the competitors had 
done their work. 
The Society had secured for the purpose of these trials about 
100 acres of meadow land lying just on the southern outskirts of 
the town, between the Kennet river and the Holy Brook. Of 
this 100 acres, about 67 acres, which were part of the Sewage 
Farm (although they were not irrigated by sewage), were placed 
at the disposal of the Society by the Reading Urban Sanitary 
Authority. The remainder was provided by Mr. Colebrook, a very 
useful and energetic member of the Reading Local Committee. 
This Committee very liberally undertook to bear half the loss 
which the Society might sustain by the artificial treatment of this 
portion of the hay which grew on the Sewage Farm. At a 
subsequent period 35 acres more standing grass in three adjoin- 
ing fields was purchased for the Society of Mr. Cundell, who 
occupies the Coley Park Farm. The Urban Sanitary Authority 
(the members of which took a great interest in the trials, and 
did everything in their power to assist the Society) had also 
reserved for the use of the Society 42 acres of sewage-fed rye- 
grass, but only a small portion of this was used for a trial of 
Gibbs's apparatus. 
The crop of grass varied exceedingly, both in quantity and 
quality : 34 acres had been cleared for hay in February, the 
remainder had been grazed until the middle of May, when it 
