124 
Experiments  of  the  late  Mr.  .fames  Mason. 
they  received  barley  and  maize  meal,  roots,  &c.,  hut  were  never 
brought  into  a very  fat  state,  since  a good  market  existed  for 
them  as  bacon  pigs.  The  accounts  for  two  years  before  me 
show  that  in  each  year  about  100  tons  of  live  weight  were 
produced  in  all,  at  a cost  of  a little  under  fonrpence  per  pound, 
without  allowing  anything  for  the  manure  value  of  food 
consumed.  These  active  little  herds  of  red  and  black  j)igs  on 
the  pastures  formed  a very  characteristic  feature  of  Mr.  Mason’s 
farming. 
( 'ONCLUSION. 
The  history  of  Mr.  Mason’s  experiments  will  illustrate  the 
difficulties  which  beset  the  path  of  the  innovator  in  agriculture. 
In  any  manufacture  a single  man,  by  the  invention  of  a new 
process,  or  the  design  of  a new  machine,  may  in  a few  years 
entirely  revolutionise  the  industry  ; in  agriculture,  where  one 
has  to  deal  with  living  things,  and  with  the  seasons  which  are 
beyond  control,  progress  is  slow  and  doubtful.  The  man  with 
the  ideas  has  not  always  the  necessary  experience  to  translate 
them  into  practice,  nor  is  he  always  well  served  by  those  to 
whom  he  entrusts  the  work. 
We  may  claim  for  Mr.  Mason  that  having  grasped  the 
fruitful  idea  of  utilising  the  leguminous  plants  as  nitrogen 
oatherers,  and  havino-  made  sure  of  his  ground  bv  numerous 
small  scale  exj)ei‘iments,  he  eventually  succeeded,  after  several 
failures,  in  working  out  a ])racticable  method.  His  method  of 
using  the  lucerne  croj)  for  the  im])rovement  of  poor  clay 
land  of  the  ty[>e  met  with  on  the  Eynsham  Hall  Estate  was 
a novelty.  It  has  been  amply  justified  by  its  results,  and, 
without  doubt,  will  slowly  spread  and  become  part  of  the 
tradition  of  farming  on  such  land. 
Harpenden,  Herts. 
A.  D.  Hall. 
