320  Final  Report  on  Grass  Experiments^  1803-11)04. 
forming  a layer  from  one  to  three  inches  on  the  siirface  of  the 
soil.  This  has  now,  through  the  use  of  lime,  the  consequent 
sweetening  of  the  herbage,  ami  the  treading  of  stock,  entirely 
disappeared,  the  soil  of  the  park  now  forming  the  surface,  and 
the  roots’  of  the  grasses  penetrating  readily  into  it ; whereas 
before  this  the  seed  falling  did  not  penetrate  the  mass,  and  so 
was  prevented  from  germinating.  The  good  effect  of  lime  is 
shown  even  more  where  farmyard  manure  has  followed  the 
application.  Basic  slag  (5  cwt.  })er  acre)  has  to  a certain, 
though  less,  extent  had  the  same  effect,  and  one  can  quite  well 
see  from  a distance,  because  of  their  fresh  and  green  appear- 
ance, the  plots  where  lime  or  ha.sic  slag  was  applied.  Basic 
slag  was  tried  both  in  winter  and  in  spring;  5 cwt.  per  acre 
have  been  now  applied  twice  dui-ing  the  term.  The  autumn 
application  seems  to  have  been  rather  the  better,  hut  in  neither 
case  is  the  improvement  as  great  as  with  lime.  On  a portion 
of  the  land  haiTowing  and  re-seeding  were  done,  hut  the 
operation  was  found  very  expensive,  and,  though  inq)rovement 
has  been  effected,  it  has  not  been  commensurate  with  the 
outlay.  It  is  clear  frt)Ui  this  exi)eriment  that  what  is  needed 
for  this  class  of  land  is  lime,  followed  by  farmyard  manure  or 
cattle-grazing.  The  benefit  of  the  lime,  too,  has  clearly  lasted 
for  nine  years. 
County  Locality  Formation 
5.  Chesliiro  Tabley  (“  Smoker  Field  ”)  Xew  red  sandstone 
This  experiment  was  only  carried  on  for  two  years,  hut  in 
that  time  it  was  clearly  shown  that  the  only  aitplication  to  do 
any  good  was  that  of  lime.  The  soil  contained  only  0’17  per 
cent,  of  lime,  and  was  of  very  poor  sandy  nature,  the  herbage, 
as  at  Tatton  Park,  being  nearly  all  Agrostis  vulgaris.  Lime 
was  put  on  at  the  rate  of  4 tons  per  acre.  Harrowing  and 
re-seeding  were  tried  here,  hnt  without  success,  on  account  of 
the  thick  matting  of  creeping  stems  and  the  dryness  of  the 
season  when  the  seeds  were  sown. 
County  Locality  Formation 
6.  Lincolnshire  Limber,  Brocklesby  (“  Mill  Plats”)  Idglit  loam  on  chalk 
This  was  old  pasture  and  a most  unpromising  area  to  begin 
with  ; yet  the  result  effected  by  the  use  of  lime  has  been  such 
as  to  cause  a complete  transformation  of  the  field  and  to  raise 
its  value  greatly.  As  at  Tatton  Park,  the  one  material  that 
has  answered  is  lime,  especially  when  followed  by  the  use  of 
farmyard  manure.  Wherever  lime  was  applied,  the  pasture 
assumed  a fresh  and  green  appearance,  marking  it  out  from  the 
rest  of  the  field.  It  could  he  seen  almost  to  an  inch  where 
lime  had  gone  on  and  where  it  had  stopped,  and  the  influence 
of  the  one  application  of  4 tons  of  lime  to  the  acre  evidently 
lasted  throughout  the  nine  years.  Though  resting  on  chalk, 
