Destruction  of  Crested  DogstaiL 
321 
the  latter  did  not  come  near  the  sui’face,  and  the  soil  consisted 
of  a light  loam  resting  on  clay  and,  below  this,  chalk.  Analysis 
showed  the  top-soil  to  contain  only  0’17  per  cent,  of  lime. 
The  pasture,  at  starting,  was  very  rough,  twitch  and  Yorkshire 
fog  being  the  predominant  grasses.  Harrowing  and  re-seeding 
were  done  on  one  portion,  and  this  was  here  fairly  successful, 
though  the  result  was  not  nearly  equal  to  that  from  the  appli- 
cation of  lime. . Basic  slag  was  tried,  both  alone  (8  cwt.  per 
acre)  and  with  kainit,  but  did  not  prove  beneficial ; nor  did 
bone  meal  (4  cwt.  per  acre).  On  the  limed  plots  clover  increased 
materially,  the  matted  character  of  the  turf  disappeared,  and 
the  cattle  were  constantly  seen  grazing  on  these  plots. 
County  Locality  Formation 
7.  Northamptonshire  Laxton  Park,  Stamford  (“Willow  Field”)  Lias  Clay 
This  is  land  which  has  been  down  in  grass  about  fourteen 
years,  and  it  has  been  usual  to  mow  it.  The  soil  is  a heavy  one 
of  very  impenetrable  character,  and  it  is  in  this  rather  than 
in  any  deficiencies  of  soil-constituents  that  the  difficulty  lies. 
Bent  grass,  Yorkshire  fog,  crested  dogstail,  and  a little  cocks- 
foot form  the  main  grasses,  but  all  have  a starved  and  stunted 
appearance,  the  ground  being  but  thinly  covered.  Basic  slag 
(8  cwt.  per  acre),  farmyard  manure,  and  a dressing  of  road 
scrapings  have  all  been  tried,  but  not  one  of  them  has  effected 
any  real  improvement,  and  it  has  been  decided  to  plough  up 
the  pasture.  The  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil  has,  no 
doubt,  had  to  do  mostly  with  the  failure  of  the  pasture,  and 
until  one  can  get  plants  to  penetrate  down  into  the  hard  clay 
and  so  help  to  open  it  out  and  aerate  it,  little  good  is  likely 
to  follow.  Basic  slag,  if  anything,  has  done  the  best,  but,  until 
the  surface  can  be  broken  into,  little  benefit  is  to  be  expected 
from  the  application  of  manui-es. 
County  Locality  Formation 
8.  Northamptonshire  Laxton  Park,  Stamford  (Park)  Lias 
This  is  old  park  land.  The  soil  is  a thin  loam  resting  on 
clay,  and  is  less  stiff  than  that  of  Willow  Field  ; the  situation 
also  is  better,  being  on  a slope.  The  grasses  comprised  bent 
grass,  Yorkshire  fog,  crested  dogstaiP,  and  sweet  vernal,  together 
' The  following  note  has  been  communicated  by  Mr.  Hornsby  with  reference 
to  the  prevalence  of  crested  dogstail : — On  the  occasion  of  one  of  his  visits  of 
inspection,  the  attention  of  the  Consulting  Botanist  was  drawn  to  a particular 
pasture  in  which  crested  dogstail  tCynusvrus  cristatus)  was  very  abundant. 
It  was  obviously  not  eaten  by  the  stock.  Mr.  Carruthers  advised  cutting  off 
the  flowering  heads  before  the  seeds  were  formed.  This  has  been  done  by 
adjusting  the  mowing  machine  so  as  to  cut  off  the  heads  of  the  dogstail  above 
the  pasture.  After  the  first  year’s  cutting  the  dogstail  was  very  much 
decreased,  and  after  the  third  year  the  objectionable  grass  entirely  disappeared. 
An  application  of  5 cwt.  of  basic  slag  to  the  acre  on  the  first  year  of  cutting 
has  greatly  benefited  the  grasses  and  encouraged  the  growth  of  white  clover, 
so  that  now  a much  improved  pasture  has  been  produced. — James  Hornsby. 
VOL.  65.  Y 
