332  Final  Report  on  Grass  Experiments,  1895-1904. 
In  these  cases  improvement  by  mannrial  means  is  of  no  prac- 
tical avail.  What  is  needed  is  to  get  the  soil  broken  up,  and 
to  allow  air  to  penetrate  into  it.  There  is  nothing  to  do  in 
such  cases  but  to  break  up  the  turf,  stir  and  cultivate  the  soil 
thoroughly,  and  then  lay  down  again  with  a suitable  mixture 
in  which  strong  and  deep-rooting  grasses  and  plants  prevail. 
In  this  connection  reference  may  be  made  to  the  sj'stem 
advocated  by  Mr.  R.  H.  Elliot,  of  Clifton  Park,  Kelso,  who 
includes  in  his  grass  mixtures  such  plants  as  chicory,  kidney 
vetch,  and  burnet.'  The  soil  at  Wilburton  (Experiment  21) 
was  of  similar  character  to  those  mentioned  above,  but  the 
grass  mixture  originally  sown  was  evidently  of  better  kind, 
and,  as  was  seen,  it  responded  to  the  application  of  basic  slag. 
Use  of  “ Aerating  Plough.”^ — In  one  case  (Wilburton, 
Experiment  21)  mechanical  improvement  of  the  soil  by  run- 
ning a plough  under  the  turf,  but  without  breaking  this  up, 
was  tried,  but  the  result  \vas  not  found  satisfactoiy. 
Harrowing  and  Re-seeding. — In  several  instances  this  method 
was  tried.  Where  there  was  a quantity  of  rough  grass  the 
harrowing  certainly  did  good  by  removal  of  some  of  this  and 
leaving  space  on  which  fresh  or  wind-blown  seeds  might 
settle.  This  was  the  case  both  at  Limber  (Experiment  6)  and 
“Wilkinson’s  Land”  (Experiment  14),  but  it  could  not  be  called 
generally  satisfactory,  and  did  not  allow  of  any  expensive 
outlay.  Re-seeding  was,  owing  to  the  drought  that  prevailed 
in  1890  just  when  the  experiments  started,  in  every  case  a 
failure,  and  no  one  pasture  was,  on  this  account,  really  renewed. 
This,  however,  must  be  largely  a matter  of  season,  and  it  would 
hardly  do  to  say  that  such  renovation  is  impossible. 
Manurial  Applications. — Pond  Mud  and  Road  Scrapings. — 
These  were  tried  in  three  cases,  viz.,  Laxton  (Experiment  7) 
and  Latimer  (Experiments  9 and  10),  but  in  neither  case  was 
there  any  adA^antage  found. 
Salt. — Salt  was  tried  at  two  sites,  viz.,  Latimer  (Experiment 
9)  and  Bodenham  (Exi)eriment  20),  but  no  benefit  resulted 
from  it  ; it  did  not  seem  to  alter  the  quality  of  the  pasture 
nor  to  render  it  more  palatable  to  stock. 
Bone  Meal  and  Dissolved  Bones. — The  experiments  do  not 
bring  out  any  marked  advantages  as  the  result  of  using  these 
materials.  Bone  meal  has  proved  very  slow  in  action ; at 
one  site  (“Wilkinson’s  Land,”  Experiment  14),  after  showing 
no  influence  for  five  years,  it  certainly  did  then  begin  to  tell, 
but  at  other  sites  it  was  without  material  effect  ; nor  were 
dissolved  bones  any  better.  In  the  Barnsley  district  of  York- 
shire there  has  long  been  a belief  in  the  efficacy  of  bone  meal, 
* See  “ The  Value  of  Plant  Roots  as  Tillers  of  the  Soil,”  by  Robert  H Elliot, 
Journal  R.A.S.E.,  Vol.  58,  18117,  pp.  467-477. 
