Areas of Cereal Crops, Potatoes, and Hay, and Numbers of Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs in England, Wales, Scotland, and Great Britain (as returned on June 5) in 1899 and (on June 4) in 1898.

NOTE.-The Difference lines show the increase (+) or decrease (-) in 1899,
as compared with 1898.

+ 146,522 + 19,573

+ 6,123

+ 172,218

JOURNAL

OF THE

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY

OF ENGLAND.

THE WOBURN FIELD EXPERIMENTS,

1898.

A GENERAL account of the Woburn experiments up to the year 1897 inclusive has been published in this Journal, Vol. VIII. (Parts II. and IV.), 1897, and Vol. IX. (Part IV.), 1898. Also in Vol. IX. (Part III.), 1898, there is a note on the quality of the experimental corn crops grown in 1897.

The present report continues the account of the experiments, giving the results for the year 1898.

A. CONTINUOUS CORN GROWING (STACKYARD
FIELD).

1. CONTINUOUS GROWING OF WHEAT, 1898 (22ND SEASON).

After the previous wheat crop had been removed, the land was scuffled on Sept. 2, 1897, harrowed on Sept. 8, and ploughing began on Sept. 22. The variety of wheat sown was "Stand Up," a white wheat, this being a change to the land, it having previously been generally cropped with "Browick" wheat (a red wheat), sometimes the red and sometimes the white-chaff variety being used. The quantity of seed drilled was 9 pecks per acre, this being done on Oct. 12, 1897.

There was no alteration from previous years in the manures used; these are these are given in Table I. (page 589). Owing to the prevalence of windy weather after sowing, mineral manures could not be put on until Oct. 26, by which time the wheat was just beginning to show, especially on plots 10b (rape cake) and 11b (farmyard manure). Mineral manures were sown on plots 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9, on Oct. 26.

VOL. X. T. 8.-40

RR

On Nov. 12 it was noticed that the wheat on the top part of plot 2 was very weak, the blades being quite yellow and much deformed. Some blades never pushed themselves above the ground, while others pushed through and then died away. Already in 1896 there had been a slight failure of plant on this plot, and transplanting, about the end of April, had then to be done and succeeded. Again in 1897 there was increased failure, and a larger strip, say some 40 square yards, where the plant had failed entirely, had to be transplanted. Up to this date, however, the ultimate yield, through the transplanting, was satisfactory.

In November, 1897, the failure of plant was still more pronounced, and had gone to such an extent that it was seen that transplanting would no longer do. From chemical considerations there was reason to suspect that there was, owing to the continued use of ammonia salts, a drain on the land in respect of lime, in which constituent it will be remembered the soil of Stackyard Field was very deficient (containing, in 1877, only 0.308 per cent. of lime in the first depth of 9 inches and 0.205 per cent. in the second 9 inches).

It was further noticed that on this plot (2), and generally on those manured with ammonia salts, the soil was of a distinctly lighter colour; this was clearly visible when the land was ploughed. Also, on these plots there was considerable growth of green alga, the presence of which generally indicates the need of liming. Whether the failure of plant was due to actual deficiency of lime, or to an acid or unhealthy condition of the soil, can only be determined by further investigation. But, as a first step, it was thought desirable to try the effect of applying lime to this land, and, accordingly, plot 2 was divided into two equal halves, 2a and 2b, and while 2a was left as it was, to 2b lime at the rate of 2 tons per acre was applied on Dec. 18, 1897. The lime was Buxton lime, applied direct to the growing crop and left to lie on the surface of the plot; after a day or two it was raked by hand evenly over the plot. It did no harm whatever to the crop.

On Feb. 11 farmyard manure (which had been made Dec. 6-23 in boxes by bullocks feeding on decorticated cotton cake, maize meal, swedes, and hay chaff, with wheat straw as litter, and which was subsequently kept under cover) was spread on plot 11b; the weight of dung was 6 tons 16 cwt. to the acre, estimated to contain nitrogen equal to 200 lb. ammonia per acre. On Feb. 28 finely ground rape cake was put on plot 10b, the weight being 15 cwt. per acre, and it contained nitrogen equal to 100 lb. ammonia per acre.

The winter 1897-8, it will be remembered, was a very mild one, and the wheat got very forward during the early spring, the dung and rape cake plots (11b and 10b) showing especial luxuriance.

About the middle and end of March, however, there were snowstorms and north-easterly winds, followed by prolonged drought throughout April. During this time the different unmanured plots suffered most. The half-plot 2b, on which lime had been put after ammonia salts, at this time looked slightly better than the unlimed half. May, however, was a very wet month. The dung and the rape cake plots were still looking about the best of all, the rape cake especially so, and having a darker look than the dung plot. As between these two manures it has now been remarked for some time that the dung acts the more quickly, but that the rape cake subsequently catches it up, and by May the rape cake plot looks darker in colour and, as a rule, is better than the dung plot.

On plots 8a and 8b (8a had ammonia salts in 1897, when it gave 8 bushels more per acre than 8b where the application was omitted), 8a showed distinctly the influence of some of the former year's application, being much darker in colour than 8b. The wheat on plot 2, before any ammonia salts were put on this year, had also a darker colour than on any other plot, and was in this respect in marked contrast to plot 3 (nitrate of soda), where, however, there had been no failure of plant.

A remarkable effect of the lime on 2b was to destroy spurry, a weed which was very prevalent on the unlimed half, and, indeed, on all the plots where ammonia salts had been used.

The two plots 9a and 9b (9a having had nitrate of soda in the previous year, but 9b not) showed no difference, there being apparently no residue from the previous application of nitrate of soda, a result in this respect unlike that shown in the ammonia salts plots.

Plot 4 (minerals only) at first was somewhat ahead of the unmanured plots 1 and 7, but gradually all three came to about a level. In fact, No. 4, as the produce shows, was rather the poorest, but this is accounted for by the influence of some trees adjoining the plot, the roots of which appear to have reached the plot and probably robbed it to some extent of its moisture.

Of the plots 5 and 6 (nitrogenous manures with minerals), plot 5 was decidedly the better, and indeed, speaking generally, the ammonia salts plots were better than those treated with nitrate of soda.

The top-dressings of ammonia salts and nitrate of soda were applied on May 6, 1898, the ammonia salts consisting of equal

weights of sulphate of ammonia and muriate of ammonia; 179 lb. per acre, in all, was the amount put on plots 2 and 5, and double this quantity on plot 8b, 8a receiving none. The nitrate of soda applied to plots 3 and 6 was 254 lb. per acre in quantity, and double this amount to plot 9b, plot 9a receiving none this year. These salts were put on in a single application. Wet weather in May caused considerable trouble in keeping the plots clean, and had probably much to do with the ultimate superiority, this year, of the ammonia salts plots over the nitrate of soda plots.

These appearances were generally maintained until harvest time. All the nitrate plots, and, to a less extent, the rape cake plot, were very badly attacked by "rust," the dung plot slightly also, but the ammonia salts plots were quite free from the disease.

The crop stood up well on all the plots, despite the fact of there being several heavy thunderstorms at the end of July and beginning of August. The crop was cut on all the plots on August 11, carted 10 days later, and stacked in the field.

The wheat was threshed in the field on October 28, and dressed and weighed on November 2. Subsequently, on March 22, 1899, the produce of each plot was examined and valued by experts, Mr. R. Hewlins of St. Ives and Mr. Few of Cambridge. The values assigned were upon the basis of 278. per quarter of wheat weighing 63 lb. per bushel-that is, 278. per quarter of 504 lb.

Table I. (page 589) gives the harvest results and the quality of the corn.

It will be remarked that the two unmanured plots 1 and 7 agreed very closely, and the produce was considerably in excess of the unmanured yield of any year since 1894.

Plot 4 (minerals alone) was lower produce, probably on account of the trees, as noted before. Ammonia salts throughout, as the appearance of the plots indicated, gave much better results than nitrate of soda.

The influence of lime on plot 2b, although this was only applied on December 8, 1897, already showed itself in an increase of 4 bushels of corn.

The highest yield of all the plots was that of 8b (ammonia salts applied with minerals), viz. 54-8 bushels, this being the second highest produce ever obtained, but even where ammonia salts were not put on this year (plot 8a) the produce was distinctly high, and far above the average (23.1 bushels) of past years for this plot.

On the other hand the produce of 9a, where nitrate of soda