kingdom]
AGRICULTURE
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the reciprocal trade from Great Britain to Ireland is small, century of sustained experimental inquiry have been comand is largely restricted to animals for breeding purposes. municated to the world by Lawes and Gilbert in about Owing to the reappearance of foot-and-mouth disease in 130 separate papers or reports, many of which were pubGreat Britain early in 1900 the importation of cattle, sheep, lished, from 1847 onwards, in the Journal of the Royal goats, and swine therefrom into Ireland was temporarily Agricultural Society of England. Two main lines of inquiry have been followed, the one suspended by the authorities in the latter country. relating to plants, the other to animals. In the case of Exports op Animals from the United Kingdom. plants the method of procedure has been to grow some of The general export trade of the United Kingdom in the most important crops of rotation, each separately year living animals represents an aggregate average annual after year, for many years in succession on the same land, value, over the five years 1896 to 1900, of £1,017,000. (a) without manure, (b) with farmyard manure, and (c) To this sum of rather more than one million sterling with a great variety of chemical manures; the same the value of horses alone contributes three-fourths, Belgium description of manure being, as a rule, applied year after taking more than half the number of exported horses. year on the same plot. Experiments on an actual course The export trade in cattle, sheep, and pigs is practically of rotation, without manure, and with different manures, restricted to pedigree animals required for breeding pur- have also been made. Wheat, barley, oats, beans, clover, poses, and though its aggregate value is not large it is of and other leguminous plants, turnips, sugar beet, mangels, considerable importance to stockbreeders, as it is a frequent potatoes, and grass crops have thus been experimented occurrence for buyers for export—to Argentina, Australasia, upon. Incidentally there have been extensive sampling Canada, the United States, and elsewhere—to bid freely at and analysing of soils, investigations into rainfall and the the sale rings, and often to pay the highest prices, thus composition of drainage waters, inquiries into the amount stimulating the sales and encouraging the breeding of of water transpired by plants, and experiments on the the best types of native stock. Details for the five years assimilation of free nitrogen. Amongst the field experiments there is, perhaps, not one 1896 to 1900 are summarised in Table XXVIII. of more universal interest than that in which wheat has Table XXVIII.—Quantities and Values of Home-bred Live been grown for fifty-seven years in succession, (a) without Stock exported from the United Kingdom, 1896 to 1900. manure, (b) with farmyard manure, and (c) with various artificial manures. The results show that, unlike leguminOther Sheep. Pigs. Animals. Cattle. Horses. Year. ous crops such as beans or clover, wheat may be successfully grown for many years in succession on ordinary No. No. No. No. No. arable land, provided suitable manures be applied, and the 359 31,151 9,512 4,369 29,414 1896 214 42,654 11,569 3,776 land be kept clean. Even without manure, the aver34,471 1897 434 57,376 10,224 36,412 2,861 1898 age produce over forty-six years, 1852-97, was nearly 938 56,381 7,586 2,979 33,701 1899 thirteen bushels per acre, or more than the average yield 440 73,692 5,044 2,784 30,545 1900 of the whole of the United States of America, including £ £ £ £ £ their rich prairie lands—in fact, about the average yield 2847 38,123 122,004 107,507 671,332 1896 1700 43,744 141,714 119,548 825,246 per acre of the wheat lands of the whole world. Mineral 1897 3231 43,923 120,310 94,414 842,106 1898 manures alone give very little increase, nitrogenous manures 43,723 5281 78,103 118,294 757,079 1899 alone considerably more than mineral manures alone, but 3052 45,100 54,799 120,042 680,943 1900 the mixture of the two considerably more than either separately. In one case, indeed, the average produce by Crops and Cropping. mixed mineral and nitrogenous manure was more than that The greater freedom of cropping and the less close by the annual application of farmyard manure; and in adherence to the formal system of rotation of crops, which seven out of the ten cases in which such mixtures were characterized the later years of the 19th century, rest upon used the average yield per acre was from over two to over a scientific basis. Experimental inquiry has done much to eight bushels more than the average yield of the United enlighten the farmer as to the requirements of plant-life, Kingdom (assuming this to be about twenty-eight bushels and to enable him to see how best to meet these require- of 60 ft) per bushel) under ordinary rotation. It is ments in the case of field crops. He cannot afford to estimated that the reduction in yield of the unmanured ignore the results that have been gradually accumulated— plot over the forty years, 1852-91, after the growth of the the truths that have been slowly established—at the agri- crops without manure during the eight preceding years, cultural experiment stations in various parts of the world. was, provided it had been uniform throughout, equivalent Of these stations the greatest, and the oldest now existing, to a decline of one-sixth of a bushel from year to year due is that at Rothamsted, Harpenden, Herts, England; and to exhaustion—that is, irrespectively of fluctuations due to it will be expedient before discussing the lessons season. It is related that a visitor from the United which Rothamsted has taught, to refer briefly to States, talking to Sir John Lawes, said, “Americans have the origin and scope of the work of a centre of learnt more from this field than from any other agriculinvestigation the name of which is known and honoured tural experiment in the world.” Another field experiment of singular interest is that in all countries where progressive agriculture is practised. The agricultural experiment station at Rothamsted was relating to the mixed herbage of permanent meadow, for founded in 1843 by the late Sir John Bennet Lawes, and which seven acres of old grass land were set apart in maintained at his own expense; whilst he made provision Rothamsted Park in 1856. Of the twenty plots into for its continuance by putting in trust during his lifetime which this land is divided, two have been left without £100,000, the laboratories, and certain areas of land, manure from the commencement, two received ordinary which since 1889 have been administered by the Lawes farmyard manure for a series of years, whilst the remainder Agricultural Trust Committee. Sir J. Henry Gilbert have each received a different description of artificial or became associated with Sir John Lawes in 1843 as director chemical manure, the same being, except in special cases, of the chemical laboratory, and the collaboration thus com- applied year after year on the same plot. No one can menced was terminated only by the death of the founder inspect this field during the growing season without being on 31st August 1900. The results of more than half a impressed by the striking evidence it affords of the influence
