The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1879-09-30 00:00:00

THZ POTATO CROP.
To Ili /Miter of tho StsmdanL

Sin,—l think oar only remedy against disease is to
return to natural propagation by crossing the beet and
strongest-growing varteUes by impregnation of the flowera
This system has already brought tie, at least, One magni-
ficent potato, which I have now grown five years. and
which has this year again come out free and untouched by
disease, although all my other sorts are threetourtlui
rotten. I have this season planted twenty-six acres of
these, and but for them, my potato crop would be • great
kna I attriluite the disease-resisting qualities o( this
potato to its vigorous constitution and hard, woody stalk,
and although this year the leaves were badly spotted by
disown, it never gets further. The haubn is perfectly free
from It, and as tha disease in all potatoes &somds the
haulm, the ISben are invariably perfectly healthy. I have
taken some Rouble to ascertain the history of this variety,
and find that it we. brought to notice by Mr. Shirley
Hibbevi, the Editor of the Gardena?. liatssias, and that
• gardener had raised it from seed. Surely we want no
other remedy for the potato disease than the planting of
sorts so produced.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
NATI:KALI&

THE BATTLE IN THE MEADOW.
In the tar number of the Pree dkugesftb. Repel Sarre,
Mr. Lame and Dr. Gilbert give a brief abstract of • very
elaborate paper on the experiments conducted for the last
twenty years on the Herbage of Permanent Meadow
Land. The general near will be treated under the heads
of —1 Agricultural Results ; 11. Botanical Results; 111.
Chemical Results. In the taper, of which an abstract is
now printed, the agricultural results alone are dealt with;
the remaining subjects will be treated of hereafter.
In the experiments at Rothamsted with different
manures, wheat has now been grown for thirty-A x years
In suceerion on the same land. barley for twenty-eight
years, and oda for nine years. Sonsewhat in like manner,
but with some breaks, beans have been grown over • period
of more than thirty years, clover for many years, and
" root-crops." turning, wurael also
for more than thirty ylemaralW-I=a7thmetntlividual crops
has exhibited certain distinctive characters under this
unusual treatment. But, withal, thane of thorn's natural
family wheat, barley, and oats, for example have
shown certain characters in common, these of the Legum-
inous family characters widely different, whir the un-
called root-crops, belonging to the Crsciferous and
Cluropodiaceous families, have exhibited chameteristies
differing from those of either the Griminess or the
liCairmeneral scope, objects, and results of the whole
Inquiry may be Wetly 'Minted as follow.:
About seven acres in the park at Rothamsted have been
set apart for the experiments, and divided into plots.
Two of these have been left without manure from the
commencement ; two have received ordinary farm-yard
manure, whilst the remainder have each received a
different description of artificial or chemical manure, the
same being, except in special PIM, applied year after year
on the .me plot.
Refining first to the agricultural results, it may be
premier that, without manure the produce of hay has
varied from year to year, according to season, from Moot
eight cwt, to nearly 39 cwt, per ire, and the average
yield has been about 13 cwt. per acre per annum. On the
other hand, the plot the most heavily artificially =mired,
and yielding the highest amount of produce, has even an
average at about 61 cwt of hay per acre per annum, with
a variation from year to year from under M cwt to nearly
gl) cwt. Intermediate between the extremes here
quoted, very great variation In the amount of produce
has been exhibited on the other differently mannred
plots.
With these great differences in the amounts of pro-
duce the barred character of the herbage has varied
most strikingly. Thus starting with perhaps fifty species
on the unmanured land, any kind of manure, that is,
anything increase' the growth of any species, induces
, greater or lees in degree, causing a greater or
lees diminution, or a disappearance of some other
series, until on some plots, and in some mesons, ler than
twenty species have been observable, and on some, after
a numba of years, no more than this are ever traceable.
Even in the first years of the experiments it was
noticed that those manures which are the most effec-
tive with wheat, barley, or oats grown on arable land,
that is, with Gramincous sped, grown separately, were
also the mod effective in bringing forward the greases
proper, in the mixed herbage : and, again, those manures
which are the most beneficial to beans or clover, most
developed the Leguminous species of the mixed herbage,
and cies *err It was further observed that there was
great variation in the predominance of individual species
among the grasses, and also among the representatives of
other orders. And even in the second year the difference
in the flora, so to speak, were so marked, that • first
attempt at • botanical analysis of carefully taken samples
of the produce of some of the plots was then made; in
the third year more detailed separations were made;
and, taking advantage of the experience thus gained,
pretty complete botanical analyses have since been
conducted four times, at intervals of five years of the
course of the now twenty-four years of the experiments;
and on several other occasions partial separations have
been undrrtaken. The °bracer and tendency of the
results so obtained may be very briefly indicated as
follows :
_ . . .

—lit the praline grown continuously without manure the
average number of species found haa been forty-nine Of
these seventeen me grams, four belong to the other
Legurninosm, and twenty-eight to other cedars. The
percentage by weight of Use gramme has averaged about
airty-eight. that of the Leguminome about nine, and that
of species of other orders twenty-three.
In the produce of the plot already referred to as the
most heavily manured, and yielding the heaviest crops,
the average number of species found has been only nine-
teen, of which twelve to thirteen are grasses, one only (or
none) Leguminous, and five to six only represent other
order.; whilst the avenge proportions by weight have
been—of greases about 95 per cent , of Leguminous, leas
than 0.01 per cent, and of enemies representing other
orders lees than five per cent
On the other hand, a plot receiving annually manures
inch as are of little avail for gramineous mom grown
veparatiely in rotation, but which favour beans or clover
so grown, has given on the average forty-three rosette. Of
these seventeen in number ate IFILIFIC four Leguminome,
end twenty-two belong to other order.; but by weight
the percentage of MONS has averaged only duty-nee to
eaventT, that of the Leguminome nearly twenty, and that
be of specieslonging to other olden los than