-A- •• ' EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, VALUATION OF UNEXHAUSTED IMPROVEMENTS. BY JOHN BENNET LAWES, Esq., F.R.S., F.C.S., of ROTHAMSTED, HERTS. READ BEFORE THE LONDON FARMERS' CLUB, APRIL 4, 1870. LONDON : ROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND, W.O. 1870. f EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, IN RELATION TQ LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, AND THE VALUATION OF UNEXHAUSTED IMPROVEMENTS. A comparison of the conditions and practice of the agriculture of this country at the commencement of the present'century with those which now prevail, brings to view many important changes. Among the more prominent of these is, not only the great im- provement in those descriptions of machinery which were then in use, but the introduction and the very general employment of a large number of entirely new machines, adapted to almost every requirement of the farm. Not less characteristic elements of modern advancement and still continued progress are the improve- ment of our breeds of stock and the use of oilcakes and other purchased cattle-foods, contributing* to early maturity and to a greatly increased production of both meat and animal manures ; and lastly, the employment of large quantities of imported, and what are commonly called artificial manures, as distinguished from those which are produced on the farm by the feeding of stock. Coincident with these changes has been a rise in the value and rent of land ; much greater in the case of the light than in that of the heavier description of soil. As a necessary consequence, too, much more capital has been expended in the cultivation of a. given area of land , b2 4 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, It is remarkable however that, with all these important changes of our own time, little or no alteration has taken place either in the actual course of cropping- of any district, or in the views which prevail in regard to the necessity of adhering to a fixed rotation of crops. It would seem as if the systems of cropping estab- lished by our forefathers were proof against all improvement, in spite of the vastly improved means of mechanically working the soil, and the enormous increase in our resources of elements of fertility* in the form of cattle food and manures imported from all quar- ters of the globe, and of artificial manures manufactured at home. Nor is it less surprising that, with the extensive and greatty increasing use of expensive purchased cattle foods, the value of which can only be recovered in the meat and manure conjointly, there should be no recognised basis, or general system adopted, for the valuation of unexhausted manures, as between the out- going tenant on the one hand, and the landlord or the incoming tenant on the other. As a contribution to the discussion of these important points, I propose to direct your attention this evening chiefly to the fol- lowing questions: 1. Whether, in order to preserve the soil from exhaustion, it is necessary to enforce a fixed rotation of crops ? 2. What are the best, or most generally applicable means at our disposal, for the estimation of the value of unexhausted manures ? In considering the characters of soil with the view of arriving at some answer to these questions, it will suffice to confine attention mainly to the definition and illustration of those quali- ties which are commonly known under the term u condition ," and to pointing out the distinction between these and those which are due to what may be called the normal or natural fertility of the land. There are other points of great practical and scientific interest in connection with the state of fertility of our soils which must be left out of view on this occasion ; as, for in- stance, the influence of the various crops we cultivate, the special IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS* COVENANTS, &C. 5 effects of ordinary and of various artificial manures, the loss of fertilizing* matters by drainage, and allied subjects. The word " condition'* is in very common use amongst agricul- turists. It is said that a farm is " in condition," or " out of con- dition," or in "high condition," or in "low condition." These terms are well understood to imply certain states of fertility which it is not easy to define more accurately in a few words. As I understand it, the word " condition" refers to those ele- ments of fertility in a soil which, whether they have been accumulated by natural processes or by the art of the farmer, are capable of being turned to account in the growth of crops within a limited period of time, and which by such growth are soon exhausted. "Condition" is, therefore, something altogether distinct from the natural or standard fertility of the soil. A soil may be naturally very fertile, but at the same time very much out of condition j or it may be naturally very poor, but in very high condition. As an illustration of a soil brought into a state of high con- dition by natural causes, I w T ill quote a few sentences from that great writer on the science and practice of agriculture, M. Boussingault. In his Mural Economy, p. 231, he says: " By far the finest crops of Indian corn in America are obtained upon breaks of virgin soil. I do not hesitate to say that the hus- bandman gains from six hundred to seven hundred times his seed under such circumstances. The mode of proceeding upon these breaks, which I have frequently witnessed, deserves to fix attention for a moment. " The planter chooses the end of the rainy season for cutting down the trees and the brushwood ; everything remains where it falls until it is sufficiently dry ; fire is then set to the heap, and the burning extends and lasts even for weeks ; all the smaller branches are completely consumed, nothing but the charred trunks of the larger trees remain. As the rainy season is about to return, a man with a pointed stick in his hand, goes over the burnt sur- face, making a hole of no great depth at intervals, into which he throws two or three particles of Indian corn, over which he draws a little earth, or rather ashes, by a slight motion of his foot. This 6 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, primitive mode of sowing terminated, the planter takes no further heed of the crop ; his habitation is often so remote, that he never visits it until harvest time : the rain and the climate do all the work : it is unnecessary to hoe, the burning- having destroyed all the plants that were indigenous to the soil, nothing rises but the grain which has been sown. In su^h fields, stems of Indian corn are frequently seen of the height of from twelve to fourteen feet. It rarely happens that more than three consecutive crops are taken from the burnt soil ; and the last, though still very superior to anything which we can obtain by our regular husbandry, is not to compare with the first. As there is no want of forest, it is held preferable to make a fresh break." Here, then, we have an instance of a soil in which the elements of productiveness, having been gradually accumulating for ages, are so far exhausted by three successive crops of Indian corn, as to render it more profitable to abandon the land, and clear a fresh portion of the forest, than to cultivate the same area over again. As a more familiar instance of land brought into "condition 1 ' by somewhat similar causes, may be mentioned old pasture, when broken up and converted into arable land. The cases of land brought into " condition/' which it is much more to our present purpose to consider are, however, those in which the immediate productiveness is due directly to the outlay of capital by the tenant, by the use of purchased foods and manures, by means of which the land is brought for a longer or shorter, but still only for a limited period, into an increased state of productiveness. By way of special illustration of such " condition" I will direct attention to some results selected from among those of the numerous field experiments made on my farm at Rothamsted. Table 1 shows the produce of dressed corn per acre, on certain plots of a field which has now grown wheat year after year for more than a quarter of a century. Up to the autumn of 1843 it was under the ordinary system of cultivation of the farm. In 1839 it was dunged, and grew turnips ; in the next four years it was unmanured ; growing barley in 1840, peas in 1841, wheat in 1842, and oats in 1843. In the autumn of 1843 the first experi- IN RELATION TO LANDLOllDfr' COVENANTS, &C. 7 mental wheat crop was sown, and the twenty-seventh is now growing. Portions of the field have received no manure whatever during* the whole period of the experiments ; one portion has been manured with fourteen tons of farm-yard dung- every year ; and the remainder, divided into numerous plots, has been manured with different descriptions of artificial manure, the same descrip- tion having-, as a rule, been applied to the same plot year after year for the last eighteen years, and in some cases for longer still. Table 2 shows the results of experiments in which barley has been grown year after year in an adjoining field for many years in succession, the nineteenth crop being now in the ground. The plan of manuring has been very similar to that in the wheat field j por- tions being always unmanured, part being annually manured with farm-yard dung*, and the remainder divided into plots, which have been manured, respectively, with different descriptions of artificial manure. Table 3 relates to experiments on the four-course rotation of turnips, barley, clover or beans, and wheat ; and therefore illustrates "condition" of soil under circumstances much more nearly representing the ordinary practices of agriculture than when corn crops are grown year after year on the same land. The twenty-third crop— that is to say, the third crop of the sixth- course — is now growing. The root-crop, commencing each course, has been liberally manured with mineral manure, ammonia-salts, and rape-cake ; both roots and tops have been carted off the land, and the three following crops of each course grown without any further manuring. Clover was the third crop in the first course ; but as it will not grow once in four years, beans have been substi- tuted for it in the succeeding courses. The Table gives the aver- age produce, respectively, of turnips (roots and tops), barley, beans, and wheat, over the second, third, fourth, and fifth courses — that is to say, over the four complete rotations in which beans were grown. Table 4 gives the results of experiments conducted for fourteen years in succession on permanent meadow land, the plan of manuring having been much the same as in the case of the experi- ments on wheat and barley. EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, ILLUSTRATIONS OF CONDITION. Table 1. Wheat grown year after year on the same land. Plot 2. Plot 16. Plot 5. Plot 17. | Plot 18. Mixed mineral Manure, and ilixed mineral Mixed mineral Manure, Years. L4 tons Dung, 800 lbs. Manure and every year ; Ammonia alone ; Ammonia Salts, 26 Years, Salts; 18 Years, alternated ; 1844-69. 13 Years, 1852-61. 1852-69. 18 Years, 1852-1869. Bushels of Bushels of Bushels of Bushels of Dressed Bushels of Dressed Dressed Corn Dressed Corn Dressed Corn Corn per Acre. per Acre. per Acre. per Acre. per Acre. 1844 20* 19| 15* 18i 20| .1813 32 32f 24J 32* 33 1846 27* 27 25 32 26* 1847 291 32 30f 34| 30:; 1848 25f 30| 30f 28* 26$ 1849 31 33| 38f 33J 32^ 1850 28* 33| 301 30* 29i 1851 29| 36f 37 31:1 31 Average . V - 8 years, . 30f 29* S0\ 28| 1844-51 . J 1852 27| 28£ •16| +24| *14| 1853 19| 25f *10| * 8| +191 1854 41* 49| •24* +441 *23£ 1855 34f 32f •18* •18 +331 1856 36£ 37| *19* +31 •17| 1857 41* 49| *23f •26* +40* 1858 38f 4l| •18| +33£ *21| 1859 36i 34f *20| *20| +32£ 1860 321 32| *15| +251 *15f 1861 34| 37 *15* *18| +32^ 1862 38^ 36* *17| +27? •18* 1863 44 551 •19f *21* +461 1864 40 37i 51 i •16| •14* +36^ •17 •17| 1865 32i tsif 1866 32f 171 *13* +26* *12§ 1867.. ... 27i- 14| * 9.! *10$ +23| 1868 41f 92,2- •171 t37| •18| 1869 381 16 i •15| *16* +22| AVE HAGES : 26 years, isi |.(;«. 33} — — 21 years, 1841-61 — 36 i — — — 13 years, 1852-6-1 39i — -- 5 years, 1865-61 — 20 ^ — ' — — 18 years 1852-6C — — — J24| J24| 18 years, 1852-61 — •17* •171 tsif * Mineral manure. + Ammonia Salts. % Mineral manure and Ammonia Salts. IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, SiC. ILLUSTRATIONS OF CONDITION. Table 2. Barley grown year after year on the same land. Plot 7. Plot 2a. Plot 2aa. Superphosphate, and Superphosphate 400 lbs. Ammonia Years. 14 Tons Dung and 200 lbs. Ammonia Salts, 6 Years ; 200 lbs. Ammonia every year ; 18 Years, 1852-1869. Salts Salts, 10 Years ; every year ; 275 lbs. Nitrate, 18 Years, 2 Years. 1852-1869. Total, 18 Years : 1852-1869. Bushels of Bushels of Bushels of Dressed Corn Dressed Corn Dressed Corn per Acre. per Acre. per Acre. 1852 33 38f 43| 1853 36^ 401 42i 1854 56| 60| 63i 1855 501 m 50f 1856 32* 291 31* 1857 51* 55 56* 66* 1858 51| 56i 1859 40 34* 351 1860 41| 43| 43£ 1861 54f 55 55f 1862 49f 48| 51 1863 59| 61| 60* 1864 62 58* 56| 1865 52| 48f 47* 1866 53^ 50* 501 1867 45| 43| 44 37| 44i 1868 44 1869 46| 48 AVERAGES : 48i 18 years, 1852- 48 47* — '69 „ 6 years, 1852- '57 45* 49| 10 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, ILLUSTRATIONS OF CONDITION. Table 3. Artificially Manured Four' course Rotation, conducted through 5i Courses, (22 Years,) 18484869. Average Produce of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Courses (16 Years) 1852-1867. Description Mixed mineral Manure, Ammonia Salts, and Yieafs. of Kapecake, for Turnips only, of each Course ; Crop. 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864. Turnips carted off. Per Acre. 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864 ... Swedish turnips* . . , 13 tons 3| cwta. 1853, 1857, 1861, 1865 ... Barley 48$ bushels. 1854, 1858, 1862, 1866 , Beans 2H „ 1855, 1859, 1863, 1867 ... Wheat 36f „ '■'■■ Roots and topt IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, &C. 11 ILLUSTRATIONS OF CONDITION. Table 4. Experiments with Manures on Permanent Meadow Land. Plot 2. Plot 9. Years. 14 Tons Dung, 8 Years, 1856-*63; Unmanured, 6 Years, 1864-'69. Mixed Mineral Manure, and 400 lbs. Ammonia Salts, Total 14 Years, 1856-1869. every year ; 14 Years, 1856 - 1869. Hay per Acre. Hay per Acre. Cwts. Cwts. 1856 36 56| 1857 m • 571 1858 37* 64 1859 40£ 55i 1860 46£ 50i 1861 45| 56f 1862 45| 57£ 1863 44f 53| 1864 48|- 50i 1865 25| 34i 1866 43 44* 1867 51 48 1868 36£ m* 1869 55i 68f AVERAGES : 8 years, 1856-'63 42* — 6 years, 1864-'69 434 — 14 years, 1 356-'61 1 43 54 12 EXHAUSTION OP THE SOIL, I will first call attention generally to the fact that, throughout the long periods over which these various experiments have ex- tended, u condition ' has been equally kept up whether farm-yard dung, or certain chemical mixtures, were employed. In the wheat experiments, the average of 20 successive crops grown by farm-yard dung was 33 j bushels ; the average on plot 16, of 21 crops grown by artificial manure was 36 | bushels, and the average on the same plot, over 13 years when the artificial manures were increased in quantity, was 39J bushels. In the case of the barley, the average over 18 years of farm-yard dung was 48 bushels, and over 18 years of artificial manures 47 i bushels. In the rotation experiment, after the removal, on the average of the four courses, of about 13J tons of turnips, which had been manured with artificial manure, the average of the four crops of barley was 48 f bushels, and that of the four crops of wheat 36 J bushels. Lastly, in the 14 years' experiments on permanent mea- dow land, the average produce of hay where farm-yard manure was employed, was 43 cwts., and where artificial manures were used 54 cwts. It is obvious, therefore, as I have already said, that land can be kept in " condition," whether continually under grain crops, under rotation, or growing natural grasses, equally by farm- yard dung or artificial manures. I will now endeavour to illustrate the extent, or limit, of duration of " condition" of soil, under different circumstances of manuring. I will refer first to the experiments on wheat, the results of which are given in Table 1. During the first eight years, from 1844 to 1851 inclusive, plot 10 was variously manured with mineral manure and ammonia- salts, and gave an average annual produce of 30£ bushels. During the next 13 years, from 1852 to 1864 inclusive, it received every year a mineral manure, composed of salts of potass, soda, and magnesia, and superphosphate of lime, and also a largely increased amount of ammonia-salts, namely 8001bs. per acre per annum, and the average produce over the 13 years was 39 J bushels. The manuring was then stopped, so that the crops of 1865 and since, have been entirely unmanured. The crop of 1865, the first after the cessation of the manuring, was IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, &C. 13 32§ bushels, the second 17§, the third 14§, the fourth 22f , and the fifth 16| bushels. It is obvious, therefore, that the {i condition" of the land, due to the unexhausted residue of the manures applied during- the 21 previous years, was sufficient to yield a fair crop in the first year after the manuring' was stopped, but that the produce then rapidly declined. It should be stated, however, that the quantity of ammonia ap- plied in this experiment was very excessive, amounting-, in the 21 years, to as much as would be supplied in 10 tons of Peruvian guano. Deducting- the amount of nitrogen in the increase of crop in the 21 years, from the amount supplied in the manure during the same period, it appeared that nitrogen equal to more than a ton of ammonia, and to more than would be supplied in 6J tons of Peruvian g-uano remained unrecovered in the increase of crop. An analysis of the soil to the depth of 27 inches from the surface showed that about one-third of this excess still remained in the soil within that depth, at that period ; leaving, however, the re- maining two-thirds still unaccounted for. Even the one-third re- tained within a depth of 27 inches from the surface would appear, from the small produce yielded by it, to be so diffused, and locked up in such states of combination in the soil, as to be available in very small quantities annually. Of the remaining* two-thirds? doubtless a part is still retained in the soil below a depth of 27 inches ; but probably the largest proportion of it has passed off, in the form of nitric acid, in the drainage-water. In the other experiments on wheat, the results of which are given in the Table, the amounts of ammonia applied were by no means so excessive, only half as much being annually applied where they were used at all, as during the 13 years of excessive appli- cation on plot 16. During the first eight years of the 26, that is from 1844 to 1851 inclusive, plots 5, 17, and 18, were manured with various but, upon the whole, somewhat similar mixtures of mineral manure, ammonia-salts, and sometimes rapecake, and gave nearly equal average amounts of produce over the eight years, namely — 29J, 30J, and 28J bushels, respectively. From that date, 1852, to the present time, a period of 18 years, plot 5 has been manured, every year, with a mixed mineral manure 14 UAUSTION OF THE SOIL, containing' salts of potass, soda, and magnesia, and superphosphate of lime ; and every year during* the same period plots 17 and 18 have been manured with the same mineral manure, or ammonia- salts, alternately. For example, in 1852 plot 17 received ammonia- salts, and plot 18 the mineral manure. In 1853 plot 17 received the mineral manure, and plot 18 the ammonia salts, and so on* alternately for the 18 years ; thus, plots 17 and 18 have each been manured nine times with ammonia-salts and nine times with the mineral manure during the 18 years, the difference being that when one received ammonia-salts the other received mineral manure, and vice versa ; and, accordingly, we have had each year one plot manured with mineral manure following a residue of ammonia-salts, and one- plot manured with ammonia-salts following a residue of mineral manure, Over the 18 years the average produce of plots 17 and 18 was exactly the same, namely— -24§ bushels in each case ; but if we take the average of the 18 crops grown by mineral manure alone, whether upon plot 17 or 18, we find it to be only 171 bushels, whilst the average of the 18 crops grown on either plot by ammonia-salts is 3 If bushels, or nearly 14 bushels per acre per annum more. At the time of the commencement of this set of experiments the utility of supplying ammonia as manure for grain crops was vehemently disputed, it being asserted that if only a sufficiency of available mineral constituents were provided within the soil, the plant would obtain all the necessary ammonia from the atmosphere. It would hardly be possible to select, or arrange, a set of experiments more entirely conclusive against such a view. The mineral manures, though always succeeding upon a residue of ammonia-salts, gave only a small crop, whilst the ammonia- salts, succeeding upon a residue of mineral manure which had been useless without them, gave a large crop, My present object is not, however, to show the effects of one manure compared with another, but to ascertain how far the un- exhausted residue from previous manuring' affects the produce of succeeding crops. Plot 5, manured every year with the mineral manure alone, gave an average over the 18 years of 17^ bushels, whilst the same mineral manures applied on either plot 17 or 18, IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, &C, 15 and always after a residue of ammonia-salts, gave only 17f bushels, or less than f bushel per acre per annum of increase due to the unexhausted residue of the previously applied ammonia-salts, these being employed in comparatively moderate quantity. From these results it is clear, that the soil may be kept in " con- dition" to yield a fair crop of wheat every year, by the applica- tion of ammonia- salts and certain mineral manures ; but, that, if the ammonia-salts be only applied in moderate quantit} r , the un- exhausted residue will very little affect the produce of succeed- ing* crops. I will now refer to Table 2, which gives some results of experi- ments on the growth of barley for eighteen years in succession on the same land. Plot 2a has been manured every year with super- phosphate of lime and ammonia-salts ; and plot 2aa has received the same amount of superphosphate every year, and twice as much ammonia during the first six years, but only the same amount as plot 2a each year since. Taking the six years of the double application of ammonia on plot 2aa, the result is an average of 491 bushels, against only 45| on plot 2a, with the smaller amount of ammonia-salts, thus showing an average increase of four bushels per acre per annum due to the extra amount of ammonia-salts applied. In 1858, the first year in which the amount of ammonia applied on plot 2aa was reduced to the same as that on plot 2a, it still gave five bushels more than the latter ; in the next year it gave only 1 h bushel more -, and in the third year the produce was practically equal on the two plots. Here again, then, the unex- hausted residue from the ammonia-salts previously applied has appreciably increased the succeeding crop ; but it should be stated that the amount ot ammonia-salts— 4001bs. per acre per annum- applied during the previous six years was, for barley, very large, indeed excessive. Table 3 gives the average produce over four consecutive four- course rotations, in which the turnips were liberally manured with mineral manure, ammonia salts, and rapecake, and the whole crop (roots and tops) carted from the land. On the average, about 13£ tons of turnips were removed ; yet it will be seen that the un- 16 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, exhausted residue from the manures applied for the turnip crop was such that an average produce over the four courses of 48£ bushels of barley, 21J bushels of beans, and 36f bushels of wheat, was obtained. In the experiments on permanent meadow land, the results of which are given in Table 4, plot 2 was manured with 14 tons of armyard dung per acre per annum for the first eight years, and has since (that is for six years) been left entirely unmanured. It will be seen that during the eight years of the application of dung the average annual produce of hay was a little under 43 cwts., and that during the six following years it amounted, without any further application of manure, to a little over 43 cwts. of hay, thus showing a very marked effect from the unexhausted residue of the previous heavy dressings of farmyard dung. From the above results, relating to wheat, barley, rotation, and permanent meadow, the following conclusions may be drawn : 1. That condition of land may be maintained, either by farm- yard manure or by artificial manures. 2. That when active nitrogenous manures, such as Peruvian guano, ammonia-salts, or nitrate of soda, are applied in only the moderate quantities usually employed in practical agriculture, the unexhausted residue left in the soil after the removal of a corn crop has but little effect on succeeding crops. 3. That when rapecake, bones, and other purchased organic manures, which yield up their fertilizing elements comparatively slowly, are employed, the unexhausted residue left after the removal of the first crop may yield an appreciable amount of increase throughout a rotation. 4. That when farmyard dung is employed the effects may be apparent for a still longer period, 5. That when mineral manures, such as phosphates, salts of potass, &c, are used, the effects of any unexhausted residue are too slow and gradual to admit of any determination of their value. So far, I have endeavoured by means of some actual experi- mental results to illustrate " condition " of soil ; and it is obvious IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, &C. 17 that when it results from the expenditure of capital in the purchase of cattle food or direct manures, it should be reckoned as the property of the tenant. I now propose to consider certain other characters of soil which are not included under the term " condition." When a tenant takes a farm, what is it he agrees to pav rent for ? Partly for the use of a residence and farm buildings but the greater portion of the rent is paid for permission to grow crops on the land. The course of cropping is either expressly stipulated in the lease or agreement, or the tenant is bound by the " custom of the country." As he is subject to penalties if he deviate from the course so prescribed, it must be assumed either that that course is the very best he could follow for his own interest and profit, or that by following any other, with a view to increased profit to himself, the interest of the owner would be sacrificed, by a reduction of the natural or standard fertility , or rent- value, of the land. Admitting that the recognized rotation of any district may be, upon the whole, the most suitable to follow in it, it nevertheless will not be denied that the farmer of intelligence and capital would, if he were permitted to do so, occasionally deviate from it with profit to himself at any rate. It will be well, therefore to direct attention to some results illustrative of the extent and limit of the productive capability of a soil of a certain class or character, with a view of forming some judgment of the probability of injury to the land by a deviation from the ordinary course of cropping I have, in the course of my various experiments, sought to gauge the capability of my soil to yield crops for many years in succes- sion without manure, and even under more exhausting conditions still, and some of the results obtained are recorded in Table 5. It should be stated, however, that in no case has any attempt been made to increase the productiveness by either subsoiling or deeper ploughing than usual, though great care has been taken to keep the land as free from weeds as possible without injury to the crop by treading. 18 EXHAUSTION QF TflE Sqif, ILLUSTRATIONS OF NATUKJU, TOTXWTY. Table 5, Experiments loith Wheat, Barley, and Meadow-hay, Wheat. Barley. Meadow-hay. Plot 3. Plot 10a. Plot lo. Plot 3. yean. Unmanured Ammonia Unmanured Unmanured every year j 26 Years, Salts, alono ; every year j every year ; 14 Years, 25 Years, 18 Yoars, 1844-1869. 1845-1869. 1852-1869. 1856-1869. Bushels. Bushels. Bushels. Cwts. 1844 15 23* ill — — 1845 31f 1846 171 27|- — — 1847 16£ 25^ — — 1848 14$ m — — 1849 m 32* — — 1850 15f 26| — — 1851 15£ 28£ — — 1852 13} 21| 27* — 1853 5f 91 S5f — 1554 21* 34|- 35 — 1855 17 19| 31 — 1856 14* 24* 13* 26* 22* 1857 19| 29* 25* 1858 18 22| m 22 1859 18$ 181 13* 22| 1860 m ii| 15* 121 13* 24| 1861 16* 25f 1862 16 m 23 39* 16* 221 27* 1863 20| 1864 16* 32 24 24 1865 13f 25* 18 11* 186ft, 1897* 12* 26* 151 23| 81 18* 1ft 29f 1868 ... 16f 24f 10| 17* 1869 M 20* AVERi 15* lGES : 18 First Period m 25* 23 24* Second „ ,., 15 23| 17f 23* Total „ 15| 24£ 20* 23* AVE RAGE STRAW, PER ACR— C W rs. First Period 15* 25£ 13| __ _ Second „ 12 S 2U 10| — Total „ 14 24 12* — JN BBX.ATJON TO JjANP^OEDS' COVENANTS, &C, 19 The first column of the Table shows the produce of wheat ob- tained for 26 years in succession, from 1844 to 1869 inclusive, on a portion of the experimental wheat-field which has received no manure whatever since 1839. The average produce, per acre per annum, over the 26 years, has been rather over 15 J bushels of dressed corn, about 14 cwts. of straw, and 22f cwts. of total pro- duce (corn and straw together). The average over the second half of the period is 1J bushels of corn, and 2| cwts. of straw, less than over the first half; showing perhaps a slight, but at any rate no very marked, tendency to decline in annual yield. I hold in my hand a specimen of this unmanured produce grown in 1868, the 25th crop of wheat in succession, and the 29th crop since the application of any manure to the land. Here also is a section of the soil, taken to the depth of 30 inches ; and, so far as can be judged from appearance, certainly no one of experience in such matters would take it to be naturally more fertile than the majority of moderately heavy soils in this country. Nor does the rent of similar land in the neighbourhood (25s. to 30s. per acre tithe free), or the condition of the farmers of the district as to wealth, indicate any great fertility of the soil. . , . . On plot 10a the productive capabilities of this «ame soil have been still further put to the test ; and the results enable us not only to gauge the past, but to form some idea of its prospective productiveness. For the crop of 1844, the first of the experimental series, this plot received a dressing of superphosphate of lime and silicate of potass j but not any, either potass, soda, lime, magnesia, phosphoric acid, or silica, has been applied since that date. For the crop of 184:5, and for each crop since, that is for 25 years in succession, it has been manured with ammonia-salts alone. During that period it has given an average annual produce of 24§ bushels of dressed corn, and 24 cwts. of straw per acre, per annum, being an average annual increase over the unmanured produce of 81 bushels of corn, and 9£ cwts. of straw, and a total increase over the 25 years of nearly 220 bushels of corn, and 239J cwts. (nearly 12 tons) of straw. It is obvious from these results, that the soil of this plot 10a has yielded up annually, for this long period, considerably more mineral matter from its own resources than the unmanured plot. There is, however, an average annual produce ef If bushel of corn, and 3 J cwts, of straw less over the last 13 than over the previous 12 years c 2 20 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, of the period. Assuming* this to be due to exhaustion, and not to difference of seasons only — and there is the evidence of analysis that it is at least in a gTeat measure due to exhaustion — it is still obvious that it would take many more years yet to bring* down the annual yield of this plot to that of the unmanured one. The next column in the Table shows the amounts of produce of barley obtained for 18 years in succession on the same land, without any manure, in an immediately adjoining field. The average pro- duce over the whole period is 20& bushels of corn, and 12& cwts. of straw, per acre per annum. There is, however, a considerable re- duction of produce in the later years ; the average of the first 9 years being* 23 bushels of corn and 13§ cwts. of straw, and of the second 9 years only 17| bushels of corn and lOf cwt. of straw, or a reduction of 5f bushels of corn and 3 cwts. of straw, per acre per annum, over the second half of the period as compared with the first. This more rapid reduction in the case of barley than of wheat is doubtless due to the much more limited range of the roots of barley, so that in its case an actually less bulk of soil has con- tributed to the crop, and the exhaustion, though telling more upon the crop, is, therefore, more superficial than in the case of wheat. The permanent meadow-land gave, over 14 years, an average of 23J cwts. of hay per acre per annum without manure, and, as the figures show, an average of only f cwt. lens over the second than over the first half of the period. ILLUSTRATIONS OF NATURAL FERTILITY. Table 6. Unmanured Four-Course Rotation, conducted through 5£ courses (22 years), 1848-1869. Average Produce of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th courses (16 years), 1852-1867. Years, Description of Crop. Unmanured, every year sixteen years, 1852 — 1867. Turnips carted off. 1852, 1856, 1860, 1864 1853, 1857, 1861, 1865 1854, 1858, 1862, 1866 1855, 1859, 1863, 1867 Swedish Turnips* Barley Beans Wheat * Roots and top« Per Acre. 18f Cwts. 40£ bushels. 34* „ IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, &C, 21 Lastly, as Table 6 shows, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th courses of five consecutive entirely unmanured four- course rotations gave scarcely any turnips at all ; but the average of the four crops of barley was 40J bushels, of the four crops of beans 12§ bushels, and of the four crops of wheat 34J bushels. To sum up the chief points of these illustrations of the extent, or limit, of the fertility of a somewhat heavy loam, of by no means extraordinary quality, it has yielded an average annual produce, without any manure at all, of 15| bushels of wheat for twenty- six years, of 20J bushels of barley for eighteen years, of 23f cwts. of hay for fourteen years, and, under rotation for twenty years, an average over the last four courses, or sixteen years, of 40J bushels of barley, 12§ bushels of beans, and 34| bushels of wheat. I confess that my view of the productive capability of heavy, or even moderately heavy soils, has undergone considerable change since I commenced the various experiments to which I have referred. Formerly I supposed that a very few years of consecutive corn-growing would suffice to reduce the corn-growing capabilities of any ordinary soil to practically nothing. Such, however, is not the case ; and a very little reflection will show how essential it is for the well-being, if not, indeed, for the existence of man, that the elements of fertility should be so locked up and distributed throughout the soil, as to be capable of being taken up by crops extremely gradually, and so to last for an immense period of time. If needy landlords, or indigent tenants, could have drawn upon the locked up elements upon which the main- tenance of the natural or standard fertility of the soil depends, how little fertile soil would still remain in England ! It has sometimes been argued that the soil is to be looked upon as little else than a support for plants, to which the cultivator must add all the constituents necessary for the growth of the crops he removes ; just as the manufacturer who hires a mill has to supply the cotton or other material for the manufacture. I think, however, it would be difficult to account for the difference of rent paid for land, except on the assumption that it yields, from its own resources, a greater or less surplus, in the forms of corn and meat, beyond the amounts required to pay the cost of cultivation, to return interest on capital employed, and to afford a 22 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, profit to the tenant. I think, further, observation will show that* excepting in the case of the lighter soils under modern manage- ment, the rent-value of different descriptions of land has generally borne a closer proportion to their relative natural fertility than to any other circumstance. Let us suppose, for example, three descriptions of soil : one that would yield 5, another 15, and another 25 bushels of wheat per acre, from their own unaided resources ; that is, without the use of any purchased cattle food or manure. A soil which would yield only 5 bushels of wheat would probably bear no rent at all, the whole value of the produce being required to meet the costs of cultivation. The soil yielding 15 bushels would doubtless pay a rent, and the one yielding 25 bushels a considerably higher rent. But now let us assume that all three cultivators were able to go into the market and purchase cattle food and manure : the three soils would be very differently affected by this importation of elements of fertility from without. An amount of money ex- pended in food and manure that would raise the produce on the poorest soil from 5 bushels to 25, would not raise that on the medium soil from 15 to 35 bushels, and still less would it increase the yield on the best soil from 25 to 45 bushels of wheat. It is obvious, therefore, that the surplus available for rent, dependent on such an use of elements of fertility from without, would be proportionally the greatest on the poorest soil, and the least upon the naturally most productive soil. It is chiefly in the fact here illustrated that is to be found an explanation of the rapid rise in the rent of light soils of late years* Compared with heavy land, they are cultivated at a less cost, they are much better adapted to carry stock, and with the aid of pur- chased food and manures they can now rival in productiveness the natural fertility of clays and loams. So long as the farmer depended alniost exclusively upon the natural fertility of the soil, the surplus to pay rent was much less on those light soils which could supply from their own resources but little of the constituents required for the growth of crops ; but since he has been able to go into the market and purchase, in the form of cattle food and direct manures, those elements of which his soil was deficient, the in- crease of productiveness Which has followed has, as a matter of fact, IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS* COVENANTS, &C 23 been found to be proportionally much tbe greater in the case of the lighter and naturally less fertile, than in that of the heavier and more fertile soils. Thus the productiveness of light soils is in a greater degree dependent on the amount of capital expended on food and manure than is that of the heavier soils. Moreover, the increased fertility and the increased rent of the lighter soils of late years, are partly due to the accumulations from the past expenditure of the tenant. This increased productiveness is, however, of the character of improved '* condition ;" and hence it is that the productiveness of such soils may be comparatively easily and rapidly reduced. That, excepting in the case of light soils under the conditions above referred to, the amount of rent paid is, in practice, chiefly dependent on the natural fertility of the soil, and not on the amount of capital employed by the tenant, is evident from the fact that there are, on many estates, highly cultivated farms with abundance of capital invested, adjoining others in a very opposite condition ; the poor farmer being able to set apart from the pro- duce of the land as large a surplus in the form of rent as his higher farming neighbour ; whilst any demand for an increase of rent on account of increased capital employed, would be met with the remonstrance that the benefits arising from the increased ex« penditure of capital by the tenant should justly accrue to himself. From the facts and arguments which have been adduced in re- gard to the natural fertility of the heavier soils, and to'the essen- tial conditions of productiveness of the lighter soils, the question naturally suggests itself — whether, or under what circumstances, the more frequent growth of corn than accords with the recognised rotation of a district might be permitted without risk of deteriora- ting the property of the landlord ? Although any such repetition of corn-crops is strongly objected to, as tending to exhaust the soil, it is remarkable that many operations which affect the soil in an exactly similar way are not only allowed, but approved. A fallow, for example, is an economical means of obtaining the produce of two seasons in one year ; certain costs of cultivation, seed, and harvesting, are saved ; but so far as the removal of constituents from the soil is concerned, it is immaterial whether two crops of wheat of 16 bushels, or one of 32 bushels, be taken from the land. By liming, again, certain constituents which are locked up in the soil are set free and rendered available much more rapidly, and so 24 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, are removed in larger quantity within a limited period of time than they otherwise would be. The same result, namely, the ex- port from the farm of larger crops within a limited period of time, follows in like manner from the use of the subsoil plough, the steam smasher, and a great variety of implements of modern ap- plication. In fact, all these processes, which are regarded with favour rather than otherwise, have the one object and result of causing the soil to yield up its elements of fertility more rapidly. I believe that whilst a greater freedom from the adoption of a fixed rotation would often be beneficial to the tenant, it would not, if accompanied with proper conditions, result in any injury to the landlord. In saying this I trust it will not for a moment be sup- posed that I would recommend the abandonment of a rotation of crops, and the continuous growth of corn. To be more specific, what I do think is, that where fallow, or liming, or subsoiling, or steam smashing, and allied processes, are admissible and advanta- geous, or where root crops cannot be consumed on the land during wet weather without injury to the succeeding crops.— that is to say on the heavier and deeper soils — barley may often be grown both in larger quantity and better in quality after wheat than after a root crop. Again, where mangolds are manured, as they often are, with 20 or even 30 tons of dung per acre, I see no ob- j ection, either from a scientific or practical point of view, in taking out of the land the large quantity of mineral constituents still re- maining available after the removal of the mangolds, by growing two or even three corn crops in succession, with the application of artificial manure for each extra crop. Very generally, indeed, two corn crops might be taken in succession from medium and heavy land, provided it be kept free from weeds, and artificial manures be applied for the second crop. Nor do I think that real injury would be done by the occasional growth of peas, or even an extra corn crop, on light soils, when the seeds have failed, as occurred after the dry summer of 1868 ; indeed, as much of some fertilizing matters might b e washed out of the soil by drainage as would be exported from the land in the extra crop. So far I have endeavoured to illustrate what is that it produces little or no appreciable effect on succeeding crops. Some manures, on the other hand, have been shown to produce marked effects for several years after their application. It is obvious, therefore, that it would require a very complicated sliding-scale to enable us to estimate the value of unexhausted manures under the many varying conditions that would arise — as to the description and amount employed, the soil, the season, and the crop grown — were it attempted to take as a basis the valuation of constituents already under ground. In Lincolnshire, and adjoining counties, half-inch bones are valued to the in-coming tenant the second year after application, and in some instances guano is valued after it has grown a crop. It would, I think, be much more satis- factory that all valuation should, if possible, relate only to what is above ground. Nor do I see any difficulty in doing full justice to the out-going tenant withdut taking into account the value of the unexhausted residue of manures which have already yielded a crop. IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS* COVENANTS, &C. 27 The three items upon which I would rely as the basis of a valuation in favour of the outgoing tenant are — the farmyard manure made during the last year of the occupancy ; the manure from purchased food which has not grown a crop ; and the straw of the corn crops of the last harvest. The quantity of straw grown is a pretty sure indication of the condition of the land in regard to recent manuring-. To take an extreme case by way of illustration : the continuously unmanured wheat plot, which has been already referred to, gave an average of only about 14 cwts. of straw per acre, whilst plot 16 gave, over the thirteen years of heavy manuring, 461 cwts., or 3 l-3rd times as much. Now, if I had entered upon a farm with the straw of the corn crops given over to me not exceeding 14 cwts, per acre, and left it with straw averaging 3 l-3rd times as much, I might surely in justice claim, of the landlord or my successor, compensa- tion for such an increase in the quantity of straw, indicating as it would the increased condition of the land. In reference to this point, it may further be remarked, in passing, that not more than about 5 per cent, of the weight of the straw is derived from the constituents of the soil itself, by far the greater part being derived from the atmosphere, through the agency of the manures applied, and directly due, therefore, to the expenditure of the tenant's capital. I propose, then, as a part of the compensation to the improving outgoing tenant, that he shall be paid the consuming value of the straw which he leaves in excess of that which he entered upon. The next point to consider is, the valuation of the manure which has been obtained by the consumption of purchased cattle food within twelve months from the termination of the occupation, and Which has not yet yielded a crop. Some years ago I published a Table showing 4 the calculated value of the manure resulting from the cousumption of 1 ton of each of the chief standard articles of cattle food. Those estimates were, at the time, considered by some tb be somewhat too high. They have lately been carefully re-considered j and, taking into account the higher money value of some of the chief constituents at the present time, it has been decided to make but little further alteration than to add a few articles to the list that were ndt previously included in to The results are given in Table 7. EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, Table 7. Estimated Value of the Manure obtained by the ConsvAnptiun of different Articles of Food, each siqyosed to be of good quality of its kind. Description of Food. 1 . Cottonseed Cake, decorticated . . . 2. KapeCake 3. Linseed Cake 4. Cotton-seed Cake, not decorticated 5. Lentils 6. Beans 7. Tares 8. Linseed 9. Peas ... 1 0. Indian Meal 11. Locust Beans 12. Malt-dust 13. Bran 14. Coarse Pollard 15. Fine Pollard 16. Oats :.. 17. Wheat 18. Malt 19. Barley 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. Clover Hay Meadow Hay Bean Straw Pea Straw Oat Straw Wheat Straw Barley Straw 27. Potatoes 28. Parsnips 29. Mangold-wurtzel 30. Swedish Turnips 31. Common Turnips 32. Carrots Money Value of the Manure from one ' fonof each Food. £ 8. <1. 6 10 4 18 6 4 12 6 3 18 6 3 17 3 14 3 13 6 3 13 3 2 6 1 11 1 2 6 4 5 6 2 18 2 18 2 17 1 15 1 13 1 11 6 1 10 2 5 6 1 10 6 1 6 18 9 13 6 12 6 10 9 7 5 6 5 3 4 3 4 4 It will be observed bow very widely different is tbe estimated money value of the manure obtained by the consumption of one ton of different articles of cattle-food in common use. It is ob- IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, &C. 29 vious, therefore, that, in settling* the amount of compensation to be paid to the outgoing tenant for the value of the manure produced by the consumption of purchased food, it would not suffice to take a fixed proportion of the purchased-food bill, but the value of the manure-constituents of the particular description of food actually employed must be estimated. It would no more be fair to make the valuation irrespectively of the value of the constituents obtained from the different descriptions of food, than it would be to charge the same price for the inferior descriptions of guano as for the best Peruvian. As the value of the constituents obtained as manure from one ton of the various foods has been estimated at their market price, if sold in a concentrated, dry, and easily-portable state, some re- duction from the amounts given in the Table should be made in the valuation supposed, on account of the risk of loss by decomposition and drainage, and for the extra cost of carriage and application to the field, all of which will be greater in the case of the cattle manure than in that of the dry purchased manure. For these reasons I would propose that one-third, or one-fourth, less than the amounts shown in the Table should be allowed for'all purchased cattle-food used within twelve months of the termination of the occupation, provided the manure obtained from it has not yet grown a crop. It is, I believe, the custom in Norfolk, and in some other coun- ties, for the tenant going out at Michaelmas to apply the dung made during the previous winter to the root crop, the incoming- tenant taking the crop at a valuation. The objections to this plan are, that the root crop is a very uncertain one, and may, in a bad season, be very much less than the amount of manure should pro- duce : and that if the outgoing tenant has fed his stock upon pur- chased food, the value of the manure cannot be recovered in the root-crop alone, even if the season be favourable. For example, in one of the courses of experimental rotation to which I have referred, after a liberal manuring of rape-cake, salts of ammonia, and mineral manure, less than 4J tons of roots were removed ; and the result was, that the succeeding crops amounted, without any further manure, to 60| bushels of barley, 43 J bushels of beans, and 46 bushels of wheat. It is obvious that, under the system referred 30 EXHAUSTION OF THE SOIL, to, these heavy crops of barley, beans, and wheat, would become the property of the incoming* tenant, whilst he would only have to pay for the manure which had largely contributed to produce them, the small value of 4| tons of roots. I would submit that it would be a much fairer arrangement to value the manure made during the winter by the load, or ton, and that the incoming tenant should also pay two-thirds, or three- fourths, the estimated money value of the manure from the pur- chased food consumed in its production. If, in addition to this, the out-going tenant were paid the consuming value of the straw of the corn crops of the last harvest, he would receive fair com- pensation for the capital which he had invested in "condition" whilst the incoming tenant would only have to pay for that which possessed an actual money value. The conclusions arrived at in the course of the foregoing dis- cussion may be briefly summarised as follows : 1. (t Condition'' 1 is a quality quite distinct from natural fertility of soil : it is mainly dependent on the amount of capital expended by the tenant in the purchase of cattle-food or manures, and is, therefore, his property ; it may be easily and rapidly reduced. 2. The natural fertility of a soil, whether high or low in degree, is, comparatively speaking, a permanent quality ; it can only be injuriously affected by the continuance of an exhaustive system of cropping for a long period of time; it is the property of the landlord; and, excepting in the case of very light soils, it is the chief element in determining the rent-value of the land. 3. In the case at any rate of the heavier soils, it would gene- rally be beneficial to the tenant of capital and intelligence, if he were allowed much more freedom as to cropping than present customs permit. 4. No injury is likely to result to the landlord from granting the tenant permission to crop as he pleases, provided he be bound to keep the land free from weeds, and to leave a fixed proportion under fallow and green crops, at the termination of his occupation. 5. No simple rules, applicable to various descriptions of soil season, crop, and manure, can be laid down for the valuation of the unexhausted residue of previously applied manures which have already yielded a crop. IN RELATION TO LANDLORDS' COVENANTS, <&C« 81 6. By the valuation of so much of the farm-yard manure, and of so much of the manure-constituents derived from purchased cattle food, as have not yet yielded a crop, and also of the straw of the last harvest, fair compensation may be made to the out- going tenant, whilst the in-coming tenant will only be required to pay for that which has a fixed and easily-ascertainable money- value. In 1845 the late Mr. Ph. Pusey made the following remarks in an article in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England (Vol. V.) : "The subject of unexhausted improvements seems to me the most important of all agricultural subjects for landlords at present, and the improvement of our agreements in this respect to be a condition sine qua non of any steady and general improvement of the soil or its cultivation." If this were true then, how much more is it so now ! During the quarter of a century which has elapsed since these lines were written very great advances have been made in British agriculture, and every step in the progress has been accompanied with an increased outlay of money. If abundant capital is to be attracted to the soil, it is essential that liberal covenants in regard to cropping should be adopted, and fair compensation for unex- hausted improvements made. If I have this evening in any degree contributed to that advancement of knowledge which is necessary before we can hope to attain marked improvement in these respects, I shall feel that I have not occupied your time in vain. Printed t>y Rogeraon ana Tuxford, 265, Strand, London. * t 1 mM ■ Wm ■ £9