first year's treatment should be the prevention of the formation of seed heads, and, where no protective crop is used, cutting at intervals, as may be required, will attain this end, and at the same time tend to keep down the weeds; it must, however, be borne in mind that sufficient leaf-growth is essential for the formation of roots, and that the strength of the growth is usually in proportion to the vigour of the leaf-development. It will be found well, then, to cut twice at least the first year, the first cutting yielding, possibly, nothing but weeds, while the second will yield a small crop of hay, which must not on any account be allowed to remain long on the ground.

After the last cutting, or in the case of a protective crop, after it has been harvested, young horned stock may be turned in, if the plant is strong enough; sheep should not be allowed in for the first two years at least, and all stock should be carefully excluded whenever there is any danger of poaching or treading in wet weather. After treatment of newly laid down pastures.

For the successful formation of new pastures the two great aims should be:

1. To increase the stock of organic matter in the soil. 2. To consolidate the soil to the firmness of old turf.

In both cases the process is very slow, and any attempt to unduly hurry either will destroy the finer grasses.

The first will be best attained by feeding stock with cake, &c., on the land, taking care to spread all droppings and to move troughs, tubs, &c., constantly. It may be also attained by judicious direct manuring, especially if the land is not originally in high condition, and probably of all manure none is so valuable for grass land as farmyard manure, but great care is needed in its application in the first year, to prevent smothering the finer grasses. Of special manures experiment teaches that phosphatic manures, and potassic if the soil is deficient in potash, improve the quality of the herbage, while nitrogenous manures have a prejudicial effect on the clovers, but increase the quality of the coarser grasses; occasional dressings of lime or compost will be of great service in sweetening the herbage.

For the achievement of the second aim, viz., the consolidation of the soil, rolling is essential, and to this I attach great importance. The roll should be constantly on the young seeds, especially in the first year, whenever the weather permits; and after a frost a good rolling is of vital necessity.

From these remarks it will be seen that complete control of the newly laid-down land should be retained for the first two years at least; unless, indeed, the tenant can be relied upon to carry out instructions.

TREATMENT OF Old and WORN-OUT PASTURES.-I have little time to dwell at any length upon this branch of my subject, and can only point out that in most cases it is better to try and improve the pasture as it exists, than to break it up and lay it down again.

A thorough harrowing with heavy harrows, followed by the sowing of a few renovating seeds, rolling, and a good dressing of farmyard manure, with a liming after a year or two, and judicious feeding of

stock upon the land, will be often found to completely alter the character of the herbage; in fact, I have known many poor moss grown pastures turned into a profitable state by trough feeding sheep upon them, care being taken to regularly move the troughs forward across the field.

COMPARISON BETWEEN ORIGINAL MIXTURE SOWN AND ACTUAL GROWTH. It is always a matter of interest to note the progress made by a young permanent pasture, and in Table II. I have attempted a comparison between the proportion of the various grasses, &c., in the original mixture and of those found actually on the ground five years after seeding.

Of course the method used in the comparison is open to numerous objections, but I think tables such as this furnish valuable data as to the liability of several varieties to die out, and of others to increase, which should be of great assistance in assigning the percentage of area to be devoted to each particular grass, &c., in future prescriptions.

The field in question was sown down in 1888, and the mixture used is shown in columns 1 and 2, and was constructed on the number of plants per acre principle. The land is good loam, and was in very fair condition, and moreover had been limed not many years previously; it is only 2 acres in extent, and was seeded down at the time of the "3 acres and a cow" agitation, and when I tell you that, since being handed over in its second year to the small tenant who holds it, it has with the aid of a good-sized garden supported a cow with her calf, and often another purchased calf and also a pony, you will readily understand the success which was obtained. As far as I am aware sheep have never been upon it, and a third of it is mown every year. The plot examined was selected from the portion to be mown this year, and was cut on the 14th of June, when the bulk was ready for mowing; of course the season told heavily upon the weight of produce, but it is noticeable to what an extent cocksfoot has increased, as also the fescues, foxtail, and perennial rye-grass; while among the decreases one remarks foxtail, timothy, and of course the clovers. No doubt the fact that foxtail is an early and timothy a late grower will account to some extent for the small proportion of these grasses, but then there were very few heads of foxtail in the plot, I conclude the season affected this as also the red clover and alsike.

There are many other interesting reflections to be made from this and other such comparisons into which I cannot enter now, and it only remains for me, while thanking you for your forbearance and attention, to impress upon the younger Members the importance of carrying out such investigations for themselves in the preliminary work of preparation, for which they will find great assistance not only from Dr. Stebler's work on forage plants, to which in this Paper I am much indebted, but also to a small pocket book on the identification of grasses by their leaves, by Professor McAlpine, the translator of Stebler's work.

Note on Mr. Dickson's Paper on the Agricultural Holdings Act.

(Page 424 ante.)

I am sorry that there were two or three errors in the Paper which I read at Leicester before the Provincial Committee, and which was reproduced in the last number of the "Professional Notes."

On page 429. Only one-third of the cost of linseed and cotton cake consumed during the last year should be taken as the basis for allowance, i.e. £2 13s. 4d. in the case of linseed cake, and £2 8s. 4d. in the case of cotton cake.

The last paragraph but one on page 429 should accordingly be as follows:-"From these figures you will see that, while the generally'approved method of arriving at the value to an incoming tenant "of these two feeding stuffs which have been consumed on the farm "is, for linseed cake £2 13s. 4d. a ton, and for cotton cake £2 8s. 4d. a "ton, by taking the manurial constituents as a basis, the value of the "former cake is £2 14s. 4d. a ton, and of the latter £3 18s. 2d. instead "of only £2 8s. 4d. a ton."

Fourteen lines from the bottom, page 429, potash (K O) should read potash (K2O).

The figures appearing in the last three columns of the table on page 432 should represent fractions, not shillings and pence. Thus, in the practice on the Bective Estates, the figures should be for last year of tenancy, not 2s. 6d., and for second year, not 1s. 6d., and so on for the other estates.

T. A. DICKSON, Fellow.

NX

Statistics.

CORN PRICES.

RETURN OF THE AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN, IMPERIAL MEASURE, AS RECEIVED FROM THE INSPECTORS AND OFFICERS OF EXCISE DURING THE UNDER-MENTIONED PERIODS.

APPENDIX A.

BUILDING CASES.*

NAME AND SUBJECT LIST OF THE

PRINCIPAL BUILDING CONTRACT AND OTHER CASES DECIDED (CHIEFLY) DURING THE PRESENT CENTURY, WITH VERIFIED REFERENCES TO THE REPORTS IN WHICH THE CASES APPEAR, AND THE DATE OF HEARING.

DATE.

REVISED, ENLARGED, AND BROUGHT UP TO DATE (JUNE 1894) BY
ALFRED A. HUDSON (ASSOCIATE)
(Barrister-at-Law).

1844 ALLEN v. YOXALL (Tender and specifica- 1 C. & K. 315. tion-Good contract)

1796 ALLINSON v. DAVIES (Materials supplied Peakes Cas. 82. by Employer-Set-off)

1846 AMBROSE v. DUNMOW UNION (Work finished 9 Beav. 508.

by Guardians)

1857 ANDREWS v. BELFIELD (Work to approval- 2 C.B., N.S. 779.

Rejection)

1865 ANDREWS v. LAURENCE (Contract-Guaran- 19 C.B., N.S. 768. tee-Alteration)

1875 ANGLO-EGYPTIAN NAVIGATION CO.v.RENNIE (Payments on account of work-Loss of article)

L.R., 10 C.P. 271, 571; 44 L.J.,
C.P. 130.

1869 ARMSTRONG v. JONES (Architect's negligence Rep. in "Hudson on Building in granting certificates)

1859 ARNOLD V. WALKER (Certificate-Hind

rance-Penalties)

Contracts," p. 679. 1 F. & F. 671.

1867 APPLEBY v. MYERS (Specific performance) L.R., 2 C.P. 651; 36 L.J., C.P.

1880 ARTERIAL DRAINAGE Co. v. RATHANGAN RIVER DRAINAGE BOARD (Contract determined-Delay in drawings)

1884 ASPHALTIC WOOD PAVING CO., IN RE (Running contract--Charge

on retention

331.

6 L.R., Ir. 513,

L.R., 26 Ch. D. 624; 51 L.T. 321; 32 W.R. 915.

moneys)

This list does not comprise the many cases reported in periodicals or papers of no legal authority. but it includes a few Shipbuilding Contract cases serving to elucidate the principles of the Law of Building Contract.