to the Earthy Constituents presented to their Absorbing Surfaces. 259 
ounces of nitrate of strontian. The plants were treated in the same manner 
as on the preceding year, though, it is to be remarked, they did not thrive 
equally well. They were not cut down until the whole of the water had been 
expended upon them; so that we may calculate about half an ounce of nitrate 
of strontian to have been applied to the roots of each. 
The following is a tabular view of the results obtained. 
Soluble portion of these ashes: 
" Weight Weight iste adi , Portion 
d Saga of the Where planted. bee of es In In nitric aci , — 
periment. rie ashes. | Water. in these 
plant. Without After being acted on | menstrua. 
n previous by an alkaline car- 
treatment. bonate. 
Earthy Earthy 
: phosphate. | sulphate. 
Barley (Horde- 
um vulgare), | nr ro v. (vd c: 1:53 16835 bese. 45 2:04 
300 grs, .. N.B. Consisting 
entirely of phos- 
phate. 
In a Greenhouse. 
Soir. 
300 grs. of Sulphate of 
dio A 383 | 61 |13°3 17:0* 3:6 1:3 0:9 
Ditto. Carrara marble.| 230 | 34 78 1p5—- 15. x. ?9:5 0:8 
Dito, { ee \ 960 | 45 1055 5:9 09 | 98 | fi 
Ditto. { ae 78 7 0:9 4'0 none. none. 0:1 
At the same time at which the above four samples had been planted, 100 
grains of barley were sown in flowers of sulphur, and moistened only with 
distilled water. This latter yielded only 16 grains of the dried barley-straw, 
and being burnt, left no more than 1 grain of ashes,—a quantity so much 
less than what would have proceeded from the 100 grains of barley, of which 
it was the produce, that I thought it useless to carry the examination of them 
any further 3. 
* These salts for the most part consisted of nitrates of lime derived from the action of nitric acid 
upon the earthy carbonate, of which the greater part consisted. 
T M. Laissaigne, as quoted by M. Richard, made an experiment to the same effect and with similar 
results to this of mine. But his mode of conducting it appears in this respect unsatisfactory, in as much 
VOL. XVII. 2M 
