Mr. Thomson's Analysis of Two Species of Epiphytes. 



N.B. Tho bolls are Renfrewshire bolls, of 5 cwt per boll — there are 

 16 pecks in a boll. 



N.B. Tho wheat of this year (1844) appears inferior on tho portion 

 of the field where the above experiments with Guano were tried. 



Experiment II.— On Yellow Turnips — South-west field of Porton 

 —Soil light. This field was not in very poor order, from having been 

 in potatoes, dunged in 1841, wheat and barley in 1842. The other 

 parts of tho field not experimented on were dressed with bones, 30 

 bushels per aero, with 5 tons of ash dung. The crop was good. 



Tons.Cwt. Qrs. 



No. 1. — Bones and Dung as above, (30 bushels 



The calcined bones were the riddlings of bones used in a China 

 Manufactory. The animal charcoal was got from some of the Sugar 

 Refiners, called exhausted animal charcoal. 



III. — Analysis of Two Species of Epiphytes, or Air Plants. 

 By John Thomson, M.A. 



I. Commelina Skinneri. — Until about four months prior to the time 

 this plant was examined, it had roots in some earth ; but about that 

 time Mr. Murray, of the Glasgow Botanic Garden, cut them all off, 

 and left it hanging on the wall to which it had been trained. I had 

 only 353*05 grains of the young shoots to operate on, so that very 

 great precision cannot be expected in the results. After exposing 

 this quantity on a sand bath to a heat of about 280°, there remained 

 71*91 grains of the dried plant, so that the difference, which must 

 have been almost wholly water, amounted to 281- 14 grains. The dried 

 portion was then burned, and it left a residue of 7*14 grains of ashes, 

 which were now subjected to analysis. 



After treating the ashes with water to separate the soluble from the 

 insoluble part, and evaporating the two portions to dryness, there were 

 obtained of matters insoluble in water 4*22 grains, and of soluble sub- 



