Mr. Dove <m Experiments with Marmrts on Potatoes. 



96 



with a close, retentive, cold, tillj bottom or subsoil ; the ground was 

 wrought in the usual manner— the drills being twenty-eight inches 

 from centre to centre. 



The soot was damped with water; the sulphate of ammonia wag 

 reduced to a fine powder ; the farm-yard manure was spread in the 

 drills, and the other manures on the top or along with it ; the lot with 

 the soot had a sprinkling of earth between the manures and the setts. 

 They were all covered up immediately with the plough. The length 

 of the drills was 694 links, by 38 links for each lot, making 42J falls, 

 all Scotch measure. The guano cost 155. per cwt. ; the sulphate of 

 ammonia, 20s. per cwt. ; the soot. Is. Id. per boll ; the bone-dust, 3*. 

 per bushel ; and the farm-yard manure, 7s. per ton, on the ground. 

 The following table shows the lots, manures, weight of manures, cost, 

 and produce, per old Scotch acre, the produce being estimated in 

 Renfrewshire bolls, of 5 cwt to the boll : — 



Application. 



Cost per Acre. 



Produce. 



For every 



£lof 

 Manure. 



Lots. 



1 r Guano, 

 •\Dung, . . 



n /Sul.of Am., 

 "^'XDung, . . 



o / Bone Dust, 



./Soot, . . 

 ^•\Dung, . . 



tons cwt. qr 



4 

 8 10 



3 

 8 10 



20 bushels. 

 8 10 



554 boUs. 

 8 10 



£ s. d. 



3 

 2 19 6 



3 

 2 19 6 



3 

 2 19 6 



3 

 2 19 6 



£ 8. d. 



5 19 6 



5 19 6 



5 16 6 



5 19 6 



Bis. Pks. 



33 1 

 31 3 

 33 1 

 27 lOi 



Bis. Pks. 



5 ^ 

 5 ^ 



5 8i 

 4 10 



It will be observed that lots 1st and 3d produced the same quan- 

 tities, viz., 5 bolls, 8^ pecks, for every £1 worth of manures made 

 use of ; lot 2d, 5 bolls 3^ pecks ; and lot 4th, 4 bolls 10 pecks, for 

 every £1 worth; £5:19:6 being the amount laid out per acre 

 on all the lots. Lot 1st was ready for digging three weeks, and lot 

 3d, two weeks, before lots 2d and 4th. There were few failures of the 

 seed in lots 1st and 3d, while in lot 2d about two-fifths of the seed 

 failed, and in lot 4th about three-fifths, or fully the one-half. All 

 the lots were planted with smooth red potatoes, on the same day and 

 under the same circumstances. I did not make up the deficiences 

 where the seed foiled, conceiving that it was of as much importance to 

 the grower to know the manure which had a tendency to destroy the 

 seed, as the one producing the greatest quantity. I am satisfied that 

 lots 1st and 8d were under -manured, and that lots 2nd and 4th 

 were over-manured. These two last continued to grow, with a strong 



