208 EXPERIMENTAL STATIONS. 



in leaf than the others. Plot 17 (no nitrogen) was a decided 

 failure, especially at Pumpherston, and Plot 18 (nitrate alone) 

 was dark-coloured in the leaf, and came away pretty well at 

 first, but it improved very slowly, and remained very backward. 



Potassic Manures. — The sulphate of poWsli plot looked better 

 than the muriate plot all through the season, but the difference 

 was not great. The want of potash did not seem to retard the 

 gro\vth so much as one would have expected, considering the 

 large amount of potash which is found in the ash of turnips. 

 Still more unexpected was the appearance of Plot 22, which 

 received sulphate of potash alone. It did not even look so well 

 as the unmanured plots on either of the stations. 



Guanos (23-26). — The plots on which these manures were 

 sown were all somewhat backward, especially that with fish 

 guano. 



Su/perphosphates (28-30). — The difference between these plots 

 was trifling. What difference did exist was in favour of Plot 

 19, which had received the medium amount of soluble phosphate. 

 ■ Various Quantities (31-34). — There was no doubt possible 

 regarding the influence of the manures on these plots. The 

 greater the amount of manure the better seemed the crop. 

 Plot 32 however, was an exception on both stations. 



Rape Cake and Cotton Cake (35). — The half plot with rape 

 cake was decidedly better than the other with cotton cake. 



All these rood plots had the same amount of phosphoric acid, 

 potash, and nitrogen applied to them, except Plots 11 and 12, 

 17 and 18, 21 and 22, which received a partial manure, and Plot 

 27, which remained unmanured. 



Mijiiature Plots (36). — Upon the whole, these plots agreed 

 very nearly with the large ones, of which they were duplicates. 

 This, however, applies only to the Harelaw station. The Pum- 

 pherston series, as before remarked, is valueless, on account of 

 the inequalities of the soil. 



Unfortunately, owing to the extreme, long-continued, and now 

 renewed frost, it is impossible to do more than refer to the out- 

 ward appearance of the various plots. The half of the crop is still 

 buried in the snow, and much damage has already been done to 

 some of the yellow turnips at Pumpherston. 



Too much importance must not be attached to the comparisons 

 which have been made between the various plots, as appearances 

 are often deceptive, and the plot which has the best leaf may 

 not produce the best bulbs, and those plots which have large 

 bulbs may not in the end weigh out so well as others. 



There were several experiments of a minor kind tried at both 

 stations, one of which, at Harelaw, may be here noticed. A 

 quantity of seed was divided into three portions, according to 

 their specific gravity. Por this purpose the seed was put into a 



