386 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHEMICAX DEPARTMENT. 



piece of information, deprived experiments, otherwise admirable, 

 and displaying the greatest care and perseverance, of half their 

 value ; and sometimes they were ill- devised, though carefully 

 executed. Such errors were doubly unfortunate, because they 

 were most apt to occur in the hands of young experimenters, 

 who entered with enthusiasm on a course of experiment which 

 they were induced to abandon by finding that the results did 

 not come up to their expectations, and thus agriculture has often 

 lost the assistance of men having in them all the elements of 

 good experimenters, and only wanting a little experience to 

 guide them. 



But even more important than this is the want of systematic 

 and comparable experiments, a want which was not experienced 

 at first, but which the progress of agriculture has now brought 

 into greater prominence. In general each experimenter has 

 adopted his own course. His experiments have been perfectly 

 isolated, and his results; though often extremely interesting and 

 valuable to himself or his immediate neighbours, were much 

 less important than they would have been had they admitted of 

 comparison with those of others made in different districts. It 

 may appear to some persons that if experiments are properly 

 made they should always be comparable, provided only their 

 results were properly classified and arranged, but practically it 

 is impossible to do this in a satisfactory manner, as I can testify 

 from practical experience. Some years since, I took the trouble 

 to collect together a considerable number of experiments made 

 during the same season, and proceeded to arrange and reduce 

 them to similar terms so as to admit of comparison, but often 

 expending on them a great deal of very irksome labour, I 

 abandoned the task as hopeless. 



The discussion of the methods of experiment which took place 

 at different times in the Chemical Committee led to no definite 

 course of action, until about two years since, I suggested the 

 advisability of some of the most active experimenters throughout 

 the country associating themselves together to form a sort of 

 experimental club, for the purpose of making systematic ex- 

 periments. On submitting this proposal to the Committee, it 

 w r as suggested that it would be better to have such experi- 

 ments made under the auspices of the Society, and a proposal to 

 that effect was accordingly submitted to the Board of Directors, 

 by whom a special committee was appointed to consider the 

 subject and report. This Committee reported unanimously in 

 favour of the proposition, and made many important suggestions 

 as to the mode in which these experiments should be conducted. 

 It was particularly recommended that they should be made ac- 

 cording to a strictly identical plan in several different districts. 

 That a general committee should be appointed to determine the 



