402 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT. 



till the beginning of July ; after that there was much broken 

 weather, and the rain-fall during the autumn months was much 

 in excess of the average. The turnips were weighed on the 30th 

 November. The weights are contained in Tables X. and XI. 



Experiments made by Mr. Alexander Anderson, at Boysach, 



Arbroath. 



The piece of ground selected for these experiments was part 

 of a field which had been cropped on the six course rotation, 

 viz., 1861, barley, with grass seeds; 1862, grass, cut for hay, 

 and afterwards pastured; 1863, oats, sown with 2 cwt. Peruvian 

 guano per acre ; 1864, potatoes, manured with 15 loads farm- 

 yard manure per acre ; 1865, wheat, to which 3 cwt. of arti- 

 ficial manure (1£ cwt. Peruvian guano and 1A cwt. dissolved 

 bones) was applied ; and 1866, the present experiments. The soil 

 is a black loam, of average depth and quality, and in rather 

 poor manurial condition. The subsoil is gravel, with yellow 

 clay and sand — altitude, 120 feet above the sea. The barley, 

 grass, and oat crops, were all much under the average, but the 

 potatoes and wheat were above it, both in bulk and quality. 



The turnips were sown on 12th June, in plots six drills 

 wide, and arranged as in the plan contained in the instructions 

 sent with the manures. The weather at the time was rather dry, 

 and there was just moisture enough to secure a braird. The 

 plants were faintly visible along the drills on the 16th, and 

 showed distinctly on the 18th. Nos. 8 and 9 came up first, and 

 at the end of the third week of June looked vigorous and healthy, 

 and were first into the rough leaf. They were closely followed 

 by Nos. 6 and 7, which were indeed but little behind them. 

 Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, were a good way behind ; and Nos. 10 and 

 11 only a little better than nothing plots. Rainfall in June, 

 1*03 inches. 



Nos. 8 and 9 were ready for hoeing on the 6th July ; Nos. 

 6 and 7 on the 8th ; Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and o, on the 9 th ; and Nos. 

 10 and 11, and the nothing plots, were not hoed until the 14th. 

 Until the 18th of the month the weather was extremely warm, 

 the thermometer on the 13th and 14th indicating 86° in the 

 shade, and 110° in the sun; and at this time the relative position 

 of the plots was unchanged, but some of the plants on No. 11 

 had withered under the excessive heat, and others being attacked 

 by worms and insects, had begun to decay. One of the No. 2 

 plots was also very bad in this respect, although its duplicate 

 was quite healthy and vigorous. 



On the 30th July the relative positions of the plots had 

 somewhat altered. No. 8 was still the best ; then came No. 1, 

 which was remarkably vigorous and healthy. These were fol- 



