;2o6 EXPERIMENTS OX THE CULTURE OF TURNIPS. 



The artificial manure used to the general crop at Sandyford was 

 in a good state of division, but not nearly so fine as that used 

 on the plots. 



The Swedish turnip station was the only one on which the 

 farmyard manure was ahead of the triple plots, and here the 

 crop was 4 or 5 tons heavier per acre. This seems to indicate 

 that swedes require a larger supply of plant-food than the softer 

 varieties, and, from the more extensive ramifications of their 

 roots, are better able to obtain it. It is abundantly proved this 

 year on all the stations, that the theory of fine grinding of 

 phosphates constitutes a great part of their value, as well as of 

 all insoluble manures. There is, however, another question 

 w^hich arises from the result of this season's inquiries, and which 

 most materially affects the use of ground phosphates, — that is, 

 the presence of solvents in the soil. 



It is well known that soils rich in organic matter hasten the 

 decomposition of certain forms of manure, and that lime and 

 alkaline salts generally have a dissolving tendency ; there are 

 also several other forms of solvents present in the soil which 

 affect insoluble manures to a greater or less degree. The only 

 soils on the stations known as light soils are those at Craichie 

 and Auchindorie ; the one gives the result of 68, and the other 

 of 67 cwts. per acre of an increase in favour of ground phos- 

 phate. The Sandyford station (swedes) is soft black loam, and 

 •gives a result of 9 cwt. per acre of an increase. The Sandyford 

 yellows is firm soil, inclined to be heavy ; it only gives 4 cwt. 

 per acre in favour of insoluble phosphate. Judging from these 

 results, it would seem as if the light sharp soils of the Auchin- 

 dorie and Craichie stations contained a larger proportion of 

 solvents in their composition than the others, or that their open 

 porous nature, by more readily admitting the atmosphere, may 

 have contributed in no slight degree to the oxidation and dis- 

 solving of the phosphates. The class of soils to which the other 

 stations belong may be said to give pretty equal results with the 

 soluble and insoluble phosphates, as a difference of a few hundred- 

 weights per acre is hardly appreciable on a crop of turnips. The 

 only deduction which can l^e drawn from this is, that light sharp 

 soils give better results with ground phosphates than medium 

 soils. I will not venture to go beyond the limits of my experi- 

 ence so far as to say that heavy clay soils will give w^orse results 

 than medium soils, but will simply say I think they would be 

 very likely to do so to a considerable extent. However, that is 

 immaterial to this report, as these soils are cropped in a different 

 way ; besides, there is a very small breadth of them in Strath- 

 more, or, for that matter, in Forfarshire. 



In summing up the results of my last year's inquiries, I wrote 

 as follows : — " Judging from the results of these experiments, it 



