PRACTICAL METHOD OF TESTING SOILS. 415 



not a remunerative turnip crop. Besides the special information 

 conveyed by each experiment, it was found, upon comparing the 

 various reports, that a matter of more than special interest had 

 been elicited. It was found that the application of potash 

 manures had in many instances not only failed to increase the 

 crop, but had actually diminished it. A classification of the 

 returns showed that the cases in which potash had done harm 

 were those in which it had been applied to land that had been 

 duno-ed in the drills. It did less harm where the land had been 



O 



dunged in autumn ; and the instances in which it had been 

 beneficial were those in which it was not the practice to apply 

 dung to the turnip break or where bone meal had been used 

 instead of dung that year. 



The information conveyed by the returns sent in from so many 

 careful experimenters in various parts of the country deepened 

 my conviction of the benefit to be derived from such a system 

 of practical soil-testing, and I accordingly determined to bring 

 the subject more prominently before the notice of farmers last 

 year. Schedules were printed describing in detail the method 

 of making the experiment in the form of a seven-plot test, and 

 upwards of a hundred of these were sent to farmers in different 

 parts of the country, but I regret to have to report that my 

 application has not met with so great a response as I expected. 

 Farmers are difficult to move. Only nine schedules containing 

 details of the experiment have been returned. The chief details 

 of these experiments are given here ; but I am indebted to most 

 of the experimenters for much additional information, showing 

 that the work has been done in a most careful and reliable 

 manner. 



The inferences to be drawn from tlie results of the test are 

 shown in the second-last column, and in the last column I have in- 

 dicated what kind of manure would, in my opinion, be found most 

 suitable as a turnip manure for the various soils under the condi- 

 tions as to general manuring which prevailed in making the test. 



The ingredients of the mixtures are given in cwts. per ton, and 

 the quantity to be given per acre will depend on the condition of 

 the land, and whether farm-yard manure is given along with it. 



Regarding the use of i)otash, the few experiments recorded 

 support the conclusions derived from last year's observations, 

 viz., that where farm-yard manure is employed potash salts are 

 not needed, and are apt to be injurious. Potash seems to have 

 done harm at Heugh Head, and has on the whole been a profitless 

 manure on dunged land, and even on the undunged lands it has 

 not uniformly been beneficial. It is to be regretted that the 

 ex])erinu'nts bearing on this question are so few, for the inevit- 

 able chances of error attending agricultural experiments are only 

 to be overcome by multiplying the number and varying the 



