AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTS. 



279 



SECOND WEIGHING. 



261 pounds. 



84 " 

 100£ " 



41 



251J 



119J 



211 



101 



165L 



93i 



It showed the manner in which we may be deceived by relying 

 on our senses entirely. 



You will readily perceive if we had a large number of plats, 

 and they were of considerable size, you would get more difference 

 in result if it was carried on in succession, commencing on one side 

 and passing to the other side of the field. Guard against a differ- 

 ence in the results, arising from a difference in the amount of 

 moisture, in root crops as well as others. It has been shown by 

 some experiments made, that where turnips, for instance, have 

 been manured, there was a great increase in the yield ; but when 

 the amount of water in the turnips was taken into account, it was 

 found the amount of dry substance was precisely the same. The 

 great increase arising from the manure was simply water — nothing 

 more ; and here is something that should be looked at. 



In the feeding of animals, there are a great many difficulties in 

 the way of satisfactory experiment. One of the first I will men- 

 tion is that which may be termed individual pecularities of ani- 

 mals. You may take animals of the same age, and the same size, 

 or, as we have fed, pigs of the same litter, and we find one pig 

 will give a much larger return for feed than another. It is some- 

 thing we cannot get at, cannot measure, cannot detect, except by 

 the experimental test of feeding. 



Again, we find, when animals are first put up, they consume 

 more feed in proportion to their weight than toward the close. 

 We find they give a greater return for the feed consumed, during 

 the earlier stages of the feeding, than afterward. 



What is the cause of the variation ? I apprehend there are 

 three causes, and two of them I have no doubt about. The third, 

 I am inclined to think, has an influence, yet it is an exceedingly 

 difficult matter to determine. These peculiarities, or differences, 



