388 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



by the application of sulj)hates, the greatest benefit 

 being derived by those which contain most sulphur. 

 Potash and soda are furnished to the plants, without 

 which no perfection is attained, soda being more abund- 

 ant in soils than potash : the latter application in the 

 sulphate may be proved the most beneficial. 

 G. Sulphate of Ammonia. 



Sulphate of ammonia contains 



Ammonia 25'8 



Sulphuric acid 60'G 



Water' 13-6 



Total 



1000 



The salt has been found very serviceable on all corn 

 crops and on grass lands : the bulk and quality have been 

 largely increased. It is a highly forcing manure, and 

 is beneficially mixed with common salt, which mitigates 

 the energy, and by diluting them, the spreading is more 

 even over the land. One and a-half cwt. of sulphate 

 of ammonia is a good dressing for an acre of land. 

 These salts aff'ord nitrogen to the plants, which is yet 

 unknown if best in the form of ammonia or nitric acid, 

 or in the form of nitrogenized ammonial or vegetable 

 matters. 



7. Superphosphate of Lime. 

 Superphosphate of lime is manufactured from bones 

 by the action of sulphuric acid after the bone has been 

 crushed and pulverized. The acid operates in render- 

 ing more soluble the phosphate of lime or earthy salt, 

 which composes the hard texture of the bone, and im- 



parts the rigidity. The composition is given by au 



eminent analyst : 



I'ur Cent. 



Moisture 9-00 



Organic matter 1713 



Silica 5-60 



Soluble phosphate 1 1'63 



Neutral phosphate.. .... 18*15 



iQSoluble 12'33 



Hydrated sulphuric acid 44 05 



Free sulphuric acid 0"26 



Bou8 phosphate made soluble. . . . 

 Bone phosphate made insoluble . . 



100 00 



1815 

 12-33 



Total phosphates 30-48 



Nitrogen (equal to) .... I'OG 

 Ammonia „ .... TSB 



Bones in the form of superphosphate arc very quick 

 and powerful in raising turnips, and are proved to be 

 one-fourth ihore energetic than the half-inch bones 

 with the dust made in grinding. The same result 

 attends the use of superphosphate as a top-dressing, 

 being spread over the surface of the ground as in the 

 case of common bones. No more energetic manure 

 has yet been found. The price is £5 10s. per ton. 



Muriate of potash may be reckoned a powerful ma- 

 nure, as the substance is very abundant in the vegetable 

 world, but no records have been made of any fair ex- 

 periments and authenticated results. 



THE VINEYARDS OF LA BELLE FRANCE. 



While deputations from the British wine merchants, 

 or rather manufacturers, are waiting upon Mr. Glad- 

 stone, and the makers and vendors of" Publican's Port" 

 are getting up sympathy meeting, and a certain party in 

 Parliament is trying to overthrow another party, with a 

 view to reinstate the first party, and thus benefit a party 

 abroad, who is now in a very bad state of health, we 

 will, if you please, take a trip to the vineyards of La 

 Belle France. 



Commencing with the most northerly, it will be ne- 

 cessary to take our tickets to Epernay. This is on the 

 line of railway — constructed, I believe, with English 

 money, as nearly all the continental railways are — from 

 Paris to Strasbourg, which answers to our Eastern Coun- 

 ties. Starting from the splendid terminus. Place de 

 Strasbourg, we pass from the north side of Paris, and 

 soon arrive at the orchards and gardens of Lagny, on 

 the left bank of the Marne. Twice crossing this river 

 we arrive at Meaux, a large city, with 8,000 or 9,000 

 people, and catch a glimpse of the stately Cathedral of St. 

 Stephen, and whirl past the avenue of yews, where the 

 learned Bossuet was accustomed to meditate undisturbed 

 by the shrill whistle and whir of the railway train. The 

 water-mills on the Marne are always going, to supply 

 Paris with flour, and the land around is productive. 

 The dairy-maids, too, make a very delicious cheese, 

 called fromage de Brie. Rattling through the tunnel 

 of Armetiers, we pass La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, celebrated 

 for the best millstones in the world, cut out of a silicious 

 rock, known as burr stone, forming the uppermost 

 stratum of the fresh water basin, in which Paris is 

 placed. Blocks are extracted in cylinders; but the 

 stones are usually made of bits, bound together with 

 iron. Some 1,200 pairs are produced annually. A 

 good stone, 6-J feet in diameter, costs about £48. The 

 river here is varied by islands, one holding the half- 



ruined Castle of La Barre. All along to the Chateau 

 Thierry Station, the banks of the Marne are very pretty, 

 and the surrounding country shows that the farmers are 

 awaking. This old town has a battered look, and re- 

 verting to the campaign of 1814, the mind's eye recalls 

 the hoards of Calmucs and Cossacks that occupied the 

 Plain of Brie. We have just time to notice the pic- 

 turesque castle built by Charles Martcl, for young King 

 Thierry IV., upon the summit of a pleasing slope, be- 

 fore the railway cresses the Marne for the eighth and 

 last time, and we break away into the prettiest part of 

 the ancient province, of Champagne, the country of the 

 champagne wines. Passing Dormans, the birthplace 

 of Pope Urban II. and Port a Binson, where is visible 

 the gothic castle built by Madame Clicquot ( " the mother 

 of wines") we come to the head-quarters of Vins dc 

 Champagne, namely, Epernay, and are now about 80 

 miles from Paris. Making a pleasant trip to Rhcims, a 

 little to the north, where the banks of the Ve^le are 

 surrounded by slopes covered with vineyards, and then 

 to the Hill of Ai, or the Marne and Hautvilliers, Dizy 

 and Avernay, making all imaginable inquiries in rather 

 feeble French, whenever it is possible, we obtain certain 

 disjointed facts, which digested, group themselves into 

 something like the following order : — 



These Champagne wines are divided into Vins de la 

 Riviere, and Vins de la Montague, the former, or those 

 produced from the lands in the valley, being the richest. 

 They occupy a tract of country about five leagues in 

 extent. 



It must here be remarked that position and aspect make 

 a prodigious difference in the yield of the vine. In the 

 slope of a hill, from the top "to the bottom, there will 

 often be three different sorts of wine. The best and 

 most favourable aspect for a vineyard is upon a rising 

 ground facing the south-east. And thus we usually find 



