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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



mer, there are none so adulterated as this; its 

 pecuUar composition aiFording such facility for 

 adulteration, while the means of detection are so 

 difficult, unless by chemical analysis. There are 

 thousands of tons sold every year which are not 

 worth the labour and trouble of carting on the 

 field. Indeed the farmer would be better without 

 it, for he not only sustains a loss in the money 

 paid for it, but a still greater one in the loss of his 

 crop (Hear, hear), and, of course, in the loss of his 

 cattle (Hear, hear.) A great deal of the super- 

 phosphate now sold is only made from mineral 

 substances and other rubbish, the phosphates of 

 which are insoluble, instead of being made from 

 bones and other nitrogenous substances, and sul- 

 phuric acid, which are rich in soluble phosphates, 

 and the unprincipled vendors of them reap a golden 

 harvest at the expense of the victimised farmer (a 

 laugh.) But they should always take care to get 

 this article of those upon whom they can rely ; of 

 men whose reputation is unsullied, and who have 

 a character to lose, and not of those who have no 

 character to lose, and no reputation at stake (Hear, 

 hear.) But when it is applied in a genuine state 

 to meadows its effects are plainly visible for the 

 next season, and the grass always grows kindly 

 afterwards, for if you look at its constituents, we 

 shall plainly see it must be of advantage. When 

 bones and sulphuric acid are brought into contact, 

 the lime of the bone earth combines with the acid 

 and forms sulphate of lime, which makes the gela- 

 tine soluble in the earth ; and by this treatment the 

 two most valuable constituents of the bones, namely, 

 gelatine (which is rich in nitrogen) and the phos- 

 phoric acid are brought into such a soluble state 

 that they immediately act upon the soil, and give 

 their manuring elements immediately to the plants. 

 I have frequently used it at the rate of 5 cwt. an 

 acre. I am now dressing some five acres of pasture 

 with it. I have always found it very beneficial ; the 

 grass does not waste so much in the process of 

 haymaking as with guano, neither is the ground 

 so deteriorated in the next season. Gypsum is 

 another manure which is largely used in some 

 counties for meadow land with beneficial results; 

 it seems quite a specific for grasses and clover, as 

 it invigorates their growth in a surprising manner 

 where properly applied and the soil suitable. 

 Here it is just the reverse to guano and superphos- 

 phate, being more beneficial for light and dry 

 ground than wet and cold soils ; indeed, on the 

 latter it very often proves injurious. The constitu- 

 ents of gypsum are lime and sulphuric acid ; thus, 

 lOOlbs. of it generally contain 3'Jlbs. of lime, 48 

 sulphuric acid, and IQlbs. of water. In all plants 

 we meet with lime and sulphuric acid, and there- 

 fore it shows that they are necessary to vegetatble 

 growth, and if a soil is deficient in them it will be 

 infertile. Now, on such a soil gypsum exerts a 

 most beneficial effect ; but if they are already in the 

 soil, it will be of no value. This can easily be 

 known by analysis of the soil, or by sowing a por- 

 tion of the ground with gypsum. Why it acts so 

 specifically upon clover and grasses has not been 

 yet clearly decided ; some have stated that they 

 contain so much more sulphur than the cereals, 

 and others by being supplied with gypsum it pro- 



motes their growth ; but chemical analysis does 

 not always prove this, although it has often been 

 found that hay has contained four or five times as 

 much more sulphuric acid where gypsum has been 

 applied than where it has not. My belief is that 

 gypsum acts far more through its sulphuric acid 

 than through its lime, for in all soils there is always 

 a portion of lime, though not sulphuric acid ; and 

 in the air there is always a certain amount of am- 

 monia ; therefore, I think the sulphuric acid acts 

 as an absorbent of ammonia by drawing it to the 

 earth, and likewise as a producer of ammonia by 

 setting it free from the insoluble "humus of the 

 ground. It is an old-fashioned theory that when 

 gypsum is once used it should never be applied 

 again ; but this is a mistake. I think that at least 

 once in seven years is often enough for meadow 

 ground, and the best method of using it is to sow 

 it early in the morning, when the dew is on the 

 plant, and in showery weather, for it is soluble in 

 water (about 450 parts of water take up 1 part of 

 gypsum), and will not act unless it has its assist- 

 ance. Although its action, like guano, is stimula- 

 ting, yet it will last several years, and may be easily 

 traced. Its effect, where suitable to the soil, are 

 astonishing ; in a few days the grass will improve 

 in colour, and assume a very healthy appearance, 

 the leaves and stalks rapidly increasing; and in 

 haymaking, they do not shrink to the extent that 

 the ordinary-grown grass will, while the after-grass 

 still grows vigorously, and the meadow continues 

 to grow well for years. Such, gentlemen, is a brief 

 outUne of the various manures best adapted for your 

 meadows, and my plan for using them, together with 

 their cost per acre,is somewhat as follows: Dung, 25 

 yards per acre, put onbetween themonths of October 

 and December ; bone dust from October until March ; 

 guano and superphosphate in April, and gypsum 

 in the early part of May, and the cost would be 

 somewhat as follows — 



£ s. d. 



Dung, 25 yards per acre, 3s. per yard. . 3 15 

 Bone-dust (fine), 5 cwt. per acre, at 



6a. 6d 1 12 6 



Guano, 3 cwt. per acre, at 13s 1 19 



Superphosphate, 5 cwt. per acre, at 6s. 110 



Gypsum, 5 cwt. per acre, at Is. 6d 7 6 



It is not my intention to state to you which I con- 

 sider the best and cheapest. I have given you the 

 amount generally used, their nature, and their cost, 

 and I now leave it for you to decide for yourselves 

 which you prefer, and which is the best adapted 

 for your soils. And now I come to the second part 

 of my subject, namely, the cultivation of the ground 

 for mowing. My plan is to well bush-harrow 

 the ground about the end of March or eai-ly in 

 April, but this depends on the season. I do not 

 hold with it earlier, as I think when it has been 

 manured you remove the dung from the young 

 grass and injure the pasture by the cold winds and 

 frosty nights which are then so prevalent. I then 

 pick oft' the large stones and other rubbish, and 

 then roll it twice up the field one way and across 

 it another. I object to early rolling, unless fol- 

 lowed by it later in the season, as the worm-casts 

 again rise, and prevent the scythe from cutting 



