428 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



It was in 1844 that some comparative experi- 

 ments on mangolds with the Spanish phosphorite 

 were made by Sir Harry Verney, on a heavy sandy 

 loam at Claydon, in Buckinghamshire. The man- 

 gold experiment, chiefly owing to the season, failed 

 altogether to prove anything one way or the other; 

 but in the succeeding year, 1845, the barley crop 

 which succeeded the roots produced per acre as 

 follows {ibid, p. 333) : — 



Manure. Produce. 



Soil simple 3 qrs. 6 bush. 



Bones 1 ton 7 cwt. ..5 



Burnt bones .... 18 ..5 3 



Phosphorite 18 ..5 3 



Phosphorite &-1q ,g g 3 



sulphuric acid J 



Superphos, of]^ ^3 5 6^ - 



lime ..,....] * " * 



So that, upon the whole, the employment of finely- 

 divided mineral phosphate of lime is certainly so 

 far promising as to warrant us in repeating and 

 extending our trials. 

 These enquiries are of very considerable prac- 



tical value. That superphosphate of lime is 

 almost an essential manure for our root crops 

 hardly admits of a serious doubt, but it does 

 need a little more experimental enquiry as to by 

 what mode of manufacture this valuable salt is 

 the most usefully prepared. Hitherto our great 

 manure makers have commonly employed a mix- 

 ture of bones and coprolites, and within this last 

 year or two one great firm, the London Manure 

 Company, have largely prepared a variety of super- 

 phosphate of lime with bones only, and this has 

 been found to be a very powerful fertihzer; but 

 then it admits of some question whether the sup- 

 ply of bones is equal to the very great demand, 

 whicli would arise if their exclusive use by the 

 superphosphate maker became general. It hence 

 becomes a very important question — the compara- 

 tive value of the superphosphate made exclusively 

 from the mineral phosphates, and from the recent 

 bone : and equally considerable is the enquiry how 

 far the finely-divided mineral phosphate, without 

 any sulphuric acid, is able to supply the place of 

 both, for the great and invaluable root crops of our 

 islands. 



THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 



A Weekly Council was held on Wednesday, the 

 24th inst., Mr. Thomas Raymond Barker, V.P., in 

 the chair. 



The names of Candidates were proposed. It was 

 announced that Professor Voelcker would deliver a 

 lecture on cheese-making before the Members of the 

 Society on Wednesday, May 8, at half-past 12 o'clockj 

 A letter was read from the President of the Agricultural 

 Society of Simbirsk in Russia, announcing that ex- 

 periments had been instituted during the month of 

 February for the treatment of pestis houm by electro- 

 galvanism on eight head of stock, the detailed report of 

 which, and the particulars of the treatment, would 

 appear in the Journal of the Society of Simbirsk. 



Two Reports, made to the National Association for 

 the Advancement of Social Science, on tlie subject of 

 the Improvement of the Dwellings of the Labouring 

 Classes, were presented by Mr. Henry Roberts, and the 

 best thanks of the meeting were awarded to the donor. 



Copies of pamphlets on Arterial Drainage were also 

 presented by Mr. Bailey Denton. The Council then 

 adjourned. 



Monthly Council, Wednesday, May 1. — Present: 

 The Earl of Powis, President, in the chair ; the Duke 

 of Marlborough, the Earl of Macclesfield, LordBerners, 

 Lord Feversham, Lord Tredegar, Lord Walsingham, 

 Hon. W. G. Cavendish, M.P. ; Hon. Col. Hood, Hon. 

 A. Vernon, Sir J. V. B. Johnstone, Bart., M.P, ; Sir J. 

 V. Shelley, Bart., M.P. ; Sir Watkin W. Wynn, Bart., 

 M.P. ; Mr. Raymond Barker, Mr. Barnett, Mr. 

 Bramston, M.P. ; Mr. Brandreth, Mr. Buller, M.P. ; 

 Colonel Challoner, Mr. Dent, M.P. ; Mr. Druce, 

 Mr. Exall, Mr. Frere, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Fisher 

 Hobbs, Mr. Holland, M.P.; Mr. Hoskyns, Mr. Howard, 

 Mr. Hudson, Mr. Humberston, M.P. ; Mr. Hutton, Mr. 

 Jonas, Mr. Lawes, Mr. Lawrence, Mr. Milward, Mr. 

 Pain, Mr. Pope, Professor Simonds, Mr. Robert Smith, 

 Mr. Slaney, M.P. ; Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. H. S. 

 Thompson, MP. ; Mr. G. Turner, Dr. "Voelcker, Mr. 

 Jonas Webb, Mr. Burch Western, and Professor Wilson. 



Thirty-seven new members were elected. 

 Finances.— The Hon. Col. Hood presented the 



report, from which it "appeared that the Secretary's 

 receipts during the past month had been duly examined 

 and found correct. The balance in the hands of the 

 bankers on the 30th ult. was £3,364 15s. 7d. 



Journal. — The report of this committee was pre- 

 sented by Mr. Thompson, M.P., the Chairman. The 

 Judges of Essays had awarded the prize of ^10 to 

 Messrs. W. and H. Raynbird, of Hackwood Park, 

 Basingstoke, for their paper on the Adulteration of 

 Seeds. The Essays in Classes VI. and IX. for IS60 

 were not considered worthy of the prize. 



Chemical. — Mr. Wren Hoskyns, Chairman of the 

 Committee, presented the report, wliich stated that 

 Professor Voelcker would deliver a lecture on the Manu- 

 facture of Cheese, on Wednesday, the 8th May, at 12 

 o'clock. This lecture would form the subject of a paper 

 in the next Number of the Journal, for which the Pro- 

 fessor is also preparing two papers, giving the results of 

 the experiments which he has been making on the 

 growth of turnips. The Professor had lately received 

 specimens of a new description of cattle food made from 

 the refuse of the palm-nut, and stated to contain 29 per 

 cent, of oil. It is now being made use of at the Royal 

 Agricultural College at Cirencester, and the Professor 

 hopes to be able to make a detailed analysis of its quali- 

 ties. This report was adopted. The names of the Earl 

 of Macclesfield and Mr. Humberston, M.P., were added 

 to the list of the Committee. 



General, Leeds. — The report of this Committee 

 was presented by Lord Walsingham, the Chairman, re- 

 commending that the time for entries of flax for the 

 Leeds Meeting be extended to June 1. Arrangements 

 have been made for procuring a supply of the best hay 

 and forage for the use of the horses in the show-yard. 



Metropolitan Meeting of 1862. — A deputation 

 consisting of the Duke of Marlborough, the Earl of 

 Powis, Lord Walsingham, Sir John Shelley, Bart., M.P., 

 and Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, was appointed to wait on the 

 First Commissioner of her Majesty's Works to confer 

 on the proposed Metropolitan Meeting. 



The President brought forward his motion that it will 

 not be expedient for the Society to hold a dinner in 



