Agricultural Experiments in the Field. 519 



In the next place notice must be taken of the season, whether wet or 

 dry, early or late, cold or warm. I might easily show, if it were 

 reqiusite, that in dry seasons many of the most valuable fertilizers 

 remain inactive ; or indeed at times produce rather an injurious than a 

 beneficial eifect. Guano may be instanced ; whereas in such seasons 

 inferior artificials produce the better residt. 



Fui-thermore, we should never forget to note the progi-ess of the 

 experiments. Diu'ing the growth of our experimental plants, frequent 

 observations as to the appearance of the crop should be taken, and 

 any peculiarities should be at once noted down on paper, and not 

 trusted to memory. The appearance and colour of the leaves, the 

 relation of the bulb to the leaf in oui- root crops, the healthy or 

 diseased condition of oiu' corn crops, and many other similar condi- 

 tions, should be carefully observed. 



Moreover, in systematic experiments the effect of certain applica- 

 tions should be noticed, not only on one crop but in some cases for 

 at least two crops, and in most instances throughout the whole rota- 

 tion for four or five years. It is well known to practical farmers that 

 superphosphate of lime, which produces a good efibct on our root 

 crops, also produces in many cases a most decidedly beneficial effect 

 upon the succeeding barley, jjroducing a finer sample of barley — good 

 malting bai'ley ; while similar laud not so dressed bore a bad sample. 

 The effect of bones, likewise, as everybody knows, must be observed 

 for a number of years : for generally they only come into action in the 

 second year, and the action continues for a number of years, sometimes 

 eight or ten years, according to the character of the soil, which 

 regidates the rate at which they decompose. 



Once more, all field experiments should be made with a definite 

 object in view, be it to clear up some disputed j)oint, or to put to 

 practical test some theoretical notion. Further, it is essential to 

 observe that much self-denial and conscientiousness, as well as care 

 and attention, are primary requisites on the part of the experimenter 

 who engages in field trials, for this simple reason — that, notwith- 

 standing all the care that can be bestowed upon them, imforeseen 

 circumstances may altogether spoil the result. The field experimenter, 

 indeed, must be a man who does not hesitate, if necessary, to throw 

 the result of three or four years' labour into the waste-pa]ier basket, 

 before he makes any apjjearance before the public ; and I am sui-e 

 that the neglect of this primary requisite has done much practical 

 mischief, for we have always to bear in mind that an experiment 

 incautiously performed, or wrongly interpreted, is calculated to do 

 quite as much mischief as good ; and it is for this reason that I 

 strongly impress upon all who engage in field experiments that they 

 should, as I said just now, have a definite object in view and be ready 

 to make sacrifices for its attainment. They should bring to bear upon 

 their trials a perfectly unbiassed and intelligent miud; and they should 

 have the pluck to throw overboard all the experiments of which nothing 

 can be made, such as we sometimes find recorded in our agricultiu-al 

 publications. Lastly, in order to be truly valuable, field trials should 

 be continued for a succession of years, and, if possible, on a variety 



