Agricultural Experiments in the Field. 521 



tlioroTiglily trained iu carrying out precise experiments in a more 

 accurate manner than could reasonably be expected from the ordinary 

 farmer. 



Mr. Holland happened to belong to a club consisting of persons 

 connected with agi'iculture, and the president of which was a scientific 

 man. They met once a year, and at that meeting the members 

 reported to that scientific gentleman all that they had done under 

 his directions in the com-se of the year. The President then set out 

 a fresh task for the following year. Their operations were -uddely 

 scattered, inasmuch as the members lived in different j)arts of the 

 country ; and he believed that the reports of that club were of great 

 value to practical science. One reason for that, however, was that 

 the members always reported to the same individual. The club to 

 which he referred was the Club of the Agricultural College at 

 Cirencester, and the President was his friend Dr. Voelcker. 



Colonel Le Couteur (Jersey) observed that Professor Voelcker, when 

 speaking of what was necessary to obtain a good result A\ith potash, 

 had not quite cleared up that point. He mentioned that from the 

 application of salt, and again of potash and salt, the results were so 

 nearly alike they could scarcely be called results. What did the 

 learned Professor recommend should be mixed with potash, in order 

 to obtain a better result ? 



Dr. Voelcker said that, in the particular experiment he had referred 

 to, salt alone produced as great an effect on the mangold crop as 

 p)otash combined with salt. In reality, therefore, no practical result 

 was obtained. 



Colonel Le Couteue : You have no other ingredient to mix with the 

 potash to produce the result you hoped for ? 



Professor Voelcker answered in the negative. 



Mr. Holland : Could lupines be gro-mi in heavy clay, well di-ained 

 and steam-ploughed ? 



Professor Voelcker was afraid not. 



IVIr. Freee (Editor of the ' Journal ') remarked tliat his friend the 

 late Professor Henslow of Cambridge had been most anxious that the 

 systematic conduct of experiments in agriculture should be established 

 through the agency of the Eoyal Agricultiu-al Society ; that it would 

 be a great satisfaction to himself if this meeting could lay the founda- 

 tion for accomplishing that object. He was not inclined to differ 

 from Dr. Voelcker with regard to the area for field experiments, but 

 thought with him, that, on the whole, the plots should be small. 

 At all events, there should not be more than a day's work included 

 in the experiment ; but that would often extend to an area of six 

 or eight acres, so far as the process of sowing was concerned. Fui'ther, 

 the ploughing ought also to be effected in one day, for, dm-ing a recent 

 dry season, he found a most marked difference in a field of mangold 

 di-illed just before the period of di-ought arrived, a part of which 

 had been ploughed one day before the remainder. Again, in experi- 

 ments with roots, it was necessary to guard against irregular planting 

 and the effects of insects ; to meet this difliculty it would be well to 

 try experiments as far as possible on those particular- plants which 



