50 



the latter eontaius but oiio. Application of two o<]uivaIeuts oi' tiie latter 

 should therefore produce au effect equal to that of one ecjuivalent of the 

 former. If this be counrmed by experiment, then must nitric acid be as 

 assimilable as ammonia, and vice verm. The experiments with this re- 

 gard resulted as follows: 



In 1870, barley which had been fertilized with 12 equivalents of ni- 

 trate of lime, gave, in two experiments, respectively, 14,910 and 15,851 

 milligrams of dry substance. Application of C equivalents of nitrate 

 of ammonia also gave in. each of two experiments, respectively, 14,010 

 milligrams of dry substance. In other years, little more than one- 

 half the amount of dry substance was collected when one equivalent of 

 nitrate of ammonia was applied as when two equivalents of nitrate of 

 lime were employed. 



Experimenting with regard to the neutralization of the injurious acids 

 liberated by the processes of vegetation in case of the application of 

 sulphate of ammonia and sal-ammoniac, he made use of a simultaneous 

 application of carbonate of lime, and found that by this means healthy 

 growth could be produced. The following table indicates his results : 



Kind of aced sowu. 



Suminer-wlii'at 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do.. 



Barley 



Eio 



Do 



Compounds applied. 



Twenty equivalents ofuitrate of lime 



Twenty equivaleiits of sulphate of ammonia 



Twenty equivalents of sulphate of ammonia and carbonate of lime. . 



Twenty e(inivalent.s of sal-ammoniac. 



Twenty equivalents of sal-ammoniac and carbonate of lime 



Sixteen equivalents of nitrate of lime ■. 



Sixteen equivalents of sulphate of ammonia 



Sixteen equivalents of sulphate of ammonia and carbon.ate of lime. . . 



Am't of dry 



substance 

 : harvested. 



'Mitlirfi-ams. 

 30, 5.52 



406 

 ■22, 674 



171 

 25, 647 

 1<.\ 525 



J)b3 



16, oei 



These results have a practical bearing in that they show that while 

 ammonia salts of nny kind may be employed upon soils containing car- 

 bonate of lime, their application must be avoided in case of clay soils 

 containing little or none of this constituent. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



By Geo. Y.vsey, Botaxist. 



Apocy:num cannabinum as a fiber pla:v:t. — We have received 

 from Rev. George Ainslie, Idaho, some roots and stalks of a plant which 

 grows wild in that Territory, and which furnishes an abundant and 

 strong liber, used by the Indians in manufacturing cord, cloth, &c. Mr. 

 Ainslie says that the Indians bejieve that for bowstrings, tish-lines, &:c., 

 it is stronger than any fiber furnished by civilization. They call it Irini. 

 The specimens sent appear to be Apocynum cannahinum^ a plant closely 

 related to the milk-weed family, which also furnishes some valuable 

 fibers. This plant occurs more or less extensively in all parts of the 

 country, and i)articular]y in the West. It has long been known to pos- 

 sess a strong liber, and has, on that account, been called Indian hemp. 



Some months ago the Gardener's Chronicle (London) gave au account 

 of a species of Apocynum [A. Ycncium) which had been discovered in 

 Turkestan, growing wild in great abundance, and whose fiber is said to 

 be " as tender and delicate as flax", as strong and tenacious as hemp, 

 and, by combining the qualities of the two, greatly superior to either.'' 



