564 Chronicles of Science. [Oct., 
About 4,000 cubic yards of the sand below Shoeburyness, which is 
to be the ultimate outfall of the North London sewage culvert, has 
been spread over an acre of land near Barking. The surface was 
sown with Italian rye-grass in February last, and the sewage water 
allowed to trickle over it. Since then several heavy crops have 
been cut, one of which, grown in a month’s time, weighed about 
_ten tons per acre. The efficiency of town sewage, as a feeder of 
luxuriant vegetable growth, is being tested at other places near the 
present North London culvert. Mr. Westwood and Mr. Adams, at 
East Ham, have ten-acre plots which are yieldmg enormous growths 
of Italian rye-grass ; and at Lodge Farm, near Barking, the Sewage 
Company are laying down a large extent of land for surface 
irrigation, so that in a year or two we may hope to see all South 
Essex convinced of the enormous fertilizing power which is about 
to be distributed through that district. 
The weather of the past summer has been more favourable for 
succulent growth, such as that of Italian ryegrass, than for the 
ripening of seeds, and thus we have to report unfavourably of the 
harvest. A large proportion of recently published reports of the 
wheat crop declare it to be below an average, and the extremely 
wet weather of September has much injured grain crops in the later 
districts. 
One other matter of some agricultural interest may be referred 
to in this Chronicle. ‘The National Agricultural Societies, both in 
England and Scotland, are trying by means of paid commissions to 
ascertain with accuracy the experience of farmers in steam cultiva-. 
tion. As the sum of one thousand pounds has been voted for the 
purpose by the English Society, we may hope soon to have a full 
report of the costs and difficulties, advantages and returns, which 
have been hitherto experienced in connection with the various 
methods by which steam power has of late been applied to the 
cultivation of the land. 
IT. ASTRONOMY. 
(Including the Proceedings of the Royal Astronomical Society.) 
Dunine the last few years very close attention has been bestowed 
by some of our best observers upon the details of the solar surface. 
The appearance and behaviour of the objects called willow-leaves, 
by Nasmyth, have been observed with especially attentive scrutiny. 
The variety of names applied to these objects, which have been 
called rice-grains by Stone, crystals by Chacornac, shingle-beach by 
Brodie, coups-de-pinceau by Secchi, and corrugations or bright 
