EXPERIMENTS WITH CHLORIDE OF CALCIUM. 153 



2. Experiments with chloride of calcium and with muriatic 

 acid applied alone. 



1. Chloride of calcium. This salt which in some of our 

 manufactories is now produced in large quantities, and, for want 

 of a market, usually runs off in a liquid form to the nearest 

 stream has been recommended for fixing the ammonia which 

 escapes during the fermentation of manure-heaps, and also for 

 experimental application to various crops. 



As early as 1824, it was recommended in France by Dubuc 

 and by Lemaire Lisancourt,* as doubling and tripling the size 

 of plants, and causing the production of much larger fruits and 

 tubers. They dissolved it in about 60 parts of water, and 

 applied it at two successive periods, with considerable intervals : 

 in the case of grain and root crops, once before the crop was 

 put into the ground, and again after it had come up. In this 

 way it was applied with success to potatoes, turnips, maize, the 

 poppy, and to fruit-trees. 



The only experiments having any claims to precision, how- 

 ever, with which I am acquainted, are those of Kuhlmann, and 

 they are by no means encouraging. He applied it to the same 

 portion of old grass-land in 1844 and 1846, omitting 1845, in 

 which year no application was made. 



The following were his results, in kilogrammes per hectare, 

 for each of the three years : 



1844. 1845. 1846. Total 



1st cut. 2d cut. 1st cut. 2d cut. kilos. 



No application, . . 2427 1393 2779 1707 3330 11,636 

 Chloride of calcium, 220 Ib. 



per acre each year, . 2417 1413 2287 1823 3036 10,976 



Total difference in three years, 660 f 



The crop of hay in the first year was increased by 10 kilo- 

 grammes. It therefore did no harm on the first application. 

 In each of the other years, however, there was a diminution 



* An. de Chem. et de Phys., xxv., p. 214, or xxvi., p. 214. 



f I have not reduced these quantities to pounds and acres, as it is only the 

 comparative results that interest us. A hectare, however, is about 2| acres im- 

 perial, and a kilogramme about 2| Ib. 



