50 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



free all the ammonia which the manure contains, 

 and it is lost. 



Tiie manure preserved by eulpliuric acid should 

 be thrown in the soil with gypsum, and would be 

 a never failing source ol nitrogen. The same 

 good results will arise, though in a less degree, 

 Jrom the use of burnt clay and other aluminous 

 minerals; but from tlieir property oC forming in- 

 soluble compounds wi'h ammonia, and uniting 

 wiih no other bases, they are more adapted lo the 

 immediate a|;plication to the soil, than lor being 

 mixed with manure. Another advantage which 

 sulphuric acid possesses is, that it converts all the 

 lime that may happen lo be in the soil into gy|> 

 Gum, which -id a sulphate of lime. 



T. G. T. Ph. D. 



ON THE COMPARATIVE FEEDING PR0FEI5TIES 

 OP MANGEL, WURZEL AND SWEIJISII Tt'R- 

 NIPS. 



Jiy the Right Hon. Earl Spencer. 

 From ttie Journal of tlieSojal Agricultural Society of J^ngland. 



My dear sir, — You expressed a wish that I 

 should again publish the results of an ex[)eriii)eni 

 which I made filieen or sixteen years ago on the 

 comparative leeding properties ol Swedi h turnips 

 and mangel-wurzel, it was published in the 

 ' Farmer's Journal' of that day, but I believe it 

 is now very bttle if at all remembered ; and I 

 agree with you in thinking that it may be more 

 interesting now, when men's minds are more 

 turned lo this sort of investigations. 



The mode of ascertaining the nutritious pro- 

 perties of diflerent liinds of vegetable Ibod by 

 chemical analysis, which was adopted by Sinclair 

 and otlier sciemific men, gives a reasonable pro- 

 bability of their relative value; but we know so 

 little of the processes of nature in converting food 

 into the flesh of the animal that consumes it, 

 that tliis mode has never appeared to me quite 

 Batislactory. Alihough, therefore, I believed that 

 mangel-wurzel contained more saccharine matter 

 than Swedish turnips, and ought consequently to 

 be the more nourisliing root of the two, I deter- 

 mined to try practically whether an ox led upon 

 mangel-wurzel increased in weight moie than 

 one led upon Swedish turnips, in proportion to the 

 quantity of each consumed. In order to have 

 rendered my experiment perfectly accurate, 1 

 ought to have ascertained the weight of hay con- 

 Bumed by each beast during the progress of the 

 trial, but I did not do this, although f am pretty 

 confident that the quantity consumed by each 

 was nearly the same. 1 selected two steers, tole- 

 rably and at least equally well-bred : No. 1, calv- 

 ed JMarch 29, 1823, and No. 2, calved May G of 

 the same year; and on the 24th of December, 

 1825, I put No. 1 to Swedisli turnips, and No, 2 

 to mangel-wurzel. I ascertained their weiglit by 

 measurement, and both of them measured tlie 

 eame, viz. 4 ft. 10 in. in length by 6 li. 5 in. in 

 girlh, making them to weigh 668 lbs. each. On 

 the 23d of January, No. 1 had consumed 1624 

 lbs. of Swedish turnips, and measured 4 li. 10 in. 

 in length by 6 ft. 7 in. in girlh, making him to 

 weigh 703 lbs., and to have increased in weight 

 86 lbs., or at the rate of 48^ lbs. for every ton of 



Swedish turnips consumed. No. 2 had consumed 



1843 lbs. of mang.il-vvuizel, and measured 4 ft. 10 

 iu. in length by 6 I't. 8 in. in girth, making him 

 to vveigh 721 Jbs., and to have increased in 

 weight 53 lbs., or at the rate ol 65^- lbs. lor every 

 ton ol mangel-wurzel consumed. 



Tnis ditlerence, however, might have arisen 

 from No. 2 having a greater propensity to fi;ed 

 than No. 1 ; 1 ihereloie now put No. 1 to mangel- 

 wurzel, and No. 2 lo Swedish turnips. On the 

 20ih oi February, No. 1 had consumed 1884 lbs. 

 ul mangel-wuizel, and measured 4 ft. 11 in. in 

 length by 6 li. 8 m. in girih, making him to weigh 

 734 lbs., and to have increased iu weight this 

 month 31 lbs., or at the rate of 36^ lbs. lor every 

 ton of mangel-wurzel consumed. No. 2 had 

 consumed labO lbs. ol Swedish turnips, and mea- 

 Kuied 4 fi. 11 in. in l.ngth by 6 It. 8 in. in girth, 

 making him to weigh also 734 lbs., and to have 

 increased in weight during this month 13 lbs., or 

 at ihe rule of 15^- lbs. lor every ton of Swedish 

 lutnips consumed. 1 then put both to mangel- 

 wurzel, and divided the food equally between 

 them. On the 19ih of JMarch, they had each 

 consumed 1792 lbs. of mangel-wurzel; No. 1 

 measured 5 ft. in length by 6 fi. 10 in. in girth, 

 making him to vveigh 784 lbs., and to have in- 

 creased in weight 50 lbs. : No. 2 measured 5 It. in 

 iength by 6 ft. 9 in. in girth, making him to weigh 

 765 lbs., and to have increased in weight 31 lbs. 



It would appear, therefore, as if the propensity 

 loleed of No. 1 was greater than thai of No. 2 

 in the proportion of 50 to 31 ; but notwithstand- 

 ing this, in the first month, when No. 1 was upon 

 Swedish turnips, and No. 2 upon mangel-wurzel, 

 No. 2 beat No 1 in the proportion abuve stated ol' 

 eSg to 48^. It appears as if there could be no 

 great inaccuracy in estimating the relative weiglit 

 of the animals, as soon alter the experiment was 

 concluded I sold No. 1 to a butcher in the country 

 lor 24/. 3s., and No. 2 at Smithfield lor 24Z. 



It will be for practical men to decide upon the 

 value of this trial ; what appears to me to be the 

 most conclusive pari of it is, ihat No. 2, who had 

 during the first month, when he was feeding upon 

 mangel-wurzel, increased in girth 3 in,, in the 

 next month, when his tbod was changed to Swe- 

 dish turnip--, did not increase in girth at all, and 

 when in the third month he was feeding again 

 upon mangel-wurzel he again began to increase 

 in girlh, because it is very well known that, if an 

 animal is changed from more to less nutritious 

 lood, the probable consequence will be that his 

 o-rovvth will be slopped. The results appeared to 

 me so decisive, that I have not tried the experi- 

 ment with the eame accuracy since ; but I did 

 try the following year the li^eding a cow alter- 

 nately on Swedish turnips and mangel-wurzel, 

 and though I have not by me the details of the 

 trial, I remember that the result confiimed the 

 experiment of the previous year. Believe me, 

 my dear sir, yours most truly, Spencer. 



Philip Pusey, Esq. M. P. 



WORM IN THE KIDNEY OF SWINE. 



From the Democratic (Me.) Clarion. 



Mr. Editor .—I am induced to send you the fol- 

 lowing statement, not so much from the importance 



