EXTRACTS FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC. 147 



*' I steeped the seeds of the various specimens exhibited in sul- 

 phate, nitrate, and muriate of ammonia, in nitrate of soda and 

 potass, and in combinations of these ; and in all cases the results 

 were highly favorable. For example — seeds of wheat steeped in 

 sulphate of ammonia on the 5th of July, had by the 10th of Au- 

 gust, the last day of the show, tillered into nine, ten, and eleven 

 ■stems of nearly equal vigor : while seeds of the same sample, un- 

 prepared, and sown at the same time in the same soil, had not til- 

 lered into more than two, three, and four stems. 



I prepared the various mixtures fix)m the above specified salts 

 exactly neutralized, and then added from eight to twelve measures 

 of water. The time of steeping varied from fifty to ninety-four 

 hours, at a temperature of about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, I found, 

 however, that barley does not succeed so well if steeped beyond 

 sixty hours. 



Rye-grass and other gramineous seeds do with steeping from six- 

 teen to twenty hours, and clover from eight to ten, but not more ; 

 for, being bi-lobate, they are apt to swell too much and burst. 



The very superior specimens of tall oats, averaging one hund- 

 red and sixty grains on each stem, and eight available stems from 

 each seed, were prepared from sulphate of ammonia. The speci- 

 mens of barley and here were prepared from nitrate of ammonia ; 

 the former had an average of ten available stems, and each stem 

 an average of thirty-four grains in the ear ; and the latter an aver- 

 age of also ten available stems, with seventy-two grains in the 

 ear. 



The other specimens of oats which were next the most prolific, 

 were from muriate of ammonia ; and the promiscuous specimens 

 of oats were from nitrates of soda and potass — strong, numerous 

 in stems (some having not less than fifty-two), and not so tall as 

 either the preparation from the sulphate or muriate of ammonia. 



It was objected by some that the tallest oats were too rank, 

 and would break down before coming to seed ; but I have no fear 

 of that, as they were strong in proportion to their height ; and 

 should there even be any ground for the objection, I am confident 

 that a combination of sulphates of ammonia and soda, or potass, 

 would rectify the excess of height, and render the grain equally 

 productive. 



I have at present a series of experiments going on in the coun- 

 try, with seeds prepared in seven different ways, and sown in pure 

 sand, and in a tilly subsoil, taken six feet from under the surface, 

 and in which there is no humus or organic matter of any kind. 

 Along with the prepared seeds are also some unprepared^ and I 

 expect to be able to form a comparative estimate of their growth 

 by visiting the place in October. 



At all events, from the experiments which I have already tried, 

 I am quite satisfied that, even without the application of common 



