ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 177 



tons are produced in England. It is a bye-product in the 

 system of making Bessemer steel. It is basic in character, 

 being formed from dolomite. The manufacture of basic 

 cinder is carried on by the introduction of calcined dolomite 

 into the molten mass of iron in the converter. As the air, 

 according to the Bessemer system, is forcibly driven through 

 the mass in order to burn off the carbon, it unites with the 

 phosphorous and sulphur, forming phosphoric acid and 

 sulphuric acid, and these acids combine with the lime, and 

 form phosphates and sulphate of lime. It rises to the surface 

 and collects as a slag or cinder, and that is Thomas phosphate, 

 or basic cinder. It is afterwards ground in powerful disinte- 

 grators and mills, and is during the process which is pro- 

 gressive exposed to the action of powerful magnets for the 

 purpose of picking out the nodules of metallic iron which it 

 generally contains. This powder is used as a fertilizer. The 

 most extraordinary thing with reference to basic cinder is, 

 that it is most beneficial when applied in the simplest 

 possible form, namely, simply disintegrated. My attention 

 was invited to this subject four years ago, and in conjunction 

 with Dr. Munro I conducted experiments at that time on 

 the invitation of the North Eastern Steel Company, both at 

 Downton and in the County of Durham. 



We were unfortunate in 1884. First in selecting mangel 

 wurzel for the purpose of the experiment, a plant less respon- 

 sive to dressing of phosphatic material than the turnip or 

 swede ; and secondly, we were driven to try this experiment 

 on land in a high state of fertility from previous management. 

 The consequence was, our results were, so to speak, negative 

 or neutral, and they did not succeed in showing any great 

 effect from the use of basic cinder. But in the following 

 year we undertook a double series of experiments, partly on 

 Downton College farm, and partly in the County of Durham, 

 on the farm of the Carlton Iron Works Company, and there 



