86 



EXPERIMENTS UPON HAY AND OATS. 



[AppendtZf 



The part of the field where the above dressings were put is a stiff clay loam 

 lying quite level upon a sandstone rock, and has a south exposure. The 

 dressings were late of being put on, and it was intended for green cutting for 

 soiUng, but owing to the abundance of other feeding, the parts dressed were 

 saved for hay. All the dressings except No. 3 had the eflect of altering the 

 colour to a dark green in the course of a week, and they all came away very 

 strong and vigorous. No. 3 (the compost, see note 1°, p. 88,) had the effect of al- 

 tering the coiour in about three wseks after being appUed, and came away so 

 rapidly that it soon gained upon the others in point of strength and luxuriance 

 of stems and leaves. It.will be seen from the tables that xN'os. 4 and 6 gave 

 less hay from 1000 lbs. green cut, when used alone, than any of the others ; but 

 with the addition of common salt 1000 lbs. gave more than any of the other 

 dressed portions. Sulphated urine may be considered a salt of ammonia, all 

 of which salts have been found to give greater bulk than almost any other ap- 



EUcation of salts applied to green produce, but they have invariably been found 

 ere to give less dry hay when used by themselves. The extra produce from 

 the sulphated urine is probably owing to its compound nature, it appears from 

 the above, therefore, that the most profitable way of using these salts is by 

 mixing them loith others, and that the more covipound the viixiure is the better will 

 be the crop* 



Experiment III. — On Oats. 

 Effects of guano upon Oats (potato), sown on the 17th of April ; cut and 

 weighed on the 15th of September. Thrashed, cleaned, and weighed on the 

 S4th of October. 



Note. — The above quantities were applied to and reaped from one-fourth of 

 an imperial acre. 



The portion of the field upon which tlie above oats were grown is a deep 

 stiff yellow clay, super-incumbent upon sandstone rock. It has been thoroughly 

 drained for a number of years. It had been sown with wheat on the 20th of 

 January, 1843, top-dressed with guano at the same time, which was harrowed 

 in, but owing to the dampness and constant change from frost and thaw, the 

 greatest part of the wheat failed, and was ploughed up on the 15th of April, and 

 potato oats sown upon it on the 17th of that montli. The oats brairded ail 

 alike, showing no dilFerencc in point of earliiiess ; but by the 9th of June a 

 most remarkable alteration had taken place, the portion which had been dressed 

 with guano for the wheat taking the lead of the undressed portion, and being 

 of a dark green colour with broad leaves, and covering the ground well ; whilst 

 that which had no dressing was brown and stinted in comparison, and, the 

 ground not half covered. The two portions continued throughout the season to 

 present the same difference in their appearance, and at the time of cutting, there 

 was more than a foot in length of straw in favour of the dressed portion. It 

 will be seen from the table, however, that although the guano had the effect of 

 giving more bushels per acre, the bushels were lighter in weight by 2 lbs. than 

 the grain from the undressed. It may be remarked, however, that had common 



' See on this subject of mixtui-es tK> fVuthor's Ehmien/s of Agriculhiral Chemi*try and 

 Geology, p. 149. 



