Mr. HosKYNS, who has recently visited Mr. Smith's experimental field, stated to the 

 Council of the Royal Agricultural Society that the results were only so v/ondcrful that 

 they did' not receive the credit they deserved ; although when personally inspected, they 

 carried at once a conviction of their perfect feasibility, notwithstanding the marvellous 

 absence of all manure, as technically so understood, in the carrying out of his simple but 

 effective process.- Others have seen the Reverend gentleman's experiments ; and among 

 theixi Mr. Gadesden, who thus bore testimony before the Council : "The soil was a stiff 

 one, and so stiff that Mr. Smith's own tenant farmer expostulated with him in reference 

 to the circumstance ; but although no manure had been used, it had become so fertile 

 that it would be necessary to cast off the top staple and bring up the clay. Mr. Smith 

 had six acres in wheat, and intended to extend this system of cultivation to twenty. 

 He understood that the Earl of Essex had fifty acres on the same system." 



Mr. John M. Paine " could simply, but entirely, confirm all that Mr. IIoskyns had 

 said with regard to Mr. Smith's experimental wheat fields under the Tullian mode of 

 culture as practiced by him. He would, however, very briefly state what he saw, and 

 the impression which Mr. Smith's crops left on his mind. The first time that he saw 

 them was immediately after inspecting Mr. Lawes' experimental wheat at Rothamsted, 

 about the last day of June. lie had thus a good opportunity of forming a comparison 

 of the appearance of the respective crops at that time. Mr. Lawes' highly manured 

 nitrogenous plots were then looking splendidly well. Mr. Paine had also some of his 

 own similarly manured, which was likewise very promising, and which did realize from 

 seven to seven and a half quarters per acre — i. e., from 56 to 58 bushels. He had thus 

 in his mind's eye sorafe very good standards of comparison, and he was bound to state 

 that Mr. Smith's far exceeded either of them [his own and Mr. Lawes'] in luxuriant 

 appearance and promise of a crop. When he first beheld them, he could not help 

 exclaiming, ' This land has been lavishly dressed with ammoniaclu manure.' And so, 

 indeed, it had been from atmospherical sources ; for this we knew and could appreciate, 

 after Mr. Way's most valuable discovery of the absorptive and retentive powers of clay 

 soils." Mr. Paine's remarks throughout were alike instructive and interesting, but our 

 quite limited space forbids further quotation without condensation. He could perceive 

 nothing peculiar in the geological structure of the land at Lois-Weedon which would 

 lead one to infer that Mr. Smith's success in producing seven consecutive crops was at 

 all attributable to that cause. It was manifestly what would be good wheat land when 

 well drained and well cultivated. With common management, the surrounding country 

 did not produce large crops. 



On land which had been cropped several years without manure, Mr. Paine drilled a 

 half bushel of wheat per acre, on the 9tli of November, 1851, on the Tullian plan. It 

 could not be done earlier for reasons that need not be stated. Wheat barely got fairly 

 up before frosts and winter, and looked thin and badly, and could not be trenched before 

 March. The ground was then broken eighteen inches deep between the rows, and some 

 of the subsoil brought to the surface. The rows had been hoed, and at that time the 

 whole field had a most luxuriant and promising appearance ; although like Mr. Smith's 

 it had too gross an aspect than otherwise. As the experiments now stand, the best 

 returns may be expected by planting three rows of wheat within a space of twenty 

 inches, making a central row and one on either side ten inches distant, and then leaving, 

 as in planting corn in this country, an interval for the roots to spread and imbibe nour- 

 ishment, of thirty inches. 



So far as the principles of tillage are concerned, the difference between maize and 



wheat is not worth writing about. In neither should the plants stand too thickly, and 



in both their roots should have a deep, permeable, and rich pasture to secure a generous 



harvest. Thick and thin planting are terras too indefinite for scientific use. Ten years 



I. ago we urged upon the attention of wheat growers this view of seeding land to wheat, . ^ 



