108 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



Wheat after beans. 

 Soil, without manure -----_. 

 , with 6^ bush, ofealt on the surface - ^ . 



Wheat after psas. 



Soil, without manure - - 



, with 6| bush, of salt with the sepfl ... 



, with 6^ do. dufj in with the seed 



, with 6Jr do. and Q\ bush, ofsoot dugin 



Barley after turnips. 

 Soil, without manure ....... 



, with 5.^ bush, of sail applied before sowincr 



■ " ■ do. - - - - 



with 11 



do. 



produced 11 1 bush, per acre. 

 " 21 " 



produced 16 hush, per acre. 

 " 175 " 



" 2.3i " 



" 20 " 



produced 12 bush, per acre. 

 '• 28^ 



The experiments were unfavorable to the use 

 of salt on oats, so far as they were then carried ; 

 but the quaniity applied appears to have been too 

 laro;e to admit of a fair trial of its real merits. 



Mr. Sinclair also mentions experiments on spa- 

 ces of 36 feet square, manured with salt at the 

 rate of 5^ bushels per acre, drilled with Talavera 

 tvheat on the 5th of November, and reaped on 

 the 2d of August, which respectively yielded pro- 

 duce at the extraordinary rate of 91, 73, and 82 

 bushels per acre, when mixed, in the first in- 

 stance, with the soil four inches deep, before sow- 

 ing ; sown, in the second, with the seed ; and in 

 the third, simply applied to the surface. On 

 which he observes, that the result of this extraor- 

 dinary produce upon these small plots of ground 

 must not be considered erroneous, for that he has 

 seen produce equal to upwards of 23 quarters an 

 acre, although one-eighth of the ground was 

 without plant. Such instances are, no doubt, 

 rare ; but experiments are usually conducted with 

 greater care on small spots of ground than in 

 fields of larger size ; the quantity of land is ac- 

 curately measured, the soil generally of superior 

 quality, and the product collected to the last grain ; 

 whereas we all know that, in the common^prac- 

 tice, there is much waste both in the reaping and 

 the carrying ol grain, as well as much ground 

 lost in roadways and fences. The same result 

 cannot be expected as in more extended opera- 

 tions, but such trials are valuable as affording 

 evidence of the comparative advantages arising 

 from different kinds of manure. 



To this we have to add a recent communica- 

 tion from Mr. Sinclair, in reply to an application 

 to him for some further information on the subject, 

 in which he says, ' that the fiicts here staled may 

 be depended upon ; that his opinions of the utility 

 of the manure remain unaltered; and to these 

 experiments he refers, as the fullest evidence of 

 his convictions on the subject.' But, with that 

 candor which distinguishes every man whose 

 object is unprejudiced investigation, divested of 

 any bias to the promotion of a favorite object, 

 he adds, ' that it is not free from anomalies, which 

 time and further experience can alone reconcile.' 



On the subject of ivheat and barley, Mr. Cuth- 

 bert Johnson also mentions, in his observations 

 on the employment of salt, that on his own farm, 

 at Great Toiham, in Essex, he had increased 

 the produce of the former, upon a light ijravelly 

 soil, to the extent of 5^ bushels per acro^ by the 

 use of 20 bushels of s^lt. On the same land, he 

 also states the result of the following experiments 

 on wheat to have been:— 



Soil, wiiliouf any manure lor four years, pro- 

 duced 13 bushels 26 lbs. per acre. Soil, manured 

 with stable-dung to a previous crop of potatoes 

 produced 26 bushels 52 lbs. per acre. Soil, with 

 5 bushels of salt per acre, and no other manure 

 lor four years, produced 26 bushels 12 lbs. per acre. 

 Another Essex farmer, Mr. James Ciiallis, of 

 Panfield, — whose soil is described as being of" a 

 loose, hollow description, — had a dressing of salt 

 put on it in November, alter the wheat was sown, 

 of about 14 or 15 bushels per acre, which is also 

 stated lo have produced at the rate of 6 bushels 

 per acre more than that which was not dressed, 

 and was considered lo be 20s. per load better in 

 quality. Several experiments, indeed, have shown 

 the grain to be heavier, in proportion as the 

 quantity of salt was larger. Oiher accounts are 

 likewise given of the produce of wheat crops 

 when manured with stable- dung, in comparison 

 with salt, which are so largely in iavor of the lat- 

 ter, that we fear to repeat them, lest they should 

 appear lo throw a doubt over the accuracy of the 

 statement*. 



On the subject of barley dressed with salt, Mr. 

 Ransom, of Sproughton, in Suflblk, says that ' it 

 presented no diflerence of appearance to the rest 

 of the field, until a fortnight before harvest ; the 

 sailed crop was then brighter, and about one 

 week forwarder than the rest of the field ; and 

 the following were the re.sulis when carefully cut 

 and measured : — 



Soil, without any manure, produced 30 bushels 

 per acre. Soil, dressed with 16 bushels of salt 

 per acre, in March, produced 51 bushels per acre. 

 Regarding root crops, Mr. Cuthbert Johnson 

 also mentions his having been informed by Sir 

 Thomas Aclaml, that salt has been laid upon his 

 farm at Killerton, in Devonshire, at the rate of 40 

 heaps of earth to the acre, in each of which heaps 

 .33 lbs. of salt were well mixed, and let to lie a 

 a fbrtniijht before being spread upon the land, 

 which was afterwards ploughed three times, and 

 then sown with mangcl-wurtzel, which had roots 

 that weighed 32 lbs. each. A field was also dress- 

 ed for turnips ; one-third with salt prepared in the 

 same manner, one-third with lime, and the re- 

 mainder with hearth-ashes. When the seed 

 came up, the turnips appeared most promising 

 where the hearlh-ashes were ; but, after the first 

 month, ihey did not grow so fast as where the 

 salt or lime was; after that time, the turnips 



* See a publication by the Rev. B. Dacre, entitled 

 'Testimonies in favor of salt as a manure and a 

 condiment for cattle.' 



