183 TALKS OX MANURES. 



" This was my last year at Rothamsted," said I, " and I feel a 

 peculiar interest in looking over the results after such a lapse of 

 time. When this crop was growing, my father, a good practical 

 farmer, but with little faith in chemical manures, paid me a visit. 

 We went to the experimental wheat-field. The first two plots, 

 and 1, had been dressed, the one with superphosphate, the other 

 with potash, soda, and magnesia. My father did not seem much 

 impressed with this kind of chemical manuring. Stepping to the 

 next plot, where 14 tons of barn-yard manure had been used, he 

 remarked, " this is good, what have you here ? " 



" Never mind," said I, " we have better crops farther on." 



The next plot, No. 3, was the one continuously unmanured. " I 

 can beat this myself," said he, and passed on to the next. " This 

 is better," said he, "what have you here ?" 



" Superphosphate and sulphate of ammonia." 



"Well, it is a good crop, and the straw is bright and stiff." It 

 turned out 30 bushels per acre, 63 Ibs. to the bushel. 



The next six plots had received very heavy dressings of ammo- 

 nia-salts, with superphosphate, potash, soda, and magnesia. He 

 examined them with the greatest interest. " What have you here?" 

 he asked, while he was examining 5a, which afterwards turned out 

 37J bushels per acre. " Potash, soda, epsom-salts, superphosphate, 

 and ammonia but it is the ammonia that does the good." 



He passed to the next plot, and was very enthusiastic over it, 

 " What have you here?" "Raps-cake and ammonia," said I. 

 "It is a grand crop," said he, and after examining it with great 

 interest, he passed to the next, 6a. " What have you here?" 

 " Ammonia," said I ; and at 63 he asked the same qaestion, and I re- 

 plied " ammonia." At 7, the same question and the same answer. 

 Standing between 76 and 8a, he was of course struck with the 

 difference in the crop ; 8a was left this year without any manure, 

 and though it had received a liberal supply of mineral manures 

 the year before, and minerals and ammonia-salts, and rape-cake, 

 the year previous, it only produced this year, 3 bushels more than 

 the plot continuously unmanured. The contrast between the 

 wheat on this plot and the next one, might well interest a prac- 

 tical farmer. There was over 15 bushels per acre more wheat on 

 the one plot than on the other, and 1,581 Ibs. more straw. 



Passing to the next plot, he exclaimed " this is better, but not so 

 good as some that we have passed." "It has had a heavy dressing 

 of rape-cake," said I, "equal to about 100 Ibs. of ammonia per 

 acre, and the next plot was manured this year in the same \vay> 

 Th3 only difference being that one had superphosphate and potash, 



