Experiments upon Swedes. 1 



The soil contains hardly any sand that can be separated by the 

 mechanical process of washing and decantation. It contains, 

 like most of the soils on our farm, an appreciable quantity of 

 sulphate of lime, and also of phosphoric acid. It is not so rich 

 in carbonate of lime as many other of our fields, and is rich 

 enough in clay to be calleJ a good agricultural clay. 



This field was quite level, and in a good state of mechanical 

 subdivision. 



An acre of this land was divided into 20 parts. The dif- 

 ferent artificial manures, after having been mixed with couch- 

 ashes and burnt soil, were sown on the 6th of June ; the land 

 was ridged up and the seed (Skirving's swedes) drilled on 

 the 7th of June. Each experimental plot contained 4 rows of 

 equal length. The distance between the drills was 22 inches ; 

 the plants were singled out 12 inches apart. One part of the 

 field was manured in autumn ; the greater part in spring ; the 

 portion selected for experiments being then left unmanured. 



The following list exhibits the arrangement of the experi- 

 mental field, the kinds of manure employed, and their quantities, 

 calculated per acre : 



Experiments upon Skirving's Swedes in Field No. 7, Royal Agricultural 

 College Farm, Cirencester, 1859. 



Plot Per Acre. 



1 was manured with 15 tons of rotten dung. 



15 tons of rotten dung and 2 cwts. of superphosphate. 



3 3 cwts. of superphosphate. 



4 1 cwt. of superphosphate. 



5 , 6 cwts. of superphosphate. 



3 cwts. of gypsum. 



2 cwts. of superphosphate and 1 cwt. of guano. 



3 cwts. of ciiano. 



6 

 7 

 8 

 9 



10 was left unmanured. 



11 was manured with 3 cwts. of fine bone-dust. 



12 2 cwts. of sulphate of ammonia. 



13 3 cwts. of turnip-manure. 



1 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia. 



14 

 15 

 16 

 17 



18 



19 



20 



1 cwt. of nitrate of soda. 



6 cwts. of turnip-manure. 



3 cwts. of salt. 



3 cwts. of bone-ash treated with sulphuric acid. 



3 cwts. of dissolved bone-ash and 1 cwt. of sulphate of 



ammonia. 



3 cwts. of sulphate of potash. 



3 cwts. of dissolved bone-ash and 1 cwt. of nitrate of soda. 



The rest of the field received about 15 tons of farmyard- 

 manure and 3 cwts. of superphosphate mixed with ashes at the 

 time when the seed was drilled. The seed was of the same kind 

 as that used in the experiments. Four rows of turnips, occu- 

 pying exactly one-twentieth of an acre, were reserved on two 



