THEORIES CONCERNING SOIL FERTILITY 



305 



PRODUCE PER ACRE 



No. B. P. 



12. 40 yards of chalk, earth mixed with train oil, six months ago, 



and often turned 33 o 



13. 40 ditto, earth mixed with urine, four months ago, and 



often turned 37 2 



14. 40 ditto, earth alone . . ? 33 oj 



15. 40 ditto, earth from the farmyard 37 2 



16. 1 20 ditto, red gravelly loam 29 T 



17. 160 ditto 31 i 



" N.B. The season was remarkably dry, which circumstance certainly had a j 

 considerable effect upon the different crops." . J 



"ON BONES USED AS A MANURE 

 "By ANTHONY ST. LEGER, ESQ. 



F" During a long course of speculative and practical Agriculture, in which, 

 with critical exactness, I employed myself in making experiments upon almost 

 every kind of manure, I was fortunate enough to discover that bones are su- 

 perior to all the manures made use of by the farmer. 



"Eight years ago I laid down to grass a large piece of very indifferent lime- 

 stone land with a crop of corn (Wheat, presumably) ; and, in order that the 

 grass seeds might have a strong vegetation, I took care to see it well dressed. 

 From this piece I selected three roods of equal quality with the rest, and 

 dressed them with bones broken very small, at the rate of sixty bushels per acre. 

 Upon lands thus managed, the crop of corn was infinitely superior to the rest. 

 The next year the grass was also superior, and has continued to preserve the 

 same superiority ever since, insomuch that in spring it is green three weeks 

 before the rest of the field. J 



"This year I propose toplow up the field as the Festuca sylvatica (prye 

 grass) has overpowered the grass seed originally sown. And here it will be 

 proper to remark that, notwithstanding the species of grass is the natural prod- 

 uce of the soil, the three roods on which the bones were laid have hardly any 

 of it, but, on the contrary, have all along produced the finest grasses. 



Last year I dressed two acres with bones, in two different fields prepared 

 'or turnips, sixty bushels to the acre, and had the pleasure to find the turnrps 

 greatly superior to the others managed in the common way. I have no doubt 

 but these two acres will preserve their superiority for many years to come, if I 

 may be allowed to prognosticate from former experiments most carefully con- 

 ducted. 



"I also dressed an acre of grass ground with bones last October (1774) and 

 rolled them in. The succeeding crop of hay was an exceeding good one. 

 However, I found from repeated experience that, upon grass ground, this 

 kind of manure exerts itself more powerfully the second year than the first. 



"It must be obvious to every person, that the bones should be well broken 



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