MANURE FOR BARLEY. 249 



It is not necessary to make any comments on this table. It 

 speaks for itself ; but it does not tell half the story. For instance, 

 in the case of wheat and barley, it gives the average result for 20 

 years. It shows that when 100 Ibs. of nitrogen in a soluble and 

 available form, are applied to wheat, about 68 Ibs. are left in tlie 

 soil. But you must recollect that 100 Ibs. was applied again the 

 next year, and no account is taken of the 68 Ibs. left in the soil 

 and so on for 20 years. In other words, on plot 8, for instance, 

 2,460 Ibs. of nitrogen have been applied, and only 775 Ibs. have 

 been recovered in the total produce of grain, straw, and chaff, 

 and 1,685 Ibs. have been left in the soil. 



Mr. Lawes estimates, from several analyses, that his farm-yard 

 manure contains 0.637 per cent of nitrogen, 2.76 per cent of mineral 

 matter, and 27.24 per cent of organic matter, and 70 per cent of 

 water. 



According to this, the plot dressed with 14 tons of manure every 

 year, for 20 years, has received 3,995 Ibs. of nitrogen, of which 583J 

 Ibs. were recovered in the produce, and 3,41 If Ibs. were left in the 

 soil. 



In the case of barley, 3,995 Ibs. of nitrogen was applied dur- 

 ing the 20 years to the plot dressed with farm-yard manure, of 

 which 427^ Ibs. were recovered in the crop, and 3,567| Ibs. left in 

 the soil. 



" I see," said the Deacon, " that barley gets less of the goodness 

 out of farm-yard manure than wheat, but that it gets more out of 

 the salts of ammonia and nitrate of soda. How do you account 

 for that?" 



" I suppose, because the manure for wheat was applied in the 

 autumn, and the rains of winter and spring dissolved more of the 

 plant-food than would be the case if the manure was applied in 

 the spring. If the manure had been applied on the surface, in- 

 stead of plowing it under, I believe the effect would have been 

 still more in favor of the autumn-manuring." 



When the nitrogen is in an available condition, spring barley 

 can take up and utilize a larger proportion of the nitrogen than 

 winter wheat. Neither the wheat nor the barley can get at and 

 take up half what is applied, and this, notwithstanding the fact 

 that a heavy dew or a slight rain furnishes water enough on an 

 acre to dissolve a liberal dressing of nitrate of soda or sulphate 

 and muriate of ammonia. The truth is, the soil is very conserva- 

 tive. It does not, fortunately for us, yield up all its plant-food in 

 a year 



We have seen that when wheat or barley is dressed with sol- 



