12 The Rothamsted Experiments. 



supplies of the soil will be amply sufficient to sustain an 

 increased and even repeated growth of corn, by means of 

 nitrogenous artificial manures, considerably beyond that 

 which is recognised by the leases or the current practices 

 of the day ; and a further assurance that the necessary 

 minerals are not likely to become deficient, under the 

 judicious adoption of such an increased growth of corn, 

 is to be found in the fact that there are few really large 

 sources of nitrogenous manures which do not, at the same 

 time, bring upon the land a considerable amount of some of 

 the more important minerals also. 



2. THE RODMERSHAM EXPERIMENTS. 



One other series of experiments, besides those at Holkham, 

 was carried out away from Rothamsted, and is of equal 

 interest with the Holkham series in suggesting the nature 

 and character of the field investigations which might be 

 conveniently prosecuted in various localities, either by private 

 enterprise or under the auspices of an agricultural society. 

 The " Report of experiments made at Rodmersham, Kent, 

 on the growth of wheat by different descriptions of manure 

 for several years in succession on the same land," appeared 

 in the R.A.S. Journal, 1862. The scheme of these experi- 

 ments was similar in essential details to that of the Holkham 

 Park Farm experiments, and both were modelled upon those 

 which then were, and still are, in progress at Rothamsted on 

 the continuous growth of wheat upon the same land. The 

 Rodmersham experiments arose in this wise : Sir John M. 

 Tylden, the president of an agricultural club in the neighbour- 

 hood of Sittingbourne, Kent, induced the members to visit 

 Rothamsted ; and the consequence was that they undertook 

 to conduct, at their own expense, a series of experiments on 

 the growth of wheat, the results of which might be compared 

 with those of the experiments at Holkham and Rothamsted. 



