96 The Rothamsted Barley Experiments. 



Bearing in mind that both wheat and barley will flourish 

 under very temperate conditions, it is worthy of remark that 

 both -1854, the year of the best barley crop, and 1863, the 

 year of the best wheat crop, in the Rothamsted experiments, 

 were characterised by circumstances conducive to steady and 

 unbroken accumulation, followed by favourable maturing 

 conditions, rather than by individual periods of more than 

 ordinarily active luxuriance. 



AVEEAGE YIELD OF BAELEY PEE ACEE PEE 

 ANNUM FOE EACH DESCEIPTION OF MANUEE. 

 The second section of the report of experiments on the 

 growth of barley for twenty years in succession on the same 

 land deals with the average annual produce by each descrip- 

 tion of manure employed. On the unmanured plot the 

 average annual produce of barley over the twenty years was 

 about twenty-one bushels of dressed grain, and 12cwt. of 

 straw. The quality, as indicated by the weight per bushel 1 

 of grain, was higher over the second than over the first 

 period of ten years; but the quantity of both grain and 

 straw was between 23 and 24 per cent, less over the second 

 ten years. Compared with wheat grown for many years in 

 succession without manure, barley gave an average of more 

 grain, less straw, and nearly the same weight of gross 

 produce (grain and straw together) ; but the barley fell off 

 more in produce of grain, and about equally in straw, over 

 the later years. Prior to the commencement of the experi- 

 ments, the previous cropping had been : 



WHEAT FIELD. BARLEY FIELD. 



Turnips (dunged). Turnips (dung and superphosphate) 



carted off. 



Barley. Barley. 



Peas. Clover. 



Wheat. Wheat. 



Oats. Barley (sulphate of ammonia). 



It is possible, therefore, that there would be rather more 

 nitrogenous condition to work out of the barley land than out 



