THE BATTLE OF LIFE". 



to stemmy as distinguished from leafy growth, the color 

 of the foliage being of a light, yellowish-green. 



On the wheat plots, it has been shown that purely 

 mineral manures scarcely increase the yield at all, though 

 they are beneficial to the leguminous crops. These ex- 

 periments confirm Boussingault's assertion that alkaline 

 or earthy salts, although indispensable to plants, never- 

 theless, exercise no action unless combined with matters 

 capable of furnishing nitrogen. 



Superphosphate of lime only. The scanty and stemmy 

 produce on the plot, to which this substance is applied, 

 has been but little greater than that on the unmanured 

 plots. The grasses and miscellaneous plants have been 

 slightly increased, the Leguminosae diminished. There 

 has been a great admixture of species, but little luxuri- 

 ance of any. Holcus lanatus, Avena flavescens, Poa 

 trivialis, Lolium perenne, and Festuca ovina have been 

 among the most prominent grasses, while the freer-grow- 

 ing Dactylis does not apparently find so much sub- 

 sistence as it requires. LatJiyrus pratensis among the 

 leguminous plants, and Rumex Acetosa and AcMllea 

 Millefolium among the weeds, have but slightly benefited, 

 others yielding even less than without manure. Bous- 

 singault's observations, already quoted under the head of 

 mineral manures, apply equally here. The great French 

 chemist found, as in the Rothamsted experiments, that 

 superphosphate, uncombined with substances capable of 

 yielding ammonia, produced little or no effect on vege- 

 tation. Boehm's experiments, however, go to show that 

 young plants raised in distilled water, die before the nu- 

 tritious matter stored up in the seed, or in the seed- 

 leaves is exhausted, but if lime be added, especially in 

 the form of ulinate, before this point is reached, the 

 seedlings resume their healthy appearance, the develop- 

 ment of the radicle, according to Deherain, being par- 

 ticularly favored by this substance. (See p. 18), 



