EXPKKI.MKNTS ON CLOVKK. 143 



with diffirulty be excavated to a deptli of six inches, when Uw bare 

 limestone-rock niatle it^: appearance. At the bottom of tlie titld 

 the soil was much deeper, and tiie clover stronger, than at tiie iij)pcr 

 part. On the brow of the hill, where the clover aj)iKared to |»e 

 strontr, a square yard was measured out ; and at a little distance oil', 

 where the clover was very l>ad, a second square yard was nieas- 

 ureil; in l)oth plots, the soil being taken up to a depth of six 

 inches. The ^oil, where the clover was <?ood, may be di.'Jtinguished 

 from the other, by being marked as No. 1, and that where it was 

 bad, as No. 2. 



CLOVERSOIL NO. 1. (GOOD CLOVErv). 



"The roi>ts having first been shaken out to free them as much 

 as possible from the soil, were then waslicd once or twice with cold 

 distilled water, and, after having been dried for a little while in the 

 sun, were weighed, when the scpiarc yard produced 1 lb. lOi oz. 

 of c'eaned clover-roots, in an air-dry stitc ; an acre of land, or 

 4,840 square yards, accordingly yielded, in a depth of six inches, 

 3.44 tons, or ;U tons in round nuudtcrs, of dovcr-roots. 



" Fully dried in a water-batii, the roots were found to contain 

 altogether 44. G7 i»cr cent of water, and on btiiig burnt in a pla- 

 tinum capsule, yi< Idrd O.OSi) of ash. A portion of the dried, finely 

 powdered and wi 11 nuxed roots, was b.inud witii soda lime, in a 

 combustion tube, and the nitrogen contained in the roots otliL-r- 

 wisc determined in t!:e usual way. Accordingly, the following 

 is the general composition of the roots from the soil No. 1 : 



Water 44.075 



Or;janic matter* 4y.'.:36 



Mineral matter 6.089 



~100.000 



* Containuig nitroL'cn 1.297 



Equal to ammonia 1.575 



" Assuming the whole field to have produced 3i tons of clover- 

 roots, per acre, there will be 99.636 lbs., or in round immbers, 100 

 lbs. of nitrogen in the clover-roots from one acre ; or, about twice 

 as nmch nitrogen as is present in the average produce of an acre 

 of wheat." 



"That is a remarkable fact," said the Deacon, "as I understand 

 nitrogen is the great thing needed by wheat, and j^et the ?y/ci<s alone 

 of the clover, contain twice as much nitrogen as an average crop 

 of wheat. Go on Charley, it is quite interesting." 



"The soil," continues Dr. Voelcker, "which had been separated 

 from the roots, was passed through a sieve to deprive it of any 

 stones it might contain. It was then partially dried, and the nitro 



