ON THE TREATMENT AND UTILIZATION OF SEWAGE, 201 
is counted as land in crop, so that a fairer comparison of the crops actually 
standing is got by subtracting the acreage of the land so sown from the total 
number of acres “in crop” each year; thus :— 
March 24th, | March 24th, | March 24th, 
1874, 
1872. 1873. 
ist crop 24.2 >: RCN ee 40°49 7°62 89-09 
Acreage of spring wheat re- 
cently sown .......... 0-00 22°54 38:13 
Do. of crop standing ...... 40°49 65:08 50-96 
Thus we see that the amount of crop actually standing was less at the end of 
1873-74 than at the end of 1872-73—that is to say, that more of the crop 
standing at the end of 1872-73 was gathered and reckoned to the credit of 
the year ending March 24th, 1874, than is left from that year to be gathered 
during the twelve months ending March 24th, 1875. 
It should be noticed that as the total of crops for 1872-73 was smaller 
partly on account of the greater amount of cereals grown (26°18 acres), the 
total for 1873-74 would be larger than it is but for the still greater amount 
(38°82 acres) of cereals grown. 
Table VI. corresponds with part of Table VI. of last year’s Report; it is, 
like Table V., compiled from the particulars in Table IV., the results being 
exhibited according to crops instead of according to plots or beds; the total 
acreage of each description of crop is given, the total amount of ‘each crop 
and the amount per acre, and the estimated amount of nitrogen for each 
crop, these estimates being obtained from the same data which were used in 
preceding years. 
The total amount of nitrogen estimated to be recovered is 22,766 lbs., 
as against 15,704 lbs. in 1872-73: the amount that year was no doubt 
exceptionally small, on account of the large amount of crop still ungathered 
at the end of the year. The total amount of nitrogen brought to the farm 
from the town was shown in last year’s Report to be practically the same 
in 1872-73 as the year before, and may be considered to be approximately 
27 tons, or 60,480 lbs. 
Assuming the same amount for the year 1873-74, there would be 37-6 
per cent. of the nitrogen applied recovered in the crops. In 1871-72 the 
amount recovered was estimated at 41-76 per cent., and in 1872-73 at 
26 per cent. The amount of nitrogen lost in the effluent water this year has 
not been ascertained. 
To take the total of the three years during which the quantities of nitrogen 
have been determined or estimated, it appears that about 168,000 lbs. of 
nitrogen have been distributed on the farm, of which it is estimated nearly 
58,200 lbs. have been recovered in the crops, or 34:6 per cent.; of the re- 
mainder, some has escaped in the effluent water (chiefly in the form of nitrates 
and nitrites) and been lost, and some, as shown in last year’s Report, has 
been stored in the soil. 
In conclusion your Committee feels very strongly the desirability of con- 
tinuing these observations (if they are to be made really useful) through a - 
series of years, as only thus can a reliable average be obtained, and considers 
it a matter of much regret that, for the reason already given, the analyses of 
the sewage and effluent water had to be discontinued. 
