122 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Feb. 84, 



on a larger scale. Much may be learned by watching 

 the cultivation of allotments of laiul, where these are 

 judiciously let to industrious labourers ; after their 

 day's work you may see them carefully examining 

 their little plots of Wheat, or any other produce, with 

 a spud or little hoe— the weeds are picked out before 

 they are well out of the ground— a clod on the sur- 

 face, if sufficiently dry, is broken by a slight blow 

 with the back of the hoe— a plant which appears 

 rather loosely set in the ground is made firm by a 

 tread of the foot; all this is very slight work, yet at 

 harvest we see crops of seven and eight quarters of 

 Wheat per acre on land which, in the memory of man, 

 never produced half that quantity, and which is by no 

 means abundantly manured. Suppose that a week's 

 work of an able-bodied man in a Wheat- Held only 

 causes an increase of two bushels at harvest, the extra 

 labour and attention will be paid for ; but every one 

 knows that the increase of two bushels on every acre 

 will be considered as no great thing in a field of ten 

 acres thus attended to ; yet this increase will repay a 

 constant unremitted attention of a man for ten weeks, 



giving him ample wages. 



But what is the fai mer the better for this? Much, 

 in every way : his crop has been kept free from weeds ; 

 the labour for the subsequent crop is much lighter, 

 and his land is improved in texture by all this careful 

 tillage. If he was in the habit of fallowing his fields 

 to clean them, he may defer this process for a longer 

 time, if not omit it altogether. If he sows Clover or 

 artificial Grasses, the carefully prepared surface insures 

 their growth and saves much tl. The failure of a 

 sowing of Clover is no trifling lo«*s. as we all know, 

 and an improved tillage will decidedly diminish the 

 chances of failure. In short, where there is the wish 

 to do good, while we benefit ourselves, and have the 

 pecuniary means to meet some additional expense, 

 nothing can be mere strongly recommended than to 

 apply constant and minute manual labour to the im- 

 provement of the soil, and thus to promote the cer- 

 tainty and beauty of the crops. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH NITRATE OF SODA, &c. 



{Continued from page H16 ) 



I applied the three dressings as above stated, viz., 

 1 cwt. of nitrate of soil* per acre, manganese and 

 nitrate of soda in equal quantities, 1J cwt. per acre, 

 and Guano mixed with soil, to rows of Turnips alter 

 they had received the second hoeing and begun to spread 

 over the top of the drill. The effect as to the colour 

 and growth of the tops was the same, and in the same 

 proportions as on the Clover-fogg; but the final result of 

 this experiment remains to be proved by the weight of the 

 roots, when taken up,as compared with each other and with 

 rows that had no top-dressing.* I applied the same dress- 

 ings to Rape, sown upon bone manure, when it was about 

 three inches high, and in this case the nitrate and 

 mixture produced the most decided effect that 1 had 

 yet seen. Within a month those rows had grown to twice 

 the height of the rest of the field, and were covered closely 

 over the intervals, bearing fully double the weight of pro- 

 duce, although about a week after being applied the leaves 

 were spotted and blistered, probably owing to the nitrate 

 not having been pounded sufficiently small. Those done with 

 guano were better than the part which had nothing,butrauch 

 inferior to that to which nitrate had been applied. Some 

 sheep were put upon that part of the field on the 2-lth of 

 August, and in a week had earen the rows done with 

 nitrate and manganese close to the ground, while those 

 done with guano and left undone were hardly touched, a 

 decided proof that the application of nitrate to such 

 plants has the effect of not only increasing the quantity to 

 a great extent, but of rendering it more palatable to 

 animals, and I doubt not in an equal degree more nutri- 

 tious. 1 found nitrate very beuehcial to the growth of 

 Tares, and extremely so to six acres of the second year's 

 grass to which I applied it at the rate of 1 cwt. per acre. 

 The effect was greater and more rapid than upon the first 

 year's Clover ; probably because being a thicker cover, 



* Dec. fl ti, 1«41. — The Turnips were pu.leU this day ami care- 

 fully cleaned or tops and tap-roots, alter whicn the y were care- 

 fully weighed, under the inspection of Mr. Hunt, and the foliow- 

 iDg Tnhl.' Bhowa the result : 



Top dressings. 



Nitrate of soda 

 M*ntruuest:&nitrate 



Gaano . 



>quare yards* 

 in each 



Portion. 



166 4 9th» 

 166 4 ptbfl 



160 4-yt »s 



100 4-9ths 



Weiffbt of Wej h 



Turnips in each « 



u -»;~ acre. 



Portion. 



St. 



117 



117 



»1*7 



los 

 8 

 8 

 6 



124 10 



tons lbs 

 21 58 

 SI 58 

 23 25 



S3 n6 



The tops weie not weighed, as their value is small, Rnd would 

 go a short way m alter-.ug the comparative value of the produce ; 

 hut the diitle to which the nitrate, and mixture of nitrate and 

 manganese were applied, showed much more top throughout the 

 season than the others, although in the end the roorg weighed 

 less. Vi betber those roots would have gone on to increase till 

 they had overtaken the others, if they liad not been checked by 

 the unueUHlly severe fronts which cmne on early in November, I 

 do not pretend U) say ; but the experiment tends to confirm me 

 in the opinion already e.xpre»-ed, that saline manures are more 

 i-afely and efficaciously applied to green crops, such as Grass, 

 Tares, and K*pr, than to grain or the huh) "iis-rooted plants. 



On the contrary, the effect produced by the Guano is very en- 

 couraging, especially when it is considered tbat I i'.id not receive 

 it in time to apply it in the rows, as bone-due ! and other manures 

 are applied, and that comparatively bu small particles <>t it could 

 have found access to the plants when scattered along the tops of 

 the drills alter the Turnips were first hoed. 



N.B. -'I be Turnips referred to above were all grown upon an 

 ordinary dressing of foid-yard dung. 



the whole of the nitrate would be retained by the blades 

 trass ; whereas in the other case, a part would fall upon 



the ground. This land being in pasture the increased 



produce could not be brought to the te^t of actual weight, 



as in hay, but the stock having been kept off it for a week 



after sowing the nitrate, it a< quired such a growth as, in 



comparison with other land, to keep nearly double the 



quantity of sheep, or, at any rate, I am confident at 



the rate of five per acre instead of three. My expe- 

 riments upon Corn both last year and this have been 



unsuccessful. The nitrate stimulated a great growth of 



straw. 1 n both years a great deal of rain fell just previous 



to the harvest, in consequence of which those portions 



have been laid and much injured, producing a great bulk 



of coarse straw, but little grain. And even in cases | elements of tne other The Guano is also the better, 



where both Barley and Oats seemed in no danger of ; from the circumstance of its being produced by sea-birds, 



which live entirely on fish, and eat no vegetable matter. 

 The exposure also of the Guano to the heat of a tropical 

 sun, as soon as deposited, prevents the volatile elements 

 from flying off, by the formation of a hard crust upon its 

 surface. The manure of our dove-cotes suffers a consi- 

 derable loss by its exposure to the air. 



In its action on vegetation, and in its chemical compo- 

 sition, Guano may be compared to the manure of dove- 



especially serviceable to plants, and this is why Guano is 

 so valuable a manure in dry, barren regions. 



If we compare Guano with other exerementitions 

 manures, we shall find it far preferable to those afforded 

 by man or the other mammalia, which do not generally 

 contain more than 20 per cent, of matter that can be ap- 

 propriated by plants as food. It is thus five times better 

 than night-soil, and it is also very superior to the so- 

 called Poudretle, which, in the drying, loses, through 

 putrefaction and evaporation, the greater proportion "of 

 its ammoniacal elements. 



In birds, the excretion both of the kidneys and intes- 

 tines are contained in the cloaca, and thus it is that the 

 volatile elements of the one get combined with the firmer 



being too bulky and were not lodged, a second growth 

 was produced, and they are now being cut lull of g-een 

 and immature shoots, while the good grain does not appear 

 to be more in quantity nor so good in quality as that 

 which had no nitrate. A rapid growth of straw with a 

 heavy blade, just before shooting out the ear, is always 

 attended with much risk, and as nitrate produces that 

 effect, if applied to Corn alter it has grown 12 or 15 inches 

 from the ground, it must always be attended more or less 

 with danger. And when applied very early, and before 

 the plants cover the ground, it produced, in my case, no 



effect at all. 



Willi respect to guano, I am sensible that the result of 

 these experiments forms no test of its value as a manure. 

 Being the produce, accumulated for ages on the rocky 

 islands of the Pacific, of sea-fowl, which feed on fish, 

 it contains a large proportion of organic matter of the 



richest and most stimulating kind, and ought to be applied . .. . 



mixed with ashes, charcoal, or some other substance, as of alumina, iron, and oxide of manganese. 



,, ., i vi v {To be continued.) 



other manures are, to the sou, so as to be accessible by 



cotes. Davy found in fresh dove-cote manure, twenty- 

 three parts soluble in water, consisting of uric acid, urate 

 of carbonate of ammonia and common salt ; but in the 

 dried manure only eight parts in the 100 soluble. Spren- 

 gel analysed this manure, six months old, and found 16 

 per cent, of soluble matter ; there was very little uric acid, 

 and a great deal of carbonate, sulphate, and urinate of 

 ammonia, with some common salt and sulphate of potash. 

 The eighty-four parts insoluble in water, consisted of sili- 

 ceous sand, phosphate of lime and magnesia, aud traces 



the roots of the plants. 1 could not, however, procure 

 any at a proper season for using it in that way, and there- 

 fore determined to try it as u top-dressing in the same 

 way as the others. 



The numerous experiments which I hove made with 

 nitrate of soda lead me to the determination in my own 

 practice, to use it as much as possible on grass and green 

 crops, and only on Corn in such situations as run no risk, 

 be the weather what it may, of the crop being lodged from 

 too great a growth of straw. I have satisfied myself that 

 I can obtain the requisite quantity of hay upon two-thirds, 

 or rather less, of the land which I have hitherto assigned 

 to it by the application of nitrate of soda to the grass ; so 

 that 1 have one-third of the land at liberty to feed sheep. 

 1 am also satisfied that its application to pasture-land 

 increased the produce at any rate by one-third, and to 

 Rape, in one instance at least, by one-half; the conse- 

 quence of which must be an extra production, in equal 

 proportions, of mutton and wool, and an additional return 

 of manure from the sheep to the land, which will produce 

 its effect upon the succeeding crops of grain, not by 

 stimulating a rapid growth at any peculiar stage, as nitrate 

 does, but by entering gradually and regularly into the 

 whole process from the germination of the seed onwards 

 to the maturity of the crop. — John Grey, Dilston House. 



REPORT OF DR. VON MARTIUS ON GUANO. 



(Continued from page 106). 



The first chemical analysis of guano was made by Four- 

 croy and Vauquelin, from the specimen brought home by 

 Baron von Humboldt. These chemists found that it con- 

 sisted of at least a fourth part of uric acid, which was in 

 combination with ammonia. They also found oxalic acid 

 in combination with ammonia and potassa, the phos- 

 phates of ammonia, of lime, and of potassa and ammonia, 

 and a small quantity of a fatty matter. Soon after this 

 analysis, Klaproth made his known; and then Viilkel and 

 Vertels published a very accurate quantitative auahsis. 

 It may not be uninteresting to give the results of these 

 analyses. 



Klaproth. Volkol. Vertels. 



Urate of Ammonia 



Oxalate of Ammonia . . . 



Oxalate of Lime ... 



Phosphate of Ammonia 



Phosphate of Ammonia and Magnesia 



Sulphate of Potash 



Sulphate c»f Soda 



Muriate of Ammonia 



Phosphate of Lime 



Phosphate of Soda 



Muriate of Soda .... 



Alumina 



Clay ami Sand .... 

 A waxy rer-inous substance 



It) 



12.75 



10 



0.5 



32 



9 



3.244 



10 t> 



13.351 



7. 



16.360 



6. 



6 450 



2.6 



4.136 



5. 



4.227 



3.8 



1.1)9 



4.2 



6 5 



14.3 



9.$N0 



— 



5.*31 



— 



0.1 



— 



0.104 



47 



0.6 



These analyses show considerable diftvrence, but this may 

 be explained by the varying age, purity, and origin of the 

 guano. It thus appears that amongst animal manures 

 guano clearly claims the first position. It is uncommonly 

 rich in ammoniacal silts, and these salts act very favour- 

 ably on vegetation. They abstract from the air its car- 

 bonic acid, and it is through its means that those various 

 proximate principles are formed, such as starch, mucus, 

 resin, lignin, &c, which constitute the hody of the plant. 

 I With the exception of the oxalate and the phosphate of 

 lime, nearly all the salts are soluble in water. The urate 

 of ammonia is not so, but then in the atmosphere it un- 

 dergoes a decomposition, by which carbonate of ammonia 

 is tonned, which is equally soluble with the rest of the 

 salts, and is taken up by plants, and contributes very much 

 to their nutrition. 



The ease wiih which these salts are decomposed by the 

 air, and tendered partly volatile, will account for the fact 

 that plants manured with Guano generally present earlv 

 in the morning, accumulations of dew on the points of 

 their leaves. The Guano absorbs the surrounding air, 

 and also the vapour of water that may be in if, which is 



MANX AGRICULTURE.— No III. 



(Continued from page b%.) 



The spirit of emulation which prevails throughout 

 the United Kingdom, and is extending its beneficial in- 

 fluence under the auspices of Agricultural Societies, has 

 at length winged its way to the Isle of Man ; and amongst 

 the benefits which have followed iu its train, must be pro- 

 minently mentioned improvements in live stock, and in 

 Agricultural implements. Owing to the peculiar situation 

 of th,e island, the Manx herds of cattle are of so mixed a 

 nature as to be almost indescribable. Specimens may be 

 seen of the "Hereford" crossed with the remote 

 44 Guernsey," or hardy "Highland;" and of the 

 " Holderness " or "Durham" crossed with the Polls 

 of adjacent Galloway, or the beautiful breed of Ayrshire. 



These incongruous mixtures are, however, rapidly 

 declining, and the importation of some highly-bred short- 

 horned bulls and heifers is producing incalculable benefit 

 throughout the length and breadth of the island. Honour- 

 able mention must be made of the short-horned herds of 

 Faulder of Ellerslie, Gawne of Kentraugh, Farrant of 

 Jurby, and of the Jeffresons ; nor should the pure Ayr- 

 shire dairy stock of Mrs. Miller of Ballaconyea be omitted. 



The breed of sheep is also rapidly improving, and on 

 the "bleak and barren rock" (as Mona has been 

 ignorantly described) may be seen grazing in health, 

 breed, and beauty, undiminished by importation here, the 

 heavy Cotswold and New Leicester, the beautiful South- 

 down, and the hardy Cheviot; while the active little 

 Manx sheep still retain undisturbed possession of the 

 heathy mountain pastures. 'With reference to the im- 

 plements of Agriculture, there is still great need of 

 improvement; for, although the old wooden plough is 

 for the most part superseded by one of iron, and the 

 useful double mould-board is in much request, there is 

 still great lack of those newly-invented instruments, by 

 the use of which culture has been improved, and labour 

 diminished, in England. Much benefit would arise from 

 the more frequent use of scarifiers, couch-rakes, and im- 

 proved horse-hoes in the tillage of the land; and of drills 

 and dibbling machines for depositing seed corn, the 

 greater part of which are comparatively unknown. Great 

 excuse must, however, be made in this respect, as it 

 would be difficult for the tenant farmer, or even the small 

 Manx freeholder, to encounter single-handed the expense 

 of those mechanical improvements which are so accessiole 

 to British farmers. It occurs to the writer that some 

 such plan as the following would be alike practicable and 

 beneficial, and may perhaps be applicable to many dis- 

 tricts in England as well as to this island. 



Let some portion of the funds of the local Agricultural 

 Societies, or of Farmers' Clubs, be appropriated to the 

 purchase of the more expensive and useiul implements. 

 The island might be divided into districts (and the pre- 

 sent parochial division would be very convenient), in each 

 of which these implements might be deposited. All su 

 scribers to the Society should have the liberty of using 

 them, and by an amicable arrangement no great claS ' ll f n ^ 

 of interests need occur. A small sum should be paid to 

 their use, sufficient to repair wear and tear, and to pro- 

 vide new ones. Thus would an Agricultural Society 

 prove itself of real and practical benefit; to the Man* 



farmer. . . i 



Ic has been before stated that the soil of the WW" 

 is verv various, and the rent of land is influenced * cC ° r ' 

 ingly, but it will be found to range between 1/. a*ld * u * 

 per statute acre. Near the principal towns that uiaxim u 

 is exceeded, as accommodation land is in great dern 

 There are, however, no other outgoings in respect of ra e^, 

 tuxes. &c, except that, for each carl kept on the fa J m ' j 

 day's labour per annum to the high-road is expected 

 demanded. Tithes arc adjusted as in England, leases 

 short iu their form and intelligible iu theit language, a 



