THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



283 



uooe 

 into con 



11 i 



"Tr^hicli he should attach to the results 



>7 M Fven in this case a certain amount of 

 fca, obtMintd. * It is nec essary t for instance, to 



*^^her D tbe animals are marketably fat or not ; it is 

 know •hctber n ^ ^ form aQ opl as t0 t h e 



$lt ouece^T) lo . • f con f rmation in the animals, 



*« U0( *%lZXJ results obtained by calculation. 



which » l g h / Q a " e ials too, must be taken into account, the 

 Tbekindofan.^,^, caicuiatioQs ^ ^^ being 



^ °,Lable to oxen merely; so that in the case of 

 rictly tppnt h . ch have had severa l calves, allowances 

 balUj or co*** 



^I^tclC the^et weight of cattle, it may be men- 

 la i w the weight of the four quarters only is taken 

 Oration, the remainder being usually considered 

 S°L including the hide, tallow, and various other 

 " .ndthe*e, taken together, are computed to be 



^ l Hn\ lue to one of the quarters, or to one-fifth of that 

 Tt .hoe animal. The proportion between the live 

 iW weight, is the primary object to ascertain m our 

 "£ Uuon"! This was long calculated at one-half the 

 r «eieht ■ but subsequent experiments on the more 

 mooted breeds of the country, showed that this was by 

 i too small a proportion, it being more correctly 

 "presented by the fractional quantity -605, the weight of 

 the entire animal being assumed as 1. Having this datum, 

 then no difficulty is experienced in ascertaining the net 

 weieht from the gross weight; the latter being multiplied 

 v ?005 will give the result, in the same denomination in 

 which the gross weight is given. By these means the 

 application of the steel-yard or weighing-machine at once 

 effects the object, and this apparatus is accordingly fre- 

 quently employed by amateur feeders to ascertain the 

 progress of the different animals while fattening, as well 

 is their value before being sold. In the case of experi- 

 ments being made with the different kinds of food, their 

 effects are easily tested in this manner; and even when 

 only one description of food is consumed, the progress of 

 the different animals is seen, when such as are not 

 making a suitable return should be disposed of with- 

 out delay. 

 This method of calculating the value of cattle is simple, 



and, were a weighing-machine found on every farm, 

 it would be all that could be desired ; but as these useful 

 appendages are not always available, the same object may 

 be obtained by measurement. The dimensions required 

 are the length from the point of the shoulder to the hin- 

 dermost point of the rump, and the girth or circumference 

 taken immediately behind the fore-legs. That these 

 dimensions may be taken accurately, the animal must be 

 standing in a natural position, in which case they bring 

 the body into the form of a cylinder, the capacity or solid 

 content of which is easily ascertained ; and, as in the 

 former case, a certain proportion is found, from expe- 

 rience, to exist between the capacity thus obtained and 

 the net weight. Strictly speaking, the form of most 

 inimals is such as to cause the girth to be rather eliptical 

 thip. circular, but this departure from the cylinder being 

 for the most part constant in all animals is, of course, 

 taken into account in the formulae by which the calcula- 

 tions are made. The length and circumference being 

 then given, the rule to find the solid content is, to mul- 

 tiply^ the square of the circumference by the decimal, 

 •0/958, the area of a circle whose circumference is unity, 

 and this product again multiplied by the length, will give 

 the solid content in the same denomination in which the 

 dimensions were taken, and being usually in feet and 

 inches, their result will be in cubic feet. 



The capacity of the animal being ascertained, the next 

 consideration is the estimation of the proportion between 

 it and the nett weight; and this is only obtained by actual 

 experiment, as in the case before under consideration, in 

 reference to ascertaining the nett weight from the live 



1 



weight, as obtained by the use of the weighing-machine. 

 k^TV 11 Ox measures 7 feet in girth, and 6 feet in 

 ln«. * ca P acit y is found by the foregoing rule as fol- 



-2\*i£i X "° 7958 X 6zzz49 X * 07 958 X 6 = 3 ' 899 * 2 X 6 



animal \ Which . is the number of cubic feet in the 

 of thii'n T* let lt be furtlier supposed that the weight 

 reneat P y t' i slau g ht ered, was 70 stones, which, after 

 these A ' 18 found t0 be the weight consonant with 



coi^e r ,me 5 s J on8 ' then the weight per cubic foot is of 

 thus ofV UD a y dividin S th e total weight by the product 



quotient .ifbe fj^F^ 7 ° ^^ bj WKwZ 

 such calcul f * Wo,— the precise proportion by which 



^bic foot i S are us,lallv estimated ; so that for every 

 therewith' 9 or anima1, ascertained as before directed, 

 therefore • stones in the quarters alone. The rule, 



*nd the n J° multi l )1 y the square of the girth by -07958, 

 toe canaJ-r Ct thus Gained by the length, which gives 

 aombeVTf ♦ Cabic feet » which multiplied by 2*993, the 

 *eieht i„ - eS t0 a cubic foot of the animal, gives the 

 served h lm P enal stones, as required. It will be ob- 

 b °thcon s rT er ' that the nutnber s '07958 and 2*993 are 

 ttultinlip/* multl plesin the operation, so that they may be 

 mat rn? ^ ether > ™* their product o 



•^ateriallr k er ' ana * their product only used, which will 

 •23818294 K r !! Q A he °P erat ion. Thus, -07958 X 2-993 = 

 in 



*«r ascertainin tw ~* .Trw*""*"* ©rrvr. uouv« tifBAUiv 



*° multinit, !u Wei ght of an animal by measurement is, 



tk:_ . rv ttie sonar* nf tu« ~;.«.u u„ .u„ »« fk an A 



--•— " "icoperatio 



^ithoutWn the numbe r -238 only may be taken, 



fora*p a ,J:_. rm S a "y appreciable error. Hence the rule 



thi * Prod, rf SqUare of lhe S irth b y the length, and 

 weight of h! agam by the ^cimal -238, which will give the 



W th V luar i ter8 in im P erial stones - 



b y measurem > of emulating the weight of cattle 



fo «nded. Ah V Bnd SUch are the data on which lt is 

 0Q, y to aninvd fif observed . these calculations refer 

 111 cer tain ca J ii ordi «ary degree of fatness, so that 

 a <»«nal 8 verv f »* Uowances m "st be made. In the case of 

 should, be adde l' ? e ™ a P s one -eighteenth or one-twentieth 



a t0 lhe weight thus obtained ; and when 



below the ordinary state of fatness, the same proportion ] 

 should be deducted. A bull, from having more flesh 

 upon the neck, should have probably one-twenty -fifth 

 added; and in the case of old milch cows, for obvious 

 reasons, one-tenth or one-twelfth may be deducted. It 

 will be apparent, however, that the precise amount of 

 these additions and deductions is not subject to rule. 



The weight of the quarters being ascertained, there yet 

 remains the tallow, hide, and other offal, to be taken into 

 consideration in estimating the entire value of the 

 animal. These, or a certain portion of them, are allowed 

 the butcher for his profit ; but this is chiefly regulated 

 by the custom of the place— a circumstance which, of 

 course, the farmer will not fail to take into account. 



The preceding observations have occupied more space 

 than I originally intended, but I hope the minuteness of 

 detail will be excused, and that they will not altogether 

 be uninteresting to those who have not hitherto directed 

 their attention to the subject. — J. Sproule. 



ON MINERAL AND INORGANIC MANURES. 



No. XV. 



By Professor Charles Sprengel. 



(Continued from page 267.) 



For the last 15 years I have chemically examined a great 

 quantity of various marls, as far as their Agricultural qua- 

 lities are concerned, of which the following are the results : 



a.— Marl from Liineberg (very powdery and ochre-yel- 

 low). 100,000 parts consist of 



5,564 parts silica and a little quartz-sand 



0,412 



9f 



alumina 



4,219 



ft 



protoxide and oxide of iron 



0,006 



ft 



oxide of manganese 



85,444 



*9 



carbonate of lime 



1,255 



1J 



carbonate of magnesia 



0,052 





potash and soda (combined with silica) 



0,026 



» 



common salt 



0,060 



»» 



gypsum 



0,318 



t* 



nitrogt-nous organic remains 



2,328 



»» 



phosphate of lime (bone-earth) 



0,010 



H 



lime saltpetre 



0,300 



»> 



bitumen 



100,000 parts 



Of this very valuable marl only 100 cubic feet are used on 

 one Madgdeburg acre of sandy heathy soil, containing 

 much coal of humus, and it will yield without further 

 manuring five to six plentiful crops ; after which, how- 

 ever, the soil becomes thoroughly exhausted. If we now 

 assume that the cubic foot of marl weighs 100 lbs., by 

 100 cubic feet, 10.000 lbs. will be brought on one acre, 

 which consist of 8544 lbs. carbonate of lime, 125 lbs. of 

 carbonate of magnesia, 232 lbs. of bone-earth, 32 lbs. of 

 nitrogenous organic remains and lime saltpetre, nearly 

 7 lbs. gypsum, 2 lbs. common salt, 5 lbs. potash, soda, 

 &c. As heathy soil is rarely deficient in potash and 

 soda (united with silica), and as it also usually contains 

 common salt and gypsum in sufficient quantity, the marl 

 would still be active without any of these substances. 

 We may therefore assume that it acts mostly by the 

 bone-earth, the saltpetre, the nitrogenous substances, and 

 the carbonates of lime and magnesia; which latter, however, 

 are the most active, as they decompose the coal of humus, 

 the more so, as they are found in the state of a very fine 

 powder. It is also very probable that the protoxide of 

 iron contained in the marl (of which there will be 422 lbs. 

 in 100 cubic feet used on an acre), causes the formation 

 of ammonia, as I have found by an experiment, that in 

 a marl which had been left exposed to the air, ammonia 

 has been formed after the lapse of a few hours. This 

 seems not to have originated in the nitrogenous matter, as 

 other experiments have proved that protoxide of iron will 

 form ammonia, even without the presence of nitrogenous 

 substances. 



b. Marl from Osnabriick (stony, very hard, and greyish 

 black). 100,000 parts consist of 



23,030 parts silica 



9,970 ,, 



1.966 „ 



0,010 „ 



34,980 „ 



0.840 „ 



7,272 „ 



20,528 „ 



0,500 „ 



0,843 ,, 



0,060 ,, 



i 7 & 



1 16 3 



2 9 



TURNIPS, 1843, ON A POOR CHALKY HILL. 

 No. I.— 6 bushels of bone-dust .... j£*0 13*. 6d. 



14 cwt. of guano . . . . , . 13 9 



[Pretty good crop.] 

 No. II. —24 cwt. guano ...... '„ 



[Just the same.] 

 No. III. — 4 ton of Clarke's compost .... 



[Came forward very quickly at first, greener than 

 any in the field ; but at last very inferior to 

 either of the others.] 

 No. IV.— 5 cwt. Trimmer's compost .... 



[So damp, it did not drill evenly ; a very bad crop.] 

 No. V.— l cwt. sulphate of ammonia . . 



5 bushels of bone-dust ..... 



20 lbs. nitrate of soda .... 



[So damp, it did not drill evenly : the worst crop in 

 the field— worse than if nothing had been used ; 

 as bad as the sulphate of ammonia alone on the 

 other field of Turnips.] 

 No. VI.— 16 bushels of bone-dust . , 



[Pretty good crop ; about equal to Nos. I. and II.] 



TURNIPS, Sown May. 1843.— Measured and weighed in De- 

 cember. Land : — Part of field clay, with flints ; remainder chalk, 

 very poor, 



18 

 11 

 3 



O 



3 



3 



41 12 



6 



1 16 & 





alumina 



oxide of iron and a little protoxide of iron 



oxide of manganese 

 carbonate of lime 

 carbonate of magnesia 

 sulphuret of iron 

 coal and a little bitumen 

 phosphate of lime 



gypsum 



potash and soda, and traces of common salt 



100,000 parts. 



After manuring with this marl, all crops succeed well 

 on a sandy clay soil, but especially Clover, Vetches, Peas 

 and Beans; which is chiefly to be ascribed to its great 

 amount of gypsum and phosphate of lime : 400 cubic feet 

 are conveyed on one acre, and it then acts for 20 years. 

 The sulphuret of iron undergoes during the decompo- 

 sition of the marl a successive decomposition ; it is formed 

 into sulphate of iron, and this is again decomposed by the 

 lime, so that finally gypsum is formed. Consequently, 

 these 400 cubic feet of marl will supply the soil for many 

 years with gypsum. It cannot be doubted that the 

 carbonates of lime and alumina act as a powerful nourish- 

 ment, as the soil, on which this marl is best to be made, 

 contains but little of both substances. 



EXPERIMENTS WITH MANURES. 

 The following results were obtained last year in Surrey, 

 on the estate of H. A. Aglionby, Esq., M.P., to whom we 

 are indebted for the particulars : — 



1 16 



1 

 



7 



14 



O 

 



1 7 & 



No. I.— Super-phosphate of lime, 1 ton, 2 cwt., 20 lbs £\ 10 



[A good crop:— 5 tons, 1 cwt, 48 lbs. per acre.] 

 No. II. — Sulphate of ammonia, 2 cwt . 



[Almost destroyed, especially on the chalkv part; 

 worse than where nothing was used ; not worth 

 weighing.] 

 No. III.— Sulphate of potash, 1$ cwt. . 



Phosphate of lime, 1 ton, 1 cwt., 15 lbs. 

 [A good crop .—4 tons, 8 cwt., 64 lbs.] 

 No. IV. — Guano, 24 cwt • • 



[Fair crop :— 3 tons, 1 1 cwt, 48 lbs.] 



TURNIPS in free loam— substratum red sandstone. 

 One acre : guano, 2 cwt. (crop, 20 tons, 11 cwt.) . 1 



j guano, 2 cwt. Crop. ) . 1 



\ gypsum, 2 cwt. 24 tons, 13 cwt. f . 

 SWEDES, sown May, 1843.— Measured and weighed in Decem- 

 ber. Good strong soil:— clay with flint; substratum chalk. 



No. I.— Guano, 14 cwt ^0 16 6 



Six bushels of bones 18 ft 



Saltpetre, 20 lbs 4 8 



[Very good crop : 13$ tons per acre.] 



One acre : 



4 

 4 

 2 





 O 







1 14 



1 7 



8 

 ft 



2 0O 



4 10 O 



2 

 1 

 







9 

 6 



No. II. — Guano, 2J cwt. ...... 



[Very good crop : 13$ tons per acre.] 

 No. III.— Watson's compost 



[Very bad crop : 6 tons per acre] 

 No. IV.— Dung, about 20 loads 



[Very good crop : 14 tons per acre.] 



POTATOES.— 2 rods, chalk and clBy. 



28 lbs. sulphate of soda ^° 



7 „ saltpetre ° 



28 „ gypsum ° 



[Exactly double the quantity of the adjoining 2 rods ; 



both had a similar quantity of dung under them j £0 4 3 



the mixture was strewn on the leaf; 1st had 3 

 bushels j 2d ha d 6 hushe's.] 



ON THE APPLICATION OF CHEMISTRY TO 

 AGRICULTURE UPON RATIONAL 

 PRINCIPLES.— No. XV. 



(Continued from p. 267.) 



Carbonate of ammonia is volatile, and is lost 

 during the decomposition of animal matter, urine espe- 

 cially. In order, tben, to retain the nitrogen in the liquid, 

 we must either prevent the formation of the carbonate, or we 

 must change it when formed into the sulphate or phos- 

 phate, which are not volatile. If sulphuric acid is added 

 to putrefying urine, the carbonate of ammonia is decom- 

 posed by the sulphuric acid uniting with the base (am- 

 monia), and forming sulphate of ammonia, the carbonic 

 acid being given off with effervescence. Sulphuric acid is 

 formed of — 



Sulphur . .16 one equivalent. 



Oxygen . . 24 three equivalents. 



40 



And sulphate of ammonia of — 



Sulphuric acid . . . 



Ammonia . 



Water (hydrogen 1— oxygen 8=9) 



40 

 17 



18 



75 



one equivalent, 

 one equivalent, 

 two equivalents 



which, accordingly, is the combining proportion of sulphate 



of ammonia. 



I have adduced those instances to show how beautifully- 

 simple is the law of chemical combination. To a person 

 entirely unacquainted with chemistry, they will demon- 

 strate the truth that the statements of chemists are not 

 deduced from fanciful theories, but are the result of sound 

 induction from uncontrovertible fact. 



By a reference to the above figures it will be seen that 

 the relative proportions of ammonia and sulphuric acid in 

 the sulphate, are as 1 7 to 40. Thus, itin an experiment with 

 sulphuric acid as a fixer of carbonate of ammonia, 40 oz. 

 of acid are used, the experimenter knows from the above 

 law of combination, that 17 ounces of ammonia, 40 

 ounces of sulphuric acid, and 18 ounces of water will be 

 united together in the form of crystallised sulphate of 

 ammonia, and that the result will be 75 ounces of that 

 salt. If these 75 ounces of sulphate are applied as a 

 manure, the result must be calculated from 17 ounces, if 

 the effects of ammonia are to be proved. But it must be 

 remembered that sulphuric acid contains another singularly 

 constant constituent of albumen, viz., sulphur ; and, 

 therefore, sulphuric acid undoubtedly will in this way often 

 act as an efficient manure. 



But there is still another mode in which sulphuric acid 

 acts as a manure, in addition to those stated. The in- 

 quiries of Liebig render it more than probable that the 

 carbonate is the only salt of ammonia which is appro- 

 priated by the plant. Therefore, the sulphate is decom- 

 posed in the soil by re-acting upon chalk, and forming, by 

 an interchange of elements, carbonate of ammonia and 

 sulphate of lime, which is so well known as gypsum. Now, 

 gypsum has the power of absorbing carbonate of ammonia 



just as charcoal does carbonic acid. The sulphate ofJime 

 thus formed then becomes a constant reservoir of carbonate 

 of ammonia, which it gives up to the plant. Muctt a«- 



cussion has arisen about the modus °P era ? d \°<^Z\»r 

 but the above, suggested by Dr. Carpenter, in his Popular 

 Cyclopedia," appears to be the most rational, and the 



