“200 MANURING COFFEE, 
other properties, especially the liberation of potash, 
but my letter has already extended to sufficient length, 
M. CocHRan, M.A., Glasquensis. 
The one great discovery now to be made is that of 
‘producing ammonic sulphate from the nitrogen of the 
atmosphere. So important does M. Ville deem this 
question and go sanguine is he of a successful result, 
that he offers his own subscription of £40 towards a 
fund of £100,000 to reward the discoverer of s means 
of fixing the free nitrogen of the atmosphere. What 
seems the dream of this generation in this matter 
will, we feel satistied, be realized. Another great 
help would be means of irrigation to counteract the 
effects of drought, provision which we fear will only 
excite a grim smile in Hagland, after the series of 
wet seasons which have ruined successive crops. 
Premising that we do not think M. Ville recognizes 
so correctly as Mr. Lawes does the lasting effects of 
cattle manure, there is no resisting the conclusions to 
be drawn from the experiment he adduces: one half 
of a piece of ground was manured with 32 tons of 
farm-yard manure per acre and the other with about 
half a ton of chemical manure per acre. With the 
farm manure about 14 bushels of wheat were obtained, 
whereas with the chemical manure the land yielded 
about 36 bushels, there being a loss of £19 in the 
former case, and a gain of £17 in the latter. Similar 
results were obtained over and over again. M. Ville’s 
work is designed to answer the questions :—‘‘ Whence 
are we to draw our supply of those agents which 
according to our present ideas are destined to become 
the principal lever of agriculture? What results can 
‘be obtained in practice?” Our previous articles will 
have shewn how far those questions have been answered. 
A copious and steady supply of chemical manures is 
of the first importance in all agriculture, if, as M. 
Ville asserts, ‘‘ Increase in production depends less 
on the worker, and on the quality of the tools which 
he employs, than on the quantity of fertilizing materials 
which he has at his disposal.” Humus in soil and 
the black matter in farm-yard manure M. Ville regards 
as of secondary importance, useful for rendering other 
substances soluble, but by no means an absolute 
necessity to agriculture. High farming by means of 
farm-yard manure gives neither security nor \ profit 
to the grower, unless carried on with industrial agri- 
culture (he means the manufacture of sugar and alcohol 
from beets, and so forth) which is not often the case. 
Illustrations are given of experiments which showed 
that normal manure produced, in addition to straw, 
