194 



On the Exhaustion of Soils, 



and though still very uniform in composition, the proportion of 

 inorganic manner, differed a good deal from that in the green Peas. 

 The results of this second series of experiments, which bear more 

 immediately on the subject of inquiry, are contained in the 

 following Table. 



From this Table it is clear that the crops which at first grew most 

 vigorously, and seemed most benefited by the manures, namely, 

 those to which common Salt and Nitrate of Soda had been applied, 

 absorbed in consequence a considerably larger proportion of earthy 

 matters ; as from the numbers in the last column it appears, that 

 in those plants the relation of inorganic to organic matter, is 

 higher than in most of the others. The experiments already 

 described on Mangel Wurzel are on the other hand opposed to 

 this view, and the following examination of the Experimental 

 Potatoes likewise leads to very different conclusions, because in place 

 of finding that those plants which grew most vigorously, or yielded 

 the largest return of produce, contained most inorganic matter, we 

 find that set of plants which grew most luxuriantly and produced 

 the largest crop, was also that in which the smallest proportion 

 of inorganic matter was contained ; a result which is further borne 

 out by the experiments on Potatoes, of the previous year, described 

 at p. 48. 



