110 Gypsum as a Manure to Artificial Grasses. 



was found that benefits, fully equal to any yielded by the appli- 

 cation of the peat-ashes, resulted. Two cwt. per acre of gypsum, 

 in fine powder, was spread on a portion of the grass, with the 

 most excellent effect ; the grass not only grew with greatly in- 

 creased vigour, but a quantity of white clover and other grasses 

 made their appearance on the portion dressed in so marked a 

 manner as to attract the attention of the tenant to the fact. The 

 soil on which these experiments were tried consists of — 



Organic matter, chiefly vegetable . . 3*5 



Soluble matters 3 



Carbonates of lime and magnesia . u 19 



Oxide of iron 2*75 



Alumina . 8*5 



Sand and gravel 62 



98*5 



This is about 10 inches deep, and it rests on a thin stratum of 

 gravel, and then chalk. 



There is another fact which clearly supports these conclusions ; 

 viz., the great use of common coal-ashes as a top-dressing to 

 clover, saintfoin, and lucern ; there is no manure universally in 

 the possession of the farmer, in fact, equal to them for imme- 

 diate effect upon those grasses. Now, coal- ashes usually con- 

 tain about 10 per cent, of sulphate of lime ; and therefore a 

 dressing with 50 bushels of coal-ashes per acre is equal to an 

 application of about 5 bushels of gypsum : the remaining portion 

 of the ashes consists principally of about 10 per cent, of lime and 

 sand, and a small portion of red oxide of iron and alumina : so 

 that the gypsum is here again evidently the active ingredient — 

 the other constituent parts being nearly inert substances. My 

 own experiments and observations have been confirmed by many 

 others within the last two years ; for gypsum is evidently creeping 

 gradually into use as a manure for the grasses. Mr. James Bar- 

 nard, an excellent and extensive farmer of Little Bordean, in 

 Hampshire, in a recent communication thus describes to me his 

 experience with gypsum — 



The soil of my farm is of a clayey nature, and would be very 

 stiff but for the number of stones there are in it. I have sown 

 gypsum six or seven years, and never on clover or saintfoin with- 

 out satisfactory proof of its efficacy, having usually grown half a ton 

 more of hay per acre by its use. But the effect in 1838 was won- 

 derful : I put on a bag (2 J cwt.) per acre, on a two-year old piece 

 of saintfoin, on the 1st of May, with the plants very forward, just 

 leaving the ground and coming to stalk : the gypsum had so in- 

 creased the growth of the grass by the 9th of the same month, that 

 when crossing the land with a friend we observed the difference 



f December, 1839. 



