118 



On the Nitrate of Soda. 



additional inquiries from myself, and in which I particularly urged 

 that cases of failure, as well as of success, should be described ; 

 both being equally important to the investigation which I had 

 been requested to pursue. I will now proceed to transcribe these 

 communications, beginning with that from our President. 



My dear Sir, 



As you have undertaken to collect for our journal any further informa- 

 tion that can be obtained respecting the value of the nitrate of soda as 

 a manure, I send you the result of the trials which have been made this 

 year by my neighbours and myself. These trials, I should say, have 

 not been generally successful ; but as the manure, though a new one, 

 has been strongly recommended by many practical farmers, is of un- 

 doubted value, and is likely to be largely used in the coming year, I 

 think it may not be useless to show that caution is required in its appli- 

 cation. I am the more induced to state these trials, because, where 

 they have succeeded, it has been in direct opposition to the rule which 

 has been laid down on the subject by Dr. Sprengel, who, in his work 

 on Manures, gives his opinion that the nitrate is beneficial chiefly 

 upon light soils. Mr. Cuthbert Johnson too in his pamphlet on the 

 subject, sums up the evidence thus : — " Whatever doubts may exist as 

 to the use of the nitrates of potash and soda as manures for the heavy 

 clay arable soils, there are none with regard to the value of them on the 

 light, warm,- thirsty, upland soils." In this district, however, the 

 failures have occurred upon the light sands. 



My neighbour, Sir Eobert Throckmorton, tried the nitrate upon some 

 light sheep pasture in April last : it did not even darken the colour of the 

 grass, as it usually does in a few days. I found the same thing my- 

 self here. He applied it to two meadows resting on clay. It increased 

 the crop of hay. It did not indeed improve the after-grass : but the cost 

 was repaid by the hay. The following is the result of its application 

 to one of his wheat-fields — a good sandy loam upon stone brash, 

 which had been for many years in a state of high cultivation, and had 

 been three 3''ears in grass. A square chain, or one-tenth of an acre, 

 was measured on the dressed and on the undressed portions. The seed 

 had been drilled 6 inches apart, at the rate of 2 bu. 1 peck to the acre. 

 The nitrate was applied on the 18th of April, at the rate of H cwt., or 

 140 lbs. to the acre : — 



Produce. Produce per acre, 



bu. pks. Weight in lbs. bii. pks. 



No. 1. Dressed with nitrate 4 2. .266 or SQtV P^i" bu.. .45 0 

 „ 2. Not dressed 4 1..261or6lTV 33 ••42 2 



The nitrate in this case had appeared to act strongly, darkening, as 

 usual, the colour of the crop; but as the gain was only 2h bushels per 

 acre it cannot have repaid the outlay, even when allowance is made for 

 the increase of straw, especially as the gain of bulk is accompanied by 

 an almost equal loss of weight ; for the increase of weight in the field 

 was only 50 lbs. per acre, or less than one bushel. The nitrated land 

 was affected by mildew, the other was not. On some light blowing 



