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IV. — Report of an Experiment ivith Special Manures, as applied to 

 the GrowtJi of Turnij^s in the Summer of 1846. By Thomas 

 Page. 



To Charles Barclay, Esq., Bury Hill. 



Sir, — In compliance with your request, I beg to present you with 

 a Report of the experiments made with Special Manures for the 

 Growth of Turnips, on your estate during the last summer. 



In order that the nature of the several experiments may be the 

 better understood, and consequently a more correct estimate 

 formed of their different results, I will state as briefly as possible 

 the nature of the soil, the course of cropping which it had pre- 

 viously undergone, and the preparatory cultivation of the land 

 for the crop ; together with any other attendant circumstances 

 which may serve to illustrate the subject. 



The nature of the soil in question is a light blowing sand, very 

 shallow, with a considerable quantity of rubbly surface -stones, 

 resting on a subsoil of sandstone rock. In point of quality, I 

 believe I am justified in saying, it is almost as poor as any land 

 in the county of Surrey. The part of the farm chosen, on which 

 the trial took place, was a field of ten acres in extent, an old ley 

 of three years' standing, the layer commencing immediately after 

 a crop of oats. The land was broken up with the plough as deep 

 as it was possible to go, in the autumn of 1845. In the fol- 

 lowing April the land was again ploughed, in an exactly opposite 

 du'ection to that taken in the autumn. The plough was never 

 again used, the cultivation being completed by the use of Biddel's 

 scarifier ; the couch and roots of the grasses were collected by 

 Grant's lever horse-rake, some small part of which was burnt on 

 the land for the sake of expedition, and the remaining greater 

 portion carted to the yards. 



From the backwardness of the season, and the multiplicity of 

 work which necessarily attends an extensive breadth of turnips, 

 the sowing was delayed till the 22nd and 23rd of July. The 

 seed and manure were deposited by a drill manufactured by 

 Smyth, of Suffolk, worked by two horses, drilling 3 rows at 18 

 inches apart at each breadth. The kind of seed the ^- red round." 



The field was divided into ten portions, containing an acre in 

 each ; but owing to some part of the manure not being sufficiently 

 dry to work quite properly, the divisions first made were neces- 

 sarily altered, which will account for there being but nine portions 

 mentioned below. 



I here subjoin a tabular statement of the quantities and kind of 

 manure applied to each portion, together with the cost of each, 

 and also the weight of the whole produce per acre : — 



