314 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The sulphate of manganese appeared to redress the balance between 

 root and top, interfered with by the bacterized peat. 



Dwarf French Beans. — The land on which these were grown was 

 in the fruit-experiment field, and had not been manured for some time. 

 The soil was similar to that on which the radishes were sown, but no 

 watering was attempted. 



The ground was divided into three plots, each 30 feet long by 12 feet 

 wide, and six rows of French bean ' Ne Plus Ultra ' were sown on each 

 plot, the rows being eighteen inches apart, and equal weights of beans 

 (60 grams) being sown in each row. 



Plot A received a dressing of 22 lb. of untreated peat, which was 

 distributed evenly and hoed in. 



Plot B had no treatment. 



Plot C received a dressing of 22 lb. of bacterized peat, which was 

 hoed in. 



The seed was sown about the middle of May, and the seedlings 

 just escaped the severe late frosts, which did so much damage to earlier- 

 sown beans. They did not grow very large, as the season proved so 

 dry, but were allowed to grow on and ripen their seeds, which were 

 collected in the middle of October and weighed. 



In the middle of August the plants on Plot A were somewhat 

 yellow as compared with those on B and a little more backward, while 

 those on C were much darker green, though apparently not quite so 

 forward as those on Plot B. 



The weights of seed obtained are shown in the following table : — 





No. of plants. 



Weight of seed. 



Plot A (untreated peat) . 



691 



2692 grms. 



Plot B (no manure) 



737 



2695 „ 



Plot C (bacterized peat) . 



649 



2685 „ 



The average yield from each plant was in all cases small, but that 

 given by the plot receiving untreated peat was about 3 per cent, above 

 that receiving nothing, while that receiving bacterized peat was 

 12 per cent, above that obtained from the " nothing " plot. 



Grass. — The remainder of the peat in this consignment was sown 

 on some poor grass lawn, a strip of about 10 feet in width and about 

 60 feet long being dressed at the rate of two tons to the acre. No 

 benefit was visible from this dressing. 



General Remarks. — In this Series the use of bacterized peat gave 

 slight increases in yield in two of the four cases, viz. in turnips of 10 per 

 cent, (mostly in the tops ; of only 2 per cent, in the roots, which form 

 the best basis of comparison*), and in French beans of 12 per cent. 

 In radishes as in turnips the foliage was increased in size, but the total 



* See Chittenden, F. J. "On the Influence of Planting-Distance on the 

 Yield of Crops," p. 89. 



