118 Report of Experiments on the Growth of Barley, 
other band, 1860 was wet, tlie rain a good deal distributed, 
unusually cold and sunless, all crops were very late, and the 
experimental barley, which was sown on March 19th, was not 
cut until September 3rd and 4th. In the Avet, warm, and early 
season of 1859, there was a very great deficiency of corn, low 
weight per bushel, and comparatively little deficiency of straw, 
especially where the manuring was liberal. In the wet, cold, 
and late season of 1860, there was much less deficiency of corn, 
especially Tvith liberal nitrogenous manuring, about as low a 
weight per bushel as in 1859, and a somewhat greater, but still 
not great, deficiency of straw. The wet, cold, and late season, 
gave, therefore, upon the whole, a much better crop, and especially 
much more corn, with liberal nitrogenous manuring, than the 
wet, warm, and prematurely early season. 
This result is verv instructive, when it is borne in mind that 
it is with high temperature, provided there be a sufficiency and 
not an excess of rain, that nitrogenous manures the most strikingly 
increase the produce of grain. We have here an illustration 
of the dependence of the result on the mutual adaptations of heat, 
moisture, and stage of growth of the plant, and of how difficult 
it is, without going into considerable detail as to each of these 
three elements, and their relations to one another, thoroughly 
to anticipate, or to explain, the influence of any particular 
season. It will be remembered that the very remarkable 
productiveness of 1854, was by no means clearly indicated in 
the general characters of the season, as represented in the 
summary statement of the meteorological registry for the period. 
Doubtless, an influential element of the restricted productiveness 
in 1859, with the higher temperatures, was the fact of their 
distribution being such as to bring the plant much too early to 
maturity, thus shortening its period of accumulation and growth. 
On the other hand, the much better result with the wet and 
cold season of 1860, was probably greatly due to the less active 
above-ground, and probably greater under-ground development, 
early in the season, and to a much more extended subsequent 
period of growth. 
It is worthy of remark that, whilst, with mineral manures and 
ammonia-salts or nitrate of soda, the experimental barley crop 
was so much better in yield of grain in 1860 than in 1859, the 
experimental wheat-crop was, with similar manures, much 
the most deficient, both in corn and straAV, in 1860, The 
winter-sown wheat having acquired much more complete posses- 
sion of the soil than the spring-sown barley, the high temperature 
of the summer of 1859 would in a much less degree check its 
luxuriance and induce premature ripening — that is much less 
curtail its total growth — and hence, with liberal nitrogenous 
