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1 X. — Eicperiment ivith Nitrate of Soda and Guano on a Peat Bocj. 
By James Dyce Nicol. 
The land on vvliicli the following experiment was made, was a 
peat bog reclaimed in 1850, thoroughly drained, and 6 inches 
of clay applied over the whole surface ; the only crops raised 
upon it had been oats, turnips, and again oats sown out with 
grass. In March last I sowed on one portion of the new grass 
2 cwt. of nitrate of soda, with 1 cwt. of salt ; on another portion 
4 cwt. of guano ; and on the remainder of the field no manure 
was applied. 
£. s. d. 
The nitrate gave per imperial acre 300 stones of hay, at 
9(Z. per stone of 22 lbs 11 5 0 
Guano gave 270 stones, value . . . . . 10 2 G 
Nothing gave 140 ,, 5 5 0 
Independently of the increase of weight of hay from nitrate, 
I prefer that manure for either new or old grass, as it appears to 
require little moisture to put it down to the roots of the plants. 
A strong dew in the course of one night appeared sufficient for 
that purpose, and in about 36 hours after its application the 
grass turned to a luxuriant dark green colour, whereas the guano 
requires a good shower of rain to put it down ; unless it gets 
such fall of rain it does little good. 
My trial of nitrate on oats and barley last year leads me to 
prefer guano for these crops. T applied 1^ cwt. of nitrate on 
one portion and 3 cwt. of guano on another, but the oats top- 
dressed with nitrate kept a blueish sort of colour throughout 
the season, and did not ripen equally, and the ear soft ; while 
those which had guano ripened equally, had a harder, crisper ear, 
and weighed better. The land upon which that experiment was 
made had not been previously cropped, and was of a mossy loam 
with a mixture of clay. 
Badentoy, Kincardineshire, N.B., March, 1854. 
I have been unable to ascertain satisfactorily the reason why 
the nitrated corn did not ripen properly in this particular case. 
It may have been either the want of sufficient salt accompanying 
the application, or the absence of phosphorus, which in other 
soils previously cultivated, if not naturally in sufficient abundance, 
is usually supplied by the remains of former dressings. At any 
rate, we know that the comparative failure is unusual, if not 
unique. — Ph. Pusey. 
