ExperiinoUs icith different Top- Dressings iijwn Wheat. 109 
to Mr. Coleman, Professor of Agriculture in the Royal Ajjri-- 
cultural College, for his valuable services in carrying out the 
preceding experiments. 
Boyd Agricultural College, Cirencester, Jan. 1863. 
Further Experiments hy Mr. Stratton and Mr. Frere. ' 
Mr. Stratton, of Wallscourt, near Bristol, in the following 
letter addressed to Professor Voelcker, shows what very remark 
able results may be obtained by the application of nitrate to an 
inferior clay soil, which, however, is not poor in a chemical 
sense, but full of mineral riches, of which the plant cannot 
w^ithout such aid, readily avail itself: — 
" Dear Sir, " Wallscourt, 19th December, 18G2. 
"I take this opportunity of fulfilling my promise to send 
you the result of a trial made here of nitrate of soda on wheat. 
"The soil on which the experiment was tried is an inferior 
and rather a poor clay, about the worst spot on the farm. The 
previous crop (vetches and winter oats) had been cut and carried 
off. The plant of wheat was good, but it looked iveakly in 
Maixh. I therefore sowed in April nitrate of soda at the rate of 
\^ cwt. per acre over the whole piece (3 acres), Avith the excep- 
tion of one land in the middle. At harvest the unmanured 
portion was accurately measured, as was the adjoining land ; and 
the produce was carefully kept separate and thrashed. The result 
was, without nitrate, 16 bushels per acre ; with the dressing, 
36 bushels 1 peck. The straw was quite doubled in quantity. 
" Believe me, dear Sir, yours very truly, 
" Richard Stratton. 
" To Dr. Voelcker." 
Mr. Frere s Statement. 
I also was induced to use nitrate of soda in 1862 as a top- 
dressing for some wheat sown rather late on a clayey loam, better 
adapted to mangold than turnips. The field had grown barlev 
and clover since a three-year-old saintfoin layer had been broken 
up and sown to mustard with 3 cwt. of guano per acre. The 
clover, a moderate crop, had been mown once, and afterwards 
furnished but a light folding. The plant being weak and back- 
ward, on the 31st of March one end of the field was dressed with 
nitrate and salt at the rate of 1\ cwt. of nitrate and 3 cwt. of 
salt per acre ; the other end bad 1 cwt. of nitrate and 3 cwt. of 
