72 
Bones and Sulphuric Acid. 
of the important ami valuable discovery. It must therefore be 
very desirable to show them that the bones and acid can be 
applied by the common drill ; and having done so during the last 
year, I beg to communicate the information. Wishing to try 
several manures, I devoted a piece of land of about four acres to 
the purpose. On the 4th of July the Swedes (Matson's) were 
drilled under very unfavourable circumstances. The land, a loam 
on the London clay, was drained in May, and what with the 
cartage of the tiles, the clay brought to the surface, and the re- 
markably dry weather that succeeded, the knobs were of such a 
nature as to defy the continual application of the harrows and the 
roller, and (having no clod-crusher at the time) could only be 
reduced to a comparative state of fineness by a number of men 
with sledge-hammers. The nature of the land will be better 
understood by my saying that it precisely resembled the field 
immediately adjoining, on which the trial of implements for heavy 
lands by your Society took place in July last. I intended to 
apply the bones and acid at the rate of 3^ bushels per acre of the 
former, and one-half by weight of the latter. I accordingly pre- 
pared sufficient for half an acre, by putting the bones in the state 
of dust in a tub, and addmg about 40 lbs. of acid, and four times 
the quantity of water. After some hours a few bushels of fine 
mould was added, and the following day a sufficient quantity of 
coal-ashes, to make the whole amount to I 5 bushels ; my object 
being to drill the field at the rate of 30 bushels per acre. I 
should have tried the mixture to a greater extent, but could not 
at that time procure the acid for less than 2\d. per lb. I also 
used other manures, such as South American guano, gypsum and 
guano, bones and guano, and bone-dust, at the rate of 16 bushels 
per acre, with ashes. But having unfortunately lost the memo- 
randum of the experiments, I can only speak from memory, and 
must therefore confine my remarks principally to the effects of the 
bones and acid, and the bones alone. Tliis, however, I may say 
with regard to guano, that the experiment convinced me that this 
valuable manure can be readily and safely applied with vthe 
common drill (without any particular provision being made for 
covering the manure with earth before the deposition of the seed) 
by merely mixing the guano with about four times the quantity of 
fine mould, and adding as much ashes as the drill will deposit. 
In the case in question the guano was used at the rate of 3 cwt. 
per acre, and the mould and ashes were added so as to make the 
whole amount to 30 bushels per acre. 
The bones and acid were used three days after their prepara- 
tion, and at the same time as the other manures ; but wiiilst the 
latter were consumed by the quantity of ground intended for each, 
the former, from being in a somewhat damp state, often adhered 
