Bones and Sulphuric Acid. 
73 
to the cups or scoops of the drill ; and as I did not discover this till 
ihe intended half acre was nearly finished, the result was that the 
bones and acid intended for one-half, extended to three-fourths of 
an acre, being at the rate of little more than 2 bushels of bones 
per acre. Now the remedies for this evil which suggest them- 
selves are, to prepare the compost for a longer period, previously 
using a less quantity of water and a greater quantity of ashes, and 
looking occasionally to the scoops of the drill, and cleaning them 
out. But as the application of manures to the turnip crop in a 
damp state must be (if practicable) of great importance and advan- 
tage, it is, I venture to suggest, a matter well worthy the con- 
sideration of the inventors and judfjes of drills, to contrive that the 
scoops shall not retain the manure, though damp, after each rota- 
tion, either by rendering them less concave, or otherwise altering 
their shape, or having some method of scraping or cleaning them. 
The bones and acid turnips were the first to appear above 
ground ; the tops grew luxuriantly, and for some time maintained 
a superiority over the rest of the field ; the guano turnips, how- 
ever, after some time, rivalled them ; and those manured with 
bones alone, though lagging behind terribly at first, made amends 
towards the latter end of the autumn ; and on weighing a few rods 
in the month of December, scarcely any difference could be dis- 
covered. The bones and acid roots were the largest, but exhibited 
more bare spots, probably owing to the irregularity of the depo- 
sition of the manure from the cause before mentioned. Besides 
which I should state that they laboured under the disadvantage of 
being on the outside of the field, and near a high hedge. To say 
the least, however, 2 bushels of bones, with the addition of the 
acid, successfully rivalled eight times the quantity of bones, though 
the latter was employed on land considered previously much 
superior to the other. I beg to conclude my remarks on this in- 
teresting subject with the observation that, when we find that 
sulphuric acid enters very largely into the constituent parts of the 
Swedish turnip, are we not justified in concluding that the re- 
markable effect attending the application of the bones and acid 
united is in some measure to be attributed to the specific virtue 
of the acid in affording food to the plant? 100,000 parts of 
Swedish turnips contain no less than 890 parts of sulphuric 
acid, being twice the quantity of phosphoric acid possessed, whilst 
the common turnip has but 41 parts of the former and 73 of the 
latter. Would not some experiments with common turnips 
drilled with bones and acid, and also guano for comparison, throw 
some light on the subject, and deserve the recommendation of 
the Council ? 
Southampton, April 22, 1845. 
