468 
Bones and Sulphuric Acid as Manures. 
should be ploughed up, and the seed drilled on the top, so as to 
lay just above the liquid. In this manner, after the liquid had 
been deposited by hand, the seed was put in, in most of the fore- 
going experiments. 
It has been suggested that the liquid should be " mixed with dry 
earth or ashes, so as to be used by the ordinary method of drill- 
ing." However desirable this may be to do, it is not easily practic- 
able. My own attempts have been unsuccessful. Wet lumps are 
formed which it is impossible to separate, and such a large quan- 
tity of dry earth is required to make the compost " run through the 
drill,'' that so small a weight of bones cannot be evenly incorporated 
with it — a matter of vital importance to the crop which depends 
upon the application. Where calcined bones are used, owing to 
their containing merely the earthy portion of the bone and to their 
being so easily dissolved, a dry superphosphate of lime may be 
formed. For effecting this, Mr. Lawes, of St. Albans (whose ex- 
periments, along with those of Mr. Purchas, which were reported 
to the Monmouth Farmers' Club, I have not met with), gives the 
following excellent and simple directions for making tliis super- 
phosphate : — 
" Calcined bones are to be reduced by grinding to a very fine powder, 
and placed in an iron pan with an equal weight of water (a cast-iron 
trough, such as are sold for holding water for cattle, will do) ; a man with 
a spade must mix the bone with the water until every portion is wet : 
while the man is stirring, an assistant empties at once into the pan sul- 
phuric acid, 60 parts by weight to every 100 parts of bone j the acid is 
poured in at once, and not in a thin stream, as commonly recommended ; 
the stirring is continued for about three minutes, and the material is tlien 
thrown out. With four common farm-labourers and two pans, I have 
mixed 2 tons in one day. The larger the heap that is made the more per- 
fect the decomposition, as the heap remains intensely hot for a long time. 
It is necessary to spread the superphosphate out to the air for a few days, 
that it may become dry." 
Tliese, then, are the particulars to be regarded in the application 
of dissolved bones, none of which, it will be seen, offer any real ob- 
stacle to the use, by the intelHgent farmer, of a system of economy 
which theory and practice have alike shown to be advantageous. 
We may, therefore, I think, safely say that the preamble o{ ouv case 
is proved, and that we have, indeed! every reason to believe that the 
application of dissolved bones as a manure for the turnip-crop, 
offers us "one of the most important savings which was ever held 
out in the use of maiuire — one, too, which " affords good hope 
of being generally applicable." 
