July i, 1881.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
rived at — viz., "that phosphates of lime decidedly in- 
creased the turnip crop, bub that the farmers used 
not trouble themselves to know whether the phos- 
phates are of animal or of mineral origin,'' was 
met by a storm of criticism. A great many experi- 
ments have been made, and in every case where 
properly conducted, have supported our conclusions. 
The second conclusion which we first published, and 
have contiaually repeated; is " that soluble phosphate 
is not superior to insolulile phosphate to the extent 
that is generally supposed." We are obliged to keep 
these conclusions in the foreground, and to show 
by our experiments year by year the evidence in 
support of them, because it is felt that great diffi- 
culty arises (attendant on their acceptance) for more 
than one reason. We have to contend against the 
teachings implanted during a generation ; a tendency 
of the masses to be carried away by Hoods of plau- 
sible words ; the custom of farmers to imbibe their 
notions of manures from manure dealer-, and the 
opposition of manure dealers or manufacturers, al- 
though I am bound to say that; regarding the last, 
no difficulty has been fell in this neighbourhood, 
as all the manure manufacturers in this town and 
district have been most eager to assist in every way 
the work of the association. (Applause.) I am pleased 
to see that they are an eminent exception to the 
trade in other places. When wo consider the enorm- 
ous amount of money which has been taken from 
the farmer by the erroneous doctrine that insolu- 
lile mineral phosphate has little or no effect on 
plants, the necessity is seen for repeatiug yearly the 
mportant words in the second conclusion we origin- 
ally arrived at. The additional drain upon the farm- 
ers by reason of the other error of ascribing to 
soluble phosphate twice the manurial value of bone 
phosphate enforces us to publish and republish the 
fact that we find yearly the superiority is on the 
average only about 10 per cent. I hope that on some 
early day a general acceptance of these facts will 
be adopted, and until such time we must continue 
to repeat our conclusions, and to add our proofs. 
" Ou the 29th of November last we carried out the 
following experiments : — First of all GOO turnips were 
left in the land as they grew without any protection. 
I need not say that when these were taken up on 
the 26th of March this spring they were all rotten. 
Secondly, a row of 600 turnips was furrowed up with 
the plough in the nsual Aberdeenshire fashion, and 
when taken up about S3 per cent were rotten, or 
about five rotten to one whole turnip. Thirdly, we 
tried what I might call the Forfarshire system, by 
opening a furrow with a single-boarded plough ; two 
drills of turnips pulled, without anything cut from 
them, were laid against the perpendicular side of the 
furrow, and tho soil turned back over them with the 
plough. Of these, about 2S per cent, were destroyed 
or rotten, but of the good turnips many were wet and 
dirty. Fourthly, we opened a deep furrow with a 
double-boarded plough ; the turnips were shorn of 
leaves with the scythe, harrowed out, and eight drills 
put into tho furrow They were partly covered by 
one round of the single-hoarded plough, :.nd the 
remaining uncovered porli-ui covered with earth by 
spado. Out of these (100 turnips about 16 per cent, 
wen- destroyed, but they did not come up qni'e so 
clean as they should have done, or as those in the 
next experiments we tried, and which I may call the 
English way, which was putting the turnips into pits. 
I had three different pits, about six feet square. Into 
No. 1, 600 turnips, as they wi ire palled, without any- 
thing out off, were thrown. This is the ordinary way 
1 have seen i ' don- in 1 1 untingdonshir • since I was 
a boy. lu tho next the 600 turnips had the leaves 
cut off ; ami in the third pit, they had the leaves 
and tho roots out off. Tho nits were 3 to 1 
feot high, and each contained about l. 1 , cart loads 
38 
of turnips, and were covered with 4 inches of earth. 
In No. 1, there were 552 healthy turnips, out of 
the GOO, and 48 destroyed, or 8 per cent. ; in 
No. 2, there were 550, and 50 destroyed or 8 
per cent. ; and in No. 3, there were 570, and 35 
destroyed, or 6 per cent. ; and the great advantage 
was that the bulbs were healthy, clean, and dry. 
Now, I cannot say how deeply iinportaut I think 
these facts are to the Aberdeenshire people. At a 
very slight cost, by throwing thes- turnips together 
and covering them with 4 inches of earth, you can 
get them comparatively healthy after four months' 
time. After paying a high compliment to the ability 
of the Association's chemist, Mr. Jamieson, the noble 
Marquis concluded by moving the adoption of the 
report. 
Mr. J. W. Barclay, M.P., in seconding the report, 
said the experiments carried out in Aberdeenshire had 
been watched with the greatest interest in England, and 
he was sure that in one form at least agricultural 
depression would be met by the increased information 
which that and such like Associations were collecting. 
The more of these stations throughout the country 
with the view of eliciting informat on on certain 
definite point-" the greater advantage would it. be to 
them and to the whole community. It must be 
gratifying to the subscribers to the Assertion to see 
thai they had entered upon a very good work, and 
that the work they had done so far had been so 
appreciated that their example was to be followed in 
other parts of the country, tie should hope that the 
Government might be able to see its way to do 
something for this branch of scientific investigation. 
No doubt there were' great difficulties connected with 
it; but if the Government was going to aid agricult- 
ure in any way, he did not see how it could d » it 
more effectually than by some system of scientific 
investigation akin to what had been carried on by 
that Association. J,Ie had much pleasure in moving 
the adoption of the report. (Applause.) 
PLANTING IN SINGAPORE. 
The planting interest in Singapore is reviving, 
and we are glad to find that the growth of tapioca 
has rewarded tho enterprise of those who embarked 
in it. The extraordinary failure of the nutmeg trees 
some twenty years since discouraged Europeans from 
planting them. Such was put down as woithless. 
It is due to Mr. Chassariau that he has demon- 
strated the capability of the land. Some ten years 
since he purchased from Government about a thousand 
acres of land at $1*75, and subsequently Sir Andrew 
Clarke made him a grant of two thousand acres in 
erder to show his appreciation of the efforts and 
success of his planting. There has unfortunately been 
some difficulty in giving possession, and up to the 
present time only eight hundred acres had been 
made over. We believe that the Government al- 
! lege that they have no more land in the locality, 
and offer some in a different part of the island at 
terms differing from the original grant. This is an 
undignified proceeding, and hardly accords with the 
service rendered by M. Chasseriau, which was duly 
appreciated by Sir Andrew Clarke. The extent of 
the estate is about 2,200 acres, with about twenty- 
six miles of road. The yield is about 15,000 piculs 
for the year, the market value being about S5 per 
pioul. Next year will probably yield 20,000. It is 
chiefly exported to Loudon and Marseilles. The re- 
tail prices are enormously out of proportion, beiug 
about 300 to 400 per cent, in advance of the im- 
port prices. This naturally checks consumption, 
and does an injury to the plauter. Tlio improved 
machinery, made '*y Messrs. Palhouze, Pan . which 
has lately been laid down, can produce 100 piculs 
