185 
by the dark and bituminous appearance of a black slate, to 
suppose that they were working through blue bind to a bed 
of coal. The waste of this capital would have been saved, 
if such a society as ours had existed in the South West of 
England. 
Nor again can the second object of our Society have lost 
its interest with our members or the public, viz. the improve- 
ment of the arts of Mining and Metallurgy, their dependent 
manufactures, and the machinery and tools connected with 
them. This object opens indeed a large field for research 
and observation. Our Society has elicited some able papers 
from Mr. Leah, Mr. Hartop, and other members relative to 
some of these subjects, which will be found in the printed 
reports of our transactions. 
We are indeed yearly more and more convincingly taught 
that science and mechanical skill must always work together 
in order to effect the happy result of cheap production, 
whether in manufactures or in agriculture. Our researches 
are intended to prevent an unprofitable expenditure in either. 
I may here mention, that I have lately met with a confirm- 
ation of an observation made by Mr. Thorp in his elaborate 
and useful paper read at the last Autumn meeting (page 49), 
— that the nitrate of soda was found to be a beneficial manure 
on clay soils, — but I must add with this exception, that this 
mineral manure answered only on the crops of white corn, 
clover, and grass. The experiment to which I allude was 
made on a farm of four hundred acres at Kirkleatham, in 
Cleveland, where the liberal and intelligent proprietor makes 
many experiments on a large scale, and which he is always 
ready to exhibit and communicate to the public. The arable 
soil there is a strong red clay loam, and on this soil the effect 
of the nitrate of soda was most apparent and beneficial on 
the crops I have mentioned, but it had little or no effect on 
the beans, turnips, potatoes, white carrots, and mangel 
wurzel. A 2 
