141 
it having been tin ned over with the spade, immediately before 
transplantation took place; for peas never thrive well in strong 
soils, when such have been compressed, and soddened, in early 
spring, by much moisture. But the chief causes of their very 
rapid growth have, I believe, been the highly nutritive and 
stimulating quality of the compost, and the presence of some 
degree of aflditional warmth : for I have, in former seasons 
derived great advantage from [ilacing a moderate quantity of 
nearly similar compost immediately under the rows of peas 
which have been sown in the usual manner; except that the 
seeds were placed upon the surface of the soil within which 
tlie compost had been Iniried, and covered by having had 
the soil collected from each side, to form a ridge over them. 
In all cases, where a compost of the kind I have described is 
employed to accelerate the growth of dwarfish and early peas, 
it should be used in small quantities only; that the early 
growth of the plants may be promoted, without excessive, and 
consequently injurious, luxuriance being. given. For trans- 
planted peas, 1 should prefer a poor and light soil ; so that the 
roots might be led, as they would be under such circumstances, 
to confine themselves to narrow limits; and the [ilants, conse- 
quently, be brought to an early maturity.” The above experi- 
ment was ultimately |)roductive of a very abundant crop, at 
least twelve days earlier than those sown at the same time in 
the usual way, and with a much more rapid succession of 
jiroduce. 
162 Microscope. The great difficulty of viewing the animal- 
cube, &c. in fluids under high magnifying powers, must have 
been continually felt, by all the admirers of the microscope. An 
improvement, therefore, which effectually removes every ob- 
stacle to this investigation, — by rendering the surface of the 
fluid truly plane, spreading it thinner, and extending it to a 
much wider space around, at the same time confining the ani- 
malculiB in more limited depth, whereby their forms and move- 
ments become most readily discernible; and also preventing 
evaporation from the surface of the fluid, which often dims the 
lens and jierplexes the observer, or even puts a stop to his 
proceeding; as well as totally doing away the possibility of 
the lens dipping into the fluid, whilst adjusting its focus, as is 
continually happening in the present methods of viewing these 
171 iCCTABIUM. 
