1. On Field-experiments on Clover-seeds and Permanent Pasture.

2. On the Chemistry of the Silesian Sugar-beet.

An lyses made for Members of the Royal Agricultural Society, December, 1868, to December, 1869.

Having been requested by the Council to submit to the Monthly Council in March, June, and December, a Report on the various samples of adulterated manures and feeding-cakes forwarded to me for analysis by members of the Society, so that such Report, together with the names of the dealers who supplied the substances analysed, shall, if the Council think fit, be published in the Agricultural Journals, at the Monthly Council meeting held on December 8th I presented the following Report in accordance with the above request.

Analysis No. 1 represents the composition of a sample of guano which I analysed for Mr. C. C. Hamilton, Harlstone. This analysis was produced by Messrs. Perkins and Sons, auctioneers, of Southampton, at the time of the sale. No. 2 shows the composition of a material sent to me as a sample of the bulk, bought by auction by Mr. Horace Leggatt, Brownwich, Titchfield, Hants:

Instead of 14 per cent. of ammonia, as in the analysis No. 1, No. 2 barely contained 25 per cent. The latter further contained scarcely one-third the amount of phosphates which is found in genuine Peruvian guano, and appeared to be principally made up of gypsum and a yellowish-coloured loamy soil. The next illustration of a spurious guano was furnished in a sample sent for analysis by Mr. Alexander Howden, Marston Court, Pembridge, Herefordshire, who informed me that he bought it of Messrs. G. C. Dobell, and Co., of Liverpool. These gentlemen maintain that this is guano genuine as imported. This may be quite correct, for they may have imported a spurious article; nevertheless, it is not a genuine guano, but a compound resembling guano in external characters, and having but little else in common with that fertiliser.

Spurious Guano sent by Mr. Alexander Howden, Marston Court,
Pembridge, Herefordshire.

Alkaline salts

traces

Insoluble siliceous matter (fine clay and sand) 48-29

These analytical results do not require any explanation.

The latest case was brought under my notice by Mr. H. Barneby-Lutley, Brockhampton Court, Worcester :

Composition of a Sample of Adulterated Guano marked "Feathers," sent by Mr. H. Barneby-Lutley, Brockhampton Park, September, 23.

It will be seen that this so-called guano contained only 5 per cent. of phosphate of lime in round numbers, instead of 22 to

25, the percentage found in genuine Peruvian guano; and that it yielded not quite 3 per cent. of ammonia, instead of 16 per cent., which is the average percentage in good guano. Adding together the worthless matters in this feathery compound-for it was nothing else but a mixture of a yellow sandy loam with a little Peruvian guano and plenty of guano-bird feathers-we have no less than 75 per cent. of useless materials, and only 25 per cent. of fertilising constituents. On inquiry, I find that the "feather manure" was sold as Peruvian guano, at 147. a ton, by a Mr. Weekes, of Bromyard, Herefordshire. Its real value cannot be put higher than 27. 10s. or 37. at the most.

AUGUSTUS VOELCKER.

VII.-Field Experiments on Mangolds. By Dr. AUGUSTUS VOELCKER.

In laying down a manuring scheme for root-crops, I had mainly in view to ascertain, by direct experiments, what influence potash exerts on mangolds and swedes when grown on light land, and, if possible, to find out in what combinations, with other fertilising matters, potash should be employed in a rootmanure intended for light land in order to produce the most beneficial effect.

For field experiments on root-crops one-twentieth of an acre is a convenient and sufficiently large size for each plot. Each experimental one-twentieth of an acre piece should be divided, if possible, in such a manner that it will be occupied by 4 rows of plants.

In the following experiments this plan was adopted, and the field divided into 11 plots of one-twentieth of an acre each, which, as regards manure, were treated as follows:

Plot 1 Was left unmanured.

2 Mineral superphosphate.. 164 lbs., or at the rate of 3 cwts. per acre. (Mineral superphosphate.. 16 lbs.

3 cwts.

3

and

In this scheme, it will be seen, provision is made for testing the effects of potash in conjunction with mineral superphosphate, and also for ascertaining what the effect is likely to be if to the mixture of potash salts and superphosphate a small quantity of sulphate of ammonia or of nitrate of soda is added.

În previous years I applied potash salts alone to a variety of crops; but having found that, in most cases, potash salts without any other fertilising agents did not do much good, whereas in conjunction with superphosphate their application to light land had a most beneficial effect, I omitted from the present scheme potash salts to be tried by themselves.

In order to make the experiments comparable with ordinary farm practice, one plot was reserved for a full dressing of rotten dung, and another received half a dressing of dung and a very moderate dressing of mineral superphosphate. Two plots were left unmanured; one right through the middle of the experimental plots, and the other at one end. A third unmanured plot was left at the other end of the experimental field; but as the weighings of the produce on this plot gave quite an abnormal result, no furthur reference need be made to it. The foregoing manuring experiments were tried last season on mangolds by my friends Mr. R. Campbell Ellis, at Iver Moor, near Uxbridge, Middlesex, and Messrs. J. Coleman and J. Hull, Escrick Park, near York, and I have now the pleasure briefly to communicate to the readers of this Journal the results of these experiments.

Field Experiments on Mangolds made by Mr. R. Campbell Ellis, at Iver Moor, near Uxbridge, Middlesex.

The mangold seed was sown on the 27th April on the flat. The different artificial manures were sown with some ashes, to secure their uniform distribution on the land, and harrowed in. The seed came up well, and a regular plant was obtained on all the plots.

The roots were taken up on the 2nd November, 1869, topped, tailed, and weighed, when the following results were obtained:

Results of Experiments on Mangolds at Iver Moor, near Uxbridge.

The rest of the field (5 acres) was manured with 5 cwts. of Proctor and Ryland's mangold-wurzel manure, and yielded on an average 28 tons of mangolds per acre. On looking over the results of the preceding experiments, several points are likely to arrest the reader's attention:

1. The land, although light, appears to have been in a good agricultural condition; for the unmanured plots yielded at the rate of 21 tons 15 cwts., and 23 tons, or on an average 22 tons 7cwts. of mangolds; or, in round numbers, 22 tons.

2. Mineral superphosphate applied at the rate of 3 cwts. per acre gave but the slight increase of 1 ton 2 cwts. over the average yield of the two unmanured plots.

3. The addition of 2 cwts. of potash salts to 3 cwts. of superphosphate had a good effect; for it produced an increase of nearly 3 tons, or nearly 2 tons more than mineral superphosphate alone.

4. The mixture of 3 cwts. of mineral superphosphate and