Chapter XXVII · (continued 2)

14a 45 1¼ 62.2 2946 8498 14a 29 3 60.0 1954 5531

14b 44 0½ 62.2 2863 8281 14b 33 1¾ 60.0 2158 5161

15a 43 1¼ 62.1 2801 7699 15a 31 3¼ 60.0 2030 5855

15b 43 1 62.4 2810 8083 15b 33 3 60.6 2193 6415

16a 49 2¼ 61.7 3230 9932 16a 33 1¼ 58.2 2100 6634

16 50 0¾ 61.7 3293 9928 16 32 2 58.2 2115 7106

17a 45 3 62.1 2948 8218 17a 18 3¾ 60.8 1227 3203

17b 42 2¼ 62.2 2732 7629 17b 17 0½ 60.3 1110 2914

18a 24 0 61.2 1526 3944 18a 32 3¾ 60.9 2127 6144

18b 23 2¾ 61.0 1511 3888 18b 33 1¾ 60.8 2170 6385

19 41 0¾ 61.7 2666 7343 19 30 0½ 58.7 1967 5818

20 22 3 60.8 1445 3662 20 17 2½ 61.1 1155 2986

21 32 0½ 61.2 2030 5470 21 24 1¾ 60.8 1533 3952

22 31 3 61.0 1994 5334 22 24 2½ 60.1 1553 4010

Table XIV.—Produce of the 13th Season, 1855-6. Seed (Red Rostock) sown November 13, 1855; Crop cut August 26, and carted September 3, 1856.

Table XV.—Produce of the 14th Season, 1856-7. Seed (Red Rostock) sown November 6, 1856; Crop cut August 13, and carted August 22, 1857.

Wt/Bu. Weight per Bushel. C&S Corn and Straw.

P l o t s. Produce per Acre, etc. (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.) P l o t s. Produce per Acre, etc. (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.)

Dressed Corn. Total Corn Total Produce (C&S) Dressed Corn. Total Corn Total Produce (C&S)

Quantity Wt/Bu. Quantity Wt/Bu.

Bu. Pks. lbs. lbs. lbs. Bu. Pks. lbs. lbs. lbs.

0 18 1½ 56.8 1179 3148 0 18 2¼ 59.0 1181 2726

1 17 0¾ 56.3 1102 3035 1 17 2½ 59.0 1118 2650

2 36 1¼ 58.6 2277 6594 2 41 0¾ 60.4 2587 5910

3 14 2 54.3 892 2450 3 19 3¾ 58.3 1236 2813

4 16 1½ 55.5 1026 2757 4 22 1¾ 58.8 1386 2958

5a 18 3¼ 56.5 1167 3179 5a 22 3¾ 59.0 1409 3026

5b 20 1¼ 56.2 1247 3369 5b 24 2¼ 58.8 1512 3247

6a 27 1¼ 58.2 1717 4767 6a 35 1½ 59.9 2211 4968

6b 28 0½ 58.5 1755 4848 6b 35 1¼ 59.8 2193 4950

7a 37 1 58.0 2312 6872 7a 43 1¼ 60.5 2782 6462

7b 36 2¼ 57.6 2244 6642 7b 46 1½ 60.3 2902 6793

8a 40 0½ 56.8 2507 7689 8a 47 3 60.8 3058 7355

8b 37 3¾ 57.1 2400 7489 8b 48 3¼ 60.6 3129 7579

9a 32 1½ 57.2 2019 5894 9a 43 3 60.1 2767 6634

9b 26 0 56.3 1679 4831 9b 36 0¾ 58.0 2220 5203

10a 24 0¾ 55.6 1505 4323 10a 29 0½ 58.0 1816 4208

10b 27 2¾ 57.2 1727 4895 10b 34 2 58.6 2185 5060

11a 31 3½ 57.3 2001 5518 11a 39 0 58.5 2432 5375

11b 30 2½ 57.5 1946 5389 11b 39 0¾ 58.0 2397 5317

12a 33 3½ 58.7 2102 5949 12a 43 3½ 60.4 2747 6394

12b 32 3½ 58.8 2079 5804 12b 43 2 60.4 2729 6312

13a 32 1¾ 58.6 2036 5779 13a 42 3 60.6 2714 6421

13b 30 3¼ 58.9 2008 5659 13b 43 2 60.5 2739 6386

14a 35 0¼ 58.6 2195 6397 14a 43 3 60.5 2781 6439

14b 34 0¾ 59.0 2162 6279 14b 42 3½ 60.3 2699 6351

15a 30 0½ 59.1 1923 5444 15a 42 1¼ 60.4 2681 6368

15b 32 0 59.4 2045 5797 15b 44 1¾ 60.0 2765 6543

16a 38 0½ 58.5 2426 7955 16a 48 3¼ 60.5 3131 7814

16b 37 3 58.7 2450 7917 16b 50 0 60.5 3194 7897

17a 31 2½ 59.0 1983 5541 17a 26 2¾ 59.1 1642 3700

17b 30 1½ 59.1 1935 5400 17b 25 3¾ 58.8 1583 3523

18a 17 3½ 57.8 1140 3152 18a 41 0¼ 59.7 2566 6009

18b 18 0 57.7 1131 3069 18b 40 0¼ 59.8 2519 5884

19 32 1 58.9 2059 5621 19 41 2½ 59.5 2600 5793

20 17 0¾ 57.7 1075 2963 20 19 2¾ 58.4 1213 2777

21 22 1½ 58.0 1398 3927 21 24 0 60.6 1538 3353

22 21 1¾ 57.8 1351 3849 22 23 0½ 60.6 1491 3298

Table XVI.—Produce of the 15th Season, 1857-8. Seed (Red Rostock) sown November 3 and 11, 1857; Crop cut August 9, and carted August 20, 1858.

Table XVII.—Produce of the 16th Season, 1858-9. Seed (Red Rostock) sown November 4, 1858; Crop cut August 4, and carted August 20, 1859.

Wt/Bu. Weight per Bushel. C&S Corn and Straw.

P l o t s. Produce per Acre, etc. (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.) P l o t s. Produce per Acre, etc. (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.)

Dressed Corn. Total Corn Total Produce (C&S) Dressed Corn. Total Corn Total Produce (C&S)

Quantity Wt/Bu. Quantity Wt/Bu.

Bu. Pks. lbs. lbs. lbs. Bu. Pks. lbs. lbs. lbs.

0 20 3 61.2 1332 3234 0 21 2¼ 54.0 1254 3564

1 16 1¼ 60.7 1055 2685 1 19 3 55.0 1189 3489

2 38 3¼ 62.6 2512 6349 2 36 0¾ 56.5 2263 7073

3 18 0 60.4 1141 2811 3 18 1¼ 52.5 1051 3226

4 19 0½ 61.1 1206 2879 4 19 0¾ 55.0 1188 3418

5a 18 2¾ 61.5 1187 2719 5a 20 2¼ 56.0 1277 3600

5b 19 1 61.4 1227 2870 5b 20 2½ 56.0 1273 3666

6a 28 2¼ 62.1 1818 4395 6a 29 2½ 56.5 1808 5555

6b 29 0½ 62.1 1850 4563 6b 30 0½ 56.5 1855 5708

7a 38 2¼ 61.9 2450 6415 7a 34 2¾ 55.9 2097 6774

7b 39 2¼ 62.3 2530 6622 7b 34 2½ 55.9 2089 6892

8a 41 3¾ 61.8 2680 7347 8a 34 3¼ 54.0 2068 7421

8b 41 3¼ 61.7 2675 7342 8b 34 0¾ 53.4 2007 7604

9a 37 2¼ 60.8 2384 6701 9a 30 0 54.5 1806 7076

9b 23 2 58.8 1470 4158 9b 24 2¼ 50.5 1412 5002

10a 22 3½ 59.6 1439 3569 10a 18 3¾ 51.5 1207 3937

10b 27 3 61.4 1775 4390 10b 25 2 52.5 1500 4920

11a 30 3½ 60.5 1977 4774 11a 26 3½ 51.4 1628 5155

11b 33 0¼ 60.4 2099 5117 11b 27 3¼ 51.3 1698 5275

12a 37 3¾ 62.1 2437 6100 12a 34 2½ 54.5 2060 6610

12b 37 0¾ 62.1 2387 6060 12b 34 3½ 54.8 2115 6858

13a 37 0¾ 62.1 2384 6077 13a 34 0¾ 55.0 2037 6774

13b 37 0¾ 62.7 2397 6074 13b 34 3½ 55.0 2087 6894

14a 37 3¼ 62.1 2413 6150 14a 34 1¾ 54.5 2054 6817

14b 38 1¼ 62.0 2436 6146 14b 34 2¼ 54.5 2074 6774

15a 35 1½ 62.6 2285 5800 15a 34 0¾ 55.0 2053 6826

15a 37 2 62.8 2436 6134 15a 35 0¼ 55.0 2095 7088

16a 41 3 62.1 2702 7499 16a 34 3¾ 52.6 2026 7953

16b 42 0½ 62.1 2717 7530 16b 34 1¾ 52.6 2005 7798

17a 33 1¼ 62.5 2150 5353 17a 21 1¼ 55.0 1247 3730

17b 33 3¼ 62.5 2181 5455 17b 19 3 54.5 1168 3541

18a 22 3¾ 62.3 1472 3480 18a 32 3¼ 55.5 1973 6506

18b 20 2¾ 62.4 1338 3305 18b 32 2 56.0 1980 6630

19 33 1¼ 62.5 2177 5362 19 30 2 55.5 1903 5926

20 17 0 60.3 1089 2819 20 17 3¼ 52.5 1039 3256

21 24 1¾ 61.5 1574 3947 21 26 1½ 54.0 1538 4723

22 22 0 61.5 1412 3592 22 24 0¾ 55.0 1460 4440

Table XVIII.—Produce of the 17th Season, 1859-60. Seed (Red Rostock) sown November 17, 1859; Crop cut September 17 and 19, and carted October 5, 1858.

Table XIX.—Produce of the 18th Season, 1860-1. Seed (Red Rostock) sown November 5, 1860; Crop cut August 20, and carted August 27, 1861.

Wt/Bu. Weight per Bushel. C&S Corn and Straw.

P l o t s. Produce per Acre, etc. (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.) P l o t s. Produce per Acre, etc. (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.)

Dressed Corn. Total Corn Total Produce (C&S) Dressed Corn. Total Corn Total Produce (C&S)

Quantity Wt/Bu. Quantity Wt/Bu.

Bu. Pks. lbs. lbs. lbs. Bu. Pks. lbs. lbs. lbs.

0 14 1¼ 53.5 826 2271 0 15 1½ 57.6 1001 2769

1 12 1¾ 52.8 717 2097 1 12 3¾ 57.6 828 2215

2 32 1¼ 55.5 1864 5304 2 34 3½ 60.5 2202 5303

3 12 3½ 52.6 738 2197 3 11 1¼ 57.4 736 1990

4 14 2 53.0 832 2352 4 11 3½ 58.0 863 2193

5a 15 2¾ 54.0 903 2483 5a 15 1¾ 59.1 1047 2540

5b 16 0½ 53.1 935 2595 5b 15 1½ 59.0 1082 2692

6a 21 0½ 53.7 1210 3393 6a 27 1¼ 59.5 1755 4328

6b 22 3¼ 54.2 1326 3719 6b 27 3¼ 59.4 1818 4501

7a 27 3½ 54.3 1612 4615 7a 35 2¼ 59.0 2263 5764

7b 27 2¼ 54.3 1597 4734 7b 34 1¼ 59.0 2183 5738

8a 30 3 52.8 1759 5639 8a 36 0 58.3 2290 6203

8b 31 2¾ 52.3 1787 5600 8b 34 0¼ 58.5 2190 5985

9a 32 2½ 51.5 1858 6635 9a 33 3 56.8 2162 6607

9b 19 2¼ 48.5 1155 4285 9b 13 3 53.9 909 3079

10a 15 0½ 49.5 905 3118 10a 12 3½ 55.0 854 2784

10b 18 2½ 51.0 1060 3420 10b 15 3¾ 55.5 1033 3196

11a 22 1½ 51.0 1270 3773 11a 23 1¾ 55.3 1455 4032

11b 22 1½ 51.2 1307 4000 11b 25 0¾ 55.8 1578 4223

12a 28 0½ 53.4 1648 4878 12a 32 1¼ 58.1 2009 5201

12b 26 2¼ 53.5 1577 4664 12b 33 1¾ 58.7 2144 5481

13a 26 0¾ 54.3 1575 4568 13a 33 1¼ 59.9 2168 5486

13b 27 0½ 53.8 1600 4637 13b 35 0 60.0 2304 5794

14a 27 1½ 53.7 1583 4636 14a 33 0¼ 59.1 2125 5502

14b 27 0¼ 53.2 1563 4666 14b 33 3¾ 59.3 2173 5476

15a 25 1½ 53.8 1510 4387 15a 34 1¾ 60.0 2188 5506

15b 28 0 54.0 1614 4704 15b 34 3 60.2 2249 5727

16a 32 2 52.0 1856 5973 16a 36 1¾ 58.0 2338 6761

16b 32 3 51.7 1889 6096 16b 37 2 58.6 2432 6775

17a 24 0¼ 54.1 1409 4109 17a 19 1 59.3 1229 2982

17b 26 1½ 54.3 1548 4518 17b 18 0¾ 59.1 1166 2829

18a 15 1¼ 54.5 929 2649 18a 32 1½ 59.6 2650 5144

18b 16 1¼ 54.6 963 2706 18b 33 1½ 59.5 2122 5446

19 24 0½ 53.0 1435 4178 19 32 2 58.8 2107 5345

20 12 0¼ 51.5 722 2155 20 13 0½ 57.9 872 2340

21 15 2 52.5 893 2639 21 16 1¾ 58.2 1109 2749

22 13 3¼ 53.8 847 2414 22 19 2¾ 58.5 1306 3263

Table XX.—Produce of the 19th Season, 1861-2. Seed (Red Rostock) sown October 25, 1861; Crop cut August 29, and carted September 12, 1862.

Table XXI.—Produce of the 20th Season, 1862-3. Seed (Red Rostock) sown November 17, 1862; Crop cut August 10, and carted August 18, 1863.

Wt/Bu. Weight per Bushel. C&S Corn and Straw.

P l o t s. Produce per Acre, etc. (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.) P l o t s. Produce per Acre, etc. (For the Manures see pp. 202 and 203.)

Dressed Corn. Total Corn Total Produce (C&S) Dressed Corn. Total Corn Total Produce (C&S)

Quantity Wt/Bu. Quantity Wt/Bu.

Bu. Pks. lbs. lbs. lbs. Bu. Pks. lbs. lbs. lbs.

0 19 3½ 58.5 1228 3258 0 22 0½ 62.6 1429 3254

1 16 2¾ 58.0 1024 2772 1 20 3 62.8 1334 3079

2 38 1½ 61.0 2447 6642 2 44 0 63.1 2886 7165

3 16 0 57.8 996 2709 3 17 1 62.7 1127 2727

4 16 2½ 58.5 1049 2711 4 20 1 62.3 1303 2957

5a 17 3¾ 59.0 1119 2959 5a 19 2½ 63.0 1283 2970

5b 17 2½ 59.0 1101 2961 5b 19 3 63.0 1296 3064

6a 27 2 59.5 1715 4554 6a 39 1½ 62.3 2522 6236

6b 28 3¼ 59.8 1797 4897 6b 39 3 62.3 2534 6250

7a 35 2¼ 59.3 2200 6106 7a 53 1¼ 62.6 3477 9330

7b 36 0¾ 59.5 2265 6178 7b 54 0 62.5 3507 9385

8a 39 3 59.2 2477 7200 8a 56 2¼ 62.3 3668 10383

8b 39 0½ 59.0 2452 7087 8b 54 3¼ 62.3 3559 10048

9a 43 1¾ 59.5 2688 8738 9a 55 2¼ 62.1 3576 9888

9b 25 3½ 56.3 1641 4897 9b 41 1¾ 62.5 2723 6920

10a 23 0¼ 56.5 1457 4050 10a 39 0½ 62.6 2587 6068

10b 24 3¼ 57.5 1600 4443 10b 43 2¼ 62.8 2858 6914

11a 26 2¾ 58.0 1706 4548 11a 45 0 62.5 2979 7212

11b 27 0¼ 58.0 1734 4607 11b 46 2 62.1 3060 7519

12a 34 1¼ 58.0 2096 5745 12a 54 2¾ 62.1 3533 8976

12b 33 0¾ 58.0 2025 5634 12b 53 1 62.2 3454 8819

13a 31 3¾ 58.0 1953 5542 13a 53 1 62.6 3453 9192

13b 32 2¾ 58.0 2019 5691 13b 53 1¼ 62.5 3439 9238

14a 30 1¾ 58.0 1886 5283 14a 54 1¾ 62.5 3527 8986

14b 32 0¼ 58.1 2008 5558 14b 53 1¾ 62.5 3450 8749

15a 30 1¾ 58.3 1872 5268 15a 48 1¼ 62.5 3114 8276

15b 32 2¾ 58.3 2029 5787 15b 48 0 62.9 3127 8240

16a 36 1¼ 58.0 2225 6752 16a 56 2¾ 62.4 3710 10717

16b 36 0½ 57.5 2233 6730 16b 55 0¼ 62.3 3607 10332

17a 27 3½ 58.1 1747 4827 17a 21 0½ 62.8 1370 3288

17b 27 2¼ 58.1 1685 4762 17b 21 1½ 62.8 1389 3292

18a 18 1½ 58.5 1168 3161 18a 46 1½ 62.6 3006 7889

18b 18 2¾ 58.5 1195 3335 18b 46 0¾ 62.8 3009 7737

19 23 1½ 57.2 1479 4132 19 46 2¾ 62.9 3054 7577

20 12 1½ 57.3 818 2335 20 17 2¾ 62.5 1137 2609

21 20 1½ 58.1 1273 3465 21 27 2½ 62.5 1796 4279

22 20 0¼ 58.0 1250 3430 22 29 3 62.4 1907 4599

The ninth season (1851-2), was unusually cold in June and wet in August. It will be seen that the wheat, both in quantity and quality, is the poorest since the commencement of the experiments. The unmanured plot gave less than 14 bushels of dressed grain per acre; the plot with barn-yard manure, less than 28 bushels, and the best yield in the whole series was not quite 29 bushels per acre, and only weighed 55 lbs. per bushel. On the same plot, the year before, with precisely the same manure, the yield was nearly 37 bushels per acre, and the weight per bushel, 63½ lbs. So much for a favorable and an unfavorable season.

The tenth season (1852-3), was still more unfavorable. The autumn of 1852 was so wet that it was impossible to work the land and sow the wheat until the 16th of March 1853.

You will see that the produce on the unmanured plot was less than 6 bushels per acre. With barn-yard manure, 19 bushels, and with a heavy dressing of ammonia-salts and minerals, not quite 26 bushels per acre. With a heavy dressing of superphosphate, not quite 9¼ bushels per acre, and with a full dressing of mixed mineral manures and superphosphate, 10 bushels per acre.

The weight per bushel on the unmanured plot was 45 lbs.; with mixed mineral manures, 48½ lbs.; with ammonia-salts alone, 48½ lbs.; with barn-yard manure, 51 lbs.; and with ammonia-salts and mixed mineral manures, 52¼ lbs.

Farmers are greatly dependent on the season, but the good farmer, who keeps up the fertility of his land stands a better chance of making money (or of losing less), than the farmer who depends on the unaided products of the soil. The one gets 6 bushels per acre, and 1,413 lbs. of straw of very inferior quality; the other gets 20 to 26 bushels per acre, and 5,000 lbs. of straw. And you must recollect that in an unfavorable season we are pretty certain to get high prices.

The eleventh season (1853-4,) gives us much more attractive-looking figures! We have over 21 bushels per acre on the plot which has grown eleven crops of wheat in eleven years without any manure.

With barn-yard manure, over 41 bushels per acre. With ammonia-salts alone (17a), 45¾ bushels. With ammonia-salts and mixed minerals, (16b), over 50 bushels per acre, and 6,635 lbs. of straw. A total produce of nearly 5½ tons per acre.

The twelfth season (1854-5), gives us 17 bushels of wheat per acre on the continuously unmanured plot. Over 34½ bushels on the plot manured with barn-yard manure. And I think, for the first time since the commencement of the experiments, this plot produces the largest yield of any plot in the field. And well it may, for it has now had, in twelve years, 168 tons of barn-yard manure per acre!

Several of the plots with ammonia-salts and mixed minerals, are nearly up to it in grain, and ahead of it in straw.

The thirteenth season (1855-6), gives 14½ bushels on the unmanured plot; over 36¼ bushels on the plot manured with barn-yard manure; and over 40 bushels on 8a, dressed with 600 lbs. ammonia-salts and mixed mineral manures. It will be noticed that 800 lbs. ammonia-salts does not give quite as large a yield this year as 600 lbs. I suppose 40 bushels per acre was all that the season was capable of producing, and an extra quantity of ammonia did no good. 400 lbs. of ammonia-salts, on 7a, produced 37¼ bushels per acre, and 800 lbs. on 16b, only 37¾ bushels. That extra half bushel of wheat was produced at considerable cost.

The fourteenth season (1856-7), gives 20 bushels per acre on the unmanured plot, and 41 bushels on the plot with barn-yard manure. Mixed mineral manures alone on 5a gives nearly 23 bushels per acre. Mixed mineral manures and 200 lbs. ammonia-salts, on 6a, give 35¼ bushels. In other words the ammonia gives us over 12 extra bushels of wheat, and 1,140 lbs. of straw. Mineral manures and 400 lbs. ammonia-salts, on 7b, give 46¼ bushels per acre. Mineral manures and 600 lbs. ammonia-salts, on 8b, give nearly 49 bushels per acre. Mineral manures and 800 lbs. of ammonia-salts, on 16b, give 50 bushels per acre, and 4,703 lbs. of straw.

“This exceedingly heavy manuring,” said the Deacon, “does not pay. For instance,

“200 lbs. ammonia-salts give an increase of 12¼ bushels per acre.

400 ”””” 23¼ ””

600 ”””” 26 ””

800 ”””” 27 ””

The Deacon is right, and Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert call especial attention to this point. The 200 lbs. of ammonia-salts contain about 50 lbs. of ammonia, and the 400 lbs., 100 lbs. of ammonia. And as I have said, 100 lbs. of ammonia per acre is an unusually heavy dressing. It is as much ammonia as is contained in 1,000 lbs. of average Peruvian guano. We will recur to this subject.

The fifteenth season (1857-8,) gives a yield of 18 bushels of wheat per acre on the continuously unmanured plot, and nearly 39 bushels on the plot continuously manured with 14 tons of barnyard manure. Mixed mineral manures on 5a and 5b, give a mean yield of less than 19 bushels per acre.

Mixed mineral manures and 100 lbs. ammonia-salts, on plots 21 and 22, give 23¼ bushels per acre. In other words:

25 lbs. ammonia (100 lbs. ammonia-salts), gives an increase of 4¼ bush.

50 lbs. ammonia (200 lbs. ammonia-salts), gives an increase of 10 bush.

100 lbs. ammonia (400 lbs. ammonia-salts), gives an increase of 20 bush.

150 lbs. ammonia (600 lbs. ammonia-salts), gives an increase of 23 bush.

200 lbs. ammonia (800 lbs. ammonia-salts), gives an increase of 23 bush.

“It takes,” said the Deacon, “about 5 lbs. of ammonia to produce a bushel of wheat. And according to this, 500 lbs. of Peruvian guano, guaranteed to contain 10 per cent of ammonia, would give an increase of 10 bushels of wheat.”

“This is a very interesting matter,” said I, “but we will not discuss it at present. Let us continue the examination of the subject. I do not propose to make many remarks on the tables. You must study them for yourself. I have spent hours and days and weeks making and pondering over these tables. The more you study them the more interesting and instructive they become.”

The sixteenth season (1858-9), gives us a little over 18¼ bushels on the unmanured plot. On the plot manured with 14 tons farmyard manure, 36¼ bushels; and this is the highest yield this season in the wheat-field. Mixed mineral manures alone, (mean of plot 5a and 5b), give 20½ bushels.

25 lbs. ammonia (100 lbs. ammonia-salts), and mixed minerals, give 25¼ bushels, or an increase over minerals alone of 4¾ bushels.

50 lbs. ammonia, an increase of 9¼ bush.

100 ””” 14 bush.

150 ””” 14 bush.

200 ””” 14¼ bush.

The season was an unfavorable one for excessive manuring. It was too wet and the crops of wheat when highly manured were much laid. The quality of the grain was inferior, as will be seen from the light weight per bushel.

The seventeenth season (1859-60,) gives less than 13 bushels per acre on the unmanured plot; and 32¼ bushels on the plot manured with 14 tons farm-yard manure. This season (1860), was a miserable year for wheat in England. It was both cold and wet. Mixed mineral manures, on plots 5a and 5b, gave nearly 16 bushels per acre. 25 lbs. ammonia, in addition to the above, gave less than 15 bushels. In other words it gave no increase at all.

50 lbs. ammonia, gave an increase of 6 bushels.

100 ”””” 11¾ bushels.

150 ”””” 15¼ bushels.

200 ”””” 16¾ bushels.

It was a poor year for the wheat-grower, and that, whether he manured excessively, liberally, moderately, or not at all.

“I do not quite see that,” said the Deacon, “the farm-yard manure gave an increase of nearly 20 bushels per acre. And the quality of the grain must have been much better, as it weighed 3½ lbs. per bushel more than the plot unmanured. If the wheat doubled in price, as it ought to do in such a poor year, I do not see but that the good farmer who had in previous years made his land rich, would come out ahead.”

“Good for the Deacon,” said I. “‘Is Saul also among the prophets?’” If the Deacon continues to study these experiments much longer, we shall have him advocating chemical manures and high farming!

The eighteenth season (1860-1,) gave less than 11½ bushels per acre on the unmanured plot; and nearly 35 bushels on the manured plot.

The mixed mineral manures, gave nearly … … … 15½ bushels.

The mixed mineral manures, and 25 lbs. ammonia … 18¼ ”

The mixed mineral manures, and 50 lbs. ammonia … 27¾ ”

The mixed mineral manures, and 100 lbs. ammonia … 35 ”

The mixed mineral manures, and 150 lbs. ammonia … 35 ”

The mixed mineral manures, and 200 lbs. ammonia … 37 ”

The nineteenth season (1861-2,) gave 16 bushels per acre on the unmanured plot, and over 38¼ bushels on the plot manured with farm-yard manure.

Mixed mineral manures, gave nearly … … … 18 bushels per acre.

Mixed mineral manures, and 25 lbs. ammonia … 20¼ ””

Mixed mineral manures, and 50 lbs. ammonia … 28¼ ””

Mixed mineral manures, and 100 lbs. ammonia … 36 ””

Mixed mineral manures, and 150 lbs. ammonia … 39½ ””

Mixed mineral manures, and 200 lbs. ammonia … 36¼ ””

The twentieth season (1862-3), gave 17¼ bushels on the unmanured plot, and 44 bushels per acre on the manured plot.

Mixed mineral manures alone gave … … … 19¾ bushels per acre.

Mixed mineral manures, and 25 lbs. ammonia … 28¾ ””

Mixed mineral manures, and 50 lbs. ammonia … 39¾ ””

Mixed mineral manures, and 100 lbs. ammonia … 53¾ ””

Mixed mineral manures, and 150 lbs. ammonia … 55¾ ””

Mixed mineral manures, and 200 lbs. ammonia … 56 ””

When we consider that this is the twentieth wheat-crop in succession on the same land, these figures are certainly remarkable.

“They are so,” said the Deacon, “and what to me is the most surprising thing about the whole matter is, that the plot which has had no manure of any kind for 25 years, and has grown 20 wheat-crops in 20 successive years, should still produce a crop of wheat of 17¼ bushels per acre. Many of our farmers do not average 10 bushels per acre. Mr. Lawes must either have very good land, or else the climate of England is better adapted for wheat-growing than Western New York.”

“I do not think,” said I, “that Mr. Lawes’ land is any better than yours or mine; and I do not think the climate of England is any more favorable for growing wheat without manure than our climate. If there is any difference it is in our favor.”

“Why, then,” asked the Doctor, “do we not grow as much wheat per acre as Mr. Lawes gets from his continuously unmanured plot?”

This is a question not difficult to answer.

1st. We grow too many weeds. Mr. Lawes plowed the land twice every year; and the crop was hoed once or twice in the spring to kill the weeds.

2d. We do not half work our heavy land. We do not plow it enough—do not cultivate, harrow, and roll enough. I have put wheat in on my own farm, and have seen others do the same thing, when the drill on the clay-spots could not deposit the seed an inch deep. There is “plant-food” enough in these “clay-spots” to give 17 bushels of wheat per acre—or perhaps 40 bushels—but we shall not get ten bushels. The wheat will not come up until late in the autumn—the plants will be weak and thin on the ground; and if they escape the winter they will not get a fair hold of the ground until April or May. You know the result. The straw is full of sap, and is almost sure to rust; the grain shrinks up, and we harvest the crop, not because it is worth the labor, but because we cannot cut the wheat with a machine on the better parts of the field without cutting these poor spots also. An acre or two of poor spots pull down the average yield of the field below the average of Mr. Lawes’ well-worked but unmanured land.

3d. Much of our wheat is seriously injured by stagnant water in the soil, and standing water on the surface. I think we may safely say that one-third the wheat-crop of this county (Monroe Co., N.Y.), is lost for want of better tillage and better draining—and yet we think we have as good wheat-land and are as good farmers as can be found in this country or any other!

Unless we drain land, where drainage is needed, and unless we work land thoroughly that needs working, and unless we kill the weeds or check their excessive growth, it is poor economy to sow expensive manures on our wheat-crops.

But I do not think there is much danger of our falling into this error. The farmers who try artificial manures are the men who usually take the greatest pains to make the best and most manure from the animals kept on the farm. They know what manures cost and what they are worth. As a rule, too, such men are good farmers, and endeavor to work their land thoroughly and keep it clean. When this is the case, there can be little doubt that we can often use artificial manures to great advantage.

“You say,” said the Deacon, who had been looking over the tables while I was talking, “that mixed mineral manures and 50 lbs. of ammonia give 39¾ bushels per acre. Now these mixed mineral manures contain potash, soda, magnesia, and superphosphate. And I see where superphosphate was used without any potash, soda, and magnesia, but with the same amount of ammonia, the yield is nearly 46 bushels per acre. This does not say much in favor of potash, soda, and magnesia, as manures, for wheat. Again, I see, on plot 10b, 50 lbs. of ammonia, alone, gives over 43½ bushels per acre. On plot 11b, 50 lbs. ammonia and superphosphate, give 46½ bushels. Like your father, I am inclined to ask, ‘Where can I get this ammonia?’”