Se

on your premises," to the best advantage, all that you have grown, including the whole of your stubble, where your wheat is not mown; which stubble should be cut immediately after the wheat is carried, and as carefully harvested as the corn itself. This is one way by which the farmer may make the most of his available means, which I am sorry to say is even yet too frequently neglected by him; for it is generally left until it can be raked off without being mown, when it is comparatively of little use either for bedding or as increasing the quantity of manure. But I will now suppose the case of a farmer who has harvested all his grain, and collected every thing upon which he can lawfully lay his hand, which it is possible to use as litter for his stock. Such a person is exactly in that position, of all others, when it is most important to him to receive a satisfactory answer to one branch of the question which I have brought before you: viz., "What are the methods best adapted to produce the largest quantity of the best manure?" If I were anxious to proceed according to strict logical rule, I should divide the answer which I propose to give to the question into two parts, and show first how to make the most, and next how to make the best: but tbis minute division of what I have to say is not necessary; I there. fore proceed to remark, that in my judgment the best arrangement that can be made-and I think it a very material point as affecting the size of the manure heap-is to have every hoof of live stock under your sheds or in your fold-yards. condly, I think it of considerable importance that you subdivide those yards, so that you may completely classify your stock. Wherever this is practicable it should be done; as it will greatly facilitate your object in consuming your straw profitably; and it is perfectly obvious, that by economising that part of your straw which is good enough to be eaten, and by littering your yards with extraneous matter as far as you can, you will be enabled to keep a larger number of cattle; which it is equally clear must increase the quantity of manure in something like an equal proportion. Thirdly, I strongly advise all farmers to give to every head of neat stock upon their premises, a regular supply of some kind of artificial food, in addition to a proper quantity of sweet fresh straw. This recommendation has reference more to the quality than to the quantity of manure which is to be made; but still it will, undoubtedly, in some degree, increase the quality. At present we know of nothing which is so generally approved of, or which has been so extensively tried, as linseed oil-cake. It is true we have heard of cake being made from barley, and even wheat and beans, and much has been said about it, but as I cannot speak of it as an article that has been tested by myself, I must leave it until its merits are better known. It has this recommendation at least-it is a home production, while the other is chiefly the produce of foreign countries. But whatever it be, whether this or that, it will have such a beneficial effect upon your stock, and-what bears more particularly upon my present object,-it will so increase the value of your manure, that I cannot for a moment hesitate to recommend such of you as have not already done so to adopt the practice. I speak in the presence of some, doubtless, who have used it, and they will correct me when I have done if they think that I over-rate the matter; but I assure you I never yet met with an individual who, having tried it, was not more than satisfied with the result.

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The practice of giving cake to store stock has indeed been tried by so many that it would be a waste of your time to go much into the subject by way of illustrating its good effects; but I may just state that the way to reap the full benefit of this excellent practice is, to begin with your calves, and, as soon as they can be made to eat it, give them for the first winter, say about 1 lb. per day. The quantity should be increased every succeeding winter until they either go off fat or are in some other way disposed of. Reasoning upon such a recommendation as this, some of those who have not tried it would say that the expense of such a system would prevent its becoming general. I will not, in replying to such an objec tion, impertinently or offensively thrust my own opinion forward; but, admitting that the outlay for cake in carrying out such a practice as this must be large, I will just remark that there is room for question, whether the superior health, quality, and "proof" of stock thus kept will not pretty nearly counterbalance the extra expense of it; to say nothing of the certain and very considerable increase of production from the arable land on the farm, which must immediately result from such a system; for let it be remembered that, after the first application of manure thus made, there will be an increase of straw, which will in the next year act upon the manure heap, which will again act upon a larger breadth of the farm; and thus acting and re-acting upon every acre of it, the spi rited farmer will find his means of improving the condition of his farm increasing every succeeding year. I cannot but think that the important bearing which this mode of keeping stock will have upon the manure heap is by this time evident to you all, and that therefore it is unnecessary to say any more by way of recommending it.

But it does not suit the convenience, or Dccord with the view of evey farmer, to adopt this method of improving his cattle and enriching his manure, and that for the following among various other reasons:-Some farmers have a plentiful supply of Swedish turnips, and they think that, where store cattle have plenty of these and of good sweet straw, that is sufficient. I admit that this plan may do very well, but it is not the best mode of making manure. To give store stock good fresh straw and Swedish turnips, is to do well; but to give them in addition a small portion of artificial food, is to do still better. I know of no better reason, however, for not giving cake or something of that kind, than this. Swedish turnips are an excellent thing along with straw, but the first-rate farmer will not look upon them as a substitute for artificial food, so as to render it unnecessary to give anything else-at least such is my opinion: and besides, if nothing else be given it may, upon many farms, involve the necessity of drawing all the Swedes that are grown-a practice which I am not disposed to recommend if it can be avoided. I may just observe here, that when cake bears, compared with home-grown grainsuch as beans, for instance-a relatively high price, it would be clearly the interest of the British farmer to use that grain. It is perhaps the best substitute for cake that can be employed. I need not point out to practical men like yon the immense importance of cake, or some other kind of artificial food, as a means of improving a poor farm. I know of none other so safe, and at the same time so efficacious. If the occupier of a poor farm will but resolve to cake-feed a number of beasts every

year, in proportion to the size of his farm, and to clip a certain number of sheep, provided that in both cases the numbers be high enough, his farm will not long be a poor one. Other most valuable auxiliary means of making fold-yard manure may be mentioned; among which I would first most strongly recommend, for all clay farms where it is practicable, the folding of sheep during the winter months. I feel that I cannot too strongly recommend this practice to those gentlemen who are so situated as to be able to do it. Of course it can hardly be attempted where Swedish turnips, or at least some of the hardier varieties cannot be grown, inasmuch as turnips must constitute one of the most important articles of food for sheep during the time that they are folded, which generally will be for the months of December, January, and February.

I may possibly be speaking in the presence of some whose experience, more extensive than mine, will enable them to contradict me if I am wroug; but I am myself convinced, both from close observation and experience, that sheep which are folded and properly attended to will thrive much betterthey will be more healthy, and make much better proof,-than they would do on any other plan or system of management that could be adopted on a clay farm; and the wool will often be actually sounder than that of sheep fed upon turnips, upon the very best lair. And then, gentlemen, comes my primary reason for recommending the practice, viz., the quantity of valuable manure that will be made. This is an object of sufficient im portance in itself to recommend the plan to the adoption of every clay farmer, even though the sheep were turned out at spring only about as good as under the common practice; but when it is recollected that the farmer of clay land has no choice, but either to winter his sheep very badly, or purchase turnips for them and cat them on another person's land-thus, for the time being, losing all their valuable manure, instead of keep ing it at home-it really does seem strange that the practice of folding, more or less, has not been more generally tried on such farms as those that I am now referring to. And yet, decided as are the advantages of the plan which I bave recommended, and the disadvantages of the other system, it is quite certain that upon an average, not one person in a village can be met with who has adopted it. I will not attempt minutely to calculate the advantages of the one practice over the other: this would at once be difficult to do with accuracy, and superfluous. You all know as well as I can tell you, that it is often impossible for buyers of turnips to meet with them near enough their own homes to shepherd them themselves; and that frequently, in such cases, the sheep are neglected, and there is, too, a loss of life among them. You all know very well the great value of the evacuations of the sheep, and you. can estimate quite nearly enough, the difference between having a lot of sheep come home in an unthrifty state, after losing some of the sheep themselves, and all the manure; and on the other hand, having your sheep always under your own eye, and keeping them, as you would do, in high condition at about the same expense, or rather less, while all the time you are making some of the very best manure that can be applied to land.

As to the precise mode of folding sheep, a very simple and inexpensive inclosure may be made with stubble or straw; the advantages of which

over a permanent fence will be that it will be warmer than almost any other, and may be fixed where a farmer would not choose to put the other down. Into this fold the sheep should be driven every night, after being allowed to exercise themselves during the day; at which time the operations of cleansing out the troughs, and providing the necessary quantity of food, and littering the yard, should be done. The sheep will give little or no trouble, after the first week or two, in folding; for they will themselves find their way to the fold quite as soon as they are wanted.

To carry on this plan with convenience it will be necessary to have a supply of turnips hilled, as close at hand as possible, for the winter months; and for the time intervening between the middle of the month of March, and the end of the season, a suitable quantity should be set, or placed on the ground, while they are consuming which, they will continue of their own free will very frequently to occupy the yard at night. The tap roots of these should be cut off, but not too close, and during severe frost it would be as well to cover them up with stubble or straw. These turnips will retain their nutritious properties until very late in the spring; but during the whole of this period a good farmer will introduce some artificial food, such as cake, beans, culm, &c., &c., and that with the most beneficial effect. The turnips should be cut up, and put into troughs, which will also serve for the dry food.

As I have said, the fold-yard should be repeatedly littered, and if due attention be paid to the condition and quantity of the turnips, &c., which they eat, it will be a matter of surprise to the person who tries the system for the first time, what a quantity of excellent manure will be made, and in what beautiful condition the sheep will be turned out at spring. I will not say that in everything they will be superior to sheep kept on good turnips and on a good lair, but I do maintain that, if properly attended to, they will be fully equal to them.

ance

Another method of increasing the quantity of fold-yard manure, although it cannot under any circumstances, perhaps, become universally applicable, may be here mentioned as of great importwherever it is practicable. I mean what is usually called soiling, or keeping cattle upon green food in the fold-lands in summer. It is a system very extensively pursued in Flanders, and with much success. Within a few years it has also been partially tried in Scotland. In the neighbourhood of Edinburgh very large establishments of cows, for the supply of that city with milk, are kept almost wholly upon green food during the summer months, und the quantity of manure thus made is immense. It seems to me to be better adapted for keeping milch cows than almost any thing else; and it is one which 1 should certainly adopt if I were occupying a poor farm, and at too great a distance from a market town to procure an extra supply of manure. I should also carry it out to as great an extent as possible with the draught horses on my establishment, for there cannot, I think, be a shadow of a doubt upon this point: it is a well-assertained fact, that any given extent of ground will, at least, keep double the quantity of stock if its produce be carried to the fold-yard and consumed there, instead of allowing them to help themselves in the usual way. This is of itself a very important consideration, but, after all, is as nothing compared with the great advan

It

tage arising from the increase of the manure heap, to which the practice contributes so much. may also be questioned whether all or most of the store beasts would not be better in the yards, properly classificd, during the day, for the hot season, than in the fields. It is well known that, after they have had plenty to eat, rothing contributes so much to keep the animal race in a thriving condition as rest: this is a law of nature, and is not peculiar to any one class of the domestic animals, but is, I believe, applicable to all. And it is equally certain that in hot weather they rest but very badly in the fields. Besides this, it is quite certain, that when they are out at grass their excrement is almost all wasted.

Pigs should certainly be closely confined to the yards, except when they are tended upon the stubbles. You will all agree with me that the manure made by pigs is of great value. No farmer ought, therefore, to be without a considerable number of them. I have often been surprised at seeing so few in farm-yards, but could never find a sufficient reason for it. It is true they have got into disfavour with some on account of their habits; but even in respect to this, certainly the most disagreeable of all domestic animals, a great deal may be done by constant care and attention, for which those who bestow that attention will generally receive an ample return. It is the nature of the beast to be clamorous when he is hungry; but, as it is very much the interest of his owner that he should always be supplied with food when he wants it, I see more reason for blaming the rational animal than the irrational one. In these ways, amongst others, the quantity of manure made upon a farm may be greatly increased; and let it be distinctly borne in mind that, whatever may be the discoveries of science as to the application of different substances, popularly called manures, which are or may be put upon land-and I am not one to under rate those discoveries-fold-yard manure will always be, as it ever has been, the farmer's sheet-anchor. And I may safely add, that he who pays the most and closest attention to this point, viz., the increase by every possible means of his manure heap, and the due, right, and proper application of it, will be likely to grow the largest crops of every description; that is, when other circumstances are equal.

Of course I do not mean, in saying this, that any other improvement required may be neglected, certainly not; but that so manifest will be the dif ference in the crops of the man who acts thus and those of his neighbour who goes on in the old way, that all shall see it, and he himself shall, as he deserves, both see and feel it in an extraordinary degree.

I shall here introduce to your notice some valuable experiments on soiling which were tried in Scotland, and which must have the effect of convincing those who are even least disposed to be convinced, that under certain circumstances the introduction of this systemn must be at the least a very valuable resource. I should not have mentioned them, however, knowing with what jealousy every novel practice is received, if they had not a direct bearing upon the question which I am now considering the best means of making the largest quantity of manure upon a farm. Take the too following instances, which are detailed with minute exactness. The first experiment is related by Mr. Brown, of Markle, and it was tried upon

some Aberdeenshire steers, which were wintered in the farm-yard, and divided in the spring into two lots, the one being put to grass and the other soiled. The soiled lot was fed upon Swedish turnips, until the clover was ready for cutting; the clover was given but sparingly at first, for a week, to prevent dangerous consequences from the cattle cating too much after that time, however, they were allowed a full supply, and the offal furnished food for a number of swine. The animals throve remarkably well until the grass got bard and withered. At the end of July, the clover being ripened, this food was changed for tares, which were continued until the second crop of clover was ready for the scythe. Ten of the soiled cattle were sold in August, and the remainder of the two lots in September. In the last sale it is remarkable that the price of both grazed and soiled were the same. Many dealers supposed that the confined air of the fold-yard would keep the cattle so warm as to prevent tallow from being gathered in any quantity; but this was disproved by one of the soiled cattle, which was killed previous to being sold, having 94 lbs. of tallow. The following is the result of the experiment. The 48 cattle cost for purchase and wintering 5031. 2s., or 10l. 9s. 7d. each. The 10 best of the soiled cattle sold for 171. 5s. each, and the remainder of both grazed and soiled for 141. 5s. each; thus yielding for the soiled lot of 24 the sum of 3771. and for the grazed lot of 24 the sum of 342l., making a difference in favour of the soiled lot of 35l., although they were all purchased at the same price, and separated with the greatest fairness. The food consumed by the soiled cattle was 14 acres of Swedish turnips, 8 acres of clover, and 3 acres of tares. The grazed cattle were unfortunately allowed to mingle with others, which prevented the exact cost of their maintenance from being ascertained; but the gain from soiling was calculated at the least at 50 per cent.; and this will not be doubted when the calculation is closely examined. The soiled cattle, it will thus appear, consumed the produce of 12 acres only, which could hardly have been expected to maintain half the number if they had been turned out: besides which the tenant would have been minus a large quantity of valuable manure. "Six

Another experiment was the following: horses and a pony were kept in a fold-yard, upon green clover and tares, for four mouths. Two acres of the first cutting of a good crop of clover and rye-grass were expended along with half an acre of green tares, to carry them on until the clover was ready to be cut a second time; these, valued at 71. 7s. per acre, were worth 181. 7s. 6d. It required 12 acres of the second cutting of the clover crop to carry on the horses, which at 30s. per acre amounts to 187.; the whole expense for the four months' feeding being 361. 7s. 6d. The cost of cutting and leading is not added, for these are compensated for by the value of the dung. It would certainly have required seven acres of the clover in pasture to have maintained the borses for four months; and estimating at the same rate as in the other case, it would have come, of course, to 611. 19s. for the same period; thus showing a balance in favour of the soiling system of 251. 11s. 6d., or 31. 13s. for each horse for that short time."

Having thus enumerated some of the ways by which the heap of pure fold-yard manure may be increased, I come now to notice two other means

by which the available quantity of organic matter directly made upon the farm may still further be augmented to a great extent. The first hint that I would respectfully throw out is, that every farmer should have, whether his occupation be large or small, a compost-heap in some convenient place near bis farm-stead, to which he should carry every refuse animal and vegetable substance on which he can lawfully fasten: road scrapings, the sides of roads when lowered-soil out of the ditches that may be near,-weeds, and a thousand other things which I may not mention, including all the rubbish from the winnowings of corn-so long as he has any, but which every good farmer will aim at getting rid of altogether-may be put together; and to these may be added with great advantage a portion of soot, salt, &c., together with as much fold-yard manure as may seem necessary; and it should be deemed, by every farmer, an object of great importance to make as many contributions to this heap as he possibly can. My remarks about this compost heap may be almost said to be a digression from the subject; but although it be not strictly relevant to the question before us, I deem it to be of so much real practical consequence in the economy of farming, that I could not but have felt conscious of an omission ifI had left it out.

(To be continued.)

TRE DUKE OF CLEVELAND ON LEASES.The following declaration by his Grace the Duke of Cleveland, respecting the granting of leases to farmers, will be read with interest in Shropshire, where his grace owns property in land to the amount of 60,000l. or 70,000l. a year. At an agricultural meeting the other day, the Duke of Cleveland said, within three miles of the place where he had resided for the last nine years, was a place which had long been rented as a rabbit warren. A spirited farmer, acquainted with it, applied to Sir Wm. Welby, and offered, if he could have a lease for fourteen years, that he would break it up, and bring the land into cultivation, his rent being allowed to remain at the same amount as that paid by the warrener. This offer was accepted; and the farmer, being satisfied that the undertaking would ultimately repay him, entered with spirit upon it. On the fourth or fifth year after the warren was broken up, he (the Duke of Cleveland), saw this farm, and he could testify that it was bearing the best crops in the county; and last year, in the month of July, he again saw it, and would not wish to behold finer crops of wheat, barley, and oats, than those which he witnessed growing upon this very farm (applause). This showed what could be done by a spirited farmer. At the end of four or five years after he entered on the cultivation of this farm, the tenant applied to his landlord to erect suitable buildings upon it. Sir William Welby observed that the rental was so small that he could not be expected to incur an outlay of that description. This farmer, however, so far from having the necessary confidence, even in a lease of 14 years, to induce him to erect the necessary building, offered terms to his landlord. Like a sensible man, he would not place implicit reliance in the mutual confidence principle, but preferred having an agreement in black and white, under signature and seal. He made an offer, that, if his landlord would extend his lease from 14 to 21 years, he would build himself a complete range of buildings. This was agreed upon, and a better and more perfect set of buildings could not be seen than he had erected. Now, the tenant would no doubt be amply repaid for his outlay; the landlord, although he would have to wait so many years before he took any advantage from the improvement, would ultimately find his farm trebled or quadrupled in value.-Chester Chronicle.

AGRICULTURE AND CHE

MISTRY.

Professor Brande, at the request of Lord Spencer, the president of the Agricultural Society, devoted two evenings to describe and to illustrate to that numerous and influential body the connection between agriculture and chemistry. The attendance at the theatre of the Royal Institution, granted for the purpose by the managers with their usual liberality, was numerous; and much pleasure was evinced and interest excited by the judicious selection and masterly treatment of the subject. We wish we could call up the like lively feelings by a verbal description of the illustrations; but the wonders of experimental chemistry must be seen to be enjoyed. We think, however, that a full report of the lectures, without going deeply into the chemistry thereof, will be received with thanks; and we therefore cheerfully proceed to the task, devoting to it more space than usual, because agricultural chemistry is one of the topics of the day, and because a plain statement of facts by an able experimenter and skilful analyst, and by one who acknowledges the union of theory and practice to be more than ever desirable, will tend to promote the welfare and progress of agriculture.

Soils are made up of organic and inorganic constituents. Professor Brande confined his observations to the latter, and classed them under two heads-1st, those constituting the bulk of the soil, upon the mechanical texture and chemical composition of which its general fitness for the growth of crops and timber depend-namely, lime, clay, and sand; 2nd, particular substances involving the fitness of the soil for particular crops, such as sulphate of lime, phosphate of lime, salts of potash, soda, magnesia, iron, and manganese.

Lime is an article of so much importance to the agriculturist, and some of its salts seem to possess such valuable, though, in some respects, obscure influence as manures, that it was the first substance considered. What is lime? The chemist replies, it is a compound of a metal (calcium), and of a gaseous body (oxygen), and in their united state called an oxide of calcium. Calcium, because of its great affinity for oxygen, could not be exhibited; it belongs to a class of bodies little inclined to remain in an isolated or separate state, and requires difficult processes to evolve and to procure it. Its counterpart or type, potasium, possessing similar affinities and properties, was shown, and the alkaline nature of its oxide proved by the turmeric test-paper. Lime does not exist in its native state; except, perhaps, in volcanic regions and in a lake of Tuscany. Its compounds are very numerous, and these are the sources of lime to the agriculturist. One of them, the carbonate of lime, is very abundant, easily decomposed, and is chiefly resorted to. It constitutes, in various forms, mountains and hills, and strata covering large districts, and is geologically spoken of as primary, secondary, and tertiary limestone, as being associated with the older, intermediate, or most recent strata of the globe. It is known as marble, limestone, shellstone, oolite, chalk (the upper flinty, the lower argillaceous), calcareous spar, coral, shells, shellsand, &c. All these are more or less carbonates of lime; and carbonate of lime, like all other chemical compounds, is made up of determinate or definite proportions of its elements: it is always constituted of 28 parts of lime and 22 of carbonic acid.

But

lime and carbonic acid are themselves compound bodies; they constitute, therefore, what chemists call the proximate elements of carbonate of lime, the ultimate elements of which are calcium, carbon, and oxygen; lime being a compound of 20 parts of calcium and 8 of oxygen, and carbonic acid a compound of 6 carbon and 16 oxygen. (Carbonic acid was here formed by burning charcoal in oxygen, and was then combined with lime, so as to show the formation of carbonate of lime from its clements.) The common mode of detecting the presence of carbonic acid in a rock or soils consists in subjecting it to the action of diluted muriatic acid, when, if carbonic acid be present, an effervescence ensues; and when it is desired to determine what quantity of carbonate of lime exists in a soil, it is done by ascertaining the weight of the carbonic acid which passes off: thus, if 100 grains of the soil lost 22 grains of carbonic acid, it would indicate 50 per cent. of carbonate of lime, and so on. (Professor Brande showed the mode of performing this experiment.) In referring to the composition of the varieties of chalk, Professor Braude adverted to the importance of certain foreign matters occasionally contained in it, which were formerly overlooked or thought insignificant, such as bituminous substances, alumina, silica, potash, soda, magnesia, phosphate of lime, &c. The chalk about Brighton, made up chiefly of the remains of multitudes of animalcules, contains phosphate of lime; hence it may ocasionally be used as manure for chalk not possessing it, and especially as a topdressing for wheat. The peculiarities of the limestone or chalk extend to the lime, or quick-lime, resulting from burning it in the kiln, which is merely a process to drive off the carbonic acid; but the properties of quick-lime are chiefly important to the agriculturist. And first, the change it undergoes on exposure to air, crumbling down into a white powder, in consequence chiefly of absorbing water. By long exposure, a portion of the caustic lime becomes a hydrate, and a portion returns to the atate of a carbonate, or chalk. Its great affinity for water is shown by slaking, 28 parts of lime taking up 9 parts of water: 700 parts of water are required to dissolve one part of lime. The action of lime on organic matters-peat, leaves, vegetables, &c.-is to decompose and convert them into humus or mould, to neutralize acids, and to form salts of lime. It also decomposes certain salts of iron injurious to vegetation, throwing down the iron as a harmless oxide; and it reacts on salts of alumina, potash, soda, magnesia; and ammonia. It tends-and particularly with bone-dust-to produce ammonia and nitrates; and its action on slate, felspar, &c., develops alkalies and soluble silicates, so essential for wheat and certain other crops. When lime has passed again into a carbonate, it becomes a good ingredient in the soil; it is chemically the same as crushed limestone, shell-sand, or marl; but mechanically it has the advantage of being in very fine powder-hence more perfectly blended with the soil, and brought into contact with the roots of plants: and if these secrete acid, and so render it soluble, it will, of course, be more casily taken up.

The other salts of lime which principally claim the agriculturist's attention, are the sulphate and phosphate. Sulphate of lime is a compound of sulphuric acid and lime-its ultimate elements being sulphur, oxygen, and calcium. It is called gypsum, plaster-stone, and selenite. They are natural products, and found crystallized. Heated to

400° or 500°, they become plaster of Paris, and may be moulded with water; but, if heated to redness, the powder loses the power of re-combining with water. Organic matter changes sulphate of lime into a sulphuret, and sulphuretted hydrogen is evolved; hence foetid and poisonous exhalations. Crops contain not only sulphate of lime, but sulphur in a free state, as in mustard and horseradish, derived from the soil. Its principal sources are the red marls and salt deposits, also some of the primitive rocks, and the tertiary deposits. Its use in agriculture is, that it acts as food, but does not attract moisture or promote decomposition. It is contained in lucerne, sainfoin, red clover, and turnips, and for these crops is a fertilizing top-dressing; it is not contained in wheat, barley, oats, beans, or peas; and to these it is of no service. The plants which do contain it never grow well on lands destitute of it; so also in regard to the other salts of lime. When applied to grasses, it is important that the weather should be damp. In an ordinary crop of clover there is from 1 to 2 cwt. per acre; and this is the proper proportion recommended for use by the best authorities for those soils deficient in it. One of these authorities, Professor Johnston, says farther of it-" If fields which once gave luxuriant crops of red clover no longer yield it-if the young plants spring up numerously, but die away as summer advances-if the land is tired of clover, or clover-sick-if farmyard compost is ineffectual upon his grasses, the agriculturist may conclude, without analysis, that gypsum is required." Peat-ashes are often effectual, because they contain 12 per cent. of gypsum, the rest being sand, oxide of iron, salt, and carbonate of lime. Also coal-ashes, as there is 10 per cent. of gypsum in them. Such, then, are the uses of gypsum as a top-dressing for artificial grasses, and it is especially beneficial in certain localities. It is cheap; and a waggon-load will dress 30 acres. Sulphate of lime is also said to be capable of absorbing ammonia. Carbonate of ammonia and sulphate of lime, it is true, react on each other, but very imperfectly, except they are in solution; and hence its failure as an absorbent for carbonate of ammonia in stables, where the atmosphere is loaded with it, to the injury of man and beast; and where such immense quantities of this otherwise valuable material apparently goes to waste. (Trays of sawdust saturated with sulphuric acid, were said by a gentleman, in conversation after the lecture, to be very effective in rapidly clearing the atmosphere, and rendering the ammonia in stables available.)

The phosphate is another important salt of lime : it forms part of the bones of animals: it is derived from the soil, and transmitted to animals through vegetables. How the soil is supplied with it, has lately occupied much attention. Bones, in this respect, possess great fertilizing powers. Soaked in acid, the animal matter is left tough and flexible, but the bone-earth, or phosphate of lime, is dissolved out. Fossil bones are also sources, but this has been over-rated as to quantity; likewise guano, an excrement of birds. Phosphate of lime is, farther, a mineral product, and is found in the slaty rocks of Bohemia, and Estramadura in Spain, and in some marls, clay-slates, and chalk. It is contained, too, in oyster-shells, corals, and crustacea generally. When rock-slate has yielded the subsoil clay, subsoil ploughing is an abundant source. Liebig considers phosphate of lime most essential to wheat, and to a great extent doubtless