when it was thought that the growth of turnips enriched
the soil. I have heard it said, again and again, that the reason English
farmers grow larger crops of wheat and barley than we do, is because
they grow so many acres of turnips.

"So I have often heard," said the Deacon, "and I supposed the broad
turnip leaves absorbed nitrogen from the atmosphere."

There is no evidence that leaves have any such power; while there are
many facts which point in an opposite direction. The following
experiments of Lawes and Gilbert seem to show that the mere growth of
turnips does not enrich land for grain crops.

Turnips were grown on the same land, year after year, for ten years. The
land was then plowed and sown to barley for three years. The following
table gives the results:

Three Years of Barley After Ten Years of Turnips.

------------------------------------+----------------------------
|Produce of Barley per Acre.
Particulars of Manures, etc. +--------+------+------+-------
| 1853. | 1854.| 1855.|Average
| | | |3 years
------------------------------------+--------+------+------+-------
| bush. | bush.| bush.| bush.
Hoos-Field-- | | | |
Barley, without manure, after 3 | 26 |35-1/8|34-1/8|31-3/8
corn-crops | | | |
Barn-Field-- | | | |
Barley, after 10 yrs. Turnips | | | |
manured as under-- | | | |
1.--Mineral manures (last 8 years) | 20-1/2 |19-1/2|20 |20
2.--Mineral manures (8 yrs.); | | | |
Ammonia-salts (6 yrs.). | 23-1/8 |21-1/4|21-3/4|22
3.--Mineral manures (8 yrs.); | | | |
Rape-cake (6 yrs.) | 28-3/4 |24-5/8|23-1/8|25-3/4
4.--Mineral manures (8 yrs.); | | | |
Ammonia-salts and Rape-cake | | | |
(6 yrs.) | 29-1/8 |23-3/4|23-3/4|25-5/8
5.--Mineral manures (8 yrs.); | | | |
Ammonia-salts, for Barley, 1854 |(20-1/2)|52-3/8|26-5/8|39-1/2
6.--Mineral manures (8 yrs.); | | | |
Ammonia-salts, for Barley, |