R OATS.

"What is the use of talking about manure for oats," said the Deacon,
"if land is not rich enough to produce oats without manure, it certainly
will not pay to manure them. We can use our manure on some crop that
will pay better."

"That is precisely what we want to know," said I. "Very likely you are
right, but have you any evidence?"

"Evidence of what?"

"Have you any facts that show, for instance, that it will pay better to
use manure for wheat or barley than for oats?"

"Can't say that I have, but I think manure will pay better on wheat than
on oats."

Mr. Lawes is making a series of experiments on oats. Let us take a hasty
glance at the results of the first two seasons:

Experiments on Oats at Rothamsted.

----------------------------+-------------+-------------+-------------
| Grain, in | Straw, | Weight per
| bushels. | cwts. | bushel, lbs.
Manures per Acre. +------+------+------+------+------+------
| 1869 | 1870 | 1869 | 1870 | 1869 | 1870
----------------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------
1.--No manure |36-5/8|16-3/8|19-1/4| 9-1/8|36-3/4|35
2.--Mixed Alkalies and | | | | | |
Superphosphate of Lime |45 |19-1/8|24-1/2| 9-5/8|38-1/2|35-1/8
3.--400 lbs. Ammonia-salts |56-1/8|37-1/2|36-7/8|17-1/4|37-1/2|34-1/4
4.--Mixed Alkalies and | | | | | |
Superphosphate, and 400 | | | | | |
lbs. Ammonia-salts |75-1/4|50-5/8|54 |28-5/8|39-1/4|36
5.--550 lbs. Nitrate of Soda|62-1/4|36-1/2|42-3/4|23 |38-1/2|35-1/4
6.--Mixed Alkalies, | | | | | |
Superphosphate, and 550 | | | | | |
lbs. Nitrate of Soda |69-3/8|50 |49-7/8|28-3/4|38-1/2|35-3/4
----------------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------

It seems clear that, for oats, as for barley and wheat, what we most
need in manure, is available nitrogen.

The first year, the no-manure plot produced 36-5/8 bushels of oats per
acre, weighing 36-3/4 lbs. per bushel, and plot 3, with ammonia-salts
alone, 56-1/8 bushels, and with nitrate of soda alone, on plot 5, 62-1/4
bushels per acre, both weighing 38-1/2 lbs. per bushel. In other words,
82 lbs. of available nitrogen in the salts of amm