then top-dressing is a commendable practice.

Dr. Voelcker reports the result of some experiments in top-dressing
winter-wheat on the farm of the Royal Agricultural College at
Cirencester, England. The manures were finely sifted and mixed with
about ten times their weight of fine soil, and sown broadcast on the
growing wheat, March 22. A fine rain occurred the following day, and
washed the manure into the soil. The following is the yield per acre:--

No manure 27 bushels and 1984 lbs. of straw.
280 lbs. Peruvian guano 40 " " 2576 " "
195 " nitrate of soda 38 " " 2695 " "
180 " nitrate of soda, and
168 lbs. of common salt 40-1/2 " " 2736 " "
448 lbs. Proctor's wheat-manure 39-1/2 " " 2668 " "
672 " " " " 44-1/4 " " 3032 " "
4 tons chalk-marl 27 " " 1872 " "

The manures in each case cost $7.80 per acre, except the large dose of
Proctor's wheat-manure, which cost $11.70 per acre. The wheat was worth
$1.26 per bushel. Leaving the value of the straw out of the question,
the profit from the use of the top dressing was:

With guano $8.70 per acre.
" nitrate of soda 6.00
" nitrate of soda and common salt 9.33
" 448 lbs. wheat-manure 7.94
" 672 " " " 10.16

The marl did no good.

The nitrate of soda and common salt contained no phosphoric acid,
and yet produced an excellent effect. The guano and the wheat-manure
contained phosphoric acid as well as nitrogen, and the following crop of
clover would be likely to get some benefit from it.

John Johnston wrote in 1868, "I have used manure only as a top-dressing
for the last 26 years, and I do think one load, used in that way, is
worth far more than two loads plowed under on our stiff land."

CHAPTER XXXIII.

MANURES ON PERMANENT MEADOWS AND PASTURES.

In this country, where labor is comparatively high, and hay often
commands a good price, a good, permanent meadow frequently affords as
much real profit as any other portion of the farm. Now that we have good
mowing-machines, tedders, rakes, and loading and unloading apparatus,
the labor of hay-making is greatly lessened. The only difficulty is to
keep up and increase the annual growth of