n one sense, this is true. We had dry weather in the spring, and the
mangel seed on the dry, clayey land did not come up as well as on the
cooler and moister bottom-land. We had more plants to the acre, but the
roots on the clayey land, when they once got fair hold of the soil and
the manure, grew larger and better than on the lighter and moister land.
The great point is to get this heavy land into a fine, mellow condition.

But to Mr. Lawes' experiments. They are remarkably interesting and
instructive. But it is not necessary to go into all the details. Suffice
it to say that the experiments seem to prove, very conclusively, that
beets require a liberal supply of available nitrogen. Thus, without
manure, the yield of beets was about 7-1/2 tons of bulbs per acre.

With 550 lbs. nitrate of soda per acre, the yield was a little over 22
tons per acre. With 14 tons of farmyard-manure, 18 tons per acre. With
14 tons of farmyard manure and 550 lbs. nitrate of soda, over 27-1/2
tons per acre.

Superphosphate of lime, sulphates of potash, soda, and magnesia, and
common salt, alone, or with other manures, had comparatively little
effect.

Practically, when we want to grow a good crop of beets or mangels, these
experiments prove that what we need is the richest kind of
barnyard-manure.

If our manure is not rich, then we should use, in addition to the
manure, a dressing of nitrate of soda--say 400 or 500 lbs. per acre.

If the land is in pretty good condition, and we have no barnyard-manure,
we may look for a fair crop from a dressing of nitrate of soda alone.

"I see," said the Deacon, "that 550 lbs. of nitrate of soda alone, gave
an increase of 14-1/2 tons per acre. And the following year, on the same
land, it gave an increase of 13-1/2 tons; and the next year, on the same
land, over 9 tons."

"Yes," said I, "the first three years of the experiments (1871-2-3), 550
lbs. of nitrate of soda alone, applied every year, gave an average yield
of 19-1/4 tons of bulbs per acre. During the same three years, the plot
dressed with 14 tons of barnyard-manure, gave an average yield of 16-1/4
tons. But now mark. The next year (1874) all the plots were left without
any manure, and the plot which had been previously dressed with nitrate
of soda, alone, fell off to 3 tons per acre, while the plot which had
been previously manured with barnyard-manure, produced 10-3/4 tons per
acre."

"Good," said the Deacon, "there is nothing like man