added as served to wet them thoroughly. Five
kernels of dwarf (pop) corn were planted in each pot, the weight of each
planting being carefully ascertained.

The pots were disposed in a glazed case within a cold grapery,[7] and
were watered when needful with pure water. The seeds sprouted duly, and
developed into healthy plants. The plants served thus as tests of the
chemical effect of carbonate of lime, of slaked lime, and of salt and
lime mixture, on the peat. The guano pots enabled making a comparison
with a well-known fertilizer. The plants were allowed to grow until
those best developed, enlarged above, not at the expense of the peat,
etc., but of their own lower leaves, as shown by the withering of the
latter. They were then cut, and, after drying in the air, were weighed
with the subjoined results.

VEGETATION EXPERIMENTS IN PEAT COMPOSTS.
KEY
A - _Weight of crops in grammes._
B - _Comparative weight of crops, the sum of 1. and 2. taken as unity._
C - _Ratio of weight of crops to weight of seeds, the latter assumed
as unity._

-------------------------------------------+---------------+----+-------
_Nos._ _Medium of Growth._ | A | B | C
-------------------------------------------+---------------+----+-------
1 } | 1.61} | |
2 } Peat alone. | 2.59} 4.20 | 1 | 2-1/2
| | |
3 } | 14.19} | |
4 } Peat, and ashes of grass, | 18.25} 32.44 | 8 | 20-1/2
| | |
5 } | 18.19} | |
6 } Peat, ashes, and carbonate of lime, | 20.25} 38.44 | 9 | 25-1/2
| | |
7 } | 21.49} | |
8 } Peat, ashes, and slaked lime, | 20.73} 42.22 | 10 | 28-1/2
| | |
9 } | 23.08} | |
10 } Peat, ashes, slaked lime, and salt, | 23.34} 46.42 | 11 | 30-1/2
| | |
11 } | 26.79} | |
12 } Peat, ashes, and Peruvian Guano, | 26.99} 53