New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-12-01


tepton to few square rods Of ground incloeed with
wire fence and win call yours TO it, a. illustrating
The manner in which experiments are conducted, and
IA being perhaps worthy Of mention for the less)n
Taught
Pref W.-You zee here three rows OF beds each
about feet by A. and each incosed by boards forming
in fact, box Al feet Deep The boards were thorough
y taed before being placed in position The object of
the experiment is TO throw light upon doctrine OF
Lebig in relation to mineral manures. In the first row
the earth is sand dug from considerable depth,
miles from Bonn where may be very sure it never
felt the influence Of cultivation. In the second row.
the earth, also taken from pit ia mixture of sand
and clay. In the third is better earth but still from
a depth.
The first row is devoted TO wheat the other two to
sugar beets. You that engthwise, the six beds in
arrow have all the same earth Tr;nsversely the three
beds in row are of different earths but we give them
the same mineral manure. Now there being more or
less vegetable matter in all earths we keep up
the experiment several years. until the plant cultivated
has absorbed everything except the constituents of the
earths, the mineral manure which give them, and
the food furnished by the rain and the air. This the
fourth year of the experiment. and may be considered
pretty well testing the question proposed and yet
shall continue it some years longer.
To show how carefully we operate, you must know
that the grains of wheat all selected nearly alike
as possible are counted and weighed, and planted in
lines by means Of a small instrument, which inserts
every seed at exactly the depth and at the same
distance from the others The produce is also weighed
both seed and In far is necessary and poe
sble, we follow the plan with the beets in the
other beds Nets spread over all to protect from
birds. Beside all this, the products are chemically
analyzed And now to the manures and their effects:
In the transverse rows, the manures are, in
No. !. None.
No. III. Carbonate Of lime.
No. ILL., Carbonate of potassium.
No. ". Nitrate of lime.
No. V. Phosphate of me
No. VI. A mixture of all.
Results in the fourth year:
No l. Product nothing, very nearly 30, in wheat
the plants peepng up two or three inches only, mser-
able sicklylooking stalks and not coming TO fruit in
beets poor sicklylooking product, though planted in
better SOIL only few individuals showing much life
No III. The result is the same; 30 alsO No. Ill.
No ". The product may be called middlng."
No. V. 1t is very poor.
No VI Quite good, even of the wheat, though
planted in sand.
Visitor.-But, Herr Professor, notice that the ex-
ceptional bees in the outer of their respective
boxes and the best especially that giant, are coraer
beets They must have vegetable matter from some
source and that is, in my opinion, from the tar and
decayng boards of your boxes.
Prof. Virtue, it may be So and that shows again
how many things TO be thought Of in making an
experiment.
We then passed to the sheepfod and the seedhouse
In the latter the Professor showed two methods of
preserving seeds-one in drawers, the other in pots
BY all means said he keep your seeds in pots both for
convenience and better preservation, and correct an
have here made viz, have your pots of brown
ungazed earth; these glazed; they should not be;
and if with small air-holes 80 much the better.
We then looked into the small house, erected and
arranged with small basins and canals for the artificial
breeding Of fish.
tn gentleman who had charge Of this and of the
natural history collection has recently died. but not
before coming the conclusion that to place fish spawn
in fnelyperfOrated and covered earhen pots and set
those pots in ponds running water id exactly good
a method to all the apparatus of miniature ponds
| and basins A.w.T
|