sequently the fruit is better nourished and its maturation hastened. It is certainly a considerable point gained in the culture of the vine, to be able to bring the fruit to perfection, by a process so simple, and so easily performed. But lest there should be any misconception in the foregoing statement, I will briefly describe the exact method to be followed by any person, who may be desirous of trying this Proper time of mode of ripening grapes. The best time for performing performing the the operation on vines growing in the open air is towards the end of July, or beginning of August; and it is a material point, not to let the removed circle of bark be too of wide: from one to two eighths of an inch will be a space sufficient width; the exposed alburnum will then be covered again with new bark before the following winter, so that there will be no danger of injuring the future health of the operation. Caution. Applicable to houses, tree. It is not of much consequence in what part of the tree the incision is made, but in case the trunk is very large, I should then recommend, that the circles be made in the smaller branches, It is to be observed, that all shoots which come out from the root of the vine, or from the front of the trunk situatę below the incision, must be removed as often as they appear, unless bearing wood is particularly wanted to fill up the lower part of the wall, in which case one or two shoots may be left. Vines growing in forcing houses are equally improved in vines in forcing point of size and flavour, as well as made to ripen earlier by taking away circles of bark: the time for doing this is when the fruit is set, and the berries are about the size of small shot. The removed circles may here be made wider than on vines growing in the open air, as the bark is sooner renewed in forcing houses, owing to the warmth and moisture in those places. Half an inch will not be too great a width to take off in a circle from a vigorous growing vine, but I do not recommend the operation to be performed at all in weak trees. and perhaps other fruits, particularly figs. I think that this practice may be extended to other fruits, so as to hasten their maturity, especially figs, in which there is a most abundant flow of returning sap; and 'it demon strates strates to us, why old trees are more disposed to bear fruit than young ones. Miller informs us, that the vineyards in Italy are thought to improve every year by age, till they are 50 years old. It therefore appears to me, that nature, in the course of time, produces effects similar to what I have above recommended to be done by art. For, as trees become old, the returning vessels do not convey the sap into the roots, with the same facility they did when young: thus by occasionally removing circles of bark, we only anticipate the process of nature*; in both cases a stagnation of the true sap is obtained in the fruiting branches, and the redundant nutriment then passes into the fruit. must be suffer I have sometimes found, that, after the circle of bark has No portion of been removed, a small portion of the inner bark has adhered the inner bark to the alburnum: it is of the utmost importance to remove ed to remain. this, though ever so small, otherwise in a very short space of time the communication is again established with the root, and little or no effect produced. Therefore in about ten days after the first operation has been performed, I generally look at the part from whence the bark was removed, and separate any small portion, which may have escaped the knife the first time. I am, Your obedient humble servant, Pitmaston, Worcestershire, 20th April, 1808. JOHN WILLIAMS. Hence we may infer, that trees thus treated will have their decay accelerated, and their natural duration shortened, C. IX. An Essay on Manures. By ARTHUR YOUNG, Esq. F. R.S.* Arrangement MR. of the subject. Marle. Its nature. R. Young first arranges the treatment of his subject in the following order. 1. The nature of the manure. 2. Its properties. 3. Collecting. 4. Preparation, 5. State in which applied. 6. Application. 7. Season when ap plied. 8. Quantity. 9. On what soil. · He next classes manures in two divisions. 1. Such as are made or dug on a farm. 2. Such as are usually purchased. The latter he subdivides into animal, vegetable, and fossil. In the first division comes 1. Marle. The marles most common in England are clay, stone, and shell marle. Some distinguish them by their colours, as white, red, blue, black, &c.; but the colour deseryes no attention except as indicative of iron. They are usually composed of sand, clay, and calcareous earth. The red and black have a sinall quantity of iron. A marle from Cheshire had 1.7 per cent. Even in the whitest prussiate of potash will almost always detect some iron. The calcareous earth varies from 25 to 80 per cent, One of the best clay marles contained 40 calcareous earth, 50 clay, 8 or 10 sand, and clear signs of some iron. It falls in pure water, and by exposure to the air. The clay contains generally a small portion of iron, a little volatile alkali, and some sulphuric acid; and even when deprived of * Abridged from the Bath Society's Papers, vol. X, p. 97. This essay was written in consequence of the following subject being announced for a prize, which it obtained. "The Bedfordean gold medal will be presented to the author, who, at or before the first meeting in November 1804, shall produce to the Society the best essay, founded on practical experience, on the nature and properties of manures, and the mode of preparing and applying them to various soils; in which essay shall be pointed out the cheapest manner of collecting and preparing the different kinds of manures, and the state, season, and quantity, in which they should be applied.?? all all organic matter yields hidrogen gas. Phosphorus may be gained from all calcareous earths. What renders it particularly valuable is the calcareous Properties. earth it contains. But we do not yet know what ought to be the quantity of calcareous earth in a soil. The best spe cimen analyzed by Giobert had 6 per cent; by Bergman, 30; by Dr. Fordyce, 2; and a rich soil quoted by Mr. Davy had 11. This is an inquiry, concerning which the author has made many experiments, and on soils of the most extraordinary fertility. In one he found 9 per cent; in another 20; in another 3; and in a specimen of famous Jand, procured from Flanders, 17. Many poor soils however possess nearly the same proportion as the most fertile: and on comparing every circumstance he is disposed to conclude, that the necessity of a large proportion of calcareous earth depends on the deficiency of that organic matter, which is convertible into hidrogen gas. If the farmer find by experiment, that his soil contains but a small quantity of organic matter; or know by his practice, that it is poor, and not worth more than 10, 15, or 20s. an acre; it ought to have 20 per cent of calcareous earth in it. If on the contrary it abound with organic matter, and be worth in practice a much larger rent, it will not require marling, though it contains but 5 per cent of calcareous matter, or even less. Marles likewise give tenacity and firmness to a soil, and for this the clay marles are to be preferred. Some soils abound with acid particles, which are prejudicial; and these are neutralized by the calcareous earth. The earth found in vegetables is for the greater part calcareous. Hence we may presume, that this earth should make a part of the soil. Lord Dundonald calculates, that all the calcareous earth to be obtained from the vegetable produce of an acre of most crops will not exceed eighty pounds: but if even this quantity be required for every crop, the necessity of occasional supply appears. Marle is generally obtained by digging, but it is also Collecting. dredged up from the beds of some rivers. White shell marle, and a very light white species, are found under bogs, and at the bottom of lakes. No person, whose land wants marle, where it is not generally known to exist, should be satisfied Application, Season. Quantity. Soil requiring arle, satisfied without the most careful examination by boreing. A borer for twenty feet depth does not cost above £3, for 80 feet not above £21, and is used without difficulty by any common workman. Marle requires no preparation. It is best applied on leys and the longer it lies on them before it is ploughed in, the better. It should not be ploughed in too deep. The best way therefore is, to plough the ley shallow for pease. To turnips there is but one objection, the giving so much tillage so early after the improvement, Potatoes are mischievous for the first crop after land has been marled. Next to leys, fallows are the best to receive marle. When the farmer has a choice, on wet and heavy soils it should be summer work, and on dry ones it may be winter. The quantity employed is of great importance. From 120 to 150 cubical yards per acre being laid on a poor sand, the productiveness of the land has been injured for twenty years. Half this quantity would have done good. It is better to marle twice, than apply too much at once. On poor, loose, wet loams more may be used than on loose sands. On loose peat bogs, and on moors, the greater the quantity the greater the improvement. Where the object is to give calcareous earth, the quantity should be small, as from ten to twenty tuns. The defect of a soil must be understood, before a wise farmer will put himself to the expense of marling. Every day's experience will inform him, whether his land want tenacity and consolidation; but the want of an addition of calcareous earth as a food of plants can be discovered only by analysis. Other circumstances deserve attention. If the chrysanthemum segetum, corn marigold, rumex acetosella, sheep's sorrel, or polygonum penusylvanicum, abound, the experienced farmer will pronounce, that the land wants marling. Turnips producing deformed strings of roots, without swelling into the proper globular form; or being subject to the well known distemper of the anbury; both afford a proof of too much looseness of texture, and suggest consolidation by clay marle, after which these evils vanish. The erica vulgaris, common heath, or ling, is generally a proof of an acid soil; and all peat soils are found on |