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CHEMICAL STRAW.
By the courtesy of Lord Iveagh, who was one of the " authors and begetters " of the discovery, a number of farmers were shown on a Norfolk estate the whole process and results—on a large scale—of the chemical conversion of straw and other rubbish into a rich manure. On the Thetford farms is grown a considerable quantity of rye, which has the toughest of all the straws. Even this, as a hundred visitors saw, can now be broken down into as excellent a manure as if it had been trodden by cattle, of which none is kept on this estate. This is the latest triumph of a discovery, perfected at Rothamsted. The material has a trade name, Adco, and since an agricul- tural station cannot indulge in trade, it was made over to a small private company, which gives any surplus profits to the cause of agriculture. Many enquiries reach me on the subject from many parts of the world, including Canada and South Africa. The best source of information is Mr. Richards, who has made great advances in the practical application of the discovery, at the Lawes Agricultural Trust, Harpenden.
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