ah * el i d at potter tic 4 ams fa Haig Chef. F y) 58 — Cy Be Hoe | een a, G q y e'\ ieee A TREATISE ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, STRUCTURE, _ AND LIFE OF THE PLANT, : : FOR q ALL STUDENTS OF AGRICULTURE. WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES OF ANALYSES. \ BY SAMUEL W. JOHNSON, M. A., PROFESSOR OF ANALYTICAL AND AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY IN THE SHEFFIELD SCLENTIFIC SCHOOL OF YALE COLLEGE; CHEMIST TO THE CONNEC- TICUT STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY; MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, ; / er NEW YORK: ORANGE JUDD & COMPANY, 245 BROADWAY. /5bf Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by ORANGE JUDD & CO., At the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New-York, Lovrsoy, Son & Co., ELEcTROTYPERS & STEREOTYPERS, 15 Vandewater Street, N. Y. PREFACE. For the last twelve years it has been the duty of the writer to pronounce a course of lectures annually upon Agricultural Chemistry and Physiology to a class im the Scientific School of Yale College. This volume is a result of studies undertaken in preparing these lectures. It is intended to be one of a series that shall cover the whole subject of the applications of Chemical and Physiological Science to Agriculture, and is offered to the public in the hope that it will supply a deficiency that has long existed in English literature. | The progress of these branches of science during recent years has been very great. Thanks to the activity of numerous English, French, and especially German inves- tigators, Agricultural Chemistry has ceased to be the monopoly of speculative minds, and is well based on a foundation of hard work in the study of facts and first principles. Vegetable Physiology has likewise made re- markable advances, has disencumbered itself of many useless accumulations, and has achieved much that is of direct bearing on the art of cultivation. The author has endeavored in this work to lay out a groundwork of facts sufficiently complete to reflect a true and well-proportioned image of the nature and needs of the plant, and to serve the student of agriculture for thoroughly preparing himself to comprehend the whole 3 , IV HOW CROPS GROW. subject of vegetable nutrition, and to estimate accurately how and to what extent the crop depends upon the at- mosphere on the one hand, and the soil on the other, for the elements of its growth. It has been sought to present the subject inductively, to collate and compare, as far as possible, a// the facts, and so to describe and discuss the methods of investigation that the conclusions given shall not rest on any indaadiel authority, but that the student may be able to judge him- self of their validity and importance. In many cases ful- ness of detail has been employed, from a conviction that an acquaintance with the sources of information, and with the processes by which a problem is attacked and truth ar- rived at, is a necessary part of the education of those who are hereafter to be of service in the advancement of agri- culture. The Agricultural Schools that are coming into operation should do more than instruct in the general re- sults of Agricultural Science. They should teach the subject so thoroughly that the learner may comprehend at once the deficiencies and the possibilities of our knowl- edge. Thus we may hope that a company of capable in- vestigators may be raised up, from whose efforts the science and the art may receive new and continual im- _ pulses. In preparing the ensuing pages the writer has a his eye steadily fixed upon the practical aspects of the subject. A multitude of interesting details have been omitted for the sake of comprising within a reasonable space that informa- tion which may most immediately serve the agriculturist. It must not, however, be forgotten, that a valuable principle is often arrived at ben the ead of facts, which, consid- ered singly, have no visible connection “aii a practical result. Statements are made which may appear far more curious than useful, and that have, at present, a simply speculative interest, no mode being apparent by which the farmer can increase his crops or diminish his labors by help PREFACE. a of his acquaintance with them. Such facts are not, how- ever, for this reason to be ignored or refused a place in our treatise, nor do they render our book less practical or less valuable. It is just such curious and seemingly useless facts that are often the seeds of vast advances in industry and arts. For those who have not enjoyed the advantages of the schools, the author has sought to unfold his subjects by such regular and simple steps, that any one may easily master them. It has also been attempted to adapt the work in form and contents to the wants of the class-room by a strictly systematic arrangement of topics, and by di- vision of the matter into convenient paragraphs. To aid the student who has access toa chemical labor- atory and desires to make himself practically familiar with the elements and compounds that exist in plants, a number of simple experiments are described somewhat in detail. The repetition of these will be found extremely useful by giving the learner an opportunity of sharpening his perceptive powers, as well as of deepening the impres- sions of study. The author has endeavored to make this volume com- plete in itself, and for that purpose has introduced a short section on The Food of the Plant. In the succeeding vol- ume, which is nearly ready for the printer, to be entitled “‘How Crops Feed,” this subject will be amplified in all its details, and the atmosphere and the soil will be fully discussed in their manifold Relations to the Plant. A third volume, it is hoped, will be prepared at an early day upon Cultivation ; or, the Improvement of the Soil and the Crop by Tillage and Manures. Lastly, if time and strength do not fail, a fourth work on Stock Feeding and Dairy Produce, considered from the point of view of -chemical and physiological science, may finish the series. It is a source of deep and continual regret to the writer that his efforts in the field of agriculture have been mostly Vi HOW CROPS GROW. confined to editing and communicating the results of the labors of others. He will not call it a misfortune that other duties of life and of his professional position have fully employed his time and his energies, but the fact is his apology for be- ing a middle man and not a producer of the priceless com- modities of science. He hopes yet that circumstances may put it in his power to give his undivided attention to the experimental solution of numerous problems which now perplex both the philosopher and the farmer; and he would earnestly invite young men reared in familiarity with the occupations of the farm, who are conscious of — the power of investigation, to enter the fields of Agricul- tural Science, now white with a harvest for which the reapers are all too few. ee ee ee ee ee ee eee ’ _——) a eee - ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The author would express his thanks to his friend Dr. Peter Collier, Professor of Chemistry in the University of Vermont, for a large share of the calculations and re- ductions required for the Tables pp. 150-6. Of the illustrations, fig’s 3, 4, 5, '7, 47, 63, and 64, were drawn by Mr. ince odd Ane an engraver. For oth- ers, acknowledgments are due to the followie authors, from whose works they have been borrowed, viz. : ScHLEIDEN.—Fig’s 10, 13, 17, 19, 80, 48, 49, and 50, Physiologie der Pflanzen und Thiere. Sacus.—Fig’s 56 and 65, Sitzwngsberichte der Wiener Akademie, XX XVII, 1859, and fig’s 22, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 59, 66, 69, 70, and 71, Haperimental-Physiologie der Pflanzen. Payven.—Fig’s 11, 12, and 23, Precis de Chimie Indus- trielle. Ducuarrre.—ig’s 60 and 61, Liéments de Botanique. Kinny. — Fig’s 18, Bla, 29, and 34, Erndhrung des Rindviehes. Hartic.—Fig’s 20, 21h, 32, LHntwickelungsgeschichte des Pflaneenkeims, Uncer.—Fig. 26, Sitio tes ichte der Wiener Akade- mie, XLII, and = 55, Anat. u. Phys. der Pflanzen. Scuacur.—Fig’s 33, 37, 44, Anatomie der Gewachse, fig’s 51, 53, 54, and 62, Der Baum, and fig’s 52, 57, and 58, Die Kartoffel und thre Krankhetten. Henrrey.—Fig’s 36 and 39, Jour. Roy. Ag. Soe. of England, Vol. XIX, pp. 483 and 484. : 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS. ENPIDEXRSESOON, coe VEY ce Ss cent ses sesos he cae so esa cane cel pagneatpw as ene ceria acs DIVISION I.—CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF THE PLANT. CHAP. I.—THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS......... 0220 ceceec ee ceccceccceeces §1. Distinctions and Definitions...............2..e-ee eee cee eeee 28 § 2. Elements of the Volatile Part of Plants..........-.....-.+.0+ 31 Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Sulphur, Phosphor- us, Ultimate Composition of Organic "Matter.....- eee G'S: (Chemical “A Hint yi pclae payaw ciwsect mis iato.e otels oreo laielee swe ree 46 § 4. Vegetable Organic Compounds or Proximate Elements....... 52 Pa AWW ALE, sacc foc: 2k cos eee ORE wetel netaedides ls eee D *Cellilose Groups yorker rare ele =n bo)s ara |ele oat n¥e) ove» \o cverelo tee 5d 3. Pectose Wier ee tiers cine Gaya cise tstabele ist Siahe ote ole ce ster ene 81 A. Veretable AGIOS. one). ccicios si-,x + .n1s ofafoistoe leis a anoint 85 De HAS. see Een ee oe Ws ave bie ois to oo ,0,5 Seta blenia lors ee eee 89 6: Al btMMIMOTdS3 ya2 eo tee ele soe c cei aices cere ieee 94 Appendix, (Chlorophyll ete. 2s... srecin- + lee aero 109 CHAP ME Pak ASH OR MPLANTSi..cc a .ajcleec oie + o's solr > 5 0.2 0lste cisions Miele siaholere aetna 111 Si inoredients: Of THe vASMs vr !on arict- leroket-laeh fee teal aterelre ote eee iii Non-metallic Elements................... 02.2 ccec cece cece scenes 112 Carbon and its Compounds SRE On ators Meidoo O06 oo 113 Sulphur ea Mey eee EO ARTE OO OO Gas cin oC 114 Phosphorus “ ‘ vee me TORRE nn Free ise acid c.s socK 117 Silicon a lc Ger nL Sore ee ate stare wikipvels s1et= Seana seen 119 Whetallie WIements. oo... 2e a. kao ten tt Set ates clon sick eiele 1-1 slele eerie 123 Potassium and its Compounds bagd aio ote Date eereehe Oe s ceralere eters 124 Sodium yr ts as ease isoheipe wave a ele. arerureis 264 AELOO FAS HO Cle Sausenan ermaatnie icy a ce « cle steve? etal Meatoiare abc (a, Gul ¢ hola slat) tele 265 TBD CNS hk Rete thes a ole Pere SHS be aaa claves vsls ‘ateceve! clalerars are 266 SRT CHUTeVOR MES HOM ee os oe ke Plo et pict eisai elalce leh siete 267 HN GOSETHOUS IE LAMUS EMR. Ws ah ts «iso < nfo ce mie opieieye fe os sie we Nake laiate 268 Exogenous SSR eRe Sa Neo ore ako aa cE sia: sie gis Gat Pte 273 SPT Un Meee NE DRUM Stag blot Gage Se ABE Gn Tone 280 SSR ICANGSR eas ta ke toto. «woe aie chevsieatore sista ccte lo htrereieloiaie oa als eles 283 MEAT H ORES arses ot Ba ee eee ce eee ee cae Bohs Steen 285 Hxhalahion, of; Water WapOle cs. cee cette ss ciracisle vie eiela\eaials\ «(= 287 ORIGESIORMH OM ATEN materia Geers © sere atetsinl arsreSiclayste iciele’ eierete 290 MEPL EY—“RurHonucrivis. ORGANS... 0000s, ocguceradaessjeset oceeveeseves 291 §1,.'The- Plower,::2:.... .- RE OE AG UIR ee SAGE NCIC SEE 291 Fertilization..... Spal Cacokal, 25 diag tee Me el cee Sea RIESE RO COSTE 294 HEAR TAN CLD ZL Cape P Raa are cual S cvenctasn ache Opn cuntogn' = o\e aegmencie eveuieremletni= ial 295 ° Darwin's Hypothesis. boop setae Oia” Seateiw cress Sia che Saag Mee 298 Ri ee UEC bas salen 2) see Sit cee atic eae elie melee eit elet senate) revere Sareratse 300 Seeds sau crea dames, Maine ees Ss TAME een Scars oS. eines AUN OSPOVIN 58 Sees Mee aie eae plate aiefetee a des aici aGis stove sialars sake 302 191031) DATO» oc cic Gancrnrrc ic EEE RIDER TOD emt cio Siap Cone Hb OmGDe Sem p 302 -§ 3. Vitality of seeds and their influence on the Plants they produce. a Duration of Vitality... 2. e eee eee ee ce eee eet cence cence 805 Use of old, unripe and light seeds.................2 2. eee eeeee 307 Church’s Experiments on Seed Wheat... ...............0-000- 308 DIVISION III.—LIFE OF THE PLANT. _ Caap. I. —GERMINATION SIRE ESS SUNS Ar ea A Ae ARO, ARO OR RAIS SES Sa? UR GS pale MR Mer 310 Sil. Taq eo Bana r eee de a ecood: tin toap deco noded coe oeeerca corre 310 § 2. Phenomena of Germination..........2.......2-+.2--0: bane wee 311 § 3. Conditions of Germination... .....2... 025.5000. eee eee ee eee 312 Proper: Depihiot: SOW o. +-c\saycii-ijem oclee sso a2 sees 316 § 4. Chemical Physiology Of Cernuuatianiecrek as s ce toae 318 PCHEMISELY Ol DAlUS tnienoe a te asap ag Sebo olor sec oases cao 319 Cap. II.— § 1. Food of the Plant when independent of the Seedeyaniz cece: 327 § 2. The Juices of the Plant. Their Nature and Movements..... 330 MO WAGE NAD eoe ere eeiae cee ia sees cece oases aces Wanye 881 CSU yo ree claret ra ote = cig ya wield = cigs fe snes sais fest wane an 332 Composition of Sap Be RES ove wiakesaies He epaictes he youl: cra aes ate 337 Wn sy Of Sa Piss woe ee ey es sects Gloria apse aisles 2 alt opel siete Basists) Motion of in: IMENTS ye 2s )ai2 cs Sus ahsta aides 2 2k a ee wale este 340 § 3. Causes of Motion of the Juices...............2-. 00-02 -- +--+ BAG . Porosity of Tissues... ...---0:see- see cess cece eee e cece cece ee 346 «ATT OS OS eR Asiaeciin ebb ies Skate tad betad MD eceionenenibon oot 346 Capillary At ira ion sears eee ioeta, sera Ja eee: 349 ligi@ hold Dytii Eitoyipanne bene Ae Ara enon: ae epodtue de rccdor or cosector 351 . Osmose or Membrane Diffusion..... .............----+------ 354 AELOOt ACTIONS wii.) x. cistget susie tame amet aval mynial alas (An ieuarea et he kisi ot otacats 360 elective: Power Of Platt od seasmmaancapuceeiee ot sate ey. 362 § 4. Mechanical Effects of Osmose........5. 2-06 .0e see ee eee eters 358 & 5. Direction of Vegetable Growth...:... .....s-seeee cess eee ee 30 APPENDIX.—TABLES. TaRueE I. —Composition of the Ash of Agricuit’ 1 Plants and Products: Averages.3%6 1% x ‘ HOW CROPS GROW... TABLE II.—Composition of Fresh or Air-dry Agricult’] Products in 1,000 parts..381 TABLE III.—Proximate Composition of Agricultural Plants and Products..... 385 TABLE LV.—Detailed Analyses of Dread Grains..........--- +202 sees eee e eee ees 388 TABLE V.—Detailed Analyses of Potatoes............0eee cece ee cee eens ee eeee 389 TABLE VI.—Detailed Analyses of Sugar Beets..........-.---:20+ sees eee ee 389 TaBLE VII.—Composition of Fruits... 2.2.0... essen eee een eee eee e eee oe 390 TABLE VIII.—Fruits arranged in the Order of their Content of Sugar......... 393 TaBLE IX.—Fruits arranged in the Order of their Content of Free Acid...... 393 TABLE X.—Fruits arranged according to proportions between Acid, Sugar, ete..393 TABLE XI.—Fruits arranged according to the proportions between Water, Soluble Matters, etc........ TABLE XIL.—Proportion of Oil in Seeds —_———+ @ -+___——_ INDEX. Absorption by the root....239, 250, 251 Access of air to interior of Plant. ..288 Acids, Definition of...............- 86 Be MestHOn.. panaadaces Ae abe ass 87 ANGIG' - elements. seceioaelaye ib) « 1A ose 113 INGESTION «4 55,5515, 2j0 easing Wdieatene 26, 349 Aoriculiure, Art Of. oc os. 0. =a s 17 Agricultural products, Composition in 1,000 parts. .2- 21s vs eo <'e sie stererels ae a Re 135 Ample Cells Obs... sce sets se asner 223 Be No Paes Raunt ates fos NON CRE ea 394 Ee SER Us ENS the} Searcy cvevcisict oielerane eee ea 394 Arabic acid. Sl iies4eo-e oe eee 70 IATEDEME acu 8. euistkietlo ie efeitos 40 Arendt, Estimation of sulphur and Sl phuric acids. os eee cee 195 Arendt, Study of oat-plant........-. 204 .* ~ Analysis of oat-plant...... 141 Argol....-.... ceatels Sa cera ies cieipeiage nator 88 NYT OW, TOO bagcre 'aiats oeaieye Gain) i ee 63 Arsenic in plants.........1.:--123, 196 Avi and Ss Clenee «2.6.2 7 eee 17 Artificial fecundation..-.....-. ..-. 295 Ash-Ineredients 5. -.\-- = sae eee 112, 138 v 5 EXXCeSs Of.5-> --.oep 187 be re oe how dis- posed: Of 2s 23 22 aee sekewemeae 189 Ash-Ineredients, Function of, in plant. 222 S22 ere: oo eee 196 Ash-Ingredients, The indispensable.146 3 ** Analyses, Tables of.150, 376 Ash of plants....002 20 2 ee eae ‘“* Composition of, nor- Maal 8 oS 2S soe ee 163 Ash of plants, Composition of, va- HAhOus! Ani Nese eee 157, 163 Ash of oat-crop...... noses 212, 216 ‘¢ Proportions of, Tables..... 139, 145 ae 2 ‘* variations in...148 Asparacus, Ash-analyses........... 176 ASSimilation. {2.357582 . - see eee 325 Atmosphere, Offices of.............. 329 PIOMSHS Jac ctossae seas. Ore 47 ATOMIC WelChtc.- -=- cee -. eee 47, 48 AVENIN:: 522.2555 022 (022 ee ee 101 AZOLE cvs dmotd shea Oe eee 39 barker cesta hh See Eee 269, 275 “+ ASH.OP Ro ane .. 380) Barley, Ash-analyses. .150, 153, 160, 875 “« “Proximate analyses:..-eneee 387 od fs detailed..388 “es Root-cap Ofn2k J... eee 236 ee ROOt=halts Of. 4. o. 2) eee 244 Barley-Sugatr.-2- -eaek -ie eee 73 Baryta insplants: 2° °s 2. 5 eee eee 196 Bases, Definition of................ 86 BASSOFIN 2 SoU. sok eee vel Bast-cells....... 1 ESSE eee 270, 275 Bast-Tissue...... PES AIRC CO cule 23r Bayberry tallow..:s%2).cs eee 91 Bean, Ash-analyses.... ....152, 154, 379 ‘< Proximate ‘analysis.: se. nae _~ * ts \ INDEX. xI Bean, Leaf, Section of........-..-- 985 , Cellulose, Composition............. 60 BE SCCM a cases wuios veer ce sewers 304 i Estimation.............+-- 60 Beeswax..... 2... eee cece eee eeees 91 £6 GYOU Pek seis trteite a's 2 aslek ras ee 118, 135 Buckwheat, Ash-analyses....152, 153 Chloride of ammonium, decompos- 55H Be SRS OSE 3, O19 ed by plantesscrhets secs lek Buckwheat, Proximate analysis....3887 | Chloride of Magnesium..........-- 118 Be oP de- ~ ‘$) POTASSLUMAS oslo ce ene « 135 HUE et ee tects ib ess o cete we celeiteincere 388 r CC eis(ouiinee sn enoooenaoccc 1386 Buds, Structure of.........--------- Git | Chlorine... ck wee les ines 118 © “Development under pressure .368 ** essential to crops ?....180, 183 TESS. 3 Se eC ae ee oreee Dior 267 * function in plant........... 199 Dhillon er Eigen nea 90 ‘© in strand plants.........-.. 183 Cabbage, Section of stem, fig...... 56, | Chlorophyll.....-..--+--+-++-+- 109, 285 Cactus senilis, Lime salt in........-. 191 a requires iron.........-. 200 WAC EMT sore kciens- istarere.n a Pe ee ree 425 | Church, on specific gravity of seeds.308 se. Action in.oat............-- 196 | Circulation of sap........-.-.-+---- 330 (CELTS TLE: Gene Se Aid. | Citric acid... 22.0252 cee e ea ecece cere 88 Caffeotanic acid .........- Bens eee AOr | Citratess: 65; 222 hese fo e2 ces esses 136 MYCIN eile seca Sierenwioven- weer cine sic nie 125 | Classes...........20. cee cece cc eseee: 298 “Egle She a Be Soa apnea oor 342 | Classification....... CRS reise beviac ace 298 Cee eee elo one cosa dense es 292 | Clover, Ash Of.......-----2++-+202-> 376 (OA US 1015 EEG GOR QT1, 272, 276, 280 “* “soluble and insoluble ash-in- Cane sugar.......- 2-2 weer eee eee 72 gredients.......-2- seeeee eects Capillary attraction........... '....349 | Clover, washed by rain........ ---. 190 WOOT s, rates cayppessoerwere sles eesenin = = 3 | Coagulation........--. .-++-----+:: 96 Carbon, Properties of... .....--.-- 31 | Cochineal tincture, test for acids and ee MeB IIT ASIN crcpacciaiaj<'-satalareunioe se = =y7 118 Cie eso Ba neronin onda UGHOReOztC Carbonates......... fe Ee AEF 130 | Colloids..........---.---+ eee eee 802 Carbonate of lime...........-.-+---- 131 ' Combustion..........-.. +22 eee eee 35 ne BOWS. . 5. 2.7 seer: 130 | Common Salt..........-----++--+-- 136 reed HIRO Bia crenlc sc siasis 2s ey 131 | Composite plants..........--+-+--- 300 Carbonic acid...........-+.--2-+22:- 113 | Concentration of plant-food........ 171 * ** as food of plant..... 328 | Concretions in plant...........---- 190 “ ‘¢ in ash-analyses....... 149 | Coniferous plants...........------- 300 Carbonization............-+--2-205: 32 | Copper in plants..........-.--- 129, 196 Carrot, Ash-analyses.....-. 155, 156, 377 | Cork........----e2 eee ee ee ees 216, 277 WASEWes os a deca cera vaccsesemenanen 100 | Corn-starch ..........-2 522 cere eee 63 (CHECINFD E eRe erento cena or GAB OGrollann x. sone os cee oe ose essen 292 Caulerpa prolifera, fig.....-+-++++-- 230 | Cotton, ash-analyses.......-------- 156 Causes of directive power...-.----- 371 oy Tayeies NEE ipa b oe AA Or 56, 227 # ¢ motion of juices........-. 346 “seed cake, Analysis of..378, 382 Caustic potash........-..--.-+-0-e: 124 | Cotyledon. .......-. «.---+-- . .268, 803 SPREE A (Ais oa i> fee a.clt a sjeisinins Pinel 125 | Crops, composition in 1,000 parts.. os Want tree... os case ccc eee occa nee 183 | Coniferous plants.......-..---- i Cell-contents.....-...---.+-eeee sees 998 | Crude cellulose.........----+-+-++-- 60 “© membrane, Thickening of..... 927 | Cryptogams........--.+---++-+- 223, 299 ** multiplication.........--+-++++- 231 Crystalloid aleUrONG....-...o0.--«-- 107 “ Structure Of.........-+02eee08 = 924 | Crystalloids........-.-+-2++--5 ---> 352 Cells, Forms of.........---++--++++: 296 | Crystals in plant.... .......--. 190, 192 SC eee 930 | Cubic centimeter.......-...-----+-- 58 Cellular plants..........-.--+----+-- OP RI OND Glan dee obo and WAoOo See rae 262 PR TAB SUC wn «sin eevee easier en eress 933 | Cyamides <2. ree oe ae oe seisig ee a 114 BURUND SCL ori isc kos sacs sacsceseetes 55 Cyanogen........ ny ani CIE CR CaS 114 XII HOW Gyanophylissastere se sek eee 110 Darwin on insect-fertilization...... 295 “ss Hypothesis of... Po..8 28 298 Decimal system of weights......... 58 Deflagration..........-...++..++-++- 136 Definite Proportions, Law of....... 47 DNC GUESCEMB 32 ao eiv cess ninic cet aiee wets 135 Density of seeds.........2.-+-.-5+- 308 DEP Of SO WAN eee Bee eel. Dee ee 316 WR SALT AN Cy ai ta'eh cle hele /Stelahs Sle ooaures oe 69 IDIASTASED Ses Soe etoteiioe ele ie Sicwie« 321 Dicalcic phosphate................. 134 Dicotyledonous seeds.............- 303 Diffusion of liquids................ 31 DVIMUSION-TALES..)./.).).:0'n/.:-)ointeo bees = = 352 Dacecious plantsece. ies gears ee 294 Direction of growth................ 370 Disodic phosphate......... d resanan ME 134 Double Mowers.co2% 0. 2.0+ sewer 2-293 Drains stopped by roots............ 253 MUPOT ss Cs sagen es aise ne orce vide eee 300 Dry weather, Effect of, on Sights: ..144 DMaCtS..422 Okt Ca eeR ee ese Bese 234, 272 Dundonald’s treatise on Ag. Chem- ASEDY sc be Ae ORR. oe Hlements of Matter... ..:....+..22 25 BUT ULOOUS A.£% chou cewek ee cieewelae 254 Embryo........ REGS LE ee Fee Roce 302 Emulsin...... Sete cs cD Ew Rte ereR eet ci6 101 ING OCENS2 zeae ss he cere eee Shee 238 Endogenous plants ;sssys5scs6% 268, ate HaWOSMOSe. 5355). u8 RET EN WMGOSPErM Le. os ee 35 tee PS 302 Epidermis Re REE gee eae 269 aad Ol lent. TSH 2? 285, 287 Meese bw c oes mosses ss Sete 184 Equivalent replacement of bases... .201 HFEMACRUSIS ice eal ee eee 37 Estimation of Albuminoids........ 108 ew Cellnlose.. ive vets oe OO MBER ge Se eee es Ce OLRTCILS sarov caters 66, 76 ee tS GSUOATE EE es. Neotaee 76 vt OW aller 2uese ee ee 54 MCT OUS!2 ener soe se ee 90 Excretion of mineral matters from HCAVESs< 62 Sues ST 192 Excretions from roots..... ........ 258 Exhalation of water from foliage Be naN of OEE Coe cameo athe “287, 382 Exogenous plants..........28%7, 273, 303 Exogens dhe 5d cata d AMIS ERE, © eas 237 PEGORIOSE. dr. cc ics see 355 Experiment-Stations of Germany... 24 Hxtensionvof roots... 2.4. 02oeke ose 240 Extractive Matters............. Fees 320 Exudation of ash-ingredients...... 189 HIVES Of Potato sans wee eo ee 237 Wantilies 835552055). eee. eee 298 vey ACIS oF er eee 93 ES) o. cssssare nae OTE 89 ** converted into starch.......... 318 Fat in Oat Crop................-211, 215 ** Proportions bias in Vegetable PLOUUGIB. v6.10. COLNE 94 RO CTALS, 2, Us AUT ee 827 Fertiliontion sels. 8 Ae 294 PE ats tid ccawewdanede. cde eee 60 CROPS GROW. Hiberin oatierop: oN sles aes 210, so BUBIIN, «5.0 ears soc! 2 Hols bees de eee Field-beet, ash-analyses.. ee 176, at Ce dal ve LOK. a ethene eee Flax fiber, fie..... sutela abi gele eer 56, soy PileSh si brinies 2.4 308 Je eee eee 99 Mieshy roots....: ..s.ceee wes eee ee 251 MOWeP. idee boss oo2s Pee eee 291 Flow of sap.........2-20 02 ese esee 331 Fluorine in plants..... Gaee oe $95 195 Fodder plants, Ash of.............- 376 Foliage, Offices of.........-..-+--+- 290 ES white in absence of iron..199 Hood of Plant. 2:4 “6 327 WOLCC.. cae coc cnet eee ieFs Rb MOLCOS ide ceck nine he 0 ee Mormative layer... c= esee ne eeee +224 Formulas, Chemical..... sega Tex 32 OU Practification. 2222 Soe SER . 294 BSUCtOSC ...5. 20 Gucls eet be ee 73 WPL ocd ose Pade shee Cee 800 Fruits, Ash of.iol iu ee eee 379 ab Composition Of... «cp seeeee 390 Bruit. sugar:.s. +25... 55.ceh eee 73 Fuchsia, fic, of flowel..<.:.cenetpee 292 BUNG. ee 0h h 27.8 cence ote 223 Gases, how distributed throughout the plant.........2 2280s. cseeeeen 365 Gallic.acid..3222.845 9 scekup xaos 110 Gallotannic acid..... osc ekeesteeeee 110 Gelatinousi Silica. «2.2 ..22325 122, 123 Geénus'; ,Genera..c-on-e secre MG. 298 GOPM occa: cree isce vob bees RRR E REE 302 Germination... .......<. PAPeL sagas sacs covteeiseiee eh Bi ‘6 seed, Section of............. 303 stalk, SOs a aparas Sheath 268 IMERIZ ENE | SheUrimid (hen kr. wie soe eoreroemen 90, 92 es descending SAS citer Soe eee 341 | Stem, Endogenomus. ..2._.........-. 269 Composition of...............-- 38 30 i Exogenous 2 lec Ree Ree 273 MTISWHMOWER. oo. .2 60 coe ee es oe ne 338 et Structure of... sssy ee ee-. 267 SELLS LOW, OL, 5. 2\scicie 2'<-s oe «\:cler='® 534 |: Sberlises 4 Vite tes eerie oe ee ore 261 wood....... Bees Desa estes 3a beri aie, ee 282 XVI NUOM AlAs evecare piss Galette eee ioe SCOOT a ree riiaes latte ne iat lwiwlex stave acaters Straw, ash-analyses........ 152, 158, 154 HON ate Metisse la taieve ofore ecevar BULNCLULE Ol Plants... cs se sais © 590 UIGKEES aes esta stele ais arise wsieiele Siesta 266 Sugar-beet, ash-analyses....154, 156, 158 me "detailed analyses pa dadatc 389 Sugar, eStumatlonvol. ns. ccocies sete 76 in Gentes sanoon one OSUS o wu ef <0) OE a ey CIES 338 BE SOL AMD 28 vege assis io gee eiorepe pe 78 “< Trommers test. fore... .... %5 Sulphate Ok MMe: eae see sess 133 So) aaPD OMS eee vere nile (ots ejsetels 132 aby SOI OM Ana a eicisicceseciaeioeee 1382 SUIPWALES via. .ileise ee cleeweeiets 43, 117, 182 rs Function of............... 196 rs in ClOVieNre neers seb teteetieete 194 WY reduced by plant.......... 190 UP MI GES eet ape ee eel ae. 42 Sulphide of potassium.............. 115 Sulphitessietk< ccc suchas aoa ees 115 pal phouyamude obvalllylevceste Je her 114 Nel nU a eee on eee ee 42, 114 oe aN OMS is ee nee eee erates 194 Sulphureted hydrogen........... 43, 115 SULPMUTetS ee. hae eoe tee esas See 42 Sulphuric CVC eo Set erejess sees, 116 [Prat WO A epee sete 4 219 Sulphurows ACG. ceo. cases oslo. 42, 115 Sulphydric PEK Renetape Cope ty ice eee 43, 115 Supercarbonate of soda............ 131 Superphosphate of lime............ 135 Symbols’@hemicaly.:..-:.-s-.---..- 4% ISSN ree ac eiaen ae aee 183 JieviunieGAne aaa soad INT eee 77, 110 TaofoOe=4 45. ee otsseiae. Sessa ae ee 101 "RA DLO CA a soiree ral etase erste epee iaieree ae 64 Tap -rootge: tak. Ase Bee RE 237 NarianC acdsee. sucks trees 88, 89 Tanbratessiees comitacceeett. ne sirokrrat 136 PasselsOtamaize 2. oS. cleetew se sees 294 Teak, Phosphate of lime in........191 Mension- in plambess. «. Bb ” Formation-of;22. 2 eee 41 ee imbibed by roots.. sone 248 ne ** SCCGSi.ceee ete 360 “7 Inair-ahy_ plans)... eee 5d 1.6. tresh, plants .ccigaoseeaaeee 54 *¢ of plant affected by soil......3869 oer es vegetation, DCC neers 55 as Hygroscopic.. 55 Water-bath 2% ass scag is. esa 54 Water-culture. .. .o..2 sass eee aes 167 Water-olass\ti42..0. 422 dasaee eee 120 Water JRoots....3 % 22 5e5- eee 252, 253 Wax. tines SSS EAn BP oes 89, 90 in oat-plantec... 2. 211 Well-water, used in. water-culture, Composition Of... .2. -seeesees 171 Wheat, ash-analyses...... 150, 152, 379 prox. eR et Oo oor 387 ES oe “detanlede sacar 388 ‘* ultimate analyses’ ......... 45 We" SPUN... oo oe ee ee eee 99 “* straw, proximate analysis... . 3886 ‘* ultimate - 45 FS. SLOOtS/OL. enya. saya eee 246, “247 White of ‘ero... 243.5 .e eee 96 Wiegmann & Polstroff, Ray ie CLOSS 5 os wise s odin eee Wilting :.: .ce2itset ate eee Xs aad Wolff, Exp. with buckwheat....... 164 Wood..2.7.65. 4) re -‘* Amount of water in.......... 333 “ Ash iofsil.. aah, Se eee 379 86 GCIIS «0, ope seas aco::0-t sce ee 271 cer 08. Moneconitersyso.e ctf Area 279 66. ADEE occ doc. sakalan eee eee 57 Woody-ibersts 220)..2 S2ee poe rere 60 “* | SBLCINS. |< THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 41 brought to its mouth. At first a slight explosion is heard from the sudden burning of a mixtureof the gas with air that forms at the mouth of the vessel ; then the gas is seen burning on its lower surface with a pale flame. If now the taper be passed into the bottle it will be extinguished; on low- ering it again, it will be relighted by the burning gas; finally, if the bot- tle be suddenly turned mouth upwards, the light hydrogen rises ina sheet of flame. In the above experiment, the hydrogen burns only where it is in contact with atmospheric oxygen; the product of the combustion is an oxide of hydrogen, the universally dif- fused compound, water. The conditions of the experiment do not permit the collection or identification of this wa- ter; its production can, however, readily be demon- strated. Exp. 14.—The arrangement shown in fig. 8 may be employed to ex- hibit the formation of water by the burning of hydrogen. Hydrogen gas is generated from zine and dilute acid in the two-neckéd bottle. Thus produced, it is mingled with vapor of water, to remove which it TT Fig. 8. is made to stream slowly through 2 wide tube filled with fragments of dried chloride of calcium, which desiceates it perfectly. After air has been entirely displaced from the apparatus, the gas is ignited at the up- curved end of the narrow tube, and a elean bell-glass is supported over the flame. Water collects at once, as dew, on the interior of the bell, and shortly flows down in drops into a vessel placed beneath. In the mineral world we scarcely find hydrogen occur- ring in much quantity, save as water. It is a constant in- gredient of plants and animals, and of nearly all the numberless substances which are products of organic life. 42 HOW CROPS GROW. Hydrogen forms with carbon a large number of com- pounds, the most common of which are the volatile oils, like oil of turpentine, oil of lemon, etc. The chief illumi- nating ingredient of coal-gas (ethylene or olefiant gas,) the coal or rock oils, (kerosene,) together with benzine and paraffine, are so-called hydro-carbons. i Sulphur is a well-known solid substance, occurring in commerce either in sticks (brimstone, roll sulphur,) or as a fine powder (flowers of sulphur), having a pale yellow color, and a peculiar odor and taste. Uncombined sulphur is comparatively rare, the com- mercial supplies being almost exclusively of willeante ori- gin; but in one or other form of combination, this element is universally diffused. Sulphur is combustible. It burns in the air with a pale blue flame, in oxygen gas with a beautiful purple-blue flame, yielding in both cases a suffocating and fuming gas of peculiar nauseous taste, which is called swlphurous acid. Exp. 15.—Heat:a bit of sulphur as large as a grain of wheat. on a slip of iron or glass, in the flame of a spirit lamp, for observing its fusion, combustion, and the development of sulphurous acid. Further, scoop out alittle hollow in a piece of chalk, twist a wire around the latter to serve for a handle, as in fig. 3; heat the chalk with a fragment of sulphur upon it until the latter ignites, and bring it into a bottle of oxygen gas. The purple flame is shortly obscured by the opaque white fume of the sulphurous acid. Sulphur forms with oxygen another compound, which, in combination with water, constitutes common sulphuric acid, or otl of vitriol. 'This is developed to a slight ex- tent by the action of air on flowers of sulphur, but is pre- pared on a large scale for commerce by a complicated process. Sulphur unites with most of the meals, yielding com- pounds known as sulphides or sulphurets. These exist in nature in large quantities, especially the sulphides of iron, copper, and lead, and many of them are valuable ores, THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 43 Sulphides may be formed artificially by heating most of the metals with sulphur. Exp. 16.—Heat the bowl of a tobacco pipe to a low red heat in astove or furnace; have in readiness a thin iron wire or watch-spring made into a spiral coil; throw into the pipe-bowl some lumps of sulphur, and when these melt and boil with formation of a red vapor or gas, introduce the iron coil, previously heated to redness, into the sulphur vapor. The sulphur and iron unite; the iron, in fact, burns in the sulphur gas, giv- ing rise to a black sulphide of iron, in the same manner as in Exp. 7 it burned in oxygen gas and produced an oxide of iron. The sulphide of iron melts to brittle, round globules, and remains in the pipe-bowl. With hydrogen, the element we are now considering unites to form a gas that possesses ina high degree the -odor of rotten eggs, which is, in fact, the chief cause of the noisomeness of this kind of putridity. This substance, commonly called sulphuretted hydrogen, also sulphydric acid, is dissolved in, and evolved abundantly from, the water of sulphur springs. It may be produced artificially by acting on some metallic sulphides with dilute sulphuric acid. Exp. 17.—Place a lump of the sulphide of iron prepared in Exp. 16 in a cup or wine-glass, add a little water, and lastly a few drops of oil of vitriol. Bubbles of sulphuretted hydrogen gas will shortly escape. In soils, sulphur occurs almost invariably in the form of sulphates, compounds of sulphuric acid with metals, a class of bodies to be hereafter noticed. In plants, sulphur is always present, though usually in small quantity. The turnip, the onion, mustard, horse- radish, and assafcetida, owe their peculiar flavors to volatile oils in which sulphur is an ingredient. _ Albumin, gluten and casein,—vegetable principles never absent from plant or animal,—possess also a small content of sulphur. In hair and horn it occurs to the amount of o to 5 per cent. When organic matters are burned with full access of air, their sulphur is oxidized and remains in the ash as sulphuric acid, or escapes into the air as sulphurous acid. Phosphorus is an element which has such intense af: AA. HOW CROPS GROW. finities for oxygen that it never occurs naturally in the free state, and when prepared by art, is usually obliged to be kept immersed in water to prevent its oxidizing, or even taking fire. It is known to the chemist in the solid state in two distinct forms. In the more commonly occur- ring form, it is colorless or yellow, translucent, wax-like in appearance; is intensely poisonous, inflames by moderate friction, and is luminous in the dark, hence its name, de- rived from two Greek words signifying light-bearer. The other form is brick red, opaque, far less inflammable, and destitute of poisonous properties. Phosphorus is exten- sively employed for the manufacture of friction matches. For this purpose yellow phosphorus is chiefly used. When exposed sufficiently long to the air, or immedi- ately, on burning, this element unites with oxygen, form- ing a body of the utmost agricultural importance, viz. : phosphoric acid. Exp. 18.—Burn a bit of phosphorus under a bottle as in Exp. 8, omit- ting the water on the plate. The snow-like cloud of phosphoric acid gathers partly on the sides of the bottle, but mostly on the plate. It attracts moisture when exposed to the air, and hisses when put into wa- ter. Dissolve a portion of it in water, and observe that the solution is acid to the taste. In nature phosphorus is usually found in the form of phosphates, which are compounds of metals with phos- phorie acid. In plants and animals, it exists for the most part as phosphates of lime, magnesia, potash, and soda. The bones of animals contain a considerable proportion (10 per cent) of phosphorus mainly in the form of phos- phate of lime. It is from them that the phosphorus em- ployed for matches is largely procured. Exp. 19.—Burn a piece of bone ina fire until tt becomes white, or nearly so. The bone loses about half its weight. What remains is bone-earth or bone-ash, and of this 90 per cent is phosphate of lime. Phosphates are readily formed by bringing together so- lutions of various metals with solution of phosphoric acid. Exp, 20.—Pour into each of two wine or test glasses a small quantity THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 45 of the solution of phosphoric acid obtained in Exp. 18. To one, add some lime-water (see note p. 36) until a white cloud or precipitate is per- ceived. This is a phosphate of lime. Into the other portion, drop solu- tion of alum. - A translucent cloud of phosphate of alumina is immediately produced. In soils and rocks, phosphorus exists in the state of such phosphates of lime, alumina, and_ iron. In the organic world the chemist has as yet detected phosphorus in other states of combination in but a few instances. In the brain and nerves, and in the yolk of egos, an oil containing phosphorus has been known for Some years, and recently similar phosphorized oils have been found in the pea, in maize, and other grains. We have thus briefly noticed the more important char- acters of those six bodies which constitute that part of plants, and of animals also, which is volatile or destruct- ible at high temperatures, viz.: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus. Out of these substances chiefly, which are often termed the organic elements of vegetation, are compounded all the numberless products of life to be met with, either in the vegetable or animal world. - ULTIMATE COMPOSITION OF VEGETABLE MATTER. To convey an idea of the relative proportions in which ' these six elements exist in plants, a statement of the ultimate or elementary percentage composition of several kinds of vegetable matter is here subjoined. Grainof Slirawof Tubersof Grain of Hay of Red Wheat. Wheat. Potato. Peas. Clover. COMED OMB oid poe. diet lesa ¥' fe a . 44 parts + —79 parts. Ammonia Peres Cee, ie Water, Hydrogen, 2 — ig t _18 parts 1 mol. =} Oxygen, 1 ‘“ Notation of Compounds.—For the purpose of express- ing easily and concisely the composition of compounds, and the chemical changes they undergo, chemists have agreed to make the symbol of an element signify one atom of that element. Thus H implies not only the light, combustible gas hy- drogen, but one part of it by weight as compared with other elements, and S suggests, in addition to the idea of the body sulphur, the idea of 32 parts of it by weight. Through this association of the atomic weight with the symbol, the composition of compounds is expressed in the simplest manner by writing the symbols of its elements one after the other, thus: carbonic oxide is represented by C O, oxide of mercury by Hg O, and sulphide of iron by Fe S. C O conveys to the chemist not only the fact of the existence of carbonic oxide, but also instructs him that its molecule contains an atom each of carbon and of oxygen, and from his knowledge of the atomic weights he gathers the proportions by weight of the carbon and oxygen in it. i 3 50 HOW CROPS GROW. When a compound contains more than one atom of an element, this is shown by appending a small figure to the symbol of the latter. For example: water consists of two atoms of hydrogen united to one of oxygen, the symbol of water is then H,O. In like manner the symbol of carbonic acid is C O,,. f When it is wished to indicate that more than one mole- cule of a compound exists in combination or is concerned in a chemical change, this is done by prefixing a large ficure to the symbol of the compound. For instance, two molecules of water are expressed by 2 H, O. The symbol of a compound is usually termed a formula. Subjoined is a table of the formulas of some of the com- pounds that have been already described or employed. FORMULAS OF COMPOUNDS. Name. Formula. Molecular weight. Water H, O 18 Sulphydric acid ELMS 2a 34. Sulphide of iron FeS 88 Oxide of Mercury Hg O 216 Carbonic acid (anhydrous) CO, 44. Chloride of calcium Ca Cl, 111 Sulphurous acid (anhydrous) 5S O, 64 Sulphuric acid SO, 80 Phosphoric acid Py O, 142 Empirical and Rational Formulas.—It is obvious that many different formulas can be made for a body of com- plex character. Thus, the carbonate of ammonia, whose composition has already been stated, (p. 49,) and which contains 1 atom of Nitrogen, 1°, .* Carbone 3 atoms “ Oxygen, and : 5 “ Hydrogen, may be most compactly expressed by the Soapbet NCO, THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. Bl Such a formula merely informs us what elements and how many atoms of each element enter into the composi- tion of the substance. It is an empirical formula, being the simplest expression of the facts obtained by analysis of the substance. Rational formulas, on the other hand, are intended to convey some notion as to the constitution, formation, or modes of decomposition of the body. For example, the fact that carbonate of ammonia results from the union of one molecule each of carbonic acid, water, and ammonia, is expressed by the formula ‘ Wakt,,.2, O; C O,; A substance may have as many rational formulas as there are rational modes of viewing its constitution. Equations of Formulas serve to explain the results of chemical reactions and changes. Thus the breaking up by heat of chlorate of potash into chloride of potassium and oxygen, is expressed by the following statement. Chlorate of potash. Chloride of potassium. Oxygen. Ie-Cl O, = K Cl xs O, The sign of equality, =, shows that what is written be- fore it supplies, and is resolved into what follows it. The ‘sign + indicates and distinguishes separate compounds. The employment of this kind of short-hand for exhibit- ing chemical changes will find fr equent illustration as we proceed with our subject. Modes of Stating Composition of Chemical Compounds. —These are two, viz., atomic or molecular statements and . centesimal statements, or proportions in one hundred parts, (per cent, p. c. or °|,.) These modes of expressing com- position are very useful for comparing together different compounds of the same elements, and, while usually the atomic statement answers for substances which are com- paratively simple in their composition, the statement per cent is more useful for complex bodies. The composition 52 HOW CROPS GROW. of the two compounds of carbon with oxygen is given be- low according to both methods. Atomic. Per cent. Atomic. Per cent. Carbon, (C,) 12 42.86 (C) 12 2.27 Oxygen, (O,) 16 57.14 (Oz) 32 12.13 Carbonic oxide, (C O,) 28 100.00 Carbonic acid, (C Oz,) 44 100.00 The conversion of one of these statements into the other is a case of simple rule of three, which is iliustrated in the following calculation of the centesimal composition of water from its atomic formula. Water, H, O, has the molecular weight 18, i.e., it consists of two atoms of hydrogen, or two parts, and one atom of oxygen, or sixteen parts by weight. The arithmetical proportions subjoined serve for the calculation, viz.: H, O Water H Hydrogen 18 Ftc 100 ar 2- .:. percent sought (—i111+) H, O Water O Oxygen BS eo ae. LOO on 16: percent sought ( = 88.88+) By multiplying together the second and third terms of these propor- tions, and dividing by the first, we obtain the required per cent, viz., of hydrogen, 11.11; and of oxygen, 88.88. The reader must bear well in mind that chemical affinity manifests itself with very different degrees of intensity between different bodies, and is variously modified, excited, or annulled, by other natural agencies and forces. § 4, VEGETABLE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS OR PROXIMATE ELEMENTS. We are now prepared to enter upon the study of the organic compounds, which constitute the vegetable struc- ture, and which are produced from the elements carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus, = the ced agency of plemscal and vital forces. The num- ber of distinct substances found in plants is practically un- limited. There are already well known to chemists hun- dreds of oils, acids, bitter principles, resins, coloring mat- ters, etc. Almost every plant contains some organic body THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. ae peculiar to itself, and usually the same plant in its different parts reveals to the senses of taste and smell the presence of several individual substances. In tea and coffee occurs an intensely bitter “active principle,” thein. From tobacco an oily liquid of eminently narcotic and poisonous proper- ties, nzcotin, can be extracted. In the orange are found no less than three oz/s ; one in the leaves, one in the flow- ers, and a third in the rind of the fruit. Notwithstanding the great number of bodies thus occur- ing in the vegetable kingdom, it is a few which form the bulk of all plants, and especially of those which have an agri- cultural importance as sources of food to man and animals. These substances, into which any plant may be resolved by simple, mostly mechanical means, are conveniently termed proximate elements, and we shall notice them in some de- tail under six principal groups, viz: 1. WarTeER. 2. The Crerrutose Grove or Amytors—Cellulose, (Wood,) Starch, the Sugars and Gums. 3. The PecrosrE Grovur—the Pulp and Jellies of Fruits and certain Roots. 4. The VreceTasitEe Acips. 5. The Fats and O1ts. 6. The Atsumryomp or Proter Boptss. 1. Water, H, O, as already stated, is the most abundant ingredient of plants. It is itself a compound of oxygen and | hydrogen, having the following centesimal composition : Oxygen, 88.88 Hydrogen, 11.11 100.00 It exists in all parts of the plant, is the immediate cause of the succulence of the tender parts, and is essential to the life of the vegetable organs. x _ In the following table are given the percentages of water in some of the more common agricultural products in the fresh state, but the pro- 54 HOW CROPS GROW. portions are not quite constant, even in the same part of different speci- mens of any given plant. WATER (per cent) IN FRESH PLANTS. NLERAOW OTASS. o.cccides sapmeies ac ce ais elon ce eee 72 Wedelover 05. a: ep Sas wee eee ee Cees) eee 79 Maize; ‘as used for fodder =... Ai sac. oe eee 81 CaDDAaG@e . «5 «ac si. FAR eee nisieise dee. Sen's: is oo 90 Potato tubers..2. oe see eee te eee oe oe ee Oe eee 7d mlcar beets .:..4.ca6 seems eaenine ss ot be Soest 82 Carrots .....s0 ove sbeeee ie ee eee s so ee ee 8d Harnips.:.\... 5) s.eseekeeeme ee cces >< ciet = cee 91 Pine WOOd . 25.002 53-e6ee aces depeche 40 In living plants, water is usually perceptible to the eye or feel, as sap. But it is not only fresh plants that con- tain water. When grass is made into hay, the water is by no means all dried out, but a considerable proportion re- mains in the pores, which. is not recognizable by the senses. So, too, seasoned wood, flour, and starch, when seemingly dry, contain a quantity of invisible water, which can be removed by heat. Exp. 21.—Into a wide glass tube, like that shown in fig. 2, place a spoonful of saw-dust, or starch, or a little hay. Warm over a lamp, but very slowly and cautiously, so as not to burn or blacken the substance. Water will be expelled from the organic matter, and will collect on the cold part of the tube. It is thus obvious that vegetable substances may con- tain water in two different conditions. Red clover, for example, when growing or freshly cut, 3 contains about 79 per cent of water. When the clover is dried, as for making hay, the greater share of this water es- capes, so that the ai7-dry plant contains but about 17 per cent. On subjecting the air-dry clover to a temperature of 212° for some hours, the water is completely expelled, and the substance becomes really dry. To drive off all water from vegetable matters, the chemist usually em- ploys a water-bath, fig. 9, consisting of a vessel of tin or copper plate, with double walls, between which is a space that may be nearly filled with water. The substance to be dried is placed in the interior chamber, THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 55 the door is closed, and the water is brought to boil by the heat of a lamp or stove. The precise quantity of water belonging to, or contained in, a substance, is ascertained by first weighing the substance, then drying it until its weight is constant. The Joss is water. In the subjoined table are given the average quantities, per cent, of water existing in yarious vegetable products when air-dry. WATER IN AIR-DRY PLANTS. Meadow RASS e (RAW) Sac oss fod sos go dels ellos wee 15 Med) clover Ways + siteeie ste ess se isawcesases a gee aS BS 17 ites WOOGR Ams sem tren ty ois cs8 cha. tes aeleemoeet hie 20 Straw and chaff of wheat, rye, ee ee ee era 15 Bs etna iiiterWVe dels ue tars epee whe ooo. 0 56 5 o/dee e.avsyn ae oe 18 Wheat, (rye, oat,) Kernel......... Logi slivesprane Searels eaeeene 14 EERE MERINO rere e cetera eters fae «oe ae aie Fa a aE iea/s «BUREN, Se 12 That portion of the water which the fresh plant loses by mere exposure to the air is chiefly the water of its juices or sap, and is manifest to the sight and feel as a liquid, in crushing the fresh plant; it is, properly speaking, the free water of vegetation. ‘The water which remains in the air- dry plant is imperceptible to the senses while in the plant, —can only be discovered on expelling it by heat or other- wise,—and may be Ca as the hygroscopic water of vegetation. The amount of water contained in either fresh or air- dry vegetable matter is constantly fluctuating with the temperature and the dryness of the atmosphere. 2. Tur CeLiuLose Group, or THE AMYLOIDS. This group comprises Cellulose, Starch, Inulin, Dextrin, Gum, Cane sugar, Fruit sugar, and Grape sugar. These bodies, especially cellulose and starch, form by far the larger ane ‘haps seven-eighths—of all the dry matter of vegetation, and most of them are distributed throughout all parts of plants. Cellulose, C,, H,, O,,—Every agricultural plant is an agsregate of microscopic cells, 1. ¢., is made up of minute sacks or closed tubes, adhering to each cther. 56 HOW CROPS BENE Fig. 10 represents an extremely thin slice from the stem of a cabbage, magnified 230 diameters. The united walls of two cells are seen in sec- tion at a, while at 6 an empty space is noticed. Fig. 10. The outer coating, or wall, of the cell is cellulose. This substance i is accordingly the skeleton or framework of the plant, and the material that gives tough- ness and solidity to its parts. Next to water it is the most abundant body in the vegetable world. All plants and all parts of all plants contain cellulose, but it is relatively most abundant in their stems and leaves. In seeds it forms a large portion of the husk, shell, or other outer coating, but in the interior of the seed it exists in small quantity. The fibers of cotton, (Fig. 11, a,) hemp, and flax, (Fig. 11, d,) and white cloth and unsized paper made from these materials, are nearly pure cellulose. The fibers of cotton, hemp, and flax, are simply long and thick-walled cells, the appearance of an which, when highly magnified, is shown in fig. ; ia Fig. 11, 11, where a represents the re oo more soft, and collapsed cotton fiber, and 6 the thicker and more durable fiber of linen, THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 57 Wood, or woody fiber, consists of long and slender cells of various forms and dimensions, see p. 271,) which are deli- cate when young, (in the sap nod) but as they become older fill up interiorly by the deposition of repeated layers of cellulose, which is intergrown with a substance, (or sub- stances,) called Zignin.* The hard shells of nuts and stone fruits contain a basis of cellulose, which is impreg- nated with ligneous matter. When quite pure, cellulose is a white, often silky or spongy, and translucent body, its appearance varying some- what according to the source whence it is obtained. In the air-dry state, it usually contains about 10°|, of hygro- scopic water. It has, In common with animal membranes, the character of swelling up when immersed in water, from imbibing this liquid; on drying again, it shrinks in bulk. It is tough and elastic. Cellulose differs remarkably from the other bade of this group, in the fact of its slight solubility in dilute acids and alkalies. It is likewise insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, the oils, and in most ordinary solvents. It is hence prepared in a state of purity by acting upon vegetable matters containing it with successive solvents, until all other matters are removed. The ‘“‘skeletonized”’ leaves, fruit vessels, etc., which compose those beautiful objects called phantom bouquets, are commonly made by dis- solving away the softer portions of fresh succulent plants by a hot solu- * According to F. Schulze, lignin impregnates, (not simply incrusts,) the cell-wall, it is soluble in hot alkaline solutions, and is readily oxidized by nitric acid. Schulze ascribes to it the composition Caron i. 3he3 co ce eas oe os ores 55.3 Hy drogeniaon-c seater eres eines 5.8 Oxy Pell 3:4 peat eer ners atest 38.9 100.0 . This is, however, simply the inferred composition of what is left after the cellulose, etc., have been removed. Lignin cannot be separated in the pure state, and has never been analyzed.. What is thus designated is probably a mix- - ture of several distinct substances. Lignin appears to be indigestible by herbivorous animals, (Grouven, V. Hof- meéster.).- 34 3% 58 HOW CROPS GROW. tion of caustic soda, and afterwards whitening the skeleton of fibers that- remains by means of chloride of lime, (bleaching powder.) They are al- most pure cellulose. : Skeletons may also be prepared by steeping vegetable matters in a mix- ture of chlorate of potash and dilute nitric acid for a number of days. Exp. 22.—To 500 cubic centimeters,* (or one pint,) of nitric acid of density 1.1, add 30 grams, (or one ounce,) of pulverized chlorate of pot- ash, and dissolve the latter by agitation. Suspend in this mixture a number of leaves, etc.,t and let them remain undisturbed, at a temper- ature not above 65° F., until they are perfectly whitened, which may re- quire from 10 to 20 days. The preparations of leaves should be floated out from the solutions on slips of paper, washed copiously in clear water, and dried under pressure between folds of unsized paper. The fibers of the whiter and softer kinds of wood are now much em- ployed in the fabrication of paper. For this purpose the wood is rasped to a coarse powder by machinery, then freed from lignin, starch, etc., by abot solution of soda, and finally bleached with chloride of lime. The husks of maize have been successfully employed in Austria, both for making paper and an inferior cordage. Though cellulose is insoluble in, or but slightly affected by dilute acids and alkalies, it is dissolved or altered by these agents, when they are concentrated or hot. The result of the action of strong acids and alkalies is very various, according to their kind and the degree of strength in which they are employed. The strongest nitric acid transforms cellulose into nitrocellulose, (pyrox- iline, gun cotton,) a body which burns explosively, and has been em- ployed as a substitute for gunpowder. Sulphuric acid ofa certain strength, by short contact with cellulose, con- verts it a tough, translucent substance which strongly resembles bladder or similar animal membranes. Paper, thus treated, becomes the vegetable parchment of commerce, * On subsequent pages we shall make frequent use of some of the French dec- imal weights and measures, for the reasons that they are much more convenient than the English ones, and are now almost exclusively employed in all scientific treatises and investigations. For small weights, the gram, abbreviated gm., (equal to 15% grains, nearly), is the customary unit. The unit of measure by vol- ume is the cubic centimeter, abbreviated c. c., (80 c. c. equal one fluid ounce nearly). Gram weights and glass measures graduated into cubic centimeters are furnished by all dealers in chemical apparatus. + Full-grown but not old leaves of the elm, maple, and maize, heads of un- ripe grain, slices of the stem and joints of maize, etc., may be employed to fur- nish skeletons that will prove valuable in the study of the structure of these organs. THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 59 Exp. 25.—To prepare parchment paper, fill a large cylindrical test tube first to the depth of an inch or so with water, then pour in three times this bulk of oil of vitriol, and mix. When the liquidis perfectly cool, im- merse into it a strip of unsized paper, and let it remain for about 15 sec- onds; then remove,and rinse it copiously in water. Lastly, soak for some minutes in water, to which a little ammonia is added, and wash again with pure water. These washings are for the purpose of removing the acid. The success of this experiment depends upon the proper strength of the acid, and the time of immersion. If need be, repeat, va- rying these conditions slightly, until the result is obtained. Prolonged contact with strong sulphuric acid converts cellulose into dextrin, and finally into sugar, (see p. 75.) Other intermediate products are, however, formed, whose nature is little understood; but the properties of one of them is employed as a ¢es¢ for cellulose. Exp. 24.—Spread a slip of unsized paper upon a china plate, and pour upon it a few drops of the diluted sulphuric acid of Exp. 23. After some time the paper is seen to swell up and partly dissolve. Now flowit witha weak solution of iodine,* when these dissolved portions will assume a fine and intense blue AIDS This deportment is characteristic of cellulose, and may be employed for its recognition under the microscope. If the experiment be repeated, using a larger proportion of acid, and allowing the action to continue for a considerably longer time, the substance producing the blue color is itself destroyed or Sanencd ae sugar, and addition of iodine has no effect.t Boiling for some hours with dilute saleaiistt acid also transforms cellulose into sugar, and, under certain circum- stances, chlorhydric acid and alkalies have the same effect upon it. The denser and more impure forms of cellulose, as they occur in wood and straw, are slowly acted upon by chemi- cal agents, and are not easily digestible by most animals; but the cellulose of young and succulent stems, leaves, and fruits, is digestible to a large extent, especially in the stomachs of animals which naturally feed on herbage, and therefore cellulose ranks among the nutritive substances. ® Dissolve a fragment of iodine as large as a wheat kernel in 20c. c. of alco- hol, add 100 c. c. of water to the solution, and preserve in a well stoppered bottle. “+ According to Grouven, cellulose prepared from rye straw, (and impure ?) requires several hours’ action of sulphuric acid before it will strike a blue color . with iodine, (ter Sulzmiinder Bericht, p. 467.) 60 HOW CROPS GROW. Chemical composition of cellulose.—This body is a com- pound of the three elements, carbon, oxygen, and hydro- gen, Analyses of it, as prepared from a multitude of sources, demonstrate that its composition is expressed by the formula, C,, H,, O,,. In 100 parts it contains Carbon, 44,44 Hydrogen, 6.17 Oxygen, 49.39 100.00 Modes of estimating cellulose—In statements of the composition of plants, the terms fiber, woody fiber, and crude cellulose, are often met with. These are applied to more or less impure cellulose, which is obtained as a residue after removing other matters, as far as possible, by alternate treatment with dilute acids and alkalies, but without acting to any great extent on the cellulose itself. The methods formerly employed, and those by which most of our analyses have been made, are confessedly imperfect. Ifthe solvents are too concentrated, or the temperature at which they act is too high, cellulose itself is dissolved; while with too dilute reagents a portion of other matters remains unattacked. The method adopted by Henneberg, ( Versuchs-Stationen, VI, 497,) with quite good results, is as follows: 3 grams of the finely divided substance are boiled for half an hour with 200 cubic centimeters of dilute sulphuric acid, (containing 114 per cent of oil of vitriol,) and after the substance has settled, the acid liquid is poured off. The residue is boiled again for half an hour with 200 c. ce. of water, and this operation is repeated a second time. The residual substance is now boiled half an hour with 200 c. c. of dilute potash lye, (containing 11¢ per cent of dry caustic potash,) and after removing the alkaline liquid, it is boiled twice with water as before. What remains is brought upon a filter, and washed with water, then with alcohol, and, lastly, with ether, as long as these solvents take up anything. This sae cellulose eonnatne ash and nitro- gen, for which corrections must be made. The nitrogen is assumed to belong to some albuminoid, and from its quantity the amount of the latter is calculated, (see p. 108.) Even with these corrections, the quantity of cellulose is not obtained with entire accuracy, as is usually indicated by its appearance and its composition. While, according to V. Hofmeister, the crude cellulose thus prepared from the pea is perfectly white, that from wheat bran is brown, and that from rape-cake is almost black in color. Grouven gives the following analyses of two samples of crude cellulose obtained by a method essentially the same as we haye described. (ter Salzmiinder Bericht, p. 456.) a we THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 61 Rye-straw fiber. Linen fiber. WEY es ean clos 8.65 5.40 PAH cafes tn ater eoatenh ix 2.05 1.14 a: cehnctseee' = « 0.15 0.26 Cet EIA 42.47 38.36 Fags deb auasret 6.04 5.89 Oe, or ae 40.64 48.95 . 100.00 100.00 On deducting water and ash, and making proper correction for the nitrogen, the above samples, together with one of wheat-straw fiber, analyzed by Henneberg, exhibit the following composition, compared with pure cellulose. Rye-straw fiber. Linen fiber. Wheat-straw fiber. Pure cellulose. MENS eit sche a's. « 47.5 41.0 45.4 44.4 12 (A es eee 6.8 6.4 6.3 6.2 a ene 45.7 52.6 48.3 49.4. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Franz Schulze, of Rostock, proposed in 1857 another method for esti- mating peifalese: which has recently, (1866, ) been shown to be more cor- rect than the one already described. Kihn, Aronstein, and H. Schulze, (Henneberg’s Journal fiir Landwirthschaft, 1866, pp. 289 to 297,) have ap- plied this method in the following manner: - One part of the dry pulver- ized substance, (2 to 4 granfs,) which has been previously extracted with water, alcohol, and ether, is placed in a glass-stoppered bottle, with 0.8 part of chlorate of potash and 12 parts of nitric acid of specific gravity 1.10, and digested at a temperature not exceeding 65° F. for 14 days. At the expiration of this time, the contents of the bottle are mixed with | some water, brought upon a filter, and washed, firstly, with cold and afterwards, with hot water. When all the acid and soluble matters have been washed out, the contents of the filter are emptied into a beaker, and heated to 165° F. for about 45 minutes with weak ammonia, (1 part commercial ammonia to 50 parts of water) ; the substance is then brought upon a weighed filter, and washed, first, with dilute ammonia, as long as this passes off colored, then with cold and hot water, then with alcohol, and, finally, with ether. The substance remaining contains a small quantity of ash and nitrogen, for which corrections must be made. The fiber is, however, purer than that procured by the other method, and a somewhat larger quantity, (14 to 114 per cent,) is obtained. The results appear to vary but about one per cent from the truth. The average proportions of cellulose found in various vegetable matters in the usual or air-dry state, are as follows: 62 HOW CROPS GROW. AMOUNT OF CELLULOSE IN PLANTS. Per cent. Per cent. EOLALD DUET oc c/bien » nis Pe Red clover plant in flower...10 MVnewt Kemel. 6. cess 3.0 a3 (Cs SDty..o ee eee 34 ey reat nreal. ys. sae 0.7 Timothy SCN ii Snee eens 23 Waigze denne): . 2. 2cnee. 6? 5:5. (Maize cobs. -s.2. ees 38 TESTE EY aise i ee Pe epee 8.0 Oat: Straw. < <.c2.é sco eae 40 Oat MS A oe: aoe 10.3 Wheat“*: ......26 see 48 Buckwheat kernel....... 15.0 Rye OM 2S eee 54 Starch, C,, H,, O,,.—The cells of the seeds of wheat, corn, and all other grains, and the tubers of the potato, contain this familiar body in great abundance. It occurs also in the wood of all forest trees, especially in autumn and winter. It accumulates in extraordinary quantity in the pith of some plants, as in the Sago-palm, (Metroxylon Rumphii,) of the Malay Islands, a single tree of which may yield 800 lbs. Starch occurs in greater or less quantity in every plant | that has been examined for it. The preparation of starch from the potato is very sim- ple. The potato contains, on the average, 76 per cent wa- ter, 20 per cent starch, and 1 per cent of cellulose, while the remaining 3 per cent consists mostly of matters which are easily soluble in water. By grating, the potatoes are reduced to a pulp; the cells are thus broken and the starch- grains set at liberty. The pulp is then agitated on a fine sieve, in a stream of water. The washings run off milky, from suspended starch, while the cellulose is retamed by the sieve. The milky fluid is allowed to rest in vats until the starch is deposited. It is then poured off, and the starch is collected and dried. | Wheat-starch is commonly made by allowing wheaten flour mixed with water to ferment for several weeks. By this process the gluten, etc., are converted into soluble matters, which are removed by washing, from the unalter- ed starch. Starch is now largely manufactured from maize. A THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 63 dilute solution of caustic soda is used to dissolve the al- buminoids, see p. 95. The starch and bran remaining, are separated by diffusing both in water, when the bran rap- idly settles, and the water being run off at the proper time, deposits the pure starch, corn-starch of commerce, also known as mazzena. Starch is prepared by similar methods from rice, horse- chestnuts, and various other plants. Arrow-root is starch obtained by grating and washing the root-sprouts of Maranta Indica, and M. arundinacea, plants native to the West Indies. Exp. 25.—Reduce a clean potato to pulp by means of a tin grater. Tic up. the pulp in a piece of not too fine muslin, and squeeze it repeat- edly in a quart or more of water. The starch grains thus pass the meshes of the cloth, while the cellulose is retained. Let the liquid stand until the starch settles, pour off the water, and dry the residue. Starch, as usually seen, is a white powder which con- sists of minute, rounded grains, and hence has a slightly harsh feel. When observed under a powerful magnifier, these grains often present characteristic forms and dimen- sions. In potato-starch they are egg or kidney-shaped, and are distinctly marked with curved lines or ridges, which sur- round a point or eye; a, fig. 12. Wheat-starch consists of grains shaped like a thick burning-glass, or spectacle-lens, having a cavity in the centre, 6. Oat-starch is made up of compound grains, which are easily crushed into smaller 64 HOW CROPS GROW. granules, c. In maize and rice the grains are usually so densely packed in the cells as to present an angular (six- sided) outline, as in d. The starch of the bean and pea has the appearance of ¢. ‘The minute starch-grains of the parsnip are represented at 7, and those of the beet at g. The grains of potato-starch are among the largest, be- ing often 1-300th of an inch in diameter; wheat-starch grains are about 1-1000th of an inch; those of rice, 1-3000th of an inch, while those of the beet-root are still smaller. Unorganized Starch exists as a jelly in several plants, according to Schleiden, (Botanik p. 127). Dragendorff asserts, that in the seeds of colza and mustard the starch does not occur in the form of grains, but in an unorganized state, which he considers to be the same as that no- ticed by Schleiden. : The starch-grains are unacted upon by cold water, un- less broken, (see Exp. 26,) and quickly settle from suspen- sion in it. When starch is triturated for a long time with cold water, whereby the grains are broken, the liquid, after filtering or standing until perfectly clear, contains starch in extremely minute quantity. When starch is heated to near boiling with 12 to 15 times its weight of water, the grains swell and burst, or exfoliate, the water is absorbed, and the whole forms a jelly. This is the starch-paste used by the laun- dress for stiffening muslin. The starch is but very slightly dissolved by this treatment; see Exp. 27. On freezing, it separates almost perfectly. When starch-paste is dried, it forms a hard, horn-like mass. Tapioca and Sago are starch, which, from being heated while still moist, is partially converted into starch-paste, and, on drying, acquires a more or less translucent aspect. Tapioca is obtained from the roots of the Manihot, a plant which is cultivated in the West Indies and South America. Cassava is a preparation of the same starch, roasted. Sago is made in the islands of the East Indian Archipelago, from the pith of palms. It is granulated by forcing the paste through metallic sieves. Both tapioca and sago are now imitated from potato starch. Test for Starch.—The chemist is enabled to recognize starch with the greatest ease and certainty by its peculiar deportment towards iodine, which, when dissolved in wa- ter or alcohol and brought in contact with starch, gives it a beautiful purple or blue color. This test may be used even in microscopic observations with the utmost facility. THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 65 Exp. 26.—Shake together in a test tube, 80 ¢. c. of water and starch of the bulk of a kernel of maize. Add solution of iodine, drop by drop, agitating until a faint purplish color appears. Pour off half the liquid into another test tube, and add at once to it one-fourth its bulk of iodine solution. The latter portion becomes intensely blue by transmitted, or almost black by reflected light. On standing, observe that in the first ease, where starch preponderates, it settles to the bottom leaving a colorless liquid, which shows the insolubility of starch in cold water; _the starch itself has a purple or red tint. In the case iodine was used in excess, the deposited starch is blue-black. Exp. 27.—Place a bit of starch as large as a grain of wheat in 30. e. of cold water and heat to boiling. The starch is converted into thin, translucent paste. That a portion is dissolved is shown by filtering through paper and adding to one-half of the filtrate a few drops of iodine solution, when a perfectly clear blue liquid is obtained. The delicacy of the reaction is shown by adding to 30 c. ec. of water a little solution of iodine, and noting that a few drops of the solution of starch suffice to make the Jarge mass of liquid perceptibly blue. By the prolonged action of dry heat, hot water, acids, or alkalies, starch is converted first into dextrin, and finally into sugar (glucose), as will be presently noticed. The same transformations are accomplished by the action of living yeast, and of the so-called diastase of germinat- ing seeds; see p. 328. The saliva of man and plant-eating animals usually likewise dissolves starch at blood heat by converting it in- to sugar. It is much more promptly converted into sugar by the liquids of the large intestine. It is thus digested when eaten by animals. It is, in fact, one of the most im- portant ingredients of the food of man and domestic ani- mals. The action of saliva demonstrates that starch-grains are not homoge- neous, but contain asmall proportion of matter not readily soluble in this liquid. This remains as a delicate skeleton after the grains are other- wise dissolved. It is probably cellulose. The chemical composition of starch is identical with that of cellulose; see p. 60. Air-dry starch always contains a considerable amount of hygroscopic water, which usually ranges from 12 to 20 per cent. 66 HOW CROPS GROW. - Next to water and cellulose, starch is the most abundant ingredient of agricultural plants. In the subjoined table are given the proportions contained in certain vegetable products, as determined by Dr. Dragendorff. The quantities are, however, somewhat variable. Since the figures below mostly refer to air-dry substances, the proportions of hygroscopic water are also given, the quantity of which being changeable must be taken into ac- count in making any strict comparisons. AMOUNT OF STARCH IN PLANTS. Water. Starch. Fer cent. Per cent. Wilh@att Sa cyee Aammanstoeeeieee 13.2 59.5 Wile nt tl Omir cierto tae ters 15.8 68.7 ARV G) elects ote a= ters te steric 11.0 59.7 Oats: Vee Be Res 6 AY) 46.6 BiUrley..ceeees eee enh e 11.5 57.5 Timothy SCCUs. . oman. 12.6 45.0 ice (hulled). 205.2% 3 13.3 61.7 BBN Sen kien aio oscars s 5.0 37.3 Beans (white).......... LGLTE = 33.0 Cloveriseeds. 255. 2ecikek 10.8 10.8 TB laKSECE Gp ch cute sere ales 4.6 23.4 Mustard seed..........- 8.5 9.9 @olza Seeds: cus clan oece 5.8 8.6 Teitow turnips. 2.2003 dry substance 9.8 (RORUOCS.22 > ee eet eee dry substance 62.5 Starch is quantitatively estimated by various methods. 1. In case of potatoes or cereal grains, it may be determined roughly by direct mechanical separation. For this purpose 5 to 20 grams of the substance are reduced to fine division by grating (potatoes) or by soften- ing in warm water, and crushing in a mortar (grains). The pulp thus obtained is washed either upon a fine hair-sieve or in a bag of muslin, until the water runs off clear. The starch is allowed to settle, dried, and weighed. The value of this method depends upon the care employed in the operations. The amount of starch falls out too low, because it is impossible to break open all the minute cells of the substance analyzed. 2. In many cases starch may be estimated with more precision by con- version into sugar; see p. 76. 3. Dr. Dragendorff, of the Rostock Laboratory, proceeds with starch de- terminations as follows: The pulverized substance, after drying out all hygroscopic moisture at 212°, is digested for 18 to 30 hours, at a tem- perature of 212°, in 10 to 12 times its weight of a solution of 5 to 6 parts of hydrate of potash in 94 to 95 parts of anhydrous alcohol. The digestion must take place in sealed glass tubes, or in a silver vessel which admits of closing perfectly. By this treatment the * A sweet and mealy turnip grown on light soils for table use. aks ‘ a ee eg eS ne eT | THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 67 albuminoid substances, the fats, the sugar, and dextrin, are brought into such a condition that simple washing with alcohol or water suf- fices to remove them completely. The chief part of the phosphoric and silicic acids is likewise rendered soluble. The starch-grains are not affected, neither does the cellulose undergo alteration, either qualitatively or quantitatively. In fact, this treatment serves excellently to isolate starch-grains for microscopic investigations. Besides starch and cellulose nothing resists the action of alcoholic potash save portions of cuticle, gum, and some earthy salts. When the digestion is finished, it is advisable, especially in case the substance is rich in fat, to bring the contents of the tube upon a filter while still hot, as otherwise potash-salts of the fatty acids may crystallize out. It is also well to wash immediately, first, with hot absolute alcohol, then, with cold alcohol of ordinary strength, and finally, with cold wa- ter until these several solvents remove nothing more. In the analysis of matters which contain much mucilage, as flaxseed, the washing must be completed with alcohol of 8 to 10 per cent, to prevent the swelling up of the residue. The filter should be of good ordinary (not Swedish) paper, should be washed with chlorhydri¢ acid and water, dried at 212°, and weighed. When the substance is completely washed, the filter and its contents are dried, first at 120°, and finally at 212°. The loss consists of albumi- noids, fat, sugar, and a part of the salts of the substance, and when the last three are separately estimated, it may serve to control the estima- tion, by elementary analysis, of the albuminoids. The filter, with its contents, is now reduced to powder or shreds, and the whole is heated with water containing 5 per cent of chlorhydric acid until a drop of the liquid no longer reacts blue with iodine. The treatment with potash leaves the starch-grains in such a state of purity from incrusting matters, that their conversion into dextrin proceeds with great promptness, and is accomplished before the cellulose begins to be perceptibly acted upon. By weighing the residue that remains from the action of chlorhydric acid, after washing and drying, the amount of cellulose, cork, lignin, gum, and insoluble fixed matters is found. By subtracting these from the weight of the substance after exhaustion with potash, the quantity of starch is learned with great ac- curacy. The only error introduced by this method lies in the solution of some saline matters by the acid. The quantity is, however, so small as rarely to be appreciable. If needful, it can be taken into account by evaporating the acid solution to dryness, incinerating and weighing the residue. By warming with concentrated malt-extract at 132°, the starch alone is taken into solution, and no cerrection is needed for saline mat- ters. If it is wished to determine the sugar produced by the transfor- mation of the starch, a weaker acid must of course be employed. Incase ol mucilaginous substances, the starch must be extracted by digestion with a strong solution of chloride of sodium, with which the requisite quantity of chlorhydric acid has been mixed, and the residue should be 68 HOW CROPS GROW. washed with water to which some alcohol has been added.—Henneberg’s Journal fiir Landwirthschaft, 1862, p. 206. Inulin, C,, H,, O,,, closely resembles starch in many points, and appears to replace that body in the roots of the artichoke, elecampane, dahlia, dandelion, chicory, and other plants of the same natural family (composite). It may be obtained in the form of minute white grains, which dissolve easily in hot water, and mostly separate again as the water cools. Unlike starch, inulin exists in a liquid form in the roots above named, and separates in erains from the clear pressed juice when this is kept some time. According to Bouchardat, the juice of the dahlia tuber, expressed in winter, becomes a semi-solid white mass in this way, after reposing some hours, from the separa- tion of 8 per cent of this substance. Inulin, when pure, gives no coloration with iodine. It may be recognized in plants, where it occurs in a solution usually of the consistence of a thin oil, by soaking a slice of the plant in strong alcohol. Inulin is insoluble in this liquid, and under its influence shortly separates as a solid in the form of spherical granules, which may be identified with the aid of the microscope. When long boiled with water it is slowly but complete- ly converted into a kind of sugar, (levulose); hot dilute acids accomplish the same transformation in a short time. It is digested by animals, and doubtless has the same value for. food as starch. In chemical composition, inulin agrees perfectly with cellulose and starch; see p. 60. Dextrin, C,, H,, O,,, has been thought to occur in small quantity dissolved in the sap of all plants. According to Von Bibra’s late investigations, the substance existing in bread-grains which earlier experimenters believed to be dextrin, is in reality gum. Busse, who has still more recently examined various young cereal plants and seeds, THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 69 and potato tubers, for dextrin, found it only in old potatoes and young wheat plants, and there in very small quantity. —Juahresbericht fiir Chemie, 1866, p. 664. Dextrin is easily prepared artificially by the transforma- tion of starch, and its interest to us is chiefly due to this fact. When starch is exposed some hours to the heat of an oven, or 30 minutes to the temperature of 415° F., the grains swell, burst open, and are gradually converted into a light-brown substance, which dissolves readily in water, forming aclear, gummy solution. Thisis dextrin, and thus prepared it is largely used in the arts, especially in calico- printing, as a cheap substitute for gum arabic, and bears the name British gum. In the baking of bread it is form- ~ ed from the starch of the flour, and often constitutes ten per cent of the loaf. The glazing on the crust of bread, or upon biscuits that have been steamed, is chiefly due to a coating of dextrin. Dextrin is thus an important ingre- dient of those kinds of food which are prepared from the starchy grains by cooking. — British gum, or commercial dextrin, appears either in translucent brown masses, or as a yellowish-white powder. On addition of cold water, the dextrin readily dissolves, leaving behind a portion of unaltered starch. When the solution is mixed with strong alcohol, the dextrin separates in white flocks, which, upon agitation, unite to. translucent salvy clumps. With iodine, solution of commercial dex- trin gives a fine purplish-red color. Pure dextrin is, how- ever, unaffected by iodine. _ Exp. 28.—Cautiously heat a spoonful of powdered starch in a porce- lain dish, with constant stirring so that it may not burn, for the space of five minutes; it acquires a yellow, and later, a brown color. Now add thrice its bulk of water, and heat nearly to boiling. Observe that a slimy solution is formed. Pour it upona filter; the liquid that runs through contains dextrin. To a portion, add twice its bulk of alcohol; dextrin is precipitated. To another portion, add solution of iodine; this shows the presence of dissolved but unaltered starch, which likewise re- mains solid in considerable quantities upon the filter. Toa third portion 70 ; HOW CROPS GROW. of the filtrate add one drop of strong sulphuric acid, and boil a few minutes. Test with iodine, which will now prove that all the starch is transformed. Not only heat, but likewise acids and ferments produce dextrin from starch, and also from cellulose. In the sprouting of seeds it is formed from starch, and hence is an ingredient of malt liquors. It is often contained in the animal body. Limpricht obtained nearly a pound of dextrin from 200 lbs. of the flesh of a young horse-—Ann. Ch. Ph., 133, p. 295. The chemical composition of dextrin is the same as that of cellulose, starch, and inulin. The Gums.—A number of bodies exist in the vegetable kingdom, which, from the similarity of their properties, have received the common designation of Gums. The best known are Gum Arabic, or Arabin ; the gum of the Cherry and Plum, or Cerasin ; Gum Tragacanth and Bas- sora Gum, or Bassorin ; and the Vegetable Mucilage of various roots, viz., of mallow and comfrey; and of certain seeds, as those of flax and quince. Arabin.—Gum Arabic or Arabin exudes from the stems of various species of acacia that grow in the tropi- cal countries of the East, especially in Arabia and Egypt. It occurs in tear-like, transparent, and, in its purest form, colorless masses. These dissolve easily in their own weight of water, forming a viscid liquid, or mucilage, which is em- ployed for causing adhesion between surfaces of paper, and for thickening colors in calico-printing. Gum Arabic, when burned, leaves about 3 per cent of ash, chiefly car- bonates of lime and potash; it is, in fact, a compound of lime and potash with Arabic acid. Arabic Acid is obtained pure by mixing a strong solution of gum Arabic with chlorhydric acid, and adding aleohol. It is thus pre- cipitated as a milk-white mass, which, when dried at 212°, becomes transparent, and has the composition Cy, Hee On. ; THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. fa: In 100 parts, Arabic acid contains : Carbon 42.12 Hydrogen 6.41 Oxygen 51.47 é 100.00 By exposure to a temperature of 250°, Arabic acid loses one molecule of water, and becomes insoluble in water, being transformed into Meiarabie Acid, (Fremy’s Acidg metagummique). Cerasin.—The gum which frequently forms glassy masses on the bark of cherry, plum, apricot, peach, and almond trees, is a mixture in variable proportions of Arabin, or the arabates of lime and potash, with cerasin, or the metarabates of lime and potash. Cold water dis- solves the former, while the cerasin remains undissolved, but swollen to a pasty mass or jelly. Wietarabic Acid is prepared, as above stated, by exposing Arabic acid to a temperature of 250° F., and its composition is Cyg Hop Oxo. It is likewise produced by putting solution of gum Arabie in contact with oil of vitriol. On the other hand, metarabic acid is converted into Arabic acid, by boiling with water and a little lime or aikali. Metarabic acid, as well as its compounds with lime, potash, etc., are insoluble in water. Bassorin, C,, H,, O,,, as found in Gum Tragacanth, has much similarity to metarabic acid in its properties, being insoluble in water, but swelling up in it to a paste or jelly. Vegetable Mucilage, C,, H,, O,,, has the same composition, and near- a ly the same characters as Bassorin, and is possibly identical with it. It ' is an almost universal constituent — : c AUT of plants. LOUD COCDOGU CODCOD CUOCE Itis procured in astate of purity by soak- fe ing unbroken flaxseed in cold water, with frequent agitation, heating the liquid to boiling, straining, and evaporating, until addition of alcohol separates tenacious threads from it. Itis then precipitated by aleohol containing a little chlorhydric acid, and washed by the same mixture. On drying, it forms a horny, colorless, and friable mass. Fig. 18 represents a highly magnified sec- ye) HOW CROPS GROW. tion of the flaxseed. The external cells, a, contain the mucilage. When soaked in water, the mucilage swells, bursts the cells, and exudes. One or other of these kinds of gum has been found in the following plants, viz., basswood, elm, apple, grape, castor-oil bean, mangold, tea, sunflower, pepper, in various sea-weeds, and in the seeds of wheat, rye, barley, oats, maize, rice, buckwheat, and millet. | In the bread-grains, Arabin, or at least a soluble gum, occurs often in considerable proportion. TABLE OF THE PROPORTIONS. (per cent) OF GUM IN VARIOUS AIR-DRY PLANTS OR PARTS OF PLANTS. (According to Von Bibra, Die Getreidearten und das Brod.) OWihealt HCPM CU SP Aas. oh. ae gal ol eee Re 4.50 Wheagalour, sipertimes oe? cfcts salt 6.25 Spelé flour, \(Tritiewm ‘spelta eA 2ee se 2.48 Mies iN ran $2)5.65 gee Seok released kas 8.85 DPpelGMGar wep. whic SS Sepecadaklaci ta eh yeiee 12.52 Bye kernel : dae lciew phiieed Goes tye eee 4,10 PeVie SUOMI sib cai rein iceaetthal ais gh fae ee epee 7.25 ye Dias face ey Bs Seg eds S see dee ee 10.40 Barleys Homie eas, a0 ths ws ates Gad A etersie ce Bios 6.33 Barley MOrawe ttc. .s, cers "ca, 2S S a eS 6.88 Oatmeal is ahs aie ksh os tee a ae 3.50 PUTCO AMO MT HE 5 Gite oa ante fee ecig ome aeons 2.00 MTG MOU on. 5 cts iaeisyoss.ocejes ce SRS ae eee 10.60 Maize (meals .,..35,. i000 es eeees soe ee ene 3.05 Buckwheatyhour. 205.5: . Ae. cate eee eee 2.85 The gums are converted into sugar by long boiling with dilute acids. The recent experiments of Grouven show that, contrary to what has been taught hitherto, gum, (at least gum Arabic,) is digestible by domestic animals. Saccharose or Cane Sugar, C,, H,, O,,, so called be- cause first and chiefly prepared from the sugar cane, is the ordinary sugar of com- merce. When pure, it is a white sold, | readily soluble in water, forming a color- Fig. A4. less, ropy, and intensely sweet solution. It crystallizes in rhombic prisms, fig. 14, which are usually small, as in vy 7 THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 73 granulated sugar, but in the form of rock candy may be found an inch or more im length. The crystallized sugar obtained largely from the sugar-beet, in Europe, and that furnished in the United States by the sugar-maple and sorghum, when pure, are identical with cane-sugar. Saccharose also exists in the vernal juices of the walnut, birch, and other trees. It occurs in the stems of unripe maize, in the nectar of flowers, in fresh honey, in parsnips, turnips, carrots, parsley, sweet potatoes, in the stems and roots of grasses, and in a multitude of fruits. Exp. 29.—Heat cautiously a spoonful of white sugar until it melts, (at 356° F.,) to a clear yellow liquid. On rapid cooling, it gives a transpar- ent mass, known as barley sugar, which is employed in confectionery. At a higher heat, it turns brown, froths, emits pungent vapors, and be- comes burnt sugar, or caramel, which is used for coloring soups, ale, etc. The quantity per cent of saccharose in the juice of various plants is given in the annexed table. It is, of course, variable, depending upon the variety of plant in case of cane, beet, and sorghum, as well as upon the stage of growth. SACCHAROSE IN PLANTS. per cent. MOAT -CaMey AVETAGE! 5. si. wis sie ees 18 Peligot Sugar beet, Be Saree Roy oh avatar cicudietate 10 a Sorghum ....... EWA ter Han opatstONG ae 914 Goessmann DIAS HIGH HOW OEE cist as afeiers% 0 ve 334 Lidersdorff Sugar maple, sap,average.......... 216 Liecbig Red maple, ‘ oo aan Rr Ae Pe ae When a solution of this sugar is heated with dilute acids, or when acted on by yeast, it is converted into a mix- ture of equal parts of levulose, (fruit sugar,) and glucose, erape sugar.) The composition of saccharose is the same as that of Arabic acid, and it contains in 100 parts: ! = Carbon 42.11 : pe Hydrogen 6.43 Oxygen 51.46 | 100.00 7 -Levulose, or Fruit Sugar, (Fructose,) C,, H,, O,,, exists mixed with other sugars in sweet fruits, honey, and mo- 4 74. llOW CROPS GROW. lasses. Inulin is converted into this sugar by long boil- ing with dilute acids, or with water alone. When pure, it is a colorless, amorphous* mass. It is incapable of erys- tallizing or granulating, and usually exists dissolved in a small proportion of water as a syrup. Its sweetness is equal to that of saccharose. ! Levulose contains in 100 parts: Carbon 40.00 Hydrogen 6.67 Oxygen 53.33 100.00 Glucose or Grape Sugar, C,, H,, O,,, naturally occurs associated with levulose in the juices of plants and in honey. Granules of glucose separate from the juice of the grape in drying, as may be seen in old “ candied” raisins. Honey often granulates, or candies, on long keeping, from the crystallization of a part of its glucose. Glucose is formed from dextrin by the action of hot | dilute acids, in the same way that levulose is produced from inulin. In the pure state it exists as minute, color- less crystals, and is, weight for weight, but half as sweet as the foregoing sugars. In composition it is identical with levulose. It combines chemically with water in two proportions. Mono-hy- drated glucose, (Cy2 H2, O12. H,O,) or Anthon’s hard crystallized grape- sugar, which is prepared in Germany by a secret process, is dry to the feel. Bi-hydrated glucose, (Cy, Ho, Oj. 2H2O,) occurs in commerce in an impure state as a soft, sticky, crystalline mass, which becomes doughy at a slightly elevated temperature. Both these hydrates lose their erystal- water at 212°. Dissolved in water, glucose yields a syrup, which is thin, and destitute of the ropiness of cane-sugar syrup. It does not crystallize, (granulate,) so readily as cane-sugar. Exp. 30.—Mix 100 ec. c. of water with 30 drops of strong sulphuric acid, and heat to vigorous boiling in a glass flask. Stir 10 grams of * Literally without shape, i. e., not crystallized. j 2 THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 75 starch with a little water, and pour the mixture into the hot liquid, drop by drop, soas not to interrupt the boiling. The starch dissolves, and passes first into dextrin, and finally into glucose. Continue the ebul- lition for several hours, replacing the evaporated water from time to time. To remove the sulphuric acid, add to the liquid, which may be still milky from impurities in the starch, powdered chalk, until the sour taste disappears; filter from the sulphate of lime, (gypsum,) that is formed, and evaporate the solution of glucose* at a gentle heat tos syrupy consistence. On long standing it may crystallize or granulaie. By this method is prepared the so-called potato-sugar, or starch-sugar of commerce, which is added to grape-juice for making a stronger wine, and is also employed to adulterate cane or beet-sugar. In the sprouting and malting of grain, glucoset is like- wise produced from starch. Even cellulose is convertible into glucose by the pro- longed action of hot dilute acids, and saw-dust has thus been made to yield an impure syrup, suitable for the pro- duction of alcohol. In the formation of glucose from cellulose, starch, and dextrin, the latter substances take up the elements of water as represented by the equation Starch, &e. Water. Glucose. Cie Hoo Oro + 2H20 = Cre Hos Ove In this process, 90 parts of starch, &c., yield 100 parts of glucose. Tronmer’s Copper test.—A characteristic test for glucose and levulose is found in their deportment towards an alkaline solution of oxide of copper, which readily yields up oxygen to these sugars, being itself re- duced to yellow or red suboxide. Exp. 31.—Prepare the copper test by dissolving together in 30 c. c. of warm water a pinch of sulphate of copper and one of tartaric acid; add to the liquid, solution of caustic potash until it feels slippery to the skin. Place in separate test tubes a few drops of solution of cane-sugar, a Similar amount of the dextrin solution, obtained in Exp. 28; of solu- tion of glucose, from raisins, or from Exp. 30; and of molasses; add to each a little of the copper solution, and place them in avesscl of hot * If the boiling has been kept up but an hour or so, the glucose will contain dextrin, as may be ascertained by mixing a small portion of the still acid liquid with 5 times its bulk of strong alcohol, which will precipitate dextrin, but not glucose. . _ t According to.some authorities, the sugar of malt is distinct from glucose, and has been designated maltose. Probably, however, the so-called maltose is a mixture of glucose and dextrin. %6 HOW CROPS GROW. water. Observe that the saccharose and dextrin suffer no alteration for a long time, while the glucose and molasses shortly cause the separation of suboxide of copper. Exp. 32.—Heat to boiling a little white cane-sugar with 30c. ¢c. of water, and 8 drops of strong sulphuric acid, in a glass or porcelain dish, for 15 minutes, supplying the waste of water as needful, and test the liquid as in the last Exp. It will be found that this treatment trans- forms saccharose into glucose, (and levulose.) The quantitative estimation of the sugars and of starch is commonly based upon the reaction just described. For this purpose the alkaline copper solution is made of a known strength by dissolving a given weight of sulphate of copper, ete., in a given volume of water, and the glucose, or levulose, or a mixture of both, being likewise made to a known yol- ume of solution, it is allowed to flow slowly from a graduated tube into a measured portion of warm copper solution, until the blue color is dis- charged. Experiment has demonstrated that one part of glucose or of levulose reduces 2.205 + parts of oxide of copper. Starch and sac- charose are first converted into glucose and levulose, by heating with an acid, and then examined in the same manner. For the details required to ensure accuracy, consult Fresenius’ Quantitative Analysis. As already stated, cane-sugar, by long boiling of its aqueous solution, and under the influence of hot dilute acids (Exp. 32) and yeast, loses its property of ready crys- tallization, and is converted into levulose and glucose. According to Dubrunfaut, two molecules of cane-sugar take up the elements of two molecules, (5.26 per cent,) of water, yielding a mixture of equal parts of levulose and glucose. This change is expressed in chemical symbols as follows: 2 (C2 Hae O11) + 2 H2O = Cyy Hoy Org + Cie Hes Ore Cane-sugar. Water. Levulose. Glucose. The alterability of saccharose on heating its solutions occasions a loss of one-third to one-half of what is really contained in cane-juice, and is one reason that solid sugar is obtained from the sorghum with such difficulty. Mo- lasses, sorghum syrup, and honey, usually contain all three of these sugars. In molasses, both the saccharose and elucose are hindered from crystallization by the levulose, and by saline matters derived from the cane-jnice. Honey-dew, that sometimes falls in viscid drops from the leaves of the lime and other trees, is essentially a mix- THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. Wi i ture of the three sugars with some gum. The mannas of Syria and Kurdistan are of similar composition. The older observers assumed the presence of glucose in the bread. grains. Thus Vauquelin found, or thought he found, 8.5°|, of this sugar in Odessa wheat. More recent- ly, elect, Mitscherlich, and Stein have denied the pres- ence of | any sugar in these grains. In his work on the Cereals and Bread, (Die Getreidearten und das Brod, 1860,) p. 163, Von Bibi has reinvestigated this question, and found in fresh ground wheat, etc, a sugar having some of the characters of saccharose, andl. Boys of glucose and levulose. It is, therefore, a mixture. Von Bibra found in the flour of various grains the following quan- tities of sugar. PROPORTIONS OF SUGAR IN AIR-DRY FLOUR, BRAN, AND MEAL Per cent. MR CAD ALOU. OL SIN CUI eS BAe ets 2.33 POE! UNA EES TU r Sa ee ge Sg eee ne Oe coe REO ee 1.41 Dvn WAS A ats eet, dalihs om orth dictated thea: s 4.30 OMG OIA 250 cacao acee etch reek nab ewes 2.'70 eee CVE. SP chet atts «'elaats "ole oad hfe «b's 3.46 dds 10) 2 on ates Cl aalt cane ale ate 1.86 EemIMGRITIANC ADL of. a, olan 2 a sigluStaraie ea te dew oes 3.04 rey? TAD SE aloo ORL. Facet ter ls bie esis k 1.90 PaO DUM Ie Ath St AES BNE Tin dah aMaldielhilaeists 2.19 Rte ts 2) e's a. bode Qilods SSS GLa wh os 0.389 PENG MOU oo 55s c/o e oise oe eave boc See kl ae re 1.80 AC TONCA ek SE gS. gre CS fle dhe aia oe 0,48 si0'3 3.71 ae GAD TACA Rs nad iy. « os derwdereld +30 4 am pyregute 0.91 Glucosides.—There occur in the vegetable kingdom a large number of bodies, usually bitter in taste, which con- tain glucose, or a similar sugar, chemically combined with other substances, or yield it on decomposition. Tannin, the bitter principle of oak and hemlock bark; salicin, oe willow bark; phloridzin, from the bark of the apple-tree root, and principles contained in jalap, scammony, the horse chestnut, and almond, are of this kind. The sugar may be obtained from these so-called glucosides by heating with dilute acids. 18 ' HOW CROPS GROW. Other sugars.—Other sugars or saccharoid bodies occurring in common or cultivated plants, but requiring no extended notice here, are the fol- lowing :— Mannite, Cs H,, Os, is abundant in the so-called manna of the apothe- cary, Which exudes from the bark of several species of ash that grow in the Eastern Hemisphere, (Frazinus ornus and rotundifolia.) It like- wise exists inthe sap of our fruit trees, in edible mushrooms, and some- times is formed in the fermentation of sugar, (viscous fermentation.) It appears in minute colorless crystals, and has a sweetish taste. Quercite, Cs Hy. O;, is the sweet principle of the acorn, from which it may be procured in colorless crystals. : Pinite, Cs Hy, O;, exudes from wounds in the bark of a Californian and Australian pine, (Pinus Lambertiana.) Separated from the resin that usually accompanies it, itforms a white crystalline mass of a very sweet taste. Mycose, Cyo Age O11, is a sugar found in ergot of rye. It may be ob- tained in crystals, and is very sweet. Sugar of Milk, Lactose, Cy. Hez 01, + H,O, is the sweet principle of the milk of animals. It is largely prepared for commerce, in Switzerland, by evaporating whey, (milk from which casein and fat have been sepa- rated for making cheese.) Ina state of purity, it forms transparent, col- orless crystals, which crackle under the teeth, and are but siightly sweet to the taste. When dissolved to saturation in water, it forms a sweet but thin syrup. Mutual transformations of the members of the Cellutose Group.—One of the most remarkable facts in the history of this group of bodies is the facility with which its mem- bers undergo mutual conversion. Some of these changes have been already noticed, but we may appropriately re- view them here. a. Transformations in the plant.—The machinery of the vegetable organism has the power to transform most, if not all, of these bodies into every other one, and we find nearly all of them in every individual of the higher order of plants in some one or other stage of its growth. In germination, the starch which is largely contained in seeds is converted into dextrin and glucose. It thereby acquires solubility, and passes into the embryo to feed the young plant. Here it is again solidified as cellulose, starch, or other organic principle, yielding, in fact, the chief part of the materials for the structure of the seedling. THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 79 At spring-time, in cold climates, the starch stored up over winter in the new wood of many trees, especially the maple, appears to be converted into the saccharose which is found so abundantly in the sap, and this sugar, carried upwards to the buds, nourishes the young leaves, and is there transformed into cellulose, and into starch again. The sugar-beet root, when healthy, yields a juice con- taining 10 to 14 per cent of saccharose, and is destitute of starch. Schacht has observed that in a certain diseased state of the beet, its sugar is partially converted into starch, grains of this substance making their appearance. ( Wil- da’s Centralblatt, 1863, II., p. 217.) The analysis of the cereal grains sometimes reveals the presence of dextrin, at others of sugar or gum. Thus Stepf found no dextrin, but both gum and sugar in maize-meal, (Jour. fiir Prakt. Chem., ‘76, p. 92;) while Fresenius, in a more recent analysis, (Vs. St., 1, p. 180,) obtained dextrin, but neither sugar or gum. The sample of maize examined by Stepf contained 3.05 p. ec. gum and 3.71 p. c. sugar; that analyzed by Fresenius yielded 2.33 p. c. dextrin. Gum Tragacanth is a result of the transformation of cellulose, as Mohl has shown by its microscopic study. 6. In the animal, the substances we have been describ- ing also suffer transformation when employed as food. During the process of digestion, cellulose, so far as it is acted upon, starch, dextrin, and probably the gums, are all converted into glucose. e. Many of these changes may also be produced apart from physiological agency, by the action of heat, acids, and ferments, operating singly or jointly. Cellulose and starch are converted by boiling with a dilute acid, into dextrin and finally into glucose. If paper or cotton be placed in contact with strong chlorhydric acid, (spirit of salt,) it is gradually converted into the same sugar. Cellulose and starch acted upon for some time by strong nitric acid, (aqua-fortis,) give compounds from which dextrin may be separated. Nitrocellulose, (gun cotton,) sometimes yields gum by its spontaneous 80 HOW CROPS GROW. decomposition, (Hoffmann, Quart. Jour. Chem. Soc., p. 767.) A kind of gum also appears in solutions of cane- sugar or in beet-juice, when they ferment under certain conditions. Inulin and the gums yield sugar, (levulose,) but no dextrin, when boiled with weak acids. d. Tt will be noticed that while physical and chemical agencies produce these metamor phoses in one direction, it is only under the influence of life that they can be accom- plished in the reverse manner. In the laboratory we can only reduce from a higher, organized, or more complex constitution to a lower and simpler one. In the vegetable, however, all these changes, and many more, take place with the greatest facility. The Chemical Composition of the Cellulose Group.— It is a remarkable fact that all the substances just de- scribed stand very closely related to each other in chemical composition, while several of them are identical in this respect. In the following table their composition is ex- pressed in formule. CHEMICAL FORMUL OF THE BODIES OF THE CELLULOSE GROUP, Cellulose Starch | Inulin Dextrin L Ore Hoo Cio Bassorin | Veg. Mucilage ! Metarabie acid Arabic acid t Oia Hoa Ou Cane sugar Fruit sugar ; a Cio Hoy O12 Grape sugar It will be observed that all these bodies contain 12 atoms of carbon, united to as much hydrogen and oxygen as form 10, 11, or 12 molecules of water. We can, there- fore, conceive of their conversion one into another, with no further change in chemical composition in any case, than the loss or gain of a few molecules of water. | ’ THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 81 Isomerism.— Bodies which—like cellulose and dextrin, or like levulose and glucose—are identical in composition, and yet are characterized by different properties and modes of occurrence, are termed isomeric ; they are examples of isomerism. These words are of Greek derivation, and signify of equal measure. We must suppose that the particles of isomeric bodies which are com- posed of the same kinds of matter and in the same quantities, exist in different states of arrangement. The mason can build from a given num- ber of bricks and a certain amount of mortar, a simple wall, an aqueduct, a bridge ora castle. The composition of these unlike structures may be the same, both in kind and quantity; but the structures themselves differ immensely, from the fact of the diverse arrangement of their ma- terials. In the same manner we may suppose starch to be converted into dextrin by a change in the relative positions of the atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which compose them. 3. Tur PrcrosE Grovp.—The pectose group includes Pectose, Pectin, Pectosic, Pectic, and Metapectic acids. These bodies exist in, or are derived from, fleshy fruits, including pumpkins and squashes, berries, the roots of _the turnip, beet, onion, and carrot, and in cabbage and celery. They are an important part of ye food or men and cattle. Pectose is the name given to a body which is supposed rather than demonstrated to occur with cellulose in the flesh of unripe fruits, and in the roots of turnips, carrots, and beets. Its characters in the pure state are as good as unknown, because we are as yet acquainted with no means of separating it from cellulose without changing its nature. Pectose is thought to constitute the chief bulk of the dry matter of the above-mentioned fruits and roots, and is con- cluded to be a distinct body by the products of its trans- formation, either such as are formed naturally, or those procured by artificial means. In what follows, we shall as- sume, with Fremy, (Ann. de Chim. et de Phys., XXIV, 6,) that pectose exists, and is the source of pectin, ete. Pectin is produced from pectose in a manner similar to that by which dextrin is obtained from cellulose or starch, viz., by the action of heat, of acids, and of ferments, When the flesh of fruits, or the roots which consist chiefly of 4® 82 HOW CROPS GROW. pectose, are subjected to the joint action of a moderate heat and an acid, the starch they contain is slowly altered into dextrin and sugar, while the firm pectose shortly soft- ens, becomes soluble in water, and is converted into pec- tin. It is precisely these changes which occur in the bak- ing of apples and pears, and in the boiling of turnips, car- rots, etc., with water. In the ripening of fruits the same transformation takes place. The firm pectose, under the influence of the acids that exist in all fruits, gradually soft- ens, and passes into pectin. Exp. 33.—Express, and, if turbid, filter through muslin the juice of a ripe apple, pear, or peach. Add to the clear liquid its own bulk of al-_ cohol. Pectin is precipitated as a stringy, gelatinous mass, which, on drying, shrinks greatly in bulk, and forms, if pure, a white substance that may be easily reduced to powder, and is readily soluble in cold water. Exp. 34.—Reduce several white turnips or beets to pulp by grating. Inclose the pulp in a piece of muslin, and wash by squeezing in water until all soluble matters are removed, or until the water comes off nearly tasteless. Bring the washed pulp into a glass vessel, with enough dilute chlorhydrie acid, (1 part by bulk of commercial muriatice acid to 15 parts of water,) to saturate the mass, and let it stand 48 hours. Squeeze out the acid liquid, filter it, and add alcohol, when pectin will separate. The strong aqueous solution of pectin is viscid or gummy, as seen in the juice that exudes from baked apples or pears. Pectosic and Pectic acids.—Under the action of a fer- ment occurring in many fruits, assisted by a gentle heat, | pectin is transformed first into pectosic, and afterward into | pectic acid. These bodies compose the well-known fruit- jellies. They are both insoluble in cold water, and remain suspended in it as a gelatinous mass. Pectosic acid is soluble in boiling water, and hence most fruit jellies be- . come liquid when heated to boiling; on cooling, its solu- tion gelatinizes again. Pectic acid is insoluble even in boiling water. It is formed also when the pulp of fruits or roots containing pectose is acted on by alkalies or by ammonia-oxide of copper. The latter agent, (a solvent of cellulose,) converts pectose directly into pectic acid, THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 83 which remains in insoluble combination with oxide of copper. Metapectic acid.—By too long boiling, by prolonged contact with acids or alkalies, and by decay, the pectic and pectosic acids, as well as pectin, are transformed into still another substance, viz., metapectic acid, which, according to Fremy, is a very soluble body of quite sour taste. It is the last product of the transformation of the bodies of this group with which we are acquainted. It exists, according to Fremy, in beet-molasses and decayed fruits. Exp. 35.—Stew a handful of sound cranberries, covered with water, just long enough to make them soft. Observe the speedy solution of the firm pectose. Strain through muslin. The juice contains soluble pectin, which may be precipitated from a small portion by alcohol. Keep the remaining juice heated to near the boiling point in a water bath, (i. e., by immersing the vessel containing it in a larger one of boil- ing water.) After a time, which is variable according to the condition of the fruit, and must be ascertained by trial, the juice on cooling or stand- - ing solidifies to a jelly, that dissolves on warming, and reappears again on cooling—Fremy’s pectosic acid. By further heating, the juice may form a jelly which is permanent when hot—pectice acid—and on still longer exposure to the same temperature, this jelly may dissolve again, by passing into Fremy’s metapectic acid, which alcohol does not precip- itate. Other ripe fruits, as quinees, strawberries, peaches, grapes, apples, etc., may be employed for this experiment, but in any case the time required for the juice to run through these changes cannot be predicted safely, and the student may easily fail in attempting to follow them. Chemical composition of the Pectose group.—Our knowl- edge on this point is very imperfect. Pectose itself, hav- ing never been obtained pure, has not been analysed. The other bodies of this group have been examined, but, owing to the difficulty of obtaining them in a state of purity, the results of different observers are discordant. The formule of Frey are as follows: Pectose, unknown. Pectin, Cz2 Hyp Ocg + 4H, O Pectosic acid, Oy Ho Ow + 144 H,O Pectic acid, Cie He On + HO Metapectic acid, Ce HipO, + 2HLO cn, (ter Salemiinder Bericht, p. 470,) has prepar- ed pectin on the large scale from beepnout cake, (remaining after the juice was expressed for sugar manufacture,) by 84 HOW CROPS GROW. digesting it with cold dilute chlorhydric acid, previa ing and washing with alcohol. Thus obtained, it had all ihe characters ascribed to pectin. Its cain com- position, however, corresponded nearly with that assigned by Fremy to pectic acid, and differs somewhat from that given by this chemist for pectin, as is seen from the sub- joined figures : Pectin. Pectic acid. Growven’s pectin. Cse Has O32 Cis Hye O15 CarDON 2. on acon = 40.67 42.29 42.95 Hydrogen. its. 3.2. 5.08 4.84 5.44 Oxyoen oy iisedi-% 54.25 52.87 51.61 100.00 100.00 100.00 From the best analyses and from analogy with cellulose it is probable that pectose has the same composition as pectin, or differs from it only by a few molecules of water. If we subtract the water, which in the formule (p. 83) is separated by + from the remaining symbol, we see that the proportions of Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen are the same in all these bodies, and correspond to the formula C,H,, 0, This nearness of composition assists in com- prehending the ease with which the transformations of pectose into the other members of the group are effected. Kelations of the Cellulose and Pectose Groups.—lt was formerly thought that the pectin bodies are convertible into sugar by the prolonged action of acids. Fremy has shown that this is not the case. Sace, (Ann. Ch. et Phys., 25, 218,) and Porter, (An. Ch. et Pharm, '71, 115,) have investigated a body having the properties and nearly the composition of pectic acid, which is produced by the action of nitric acid on wood. Divers, (Jour. Chem. Soc., 1863, p. 91,) has observed a substance having the essential characters of pectic acid among the products of the spontaneous decomposition e nitrocellulose, (gun cotton.) It is probable, though not yet fairly demonstrated, jt ae . j . THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 85 that in the living plant cellulose passes into pectose and pectin. Without doubt, also, the reverse transformations may be readily accomplished. 4, Tur Veceraste Acips.—The Vegetable Acids are very numerous. Some of them are found in all classes of plants, and nearly every family of the vegetable kingdom contains one or several acids peculiar to itself. Those which concern us here are few in number, and though doubtless of the highest importance in the economy of vegetation, are of subordinate interest to the objects of this work, and will be noticed but briefly. They are oxalic, tartaric, malice, and citric acids. 'They occur in plants either in the free state, or as salts of lime, potash, etc. They are mostly found in fruits. Oxalic acid, C, H, O, 2 H, O, exists largely in the com- mon sorrel, and, according to the best observers, is found in greater or less quantity in nearly all plants. The pure acid presents itself in the form of color- less, brilliant, transparent crystals, not unlike Epsom salts in appearance, (Fig. 15,) but having an intensely sour taste. Oxalic acid forms with lime a sa/é—the oxalate of lime —which is insoluble in pure water. It nevertheless exists dissolved in the cells of plants, so long as they are in active growth, (Schmidt, Ann. Chem. u. Pharm., 61,297.) To- wards the end of the period of growth, it often accumu- lates in such quantity as to separate in microscopic crystals. These are found in large quantity in the mature leaves and roots of the beet, in the root of garden rhubarb, and espe- cially in many lichens. | _ Oxalate of potash is soluble in water, and exists in the juices of sorrel and garden rhubarb. It was formerly Fig. 15. used for removing ink-stains from cloth and leather, under the name of salt of sorrel. Oxalic acid is now employed for this purpose. Oxalate of soda is soluble in water, and 86 HOW CROPS GROW. is found in the juices of plants that grow on the sea-shore. Oxalate of ammonia is employed as a test for lime, Exp. 86.—Dissolve 5 grams of oxalic acid in 50 c. c. of hot water, add solution of ammonia or solid carbonate of ammonia until the odor of the latter slightly prevails, and allow the liquid to cool slowly. Long, needle- like crystals of a salt of oxalic acid and ammonia—the oxalate of ammonia —separate on cooling, the compound being sparingly soluble in cold wa- ter. Preserve for future use. Exp. 37.—Add to any solution of lime, as lime-water, (see note, p. 36,) or hard well water, a few drops of oxalate of ammonia solution. Oxalate of lime immediately appears as a white powdery precipitate, which, from its extreme insolubility, serves to indicate the presence of the minutest quantities of lime. Addafew drops of chlorhydric or nitric acid to the oxalate of lime; it disappears. Hence oxalate of ammonia is a test for lime only in solutions containing no free mineral acid. (Acetic and oxalic acids, however, have little effect upon the test.) Definition of Acids, Bases, and Salts——In the popular sense, an acid is any body having a sour taste. It is, in fact, true that all sour substances are acids, but all acids are not sour, some being tasteless, others bitter, and some sweet.* A better characteristic of an acid is its capability of combining chemically with bases. The strongest acids, i. e. those bodies whose acid characters are most strongly developed, if soluble, so as to have any effect on the nerves of taste, are sour, viz., sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, nitric acid, ete. Bases are the opposite of acids, The strongest bases, when soluble, are bitter and biting to the taste, and cor- rode the skin. Potash, soda, ammonia, and lime, are ex- amples. Magnesia, oxide of iron, and many other com- pounds of metals with oxygen, are insoluble bases, and hence destitute of taste. Potash, soda, and ammonia, are termed alkalies ; lime and magnesia, alkali-earths, Salts are compounds of acids and bases, or at least re- sult from their chemical union. Thus, in Exp. 20, the salt, phosphate of lime, was produced by bringing together phosphoric acid, and the base, lime. In Exp. 387, oxalate of lime was made in a similar manner. Common salt—in ae _ elt aa THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS, 87 chemical language, chloride of sodium—is formed when soda is mixed with chlorhydric acid, water being, in this case, produced at the same time. Test for acids and alkalies.—Many vegetable colors are altered by solu- ble acids or soluble bases, (alkalies,) in such a manner as to answer the purpose of distinguishing these two classes of bodies. A solution of cochineal may be employed. It has aruby-red color when concentrat- ed, but on mixing with much pure water, becomes orange or yellowish- orange. Acids do not affect this color, while alkalies turn it to an intense carmine or violet-carmine, which is restored to orange by acids. Exp. 38.—Prepare tincture * of cochineal by pulverizing 3 grams of cochineal, and shaking frequently with a mixture of 50 c. c. of strong alcohol and 200c. c. of water. After a day or two, pour off the clear liquid for use. To a cup of water add a few drops of strong sulphuric acid, and to an- other similar quantity add as many drops of ammonia. To the liquids add separately 5 drops of cochineal tincture, observing the coloration in each case. Divide the dilute ammonia into two portions, and pour into one of them the dilute acid, until the carmine color just passes into orange. Should excess of acid have been incautiously used, add ammo- nia, until the carmine reappears, and destroy it again by new portions of acid, added dropwise. Theacid and base thus neutralize each other, and the solution contains sulphate of ammonia, but no free acid or base. It will be found that the orange-cochineal indicates very minute quantities of ammonia, and the carmine-cochineal correspondingly small quantities of acid. Tincture of litmus, (procurable of the apothecary,) or of dried red cabbage, may also be employed. Litmus is made red by soluble acids, and. blue bysoluble bases. With red cabbage, acids develope a purple, and the bases a green color. In the formation of salts, the acids and bases more or less neutralize each other's properties, and their compounds, when soluble, have a less sour or less acrid taste, and act less vigorously on vegetable colors than the acids or bases themselves. Some soluble salts have no taste at all resembling either their base or acid, and have no effect on vegetable col- ors. This is true of common salt, glauber salts or sulphate of soda, and saltpeter or nitrate of potash. Others exhibit the properties of their base, though in a reduced degree. Carbonate of ammonia, for example, has much of the odor, taste, and effect on vegetable colors that belong to ammonia. Carbonate of soda has the taste and other properties of caustic soda in a greatly mitigated form. On the other hand, sulphates of alumina, iron, and copper, have slightly acid characters. Certain acids form with the same base several distinct salts. Thus carponie acid and soda may produce carbonate of soda, Na,O COs, or * Tinctures, in the language of the apothecary, are alcoholic solutions. 88 HOW CROPS GROW. bicarbonate of soda, Na HO CO,. The latter is much less alkaline than the former, but both turn cochineal to a carmine color. Again, phos- phoric acid may form three distinct salts with soda or with lime, which will be noticed in another place. Oxalic acid also yields several kinds of salts, as do the other organic acids presently to be described. Malic acid, C, H, O,, is the chief sour principle of ap- ples, currants, gooseberries, plums, cherries, strawberries, and most common fruits. It exists in small quantity in a multitude of plants. It is found abundantly in combina- tion with potash, in the garden rhubarb, and malate of potash may be obtained in crystals by simply evaporating the juice of the leaf-stalks of this plant. It is likewise abundant as lime-salt in the nearly ripe berries of the mountain ash, and in barberries. Malate of lime also occurs in considerable quantity in the leaves of tobacco, and is often encountered in the manufacture of maple su- gar, separating as a white or gray sandy pores during the evaporation of the sap. Pure malic acid is only seen in the chemical laboratory, and presents white, crystalline masses of an intensely sour taste. It is extremely soluble in water. ' Tartaric acid, C, H, O,, is abundant in the grape, from the juice of which, during fermentation, it is deposited in combination with potash as argol. This, on purification, yields the cream of tartar, (bitartrate of potash,) of commerce. Tar- trates of potashor lime exist in small quantities in tamarinds, in the unripe ber- Fig. 16. ries of the mountain ash, in the berries of the sumach, in cucumbers, potatoes, pine-apples, and many other fruits. The acid itself may be obtained in large glassy crystals, (see Fig. 16,) which are very sour to the taste. Citric acid, C, H, O,, exists in the free state in the juice of the lemon, and in unripe tomatoes. It accompanies malic acid in the currant, gooseberry, cherry, strawberry, and raspberry. It is found in small quantity, united to { : 4 : THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 89 lime, in tobacco leaves, in the tubers of the Jerusalem artichoke, in the bulbs of onions, in beet roots, in coffee- berries, and in the needles of the fir tree. In the pure state, citric acid forms large transparent or white crystals, very sour to the taste. Relations of the Vegetable Acids to each other and to the Amyloids.—The four acids above noticed usually occur together in our ordinary fruits, and it appears that some of them undergo mutual conversion in the liy- ing plant. According to Liebig, the unripe berries of the mountain ash contain much tartaric acid, which, as the fruit ripens, is converted into malic acid. Schmidt, (Anz. Chem. u. Pharm., 114, 109,) first showed that tar- taric acid can be artificially transformed into malic acid. Tle chemical change consists merely in the removal of one atom of oxygen. Tartaric acid. Malic acid. C, Hs Os — O = C, H, O; When citric, malic, and tartaric acids are boiled with nitric acid, or heated with caustic potash, they all yield oxalic acid. Cellulose, starch, dextrin, the sugars, and, according to some, pectic acid, yield oxalic acid, when heated with potash or nitric acid. Com- mercial oxalic acid is thus made from starch and from saw-dust. Gum (Arabic,) sugar, starch, and, according to some, pectin, yield tar- taric acid by the action of nitric acid. 5, Fars anp Oms (Wax).—We have only space here to notice this important class of bodies in a very general manner. In all plants and nearly all parts of plants we find some representatives of this group; but it is chiefly in certain seeds that they occur most abundantly. Thus the seeds of hemp, flax, colza, cotton, bayberry, pea-nut, butternut, beech, hickory, almond, sunflower, etc., contain 10 to 70 per cent of oil, which may be in great part removed by pressure. In some plants, as the common bayberry, and the tallow-tree of Nicaragua, the fat is solid at ordinary temperatures, and must be extracted by aid of heat; while, in most cases, the fatty matter is liquid. The cereal grains, especially oats and maize, con- tain oil in appreciable quantity. The mode of occurrence of oil in plants is shown in fig. 17, which represents a_ highly magnified section of the flax-seed. The oil exists 90 HOW CROPS GROW. as minute, transparent globules in the cells, f From these seeds the oil may be completely extracted by ether, benzine, or sulphide of carbon, which dissolve all fats with readi- ness, but: scarcely affect the other vegetable principles. Many plants yield small quan- tities of wax, which either gives a glossy coat to their leaves, or forms a bloom upon their fruit. The lower leaves of the oat plant at the time of blossom contain, in the dry state, 10 per cent of fat and wax, (Arendt). Scarcely two of these oils, fats, or kinds of wax, are exactly alike in their properties. They differ more or less in taste, odor, and consistency, as well as in their chemical composition. Exp. 39—Place a handful of fine and fresh corn or oat meal which has been dried for an hour or so at a heat not exceeding 212°, in a bottle. Pour on twice its bulk of ether, cork tightly, and agitate frequently for half an hour. Drain off the liquid (filter, if need be) into a clean porce- lain dish, and allow the ether to evaporate. A yellowish oil remains, which, by gently warming for some time, loses the smell of ether and becomes quite pure. The fatty oils must not be confounded with the ethereal, essential, or volatile oils. The former do not evaporate except at a high temperature, and when brought upon paper leave a permanent “ grease-spot.” The latter readily volatilize, leaving no trace of their presence. The former, when pure, are without smell or taste. The latter usually possess marked odors, which adapt many of them to use as perfumes. In the animal body, fat (in some insects, wax,) is formed or appropriated from the food, and accumulates in consid- erable quantities. How to feed an animal so as to cause the most rapid and economical fattening is one of the most important questions of agricultural chemistry. i : 4 THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS, . 91 However greatly the various fats may differ in external characters, they are all mixtures of a few elementary fats. The most abundant and commonly occurring fats, espe- cially those which are ingredients of the food of man and domestic animals, viz.: tallow, olive oil, and butter, con- sist essentially of three substances, which we may briefly notice. ‘These elementary fats are Stearin, Palmitin, and Olein,* and they consist of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, the first-named element being greatly preponderant. Stearin is represented by the formula C,, H,,, O,. It is the most abundant ingredient of the common fats, and exists in largest proportion in the harder kinds of tallow. Expr, 40,—Heat mutton or beef tallow, in a bottle that may be tightly corked, with ten times its bulk of concentrated ether, until a clear solu- tion is obtained. Let cool slowly, when stearin will crystallize out in pearly scales, Palmitin, C,, HI,, O,, receives its name from the palm oil, of Africa, in which it is a large ingredient. It forms a good part of butter, and is one of the chief con- stituents of bees-wax,.and of bayberry tallow. Olein, C,, H,,, O,, is the liquid ingredient of fats, and occurs most abundantly in the oils. It is prepared from olive oil by cooling down to the freezing point, when the stearin and palmitin solidify, leaving the olein still in the liquid state. Other elementary fats, viz.: butyrin, laurin, myristin, ete., oceur in small quantity in butter, and in various vegetable oils. Flaxseed oil contains linolein; castor oil, ricinolein, ete. We have already given the formule of the principal fats, but for our purposes, a better idea of their composi- tion may be gathered from a centesimal statement, viz. : * Margarin, formerly thought to be a distinct fat, is a mixture of stearin and palmitin. 92 , HOW CROPS GROW. CENTESIMAL COMPOSITION OF THE ELEMENTARY FATS, Stearin. Paimitin. Olein. Carbon, 76.6 75.9 - UTA Hydrogen, 12.4 12.2 11.8 Oxygen, 10.0 11.9 10.8 100.0 100.0 100.0 Phosphorized FKats.—The animal brain and spinal cord, and the yolk of the egg, contain a considerable amount of fat which has long been characterized by a small con- tent of phosphorus. Von Bibra found the quantity of phosphorus in this (impure) fat to range from 1.21 to 2.53 per cent. Knop (Vs. Sé. 1, p. 26) was the first to show that analogous phosphorized fats exist in plants. From the sugar pea he extracted 2.5 per cent of a thick brown oil, which was free from sulphur and nitrogen, but contained 1.25 per cent of phosphorus. The composition of this oil was as follows: GAT DOM oie ca a's Sib leie Was ot Cie eke Coe ee 66.85 FI VOROGEN oo geisate acre 6 oe eee reine ee ee 9.52 ORVOCI Ros ola 5. 4c Dales Hee e en ence eee 22.88 PROSDINOLUS ic sbi os ye ve aici trates Cee eee 1.25 100.00 Toépler (Henneberg’s Jahresbericht 1859—1860, p. 164) subsequently examined the oils of a large number of seeds for phosphorus with the subjoined results: Source of Per cent of Source of Per cent of Sut. phosphorus. Sat. phosphorus. Tigh pi C ee iors 2 iohace, 6 e's 0.29 Walnut ce. 2 .comemere trace | SOS Bisa a eee sloikyg OlING six 5 ease 7 apes none Horse beans. 4.2 odie 0.72 Wrheatzi. tcf eee 0.25 Veteid: serie Seinen 0.50 Batleyp. . vs terres 0.28 Winer lentil ce: coe 0.39 RYy€ fi. oven eee 0.31 Horse-chestnut....... 0.30 Oat). oe aoc eee 0.44 Chocolate bean...... none i UE eee SiG ceric none Millet 422) eee ee ‘fe COZ cc ohlec 5 oles ene re POPPY... cose meee <2 Mustard ...\5 ... stave cy THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 93 According to Hoppe-Seyler, (Med. Chem. Uniers., I,) the phosphorized principle of oil of maize, and of the brain, nerves, yolk of eggs, ete., is primarily the substance discovered in 1864 by Liebreich, in the brain, and termed Protagom. It isa white crystallized body, having the following composition : Carbon, 67.2 Hydrogen, 11.6 Nitrogen, 2.7 Phosphorus, 1.5 Oxygen, 17.0 100.0 Tts formula is Cyi¢, Hes, Na, P, O22. When heated to the boiling point it is decomposed, and yields among other products glycerin, phosphor- ic acid, and stearic acid. (Ann. Ch. Ph., 134, p. 30). Saponification.—The fats are characterized by forming soaps when heated with strong potash or soda-lye. They are by this means decomposed, and give rise to fatty acids, which remain combined with the alkahes, and glyce- rin, a kind of liquid sugar. Exp. 41.—Heat a bit of tallow with strong solution of caustic potash until it completely disappears, and a soap, soluble in water, is obtained. To one-half the hot solution of soap, add chlorhydrie acid until the latter predominates. An oil will separate which gathers at the top of the liquid, and on cooling, solidifies toacake. This is not, however, the original fat. It has a different melting point, and a different chemi- eal composition. It is composed of one or several fatty acids, corre- sponding to the elementary fats from which it was produced. ~ When saponified by the action of potash, stearin yields stearic acid, C,, H,,O,; palmitin yields palmitic acid, C,, H,, O,; and olein gives oleic acid, C,, H,, O,. The so-called stearin candles are a mixture of stearic and palmitic acids. The glycerin, C, H, O,, that is simulta- neously produced, remains dissolved in the liquid. Glyce- rin is now found in commerce in a nearly pure state, as a colorless, syrupy liquid, having a pleasant sweet taste. The chemical act of saponification consists in the re-arrangement of the elements of one molecule of fat and three molecules of water in- to three molecules of fatty acid, and one molecule of glycerin. Palmitin Water. Palmitic acid. | Glycerin. Cs; Hes Og + 3 (H2 O) = 3 (Cis Haz O2) + Cz He Os. 94 HOW CROPS GROW. Saponification is likewise effected by the influence of strong acids and. by heating with water alone to a temperature of near 400° F. Ordinary soap is nothing more than a mixture of stearate, palmitate, and oleate of potash of soda, with or without glycerin. Common soft soap consists of the potash-compounds of the above-named acids, mixed with glycerin and water. Hard soap is usually the corresponding soda-compound, free from glycerin. When soft potash-soap is boiled with common salt (chloride of sodium), hard soda-soap and chloride of potassium are formed by transposition of the ingredients. On cooling, soda-soap forms a solid cake upon the liquid, and the glycerin remains dissolved in the latter. Relations of Fats to Amyloids.— The oil or fat of plants is in many cases a product of the transformation of starch or other member of the cellulose group, for the oily seeds, when immature, contain starch, which vanishes as they ripen, and in the sugar-cane the quantity of wax is said to be largest when the sugar is least abundant, and — vice versa. In germination the oil of the seed is con- verted back again into starch, sugar, ete. The Zstimation of Fat (including wax) is made by warming the pulver- ized and dry substance repeatedly with renewed quantities of ether, or sulphide of carbon, as long as the solvent takes up anything. On evap- orating the solutions, the fat remains nearly inastate of purity, and after drying thoroughly, may be weighed. PROPORTIONS OF FAT IN VARIOUS VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. Per cent. Per cent. Meadow: €1ass.c.tc.c. «x 0.8 ‘Tatrmips. 2... 2eeceeeeeee 0.1 medielover (@reen) i eno. 2 0.7 Wheat Kernel... cee Saree Cabbage ic. de Peels ete 0.4 Oat S giles 1.6 Mendowsbay. 5 £6 >< s « 3.0 Maize ee” 7.0 CIOVED GUY. Siije,- Bice aed 3.2 Pea OO eee 3.0 Witter Straw es sso 252 1.5 Cotton secd:< <.=ceuee 34.0 Optra Giga c kien et we 2.0 Flax (,1' ua. Ss Sees 34.0 Wiheat Trai. =. ci. . S.%'s 1.5 Colza erepeerr este - 45.0 Potato amber. .2s 5.8.8 0.5 6, Tur Atpuminoips or Prorern Bopres.—The bodies of this class differ from the groups hitherto noticed in the fact of their containing in addition to carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, 15 to 18 per cent of nitrogen, with a small quantity of sulphur, and, in some cases, phosphorus. THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 95 In plants, the Protein Bodies occur in a variety of modi- fications, and though found in small proportion in all their parts, being everywhere necessary to growth, they are chiefly accumulated in the seeds, especially in those of the cereal and leguminous grains. The albuminoids, as we shall designate them, that oc- cur in plants, are so similar in many characters, are, in fact, so nearly identical with the albuminoids which con- stitute a large portion of every animal organism, that we may advantageously consider them in connection. We may describe the most of these bodies under three sub-groups. The type of the first 1s albwmin, or the white of egg; of the second, fibrin, or animal muscle; of the third, casein, or the curd of milk. Common Characters.—The greater number of these substances occur in several, at least two, modifications, one soluble, the other insoluble in water. In living or undecayed animals and plants we find the albuminoids in the soluble, and, in fact, in the dissolved state. They may be obtained in the solid form by evap- orating off at a gentle heat the water which is naturally associated with them. . They are thus mostly obtained as transparent, colorless or yellowish solids, destitute of odor or taste, which dissolve again in water, but are insoluble in alcohol. Recently, both in the animal and vegetable, soluble al- buminoids have been observed in colorless or red crystals, (or crystalloids,) often of considerable size, but so asso- ciated with other bodies as, in general, not to admit of sep- aration in the pure state. The insoluble albuminoids, some of which also occur: naturally in plants and animals, are, when purified as much as possible, white, flocky, lumpy or fibrous bodies, quite odorless and tasteless. | As further regards the deportment of the albuminoids towards sol- vents, some are dissolved in alcohol, none in ether. They are solubie in 96 HOW CROPS GROW. potash and soda-lye; acids separate them from these solutions, strong acetic acid dissolves them with one exception. In very dilute mineral acids (sulphuric and chlorhydric) some of them dissolve in great patsy others swell up like jelly. ‘ - Coagulation A remarkable characteristic of the group of bodies now under notice is their ready conversion from the soluble to the insoluble state. In some cases this coagulation happens spontaneously, in others by elevation of temperature, or by contact with acids, metallic oxides, or various salts. The albuminoids, when subjected to heat, melt and burn with a smoky flame and a peculiar odor—that of burnt- hair or horn,—while a shining charcoal remains which is difficult to consume. Vests for the Albuminoids.—tThe chemist employs the behavior of the albuminoids towards a number of reagents * as tests for their presence. Some of these are so delicate and characteristic as to allow the distinction of this class of substances from all others, even in microscopic observations. 1. Jodine colors them intensely yellow or bronze. 2. Warm and strong chlorhydric acid colors all these bodies blue or violet, or, if applied in large excess, dissolves them to a liquid of these cole : 3. In contact with nitric acid they are stained a deep and vivid yellow. Silk and wool, which consist of bodies closely approaching the albumin- ‘oids in composition, are commonly dyed or printed yellow by means of nitric acid. 4, A solution of nitrate of mercury in excess of nitric acid, t tinges them of a deep red color. This test enables us to detect albumin, for example, even where it is dissolved in 100,000 parts of water. Albumin.— Animal Albumin.—The white of a hen’s egg on drying yields about 12 per cent of albumin in a state of tolerable purity. The fresh white of ege serves * Reagents are substances commonly employed for the recognition of bodies, or, generally, to produce chemical changes. All chemical phenomena re- sult from the mutual action of at least two elements, which thus act and react on each other. Hence the substance that excites chemical changes is termed a re- agent, and the phenomena or results of its application are called reactions. + This solution, known as Millon’s test, is prepared by dissolving mercury in its own weight of nitric acid of sp. gr. 1.4, heating towards the close of the process, and finally adding to the liquid twice its bulk of water. ‘ - 4 ~ THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 97 to illustrate the peculiarities of this substance, and to ex- hibit the deportment of the albuminoids generally towards the above-named reagents. : Exp. 42.—Beat or whip the white of an egg so as to destroy the deli- cate transparent membrane in the cells of which the albumin is held, and agitate a portion of it with water; observe that it dissolves readily in the latter. Exp. 45.—Heat apart of the undiluted white of egg in a tube or cup at 165° F.; it becomes opaque, white, and solid, (coagulates) and is convert- ed into the insoluble modification. A higher heat is needful to coagulate solutions of albumin, in-proportion as they are diluted with water. Exp, 44.—Add strong alcohol to a portion of the solution of albumin of Exp. 42. It produces coagulation. _ Exp. 45.—Observe that albumin is coagulated by dilute acids applied in small quantity, especially by nitric acid. Exp. 46.—Put a little albumin, cither soluble or coagulated, into each of four test tubes. To one, add solution of iodine; to a second, strong ehlorhydric acid; to a third, nitric acid; and to the last, nitrate of mercury. Observe the characteristic colorations that appear immedi- ately, or after a time, as described above. In the last three cases the reaction is hastened by a gentle heat. Albumin occurs in the soluble form in the blood, and in all the liquids of the healthy animal body except the urine. In some cases its characters are slightly different from those of egg-albumin. The albumin of the blood, which may bg separated by heating blood-serum (the clear yellow liquid that floats above the clot), contains a little less sulphur than coagulated egg-albumin. In the crystal- line lens of the eye, and in the blood corpuscles, the al- bumin has again slightly different characters, and has been termed globulin. Under certain conditions the blood of animals yields a substance known as hemoglobin, which, while having nearly the composition and many of the properties of albumin, commonly requires a much larger proportion of water for solution, and forms distinct crys- tals of a transparent red color. | Vegetable Albumin.—In the juices of all plants is found a minute quantity of a substance which agrees in nearly all respects with animal albumin, and is hence termed 98 HOW CROPS GROW. / vegetable albumin. The clear juice of the potato tuber (which may be procured by grating potatoes, squeezing the pulp in a cloth, and letting the liquor thus obtained stand in a cool place until the starch has deposited,) con- tains albumin in solution, as may be shown by heating to near the boiling point, when a coagulum separates, which, after boiling successively with alcohol and ether to remove fat and coloring matters, is scarcely to be distinguished, either in its chemical reactions or composition from the coagulated albumin of eggs. The juice of succulent vegetables, as cabbage, yields vegetable albumin in larger quantity, though less pure, by the same treatment. Water which has been agitated for some time in contact with flour of wheat, rye, oats, or barley, is found by the same method to have extracted albumin from these grains. The coagulum, thus prepared from any of these sources, exhibits the reactions characteristic of the albuminoids, when put in contact with nitrate of mercury, nitric or chlorhydric acids. : Exp. 47.—Prepare impure vegetable albumin from potatoes, cabbage, or flour, as above described, and apply the nitrate of mercury test. Fibrin.— Blood-Fibrin.—The blood of the higher ani- mals, when in the body or when fresh drawn, is perfectly fluid. Shortly after it is taken from the veins it ‘partially solidifies —it coagulates or becomes clotted. It hereby separates into two portions, a clear, pale-yellow liquid— the serum, and the clot. As already stated, the serum contains albumin. The clot consists chiefly of fibrin. On squeezing and washing the clot with water, the coloring matter of the blood is removed, and a white stringy mass remains, which is one form of the substance in question. Blood-fibrin is not known in the soluble state, except in fresh blood, from which it cannot be capaea as it So soon apa: spontaneously. Prepared as just described, fibrin has many of the proper- ties of albumin. “Placed in a solution of saltpeter, espe- THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS, 99 cially if a little potash lye be added, it dissolves in a few days to a clear liquid, which coagulates on heating or by addition of metallic salts, in the same manner as a solu- tion of albumin. In very dilute chlorhydric acid, it swells up, but does not dissolve. Exp. 48.—Observe the separation of blood into clot and serum; co- agulate the albumin of the former by heat, and test it with warm chlor- hydrie acid. Tie up the clot in a piece of muslin, and squeeze and wash in water until coloring matter ceases to run off Warm it with nitric acid as a test. Fleshfibrin—If£ a piece of lean beef or other meat be repeatedly squeezed and washed in water, the coloring matters are gradually removed, and a white residue is ob- tained, which resembles blood-fibrin in its external char- acters. It is, in fact, the actual fibers of the animal muscle, and hence its name. It is characterized by dissolving in very dilute chlorhydric acid, (one part acid and 1,000 of va water) to a clear liquid, from which it is again separated by careful addition of an alkali, or a solution of common salt. | Vegetablejibrin.—When wheat-flour is mixed with a little water to a thick dough, and this is washed and. kneaded for some time in a vessel of water, the starch and albumin are mostly removed, and a yellowish, tenacious mass remains, which bears the name gluten. When wheat is slowly chewed, the saliva carries off the starch and other - matters, and the gluten mixed with bran is left behind— well-known to country lads as “ wheat-gum.” ~ Exp. 49.—Wet a handful of good, fresh, wheat flour slowly with a lit- tle water to a sticky dough, and squeeze this under a fine stream of water until the latter runs off clear. Heat a portion of this gluten with -Millon’s test. Gluten is a mixture of several albuminoids, and contains besides some starch and fat. Vegetable-fibrin is dissolved from it by alcohol, and separates on removing the alcohol _ by evaporation. The albuminoids of crude gluten dissolve in very dilute potash-lye, 100 HOW CROPS GROW. | (one to one and one-half parts potash to 1000 parts of water), and the liquid, after standing some days at rest, may be poured off from any residue of starch. On adding acetic acid in slight excess, the purified albuminoids are separated in the solid state. By extracting succes- sively with weak, with strong, and with absolute alcohol, a form of casein (gluten-casein of Ritthausen) remains undissolved, which is perhaps identical with the casein (legumin) of the pea. On eyaporating the alcoholic solution to one-half, there separates, on cooling, a brownish-yellow mass. This, when treated with absolute al- =) cohol, leaves vegetable-fibrin nearly pure. Vegetable-fibrin is readily soluble in hot alcohol, but slightly so in cold alcohol. It does not at all dissolve in water. It has no fibrous structure like animal fibrin, but forms, when dry, a tough, horn-like mass. In composition it approaches animal-fibrin. Casein.— Animal casein is the peculiar ingredient of new cheese. It exists dissolved to the extent of 3 to 6 per cent in fresh milk, unlike albumin is not coagulated by heat, but is coagulated by acids, by rennet, (the mem- brane of the calf’s stomach), and by heating to boiling with salts of lime and magnesia. Exp. 50.—Observe the coagulation of casein when milk is treated with a few drops of sulphuric acid. Test the curd with nitrate of mercury. Exp. 51.—Boil milk with a little sulphate of magnesia (epsom salts) until it curdles, ‘ When casein is separated from milk by rennet, as in making cheese, it carries with it a considerable portion of the phosphates and other salts of the milk; these salts are not found in the casein precipitated by acids, being © held in solution by the latter. The casein of milk coagulates spontaneously when it stands for some time. Casein has recently been detected in the brain of animals, (Hoppe-Seyler, Med. Chem. Un- ters., II.) | Vegetable casein.—This substance is found in large pro- portion (17 to 19 per cent) in the pea and bean, and in- deed generally in the seeds of the so-called leguminous plants. It closely resembles milk-casein in all respects. | a : ——_ THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. i 101 Exp. 52.—Prepare a solution of vegetable casein from crushed peas, oats, almonds, or pea-nuts, by soaking them for some hours in warm water, and allowing the liquid to settle clear. Coagulate the casein by addition of an acid to the solution. It may be coagulated by rennet, and by salts of magnesia and lime, in the same manner as animal casein. The Chinese prepare a vegetable cheese by boiling peas to a pap, straining the liquor, adding gypsum until coagu- lation occurs, and treating the curd thus obtained in the same manner as practiced with milk-cheese, viz.: salt- ing, pressing, and keeping until the odor. and taste of cheese are developed. It is cheaply sold in the streets of Canton under the name of Zao-foo. Vegetable casein occurs in small quantity in oats, the potato, and many plants; and may be exhibited adding afew drops of acetic acid to turnip juice, for instance, which has been freed from albumin by boiling and a: The casein from peas and leguminous seeds has been designated legumin, that of the oat has been named avenin. Almonds _ yield a casein, which has been termed emuilsin. As al- ready mentioned, casein (Ritthausen’s gluten-casein) exists in wheat-gluten,and in rye. Each of these sources yields a casein of somewhat peculiar characters; the causes of these differences are not yet ascertained, but probably lie in impurities, or result from mixture of other albuminoids. In crude wheat-gluten two other albuminoids exist, viz. : Gliadin, or vegetable glue, is very soluble in water and alcohol. It strongly resembles animal glue. Mucedin resembles gliadin, but is less soluble in strong alcohol, and is insoluble in water. ‘When moist, it is yel- lowish-white in color, has a silky luster, and slimy consist- ence. It exists also in rye grain, (Ritthausen, Jour. fir Prakt, Chem., 88, 141; and 99, 463.) Composition of the Albuminoids.—There are various reasons why the exact composition of the bodies just de- scribed is a subject of uncertainty. They are, in the first place, naturally mixed and associated with other matters 102 : HOW CROPS GROW. from which it is very difficult to separate them fully. Again, if we succeed in removing foreign substances, it must usually be done by the aid of acids, alkalies, and other strong reagents, which easily alter or destroy their proper characters and composition. Finally, if we analyze the pure substances, our methods of analysis are perhaps scarcely delicate enough to indicate their differences with entire accuracy. The results of chemical investigation demonstrate that the albuminoids are either identical In composition or differ but slightly from each other, as is seen from the Table below. The deduction of a correct atomic formula from these analyses is perhaps impossible in the present state of our knowledge. In the subjoined Table are given analyses of the albuminoids which have been described. Those indicated by asterisks are recent re- sults of Dr. Ritthausen; the others are average statements of the best analyses, (after Gorup-Besanez, Org. Chemie, p. 611.) COMPOSITION OF ALBUMINOIDS. Carbon. Hydrogen. Nitrogen. Oxygen. Sulphur. Animal albumin...... 53.5 7.0 15.5 22.4 1.6 ‘Vegetable albumin... .53.4 me! 15.6 23.0 0.9 BlOGd AM. ccc pocee 52.6 7.0 17.4 21.8 1.2 _ Flesh fibrin....... saree L as 16.0 21.5 Lt Wheat fibrin*,....... 54.3 7.2 16.9 20.6 1.0 Animal casein........ 53.6 ren 15.'¢ 22.6 1.0 Vegetable casein...... 50.5 6.8 18.0 24,2 0.5 Gluten-casein* } .......51.0 6.7 16.1 25.4 0.8 Gliadin*® wheat 52.6 7.0 18.1 21.5 0.8 Mucedin® f.......541 6.9 16.6 21.5 0.9 Phosphorus is not included in the above table, for the reason that in all cases its quantity, and in most instances its very presence, is still un- certain. Voelcker and Norton found in vegetable casein 1.4 to 2.3 per cent of phosphorus, and smaller quantities have been mentioned by other of the older analysts as occurring in albumin and fibrin. The phosphorus of these and of animal casein is thought not to belong to the albuminoid, but to be due to an admixture of phosphate of lime. In his recent investigation of gluten-casein, Ritthausen found phos- phoric acid that appears to have been partially uncombined with a fixed vase, and to have therefore resulted from phosphorus in organic combi- a oat THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 103 | nation. It is not unlikely that vegetable casein may contain an admix- ture of protagon (p. 93), or the products of its decomposition, from which it is not easy to procure a separation. Mutual Relations of the Albuminoids. — Some have supposed that these bodies are identical in composition, the differences among the analytical results being due to foreign matters, and differ from each other in the same way that cellulose and starch differ, viz.: on account of different arrangement of the atoms. Others formerly adopted the notion of Mulder, to the effect that the albu- minoids are compounds of various proportions of hypothet- ical sulphur and phosphorus compounds, with a common ingredient, which he termed protein, (from the Greek sig- nifying “to take the first place,” because of the great physiological importance of such a body.) Hence the albuminoids are often called the protein-bodies. The trans- _formations which these substances are capable of under- going, sufficiently show that they are closely related, with- out, however, satisfactorily indicating in what manner. In the animal organism, the albuminoids of the food, of whatever name, are dissolved in the gastric juice of the stomach, and pass into the blood, where they form blood- albumin and blood-fibrin. As the blood nourishes the muscles, they are modified into flesh-fibrin, or entering the lacteal system, are converted into casein, while in the ap- propriate part of the circulation they are formed into the albumin of the egg, or embryo. In the living plant, similar changes of place and of char- acter occur among these substances. Finally, outside the organism the following transforma- tions have been observed: Flesh-fibrin exposed while ° moist to the air at a summer temperature for some days, dissolves into a liquid; if this liquid be heated to near ‘boiling, coagulation-takes place, and the substance which separates has the properties of albumin. On removing the albumin and adding vinegar to the remaining liquid, 104 : HOW CROPS GROW. a curdy coagulum is formed, which agrees in its properties with casein. (Bopp, Ann. Ch. Ph., 60, p. 30; Gunning, Jour. fiir Prakt. Chem., 69, p. 52.) Lehmann has shown that when albumin is dissolved in potash, and mixed with a little milk-sugar and oily fat, the mixture coagulates with rennet exactly as milk curdle. (Gorup-Besanez, Phys. Chem., p. 139.) Sullivan has observed that the casein of milk which was kept in closed air-tight vessels for a long time, at first co- agulated, but afterward dissolved again to a nearly clear liquid, which was found to contain no casein, but by heat- ing, coagulated, showing the conversion of casein into albumin, or a similar body. (Phil. Mag., 4, XVIII, 203.) Some maintain that casein is not a distinct albuminoid, but a compound of albumin with potash, containing, ac- cording to Lieberkiihn, 5.5°| , of this alkali. Its peculiarities are in part due to its natural association with phosphate of potash. Kthne, Phys. Chem., 1868, p. 565. See, how- ever, Schwarzenbach, Ann. Ch. u. Ph., 144, p. 63. The Albuminoids in Animal Nutrition—We step aside for a moment from our proper plan to direct atten- tion to the beautiful adaptation of this group of organic substances to the nutrition of animals. Those bodies which we have just noticed as the animal albuminoids, together with others of similar composition, constitute a large share of the healthy animal organism, and especially characterize its actual working machinery, being essential ingredients of the muscles and cartilages, as well as of the nerves and brain. They likewise exist largely in the nutritive fluids of the animal—in blood and milk. So far as we know, the animal body has not the power to produce a particle of albumin, or fibrin, or casein; it can only transform these bodies as presented to it from external sources. They are. hence indispensable ingredients of food, and have been aptly designated by Liebig as the plastic elements of nu- trition. It is, in all cases, the plant which originally con- Laat : ‘ ‘ ee ee ae a eS THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 105 structs these substances, and places them at the disposal of the animal. ‘The albuminoids are mostly capable of existing in the liquid or soluble state, and thus admit of distribution throughout the entire animal body, as blood, etc. They likewise readily assume the solid condition, thus becoming more permanent parts of the living organism, as well as capable of indefinite preservation for food in the seeds and other edible parts of plants. Complexity of Constitution.—The albuminoids are high- ly complex in their chemical constitution. This fact is shown as well by the multiplicity of substances which may be produced from them by destructive and decomposing processes, as by the ease with which they are broken up into other and simpler compounds. Subjected in the solu- ble or moist state to the action of warm air, they speedily decompose or putrefy, yielding a large variety of products. Heated with acids, alkalies, and oxidizing agents, they all give origin to the same or to analogous products, among which no less than twenty different compounds have been distinguished. Occurrence in Plants—Aleurone.—It is only in the old and virtually dead parts of a living plant that albuminoids are ever wanting, In the young and growing organs they are abundant, and exist dissolved in the sap or juices. They are especially abundant in seeds, and here they are deposited in an organized form, chiefly in grains similar to those of starch, and are nearly or altogether insoluble in water. These grains of albuminoid matter are not, m many cases at least, pure albuminoids. They appear to contain vegetable albumin, casein, fibrin, etc., associated together, though, in general, casein and fibrin are largely predomi- nant. Hartig, who first described them minutely, has dis- tinguished them by the name aleurone, a term which we may conveniently employ. By the word aleurone is not * Be 106 HOW CROPS GROW. meant simply an albuminoid, or mixture of albuminoids, but the organized granules found in the plant, of which the albuminoids are chief ingredients. | - In Fig. 18 is represented a magnified slice through the outer cells, (bran,) of a husked oat kernel. The cavities of these outer cells, a, ¢, are chiefly occupied with very fine grains of aleurone, (casein.) In one cell, 0, are seen the much larger starch grains. In the interior of the oat kernel and other cereal seeds, the cells are chiefly occupied with starch, but throughout grains of aleurone are more or less intermingled. Fig. 19 exhibits a section of the exterior part of a flax- seed. The outer cells, a, contain vegetable mucilage; the interior cells, e, are mostly filled with minute grains of aleurone, among which droplets of oil, 7, are distributed. In“ Fig. 20 ‘are Ne shown some of the forms assumed by in- dividual albuminoid- =, B i ripe , grains ; a is aleurone | Fig. 20. from the seed of the vetch, 6 from the castor bean, ¢ from flax-seed, d from the fruit of the bayberry, (Myrica a NS ae ee 7 4 j , 3 q | THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 107 cerifera,) and e from mace, (an appendage to the nutmeg, or fruit of the Wyristica moschata.) Crystalloid aleurone.—It has been already remarked that crystallized albuminoids may be obtained from the blood of animals. It is equally true that bodies of similar character exist in plants, as was first observed by Hartig, (Entwickelungsgeschichte des Pflanzenkeims, p. 104.) In form they sometimes imitate crystals quite perfectly, Fig. 21, a; in other cases, 5, they are rounded masses, having some crystalline planes or facets. They are soft, yield easily to pressure, swell up to double their bulk when Fig. 21. soaked in weak acids or alkalies, and their angles have none of the constancy peculiar to proper crystals. There- fore the term crystalloid, i. e. having the likeness of crys- tals, is more appropriate than crystallized. As Cohn first noticed, (Jour. fir Prakt. Chem., 80, p. 129,) crystalloid aleurone may be observed in the outer portions of the potato tuber, in which it invariably pre- sents a cubical form. It is best found by examining the cells that adhere to the rind of a potato that has been boiled. In Fig. 21, a represents a cell from a boiled pota- to, in the centre of which is seen the cube of aleurone. It is surrounded by the exfoliated remnants of starch- grains. In the same figure, b exhibits the contents of a cell from the seed of the bur reed, (Sparganium ramo- sum,) a plant that is common along the borders of ponds. In the center is a comparatively large mass of aleurone, having crystalloid facets. 108 HOW CROPS GROW. According to Maschke, (Jour. fiir Pr. Ch., 79, p. 148,) the crystalloid aleurone that is abundant in the Brazil nut, is a compound of casein with some acid of unknown composition. This aleurone may be dissolved in water, and recovered in its original form-on evaporation. Kubel’s analysis of aleurone, prepared from the Brazil nut by Hartig, gave its content of nitrogen 9.46 per cent. Aleurone from the yellow lupin yielded him 9.26 per cent. Since pure casein has 16 to 18 per cent of nitrogen, the aleurone contained about 52 to 59 per cent of albuminoids. Estimation of the Albuminoids.—The quantitative sep- aration of these bodies is a matter of great difficulty and uncertainty. For most purposes their collective quantity in any organic substance may be calculated with sufficient accuracy from its content of nitrogen. All the albumin- oids contain, on the average, about 16 per cent of nitrogen. This divided into 100 gives a quotient of 6.25. If, now, the percentage of nitrogen that exists in a given plant be multiplied by 6.25, the product will represent its percent- age of albuminoids, it being assumed that all the nitrogen of the plant exists in this form, which in most cases is prac- tically true. Frihling and Grouven have recently investigated the condition of the nitrogen of various plants, and have found that nitric acid, (N, O,,) which in the form of nitrate of potash has long been known to occur in vegetation, is present in but trifling quantity in most agricultural plants. In mature clover, esparsette, lucern, wheat, rye, oats, bar- ley, the pea, and the lentil, it did not exceed 2 parts in 10,000 of the air-dry plant. In maize, they found twice this quantity ; in beet and potato tops alone of all the plants examined was nitric acid present to the amount of four- tenths of one per cent, (Vs. St., [X, 153.) Salts of am- monia (N H.,) likewise often exist in plants, but as a rule ‘in quite inconsiderable quantities. THE VOLATILE PART OF PLANTS. 109 AVERAGE QUANTITY OF ALBUMINOIDS IN VARIOUS VEGETABLE PRODUCTS. per cent. Maize fodder, OTreenis.. 2.000% 3% deat Saher sais 1.2 Beet tops RA FOS ahs Sav tc ana Sine. a OOO eae a 1.9 Carrot tops Sees cok es abe Fasano steers 3.5 NCA OUREARS Bete 64-52 che <)20 arr oe anja shy cave 3.1 Red clover Pe aorta isa ’s bac cin Sea 3.7 PONV MNbe CIOVER MS Fos Us ik ae da belce de 4.0 MEER sey PUGS a 2 pa tfaps; aps \ej< pies snide he wa Me oe 1.0 OE eee Me es Be ale oo a oo. s Cam othe peje 1.3 SENET SRN Ret er wie e cos si o's 6 s.c-es'y ste nid 2.0 MAL COU AUN ty ave vs cosas chen cess eaves 1.4 Straw of summer grain, air-dry............ 2.6 Straw of winter “ Be Sams wiivuce a Bacal cee 3.0 Pea straw aber eee hPa 7.3 Bean straw GS iS a paata aide oats 10.2 Meadow hay Se: ae aite uanerate 8.5 Red clover hay Be aiid Sars RES 13.4 White clover hay Re Re eR ah Bs 14.9 Buckwheat kernel SOP eas PGs 7.8 Barley ue Seah pruianie ieed Ae lave 10.0 Maize pi 08 Ee Sestene sua veel ara t 10.7 Rye ie Samay hak ares S819 11.0 Oat we bate DR GS Wen S ee 12.0 Wheat § hi st om weal. eNep ord 18.2 Pea be De ae TiS Sh gta Nena tOr es 3 22.4 Bean ae DanC Stave Shanta ther ake 24.1 Lupine halted th Po boda aitiet tate aa o4.5 APPENDIX TO § 4. CHLOROPHYLL : TANNIN : ALKALOIDS. Before dismissing the subject of the Proximate Elements of plants, we must notice several other substances of subordinate agricultural ,inter- est. Two of these, viz., Chlorophyll and Tannin, though not figuring in the analysis of agricultural plants, are nevertheless of almost universal occurrence in all forms of vegetation, though usually in very minute quantity. Chlorophyll, i. ¢. leaf-green, is the name applied to the substance which occasions the green color in vegetation. It is found in all the sur- face of annual plants and of the annually renewed parts of perennial plants. It might readily be supposed that it constitutes a large portion of the leaves of vegetation, but the fact is quite otherwise. The green 110 HOW CROPS GROW. parts of plants usually contain chlorophyll only at their surface, and in quantity no greater than colored fabrics contain the particles of dye. Chlorophyll being soluble in ether, accompanies fat or wax when these are removed from green vegetable matters by this solvent. It is soluble in chlorhydric and sulphuric acids, imparting to these liquids its in- tense green color. According to Pfaundler, the (impure?) chlorophyll of grass has the following percentage composition : Carbon — 60.85 Hydrogen 6.89 Oxygen 382.78 Fremy has shown that chlorophyll may be easily decomposed into two coloring matters, a yellow, Zanthophyll, and a blue, Cyanophyll. This is accomplished by treating chlorophyll with a mixture of chlorhydric acid and ether; the cyanophyll dissolves in the latter, and the zanthophyll is taken up by the former solvent. The yellow color of autumn leayes is perhaps due to zanthophyll. According to Sachs, there exists in those parts of plants, which, though not green, are capable of becoming so, a colorless substance, Leucophyll, which, in contact with oxygen, acquires a green color, being converted into chlorophyll. Tannimn is the general designation of the bitter, astringent prin- ciples, (used in leather-making,) of the bark and leaves of the hemlock, oak, sumach, plum, pear, and many other trees, of tea, coffee, and of gall-nuts. It is found in small quantity in the young bean plant, and in many germinating seeds. Tannin is closely related to the carbohydrates, as is .demonstrated alike by the microscopic study of its development in the plant, and by our knowledge of its chemical composition. The tannins are weak acids, and are distinguished, according to their origin, as Gallotannic acid (from nut-galls), Caffeotannic acid (from coffee), Quercitannic acid (from the oak), ete. As already hinted, the tannins are Glucosides, or compounds of sugar, with some other substance. In gall-tannin the sugar is glucose, and the substance associated with, or rather yielded by it on decomposition, is known as Gallic acid. By boiling gall-tannin with a dilute acid, or by subjecting its solution to fermentation, decom- position into the two substances named is accomplished. According to Strecker, the composition of gall-tannin and this con- version are indicated by the following formule: Tannin. Water. Gallic acid. . Glucose. 2 (Cor Hoo O17) + 8 (H2 O) = 6 (C; He Os) + Cis Hos Ore Tuer ALKALOIDS are a class of bodies very numerous in poisonous and medicinal plants, of which they usually constitute the active principle, Those which haye an agricultural interest are Wicotin, Caffein, and. Theobromin. Fast: Nicotin, C,) H,, No, is the narcotic and extremely poisonous prin- ciple in tobacco, where it exists in combination with malic and citric THE ASH OF PLANTS. . “pis acids. In the pure state it is a colorless, oily liquid, having the odor of tobacco in an extreme degree. It is inflammable and volatile, and so deadly that a single drop will killa large dog. French tobacco contains Yor 8p. c¢.; Virginia, 6 or 7p. ¢.; and Maryland and Havanna, about 2p. c. of nicotin. Nicotin contains 17.3 p. c. of nitrogen, but no oxygen. - Caffeimn, Cs Hy. N, On, exists in coffee and tea combined with tannic acid. In the pure state it forms white, silky, fibrous crystals, and has a bitter taste. In coffee it is found to the extent of one-half per cent; in tea it occurs in much larger quantity, sometimes as high as 6 per cent. ‘Theobromin, C, H, N, O2, resembles caffein in its characters, and is closely related to it in chemical composition. It is found in the cacao-bean, from which chocolate is manufactured. The alkaloids are remarkable from containing nitrogen, and from hay- ing strongly basic characters. They derive their designation, alkaloids, from their likeness to the alkalies. CHAPTER IL THE ASH OF PLANTS. § 1. THE INGREDIENTS OF THE ASH. As has been stated, the volatile or destructible part of plants, 7.e. the part which is converted into gases or vapors under the ordinary conditions of burning, consists chiefly of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen, together with minute quantities of Sulphur and Phosphorus. These elements, and such of their compounds as are of general occurrence in agricultural plants, viz., the Organic Proximate Principles, have been already described in detail. The non-volatile part or ashof plants also contains, or may contain, Carbon, Oxygen, Sulphur, and Phosphorus. It is, however, in general, chiefly made up of eight other % elements, whose common compounds are fixed at fhe ordi- “nary heat of burning. 112 HOW CROPS GROW. In the subjoined table, the names of the 12 elements of the ash of plants are given, and they are grouped under two heads, the non-metals and the metals, by reason of an important distinction in their chemical nature. | ELEMENTS OF THE ASH OF PLANTS. Non-Metals. Metals. Oxygen Potassium Carbon Sodium Sulphur Calcium Phosphorus Magnesium Silicon Tron Chlorine Manganese If to the above be added Hydrogen and Nitrogen the list includes all the elementary substances that belong to agricultural vegetation. Hydrogen is never an ingredient of the perfectly burned and dry ash of any plant. Nitrogen may remain in the ash under certain conditions in the form of a Cyanide, (compound of Carbon and Ni- trogen,) as will be noticed hereafter. Besides the above, certain other elements are found, cither occasion- ally in common plants, or in some particular kind of vegetation: these are Iodine, Bromine, Fluorine, Titanium, Arsenic, Lithium, Rubidium, Barium, Aluminum, Zine, Copper. We may now complete our study of the Composition of the Plant by attending to a description of those ele- ments that are peculiar to ‘the ash, and of those compounds which may occur in it. It will be convenient also to deve in this section some substances, which, although not ingredients of the ash, may exist in the plant, or are otherwise important to be considered. . The non-metallic elements, which we shall first no- tice, though differing more or less widely among them- selves, have one point of resemblance, viz., they and their compounds with each other have acid properties, 7. e. they — THE ASH OF PLANTS. 113 either are acids in the ordinary sense of being sour to the taste, or enact the part of acids by uniting to metals or metallic oxides, to form salts. We may, therefore, desig- nate them as the acid elements. They are Oxygen, Sulphur, Phosphorus, Carbon, Silicon, and Chlorine. (Less com- mon are Arsenic, Titanium, Iodine, Bromine, and Fluorine.) With the exception of Silicon, (and Titanium,) and the denser forms of Carbon, these elements by themselves are readily volatile. Their compounds with each other, which may occur in vegetation, are also volatile, with two ex- ceptions, viz., Silicic and Phosphoric acids. In order that they may resist the high temperature at_ which ashes are formed, they must be combined with the metallic elements or their oxides as salts. : Oxygen, Symbol O, atomic weight 16, is an ingredient of the ash, since it unites with nearly all the other elements of vegetation, either during the life of the plant, or in the act of combustion, It unites with Carbon, Sulphur, Phos- phorus, and Silicon, forming acid bodies; while with the metals it produces oxides, which have the characters of bases. Chlorine alone of the elements of the plant does. not unite with oxygen, either in the living plant, or during its combustion. CARBON AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Carbon, Sym. C, at. wt. 12, has been noticed already with sufficient fulness, (p. 31.) It is often contained as charcoal in the ashes of the plant, owing to its being en- veloped in a coating of fused saline matters, which shield it from the action of oxygen. Carbonic acid, Sym. C O,, molecular weight, 44, is the colorless gas which causes the sparkling or effervescence of beer and soda water, and the frothing of yeast. It is formed by the oxidation of carbon, when vegetable matter is burned, (Exp. 6.) It is, therefore, found in the ash of plants, combined with those bases which in the liv- 114 . HOW CROPS GROW. ing organism existed in union with organic acids; the lat- ter being destroyed by burning. It also occurs in combination with lime in the tissues of many plants. Its compounds with bases are carbonates, to be noticed presently. When a carbonate, as marble or limestone, is drenched with a strong acid, like vinegar or muriatic acid, the carbonic acid is set free with effer- vescence. Cyanogen, Sym. CN.—This important compound of Carbon and Nitrogen is a gas which has an odor resembling that of peach-pits, and which burns on contact with a lighted taper with a fine purple flame. *Inits union with oxygen by combustion, carbonic acid is formed, and nitrogen set free, CN+20=C0O, + N. 7 Cyanogen may be prepared by heating an intimate mixture of two parts by weight of ferrocyanide of potassium, (yellow prussiate of potash,) and three parts of corrosive sublimate. The operation may be conducted in a test tube or small flask, to the mouth of which is fitted a cork pene- trated by a narrow glass tube, On applying heat, the eae issues, and may be set on fire to observe its beautiful flame. Cyanogen, combined with iron, forms the Prussian blue of commerce, and its name, signifying the blue-producer, was given to it from that cir- cumstance. Cyanogen unites with the metallic elements, giving rise to a series of bodies which are termed Cyanides. Some of these often occur in small quantity in the ashes of plants, being produced in the act of burning by the union of nitrogen with carbon anda metal. For this result, the temperature must be very high, carbon must be in excess, the metal is usually potassium or calcium, the nitrogen may be either free nitrogen of the atmosphere or that originally existing in the organic matter, With hydrogen, cyanogen forms the deadly poison hydrocyanic or prus- sic acid, H Cy, which is produced from amygdaline, one of the ingre- dients of bitter almonds, peach, and cherry seeds, when these are crush- ed in contact with water. When a cyanide is brought in contact with steam at high temperatur es, it is decomposed, all its nitrogen being converted into ammonia. Cyanogen is a normal ingredient of one common plant. The oil of mustard is the suwlpho-cyanide of allyle, Cs Hs CNS. SULPHUR AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Sulphur, Sym. S, aé. wt. 832.—The properties of this element have been already described, (p. 42.) Some of THE ASH OF PLANTS. 115 its compounds have also been briefly alluded to, but re- quire more detailed notice. Sulphydric Acid, Sym H,8, mo. wt. 34. This substance, fa- miliarly known as sulphuretted hydrogen, occurs dissolved in the water of numerous so-called sulphur springs, as those of Avon and Sharon, N. Y., from which it escapes as a fetid gas. It is not unfrequently emitted from volcanoes and fumaroles. It is likewise produced in the decay of organic bodies which contain sulphur, especially eggs, the intolerable _odor of which, when rotten, is largely due to this gas. It is evolved from manure heaps, from salt marshes, and even from the soil of moist meadows. The ashes of plants sometimes yield this gas when they are moisten- ed with water. Insuch cases, a sulphide of potassium or calcium has been formed in small quantity during the incineration. Sulphydric acid is set free in the gaseous form by the action of an acid on various sulphides, as those of iron, (Exp. 17,) antimony, etc., as wellas by the action of water on the sulphides of the alkali and alkali-earth metals, It may be also generated by passing hydrogen gas into melted sulphur. Sulphuretted hydrogen has aslight acid taste. It is highly poisonous and destructive, both to animals and plants. Sulphurous Acid, Sym. 8O., mo. wi. 64, When sulphur is burned in the air, or in oxygen gas, it forms copious white suffocating fumes, which consist of one atom of sulphur, united to two atoms of oxygen; 8 Oz, (Exp. 15.) Sulphurous acid is characterized by its power of discharging, for a time at least, most of the red and blue vegetable colors. It has, however, no action on many yellow colors. Straw and wool are bleached by it in the arts. Sulphurous acid is emitted from volcanoes, and from fissures in the soil of volcanic regions. It is produced when bodies containing sulphur are burned with imperfect access of air, and is thrown into the atmos- phere in large quantities from fires which are fed by mineral coal, as well as from the numerous roasting heaps of certain metallic ores, (sulphides, ) which are wrought in mining regions. Sulphurous acid may unite with bases, yielding salts known as szl- phites, some of which, viz., sulphite of lime and sulphite of soda, are em- ployed to check or prevent fermentation, an effect also produced by the acid itself. Anhydrous* Sulphuric Acid, Sym. SO,, mo. wi. 80, is known to the chemist as a white, silky solid, which attracts moisture with great avidity, and, when thrown into water, hisses like a hot iron, forming the hydrated sulphuric acid. —* i. ¢., free from water. - ‘ . “er ° in a A 116 . HOW CROPS GROW. Hydrated Sulphuric Acid, Sym. H, O SO, or H, SO,, mo. wt. 98—the sulphuric acid of commerce—is a substance of the highest importance, its manufacture being the basis of the chemical arts. In its concentrated form it is known as ot of vitriol, and is a colorless, heavy liquid, of an oily consistency, and sharp, sour taste. It is manufactured on the large scale by mingling sul- phurous acid gas, nitric acid gas, and steam, in large lead- lined chambers, the floors of which are covered with wa- ter. The sulphurous acid takes up oxygen from the nitric acid, and the sulphuric acid thus formed dissolves in the water, and is afterwards boiled down to the proper strength in glass vessels. The chief agricultural application of commercial sul-_ phuric acid is in the preparation of “‘ superphosphate of lime,” which is consumed as a fertilizer in Immense quan- tities. This is made by mixing together dilute sulphuric acid with bone-dust, bone-ash, or some mineral phosphate. Sulphuric acid occurs in the free state, though extreme- ly dilute, in certain natural waters, as in the Oak Orchard Acid Spring of Orleans, N. Y., where it is produced by the oxidation of sulphide of iron. Sulphuric acid is very corrosive and destructive to most vegetable and animal matters. Exp. 53.—Stir a little oil of vitriol with a pine stick. The wood is immediately browned or blackened, and a portion of it dissolves in the acid, communicating a dark color to the latter. The commercial acid is often brown from contact with straws and chips. Strong sulphuric acid produces great heat when mixed with water, as is done for making superphosphate. Exp. 54.—Place in a thin glass vessel, as a beaker glass, 30 c. ec. of wa- ter; into this pour in a fine stream 120 grams of oil of vitriol, stirring all the while with a narrow test tube, containing a teaspoonful of water. If the acid be of full strength, so much heat is thus generated as to boil the water in the stirring tube. _ In mixing oil of vitriol and water, the acid should always be slowly poured into the water, with stirring, as above directed. When water is added to the acid, it floats upon the latter, or mixes with it but super- a ee Le aE. e . q THE ASH OF PLANTS, 117 | ficially, and the liquids may be thrown about by the sudden formation of steam at the points of contact, when subsequently stirred. Sulphuric acid forms with the bases an important class of salts—the su/phates—to be presently noticed, some of which exist in the ash, as well as in the sap of plants. When organic matters containing sulphur, as hair, album- in, ete., are burned with full access of air, this element re- mains in the ash as sulphates, or is partially dissipated as sulphurous acid. PHOSPHORUS AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Phosphorus, Sym. P, aé. wt. 31, has been sufficiently described, (p. 43.) Of its numerous compounds but two > require gddinional notice. Anhydrous Phosphoric Acid, Sym. P, O,, mo. wé. 142, does not occur as such in nature. When phosphorus is burned in dry air or oxygen, anhydrous phosphoric acid is the snow-like product, (Exp. 18.) It has no sensible acid properties until it has united to water, which it com- bines with so energetically as to produce a hissing noise from the heat developed. On boiling it with water for some time, it completely dissolves, and the solution con- tains— _Mydrated Phosphoric Acid, Sym. P, O,, 3 H, O, 196, or H, PO,, 98.—The chief interest which this compound has for the agriculturist lies in the fact that the com- - binations which are formed between it and various bases —phosphates—are among the most important ingredients of plants and their ashes. _ When bodies containing phosphorus in other forms than - phosphoric acid, as protagon, (p. 93,) and, perhaps, some of the albuminoids, are disorganized by heat or decay, the _ phosphorus appears in the ashes or residue, in the con- dition of phosphoric acid or phosphates. - The formation of several phosphates has been shown in 118 HOW CROPS GROW. Exp. 20. Further account of them will be given under — the metals. CHLORINE AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Chlorine, Sym. Cl, aé. wt. 35.5.—This element exists in the free state as a greenish-yellow, suffocating gas, which has a peculiar odor, and the property of bleaching vege- table colors. It is endowed with the most vigorous affinities for many other elements, and hence is never met with, naturally, in the free state. Sprengel claims to have found that Glaux maritima and Salicornia her- bacea, plants growing in salt marshes, exhale chlorine. He says that the chlorine thus evolved is very quickly converted into chlorhydric acid, by acting on the vapor of water which exists in the atmosphere. Such an exhalation of chlorine is manifestly impossible. The gas, were it eliminated within the plant, would be consumed before it could escape into the atmosphere. Chlorhydric acid is evolved from the mud of salt marshes when left bare by ebb of the tide, and exposed to the heat of the summer sun. It comes from the mutual decomposition of chloride of magnesium and water, Mg Cl, + H,O = MgO + 2HCL Exp. 55.—Chlorine may be prepared by heating a mixture of chlor- hydric acid and black oxide of manganese or red-lead. The gas being nearly five times as heavy as common air, may be collected in glass bot- tles by passing the tube which delivers it to the bottom of the receiving vessel. Care must be taken not to inhale it, as it energetically attacks the interior of the breathing passages, producing the disagreeable symptoms of a cold. Chlorine dissolves in water, forming a yellow solution. Very weak chlorine water was found by Humboldt to fa- cilitate the sprouting of seeds. In some form of combination chlorine is distributed over the whole earth, and is never absent from the plant. ; The compounds of chlorine are termed chlorides, and may be prepared, in most cases, by simply putting their elements in contact, at ordinary or slightly elevated tem- peratures. Chiorhydric acid, also Hydrochloric acid, Sym. H Cl, mo. wt. 36.5.—When Chlorine and Hydrogen gases are mingled together, they slowly combine if exposed to diffused light; but if placed in the sun- shine, they unite explosively, and chloride of hydrogen or chlorhydrie THE ASH OF PLANTS. 119 - acid is formed. This compound is a gas that dissolves with great avidity in water, forming a liquid which has a sharp, sour taste, and possesses all the characters of an acid. The muriatic acid of the apothecary is water holding in solution several hundred times its bulk of chlorhydric acid gas, and is prepared from com- mon salt, whence its ancient name spirits of salt. Chlorhydric acid is the usual source of chlorine gas. The latter is evolved from a heated mixture of this acid with peroxide of manganese. In this reaction the hydrogen of the chlorhydric acid unites with the oxygen of the peroxide of manganese, producing water, while chloride of manganese and free chlorine are separated. 4HCl + MnO, = MnCl, + 2H,O + 20C1 When chlorine dissolved in water, is exposed to the sun-light, there ensues a change the reverse of that just noticed. Water is decomposed, its oxygen is set free, and chlorhydric acid is formed, 2h le H,O + 2Cl = 2HCl + O. This reaction probably takes place when the germination of seeds is hastened by chlorine. The oxygen thus liberated is doubtless the real agent which excites growth in the sleeping germ. The two reactions just noticed are instructive examples of the differ- ent play of affinities between several elements under unlike circum- stances. Chlorhydric acid, being volatile, does not occur in the ashes of plants, nor probably in the plant itself, unless, as may possibly happen, it is formed in, and exhales from the vegetation, as it sometimes does from the mud of salt marshes, (p. 118.) Chlorhydric gas is found in volcanic emanations. This acid is a ready means of converting various metals or metallic oxides into chlorides, and its solution in water is a valuable solvent and reagent for the purposes of the chemist. Hodine, Sym. I, at. wt. 127.—This interesting body is a black solid at ordinary temperatures, having an odor resembling that of chlorine. Gent- ly heated, it is converted into a violet vapor. It occurs in sea-weeds, and is obtained from their ashes. It gives with starch a blue or purple compound, and is hence employed as a test for that substance, (p. 64.) It is analogous to chlorine in its chemical relations. Itis not known to occur in sensible quantity in agricultural plants, although it may well exist in the grasses of salt-bogs, and in the produce of soils which are manured with sea-weed. Bromine and Flworine mygy also exist in very small quantity in — plants, but these elements require no further notice in this treatise. SILICON AND ITS COMPOUNDS. _ Silicon, Sym. Si, at. wt. 28.—This element, in the free State, is only known to the chemist. It may be prepared 120 HOW CROPS GROW. in three modifications: one, a brown, powdery substance; another, resembling black-lead, (p. 31,) and a third, that occurs in crystals, having the form and nearly the hard- ness of the diamond. Anhydrous Silicic Acid, Sym. Si O,, mo. wt. 60.—This compound, known also as Silica, and anciently termed Silex, is widely diffused in nature, and occurs to an enor- ‘mous extent in rocks and soils, both in the free state and in combination with other bodies. Free silica exists in nearly all soils, and in many rocks, especially in sandstones and granites, in the form known to mineralogists as quartz. The glassy, white or trans- parent, often yellowish or red fragments of common sand, which are hard enough to scratch glass, are almost inva- riably this mineral. In the purest state, it is rock-erystal. Jasper, flint, and agate, are somewhat less pure silica. Silicates.—Anhydrous silicic acid is extremely insoluble in pure water and in most acids, It has, therefore, none of the sensible qualities of acids, but is nevertheless ca- pable of union with bases. It is slowly dissolved by strong, and especially by hot solutions of potash and soda, form- ing soluble silicates of these alkalies. Expr. 56.—ormation of silicate of potash. Heat a piece of quartz or flint, as large as a chestnut, as hot as possible in the fire, and quench suddenly in cold water. Reduce it to fine powder in a porcelain mortar, and boil it in a porcelain dish with twice its weight of caustic potash, and eight or ten times as much water, for two hours, taking care to sup- ply the water as it evaporates. Pour off the whole into a tall narrow bottle, and leave at rest until the undissolved silica has settled. The clear liquid is a basic silicate of potash, 7. ¢. a silicate which contains a number of molecules of base for each molecule of silica. It has, in fact, the taste and feel of potash solution. The so-called water-glass, now em- ployed in the arts, is a similar silicate of potash or soda. When silica is strongly heated with potash or soda, or with lime, magnesia, or oxide of iron, it readily melts to- _ gether ata unites pith these bodies, though nearly infus- — J ible by itself, and silicates are the result, The silicates thus formed with potash and soda are soluble in water, like _ THE ASH OF PLANTS. 121 ‘the product of Exp. 56, when the alkali exceeds a certain proportion—when highly basic; but with silica in excess, ‘(acid silicates,) they dissolve with difficulty. A mixed silicate of alkali and lime, alumina, or iron, with a large proportion of silica, is nearly or altogether insoluble, not only in water, but in most acids—constitutes, in fact, ordi- ‘nary glass. ; A multitude of wieearce exist in nature as rocks and minerals, Ordinary clay, common slate, soapstone, mica, or mineral isinglass, feldspar, hornblende, garnet, and other compounds of frequent and abundant occurrence, are silicates. The natural silicates are of two classes, viz., the acid silicates, (containing a preponderance of silica,) and basic silicates, (with large proportion of base): the former are but slowly dissolved or decomposed by acids, while the latter are readily attacked even by carbonic acid. Many native silicates are anhydrous, or destitute of water ; others are hydrous, 7. e. they contain water as a large and essential ingredient. Hydrated Silica. —Various compounds of silica with water are known to the chemist. Of these but three need be mentioned here. Soluble Silica.—This body, doubtless a hydrate, isknown only ina state of solution. It is formed when the solution of an alkali-silicate is decomposed by means of a large ex- cess of some strong acid, like the chlorhydric or sulphuric. Exp. 57.—Dilute half the solution of silicate of potash obtained in Exp. 56 with ten times its volume of water, and add diluted chlorhydric ~ acid gradually until the liquid tastes sour. In this Exp. the chlorhydric acid decomposes and destroys the silicate of potash, uniting itself with the base with production of chloride of potassium, which dissolves in the water present. The silica thus liberated unites chemically with wa- ter, and remains also in solution. _ By appropriate methods Doveri and Graham have re- moved from solutions like that of the last Exp. everything but the silica, and obtained. solutions of silica in pure wa- _ ter. Graham prepared a liquid that gave, when evaporat- 122 HOW CROPS GROW. ed and heated, 14 per cent of anhydrous silica. This so- lution was clear, colorless, and not viscid. It reddened litmus paper like an acid. Though not sour to the taste, it produced a peculiar feeling on the tongue. Evaporated to dryness at a low temperature, it left a transparent, glassy mass, which had the composition $i O,, H,O. This dry residue was insoluble in water. These solution: of silica” in pure water are incapable of existing for a long time without suffering a remarkable change. Even when pro- tected from all external agencies, ae sooner or later, usu- ally ina few days or weeks, lose their fluidity and trans- parency, and coagulate to a stiff jelly, from the separation of a nearly insoluble hydrate of silica, which we shall des- ignate as ee eae or of a few bubbles of carbonic acid gas to the strong | on lutions, occasions their immediate gelatinization. A mi- nute quantity of potash or soda, or excess of chlorhydric acid, prevents their coagulation. Gelatinous Silica.—This substance, which results from the coagulation of the soluble silica just described, usually appears also when the strong solution of a silicate has strong chlorhydric acid added to it, or when a silicate is decomposed by direct treatment ae a concentrated acid. It is a white, opaline, or transparent jelly, which, on dry- ing in the air, becomes a fine, white powder, or forms transparent id. This olen if dried at ordinary temperatures, is 3 Si O,,2 H,O. At the temperature of 212° F., it loses half its water. Ata red heat it becomes anhydrous, Gelatinous silica is distinctly, non very slightly, sol- uble in water. Fuchs and Bresser have found by experi- ment that 100,000 parts of water dissolve 13 to 14 parts of gelatinous silica. The hydrates of silica which ae been need to a THE ASH OF PLANTS. 123 heat of 212° or more , appear to be totally insoluble in pure - water, All the levauntas of silica are readily soluble in solutions of the alkalies and alkali carbonates, and readily unite with moist, slaked lime, forming silicates. Exp. 58.—Gelatinous Silica.—Pour a small portion of the solution of _ Silicate of potash of Exp. 56, into strong chlorhydric acid. Gelatinous silica separates and falls to the bottom, or the whole liquid becomes a transparent jelly. Exp. 59.— Conversion of soluble into insoluble hydrated silica.—Evaporate the solution of silica of Exp. 57, which contains free chlorhydric acid, in a porcelain dish. As it becomes concentrated, it is very likely to ge- latinize, as happened in Exp. 58, on account of the removal of the sol- vent. Evaporate to perfect dryness, finally on a water-bath (i. e. on a ~ vessel of boiling water which is covered by the dish containing the solu- tion). Add to the residue water, which dissolves away the chloride of potassium, and leaves insoluble hydrated silica, 3 Si Oz, HO, as a gritty - powder. In the ash of plants, silica is usually found in combination - with alkalies or lime, owing to the high beat to which it has been subjected: In the plant, however, it exists chiefly, if not entirely, in the free state. Vitanium, an element which has many analogies with silicon, _ though rarely occurring in large, quantities, is yet often present in the form of Titanic acid, Ti Oz, in rocks and soils, and according to Salm is Horstmar may exist in the ashes of barley and oats. Arsenic, in minute quantity, has been found by Davy in turnips which had been manured with a fertilizer (superphosphate), in whose preparation, oil of vitriol, containing this substance, was employed. The metallic elements which remain to be noticed, viz. : Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Manga- nese, (Lithium, Rubidium, Caesium, Aluminum, Zinc, - and Copper,) are dasic in their character, i. e., they unite - with the acid bodies that have just been described to d & a produce salts. Each one is, in this sense, the base of a series of saline compounds. ArxatrMerrars—The elements Potassium, ‘Sodium, (Lithium, Rubidium, and Caesium), are termed alkali- 124 HOW CROPS GROW. metals. Their oxides are very soluble in water, and are ‘ealled alkalies. The metals themselves do not occur in nature, and can only be prepared ‘by tedious chemical processes. They are silvery-white bodies, and are lighter than water. Exposed to the air, they quickly tarnish from the absorption of oxygen, and are rapidly converted into the corresponding alkalies. Thrown upon water, they mostly inflame and burn with great violence, decomposing the liquid, Exp. 11. — Of the alkali-metals, Potassium is invariably found in ~ all plants. Sodium is especially abundant in marine and strand vegetation; it is generally found in agricultural plants, but is occasionally absent from them. POTASSIUM AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Potassium, sym. K;* at. wt. 39.—When heated in the air, this metal burns with a beautiful violet light, and forms potash. Potash, K,O, 94, is the alkali, and base of ae poles salts. Hydrate of Potash, K,O, H,O, 112, or K H O, 56, isthe caustic potash of the apothecary and chemist. It may be procured in white, opaque masses or sticks, which rapidly absorb moisture and carbonic acid from the air, and readily dissolve in water, forming potash-lye. Itstrongly corrodes many vegetable and most animal matters, and dissolves fats, forming potash-soaps. It unites with acids like K,O, water being set free. ud | SODIUM AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Sodium, Na,t 23.—Burns with a brilliant, orange-yellow flame. * From the Latin name Kalium. — ' + From the Latin name Natrium. ~ THE ASH OF PLANTS. 125 ~ Soda, Na,O, 62.—This alkali, the base of the soda salts, is not distinguishable from potash by its sensible proper- ties. Hydrate of Soda, or Caustic Soda, Na,O, H,O, 80, or Na H O, 40.—This body is like caustic potash in appear- ance and general characters. It forms soaps with the various fats. While the potash-soaps are usually soft, those made with soda are commonly hard. LITHIUM : RUBIDIUM : CAESIUM. Lithium, Li,7.—The compounds of this mctal are of much rarer occurrence than those of Potassium and Sodium. The element itself is the lightest metal known, being but little more than half as heavy as water. It burns with a vivid white light when heated in the air. Lithia, Li,0, 30, and its Hydrate, closely resemble the correspond- ing compounds of the two elements above described. They yield by union with acids the lithia-salts. ; Rubidium, Rb, 85.5, and Caesiuma, Cs, 133.—Besides Potas- sium, Sodium, and Lithium, there are two other recently discovered alkali-metals, viz.: Rubidium and Caesium. These elements are com- paratively rare, although they appear Le be widely distributed in nature in minute quantity. Rubidium has been found in the ashes of tobacco and sugar-beet, as well as in commercial potash. Caesium, which is the rarer of the two, has as yet not been detected in the ashes of plants, but undoubtedly oc- curs in them. These metals and their compounds haye, in general, the closest similarity to the other alkali-metals. ALKALI-EARTH Mertats.— The two metallic elements next to be noticed, viz.: Calcium and Magnesium, give, with oxygen, the alkali-earths, lime and magnesia. The metals are only procurable by difficult chemical processes, and from their eminent oxidability are not found in nature. They are but a little heavier than water. Their oxides are but slightly soluble in water. CALCIUM AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Calcium, Ca, 40, is a brilliant ductile metal having a light yellow color. In moist air it rapidly tarnishes and acquires a coating of lime. 126 HOW CROPS GROW. Lime, CaO, 56.--Is the result of the oxidation of cal- cium. It is prepared for use in the arts by subjecting — limestone or oyster-shells to an intense heat, and usually — retains the form and much of the hardness of the material © from which it ismade. It has the bitter taste and corrod- ing properties of the alkalies, though in a less degree. It is often called guick-lime, to distinguish it from its com- pound with water. It may occur in the ashes of plants when they have been maintained at a high heat after the volatile matter has been burned away. It is the base of the salts of lime. Hydrate of Lime, CaO, H,O, or CaH, O,, 74.—Quick- lime, when exposed to the air, gradually absorbs water and falls toa fine powder. It is then said to be air-slaked. When water is poured upon quick-lime it penetrates the pores of the latter, and shortly the falling to powder of the lime and the development of much heat, give evi- dence of chemical union between the lime and the water. This chemical combination is further proved by the in- crease of weight of the lime, 56 lbs. of quick-lime becom- ing 74 Ibs. by water-slaking. On heating slaked lime to’ redness, its water may be expelled. When lime is agitated for some time with much water, and the mixture is allowed to settle, the clear liquid is found to contain a small amount of lime in solution (one part of lime to 700 parts of water). This liquid is called lime-water, and has already been noticed as a test for car- bonic acid. Lime-water has the alkaline taste in a marked degree. MAGNESIUM AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Magnesium, Mg, 24—Metallic magnesium has a silver- white color. When heated in the air it burns with ex- treme brilliancy (magnesium light), and is converted into magnesia. THE ASH OF PLANTS. 12y Magnesia, Mg O, 40, is the oxide of magnesium. It is found in the drug-stores in the shape of a bulky white powder, under the name of calcined magnesia. It is pre- pared by subjecting either hydrate, carbonate, or nitrate, of magnesia to a strong heat. It occurs in the ashes of plants. Hydrate of Magnesia, Mg O H,0, is produced slowly and without heat, when magnesia is mixed with water. It occurs as a transparent, glassy mineral (Brucite) at Texas, Penn., and a few other places. It readily absorbs carbonic acid, and passes into carbonate of magnesia. Hydrate of magnesia is so slightly soluble in water as to be tasteless. It requires 55,000 times its weight of water for solution, (Fresenius). : Heavy Merats.—The two metals remaining to notice are Iron and Manganese. These again considerably re- semble each other, though they differ exceedingly from the metals of the alkalies and alkali-earths. They are about eight times heavier than water. Each of these metals forms two basic oxides, which are tonallyy insoluble in pure water. IRON AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Iron, Fe,* 56.—The properties of metallic iron are so _well known that we need not occupy any space in reca- pitulating them. Protoxide + of Iron, Fe O, 72.—When sulphuric acid in a diluted state is put in contact with metallic iron, hy- drogen gas shortly begins to escape in bubbles from the liquid, and the iron dissolves, uniting with the acid to form the protosulphate + of iron, the salt known commonly as_ copperas or green-Vvitriol. * From the Latin name Ferrum. + The prefix prot or proto, from the Greek, meaning first, is employed to dis. tinguish this oxide and its salts from the compounds to be subsequently de- scribed. 128 HOW CROPS GROW. 0, 50); + Ke Fe 0; 80, 4-1. ! If, now, lime-water or potash-lye be added to the solu- tion of iron thus obtained, a white or greenish-white pre- cipitate separates, which is a hydrated protoxide of iron, (Fe 0,2 H,O). This precipitate rapidly absorbs oxygen from the air, becoming black and finally brown. The anhydrous protoxide of iron is black. Carbonate of protoxide of iron is of frequent occurrence as a mineral (spathic iron), and exists dissolved in many mineral wa- ters, especially in the so-called chalybeates. Sesquioxide of Iron,* Fe, O,, 160.—When protoxide of ironis exposed to the air, it acquires a brown color from union with more oxygen, and becomes hydrated sesqui- oxide. The yellow or brown rust which forms on surfaces of metallic iron when exposed to moist air is the same body. Iron in the form of sesquioxide is found in the ashes of all agricultural plants, the other oxides of iron passing into this when exposed to air at high temperatures. It is found in immense beds in the earth, and is an important ore, (specular iron, hematite). It dissolves in acids, forming sesquisalts of iron, which have a yellow color, MaGnetic Ox1vE OF Iron, Fe; O4, or FeO, Fez O3, is a combination of the two oxides above mentioned. It is black, and is strongly attract- ed by the magnet. It constitutes, in fact, the native magnet, or load- stone, and is a valuable ore of iron. MANGANESE AND ITS COMPOUNDS. Manganese, Mn, 55.—Metallic manganese is difficult to procure in the free state, and much resembles iron. Its oxides which concern the agriculturist are analogous to those of iron just noticed. Protoxide of Manganese, Mn O, 71, has an olive- green color. It is the base of all the usually occurring * The prefix sesgué (one and a half) is applied to those oxides in which the ratio of metal to oxygen is as one to one and a half, or, what is the same, as two to three. The above compound is also called peroxide of éron. s THE ASH OF PLANTS. 129 salts of manganese. Its hydrate, prepared by decompos- ‘ing Protosulphate of manganese by lime-water, is a white “substance, which, on exposure to the air, shortly becomes brown and finally black from absorption of oxygen. The ‘salts of protoxide of manganese are mostly pale rose- red ‘in color. - Sesquioxide of Manganese, Mn, 03, occurs native as the “mineral brauwnite, or, combined with water, as manganite. It is a sub- stance having a red or black-brown color. It dissolves in cold acids, | forming salts of an intensely red color. These are, however, easily de- composed by heat, or by organic bodies, into oxygen and protosalts. Red Oxide of Manganese, Mn; 0,, or Mn O, Mn, 03.—This oxide remains when manganese or any of its other oxides are subjected to a high temperature with access of air. The metal and the protoxide gain oxygen by this treatment, the higher oxides lose oxygen until this compound oxide is formed, which, as its symbol shows, corresponds to. the magnetic oxide of iron. It is found in the ashes of plants. Black Oxide of Manganese, Mn O,..—This body is found ‘extensively in nature. It is employed in the preparation of oxygen and chlorine, (bleaching powder), and is an article of commerce. Some other metals occur as oxides or salts in ashes, though not in such quantity or in such plants as to possess any arricutedel significance in this respect. Alumina, the sesquioxide of the metal ALUMINouM, is found in con- siderable quantity (20 to 50 per cent) in the ashes of the ground pine (Lycopodium). It is united with an organie acid (tartaric, according to Berzelius ; malic, according to Ritthausen) in the plant itself. It is often found in small quantity in the ashes of agricultural plants, but whether an ingredient of the plant or due to particles of adhering clay is not in all cases clear. Mime has been found in a variety of yellow violet that grows in the zine mines of Aix la Chapelle. _ Copper is frequently present in minute quantity in the ash of trees, especially of such as grow in the vicinity of manufacturing establish- ments, where dilute solutions containing copper are thrown to waste. The salts or compounds of metals with non-metals found in the ashes of plants or in the unburned plant re- main to be considered. Of the elements, acids, and oxides, that have been no- ticed as constituting the ash of plants, it must be remark- ed that with the exception of silica, magnesia, oxide of GF 130 HOW CROPS GROW. iron, and oxide of manganese, they all exist in the ash in the form of salts, (compounds of acids and bases). In the ‘ living agricultural plant it is probable, that of them all, only silica occurs in the uncombined state. We shall notice in the first place the salts which may occur in the ash of plants, and shall consider them under the following heads, viz.: Carbonates, Sulphates, Phos- phates, and Chlorides. As to the Silicates, it is unneces- sary to add anything here to what has been already men- tioned. THE CarsonaTes which occur in the ashes of plants are those of Potash, Soda, and Lime. (Carbonate of Rubidia, similar to carbonate of soda, and Carbonate of Lithia, rather insoluble in water, may also be present, but in exceedingly minute quantity.) The Carbonates of Mag- nesia, Iron, and Manganese, are decomposed by the heat at which ashes are prepared. Carbonate of Potash, K,O CO,, 114.—The peartl-ash of commerce is a tolerably pure form of this salt. When wood is burned, the potash which it contains is found in the ash, chiefly as carbonate. If wood-ashes are repeat- edly washed or leached with water, all the salts soluble in this liquid are removed; by boiling this solution down to dryness, which is done in large iron pots, crude potash is obtained, as a dark or brown mass. This, when somewhat purified, yields pearl-ash. Carbonate of potash, when pure, is white, has a bitter, biting taste—the so-called alkaline taste. It has such attraction for water, that, when expos- ed to the air, it absorbs moisture and becomes a liquid. If chlorhydric acid be poured upon carbonate of potash a brisk effervescence immediately takes place, owing to the escape of carbonic acid gas, and chloride of potassium ‘and water are formed which remain behind. K,O CO, + 2H Cl = 2K Cl + H,O + CO.. Bicarbonate of Potash, KHO CO,.—A solution of ‘THE ASH OF PLANTS. 131 _ carbonate of potash when exposed to carbonic acid gas absorbs the latter, and the bicarbonate of potash is pro- ‘duced, so called because to a given amount of potassium it anes twice as much carbonic acid as the carbonate. Potash-saleratus consists essentially of this salt. It probably exists in the juices of various plants. Carbonate of Soda, Na,O CO,, 106.—This substance, so important in the arts, was formerly made from the ashes — of certain marine plants (Salsola and Salicornia), in a man- ner similar to that now employed in wooded countries for the preparation of potash. It is at present almost wholly obtained from common salt by a somewhat complicated process. It occurs in commerce in an impure state under the name of Soda-ash. When nearly pure it forms sal- soda, which usually exists in transparent crystals or crys- tallized masses. These contain 63 percent of water, which slowly escapes when the salt is exposed to the air, leaving the anhydrous (water-free) carbonate as a white, opaque powder. ; Carbonate of soda has a nauseous alkaline taste, not nearly so decided, however, as that of the parton of potash. It is often present in the ashes of plants. Bicarbonate of Soda, NaHO CO,.—The supercarbon- ate of soda of the apothecary is this salt in a nearly pure state. The soda-saleratus of commerce is a mixture of this with some simple carbonate. It is prepared in the same way as the bicarbonate of potash. The bicarbonates, both of potash and soda, give off half their carbonic acid at a moderate heat, and lose all of this ingredient by con- tact with excess of any acid. Their use in baking depends upon these facts. They Ponisi any acid (lactic or acetic) that is formed during the “rising” of the dough, and assist to make the bread “lieht ” by inflating it with carbonic acid gas. Carbonate of Lime, CaO CO,, 112.—This ee is 132 HOW CROPS GROW. the white powder formed by the contact of carbonic acid with lime-water. When hydrate of lime is exposed to the air, the water it contains is gradually displaced by car- bonic acid, and carbonate of lime is the result. Soran. 2225 )5..0 aise (oferels, iat 19 WOOD. BRI wes tos 5520 je aoa e as cansia 1.0 | Red ie eta Was oats to ah ove che dinates 0.3 0. bd eee OSi WARNE IE Na sos x nea Bee le ere 0.3 (Oa anand ita “8, QU OBS ee a, SCG, 0.3 pa «BESS aOIEORICEEE Ici 1.3; Larch .......... defh he < oc Saapeabe 0.3 . . BARK. ., Birch 9 eae ES | Bi ease oe eee 2.0 Red pine............0+.eeeeeee aS he NW UNTED fees a Pe Pr AMER HY sneer Oe White ‘pine........ me hss 5 32.823 ) Couto fred se Selle wah eee a. «04.4 140 HOW CROPS GRow. From the above table we gather :— 1. That different plants yield different quantities of ash, It is abundant in succulent foliage, like that of the beet, (18 per cent,) and small in seeds, wood, and bark, 2. That different parts of the same plant yield unlike proportions of ash. Thus the wheat kernel contains 2 per cent, while the straw yields 5.4 per cent. The ash in su- gar-beet tops is 17.5; in the roots, 4.4 per cent. In the ripe oat, Arendt found (Das Wachsthum der Hafer- pflanze, p. 84,) In the three lower joints of the stem.... 4.6 De cent of oe In the two middle joints of the stem.... 5.3 ; In the one upper joint of the stem...... G4 = = In phe three lower letveserens so. 64eees. TOs eee “ in ihe two upper eaves. > .o.h.5.. oles 2 10a ms HT SUG CDT 3 3 5 cei aig oes ae ace Oe oa 7s at Ae 3. We further find, that in general, the upper and outer parts of the plant contain the most ash-ingredients. In the oat, as we see from the above figures of Arendt, the ash increases from the lower portions to the upper, until we reach the ear. If, however, the ear be dissected, we shall find that its outer parts are richest in ash. Npebo found In the husked kernels of brown oats. - Bory per cent a8 wae In the husk of brown Onts..........c00- 5.2 VCP In the chaff of brown oat8.2.0)...0.....% LOM iS ig ‘2 Norton also found that the top of the oat-leaf gave 16.22 per cent of ash, while the bottom yielded but 13.66 per — cent. (Am. dor: Science, Vol. 3, 1847.) te From the table it is seen that wood, (0.3 to 2.7 per cent,) and seeds, (1.5 to 3.7 per cent, ) fear or inner parts of the Ae are poorest in ash. The stems of herbaceous — plants, (3.7 to 7.9 per cent,) are next richer, while the 4 leaves of herbaceous plants, which have such an extent of Z surface, are the richest of all, (6 to 8 per cent.) ote 4, Investigation has demonstrated further that the same plant in different stages of growth varies in the propo } THE ASH OF PLANTS. 141 \ ae | tions of ash in dry matter, yielded both by the entire al and by the several organs or parts. “The following results, obtained by Norton, on the oat, Pe enite this variation. Norton examined the various parts of the oat-plant at intervals of one week throughout its entire period of growth. He found: Leaves. Stem. Knots. Chaff. Grain unhusked, ETE AG cin chee ns 10.8 10.4 KF ot nh 10.7 9.8 UTE TS. ss oe ee 9.0 9.3 June 25........ 10.9 ot ae 1 11.3 7.8 4.9 OM Dee cie ce » 12.2 7.8 “hs 4.3 IGS ok wns 12.6 7.9 ae 6.0 3.3 i 8 a 16.4 7.9 10.0 9.1 3.6 OUly SO... a... 16.4 7.4 9.6 12.2 4.2 0 il ae ae 16.0 7.6 10.4 13.7 4.3 1:1 On ee 20.4 6.6 10.4 18.6 4.0 PANIES BO ees 21.1 6.6 17 21.0 3.6 DIT Oh assets «a0 22.1 Oak 11.2 22.4 3.5 MEM Oo. 4. is. 20.9 8.3 10.7 27.4 3. , Here, in case of the leaves and chaff, we observe a con- stant increase of ash, while in the stem there is a constant decrease, except at the time of ripening, when these rela- . tions are reversed. The knots of the stem preserved a _ pretty uniform ash-content. The unhusked grain at first suffered a diminution, then an increase, and lastly a de- © crease again. a Avondt found in the oat-plant fluctuations, not in all re- | recs accordant with those observed by Norton. Arendt obtained the following proportions of ash: 3lower 2middle Upper Lower _ Upper ars. Entire joints of jointsof jointof leaves. leaves. plant. as stem. stem. stem. > dune 18..:..4.4 ye . 9,7 BG “9 8.0 June 30....2.5 2.9 3.9 9.4 7.0 3.8 5.2 weiy 10-.. 35 4.7 5.2 10.2 6.9 3.6 5.4 July 21....4.4 5.0 5.5 10.1 9.7 2.8 5.2 July 31.,..6.4 5.3 6.4 10.1 10.5 2.6 5.1 : ~ Here we see that the ash increased in the stem and in each of its several parts after the first examination. The 142 HOW CROPS GROW. lower leaves exhibited an increase of fixed matters after the first period, while in the upper leaves the ash dimin- ished toward the third period, and thereafter increased. In the ears, and in the entire plant, the ash decreased quite regularly as the plant grew older. Pierre found that the proportion of ash of the colza, (Brassica oleracea,) dimin- ished in all parts of the plant, (which was examined at five periods,) except in the leaves, in which it increased. (Jahresbericht tiber Agriculturchemie, II, p. 122.) The sugar beet, (Bretschneider,) and potato, (Wolff,) exhibit a decrease of the per cent of ash, both in tops and roots. “ & In the turnip, examined at four periods, Anderson, (Trans. High. and Ag. Soc., 1859—61, p. 371,) found the following per cent of ash in'dry matter: July. Aug. 11.. Sept. 1. Oct. 5. MBAVER, 098 2 Boe oe loa ais 7.8 20.6 18.8 16.2 alban. s.tiits Qobtces ota 17-7 8.7 10.2 20.9 In this case, the ash of the leaves increased during about half the period of growth from 7.8 to 20.6, and thence di- minished to 16,2. The ash of the bulbs fluctuated in the re- verse manner, falling from 17.7 to 8.7, then rising again to 20.9. In general, the proportion of ash of the entire age ' diminishes regularly as the plant grows old. 5. The influence of the sod/in causing the proportian of ash of the same kind of plant to vary, is shown in the fol- lowing results, obtained by Wunder, ( Versuchs-Stationen, IV, p. 266,) on turnip bulbs, raised during two successive years, in different soils. , \ In sandy soit. In loamy soil. Ast year. 2d year. 1st year. 2d year. Per cent of ash... .13.9 11.8 9.1 10.9 6. As might be anticipated, different varieties of the — same plant, grown on the same soil, take up different quantities of non-volatile matters. In five varieties of potatoes, cultivated in the same soil a 4 » on . F ‘ ‘ apes oye re ee a ee ee Sew ee ee en ee iter ee ee a a oe a ewe. ee a Pee THE ASH OF PLANTS. 143 and under the same conditions, Herapath, (Qu. Jour. _ Chem. Soc., II, p. 20,) found the percentages of ash in dry matter of the tuber as follows: ~ Variety of potato. 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DeSAU |, Ysp f Dawes \oeinyd | aeloyd auleT | * DpOy | . Jo Te) “ang |-soyer |?22¢O boyy 20D | 97) er ne : i: “ HOW CROPS GROW. 156 ‘rosiopuy ‘imueN ¢ ‘reprouqosjorg ‘(%) s1oqumioay 4. *(@) Aoprlouyosjorg ‘sy10LAq ‘uUeUIyOR » (H9 ‘0p ‘Tera Y sussiA|| ss. |eo lor lero lrelserlemiro lewmlet ‘Hdl NOLLOO "206 ‘d ‘[enuV]_ 8.10yUvTY WOOD 8.1oUIMT, "TOOL FP el gq |oovy| TF | oUe | 9'0 | eo | 6 PT | ee | 0°98 | OF (*}1O ‘OO]) ‘yoojtoduil sisé[vuy ‘aowuNng "eZ || 8 | 00vq,| oe | PSs |18 Ss | 60! 901 US | 84% | BE “danas NOLLOO "ecgyT “oog ‘Auoproy viydiopelyg ssurpsooorg ‘somumng ‘pe 'yi| 0 | 9's | ut |e stl oe | see] 69 | at | peel --- = "616 ‘d ‘SEgT ‘eoUOTOg Jo UOT}eLOOSSY ‘UY ScUIpoo.OIg ‘“ppne’o}| 40 | oe | VS | 6] ° | Sr] Ye | °° | 96s Te ‘OPST. 908 LOV AVO WOvl_ 0} Jrodoy ‘yywg oousimeyT Ci] TT | | St 19erl oo | Pep} ts |’ | wee] °° “SMTIVIS NOLLOO ” ” ” CT ” qsoustH|| 6ST | 9'6 | SOT | Tot | 9°¢ | 9°68 | T’9T | GGT | ode | LEE "Ss [110qdurvp. 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Desou |, YSD * DIMES \2Inya! o2Loya aule : pO D HO) a ee Kioucr |°2%0 | Cobre G5) eres A es ‘[ponunuog|—"OLT ‘SLONGOYd GNV SLINVId IVUNLINOMSV ANOS AO HSV AHL AO NOILISOAWOO THE ASH OF PLANTS. 157 The composition of the ash of a number of ordinary crops is concisely exhibited in the subjoined general statement. Alkalies, ag- Lime? hophor ” Silica. ee % Chlorine. Nesta. CEREALS— Grain *.... 30 12 3 46 2 2.5 t Straw..... - 13—27 3 q 5 50—70 2.5 2 LEGumMES— Kernel.... 44 i 5 30 if 4 2 Biawees ss. 271 q 25—39 8 5 2—6 6—7 Roor Crops— ; Roots.... . 60 3—9 6—12 8—i18 i—4 5—12 3—9 MOpsve: 65. . 37 3-16 10-35 3-8 3 6—18 5—17 GRASSES— In flower.. 30 4 8 8 3D 4 5 3. Different parts of any plant usually exhibit decided differences in the composition of their ash. This fact is made evident by a comparison of the figures of the table above, and is more fully illustrated by the following anal- yses of the parts of the mature oat-plant, by Arendt, 1 to 6, (Die Haferpflanze, p. 107,) and Norton, 7 to 9, (Am. ioe Sci., 2 Ser. 3, 318.) 1 2 3 4 5 6 4% 8 9 Lower Middle Upper Lower Upper Ears. Chaff. Husk. Kernet Stem. Sar. Sen: Tes ie 13 husked. LE 5) 6.9 i BESS HO. OF Oe OE 1 10.6 12.4 31.7 3.6 3.9 3.8 3.9 8.9 "9 2.3 8.6 D.3 8.6 16.7% 17.2 ey 11.2 nh eee 0 O20 CO Rs OS ol Gee ES Phosghoric Eek eee 2.0 TiS 2G Wah s-1E ) SES 0.6 49.1 EP eonmeacid se edeoBiss 0.0 1.3 1.1 3.2 15 4.9 68) 45} 0.0 IS LLVER Aen ei Se Act 9.3 20.4 34.0 41.8 26.0 68.0 %4.1 1.8 @hlorine. 2. ..... 22... 8.6 11.7% 4.4 1.6 2.4 3.8 onl “Wea 0.2 The results of Arendt and Norton are not in all respects strictly com- parable, having been obtained by different methods, but serve well to establish the fact in question. We see from the above figures that ‘ic ash of the lower stem consists chiefly of potash, (81 °|,.) This alkali is pre- dominant throughout the stem, but in the upper parts, where the stem is not covered by the leaf sheaths, silica and lime occur in large quantity. In the ash of the leaves, * Exclusive of husk. 158 HOW CROPS GROW. silica, potash, and lime, are the principal ingredients. In the chaff and husk, silica constitutes three-fourths of the ash, while in the grain, phosphoric acid appears as the characteristic ingredient, existing there in connection with a large amount of potash, (32 °|,,) and considerable mag- nesia. Chlorine acquires its maximum, (11.7°|,,) in the middle stem, but in the kernel is present in small quantity, while sulphuric acid is totally wanting in the lower stem, and most abundant in the upper leaves. Again, the unequal distribution of the ingredients of the ash is exhibited in the leaves of the sugar beet, which have been investigated by Bretschneider, (Hof. Jahresbe- richt, 4, 89.) This experimenter divided the leaves of 6 sugar beets into 5 series or circles; proceeding from the outer and older leaves inward. He examined each series separately with the following results: I II. Iii. IV V Potash sy, Le faces he 18.% 25.9 32.8 37.4 50.3 OCA Saar Mack ericisecs 15.2 14.4 15.8 15.0 11.1 Chloride of Sodium... 5.8 6.4 5.8 6.0 6.5 TUNG ote) orate. yet ete 24.2 19.2 18.2 15.8 4% MMaemeSIan.s-e eee 24.5 22.3 13.0 8.9 6.7 Oxide of Iron......... 1.4 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.5 Phosphoric acid....... 3.3 4.8 5.8 8.4 12.7 Sulphuric acid........ 5.4 5.6 5.6 5.2 5.9 SUlRCa) sae. x seieiahe eS ae sieve 15 0.8 2.% 2.1 1.5 From these data we perceive that in the ash of the leaves of the sugar beet, potash and phosphoric acid reg- ularly and rapidly increase in relation to the other ingre- dients from without inward, while lime and magnesia as rapidly diminish in the same direction. The per cent of the other ingredients, viz., soda, chlorine, oxide of iron, sulphuric acid, and silica, remains nearly invariable throughout. Another illustration is furnished by the following anal- yses of the ashes of the various parts of the horse-chestnut tree, made by Wolff, (Achkerbau, 2. Auf., 184) : So J i oe . es . . i ; 2 4 THE ASH OF PLANTS. 159 Bark. Wood. Leaf-stems. Leaves. Flower-stems. Calyx. 120 12.1 25.1 46.2 27.9 63.6 61.7 21 Se OR eae 76.8 42.9 al.% 29.3 9.3 12.3 Magnesia ........... 1.7% 5.0 3.0 2.6 1.3 5.9 Sulphuric acid...... trace trace 3.8 Oat 3.5 trace Phosphoric acid..... 6.0 19.2 14.8 22.4 VA 16.6 Oe eee 5 Bl 2.6 1.0 4,9 0.7 a Te BROKING. fae Gas se 2.8 6.1 12.2 5.1 4.% 2.4 Ripe Fruit. (= Fi Stamens. Petals. Green Fruit. Kerned. Green Brown Shell. Shell. MSO AS occ oot x 60.7 61.2 58.7 61.7 45.9 54.6 PRINTS rg ai ciciorer «, winiorg «'a-s 13.8 13.6 9.8 1 5; 8.6 16.4 Magnesia ........... 3.1 3.8 2.4 0.6 1.1 2.4 Sulphuric acid...... trace trace 3.7 1.7 1.0 3.6 Phosphoric acid ....19.5 17.0 20.8 22.8 5.3 18.6 (LG a a 0.% 1.5 0.9 0.2 0.6 0.8 Chiorimes.3 .chs.2.. 2.8 3.8 4.8 2.0 7.6 5.2 4, Similar kinds of plants, and especially the same parts of similar plants, exhibit a close general agreement in the composition of their ashes ; while plants which are unlike in their botanical characters are also unlike in the proportions of their fixed ingredients. The three plants, wheat, rye, and maize, belong, botanical- ly speaking, to the same natural order, graminew, and the ripe kernels yield ashes almost identical in composition. Barley and the oat are also graminaceous plants, and their seeds should give ashes of similar composition. That such is not the case is chiefly due to the fact, that, unlike the wheat, rye, and maize-kernel, the grains of barley and oats are closely invested with a husk, which forms a part of the kernel as ordinarily seen. This husk yields an ash which is rich in silica, and we can only properly compare barley and oats with wheat and rye, when the former are hulled, or the ash of the hulls is taken out of the account. There are varieties of both oats and barley, whose husks separate from the kernel—the so-called naked or skinless oats and naked or skinless barley—and the ashes of these grains agree quite nearly in composition with those of wheat, rye, and maize, as may be seen from the following table: \ 160 HOW CROPS GROW. Wheat. Rye. Maize. Skinless Skinless Average Average Average oats. barley. C7) ta) of Analysis Analysis seventy-nine twenty-one seven s by Fr. andyses. analyses. analyses. Schulze. Schulze. LECOTIES | ea 31.3 28.8 Q7.7 33.4 35.9 Modart ccs kee. 3.2 4.3 4.0 — 1.0 Magnesia........12.3 11.6 15.0 11.8 13.7%). LTC, ae eae a 3.2 3.9 1.9 3.6 2.9 Oxide of Iron... 0.7 0.8 1.0 0.8 0.7 Phosphoric acid. 46. 1 45.6 47.1 46.9 45.0 Sulphuric acid... 1.2 1.9 127 _ —— SSCA ict ctrl 1.9 2.6 Qt 2 ne Chlorine....... 0.2 0.7 0.1 — —- By reference to the table, (p. 152,) it will be observed that the pea and bean kernel, qe with the allied vetch and lentil, (p. 879,)also nearly agree in ash-composition. ° So, too, the ashes of the root-crops, turnips, carrots, and beets, exhibit a general similarity of composition, as may be seen in the table, (p. 154-5). The seeds of the oil-bearing plants likewise constitute a group whose members agree in this respect, p. 379. 5. The ash of the same species of plant is more or less variable in composition, according to circumstances. The conditions that have already been noticed as in- fluencing the proportion of ash are in general the same that affect its quality. Of these we may specially notice: a. The stage of growth of the plant. 6. The vigor of its development. : | c. The variety of the plant or the relative development of its parts, and d. The soil or the supplies of food. a. The stage of growth. The facts that the different parts of a plant yield ashes of different composition, and that the different stages of growth are marked by the development of new organs or the unequal expansion of those already formed, are suflicient to sustain the point now in question, and render it needless to cite analytical evidence. In a subsequent chapter, wherein we shall at- tempt to trace some of the various steps in the progressive | = = = xe, THE ASH OF PLANTS. ¥Gf ‘development of the plant, numerous illustrations will be adduced, (p. 214.) b. Vigor of development. Arendt, (Die Haferpflanze, p.18,) selected from an oat-field a number of plants in blossom, and divided them into three parcels—1, composed of very vigorous plants; 2, of medium; and, 3, of very weak plants. He analyzed the ashes of eadh parcel, with results as below: A. 2 3 ss SICH ss ce ebe'e F bret eames 7.0 39.9 42.0 Sulphuric acid............ 4.8 41 5.6 Phosphoric acid.......... 8.2 8.5 8.8 SRIGTINGE. n< aac xmime we < 6.7 5.8 4.7% Wxide of IFO. Ho. cee ects 0.4 0.5 1.0 2 LTTE TS eS eo Sat 6.1 5.4 5.1 Magnesia, Potash & Soda.45.3 34.3 30.4 Here we notice that the ash of the weak plants contains 15 per cent less of alkalies, and 15 per cent more of silica, than that of the vigorous ones, while the dake of the other ingredients is not gr eatly different. Zoeller, (Liebig’s Erndhrung der Vegetabilien, p. 340,) examined the ash of two specimens of clover which grew on the same soil and under similar circumstances, save that one, from being shaded by a tree, was less fully devel- oped than the other. Six weeks after the sowing of the sced, the clover was - cut, ahd gave the following results on Sted analysis : _ Shaded clover. Unshaded clover. oy Alkalies....... . ogee ...54.9 : 36.2 ee = as WGIME* eset eis Ba See 14.2 22.8 SICA see Shc ate 5.5 12.4 ce. The variety of the plant or the relative development of its parts must obviously influence the composition of the ash taken as a whole, since the parts themselves are unlike in composition. eaepath, (Qu. Jour. Chem. Soc., Il, p. 20,) analyzed the ashes of the tubers of five varieties of potatoes, raised on the same soil and under precisely similar circumstances. His results as follows: 162 HOW CROPS GROW. White Prince's Aaxbridge Magpie. Forty-fold. Apple. Beauty. Kidney. Potashtess fc. Poet 69.7 65.2 40.6 70.0 62.1 Chloride of Sodium .—— — — — 2.5 HGNC eo. sien te e+ « 3.0 1.8 5.0 5.0 3.3 Magnesia........... 6.5 5ES 5.0 2a 3.5 Phosphoric acid....17.2 20.8 14.9 14.4 20.% Sulphuric acid...... 3.6 6.0 4.3 4.5 7.9 DIMICA ses enc: aes — — 0.2 —_— — d. The soil, or the supplies of food, manures included, have the greatest influence in varying the proportions of the ash-ingredients of the plant. It is to a considerable degree the character of the soil which determines the vigor of the plant and the relative development of its parts. This condition then, to a certain extent, cludes those already noticed. It is well known that oats have a great range of weight per bushel, being nearly twice as heavy when grown on rich land, as when gathered from a sandy, inferior soil. According to the agricultural statistics of Scotland, for the year 1857, (Trans. Highland and Ag. Soc., 1857—9, p. 213,) the bushel of oats produced in some districts weigh- ed 44 pounds per bushel, while in other districts it was as low as 35 pounds, and in one instance but 24 pounds per bushel. Light oats have a thick and bulky husk, and an ash-analysis gives a result quite unlike that of good oats. Herapath, (Jour. Roy. Ag. of Hng., XI., p. 107,) has pub- lished analyses of light oats from sandy soil, the yield be- ing six bushels per acre, and of heavy oats from the same soil, after ‘“ warping,”* where the produce was 64 bushels per acre. Some of his results, per cent, are as follows: Light oats. Heavy oats. Potash son. e eens 9.8 13.1 Soda srs. Stalls. 4.6 7.2 PMC. ees ie oe ee 6.8 4.2 Phosphoric acid... 9.7 nl f) DICH ge eite pesto Lime | undissolved....... 30.5 27.6 MISSOMVIED .72 6's )5% 43.6 78.3 Magnesia | undissolved.......56.4 21.7 ee } dissolved’... ..... 20.9 19.9 acid undissolved....... Cou 80.1 : GissoOmved «3,...0. 2s. 26.8 16.1 Silica : undissolved....... 73.2 83.9 These researches demonstrate that potash and soda— bodies, all of whose commonly occurring compounds, sili- cates excepted, are readily soluble in water—enter into insoluble combinations in the plant ; while phosphoric acid, which forms insoluble salts with lime, magnesia, and iron, is freely soluble in connexion with these bases in the sap. It should be added that sulphates may be absent from the plant or some parts of it, although they are found in the ashes. Thus Arendt discovered no sulphates in the lower joints of the stem of oats after blossom, though in the upper leaves, at the same period, sulphuric acid, (S O,,) formed nearly 7°|, of the sum of the fixed ingredients. (Wachsthum der Haferpf., p. 157.) Ulbricht found that sulphates were totally absent from the lower leaves and stems of red clover, at a time when they were present in the upper leaves and blossom. (Vs. St., IV, p. 30, Za- belle.) Both Arendt and Ulbricht observed that sulphur existed in all parts of the plants they experimented upon; in the parts just specified, it was, however, no longer com- bined to oxygen, but had, daubtless, become an integral . part of some albuminoid or other complex organic body. Thus the oat stem, at the period above cited, conned a quantity of sulphur, which, had it been one into sulphuric acid, would have amounted to 14°|, of the fixed THE ASH OF PLANTS. 195 ingredients. In the clover leaf, at a time when it was totally destitute of sulphates, there existed an amount of sulphur, which, in the form of sulphuric acid, would have made 13.7°|, of the fixed ingredients, or one per cent of the dry leaf itself* Other ash-ingredients.—Salm-Horstmar has described some experiments, from which he infers that a minute amount of Lithia and Fluorine, (the latter as fluoride of potassium,) are indispensable to the fruiting of barley. (Jour. fur prakt. Chem., 84, p. 140.) The same observer, some years ago, was led to conclude that a trace of Titanic acid is a necessary ingredient of plants. The later results of water-culture would appear to demonstrate that these conclusions are erroneous. It is, however, possible, as Mulder has suggested, ( Che- mie der Ackerkrume, I, 341,) that the failure of certain crops, after long-continued cultivation in the same soil, may be due to the exhaustion of some of these less abun- dant and usually overlooked substances. Land not unfre- quently becomes “clover-sick,” 7. ¢., refuses to produce good crops of clover, even witb the most copious manur- ings. In Vaucluse, according to Mulder, the madder crop has suffered a deterioration in quality—the coloring effect of the root having diminished one-fourth—as an apparent result of long cultivation on the same soil, although the seed is pannally renewed from Asia Minor, and great care is bestowed on its culture. The newly discovered element, Rubidium, has been found in the sugar-beet, in tobacco, coffee, tea, and the * Arendt was the first to estimate sulphuric acid in vegetable matters with accuracy, and to discriminate it from the sulphurin organic compounds. This chemist determined the sulphuric acid of the oat-plant by extracting the pulver- ized material with acidulated water. He likewise estimated the total sulphur by a special method, and by subtracting the sulphur of the sulphuric acid from the total, he obtained as a difference that portion of sulphur which belonged to the albuminoids, etc. In his analyses of clover, Ulbricht followed a similar plan. (Vs. St., II, p. 147.) As has already been stated, many of the older analyses are wholly untrustworthy as regards sulphur and sulphuric acid. _ 196 HOW CROPS GROW. grape. It doubtless occurs perhaps, together with Cae- siwm, in many other plants, though in very minute quan- tity. It is not unlikely that small quantities of these alkali-metals may be found to be of decided influence on the growth of plants.* The late investigations of A. Braun and of Risse, (Sachs, Fixp. Physiologie, 153,) show that Zinc is a usual ingre- dient of plants growing about zinc mines, where the soil contains carbonate or silicate of this metal. Certain mark- — ed varieties of plants are peculiar to, and appear to have been produced by, such soils, viz., a violet, ( Viola tricolor, var. calaminaris,)+ and a shepherd’s purse, (Zhlaspi al- pestre, var. calaminaris.) In the ash of the leaves of the latter plant, Risse found 13°|, of oxide of zinc; in other plants he found from 0.3 to 3.3°|,. Copper is often or commonly found in the ashes of plants; and other elements, viz., Arsenic, Baryta,and Lead, : have been discovered therein, but as yet we are not fairly warranted in assuming that any of these substances are of importance to agricultural vegetation. The same is true of Iodine, which, though an invariable and probably a necessary constituent of many alge, is not known to exist to any considerable extent or to be essential in any culti- vated plants. g 4, FUNCTIONS OF THE ASH-INGREDIENTS. But little is certainly known with reference to the subject of this section. Sulphates.—The albuminoids, which contain sulphur as an essential ingredient, obviously cannot be produced in absence of sulphuric acid, which, so far as we know, is the ® Since the above was written, Birner & Lucanus have found that these bodies, én the absence of potash, act as poisons to the oat. (Vs. St., VIII, p. 147.) + By some botanists ranked as a distinct species. THE ASH OF PLANTS. 197 single source of sulphur to plants. The sulphurized oils of the onion, mustard, horseradish, turnip, etc., likewise require sulphates for their organization. | Phosphates.—The phosphorized oils (protagon) require to their elaboration that phosphates or some source of phosphorus be at the disposal of the plant. The physio- logical function of the phosphates, so abundant in the ce- _reals, admits of partial explanation. The soluble albumi- noids which are formed in the foliage must pass thence through the cells and ducts of the stem into growing parts of the plant, and into the seed, where they accumulate in large quantity. But the albuminoids penetrate membranes with great difficulty and slowness when in the pure state. According to Schumacher, (Physik der Pflanze, p. 128.) the phosphate of potash considerably increases the diffu- ‘sive rate of albumin, and thus facilitates its translocation - in the plant. Alkalies and alkali-earths.—The organic acids, viz. “oxalic, malic, tartaric, citric, ete. » Tequire ‘alkalies oat “8 *kali-earths to form the salts ine exist in plants, e. g. bi- tartrate of potash in the grape, oxalate of lime in beet- - leaves, malate of lime in tobacco; and without these bases it is, perhaps, in most cases impossible for the acids to be formed, though in the orange and lemon, citric acid exists in the uncombined or free state, and in various plants, as Sempervivum arboreum, and Cacalia ficoides, acids are formed during the night which disappear in the day. The ‘leaves of these plants are sour in the morning, tasteless at noon, and bitter at night. (Heyne & Link). ) Silica. —The function of silica might appear to be, in case of the grasses, sedges, and equisetums, to give rigidity to - the slender stems of these plants, and enable them to sustain _the often heavy weight of the fruit. Two circumstances, _ however, embarrass the unqualified acceptance of this no- tion. The first is, that the proportion of silica is not great- 198 “HOW CROPS GROW. est in those parts of the plant which, on this view, would most require its presence. Thus Norton, (Am. Jour. of Sci., [2,] vol. iii, pp. 235-6,) found that in the sandy oat the upper half of the dry leaf yielded 16.2 per cent ash, while the lower half gave but 13.6 per cent. The ash of the upper part contained 52.1 per cent of silica, while that from the bottom part had but 47.8 per cent of this ingre- dient. According to Arendt, (Das Wachsthum der Ha- Serpflanze, p. 180,) the different parts of the oat contain the following quantities of silica respectively : Amount of silica in 1000 parts of dry substance. Removed Insoluble by water. in water. Total. Lower part of the stem..... 0.33 14 be Middle part of the stem....0.30 4.8 5.1 Upper part of the stem..... 0.36 13.0 13.3 LOWE ICAVESs F2i.:c 2p. oe esi 0.86 34.3 35.2 PPE EAVES, 42. < o geste pie 0.52 43.3 43.8 We see then, plainly, that the upper part of the stem and leaves contains more silica than the lower parts, while the lower parts certainly need to possess the greatest degree of strength. We must not forget, however, as Knop has remarked, that the lower part of the leaf of most cereals and grasses which envelopes the stem like a sheath, is really the support of the plant as much as, or even more, than the stem itself. The results of the many experiments in water-culture by Sachs, Knop, Wolff, and others, (see p. 186,) in which the supply of silica has been reduced to an extremely small amount, without detriment to the development of plants, commonly rich in this substance, would seem to demonstrate that silica does not essentially contribute to the stiffness of the stem. | | Wolff distinctly informs us that the maize and oat plants produced by him, in solutions nearly free from silica, were as firm in stalk, and as little mclined to lodge or “lay,” as those which grew in the field. THE ASH OF PLANTS. 199 The recommendation to supply silex to grain crops, in order to stiffen the straw and prevent falling of the crop before it ripens, either by directly applying alkali-silicates, or by the use of fertilizers and amendments that may render the silica of the soil soluble, must, accordingly, be considered entirely futile from the point of view of the needs of the crop, as it is from that of the resources of the soil. Chlorine.—As has been mentioned, both Nobbe and Leydhecker found that buckwheat grew quite well up to the time of blossom without chlorine. From that period on, in absence of chlorine, remarkable anomalies appeared in the development of the plant. In the ordinary course of growth, starch, which is organized in the mature leaves, does not remain in them to much extent, but is transferred to the newer organs, and especially to the fruit, where it _ also accumulates in large quantities. In absence of chlo- rine, in the experiments of Nobbe and Leydhecker, the terminal leaves became thick and fleshy, from extraordinary development of cell-tissue, at the same time they curled together and finally fell off, upon slight disturbance. The stem became knotty, transpiration of water was suppress-* ed, the blossoms withered without fructification, and the plant prematurely died. The fleshy leaves were full of starch-grains, and it appeared that in absence of chlorine the transfer of starch from the foliage to the flower and fruit was rendered impossible; in other words, chlorine (in combination with potassium or calcium) was concluded to be necessary to, was, in fact, the agent of this transfer. Knop believes, Heaedeer that these phenomena are due to some other cause, and that chlorine is not essential to the perfection of the frist of buckwheat, (see p. 182). Iron.— We are in possession of some interesting facts, which appear to throw light upon the function of this metal in the plant. In case of the deficiency of this ele- ment, foliage loses its natural green color, and becomes pale or white even in the full sunshine. In absence of iron a 200 HOW CROPS GROW. plant may unfold its buds at the expense of already organ- ized matters, as a potato-sprout lengthens in a dark cellar, or in the manner of fungi and white vegetable parasites ; but the leaves thus developed are incapable of assimilating carbon, and actual growth or increase of total weight is impossible. Salm-Horstmar showed that plants which grow in soils or media destitute of iron, are very pale in color, and that addition of iron-salts very speedily gives them a healthy green. Sachs found that maize-seedlings, vegetating in solutions free from iron, had their first three or four leaves green; several following were white at the base, the tips being green, and afterward, perfectly white leaves unfolded. On adding a few drops of sulphate or chloride of iron to the nourishing medium, the foliage was plainly altered within 24 hours, and in 8 to 4 days the plant acquired a deep, lively green. Being afterwards transferred to a solution destitute of iron, perfectly white leaves were again developed, and these were brought to a normal color by addition of iron. E. Gris was the first to trace the reason of these effects, ‘and first found, (in 1843,) that watering the roots of plants with solutions of iron, or applying such solutions exter- nally to the leaves, shortly developed a green color where it was previously wanting. By microscopic studies he found that in the absence of iron, the protoplasm of the leaf-cells remains a colorless or yellow mass, destitute of visible organization. Under the influence of iron, grains of chlorophyll begin at once to appear, and pass through the various stages of normal development. We know that the power of the leaf to decompose carbonic acid and ~ assimilate carbon, resides in the cells that contain chloro- phyll, or, we may say, in the chlorophyll-grains themselves. We understand at once, then, that in the absence of iron, which is essential to the formation of chlorophyll, there can be no proper growth, no increase at the expense of the external atmospheric food of vegetation. QUANTITATIVE RELATIONS. 201 Risse, under Sachs’ direction, (Hap. Physiologie, 143,) demonstrated that manganese cannot take the place of iron in the office just described. Functions of other Ash-Ingredients.— cal result of which is to NW Ge make the potato mealy. Tiga AS : J \s 2 me A thin slice of vegetable gin ivory (the seed of Phy- telephas macrocarpa), under the microscope, dry or moistened with water, pre- sents no trace of cell-structure, the cells being united as one; however, upon soaking in sulphuric acid, the mass softens and swells, and the individual cells are at once revealed, their surfaces separating in six-sided outlines. Form of Cells.—In the soft, succulent parts of plants, the cells lie loosely together, often with considerable inter- cellular spaces, and have mostly a rounded outline. In denser tissues, the cells are crowded together in the least possible space, and hence often appear six-sided when seen in cross-section, or twelve-sided if viewed entire. A piece of honey-comb is an excellent illustration of the appear- ance of many forms of vegetable cell-tissue. The pulp of an orange is the most evident example of cell-tissue. The individual cells of the ripe orange may be easily separated from each other, as they are one-fourth of an inch or more in length. Being mature and incapa- ble of further growth, they possess neither protoplasm nor _ ELEMENTS OF ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 227 nucleus, but are filled with a sap or juice containing citric acid and sugar. In the pith of the rush, star-shaped cells are found. In common mould the cells are long and thread-like. In the so-called frog-spittle they are cylindrical and attached end to end. In the bark of many trees, in the stems and leaves of grasses, they are square or rectangular. Cotton-fiber, flax and hemp consist of long and slender cells, fig. 31. Wood is mostly made up of elongated cells, tapered at the ends and adhering together by their sides. Fig. 49, ¢. h., p. 271. Each cotton-fiber is a single cell which forms an external appendage to the seed-vessel of the cot- ton plant. When it has lost its free water of vegetation and become air-dry, its sides collapse ! and it resembles a twisted strap. A, in fig. 31, exhibits a portion of a cotton-fiber highly magnified. The flax-fiber, from the inner bark of the flax- stem, 0, fig. 31, is a tube of thicker walls and smaller bore than the cotton-fiber, and hence is more durable than cot- ton. It is very flexible, and even when crushed or bent short, retains much of its original tenacity. Hemp-fiber closely resembles flax-fiber in appearance. . Thickening of the Cell-Membrane.—tThe growth of the cell, which, when young, always has ; avery delicate outer membrane, often results in the thickening of its walls by the interior deposition of cellu- lose and lignin. This thickening may take place regularly and uniform- ly, or interruptedly. The flax-fiber, 6, fig. 31, is an example of nearly uniform thickening. The irregular deposition of cellulose is shown in fig. 32, which exhibits a section from Fig. 32. the seeds (cotyledons) of the com- oe mon nasturtium, (Zropeolum majus). The original membrane is coated interiorly with el distinct and successively-formed. linings, which are hot continuous, but arc irregularly developed. Seen in section, the 228 HOW CROPS GROW. thickening has a waved outline, and at points, the original cell-mem-. brane is bare. Were these cells viewed entire, we should see at these points, on the exterior of the cell, dots or circles appearing like orifices, but being simply the unthickened portions of the cell-wall. The cells in fig. 32 exhibit each a central nucleus surrounded by grains of aleurone. Cell Contents. — Besides the protoplasm and nucleus, the cell usually contains a variety of bodies, which have been, indeed, noticed already as ingredients of the plant, but which may be here recapitulated. Many cells are al- together empty, and consist of nothing but the cell-wall.. Such are found in the bark or epidermis of most plants, and often in the pith, and although they remain connected. with the actually living parts, they have no proper life in themselves. | All living or active cells are distended with liquid. This consists of water, which holds in solution gum, dextrin, inulin, the sugars, organic acids, and other less important vegetable principles, together with various salts, and constitutes the sap of the plant. In oil-plants, droplets of oil occupy certain cells, fig. 17, p. 90; while in numerous kinds of vegetation, ne and. ite juices are found in certain spaces or channels between the cells. The water of the cell comes from the soil, as we shall hereafter see. The matters, which are dissolved i in the sap or juices of the plant, fodncce with the semi-solid proto- plasm, undergo fransforinditions resulting in the production of solid substances. By observing the various parts of a plant at the successive stages of its development, under the microscope, we are able to trace within the cclls the formation ‘and growth of starch-grains, of crystalloid and granular bodies consisting chiefly of vegetable casein, and of the various matters which give color to leaves and flowers. The circumstances under which a Zui ane deter- mine the character of its contents, according to laws that are hidden from our knowledge. The outer cells of the potato-tuber are incrusted with corky matter, the inner. ELEMENTS OF ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 229 ones, most of them, are occupied entirely with starch, fig. 52, p. 277. In oats, wheat, and other cereals, we find, just within the empty cells of the skin or epidermis of the grain, a few layers of cells that contain scarcely anything but albuminoids, with a little fat; while the interior cells are chiefly filled with starch; fig. 18, p. 106. Transformations in Cell Contents.—The same cell may exhibit a great variety of aspect and contents at different periods of growth. This is especially to be observed in the seed while developing on the mother plant. Hartig has traced these changes in numerous plants under the mi- croscope. According to this observer, the cell-contents of the seed (cotyledons) of the common nasturtium, (7Zrop- eolum majus,) run through the following metamorphoses. Up to a certain stage in its development~the interior of the cells are nearly devoid of recognizable.solid matters, other than the nucleus and the adhering protoplasm. Shortly, as the growth of the seed advances, green grains of chlorophyll make their appearance upon the nucleus, completely covering it from view. At a later stage, these grains, which have enlarged and multiplied, are seen to have mostly become detached from the nucleus, and lie near to and in contact with the cell-wall. Again, in a short time the grains have lost their green color and have assumed, both as regards appearance and deportment with iodine, all the characters of starch. Subsequently, as the | seed hardens and becomes firmer in its tissues, the micro- scope reveals that the starch-grains, which were situated near the cell-wall, have vanished, while the cell-wall itself has thickened inwardly—the starch having been convert- ed into cellulose. Again, Jater, the nucleus, about which, in the meantime, more starch-grains have been formed, undergoes a change and disappears; then the starch-grains, some of which have enlarged while others have vanished, are found to be imbedded in a pasty matter, which has the reactions of an albuminoid. From this time on, the 230 | HOW CROPS GROW. starch-grains are gradually converted from their surfaces inwardly into smaller grains of aleurone, which, finally, when the seed is mature, completely occupy the cells. In the sprouting of the seed similar changes occur, but in reversed order. The nucleus reappears, the aleurone dis- solves, and even the cellulose stratified upon the interior of the cell, fig. 32, wastes away and is converted into soluble fod (sugar?) for the seedling. The Dimensions of Vegetable Cells are very various. A creeping marine plant is known—the Cawlerpa prolifera, Fig. 33. fig. 33,—which consists of a single cell, though it is often a foot in length, and is branched with what have the ap- pearance of leaves and roots. The pulp of the orange con- sists of cells which are one-quarter of an inch or more in diameter. Every fiber of cotton is a single cell. In most ye ELEMENTS OF ORGANIC STRUCTURE. 231 cases, however, the cells of plants are so small as to re- quire a powerful microscope to distinguish them,—are, in fact, no more than 1-1200th to 1-200th of an inch in diam- eter; many are vastly smaller. - Growth.—The growth of a plant is nothing more than the aggregate result of the enlargement and multiplication of the cells which compose it. In most cases the cells at- tain their full size ina short time. The continuous growth of plants depends, then, chiefly on the constant and rapid formation of new cells. Cell-multiplication.—The young and active cell always contains a nucleus, (fig. 34, 6.) Such a cell may produce a new cell by division. In this process ore the nucleus, from which all cell-growth | eae ¢ appears to originate, is observed to re- ar |» solve itself into two parts, then the 3 “4 protoplasm, a, begins to contract or in- fold across the cell in a line correspond- re ing with the division of the nucleus, until aia the opposite infolded edges meet—like Fig 34. the skin of a sausage where a string is tightly tied around it,—thus separating the two nuclei and inclosing each within its new cell, which is completed by a further external growth of cellulose. In one-celled plants, like yeast, (fig. 35,) the new cells thus formed, bud out from the side of the parent-cell, and before they obtain full size become entirely e¢, detached from it, or,as in higher < plants, the new cells remain adher- ing to the old, forming a tissue. Fig. 85. In free cell-formation nuclei are observed to develope in the protoplasm of a parent cell, which enlarge, surround themselves with their own protoplasm and cell-membrane, and by the resorption or death of the parent cell become independent of the latter. | 232 HOW CROPS GROW. The rapidity with which the vegetable cells may multi- ply and grow is illustrated by many familiar facts. The most striking cases of quick growth are met with in the mushroom family. Many will recollect having seen on the morning of a June day, huge puff-balls, some as large as a peck measure, on the surface of a moist meadow, where the day before nothing of the kind was noticed. In such sudden growth it has: been estimated that the cells are produced at the rate of three or four hundred millions per hour. Permeability of Cells to Liquids,—Although the high- est magnifying power that can be brought to bear upon the membranes of the vegetable cell fails to reveal any apertures in them,—they teas so far as the best-assisted vision is concerned completely ¢ continuous and imperforate, —they are ne eerraelee readily permeable to liquids. This fact may be elegantly shown by placing a delicate slice from a potato-tuber, immersed in water, under the microscope, and then bringing a drop of solution of iodine in contact with it. Instantly this reagent penetrates the walls of the unbroken cells without perceptibly affecting their appearance, and being absorbed by the starch-grains,. at once colors them intensely purplish-blue. The particles: of which the cell-walls and. their contents are composed, ; must be separated from each other by distances greater than the diameter of the particles of water or of other liquid matters which thus permeate the cells. g 2, THE VEGETABLE TISSUES. As already stated, the cells of the higher kinds of plants. are united together more or less firmly, and thus consti- tute what are known as VeGrranie Tissurs. Of these, a large number have been distinguished Py TEee ye anat- ELEMENTS OF ORGANIC, STRUCTURE, Jae omists, the distinctions being based either on peculiarities of form or of function. For our purposes it will be neces- sary to define but a few varieties, viz., Cellular Tissue, Woody Tissue, Bast-Tissue, and Vaseular Tissue. Cellular or Cell-Tissue is the simplest of all, being a mere aggregation of globular or polyhedr al cells whose walls are in close adhesion, and whose juices commingle more or less in virtue of this connection. Cellular tissue is the groundwork of all vegetable structure, being the only form of tissue in the simpler kinds of plants, and that. out of which all the others are developed. The term parenchyma is synonymous with cell-tissue. - Wood-Tissue, in its simplest form, consists of cells that are several or many times as long as they are broad, and that taper at each end toa point. These spindle-shaped cells cohere firmly together by their sides, and “break joints” by overlapping each other, in this way forming the tough fibers of ‘wood. Wood-cells are often more or less thickened in their walls by depositions of cellulose, lignin, and coloring matters, according to their age a position, and are sometimes dotted ani perforated, as a be explained hereafter, fig. 53, p. 278. Bast-Tissue is made up of long and slender cells, similar to those of wood-tissue, but commonly more delicate and flexible. Thé name is derived from the occurrence of this tissue in the bast, or inner bark. Linen, hemp, and all textile materials of vegetable origin, cotton excepted, con- sist of bast-fibers. Bast-cells occupy a place in rind, corres- ponding to that held by wood-cells in the interior of the stem, fig. 49, p. 271. Prosenchyma is a name applied to all ae aed of elongated cells, like those of wood and bast. Parenchyma and prosenchyma insensibly shade © into each other. Vascular Tissue is the term applied to those unbr siniohnde Tubes and Ducts which are found in all the higher orders 934 HOW CROPS GROW. of plants, interpenetrating the cellular tissue. There are several varieties of ducts, viz., dotted ducts, ringed or an- nular ducts, and spiral ducts, of which illustrations will be given when the minute structure of the stem comes under notice, fig. 49, p. 271. | The formation of vascular tissue takes place by a simple alteration in cellular tissue. -A longitudinal series of ad- hering cells represents a tube, save that the bore is ob-. structed with numerous transverse partitions. By the removal or perforation of these partitions a tube is devel- oped. This removal or perforation actually takes place in the living plant by a process of absorption. CHAPTER IIL THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 81. THE ROOT. ° The Roots of plants, with few exceptions, from the first moment of their development grow downward, in obe- dience to’ the force of gravitation. In general, they require a moist medium, They will form in water or in moist cot- ton, and in many cases originate from branches, or even leaves, when these parts of the plant are buried in the earth or immersed in water. It cannot be assumed that they seek to avoid the light, because they may attain a full development without being kept in darkness, The — 3 THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 235 — action of light upon them, however, appears to be unfavor- able to their functions. - The Growth of Roots occurs mostly by lengthening, and very little or very slowly by increase of thickness. ‘The lengthening is chiefly manifested toward the outer extremities of the roots, as was neatly demonstrated by Wigand, who divided the young root of a sprouted pea’ into four equal parts by ink-marks. After three days, the first two divisions next the seed had scarcely lengthened at all, while the third was double, and the fourth eight times its previous length. Ohlerts made precisely similar observations on the roots of various kinds of plants. The growth is confined to a space of about *|, of an inch from the tip. (Zinnea, 1837, pp. 609-631.) This peculiarity . adapts the roots to extend through the soil in all direc- tions, and to occupy its smallest pores, or rifts. It is likewise the reason that a root, which has been cut off in transplanting or otherwise, never afterwards extends in length. ; s Although the older parts of the roots of trees and o the so-called root-crops acquire a considerable diameter, the roots by which a plant feeds are usually thread-like and often exceedingly slender. Spongioles.—The tips of the rootlets have been termed spongioles, or spongelets, from the idea that their texture adapts them especially to collect food for the plant, and that the absorption of matters from the soil goes on exclu- sively through them. In this sense, spongioles do not exist. The real living apex of the root is not, in fact, the — outmost extremity, but is situated a little within that point. Root-Cap.—The extreme end of the root usually consists — of cells that have become loosened and in part detached from the proper cell-tissue of the root, which, therefore, shortly perish, and serve merely as an elastic cushion or 236 EM? HOW CROPS. GROW. cap to protect the true termination or living point of the root in its act of penetrating the soil. Fig. 36 represents a magnified section of part of a — barley root, showing the loose cells which slough off from the tip. i These cells are filled with air in- stead of sap. A most strik- ing illustra- tion of the root - cap is furnished by the air-roots of the so- called Screw Pine, (Panda- nus odoratis- simus,) exhibited in natural dimen- sions, in fig. 37, These air-roots issue from the stem above the ground, and, growing downwards, enter the soil, and become roots in the ordinary sense. When fresh, the diameter of the root is quite uniform, but the parts above the root-cap shrink on drying, while the root-cap itself retains nearly [ its original dimensions, and thus | reveals its different structure. ne Distinction between Root and Stem.—Not all the subterranean parts of the plant are roots in a proper — Fig. 37. sense, although commonly spoken of as such. The tubers of the potato and artichoke, and the fleshy horizontal parts - of the sweet-flag and pepper-root, are merely underground stems, of which many varieties exist. a These and all other stems are easily distinguished from THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 237 true roots by the imbricated buds, of which indications may usually be found on their surfaces, e. g., the eyes of the potato-tuber. The side or secondary roots are indeed marked in their earliest stages by a protuberance on the primary root, but these have nothing in common with the structure of true buds. The onion-bulb is itself a fleshy bud, as will be noticed subsequently. The-true roots of the onion are the fibers which issue from the base-of the bulb. The roots of many plants exhibit no buds upon their surface, and are incapable of developing them under any conditions. Other plants may produce them when cut off from the parent plant during the growing season. Such are the plum, apple, poplar, and hawthorn. The roots of the former perish if deprived of connection with the stem and leaves. The latter may strike out new stems and leaves for themselves. Plants like the plum are, therefore, capable of propagation by root-cuttings, i. e., by placing pieces of their roots in warm and moist earth. -Tap-Roots.—All plants whose seeds readily divide into two parts, and. whose stems increase externally by addi- tion of new rings of growth—the so-cailed dicotyledonous plants, or Hxogens, have, at first, a single descending axis, the tap-root, which penetrates vertically into the ground. _ From this central tap-root, lateral roots branch out more or less regularly, and these lateral roots subdivide again and again. In many cases, especially at first, the lateral roots issue from the tap-root with great order and’ regu- larity, as much as is seen in the branches of the stem of a fir-tree or of a young grape vine. In older plants, this order is lost, because the soil opposes mechanical hindrances to regular development. In many cases the tap-root grows to a great length, and forms the most striking feature of the radication of the plant. In othersit enters the ground but a little way, or is surpassed in extent by its. side branches. The tap-root is- conspicuous in the Canada thistle, dock, (Rumez,) and in seedling fruit trees. The 238 HOW CROPS GROW. upper portion of the tap-root of the beet, turnip, carrot, and radish, expands under cultivation, and becomes a fleshy, nutritive mass,in which lies the value of these plants for agriculture. The lateral roots of other plants, as of the dahlia and sweet potato, swell out at their ex- tremities to tubers. Crown Roots.— Wonocotyledonous plants, or Endogens, i. €., plants whose seeds do not split with ease into two nearly equal parts, and whose stems increase by inside growth, such as the cereals, grasses, lilies, palms, etc., have no single tap-root, but produce crown roots, 7. é., a number of roots issue at once in quick succession from the base of the stem. This is strikingly seen im the onion and hyacinth, as well as in maize, Rootlets,—This term we apply to the slender roots, usually not larger than a knitting needle, and but a few inches long, which are formed last in the order of growth, and correspond to the larger roots as twigs correspond to the branches of the stem. THE OFFICES oF THE Roor are threefold: 1. To fix the plant in the earth and maintain it, in most cases, in an upright position. 2. To absorb nutriment from the soil for the growth of the entire plant, and, 3. In case of many plants, especially of those whose terms of life extend through several or many years, to serve as a store-house for the future use of the plant. 1, The Firmness with which a Plant is fixed in the Ground depends upon the nature of its roots. It is easy to lift an onion from the soil, a carrot requires much more force, while a dock may resist the full strength of a pow- erful man. A small beech or seedling apple tree, which has a tap-root, withstands the force of a wind that would prostrate a maize-plant or a poplar,which has only side roots. In the nursery it is the custom to cut off the tap-root of —— — eS a ee THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 239 apple, peach, and other trees, when very young, in order that they may be readily and safely transplanted as occa- sion shall require. The depth and character of the soil, however, to a certain degree influence the extent of the roots and the tenacity of their hold. The roots of maize, which in a rich and tenacious earth extend but two or three feet, have been traced to a length of ten or even fifteen feet in a light, sandy soil. The roots of clover, and espe- cially those of lucern, extend very deeply into the soil, and the latter acquire in some cases a length of 30 feet. The roots of the ash have been known as much as 95 feet long. (Jour. Roy. Ag. Soc., VI, p. 342.) 2. Loot-absorption—The Office of absorbing Plant Food from the Soil is one of the utmost importance, and one for which the root is most wisely adapted by the fol- lowing particulars, viz.: a. The Delicacy of its Structure, especially that of the newer portions, the cells of which are very soft and absor- bent, as may be readily shown by immersing a young seedling bean in solution of indigo, when the roots shortly acquire a blue color from imbibing the liquid, while the stem, a portion of which in this plant extends below the seed, is for a considerable time unaltered. It is a common but erroneous idea that absorption from the soil can only take place through the ends of the roots —through the so-called spongioles. On the contrary, the extreme tips of the rootlets cannot take up liquids at all. (Ohlerts, Joc. cit., see p. 249.) All other parts of the roots which are still young and delicate in surface-texture, are constantly active in the ONE of imbibing nutriment fi om the soil. _ In most perennial plants, indeed, the larger branches of | the roots become after a time coated with a corky or oth- erwise nearly impervious cuticle, and the function of ab- sorption is then transferred to the rootlets. This isdemon- 240 < - HOW CROPS GROW. strated by placing the old, brown-colored roots of a plant — in water, but keeping the delicate and unindurated ex- tremities above the liquid. Thus situated, the plant with- ers nearly as soon as if its root-surface were all exposed to the air. b. Its Rapid Extension in Length, and the vast Sur- - face which it puts in contact with the soil, further adapts the root to the work of collecting food. The length of roots in a direct line from the point of their origin is not, in- | deed, a criterion by which to judge of the efficiency where- with the plant to which they belong is nourished; for two plants may be equally flourishing—be equally fed by their roots—when these organs, in one case, reach but one foot, and in the other extend two feet from the stem to which they are attached. In one case, the roots would be fewer and longer; in the other, shorter and more numer- ous. Their aggregate length, or, more correctly, the ag- gregate absorbing surface, would be nearly the same in both. . ta The Medium in which Roots Grow has a great influence ~ on their extension. When they are situated in concen- trated solutions, or in a very fertile soil, they are short, | and numerously branched. Where their food is sparse, they are attenuated, and bear a comparatively small num- ber of rootlets. Illustrations of the former condition are often seen. Bones and masses of manure are not. infre- ~ quently found, completely covered and penetrated by a fleece of stout roots. On the other hand, the roots which grow in poor, sandy soils, are very long and slender. Nobbe has described some experiments which. com- — pletely establish the point under notice. (Vs. Sé, 1V, p. 212.) He allowed maize to grow in a poor clay soil, con- tained in glass cylinders, each vessel having in it a quan- tity of a fertilizing mixture disposed in some peculiar man- _ ner for the purpose of observing its influence on the roots. _ When the plants had been nearly four months in growth, _ THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 241 the vessels were placed in water until the earth was soft- ened, so that by gentle agitation it could be completely removed from the roots. The latter, on being suspended in a glass vessel of water, assumed nearly the position they had occupied in the soil, and it was observed that where the fertilizer had been thoroughly mixed with the soil, the roots uniformly occupied its entire mass. Where the fertilizer had been placed in a horizontal layer at the depth of about one inch, the roots at that depth formed a mat of the finest fibers. Where the fer- tilizer was situated in a horizontal layer at half the depth of the vessel, just there the root-system was spheroidally expanded. In the cylinders where the fertilizer formed a vertical layer on the interior walls, the external roots were developed in numberless ramifications, while the interior roots were comparatively unbranched. In pots, where the fertilizer was disposed as a central vertical core, the inner roots were far more greatly developed than the outer ones. Finally, in a vessel where the fertilizer was placed in a horizontal layer at the bottom, the roots extended through the soil, as attenuated and slightly branched fibers, until they came in contact with the lower stratum, where they greatly increased and ramified. In all cases, the principal development of the roots occurred in the immediate vicinity of the material which could furnish them with nutriment. It has often been observed that a plant whose aerial branches are symmetrically disposed about its stem, has the larger share of its roots on one side, and again we find roots which are thick with rootlets on one side, and nearly devoid of them on the other. Apparent Search for Food.—It would almost appear, on superficial consideration, that roots are endowed with a kind of intelligent instinct, for they seem to go in search of nutriment. | : 11 949 HOW CROPS GROW. The roots of a plant make their first issue independently of the nutritive matters that may exist in their neighbor- hood. They are organized and put forth from the plant itself, no matter how fertile or sterile the medium that surrounds them. When they attain a certain develop- ment, they are ready to exercise their office of collecting food. If food be at hand, they absorb it, and, together with the entire plant, are nourished by it—they grow in consequence. The more abundant the food, the better they are nourished, and the more they multiply. The plant sends out rootlets in all directions; those which come in contact with food, live, enlarge, and ramify; those which find no nourishment, remain undeveloped or perish. The Quantity of Roots actually attached to any plant is usually far greater than can be estimated by roughly lifting them from the soil. To extricate the roots of wheat or clover, for example, from the earth, completely, is a matter of no little difficulty. Schubart has made the most satisfactory observations we possess on the roots of several important crops, growing in the field. He sepa- rated them from the soil by the following expedient: An excavation was made in the field to the depth of 6 feet, and a stream of water was directed against the vertical wall of soil until it was washed away, so that the roots of the plants growing in it were laid bare. The roots thus ex- posed in a field of rye, in one of beans, and in a bed of gar- den peas, presented the appearance of a mat or felt of white fibers, to adepth of about 4 feet from the surface of the ground. The roots of winter wheat he observed as deep as 7 feet, in a light subsoil, forty-seven days after sowing. The depth of the roots of winter wheat, winter rye, and winter colza, as well as of clover, was 3-4 feet. The roots of clover, one year old, were 33 feet long, those of two- year-old clover but 4 inches longer. The quantity of roots in per cent of the entire plant in the dry state was found to be as follows. (Chem. Ackersmann, I, p. 193.) AS eee THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 943 Winter wheat—examined last of April......... 40,||° ie ee S Fan's. NEAve en serra 22 eee Pye mae satpaabeanel 0) oti logaea ye (cae 34 Sf Peas examined four weeks after sowing........ 44 ‘¢ ue ey at the time of blossom......... 24 “ Hellriegel has likewise studied the radication of barley and oats, (lof, Jahresbericht, 1864, p. 106.) He raised plants in large glass pots, and separated their roots from the soil by careful washing with water. He observed that ' directly from the base of the stem 20 to 30 roots branch off sideways and downward. ‘These roots, at their point of issue, have a diameter of *|,, of an inch, but a little lower the diameter diminishes to about *|,,, of an inch. Retaining this diameter, they pass downward, dividing - and branching to a certain depth. From these main roots branch out innumerable side roots, which branch again, and so on, filling every crevice and pore of the soil. To ascertain the total length of root, Hellriegel weighed and ascertained the length of selected average portions. Weighing then the entire root-system, he calculated the entire length. He estimated the length of the roots of a vigorous barley plant at 128 feet, that of an oat plant at 150 feet.* He found that a small bulk of good fine soil . sufficed for this development ; *|,, cub. foot, (4 4 x 2°|, in.,) answered for a barley plant; *|,, cub. foot for an oat plant, in these experiments. Hellriegel observed also that the quality of the soil in- ' fluenced the development. In rich, porous, garden-soil, a barley plant produced 128 feet of roots, but in a coarse- - grained, compacter soil, a similar plant had but 80 feet of - roots. | Root-Hairs.—The real absorbent surface of roots is, in - most cases, not to be appreciated without microscopic aid. The roots of the onion and of many other bulbs, i. e., the fibers which issue from the base of the bulbs, are perfectly * Rhenish feet. 244 HOW CROPS GROW. smooth and unbranched throughout their entire length. Other agricultural plants have roots which are not only visibly branched, Se } but whose finest fibers are more or less thickly covered with minute hairs, scarcely perceptible to the un- assisted eye. These root-hairs consist always of tubular elongations.of the external root-cells, and through them the actual root-surface exposed to the soil becomes something almost incal- culable. The accompanying figures illustrate the appearance of root-hairs. Fig. 38 represents a young, secd- ling, mustard-plant. A is the plant, as carefully lifted from the sand in which it grew, and £6 the same plant, freed from adhering soil by agitating in water. The entire root, save the tip, is thickly beset with hairs. In fig. 39 a minute portion of a barley- root is shown highly magnified. ‘The hairs are seen to be slender tubes that proceed from, and form part of, the outer cells of the root. The older roots lose their hairs, and suffer a thickening of the outermost layer of cells by the deposition of cork. These dense-walled and nearly imper- vious cells cohere together and constitute a rind, which is not found in the young and active roots. As to the development of the root-hairs, they are more % a a bx Oe hoses <=, Neg fs chia ites: UE tS : > ALY RS PEAS Peaesies Sa ee ay ~ ee LX RS we odes es me HS oe one ees COe a oe te Fig. 38, THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 245 abundant in poor than in good soils, and appear to be most numerously produced from roots which have other- ‘wise a dense and unabsorbent surface. The roots of those plants which are destitute of hairs are commonly of con- siderable thickness and remain white and of delicate tex- ture, preserving their absorbent power throughout the whole time that the plant feeds from the soil, as is the case with the onion. The Silver Fir, (Abies pectinaéa,) has no root-hairs, but its rootlets are covered with a very delicate cuticle highly favorable to absorption. ‘The want of root-hairs is further compensated by the great number of rootlets which are formed, and which, perishing mostly before they become superficially indurated, are continually replaced by new ones during the growing season. (Schacht, Der Baum, p- 165.) in Contact of Roots with the Soil.—The root-hairs, as they extend into the soil, are naturally brought into close contact with its particles. This contact is much more in- timate than has been usually supposed. If we carefully lift 2 young wheat-plant from dry earth, we notice that each rootlet is coated with an envelope of soil. This ad- heres with considerable tenacity, so that gentle shaking fails to displace it, and if it be mostly removed by vigor- ous agitation or washing, the root-hairs are either found to be broken, or in many places inseparably attached to the particles of earth. Fig. 40 exhibits the appearance of a young wheat- plant as lifted from the soil and pretty strongly shaken. S, the seed; 6, the blade; e, roots covered with hairs and enveloped in soil. Only the growing tips of the roots, w, which have not put forth hairs, come out clean of soil. Fig. 41 represents the roots of a wheat-plant one month older than those of the previous figure. In this instance not only the root-tips are naked as before, but the older cs Oe Sao 246 HOW CROPS GROW. C7 bes es ee ti mek, oa “ei poe eae THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 247 parts of the primary roots, e, and of the secondary roots, m, no longer retain the particles of soil; the hairs upon them being, in fact, dead and decomposed. The newer parts of the root alone are clothed with active hairs, and to these the soil is firmly attached as before. The next il- iS *y, ; Tile Loam 1 i 6 "4 0 ~~ iw oat Fig. 42. lustration, fig. 42, exhibits the appearance of root-hairs with adhering particles of earth, when magnified 800 di- ameters—A, root-hairs of wheat-seedling like fig. 40; B, of oat-plant, both from loamy soil. Here is plainly seen the intimate attachment of the soil and root-hairs. The 248 _ HOW CROPS GROW. latter, in forcing their way against considerable pressure, often expand seen and sell envelope, the particles of earth. Imbibition of Water by the Root.—The degree of force with which active roots imbibe the water of the soil is very great, is, in fact, sufficient to force the liquid upward = into the stem and to exert a con- tinual pressure on all parts of the plant. When the stem of a plant in vigorous growth is cut off near the root, and a pressure-gauge is attached to it as in fig. 48, we have the means of observing and measuring the force with which the roots absorb water. The pres- — sure-gauge contains a quantity of mercury in the middle reservoir, b, and the tube, c. It is attached to the stem of the plant, p, by a stout india-rubber pipe, g.* For accurate measurements the space, a and 6, should be filled with wa- ter. Thus arranged, it is found that water will enter a through the stem, and the mercury will rise in the tube, e, until its pres- Fig. 43. sure becomes sufficient to balance the absorptive power of the roots. Hales, who first ex- perimented in this manner 140 years ago, found in one instance, that the pressure exerted on a gauge attached in spring-time to the stump of a grape vine, supported a column of mercury 324 inches high, which is equal to a column of water of 364 ft. Hofmeister obtained on a plants, rooted in pots, the following results: * For experimenting on small plants, a simple tube of glass may be adjusted . to the stump vertically by help of a rubber connector. ‘ THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 249 Bean (Phaseolus multiflorus) 6 inches of mercury. Nettle - - - ao) TA e Mme ee ea " Seat of Absorptive Force.—Dutrochet demonstrated that this power resides in the surface of the young and active roots. At least, he found that absorption was ex- erted with as much force when the gauge was applied to near the lower extremity of a root, as when attached in the vicinity of the stem. In fact, when other conditions are alike, the column of liquid sustained by the roots of a plant is greater, the less the length of stem that remains attached to them. ‘The stem thus resists the rise of liquid in the plant. _ While the seat of absorptive power in the root lies near the extremities, it appears from the experiments of Ohlerts that the extremities themselves are incapable of imbibing water. In trials with young pea, flax, lupine, and horse- radish plants with unbranched roots, he found that they withered speedily when the tips of the roots were immers- ed for about one-fourth of an inch in water, the remaining parts being in moist air. Ohlerts likewise proved that these plants flourish when only the middle part of their roots is immersed in water. Keeping the root-tips, the so-called spongioles, in the air, or cutting them away alto- gether, was without apparent effect on the freshness and vigor of the plants. The absorbing surface would thus appear to be confined to those portions of the root upon which the development of root-hairs is noticed. The absorbent force is manifested by the active rootlets, and most vigorously when these are in the state of most rapid development. For this reason we find, in case of the vine, for example, that during the autumn, when the plant is entering upon a period of repose from growth, the ab- sorbent power is trifling. The effect of this forcible en- trance of water into the plant is oftentimes to cause the 11* 250 HOW CROPS GROW. exudation of it in drops upon the foliage. This may be noticed upon newly sprouted maize, or other cereal plants, where the water escapes from the leaves at their extreme tips, especially when the germination has proceeded under the most favorable conditions for rapid development. The bleeding of the vine, when severed in the spring- time, the abundant flow of sap from the sugar-maple, and the water-elm, are striking illustrations of this imbibition of water from the soil by the roots. These examples are, indeed, exceptional in degree, but not in kind. Hofmeister has shown that the bleeding of a severed stump is a gen- eral fact, and occurs with all plants when the roots are active, when the soil can supply them abundantly with water, and when the tissues above the absorbent parts are full of this liquid. When it is otherwise, water may be absorbed from the gauge into the stem and large roots, un- til the conditions of activity are renewed. Of the external circumstances that influence the absorp- tive power of the root, may be noticed that of tempera- ture. By observing a gauge attached to the stump of a plant during a clear summer day, it will be usually no- ticed that the mercury begins to rise in the morning as the sun warms the soil, and continues to ascend for a num- ber of hours, but falls again as the sun declines. Sachs found in some of his experiments that at a temperature of 41° F., absorption, in case of tobacco and squash plants, was nearly or entirely suppressed, but was at once renewed by plunging the pot into warm water. | The external supplies of water,—in case a plant is sta- tioned in the soil, the degree of moisture contained in this medium,—obyiously must influence, not perhaps the im- bibing force, but its manifestation. - The Rate of Absorption is subject to changes depend- ent on other causes not well understood. Sachs observed that the amount of liquid which issued from potato stalke THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS, 251 cut off just above the ground, underwent great and con- tinual variation from hour to hour (during rainy weather) when the soil was saturated with water and when the thermometer indicated a constant temperature. Hofmeister states that the formation of new roots and buds on the stump is accompanied by a sinking of the water in the pressure-gauge. Absorption of Nutriment from the Soil.—The food of the plant, so far as it is derived from the soil, enters it in a state of solution, andis absorbed with the water which is taken up by the force acting in the rootlets. The absorp- tion of the matters dissolved in water is in some degree independent of the absorption of the water itself, the plant having, to a certain extent, a selective power. 3. The Root as a Magazine.—In fleshy roots, like those of the carrot, beet, and turnip, the absorption of nutriment from the soil takes place principally, if not en- — tirely, by means of the slender rootlets which proceed abundantly from all parts of the main or tap-root, and es- pecially from its lower extremity ; while the fleshy portion serves as a magazine in which large quantities of pectose, sugar, etc., are stored up during the first year’s growth of these, (in our latitude,) biennial plants, to supply the wants of the flowers and seed which are developed the second year. When one of these roots is put in the ground for a second year and produces seed, it is found to be quite exhausted of the nutritive matters which it pre- viously contained in so large quantity. In cultivation, the farmer not only greatly increases the size of these roots and the stores of organic nutritive ma- terials they contain, but by removing them from the ground in autumn, he employs to feed himself and his cat- tle the substances that nature primarily designed to nour- ish the growth of flowers and seeds during another sum- mer. | 252 HOW CROPS GROW. . Soil-Roots; Water-Roots; Air-Rootsx—We may dis- tinguish, according to the medium in which they are formed and grow, three kinds of roots, viz.: sozl-roots, water-roots, and at-roots. Most agricultural plants, and indeed by far the greater number of all plants found in temperate climates, have roots adapted exclusively to the soil, and which perish by drying, if long exposed to air, or rot, if immersed for a time in water. Many aquatic plants, on the other hand, die if their roots be removed from water, or from earth saturated with water. Air-roots are not common except among tropical plants. Indian corn, however, often throws out roots from the lower joints of the stem, which extend through the -air several inches before they reach the soil. The Banyan of India sends out roots from its branches, which penetrate the earth in like manner. Many tropical plants, especially of the tribe of Orchids, emit roots which hang free in the air, aud never come in contact with water or soil. A plant, known to botanists as the Zamia spiralis, not only throws out air-roots, ¢ c, Fig. 44, from the crown of the main soil-root, but the side rootlets, }, after extending some distance horizontally in the soil, send from the same point, roots downward and upward, the latter of which, d, pass into and remain permanently in the air. A is the stem of the plant. (Schacht, Anatomie der Gewdichse, Bd. dT, p. 151.) Some plants have roots which are equally able to exist and perform their functions, whether in the soil or sub- merged in water. Many forms of vegetation found in ~ our swamps and marshes are of this kind. Of agricul- tural plants, rice is an example in point. Rice will grow in a soil of ordinary character, in respect of moisture, as the upland cotton-soils, or even the pine-barrens of the Carolinas. It flourishes admirably in the tide swamps of THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 253 the coast, where the land is laid under water for weeks at atime during its growth, and it succeeds equally well in _ fields which are flowed from the time of planting to that of harvesting. (Russell. Worth America, its Agriculture and Climate, p. 176.) The willow and alder, trees which grow on the margins of streams, send a part of their roots into soil that is constantly saturated with water, or into Fig. 44. the water itself; while others occupy the merely moist or even dry earth. Plants that customarily confine their growth to the soil, occasionally throw out roots as if in search of water, and sometimes choke up drain-pipes or even wells, by the pro- fusion of water-roots which they emit. _ At Welbeck, England, a drain was completely stopped by roots of horseradish plants at a depth of 7 feet. At Thornsby Park, a drain 16 feet deep was stopped en- 254. HOW CROPS GROW. tirely by the roots of gorse, growing at a distance of 6 feet from the drain. (Jour. Roy. Ag. Soc., 1, 364.) In New Haven, Conn., certain wells are so obstructed by the aquatic roots of the elm trees, as to require cleaning out every two or three years. This aquatic tendency has been repeatedly observed in the poplar, cypress, laurel, turnip, mangel-wurzel, and grasses. Henrici surmised that the roots which most cultivated plants send down deep into the soil, even when the latter is by no means porous or inviting, are designed especially to bring up water from the subsoil for the use of the plant. The following experiment was devised for the purpose of testing the truth of this view. On the 13th of May, 1862, a young raspberry plant, having but two leaves, was transplanted into a large glass funnel filled with gar- den soil, the throat of the funnel being closed with a paper filter. The funnel was supported in the mouth of a large glass jar, and its neck reached nearly to the bottom of the latter, where it just dipped into a quantity of water. The soil in the funnel was at first kept moderately moist by occasional waterings. The plant remained fresh and slowly grew, putting forth new leaves. After the lapse of several weeks, four strong roots penetrated the filter and extended ae the empty funnel-neck, through which they emerged, on the 21st of June, and thenceforward spread rapidly in the water of the jar. From this time on, the soil was not watered any more, but care was taken to maintain the supply in the jar. The plant continued to develope slowly ; its leaves, however, did not acquire a vivid green color, but remained pale and yellowish; they did not wither until the usual time late in autumn. The roots continued to grow, and filled the water more and more. Near the end of December the plant had 7-8 leaves, and a height of 8 inches. The water-roots were vigorous,.very long, and beset with numerous fibrils and ae ie —- eu 2 THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 255 buds. In the funnel tube the roots made a perfect tissue of fibers. In the dry earth of the funnel they were _ less extensively developed, yet exhibited some juicy buds. The stem and the young axillary leaf-buds were also full of sap. The water-roots being cut away, the plant was put into garden soil and placed in a conservatory, where it grew vigorously, and in May bore two offshoots. The experiment would indicate that plants may extend a portion of their roots into the subsoil chiefly for the pur- pose of gathering supplies of water. (Henneberg’s Jour. fiir Landwirthschaft, 1863, p. 280.) This growth towards water must be accounted for on the principles asserted in the paragraph—Apparent Search for Food, (p. 241). The seeds of many ordinary land plants—of plants, in- deed, that customarily grow in a dry soil, such as the bean, squash, maize, etc.,—will readily germinate in moist cot- ton or saw-dust, and if, when fairly sprouted, the young plants have their roots suspended in water, taking care that the seed and stem are kept above the liquid, they will continue to grow, and if duly supplied with nutriment will run through all the customary stages of development, producing abundant foliage, flowering, and perfecting seeds, without a moment’s contact of their roots with any soil. (See Water- Culture, p. 167.) If plants thus growing with their roots in a liquid me- dium, after they have formed several large leaves, be care- fully transplanted to the soil, they wilt and perish, unless frequently watered ; whereas similar plants started in the soil, may be transplanted without suffering in the slight- est degree, though the soil be of the usual dryness, and recelve no water, The water-bred seedlings, if abundantly watered as often as the foliage wilts, recover themselves after a time, and thenceforward continue to grow without the need of watering. Tt might appear that the first-formed water-roots are in- 256 HOW CROPS GROW. capable of feeding the plant from a dry soil, and hence the soil must be at first profusely watered; after a time, however, new roots are thrown out, which are adapted to the altered situation of the plant, and then the growth proceeds in the usual manner. The reverse experiment would seem to confirm this view. If a seedling that has grown for a short time only in the soil, so that its roots are but twice or thrice branch- ed, have these immersed in water, the roots already form- ed mostly or entirely perish in a short time. ‘They indeed absorb water, and the plant is sustained by them, but im- mediately new roots grow from the crown with great ra- pidity, and take the place of the original roots, which become disorganized and useless. It is, however, only the young and active rootlets, and those covered with hairs, which thus refuse to live in water. The older parts of the roots, which are destitute of fibrils and which have nearly ceased to be active in the work of absorption, are not af fected by the change of circumstance. These facts, which are due to the researches of Dr. Sachs, ( Vs. St., 2, p. 13,) would naturally lead to the conclusion that the absorbent surface of the root undergoes some structural change, or produces new roots’ with modified characters, in order to adapt itself to the medium in which it is placed. It would appear that when this adaptation proceeds rapidly, the plant is not permanently retarded in its growth by a gradual change in the character of the medium which surrounds its roots, as may happen in case of rice and marsh-plants, when the saturated soil in which they may be situated at one time, is slowly dried. Sudden changes of medium about the roots of plants slow to adapt them- selves, would be fatal to their existence. Nobbe has, however, carefully compared the roots of buckwheat, as developed in the soil, with those emitted in water, without being able to observe any structural differ- ences. The facts detailed above admit of partial, if not i i “4 i.’ THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. a7 complete explanation, without recourse to the supposition that soil and water-roots are essentially diverse in nature. When a plant which is rooted in the soil is taken up so that the fibrils are not broken or injured, and set into wa- ter, it does not suffer any hindrance in growth, as Sachs has found by late experiments. (experimental Physi- ologie, p. 177.). Ordinarily, the suspension of growth and decay of fibrils and rootlets is due, doubtless, to the mechanical injury they suffer in removing from the soil. Again, when a plant that has been reared in water is planted in earth, similar injury occurs in packing the soil about the roots, and moreover the fibrils cannot be brought into that close contact with the soil which is necessary for them to supply the foliage with water; hence the plant wilts, and may easily perish unless profusely watered or shielded from evaporation. The issue of water or soil-roots, either or both, from the same plant, according to the circumstances in which it is placed, finds something analogous in reference to air- roots. As before stated, these chiefly occur on tropical plants, or in shaded, warm, and very moist situations. Schacht informs us that in the dark and humid forest ra- vines of Madeira and Teneriffe, the Laurus Canariensis, a large tree, sends out from its stem during the autumn rains, a, profusion of fleshy air-roots, which cover the trunk with their interlacing branches and grow to an inch in thick- ness. The following summer, they dry away and. fall to the ground, to be replaced by new ones in the ensuing au- tumn. (Der Baum, p. 172.) The formation of air-roots may be very easily observed by filling a tall vial with water to the depth of half an inch, inserting therein a branch of a common house-plant, the T’radescantia zebrina, so that the cut end of the stem shall stand in the water, and finally corking the vial air-tight. The plant, which is very tenacious of life, and usually grows well in spite of all neglect, is not checked in its vegetative development by the treatment just described, but immediately begins to adapt itself to its - new circumstances. Ina few days, if the temperature be 70° or there- about, air-roots will be seen to issue from the joints of the stem. These 258 HOW CROPS GROW. are fringed with a profusion of delicate hairs, and rapidly extend toa length of from one to two inches. The lower ones, if they chance to penetrate the watcr, become discolored and decay; the others, however, remain for a long time fresh, and of a white color. As already mentioned, Indian corn frequently produces air-roots. The same is true of the oat, of buckwheat, of the grape-vine, and of other plants of temperate re- gions when they are placed for some time in tropical con- ditions, i. e., when they grow in a rich soil and their over- ground organs are surrounded by a very warm and very moist atmosphere. : It has been conjectured that these air-roots serve to ab- sorb moisture from the air and thus aid to maintain the growth of the plant. This subject has been studied by Unger, Chatin, and Duchartre. The observers first named were led to conclude that these organs do absorb water from the air. Duchartre, however, denies their absorptive power. It is probably true that they can and do absorb to some extent the water that exists as vapor in the at- mosphere. At the same time they may not usually con- dense enough to make good the loss that takes place in other parts of the plant by evaporation. Hence the re- sults of Duchartre, which were obtained on the entire plant and not on the air-roots alone. (Hléments de Botanique, p. 216.) It certainly appears improbable that organs which only develope themselves in a humid atmos- phere, where the plant can have no lack of water, should be specially charged with the office of collecting moisture from the air. ’ Root-Excretions.—It has been supposed that the roots of plants perform a function of excretion, the reverse of absorption—that plants, like animals, reject matters which are no longer of use in their organism, and that the re- jected matters are poisonous to the kind of vegetation from which they originated. De Candolle, an eminent French botanist, who first advanced this doctrine, founded THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 259 it upon the observation that certain plants exude drops of liquid from their roots when these are placed in dry sand, and that odors exhale from the roots of other plants. Numerous experiments have been instituted at various times for the purpose of testing this question. The most extensive inquiries we are aware of, are those of Dr. Al- fred Gyde, (Trans. Highland and Agr. Soc., 1845-7, p. 273-92). This experimenter planted a variety of agricul- tural plants, viz., wheat, barley, oats, rye, beans, peas, vetches, cabbage, mustard, and turnips, in pots filled either with garden soil, sand, moss, or charcoal, and after they had attained considerable growth, removed the earth, etc., from their roots by washing with water, using care not to in- jure or wound them, and then immersed the roots in ves- sels of pure water. The plants were allowed to remain in these circumstances, their roots being kept in darkness, but their foliage exposed to light, from three to seventeen days. In most cases they continued apparently in a good state of health. At the expiration of the time of experi- ment, the water which had been in contact with the roots was evaporated, and was found to leave a very minute amount of yellowish or brown matter, a portion of which was of organic and the remainder of mineral origin. Dr. Gyde concluded from his numerous trials, that plants do throw off organic and inorganic excretions similar in com- position to their sap; but that the quantity is exceedingly small, and is not injurious to the plants which furnish them. In the light of newer investigations touching the struc- ture of roots and their adaptation to the medium which happens to invest them, we may well doubt whether agri- cultural plants in the healthy state excrete any solid or liquid matters whatever from their roots. The familiar excretion of gum, resin, and sugar,* from the stems of _ * From the wounded bark of the Sugar Pine, (Pinus Lambertiana,) of Cali- fornia. 260 HOW CROPS GROW. trees appears to result from wounds or disease, and the matters which in the experiments of Gyde and others were observed to be communicated by the roots of plants to pure water, probably came either from the continual pushing off of the tips of the rootlets by the interior growing point—a process always naturally accompanying the growth of roots—or from the disorganization of the absorbent root-hairs. Under certain circumstances, small quantities of mineral salts may indeed diffuse out of the root-cells into the water of the soil. This is, however, no physiological action, but a purely physical process. Vitality of Roots.—It appears that in case of most plants the roots cannot long continue their vitality if their connection with the leaves be interrupted, unless, indeed, they be kept at a winter temperature. Hence weeds may be effectually destroyed by cutting down their tops; al- though, in many cases, the process must be several times repeated before the result is attained. The roots of our root-crops, properly so-called, viz., beets, turnips, carrots, and parsnips, when harvested in au- tumn, contain the elements of a second year’s growth of stem, etc., in the form of a bud at the crown of the root. If the crown be cut away from the root, the latter cannot vegetate, while the growth of the crown itself is not thereby prevented. _ As regards internal structure, the root closely resembles the stem, and what is stated of the latter on subsequent pages, applies in all essential points to the former. § 2, THE STEM. Shortly after the protrusion of the rootlet from a ger- minating seed, the Srem makes its appearance. It has, in general, an upward direction, which in many plants is per- THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 261 manent, while in others it shortly falls to the ground and grows thereafter horizontally. _ All plants of the higher orders have stems, though in many instances they do not appear above ground, but ex- tend beneath the surface of the soil, and are usually con- sidered to be roots. While the root, save in exceptional cases, does not de- velop other organs, it is the special function of the stem to bear the leaves, flowers, and seed, of the plant, and even in certain tribes of vegetation, like the cacti, which have no leaves, it performs the offices of these organs. In gen- eral, the functions of the stem are subordinate to those of the organs which it bears—the leaves and flowers. It is the support of these organs, and only extends in length or thickness with the apparent purpose of sustaining them either mechanically or nutritively. Buds.—In the seed the stem exists in a rudimentary state, associated with undeveloped leaves, forming a bud. The stem always proceeds at first from a bud, during all its growth is terminated by a bud at every growing point, — and only ceases to be thus tipped when it fully accom- plishes its growth by the production of seed, or dies from injury or. disease. In the leaf-bud we find a number of embryo leaves and leaf-like scales, in close contact and within each other, but all attached at the base, to a cen- tral conical axis, fig. 45. The open- ing of the bud con- sists in the lengthening of this axis, which is the stem, and the consequent separation of the leaves from each Fig. 45. 262 HOW CROPS GROW. other. If the rudimentary leaves of a bud be represented by a nest of flower-pots, the smaller placed within the larger, the stem may be signified by a rope of India- rubber passed through the holes in the bottom of the pots. The growth of the stem may now be shown by stretch- ing the rope,whereby the pots are brought away from each other, and the whole combination is madeto assume the char- acter of a fully developed stem, bearing its leaves at regular intervals; with these important differences, that the por- tions of stem nearest the root extend more rapidly than those above them, and the stem has within it the material and the mechanism for the continual formation of new buds, which unfold in successive order. In fig. 45, which represents the two terminal buds of a lilac twig, is shown not only the external appearance of the buds, which are covered with leaf-like scales, imbricated like shingles on a roof; but, in the section, are seen the edges of the undeveloped leaves attached to the conical axis. All the leaves and the whole stem of a twig of one ~summer’s growth thus exist in the bud, in plan and in miniature. Subsequent growth is but the development of the plan. In the flower-bud the same structure is manifest, save that the rudimentary flowers and fruit are enclosed within the leaves, and may often be seen plainly on cutting the bud. open. Culms; Nodes; Internodes.—The grasses and the com- mon cereal grains have single, unbranched stems, termed culms in botanical language. The leaves of these plants clasp the stem entirely at their base, and at this point is formed a well-defined, thickened knot or node in the stem. The portions of the stem betwegn these nodes are termed | internodes. Branching Stems.—Other agricultural plants besides those just mentioned, and all the trees of temperate cli- THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 263 mates, have branching stems, originating in the following -manner: As the principal or main stem elongates, so that the leaves arranged upon it separate from each other, we may find one or more side or axillary buds at the point where the base of the leaf or of the leaf-stalk unites with the stem. From these buds, in case their growth is not checked, side-stems or branches issue, which again sub- divide in the same manner into branchlets. In perennial plants, when young, or in their young shoots, it is easy to trace the nodes and internodes, or the points where the leaves are attached and the intervening spaces, even for some time after the leaves, which only endure for one year, are fallen away. The nodes are mani- fest by the enlargement of the stem, or by the scar covered with corky matter, which marks the spot where the leaf- stalk was attached. As the stem grows older these indi- cations of its early development are gradually obliterated. In a forest where the trees are thickly crowded, the lower branches die away from want of light; the scars resulting from their removal are covered with a new growth of wood, so that the trunk finally appears as if it had always been destitute of branches, to a great height. When all the buds develop normally and in due propor- tion, the plant, thus regularly built up, has a symmetrical appearance, as frequently happens with many herbs, and also with some of the cone-bearing trees, especially the balsam-fir. Latent Buds.—Often, however, many of the buds re- main undeveloped either permanently or for a time. Many of the side-buds of most of our forest and fruit trees fail entirely to grow, while others make no progress until the summer succeeding their first appearance. When the active buds are destroyed, either by frosts or by pinching off, other buds that would else remain latent, are pushed into growth. In this way, trees whose young leaves are de- stroyed by spring frosts, cover themselves again after a + 1.8 — 264 ; HOW CROPS GROW. time with foliage. In this way, too, the gardener molds a straggling, ill-shaped shrub or plant into almost any form he chooses; for by removing branches and buds where they have grown in undue proportion, he not only checks excess, but also calls forth development in the parts before suppressed. Adventitious or irregular Buds are produced from the stems as well as older roots of many plants, when they are mechanically injured during the growing season. The soft or red maple and the chestnut, when cut down, habitu- ally throw out buds and new stems from the stump, and the basket-willow is annually polled, or pollarded, to induce the growth of slender shoots from an old trunk. Elongation of Stems,—While roots extend chiefly at their extremities, we find the stem elongates equally, or nearly so, in all its contiguous parts, as is manifest from what has already been stated in illustration of its devel- opment from the bud. Besides the upright stem, there are a variety of prostrate and in part subterranean stems, which may be briefly no- ticed. Runners and Layers are stems that are sent out hori- zontally just above the soil, and coming in contact with the earth, take root, forming new plants, which may thence- forward grow independently. ‘The gardener takes advan- tage of these stems to propagate certain plants. The strawberry furnishes the most familiar exemple of runners, while many of the young shoots of the currant fall to the ground and become layers. The runner is a somewhat peculiar stem. It issues horizontally, and usually bears but few or no leaves. The layer does not differ from an ordinary stem, except by the circumstance, often accident- al, of becommg prostrate. Many plants which usually send out no layers, are nevertheless artificially Jayered by bending their stems or branches to the ground, or by at- | | THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 265 taching to them a ball or pot of earth. The striking out of roots from the layer is in many cases facilitated by cut- ting half off, twisting, or otherwise wounding the stem at the point where it is buried in the soil, | The tillering of wheat and other cereals, and of many grasses, is the spreading of the plant by layers. The first stems that appear from these plants ascend vertically, but, subsequently, other stems issue, whose growth is, for a time, nearly horizontal. They thus come in contact with the soil, and emit roots from their lower joints. From these again grow new stems and new roots in rapid suc- cession, so that a stool produced from a single kernel of winter wheat, having perfect freedom of growth, has been known to carry 50 or 60 grain-bearing culms. (Hallet, Jour. Roy. Soc. of Eing., 22, p. 372.) Subterranean Stems.—Of these there are three forms agriculturally interesting. ‘They are usually thought to be roots, from the fact of existing below the surface of the soil. This circumstance is, however, quite accidental. The pods of the pea-nut ripen beneath the ground—the flower-stems lengthening and penetrating the earth as soon as the blossom falls; but pea-nuts are not by any means to-be confounded with roots. Root-stocks.—As before remarked, true roots are desti-. tute of buds, and, we may add, of leaves. This fact dis- tinguishes them from the so-called creeping-root, which is a stem that extends just below the surface of the soil, emitting roots throughout its entire length. At intervals along these root-stocks, as they are appropriately named, scales are formed, which represent rudimentary leaves, In the axils of the scales may be traced the buds from which aérial stems proceed. Examples of the root-stock are very common. Among them we may mention the blood-root and pepper-root as abundant in the woods of the Northern and Middle States, and the quack-grass, 12 266 | HOW CROPS GROW. represented in fig. 46, which infests so many farms. Each node of the root-stock, being usually supplied with roots, and having latent buds, is ready to become an independ- ent growth the moment it is detached from its parent plant. In this way quack-grass becomes especially troub- lesome to the farmer, for, within certain limits, the more he harrows the fields where it has obtained a footing, the more does it spread and multiply. Suckers,—The rose, raspberry, and cherry, are examples of plants which send out subterranean branches, analogous to the root-stock. These coming to the surface, become aérial stems, and are then termed suckers. The Tubers of most agricultural plants are fleshy en- largements of the extremities of subterranean stems. Their eyes are the pots where the buds exist, usually three together, and where minute scales — rudimentary leaves—may be observed. The common potato and arti- choke are instances of tubers. Tubers serve excellently for propagation. Hach eye, or bud, may become a new plant. From the quantity of starch, etc., accumulated in them, they are of great importance as food. The number of tubers produced by a potato-plant appears to be in- creased by planting originally at a considerable depth, or by “hillmg up” earth around the base of the aérial stems during the early stages of its growth. | THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 267 Bulbs are the lower parts of stems, greatly thickened, the internodes being undeveloped, while the leaves—usu- ally scales or concentric coats—are in close contact with each other. The bulb is, in fact, a fleshy, permanent bud, usually in part or entirely subterranean. From its apex, the proper stem, the foliage, etc., proceed; while from its base, roots are sent out. The structural identity of the bulb with a bud is shown by the fact that the onion, which furnishes the commonest example of the bulb, often bears bulblets at the top of its stem, in place of flowers. In like manner, the axillary buds of the tiger-lily are thickened and fleshy, and fall off as bulblets to the ground, where they produce new plants. STRUCTURE oF THE StreM.—The stem is so complicated in its structural composition that to discuss it fully would occupy a volume. For our immediate purposes it is, however, only necessary to notice it very concisely. The rudimentary stem, as found in the seed, or the new- formed part of the maturer stem at the growing points just below the terminal buds, consists of cellular tissue, i. e., of an aggregate of rounded and cohering cells, which rapidly multiply during the vigorous growth of the plant. - In some of the lower orders of vegetation, as in mush- rooms and lichens, the stem, if any exist, always preserves a purely cellular character; but in all flowering plants the original cellular tissue of the-stem, as well as of the root, is shortly penetrated by vascular tissue, consisting of ducts or tubes, which result from the obliteration of the hori- zontal partitions of cell-tissue, and by wood-cells, which are many times longer than wide, and the walls of which are much thickened by internal deposition. . These ducts and wood-cells, together with some other forms of cells, are usually found in close connection, and are arranged in bundles, which constitute the fibers of the” stem. They are always disposed lengthwise in the stem and branches. They are found to some extent in the soft- 268 HOW CROPS GROW. est herbaceous stems, while they constitute a large share of the trunks of most shrubs and trees. From the tough- ness which they possess, and the manner in which they are woven through the original cellular tissue, they give to the stem its solidity and strength. The flowering plants of temperate climates may be di- vided into two great classes, in cOnsequence of important and obvious differences in the structure of their stems and seeds. These are, 1, Hndogenous or Monocotyledonous ; and, 2, Exogenous or Dicotyledonous plants. As regards their stems, these two classes of plants differ in the ar- rangement of the vascular or woody tissue. Endogenous Plants are those whose stems enlarge by the formation of new wood in the interior, and not by the external growth of concentric layers. The seeds of endog- enous plants consist of a single piece—do not readily split into halves,—or, in botanical language, have but one cotyledon ; hence are called monocotyledonous. Indian corn, sugar cane, sorghum, wheat, oats, rye, barley, the onion, asparagus, and all the grasses, belong to this tribe of plants. If a stalk of maize, asparagus, or bamboo, be cut across, the bundles of ducts are seen disposed somewhat uni- c Fig. 47. formly throughout the section, though less abundantly to- wards the center. On splitting the fresh stalk lengthwise, the vascular bundles may be torn out like strings. At the nodes, where the stem branches, or where leaf-stalks are attached, the vascular bundles likewise divide and form a net-work, or plexus. In a ripe maize-stalk which is exposed to circumstances favoring decay, the soft cell-tis- sue first suffers change and often quite disappears, leaving rz ——— — Sew Se = THE VEGETATIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 269 the firmer vascular bundles unaltered in form. 4 4 REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 291 The assimilation of carbon in the plant is most inti- mately connected with the chlorophyll, which has been no- ticed as the green coloring matter of the leaf, and depends also upon the solar rays. : CHAPTER IV. REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. ) 5 1 THE FLOWER. The onward growth of the stem or of its branches is not necessarily limited, until from the terminal buds, in- stead of leaves, only FLowErs unfold. When this happens, as is the case with most annual and biennial plants, raised on the farm or in the garden, the vegetative energy has usu- ally attained its fullest development, and the reproductive function begins to prepare for the death of the individual _by providing seeds which shall perpetuate the species. There is often at first no apparent difference between the leaf-buds and flower-buds, but commonly in the later stages of their growth, the latter are to be readily dis- tinguished from the former by their greater size, and by peculiar shape or color. The Flower is a short branch, bearing a collection of organs, which, though usually having little resemblance to foliage, may be considered as Hage more or less mod- ified in form, color, and office. The Aver commonly presents four different sets of or- -gans, viz., Calyx, Corolla, Stamens, and Fistils, and is then said to be complete, as in case of the apple, potato, 4 Pl ar- > 292 HOW CROPS GROW. and many common plants. Fig. 60 represents the com- plete flower of the Fuchsia, or ladies’ ear-drop, now uni- versally cultivated. In fig. 61 the same is shown in section. The Calyx, (cup,) cv, is the outermost floral envelope. Its color is red or white in the Fuchsia, though generally it is green, When it consists of several distinct leaves, they are called . sepals. The calyx is frequently small and inconspicuous. In some cases it falls away as the flower opens. In the Fuchsia it firm- ly adheres at its base to the seed- «™\\ vessel, and is divid- | W/ed into four lobes. The Corolla, (crown,) ¢, or ca, is one or several series of leaves which are situated within the.calyx. | : It is usually of some other than a green color, (inthe Fuchsia, purple, etc.,) often has marked peculiarities of form and great delicacy of structure, and thus chiefly gives beauty to the flower. When the corolla is divided into separate Ist Y/ CL Fig. 61. leaves, these are termed petals. The Fuchsia, has four petals, which are attached to the calyx-tube. The Stamens, s, in fig’s 60 and 61, are generally slender, thread-like organs, terminated by an oblong sack, the an- ther, which, when the flower attains its full growth, dis- charges a fine yellow or brown dust, the so-called pollen. REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 293 The forms of anthers, as well as of the grains of pollen, vary with nearly every kind of plant. The yellow pollen of pine and spruce trees is not infrequently transported by the wind to a great distance, and when brought down by rain in considerable quantities, has been mistaken for sulphur. The Pistil, », in fig’s 60 and 61, or pistils, occupy the center of the perfect flower. They are exceedingly va- tious in form, but always have at their base the seed-ves- sels or ovaries, ov, in which are found the ovules (little eggs) or rudimentary seeds. The summit of the pistil is destitute of the epidermis which covers all other parts of the plant, and is termed the stigma, st. As has been remarked, the floral organs may be consid- ,ered to be modified leaves; or rather, all the appendages of the stem—the leaves and the parts of the flower to- gether—are different developments of one fundamental organ. The justness of this idea is sustained by the transforma- tions which are often observed. The rose in its natural state has a corolla consisting of | five petals, but has a multitude of stamens and pistils. In arich soil, or as the effect of those agencies which are united in “cultivation,” nearly all the pistils and stamens lose their reproductive function and proper structure, and revert to petals; hence the flower becomes double. The tulip, poppy, and numerous garden-flowers, illustrate this interesting metamorphosis, and in these flowers we may often see at once the change in various stages intermediate between the perfect petal and the unaltered pistil. On the other hand, the reversion of all the floral organs into ordinary green leaves has been observed not infre- quently, in case of the rose, white clover, and other | plants. While the complete flower consists of the four sets of organs abgve described, only the stamens and pistils are essential to the production of seed. The latter, accord- 294. HOW CROPS GROW. ingly, constitute a perfect flower even in the absence of calyx and corolla. The flower of buckwheat has no corolla, but a white or pinkish calyx. The grasses have flowers in which calyx and eonlle are represented by scale-like leaves, which, as the plants ma- ture, become chaff. In various plants the stamens and pistils are borne in separate flowers. Such are called moncecious plants, of which the birch and oak, maize, melon, squash, cucumber, and oftentimes the strawberry, are examples. In case of maize, the staminate flowers are the “tas- sels” at the summit of the stalk; the pistillate flowers are the young ears, the pistils themselves being the “ silk,” each fiber of which has an ovary at its base, that, if fer- tilized, developes to a kernel. Diccious plants are those which bear the staminate (male, or sterile) flowers and the pistillate (female, or fer- tile) flowers on different individuals; the willow tree, the hop-vine, and hemp, are of this kind. Fertilization and Fructification.—The grand function of the flower is fructification. For this purpose the pollen must fall upon or be carried by wind, insects, or other agen- cies, to the naked tip of the pistil. Thus situated, each pollen-grain sends out a slender tube of microscopic diam- eter, which penetrates the interior of the pistil until it en- ters the seed-sack and comes in contact with the ovule or rudimentary seed. This contact being established, the ovule is fertilized and begins to grow. Thenceforward the corolla and stamens usually wither, while the base of the pistil and the included ovules rapidly increase in size until the seeds are ripe, when the seed-vessel falls to the ground or else opens and releases its contents. Fig. 62 exhibits the process of fertilization as observed in a he allied to buckwheat, viz., the Polygonum con- bie sah NS a a a ila a a a - in + * c . and its attachment to the seed-vessel. REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 295 volvulus. The cut represents a magnified section length- wise through the short pistil; a, is the stigma or summit of the pistil; 0, are grains of pollen; c, are pollen tubes. that have penetrated-into the seed- E vessel which forms the base of the fe, pistil; one has entered the mouth of i\ b= i the rudimentary seed, g, and reached iN the embryo sack, ¢, within which it causes the development of a germ; d, represents the interior wall of the seed-vessel; A, the base of the seed Darwin has shown that certain plants, which have pistils and stamens in the same flower, are incapable of self-fertilization, and depend upon in- sects to carry pollen to their stigmas. Such are many Orchids. Artificial Fecundation has been proposed by Hooibrenk, in Belgium, as a means of increasing the yield of certain crops. Hoot- brenk’s plan of agitating the heads of grain at the time when the pollen is ripe, in order to ensure its distribution, which is done by two men traversing the field carrying a rope between them so as to lightly brush over the heads, appears to have been found very useful in some cases, though in many trials no good effects have followed its application. We must therefore conclude that agitation by the winds and the good offices of insects commonly render artificial assistance in the fecundating process en- tirely superfluous. Hybridizing.—As the union of the sexes of different kinds of animals sometimes results in the birth of a hybrid, so among plants, the ovules of one kind may be fertilized by the pollen of another, and the seed thus developed, in its growth, produces a hybrid plant. In both the animal 296 HOW CROPS GROW. and vegetable kingdoms the limits within which hybridiza- tion is possible appear to be very, narrow. It is only be- tween closely allied species that fecundation can take place. Wheat, oats, and barley, show no tendency to “mix”; the pollen of one of these similar plants being incapable of fertilizing the ovules of the others. In flower and fruit-culture, hybridization is practised or attempted, as a means of producing new kinds. Thus the celebrated Rogers’ Seedling Grapes are believed to be hy- brids between the European grape, Vitis vinifera, and the allied but distinct Vitis labrusca, of North America. Hybridization between plants is effected, if at all, by removing from the flower of one kind, the stamens before they shed their pollen, and dusting the summit of the pistil with pollen from another kind. _ The mixing of different varieties, as commonly happens among maize, melons, etc., is not properly hybridization, this word being used in the long-established sense. We | are thus led to brief notice of the meaning of the terms species and variety, and of the distinctions employed in botanical classification. Species.—The idea of species as distinct from variety which has been held by most scientific authorities hither- to, is based primarily on the faculty of continued repro- duction. The horse is a species comprising many vari- eties. Any two of these varieties by sexual union may propagate the species. The same is true of the ass. The horse and the ass by sexual union produce a hybrid—the mule,—but the sexual union of mules is without result. They cannot continue the mule as a distinct kind of ani- mal—as a species. Among animals a species therefore com- prises all those individuals which are related by common origin or fraternity, and which are capable of sexual fer- tility. This conception involves original and permanent differences between different species. 4 —- eas y xt —.7 5 be vb me REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 297 Species, therefore, cannot change any of their essential characters, those characters which are hence termed specific. Varieties.—Individuals of the same species differ. In fact, no two individuals are quite alike. Circumstances of temperature, food, and. habits of life, increase these differ- ences, and varieties originate when such differences assume a comparative permanence and fixity. But as external conditions cause variation away from any particular rep- resentative of a species, so they may cause variation back again to the original, and although variation may take a seemingly wide range, its bounds are fixed and do not touch specific characters. The causes that produce varieties are numerous, but in many cases their nature and their mode of action is diffi- cult or impossible to understand. The influence of scarcity or abundance of nutriment we can easily comprehend may dwarf a plant or lead to the production of a giant indi- vidual; but how, in some cases, the peculiarities thus im- pressed upon individuals acquire permanence and are transmitted to subsequent generations, while in others: they disappear, is beyond explanation. Among plants, varieties may often be perpetuated by the seed. This is true of our cereal and leguminous plants, which reproduce their kind with striking regulari- ty. Other plants cannot be or are not reproduced unalter- -ed by the seed, but are continued in the possession of their peculiarities by cuttings, layers, and grafts. Here the in- dividual plant is in a sense divided and multiplied. The Species is propagated, but not reproduced. The fact that the seeds of a potato, a grape, an apple, or pear, cannot be depended upon to reproduce the variety, may perhaps be more commonly due to unavoidable contact of pollen from other varieties, than to inability of the mother plant to perpetuate its peculiarities. That such inability often exists, is, however, well established, and is, in general, most obvious in case of varieties that have to the greatest 13* | 298 HOW CROPS GROW. degree departed from the original specific type. Thus ‘ nature puts the same limit to variation within a species that she has established against the mixing of species. Darwin’s Hypothesis, which is now accepted by many naturalists, is to the effect that species, as above defined, do not exist, but that new kinds (so-called species) of ani- mals and plants may arise by variation, and that all exist- ing animals and plants may have developed by a process of “natural selection” from one original type. Our ob- ject here is not to discuss this intricate question, but sim- ply to put the reader in possession of the meaning attach- ed to the terms currently employed in science—terms which must long cae in use and which are necessarily found in these pages.* Genus, (plural Genera.)—In the language of anti-Dar- Winianism, any set of oaks that are capable of reproducing their kind by seed, but cannot mix their seed with other oaks, constitute a species. Thus, the white oak is one species, the red oak is another, the water oak is a third, the live oak a fourth, and so on. All the oaks, white, red, etc., taken together, form a group which has a series of characters in common that distinguishes them from all other trees and plants. Such a group of species is called a genus. Families or Orders, in botanical language, are groups of genera that agree in certain particulars. Thus the sev- eral plants well-known as mallows, hollyhock, okra, and cotton, are representatives of as many different genera. They all agree in a number of points, especially as regards the structure of their fruit. They are accordingly group- "ed together into a natural family or order, which differs from all others. Classes, Series, and Classification.— Classes are groups : * Fora seiateely statement of the facts and evidence bearing on these points, which are of the greatest importance to the agriculturist, see Darwin’s works **On the Origin of Species,” and ‘‘On the Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication.” REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 999 of orders, and Series are groups of classes. In botanical classification as now universally employed—classification after the Natural System—all plants are separated into two series, as follows: | 1. Flowering Plants (Phenogams) which produce flowers and seeds with embryos, and 2. Flowerless Plants (Cryptogams) that Hey no proper flowers, and are reproduced by spores which are in most cases single cells. This series includes Ferns, Horse-tails, Mosgses, Liverworts, Lichens, Sea-weeds, Mushrooms, and Molds. é The use of classification is to give precision to our no- tions and distinctions, and to facilitate the using and ac- quifition of knowledge. Series, classes, orders, genera, species, and varieties, are as valuable to the naturalist as ‘pigeon holes are to the accountant, or shelves and draw- ers to the merchant. . | Botanical Nomenclature.—So, too, the Latin or Greek names which botanists employ are essential for the discrim- ination of plants, being equally received in all countries, and belonging to all languages where science has a home.. They are made necessary not only by the confusion of tongues, but by confusions in each vernacular. Botanical usage requires for each plant two names, one to specify the genus, another to indicate the species. Thus all oaks are designated by the Latin word Quercus, while the red oak is Quercus rubra, the white oak is ~ Quercus alba, the live oak is Quercus virens, ete. The designation of certain important families of plants is derived from a peculiarity in the form or arrangement of the flower. Thus the pulse family, comprising the bean, pea, and vetch, as well as lucern and clover, are ad Papilionaceous plants, from the resemblance of their flowers to a butterfly, (Latin, papilio). Again, the mustard family, including the radish, turnip, cabbage, wa- 300 HOW CROPS GROW. ter-cress, etc., are termed Cruciferous plants, because their flowers have four petals arranged like the four arms of a cross, (Latin, cruz). : The flowers of a large natural order of plants are ar- ranged side by side, often in great numbers, on the expand- ed extremity of the flower-stem. Examples are the thistle, dandelion, sun-flower, artichoke, China-aster, ete., which, from bearing such compound heads, are called Composite plants. The Coniferous (cone-bearing) plants comprise the pines, larches, hemlocks, etc., whose flowers are arranged _ in conical receptacles. The flowers of the carrot, parsnip, and caraway, are ar- ranged at the extremities of stalks which radiate from a central stem like the arms of an umbrella; hence they are called Umbelliferous plants, (from wmbel, Latin, for little screen). § 2. THE FRUIT THE Frvuir comprises the seed-vessel and the seed, to- gether with their various appendages. Tur SEED-VESSEL, consisting of the base of the pistil in its matured state, exhibits a great variety of forms and characters, which serve, chiefly, to define the different kinds of Fruits. Of these we shall only adduce such as are of common occurrence and belong to the farm. The Nut has a hard, leathery or bony shell, that does not open spontaneously. Examples are the acorn, chest- nut, beech-nut, and hazelnut. The cup of the acorn and the bur of the others is a sort of fleshy calyx. The Stone-fruit or Drupe is a nut enveloped by a fleshy or leathery coating, like the peach, cherry, and plum, REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 301 also the butternut and hickory-nut. Raspberries and blackberries are clusters of small drupes. Pome is a term applied to fruits like the apple and pear, the core of which is the true seed-vessel, originally belonging to the pistil, while the often edible flesh is the enormously enlarged and thickened calyx, whose withered tips are always to be found at the end opposite the stem. The Berry is a many-seeded fruit of which the entire seed-vessel becomes thick and soft, as the grape, currant, tomato, and huckleberry. Gourd fruits have externally a hard rind, but are fleshy in the interior. The melon, squash, and cucumber, are of this kind. . The Akene is a fruit containing a single seed which does not separate from its dry envelope. The so-called seeds of the composite plants, for example the sun-flower, thistle, and dandelion, are akenes. On removing the outer husk or seed-vessel we find within the true seed. Many akenes are furnished with a pappus, a downy or hairy appendage, as seen in the thistle, which enables the seed to float and be carried about in the wind. The fruit or grain of buck- wheat is akene-like. The Grains are properly fruits. Wheat and maize con- sist of the seed and the seed-vessel closely united. When these grains are ground, the bran that comes off is the seed-vessel together with the outer coatings of the seed. Barley-grain, in addition to the seed-vessel, has the petals of the flower or inner chaff, and oats have, besides these, the calyx or outer chaff adhering to the nd Pod is the name properly applied to any dry seed-ves- sel which opens and scatters its seeds when ripe. Several kinds have received special designations; of these we need only notice one. The Legume is a pod, om that of the bean, witch splits into two halves, along whose inner edges seeds are $02 HOW CROPS GROW. borne. The pulse family, or papilionaceous plants, are also termed leguminous from the form of their fruit. Tue Srxp, or ripened ovule, is borne on a stalk which connects it with the seed-vessel. Through this stalk it is supplied with nutriment while growing. When matured and detached, a scar commonly indicates the point of former connection. _ The seed has usually two distinct coats or integuments. The outer one is often hard, and is generally smooth. In the case of cotton-seed it is covered with the valuable cot- ton fiber. The second coat is commonly thin and delicate. . The Kernel lies within the integuments. In many cases it consists exclusively of the embryo, or rudimentary plant. In others it contains, besides the embryo, what has received the name of endosperm. The Endosperm forms the chief bulk of all the grains. If ~ we cut a seed of maize in two lengthwise, we observe ex- tending from the pomt where it was attached to the cob the soft “chit,” 6, fig. 63, which is the embryo, to be pres- ently noticed. The remainder of the kernel, a, is endo- sperm; the latter, therefore, yields in great part the flour or meal eel 1S SO Mure a part ; of the food of man and animals. The endosperm is intended for the support of the young plant as it developes from the embryo, before it is capable of depending on the soil and atmosphere for sustenance. It is not, however, an indispensable part of the seed, and | may be ag relhy removed from it, without fueseos prevent- ing the growth of a new plant. — The Embryo or Germ is the essential and most import- ant portion of the seed. It is, in fact, a ready-formed plant in miniature, and has its root, stem, leaves, and a bud, although these organs are often as undeveloped in form as they are in size. : As above mentioned, the chit of the seeds of maize and 4 REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 303 the other grains is the embryo. Its form is with difficulty distinguishable in the dry seeds, but when they have been soaked for several days in water, it is readily removed from the accompanying endosperm, and plainly exhibits its three parts, viz., the radicle, the plumule, and the cotyledon. . In fig. 63 is represented the embryo of maize. In A and £ it is seen in section imbedded in the endosperm. C exhibits the detached embryo. The Radicle, r, is the rootlet of the seed-plant, or rather the point from which downward growth proceeds, from which the first true roots are produced. The Plumule, c,is the ascending axis of the plant, the central bud, out of which the stem with new leaves, flowers, etc., is developed. The Cotyledon, 6, is in structure a ready-formed leaf, which clasps the plumule In the embryo, as the proper leaves clasp the stem in the mature -maize-plant. The coty- | ledon of maize does not, however, perform the oe eee of a leaf; on | the contrary, it remains in the soil durin g¢ the act of sprout- ing, and its contents, like those of the endosperm, are absorbed by the plumule and radicle. The leaves which appear above-ground, in the case of maize and the other grains (buckwheat excepted,) are those which in the embryo were wrapped together in the plumule, where they can be plainly distinguished by the aid of .a magnifier. It will be noticed that the true grains (which have sheathing leaves and hollow jointed stems) are monocot- yledonous (one-cotyledoned) in the seed. As has been ‘mentioned, this is characteristic of plants with Endogenous or inside-growing stems, (p. 268.) The seeds of the Exogens (outside-growers) (p. 273) are Mecotyledtionous, i. c., have two cotyledons. Those of - Fig. 63. . 304 HOW CROPS GROW. buckwheat, flax, and tobacco, contain an endosperm. The seeds of nearly all other exogenous agricultural plants are destitute of an endosperm, and, exclusive of the coats, consist entirely of embryo. Such are the seeds of the Le guminose, viz., the bean, pea, and clover; of the Crucif- ere, Viz., turnip, radish, and cabbage; of ordinary fruits, the apple, pear, cherry, plum, and peach; of the gourd family, viz., the pumpkin, melon and cucumber; and finally of many hard-wooded trees, viz., the oak, maple, elm, birch, and beech. We may best observe the structure of the two-cotyle- doned embryo in the garden or kidney-bean. After a bean has been soaked in warm water for several hours, the coats may be easily removed, and the two fleshy cotyledons, e, c, in fig. 64, are found divided from each other save at the point where the radicle, a, is seen projecting like a blunt spur. On carefully breaking away one of the cotyledons, we get a side view of the radicle, a, and plumule,}, — the former of which was partially and the latter entirely imbedded between the cotyledons. The plumule plainly asta exhibits two delicate leaves, on which the unaided eye may note the veins. These leaves are folded together along their mid-ribs, and may be opened and spread out with help of a needle. When the kidney-bean (Phaseolus) germinates, the cot- yledons are carried up into the air, where. they become green and constitute the first pair of leaves of the new plant. The second pair are the tiny leaves of the plumule just described, between which is the bud, whence all the subsequent aerial organs develope in succession. In the horse-bean, (da), as in the pea, the cotyledons never assume the office of leaves, but remain in the soil and gradually yield a large share of their contents to the REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 305 growing plant, shriveling and shrinking greatly in bulk, and finally falling away and passing into decay. SPS, VITALITY OF SEEDS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON’ THE PLANTS THEY PRODUCE. ‘Duration of Vitality.—In the mature seed when kept from excess of moisture, the embryo lies dormant. The duration of its vitality is very various. The seeds of the willow, it is asserted, will not grow after having once be- come dry, but must be sown when fresh; they lose their germinative power in two weeks after ripening. With regard to the duration of the vitality of the seeds of agricultural plants there is no little conflict of opinion among those who have experimented with them. The leguminous seeds appear to remain capable of germination during long periods. Girardin sprouted beans that were over a century old. It is said that Grimstone with great pains raised peas from a seed taken from a sealed vase found in the sarcophagus of an Egyptian mum- ° my, presented to the British Museum by Sir G. Wilkinson, and estimated to be near 3,000 years old. The seeds of wheat usually lose their power of growth after having been kept 3-7 years. Count Sternberg and others are said to have succeeded in germinating wheat taken from an Egyptian mummy, but only after soaking it in ov. Sternberg relates that this ancient wheat mani- fested no vitality when placed in the soil under ordinary circumstances, nor even when submitted to the action of acids or other substances which gardeners sometimes em- ploy to promote sprouting. Vilmorin, from his own trials, doubts altogether the authenticity of the “ mummy wheat.” iPictvich; | (Hof, Jahr., 1862-3, p. '7'7,) experimented — with seeds of wheat, rye, banidl a, specie of Bromus, which 356. | HOW CROPS GROW. were 185 years old. Nearly every means reputed to favor germination was employed, but without success. After proper exposure to moisture, the place of the germ was usually found to be occupied by a slimy, putrefying liquid. i “ae | The fact appears to be that the circumstances under which the seed is kept greatly influence the duration of its vitality. If seeds, when first gathered, be thoroughly dried, and then sealed up in tight vessels, or otherwise kept out of contact of the air, there is no reason why their’ vitality should not endure for ages. Oxygen and moisture, not to mention insects, are the agencies that usually put a speedy limit to the duration of the germina- tive power of seeds. In agriculture it is a general rule that the newer the seed the better the results of its use. Experiments have proved that the older the seed the more numerous the failures to germinate, and the weaker the plants it pro- duces. ae : Londet made trials in 1856-7 with seed-wheat of the years 1856, 755, 54, and ’53. The following table exhibits the results, which illustrate the statement just made. Per cent of seeds Length of leaves four days mM ae sprouted. after coming up. hundred seeds. Seed of 1853, none — Sabie Korie 3 51 0.4 to 0.8 inches 269 ec) 2855, ; %3 DED, = See 365 ee * 2BDG, 74 AGG <5 aoe 404 The results of similar experiments made by Haberlandt on various grains, are contained in the following table: Per cent of seeds that germinated in 1861 from the years : 1850 51 54 BS 57 58 85g 60 Wheat, 0 0 8! ~~) ase 7 60 84 96 Rye, 0 O 0 Oe 9 t0 0 48 100 Barley, 0 0 24 0 48 ao. wee 89 Oats, 60 0 56 48 72 32 80 96 Maize, 0 nottried. 76 56 nottried. 77 100 is 7 rom: ‘alll ‘ “a REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 307 Results of the Use of long-kept Seeds.—The fact that old seeds yield weak plants is taken advantage of by the florist in producing new varieties. It is said that while the one- year-old seeds of Ten-weeks Stocks yield single flowers, those which have been kept four years give ie double flowers. In case of melons, the experience of gardeners goes to.» show that seeds which have been kept several, even seven years, though less certain to come up, yield plants that give the greatest returns of fruit; while plantings of new seeds run excessively to vines. Unripe Seeds.—Experiments by Lucanus prove that seeds gathered while still unripe,—when the kernel is soft and milky, or, in case of cereals, even before starch has formed, and when the juice of the kernel is like water in appearance,—are nevertheless capable of germination, espe- cially if they be allowed to dry in connection with the stem (after-ripening.) Such immature seeds, however, have less vigorous germinative power than those which are allowed to mature perfectly; when sown, many of them fail to come up, and those which do, yield comparatively weak plants at first and in poor soil give a poorer harvest than well-ripened seed. In rich soil, however, the plants which do appear from unripe seed, may, in time, become as vig- orous as any. (Lucanus, Vs. S¢., IV, p. 253.) According to Siegert, the sowing of unripe peas tends to produce earlier varieties. Liebig says: “The gardener is aware that the flat and shining seeds in the pod of the Stock Gillyflower will give tall plants with single flowers, while the shriveled seeds will furnish low plants with double flowers throughout.” - Dwarfed or Light Seeds.—Dr. Miiller, as well as Hell- riegel, found that light grain sprouts quicker but yields weaker plants, and is not so sure of germinating as tae grain. 308 HOW CROPS GROW. Baron Liebig asserts (Watural Laws of Husbandry, Am. Kd., 1863, p. 24) that “the strength and number of the roots and leaves formed in the process of germination, are, (as regards the non-nitrogenous constituents,) in di- rect proportion to the amount of starch in the seed.” Further, “poor and sickly seeds will produce stunted plants, which will again yield seeds bearing in a great measure the same character.” On the contrary, he states (on page 61 of the same book, foot note,) that “ Boussing- ault has observed that even seeds weighing two or three milligrames, (1-30th or 1-20th of a grain,) sown in an ab- solutely sterile soil, will produce plants in which all the organs are developed, but their weight, after months, does not amount to much more than that of the original seed. The plants are reduced in all dimensions; they may, how- ever, grow, flower, and even bear seed, which only requires a fertile soil to produce again a plant of the natural size.” — These seeds must be diminutive, yet placed in a fertile soil they give a plant of normal dimensions. We must thence conclude that the amount of starch, gluten, etc.—in other words the weight of a seed—is not altogether an index of the vigor of the plant that may spring from it. Schubert, whose observations on the roots of agricul- tural plants are detailed in a former chapter (p. 242,) says, as the result of much investigation— the vigorous devel- opment of plants depends far less upon the size and weight of the seed than upon the depth to which it is cov- ered with earth, and upon the stores of nourishment which it finds in its first period of life.” Value of seed as related to its Density.—From a series of experiments made at the Royal Ag. College at Ciren- cester, in 1863-4, Prof. Church concludes that the value of seed-wheat stands in a certain connection with its spe- cific gravity, (Practice with Science, p. 107, London, 1865.) He found :— 3 q REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF PLANTS. 309 1. That seed-wheat of the greatest density produces the densest seed. 2. The seed-wheat of the greatest density yields the greatest amount of dressed corn. 3. The seed-wheat of medium density generally gives the largest number of ears, but the ears are poorer than those of the densest seed. 4, The seed-wheat of medium density generally pro- duces the largest number of fruiting plants. 5. The seed-wheats which sink in water but float ina liquid having the specific gravity 1.247, are of very low value, yielding, on an average, but 34.4 lbs. of dressed grain for every 100 yielded by the densest seed. The densest grains are not, according to Church, always the largest. The seeds he experimented with ranged from sp. gr. 1.354 to 1.401. DIVISION IIL. LIFE OF THE PLANT. CHAPTER IL GERMINATION. gil. INTRODUCTORY. Having traced the composition of vegetation from its ultimate elements to the proximate organic compounds, | and studied its structure in the simple cell as well as in the most highly developed plant, and, as far as needful, explain- ed the characters and functions of its various organs, we approach fhe subject of VecrETasLe Lire and Nutrition, and are ready to inquire how the plant increases in bulk and weight and produces starch, sugar, oil, albuminoids, ete., which constitute directly or indirectly almost the entire food of animals. ra y ™ The beginning of the-individual plant is in the seed, at the moment of fertilization by the action of a pollen tube on the contents of the embryo-sack. Each embryo whose development is thus ensured, is a plant in miniature, or rather an organism that is capable, under proper circum- stances, of unfolding into a plant. 310 GERMINATION. 311 The first process of development, wherein the young plant commences to manifest its separate life, and in which it is shaped into its proper and peculiar Foti: is called germination. The GeneRAL Process and Conpirions of GERMINATION are familiar to all. In agriculture and ordinary garden- ing we bury the ripe and sound seed a little way in the soil, and in a few days, it usually sprouts, provided it finds a certain degree of warmth and moisture. | Let us attend somewhat in detail first to the phenomena of germination and afterward to the nena eUt: of the awakening seed. § a THE PHENOMENA OF GERMINATION. The student will do well to watch with care the various stages of the act of germination, as exhibited in several species of plants. For this purpose a dozen or more seeds of each plant are sown, the smaller, one-half, the larger, one inch deep, in a box of earth or saw-dust, kept duly warm and moist, and one or two of each kind are uncovered and dissected at successive intervals of 12 hours until the process is complete. In this way it is easy to trace all the visible changes which occur as the embryo is quickened. The dibds of the kidney-bean, pea, of maize, buckwheat, and barley, may be employed. . We thus observe that the seed first absorbs a large amount of moisture, in consequence of which it swells and becomes more soft. We see the germ enlarging beneath the seed coats, shortly the integuments burst and the radi- cle.appears, afterward the plumule becomes manifest. In all agricultural plants the radicle buries itself in the soil. ‘The plumule ascends into the atmosphere and seeks exposure to the direct light of the sun. 312 HOW CROPS GROW. The endosperm, if the seed have one, and in many cases the cotyledons (so with the horse-bean, pea, maize, and barley), remain in the place where the seed was deposited. In other cases (kidney-bean, buckwheat, squash, radish, etc.,) the cotyledons ascend and become the first pair of leaves. The ascending plumule shortly unfolds new ae and if coming from the seed of a branched plant, lateral buds - make their appearance. The radicle divides and subdi- vides in beginning the issue of true roots. When the piles ceases to derive nourishment from the mother seed, the process is finished. oe THE CONDITIONS OF GERMINATION. As to the Conditions of Germination we have to con- sider in detail the following :— i a. Temperature.—A certain range ie cae is essen- tial to the sprouting of a seed.—Gippert, who experiment- ed with numerous seeds, observed none to genres be- low 39°. Sachs has ascertained for various agricultural seeds the extreme limits of warmth at which germination is possi- ble. The lowest temperatures range from 41° to 55°, the highest, from 102° to 116°. Below the minimum temper- ature a ceed preserves its vitality, above the maximum it is killed. He finds, likewise, that the point at which the most rapid germination occurs is intermediate between these two extremes, and lies between 79° and 93°, Either elevation or reduction of temperature from these degrees retards the act of sprouting. . In the following table are given the special tempera- tures for six common plants. 7 GERMINATION. 313 Lowest _ Highest Temperature of most a Temperature. Temperature. rapid Germination. Wheat, 41° F. 104° F. 84° FF. Barley, 41. 104, 84. Pea, 44.5 102. 84. Maize, 48. 115. 93. Scarlet-bean, 49. ett : Squash, 54. Talay 98. For all agricultural plants cultivated in New England, a range of temperature of from 55° to 90° is adapted for healthy and speedy germination. It will be noticed in the above Table that the seeds of plants introduced into northern latitudes from tropical re- gions, as the squash, bean, and maize, require and endure _ higher temperatures than those native to temperate lati- tudes, like wheat and barley. The extremes given above are by no means so wide as would be found were we to experiment with other plants. It is probable that some seeds will germinate nearly at 32°, or the freezing point of water, while the cocoa-nut is said to yield seed- lings with greatest certainty when the heat of the soil is 120°. Sachs has observed that the temperature at which germination takes place materially influences the relative development of the parts, and thus the form of the seed- ling. According to this industrious experimenter, very _ low temperatures retard the production of new rootlets, buds, and leaves. The rootlets which are rudimentary in the embryo become, however, very long. On the other hand, very high temperatures cause the rapid formation of new roots and leaves, even before those existing in the germ are fully unfolded. The medium and most favora- ble temperatures bring the parts of the embryo first into development, at the same time the rudiments of new or- - gans are formed which are afterward to unfold. 6. Moisture.—A certain amount of moisture is indis- pensable to all growth. In germination it is needful that 14 $14 HOW CROPS GKOW. the seed should absorb water so that motion of the con- tents of the germ-cells can take place. Until the seed is more or less imbued with moisture, no signs of sprouting are manifested, and if a halfsprouted seed be allowed to dry the process of growth is effectually checked. The degree of moisture different seeds will endure or require is exceedingly various. The seeds of aquatic plants naturally germinate when immersed in water. The seeds of many land-plants, indeed, will quicken under wa- ter, but they germinate most healthfully when moist but not wet. Excess of water often causes the seed to rot. ce Oxygen Gas.—firee Oxygen, as contained in the air, is likewise essential. Saussure demonstrated by experi- ment that proper germination is impossible in its absence, and cannot proceed in an atmosphere of other gases. As we shall presently see, the chemical activity of oxygen appears to be the means of exciting the sieve of the embryo. qd. Light.—It has been taught that light is prejudicial to germination, and that therefore seed must be covered. (Johnston’s Lectures on Ag. Chem. & Geology, 2d Eng. Ed., pp. 226 & 227). When, however, we consider that nature does not bury seeds but scatters them on the sur- face of the ground of forest and prairie, where they are, at the most, halfcovered and by no means removed from the light, we cannot accept such a doctrine. The warm and moist forests of tropical regions, which, though shaded, are by no means dark, are covered with sprouting seeds. The gardener knows that the seeds of heaths, calceolarias, and some other ornamental plants, germinate best when uncovered, and the seeds of common agricultural plants will sprout when placed on moist sand or saw-dust, with apparently no less readiness than when buried out of sight, Finally, R. Hoffmann (Jahresbericht tiber Agricyltup Chem., 1864, p. 110) has found in experiments with 24 GERMINATION, - 315 kinds of agricultural seeds that light exercises no appreci- able influence of any kind on germination. The Time required for Germination varies exceedingly according to the kind of seed. As ordinarily observed, the fresh seeds of the willow begin to sprout within 12 hours after falling to the ground. Those of clover, wheat, and other grains, germinate in three to five days. The fruits of the walnut, pine, and larch, lie four to six weeks before sprouting, while those of some species of ash, beech, and maple, are said not to germinate before the expiration of 14 or 2 years. The starchy and thin-skinned seeds quicken most readi- ly. The oily seeds are in general more slow, while such as are situated within thick and horny envelopes require the longest periods to excite growth. The time necessary for germination depends naturally upon the favorableness of other conditions. Cold and drought delay the process, when they do not check it al- together. Seeds that are buried deeply in the soil may re- main for years, preserving, but not manifesting, their vital- ity, because they are either too dry, too cold, or have not sufficient access to oxygen to set the germ in motion. To speak with precision, we should distinguish the time from planting the dry seed to the commencement of germ- ination which is marked by the rootlet becoming visible, and the period that elapses until the process is complete, i. e., until the stores of the mother-seed are exhausted, and the young plant is wholly cast upon its own resources. _ At 41° F, in the experiments of Haberlandt, the rootlet issued after 4 days, in the case of rye, and in 5-7 days in that of the other grains and clover. The sugar-beet, how- ever, lay at this temperature 22 days before beginning to sprout. | At 51°, the time was shortened about one-half in cage of the seeds just mentioned. Maize required 11, kidney- beans 8, and tobacco 31 days at this temperature. 316 HOW CROPS GROW. At 65° the grains, clover, peas, and flax, began to sprout in one to two days; maize, beans, and sugar-beet, in 3 days, and tobacco in 6 days. : The time of completion varies with the temperature much more than that of beginning. It is, for example, ac- cording to Sachs, at 41— 55° for wheat and barley 40-45 days, “© 95-100° * 46 66 66 10-12 “ At a given temperature small seeds complete germina- tion much sooner than large ones. Thus at 55-60° the process is finished with beans in 30-40 days. With maize in 30-35 days. *t wheat “20-25 “ “Saetewer > 25-10, 1% These differences are simply due to the fact that the smaller seeds have smaller stores of nutriment for the young plant, and are therefore more quickly exhausted. Proper Depth of Sowing.—The soil is usually the me- dium of moisture, warmth, etc., to the seed, and it affects germination only as it influences the supply of these agencies; it is not otherwise essential to the process. The burying of seeds, when sown in the field or garden, serves to cover them away from birds and keep them from drying up. In the forest, at spring-time, we may see innumerable seeds sprouting upon the surface, or but half covered with decayed leaves. While it is the nearly universal result of experience in temperate regions that agricultural seeds germinate most surely when sown at a depth not exceeding 1-3 inches, there are circumstances under which a widely different practice is admissible or even essential. In the light and porous soil of the gardens of New Haven, peas may be sown 6 to 8 inches deep without detriment, and are thereby better secured from the ravages of the domestic pigeon. The Moqui Indians, dwelling upon the table Jands . . Pita’ ote : es: tee heal GERMINATION. 317 of the higher Colorado, deposit the seeds of maize 12 or 14 inches below the surface. Thus sown, the plant thrives, while, if treated according to the plan usual in the United States and Europe, it might never appear above ground. The reasons for such a procedure are the follow- ing: The country is without rain and almost without dew. In summer the sandy soil is continuously parched by the sun at a temperature often exceeding 100° in the shade. It is only at the depth of a foot or more that the seed finds the moisture needful for its growth,—moisture furnished by the melting of the winter snows.* R. Hoffmann, experimenting in a light, loamy sand, upon 24 kinds of agricultural and market-garden seeds, found that all perished when buried 12 inches. When planted 10 inches deep, peas, vetches, beans, and maize, alone came up; at 8 inches there appeared, besides the above, wheat, millet, oats, barley, and colza; at 6 inches those already mentioned, together with winter colza, buckwheat, and sugar-beets; at 4 inches of depth the above, and mustard, red and white clover, flax, horseradish, hemp, and turnips ; finally, at 3 inches, lucern also appeared. Hoffmann states that the deep-planted seeds generally sprouted most quickly, and all early differences in development disap- peared before the plants blossomed. On the other hand, Grouven, in trials with sugar-beet seed, made, most probably, in a well-manured and rather heavy soil, found that sowing at a depth of 2 to 1} inches, gave the earliest and strongest plants; seeds deposited at a depth of 24 inches required 5 days longer to come up than those planted at 2 in. It was further shown that - seeds sown shallow in a fine wet clay required 4-5 days longer to come up than those placed at the same depth in the ordinary soil. Not only the character of the soil, which influences the * For these interestinz facts the writer is indebted to Prof. J. 8S. Newberry. 318 HOW CROPS GROW. supply of air, and warmth; but the kind of weather, which determines both temperature and degree of moist- ure, have their effect upon the time of germination, and since these conditions are so variable, the rules of practice are laid down, and must be received with, a certain latitude. § 4. THE CHEMICAL PHYSIOLOGY OF GERMINATION. Ture Norrition or THE SrEDLING.—The young plant grows at first exclusively at the expense of the seed. It may be aptly compared to the suckling animal, which, when new-born, is incapable of providing its own nourish- ment, but depends upon the milk of its mother. The Nutrition of the Seedling falls into three processes, which, though distinct in character, proceed simultaneous- ly. These are, 1, Solution of the Nutritive Matters of the Cotyledons or Endosperm ; 2, Transfer ; and 3, As- similation of the same. 1. The Act of Solution has no difficulty in case of dex- trin, gum, the sugars, albumin, and casein. The water which the seed imbibes to the extent of one-fourth to five-fourths of its weight, at once dissolves them. It is otherwise with the fats or oils, with starch and with gluten, which, as such, are nearly or altogether insol- uble in water. In the act of germination provision is made for transforming these bodies into the soluble ones above mentioned. So far as these changes have been traced, they are as follows: — Solution of Fate.—Sachs has recently found that squash- seeds, which, when ripe, contain no starch, sugar, or dex- trin, but are very rich in oil (50°|,,) and albuminoids | | i “ GERMINATION. 319 (40°|,) suffer by germination such chemical change that the oil rapidly diminishes in quantity (nine-tenths disappears;) while at the same time starch, and, in some cases, sugar, is Jormed. (Vs. St., III, p. 1. ) Solution of Starch.—The starch that. is thus eed from the fat of the oily seeds, or that which exists ready- formed in the farinaceous (floury) seeds, undergoes further changes, which have been previously alluded to (p. 78), whereby it is converted into substances that are soluble in water, viz., dextrin and grape or cane sugar. Solution of Albuminoids.—Finally, the insoluble al- buminoids are g¥adually transformed into soluble modifi- cations. Chemistry of Malt,—The preparation and properties of malt may serve to give an insight into the nature of _ the chemical metamorphoses that have just been indicated. The preparation is in this wise. Barley or wheat (sometimes rye) is soaked in water until the kernels are soft to the fingers; then it is drained and thrown up in heaps. The masses of soaked grain shortly dry, become heated, and in a few days the embryos send forth their radicles. The heaps are shoveled over, and spread out so as to avoid too great a rise of temperature, and when the sprouts are about half an inch in length, the germination is checked by drying. The dry mass, after removing the sprouts (radicles,) is malt, such as is used in the manufac- ture of beer. Malt thus consists of starchy seeds whose germination has been checked while in its early stages. The only prod- uct of the beginning growth—the sprouts—being remov- ed, it exhibits in the residual seed the first results of the process of solution. The following figures, derived from the researches of Stein, in Dresden, ( Wilda’s Centralblatt, 1860, 2, pp. 8- 23,) exhibit the composition of 100 parts of Barley, and 320 HOW CROPS GROW. of the 92 parts of Malt, and the 24 of Sprouts which 100 parts of barley yield.* Composition of Go eee seit Barley. Malt. Sprouts. Ash.y 224 Soi S. See ore eee 2.42 2.11 0.29 SLATGH wep omg pation ee eeeigeee see 54.48 47.43 Watt ocd arts oles see ee eens = 3.56 2.09 0.08 Insoluble Albuminoids.........-. 11.02 9.02 0.37 Soluble % side ets eats 1.26 1.96 0.40 iDextrims:. . 24052 seco BEEBE cic 6.50 6.95 Extractive Matters (soluble in wa- 0.47 ter and destitute of nitrogen)... 0.90 3.68 Cellalose ink nie eee eee 19.86 18.76 0.89 100 92 2.5 It is seen from the above statement that starch, fat, and insoluble albuminoids, have diminished in the malting process; while soluble albuminoids, dextrin, and other soluble non-nitrogenous matters, have somewhat increased in quantity. With exception of 3°|, of soluble “ extractive matters,” | the diversities in composition between barley and malt are not striking. The properties of the two are, however, remarkably dif- ferent. If malt be pulverized and stirred in warm water (155° F.) for an hour or two, the whole of the starch dis- appears, while sugar and dextrin take its place. The former is recognized by the sweet taste of the wort, as the solution is called. On heating the wort to boiling, a quantity of albumin is coagulated, and may be separated by filtering. This comes in part from the transformation of the insoluble albuminoids of the barley. On adding * The analyses refer to the materials in the dry state. Ordinarily they con- tain from 10 to 16 per cent of water. It must not be omitted to mention that the proportions of malt and sprouts, as well as their composition, vary somewhat according to circumstances; and furthermore, the best analyses which it is pos- sible to make are but approximate. + The term extractive matters is here applied to soluble substances, whose precise nature is not understood. They constitute a mixture which the chemist is not able to analyze. GERMINATION, 321 to the filtered liquid its own bulk of alcohol, dextrin be- comes evident, being precipitated as a white powder. Furthermore, if we mix 2—3 parts of starch with one of malt, we find that the whole undergoes the same change. An additional quantity of starch remains unaltered. The process of germination thus developes in- the seed an agency by which the conversion of starch into soluble carbohydrates is accomplished with great rapidity. Diastase.—Payen & Persoz attribute this action to a nitrogenous substance which they term Diastase, and which is found in the germinating seed in the vicinity of the embryo, but not in the radicles. They assert that one part of diastase is capable of transforming 2,000 parts of ‘starch, first into dextrin and finally into sugar, and that malt yields s3;th of its weight of this substance. A short time previous to the investigations of Payen & Persoz (1833,) Saussure found that Méucidin,* the soluble nitrogenous body which may be extracted from gluten (p. 101,) transforms starch in the manner above described, and it is now known that any albuminoid may produce the same effect, although the rapidity of the action and the amount of effect are usually far less than that exhibit- ed by the so-called diastase. In order, however, that the albuminoids may transform starch as above described, it is doubtless necessary that they themselves enter into a state of alteration; they are in part decomposed and disappear in the process. These bodies thus altered become ferments. It must not be forgotten, however, that in all cases in which the conversion of starch into dextrin and sugar is accomplished artificially, an elevated temperature is re- quired, whereas in the natural process,as shown in the * Saussure designated this pody mucin, but this term being established as the name of the characteristic ingredient of animal mucus, Ritthausen hag replaced _ it by mucidin. 14* 922 HOW CROPS GROW. - germinating seed, the change goes on at ordinary or even low temperatures. It is generally taught that oxygen acting on the album- inoids in presence of water and within a certain range of temperature induces the decomposition which confers on them the power in question. The necessity for oxygen in the act of germination has been thus accounted for, as needful to the solution of the starch, etc., of the cotyledons. This may be true at first, but, as we shall presently see, the chief action of oxygen is probably of another kind. How diastase or other similar substances accomplish the change in question is not certainly known. Soluble Starch.—The conversion of starch into sugar and dextrin is thus in a sense explained. This is not, how- ever, the only change of which starch is susceptible. In the bean, (Phaseolus multifiorus), Sachs (Sitz- ungsberichte der Wiener Akad., XXXVI, 57) in- forms us that the starch of the cotyledons is dissolved, passes into the seedling, and reappears (in part, at least) as starch, without conver- sion into dextrin or sugar, as these substances do not appear in the cotyledons during any period of germina- tion, except in small quantity near the joining of the seedling. Compare p. 64, Unorganized Starch. The same authority gives the following account of © the microscopic changes observed in the starch-grains themselves, as they undergo solution. The starch-grains of the bean have a narrow interior cavity, (as seen in fig. 65, 1.) This at first becomes filled with a liquid. a eee te ees 4 tc GERMINATION. tee - Next, the cavity appears enlarged (2,) its borders assume a corroded appearance (3, 4,) and frequently channels are seen extending to the surface (4, 5, 6.) Finally, the cavity becomes so large, and the channels so extended, that the starch-grain falls to pieces (7, 8.) Solution con- tinues on the fragments until they have completely disap- — peared. In this process it.is most probable that the starch assumes the liquid form without loss of its proper chemi- cal characters, though it ceases to strike a blue color with lodine.* ; Soluble Albuminoids.—As we have seen (p. 104,) in- soluble animal fibrin and casein, by long keeping with imperfect access of air, pass into soluble bodies, and lat- terly E. Mulder has shown that diastase rapidly accom- plishes the same change. It would appear, in fact, that the conversion of a small quantity of any albuminoid into a ferment, by oxidation, is sufficient to render the whole soluble. ‘The ferment exerts on the bodies from which it is formed, an action similar to that manifested by it to- wards starch and other carbohydrates. The production of small quantities of acetic and lactic acids (the acids of vinegar and of sour milk) has been observed in germination. These acids perhaps assist in the solution of the albuminoids. Gaseous Products of Germination, — Before leaving this part of our subject, it 1s proper to notice some other results of germination which have been thought to belong to the process of solution. On referring to the table of the composition of malt, we find that 100 parts of dry barley yield 92 parts of malt and 24 of sprouts, leaving + parts unaccounted for. In the malting process 14 parts of the grain are dissolved in the water in which it is soaked. The remaining 4 parts escape into the atmos- phere in the gaseous form. * According to Licbig, this blue reaction depends upon the adhesion of the iodine to the starch, and is not the result of 4 chemical combination. O24 HOW CROPS GROW. Of the elements that assume the gaseous condition, car- bon does so to the greatest extent. It unites with atmos- pheric oxygen (partly with the oxygen of the seed, ac- cording to Oudemans) producing carbonic acid gas (CO,,.) Hydrogen is likewise separated, partly in union with oxygen, as water (H,O), but to some degree in the free state. Free nitrogen appears in considerable amount, (Schulz, Jour. fir Prakt. Chem., 87, p. 163,) while very minute quantities of Hydrogen and of Nitrogen combine to gaseous ammonia (NH...) Heat developed in Germination. — These chemical changes, like all processes of oxidation, are accompanied with the production of heat. The elevation of tempera- ture may be imperceptible in the germination of a single seed, but it nevertheless occurs, and is doubtless of much importance in favoring the life of the young plant. The heaps of sprouting grain seen in the malt-house warm so rapidly and to such an extent, that much care is requisite to regulate the process ; otherwise the malt is damaged by over-heating. ; 2. The Transfer of the Nutriment of the Seedling from the cotyledons or endosperm where it has undergone solution, takes place through the medium of the water which the seed absorbs so largely at first. This water fills the cells of the seed, and, dissolving their contents, carries them into the young plant as rapidly as they are required. The path of their transter lies through the point where the embryo is attached to the cotyledons ; thence they are distributed at first chiefly downwards into the extending radicles, after a little while both down- wards and upwards toward the extremities of the seedling. Sachs has observed that the carbohydrates (sugar and dextrin) occupy the cellular tissue of the rind and pith, which are penetrated by numerous air-passages; while at first the albuminoids chiefly diffuse themselves through - GERMINATION. ae the intermediate cambial tissue, which is destitute of air- passages, and are present in largest relative quantity at the extreme ends of the rootlets and of the plumule. In another chapter we shall notice at length the phenom- ena and physical laws which govern the diffusion of liq- uids into each other and through membranes similar to those which constitute the walls of the cells of planis, and there shall be able to gather some idea of the causes which set up and maintain the transfer of the materials of the seed into the infant plant. 3. Assimilation is the conversion of the transferred nutri- ment into the substance of the plant itself. This process involves two stages, the first being a chemical, the second, a structural transformation. The chemical changes in the embryo are, in part, simply the reverse of those which occur in the cotyledons; viz., the soluble and structureless proximate principles are met- amorphosed into the insoluble and organized ones of the same chemical composition. Thus, dextrin may pass into cellulose, and the soluble albuminoids may revert in part to the insoluble condition in which they existed in the ripe seed. But many other and more intricate changes proceed in in the act of assimilation. With regard to a few of these we have some imperfect knowledge. Dr. Sachs informs us that when the embryo begins to grow, its expansion at first consists in the enlargement of the ready-formed cells. As a part elongates, the starch which it contains (or which is formed in the early stages of this extension), disappears, and sugar is found in its stead, dissolved in the juices of the cells. When the organ has attained its full size, sugar can no longer be detected; while the walls of the cells are found to have grown both in cireumference and thickness, thus indicating the accumu- lation of cellulose. 326 HOW CROPS GROW. Oxygen Gas needful to Assimilation.—Traube has made some experiments, which seem to prove conclusively that the process of assimilation requires free oxygen to surround and to be absorbed by the growing parts of the germ. This observer found that newly-sprouted pea-seedlings continued to develope in a normal manner when the cot- yledons, radicles, and lower part of the stem, were with- drawn from the influence of oxygen by coating with var- nish or oil, On the other hand, when the tip of the plumule, for the length of about an inch, was coated with oil thickened with chalk, or when by any means this part of the plant was withdrawn from contact with free oxygen, the seedling ceased to grow, withered, and shortly perish- ed. Traube observed the elongation of the stem by the following expedient. A young pea-plant was fastened by the cotyledons to a rod, and the stem and rod were both graduated by deli- cate cross-lines, laid on at equal intervals, by means of a brush dipped in a mixture of oil and indigo. The growth of the stem was now manifest by the widening of the spaces between the lines; and by comparison with those on the rod, Traube remarked that no growth took place at a distance of more than 10-12 lines from the base of the terminal bud. Tere, then, is a coincidence which appears to demonstrate that free oxygen must have access to a growing part. The fact is further shown by varnishing one side of the stem of a young pea. The varnished side ceases to extend, the uncoated portion continues enlarging, which results in, and is shown by, a curvature of the stem. Traube further indicates in what manner the elabora- tion of cellulose from sugar may require the codperation of oxygen and evolution of carbonic acid, as expressed by the subjoined equation. Glucose. Oxygen. Carbonic Acid. Water. Cellulose. 2 (Cy. Hay, Oj2) + 340 = 12 (CO2) te 14 (H,0) + Ci2 Heo Oro. FOOD AFTER GERMINATION. Teel When the act of germination is finished, which occurs as soon as the cotyledons and endosperm are exhausted of all their soluble matters, the plant begins a fully inde- pendent life. Previously, however, to being thus thrown upon its own resources, it has developed all the organs needful to collect its food from without; it has unfolded its perfect leaves into the atmosphere, and pervaded a por- tion of soil with its rootlets. - During the latter stages of germination it gathers its nutriment both from the parent seed and from the exter- nal sources which afterward serve exclusively for its sup- port. Being fully provided with the apparatus of nutrition, its development suffers no check from the exhaustion of the mother seed, unless it has germinated in a sterile soil, or under other conditions adverse to vegetative life. CHAPTER IL ae THE FOOD OF THE PLANT WHEN INDEPENDENT OF THE SEED. This subject will be sketched in this place in but the briefest outlines. To present it fully would necessitate entering into a detailed consideration of the Atmosphere and of the Soil whose relations to the Plant, those of the soil especially, are very numerous and complicated. A separate volume is therefore required for the adequate treatment of these topics. The Roots of a plant, which are in intimate contact with the soil, absorb thence the water that fills the active 328 HOW CROPS GROW. cells; they also imbibe such salts as the water of the soil holds in solution; they likewise act directly on the soil, and dissolve substances, which are thus first made of avail to them. The compounds that the plant must derive from the soil are those which are found in its ash, since these are not volatile, and cannot, therefore, exist in the atmos- phere. The root, however, commonly takes up some other elements of its nutrition to which it has immediate access. Leaving out of view, for the present, those matters which, though found in the plant, appear to be unessential to its growth, viz., silica, soda and manganese, the roots absorb the following substances, viz. : Sulphates ] ( Potash. Phosphates i SpAGimMe: Nitrates and f of 1 Maenesia and Chlorides { Tron. These salts enter the plant by the absorbent surfaces of the younger rootlets, and pass upwards through the active portions of the stem, to the leaves and to the new-forming buds. nite The Leaves, which are unfolded to the air, gather from it Carbonic Acid Gas. This compound suffers decompo- sition in the plant; its Carbon remains there, its Oxygen or an equivalent quantity, very nearly, is thrown off into the air again. The decomposition of carbonic acid takes place only by day and under the influence of the sun’s light. From the carbon thus acquired and the elements of wa- ter with the codperation of the ash-ingredients, the plant organizes the Carbohydrates. Probably glucose, perhaps dextrin or soluble starch, are the first products of this synthesis. The formation of carbohydrates appears to proceed in the chlorophyll-cells of the leaf. The Albuminoids require for their production the pres- ence of a compound of Witrogen. The salts of Nitric FOOD AFTER GERMINATION, 329 Acid (nitrates) are commonly the chief, and may be the only supply of this element. The other proximate principles, viz. pectose, the fats, the alkaloids, and the acids, are built up from the same food-elements. In all cases the steps in the construc- tion of organic matters are unknown to us, or subjects of uncertain conjecture. The carbohydrates, albuminoids, etc., that are organized in the foliage, are not only transformed into the solid tis- sues of the leaf, but descend and diffuse to every active organ of the plant. The plant has within certain limits a power of selecting its food. The sea-weed, as has been remarked, contains more potash than soda, although the latter is 30 times more abundant than the former in the water of the ocean. Vegetation cannot, however, entirely shut out either ex- cess of nutritive matters or bodies that are of no use or even poisonous to it. The functions of the Atmosphere are essentially the. same towards plants, whether growing under the condi- tions of aqueculture, or under those of agriculture. The Soil, on the other hand, has offices which are peculiar to itself. We have seen that the roots of a plant have the power to decompose salts, e. g. nitrate of potash and chloride of ammonium (p. 170,) in order to appropriate one of their ingredients, the other being rejected. In aqueeculture, the experimenter must have a care to re- move the substance which would thus accumulate to the detriment of the plant. In agriculture, the soil, by virtue of its chemical and physical qualities, renders such reject- ed matters comparatively insoluble, and therefore innoc- uous. The Atmosphere is nearly invariable in its composition at all times and over all parts of the earth’s surface. Its ‘power of directly feeding crops has, therefore, a natural limit, which cannot be increased by art. 330 HOW CROPS GROW. The Soil, on the other hand, is very variable in compo- sition and quality, and may be enriched and improved, or deteriorated and exhausted. From the Atmosphere the crop can derive no appreci- able quantity of those elements that are found in its Ash. In the Soil, however, from the waste of both plants and animals, may accumulate large supplies of all the elements of the Volatile part of Plants. Carbon, certainly in the form of carbonic acid, probably or possibly in the condi- tion of Humus (Vegetable Mould, Muck), may thus be put, as food, at the disposition of the plant. Nitrogen is chiefly furnished to crops by the soil. Nitrates are formed in the latter from various sources, and ammonia-salts, to- gether with certain proximate animal principles, viz., urea, guanin, tyrosin, uric acid and hippuric acid, likewise serve to supply nitrogen to vegetation and are ingredients of the best manures. It is, too, from the soil that the crop gathers all the Water it requires, which not only serves as the fluid medium of its chemical and structural metamorphoses, but likewise must be regarded as the ma- terial from which it mostly appropriates the Hydrogen and Oxygen of its solid components. § 2. THE JUICES OF THE PLANT, THEIR NATURE AND MOVEMENTS. Very erroneous notions are entertained with regard to the nature and motion of sap. It is commonly taught that there are two regular and opposite currents of sap circu- lating in the plant. It is stated that the “crude sap” is _ taken up from the soil by the roots, ascends through the wore MOTION OF THE JUICES, ool vessels (ducts) of the wood, to the leaves, there is concen- trated by evaporation, “elaborated” by the processes that go on in the foliage, and thence descends through the vessels of the inner bark, nourishing these tissues in its way down. The facts from which this theory of the sap first arose, all admit of a very different interpretation: while numerous considerations demonstrate the essential falsity of the theory itself. Flow of sap in the plant—not constant or necessary. -—We speak of the Flow of Sap as if a rapid current were incessantly streaming through the plant, as the blood circulates in the arteries and veins of an animal. This is ‘an erroneous conception. A maple in early March, without foliage, with its whole stem enveloped in a nearly impervious bark, its buds wrapped up in horny scales, and its roots surrounded by cold or frozen soil, cannot be supposed to have its sap in motion. Its juices must be nearly or absolutely at rest, and when sap runs copiously from an orifice made in the trunk, it is simply because the tissues are charged with water under pressure, which escapes at any outlet that may be opened for it. The sap is at rest until motion is caused by a perforation of the bark and new wood. So, too, when a plant in early leaf is situated in an atmosphere charged with moisture, as happens on a rainy day, there is little motion of its sap, although, if wounded, motion will be established, and water will stream more or less from all parts of the plant towards the cut. Sap does move in the plant when evaporation of water goes on from the surface of the foliage. This always hap- _pens whenever the air is not saturated with vapor. When. - a wet cloth hung out, dries rapidly by giving up its “moisture to the air, then the leaves of plants lose their _ water more or less readily, according to the nature of the foliage. Mr. Lawes found that in the moist climate of England Pe aid *~ Soe HOW CROPS GROW. common plants (Wheat, Barley, Beans, Peas, and Clover), exhaled during 5 months of growth, more than 200 times their (dry) weight of water. The water that thus evap- orates from the leaves is supplied by the soil, and en- tering the roots, rapidly streams upwards through the stem as long as a waste is to be supplied, but ceases when evaporation from the foliage is checked. The upward motion of sap is therefore to a great de- gree independent of the vital processes, and comparatively unessential to the welfare of the plant. Flow of sap from the plant. “ Bleeding.’’—It is a familiar fact, that from a maple tree “tapped” in spring- time, or from a grape-vine wounded at the same season, a copious flow of sap takes place, which continues for a num- ber of weeks. The escape of liquid from the vine is com- monly termed “bleeding,” and while this rapid issue of sap is thus strikingly exhibited in comparatively few cases, bleeding appears to be a universal phenomenon, one that may occur, at least, to some degree, under certain con- ditions with every plant. The conditions under which sap flows are various, ac- cording to the character of the plant. Our perennial trees have their annual period of active growth in the warm season, and their vegetative functions are nearly suppressed during cold weather. As spring approaches the tree renews its growth, and the first evidence of change within is furnished by its bleeding when an opening is made through the bark into the young wood. | <1 & - |S SS = hee i Substance. Ss Se 218 S s as RE g iS Si SsiG IS ISISIN IRS 1a1s I.—_MEADOW HAY AND GRASSES. | Meadow ayig.2 5.2.05. 563-2 13 | '%.'78)25.6] 7.0] 4.9/11.6] 6.2] 5.1]29.6] 8.0 2) YOUNG IOTASS aa tdcb ew ce ches 1 | 9.382)56.2} 1.8} 2.8/10.7/10.5) 4.0)10.3) 2.0 8|Dead ripe hay............... 1 | 7.%3] 7.6] 2.9] 3.4/12.9] 4.4) 0.7/63.1) 5.% 4) Rye grass in flower.......... 4 | %.10)24.9| 4.2] 2.1] 7.5] 7.8] 3.8)39.6) 5.4 5/Timothy ........ Bh Paes 3 | 7.01)28.8] 2.7] 38.7) 9.4|10.8) 3.9)35.6) 5.0 6 Other sweet grasses......... 39 | 7.27/83.0) 1.8) 2.6) 5.5) 7.8) 4.4/37.6) 4.1 "| Oats, heading out........... 6 | 9.46/41.7| 4.4) 3.5) 7.0] 8.3) 3.4'97.9) 4.4 Si ie Howerc! feo lees. % | 7.23/39.0| 3.3] 3.2] 6.7] 8.3 2.7/33.2 4.0 9| Barley, heading out..... .eee| 5 | 8.93/88.5] 1.%| 2.9} 7.0)10.1) 2.9)81-2) 5.6 10) ee im tONy Cty ey sect 5 | %.04/26.2!) 0.6] 3.1] 6.0} 9.8) 2.9)48.0) 3.5 11)Winter wheat, heading out..} 2 | 9.73/84.'7) 1.9) 1.5) 4.9) %.4) 2.8/41.9) 5.3 2 IP aetahae er in flower. 22.2 8 | 6.99/25.7] 0.5] 2.2) 8.1] 7.3) 1.9)56.8] 2.8 13) Winter Rye, heading out....| 1 | 5.42)38.6) 0.3) 3.1] 7.4)14.7) 1.6/32.0) ... 14/Green Cereals, light........, 5 | '7.20/29.6| 1.5] 3.9] 6.6] 9.1) 4.1/41.4) 4.3 = os ee Hen eee eRe 5 | 9.21/35.6] 8.4! 4.7 8.3] 8.1) 4.8/380.0) 5.6 ungarian millet, green, Cea ise ee Mt) | %.28/37.4 8.0)10.8| 5.4] 3.6/29.1) 6.4 II.—CLOVER AND FODDER PLANTS. . PiiRed clover. 22s. yssacese ese 56 | 6.%2/84.5] 1.6/12.2/34.0] 9.9] 3.0] 2.%| 3.7 a. 15-25 percent potash...... 15 | 6.01/20.8] 1.9/18.2/39.7| 9.4) 3.8} 1.2] 5.4 6..25-35 "SS See eek ee 23 | 6.74)29.8] 1.6/11.8/35.6)10.6) 3.0] 2.7) 2.9 C.135-00 1s Baht Noe ir 18 | 7.19/46.3] 1.4] %.8/27.3) 9.2) 2.2) 2.5) 3.2 IS) White clovetiss: s.222 Soca 2 | %.16/17.5) '7.8)10.0/32.2/14.1] 8.8) 4.5) 3.2 19|Lucern...... seecccecwcscccce| S| %.14195.3|.1.1| 5.8/48:0) SD sos aeleeG 20 Hsparseite 23.0) Fest ie 2 | 5.39/39.4| 1.7] 5.8/32.2/10.4| 3.3] 4.0) 3.0 21|\Swedish clover.............. 2 | 5.53/33.8] 1.5)15.3/31.9/10.1) 4.0) 1.2) 2.8 22| Anthyllés vulneraria.......-.. 1 | 5.60)10.3] 4.5] 4.6/68.9} 7.0} 1.6) 2.9) 0.2 23/Green Vetches...........--. 2 | 8.74/42.1) 2.9) 6.8/26.3/12.8) 3.7) 1.8) 3.1 24/Green pea, in flower........ 1 | 7.40/40.8) 0.2 8.2/28.7 13.2) 3.5] 2.6) 1.8 25,Green rape, young..... .... 5 | 8.97/82.3] 3.8] 4.5/23.1] 8.7/16.3] 3.2) 7.6 * From Prof. Wolff's Miétilere Zusammensetzung der Asche, aller land- und Sorstwirthschaftlichen wichtigen Stoffe, Stuttgart, 1865. @The above Table being more complete and in most particulars more exact than the author’s means of reference enable him to construct, and being moreover likely to be the basis of calculations by agricultural chemists abroad for some years to come, has been reproduced here literally. The references and important explanations accom- panying the original, want of space precludes quoting. In the table, oxide of iron, an ingredient normally present to the extent of less than one per cent, is omitted. Chlorine is often omitted, not because absent from the plant, but from uncertainty as to its amount. Carbonic acid is also excluded in all cases for the sake of uniformity and facility of comparison. 376 APPENDIX. Ole COMPOSITION OF THE ASH OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS AND PRODUCTs. Aes : Ee a[ ESS ne = wai 3 Sie S a>! & 5 = Pal hes S'S S * § Substance. Ss $< E RS 5 8 ss SS 8 8 S “Ss 'S aS 5 aaie IS IBISIS Re 18ls Iil.—ROOT CROPS. GR OLAROCS 2 2.55.05 Lacon sends = es 31 | 8.'74/59.8] 1.6] 4.5] 2.3]19.1] 6.6] 2.3] 2.8 WATHICHOKES. 5.) .cc0 ceca cee ees + 1 | 5.16/65.4]....| 2.%| 3.5)16.0) 3.2] ...] 2.4 28| Beets ... -........ BASRA diate 15 | 6.86/53.1|14.8] 5.1) 4.6) 9.6) 3.3) 3.3] 6.6 POISHEA DEES... . os ..c05 ss ee sens 44 | 4.35/49.4| 9.6] 8.9) 6.3)14.3) 4.7] 3.5) 2.0 PAO MDEMTATAII S|. 85.5 cs\els'o; soe ais s .ajoe se 15 | 8.28/39.3/11.4| 3.9/10.4)13.3]14.3) 2.4) 4.1 SPM EOTEEEMN SF 5. cc iajsi0)0'e 25,0 + s:0,6 a0 2 | 7%.20/50.6| 3.8] 2.1/18.4/17.4) 6.0] 1.1) 6.4 SeeMba-DACAS. > ..sc.)s see's ob ss at 2 | %.68/51.2)'6.'7) 2.6] 9.7)15.3) 8.4] 0.5] 5.1 33) (C2150) ae eee eae 10 | 6.27/86.7/22.1) 5.3)10.7/12.5] 6.4) 2.0} 3.2 PAMCMICOEY.. <\oic50'<\cc sec =< -eeee| 7 | 5.21/40.4| 7.'7|6.3] 8.'7)14.5) 9.2) 6.1) 3.7 85|Sugar beet-headst.......... 1 | 4.03/29.6|24.4]11.0] 9.1]12.8] 7.6] 2.0} 0.5 IV.—LEAVES AND STEMS OF ROOT CROPS. 86|/Potatoes, August............ 8 | 8.92/14.5] 2.'7/16.8/39.0] 6.1] 5.6] 8.0] 4.6 37 Bb; October..c.2 32.22 1 | 5.12} 6.3] 0.8/22.6/46.2) 5.5] 5.5) 4.2] 3.0 PISIRCELBers sd osfc'ic alesse. sec se 15.96/29.1/21.0} 9.'7|11.4) 5.1) 7.4] 4.8)11.3 SOlSusar DCCs... acs. css. ete ss % 11'7.49|22.1/16.8]}18.3)19.7| 7.4] 8.0) 3.1] 5.7 AUVINATITN Ss feds cee. ot eds wees oo 16 |13.68)22.9| 7.8] 4.5/382.4] 8.9] 9.9) 3.8] 8.2 ALWohl-rabi..o..5 os. << BA 1 |16.87/14.4) 3.9) 4.0/33.3110.4/11.7)10.5] 3.9 PEO EEROUSY cio aioe Vice bets eatin es ® 113.57|14.1/23.1) 4.6/33.0] 4.7] 7.9] 5.6] 7.1 PE ANOHANG ON ceitielsiois sicid od ceva ais a's o's 1 |12.46/60.0) 0.7] 3.2)14.3} 9.0) 9.0) 1.0] 1.7 AACA DASE Beha t ete Sescis se we eid 10.81/48.6] 3.9} 3.3)15.3)15.8] 8.5) 1.2) 2.5 45|Cabbage stalk............... 1 | 6.46/43.9| 5.5) 4.1)11.3/20.9/11.8] 1.11 1.2 V.—REFUSE AND MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS. 46|Sugar beet cake............. % | 3.15/36.6| 8.4] 5.6/25.3/10.2| 3.9] 6.2] 4.8 a. Common cake........ ... 2 | 3.03/25.0)12.7).... 127.2/12.9) 5.8]....)13.0 b. ae a a a eee 2 | 3.53/85.3) 9.4/11.8/27.9] 6.0] 2.3)....] 0.9 c. Residue from Centrifuga » ~ Pane Sk DSi 00/4525) 9.8528. |25.3113.0] 6:5). 5 ce. 4%|Beet molasses............... 8 |11.28/71.1|10.5} 0.4) 6.0] 0.5] 2.1] 0.'7/10.1 48|Molasses slump }............ 1 |19.02} 89.8 0.9 OL Tea eG 49)Raw beet sugar.............. 1 | 1.43/33.3/28.0]....] 8.5]..../22.9] 0.9) 5.8 50\/Potato slumpf.............. 1 |11.10/46.3] 6.6] 8.8} 6.2/20.0) 7.3) 3.4) 2.1 51/Potato fiber |...... Ne ce SRE 4 | 0.99}15.6]....| %.6/47.8/23.9)....| 3.1) 1.3 52| Potatojuice Ws 50.5 2: =) 2 |23.45/69.5)....| 3.5). 1.0]16.3) 3.6) 0.1) 7.5 & 53\Potatoiskins $2.5... .. 05. 9.59)72.0) 0.7] 6.7) 9.6) 3.4] 0.4) 2.7) 2.1 54|/Fine wheat flour............ 1 | 0.47/36.0) 0.9) 8.2) 2.8/52.0)....)....].... BRECON OMY 5 25:5 She Hae Gasdaia ales 1 | 1.97/38.4!-1.8] 8.0] 1.0/48.3)....]....].... 56|/Barley flour..........-..--0- 1 | 2.33/28.8] 2.5)18.5) 2.8/47%-3) 3.1)....].... 57|Barley dust **.............:-| 1-| 5.62/18.9) 1.4] 7.7) 2.5)28.9)....|20.0 58|Maize meal.............2+06- 1 |.... [28.8] 8.5}14.9| 6.3/45.0]....|....].... 59|Millet meal.................. 1 | 1.35)19.%) 2.3/25.8].... 147.38) 2.71.2 5) 00. 60|Buckwheat grits............. 2 | 0.72/25.4) 5.9/12.9] 2.3/48.1] 1.7)....] 1.6 61)Wheat bran..:.:... ....---. 1 | 6.43/24.0) 0.6)16.8} 4.7/51.8]... | 1.1).... GAVRVGUDTAN cle siiw cence ses ecco 1 | 8.22/27.0} 1.3)15.8] 3.5/47.9)....)....].... 63\Brewer’s grains............. 2 | 5.17) 4.2) 0.8/10.1/11.6/38.0} 0.8]82.2).... Mee ete, Oot siis soo Nas ace sce ee ae Po) 2.98/1'7.3) 22...) 8.41 358'86.5). 2.188. 212... 65|Malt sprouts................ 1 | 6.56/34.9)....] 1.4) 1.5/21.0| 6.3)29.5).... 66)Wine grounds............... 1 | 4.60/53.4) 0.5) 3.2/15.5)15.5) 7.8)....) 0.5 67|Grape skins................. 2 | 4.04/49.4| 2.2) 6.1/13.0/20.8| 4.4) 3.5) 0.6 HG CRU ee cc sawed coe ee tn cs ga eer 37.5] 7.8] 4.9} 2.2/382.7)....|10.2).... 69/Grape must.............-... GR Sisee 62.8} 0.9) 5.6) 4.9)17.7) 6.5) 1.3) 0.6 MO MApe CAKC, =. ssc cce eee cs ce. 2 | 6.59/24.3] 0.1111.5/10.9!386.91 3.3! 8.71 0.2 * White turnips in the original, but apparently no special kind. + Probably the crowns of the roots, removed in sugar-making. ing and distilling off the spirit. t+ The residue after ferment- || Refuse of starch manufacture. { Undiluted. § From boiled potatoes. ** Refuse in making barley grits. HOW CROPS GROW. COMPOSITION OF THE ASH OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS AND PRODUCTS. 378 CAEN co eee oe on eee tars THO Mt H10 er | SO «HOt wo Hh TARR riH oH se COM oe . . “BU2LOIYO ee vos REC Si ead 100319 t= Gt ak Seneareres tI tt sO1g Nos RRSWSS toe 119 xi ; RM aeanot te TR Cty SEN eS aaa : pe beak arpa 5 Sibete ones) cle OI ne eae ee ee GU GR OD Spe CU. 1 SCD OPE Ea SH CI RS Am 9 art A We Tae 278 Ye) £9 00 410 69 0 o DOr ODO Nm O34 OD — 0) eee Mat SBE BBRROCVOOR ABS ESRA 4 RAP BATS "SRASEABSR TWTRG 7 79) HORT ES PaCS IEE Sowa rir pS eae OS Se OS SOS AS i se ee ei ee onunyding’ COR BQH HOD 691919 S 0919 19 *ROO RH IDM RNHRGRNS —§ AiO SHOWtHRRa Mois A ater "GOO OP | eq; COLORS SPCR eT NOON STS IG GS SSN OD Ne eel Sn fs er ee ae Poe ad -OYAsOYT| OBEBH* WHOSSTHOr Ere TENOR TOS Branco IND H RAD HOO RM OOO ,j reg Pir B onko REHAGRMAnGTHOR GCHAS BWHOMToanS BDBHASMWaacunaanaeg ny eae L 5 tO Hi OeRHOEOSEMEDHSES HRODMA Noi og oor OMAR OHO Ig IN SIn Se Toto iar) cs dl SSR RESSS MARSOC. ARSat aes. . Aerie et oe il ence 4 I Ss D> OD GOD 60 41S? DO HS 10 TD DO 19 OINEDO 0 O rtWOOM1019 HSH & 0910 S SS? OD GAD GLH © ROD OD D2soUDD TT 19 +H OH NDORNRNHIOM Minn WRNrarda 5 1G 19 & G19 19 S D RT ARON DH AOD HO 69 EB RODE : A 5 ary SO sp ope Onl toro yrougeyac) CO OIE GOLGRADE naan OY ene ree CRS Se aren Bie oe Dpos MF ROS sHigrisMONSH OH HOOT a AOS CL OR NS NOS eee casos -yspnog| & DOOR eo ee B rio Sane ASARCISIDH 93 BID DW QOD RID FIG SOROS rs HEaa E SS igi tedi tatunl. haces eatin cite: St beet cian eadae Ao CER AE ries AP g RABB BAAR ARABATHIRS puede kt) ar P ASR ft l= ORB iS ¢ Bana . C rH 619 CO QS A S oS HINO MrDMODOSONS -O 1 010 & yy | aSaS HSeseartGernsaee Fy BRRABS HEGERSHSS YH BASESERGKS SRB SSBS Lo quoodage Pec TQ THH10 1919191619 OOH to SAHKROO a aoe ee py Werte ao Heo rg sH - 0010 00 = ANN ‘sashnuy MMH pe RONMErOoOMNHMONH 7 ned H ORORRHARNY ,i DNONDOHHHAHRER Rotts o-on| & i a R a : bd a a A rnOR gio, ee Sa Pe = PED Loenoe 2 Biceeerats — 5G aeRO Le Re RR PPS BS Se ie eae Ree ese cp one mie Hee Sag yeeearke ge ees ee ee eee SSRs wi See ca Ke eee mee ewer nies) Pena hig © hoe Wate! eg Se tie. en me | Seen eee Dee oe ee ee OY eee Pe eae . = Ce . oe OBA eet i ke Siri Sie oe Via We a ee) ae SOE Br. Rar semen NRE ec ahi Tet ay bees eT i Seen ame Sant e 6 . a. oy ee 2S) 5 + 5 ake Sree en Ries ene oi fil ene) eae eg ip Pal ania nis! le eg UNel og ue gus nar ece: a meee ll ae a io os aaa re ae pany SA RIGS ei ae cise aparece ee tee Woe ee OTE tthe kee as Be eS SCAR Roe el gee cake Sane oe a es i pale late ay a ae eS eas aches! ee Po Oe dag aca eg PE See Bae Se ‘ mpg Si a he i MP eri ri eter a a Pite ig? Sees: | pee fel es RS Sasa eet OT Ih ec mee Rael ec 5 eteie Mee Mra ae 3 CaS aks fs Cee aE are on hdge 8 Fl «+ -o BYRSME See ith Geshe Ske ceactoee tle coins Mia. alin Gl oh nieea san ALN it pl sci} Saas aQee iia sxe hisole cate) get: Haan meee as bh yt ae Re e Gog eae heen oS Gree erate ae aire on) eS See Ney Ae Hin ee gate Gh nity targa crak oe a ate te 2S es tes yee aes aa (oS a Sanco o eee wees S aera Eats) tne ns see oe Pare tA eee hel go ke Ua, (oe | Beh CONSE IAN cn RN Sn ee eee fom} te 3 MOM OBO es tas Fe SOs ea hea Ba Ait doh i sg rhe ete te -SS 4h 5 SrnOs's evhaias 2 |P sass pheri:: i883 (iiige Ragwee i: eee t cedeee 7 iit: a é 5 5 ry Soo a! . . fen oS #O Ss . Sng Gael Hee D : 12a : oO Lge | a NaS aN MroSs4a Wy? in Oped QOOGm ig as Bm $ big w NVAovoo :S dguees mao ae bh. oggo SHEP eo Koto wog HOR DO HHHDS rac} Se Ours boa B o WAS ARR ERE esEcaa Bonesk KSkesses SSk6ao4,sotogy Fone rm OW O Bee eaaesSonsaoao anc Ss 4 my Om S SOO HDOOOVSMVOVOO DLS os BAEO EEERROSeRoOnEe Eakose EEREREEe Eeennmoeeeonem Emao - Ta & OD =H 19 65 t= OOS © GOD 19 6 & QD cor nm Q Bd sH 1d so = D MR oD oOorronoe ON rrr r CLELESZCELSAR SO OD BOO SSS5ESES5 SSSsssSserrais don nr nmnnninnnnnnninnr nanre 379 APPENDIX. Substance. X.—GRAINS AND SEEDS OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS. COMPOSITION OF THE ASH OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS AND PRODUCTS. SH SH 6 03 C3 rH OD OD 09 00 G3 Ht re timc ly NC, Ae) Ue HRery Cnt hcae "OS *ORNWNOMNMrr TMS DOSONDHOWAO Cae ep abe eg WL Met A ene Wee gs. Taek bw’ efee ele area eM) id vieklep ise. 0: nig se cee MeRTe, COM CSOGID +H (Ee NWAOIMWHO -OrmmR Ie hts oe TP a) ie Ape Sen a a ees ouy eee eh ee ier ee Lp iiventieteea AQneooen -NMnon oH HD 20 9 SH I OD 2 CO SH OD SrRNOPOD SO Hd HO O19 ND OD HH GH 419109 SHEAMHSOHMSOSHOAMSOSHSBSH MD RI TGRGSPRARRBBSFARABSRO CE OSTHOD adteWcS «© sr « et Wp) cre, a6, gla) skies eee) 10) ore; 0: Sy Oh A ey SM) oye ans, Mts iw Neo le) are AMA SCHHOOWMHOR mr © ROTH He Hes we: Jie! fe ieee ue Wet fe) Re ie ae. + *GQQQr WH O1O 10 OD SOPonndtaAonon 109 O35 SO GO 0919 019 TAG HN amlimhenlio! MCMIH OHH -sH - Nii) “a@) AC; Se) onda ple, gles Jas ae el IN AANSONAIMGSH ORNDARQGOBHOMS Co rd 8 ae oe ner orHnErwwtn Sip ei, ate (ot, Cw) fel aitany Delete wien Te SO rH GIG OD CD G2 SH SH G2 QHNM SOON He 5 6) OD mi HE HGR GO SD rH Qe OD SH 19 FM Se 41 SO SH GR 1G S65 09 HO 115 Gt GAH GIG 69 HGR SH SH HO DODDSOMNOG my SBAGSows sr TOD 4 SHG? OO 4 a) CMNWNWMD1INDQ SDOR 1D rAd &= SD &* OH So sH- 00 a Dacor a Eten ecm eee SE ie 2 Ore Er Erdtoddri = e MNHHAHANOnHHH i Fa at aes eg are Sears inte pceeRcoTEen” GR * &0 for Ae Aas a ag 5 ot a ot Toe | TES Rates a :a's Bee pers eo -oe eee =} | o ee 6S B EEaeteds po, @°seaeas pets Sos Bee oO ® ye 1 oe 5a, ee seins Ss Mo oes Bie a) 2 ®, 3* Ho a mo ee aE eas alates 19 19 19 SS 6 CO 6 CO 8H SOO Bs ee Be Os Oe Ite Op on fh on Doo oe Oe | Beech, body-wood.... kote MSRP Ges We dilate wise s ol lsieche chasis AGO Mulberry... 2.2... 20 sce lees IBiTehe)..o. se. 168 170 171 HOW CROPS GROW. ein CoMPOSITION OF THE ASH OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS AND PRODUCTS. “BU2ONYD “Dons! “P20 ss B00 -LOYC ne “BUT “pIsouboyy “pos "YSD)0T "ys LO Ul00LAT “sashjnUy f0 ‘ON Substance. ‘ON XIII.—WOoD. TAM Ge eH Od CO te £1 GS GAH CO Do. 6 eee Oe ae fee eo W ew oA! an, Seco :mooesd idSHSSS Sao Seta tnweSeses er see Terrie al One we eg. Seti, ipl ve Sea Ot Oo dae Ot) allo sis tor) PRY O -RQNiQ ri st Od 0 OO Od Sots ee 8 a ee we 8 le ene, eee re, SAA 3H rHODIN HIN RAD ODA CCD 1G GD = GUA H OGD > O40 OO TH 1G S 4 OP.AD SO HOD WH HAD 1G 16 29 Qn Denson tn aaaSanas WQHOtd DOPE AnNEOSOr SES Ee eas LU SOs ose". amrie-h eh ie te” ie re tee ae) lqathite (ite ehcs em Chin Ce BLP RY Yaemrt Fomine Gaied \ooa( Fae Peel aes ans hear] owe PS UD IGUGD SE) AGO Saas ES Nr OOH Od OH rH OD © GW OD 19 HS O32 1G Ht SH 19 1G 19 AG Yen rel pent yen ienrl beet yeah ant QOD 4 ralaabesl 10 10 spi 8 el ess: a S219 Hr Ge mre Be Ge oe Sar 8 * As noOoocoo MnNQnnNMM NANA NMANNNOonT ane” | Ae he oe niapia yn ga ame ames Gat eae Aes ion arene i rSegoae Omari ast Meet iaete ses) Saskia: SS ene ed ee es Ut aN eh Srahenviaetriy . seetes Oi De htralitnyit= [seen On aC Taga 2 Ga ee Se cecpee Ge of a Sao Me Me, fet ws m° Seo bf, . 2S 84 PY way eee Oca oa he ac a Oo wi SPae Pes. 5 ter she ches Ee -o8s ae Geer qa Maat see °0,0 52 bp (SPIRO ON SO =| S ep G Og age 9 ia ic EN SURIG mice bret a “cain sp oe eo 2 ra Lem ik ae 4 ALE Ae Ay Ed Sa es =| BEDS eo CF iagea ft ee eRee rs Satae:: go OPO SERRE 88 oho ig Ow o nm ASS os errs Sate Pep ord Rae ees Sauk Oo s* OF ODOR AVS As m Oo BHESPaeodmeey Gv (eoKor) Ore COT OSCE LES RR BODODDD Ss On On Oe Do fo OO oe Oo Oo | Geo & [oe pares ere te Brew O18 4 69 OD TH ERED COD OO nnn coonnse Oo HO ODO © 6019 9D POM irae 6 2 OD 4 DOO SH GO te IG HONSRBAD SiIDSELESSDS RNRROGRNOrOW Ot inde NOON egal eee re. NOHoOMoOd oH ehiCangele ° non @ ES BS moo GU OD G2 oe, fr id ah te Come) eC at PET * 8 © © @ ._ 8 © © @ by Oy see Jon Ve Pees wa 6. be 6 al eh ae fe fess ac ie . 8 © 6 «@ ov on 82 Jomo er Nev te else Horse-chestnut, young, a be ae oe eo ae pioe ig ae. is} i=] ‘> oD eo So ae aes = shaves Cone a seem Fe ee (Ot by pai ta) DS SG? SS Ss G3 Sd bor oes os Or Oe Oo OO Oe | APPENDIX. TABLE ILI. 381 COMPOSITION OF FRESH OR AIR-DRY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, giving the average quantity of Water,-Sulphur, Ash, and Ash-ingredients, in 1,000 parts of substance, by Prof. WoLFF.. S Substance. iS 2 3 3 S S > = 3 3 FIs igisis I.—HAY. MSs GW NAY.) i0 05. cooks. ok al 66.6/17.1] 4.7) 3.3 Wead ripe hay... 144| 66.2] 5.0) 1.9) 2.3 LEGO (CONS) a ea en ae 160] 56.5)19.5) 0.9) 6.9 INVA CUCIOVET 3... ices ea SoS ol 160} 60.3)10.6) 4.7; 6.0 Swedish clover....,.......... 160) 46.5)15.%| 0.%) 7.1 BRVIGETM ipecte Nos Sens wlbie vee bca 5 160} 60.0/15.2) 0.7) 3.5 LELSIOS FHSS) 1 ee ea 160} 45.3)/17.9) 0.8) 2.6 Greentvetches::. 2.02.5. 008 ¢ 160) 73.4/30.9} 2.1] 5.0 GECEMRORESS. 28s, Us8 0s evhels ole eras « 145] 61.8/24.1| 2.0} 2.0 II.—GREEN FODDER. Meadow grass, in blossom.... |700| 23.3] 6.0] 1.6) 1.1 MWOWNS SUASSes 6. 2. Seiee ae ase - 800} 20.'7)11.6] 0.4) 0.6 SRUVCROMARG as caz th. ciety oie crue a 700} 21.3) 5.3} 0.9) 0.5 MRD URI BE Ai.) Seclae ds cts Séie 2 700) 21.0} 6.1) 0.6] 0.8 WINETIOLAESES sae .ickc cas os ess 700) 21.8) 7.2) 0.4) 0.6 Oats, beginning to head...... 820} 17.0) 7.1) 0.8] 0.6 "sim DIOSSOMN. sc soa 3 470) 16.6) 6.5] 0.6) 0.5 Barley beginning to head..... |'750} 22.3] 8.6) 0.4) 0.7 ty Im DIOSSOM. 0.200. oo. 680) 22.5] 5.9) 0.1) 0.7 Wheat, beginning to head....|770} 22.4) 7.8] 0.4] 0.3 : ‘* in blossom............ 690} 21.7%) 5.6) 0.1) 0.5 Peete... 4524.5 (8001.16.39) 625) O21) O25 Hungarian Millet.......,....-.|680} 23.1} 8.6]... | 1.9 MRCONCLONET oc be csc eck ae ceess 800} 13.4] 4.6] 0.2) 1.6 NVINITE CLOVER... oe ec cee s 810} 13.6] 2.4) 1.1) 1.4 Swedish clover..............- 815} 10.2] 3.5] 0.2) 1.6 MEE EM ee eae yes oe wer else: 453) 17.6] 4.5) 0.2) 1.0 PISPALSC UIC ci) Seon ares sees 485} 11.6] 4.6) 0.2) 0.7 Anthyllés vulnerarid.......... 480) 12.3) 1.3] 0.5] 0.6 Gieemvetchesoaas oo5. oo 525 soe 820} 15.7) 6.6) 0.5] 1.1 Opa) 0 (SHIRE ors ean errs 815} 18.7) 5.6)... .| 1.1 CEUTA DC ners Since wists 3 sicteloe se 850! 18.51 4.4] 0.5] 0.6 IiIl.—ROOT CROPS. BOOS escort acme. ester sees 150! 9.4] 5.6] 0.1] 0.4 PAT ICN OKO acon cc cae See ee vee 800} 10.3] 6.7)....| 0.3 BG lretieerere mera crepes cis Gin sisisrere es 3; 8.0] 4.3) 1.2) 0.4 DUG Ar DCClee asics cecasceleeses 816} 8.0} 4.0} 0.8) 0.% LUTE OU Oe mine ae Saeed 909) %.5} 3.0} 0.8) 0.3 White turnip *............... 915} 6.1] 3.1) 0.2) 0.1 omMera ble... oes ¢c- scece einen 877, 9.5] 4.9) 0.6} 0.2 (COTTE) ee ee See Ame 860} 8.8] 3.2) 1.9} 0.5 Sugar beet-headst............ 840} 6.5) 1.9) 1.6) 0.% MEINGOLY. 8 isc cc ood ue ces saree cee 800} 10.41 4.2] 0.8) 0.7% Hee ee be C9 S> OPO Ol -F bt Se Rt AE OTD CO Lime. C9 G9 HCO CO COCO RA HR 2D REO RE RE Rt Rt Rt tad Ft 05 0 LOMO TOMO ROUNWIEROHMWWODWw-3 sossssosss SCAOOMMOUP Pw eet a ee ler ee HORE HE EO PE * No special variety? + Crowns of sugar beet roots. zc Acid. Phosphor- Sulphuric BP HWOMHM RH DH HWE HWM EH wP wr WHDOWNSSWWPoaIwwhhIwawa WOSSSHOHSOSOSSCOSOOHSSOSOH WUTOow Pe hop Ow A PBIAIMIAHOHDMW MOH BH SH Ooo Acid. Silica. Mw HoH omeo co aT EOE OO EO ! rHPoOSSooHOOSCSO SAAMPE BOO tOD eer Shr HOWHES OT 09 00 09 Sr -3 OOD =F re) _ ul esceoses: © DHMH wow: 29 HA Go OTH Ht > 329 COIR DO OTE OUR HO HOS! COSSOOH: CHOHSOOHHOM SW WCPO: HwowInoe4ePo Chlorine. 29 0D RS 4 0 CY OT Oto Re to sor CO 0D PR Ht 9 OTR Go 29 OT aD CD Sulphur. , wwrmoH OO Os eazy I) bette D> © Ol a OTR C9 AE CO ATI OD SoS: So. Co» or Oo2 HOW CROPS GROW. CoMPOSITION OF FRESH OR AIR-DRY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. LE TESS) Substance. Sige cs sls] s /S3iss8i ss] 8/8 = eS) iS) S = Q g S/S 1/81/3818] 8 sess Sis is FISN IR ISIRIN IIR 1QI1S 1% TV.—LEAVES AND STEMS OF ROOT CROPS. Potato tops, end of August... |825| 15.6] 2.3] 0.4| 2.6] 5.1/-1.0| 0.9) 1.2) 0.7/0.6 Ob “ ~ first of October. .|'770} 11.8] 0.7} 0.1} 2.7) 5.5) 0.6) 0.6} 0.5) 0.4/0.5 Beet topsice ocktece - Vie - Setan Bray Sete Mas) to abel alte Ue epee 16) 8 eee, cos Cie So Cae an eT ea Rie ee, VR eet ee oer ae o Sao . 2 . . . ed Te oom . . . ee ARNRMOM HF Oro MIO O19 O18 ext otis ky COSCHOS S SOMA OrroSHS ; 6: i aCe an Ta oto ROMO Se sera oe coe oe aH Pell we as Cori. yal Mer CCP) arlic ner) elope a OS SMe Een Ce DEOUOOTT RH ARNARSH HRNACRAGRNG DNA HAG AAONRNRN O Nari ri O60 RAN Wt Oli9 9 6910 i —— geese a Se he ee Se 2 Pred a Re es i ee Sa : EAS FROG a SSAIAHAID MW MGronaRr » AnAom HM SHOSORARTE MSHS WOAHTOAR Dpos oes Sn Se 4 dHSonoRHE A SRY SS : {O18 er CS SSH SSMS SS SSS SSS Aw SMSE : Me aed wavs | Hannan oN A ee rar olla Seer De HO. OO Eg ON Se agli ai Gaelic Miceli Slip Mee YSD}0T | = tO 8 5 Dir PO RA | HASH ARH a HOG HOD HHO 09 G8 OE es 10.10 SHH 09 ROH UH LO OS ECO HHO ROSH WETSSHN EF aconnonwe | a a NN a aiid pS oer oe TY a a EN a Sogo ee COON ‘USP | SH ap OF MMM nw hy HH OROHOe OH OM HOO IO HH SM WSIGNAM ANODE MONE HIGHS us > BSS > SSRE°R KBR BRESE BASSARURSSSRE BTARRBAS BAP SSSBESRTAR Seco A = eeseeoocooos q BHODRNEOSOSONS wod| S88 RBESSEROSSSS8RRR SSSSERRESESSS 1 TS4SSRRR AEST RCASRS RAB S aon ae Or ea Se oe ee atts aot tests eur eno ass meainatateen pe eat Ne rae Coir RS i Lapin Oe CCS I iy ote ECS a, Sahel meee eer see rae Aa aeRO Rer ein Smee Ok | he moore SO. aie RB Bry or cle Shite Wee eee st te, Jaa arcs sewn ae - oo SURG oi cos + Cease: trmiceneenange eh teas eb Rs Deep eee es kaa e . ss . x :§ SS . . . CF ae ae ies Yam er ees See, lee a Vea nt Pee, mye Oe Coy PO Poe a Te ee Peete S$. totes «dace tone. ae us se Pe aR eR re at oa ao a ae pee atige se aoe ue Be avon see eel eeieeta Sapien SIRES Lene on Sige 2 02"? Bae RIL mS Gre ic hae P EMR Fie gee oy Std Loh Dig: ee oie oath amen Citar stent pee ae Tat eat atc aes 8 Tet Ewararas Eri kis pear eGR bs ee ee eae Ta ee ae er er Yona Cane Sematy See) ° . . 0 0: reerts eae a Cn: a ten Bae Be Vm) CTR Ce of Pe ea Pn 3 ae eR et Se BBS co AEs aint Sy 2 Re CS Sintat Se ase. 2 tieaMee Geanest Sere «soph at eas meses SNe Pitot See S : Phas £22 Sa ae = 3) feist On Se eS tS OogRAR SS ee Seen aes NS Ee he tema eae Mack eae Mis. estes 3B airs Giel S248 Bo Se ee ee ee @IRESRSE [ ii iis ibd 8 iid we: S PE Soe eS om ‘Mewar oe DSS ESS a ORS SS ceil Ome S Ss ses ae RM oo cee ; ° + Org Bee Oot: .2o,8 Zonas Sew paisa “dag 18 0 Tae Sie 1p 1o0 Sm SatSig Be wZSROoSSS YT Sees aa = oan Ec iectiptts on onl cbueeee eed he Eee ae oe ie rte es ee rH Bw. 12 Rats vo aD eee se. Sh Eee oa ole Ss :-R ue - Saka, SSS io oe a4 = ons aN Me Mes -eRen 3 32°90 So Sag, rt mS oS = Or Semis Sip 2 oped ls aPRaHRZs Bae CSeeeS SSSEbeSS SSSSSSAHeSyss SLaesse: S SSSs SSS ssase a pS Ooo I rb) . oe oS Asati Pamoth EREEEREMe MeennmOhemanm PeAOnee 2 Rte tennoue HOW CROPS GROW. COMPOSITION OF FRESH OR AIR-DRY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 384 UAYOING oekaki 8t gave Ge; Pa: Pepehs bib cbeow og SR TA ce ome a om | peace! Aihuet Reta evan a an 0 69 10 H Aan Ot "eS Gis ra Steet Me OME ME Loe SRE ct oe ees Bie ee Seek San RD ia cick cabeee S tary ee eae ee ee mi gteeee a Pa area tes ih ol ae TEES: Nir . *2uUedoryg ooooscs SSS Sa Son cic. *OnSCOSoO sic: SSO: seems cmon Sicoeee wiomes as weass 4 SHG? GQ 6D Gs GD COMIN GSH PS TH SS GOD CO HD OD CO 4 CO SH MiB MoD ONmc oS OP CL RD SS ce Sapir s ca ee) Ws See cy” Tilers, me aeeee eS evan Eat : ReRHAtH SHH ccd : a tSeses dS ces: | SPATS Gl” Gr Cle Gr es 5 Creer once ce poepes’ es Sssosoo moeo -cooscSe SS SSS SS. © SSSSSHSS SSSSSSsS ASS ais F, no Mrmr £91 SO GIN A RNQRR TH OD 10 SOO SH rH SHO OD rye oe pwr 4 7S OD aR Pf a Sn aa a a tg Shale Se Ot HAMAR ‘OMAHA .§ NRonmANnNe : Q Sssessssocosca Sriscoocriscs eo: 1 SSS Sao IoScSc ool eee a2unyayngy 4 Tort IG iat ; ° So ai SCeoneoesoeo On -oScooO sOo99C9SS°° Sssccodcsa SSS Se" 60 6 OD HN Hoe (7) Kon) (=r) ~ ——————————or a Oy 7 | BARES Feo SaS shasta | eee cay ere nue eer ane -LOYASOUT eI SS | ; MOOCSnNOO MWMOSSSOS SHHOSH ea ae oe ad SH SO = i 0D SH OO 14 6D OD SH SS GzGVOD SH 619 © yy IQ © 2 i WO ns ae aa ee, ra ye oe a) ee mes Aalh ete pte tener gr aee ee Og Woh 1H CONDONE ‘aUnT| FR rigiccicing BORSSHMNSSSSS GV AOBV GOHAN Greisdidds wird Gt BGot : bon! Droit tee al eigen ee SRR Tas ae Or ; ES Somes BAAR RARA BW HAART HAQLS TSEQNSEHAAQ MCCnAAm agar pesouboyy Ss RNRONDR RDOOnOCOSOOCOSCSo SORMNnMnAHCOS HrcocooHnHHnOS nHaroOSSSS eionesieis HH (oe 10D rt Prog! 4 eee an iSaee .isae te te tegen) genes | eee eee IS AS retin ye Se ee Ree eso RF Se eli ey (ek us oo -o ° ARCOCCOCO GSH a Oe a eg 0 ‘=| f=) noo —| 0 pce a RO NIE ae oS tl eh le % SHEtag L WSERARGHHSAAW BH aHanSenSered DeanayrNSe Manqine a YSD}0T ze rir iaso = EOS TIT TACER SE Thad chek SS Ge Ere GS rere GOR 38 6 ral Cale mene RceS wey 7) Se nal eA oon 0 Bxmoae B Paqencsrnas A mqnqadnanear Byneqaaay aRenTeR | aadaqn “a9 Oortor. P= Od GD G2 OO GW HK SH =H HH OMDNMSMacs SM RIDDARIG6S DHARNRKA she Ae ee sv B Gd at i ab 68 CO AKAROA Ne Pasa? Ge ONt3 Fel Ber Pee Oe OB Ota Sate eS ee ay aes ag ee ie) 2 38 SS PRRDWAIA Dis' 2) gece IPS Bessie eee B23 Seem ee pis Ste San eeOe eee es a= ot oe Ss a Ree ae Miri casy cod ee Lae, MG ee : oie B eR ee bad aap inet ahi = =o Die se ee a eee ipeVee iS [eer a @ i? ao ge APSR EBs RO OR Eta tha ae aS 2 IM ESiids €.2259 s7°° (2 BEGSeeeS ii :eagheae gigi: if ig: $2.1 82 87 Be e.g po: MSBRESHS iA SRESaSE 8 Gki: iS sa: + o wm © i me o. 2 === se . ie] Pees pa cs oe A -d° z fae oe ee Re Oe ee RG aE ee ee SR Gee ee a eS ee ee mo Ua Ao HOE. Oo O Lf ) ays BAA ocd Dog = oe Qo: -h 2 Qo - Shea as & Ee Ogee ene SHEL Soutien tts SN ia at es aap 73. aes : mH SOD p Aoaoo 8 Koc e BO Sy ys eas a es Siar tiegritass CTS SSE e & Bes hee a3 { . 0 | ‘ Ot .A BORASA Ofmd & ~ nical sin:cian goals sel sa 16.'7|'76.9| 6.4/14.4/22.5/40.0] 2.5 Sand lucern, early blossom (Medicago intermedia) |16.7 V7.2] 6.1115. 2/26.9/85.1] 3.0 Pieparpet tc, 1 DIOSSOM.. . 2)... ial: .o:.2- 2020 eee et 16.7/77.1] 6.2)13.3/86.7)27.1) 2.5 Incarnate clover, do (Trifolium incarnatum)..|16.7|%6.1| %.2|12.2|30.1/33.8) 3.0 Yellow ‘“ do (Medicago lupulinad)..... 16.7/77.3| 6.0)14.6)36.5/26.2| 3.3 Vetches, in bDloSSOM.......-...ccceeeeeecceeeccs 16.7/75.0} 8.3)14.2/85.3)25.5] 2.5 Peas, Pca) Wil tes fe care Aoe on dt on aa teense 16.'7/'76.3) 7.0/14.3/386.8/25.2| 2.6 Field spurry, in blossom (Spergula arvensis)....|16.7 %3.8| 9.5/12.0/39.8)22.0) 3.2 Be *¢ after blossom............. Soeetsisas 16.7/%5.5}| 7.8) 7.8)41.7/26.0) 2.5 Serradella, “© — (Ornithopus sativus). .|16.7)77.7| 5.6/14.6)29.2)33.9) 1.5 ie Delorean ie Se een F wicacicce ssise sels cee /16.7/75.8] '7.5)15.3/387.2)26.1) 1.9 Italian Rye grass (Loléwm étalicum)..........) {14.8/77.9) 7.8] 8.7/51.4/16.9} 2.8 Timothy (Phlewm pratense) ......0-eeeeereees 14.3]81.2| 4.5} 9.'7/48.8/22.7) 3.0 Early meadow grass (Pod annud).......+.+++ 14.3/83.3| 2.4/10.1/47.2)25.9) 2.9 Crested dog’s tail (Cynosurus cristatus)...... 14.3/80.2| 5.5) 9.5/48.0/22.6] 2.8 Soft brome grass (Bromus mollis).......+++++ 14.3/80.7| 5.0/14.8)35.0/31.0) 1.8 Orchard grass (Dactylis glomerata)..... ean 14.3/81.1] 4.6)11.6/40.7/28.9| 2.7 Barley grass (Hordeum pratense).....-.+.+++ g |14.3)80.4| 5.3 9 .6)42.0)27.2| 2.0 Meadow foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis)......- © |14.3/79.0| 6.'7/10.6)39.5/29.0) 2.5 Oat grass, French rye grass (Arrhenatherum we AREA) o.oo foes Ate esien 2 sal arasee 2 114.3/75.8| 9.9)11.1/85.3/29.4) 2.7 English rye grass (Lolium PCTENNE)..2..-220% = 114.3/'79.2| 6.5/10.2/38.9/80.2) 2.7 Harter Schwingel (Festuca ?)......2+0++22+++ &/14.3/81.0| 4.7:10.4/37.5/33.2) 2.9 Sweet-scented vernal grass (Anthoxanthum | + | ° | DUATOUMI) so. vito ncam soc emen enn cinn yes & |14.3/80.3] 5.4) 8.9/40.2)31.2) 2.9 Velvet grass (Holcus lanatus).....-.+-++-++++ 14.3/80.2| 5.5) 9.9)36.7/33.6) 3.1 Spear grass, Kentucky Blue grass (Poa PPALENSIS)... coc ccencceccenssnsececeeees 14.3'80.6| 5.1) 8.9/39.1/32.6| 2.3 Rough meadow grass (Poa trévialis)......--. 14.3/78.6| 7.1] 8.4)37.6/82.6] 3.2 Yellow oat grass (Avena flavescens).......--- 14.3/79.8] 5.9] 6.4/42.6/30.8) 2.2 Quaking grass (Briza Medid)......+++++0++0+ J. |14.3)78.3] 7.4] 5.2)42.8/30.3) 2.6 Average of all the grasseS....-....e-+sereeeecee 14.3'79.9! 5.8! 9.5/41.7/28.7! 2.6 * Landwirthschaftlicher Kalender, 186%, throngh Knop’s Agricultur- Chemie, 1868, pp. 715-720. This Table is, as regards water and ash, a repetition of Table TI, but includes the newer analyses of 1863-%. Therefore the averages of water and ach do not in all cases agree with those of the former Tables. It gives be- sides, the proportions of nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous compounds, 1. €., Al- puminoids and Carbohydrates, etc.. It also states the averages of Crude fiber and of Fat, etc. The discussion of the data of this Table belongs to the subjects of Food and Cattle-Feeding. They are, however, inserted here, as it is believed they are not to be found elsewhere in the English language. —+t Organic matter here signifies the combustible part of the plant.—| Carbohydrates, etc., includes fat, starch, sugar, pectin, etc., all in fact of Org. matter, except Albuminoids and Crude fiber.—t Crude fiber is impure cellulose obtained by the processes describ- ‘ed on pages 60 and 61.—{ Fat, efc., is the ether-extract p. 94, and contains be- sides tk wax, chlorophyll, and in some cases resins. 1 HOW CROPS GROW. 386 PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS AND PrRopuctTs. ‘Op “OA oy aque and) ‘o9p *sayD.p -hyoq4ny SS ee a eS INGHHHreOCOOCOCMrNM MMMM MNNNNANnrT Ceownwtowooocosne SASSSRSISARS NOM ODMH RNNMNIO NMOS 5B G2 Ge St 29 OF 00 Be OF Gd BUOD ED ee a ee a ee HOD IID IN OOO 1H Ht MMM MMINNANNrrst Sw pocoocoooeona 00 SF Ob RO bs Gd od BO RNONMMIOOORNSS MAHSRMSSrod 00 G2 G0 OD OH SH oD G2 Gli T= CO 0 19 oD OD i oon th oo *sprou 2G) “ysy “LORD TT 2UDDAC “ajO AA Substance. CrywO OOO MID NSS O NANNGIONr GO sod entire! WNOMSoSoSCSSCSCNNS 1 a a ees en eed hon oc, wk Gk Cer 1D 6D 6 1D DCO 19 SH 1M cH SH QO Qie eee = oes S RASH SOSHrSOnM BOE DEK De Ore Oe ID S21N © S20 174 19 19 1.0 sh SYP GE GD GO SH1,00 00'S GR OO rt C1 1pSO00OCMO19 0 ND ODODODNWOG Ti mr : PRAM OMmMOAHION OrONMrSrRrea $HrEEOLEE DED WOR Cia a Son ee Bel? OS, Le AONE qt 6 ee | eae” 9 oe ere io OLige Le ee. e* ean enn See > Oe ip “ie Feb Met ietighe! UBD Meals PO oe ba me UP) ace eee be Re eer S| Je Fa we eee Pr ODOM MrODHKHDOIIIIONROONAHOMOr TS) ost tet St re a at ea, GD CD CD CD OD GD CD OD OD OD CD GR Se Sa at Be wi ip m Stina hh sg eke Oe et Noe ees ee et ied slayer ors Oo doors BI. pe “eyeteae he ERAS Steere Weta she HM ta OSE BIRO 9 Oo ties Re as, oan Seeed, ig gHes AR SARS Hebd a ag oe Eee & BYsooss SEED OFAMHYHa. OD 69 09 0D 0D OOD SOD CD CD 1D S262 D D rH G2 sk SSLEBH Seiden 0) See M Lek yen Des ns 2 & eae = 22523 G0 = no 2 A as o a Or SUign it ie eS CRU see Asay oe ORS. Sena Seas oS as Sm See lee is BS oss oO MSs ocak sta SS sear aS RS ete Ss Pra ins ge A, Di ihe ae ARS aS a: me 8 so ee eS at eee 5 +9 Cee. Agi Dne nh. Uerty = > a eae Heee ee ten eee wae Ox 8 SO THON wove mes OOHRHSHS SSAA re) o BP eeeec es eea a 2 ES MeROPHMHAmae OM En MAtnonOoontnnmN DrrTPonmdnnDDOODr ote Te Le. Pee ah ey 58 Ie ap ee Re RT ae arial eres ee ees ° HEE ZZRERERE mrt Bee ee ee a en (a ee 0 ee a ete age he tay te te atm re ae ee ae SR SR dF OR ret et el Re ved ret red et ger et rt at pes lat CeO lAOQ SDI AO QV Sr lN SAIN MW NOSOwMSPronOonneRNOW - pp eee eee 8 ee ee re ey ae east alee ada Piel U we!” Tb) ee cere ee ee ee . Apa 0) Sie ee ae a Poe Se, ee a ee 72 - SS Saye eae eS eae i ee eS Pops eS Sie: rian ge ee ne Rug hee ae oo SSeS Di dae at 2s + "Je Sw Mae wae Seb eee eee Pat 6 SR Te eet ies aot gt aa ae aa Tro AOI aS ai gets Mediate ee: ae i en ced nt Bn wm? 2% ~~ DM e oS 92). eR. We} Ong ro) DQ ro fee ee Sap pe hmOOge st OC tes eR SR ane a “aA Od ene a8wn gos os . gah ecto 2 :Opk ov p Feoctss OHH ASO OS bm SHASse Sa RU 50 Pa OS On Ss BH BSS e eB ROGERS OPHOCn yy ‘Sor SS AO onats = BOS. z a. AS & 2 ov aeatd o-s5 SSS4%8 Peas Re ro BRO alee : wis S23 oo Soe Oe SSagaKOmwaseNs Sase = RB B SESSsUSSes BSESQ SESER 4 AMER oPeoes HOSES EShda 387 APPENDIX. PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS AND PRODUCTS. “op “WOT “dag apnd{) “Oop ‘saqpup -hyoqgww) * sp00U “PUNY “YsV “MOUND HUDDLOQ "MAID AA Substance. DQ m2 a CIDW ONAN eed Ae, 0. 8 aay awe ee wy Oy eee ocoocooocoocoocecoc“eo]o MMNONANAn-NOCSCSCO Mn nnOn nnn nnNMer SOOM M HOOD ArHD Fg 2G Ba Be SF 20 SoS Oo AED 209,00 CR Qt Spel Glen See IEEE eC Seer ae Oe Ae ae a Tr at NNONA HAH Oonrr AANA DOODDHIreS Snonoonnocococor MOM DnreOoonr~rnoi HOYSre AH Gerrit QA nAdH “4 Sassou ecen ens Nel ioNe oles Brit er igo SDK DDLDA DAD Aone) ie eabet ae liver are eaeee ai Fides Chas “ore pal sams cee Aone ehesk coh.” ah hietn akc des tee Sie nil si haeriaitny ‘rexsin ahaiebaae aE oh Eay et ate dacaaeh Tne PE ehh a aloeh ish wa den erie etae Leb dT Ee ee AE SNE ee ah Bag Sins Seah ays aE en ok= ie Hiren SRG eT SDAA eda lier shake cite Pris AVAL atlas aes Pane fe ore “ne Pet Mw Gs dnote Splaen REAR th RAE AE et ‘= “Dos Bf ae ie ae ae ee oe ee ey PE rai ae Sa ag *-o oO AS TNR: a fe thd tooo 4ee :: poe No" Sots t= Wet tem ary oy a "on, Ct = [sel Nera hes . try 1 OR ORT EH: ee vacances :: “45 ‘SWS se es 7 oe bs y f om ne 5 Ae 8S eee eee ‘BOs o Seek Sey | (ge eaaceeeag O'S BEAT Oy 9 OO. SO sigh 4o8's's ae BEESSeSEREELS Cas aoe an ao@egs ARAM ey ROCHE AA, A SrtA CU Ta CRORE Ee COCR CR GY CVCR CO SHIGE CUT Ee eo ea . PST 1D1D191D SH 1D HOE RNIDAIIS IN DSRS PRPS Poe See eee eae ay a IDDADRNDASBOAONDIN OOD DNSOSCHRNE Cet ean es er een ARS ee a ok ey ome a an eee re eRe ree a LEX ASTBSSSSSSSRSRSB ASI Bid i 6 P10) St OOO 60 1 HID =H 10 Hig. 1D SDS S19 S19 S519 916 F189 HI SSS SHO AH 09 1010 rOHSHSSANSH OL MOMH BONAR SASES Wie Pumthe cable! Sate Oene 3 ob eed QN arr WOM ASCSMSSCHOANMIDNING 1D SDODMOANSR A, Se, a PT ee ee ee ee CRC hes ee le ee i EN ey RYT He: DBS BD GU rt GE GUD G2 CD GU GE G2 GD OD OD ra at Ht HD CO SH i rt ec i eit apap i cea a Pag ay Pat eee eC) ae ee Ne ae ee A mn ee a ee ee Ra Ree Tee G2 GIGI DD 6 Sp 6 GPIB 9 1D ZLAABDALD DADA DDD ea D Ds feeen} fj CAO URSDM OAS DMGGASSAABORES SH HOD HH HH HH cH SH HH SH HH SH OO eH et st st St rt 02 16 =H Ta rst rt rt G CAG gg 8 a SAE el tee a ee ate BO Ce fe CF Ce a PO Cree eh eee eh CORI) 6) meee OR el Os ORS eae ee! Cee Ee oe oe Ce 0 ee eee FRE a ee Oe ee eee ee eee eee 6 eee ee a6 Ne gre Pian: a ee Te ee ees eee 8) ee Oe (Oe: ree A, OP Poe oe sy Ow Olas ee Oe Oe ie Oe Re ee OO FN KOT ee FA ee oe Bt are ae (eee on ee es, BOO 6 Pe Oe ee OE 6 ee Oe (On ts (Op Oe oO be w © ws Are eee Rhine Pei gt DO ae Ge a ae eS? ee are Oe fet DO, ae Bes Cre RET Eg 0 eee et Oe Een Be tee esi oe oe, SC Cee fe eg CE ee Oe eS 6A wig 8 Cee ieee 8 RS gt” 6) id ree ae Oh eg OE ts Oe iG Oe a ae Oe 6d C18 Shee 1 Ee Oe Sen eee ge Sale etn fy oe ee 8 le aM Mieke Cees ees 8! OE wie eee, ae Oe ta ae ee ee Oe Cree 6 eS SRE ee Dee eee ee DO A Meg ee Cee hee eee ee ew eke les ee Ae) ee Pe Gh oe et, em Oe te, Oa ee Te Ae, ae ah SG cs Se ate os 6 64d See ae Oe a 8! a+ cee es ee Se ie ee ee he ee en Be CAR UT RE,” J) seers mee 6p fv be, ead KE oe ee eee te CME Pee. ee Se el a Be ee Oe 46; - ee SO aL Pee tee) .'e ee 6 shu AON oie [6g a eM, Me ig OE NOON ie 8 Oe Oe re ee eee he ONG de em es tepid. =e) ta Gy Uae” 8) PEP p en wees Or. Wa der aoe aw eee igs Po its wees, Lal. di uel telus Fre Me tel eee he we e-sae, Ve Ce al Meee ek pute - 17 My aw he «Mts Var tae he 5 RN Fel STR tae ee Ry ae Ie 0 fae eye ey oes 6 Cees Bed Ch Baie’ Soa! 6 Preece RO 8 Cee ig iy OC ee $d \6. dee 386 Oa aie se 6 ee es . 1. 6 Ra a eee Ys 9 tat iar Pe ee, Cw Gg en Te . 8 Oe pg AD Coe ay ee ie, 8s we, ee Tet ea Ar Gere with Chestnuts without she ee aes a nter Rye flour...... ec Madia seed.. ai 1 Flax seed.... Rape seed... Hemp seed... Poppy seed.. Horse chestnut.. Beans (field). MentUs.. ss Winter wheat.. ‘ Wheat flour....... RICO S oe as ad ts Brewer’s grains..... Gold of pleasure cake. . Molasses slump.. Malt sp Sugar beet cake..... ae ‘ Maize slump....... Potato slump.. Rye slump..... Fres 388 HOW CROPS GROW. PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF AGRICULTURAL PLANTS AND PRODUCTy. Substance. S SES : S ss S§ : 3S 38 2 oS, Ss 2 “> = ISS] = ESISSISE/ S REROSE | |10.0]81.6] 8.4/92.5|97.7]11.4] 8.1 Fey eRe ose les | olercolee elaolaeet Beechnut cake...........ccc cece ceee cece cece cess |10.0/84.8) 5.2/24.0/31.3/20.5| 7.5 ef ‘¢ without shells 12.5/79.8) 7.7137.3/36.9) 5.5] 7.5 Beet molasses. io 5 Vad eeens a cerescsls Mewes ceceeee 16.7)72.5 10.8) 8.0/64.5]....).... WPOtAtO MIDE Bee se cite vc coe oe ee eoetaite eke = 82.6|17.1| 0.38] 0.8]15.0) 1.3] 0.4 COFFEE. TEA. ; Coffee bean...........00. shana Mestre erateters Saversatee 12.0/93.0| 7.0]10.0]49.0/34.0/12.¢ Chocolate bean...........02-c2000 SEE OOS 11.0/85.0| 4.0/20.0/52.0)13.0/44.6 BACK China teas ao cs ociccwoate Geteten eee eteen 15.0/79.0| 6.0} 5.0/82.0 40.0 2.0 GEO) See ae a sete Ne bse oe restr cats sieints sree wies ae 15.0|79.0| 6.0} 5.0/27.0|/45.0| 2.0 TABLE IV. DETAILED ANALYSES OF BREAD GRAINS. & S Sky i ae Sol 'S lek == s Andlyst. S8| § |§§/x [SSS/-S] 5 IN 218 ISSI5 18 SE WHEAT. From Elsass.............. 14.6'59.7| 7.2/1.2) 1.7 |1.6]14.0/Boussinganlt. WARM secs Werte araice 11.8)64.4| 1.4/2.6) 2.5 |1.6/15.6) Wunder. POR Ae aCe 222 er, foeiern 10.9/63.4) 3.8/1.2} 8.3 |1.6/10.8) Polson. fe Puamders. cost ines 10.7/61.0} 9.2)1.0) 1.8 |1.7)14.6) Peligot. S*: JOGMESSA). cecnich. S Isa sl Sess | Ss | ss] S$ Vssrss S DS cS) SSe S = SyRes DS S Ss — © | €/ 8 iSe°sisstss | 8 |e | & | ests oe | & | iS BSESA || 2 1S iS | APRICOTS. 89. Handsome, rather large, weight 47 grms..’54| 1.140,0.898/0.882} 5.929 |0.8209 9.619)/4.300/0.967) 0.148) (0.071)§ 5.415 84.966! 100.000 40. Very delicate, large, weight 60 erms....1854 1.581)0.766/0.889} 9.283 |0.754912.723)/3.216/0.944) 1.002)(0.104)4 5.266 82.011) 100.000 PEACHES. — —--,--——’ 41. Large Holland...................0+++++-1855| 1.580)0.612)0.463' 6.313 [0.4229 9.390)/4.629} 0.991 |(0.042)g 5.620)/84.990!/100.000 Se ee abs 08 Ore eh ere a ORR Peo Oe od 11.058 0.918814. 270)'6.%64 2.420 (0.168)4 9.184 oe gy 100.000 APPLES. | S-___-_, ---— ———' | 43, Large, English Reinette.................1858 9.25) 0.58 1.80 AAG Vater veseee{eceeeeff 2.09]| 86.03} 100.00 44, se ceeceveveee eee 1854) 5.96) 0.89} 0.52] % 61 | 0.224 14.70]| 0.07' 1.71; 1.49) (0.06)3 38.27)| 82.03)| 100.00 —.~-—_~S’ | 45, GG us ee Shae Gmce | sO.col sda 6.47 | 0.868 14.96 1.95 1.05) (0.03)§ 8.00|| 82.041} 100.00 46. White table apple......................1854] 7.58} 1.04) 0.22} 2.72 | 0.449 12.00}| 0.88) 1.42) 1.16} (0.03)9 2.96 85.04! 100.00 4”. Borsdorfer....... Dep tae ce ae ee eee USO OL O61 6.85 Alas 0)0lIleracks lleva oo Brier | peace 2.44) 82.491) 100.00 48. White. Matapfel.. Ge Mec fie ae Se igs8i) S98)! 101 38.385 aDtep tenes | egeteemiieeero on cilloce siehe eee 4..53}| 82.138°} 100.00 49, English Winter Goldpearmain..........1853 10.386) 0.48 5.11 TES Sl Bescaeece ereareeel| tetace cece Sere 2.18 81.87) 100.00 | PEARS. DUM SIVeCte NCO POA. ec. cy aces deities ss a2 LODE NeOO0 eee epee 8.281. |0.285'10.900)|0.39013.420) 1.340) (0.050)9 5.150}/83.950)|100.000 51. 66 66 66 A 1855 eres reser esses eoes esos see: 7.940|trace|0.237| 4.409 |0.254412.870 3.518 0.605) (0.049)g 4.123!/83.007'/100.000 * Saccharose and Fructose. + Expressed as hydrated malic acid. + Already included in Seeds, Skins, etc. APPENDIX. TABLE VIII. FRUITS ARRANGED IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CONTENT OF SUGAR, (ayerage,) FRESENIUS. per cent. per cent MO GEUONLOR. .cio/cersic srecs os. siomiabalels 1.6 (GME ON eteGouriceon. nonoCdolS 6.1 PATIL COU ea aya) ais arse ered) ats stave 1.8 PETIMES: sx.0/ocrere arses aie saa 6.3 MSIPSTRT YSIS ci isycters Se fore davai cbaiae pel GooseberrieS.........2+-00-- 4.2 Reineclaudes...........-...- 3.1 RRC Eats ae sees siete «sete 4.5 Mirabelles..........+..2002+-.36 Applest 3e/c%a nee Ste cre byes 8.4 MEEPS IDE LEICS oi5ie's) cine -'eleinisie<'@ ena) 4.0 Sour cherries........00.-«.-- 8.8 Blackberries... ......00s00: 0005 4.4 Mulberries ..........00e00-0. 9.2 RELA WIDETIICSs 5.5 «<2 oisieleiece cots ote = Bea Sweet cherries...........004. 10.8 Whortleberries...........¢.- 5.8 Grapesiors cecil desivcciareisieietetcle 14.9 TABLE IX. FRUITS ARRANGED IN THE ORDER OF THEIR CONTENT OF FREE ACID EXPRESSED AS HYDRATE OF MALIC ACID, (average,) FRESENIUS. per cent per cent. RECUD ERTS ss