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LIBRARY 

OF  THE 


MASSACHUSETTS 
AGRICULTURAL 


SOURCE 


1868 


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THE 


ELEMENTS  OF  AGRICULTURE 


GEO.  E.  WARING,  Jk., 

ATTTHOB    OF     "DRAINING    FOE    PROFIT    AND    DRAINING    FOE    HEALTH,'" 

FORMERLY  AGRICULTUEAL  ENGINEER    OF  THE    CENTRAL 

PARK  JN    NEW   YORK. 


The  effort  to  extend  the  dominion  of  man  over  nature  is  the  most  healthy  and 
most  noble  of  all  ambitions. — Bacon. 


SECOND  AliTD  EEVISED  EDITION. 


NEW  YORK: 

THE  TRIBUNE  ASSOCIATION, 

154  NASSAU  STREET. 

1868, 


^^0 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 

GEO.  E.  WARING,  Jr., 

In  the    Clerk's   Office  of   the  District  Court  of  the   LTnited  States  for  tho 

Southora  District  of  New  York. 


The  New  York  Printing  Company, 

8i,  83,  a7id  85  Centre  Street, 

New  York. 


CONTENTS. 

Section  iTirst. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Introduction 11 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Atmosphere  and  its  Carbon 14 

CHAPTER  III. 

Hydrogen  and  Oxygen 21 

Nitrogen 22 

Ammonia 23 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Earthy  Matter .27 

Alkalies 28 

Potash 28 

Soda 29 

Lime 29 

Magnesia 30 

Acids — Phosphoric  Acid 30 

Sulphuric  Acid 31 

Silicic  Acid,  or  Silica 32 

Neutrals — Chlorine 33 

Oxide  of  Iron 33 

CHAPTER  V. 

Growth 34 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Starch,  Woody- Fibre,  Gluten,  etc 39 

Animals 42 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Location  of  the  Different  Parts,  and  Variations  in  the  Ashes 
of  Plants 46 

CHAPTER  Vin. 
Recapitulation 49 


IV  CONTENTS. 

Section  Qcconb. 

T"  H  TG      SOIL. 
CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Formation  and  Character  of  the  Soil 57 

Geology G4 

CHAPTER  II. 
Uses  of  Atmospheric  Matter 66 

CHAPTER  III. 

Uses  of  Earthy  Matter 72 

Subsoil 74 

Improvement 75 


Section  ®liir5, 

31  ,A.  IS^  TJ  R,  E  S  . 

CHAPTER  I. 
Character  and  Varieties  of  Manures 81 

CHAPTER  II. 

Animal  Excrement 84 

Digestion  and  its  Products 85 

CHAPTER  III. 

Waste  of  Manure 88 

Evaporation 88 

Leaching 93 

CHAPTER  rV. 

Absorbents 95 

Charcoal 95 

Muck  and  its  Treatment 97 

Lime  and  Salt  Mixture 99 

Lime 100 

Potash 101 

CHAPTER  V. 

Composting  Stable  Manure 101 

Shelter .102 

The  Floor 103 

Tank 1 03 

Liquid  Manure 110 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Different  kinds  of  Animal  Excrement 110 

Stable  Manure Ill 

Recapitulation 112 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Mg-ht  SoU 113 

Hog  Manure ...    115 

Poultry-house  Manure 116 

Sheep  Manure 118 

Guano 118 

CHAPTER  YII. 

Other  Organic  Manures 120 

Dead  animals 120 

Bones 121 

Fish 121 

WooUen  Rags,  etc 122 

Organic  Manures  of  Vegetable  Origin 'i2S 

Spent  Tan-bark 124 

Sawdust  and  Soot 125 

Green  Crops 126 

Absorption  of  Moisture 128 

Distribution  of  Manures 129 

CHAPTER  yill. 

Mineral  Manures 130 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Deficiencies  of  Soils,  Means  of  Restoration,  etc 135 

Alkalies — Potash 136 

Soda 138 

Lime 140 

Plaster  of  Paris 147 

Chloride  of  Lime 147 

Magnesia 148 

Acids — Sulphuric  Acid 148 

Phosphoric  Acid 150 

Bones 153 

Super-Phosphate  of  Lime 156 

Silicic  Acid 160 

Neutrals — Chlorine 160 

Oxide  of  Iron 161 

Oxide  of  Manganese 161 

Various  other  Earthy  Manures — Leached  Ashes 162 

Old  Mortar 162 

Gas  House  Lime,  etc 163 

Soapers'  Ley  and  Bleachers'  Ley. ...  ^ 164 

Irrigation ' 164 

Mixing  Soils 167 

CHAPTER  X. 

Atmospheric  Fertilizers 169 

Ammonia 170 

Carbonic  Acid 178 

Oxygen 173 

Water 174 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

PAOE 

Recapitulation 174 


Section  iTonrtl). 

IMLECHA^lSriC^Ij     CTJLTI"VJ^TIO:iSr. 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Mechanical  Character  of  Soils 181 

CHAPTER  II. 

Under-Draining 183 

TUe  Draining- 184 

CHAPTER  III. 
Advantages  of  Under-Draining 187 

CHAPTER  IV. 
SuV  ioil  Plowing 200 

CHAPTER  V. 

Plowing  and  other  Processes  for  Pulverizing  the  Soil 206 

Plowing 206 

The  Harrow  and  Cultivator. 210 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Rolling,  Mulching,  Weeding,  etc 211 

Rolling 211 

Mulching 212 

"Weeding 216 

Cultivators 218 

Improved  Horse-Hoe 219 


Section  fiftl). 

AI^^L  YSIS. 

Cfll^PTER  I. 
.Analysis A 225 

CHAPTER  II. 
Tables  of  Analysis 228 

The  Practical  Farmer '.   245 

Explanation  op  Terms 253 


The  first  edition  of  this  book  was  written  in  1853,  when 
the  writer  was  full  of  the  enthusiasm  that  comes  with  the 
first  years  of  study;  when  a  very  elementary  knowledge 
of  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats  made  the  whole  plan  of 
vegetation,  cultivation,  and  manuring  seem  easy  and  simple. 
In  some  instances,  rather  vague  fancies  were  presented  as 
sound  theories;  and  the  perplexing  uncertainties  which 
beset  the  path  of  the  more  thorough  student  were  ignored — 
because  unknown. 

The  observation  and  experience  of  the  intervening  years 
have  sadly  clouded  some  of  these  fancies,  and  the  veil  which 
hangs  about  the  true  theories  of  agriculture  has  grown 
harder  to  penetrate, — the  difiiculties  in  the  way  of  precise 
knowledge  have  not  lessened  with  closer  acquaintance. 

Notwithstanding  its  faults,  the  book  received  a  very  cor- 
dial welcome  at  the  hands  of  the  public, — more  because 
such  a  book  was  much  needed,  than  because  of  its  real 
value,  and  it  ought,  long  ago,  to  Ijave  been  rewritten. 

The  present  edition  has  been  carefully  revised,  and  it  is 
believed  that  its  doctrines  are  such  as  the  positive  teachings 
of  chemistry,  and  the  more  enlightened  practice  of  farming, 
will  justify ;  still,  it  is  ojQfered  with  more  hesitation  than  was 


its  predecessor,  and  it  is  only  offered  at  all  because  there 
exists  a  sad  deficiency  in  this  department  of  our  agricul- 
tural literature. 

The  place  that  it  is  intended  to  fill  is  occupied  by  no 
other  work.  It  is  not  an  agricultural  chemistry,  nor  is  it  a 
hand-book  of  the  processes  of  every-day  farming ; — only  an 
attempt  to  translate  into  common  language,  for  the  use  of 
every-day  farmers,  that  which  science  has  discovered  and 
has  told  in  its  own  necessarily  technical  terms,  and  which 
practical  experience  has  proven  to  be  of  practical  value. 

The  facts  which  it  sets  forth  lie  at  the  very  ground- work 
of  the  art  of  farming,  and  they  are  necessary  to  the  business 
education  of  every  farmer.  On  the  universal  importance  of 
these  facts  the  book  must  depend  for  its  success ;  and  for 
their  sake, — not  because  of  its  own  merit, — it  is  confidently 
offered  to  the  young  farmers  of  America,  as  being  worthy 
of  their  most  careful  study. 

Ogden  Farm, 

Newport,  R.  /.,  1868. 


SECTIOI  FIRST. 

THE    PLANT. 


SECTION  FIRST. 

THE    PLANT. 


CHAPTER  I. 


INTKODUCTION'. 


The  object  of  cultivating  the  soil  is  to  raise  from  it 
a  crop  oi plants.  In  order  to  cultivate  with  economy, 
we  must  raise  the  largest  possible  quantity  with  the 
least  expense^  and  without  permanent  injury  to  the 
soil. 

Before  this  can  be  done  we  must  study  the  char- 
acter of  plants,  and  learn  their  exact  composition. 
They  are  not  created  by  a  mysterious  power,  they 
are  merely  made  up  of  matters  already  in  existence. 
They  take  up  water  containing  food  and  other  mat- 
ters, and  discharge  from  their  roots,  or  their  leaves, 
or  deposit  within  their  pores,  those  substances  that 
are  not  required  for  their  growth.  It  is  necessary 
for  us  to  know  what  kind  of  matter  is  required  as 
food  for  the  plant,  and  whence  it  is  to  be  obtained ; 
this  we  can  learn  only  through  such  means  as  shall 
separate  the  elements  of  which  plants  are  composed ; 


12  THE    PLANT. 

in  other  words,  we  must  take  them  apart,  and  exam- 
ine the  different  pieces  of  which  they  are  made  np. 

If  we  burn  any  vegetable  substance  it  disappears, 
except  a  small  quantity  of  earthy  matter,  which  con- 
stitutes the  ashes.  In  this  way  we  make  the  first 
division  between  the  two  distinct  classes  of  the  con- 
stituents of  plants.  One  portion  escapes  into  the 
atmosphere,  and  the  other  remains  as  a  disorganized 
earthy  substance. 

That  part  which  burns  away  during  combustion 
we  will  call  atmospheric  matter,  because  it  was  de- 
rived by  the  plant  from  the  air ;  the  ashes  which  re- 
main we  will  call  earthy  matter,  because  they  were 
derived  from  the  soil.  The  atmospheric  matter  has 
become  air,  and  it  was  originally  obtained  from  air. 
The  earthy  matter  has  become  earth,  and  was  ob- 
tained from  the  soil. 

This  is  the  first  step  toward  a  knowledge  of  agri- 
cultural chemistry.  The  next  will  be  to  examine 
each  of  these  two  different  classes  of  matter,  that  we 
may  learn  precisely  of  what  they  consist.  Then  we 
must  inquire  w4iere  these  substances  are  found,  how 
they  are  taken  up  by  the  plant,  and  how  we  can  best 
supply  such  as  nature,  unaided,  does  not  always 
furnish.  This  knowledge  does  not  require  that  farm- 
ers become  chemists.  All  that  is  required  is,  that 
they  should  know  enough  of  chemistry  to  understand, 
so  far  as  the  present  state  of  knowledge  makes  it 
possible,  the  nature  of  the  materials  of  which  their 
crops  are  composed,  and  how  those  materials  are  to 
be  used  to  the  best  advantage. 


THE   PLANT-.  13 

The  elements  of  this  knowledge  may  be  easily  ac- 
quired, and  should  be  possessed  by  every  person,  old 
or  young,  whether  actually  engaged  in  the  cultivation 
of  the  soil  or  not.  All  are  dependent  on  vegetable 
productions,  not  only  for  food,  but  for  every  comfort 
and  convenience  of  life.  It  is  the  object  of  this  book 
to  teach  young  farmers  the  first  principles  of  agri- 
culture :  and  while  it  does  not  contain  all  tlmt  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  an  understanding  of  the  prac- 
tical operations  of  cultivation,  its  teachings  are  such 
as  the  writer  found,  in  his  early  studies,  to  be  most 
necessary  as  a  groundwork  for  future  study  and 
thought  and  most  useful  in  practice. 

We  will  first  examine  the  atmospheric  part  of 
plants,  or  that  which  is  driven  away  during  combus- 
tion or  burning.  This  matter,  though  apparently  lost, 
is  only  changed  in  form. 

It  consists  of  one  solid  substance,  carbon  (or 
charcoal),  and  three  gases,  oxygen^  hydrogen  and  ni- 
trogen. These  four  kinds  of  matter  constitute  nearly 
the  whole  of  most  plants,  the  ashes  forming  some- 
times less  than  one  part  in  one  hundred  of  their  dry 
weight. 

When  wood  is  burned  in  a  close  vessel,  or  other- 
wise protected  from  the  air,  its  carbon  becomes  char- 
coal. All  plants  contain  this  substance,  it  forming 
usually  about  one-half  of  their  dry  weight.  The  re- 
mainder of  their  atmospheric  part  consists  of  the 
three  gases  named  above.  By  the  word  gas,  we  mean 
aeriform.  Oxygen,  hydrogen  and  nitrogen,  when 
pure,  always  exist  in  the  form  of  air.     Oxygen  has 


14  THE    PLANT. 

the  power  of  uniting  witli  many  substances,  forming 
compounds  which  are  different  from  either  of  their 
constituents  alone.  Thus  :  oxygen  unites  with  iron 
and  forms  oxide  of  iron  or  iron-rust^  which  does  not 
resemble  the  grey  metallic  iron  nor  the  gas  oxygen  ; 
^^  oxygen  unites  with  carbon  and  forms  carbonic  acid, 

'HSif.  which  is  an  invisible  gas,  but  not  at  all  like  pure  oxy- 

gen ;  oxygen  combines  with  hydrogen  and  forms 
water.  All  water,  ice,  steam,  etc.,  are  composed  of 
these  two  gases.  We  know  this  because  we  can  arti- 
ficially decompose,  or  separate,  all  water,  and  obtain 
as  a  result  simply  oxygen  and  hydrogen,  or  we  can 
combine  these  two  gases  and  thus  form  pure  water  ; 
oxygen  combines  with  nitrogen  and  forms  nitric 
acid.  These  chemical  changes  and  combinations 
take  place  only  under  certain  circumstances,  which, 
so  far  as  they  affect  our  subject,  will  be  considered 
in  the  following  pages. 

As  the  atmospheric  elements  of  plants  are  ob- 
tained from  matters  existing  in  the  atmosphere  which 
surrounds  our  globe,  we  will  examine  its  constitution. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   ATMOSPHERE  AND   ITS   CAKBON. 

Atmosphekic  air  is  composed  of  oxygen  and  nitrogen. 
Their  proportions  are,  one  part  of  oxygen  to  four 
parts  of  nitrogen.  Oxygen  is  the  active  agent  in  the 
combustion,  decay,  and  decomposition  of  organized 


THE    PLANT.  15 

bodies  (those  which  have  possessed  animal  or  vegetable 
life,  that  is,  organic  matter),  and  others, — also,  in 
the  breathing  of  animals.  Experiments  have  proved 
that  if  the  atmosphere  consisted  of  pure  oxygen  every 
thing  would  be  speedily  destroyed,  as  the  processes  of 
combustion  and  decay  would  be  greatly  quickened, 
and  animals  would  be  so  stimulated  that  they  would 
soon  die.  One  use  of  the  nitrogen  in  the  air  is  to 
dilute  the  oxygen,  and  thus  reduce  the  intensity  of 
its  effect. 

Besides  these  two  great  elements,  the  atmosphere 
contains  certain  impurities  which  are  of  great  impor- 
tance to  vegetable  growth ;  these  are,  carbonic  acid^ 
water ^  ammonia^  etc. 

CAEBONIO  ACID. 

Carbonic  acid  is,  in  all  probability,  the  only  source 
of  the  carbon  of  plants,  and  consequently  supplies 
more  material  to  vegetation  than  any  other  single 
sort  of  food.  It  is  a  gas,  and  is  not,  under  natm^al 
circumstances,  perceptible  to  our  senses.  It  consti- 
tutes about  2-§Vo  ^f  ^^  atmosphere,  and  is  found  in 
combination  with  many  substances  in  nature.  Marble, 
limestone  and  chalk,  are  carbonate  of  lime,  or  car- 
bonic acid  and  lime  in  combination ;  and  carbonate 
of  magnesia  is  a  compound  of  carbonic  acid  and  mag- 
nesia. This  gas  exists  in  combination  with  many 
other  mineral  substances,  and  it  is  contained  in  all 
water  not  recently  boiled.  Its  supply,  though  small, 
is  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  vegetation.     It  enters 


16  THE    PLANT. 

the  plant  in  two  ways — through  the  roots  in  the 
water  which  goes  to  form  the  sap,  and  at  the  leaves, 
which  absorb  it  from  the  air  in  the  form  of  gas. 
The  leaf  of  the  plant  seems  to  have  three  offices : 
absorbing  carbonic  acid  from  the  atmosphere — as- 
sisting in  the  chemical  preparation  of  the  sap — and 
evaporating  its  water.  If  we  examine  leaves  with  a 
microscope  we  shall  find  that  some  have  as  many  as 
170,000  openings,  or  mouths,  in  a  square  inch ;  others 
have  a  much  less  number.  Probably  the  pores  on 
the  under  side  of  the  leaf  generally  absorb  the  car- 
bonic acid.  This  absorptive  power  is  illustrated 
"when  we  apply  the  lower  side  of  a  cabbage  leaf  to  a 
wound,  as  it  draws  strongly — the  other  side  of  the 
leaf  has  not  an  equal  effect.  Young  green  shoots 
and  sprouts  doubtless  have  the  power  of  absorbing 
and  decomposing  carbonic  acid. 

The  roots  of  plants,  by  their  absorbent  surfaces,  or 
through  the  spongioles  at  the  ends  of  their  roots,  ab- 
sorb from  the  soil  water,  which  contains  carbonic 
acid  and  other  substances  required  for  their  nutrition. 
How  large  a  proportion  of  the  carbonic  acid  is  ab- 
sorbed in  this  manner  is  not  definitely  known.  It 
probably  depends  on  various  circumstances,  but  is, 
no  doubt,  always  important. 

Carbonic  acid,  it  will  be  recollected,  consists  of 
carbon  and  oxygen^  while  it  supplies  only  carbon  to 
the  plant.  It  is  therefore  necessary  that  it  be  divided, 
or  decomposed,  and  that  the  carbon  be  retained  while 
the  oxygen  is  sent  off  again  into  the  atmosphere,  to 
perform  again  its  office  of  uniting  with  carbon.     This 


THE   PLANT.  17 

decomposition  takes  place  in  the  greenip^Yts  of  plants 
and  only  under  the  influence  of  daylight.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  the  sun  shine  directly  on  the  leaf  or 
green  shoot,  but  this  causes  a  7nore  rapid  decomposi- 
tion of  carbonic  acid,  and  consequently  we  find  that 
plants  which  are  well  exposed  to  the  sun's  rays  make 
the  most  rapid  growth. 

The  fact  that  light  is  essential  to  vegetation  ex- 
plains the  conditions  of  different  latitudes,  which,  so 
far  as  the  assimilation  of  carbon  is  concerned,  are 
much  the  same.  At  the  Equator  the  days  are  but 
about  twelve  hours  long.  Still,  as  the  growth  of 
plants  is  extended  over  nearly  or  quite  the  whole 
year,  the  duration  of  daylight  is  sufficient  for  the  re- 
quirements of  a  luxuriant  vegetation.  At  the  Poles, 
on  the  contrary,  the  summer  is  but  two  or  three 
months  long ;  here,  however,  it  is  daylight  all  sum- 
mer, and  plants  from  continual  growth  develop  them- 
selves in  that  short  time. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  carbonic  acid  constitutes 
but  about  2  s'o  o  ^^  ^^®  ^^^)  .7®^?  although  about  one- 
half  of  all  the  vegetable  matter  in  the  world  is  de- 
rived from  this  source,  as  well  as  all  of  the  carbon 
required  by  the  growth  of  plants,  its  proportion  in 
the  atmosphere  is  constantly  about  the  same.  In 
order  that  we  may  understand  this,  it  becomes 
necessary  for  us  to  ^consider  the  means  by  which  it  is 
formed.  In  the  act  of  burning,  carbon  unites  with 
oxygen,  and  always  when  bodies  containing  carbon 
are  burnt  with  the  presence  of  atmospheric  air,  the 
oxygen  of  that  air  unites  with  the  carbon,  and  forms 


18  THE    PLANT. 

carbonic  acid.  The  same  occurs  when  bodies  con- 
taining carbon  decay^  as  this  is  simply  a  slower 
hurning  and  produces  the  same  results.  In  the 
breathing  of  animals  the  carbon  of  the  blood  com- 
bines with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  drawn  into  the 
lungs,  and  their  breath,  when  thrown  out,  always 
contains  carbonic  acid.  From  this  we  see  that  the 
reproduction  of  this  gas  is  the  direct  effect  of  the  de- 
struction of  all  organized  bodies,  whether  by  fire, 
decay,  or  consumption  by  animals. 

Furnaces  are  its  wholesale  manufactories.  Every 
cottage  fire  is  continually  producing  a  new  supply, 
and  the  blue  smoke  issuing  from  the  cottage-chim- 
ney, contains  materials  for  making  food  for  the  cot- 
tager's tables  and  new  faggots  for  his  fire.  The 
wick  of  every  burning  lamp  draws  up  the  carbon 
of  the  oil  to  be  made  into  carbonic  acid  in  the 
fiame.  All  matters  in  process  of  combustion,  decay, 
fermentation,  or  putrefaction,  are  returning  to  the 
atmosphere  those  constituents,  which  they  obtained 
from  it.  Every  living  animal,  even  to  the  smallest 
insect,  by  respiration,  spends  its  life  in  the  produc- 
tion of  this  material,  so  necessary  to  the  growth  of 
plants,  and  at  death  gives  up  its  body  in  part  for 
such  formation  by  decay. 

Thus  we  see  that  there  is  a  continual  change  from 
the  carbon  of  plants  to  air,  and  from  air  back  to 
plants,  or  through  them  to  animals.  As  each  dollar 
in  gold  that  is  received  into  a  country  permanently 
increases  its  amount  of  circulating  medium,  and  each 
dollar  sent  out  permanently  decreases  it  until  re- 


THE    PLANT.  19 

turned,  so  the  carbonic  acid  sent  into  the  atmosphere 
by  burning,  decay,  or  respiration,  becomes  a  per- 
manent stock  of  constantly  changeable  material, 
until  it  shall  be  locked  up  for  a  time,  as  in  a  house 
which  may  last  for  centuries,  or  in  an  oak  tree 
which  may  stand  for  thousands  of  years.  Still, 
when  these  decay,  the  carbon  which  they  contain 
must  be  again  resolved  into  carbonic  acid. 

The  coal-beds  of  Pennsylvania  are  mines  of  car- 
bon once  abstracted  from  the  atmosphere  by  plants. 
In  these  coal-beds  there  are  found  various  forms  of 
organized  matter.  These  existed  as  living  things 
before  the  great  floods,  and  it  is  the  theory  of  some 
geologists  that  at  the  breaking  away  of  the  barriers 
of  the  immense  lakes,  of  which  our  present  lakes 
were  merely  the  deep  holes  in  their  beds,  they  were 
washed  away  and  deposited  in  masses  so  great  as  to 
take  fire  from  their  chemical  changes.  It  is  by 
many  supposed  that  this  fire  acting  throughout  the 
entire  mass  (^dthout  the  presence  of  air  to  supjply 
oxygen  except  on  the  surface)  caused  it  to  become 
melted  carbon,  and  to  flow  around  those  bodies 
which  still  retain  their  shapes,  changing  them  to 
coal  without  destroying  their  structures.  This  coal, 
so  long  as  it  retains  its  present  form,  is  lost  to  the 
vegetable  kingdom,  and  each  ton  that  is  burned,  by 
being  changed  into  carbonic  acid,  adds  to  the  ability 
of  the  atmosphere  to  support  vegetation. 

Thus  w^e  see  that,  in  the  provisions  of  nature,  car- 
bon, the  grand  basis,  on  which  all  organized  matter 
is  founded,  is  never  permanent  in  any  of  its  forms. 


20  THE    PLANT. 

Oxygen  is  the  carrier  wliicli  enables  it  to  change  its 
condition.  For  instance,  let  lis  snppose  that  we 
have  a  certain  quantity  of  charcoal ;  this  is  nearly 
pure  carbon.  We  ignite  it,  and  it  unites  with  the 
oxygen  of  the  air,  becomes  carbonic  acid,  and  floats 
away  into  the  atmosphere.  The  wind  carries  it 
through  a  forest,  and  the  leaves  of  the  trees  with 
their  millions  of  mouths  drink  it  in.  By  the 
assistance  of  light  it  is  decomposed,  the  oxygen  is 
sent  off  to  make  more  carbonic  acid,  and  the  carbon 
is  retained  to  form  a  part  of  the  tree.  So  long  as 
that  tree  exists  in  the  form  of  wood,  the  carbon  will 
remain  unaltered,  but  when  the  wood  decays,  or  is 
burned,  it  immediately  takes  the  form  of  carbonic 
acid,  and  mingles  with  the  atmosphere  ready  to  be 
again  taken  up  by  plants,  and  have  its  carbon  de- 
posited in  the  form  of  vegetable  matter. 

The  blood  of  animals  contains  carbon  derived 
from  their  food.  This  unites  witli  the  oxygen  of  the 
air  drawn  into  the  lungs  and  forms  carbonic  acid. 
Without  this  process,  animals  could  not  live.  Thus, 
while  by  the  natural  operation  of  breathing,  they 
make  carbonic  acid  for  the  uses  of  the  vegetable 
world,  plants,  in  taking  up  carbon,  throw  off  oxygen  to 
keep  up  the  life  of  animals.  There  is  perhaps  no  way 
in  which  we  can  better  illustrate  the  chang^es  of  form 
in  carbon  than  by  describing  a  simple  experiment. 

Take  a  glass  tube  filled  with  oxygen  gas,  and 
put  in  it  a  lump  of  charcoal,  cork  the  ends  of  the 
tube  tightly,  and  pass  through  the  corks  the  wires 
of  an  electrical  battery.      By  passing  a  stream   of 


THE    PLANT.  21 

electrical  fluid  over  the  charcoal  it  may  be  ignited, 
when  it  will  burn  with  great  brilliancy.  In  burning 
it  unites  with  the  oxygen  forming  carbonic  acid,  and 
disappears.  It  is  no  more  lost,  however,  than  is  the 
carbon  of  wood  which  is  burned  in  a  stove  ;  al- 
though invisible,  it  is  still  in  the  tube,  and  may  be 
detected  by  careful  weighing.  A  more  satisfactory 
proof  of  its  presence  may  be  obtained  by  decompos- 
ing the  carbonic  acid  by  drawing  the  wires  a  short 
distance  apart,  and  giving  a  sjpark  of  electricity. 
This  immediately  separates  the  oxygen  from  the  car- 
bon, which  forms  a  dense  black  smoke  in  the  tube. 
By  pushing  the  corks  together  we  may  obtain  a 
,wafer  of  charcoal  of  the  same  weight  as  the  piece 
introduced.  In  this  experiment  we  have  changed 
carbon  from  its  solid  form  to  an  invisible  gas  and 
back  again  to  a  solid,  thus  fully  representing  the 
continual  changes  of  this  substance  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  organic  matter  and  the  growth  of  plants. 


CHAPTEE  III. 

HTDEOGEN,       OXYGEN      AND      NITEOGEN. 
HYDROGEN   AND   OXYGEN. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  three  gases,  hydrogen^  oxygen^ 
and  nitrogen^  which  constitute  the  remainder  of  the 
atmospheric  part  of  plants. 


22  THE    PLANT. 

Water  is  composed  of  liydrogeii  and  oxygen,  and,  if 
analyzed,  yields  simply  these  two  gases.  Plants  per- 
form STicli  analysis,  and  in  tliis  way  are  able  to  obtain 
a  sufficient  supply  of  these  materials,  as  their  sap  is 
composed  chiefly  of  ^vater.  Whenever  vegetable 
matter  is  destroyed  by  burning,  decay,  or  otherwise, 
its  liydrogen  and  oxygen  unite  and  form  water,  which 
usually  escapes  in  the  form  of  an  invisible  vapor. 
The  atmosphere  of  course  contains  greater  or  less 
quantities  of  watery  vapor  arising  from  this  cause 
and  from  the  evaporation  of  liquid  water.  This 
vapor  condenses,  forming  rains,  etc. 

Hydrogen  and  oxygen  are  never  taken  into  con- 
sideration in  manuring  lands,  as  they  are  so  readily 
obtained  from  the  w^ater  constituting  the  sap  of  the 
plant,  and  consequently  they  need  not  occupy  our 
attention  in  this  book. 

NITROGEN. 

Nitrogen^  the  only  remaining  atmosjpheric  constitu- 
ent of  vegetable  matter,  is  for  many  reasons  worthy 
of  close  attention. 

1.  It  is  necessary  to  the  growth  and  perfection  of 
all  cultivated  plants. 

2.  It  is  necessary  to  the  formation  of  all  animal 

'6.  It  -  ^-tten  deficient  in  the  soil. 
4.  1l  is  liable  to  be  easily  lost  from  manures. 
Athough  about  four-fifths  of  atmospheric  air  are 
pure  nitrogen,  it  is  almost  certain  that  plants  get  no 


THE    PLANT.  23 

nutriment  directly  from  this  source.  It  is  all  obtained 
from  some  of  its  compounds,  chiefly  from  the  one 
called  ammonia.  Nitric  acid  is  also  a  source  from 
which  plants  may  obtain  nitrogen,  though,  to  the 
farmer,  it  is  of  less  importance  than  ammonia. 

AMMONIA. 

Ammonia  is  composed  of  nitrogen  and  hydrogen. 
It  has  a  pungent  smell  and  is  famiharly  known  as 
hartshorn.  The  same  odor  is  often  perceptible 
around  stables  and  other  places  where  animal  matter 
is  decomposing.  All  animal  muscle,  certain  parts  of 
plants  and  other  organized  substances,  consist  of 
compounds  containing  nitrogen.  When  these  com- 
pounds undergo  combustion,  or  are  in  any  ixianner 
decomposed,  the  nitrogen  which  they  contain  unites 
with  hydrogen,  and  forms  ammonia.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  the  atmosphere  always  contains  more 
or  less  of  this  gas,  arising  from  the  decay  and  com- 
bustion which  are  continually  going,  on  all  over  the 
world. 

This  ammonia  in  the  atmosphere  and  that  which  is 
contained  in  the  soil  (derived  from  the  decomposition 
of  organic  matters  within  it)  is  the  capital  stock  to 
which  all  plants,  not  artificially  manured,  must  look 
for  their  supply  of  nitrogen.  As  the}  -^'k^^'^rK  <=-- 
monia  chiefly  if  not  entirely  through  thei'l  "  ':s,  we 
must  discover  some  means  by  which  it  may  be  con- 
veyed from  the  atmosphere  to  the  soil. 

Water  may  be  made  to  absorb  many  times  its 


24  THE    PLANT. 

bulk  of  this  gas,  and  water  with  which  it  comes  in 
contact  will  immediately  take  it  up.  Spirits  of 
hartshorn  is  merely  water  through  which  ammonia 
has  been  passed  until  it  is  saturated.*  This  power 
of  water  has  a  direct  application  to  agriculture, 
because  the  water  constituting  rains,  dews,  etc., 
absorbs  the  ammonia  which  the  decomposition  of 
nitrogenous  matter  had  sent  into  the  atmosphere, 
and  we  find  that  all  rain,  snow,  and  dew,  contain 
ammonia.  This  fact  may  be  chemically  proved  in 
various  ways,  and  is  perceptible  in  the  common 
operations  of  nature.  Every  person  must  have 
noticed  that  when  a  summer's  shower  falls  on  the 
plants  in  a  flower  garden,  they  commence  their 
growth  with  fresh  vigor,  while  the  blossoms  become 
larger  and  more  richly  colored.  This  effect  cannot 
be  produced  by  watering  with  spring  water,  unless 
it  be  previously  mixed  with  ammonia,  in  which  case 
the  result  will  be  the  same. 

Although  ammonia  is  a  gas  and  pervades  the 
atmosphere,  few,  if  any,  plants  can  take  it  up,- as 
they  do  carbonic  acid,  through  their  leaves.  It 
must  all  enter  through  the  roots  in  solution  in  the 
water  which  goes  to  form  the  sap.  Although  the 
amount  received  from  the  atmosphere  is  of  great 
importance,  there  are  few  cases  where  artificial  ap- 
plications are  not  beneficial.  The  value  of  farm-yard 
and  other  animal  manures,  depends  largely  on  the 
ammonia  which  they  yield  on  decomposition.     This 

*  By  saturated^  we  mean  tliat  it  contains  all  that  it  is  capable 
of  holding. 


THE   PLANT.  25 

subject,  also  the  means  for  retaining  in  the  soil  the 
ammoniacal  parts  of  fertilizing  matters,  will  be  fully 
considered  in  the  section  on  manures. 

After  ammonia  has  entered  the  plant  it  ma^^  be 
decomposed,  its  hydrogen  separated  from  it,  and  its 
nitrogen  retained  to  answer  the  purposes  of  growth , 
The  changes  which  nitrogen  undergoes,  from  plants 
to  animals,  or,  by  decomposition,  to  the  form  of  am- 
monia in  the  atmosphere,  are  as  varied  as  those  of 
carbon  and  the  constituents  of  water.  The  same 
little  atom  of  nitrogen  may  one  year  form  a  part  of  a 
plant,  and  the  next  become  a  constituent  of  an  animal, 
or,  with  the  decomposed  dead  animal,  may  form  a 
part  of  the  soil.  If  the  animal  should  fall  into  the 
sea  it  may  become  food  for  fishes,  and  our  atom  of 
nitrogen  may  form  a  part  of  a  fish.  That  fish  may 
be  eaten  by  a  larger  one,  or  at  death  may  become 
food  for  the  whale,  through  the  marine  insect  on 
which  it  feeds.  After  the  abstraction  of  the  oil  from 
the  whale,  the  nitrogen  may,  by  the  putrefaction  of 
his  remains,  be  united  to  hydrogen,  form  ammonia, 
and  escape  into  the  atmosphere.  From  here  it  may 
be  brought  to  the  soil  by  rains,  and  enter  into  the 
composition  of  a  plant,  from  which,  could  its  parts 
speak  as  it  grows  in  our  garden,  it  could  tell  us  a 
wonderful  tale  of  travels,  and  assure  us  that,  after 
wandering  about  in  all  sorts  of  places,  it  had  returned 
to  us,  the  same  little  atom  of  nitrogen  which  we  had 
owned  twenty  years  before,  and  which  for  thousands 
of  years  had  been  continually  going  through  its 
changes. 

2 


26  THE    PLANT. 

Liebig  says :  "  All  the  nitrogen  of  plants  and  of 
animals  is  derived  from  the  air.  Every  fireplace 
where  coals  are  burned,  the  numerous  furnaces  and 
chimneys  of  the  manufacturing  towns  and  districts, 
of  locomotive  engines  and  steamboats,  all  the  smelt- 
ing furnaces  of  the  iron-works — all  these  are  so  many 
forms  of  distillatory  apparatus  which  enrich  the  at- 
mosphere with  the  nitrogenized  food  of  a  vegetable 
world,  belonging  to  a  period  long  past. 

"  We.  can  form  some  idea  of  the  quantities  of  am- 
monia thus  poured  into  the  atmosphere,  if  we  con- 
sider that  in  numerous  gas-works  many  tons  of  am- 
moniacal  salts  are  annually  obtained  from  the  coals 
distilled  for  gas."  ^ 

The  same  is  true  of  any  of  the  atmospheric  or 
earthy  constituents  of  plants.  They  are  performing 
their  natural  offices,  or  are  lying  in  the  earth,  or 
floating  in  the  atmosphere,  ready  to  be  lent  to  any 
of  their  legitimate  uses,  sm-e  again  to  be  returned  to 
their  starting  point. 

Thus  no  atom  of  matter  is  ever  lost.  It  may 
change  its  place,  but  it  remains  for  ever  as  a  part  of 
the  capital  of  nature. 

*  Journal  of  the  Royal  Agricultural  Society,  vol.  xvii.,  p.  289. 


THE   PLAIfT.  27 


CHAPTER  lY. 

EAETHY     MATTER. 

We  will  now  examine  the  ashes  left  after  burning 
vegetable  substances.  This  is  earthy  matter;  and  it 
is  obtained  from  the  soil.  Atmospheric  matter,  al- 
though forming  so  large  a  part  of  the  plant,  we 
have  seen  to  consist  of  four  different  substances. 
The  earthy  portion,  on  the  contrary,  although 
forming  so  small  a  part,  consists  of  no  less  than  nitw 
or  ten  different  kinds  of  matter.  These  we  will 
consider  in  order.  In  their  relations  to  agriculture 
they  may  be  divided  into  three  classes — alkalies^ 
acids ^  and  neutrals ^^ 

Alkalies  and  acids  are  of  opposite  properties,  and 
when  brought  together  they  unite  and  neutralize 
each  other,  forming  compounds  which  are  neither 
alkaline  nor  acid  in  their  character.  Thus,  carbonic 
acid  (a  gas)  unites  with  lime — a  burning,  caustic 
substance — and  forms  marble,  which  is  a  hard,  taste- 
less stone.  Alkalies  and  acids  are  characterized  by 
their  tendency  to  unite  with  each  other,  and  the  com- 
pounds thus  formed  have  many  and  various  proper- 
ties, so  that  the  characters  of  the  constituents  give 
no  indication  of  the  character  of  the  compound. 
For  instance,  lime  causes  the  gases  of  animal  manure 

*  This  classification  is  not  strictly  scientific,  but  it  is  one  which 
the  learner  will  find  it  well  to  adopt.  These  bodies  are  called 
neutrals  because  they  have  a  less  decided  alkaline  or  acid  charac- 
ter than  the  other. 


THE    PLANT. 


to  escape,  while  sulphate  of  lime  (a  compound  of 
sulphmTc  acid  and  lime)  produces  an  opposite  effect, 
and  prevents  their  escape. 

The  substances  coming  under  the  signification  of 
neutrals,  are  less  affected  bj  the  laws  of  combina- 
tion, still  they  do  combine  with  other  substances,  and 
some  of  the  resultant  compounds  are  of  great  impor- 
tance to  apiculture. 


ALKALIES. 

The  alkalies  which  are  found  in  the  ashes  of 
plants  are  four  in  number ;  they  are  jpotash^  soda, 
lime,  and  magnesia. 

POTASH. 

When  we  pour  water  over  wood  ashes  it  dissolves 
the  potash  which  they  contain,  and  carries  it  away 
in  solution.  This  solution  is  called  ley,  and  if  it 
be  boiled  to  dryness  it  leaves  a  solid  substance 
which  is  chiefly  pure  potash.  Potash  left  exposed 
to  the  air  absorbs  carbonic  acid  and  becomes  car- 
bonate of  potash  or  pearlash  /  if  another  atom  of  car- 
bonic acid  be  added,  it  becomes  super-carbonate  of 
potash,  or  saloeratus.  Potash  has  many  uses  in  agri- 
culture. 

1.  It  forms  a  constituent  .  /  early  all  plants. 

2.  It  unites  with  silicic  ac*  -hd  tbrms  a  compound 
which  water  can  dissolve  ai  <  carry  into  the  roots  of 
plants ;  thus  supplying  them  with  an  ingredient 
which  gives  them  much  of  their  strength. 


THE    PLANT.  29 

3.  It  is  a  strong  agent  in  the  decomposition  of  vege- 
table matter,  and  is  thus  of  much  importance  in  pre- 
paring manm-es. 

4.  It  roughens  the  smooth  round  particles  of  sandy 
soils,  and  prevents  their  compacting,  as  they  are 
often  liable  to  do. 

5.  It  is  also  of  use  in  killing  certain  kinds  of  insects, 
and,  when  externally  applied,  in  smoothing  the  bark 
of  fruit  trees. 

The  source  from  which  this  and  the  other  earthy 
matters  required  are  to  be  obtained,  will  be  more 
fully  considered  in  the  section  on  manures. 

SODA. 

Soda^  one  of  the  alkalies  contained  in  the  ashes 
of  plants,  is  very  much  the  same  as  potash  in  its  agri- 
cultural character  and  uses.  Soda  exists  very  largely 
in  nature,  as  it  forms  an  important  part  of  common 
salt,  whether  in  the  ocean  or  in  those  inland  deposits 
known  as  rock  salt.  When  combined  with  sulphuric 
acid  it  forms  sulphate  of  soda  or  Glauber's  salts. 
In  combination  with  carbonic  acid,  as  carbonate  of 
soda,  it  forms  the  common  washing  soda  of  the  shops. 

LIME. 

Lime  is  in  many  '     ^s  important  in  agriculture  : 

1.  It  is  a  constitut^^^  li  plants  and  animals. 

2.  It  assists  in  th.  decomposition  of  vegetable 
matter  in  the  soil  as  \\  o    as  of  its  minerals. 

3.  It  corrects  the  acidity*  of  sour  soils, 

*  Sourness. 


30  THE    PLANT. 

4.  Combined  with  chlorine  or  sulphuric  acid  as 
chloride  or  sulphate  of  lime  it  is  a  good  fixer  of 
fertilizing  gases. 

In  nature  it  exists  most  largely  in  the  form  of  car- 
bonate of  lime ;  that  is,  as  marble,  limestone,  and 
chalk — these  all  being  of  the  same  composition.  In 
manufacturing  oaustic  (or  quick)  lime,  the  carbonate 
of  lime  is  burned  in  a  kiln ;  by  this  means  the  car- 
bonic acid  is  driven  off  into  the  atmosphere  and  the 
lime  remains  in  a  pure  or  caustic  state. 

MAGNESIA. 

Magnesia  is  the  remaining  alkali  of  vegetable 
ashes.  It  is  well  known  .as  a  medicine,  both  in  the 
form  of  calcined  magnesia,  and,  when  mixed  with 
sulphuric  acid,  as  epsom  salts. 

Although  magnesia  is  a  necessary  constituent  of 
plants,  it  is  not  an  element  of  which  fertile  soils  are 
likely  to  become  exhausted,  and  it  does  not  receive 
attention  in  special  manuring  ;  the  amount  returned 
to  the  soil  in  farm-yard  manure,  and  that  supplied 
by  the  decay  of  roots,  being  sufficient  for  the  growth 
of  the  most  luxuriant  crops. 

ACID  s. 
PHOSPHOKiq  ACID. 

Phosphoric  acid  is  a  constituent  of  the  ashes  of 
plants  which  is  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  farmer ; 
it  is  composed  of  phosphorus  and  oxygen.    Being  an 


THE    PLANT.  3 J. 

acid,  this  sabstance  has  the  power  of  combining  witli 
any  of  the  alkalies.  Its  most  important  compound 
is  formed  with  lime. 

PJiosj)hate  of  lime  forms  about  65  per  cent,  of  the 
dry  weight  of  the  bones  of  all  animals,  and  it  is  all 
derived  from  the  soil  through  the  medium  of  plants. 
As  plants  are  intended  as  food  for  animals,  nature 
has  provided  that  they  shall  not 'attain  their  perfec- 
tion without  taking  up  a  supply  of  phosphate  of 
lime  as  well  as  of  their  other  earthy  ingredients  ; 
consequently,  there  are  many  soils  which  will  not 
produce  good  crops,  simply  because  they  are  deficient 
in  phosphate  of  lime.  It  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant ingredients  of  manures,  and  its  value  is  depen- 
dent on  certain  conditions  which  will  be  hereafter 
explained. 

Another  use  of  phosphoric  acid  in  the  plant  is  to 
supply  it  with  the  small  amount  of  phosj)horus, 
which  seems  to  be  required  in  the  formation  of  the 
seed. 

SULPHURIC  Acm. 

Sulphuri&  acid  is  important  to  vegetation,  and~its 
addition  to  the  soil  often  renders  it  more  fertile.  It 
is  composed  of  sulphur  and  oxygen,  and  is  made  for 
manufacturing  purposes,  by  burning  sulphur.  With 
lime  it  forms  sulphate  of  lirne^  which  is  gypsum  or 
"plaster."  In  this  form  it  is  often  found  in  na- 
ture, and  is  most  extensively  used  in  agriculture. 
The  methods  for  supplying  sulphuric  acid  will  be 
described  hereafter.     It  gives  to  the  plant  a  small 


32  THE   PLANT. 

portion  of  sulphur^  which  is  necessary  to  the  forma- 
tion of  some  of  its  parts. 

SILICIC    ACID,     OR     SILICA. 

This  is  common  sand.  In  its  pure  state  it  cannot 
be  dissolved  and  plants  can  make  no  use  of  it.  It 
unites  with  the  alkalies  and  forms  compounds,  such 
as  silicate  of  potash^  silicate  of  soda^  etc.^  which  are 
soluble  in  water,  and  tlierefore  available  to  plants. 
If  we  roughen  a  corn  stalk  with  sand-paper  we  may 
sharpen  a  knife  upon  it.  This  is  owing  to  the  hard 
particles  of  silica  which  its  outer  parts  contain. 
.Window  glass  is  silicate  of  potash,  rendered  insoluble 
by  additions  of  arsenic  and  litharge. 

Liebig  tells  us  that  there  was  discovered,  between 
Manheim  and  Heidelberg  in  Germany,  a  mass  of 
melted  glass  where  a  hay-stack  had  been  struck  by 
Hghtning.  They  supposed  it  to  be  a  meteor,  but 
chemical  analysis  showed  that  it  was  only  the  com- 
pound of  silicic  acid  and  potash  which  served  to 
strengthen  the  grass. 

There  is  always  enough  silicic  acid  in  the  soil,  but 
it  is  often  necessary  to  add  an  alkali  to  render  it 
soluble  and  available.  When  grain,  etc.,  lodge  or 
fall  down  from  their  own  weight,  it  is  probable  that 
they  are  unable  to  obtain  from  the  soil  a  sufficient 
supply  of  the  soluble  silicates  to  support  their  rapid 
growth. 


THE   PLANT.  33 

NEUTRALS . 
CHLOEINE. 

Chlorine  is  an  important  ingredient  of  vegetable 
ashes.  It  is  not  found  alone  in  nature,  but  is  always 
in  combination  with  other  substances.  Its  most  im- 
portant compound  is  with  sodium,  forming  chloride 
of  sodium  (or  common  salt).  Sodium  is  the  base 
of  soda,  and  common  salt  is  usually  the  cheapest 
source  from  which  to  obtain  both  soda  and  chlorine. 
Chlorine  unites  with  lime  in  the  formation  of  chloride 
of  lime^  which  is  much  nsed  to  absorb  or  destroy  the 
unpleasant  odors  of  decaying  matters,  and  in  this 
character  it  is  of  use  in  the  treatment  of  manures. 

OXID  EOF    IKON. 

Oxide  of  iron,  one  of  the  constituents  of  ashes,  is 
common  iron  rust.  Iron  itself  is  naturally  of  a 
greyish  color,  but  when  exposed  to  the  atmosphere, 
it  readily  absorbs  oxygen  and  forms  a  reddish  com- 
pound. It  is  in  this  form  that  it  usually  exists  in 
the  soil,  and  many  soils  as  well  as  the  red  sandstones 
are  colored  by  it.  It  is  seldom,  if  ever,  necessary  to 
apply  this  as  a  manure,  there  being  usually  enough 
of  it  in  the  soil. 

This  red  oxide  of  iron,  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking,  is  called  by  chemists  the  peroxide.  There 
is  another  compound  which  contains  less  oxygen  than 
this,  and  is  called  the  protoxide  of  iron,  which  is 

2* 


34 


THE    PLANT. 


poisonous  to  plants.  When  it  exists  in  the  soil  it  is 
necessary  to  use  such  means  of  cultivation  as  shall 
expose  it  to  the  atmosphere  and  allow  it  to  take  up 
more  oxygen  and  become  the  peroxide.  The  black 
scales  which  ily  from  hot  iron  when  struck  by  the 
blacksmith's  hammer  are  protoxide  of  iron. 

The  peroxide  of  iron  is  a  very  good  absorbent  of 
ammonia,  and  consequently,  as  will  be  hereafter 
described,  adds  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

Oxide  of  Manganese,  though  often  found  in  small 
quantities  in  the  ashes  of  cultivated  plants,  cannot 
be  considered  indispensable. 

Having  now  examined  the  materials  from  which 
the  ashes  of  plants  are  formed,  we  are  enabled  to 
classify  them  in  a  simple  manner,  so  that  they  may 
be  recollected.     They  ai'e  as  follows  : — 


ALKALIES. 

Potash. 
Soda. 
Lime. 
Magnesia. 


ACIDS. 

Sulphuric  acid. 
Phosphoric  " 
Silicic  " 


NEUTRALS. 

Chlorine. 
Oxide  of  Iron. 
"    Manganese. 


CHAPTEK  Y. 


GROWTH 


Having  examined  the  materials  of  which  plants  are 
made,  it  becomes  necessary  to  discover  how  they  ai'e 


THE    PLANT.  35 

* 

put  togetlier  in  the  process  of  growth.  Let  us  there- 
fore suppose  a  young  wheat-plant,  for  instance,  to  be 
in  condition  to  commence  independent  growth. 

It  consists  of  roots  which  are  located  in  the  soil ; 
leaves  wdiich  are  spread  in  the  air,  and  a  stem  which 
connects  the  roots  and  leaves.  This  stem  contains 
sap  vessels,  which  may  be  regarded,  for  the  sake  of 
simplicity,  as  tubes  extending  from  the  ends  of  the 
roots  to  the  surfaces  of  the  leaves,  thus  affording  a 
passage  for  the  sap,  and  consequently  allowing  the 
matters  taken  up  to  be  distributed  throughout  the 
plant. 

It  is  necessary  that  the  materials  of  which  plants 
are  made  should  be  supplied  in  certain  proportions, 
at  the  proper  time,  and  in  a  suitable  condition.  For 
instance,  carbon  could  not  be  taken  up  in  large 
quantities  by  the  leaves,  unless  the  roots,  at  the  same 
time,  were  receiving  from  the  soil  those  mineral  mat- 
ters w^hich  are  necessary  to  growth.  On  the  other 
hand,  no  considerable  amount  of  earthy  matter  could 
be  appropriated  by  the  roots  unless  the  leaves  were 
obtaining  carbon  from  the  air.  This  same  rule  holds 
true  with  regard  to  all  of  the  constituents  required  ; 
Nature  seeming  to  have  made  it  a  law  that  if  one 
of  the  important  ingredients  of  the  plant  is  absent, 
the  others,  though  they  may  be  present  in  sufficient 
quantities,  cannot  be  used.  Thus,  if  the  soil  is  de- 
ficient in  alkalies,  and  still  has  sufficient  quantities 
of  all  of  the  other  ingredients,  the  plant  cannot  take 
up  these  ingredients,  because  alkalies  are  necessary 
to  its  life. 


36  THE    I'LANT. 

If  a  farmer  wishes  to  make  a  cart  lie  prepares  his 
wood  and  iron,  gets  them  all  in  the  proper  condition, 
and  then  can  very  readily  put  them  together.  But 
if  he  has  all  of  the  wood  necessary  and  no  iron^  he 
cannot  make  his  cart,  because  bolts,  nails  and  screws 
are  required,  and  their  place  cannot  be  .supplied  by 
boards.  This  serves  to  illustrate  the  fact  that  in, 
raising  plants  we  must  give  them  everything  that 
they  require,  or  they  wdll  not  grow  at  all. 

In  the  case  of  our  young  plant  the  following  opera- 
tions are  going  on  at  about  the  same  time. 

The  leaves  are  absorbing  carbonic  acid  from  the 
atmosphere,  and  the  roots  are  drinking  in  water  from 
the  soil. 

The  manner  in  which  food  is  taken  up  by  roots, 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  experiment: 
Take  a  tumbler,  filled  entirely  full  with  water  ;  tie 
over  it  a  bladder,  and  on  the  bladder  sprinkle  a  little 
salt.  The  bladder  becomes  moist  throughout  its 
entire  thickness,  and  transmits  enough  moisture  to 
the  salt  to  dissolve  it  gradually,  and  as  fast  as  it  is 
dissolved,  it  passes  through  the  bladder  into  the 
water  inside  of  the  tumbler.  In  a  long  enough  time 
the  water  can  be  made,  in  this  way,  to  dissolve  as 
much  salt  as  though  it  had  been  stirred  into  it  with- 
out the  intervention  of  the  bladder.  If  we  keep  the 
salt  soaking  wet,  as  it  lies  on  the  outside  of  the  blad- 
der, it  will  pass  through  much  more  rapidly,  but  if 
we  do  not  wet  it  by  a  direct  application  of  water, 
enough  water  will  reach  it  through  the  mem])rane  to 
allow  it  to  pass  into  the  tumbler,  as  above  described. 


THE    PLANT.  37 

The  roots  of  plants  contain  sap,  which  is  separated 
from  the  plant-food  in  the  soil,  by  a  thin  film  of 
matter,  which  constitutes  its  cell-walls.  So  long  as 
the  water  of  the  sap  has  the  capacity  to  dissolve 
more  mineral  matter  than  it  already  contains,  it  will 
take  it  through  the  cell-walls,  as  the  salt  is  taken 
through  the  bladder.  If  the  plant-food  outside  of 
the  roots  is  in  a  moist  condition,  it  will  be  taken  up 
more  rapidly  than  if  too  dry.  The  moistm-e  of  the 
soil  itself,  containing  mineral  matter  in  solution, 
passes  through  the  cell- walls  to  supply  the  place  of 
that  which  has  been  evaporated  at  the  leaves,  the 
matters  in  solution  passing  through  with  the  w^ater 
itself. 

In  short,  there  is  a  constant  tendency  to  supply 
the  deficiency  of  water  in  the  root,  and  to  keep  it 
constantly  charged  with  as  much  as  it  can  dissolve 
of  the  plant-food,  from  which  it  is  separated  only  by 
its  membranous  cell-walls. 

Under  the  influence  of  daylight,  the  carbonic  acid 
is  decomposed ;  its  oxygen  returned  to  the  atmos- 
phere, and  its  carbon  retained  in  the  plant. 

The  water  taken  in  by  the  roots  circulates  through 
the  sap  vessels  of  the  plant,  and  is  drawn  up  towards 
the  leaves,  where  it  is  evaporated.  This  water  con- 
tains the  nitrogen  and  earthy  food  required  by  the 
plant  and  some  carbonic  acid,  while  the  water  itself 
consists  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  plant  obtains  its  food  in  the 
following  manner : — 


38  THE   PLANT. 

Carbon. — In  the  form  of  carhoniG  acid  from  the 
atmosphere,  and  from  that  contained 
in  the  sap,  the  oxygen  being  retm^ned 
to  the  air. 

o  )  From  the  elements  of  the  water  con- 

Htdeogen.  j      stitnting  the  sap. 

NiTKOGEN. — From  the  soil  (chiefly  in  form  of  am- 
monia). It  is  carried  into  the  plant 
*  through  the  roots  in  solution  in  water. 
Earthy  |  From  the  soil,  and  only  in  solution  in 
Matter,    j      water. 

Many  of  the  chemical  changes  which  take  place 
in  the  interior  of  the  plant  are  well,  and  some  but 
imperfectly  understood,  but  they  require  too  much 
knowledge  of  chemistry  to  be  easily  comprehended 
b}^  the  young  learner,  and  it  is  not  absolutely  essen- 
tial that  they  should  be  understood  by  the  scholar 
who  is  merely  learning  the  elements  of  the  science. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  food  taken  up  by 
the  plant  undergoes  such  changes  as  are  required  for 
its  growth  ;  as  in  animals,  where  the  food  taken  into 
the  stomach  is  digested,  and  is  afterward  formed 
into  bone,  muscle,  fat,  hair,  etc.,  so  in  the  plant  the 
nutritive  portions  of  the  sap  are  resolved  into  wood, 
bark,  grain,  or  other  necessary  parts. 

The  results  of  these  changes  are  of  the  greatest 
importance  in  agriculture,  and  no  person  ought  to 
be  called  a  thoroughly  practical  farmer  who  does 
not  understand  them. 


TRE   PLANT.  39 


CHAPTEE  YI. 

STARCH,    WOODY-FIBKE,    GLUTEN,    ETC. 

"We  have  liitlierto  examined  the  raw  material  of 
plants.  That  is,  we  have  looked  at  each  one  of  the 
elements  separately,  and  considered  its  nse  in  vege- 
table growth. 

We  will  now  consider  another  division  of  plants. 
We  know  that  they  consist  of  various  substances,  such 
as  wood,  gum,  starch,  oil,  etc.,  and  on  examination 
we  shall  discover  that  these  substances  are  composed 
of  the  various  atmospheric  and  earthy  ingredients  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  chapters.  Thej  are  made 
up  almost  entirely  of  atmospheric  matter,  but  their 
ashy  parts,  though  very  small,  are  (as  we  shall  pres- 
ently see)  of  great  importance. 

These  compounds  may  be  divided  into  two  classes. 

The  first  class  are  composed  of  carhon^  hydrogen^ 
and  oxygen. 

The  second  class  contain  the  same  substances  and 
nitrogen. 

The  first  class  (those  compounds  not  containing  ni- 
trogen) comprise  the  wood,  starch,  gum,  sugar,  and 
fatty  matter,  which  constitute  the  greater  part  of  all 
plants,  also  the  acids  which  are  found  in  sour  fruits, 
etc.  Yarious  as  are  all  of  these  things  in  their  char- 
acters, they  are  entirely  composed  of  the  same  ingre- 
dients (carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen),  and  usually 
combined  in  about  the  same  proportion.     There  may 


40  THE    PLANT. 

be  a  slight  difference  in  the  composition  of  their  ashes, 
but  the  organic  part  derived  from  the  atmosphere  is 
much  the  same  in  every  case,  so  much  so,  that  they  can 
often  be  artificially  changed  from  one  to  the  other. 

As  an  instance  of  this,  it  may  be  stated  that  at  the 
Fair  of  the  American  Institute,  in  1834,  Prof.  Mapes 
exhibited  samples  of  excellent  sugar  made  from  the 
juice  of  the  corn-stalk,  from  starch,  from  linen,  and 
from  woody  fibre. 

In  the  plant,  during  its  growth,  they  are  constantly 
changing.  At  one  time  they  assume  a  form  in  which 
they  cannot  be  dissolved  by  water,  and  remain  fixed 
in  their  places. 

At  another,  the  chemical  influences  on  which  growth 
depends,  change  them  to  a  soluble  form,  and  they  are 
carried,  by  the  circulation  of  the  sap,  to  other  parts 
of  the  organism,  where  they  may  be  again  deposited 
in  other  insoluble  forms.  For  example,  the  turnip 
devotes  the  first  season  of  its  growth  to  storing  up 
in  its  root  a  large  amount  of  starch  and  pectic  acid ; 
in  the  second  season,  these  substances  become  soluble, 
are  taken  up  by  the  circulation  and  again  deposited 
in  the  form  of  woody  fibre,  starch,  etc.,  in  the  stems, 
leaves,  seed-vessels,  etc.,  above  the  ground.  If  a 
turnip  root  be  planted  in  the  spring,  in  moist  cotton, 
from  which  it  can  get  no  food,  it  will  simply,  by  the 
transformation  of  its  own  substance,  form  stems, 
leaves,  flowers  and  seed. 

Those  products  of  vegetation  which  contain  nitro- 
gen, are  of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  farmer, 
being  the  ones  from  which  animal  muscle  is  made. 


THE   PLAiCT.  41 

The  J  consist,  as  will  be  recollected,  of  carbon,  liy-, 
drogen,  oxygen  and  nitrogen^  or  of  all  of  the  atmos- 
j)heriG  elements  of  plants.  They  are  all  of  much  the 
same  character,  though  each  kind  of  plant  has  its 
peculiar  form  of  this  substance,  which  is  known  under 
the  general  name  oi protein. 

The  protein  of  wheat  is  called  gluten — that  of  In- 
dian corn  is  zein — that  of  beans  and  peas  is  legumin. 
In  other  plants  the  protein  substances  are  vegetable 
aTbumen^  casein^  etc. 

Gluten  absorbs  large  quantities  of  water,  which 
causes  it  to  swell  to  a  great  size,  and  become  full  of 
holes.  Flour  which  contains  much  gluten,  makes 
light,  porous  bread,  and  is  preferred  by  bakers,  be- 
cause it  absorbs  so  large  an  amount  of  water. 

The  nitrogenous  substances  are  necessary  to  animal 
and  vegetable  life,  and  none  of  our  cultivated  plants 
will  attain  maturity,  (complete  their  growth,)  unless 
allowed  the  materials  required  for  forming  them.  To 
furnish  this  condition  is  the  chief  object  of  nitrogen 
given  to  plants  as  manure.  If  no  nitrogen  could  be 
obtained  these  substances  could  not  be  formed,  and 
the  plant  must  cease  to  grow. 

When,  on  the  contrary,  ammonia  is  given  to  the 
soil,  (by  rains  or  otherwise,)  it  furnishes  nitrogen, 
while  the  carbonic  acid  and  water  yield  the  other 
constituents  of  protein,  and  a  healthy  growth  con- 
tinues, jprovided  that  the  soil  contains  the  earthy 
matters  required  in  the  formation  of  the  ash,  in  a 
condition  to  be  taken  up  by  the  roots.     • 

The  wisdom  of  this  provision  is  evident  when  we 


42  THE   PLANT. 

recollect  that  the  nitrogenous  substances  are  neces- 
sary to  the  formation  of  muscle  in  animals,  for  if 
plants  were  allowed  to  complete  their  growth  with- 
out a  supply  of  nitrogen,  our  grain  and  hay  might 
not  be  sufficiently  well  supplied  with  it  to  keep  our 
oxen  and  horses  in  working  condition,  while  under 
the  existing  law,  plants  must  be  of  nearly  a  uniform 
quality,  (in  this  respect,)  and  if  a  field  is  short  of 
nitrogen,  its  crop  will  not  be  large,  and  of  a  very 
poor  quality,  but  the  soil  will  produce  good  plants 
as  long  as  the  nitrogen  lasts,  and  then  the  growth 
must  cease. ^ 

ANIMALS. 

That  this  principle  may  be  clearly  understood,  it 
may  be  well  to  explain  more  fully  tlie  application  of 
the  different  constituents  of  plants  in  feeding  animals. 

Animals  are  composed  (like  plants)  of  atmospheric 
and  earthy  matter,  and  every  thing  necessary  to  build 
.them  up  exists  in  plants.  It  is  one  of  the  offices  of 
the  vegetable  world  to  prepare  the  gases  in  the 
atmosphere  and  the  minerals  in  the  earth  for  the 
uses  of  animal  life,  and,  to  effect  this,  plants  put 
these  gases  and  minerals  together  in  the  form  of  the 
various  compound  substances  which  we  have  just 
described. 

In  animals  the  compounds  containing  no  nitrogen 
comprise  the  fatty  substances,  parts  of  the  blood, 
etc.,  while  the  protein  compounds,  or  those  which 

*  It  is  of  course  assumed  that  the  soil  is  fertile  in  other  re- 
spects. 


THE   PLAKT.  43 

do  contain  nitrogen,  form  the  muscle,  a^part  of  the" 
bones,  the  hair,  and  other  portions  of  the  body. 

Animals  contain  a  larger  proportion  of  earthy 
matter  than  plants  do.  Bones  contain  a  large  quan- 
tity of  phosphate  of  lime,  and  we  find  other  earthy 
compounds  performing  important  ofiices  in  the  sys- 
tem. 

In  order  that  animals  may  be  perfectly  developed, 
they  must,  of  course,  receive  as  food  all  of  the  mate- 
rials required  to  form  their  bodies.  They  cannot 
live  if  fed  entirely  on  one  ingredient.  Thus,  if 
starch  alone  be  eaten  by  the  animal,  he  might  be- 
come/b^,  but  his  strength  would  soon  fail,  because 
his  food  contains  nothing  to  keep  up  the  vigor  of  his 
muscles.  If  on  the  contrary  the  food  of  an  animal 
consisted  entirely  of  gluten,  he  might  be  very  strong 
from  a  superior  development  of  muscle,  but  would 
not  become  fat.  Hence  we  see,  that  in  order  to 
keep  up  the  proper  proportion  of  both  fat  and  mus- 
cle in  our  animals,  (or  in  ourselves,)  the  food  must 
be  such  as  contains  a  proper  proportion  of  both 
classes  of  vegetable  products. 

It  is  for  this  reason  that  grain,  wheat  for  instance, 
is  so  good  for  food.  It  contains  both  classes  of 
proximates,  and  furnishes  material  for  the  formation 
of  both  fat  and  muscle.  The  value  of  j^6>i^/'  depends 
very  much  on  the  manner  in  which  it  is  manufac- 
tured.    This  will  be  explained  hereafter. 

Apart  from  the  relations  between  the  organic 
parts  of  plants,  and  those  of  animals,  there  exists  an 
important  relation  between  their  ashes  or  their  earthy 


4^  THE    PLANT. 

parts ;  and  food,  in  order  to  satisfy  the  demands  of 
animal  life,  must  contain  the  mineral  matter  re- 
quired for  the  purposes  of  that  life.  Take  bones  for 
instance.  If  phosphate  of  lime  is  not  always  sup- 
plied in  sufficient  quantities  in  the  food,  animals  are 
prevented  from  forming  healthy  bones.  This  is  par- 
ticularly to  be  noticed  in  teeth.  Where  food  is 
deficient  of  phosphate  of  lime,  we  see  poor  teeth  as 
a  result.  Some  physicians  have  supposed  that  one 
of  the  causes  of  consumption  is  the  deficiency  of 
phosphate  of  lime  in  food. 

The  first  class  of  vegetable  constituents  (starch, 
sugar,  gum,  etc.)  perform  an  important  office  in  the 
animal  economy  aside  from  their  use  in  making  fat. 
They  constitute  they^^^^  which  supplies  the  animal's 
fire,  and  gives  him  his  Keat.  The  lungs  are  the 
delicate  stoves,  which  supply  the  whole  body  with 
heat.  But  let  us  explain  this  matter  more  fully.  If 
wood,  starch,  gum,  or  sugar,  be  bm^ned  in  a  stove, 
they  produce  heat.  These  substances  consist,  as 
will  be  recollected,  of  carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxygen, 
and  when  they  are  destroyed  in  any  way,  (provided 
they  be  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,)  the  hydrogen 
and  oxygen  unite  and  form  water,  and  the  carbon 
unites  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  and  forms  carbonic 
acid,  as  was  explained  in  a  preceding  chapter.  This 
process  is  always  accompanied  by  the  production  of 
Jieat^  and  the  intensity  of  this  heat  depends  on  the 
time  occupied  in  its  production.  In  slow  decay,  the 
chemical  changes  take  place  so  slowly  that  the  heat, 
being  conducted  away  as  soon  as  formed,  is  not  per- 


THE   PLANT.  45 

ceptible  to  our  senses.  In  combustion  (or  burning) 
the  same  changes  take  place  with  much  greater 
rapidity,  and  the  same  amount  of  heat,  being  con- 
centrated, or  brought  out  in  a  far  shorter  time,  it 
becomes  intense,  and  therefore  apparent.  In  the 
lungs  and  blood-vessels  of  animals  the  same  law 
holds  true.  The  blood  contains  matters  belonging 
to  this  carbonaceous  class,  and  they  undergo,  dm^ing 
its  circulation,  the  changes  which  have  been  de- 
scribed under  the  head  of  combustion  and  decay. 
Their  hydrogen  and  oxygen  unite,  and  form  the 
moisture  of  the  breath,  while  their  carbon  is  com- 
bined with  the  oxygen  of  the  air  drawn  into  the 
lungs,  and  is  thrown  out  as  carbonic  acid.  The 
same  consequence — heat — results  in  this,  as  in  the 
other  cases,  and  this  heat  is  produced  with  sufficient 
rapidity  for  the  necessities  of  the  animal.  When  he 
exercises  violently,  his  blood  circulates  with  in- 
creased rapidity,  thus  carrying  carbon  more  rapidly 
to  the  lungs.  The  breath  also  becomes  quicker, 
thus  supplying  increased  quantities  of  oxygen.  In 
this  way  the  decomposition  becomes  more  rapid, 
and  the  animal  is  heated  in  proportion. 

Thus  we  see  that  food  has  another  function  be- 
sides that  of  forming  animal  matter,  namely  to  sup- 
ply heat.  When  the  food  does  not  contain  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  starch,  sugar,  etc.,  to  answer  the 
demands  of  the  system,  the  cmimaVs  own  fat  is  car- 
ried to  the  lungs,  and  there  used  in  the  production 
of  heat.  This  important  fact  will  be  referred  to 
again. 


46 


THE   PLANT. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

LOCATION   OF   THE   DIFFERENT   PARTS,    AND    VARIATIONS 
IN   THE   ASHES    OF   PLANTS. 

Let  us  now  examine  plants  with  a  view  to  learn- 
ing the  location  of  the  various  parts. 

The  stem  or  trunk  of  the  plant  or  tree  consists 
very  largely  of  woody  fibre  /  this  also  forms  a  large 
portion  of  the  other  parts  except  the  seeds,  and,  in 
some  instances,  the  roots.  The  roots  of  the  potato 
contain  large  quantities  of  starch.  Other  roots,  such 
as  the  carrot  and  turnip^  contain  pectic  acid^"^  a 
nutritious  substance  resembling  starch. 

It  is  in  the  seed^  however,  that  the  more  nutritive 
portions  of  most  plants  exist,  and  here  they  maintain 
certain  relative  positions  which  it  is  well  to  under- 
stand, and  which  can  be  best  explained  by  reference 
to  the  following  figures,  as  described  by  Prof.  John- 
ston : — 


FIG,  1. 


"  Thus  a  shows  the  position  of  the  oil  in  the  outer 

*  This  pectic  acid  gelatinizes  food  in"  the  stomach,  and  thus 
renders  it  more  digestible. 


"  THE   PLANT.  47 

part  of  the  seed — it  exists  in  minute  drops,  inclosed 
in  six-sided  cells,  which  consist  chiefly  of  gluten ;  5, 
the  position  and  comparative  quantity  of  the  starch, 
which  in  the  heart  of  the  seed  is  mixed  with  only  a 
small  proportion  of  gluten ;  c,  the  germ  or  chit,  which 
contains  much  gluten.""^ 

The  location  of  the  earthy  parts  of  plants  is  of 
much  interest,  and  shows  the  adaptation  of  each 
part  to  its  particular  use.  Take  a  wheat  plant,  for 
instance — the  stalk,  the  leaf,  and  the  grain,  show  in 
their  ashes,  important  difference  of  composition. 
The  stalk  or  straw  contains  three  or  four  times  as 
large  a  proportion  of  ash  as  the  grain,  and  a  no  less 
remarkable  difference  of  composition  may  be  noticed 
in  the  ashes  of  the  two  parts.  In  that  of  the  straw, 
we  find  a  large  proportion  of  silicic  acid  and  scarcely 
any  phosphoric  acid,  while  in  that  of  the  grain  there 
is  scarcely  a  trace  of  silicic  acid,  although  phosphoric 
acid  constitutes  about  one  half  of  the  entire  weight. 
The  leaves  contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  lime. 

This  may  at  first  seem  an  unimportant  matter, 
but  on  examination  we  shall  see  the  use  of  it.  The 
straw  is  intended  to  support  the  grain  and  leaves, 
and  to  convey  the  sap  from  the  roots  to  the  upper 
portions  of  the  plant.  To  perform  these  offices, 
strength  is  required,  and  this  is  given  by  the  siliciG 
acid,  and  the  woody  fibre  which  forms  so  large  a 
proportion  of  the  stalk.  The  silicic  acid  is  combined 
with  an  alkali,  and  constitutes  the  glassy  coating  of 
the  straw.  While  the  plant  is  young,  this  coating  is 
*  See  Johnston's  Elements,  page  41. 


48  THE   PLANT. 

hardly  apparent,  but  as  it  grows  older,  as  the  grain 
becomes  heavier,  (verging  towards  ripeness,)  the 
silicious  coating  of  the  stalk  assumes  a  more  prom- 
inent character,  and  gives  to  the  straw  sufficient 
strength  to  support  the  golden  head.  The  straw  is 
not  the  most  important  part  of  the  plant  as/btx^,  and 
it  contains  but  little  phosphoric  acid,  which  is  so 
necessary  to  animals. 

The  grain,  on  the  contrary,  is  especially  intended 
as  food,  and  therefore  must  contain  a  large  propor- 
tion of  phosphoric  acid — this  being,  as  we  have  al- 
ready learned,  necessary  to  the  formation  of  bone — 
while,  as  it  has  little  necessity  for  strength,  and  as 
silicic  acid  is  not  needed  by  animals,  this  ingredient 
exists  in  the  grain  only  in  a  very  small  proportion. 
It  may  be  well  to  observe  that  the  phosphoric  acid 
of  grain  exists  most  largely  in  the  hard  portions  near 
the  shell,  or  bran.  This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why 
Graham  (or  unbolted)  flour  is  more  wholesome  than 
fine  flour.  It  contains  all  of  the  nutritive  materials 
which  render  the  grain  valuable  as  food,  while  flour 
which  is  very  finely  bolted*  contains  only  a  small 
part  of  the  outer  portions  of  the  grain  (where  the 
phosphoric  acid,  protein  and  fatty  matters  exist  most 
largely).  The  starchy  matter  in  the  interior  of  the 
grain,  which  is  the  least  capable  of  giving  strength 
to  the  animal,  is  carefully  separated,  and  used  as  food 
for  man,  while  the  better  portions,  not  being  ground 
so  finely,  are  rejected.  This  one  thing  alone  may  be 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  fact,  that  the  lives  of 
*  Sifted  through  a  fine  cloth  called  a  bolting  cloth. 


THE    PLANT.  49 

men  have  become  shorter  and  less  blessed  with 
health  and  strength,  than  they  were  in  the  good  old 
days  when  a  stone  mortar  and  a  coarse  sieve  made 
a  respectable  flour  mill. 

Another  important  fact  concerning  the  ashes  of 
plants  is  the  difierence  of  their  composition  in  different 
plants.  Thus,  the  most  prominent  ingredient  in  the 
ash  of  the  potato  \^ potash  ;  of  wheat  and  other  grains, 
phosphoric  acid  /  of  meadow  hay,  silicic  acidj  of  clo- 
ver, liw.e'y  of  beans,  potash^  etc.  In  grain,  potash 
(or  soda)^  etc.,  are  among  the  important  ingredients. 

These  differences  are  of  great  importance  to  the 
practical  farmer,  as  by  understanding  what  kind  of 
plants  uses  the  most  of  one  ingredient,  and  what  kind 
requires  another  in  large  proportion,  he  can  regulate 
his  crops  so  as  to  prevent  his  soil  from  being  exhaust- 
ed more  in  one  ingredient  than  in  the  others,  and 
can  also  manure  his  land  with  reference  to  the  crop 
which  he  intends  to  grow.  The  tables  of  analyses 
in  the  fifth  section  will  point  out  these  differences 
approximately.  The  composition  of  ashes  varies  a 
little,  but  not  enough  to  affect  the  value  of  the 
tables  for  the  uses  of  the  farmer. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 


REOAPITULATIOH-. 


We  have  now  learned  as  much  about  the  plant  as  is 
required  for  our  immediate  uses,  and  we  will  care- 

3 


50  THE   PLA^T. 

fully  reconsider  the  various  points  with  a  view  to  fix- 
ing them  permanently  in  the  mind. 

Plants  are  composed  of  atmospheric  and  earthy 
matter. 

Atmospheric  matter  is  that  which  burns  away  in 
the  fire.     Earthy  matter  is  the  ash  left  after  burning. 

The  organic  matter  of  plants  consists  of  three 
gases,  oxygen,  hydrogen  and  nitrogen,  and  one  solid 
substance,  carbon  (or  charcoal).  The  mineral  parts 
consist  of  potash,  soda,  lime,  magnesia,  sulphi^'ic 
acid,  phosphoric  acid,  silicic  acid,  chlorine,  oxide  of 
iron,  and  oxide  of  manganese. 

Plants  obtain  their  atmospheric  food  as  follows  : — 
Oxygen  and  hydrogen  from  water ;  nitrogen  from 
some  compound  containing  nitrogen  (chiefly  from 
ammonia) ;  and  carbon  from  the  atmosphere,  where 
it  exists  as  carbonic  acid — a  gas. 

They  obtain  their  earthy  food  from  the  soil. 

The  water  which  supplies  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
to  plants  is  readily  obtained  without  the  assistance 
of  manures. 

Ammonia  is  obtained  from  the  atmosphere,  by  be- 
ing absorbed  by  rain  and  carried  into  the  soil,  and  it 
enters  plants  through  their  roots.  It  may  be  artifi- 
cially supplied  in  the  form  of  animal  manure  with 
advantage. 

Carbonic  acid  is  absorbed  from  the  atmosphere  by 
leaves,  and  decomposed  in  the  green  parts  of  plants 
under  the  influence  of  daylight;  the  carbon  is  re- 
tained, and  the  oxygen  is  returned  to  the  atmos- 
phere. 


THE    PLANT.  61 

When  plants  are  destroyed  by  decay,  or  burning, 
their  organic  constituents  pass  away  as  water,  am- 
monia, carbonic  acid,  etc.,  ready  again  to  be  taken 
np  by  other  plants. 

The  earthy  matters  in  the  soil  can  enter  the  plant 
only  with  the  aid  of  w^ater.  Potash^  soda,  lime, 
and  magnesia,  are  soluble  in  their  pure  forms. 
Magnesia  is  injurious  when  present  in  too  large 
quantities. 

SulphuriG  acid  is  often  used  as  a  manure,  and  is 
usually  most  available  in  the  form  of  sulphate 
of  lime  or  plaster.  It  is  also  valuable  in  its  pure 
form  to  prevent  the  escape  of  ammonia  from  com- 
posts. 

PhosjyJioric  acid  is  highly  important,  from  its  fre- 
quent deficiency  in  worn-out  soils.  It  is  most  readily 
taken  up  by  plants  under  certain  conditions  which 
will  be  described  in  the  section  on  manures. 

SilioiG  acid  is  common  sand,  and  must  be  united 
to  an  alkali  before  it  can  be  used  by  the  plant,  be- 
cause it  is  insoluble  except  when  so  united. 

Chlorine  is  a  constituent  of  common  salt  (chloride 
of  sodium),  and  from  this  source  may  be  obtained  in 
sufficient  quantities  for  manm-ial  purposes. 

Oxide  of  iron  is  iron  rust.  There  are  two  oxides 
of  iron,  \hQ  peroxide  (red)  and  \h.Q  protoxide  (black). 
The  former  is  advantageous  in  the  soil,  and  the  latter 
poisons  plants. 

Oxide  of  manganese  is  often  absent  from  the  ashes 
of  our  cultivated  plants. 

The  food  of  plants,  both  organic  and  earthy,  must 


52  THE   PLANT. 

be  present  at  the  time  when  it  is  required  and  in 
sufficient  quantity.  In  the  plant,  this  food  under- 
goes such  chemical  changes  as  are  necessary  to  growth. 

The  compound  substances  contained  in  plants  are 
of  two  classes,  those  not  containing  nitrogen^  and 
those  which  do  contain  it. 

The  first  class  constitute  nearly  the  whole  plant. 

The  second  class,  although  small  in  quantity,  are 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  farmer,  as  from 
them  all  animal  muscle  is  made. 

Animals,  like  plants,  are  composed  of  both  at- 
mospheric and  earthy  matter,  and  their  bodies  are 
obtained  directly  or  indirectly  from  plants. 

The  first  class  of  compounds  in  animals  comprise 
the  fat,  and  like  tissues. 

The  second  class  form  the  muscle,  hair,  gelatine 
of  the  bones,  etc. 

In  order  that  they  may  be  perfectly  developed, 
animals  must  eat  nitrogenized  and  non-nitrogenized 
food,  and  in  the  proportions  required  by  their 
natures. 

They  require  phosphate,  of  lime  and  other  mineral 
food  which  exists  in  plants. 

Aside  from  their  use  in  the  formation  of  fat^  sub- 
stances of  the  first  class  are  employed  in  the  lungs 
and  blood-vessels  as  fuel  to  keep  up  animal  heat, 
which  is  produced  (as  in  fire  and  decay)  by  their 
decomposition. 

When  the  food  is  insufficient  for  the  purposes  of 
heat,  the  animal's  own  fat  is  decomposed,  and  carried 
to  the  lungs  as  fuel. 


THE    PLANT.  53 

The  stems,  roots,  branches,  etc.,  of  most  plants 
consist  principally  of  woody  jihre.   ' 

Their  seeds,  and  sometimes  their  roots,  contain 
considerable  quantities  of  starch. 

The  nitrogenized  substances  and  the  oils  of  most 
plants  exist  most  largely  in  the  seeds,  therefore  seeds 
are  the  most  nutritions  food  for  animals,  because 
they  contain  the  largest  proportion  of  digestible 
matter. 

The  location  of  the  different  compounds  in  the 
plant,  as  well  as  of  its  mineral  parts,  shows  a  remark- 
able reference  to  the  purposes  of  growth,  and  to  the 
wants  of  the  animal  world,  as  is  noticed  in  the 
difference  between  the  construction  of  the  straw  and 
that  of  the  kernel  of  wheat. 

The  reason  why  the  fine  flour  now  made  is  not 
so  healthfully  nutritious  as  that  which  contained 
more  of  the  coarse  portions,  is  that  it  is  robbed  of  a 
large  proportion  of  protein  and  phosphate  of  lime, 
while  it  contains  an  undue  amount  of  starch,  which 
is  available  only  to  form  fat,  and  to  supply  fuel  to 
the  lungs. 

Different  plants  have  ashes  of  different  composi- 
tion. Thus — one  may  take  from  the  soil  large 
quantities  of  potash,  another  of  phosphoric  acid,  and 
another  of  lime.  By  understanding  these  difler- 
ences,  we  shall  be  able  so  to  regulate  our  rotations 
that  the  soil  may  not  be  called  on  to  supply  more  of 
one  ingredient  than  of  another,  and  thus  it  may  be 
kept  in  balance. 

The  facts  contained  in  this  chapter  are  the  alpha- 


5-1:  THE    PLANT. 

het  of  agriculture^  and  the  learner  should  become 
perfectly  familiar  with  them,  before  proceeding 
further. 

To  enter  more  fully  and  more  scientifically  upon 
the  consideration  of  the  various  properties  of  these 
substances,  and  of  their  relations  to  each  other, 
would,  no  doubt,  be  in  better  accordance  with  the 
demands  of  accurate  knowledge ;  but  the  foregoing 
is  believed  to  be  a  perfectly  true,  although  a  very 
simple  statement  of  the  first  principles  of  the  growth 
and  composition  of  plants,  and  is  sufficient  for  the 
first  steps  in  agricultural  study. 

A  clear  comprehension  of  what  is  herein  set  forth 
should  have  the  effect  of  stimulating  a  further  search, 
in  which  more  extended  treatises  will  become  neces- 
sary. 


SECTION  SECOID. 

THE   SOIL 


SECTION  SECOND. 

THE  SOIL. 

•-«-• 

CHAPTEE  I. 

FOEMATION      AND        CHARACTER      OF      THE 
SOIL. 

In  the  foregoing  section,  we  have  studied  the  cha- 
racter of  plants  and  the  laws  which  govern  their 
growth.  We  learned  that  one  necessary  condition 
for  growth  is  a  fertile  soil,  and  we  must  examine  the 
nature  of  different  soils,  in  order  that  we  may  under- 
stand the  relations  between  them  and  plants. 

The  soil  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  mysterious  mass 
of  dirt,  whereon  crops  are  produced  by  a  mysterious 
process.  Well  ascertained  scientific  knowledge  has 
proved  beyond  question  that  all  soils,  whether  in 
America  or  Asia,  whether  in  Maine  or  California, 
have  certain  fixed  properties,  which  render  them 
fertile  or  barren,  and  their  fertility  or  barrenness  de- 
pends, first  of  all,  on  the  presence  or  absence  of  those 
minerals  which  constitute  the  ashes  of  vegetable  pro- 
ductions. 

3* 


58  THE    SOIL. 

The  soil  is  a  great  chemical  compound,  and  its 
chemical  character  is  ascertained  (as  in  the  case  of 
plants)  by  analyzing  it,  or  taking  it  apart. 

We  first  learn  that  fertile  soils  contain  both  at- 
mospheric and  earthy  matter ;  but,  unlike  the  plant, 
they  usually  possess  much  more  of  the  latter  than  of 
the  former. 

In  the  plant,  the  atmospheric  matter  constitutes 
the  most  considerable  portion  of  the  whole.  In  the 
soil,  on  the  contrary,  it  usually  exists  in  very  small 
quantities,  while  the  earthy  parts  constitute  nearly 
the  whole  bulk. 

The  atmospheric  or  organic  part  of  soils  consists  of 
the  same  materials  that  constitute  the  atmospheric 
part  of  the  plants,  and  is  in  reality  decayed  vegetable 
and  animal  matter.  It  is  not  necessary  that  this 
organic  part  of  the  soil  should  form  any  particular 
proportion  of  the  whole,  and  indeed  we  find  it  vary- 
ing from  one  and  a  half  to  fifty,  and  sometimes,  in 
peaty  soils,  to  over  seventy  per  cent.  All  fertile  soils 
contain  some  organic  matter,  although  it  seems  to 
make  but  little  difiference  in  fertility,  whether  it  be 
five  or  fifty  per  cent. 

The  earthy  part  of  soils  is  derived  from  the 
crumbling  of  rocks.  Some  rocks  (such  as  the  slates 
in  Central  'New  York)  decompose,  and  crumble  rap- 
idly on  being  exposed  to  the  weather ;  while  granite, 
marble,  and  other  rocks,  will  last  for  a  long  time 
without  perceptible  change.  The  causes  of  this 
crumbling  are  various,  and  are  important  to  be  un- 
derstood by  the  agriculturist,  as  by  the  same  process- 


THE    SOIL.  59 

es  bj  wMcli  the  soil  was  originally  formed,  lie  can 
increase  its  depth,  or  otherwise  improve  it.  This 
being  the  case,  we  will  in  a  few  words  explain  some 
of  the  principal  pulverizing  agents. 

1.  The  action  of  frost.  "When  water  lodges  in 
the  crevices  of  rocks,  and  freezes^  it  expands,  and 
bursts  the  rock,  on  the  same  principle  that  causes 
it  to  break  a  pitcher  in  winter.  This  power  is  verj 
great,  and  by  its  assistance  large  cannon  may  be 
burst.  Of  course,  the  action  of  frost  is  the  same  on 
a  small  scale  as  when  applied  to  large  masses  of  mat- 
ter, and,  therefore,  we  find  that  when  water  freezes 
in  the  jpores  *  of  rocks  or  stones,  it  separates  their 
particles  and  causes  them  to  crumble.  The  same  rule 
holds  true  with  regard  to  stiff  clay  soils.  If  they  are 
ridged  in  autumn,  and  left  with  a  rough  surface  ex- 
posed to  the  frosts  of  winter,  they  will  become  much 
lighter  and  finer,  and  can  afterwards  be  worked  with 
less  difiiculty. 

2.  The  action  of  water.  Many  kinds  of  rock 
become  so  soft  on  being  soaked  with  water,  that  they 
readily  crumble. 

3.  The  chemical  changes  of  the  constituents  of  the 
rock.  Many  kinds  of  rock  are  affected  by  exposure 
to  the  atmosphere,  in  such  a  manner,  that  changes 
take  place  in  their  chemical  character,  and  cause 
them  to  fall  to  pieces.  The  red  kellis  of  J^ew  Jer- 
sey, (a  species  of  sandstone,)  is,  when  first  quarried, 
a  very  hard  stone,  but  on    exposure  to    the  influ- 

*  The  spaces  between  the  particles. 


60  THE    SOIL. 

ences  of  the  atmosphere,  it  becomes  so  soft  that  it 
may  be  easily  crushed  between  the  thumb  and  finger. 

Other  actions,  of  a  less  simple  kind,  exert  an  in- 
fluence on  the  stubbornness  of  rocks,  and  cause  them 
to  be  resolved  into  soils. "^  Of  course,  the  composi- 
tion of  the  soil  must  be  similar  to  that  of  the  rock 
from  which  it  was  formed  ;  and  consequently,  if  we 
know  the  chemical  character  of  the  rock,  we  can  tell 
Avhether  the  soil  formed  from  it  can  be  brought  under 
profitable  cultivation.  Thus  felspar,  on  being  pul- 
verized, yields  potash ;  talcose  slate  yields  magnesia  ; 
marls  yield  lime,  etc. 

The  soil  formed  entirely  from  rock,  contains,  of 
course,  no  organic  matter.  Still,  it  is  capable  of 
bearing  plants  of  a  certain  class,  and  when  these  die, 
they  are  deposited  in  the  soil,  and  thus  form  its  or- 
ganic portions,  rendering  it  capable  of  supporting 
those  plants  which  furnish  food  for  animals.  Thou- 
sands of  years  must  have  been  occupied  in  prepa- 
ring the  earth  for  habitation  by  man. 

As  the  earthy  part  of  the  soil  is  usually  the  lar- 
gest, we  will  consider  it  first. 

As  we  have  stated  that  this  portion  is  formed 
from  rocks,  we  will  examine  their  character,  with  a 
view  to  showing  the  different  qualities  of  soils. 

As  a  general  rale,  it  may  be  stated  that  all  rocks 

*  In  very  many  instances  the  crevices  and  seams  of  rocks  are 
permeated  by  roots,  wMch,  by  decaying^  and  thus  inducing  the 
growth  of  other  roots,  cause  these  crevices  to  become  filled  with 
organic  matter.  This,  by  the  absorption  of  moisture,  may  expand 
with  sufficient  power  to  burst  the  rock. 


THE    SOIL.  61 

are  either  sandstones,  limestones,  or  clays  /  or  a  mix- 
ture of  two  or  inore  of  these  ingredients.  Hence  we 
find  that  all  mineral  soils  are  either  sandy,  calcareoics 
(limej),  or  clayey  /  or  consist  of  a  mixture  of  these, 
in  which  one  or  another  usually  predominates.  Thus, 
we  speak  of  a  sandy  soil,  a  clay  soil,  etc.  These 
distinctions  (sandy,  clayey,  loamy,  etc.)  are  impor- 
tant in  considering  the  mechanical  character  of  the 
soil,  but  have  little  reference  to  its  chemical  condi- 
tions of  fertility. 

By  mechanical  character,  we  mean  those  qualities 
which  affect  the  ease  of  cultivation — excess  or  defi- 
ciency of  water,  ability  to  withstand  drought,  etc. 
For  instance,  a  heavy  clay  soil  is  difiicult  to  plow, 
retains  water  after  rains,  and  bakes  (j^uite  hard  dur- 
ing drought ;  while  a  light  sandy  soil  is  plowed  with 
ease,  often  allows  water  to  pass  through  immediately 
after  rains,  and  becomes  dry  and  powdery  during 
drought.  Notwithstanding  those  differences  in  their 
mechanical  character,  both  soils  may  be  very  fertile, 
or  one  more  so  than  the  other,  without  reference  to 
the  clay  and  sand  which  they  contain,  and  which,  to 
our  observation,  form  their  leading  characteristics. 
The  same  facts  exist  with  regard  to  a  loam,  a  calca- 
reous (or  limey)  soil,  or,  a  vegetable  mould.  Their 
mechanical  texture  is  not  necessarily  an  index  to 
their  fertility,  nor  to  the  manures  required  to  enable 
them  to  furnish  food  to  plants.  It  is  true,  that  each 
kind  of  soil  appears  to  have  some  general  quality  of 
fertility  or  barrenness  which  is  well  known  to  prac- 
tical men,  yet  this  is  not  founded  on  the  fact  that 


02  THE    SOIL. 

the  clay  or  the  sand,  or  the  vegetable  matter,  enter 
more  largely  into  the  constitution  of  plants  than  they 
do  when  they  are  not  present  in  so  great  quantities, 
but  on  certain  other  facts  which  will  be  hereafter 
explained. 

As  the  following  names  are  used  to  denote  the 
character  of  soils,  in  ordinary  agricultural  descrip- 
tion, we  will  briefly  explain  their  application  : 

A  Sandy  soil  is,  of  course,  one  in  which  sand 
largely  predominates. 

Clay  soil,  one  where  day  forms  a  large  proportion 
of  the  soil. 

Loamy  soil,  where  sand  and  clay  are  more  equally 
mixed. 

Marl  contains  from  five  to  twenty  per  cent,  of 
carbonate  of  lime. 

Calcareous  soil  more  than  twenty  per  cent. 

Peaty  soils,  of  course,  contain  large  quantities  of 
organic  matter.* 

We  will  now  take  under  consideration  that  part 
of  the  soil  on  which  depends  its  ability  to  supply 
food  to  the  plant.  This  portion  rarely  constitutes 
more  than  five  or  ten  per  cent,  of  the  entire  soil, 
often  much  less — and  it  has  no  reference  to  the  sand, 
clay,  and  vegetable  matteus  which  they  contain. 
From  analyses  of  many  fertile  soils,  and  of  others 
which  are  barren  or  of  poorer  quality,  it  has  been 
ascertained  that  the  presence  of  certain  ingre- 
dients is  necessary  to  fertility.      This  may  be  bet- 

*  These  distinctions  are  not  essential  to  be  learned,  but  are 
often  convenient. 


THE    SOIL. 


ter    explained    by   the    assistance   of  tlae  following 
table : 


In  one  hundred  pounds. 

Soil  fertile 
without 
manure. 

Good 
wheat  soil. 

Barren. 

Organic  matter 

Silicic  acid  (sand)       .     .     . 

Alumina  (clay) 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Oxide  of  iron 

Oxide  of  manganese     .     .     . 

Potash 

Soda 

Chlorine 

Sulphuric  acid 

Phosphoric  acid     .... 

Carbonic  acid 

Loss  during  the  analysis 

9.7 

64.8 

5.7 

5.9 

.9 

6.1 

.1 

.3 

.4 

.2 

.2 

.4 

4.0 

1.4 

7.0 

74.3 
5.5 
1.4 

.7 
4.7 

1.7 
.7 
.1 
.1 
•U 

3.6i 

4.0 

77.8 
9.1 

8!l 
A 

100.0 

100.0 

100.0 

The  soil  represented  in  the  first  and  second  columns 
might  still  be  fertile  with  less  organic  matter,  or  with 
a  larger  proportion  of  clay  (alumina),  and  less  sand 
(silicic  acid).  These  affect  its  TneGhanical  character  ; 
but,  if  we  look  down  the  columns,  we  notice  that  there 
are  small  quantities  of  lime,  magnesia  and  the  other 
constituents  of  the  ashes  of  plants  (except  oxide  of 
manganese).  It  is  not  necessary  that  they  should  be 
present  in  the  soil  in  the  exact  quantity  named  above, 
but  not  one  must  he  entirely  absent^  or  greatly  reduced 
in  ^proportion.  By  referring  to  the  third  column,  we 
see  that  these  ingredients  are  not  all  present,  and  the 
soil  is  barren.  Even  if  it  were  supplied  with  all  but 
one  or  two,  potash  and  soda  for  instance,  it  could  not 
support  a  crop  without  the  assistance  of  manures  con- 


64:  THE    SOIL. 

taining  these  alkalies.  The  reason  for  this  must  be 
readily  seen,  as  we  have  learned  that  no  plant  can  arrive 
at  maturity  without  the  necessary  supply  of  materials 
required  in  the  formation  of  the  ash,  and  these  mate- 
rials can  be  obtained  only  from  the  soil ;  consequent- 
ly, when  they  do  not  exist  there,  it  must  be  barren. 

The  earthy  part  of  soils  has  two  distinct  offices  to 
perform.  The  claj^  and  sand  form  a  mass  of  material 
into  which  roots  can  penetrate,  and  which  support 
plants  in  their  position.  These  parts  also  absorb 
heat,  air  and  moisture,  to  serve  the  purposes  of  growth, 
as  we  shall  see  in  a  future  chapter.  The  minute 
portions  of  soil,  which  comprise  the  acids,  alkalies 
and  neutrals,  furnish  plants  with  their  ashes,  and  are 
the  most  necessary  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

GEOLOGY. 

The  relation  between  the  earthy  parts  of  soils  and 
the  rocks  from  which  it  was  formed,  is  the  foundation 
of  Agricultural  Geology.  Geology  may  be  briefly 
named  the  science  of  the  rochs.  It  would  not  be  ap- 
propriate in  an  elementary  work,  to  introduce  much 
of  this  study,  and  we  will  therefore  simply  state  that 
the  same  kind  of  rock  is  of  the  same  composition  all 
the  world  over ;  consequently,  if  we  find  a  soil 
in  New  England  formed  from  any  particular  rock, 
and  a  soil  from  the  same  rock  in  Asia,  their  natural 
fertility  will  be  the  same  in  both  localities.  All  rocks 
consist  of  a  mixture  of  different  kinds  of  minerals ; 
and  some,  consisting  chiefly  of  one  ingredient,  are  of 


THE    SOIL.  65 

different  degrees  of  Jiardness.  Both  of  these  qualities 
must  affect  the  character  of  the  soil,  but  it  may  be 
laid  down  as  a  rule  that,  when  the  rocks  of  two  loca- 
tions are  exactly  alike,  the  soils  formed  from  them 
will  he  of  the  same  natural  fertility,  and  in  propor- 
tion as  the  chemical  character  of  rocks  changes,  in 
the  same  proportion  will  the  soils  differ  in  fertility. 

In  most  districts  the  soil  is  formed  from  the  rock 
on  which  it  lies ;  but  this  is  not  always  the  case. 
Soils  are  often  formed  by  deposits  of  matter  brought 
by  water  from  other  localities.  Thus  the  alluvial 
banks  of  rivers  consist  of  matters  brought  froln  the 
country  through  which  the  rivers  have  passed.  The 
river  Xile,  in  Egypt,  yearly  overflows  its  banks,  and 
deposits  large  quantities  of  mud  brought  from  the  un- 
inhabited upper  countries.  The  prairies  of  the  West 
owe  their  soil  chiefly  to  deposits  by  water.  Swamps 
often  receive  the  washings  of  adjacent  hills  ;  and,  in 
these  cases,  their  soil  is  derived  from  a  foreign  source. 

We  might  continue  to  enumerate  instances  of  the 
relations  between  soils  and  the  sources  whence  they 
originated,  thus  demonstrating  more  fully  the  impor- 
tance of  geology  to  the  farmer ;  but  it  would  be  be- 
yond the  scope  of  this  work,  and  should  be  investi- 
gated by  scholars  more  advanced  than  those  who  are 
studying  merely  the  elements  of  agricultural  science. 

The  mind,  in  its  early  application  to  any  branch 
of  study,  should  not  be  charged  with  intricate  subjects. 
It  should  master  well  the  rudiments,  before  investi- 
gating those  matters  which  ^ouldi  follow  such  under- 
standing. 


(IG  THE    SOIL. 

By  pursuing  the  proper  course,  it  is  easy  to  learn 
all  that  is  necessary  to  form  a  good  foundation  for  a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  the  subject.  If  this 
foundation  is  laid  thoroughly,  the  learner  will  regard 
plants  and  soils  as  old  acquaintances,  with  whose 
formation  and  properties  he  is  as  familiar  as  with  the 
construction  of  a  building  or  a  simple  machine.  A 
simple  spear  of  grass  will  become  an  object  of  inter- 
est, forming  itself  into  a  perfect  plant,  with  full  de- 
velopment of  roots,  stems,  leaves,  and  seeds,  by  pro- 
cesses with  which  he  feels  acquainted.  The  soil  will 
cease  to  be  mere  dirt ;  it  will  be  viewed  as  a  com- 
pound substance,  whose  composition  is  a  matter  of 
interest,  and  whose  care  may  become  a  source  of  in- 
tellectual pleasure.  The  commencement  of  study 
in  any  science  must  necessarily  be  wearisome  to  the 
untrained  mind,  but  its  more  advanced  stages  amply 
repay  the  trouble  of  early  exertions. 


CHAPTEE  11. 

USES   OF   ATMOSPHERIC   MATTER. 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  in  addition  to  its  mineral 
portions,  the  soil  contains  atmospheric  or  organic  mat- 
ter in  varied  quantities.  It  may  be  fertile  with  but 
one  and  a  half  per  cent,  of  atmospheric  matter,  and 
some  peaty  soils  contain  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  or 
more  than  one-half  of  the  whole. 


THE    SOIL.  07 

The  precise  amount  necessary  cannot  be  fixed  at 
any  particular  proportion  ;  probably  five  parts  in  a 
hundred  is  better  than  a  smaller  amount. 

The  soil  obtains  its  atmospheric  matter  in  two 
ways.  First,  by  the  decay  of  roots  and  dead  plants, 
also  of  leaves,  which  have  been  brought  to  it  by 
wind,  etc.  Second,  by  the  application  of  animal  or 
vegetable  manures. 

When  a  crop  of  clover  is  raised,  it  obtains  its  car- 
bon from  the  atmosphere;  and,  if  it  be  plowed 
under,  and  allowed  to  decay,  a  portion  of  this  carbon 
is  deposited  in  the  soil.  Carbon  constitutes  nearly 
the  whole  of  the  dry  weight  of  the  clover,  aside  from 
the  constituents  of  water ;  and  when  we  calculate 
the  immense  quantity  of  hay  and  roots  grown  on 
an  acre  of  soil  in  a  single  season,  we  shall  find  that 
the  amount  of  carbon  thus  deposited  is  immense. 
If  the  clover  be  removed,  and  the  roots  only  left  to 
decay,  the  amount  of  carbon  deposited  would  still  be 
very  great.  The  same  is  true  in  all  cases  where  the 
crop  is  removed,  and  the  roots  remain  to  add  to  the 
organic  or  vegetable  part  of  the  soil.  While  under- 
going decomposition,  a  pi .  tion  of  this  matter  escapes 
in  the  form  of  gas,  and  the  remainder  chiefly  assumes 
the  form  of  carbon  (or  charcoal),  in  which  form,  it 
will  always  remain,  without  loss,  unless  driven  out  by 
fire.  If  a  bushel  of  charcoal  be  mixed  with  the  soil 
now,  it  will  be  the  same  bushel  of  charcoal,  neither 
more  nor  less,  a  thousand  years  hence,  unless  some 
influence  is  brought  to  bear  on  it  aside  from  the 
growth  of  plants.     It  is  true  that,  in  the  case  of  the 


68         '  THE    SOIL. 

decomposition  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil,  certain 
compounds  are  formed,  known  under  the  general 
names  of  humus  and  humic  acid,  which  may,  in  a 
slight  degree,  affect  the  growth  of  plants,  but  their 
practical  importance  is  of  too  doubtful  a  character 
to  justify  us  in  considering  them.  The  application 
of  manures,  containing  organic  matter,  such  as  peat, 
muck,  animal  manure,  etc.,  supplies  the  soil  with 
carbon  on  the  same  principle,  and  the  decomposing 
matters  also  generate  "^  carbonic  acid  gas  while  being 
decomposed.  The  agricultural  value  of  carbon  in 
the  soil  depends  (as  we  have  stated),  not  on  the  fact 
that  it  enters  into  the  composition  of  plants,  but  on 
certain  other  important  offices  which  it  performs,  as 
follows : — 

1.  It  makes  the  soil  more  retentive  of  manures. 

2.  It  causes  it  to  appropriate  larger  quantities  of 
the  fertilizing  gases  of  the  atmosphere. 

3.  It  gives  it  greater  power  to  absorb  moisture. 

4.  It  renders  it  warmer. 

1.  Carbon  (or  charcoal)  makes  the  soil  retentive 
of  manures,  because  it  has  in  itself  a  strong  power 
to  absorb,  and  retain  fertilizing  matters.  There  is 
a  simple  experiment  by  which  this  "power  can  be 
shown. 

Ex. — Take  two  barrels  of  pure  beach  sand,  and 
mix  with  the  sand  in  one  barrel  a  few  handfuls  of 
charcoal  dust,  leaving  that  in  the  other  pure.  Pour 
a  pailful  of  the  brown  liquor  of  the  barn-yard 
through  the  pure  sand,  and  it  will  pass  out  at  the 

*  Produce. 


THE    SOIL.  69 

bottom  unaltered.  Pour  the  same  liquor  through 
the  barrel  containing  the  charcoal,  and  only  pure 
water  will  pass  through.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
the  charcoal  retains  all  of  the  impurities  of  the 
liquor,  and  allows  only  the  water  to  pass  through. 
Charcoal  is  often  employed  to  purify  water  for 
drinking,  or  for  manufacturing  purposes. 

A  rich  garden-soil  contains  large  quantities  of 
carbonaceous  matter ;  and  if  we  bury  in  such  a  soil 
a  piece  of  tainted  meat  or  a  fishy  duck,  it  will,  in  a 
short  time,  be  deprived  of  its  odor,  which  will  be 
entirely  absorbed  by  the  charcoal  and  clay  in  the 
soil. 

«  Carbon  absorbs  gases,  as  well  as  the  impurities  of 
water ;  and,  if  a  little  charcoal  be  sprinkled  over 
manm*e,  or  any  other  substance,  emitting  offensive 
odors,  the  gases  escaping  will  be  taken  up  by  the 
charcoal,  and  the  odor  will  be  very  much  modified. 

It  has  also  the  power  of  absorbing  earthy  matters, 
which  are  contained  in  water.  If  a  quantity  of  salt 
water  be  filtered  through  charcoal,  the  salt  will  be 
retained,  and  the  water  will  pass  through  pure. 

We  are  now  able  to  see  how  carbon  renders  the 
soil  retentive  of  manures. 

1st.  Manures,  which  resemble  the  brown  liquor 
of  barn-yards,  have  their  fertilizing  matters  taken 
out,  and  retained  by  it. 

2d.  The  gases  arising  from  the  decomposition 
{rotting)  of  manure  are  absorbed  by  it. 

3d.  The  soluble  earthy  portions  of  manure,  which 
might  in   some   soils   leach   down  with  water,  are 


70  .THE    SOIL. 

arrested  and  retained  at  a  point  at  which  they  can  be 
taken  up  by  the  roots  of  plants. 

2.  Carbon  in  the  soil  causes  it  to  appropriate 
larger  quantities  of  the  fertilising  gases  of  the  atmos- 
phere, on  account  of  its  power,  as  just  named,  to  ab- 
sorb gases. 

The  atmosphere  contains  gases,  which  have  been 
produced  by  the  breathing  of  animals,  by  the  decom- 
position of  various  kinds  of  organic  matter,  which 
are  exposed  to  atmospheric  influences,  and  by  the 
burning  of  wood,  coal,  etc.  These  gases  are  chiefly 
ammonia  and  carbonic  acid,  both  of  which  are  largely 
absorbed  by  water,  and  consequently  are  contained 
in  rain,  snow,  and  dew,  which,  as  they  enter  the  soil, 
give  up  these  gases  to  the  carbon,  and  they  there 
remain  until  required  by  plants.  Even  the  air  itself, 
in  circulating  through  the  soil,  gives  up  fertilizing 
gases  to  the  carbon,  which  it  may  cbntain. 

3.  Carbon  gives  to  the  soil  power  to  absorb 
moisture,  because  it  is  itself  one  of  the  best  absorb- 
ents in  nature ;  and  it  has  been  proved  by  accurate 
experiment  that  peaty  soils  absorb  moisture  with 
greater  rapidity,  and  part  with  it  more  slowly  than 
any  others. 

4.  Carbon  in  the  soil  renders  it  warmer,  because 
it  darkens  its  color.  Black  surfaces  absorb  more  heat 
than  light  ones,  and  a  black  coat,  when  worn  in  the 
sun,  is  warmer  than  one  of  a  lighter  color.  By  mix- 
ing carbon  with  the  soil,  we  darken  its  color,  and 
render  it  capable  of  absorbing  a  greater  amount  of 
heat  from  the  sun's  rays. 


THE    SOIL.  71 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  when  vegetable  matter 
decomposes  in  the  soil,  it  produces  certain  gases  (car- 
bonic acid,  etc.),  which  either  escape  into  the  atmos- 
phere, or  are  retained  in  the  soil  for  the  use  of  plants. 
The  production  of  these  gases  is  always  accompanied 
by  Jieat^  which,  though  scarcely  perceptible  to  our 
senses,  is  perfectly  so  to  the  growing  plant,  and  is  of 
much  practical  importance.  This  will  be  examined 
more  fully  in  speaking  of  manures. 

Another  important  part  of  the  organic  matter  in 
the  soil  is  that  which  contains  nitrogen.  This  forms 
but  a  very  small  portion  of  the  soil,  but  it  is  of 
very  great  importance  to  vegetation.  As  nitrogen 
in  food  is  of  absolute  necessity  to  the  growth  of 
animals,  so  nitrogen  in  the  soil  is  indispensable  to  the 
growth  of  cultivated  plants.  It  is  obtained  by  the 
soil  in  the  form  of  ammonia  (or  nitric  acid)  from  the 
atmosphere,  or  by  the  application  of  animal  or  vege- 
table matter.  In  some  cases,  manures  called  nitrates'^ 
are  used;  and,  in  this  manner,  nitrogen  is  given  to 
the  soil. 

We  have  now  learned  that  the  atmospheric  mat- 
ter in  the  soil  performs  the  following  offices : — 

Organic  matter  thoroughly  decomposed  is  chiefly 
carbon^  and  has  the  various  effects  ascribed  to  this 
substance  on  p.  68. 

Organic  matter  in  process  of  decay  produces  car- 

*  Mtrates  are  compounds  of  nitric  acid  (whicli  consists  of  ni- 
trogen and  oxygen) ,  and  alkaline  substances.  Thus  nitrate  of 
potash  (saltpetre),  is  composed  of  nitric  acid  and  potash ;  nitrate 
of  soda  (cubical  nitre  or  cubic-petre),  of  nitric  acid  and  soda. 


72  THE    SOIL. 

bonic  acid  and  ammonia  in  the  soil ;  its  decay  also 
causes  heat. 

Organic  matters  containing  nitrogen^  such  as  ani- 
mal substances,  etc.,  furnish  ammonia,  and  other  ni- 
trogenous substances  to  the  roots  of  plants. 


CHAPTER  III. 

USES      OF     EAKTHT     MATTER. 

The  offices  performed  by  the  earthy  constituents  of 
the  soil  are  many  and  important. 

These,  as  well  as  the  different  conditions  in  which 
the  bodies  exist,  are  necessary  to  be  carefully  consid- 
ered. 

Those  parts  which  constitute  the  larger  proportion 
of  the  soil,  namely  the  clay,  sand,  and  limy  portions, 
are  useful  for  purposes  which  have  been  named  in  the 
first  part  of  this  section,  w^iile  the  clay  has  an  addi- 
tional efiect  in  the  absorption  of  ammonia. 

For  this  purpose,  it  is  quite  as  effectual  as  charcoal ; 
the  gases  escaping  from  manures,  as  well  as  those  ex- 
isting in  the  atmosphere,  and  in  rain-water,  being 
arrested  by  clay  as  well  as  by  charcoal. 

The  more  minute  ingredients  of  the  soil — those 
which  enter  into  the  construction  of  plants — exist  in 
conditions  which  are  more  or  less  favorable  or  in- 
jurious to  vegetable  growth.     The  principal  condi- 


THE    SOIL.  73 

tion  necessary  to  fertility  is  cwpadty  to  he  dissolved^ 
it  being  (so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  ascertain)  a 
fixed  rule,  as  was  stated  in  the  first  section,  that  no 
mineral  substance  can  enter  into  the  roots  of  a  plant 
except  it  he  dissolved  in  water. 

The  alkalies  potash,  soda,  lime,  and  magnesia,  are- 
in  nearly  all  of  their  combinations  in  the  soil   suffi- 
ciently soluble  for  the  purposes  of  growth. 

The  acids  are,  as  will  be  recollected,  sulphuric, 
silicic,  and  phosphoric.  These  exist  in  the  soil  in 
combination  with  the  alkalies,  as  sulphates,  silicates, 
and  phosphates,  which  are  more  or  less  soluble  under 
natural  circumstances.  Phosphoric  acid  in  combi- 
nation with  lime  as  phosphate  of  lime  is  but  slightly 
soluble  ;  but,  when  it  exists  or  has  existed  in  the  com- 
pound known  as  5'6^j?6^phosphate  of  lime,  it  is  much 
more  soluble,  and  consequently  enters  into  the  com- 
position of  plants  with  much  greater  facility.  This 
matter  will  be  more  fully  explained  in  the  section  on 
manures.  Silicic  acid  exists  in  the  soil  usually  in  the 
form  of  sand^  in  which  it  is,  as  is  well  known,  per- 
fectly insoluble  ;  and,  before  it  can  be  used  by  plants, 
which  often  require  it  in  large  quantities,  it  must  be 
made  soluble,  by  combination  with  an  alkali. 

For  instance,  if  there  is  a  deficiency  of  soluble 
silicic  acid  in  the  soil,  the  application  of  an  alkali, 
such  as  potash,  which  will  unite  with  the  sand,  and 
form  the  silicate  of  potash,  will  give  it  the  ability  to 
be  dissolved  and  carried  into  the  roots  of  plants. 

Chlorine  in  the  soil  is  probably  always  in  an 
available  condition. 

4 


74  THE   SOIL. 

Oxide  of  iron  exists,  as  has  been  previously  stated, 
usually  in  the  form  of  the  peroxide  (or  red  oxide). 
Sometimes,  however,  it  is  found  in  the  form  of  the 
j>rotoxide  (or  black  oxide),  which  is  soluble  and  is 
poisonous  to  plants,  and  renders  the  soil  unfertile. 
By  loosening  the  soil  in  such  a  manner  as  to  admit 
the  air,  and  by  removing  stagnant  water  by  draining, 
this  compound  takes  up  more  oxygen,  which  renders 
it  a  peroxide,  and  makes  it  insoluble  except  in  the 
slight  degree  required  for  plants.  The  oxide  of 
manganese  is  probably  of  little  consequence. 

The  usefulness  of  all  of  these  matters  in  the  soil 
depends  largely  on  their  exposure  to  the  action  of 
roots  and  of  the  circulating  water  in  the  soil ;  if 
they  are  in  the  interior  of  particles,  they  cannot  be 
made  use  of;  while,  if  the  particles  are  so  pulverized 
that  their  constituents  are  exposed  on  their  sin-faces, 
they  become  available,  because  water  can  immediate- 
ly attack  to  dissolve  them  and  roots  can  absorb  them. 

This  is  one  of  the  great  offices  of  plowing,  harrow- 
ing, cultivating,  and  hoeing  ;  the  lumps  of  soil  being 
thereby  more  broken  up  and  exposed  to  the  action 
of  atmospheric  influences,  which  are  often  necessary 
to  produce  a  fertile  condition  of  soil. 

SUBSOIL. 

The  subsoil  is  usually  of  a  different  character  from 
the  surface  soil,  but  this  difference  is  more  often  the 
result  of  cultivation  and  the  effect  of  vegetation  than 
of  ,a  different  original  formation.      The  surface  soil, 


THE    SOIL.  75 

from  having  been  long  cultivated,  has  been  more 
opened  to  the  influences  of  the  air  than  is  the  case 
with  the  subsoil,  which  has  never  been  disturbed  so 
as  to  allow  the  same  action.  Again  the  growth  of 
plants  has  supplied  the  surface  soil  with  roots,  which 
bj  decaying  have  given  it  organic  matter,  thus  dark- 
ening its  color,  rendering  it  warmer,  and  giving  it 
greater  ability  to  absorb  heat  and  moisture,  and  to 
retain  manures.  All  of  these  effects  render  the  sur- 
face soil  more  fertile  than  it  was  before  vegetable 
growth  commenced,  unless,  by  the  removal  of  crops, 
its  earthy  plant-food  has  been  too  much  reduced  ; 
and,  where  frequent  cultivation  and  manures  have 
been  applied,  a  still  greater  benefit  has  resulted.  In 
most  instances  the  subsoil  may,  by  the  same  means, 
be  gradually  improved  in  condition  until  it  equals 
the  surface  soil  in  fertility.  The  means  of  produc- 
ing this  result,  also  further  accounts  of  its  advan- 
tages, will  be  given  under  the  head  of  Cultivation 
(Sec.  lY.). 

IMPEOVEMENT. 

From  what  has  now  been  said  of  the  character  of 
the  soil,  it  must  be  evident  that,  as  we  know  the 
causes  of  fertility  and  barrenness,  we  may  by  the 
proper  means  inprove  the  character  of  all  soils 
which  are  not  now  in  the  highest  state  of  fertility. 

Chemical  analysis  of  the  soil  cannot  give  us  any 
reliable  indication  of  its  fertility  or  barrenness ;  so 
much  depends  on  the  state  of  solubility  of  the  min- 
eral plant-food,  on  the  uniformity  of  its  distribution 


76  THE    SOIL. 

through  the  soil,  on  the  extent  to  which  it  is  exposed 
on  the  surface  of  particles,  and  probably  on  other 
conditions  concerning  which  we  are  in  doubt,  or  of 
which  we  are  entirely  ignorant,  that  the  mere  weigh- 
ing and  measuring  of  the  laboratory,  has  very  little, 
if  any,  value  to  the  practical  farmer. 

We  can  learn  something  of  the  capacities  of  the 
soil  from  the  character  of  the  plants  which  grow 
naturally  upon  it,  and  much  more  from  its  ability 
to  produce  larger  crops  of  one  kind  than  of  another ; 
something  from  the  effect  of  different  mineral  ma- 
nures upoD  plants  growing  on  it. 

The  best  use  to  which  the  farmer  can  apply  the 
teachings  of  chemistry  is  in  making  such  improve- 
ments as  the  foregoing  indications  show  to  be  neces- 
sary, and,  above  all,  in  giving  to  the  soil  for  each 
crop,  or  for  each  rotation  of  crops,  the  full  equiva- 
lent of  the  minerals  that  they  take  away. 

An  examination,  such  as  any  farmer  may  make, 
will  show  us  its  deficiencies  in  inechanical  character, 
and  we  may  apply  the  proper  treatment  to  increase 
fertility.  In  some  instances  the  soil  may  contain 
everything  that  is  required,  but  not  in  the  proper 
condition.  For  instance,  in  some  parts  of  Massachu- 
setts, there  are  nearly  harren  soils  which  show  by 
analysis  precisely  the  same  chemical  composition  as 
the  soil  of  the  Miami  valley  of  Ohio,  one  of  the  most 
fertile  in  the  world.  The  cause  of  this  great  differ- 
ence in  their  agricultural  capabilities,  is  that  the 
Miami  soil  has  its  particles  finely  pulverized ;  while 
in  the  Massachusetts  soil  the  ingredients  are  com- 


THE    SOIL.  77 

billed  within  particles  (such  as  pebbles,  etc.),  where 
they  are  out  of  the  reach  of  roots. 

In  other  cases,  we  find  two  soils,  which  are  equal- 
ly well  pulverized,  which  are  of  the  same  color  and 
texture,  and  which  appear  to  be  of  the  same  char- 
acter, yet  having  very  different  power  to  support 
crops.  Chemical  analysis,  could  it  accurately  show, 
not  only  the  kinds  and  quantities  of  plant  food  con- 
tained in  these  soils,  but  the  condition  in  which  it 
exists  as  to  solubility,  etc.,  would  undoubtedly  in- 
dicate a  very  great  difference  between  them. 

All  of  these  differences  may  be  overcome  by  the 
use  of  the  proper  means.  Sometimes  it  could  be 
done  at  an  expense  which  would  be  justified  by  the 
result ;  and  at  others,  it  might  require  too  large  an 
outlay  to  be  profitable.  It  becomes  a  question  of 
economy,  not  of  ability,  and  science  is  able  to  estimate 
the  cost. 

A  soil  cannot  be  cultivated  understandingly  until 
it  has  been  rigidly  subjected  to  such  examinations  as 
will  tell  us,  as  nearly  as  any  examination  can  tell  it, 
what  is  necessary  to  render  it  fertile.  Even  after 
fertility  is  perfectly  restored  it  requires  thought  and 
care  to  maintain  it.  The  different  ingredients  of 
the  soil  must  be  returned  in  the  form  of  manures  as 
largely  as  they  are  removed  by  the  crop,  or  the  sup- 
ply will  eventually  become  too  small  for  the  purposes 
of  vegetation. 


SECTION  THIRD. 

MANURES 


SECTIOI  THIRD. 

MANURES 


CHAPTEK  I. 

CHARACTER     A^B    VARIETIES     OF    MA- 
NURES. 

The  study  of  the  science  of  manures  is  one  of  the 
most  important  branches  of  the  practical  education 
of  a  farmer.  ISTo  baker  would  be  called  a  good  prac- 
tical baker,  who  kept  his  flour  exposed  to  the  sun  and 
rain.  'No  shoemaker  would  be  called  a  good  practi- 
cal shoemaker,  who  used  morocco  for  the  soles  of  his 
shoes,  and  heavy  leather  for  the  uppers.  No  car- 
penter would  be  called  a  good  practical  carpenter, 
who  tried  to  build  a  house  without  nails,  or  other 
fastenings.  So  with  the  farmer.  He  cannot  be 
called  a  good  practical  farmer  if  he  keeps  the  ma- 
terials, from  which  he  is  to  make  plants,  in  such  a 
condition,  that  they  will  have  then'  value  destroyed, 
uses  them  in  the  wrong  places,  or  tries  to  put  them 


82  MANURES. 

together  without  having  everything  present  that  is 
necessary.  Before  he  can  work  to  the  best  advan- 
tage, he  must  know  what  manures  are  composed  of, 
how  they  are  to  be  preserved,  where  they  are  needed, 
and  what  kinds  are  required.  True,  he  may  from 
observation  and  experience,  guess  at  results,  but  he 
cannot  know  that  he  is  right,  and  that  he  gets  his  re- 
sults in  the  cheapest  and  most  economical  way,  until 
he  has  learned  the  facts  above  named.  In  this  section 
of  our  work,  we  shall  endeavor  to  convey  some  of  the 
information  necessary  to  this  branch  of  practical 
farming. 

We  shall  adopt  a  classification  of  the  subject  some- 
what different  from  that  found  in  most  works  on 
manures,  but  the  facts  are  the  same.  The  action  of 
manures  is  either  mechanical  or  chemical^  or  a  com- 
bination of  both.  For  instance  :  some  kinds  of  ma- 
nure improve  the  mechanical  character  of  the  soil, 
such  as  those  which  loosen  stiff  clay  soils,  or  others 
which  render  light  sandy  soils  compact — these  are 
called  TYiechaiiical  manures.  Some  again  furnish  food 
for  plants — these  are  called  chemical  manures. 

Many  mechanical  manures  produce  their  effects 
by  means  of  chemical  action.  T\i\x^  potash  combines 
chemically  with  sand  in  the  soil.  In  so  doing,  it 
roughens  the  surfaces  of  the  particles  of  sand,  and 
renders  the  soil  less  liable  to  be  compacted  by  rains. 
In  this  manner,  it  acts  as  a  mechanical  manure.  The 
compound  of  sand  and  potash,^  as  well  as  the  potash 
alone,  may  enter  into  the  composition  of  plants,  and 

*  Silicate  of  potash. 


MANURES.  83 

hence  it  is  a  chemical  manure.  In  other  words,  pot- 
ash belongs  to  both  classes  described. 

It  is  important  that  this  distinction  shonld  be  well 
understood  by  the  learner,  as  the  words  "  mechani- 
cal "  and  "  chemical "  in  connection  with  manures 
will  be  made  use  of  through  the  following  pages. 

There  is  another  class  of  manures  which  we  shall 
call  absorbents.  These  comprise  those  substances 
which  have  the  power  of  taking  up  fertilizing  mat- 
ters, and  retaining  them  for  the  use  of  plants.  For 
instance,  charcoal  is  an  absorbent.  As  was  stated 
in  the  section  on  soils,  this  substance  is  a  retainer 
of  all  fertilizing  gases  and  of  many  minerals. 
Other  matters  made  use  of  in  agriculture  have  the 
same  effect.  These  absorbents  will  be  spoken  of 
more  fully  in  their  proper  places. 

TABLE. 

Mechanical  Manures  are    those  which    improve 
the  mechanical  conditions  of 

Chemical  "  soils  are  those  which  serve  as 

food  for  plants. 

MANURES. 

Absorbents  are  those  substances  which  absorb  and 
retain  fertilizing  matters. 
Manure  may  be  divided  into  three  classes,  viz. : 
organic^  mineral^  and  atnnospheric. 


84  MANURES. 

Organic  manures  comprise  all  animal  and  vege- 
tahle  matters  which  are  used  to  fertilize  the  soil,  such 
as  dung,  swamp-muck,  etc. 

MmEKAL  manures  are  those  which  are  of  a  purely 
mineral  character,  such  as  lime,  ashes,  etc. 

Atmospheric  manures  consist  of  those  organic 
manures  which  exist  in  the  form  of  gases  in  the  at- 
mosphere, and  which  are  absorbed  by  rains  and  car- 
ried to  the  soil.  These  are  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance. The  ammonia  and  carbonic  acid  in  the  air 
are  atmospheric  manures. 


CHAPTEK  II. 


ANIMAL    EXCREMENT 


The  first  organic  manure  which  we  shall  examine, 
is  animal  excrement. 

This  is  composed  of  those  matters  which  have 
been  eaten  by  the  animal  as  food,  and  have  been 
thrown  off  as  solid  or  liquid  manure.  In  order  that 
we  may  know  of  what  they  consist,  we  must  refer  to 
the  composition  of  food  and  examine  the  process  of 
digestion. 

The  food  of  animals,  we  have  seen  to  consist  of 
both  atmospheric  and  earthy  matters.  The  atmos- 
pheric part  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  i.  e.^ 
that  portion  which  contains  nitrogen — such  as  glu- 


ma:ntjres.  85 

ten,  albumen,  etc.,  and  that  which  does  not  contain 
nitrogen — such  as  starch,  sugar,  oil,  etc. 

The  earthy  part  of  food  may  also  be  divided  into 
soluble  matter  and  insoluble  matter.* 

DIGESTION   AND   ITS    PKODUCTS. 

Let  us  suppose  that  we  have  a  fall-grown  ox, 
which  is  not  increasing  in  any  of  his  parts,  but  only 
consumes  food  to  keep  up  his  respiration,  and  to  sup- 
ply the  natural  wastes  of  his  body.  To  this  ox  we 
will  feed  a  ton  of  hay  which  contains  organic  mat- 
ter, with  and  without  nitrogen,  and  soluble  and 
insoluble  earthy  substances.  E^ow  let  us  try  to  fol- 
low the  food  through  its  changes  in  the  animal,  and 
see  what  becomes  of  it.  Liebig  compares  the  con- 
sumption of  food  by  animals  to  the  imperfect  burning 
of  wood  in  a  stove,  where  a  portion  of  the  fuel  is  resolv- 
ed into  gases  and  ashes  (that  is,  it  is  completely  burn- 
ed), and  another  portion,  which  is  not  thoroughly  burn- 
ed, passes  oif  as  soot.  In  the  animal  action  in  ques- 
tion, the  food  undergoes  changes  which  are  similar 
to  this  burning  of  wood.  A  part  of  the  food  is  di- 
gested and  taken  up  by  the  blood,  while  another  por- 
tion remains  undigested,  and  passes  the  bowels  as 
solid  dung — corresponding  to  the  soot  of  combus- 
tion. This  part  of  the  dung,  then,  we  see  is  merely 
so  much  of  the  food  as  passes  through  the  system 

*  No  part  of  animal  manure  is  permanently  and  entirely  insol- 
uble. It  would  perhaps  be  better  to  classify  these  substances  as 
(1)  those  which  are  readily  soluble,  and  (2)  those  which  are  but 
slowly  soluble. 


86  MAINUEES. 

without  being  materially  qjianged.  Its  nature  is 
easily  understood.  It  contains  organic  and  mineral 
matters  in  nearly  the  condition  in  which  they  existed 
in  the  hay.  They  have  been  rendered  finer  and  softer, 
but  their  cheinical  character  (their  composition)  is  not 
materially  altered.  The  dung  also  contains  small 
quantities  of  nitrogenous  matter,  which  has  leaked 
out,  as  it  were,  from  the  stomach  and  intestines. 
The  digested  food,  however,  undergoes  further 
changes  which  affect  its  character,  and  it  escapes 
from  the  body  in  three  ways — i.  e.,  through  the 
lungs  and  skin,  through  the  bladder,  and  through 
the  bowels.  It  will  be  recollected  from  the  first 
section  of  this  book,  p.  20,  that  the  carbon  in  the 
blood  of  animals  unites  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air 
drawn  into  the  lungs,  and  is  thrown  off  in  the 
breath  as  carbonic  acid.  The  hydrogen  and  oxygen 
unite  to  form  a  part  of  the  water  which  constitutes 
the  moisture  of  the  breath. 

That  portion  of  the  atmospheric  part  of  the  hay 
which  has  been  taken  up  by  the  blood  of  the  ox,  and 
which  does  not  contain  nitrogen,  is  emitted  through 
the  lungs.  It  consists,  as  will  be  recollected,  of  car- 
bon, hydrogen,  and  oxygen,  and  these  assume,  in  res- 
piration, the  form  of  carbonic  acid  and  water. 

The  atmospheric  matter  of  the  digested  hay,  in 
the  blood,  which  does  contain  nitrogen,  goes  to  the 
'bladder,  where  it  assumes  the  form  of  urea — a  consti- 
tuent of  urine  or  liquid  manure. 

We  have  now  disposed  of  the  imperfectly  digested 
food  (the  dung),  and  of  the  atinospheric  matter  which 


MANURES.  -  87 

was  taken  up  by  the  blood.  All  that  remains  to  be 
examined  is  the  earthy  matter  in  the  blood,  which 
would  have  become  ashes ^  if  the  hay  had  been 
burned.  The  readily  soluble  part  of  this  earthy  mat- 
ter passes  into  the  bladder,  and  forms  the  eartJiy 
parts  of  urine.  The  more  insoluble  part  passes  the 
bowels,  in  connection  with  the  dung. 

If  any  of  the  food  taken  up  by  the  blood  is  not 
returned  as  above  stated,  it  goes  to  form  fat,  muscle, 
hair,  b©nes,  or  some  other  part  of  the  animal,  and  as 
he  is  not  growing  (not  increasing  in  weight)  an 
equivalent  amount  of  the  body  of  the  animal  goes  to 
the  manure  to  take  the  place  of  the  part  retained.* 

We  now  have  our  subject  in  a  form  to  be  readily 
understood.  We  learn  that  when  food  is  given  to 
animals  it  is  not  jput  out  of  existence^  but  is  merely 
changed  in  form  /  and  that  in  the  impurities  of  the 
breath,  we  have  a  large  portion  of  those  parts  of  the 
food  which  plants  obtain  from  air  and  from  water ; 
while  the  solid  and  liquid  excrements  contain  all  that 
was  taken  by  the  plants  from  the  soil  andfrom  manures. 
The  Solid  Dung  contains  the  undigested  parts  of  the 

food,  the  more  insoluble 
parts  of  the  ash,  and  the 
nitrogenous  matters  which 
have  escaped  from  the  di- 
gestive organs. 

*  This  account  of  dig-estion  is  not,  perhaps,  strictly  accurate  in 
a  physiological  point  of  view,  but  it  is  sufficiently  so  to  give  an 
elementary  understanding'  of  the  character  of  excrement  as 
manure. 


88  MANURES. 

The  Liquid  Manure  contains  the  nitrogenous  parts  of 

the  digested  food,  and  the 
soluble  parts  of  the  ash. 
The  Breath  contains  those  parts  of  the  fully  di- 
gested food  which  contain 
carbon,  hydrogen,  and  oxy- 
gen, but  no  nitrogen,  or  at 
least  a  very  inconsiderable 
quantity  of  it. 


CHAPTER  III. 

WASTE     or      MANURE. 

The  loss  of  manure  is  a  subject  which  demands  most 
serious  attention.  Until  within  comparatively  few 
years,  little  was  known  of  the  true  character  of 
manures,  and  consequently  of  the  importance  of 
protecting  them  against  loss. 

The  chief  causes  of  waste  are  evaporation  and 
leaching. 

evaporation. 

Evaporation  is  the  changing  of  a  solid  or  liquid 
body  to  a  vapory  form.  Thus  common  smelling 
salts,  a  solid,  if  left  exposed,  passes  into  the-  atmos- 
phere in  the  form  of  a  gas  or  vapor.  Water,  a  liquid, 
evaporates,  and  becomes  a  vapor  in  the  atmosphere. 


MANURES.  89 

This  is  tlie  case  with  very  many  substances  in  or- 
ganic nature,  both  solid  and  liquid :  they  are  liable 
to  assume  a  gaseous  form,  and  become  mixed  with 
the  atmosphere.  They  are  not  destroyed,  but  are 
changed  in  form. 

As  an  instance  of  this  action,  suppose  an  animal 
to  die  and  to  decay  on  the  surface  of  the  earth. 
After  a  time,  the  flesh  will  entirely  disappear,  but  is 
not  lost.  It  no  longer  exists  as  the  flesh  of  an  ani- 
mal, but  its  carbon,  hydrogen,  oxygen,  and  nitrogen, 
still  exist  in  the  air.  They  have  been  liberated  from 
the  attractions  which  held  them  together,  and  have 
passed  away ;  but  (as  we  already  know  from  what 
has  been  said  in  a  former  section)  they  are  ready  to 
be  again  taken  up  by  plants,  and  pressed  into  the 
service  of  life. 

The  evaporation  of  liquids  may  take  place  without 
the  aid  of  anything  but  heat ;  but,  in  the  case  of 
solids,  it  is  often  assisted  by  decay  and  combustion, 
which  break  up  the  bonds  that  hold  the  constituents 
of  bodies  together,  and  thus  enable  them  to  return 
to  the  atmosphere,  from  which  they  were  originally 
derived. 

It  must  be  recollected  that  everything  which  has 
an  odoT  (or  can  be  smelled)  is  evaporating.  The 
odor  is  caused  by  parts  of  the  body  floating  in  the 
air,  and  acting  on  the  nerves  of  the  nose.  This  is 
an  invariable  rule ;  and  when  we  perceive  an  odor, 
we  may  be  sure  that  parts  of  the  material  from  which 
it  emanates  are  escaping.  If  we  perceive  the  odor 
of  an  apple,  it  is  because  parts  of  the  volatile  oils  of 


90  MANTJKES. 

the  apple  enter  the  nose.    The  same  is  true  when  we 
smell  hartshorn,  cologne,  etc. 

The  intensity  of  these  odors  bears  no  relation  to 
the  amount  of  the  substance  passing  into  the  air ;  for 
instance,  a  grain  of  musk  will  continue  to  give  off 
a  strong  odor  for  many  years,  while  gum  camphor, 
with  a  much  less  intense  odor,  wastes  away  very 
rapidly.     Ammonia  escapes  rapidly. 

Manures  made  by  animals  have  an  offensive  odor, 
simply  because  volatile  parts  of  the  decomposing 
manure  escape  into  the  air,  and  are  therefore  made 
perceptible.  All  organic  parts  in  turn  may  become 
volatile,  assuming  a  gaseous  form  as  they  decom- 
pose. 

We  do  not  see  the  gases  rising,  but  there  are  many 
ways  by  which  we  can  detect  them.  If  we  wave  a 
feather  over  a  manure  heap,  from  which  ammonia  is 
escaping,  the  feather  having  been  recently  dipped  in 
muriatic  acid,  white  fumes  will  appear  around  the 
feather,  being  the  muriate  of  ammonia  formed  by  the 
union  of  the  escaping  gas  with  the  acid.  JSTot  only 
ammonia,  but  also  carbonic  acid,  and  other  gases 
which  are  useful  to  vegetation  escape,  and  are  given 
to  the  winds.  Indeed  it  may  be  stated  in  few  words 
that  all  of  the  organic  part  oi plants  (all  that  was  ob- 
tained from  the  air,  from  water,  and  from  ammonia), 
constituting  more  than  nine-tenths  of  their  dry  weight, 
may  be  evaporated  by  the  assistance  of  decay  or 
combustion.  The  atmospheric  parts  oi  manures  may 
be  lost  in  the  same  manner ;  and,  if  the  process  of 
decomposition  be  continued  long  enough,  nothing 


MAJSTIEES.  91 

but  a  mass  of  earthy  matter  will  remain,  except  a 
small  quantity  of  carbon  which  has  not  been  resolved 
into  carbonic  acid. 

The  proportion  of  solid  manure  lost  by  evaporation 
(made  volatile  by  the  assistance  of  decay)  may  be  a 
very  large  part  of  the  whole.  Manure  cannot  be  kept 
a  single  day  in  its  natural  state  without  losing  some- 
thing. It  commences  to  give  out  an  offensive  odor 
immediately,  and  this  odor  is  often  accompanied,  as 
was  before  stated,  by  the  loss  of  some  of  its  fertiliz- 
ing parts. 

Animal  manure  contains,  as  will  be  seen  by  refer- 
ence to  p.  86,  all  of  the  substances  contained  in 
plants,  though  not  always  in  the  correct  relative  pro- 
portions to  each  other.  When  decomposition  com- 
mences, the  carbon  unites  with  the  oxygen  of  the 
air,  and  passes  off  as  carbonic  acid ;  the  hydrogen 
and  oxygen  combine  to  form  water  (which  evapo- 
rates), and  the  nitrogen  is  mostly  resolved  into  am- 
monia, wJiich  escapes  into  the  atmosphere,  unless  ab- 
sorbed by  substances  artificially  applied  for  the  pur- 
pose, or  retained  by  the  carbon,  organic  acids,  or 
other  products  of  decomposition  with  which  it  may 
become  united. 

If  manure  is  thrown  into  heaps,  it  often  ferments 
so  rapidly  as  to  produce  sufficien  #heat  to  set  fire  to 
some  parts  of  the  manure,  and  cause  its  gases  to  be 
thrown  off  with  greater  rapidity.  This  may  be  observ- 
ed in  nearly  all  heaps  of  animal  excrement.  When 
they  have  lain  for  some  time  in  mild  weather,  gray 
streaks  of  ashes  are  often  to  be  seen  in  the  centre  of 


92  MANURES; 

the  pile.  The  organic  part  of  the  manure  having 
been  humed  away,  nothing  but  the  ash  remains, — 
this  is  called  fire-fanging. 

Manures  kept  in  cellars  without  being  mixed  with 
refuse  matter  are  subject  to  some  loss  by  evaporation 
unless  they  are  so  situated  as  to  absorb  the  urine, 
when  they  are  less  likely  to  become  injuriously  heated. 

When  kept  in  the  yard,  they  are  much  more  liable 
to  loss  from  excessive  evaporation.  They  are  here 
often  saturated  with  the  water  of  rains,  which,  in  its 
evaporation,  carries  away  ammonia  and  carbonic  acid 
w^hich  it  has  obtained  from  the  rotting  mass.  The 
evaporation  of  the  water  is  rapidly  carried  on,  on 
account  of  the  great  extent  of  surface.  The  whole 
mass  is  spongy,  and  soaks  the  liquids  up  from  below 
(through  hollow  straws,  etc.),  to  be  evaporated  at  the 
surface  on  the  same  principle  as  causes  the  wick  of  a 
lamp  to  draw  up  the  oil  to  supply  fuel  for  the  flame. 

Liquid  Manuee  containing  large  quantities  of 
nitrogen,  and  forming  much  ammonia,  is  also  liable 
to  lose  all  of  its  organic  parts  from  evaporation  (and 
fermentation),  so  that  it  is  rendered  as  much  less 
valuable  as  is  the  solid  dung. 

From  these  remarks,  it  may  be  justly  inferred  that 
a  very  large  portion  of  the  value  of  soKd  and  liquid 
manure  may  be  lost  by  evaporation  in  a  sufficient 
length  of  time,  depending  on  circumstances,  whether 
it  be  a  few  months  or  several  years.  The  wasting 
commences  as  soon  as  the  manure  is  dropped,  and 
continues,  except  in  very  cold  weather,  until  the 
destruction  is  complete.     Hence  we  see  that  true 


MANURES.  93 

economy  requires  that  tlie  manures  of  the  stable, 
sty,  and  poultry-house,  should  be  protected  (as  will 
be  hereafter  described)  as  soon  as  possible  after  they 
are  made. 

LEACHING. 

The  subject  of  leaching  is  even  more  important 
in  considering  the  earthy  parts  of  manures  than 
evaporation  is  to  the  atmospheric,  while  leaching  also 
affects  the  atmospheric  products  of  decay,  they  being 
absorbed  by  water  to  a  great  degree. 

A  good  illustration  of  leaching  is  found  in  the 
manufacture  of  potash.  When  water  is  poured  over 
wood-ashes,  it  dissolves  their  potash  which  it  carries 
through  in  solution,  making  ley.  If  ley  is  boiled  to 
dryness,  it  leaves  the  potash  in  a  solid  form,  proving 
that  this  substance  had  been  dissolved  by  the  water 
and  removed  from  the  insoluble  parts  of  the  ashes. 

In  the  same  way,  water  in  passing  through  ma- 
nures takes  up  their  soluble  portions  as  fast  as  liberated 
by  decomposition,  and  carries  them  to  waste,  and  they 
are  lost  to  the  manure.  There  is  but  a  small  quan- 
tity of  ash  exposed  for  leaching  in  fresh  dung ; 
but,  as  the  decomposition  of  the  atmospheric  part 
proceeds,  it  continues  to  develop  it  more  and  more 
(in  the  same  manner  as  burning  would  do,  only  more 
slowly),  thus  preparing  fresh  supplies  to  be  carried 
off  with  each  shower.  In  this  way,  while  manure 
may  be  largely  injured  by  evaporation,  the  soluble 
parts  may  be  removed  by  water  until  but  a  small 
remnant  of  its  original  fertilizing  properties  remains. 


94  MANUitES. 

It  is  a  singular  fact  concerning  leaching,  that 
water  is  able  to  carry  no  part  of  the  organic  con- 
stituents of  vegetables  to  any  considerable  depth 
below  the  surface  in  a  fertile  soil.  They  would 
probably  be  carried  to  an  unlimited  distance  in  pure 
sand,  as  it  contains  nothing  which  is  capable  of  ar- 
resting them ;  but,  in  most  soils,  the  clay  and  car- 
bon which  they  contain  retain  all  of  the  ammonia ; 
also  nearly  all  of  the  matters  which  go  to  form  the 
ashes  of  plants  very  near  the  surface  of  the  soil.  If 
such  were  not  the  case,  the  fertility  of  the  earth 
must  soon  be  destroyed,  as  all  of  those  elements 
which  the  soil  must  supply  to  growing  plants  would 
be  carried  down  out  of  the  reach  of  roots,  and  leave 
the  world  a  barren  waste,  its  surface  having  lost  its 
elements  of  fertility,  while  the  downward  filtration 
of  these  would  render  the  water  of  wells  and  springs 
unfit  for  our  use.  Now,  however,  they  are  all  re- 
tained near  the  surface  of  the  soil,  and  the  water 
issues  from  springs  comparatively  pure. 
Evaporation  removes  from  manure — 

Carbon,  in  the  form  of  carbonic  acid. 
Hydrogen  and  oxygen,  in  the  form  of 

water. 
Nitrogen,  in  the  form  of  ammonia. 
Leaching  removes  from  manure— 

The  soluble  and  most  valuable  parts  of 
the  ash  in  solution  in  water,  besides 
carrying  away  some  of  the  above- 
named  forms  of  organic  matter. 


H 


MANURES.  95 


CHAPTEE  lY. 

ABSORBEN^rS. 

Before  considering  further  the  subject  of  animal 
excrement,  it  is  necessary  to  examine  a  class  of  ma- 
nures known  as  absorbents.  These  comprise  all  mat- 
ters which  have  the  power  of  absorbing  (or  soaking 
up)  the  gases  which  arise  from  the  evaporation  of 
solid  and  liquid  manures,  and  retaining  them  until 
required  by  plants. 

The  most  important  of  these  is  undoubtedly  clay, 
which  forms  a  large  part  of  nearly  all  fertile  soils. 
The  use  of  this  in  connection  with  manure  will  be 
spoken  of  in  describing  the  treatment  of  night-soil. 
For  ordinary  use  one  of  the  most  valuable  absorb- 
ents is  charcoal. 

CHARCOAL. 

Cha/rcoalj  in  an  agricultual  sense,  means  all  forms 
of  carbon,  whether  as  peat,  muck,  charcoal  dust  from 
the  spark-catchers  of  locomotives,  charcoal  hearths, 
river  and  swamp  deposits,  leaf  mould,  decomposed 
spent  tanbark  or  sawdust,  etc.  In  short,  if  any  veg- 
etable matter  is  decomposed  with  the  partial  exclu- 
sion of  air  (so  that  there  shall  not  be  oxygen  enough 
supplied  to  unite  with  all  of  the  carbon),  a  portion 
of  its  carbon  remains  in  the  exact  condition  to  per- 
form the  best  agricultural  offices  of  charcoal. 

The  operation  of  carbonaceous  matter  in  the  soil 


96  MANUKES. 

was  explained  in  a  former  section  (Sec.  2),  and  we 
will  now  examine  merely  its  action  with  regard  to 
manures.  When  properly  applied  to  manures,  in 
compost,  it  has  the  following  effects  : 

1.  It  absorbs  and  retains  the  fertilizing  gases  evap- 
orating from  decomposing  matters. 

2.  It  acts  as  a  divisor,  thereby  reducing  the 
strength  (or  intensity)  of  powerful  manures — thus 
rendering  them  less  likely  to  injure  the  roots  of 
plants ;  and  also  increases  their  bulk,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent fire-fanging  in  composts. 

3.  It  in  part  prevents  the  leaching  out  of  the  solu- 
ble parts  of  the  ash. 

4.  It  keeps  the  compost  moist. 

The  first-named  office  of  charcoal,  i.  e.,  absorbing 
and  retaining  gases,  is  one  of  the  utmost  importance. 
It  is  this  quality  that  gives  to  it  so  high  a  position 
in  the  opinion  of  all  who  have  used  it.  As  was 
stated  in  the  section  on  soils,  carbonaceous  matter 
seems  to  be  capable  of  absorbing  everything  which 
may  be  of  use  to  vegetation.  It  is  a  grand  purifier, 
and  while  it  prevents  offensive  odors  from  escaping, 
it  is  at  the  same  time  storing  its  pores  with  food  for 
the  nourishment  of  plants. 

2d.  In  its  capacity  as  a  divisor  for  manures,  char- 
coal is  excellent  in  all  cases,  especially  to  use  with 
strongly  concentrated  (or  heating)  animal  manures. 
These,  when  applied  in  their  natural  state  to  the  soil, 
are  very  apt  to  injure  young  roots  by  the  violence 
of  their  action.  When  mixed  with  a  divisor,  such 
manures  are  diluted,  made  less  active,  and  conse- 


MANUKES.  97 

quentlj  less  likely  to  be  injurious.  In  composts, 
manures  are  liable,  as  has  been  before  stated,  to  be- 
come burned  by  the  resultant  heat  of  decomposi- 
tion ;  this  process  of  combustion  is  prevented  by  the 
liberal  use  of  divisors,  because,  by  increasing  the 
bulk,  the  heat,  being  diffused  through  a  larger  mass, 
becomes  less  intense.  The  same  principle  is  exhibit- 
ed in  the  fact  that  it  takes  more  fire  to  boil  a  caul- 
dron of  water  than  a  tea-kettlefulL 

3d.  Charcoal  has  much  power  to  arrest  the 
passage  of  mineral  matters  in  solution  ;  so  much  so, 
that  compost  heaps,  well  supplied  with  muck,  are 
less  affected  by  rains  than  those  not  so  supplied. 
All  composts,  however,  and  all  organic  manures 
should  be  kept  under  cover  until  spread  upon  the 
land. 

4th.  Charcoal  keeps  the  compost  moist,  from  the 
ease  with  which  it  absorbs  water,  and  its  ability  to 
retain  it. 

With  these  advantages  before  us,  we  must  see  the 
importance  of  an  understanding  of  the  modes  for 
obtaining  charcoal.  Many  farmers  are  so  situated 
that  they  can  obtain  sufficient  quantities  of  charcoal 
dust.  Others  have  not  the  same  facilities.  Nearly  all, 
however,  can  obtain  muck  or  leaf  mould,  and  to  this 
we  will  now  turn  our  attention. 


MUCK   AND   ITS   TREATMENT. 

By  muck^  we  mean    the  vegetable   deposits   of 
swamps  and  rivers.     It  consists  of  decayed  organic 


98  MANURES. 

substances,  mixed  with  more  or  less  earth.  Its  prin- 
cipal constituent  is  carbon^  in  different  degrees  of 
development,  which  has  remained  after  the  decom- 
position of  vegetable  matter.  Muck  varies  largely 
in  its  quality  according  to  the  amount  of  carbon 
which  it  contains,  and  the  completeness  of  its  decom- 
position. The  best  muck  is  usually  found  in  compa- 
ratively dry  locations,  where  the  water  which  once 
caused  the  deposit  has  been  removed.  Muck  which  has 
been  long  in  this  condition,  is  usually  better  decom- 
posed than  that  which  is  saturated  with  water.  The 
muck  from  swamps,  however,  may  soon  be  brought 
to  the  best  condition.  It  should  be  thrown  out  if 
possible  at  least  a  year  before  it  is  required  for  use, 
and  left  in  small  heaps  or  ridges,  exposed  to  the 
action  of  the  weather,  which  will  assist  in  pulveriz- 
ing it,  while,  from  having  its  water  removed,  its 
decomposition  goes  on  more  rapidly. 

After  the  muck  has  remained  in  this  condition  a 
sufficient  length  of  time,  it  may  be  removed  to  the 
barn-yard  and  composted  with  a  mixture  of  lime  and 
salt  (described  on  page  99  in  the  proportion  of  one 
cord  of  muck  to  four  bushels  of  the  mixture,  or  with 
slaked  lime,  or  wood-ashes.  At  the  end  of  a  month 
or  more,  the  muck  in  the  compost  will  have  been  re- 
duced to  a  fine  pulverulent  mass,  the  decomposition 
being  hastened  and  made  more  complete  by  repeated 
turnings — nearly  as  valuable  as  charcoal  dust  for 
application  to  animal  excrement.  "When  in  this 
condition  it  is  0.2}^^^  jprepared  muck,  by  which  name 
it  will  be  designated  in  the  following  pages. 


MANUEES.  99 

Muck  had  better  not  be  used  immediately  after 
being  taken  from  the  swamp,  as  it  is  then  almost 
always  sour.  Its  sourness  is  due  to  acids  which  it 
contains,  and  these  must  be  rectified  by  the  applica- 
tion of  an  alkali,  or  by  long  exposure  to  the  weather, 
before  the  muck  is  suitable  for  use. 


LIME   A^T>    SALT   MrXTUEE. 

The  mixture,  lime  and  salt,  used  in  the  decompo- 
sition of  muck,  is  made  in  the  following  manner : 

Recipe. — Take  three  bushels  of  shell  lime,  hot 
from  the  Tciln,  or  as  fresh  as  possible,  and  slake  it 
with  water  in  which  one  bushel  of  salt  has  been  dis- 
solved. 

Care  must  be  taken  to  use  only  so  much  water  as 
is  necessary  to  dissolve  the  salt,  as  it  is  difficult  to 
induce  the  lime  to  absorb  even  so  large  a  quantity. 

In  dissolving  the  salt,  it  is  well  to  hang  it  in  a 
basket  in  the  upper  part  of  the  water,  as  the  salt 
water  will  immediately  settle  towards  the  bottom 
(being  heavier),  and  allow  the  freshest  water  to  be 
nearest  to  the  salt.  In  this  way  the  salt  may  be  all 
dissolved,  and  thus  make  the  brine  used  to  slake  the 
lime.  It  will  be  necessary  to  apply  the  brine  at 
intervals  of  a  day  or  two,  and  to  stir  the  mass  often, 
as  the  amount  of  water  is  too  great  to  be  readily  ab- 
sorbed. 

This  mixture  should  be  made  under  cover,  as,  if 
exposed,  it  would  obtain  moisture  from  rain  or  dew, 
which  would    prevent  the   use   of    all  the    brine. 


100  MANURES. 

Another  objection  to  its  exposure  to  the  weather 
is  its  liability  to  be  washed  away  by  rains.  It 
should  be  at  least  ten  days  old  before  being  used, 
and  would  be  improved  by  an  age  of  three  or  four 
months,  as  the  chemical  changes  it  undergoes  will 
require  some  time  to  be  completed. 

The  character  of  this  mixture  is  not  very  clearly 
understood.  Its  principal  constituents  are  lime, 
carbonic  acid,  chlorine,  and  soda.  The  salt  is 
undoubtedly  decomposed  in  part  or  entirely,  and 
various  compounds,  containing  the  above  substances 
in  different  proportions  and  in  different  forms  of 
combination,  are  formed.  Probably  the  extent  of 
the  decomposition  of  the  salt  and  the  character  of  the 
new  combinations  depend  on  various  circumstances, 
and  vary  considerably. 

These  compounds  are  much  better  agents  in  the 
composition  of  muck  than  pure  salt  and  lime. 

When  shell  lime  cannot  be  obtained,  Thomaston, 
or  any  other  very  pure  lime,  will  answer ;  but  care 
must  be  taken  that  it  do  not  contain  much  magnesia. 

LIME. 

Muck  may  be  decomposed  by  the  aid  of  other 
materials.  Lime  is  very  efficient,  though  not  so 
much  so  as  when  combined  with  salt.  The  action  of 
lime,  when  applied  to  the  muck,  depends  very  much 
on  its  condition.  Air-slaked  lime  (carbonate  of  lime) 
has  less  effect  than  hydrate  of  lime  (lime  simply  slaked 
with  water),  because  it  is  less  caustic  in  its  character. 


MANURES.  101 


POTASH. 


Potash  is  a  very  active  agent  in  decomposing 
vegetable  matter,  and  may  be  used  with  great  ad- 
vantage, especially  where  the  soil  which  is  to  be 
manured  is  deficient  in  potash. 

Unleached  wood-a^hes  are  generally  the  best  source 
from  which  to  obtain  this,  and  from  live  to  twenty- 
five  bushels  of  the&e  mixed  with  one  cord  of  muck 
will  have  a  capital  efifect.* 

The  sparlings  (or  refuse)  of  potash  warehouses  may 
often  be  purchased  at  sufiiciently  low  rates  to  be  used 
for  this  purpose,  and  answer  an  excellent  end.  They 
may  be  applied  at  the  rate  of  from  twenty  to  one 
hundred  pounds  to  each  cord  of  muck. 

By  any  of  the  foregoing  methods,  muck  may  be 
jprejpared  for  use  in  composting. 


CHAPTEE  Y. 

COMPOSTINa    STABLE   MANTJEE. 

In  composting  stable  manure  in  the  most  economical 
manner,  the  evaporation  of  the  gases  which  result 
from  its  decomposition,  and  the  leaching  out  of  the 
ashy  (and  other)  portions  which  decomposition  has 

*  Leached  ashes  will  not  supply  the  place  of  these,  as  the  leach- 
ing has  deprived  them  of  most  of  their  potash. 


102  MANURES. 

set  free  must  be  avoided,  while  the  mass  is  kept  in 
such  condition  as  to  admit  of  the  perfect  decomposi- 
tion of  the  manure. 

Solid  manures  in  their  fresh  state  are  of  but  very  lit- 
tle use  to  plants.  It  is  only  as  they  are  decomposed, 
and  have  their  nitrogen  turned  into  ammonia,  and 
their  other  ingredients  prepared  to  be  taken  up  again 
by  plants,  that  they  are  of  much  value  as  fertilizers, 
although  there  are  of  course  certain  advantages 
resulting  from  their  fermentation  in  the  ground, 
while  there  is  no  better  way  to  avoid  loss  than  by 
plowing  fresh  manure  directly  into  the  soil.  We  have 
seen  that,  if  decomposition  takes  place  without 
pi-oper  precautions  being  taken,  the  most  valuable 
parts  of  the  manure  would  be  lost.  ISTor  is  it  advisa- 
ble, when  an  immediate  effect  is  wanted,  to  keep 
manures  from  decomposing  until  they  are  applied  to 
the  soil,  for  then  they  are  not  immediately  ready  for 
use,  and  time  is  lost.  By  composting,  we  aim  to 
save  everything  while  we  prepare  the  manures  for 
immediate  use. 

SHELTER. 

The  first  consideration  in  preparing  for  compost- 
ing is  to  provide  proper  shelter.  This  may  be  done 
either  by  means  of  a  shed  or  by  arranging  a  cellar 
under  the  stables,  or  in  any  other  manner  that  may 
be  dictated  by  circumstances.  It  is  no  doubt  better 
to  have  the  manure  shed  enclosed  so  as  to  make  it  an 
effectual  protection ;  this,  however,  is  not  absolutely 
necessary  if  the  roof  project  far  enough  over   the 


MiJSTJEES.  103 

compost  to  shelter  it  from  the  sun's  rajs  and  from 
driving  rains. 

The  importance  of  some  protection  of  this  kind 
is  evident  from  what  has  ah-eady  been  said,  and  in- 
deed it  is  impossible  to  make  an  economical  use  of 
manures  without  it.  The  trifling  cost  of  building  a 
shed,  or  preparing  a  cellar,  is  amply  repaid  in  the 
benefit  resulting  from  their  uses.  If  an  open  shed  is 
used,  care  should  be  taken  to  so  arrange  the  slope  of 
the  ground  that  no  surface  water  can  reach  the 
manm^e. 

THE   FLOOE. 

The  floor  or  foundation  on  which  to  build  the 
compost  deserves  some  consideration.  It  may  be  of 
plank  tightly  fitted,  a  hard  bed  of  clay,  or  better,  a 
cemented  surface.  Whatever  material  is  used  in  its 
construction  (and  stiff  clay  mixed  with  water  and 
beaten  compactly  down  answers  an  excellent  purpose), 
the  floor  must  have  such  an  inclination  as  will  cause 
it  to  discharge  water  only  at  one  point.  That  is,  one 
part  of  the  edge  must  be  lower  than  the  rest  of  the 
floor,  which  must  be  so  shaped  that  water  wiU  run 
towards  this  point  from  every  part  of  it ;  then — the 
floor  being  water-tight — aU  the  liquids  of  the  com- 
post may  be  collected  in  a 

TANK. 

This  t(m\  used  to  collect  the  liquids  of  the  manure, 
may  be  made  by  sinking  a  barrel  or  hogshead  (ac- 


104 


MANUEES. 


cording  to  the  size  of  the  heap)  in  the  ground  at  the 
point  where  it  is  required,  or  in  any  other  conveni- 
ent manner. 

In  the  tank  a  pump  of  cheap  construction  may  be 
placed,  to  raise  the  liquid  to  a  sufficient  height  to  be 
conveyed  by  a  trough  to  the  centre  of  the  heap, 
and  there  distributed  by  means  of  a  perforated  board 


Fig.  2. 
a,  tank ;  5,  pump  ;  c  and  g\  perforated  board  ;  d,  muck  ;  e,  ma- 
nure ;  /,  floor. 

with  raised  edges,  and  long  enough  to  reach  across 
the  heap  in  any  direction.  By  altering  the  position 
of  this  board,  the  liquid  may  be  carried  evenly  over 
the  whole  mass. 


MANURES.  105 

The  appearance  of  the  apparatus  required  for  com- 
posting, and  the  compost  laid  up,  may  be  better 
shown  by  the  foregoing  figure. 

The  compost  is  made  by  laying  on  the  floor  ten  or 
twelve  inches  of  muck,  and  on  that  a  few  inches  of 
manure,  then  another  heavy  layer  of  muck,  and  an- 
other of  manure,  continuing  in  this  manner  until  the 
heap  is  raised  to  the  required  height,  always  having 
a  thick  layer  of  muck  at  the  top. 

After  laying  up  the  heap,  the  tank  should  be  filled 
with  liquid  manure  from  the  stables,  slops  from  the 
house,  soap-suds,  or  other  water  containing  fertilizing 
matter,  to  be  pumped  over  the  mass.  There  should 
be  enough  of  the  liquid  to  saturate  the  heap  and 
filter  through  to  fill  the  tank  once  or  twice  a  week, 
at  which  intervals  it  should  be  again  pumped  up, 
thus  continually  being  passed  through  the  manure. 
This  liquid  should  not  be  changed,  as  it  contains 
much  soluble  manure.  Should  the  liquid  manures 
named  above  not  be  sufiicient,  the  quantity  may  be 
increased  by  the  use  of  rain-water.  That  falling 
during  the  first  ten  minutes  of  a  shower  is  the  best, 
as  it  contains  the  most  ammonia. 

The  effects  produced  by  frequently  watering  the 
compost  constitute  one  of  the  greatest  advantages  of 
this  system. 

The  soluble  portions  of  the  manure  are  equally 
diffused  through  every  part  of  the  heap. 

Should  the  heat  of  fermentation  be  too  great,  the 
watering  will  reduce  it. 

When  the  compost  is  saturated  with  water,  the 
5* 


106  -  MANURES. 

air  is  driven  out ;  and,  as  the  water  subsides,  fresh 
air  enters  and  takes  its  place.  The  fresh  air  con- 
tains oxygen,  which  assists  in  the  decomposition  of 
the  manure. 

In  short,  the  watering  does  all  the  work  of  fork- 
ing over  by  hand  much  better  and  much  more  cheaply. 

At  the  end  of  a  month  or  more,  this  compost  will 
be  ready  for  use.  The  layers  in  the  manure  will 
have  disappeared,  the  whole  mass  having  become  of 
a  uniform  character,  highly  fertilizing,  and  ready  to 
be  immediately  used  by  plants. 

It  may  be  applied  to  the  soil,  either  as  a  top-dress- 
ing, or  otherwise,  without  fear  of  loss,  as  the  muck 
will  retain  all  of  the  gases  which  would  otherwise 
evaporate. 

The  cost  and  trouble  of  the  foregoing  system  of 
composting  are  trifling  compared  with  its  advantages. 
The  quantity  of  the  manure  is  much  increased,  and 
its  quality  improved.  The  health  of  the  animals  is 
secured  by  the  retention  of  those  gases,  which,  when 
allowed  to  escape,  render  impure  the  air  that  they 
have  to  breathe. 

The  cleanliness  of  the  stable  and  yard  is  much  im- 
proved, as  the  effete  matters,  which  would  otherwise 
litter  them,  are  carefully  removed  to  the  compost. 

The  system  of  composting  described  above  is  the 
most  complete  that  has  yet  been  suggested  for  mak- 
ing use  of  solid  manures.  Many  other  methods  may 
be  adopted  when  circumstances  will  not  admit  of 
so  much  attention.  It  is  a  common  and  excellent 
practice  to  throw  prepared  muck  into  the  cellar  under 


MANUilES.  107 

the  stables,  to  be  mixed  and  turned  over  with  the 
manure  by  swine.  In  other  cases  the  manures  are 
kept  in  the  yard,  and  are  covered  with  a  thin  layer 
of  muck  every  morning.  The  principle  which  ren- 
ders these  systems  beneficial  is  that  of  the  absorbent 
power  of  charcoal. 

The  composting  of  stable  manure,  although  al- 
ways advantageous,  frequently  requires  more  labor, 
and  more  expensive  accommodations  than  can  be 
given  to  it.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  where  proper  fa- 
cilities can  be  obtained  for  carrying  out  the  foregoing 
directions,  they  will  be  found  profitable.  Those  who 
are  obliged  to  use  their  stable  manure  with  the  least 
possibly  amount  of  handling,  or  who  cannot  procure 
muck  or  other  organic  matter  to  add  to  it,  should  at 
least  manage  to  keep  it  entirely  sheltered  from  the  rain 
until  it  is  hauled  out  on  to  the  land.  Manure  kept 
under  a  shed,  necessarily  loses  some  ammonia ;  but 
the  amount  of  this  loss  has  been  found  to  be  very 
small,  for  the  reason  that,  during  the  decomposition 
of  the  straw  and  coarser  vegetable  parts,  certain 
organic  acids  and  other  compounds  are  produced, 
which  combine  with  or  absorb  most  of  the  ammonia 
as  it  is  generated. 

The  loss  of  ammonia,  and  of  the  soluble  constitu- 
ents of  the  ash,  is  greater  when  the  decomposition 
takes  place  without  protection  from  the  rain. 

The  best  plan  is,  undoubtedly,  to  have  a  cellar 
under  the  stable  to  receive  the  manure  as  soon  as 
dropped,  and  to  protect  it,  as  far  as  possible,  from  all 
atmospheric  influences. 


108  MANURES. 

For  a  long  time  one  of  the  strongest  recommenda- 
tions of  "book  farming"  was  directed  against  the 
practice  of  spreading  manure  upon  the  land  more 
than  a  day  or  two  before  it  could  be  plowed  under. 
But  on  this  point,  practice  has  gained  a  triumph 
over  a  crude  theory.  There  is  no  doubt  that  manure 
so  spread  is  subject  to  some  waste ;  but  that  which 
is  not  wasted  is  so  much  better  incorporated  with 
the  soil  by  the  water  of  rains,  which  distributes  its 
soluble  parts  evenly  among  all  of  its  particles,  that 
the  effect  produced  is  better  than  if  the  raw  manure 
had  been  immediately  plowed  under,  necessarily 
somewhat  irregularly  and  in  spots.  In  this  latter 
case  there  would  be  no  loss  of  material,  but  some 
parts  of  the  soil  would  receive  more  than  was  neces- 
sary, while  others  would  be  deprived  of  any  material 
benefit,  and  the  land  would  be  less  fertile  than  if 
every  root  were  sure  to  find,  in  every  part  of  the 
soil,  its  due  proportion  of  the  food.  Ammonia  is 
formed  only  during  decomposition  ;  and,  especially 
during  cold  weather,  there  is  very  little  decomposi- 
tion going  on  in  manure  which  is  thinly  spread  upon 
the  surface  of  the  land ;  hence  the  loss  from  this 
cause  is  not  great. 

In  the  case  of  very  heavy  manuring,  especially 
with  undecomposed  manure  on  clay  land,  there  is  a 
great  benefit  arising  from  the  fermentation  of  the 
dung  in  the  soil, — a  chemical  action  producing  a 
mechanical  effect, — ^but  ordinarily  it  is  at  least  a  ques- 
tion whether  it  is  not  best  to  spread  the  manure 
on  the  surface  as  long  as  possible  before  plowing, 


MANURES.  109 

unless  in  the  case  of  land  whicli  is  to  be  plowed  in 
the  fall  for  spring  crops,  when  it  is  well  to  spread 
the  manure  after  plowing,  to  be  harrowed  in  in 
the  spring. 

This  practice  is  of  course  not  admissible  on  steep 
hill-sides  or  other  surfaces  where  the  manure  would 
be  subjected  to  the  danger  of  being  washed  away  by 
water  flowing  over  the  surface  in  winter  or  spring. 

Different  circumstances  necessarily  require  a  dif- 
ferent treatment  of  manure ;  but  the  following  prin- 
ciples are  applicable  to  all  cases  : 

1.  All  organic  manures  are  much  improved  by 
being  thoroughly  decomposed  before  being  applied 
to  the  land. 

2.  It  is  always  advantageous  (though  not  always 
advisable)  that  their  fermentation  take  place  in  the 
compost  heap,  where  they  give  a  part  of  their  value 
to  muck  or  other  refuse  organic  matter,  which  pre- 
vents all  waste  of  fertilizing  gases. 

3.  All  animal  manures  should  be  carefully  pro- 
tected against  sun,  rain,  and  wind,  from  the  time  they 
are  dropped  until  they  are  spread  upon  the  land. 

4.  The  solid  dung  should  always  be  so  kept  that 
it  will  absorb  the  urine. 

5.  For  the  mecfianical  improvement  of  the  soil, 
raw  manure  should  be  deeply  mixed  with  it. 

6.  For  immediate  fertilizing  effect,  well-rotted 
manure  should  be  applied  to,  and  harrowed  in  near 
the  sm^face. 


tlO  MANURES. 

LIQUID     MANURE. 

Liquid  maiiure  from  animals  may,  also,  be  made 
useful  bj  the  assistance  of  prepared  muck.  Where 
a  tank  is  used  in  composting,  the  liquids  from  the 
stable  may  all  be  employed  to  supply  moisture  to  the 
heap ;  but  where  any  system  is  adopted,  not  requir- 
ing liquids,  the  urine  may  be  applied  to  muck  heaps, 
and  there  allowed  to  ferment.  Fermentation  is  ne- 
cessary in  urine  as  well  as  in  solid  dung,  before  it  is 
very  active  as  a  manure,  although  its  decomposition 
is  much  more  rapid  than  that  of  the  dung.  Urine, 
as  will  be  recollected,  contains  nitrogen  and  forms 
ammonia  on  fermentation. 

The  urine  should  never  be  allowed  to  stand  in 
pools  to  become  mixed  with  rain-water,  nor  to  run 
to  waste  ;  but  should  always  be  immediately  ab- 
sorbed either  by  the  dung  or  by  muck,  or  other  refuse 
matter  provided  for  the  purpose. 

By  referring  to  the  analysis  of  liquid  and  solid 
manure  in  Section  Y.,  their  relative  value  may  be 
seen. 


CHAPTEK  YI. 

DIFFERENT  K  I  ND  S  O  F  AN  I  M  A  L  EXCREMENT. 

The  manures  of  different  animals  are,  of  course,  of 
different  value  as  fertilizers,  varying  according  to 
the  food,  the  age  of  the  animals,  etc. 


MANURES.  Ill 

Yet  the  difference  is  not  so  great  as  would  be  sup- 
posed. The  quality  of  manure  depends  very  much 
more  upon  the  food  from  which  it  is  made  than  upon 
the  animal  by  which  it  is  made.  Linseed  meal  or 
cotton-seed  meal,  which  contains  much  nitrogen,  and 
is  rich  in  phosphates,  makes  manure  worth  infinitely 
more  than  that  from  straw  and  turnips.  Whether 
these  articles  of  food  have  passed  through  an  ox  or 
a  hog,  makes  very  little  difference;  though,  as  ex- 
plained below,  it  does  make  some  difference. 

STABLE     MANUKE. 

By  stable  manure  we  mean,  usually,  that  of  the 
horse,  and  that  of  horned  cattle.  The  case  described 
in  Chapter  II.  (of  this  Section)  was  one  where  the 
animal  was  not  increasing  in  any  of  its  parts,  but 
returned  in  the  form  of  manure,  and  otherwise,  the 
equivalent  of  everything  eaten.  This  case  is  one  of 
the  most  simple  kind,  and  is  subject  to  many  modifi- 
cations. 

The  growing  animal  is  increasing  in  size,  and  as 
he  derives  his  increase  from  his  food,  he  does  not  re- 
turn in  the  form  of  manure  so  much  as  he  eats.  If 
his  bones  are  growing,  he  is  taking  from  his  food 
phosphate  of  lime  and  nitrogenous  matter  ;  conse- 
quently, the  manure  will  be  poorer  in  these  ingre- 
dients. The  same  may  be  said  of  the  formation  of 
the  muscles,  in  relation  to  nitrogen. 

ThQ  fattening  animal,  if  full  grown,  makes  manure 
which  is  as  good  as  that  from  animals  that  are  not 


112  '  MANURES. 

increasing  in  size,  because  the  fat  is  taken  from 
those  parts  of  the  food  which  are  obtained  by  plants 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  from  water  {i.  e.  from  the 
substances  containing  no  nitrogen).  Fat  contains 
no  nitrogen,  and,  consequently,  does  not  lessen  the 
amount  of  this  ingredient  in  the  manure. 

Milch  Cows  use  a  part  of  their  food  for  the  forma- 
tion of  milk,  and  consequently  they  produce  manure 
of  reduced  value. 

The  solid  manure  of  the  horse  is  better  than  that 
of  the  ox,  while  the  liquid  manure  of  the  ox  is  com- 
paratively better  than  that  of  the  horse.  The  cause  of 
this  is,  that  the  horse  has  less  perfect  digestive  organs 
than  the  ox,  and  consequently  passes  more  of  the 
valuable  parts  of  his  food,  in  an  undigested  form,  as 
dung ;  while  the  ox,  from  chewing  the  cud  and  hav- 
ing more  perfect  digestion,  turns  more  of  his  food  in- 
to urine  than  does  the  horse. 


RECAPITIJLATION. 

Full  Grown  animals  not  ' 
producing    milk,     and 
full  grown  animals  fat- 
tening 

The  Growing  of  Animals  reduces  the  value  of  their 
manure,  portions  of  their  food  being  taken  to  form 
their  bodies. 

Milch  Cows  reduce  the  value  of  their  manure  by 
changing  a  part  of  their  food  into  milk. 


►  make  the  best  manure. 


MANURES.  113 

The  Ox  makes  poor  dung  and  rich  urine.* 
The  Hokse  makes  rich  dung  and  poor  urine.* 


NIGHT    SOIL. 

The  hest  manure  within  the  reach  of  the  farmer  is 
night  soil,  or  human  excrement.  The  manure  of 
man  consists  (as  does  that  of  any  other  animal)  of 
those  parts  of  his  food  which  are  not  retained  in  the 
increase  of  his  body.  If  he  be  growing,  his  manure 
is  poorer,  as  in  the  case  of  the  ox ;  and  it  is  subject 
to  all  the  other  modifications  named  in  the  early 
part'of  this  chapter.  His  food  is  usually  of  a  varied 
character,  and  is  rich  in  nitrogen,  the  phosphates, 
and  other  inorganic  constituents ;  consequently,  his 
manure  is  made  valuable  by  containing  large  quan- 
tities of  these  matters.  As  is  the  case  with  the  ox, 
the  dung  contains  the  undigested  food,  the  secretions 
(or  leakings)  of  the  digestive  organs,  and  the  insoluble 
parts  of  the  ash  of  the  digested  food.  The  urine,  in 
like  manner,  contains  a  large  proportion  of  the  nitro- 
gen and  the  soluble  inorganic  parts  of  the  digested 
food.  When  we  consider  how  much  richer  ihefood 
of  man  is  than  that  of  horned  cattle,  we  shall  under- 
stand the  superior  value  of  his  excrement. 

Night  soil  has  been  used  as  a  manure,  for  ages,  in 
China  and  Japan  ;  and  herein  lies,  undoubtedly,  the 
great  secret  of  their  success  in  supporting  a  dense 
population,  for  almost  countless  ages,  without  im- 
poverishing the  soil. 

*  Comparatively. 


Hi:  MAi^UKES. 

Some  have  supposed  that  manuring  with  night 
soil  would  give  disagreeable  properties  to  plants : 
this  is  not  the  case ;  their  quality  is  invariably  im- 
proved. The  color  and  odor  ot  the  rose  are  made 
richer  and  more  delicate  by  the  use  of  the  most  of- 
fensive night  soil  as  manure. 

It  is  evident  that  this  is  the  case  from  the  fact 
that  plants  have  it  for  their  dh'ect  object  to  make 
over  and  put  together  the  refuse  organic  matter  and 
the  gases  and  the  minerals  found  in  nature,  for  the 
us«  of  animals.  If  there  were  no  natural  means  of 
rendering  the  excrement  of  animals  available  to 
plants,  the  earth  must  soon  be  shorn  of  its  fertility, 
as  the  elements  of  growth  when  once  consumed 
would  be  essentially  destroyed,  and  no  soil  could 
survive  the  exhaustion.  There  is  no  reason  why  the 
manure  of  man  should  be  rejected  by  vegetation 
more  than  that  of  any  other  animal ;  and  indeed  it 
is  not, — ample  experience  has  proved  that  there  is 
no  better  manure  in  existence. 

A  single  experiment  will  suffice  to  show  that 
night  soil  may  be  so  kept  that  there  shall  be  no  loss 
of  its  valuable  gases,  and  consequently  no  offensive 
odor  arising  from  it,  while  it  may  be  removed  and 
applied  to  crops  without  unpleasantness.  All  that  is 
necessary  to  effect  this  wonderful  change  in  night 
soil,  and  to  turn  it  from  its  disagreeable  character  to 
one  entirely  inoffensive,  is  to  mix  with  it  a  little  char- 
coal dust,  prepared  muck,  dry  earth,  or  any  other  good 
absorbent — thus  making  what  is  called  poudrette. 
The  mode  of  doing  this  must  depend  on  circumstances. 


MANURES.  115 

'^  Several  plans  have  recently  been  devised  which 
have  for  their  object  the  improvement  of  privy  ac- 
commodations of  detached  houses.  One  of  these, 
the  '  Earth  Closet,'  of  the  Rev.  Henry  Moule,  an 
English  clergyman,  is  at  once  so  cheap,  so  simple, 
and  so  perfect  in  its  operation,  that  it  should  receive 
general  attention.  Its  action  is  based  on  the  power 
of  soils  which  contain  clay  or  organic  matter  (loam 
or  mould)  to  absorb  all  offensive  effluvia.  This 
power  is  so  great  that  not  only  will  a  pint  of  sifted 
and  air-dried  earth  completely  deodorize  the  matters 
of  a  single  evacuation,  but  if  dried  in  the  air  after 
each  use,  the  same  pint  of  earth  may  be  used  over 
and  over  again — losing,  apparently,  none  of  its 
power  of  absorption— until  it  finally  becomes  as 
powerful  a  manure  as  Peruvian  guano — although 
entirely  inoffensive  to  the  sight  and  smell."  * 

The  manure  thus  made  is  of  the  most  valuable 
character,  and  may  be  used  under  any  circumstances 
with  a  certainty  of  obtaining  a  good  crop. 

For  an  analysis  of  human  manure,  see  Section  Y. 

HOa   MANURE. 

Hog  manure  is  very  valuable,  but  it  must  be  used 
with  care.  It  is  very  liable  to  make  cabbages  clumjp- 
footed^  and  to  induce  a  disease  in  turnips  called  (mi- 
hury  (or  fingers  and  toes).  It  is  so  violent  in  its 
action  that,  when  applied  to  crops  in  a  pure  state,  it 

*  From  an  article  on  Sewers  and  Eartli  Closets,  in  the  Amen- 
can  Agricultural  Annual,  for  1868,  by  Geo.  E.  Waring,  Jr. 


116  MANURES. 

often  produces  injurious  results.  The  only  precau- 
tion necessary  is  to  supply  the  sty  with  prepared 
muck,  charcoal-dust,  leaf-mould,  earth,  or  any  ab- 
sorbent in  plentiful  quantities,  often  adding  fresh 
supplies.  The  hogs  will  work  this  over  with  the 
manure ;  and,  when  required  for  use,  it  will  be  found 
an  excellent  fertilizer.  The  absorbent  will  have  over- 
come its  injurious  tendency,  and  it  may  be  safely 
applied  to  any  crop,  except  cabbages  and  the  smooth- 
leaved  turnips — such  as  the  rutabaga.  From  the 
variety  and  rich  character  of  the  food  of  this  animal, 
his  manure  is  of  a  superior  quality. 

Butchers'  hogpen  manure  is  one  of  the  best  fer- 
tilizers known.  It  is  made  by  animals  that  live 
chiefly  on  blood  and  other  animal  refuse,  and  is  very 
rich  in  nitrogen  and  the  phosphates.  It  should  be 
mixed  with  prepared  muck,  or  its  substitute,  to  pre- 
vent the  loss  of  its  ammonia,  and  as  a  protection 
against  its  injurious  effect  on  plants. 

POULTRY-HOTJSE   MANURE. 

Next  in  value  to  night  soil,  among  domestic  ma- 
nures, are  the  excrements  of  poultry,  pigeons,  etc. 
Birds  live  on  the  nice  bits  of  creation,  seeds,  insects, 
etc.,  and  they  discharge  their  solid  and  liquid  excre- 
ments together.  Poultry-dung  is  nearly  equal  in 
value  to  Peruvian  guano  (except  that  it  contains 
more  water),  and  it  deserves  to  be  carefully  pre- 
served and  judiciously  used.  It  is  as  well  worth  one 
dollar  per  bushel  as  guano  is  worth  seventy-five  dol- 
lars a  ton. 


MANUEES.  117 

Poultry-manure  is  liable  to  as  much  injury  from 
evaporation  and  leaching  as  is  any  other  manure, 
and  equal  care  should  be  taken  (by  the  same  means) 
to  prevent  such  loss.  Good  shelter  over  the  roosts, 
and  frequent  sprinkling  with  prepared  muck  or  char- 
coal-dust, will  be  amply  repaid  by  the  increased  value 
of  the  manure,  and  its  better  action  and  greater 
durability  in  the  soil.  The  principle  upon  which 
Moule's  Earth  Closet  is  based  may  be  very  effective- 
ly applied  to  the  poultry-house.  All  that  is  neces- 
sary is  to  dig  or  fork  up  the  earth  floor  of  their  lodg- 
ing-room as  often  as  may  be  necessary  (say  once  a 
week),  and  to  rake  it  daily  so  as  to  mix  the  fresh 
droppings  with  the  loose  earth.  In  this  manner  the. 
floor  of  the  poultry-house,  for  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten 
inches,  may  be  made  to  absorb  the  droppings  of  a 
whole  summer  so  as  to  entirely  prevent  offensive 
smells  or  disease,  while  the  earth  for  that  depth 
will  be  worth  many  times  what  it  has  cost. 

The  value  of  this  manure  should  be  taken  into 
consideration  in  calculating  the  profit  of  keeping 
poultry  (as  indeed  with  all  other  stock).  It  has  been 
observed  by  a  gentleman  of  much  experience,  in 
poultry  raising,  that  the  yearly  manure  of  a  hundred 
fowls  applied  to  previously  unmanured  land  would 
produce  extra  corn  enough  to  keep  them  for  a  year. 
This  is  probably  a  large  estimate,  but  it  serves  to 
show  that  this  fertilizer  is  very  valuable,  and  also 
that  poultry  may  be  kept  with  great  profit,  if  their 
excrements  are  properly  secured. 


118  MA]STJBES. 

The  manure  of  pigeons  has  been  a  favorite  fertil- 
izer in  some  countries  for  more  than  2,000  years. 

Market  gardeners  in  England  attach  much  value 
to  rabbit- manure. 

SHEEP   MANURE. 

The  manure  of  sheep  is  less  valuable  than  it  would 
be  if  so  large  a  quantity  of  the  nitrogen  and  mineral 
parts  of  the  food  were  not  employed  in  the  forma- 
tion of  wool.  This  has  an  effect  on  the  richness  of 
the  excrements,  but  they  are  still  of  very  great  value 
as  a  fertilizer,  and  should  be  protected  from  loss  in 
the  same  way  as  stable-manure. 

GUANO. 

Guano  as  a  manure  has  become  world  renowned. 
The  worn-out  tobacco  lands  of  Virginia,  and  other 
fields  in  many  parts  of  the  country,  which  seemed  to 
have  yielded  to  the  effect  of  an  ignorant  course  of 
cultivation,  and  to  have  sunk  to  their  final  repose, 
have  in  many  cases  been  revived  to  the  production  of 
excellent  crops,  and  have  had  their  value  multiplied 
many  fold  by  the  use  of  guano.  Although  an  ex- 
cellent manm'e,  it  should  not  cause  us  to  lose  sight  of 
•those  valuable  materials  which  exist  on  almost  every 
farm.  Every  ton  of  guano  imported  into  the  United 
States  is  an  addition  to  our  national  wealth,  but 
every  ton  of  stable-manure,  or  poultry-dung,  or  night 
soil  evaporated  or  carried  away  in  rivers,  is  equally 
a  deduction  from  our  riches.  If  the  imported  ma- 
nure is  to  really  benefit  us,  we  must  not  allow  it  to 


MANUEES.  119 

occasion  the  neglect  and  consequent  loss  of  our  do- 
mestic fertilizers. 

The  Peruvian  guano  (which  is  considered  the 
best)  is  brought  from  islands  off  the  coast  of  Peru. 
The  birds  which  frequent  these  islands  live  almost 
entirely  on  fish,  and  drop  their  excrements  here  in 
a  climate  where  rain  is  unknown,  and  where,  from 
the  dryness  of  the  air,  there  is  but  little  loss  sustained 
by  the  manure.  It  is  brought  to  this  country  in 
large  quantities,  and  is  an  excellent  fertilizer,  supe- 
rior even  to  night  soil. 

Injudiciously  used,  Peruvian  guano  may  become 
a  curse  to  a  country  instead  of  a  blessing.  It  stimu- 
lates crops  to  an  inordinate  growth  and  causes  them, 
on  the  poorer  soils,  to  seek  out  the  last  available  atom 
of  some  mineral  which  it  does  not  in  itself  supply 
in  sufficient  quantity.  When  this  last  atom  has 
been  sold  off  in  the  crop,  the  power  of  the  guano  to 
produce  a  crop,  to  which  that  mineral  is  largely 
necessary,  has  ceased.  It  is  not  the  guano,  but  the 
crop  that  has  exhausted  the  land.  If  all  its  mineral 
constituents  had  been  judiciously  returned,  the  soil 
would  not  be  made  poorer, — on  the  contrary,  it 
would  be  made  better  by  the  decomposition  of  the 
roots  left  in  the  soil.  The  best  way  to  use  guano, 
is  to  compost  it  with  other  manures  or  to  mix  it 
with  fine  earth  or  muck.  In  either  case,  its  lumps 
should  be  crushed  to  powder,  so  that  it  may  be  evenly 
distributed  through  the  soil. 

The  composition  of  various  kinds  of  guano  may 
be  found  in  the  Section  on  Analysis. 


120  MANURES. 

CHAPTEK  YIl. 

OTHER  ORGANIC  MANURES. 

The  number  of  organic  manures  is  almost  countless. 
The  most  common  of  these  have  been  described  in 
the  previous  chapters  on  the  excrements  of  animals. 
The  more  prominent  of  the  remaining  ones  will  now  be 
considered.  As  a  universal  rule,  it  may  be  stated  that 
all  organic  matter  (everything  which  has  had  vegeta- 
ble or  animal  life)  is  capable  of  feeding  plants. 

DEAD  ANIMALS. 

The  bodies  of  animals  contain  much  nitrogen^  as 
well  as  large  quantities  of  the  phosphates  and  other 
inorganic  materials  required  in  the  growth  of  plants. 
On  their  decay,  the  nitrogen  is  resolved  into  amtno- 
nia^  and  the  mineral  matters  become  valuable  as  food 
for  the  inorganic  parts  of  plants. 

If  the  decomposition  of  animal  bodies  takes  place 
in  exposed  situations,  and  without  proper  precautions, 
the  ammonia  escapes  into  the  atmosphere,  and  much 
of  the  mineral  portion  is  leached  out  by  rains.  The 
use  of  absorbents,  such  as  charcoal-dust,  prepared 
muck,  earth,  etc.,  will  entirely  prevent  the  evapora- 
tion, and  will  in  a  great  measure  serve  as  a  protection 
against  leaching. 

If  a  dead  horse  be  cut  in  pieces  and  mixed  with 
ten  loads  of  muck,  the  whole  mass  will,  in  a  single 
season,  become  a  valuable  compost.  Small  animals, 
such   as   dogs,   cats,  etc.,   may  be  with   advantage 


MANURES.  121 

bnried  by  the  roots  of  grape-vines,  or  trees,  or  com- 
posted as  above. 

BONES. 

The  hones  of  animals  contain  phosphate  of  lime 
and  gelatine.  The  gelatine  is  a  nitrogenous  sub- 
stance, and  produces  ammonia  on  its  decomposition. 
This  subject  will  be  treated  more  fully  under  the 
head  of  "  phosphate  of  lime  "  in  the  chapter  on  min- 
eral manures,  where  the  treatment  of  bones  is  con- 
sidered more  directly  with  reference  to  the  fertilizing 
value  of  their  earthy  parts. 

FISH. 

In  many  localities  near  the  sea-shore  large  quanti- 
ties of  fish  are  caught  and  applied  directly  to  the  soil. 
These  make  excellent  manure.  They  contain  much 
nitrogen,  which  renders  them  strongly  ammoniacal 
on  decomposition.  Their  bones  consist  of  phosphate 
and  carbonate  of  lime;  and,  being  natm^ally  soft,  they 
decompose  in  the  soil  with  great  facility,  and  become 
available  to  plants.  The  scales  of  fish  contain  valu- 
able quantities  of  nitrogen,  etc.,  all  of  which  are 
highly  useful. 

Refuse  fishy  matters  from  markets  and  from  the 
house  are  well  worth  saving.  These  and  fish  caught 
for  manure  may  be  made  into  compost  with  prepared 
muck,  or  earth,  etc. ;  and  as  they  putrefy  rapidly,  they 
soon  become  ready  for  use.  They  may  be  added  to 
the  compost  of  stable  manure  with  great  advantage. 


122  MANURES, 

Fisli  (like  all  other  nitrogenous  manures)  should 
never  be  applied  as  a  top  dressing,  unless  previously 
mixed  with  a  good  absorbent  of  ammonia ;  but  should, 
when  used  alone,  be  immediately  plowed  under  to 
considerable  depth,  to  prevent  the  evaporation — and 
consequent  loss — of  their  fertilizing  gases. 

Within  the  past  few  years  the  manufacture  of  oil  from 
fish  has  become  a  very  extensive  industry,  especially 
along  the  coast  of  New  England.  The  fish  are  caught 
in  immense  quantities  and  delivered  to  the  factories, 
where  they  are  first  cooked  by  steaming  and  then 
subjected  to  very  heavy  pressure,  which  removes  their 
oil.  The  solid  matter  which  is  left  behind,  contain- 
ing the  bones,  scales,  and  muscular  tissues,  is  run 
through  a  "  picker,"  and  sold  for  manure.  It  con- 
tains all  of  the  fish  that  is  of  value  for  this  purpose, 
in  a  very  concentrated  form,  and  it  is  easy  of  applica- 
tion to  the  soil.  It  is  now  sold  for  about  one-third 
of  the  value  of  Peruvian  guano,  at  which  price  it  is 
a  much  more  economical  fertilizer. 

WOOLLEN   KAGS,    ETC. 

Woollen  rags^  hair,  waste  of  woollen  factories,  etc., 
contain  both  nitrogen  and  phosphate  of  lime ;  and,  like 
all  other  matters  containing  these  ingredients,  are 
excellent  manures,  but  they  must  be  used  in  such  a 
way  as  to  prevent  the  escape  of  their  fertilizing  gases. 
They  decompose  slowly,  and  are  therefore  considered 
a  lasting  manure.  Like  all  lasting  manures,  how- 
ever, they  are  slow  in  their  effects,  and  the  most  ad- 


MAI^UKES.  123 

vantageous  way  to  use  them  is  to  compost  them  with 
stable  manure,  or  with  some  other  rapidly  fermenting 
substance,  which  will  hasten  their  decomposition  and 
render  them  sooner  available. 

Rags,  hair,  etc.,  thns  treated,  will  in  a  short  time 
be  reduced  to  such  a  condition  that  they  may  be 
more  immediately  used  by  plants  instead  of  lying  in 
the  soil  to  be  slowly  taken  up.  It  is  better  in  all 
cases  to  have  manures  act  quicJdy  and  give  an  im- 
mediate retm-n  for  their  cost,  than  to  lie  for  a  long 
time  in  the  soil  before  their  influence  is  felt. 

Old  leather  should  not  be  thrown  away.  It  de- 
composes very  slowly,  and  consequently  is  of  but 
little  value ;  but,  if  put  at  the  roots  of  young  trees, 
it  will  in  time  produce  appreciable  effects. 

Tanners'  and  curriers'  refuse^  and  all  other  animal 
offal,  including  that  of  the  slaughter-house,  are  well 
worth  attention,  as  they  contain  more  or  less  of  those 
two  most  important  ingredients  of  manures,  nitrogen 
and  phosphate  of  lime. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that,  in  common  with  all 
other  animal  manm-es,  these  substances  must  be  either 
composted,  or  immediately  plowed  under  the  soil. 
Horn  piths,  and  horn  shavings,  if  decomposed  in  com- 
post with  substances  which  ferment  rapidly,  make  very 
good  manure,  and  are  worth  fully  the  price  charged 
for  them. 

ORGANIC   MANURES   OF   TEGETABLE   OKIGIN. 

Muck^  the  most  important  of  the  purely  vegeta- 
ble manures,  has  been  already  sufficiently  described. 


124  aiANURES. 

It  should  be  particularly  borne  in  mind  that,  when 
first  taken  from  the  swamp,  it  is  often  sour^  or  cold ; 
but  that  if  exposed  for  a  long  time  to  the  air,  or  if 
well  treated  with  lime,  uiileached  ashes,  the  lime 
and  salt  mixture,  or  any  other  alkali,  its  acids  will 
be  neutralized  (or  overcome),  and  it  becomes  a  good 
application  to  any  soil,  except  peat  or  other  soils 
already  containing  large  quantities  of  organic  mat- 
ter. 

SPENT   TAN-BAHK. 

S^ent  tan-harJc,  if  previously  decomposed  by  the 
use  of  alkalies,  answers  all  the  purposes  of  prepared 
muck,  but  is  more  difficult  of  decomposition. 

The  bark  of  trees  contains  a  larger  proportion  of 
earthy  matter  than  the  wood,  and  much  of  this, 
on  the  decomposition  of  the  bark,  becomes  available 
as  manure.  The  chemical  effect  on  the  bark,  of 
using  it  in  the  tanning  of  leather,  is  such  as  to  ren- 
der it  difficult  to  be  rotted  by  the  ordinary  means ; 
but  by  the  use  of  alkalies  it  may  be  reduced  to  the 
finest  condition,  and  becomes  a  most  excellent  ma- 
nure. Unless  tan-bark  be  composted  with  lime,  or 
some  other  alkali,  it  may  produce  injurious  effects 
from  the  tanniG  acid  which  it  still  contains.  Alka- 
line substances  will  neutralize  this  acid,  and  prevent 
it  from  being  injurious. 

One  great  benefit  resulting  from  the  use  of  spent 
tan-bark,  is  due  to  its  power  of  absorbing  moisture 
from  the  atmosphere.     For  this  reason  it  is  very  val- 


MANURES.  125 

liable  for  mulching  *  young  trees  and  plants  wlien 
first  set  out. 

SAWDUST   AND    SOOT, 

Sawdust  in  its  natural  state  is  of  very  little  value 
to  tlie  land,  but  when  decomposed,  as  may  be  done 
by  the  same  method  as  was  described  for  tan-bark, 
it  is  of  some  importance,  on  account  of  the  carbon 
that  it  contains.  Its  ash,  too,  which  becomes  avail- 
able, contains  soluble  earthy  matter,  and  in  this 
way  it  acts  as  a  direct  manure.  So  far  as  concerns 
the  value  of  the  ash,  however,  bark  is  superior  to 
sawdust.  Sawdust  may  be  partially  rotted  by  mix- 
ing it  with  strong  manure  (such  as  that  of  the  hog- 
pen), while  it  acts  as  a  divisor,  and  prevents  its  too 
rapid  action  when  applied  to  the  soil.  Some  kinds 
of  sawdust,  such  as  that  from  beech-wood,  form  acetic 
acid  on  their  decomposition,  and  these  should  be  treat- 
ed with,  at  least,  a  sufficient  quantity  of  lime  to  cor- 
rect the  acid. 

Soot  is  a  good  manure.  It  contains  much  carbon, 
and  has,  thus  far,  all  of  the  beneficial  efiects  of  char- 
coal dust.  The  sulphur,  which  is  one  of  its  consti- 
tuents, not  only  serves  as  food  for  plants,  but,  from 
its  odor,  afibrds  a  good  protection  against  some  in- 
sects. A  handful  of  soot  thrown  over  a  melon  vine, 
or  young  cabbage  plant,  will  keep  away  many  in- 
sects. 

Soot  contains  some  ammonia,  and  as  this  is  in 
the  form  of  a  sulphate,  it  is  not  volatile,  and  conse- 
*  See  the  glossary  at  the  end  of  the  book. 


126  MAJTCIRES. 

quentlj  does  not  evaporate  when  the  soot  is  applied 
as  a  top  dressing,  which  is  the  almost  universal  cus- 
tom. 

GREEN    CROPS. 

Green  crops,  to  plough  under,  are  in  many  places 
largely  raised,  and  are  always  beneficial.  The 
plants  most  used  for  this  purpose,  in  this  country,  are 
clover,  buckwheat,  and  peas.  These  plants  have 
very  long  roots,  which  they  send  deep  in  the  soil  to 
draw  up  mineral  matter  for  their  support.  This 
mineral  matter  is  deposited  in  the  plant.  The 
leaves  and  roots  receive  carbonic  acid  very  largely 
from  the  air,  and  from  the  water  in  the  soil.  In  this 
manner  they  obtain  their  carbon.  When  the  crop  is 
turned  under  the  soil,  it  decomposes,  and  the  car- 
bon, as  well  as  the  mineral  ingredients  obtained 
from  the  subsoil,  are  deposited  in  the  surface  soil, 
and  become  of  use  to  succeeding  crops.  The  hol- 
low stalks  of  the  buckwheat  and  pea  help  to  loosen 
the  soil. 

Although  green  crops  are  of  great  benefit,  and 
require  but  little  labor,  they  do  require,  as  usually 
managed,  that  the  use  of  the  land  and  the  expense 
of  seeding  and  cultivation  be  entirely  devoted  to  the 
advantage  of  future  crops. 

Yery  nearly  the  same  benefit,  especially  in  the 
case  of  clover,  would  result  from  the  roots  alone 
of  a  crop  which  has  been  cut  for  hay  and  again  for 
seed.  This  at  least  is  the  opinion  of  many  who  have 
had  much  experience,  and  who  believe  that,  by  the 
decomposition  of  the  roots  only   of  a  heavy  crop 


MANURES.  127 

of  clover,  the  soil  may  be  brought  to  the  highest 
state  of  fertility  of  which  it  is  capable.  The  crop- 
ping of  the  plant  causes  an  increased  growth  of 
the  roots,  and  these,  when  ploughed  np,  and  allowed 
to  decompose  in  the  soil,  constitute  an  excellent 
manure,  acting  both  chemically  and  mechanically, 
and  permanently  increasing  the  value  of  the  land. 

If  the  system  of  cultivation  adopted  on  the  farm 
does  not  admit  of  the  use  of  green  crops,  its  condi- 
tion may  be  improved,  though  more  expensively 
and  less  completely,  by  the  application  of  swamp 
muck  or  leaf  mould,  and  by  the  use  of  the  subsoil 
plough,  to  loosen  the  lower  soil.  Except,  however,  in 
these  comparatively  rare  cases,  where  all  the  land  is 
needed  for  use  every  year,  and  where  extensive 
manuring  is  adopted,  the  liberal  use  of  green  crops 
is  always  to  be  recommended. 

Before  closing  this  chapter,  it  may  be  well  to  re- 
mark that  there  are  various  other  fertilizers,  such  as 
the  a/inmoniacal  liquor  of  gas-Jiouses^  soapers^  wastes, 
'bleachers'  lye,  lees  of  old  oil-cashs,  etc,  which  we 
have  not  space  to  consider  at  length,  but  which  are 
all  valuable  as  additions  to  the  compost  heap,  or  as 
applications,  in  a  liquid  form,  to  the  soil. 

In  many  cases  (when  heavy  manuring  is  prac- 
tised) it  may  be  well  to  apply  organic  manures  to 
the  soil  in  a  green  state,  turn  them  under,  and  allow 
them  to  undergo  decomposition  in  the  ground.  The 
advantages  of  this  system  are,  that  the  heat  result- 
ing from  the  chemical  changes,  will  hasten  the 
growth  of  plants  by  making  the  soil  warmer ;  the 


128  MAKUEES. 

carbonic  acid  formed  will  have  a  beneficial  chemical 
action  in  the  soil,  and  will  be  directly  presented  to 
the  roots  instead  of  escaping  into  the  atmosphere ; 
and  if  the  soil  be  heavy,  the  decomposing  matters 
will  tend  to  loosen  it,  and  leave  it  more  porous.  As 
a  general  rule,  however,  in  ordinary  farming,  where 
the  amount  of  manure  applied  is  only  sufficient  for 
the  supply  of  food  to  the  crop,  it  is  undoubtedly  bet- 
ter to  have  it  previously  decomposed, — cooked  as  it 
were,  for  the  nses  of  the  plants, — as  they  can  then 
obtain  the  required  amount  of  nutriment  as  fast  as 
need-ed. 

ABSORPTION   OF   MOISTURE. 

It  is  often  convenient  to  know  the  relative  power 
of  different  manures  to  absorb  moisture  from  the  at- 
mosphere, especially  when  we  wish  to  manure  lands 
that  suffer  from  drought.  The  following  results  are 
given  by  C.  W.  Johnson,  in  his  essay  on  salt  (pp.  8 
and  19).  In  these  experiments  the  animal  manures 
were  employed  without  any  admixture   of  straw. 

PARTS. 

1000  parts  of  horse-dung,  dried  in  a  tempera- 
ture of  100°,  absorbed  by  expo- 
sure for  three  hours  to  air  saturated 
with  moisture,  of  the  temperature  of 
62° 145 

1000  parts  of  cow-dung,  under  the  same  cir- 
cumstances, absorbed 130 

1000  parts    pig-dung 120 

1000      "       sheep    "    81 


MAITUBES.  129 

PAETS. 

1000  parts  pigeon-dung 50 

1000  ''       rich  alluvial  soil 14 

1000  "       fresh  tanner's  bark 115 

1000  "       putrefied        "         145 

1000  "  refuse  marine  salt  sold  as  manure. .  49^ 

1000  "       soot 36 

1000  "       burnt  clay 29 

1000  "       coal-ashes 14 

1000  "       lime 11 

1000  "       sediment  from  salt-pans 10 

1000  "       crushed  rock  salt 10 

1000  "       gypsum 9 

1000  "       salt 4 

Muck  is  a  most  excellent  absorbent  of  moisture, 
when  thoroughly  decomposed. 


DISTRIBUTION   OF   MANURES. 

The  following  table,  from  Johnson  on  Manures, 
will  be  found  convenient  in  the  distribution  of  ma- 
nures. 

By  its  assistance  the  farmer  will  know  how 
many  loads  of  manure  he  requires,  dividing  each 
load  into  a  stated  number  of  heaps,  and  placing 
them  at  certain  distances.  In  this  manner  manure 
may  be  applied  evenly,  and  calculation  may  be  made 
as  to  the  amount,  per  acre,  which  a  certain  quantity 
will  supply. 


6* 


130 


MANURES. 


DISTANCE 

OF 

THE   HEAPS. 


3  yards. . 
3^  do. . . 

4  do. . . 
4^L  do. . . 

5  do. . . 
5^  do. . . 

6  do. . . 
6^  do. . . 

7  do. . . 
7,L  do. . . 

8  do. . . 
8^  do. . . 

9  do. . . 
9i  do. . . 

10  do. . . 


NUMBER  OF  HEAPS  IN  A  LOAD. 


538 
395 
303 
239 
194 
160 
131 
115 

99 

86 

75i 

67 

60 

53i 

48i 


168 
151 
120 

97 

80 

67 

57i 

49i 

43 

37f 

33i 

30 

26f 

24i 


179 
132 
101 

79i 

53i 

44f 

38i 

33 

28f 

25i 

22i 

20 

18 

m 


134  1108 

99  79 

75i'  60i 

60  I  47f 

48i|  38f 

40  32 
33i 


281 

24f 

21i 

19 

161 

15 

13i 

12 


27 
23 
19f 

m 

15f 
13i 
12 
lOf 
9f 


50i 

39f 

32i 

26 

22i 

19 

16i 

14i 

12^ 

Hi 

10 
9 


77 

56i 

43i 

34i 

27f 

2.2f 

19i 

14 

12i 

lOf 

9i 
8i 
7f 
7 


8       9      10 


67 

49i 

37f 

30 

24i 

20 

16f 

14i 

12i 

lOf 

9i 

8i 

7f 

61 

6 


60 
44 
33i 

26i 

21i 

17f 

15 

12f 

11 

9i 

8^ 

7i 

6f 

6 


54 

39i 

30i 

24 

19i 

16 

13i 

10 
8^ 
7i 
6f 
6 

5i 
4f 


Example  1. — Required  the  number  of  loads  necessary  to  ma- 
nure an  acre  of  ground,  dividing-  eacli  load  into  six  heaps,  and 
placing  them  at  a  distance  of  4 J  yards  from  each  other.  The  an- 
swer by  the  table  is  39f . 

Example  2. — A  farmer  has  a  field  containing-  5^  acres,  over 
which  he  wishes  to  spread  82  loads  of  dung.  Now  82  divided  by 
5^^,  gives  15  loads  per  acre  ;  and  by  referring  to  the  table,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  desired  object  may  be  accomplished  by  making 
4  heaps  of  a  load,  and  placing  them  9  yards  apart,  or  by  9  heaps 
at  6  yards,  as  may  be  thought  advisable. 


CHAPTEK  YIII. 


MINERAL     MANURES 


The  second  class  of  manures  named  in  tlie  general 
division  of  the  subject,  in  the  early  part  of  this 
section,  comprises  those  of  a  mineral  character. 


MANURES.  13.1 

These  manures  have  four  modes  of  action  when 
applied  to  the  soil. 

1st.  They  furnish  food  for  the  mineral  part  of 
plants. 

2d.  They  prepare  matters  already  in  the  soil  for 
assimilation  by  roots. 

3d.  They  improve  the  mechanical  condition  of  the 
soil. 

4th.  They  absorb  ammonia. 

Some  of  the  mineral  manures  produce  in  the  soil 
only  one  of  these  effects,  and  others  are  efficient  in 
two  or  more  of  them. 

The  principles  to  be  considered  in  the  use  of 
mineral  manures  are  essentially  given  in  the  first 
two  sections  of  this  book.  It  may  be  well,  however, 
to  repeat  them  briefly  in  this  connection,  and  to  give 
the  reasons  why  any  of  these  manures  are  needed, — 
from  which  we  may  learn  what  rules  are  to  be  ob- 
served in  their  application. 

1st.  Those  which  are  used  as  food  by  plants.  It 
will  be  recollected  that  the  ash  left  after  burning 
plants,  and  which  formed  a  part  of  their  structures, 
has  a  certain  chemical  composition  ;  that  is,  it  con- 
sists of  alkalies,  acids,  and  neutrals.  It  was  also 
stated  that  the  ashes  of  plants  of  the  same  kind  are 
always  of  about  the  same  composition,  while  the 
ashes  of  different  kinds  of  plants  may  vary  niate- 
rially.  Different  parts  of  the  same  plant  too,  as  we 
learned,  are  supplied  with  different  kinds  of  ash. 

For  instance,  clover,  on  being  burned,  leaves  an 
ash  containing  Urns,  as  one  of  its  principal  ingre- 


132  MANUKES. 

dients,  while  the  ash  of  potatoes  contains  more  of 
potash  than  of  anything  else. 

In  the  second  section,  (on  soils,)  we  learned  that 
some  soils  contain  everything  necessary  to  make  the 
ashes  of  all  plants,  and  in  sufficient  quantity  to  sup- 
ply what  is  required,  while  other  soils  are  either 
entirely  deficient  in  one  or  more  ingredients,  or  con- 
tain so  little  of  them  in  an  available  condition,  that 
they  are  unfertile  for  certain  plants."^ 

The  different  requirements  of  different  plants  is 
the  foundation  of  the  theory  of  sj^ecial  manuring  y 

*  In  all  cases  in  whicli  tlie  constituents  of  tlie  soil  are  spoken  of 
in  this  book,  it  should  be  understood  as  applying-  not  so  much  to 
its  absolute  chemical  composition  as  to  the  availability  of  its 
plant-feeding  parts.  An  atom  of  potash  may  be  locked  up  ia  the 
inside  of  a  pebble,  and  be  of  no  more  use  to  the  roots  of  a  plant 
than  if  it  were  a  hundred  miles  away,  yet  a  careful  chemical 
analysis  would  destroy  the  pebble  and  weigh  its  atom  of  potash. 
The  food  of  plants  in  the  soil  must  exist  iu  what  Lie  big  calls  "  a 
state  of  physical  combination,"  that  is,  coatiag  the  outside  of  its 
particles  ;  attached  to  them  by  a  feeble  attraction  which  is  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  their  beiag  washed  away  by  the  water  of  raius, 
but  which  yields  to  the  feeding  action  of  roots.  It  is  his  belief, 
and  the  opinion  seems  well  founded,  that  it  is  only,  or  chiefly 
from  materials  so  placed,  that  plants  derive  their  food  ;  and  that 
the  constituents  of  the  soil,  before  they  are  taken  up  by  roots, 
must  be  separated  from  their  firmer  relations  and  exposed  on 
the  surfaces  of  particles,  as  above  stated. 

In  like  manner  those  elements  of  manures  which  are  taken  up 
by  the  plant  are  first  dissolved  ia  water,  from  which  they  are  ab- 
sorbed by  the  particles  of  the  soU, — spread  over  its  interior  sur- 
faces, exposed  to  the  action  of  roots. 

Even  the  ammonia  brought  from  the  atmosphere  in  falling  rain, 
attaches  itself  in  the  same  way  to  the  interior  surfaces  of  the 
soil, 


MAITIJEES.  133 

whicli  is  that  on  a  soil  of  tolerable  fertility  we  can 
grow  large  crops  of  any  particular  plant  by  using 
such  manures  as  are  chiefly  required  for  its  ashes,  as 
phosphoric  acid  for  a  crop  of  wheat,  for  instance, 
or  potash  for  potatoes  or  tobacco. 

As  a  universal  rule,  it  may  be  stated  that  to  ren- 
der a  soil  fertile  for  any  particular  plant,  we  must 
supply  it  (unless  it  already  contains  them)  with  those 
matters  which  are  necessary  to  make  the  ash  of  that 
plant ;  and,  if  we  would  render  it  capable  of  pro- 
ducing all  kinds  of  plants,  it  must  be  furnished  with 
the  materials  required  in  the  formation  of  all  hinds 
of  vegetable  ashes. 

To  carry  out  this  system,  however,  with  much 
nicety  or  certainty,  would  require  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  composition  of  the  soil  and  of  the 
feeding  of  plants  than  we  yet  possess.  The  only 
safe  rule  is,  by  the  use  of  manures  and  of  thorough  cul- 
tivation, to  make  the  soil  fertile  for  all  crops ;  and 
then  to  keep  it  fertile  by  the  return  of  all  mineral 
matters  removed  in  its  produce. 

A  long  acquaintance  with  any  field  will  show 
its  strong  and  its  weak  points,  and  the  greatest  skill 
of  the  farmer  should  be  applied  to  strengthening  its 
weaker  ones  and  preventing  its  stronger  ones  from 
becoming  weaker.  In  this  way  the  soil  may  be  raised 
to  its  highest  state  of  fertility,  and  be  fully  maintained 
in  its  productive  powers. 

2d.  Those  manures  which  render  available  the 
matters  already  contained  in  the  soil. 

Silicic  acid,  (or  sand,)  it  will  be  recollected,  exists 


134:  MANTTEES. 

in  all  soils ;  but,  in  its  pure  state,  is  not  capable  of 
being  dissolved,  and  therefore  cannot  be  used  by 
plants.  The  alkalies  (as  has  been  stated)  have  the 
power  of  combining  with  it,  making  compounds,  which 
are  called  silicates.  These  are  readily  dissolved  by 
water,  and  are  available  in  vegetable  growth.  I^ow, 
if  a  soil  is  deficient  in  these  soluble  silicates,  it  is  well 
known  that  grain,  etc.,  grown  on  it,  not  being  able 
to  obtain  the  material  which  gives  them  strength, 
will  fall  down  or  lodge;  but,  if  such  measures 
be  taken  as  will  render  the  sand  soluble,  the  other 
conditions  of  fertility  being  present,  the  straw  will  be 
strong  and  healthy.  Alkalies  used  for  this  purpose, 
come  under  the  head  of  those  manures  which  de- 
velop the  natural  resources  of  the  soil. 

Again,  much  of  the  mineral  matter  in  the  soil  is 
combined  within  particles,  and  is  therefore  out  of  the 
reach  of  roots.  Lime,  among  other  things,  has  the 
eifect  of  causing  these  particles  to  crumble  and  ex- 
pose their  constituents  to  the  demand  of  roots.  There- 
fore, lime  has  for  one  of  its  offices  the  development 
of  the  fertilizing  ingredients  of  the  soil. 

3d.  Those  manures  which  improve  the  mechanical 
condition  of  the  soil. 

The  alkalies,  in  combining  with  sand,  commence 
their  action  on  the  surfaces  of  the  particles,  and 
roughen  them — rust  them,  as  it  were.  This  roughen- 
ing of  particles  of  some  soils  prevents  them  from 
moving  among  each  other  as  easily  as  they  do  when 
they  are  smooth,  and  thus  keeps  the  ground  from  being 
compacted  by  heavy  rains,  as  it  is  liable  to  be  in  its 


MAI^HRES.  135 

natural  condition.  In  this  way,  the  mechanical  tex- 
ture of  the  soil  is  improved. 

It  has  just  been  said  that  Z^'m^  causes  the  pulveriza- 
tion of  the  particles  of  the  soil ;  and  thus,  by  making 
it  finer,  it  improves  its  mechanical  condition. 

Some  mineral  manures,  such  as  plaster  and  salt, 
have  the  power  of  absorbing  moisture  from  the  at- 
mosphere ;  and  this  is  a  mechanical  improvement  to 
dry  soils. 

4th.  Those  mineral  manures  which  have  the 
power  of  absorbing  ammonia. 

Plaster^  chloride  of  lime^  cilumina  iclay)^  etc.,  are 
large  absorbents  of  ammonia,  whether  arising  from 
the  fermentation  of  animal  manures  or  washed  down 
from  the  atmosphere  by  rains. 

Having  now  explained  the  reasons  why  mineral 
manures  are  necessary,  and  the  manner  in  which 
they  produce  their  effects,  we  will  proceed  to  examine 
the  various  deficiencies  of  soils  and  the  character  of 
various  kinds  of  this  class  of  fertilizers. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 


MEANS   OF   EESTOEATION,    ETC 


As  will  be  seen  by  referring  to  the  analyses  of  soils 
on  p.  63,  they  may  be  deficient  in  certain  ingre- 
dients, which  it  is  the  object  of  mineral  manures  to 
supply.     These  we  will  take  up  in  order,  and  endea- 


136  MANURES. 

vor  to  show  in  a  simple  manner  the  best  means  of 
managing  them  in  practical  farming. 


ALK ALIE  S  . 
POTASH.     ^ 

Potash  is  often  deficient  in  the  soil.  Its  de- 
ficiency may  have  been  caused  in  two  ways.  Either 
it  may  not  have  existed  largely  in  the  rock  from 
which  the  soil  was  formed,-  and  consequently  is 
equally  absent  from  the  soil  itself,  or  it  may  have 
once  been  present  in  sufiicient  quantities,  and  been 
carried  away  in  crops,  without  being  returned  to  the 
soil  in  the  form  of  manure,  until  too  little  remains  in 
an  available  form  for  the  requirements  of  fertility. 

In  either  case  the  deficiency  must  be  made  up  ;  it 
may  be  supplied  by  the  farmer  in  various  ways. 
Potash,  as  well  as  all  the  other  mineral  manures,  is 
contained  in  the  excrements  of  animals,  but  not  (as 
is  also  the  case  with  the  others)  in  sufiicient  quantities 
to  restore  the  proper  balance  to  soils  where  it  is 
largely  deficient,  nor  even  to  make  up  for  what  is 
yearly  removed  with  each  crop,  unless  that  crop  (or 
its  equivalent)  has  been  fed  to  such  animals  as 
return  all  of  the  fertilizing  constituents  of  their  food 
in  the  form  of  manure,  and  this  to  be  all  carefully 
preserved  and  applied  to  the  soil.  In  all  other  cases, 
it  is  necessary  to  apply  more  potash  than  is  contain- 
ed in  the  excrements  of  the  animals  of  the  farm. 
Wood  ashes  is  generally  the  most  available  source 


MAKTIRES.  13T 

from  which  to  obtain  this  alkali.  The  ashes  of  all 
kinds  of  wood  contain  potash  (more  or  less,  according 
to  the  kind — see  analyses,  Section  Y.)  If  the  ashes 
are  leached^  much  of  the  potash  is  removed;  and 
hence,  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  it,  they  are  less 
valuable  than  unleached  ashes.  The  latter  may  be 
made  into  compost  with  muck,  as  directed  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  or  applied  directly  to  the  soil.  In 
either  case  the  potash  is  available  directly  to  the 
plant,  or  is  capable  of  uniting  with  the  silica  in  the 
soil  to  form  silicate  of  potash.  Leached  ashes  con- 
tain too  little  potash  to  be  valuable  in  the  compost, 
but,  from  their  imperfect  leaching,  they  do  contain 
enough  to  make  them  valuable  as  manure.  J^either 
potash  nor  any  other  alkali  should  ever  be  applied  to 
animal  manures  unless  in  compost  with  an  absorbent, 
as  they  cause  the  ammonia  to  be  thrown  off  and  lost. 

Potash  sparlings^  or  the  refuse-  of  potash  ware- 
houses, is  an  excellent  manure  for  lands  deficient  in 
this  constituent. 

Feldspar^  haolin^  and  other  minerals  containing 
potash,  are,  in  some  localities,  to  be  obtained  in  suf- 
ficient quantities  to  be  used  for  manurial  purposes. 

Within  a  comparatively  few  years,  a  new  fer- 
tilizer— of  great  value  to  all  regions  within  carrying 
distance  of  its  place  of  deposit — has  been  brought 
to  the  notice  of  farmers  near  the  seaboard.  This  is 
the  Green  Sand  Marl  of  ^JsTew  Jersey,  which  under- 
lies a  wide  belt  extending  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to 
the  Delaware  River,  having  an  area  of  about  900 
square  miles.    It  is  very  largely  used  in  South  Jersey, 


133  MAmjRES. 

where  it  has  given  great  value  to  land  that  was  pre- 
viously not  fit  for  cultivation.  Quite  recently,  com- 
panies have  been  formed  for  its  shipment  to  other 
places  near  the  coast,  and  it  promises  to  become 
of  great  importance  wherever  it  can  be  cheaply 
procured. 

An  analysis  of  this  manure  is  given  in  Section  Y 

SODA. 

Soda^  the  requirement  of  which  is  occasioned  by 
the  same  causes  as  create  a  deficiency  of  potash, 
and  all  of  the  other  ingredients  of  vegetable  ashes, 
may  be  very  readily  supplied  by  the  use  of  common 
salt  (chloride  of  sodimn),  which  is  about  one-half 
sodium  (the  base  of  soda).  The  best  way  to  use 
salt  is  in  the  lime  and  salt  mixture,  previously 
described,  or  as  a  direct  application  to  the  soil.  If 
too  much  salt  be  given  to  the  soil  it  will  kill  any 
plant.  In  small  quantities,  however,  it  is  highly  bene- 
ficial, and  if  six  iushels  per  acre  be  sown  broadcast 
over  the  land,  to  be  carried  in  by  rains  and  dews,  it 
will  not  only  destroy  many  insects  (grubs  and  worms), 
but  will  prove  an  excellent  manure.  Salt  acts  direct- 
ly in  the  nutrition  of  plants,  as  a  source  of  necessary 
chlorine  and  soda.  There  is  little  doubt,  however, 
that  its  chief  value  as  a  manure  in  most  instances  arises 
from  the  fact  that  it  renders  other  plant  foods  more 
soluble,  and  assists  in  pre23armg  them  for  use.  Salt, 
even  in  quantities  large  enough  to  denude  the  soil  of 
all  vegetation,  is  uqyqy  jpermanently  injurious.    After 


MAOTJRES.  139 

a  time  it  seems  to  have  tlie  effect  of  increasing 
fertility.  One  peck  of  salt  in  each  cord  of  compost 
will  not  only  hasten  the  decomposition  of  the  ma- 
nures, but  will  kill  seeds  and  all  grubs — a  very  desira- 
ble effect.  While  small  quantities  of  salt  in  a  com- 
post heap  are  beneficial,  too  much  (as  when  applied 
to  the  soil)  is  positively  injurious,  as  it  arrests  de- 
composition, fairly  J?^c&5  the  manures,  and  prevents 
them  from  rotting. 

For  asj>aragus,  which  is  a  marine  plant,  salt  is  an 
excellent  manure,  and  may  be  applied  in  almost  un- 
limited quantities,  while  the  ^plants  are  growing  ;  if 
used  after  they  have  gone  to  top,  it  is  injurious. 
Salt  has  been  applied  to  asparagus  beds  in  such 
quantities  as  to  completely  cover  them,  and  with 
apparent  benefit  to  the  plants.  Of  course  large  doses 
of  salt  kill  all  weeds,  and  thus  save  labor,  and  avoid 
the  injury  to  the  asparagus  buds  which  would  result 
from  their  removal  by  hoeing.  Salt  may  be  used 
advantageously  in  any  of  the  foregoing  manners,  but 
should  always  be  applied  with  care.  For  ordinary 
farm  purposes,  it  is  undoubtedly  most  profitable  to 
use  the  salt  with  lime,  and  make  it  perform  the 
double  duty  of  assisting  in  the  decomposition  of 
vegetable  matter,  and  fertilizing  the  soil. 

Soda  unites  with  the  silica  in  the  soil,  and  forms 
the  valuable  silicate  of  soda. 

Nitrate  of  soda ^  or  cubical  nitre,  which  is  found  in 
South  America,  is  composed  of  soda  and  nitric  acid. 
It  furnishes  both  soda  and  nitrogen  to  plants,  and  is 
an  excellent  manure. 


140  MAJSrUBES. 


LIME. 


The  subject  of  lime  is  one  of  most  vital  impor- 
tance to  the  farmer ;  indeed,  so  varied  are  its  modes 
of  action  and  its  effects,  that  some  writers  have  given 
it  credit  for  everything  good  in  the  way  of  farming, 
and  have  gone  so  far  as  to  say  that  all  permanent 
improvement  of  agriculture  must  depend  on  the  use 
of  lime.  Although  this  is  far  in  excess  of  the  truth 
(as  lime  cannot  plough,  nor  drain,  nor  supply  anything 
but  lime  to  the  soil),  its  many  beneficial  eflects  de- 
mand for  it  the  closest  attention. 

As  food  for  plants,  lime  is  of  considerable  impor- 
tance. All  plants  contain  it — some  of  them  in 
large  quantities.  It  is  an  important  constituent  of 
straw,  meadow  hay,  leaves  of  fruit-trees,  peas,  beans, 
and  turnips.  It  constitutes  more  than  one-third  of 
the  ash  of  red  clover.  Most  soils  contain  lime 
enough  for  the  use  of  plants ;  in  others  it  is  deficient, 
and  must  be  supplied  artificially  before  they  can  pro- 
duce good  crops  of  those  plants  of  which  lime  is  an 
important  ingredient.  The  amount  required  for  the 
mere  feeding  of  plants  is  not  large  (much  less  than  one 
per  cent.),  but  lime  is  often  necessary  for  other  pur- 
poses ;  and  setting  aside,  for  the  present,  its  feeding 
action,  we  will  examine  its  various  efi*ects  on  the 
mechanical  and  chemical  condition  of  the  soil. 

1.  It  corrects  acidity  (sourness). 

2.  It  hastens  the  decomposition  of  the  organic 
matter  in  the  soil. 


3.  It  causes  tlie  mineral  particles  of  the  soil  to 
crumble. 

4.  By  producing  the  above  effects,  it  prepares  the 
constituents  of  the  soil  for  assimilation  by  plants. 

5.  It  is  said  to  exhaust  the  soil ;  but  as  it  does  so 
through  its  beneficial  action  in  producing  larger 
crops,  and  only  in  this  way,  it  is  only  necessary  to 
return  to  the  soil  the  other  earthy  ingredients  that 
the  larger  crops  remove  from  it. 

1.  The  decomposition  of  organic  matter  in  the  soil, 
especially  if  too  wet,  often  produces  acids  which 
make  the  land  sour^  and  cause  it  to  produce  sorrel 
and  other  weeds,  and  which  interfere  with  the 
healthy  growth  of  crops.  Lime  is  an  alkali,  and  if 
applied  to  soils  suffering  from  sourness,  it  will  unite 
with  the  acids,  and  neutralize  them,  so  that  they  will 
no  longer  be  injurious. 

2.  We  have  before  stated  that  lime  is  a  decompo- 
sing agent,  and  hastens  the  rotting  of  muck  and 
other  organic  matter.  It  has  the  same  effect  on  the 
organic  parts  of  the  soil,  and  causes  them  to  be  re- 
solved into  the  gases  and  minerals  of  which  they  are 
formed.  It  has  this  effect,  especially,  on  organic 
matters  containing  nitrogen,  causing  them  to  pro- 
duce ammonia;  consequently,  it  liberates  this  gas 
from  the  animal  manures  in  the  soil. 

3.  Yarious  earthy  compounds  in  the  soil  are  so 
affected  by  Hme  that  they  lose  their  power  of  holding 
together,  and  crumble,  or  are  reduced  to  finer  par- 
ticles, while  some  of  their  constituents  are  ren- 
dered soluble.     This  crumbling  effect  improves  the 


142  MANUKES. 

mechanical  as  well  as  the  chemical  condition  of  the 
soil. 

4.  We  are  now  enabled  to  see  how  lime  prepares 
the  constituents  of  the  soil  for  the  use  of  plants. 

By  its  action  on  the  roots,  buried  stubble,  and  other 
organic  matter  in  the  soil,  it  causes  them  to  be  decom- 
posed, and  to  give  up  their  constituents  for  the  use 
of  roots.  In  this  manner  the  organic  matter  is 
prepared  for  use  more  rapidly  than  it  would  be,  if 
there  were  no  lime  present  to  hasten  its  decomposi- 
tion. 

By  the  decomposing  action  of  lime  on  the  mineral 
parts  of  the  soil  (3),  they  also  are  placed  more  rapidly 
in  a  useful  condition  than  would  be  the  case,  if  their 
preparation  depended  on  the  slow  action  of  atmo- 
spheric influences. 

Thus  we  see  that  lime,  aside  from  its  use  directly 
as  food  for  plants,  exerts  a  beneficial  influence  on 
both  the  organic  and  inorganic  parts  of  the  soil. 

5.  Many  farmers  assert  that  lime  exhausts  the  soil. 
If  we  examine  the  manner  in  which  it  does  so,  we 

shall  see  that  this  is  no  argument  against  its  use. 

It  exhausts  the  organic  parts  of  the  soil  by  decom- 
posing them,  and  resolving  them  into  the  gases  and 
minerals  of  which  they  are  composed.  The  gases 
arising  from  the  organic  matter  cannot  escape ;  be- 
cause there  is  in  all  arable  soils  a  sufficient  amount 
of  clay  and  carbonaceous  matter  present  to  cause 
these  gases  to  be  retained  until  required  by  the  roots 
of  plants.  Hence,  although  the  organic  matter  of 
manure  and  vegetable  substances  may  be  altered  in 


MANURES.  143 

form  by  the  use  of  lime,  it  can  escape  (except  in 
very  poor  soils)  only  as  it  is  taken  up  by  roots  to  feed 
the  crop,  and  such  exhaustion  is  certainly  profitable? 
and,  so  far  as  the  organic  parts  are  concerned,  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  will  be  fully  maintained  by  the 
decomposition  of  new  roots  and  of  organic  manures. 

The  only  way  in  which  lime  can  exhaust  the  earthy 
parts  of  the  soil  is,  by  alteringtheir  condition,  so  that 
plants  can  use  them  more  readily.  That  is,  it  exposes 
it  to  the  action  of  roots.  We  have  seen  that  fertili- 
zing matter  cannot  be  leached  out  of  a  good  soil,  in 
any  material  quantity,  nor  can  it  be  carried  down  to 
any  considerable  depth.  Hence,  there  can  be  no 
loss  m  this  direction;  and,  as  mineral  matter 
cannot  evaporate  from  the  soil,  the  only  way 
in  which  it  can  escape  is  through  the  structure  of 
plants. 

If  lime  is  applied  to  the  soil,  and  increases  the 
amount  of  crops  grown  by  preparing  for  use  a  larger 
supply  of  earthy  matter,  of  course,  the  removal  of 
earthy  substances  from  the  soil  will  be  more  rapid 
than  when  only  a  small  crop  is  grown,  and  the  soil 
will  be  sooner  exhausted,— not  by  the  lime,  but  by 
the  plants.  In  order  to  make  up  for  this  exhaustion 
it  i&  necessary  that  a  sufficient  amount  of  inorganic 
matter  be  supplied  to  compensate  for  the  increased 
quantity  taken  away  by  plants. 

Thus  we  see  that  it  is  hardly  fair  to  accuse  the 
lime  of  exhausting  the  soil,  when  it  only  improves  its 
character,  and  increases  the  yield.  It  is  the  crop 
that  takes  away  the  fertility  of  the  soil  (the  same  as 


144:  MANTJKES. 

would  be  the  case  if  no  lime  were  used,  only  faster, 
because  the  crop  is  larger),  and  in  all  judicious  culti- 
vation this  loss  will  be  fully  compensated  by  the 
application  of  manures,  thereby  preventing  the  ex- 
haustion of  the  soil. 

Kind  of  lime  to  he  used.  The  first  consideration 
in  procuring  lime  for  manuring  land,  is  to  select  that 
which  contains  but  little,  if  any,  magnesia.  JS'early 
all  stone  lime  contains  more  or  less  of  this,  but  some 
kinds  contain  more  than  others.  When  magnesia 
is  applied  to  the  soil  in  too  large  quantities,  it  is 
positively  injurious  to  plants,  and  care  is  necessary 
in  making  selection.  As  a  general  rule,  it  may  be 
stated,  that  the  best  plastering  lime  makes  the  best 
manure.  Such  kinds  only  should  be  used  as  are 
known  from  experiment  not  to  be  injurious. 

Shell  lime  is  undoubtedly  the  best  of  all,  for  it 
contains  no  magnesia,  and  it  does  contain  a  small 
quantity  of  phosphate  of  lime.  In  the  vicinity  of 
the  sea-coast,  and  near  the  lines  of  railroads,  oyster 
shells,  clam  shells,  etc.,  can  be  cheaply  procured. 
These  may  be  prepared  for  use  in  the  same  manner 
as  stone  lime. 

The  preparation  of  the  lime  is  done  by  first  burn- 
ing and  then  slaking,  or  by  putting  it  directly  on 
the  land,  in  an  unslaked  condition,  after  its  having 
been  burned.  Shells  are  sometimes  ground^  and 
used  without  burning;  this  is  hardly  advisable,  as 
they  cannot  be  made  so  fine  as  by  burning  and  sla- 
king. As  was  stated  in  the  first  section  of  this  book, 
lime  usually  exists  in  nature,  in  the  form  of  carbo- 


MANURES.  145 

nate  of  lime,  as  limestone,  chalk,  or  marble  (being 
lime  and  carbonic  acid  combined),  and  when  this  is 
burned  the  carbonic  acid  is  thrown  off,  leaving  the 
lime  in  a  ptire  or  caustic  form.  This  is  called  burn- 
ed lime,  quick-lime,  lime-shells,  hot  lime,  etc.  If 
the  proper  quantity  of  water  be  poured  on  it,  it  is 
immediately  taken  up  by  the  lime,  which  falls  into 
a  dry  powder,  called  slaked  lime.  If  quick-lime  were 
left  exposed  to  the  weather  it  would  absorb  moisture 
from  the  atmosphere,  and  become  what  is  termed 
air-slaked. 

When  slaked  lime  (consisting  of  lime  and  water) 
is  exposed  to  the  atmosphere,  it  absorbs  carbonic  acid) 
and  becomes  carbonate  of  lime  again ;  but  it  is  now 
in  the  form  of  a  very  fine  powder,  and  is  much  more 
useful  than  when  in  the  stone,  or  even  when  finely 
ground. 

If  quick-lime  is  applied  directly  to  the  soil,  it 
absorbs  first  moisture,  and  then  carbonic  acid,  becom- 
ing finally  a  powdered  carbonate  of  lime. 

One  ton  of  carbonate  of  lime  contains  11:|-  cwt. 
of  lime  ;  the  remainder  is  carbonic  acid.  One  ton 
qf  slaked  lime  contains  about  15  cwt.  of  lime ;  the 
remainder  is  water. 

Hence  we  see  that  lime  should  be  burned,  and  not 
slaked,  before  being  transported,  as  it  would  be  un- 
profitable to  transport  the  large  quantity  of  carbonic 
acid  and  water  contained  in  carbonate  of  lime  and 
slaked  lime.  The  quick-lime  may  be  slaked  and 
carbonated  after  reaching  its  destination,  either  be- 
fore or  after  being  applied  to  the  land. 

7 


146  MANUKES. 

As  has  been  before  stated,  nmch  is  gained  by  sla- 
king lime  with  salt  water.  Indeed,  in  many  cases  it 
will  be  found  profitable  to  use  all  lime  in  this  way. 
Where  a  direct  action  on  the  inorganic  matters 
contained  in  the  soil  is  desired,  it  may  be  well  to  ap- 
ply the  lime  directly  in  the  form  of  quick-lime  ;  but, 
where  the  decomposition  of  the  vegetable  and  animal 
constituents  of  the  soil  is  desired,  the  correction  of 
sourness,  or  the  supplying  of  lime  to  the  crop,  the 
mixture  with  salt  would  be  advisable. 

The  amount  of  lime  required  hy  jplants  is,  as  was 
before  observed,  usually  small  compared  with  the 
whole  amount  contained  in  the  soil ;  still  it  is  not  un- 
important. 

25  bus.  of  wheat  contain  about 


25 

u 

barley 

25 

a 

oats 

2 

tons  of  turnips 

2 

<c 

potatoes 

2 

u 

red  clover 

2 

^« 

red  grass 

OF  LIME. 

13 

lbs. 

lOi 

a 

11 

u 

12 

u 

5 

a 

77 

u 

30 

u   * 

The  amount  of  lime  required  at  each  application, 
and  the  frequency  of  those  aj)plications,  must  depend 
on  the  chemical  and  mechanical  condition  of  the  soil. 
No  exact  rule  can  be  given,  but  probably  the  custom 
of  each  district — regulated  by  long  experience — is 
the  best  guide. 

Lime  sinks  in   the  soil;     and  therefore,   when 

*  The  straw  producing  the  grain,  and  tlie  turnip  and  potato 
tops,  contain  more  lime  than  the  grain  and  roots. 


MANURES.  147 

used  alone,  should  always  be  applied  as  a  top  dressing 
to  be  carried  into  the  soil  by  rains.  The  tendency  of 
lime  to  settle  is  so  great  that,  when  cutting  drains, 
it  may  often  be  observed  in  a  whitish  streak  on  the 
top  of  the  subsoil.  After  heavy  doses  of  lime  have 
been  given  to  the  soil,  and  have  settled  so  as  to  have 
apparently  ceased  from  their  action,  they  may  be 
brought  up  and  mixed  with  the  soil  by  deeper  plowing. 
Lime  should  never  he  mixed  with  animal  manures, 
unless  in  compost  with  muck  or  some  other  good 
absorbent,  as  it  causes  the  escape  of  their  ammonia. 

PLASTER   OF   PARIS. 

Plaster  of  Paris  or  Gypsum  (sulphate  of  lime) 
is  composed  of  sulphuric  acid  and  lime  in  combina- 
tion. 

It  is  a  constituent  of  many  plants.  It  also  fur- 
nishes them  with  sulphuric  acid,  and  with  the  sulphur 
of  which  a  small  quantity  is  contained  in  seeds,  etc. 

It  is  an  excellent  absorbent  of  ammonia,  and  is 
very  useful  to  sprinkle  in  stables,  poultry  houses, 
pig-styes,  and  privies,  wdiere  it  absorbs  the  escap- 
ing gases,  saving  them  for  the  use  of  plants,  and 
purifying  the  air — rendering  stables,  etc.,  more 
healthy  than  when  not  so  supplied. 

CHLORIDE   OF   LIME. 

Chloride  of  lime  contains  lime  and  chlorine.  It 
furnishes  both  of  these  constituents  to  plants,  and  is 


148  MANURES. 

an  excellent  absorbent  of  ammonia  and  other  gases 
arising  from  decomposition — ^hence  its  usefulness  in 
destroying  bad  odors,  and  in  preserving  fertilizing 
matters  for  the  use  of  crops. 

It  may  be  used  like  plaster,  or  in  the  decomposi- 
tion of  organic  matters,  where  it  not  only  hastens 
decay,  but  absorbs  and  retains  the  escaping  gases. 

Lime  in  combination  with  phosphoric  acid  forms 
the  Ydlvi?^\Q  phosphate  oflime^  of  which  so  large  a 
portion  of  the  "ash  of  grain,  and  the  bones  of  animals, 
is  formed.  This  will  be  spoken  of  more  at  length 
under  the  head  of  "  phosphoric  acid." 

MAGNESIA. 

Magnesia  is  a  constituent  of  vegetable  ashes,  and 
is  almost  always  present  in  the  soil  in  sufficient 
quantities. 

ACIDS. 
8IJLPHTJKIC   ACID. 

Sulphuric  acid  is  a  very  important  constituent 
of  veo:etable  ashes.  It  is  sometimes  deficient  in  the 
soil,  particularly  where  potatoes  have  been  long  culti- 
vated. One  of  the  reasons  whj  plaster  (sulphate  of 
lim§)  is  so  beneficial  to  the  potato  crop  is  probably 
that  it  supplies  it  with  sulpTiuric  acid. 

Sulphuric  acid  is  commonly  known  by  the  name 
of  all  vitriol,  and  may  be  purchased  for  agricultural 
purposes  at  a  low  price.     It  may  be  added  in  a  very 


MANURES.  14:9 

dilute  form  (weakened  by  mixing  it  with  a  large 
quantity  of  water)  to  the  compost  heap,  where  it  will 
change  the  ammonia  to  a  sulphate  as  soon  as  formed, 
and  thus  prevent  its  loss,  as  the  sulphate  of  ammonia 
is  not  volatile  ;  and,  being  soluble  in  water,  is  useful 
to  plants.  Some  idea  of  the  value  of  this  compound 
may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  manufacturers  of 
manures  pay  a  high  price  for  sulphate  of  ammonia, 
to  insure  the  success  of  their  fertilizers.  Notwith- 
standing this,  many  farmers  persist  in  throwing  away 
hundreds  of  pounds  of  ammonia  every  year,  as  a  tax 
for  their  ignorance  (or  negligence),  while  a  small  tax 
in  money — not  more  valuable  nor  more  necessary  to 
their  success — for  the  support  of  common  schools, 
and  the  better  education  of  the  young,  is  too  often 
unwillingly  paid. 

If  a  tumbler  full  of  sulphuric  acid  (costing  a  few 
cents)  be  thrown  into  the  tank  of  the  compost  heap 
once  a  month,  the  benefit  to  the  manure  would  be 
very  great. 

Care  is  necessary  that  too  miich  sulphuric  acid  be 
not  used,  as  it  would  prevent  the  proper  decomposi- 
tion of  the  manure. 

In  many  instances  it  will  be  found  profitable  to 
use  sulphuric  acid  in  the  manufacture  of  super- 
phosphate of  lime  (as  directed  under  the  head  of 
"phosphoric  acid"),  thus  making  it  perform  the 
double  purpose  of  preparing  an  available  form  of 
phosphate,  and  of  supplying  sulphur  and  sulphuric 
acid  to  the  plant. 


150  MANURES. 

PHOSPHORIC   ACID. 

We  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  one  of  the 
most  important  of  all  subjects  connected  with  agri- 
culture. 

Phosphoric  acid^  which  forms  about  one-half  of 
the  ashes  of  wheat,  rye,  corn,  buck- wheat,  and  oats  ; 
nearly  the  same  proportion  of  those  of  barley,  peas, 
beans,  and  linseed ;  an  important  part  of  the  ashes 
of  potatoes  and  turnips  ;  one-quarter  of  the  ash 
of  milk,  and  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  bones  of 
animals,  often  exists  in  the  soil  in  the  proportion  of 
only  about  one  or  two  pounds  in  a  thousand,  and 
but  a  very  small  part  even  of  this  amount  is  in  a  con- 
dition to  be  taken  up  by  roots.  The  cultivation  of 
our  whole  country  has  been  such,  as  to  take  away 
the  phosphoric  acid  from  the  soil  without  returning 
it,  except  in  very  minute  quantities.  Every  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat  sold  contains  (and  removes  perma- 
nently from  the  soil)  about  sixty  pounds  of  phospho- 
ric acid.  Other  grains,  as  well  as  the  root  crops  and 
grasses,  remove,  likewise,  a  large  quantity  of  it.  It 
has  been  said  by  a  contemporary  writer,  that  for  each 
cow  kept  on  a  pasture  through  the  summer,  there  is 
carried  off  in  veal,  butter,  and  cheese,  not  less  than 
fifty  lbs.  of  phosphate  of  lime  (bone-earth)  on  an 
average.  This  would  be  one  thousand  lbs.  for  twenty 
cows  ;  and  it  shows  clearly  why  old  dairy  pastures 
become  so  exhausted  of  this  substance,  that  they  will 
often  no  longer  produce  those  nutritious  grasses 
which  are  favorable  to  butter  and  cheese  making. 


MAI^UEES.  151 

That  this  removal  of  one  of  the  most  valuable  con- 
stituents of  the  soil  has  been  the  cause  of  more  ex- 
haustion of  farms,  and  more  emigration,  in  search 
of  fertile  districts,  than  any  other  single  effect  of 
injudicious  farming,  is  a  fact  which  multiplied  in- 
stances most  clearly  prove. 

It  is  stated  that  the  Genesee  and  Mohawk  valleys, 
which  once  produced  an  average  of  thirty -five  or 
forty  hushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  have  since  been 
reduced,  in  their  average  production,  less  than  twen- 
ty bushels.  Hundreds  of  similar  cases  might  be 
stated ;  and  in  a  large  majority  of  these,  could  the 
cause  of  the  impoverishment  be  ascertained,  it  would 
be  found  to  be  the  removal  of  the  phosphoric  acid 
from  the  soil. 

The  evident  tendency  of  cultivation  being  to  con- 
tinue this  ruinous  system,  and  to  prey  upon  the  vital 
strength  of  the  country,  it  is  necessary  to  take  such 
measm-es  as  will  arrest  the  outflow  of  this  valuable 
material.  This  can  never  be  fully  accomplished 
until  the  laws  which  regulate  the  nutrition  of  plants 
are  generally  understood  and  appreciated  by  the 
people  at  large.  The  enormous  waste  of  the  most 
valuable  manures,  taking  place  not  only  in  every 
city,  but  about  every  residence  in  the  laild,  can  only 
be  arrested  when  the  importance  of  restoring  to  the 
soil  a  full  equivalent  for  what  is  taken  from  it  is 
universally  realized.  China  and  Japan,  the  most 
densely  peopled  countries  in  the  world,  have  been 
cultivated  for  thousands  of  years  with  no  diminution 
of  their  fertility.     Japan  is  about  as  large  and  about 


152  MAKURE8. 

as  densely  peopled  as  Great  Britain,  yet  while  Great 
Britain  imports  immense  quantities  of  grain,  guano, 
bones,  and  other  fertilizers,  and  pours  its  immense 
volumes  of  manure  into  the  sea,  Japan  neither 
wastes  nor  imports.  The  bread  of  its  people  is  raised 
on  its  fields,  which  have  been  cultivated  for  un- 
counted ages,  while  every  scrap  of  fertilizing  matter 
is  saved  with  scrupulous  care. 

It  is  true  that  the  processes  by  which  manure  is 
saved  and  applied  in  China  and  Japan  are  not  nice, 
but  it  is  saved,  nevertheless,  and  the  fact  that  our 
chemical  knowledge  enables  us  to  accomplish  the 
same  result  in  an  inoffensive  manner,  should  make 
us  all  the  more  earnest  in  mending  our  ways. 

Many  suppose  tliat  soils  which  produce  good  crops, 
year  after  year,  are  inexhaustible,  but  time  invariably 
proves  the  contrary.  They  may  possess  a  suffi- 
ciently large  stock  of  phosphoric  acid,  and  other  plant 
constituents,  to  last  a  long  time,  but  when  that  stock 
becomes  so  reduced  that  there  is  not  enough  left  for 
the  uses  of  full  crops,  the  productive  power  of  the 
soil  will  yearly  decrease,  until  it  becomes  worthless. 
It  may  last  a  long  time — a  century,  or  even  more — 
but  as  long  as  the  system  is  to  remote  everything^ 
and  return  nothing ^  the  fate  of  the  most  fertile  soil 
is  certain. 

As  has  been  stated  already,  the  constituent  of  the 
soil  which  is  most  likely  to  become  deficient  i^  phos- 
phoric acid.  One  principal  source  from  which  this 
can  be  obtained  is  foimd  in  the  bones  of  animals. 

These  contain  a  large  proportion  of  phosphate  of 


MANUKES.  153 

lime.  They  are  the  receptacles  which  collect  nearly 
all  of  the  phosphates  in  crops  which  are  fed  to  ani- 
mals, and  are  not  returned  in  their  excrements.  For 
the  grain,  etc.,  sent  out  of  the  country,  there  is  no 
way  to  be  repaid  except  by  the  importation  of  this 
material ;  but  nearly  all  that  is  fed  to  animals  may, 
if  a  proper  use  be  made  of  their  excrement,  and  of 
their  bones  after  death,  be  returned  to  the  soil.  "With 
the  treatment  of  animal  excrements  we  are  already 
familiar,  and  we  will  now  turn  our  attention  to  the 
subject  of 

BONES. 

Bones  consist,  when  dried,  of  about  one-third  or- 
ganic matter,  and  two-thirds  earthj  matter. 

The  organic  matter  consists  chiefly  of  gelatine — a 
compound  containing  nitrogen. 

The  earthy  part  is  chiefly  jphosjp^hate  of  lime. 

Hence  we  see  that  bones  are  excellent,  both  as  or- 
ganic and  as  mineral  manure.  The  organic  part,  con- 
taining nitrogen,  forms  amm^onia^  and  the  inorganic 
part  supplies  the  much-needed  phosphoric  acid  to  the 
soil. 

Liebig  says  that,  as  a  producer  of  ammonia,  100 
lbs.  of  dry  bones  are  equivalent  to  250  lbs.  of  human 
urine. 

.  Bones  are  applied  to  the  soil  in  almost  every  con- 
ceivable form.  Whole  hones  are  often  used  in  very 
large  quantities ;  their  action,  however,  is  extremely 
slow,  and  it  is  never  advisable  to  use  them  in  this 
form. 


154  MANURES. 

Ten  bushels  of  bones,  finely  ground,  will  produce 
larger  results,  during  the  ten  years  after  application, 
than  would  one  hundred  bushels  merely  broken ;  not 
because  the  dust  contains  more  fertilizing  matter  than 
the  whole  bones,  but  because  that  which  it  does  con- 
tain is  in  a  much  more  available  condition.  It  fer- 
ments readily,  and  produces  ammonia,  while  the 
ashy  parts  are  exposed  to  the  action  of  roots. 

It  is  a  rule  which  is  applicable  to  all  manures,  that 
the  more  finely  they  are  pulverized  or  divided,  the 
more  valuable  they  become.  Not  only  do  they  ex- 
pose much  more  surface  to  the  feeding  action  of 
roots,  but  from  their  fine  division  they  can  be  much 
more  evenly  distributed  through  the  soil.  If  it  is 
true,  as  seems  probable,  that  the  absorptive  power 
of  fertile  soils  is  so  strong  as  to  prevent  dissolved 
plant  food  from  being  carried  beyond  the  point  with 
which  it  first  comes  in  contact,  until  the  soil  about 
that  point  has  taken  up  all  that  it  is  capable  of  hold- 
ing, then  the  more  widely  we  spread  a  manure  before 
it  is  dissolved,  the  more  uniformly  rich  will  be  the 
soil.  By  sowing  coarsely  crushed  bones,  we  fertilize 
the  soil  in  spots.  By  crushing  each  lump  we  not 
only  make  all  of  its  constituents  immediately  availa- 
ble, but  we  make  it  reach  every  part  of  the  surface 
between  the  spots  above  referred  to.  Even  Peruvian 
guano,  soluble  as  it  is  in  water,  is  much  more  effec- 
tive when  finely  ground  before  being  spread  upon 
the  land. 

Bone-hlack.  If  bones  are  burned  in  retorts,  or 
otherwise  protected  from  the  atmosphere,  their  or- 


MANURES.  155 

ganic  matter  will  all  be  driven  off  except  the  carbon, 
which  not  being  supplied  with  oxygen  cannot  escape. 
In  this  form  bones  are  "called  wory  hlack^  or  hone 
hlack ;  and  they  contain  all  of  the  earthy  matter 
and  carbon  of  the  bones.  The  nitrogen  having  been 
expelled,  it  can  make  no  ammonia ;  and  thus  far  the 
original  value  of  bones  is  reduced  by  burning — that 
is,  a  ton  of  bones  contains  more  fertilizing  matter 
before,  than  after,  burning.  This  means  of  pulveriz- 
ing bones  is  not  to  be  recommended  for  the  use  of 
farmers,  who  should  not  lose  the  ammonia  forming  a 
part  of  bones,  more  than  that  of  other  manure. 

Composting  hones  with  ashes  is  a  good  means  of 
securing  their  decomposition.  They  should  be  placed 
in  a  water-tight  vessel  (such  as  a  cask) ;  first,  three 
or.  four  inches  of  bones,  then  the  same  quantity  of 
strong  unleached  wood  ashes,  continuing  these  alter- 
nate layers  until  the  cask  is  full,  and  keeping  them 
always  wet.  If  they  become  too  dry  they  will  throw 
off  an  offensive  odor,  accompanied  by  the  escape  of 
ammonia,  and  consequent  loss  of  value.  In  about 
one  year,  the  whole  mass  of  bones  (except,  perhaps, 
those  at  the  top)  will  be  softened,  so  that  they  may 
be  easily  crushed,  and  they  are  in  a  good  condition 
for  application  to  the  land.  The  ashes  are,  in  them- 
selves, valuable,  and  this  compost  is  excellent  for 
many  crops,  particularly  for  Indian  corn.  A  little 
dilute  sulphm'ic  acid,  occasionally  sprinkled  on  the 
upper  part  of  the  matter  in  the  cask,  will  prevent 
the  escape  of  the  ammonia. 

Boiling  hones  under  jjyressiire^  whereby  their  gela- 


150  MANURES. 

tine  is  dissolved  away,  and  the  earthy  matter  left 
in  an  available  condition,  from  its  softness,  is  a  very 
good  way  of  rendering  them  useful ;  but  it  requires 
the  use  of  a  steam  boiler,  and  other  expensive  appa- 
ratus. 

SUPER-PHOSPHATE   OF   LIME. 

Super-phosphate  of  lime  is  made  by  treating  phos- 
phate of  lime,  or  the  ashes  of  bones,  with  sulphurio 
acid. 

Phosphate  of  lime,  as  it  exists  in  bones,  consists 
of  one  equivalent  of  phosphoric  acid  and  three  equi- 
valents of  lime. 

The  word  "  equivalent  "  is  here  used  to  represent 
what  in  chemistry  is  known  as  the  combining  pro- 
portion of  each  element  of  a  compound  body — that 
is,  one  pound  of  one  substance  combines  with  one 
and  one-half  pounds  of  another,  and  these  propor- 
tions are  invariable. 

In  bone  earth,  or  phosphate  of  lime,  one  equiva- 
lent, or  72  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid  combines  with  three 
equivalents  (of  28  lbs.  each),  or  84  lbs.  of  lime. 
IS'ow,  by  adding  to  this  compound  one  equivalent 
(or  40  lbs.)  of'  sulphuric  acid,  we  cause  one  equiva- 
lent (28  lbs.)  of  the  lime  to  be  taken  away,  leaving 
the  72  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid  combined  with  only 
56  lbs.  of  lime.  By  using  two  equivalents  of  sul- 
phuric acid  (or  80  lbs.)  we  cause  the  removal  of 
56  lbs.  of  lime,  leaving  only  28  lbs.  combined  with 
the  72  lbs.  of  phosphoric  acid.  This  is  super-phos- 
phaf  e  of  lime,  which  is  readilj^  soluble  in  water.     It 


MAinJRES.  ,  157 

is  united  with  80  lbs.  of  snipliuric  acid  and  56  lbs. 
of  lime  in  combination  with  each   other,   forming 
136  lbs.  of  sulphate  of  lime,  or  plaster-of-paris. 
The  whole  compound  contains  : 

Phosphoric  acid 72  lbs. 

Sulphm-ic  acid 80  " 

Lime 84  " 

In  all. . .  , 236  " 

— or,  ^^^^  per  cent,  of  phosphoric  acid. 

The  phosphoric  acid,  now  in  combination  with 
only  one  equivalent  of  lime,  is  readily  dissolved  in 
water,  and  will  be  evenly  distributed  in  the  soil ;  but 
it  will  take  the  earliest  opportunity  to  combine  with 
two  more  equivalents  of  lime  in  the  soil,  and  will 
again  become  insoluble.  It  may  well  be  asked, 
What  is  the  advantage  of  making  it  soluble  if  it  is 
so  soon  again  to  become  insoluble  ? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  clearly  stated  in 
the  following  quotation  from  Prof.  S.  W.  Johnson's 
Essays  on  Manures  ; — 

"  This  white  cloud  is  precipitated  bone-phosphate 
of  lime,  and  does  not  essentially  diifer  from  the 
original  bone-phosphate,  except  that  it  is  inconceiv- 
ably finer  than  can  be  obtained  by  any  mechanical 
means.  The  particles  of  the  finest  bone-dust  will 
not  average  smaller  than  one-hundredth  of  an  inch, 
while  those  of  the  precipitated  phosphate  are  not 
more  than  one  twenty-thousandth  of  an  inch  in  di- 
ameter. Since  the  particles  of  the  precipitated  phos- 
phate are  so  tery  much  smaller  than  those  of  the 


158  MAKUEES. 

finest  bone-dust,  we  can  understand  that  their  action 
as  a  manure  would  be  correspondingly  more  rapid." 

In  saying  that  the  phosphate  of  lime  is  insoluble, 
it  is  meant  that  it  is  insoluble  in  pure  water.  Water 
which  contains  either  carbonic  acid,  ammonia,  or 
common  salt  (and  all  soil  water  contains  one  or 
more  of  these),  has  the  power  of  dissolving  it,  and 
making  it  available  to  roots.  The  action  is  slow, 
but  it  is  sufficient,  and  it  is  the  more  rapid  the  finer 
the  pulverization  of  the  phosphate.  The  fine  pre- 
cipitated phosphate  exposes  much  more  surface  to 
the  action  of  the  water,  and  can  consequently  be 
taken  up  much  more  rapidly. 

Super-phosphate  of  lime  may  be  made  from  whole 
bones,  bone-dust,  bone-black,  or  from  the  pure  ashes 
of  bones,  or  from  phosphatic  guano. 

TTie  reason  why  super-phosphate  of  lime  is  letter 
than  phosphate^  is  therefore  easily  explained.  The 
phosphate  is  very  slowly  soluble  in  water,  and  conse- 
quently furnishes  food  to  plants  slowly.  A  piece 
of  bone  as  large  as  a  pea  may  lie  in  the  soil  for  years 
without  being  all  consumed ;  consequently,  it  will  be 
years  before  its  value  is  returned,  and  it  pays  no  in- 
terest on  its  cost  while  lying  there.  The  super-phos- 
phate is  very  rapidly  dissolved,  and  if  evenly  spread 
is  diftused  by  the  water  of  rains  throughout  the  soil, — 
coating  its  absorbent  particles  with  a  nutriment  held 
in  a  state  of  physical  combination,  ready  to  be 
yielded  to  the  action  of  roots;  hence  its  much 
greater  value  as  a  manure. 

It  is  true  that  the  phosphate  is  a  more  lasting 


MAiq^UKES.  159 

manure  than  tlie  super-phosphate — in  the  same  way 
that  gold  buried  in  a  pot  in  the  garden  is  more  last- 
ing than  if  used  in  labor  and  manure  for  its  cultiva- 
tion. I  desire,  once  for  all,  to  caution  farmers 
against  attaching  too  much  imporance  to  the  lasting 
qualities  of  a  manure.  Generally  they  are  lasting 
only  in  proportion  as  they  are  lazy.  In  manuring, 
as  in  other  things,  a  nimble  sixpence  is  better  than  a 
slow  shilling. 

Of  course  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that  all  ma- 
nures used  had  better  exert  their  full  effect  on  the 
first  year's  crop,  but  the  more  rapidly  it  can  be  made 
available  consistently  with  the  course  of  cultivation 
adopted  (the  rotation,  etc.),  the  less  we  shall  lose  in 
the  item  of  interest.  A  hundred  pounds  of  coarsely 
ground  bones  may  give  an  extra  crop  of  250  lbs.  of 
hay  per  year  for  ten  years.  The  same  quantity 
finely  ground  and  evenly  spread  might  add  a  thou- 
sand lbs.  to  the  first  year's  crop,  and  if  the  hay  is 
consumed  on  the  farm,  and  its  constituents  returned 
in  the  form  of  manure,  the  same  increase  might  be 
received  year  after  year.  Therefore,  in  considering 
the  value  of  manure,  more  attention  should  be  given 
to  the  rapidity  of  its  action  than  to  the  time  that  it 
will  last.  Many  farmers  who  have  the  proper  facili- 
ties, may  find  it  expedient  to  purchase  bones  or 
bone-dust  and  sulphuric  acid,  and  to  manufacture 
their  own  super-phosphate  of  lime  ;  others  will  prefer 
to  purchase  the  prepared  manure.  Such  purchases 
should  be  made  with  great  care,  and  only  from  per- 
sons of  established  reputation,  for  nothing  is  easier 


160  MANURES. 

than  the  adulteration  of  this  material.  It  is  best, 
always,  to  stipulate  that  the  manure  shall  contain  a 
certain  percentage  of  soluble  and  insoluble  phospho- 
ric acid, — and  to  withhold  payment  until  an  average 
sample  of  the  manure  received  has  been  tested  by  a 
competent  chemist. 

SILICIC   ACID. 

Silicic  acid  (or  sand)  always  exists  in  the  soil  in 
sufficient  quantities  for  the  supply  of  food  for  plants  ; 
but  not  always  in  the  proper  condition.  This  subject 
has  been  so  often  explained  to  the  reader  of  this 
book,  that  it  is  only  necessary  to  repeat  here,  that 
when  the  weakness  of  the  straw  or  stalk  of  plants 
grown  on  any  soil  indicates  an  inability  in  that  soil 
to  supply  the  silicic  acid  required  for  strength,  not 
more  sand  should  be  added,  but  alkalies^  to  combine 
with  the  sand  already  contained  in  it,  and  make 
soluble  silicates  which  are  available  to  roots. 

Sand  is  often  necessary  to  stiff  clays,  as  a  mechani- 
cal manure,  to  loosen  their  texture  and  render  them 
easier  of  cultivation,  and  more  favorable  to  the  dis- 
tribution of  roots,  and  to  the  circulation  of  air  and 
water,  and  in  this  capacity  it  is  often  very  important. 
In  my  own  practice  I  find  it  profitable  to  haul  it 
three  miles  to  use  on  heavy  clay  land. 

NEUTE  ALS. 
CHLORINE. 

Chlorine^  a  necessary  constituent  of  plants,  and 
sometimes,  though  not  usually,  deficient  in  the  soil, 


MAI^URES.  161 

may  be  applied  in  the  form  of  salt  (chloride  of  so- 
dium), or  chloride  of  lime.  The  former  may  be  dis- 
solved in  the  water  nsed  to  slake  lime,  and  the  latter 
may,  with  much  advantage,  be  sprinkled  around 
stables  and  other  places  where  fertilizing  gases  are 
escaping,  and,  after  being  saturated  with  ammonia, 
applied  to  the  soil,  thus  serving  a  double  purpose. 
On  a  stock  farm,  a  very  good  way  to  return  to  the 
soil  the  chlorine  contained  in  the  produce  sold,  is  to 
give  it  freely  to  the  animals. 


OXEDE    OF    mON. 

Probably  all  soils  contain  sufficient  quantities  of 
oxide  of  iron,  or  iron  rust,  so  that  this  substance  can 
hardly  be  required  as  a  manure. 

Some  soils,  however,  contain  the  ^<9toxide  of  iron 
in  such  quantities  as  to  be  injurious  to  plants, — see 
page  74.  When  this  is  the  case,  it  is  necessary  to 
plow  the  soil  thoroughly,  and  use  such  other  me- 
chanical means  as  shall  open  it  to  the  admission  of 
air.  The^6>toxide  of  iron  will  then  take  up  more 
oxygen,  and  become  the^^/'oxide — which  is  not  only 
inoffensive,  but  is  conducive  to  fertility. 


OXIDE   OF   MAKaANESE. 

This  can  hardly  be  called  an  essential  constituent 
of  plants,  and  is  never  taken  into  consideration  in 
manuring  lands. 


162  MANURES. 


VARIOUS      OTHER     EARTHY     MANURES. 
LEACHED  ASHES. 

Among  the  earthy  manures  which  have  not  yet 
been  mentioned, — not  coming  strictly  under  any  of 
the  preceding  heads, — is  the  one  known  as  leached 
ashes. 

These  are,  of  course,  much  less  valuable  than  ashes 
from  which  the  potash  has  not  been  leached  out ;  still, 
as  potash  is  generally  made,  the  leaching  is  not  very 
complete,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  this  sub- 
stance, available  to  plants,  is  left  in  them.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  they  contain  some  phosphoric  acid  and 
silicic  acid,  which  add  to  their  value.  Practically, 
they  are  held  in  high  esteem  in  all  localities  where 
they  can  be  obtained  at  a  moderate  cost  of  transport- 
ation. Care,  however,  should  be  taken,  not  to  pur- 
chase ashes  which  have  been  made  in  lime-kilns,  as 
these  generally  contain  a  large  quantity  of  lime, 
which  is  not  worth  so  high  a  price  as  the  ashes. 

OLD    MORTAR. 

Old  mortar  is  a  valuable  manure,  because  it  con- 
tains not  only  lime,  but  compounds  of  nitric  acid 
with  alkalies, — called  nitrates. 

These  are  slowly  formed  in  the  mortar  by  the 
changing  of  the  nitrogen  of  the  hair  (in  the  mortar) 
and  of  the  ammonia  received  from  the  atmosphere 
into  nitric  acid,   and  the  union  of   this  with  the 


MANURES.  163 

lime  of  the  plaster,  or  with  other  alkalies  which  it 
may  contain  in  minute  quantities. 

The  lime  contained  in  the  mortar  may  be  useful 
in  the  soil  for  the  many  purposes  accomplished  by 
other  lime,  and  is  generally  more  valuable  than  that 
fresh  from  the  kiln. 


GAS    HOUSE   LIME,    ETC. 

The  refuse  lime  of  gas  works,  where  it  can  be 
cheaply  obtained,  may  be  advantageously  used  as  a 
manure.  It  consists,  chiefly,  of  various  compounds 
of  sulphur  and  lime.  It  should  be  composted  with 
earth  or  refuse  matter,  so  as  to  expose  it  to  the  action 
of  air.  It  should  never  be  used  fresh  from  the  gas 
house.  In  a  few  months  the  sulphur  will  have 
united  with  the  oxygen  of  the  air,  and  become  sul- 
phuric acid,  which  unites  with  the  lime  and  makes 
sulphate  of  lime  (plaster,)  which  form  it  must  as- 
sume, before  it  is  of  much  value.  Having  been 
used  to  purify  gas  made  from  coal,  it  contains  a 
small  quantity  of  ammonia,  which  adds  to  its  value. 
It  is  considered  a  profitable  manure  in  England,  at 
the  price  there  paid  for  it  (forty  cents  a  cartload), 
and,  if  of  good  quality,  it  may  be  worth  more  than 
that,  especially  for  soils  deficient  in  sulphuric  acid 
or  lime,  or  for  such  crops  as  are  much  benefited  by 
plaster.  Its  price  must,  of  course,  be  regulated  some- 
what by  the  price  of  lime,  which  constitutes  a  large 
proportion  of  its  fertilizing  parts.  The  offensive 
odor  of  this  compound  renders  it  a  good  protection 


164  MAiniRES. 

against  many  insects,  wlien  used  in  its  fresh  state  : 
but  in  this  state  it  should  be  very  cautiously  ap- 
plied. 

The  refuse  liquor  of  gas  works  contains  enough 
ammonia  to  make  it  a  valuable  manure.  It  should 
be  filtered  through  earth  or  muck,  which  will  retain 
its  valuable  parts,  and  will  be  enriched  by  them. 


The  refuse  ley  of  soap  factories  and  bleaching  es- 
tablishments contains  greater  or  less  quantities  of 
soluble  silicates  and  alkalies  (especially  soda  and  pot- 
ash,) and  is  a  good  addition  to  the  tank  of  the  com- 
post heap,  or  it  may  be  used  directly  as  a  liquid 
application  to  the  soil,  or,  better,  filtered  as  above 
described.  The  soapers'  ley,  especially,  will  be  found 
a  good  manure  for  lands  on  which  grain  lodges. 

Much  of  the  benefit  of  this  manure  arises  from  the 
soluble  silicates  it  contains,  while  its  nitrogenous 
matter  obtained  from  those  parts  of  the  fatty  matters 
which  cannot  be  converted  into  soap,  and  conse- 
quently remain  in  this  sohition,  forms  a  valuable 
addition.  Heaps  of  soil  saturated  with  this  liquid 
in  autumn,  and  subjected  to  the  freezings  of  winter, 
form  an  admirable  manure  for  spring  use. 

IRRIGATION. 

Irrigation^  strictly  speaking,  should  not  be  con- 
sidered under  the  head  of  earthy  manures  alone,  as  it 


MAinJRES.  165 

often  supplies  ammonia  and  other  organic  matters  to 
the  soil.  Its  chief  value,  however,  in  most  cases, 
must  depend  on  the  amount  of  mineral  matter  which 
it  furnishes. 

The  word  "irrigation"  means  simply  the  act  of 
watering.  In  many  districts  water  is  in  various 
ways  made  to  overflow  the  land,  and  is  removed  or 
withheld  when  necessary  for  the  pm^poses  of  cultiva- 
tion. All  river  and  spring  water  contains  some  im- 
purities, many  of  which  are  beneficial  to  vegetation. 
These  are  derived  from  the  earth  over,  or  through, 
which  the  water  has  passed.  Ammonia  also  is  ab- 
sorbed by  the  water  from  the  atmosphere.  When 
water  is  made  to  cover  the  earth,  especially  if  its 
rapid  motion  be  arrested,  much  of  this  fertilizing 
matter  settles,  and  is  deposited  on  or  absorbed  by  the 
soil.  The  water  which  sinks  into  the  soil  carries  its 
impurities  to  be  retained  for  the  uses  of  plants. 
When,  by  the  aid  of  under-drains,  or  the  open  texture 
of  the  land,  the  water  passes  through  the  soil,  its  im- 
purities are  arrested,  and  become  available  in  vege- 
table growth.  It  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  say 
exactly  what  kind  of  mineral  matter  is  supplied  by 
the  water  of  irrigation,  as  that  depends  on  the  kind 
of  rock  or  soil  from  which  the  impurities  are  derived  ; 
but,  whatever  it  may  be,  it  is  generally  soluble  and 
ready  for  immediate  use  by  plants,  and  is  distributed 
in  the  most  uniform  manner  possible. 

Water  which  has  run  over  the  surface  of  the  earth 
contains  both  ammonia  and  mineral  matter,  while 
that  which  has   arisen   out   of  the  earth,  contains 


166  MANUBES. 

usually  only  mineral  matter.  The  direct  effect  of 
the  water  of  irrigation  as  a  solvent  and  distributer 
of  the  mineral  ingredients  of  the  soil,  constitutes  one 
of  its  main  benefits. 

To  describe  the  many  modes  of  irrigation  would 
be  too  long  a  task  for  our  limited  space.  It  may  be 
applied  in  any  way  in  which  it  is  possible  to  cover 
the  land  with  water,  at  stated  times.  Care  is  neces- 
sary, however,  that  it  does  not  wash  more  fertilizing 
matter  away  from  the  soil  than  it  deposits  upon  it,  as 
would  often  be  the  case,  if  a  strong  current  of  water 
were  run  over  it.  Brooks  may  be  dammed  up,  and 
thus  made  to  cover  a  large  quantity  of  land.  In 
such  a  case  the  rapid  current  would  be  destroye(l, 
and  the  fertilizing  matter  would  settle ;  but,  if  the 
course  of  the  brook  were  turned,  so  that  it  would  run 
in  a  current  over  any  part  of  the  soil,  it  might  carry 
away  more  than  it  deposited,  and  thus  prove  injuri- 
ous. Small  streams  turned  on  to  land,  from  the 
washing  of  roads,  or  from  elevated  springs,  are  good 
means  of  irrigation,  and  produce  increased  fertility, 
except  where  the  soil  is  of  such  a  character  as  to  pre- 
vent the  water  from  passing  away,  in  which  case  it 
must  first  be  under-drained. 

Irrigation  was  one  of  the  oldest  sources  of  fertility 
used  by  man,  and  still  continues  in  great  favor  wher- 
ever its  effects  have  been  witnessed.  In  England 
and  Scotland,  much  attention  is  now  being  paid  to 
the  question  of  liquid  manure  irrigation,  and  an  at- 
tempt is  being  made  to  employ  the  vast  discharges 
of  the  London  sewers.     For  this  purpose  it  is  in  con- 


MAi!f[JRES.  167 

templation  to  build  an  aqueduct  forty  miles  long  and 
nine  feet  in  diameter  for  its  distribution.  In  the 
experiments  made  with  this  manure  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1867,  fifty-three  tons  of  Italian  rye-grass  were 
grown  on  a  single  acre,  nine  tons  being  grown  in 
twenty-two  days. 

On  the  farm  of  the  celebrated  Mr.  Mechi  at  Tip- 
tree  Hall,  the  system  was,  many  years  ago,  adopted 
of  converting  all  the  manure  of  the  stables  into  a 
liquid,  and  distributing  it  over  the  farm  by  means  of 
uuder-ground  pipes  and  movable  hose.  Mr.  Mechi 
still  continues  the  practice  and  considers  it  profit- 
able. 

This  subject  is  mentioned  in  this  connection,  not 
as  affording  an  example  which  can  be  profitably  fol- 
lowed here,  so  much  as  because  it  shows  how  much 
expense  may  be  profitably  applied  to  the  distribution 
of  manm-e  in  a  liquid  form. 


MIXING   SOILS. 

The  mixing  of  soils  is  often  all  that  is  necessary 
to  render  them  fertile,  and  to  improve  their  mechan- 
ical condition.  For  instance,  soils  deficient  in  pot- 
ash, or  any  other  constituent,  may  have  that  deficiency 
supplied,  by  mixing  with  them  soil  containing  this 
constituent  in  excess. 

It  is  very  frequently  the  case,  that  such  means  of 
improvement  are  easily  availed  of.  While  these 
chemical  effects  are  being  produced,  there  may  be  an 
equal  improvement  in  the  mechanical  character  of 


168  MANURES. 

the  soil.  Thus  stiff  clay  soils  are  rendered  lighter, 
and  more  easily  workable,  by  an  admixture  of  sand, 
while  light  blowy  sands  are  compacted,  and  made 
more  retentive  of  manure,  by  a  dressing  of  clay  or 
of  muck.  Of  course,  this  cannot  be  depended  on  as 
a  sure  means  of  chemical  improvement,  but  in  a 
majority  of  cases  the  land  will  be  benefited  by  mix- 
ing with  it  soil  of  a  different  character.  It  is  not 
always  necessary  to  go  to  other  locations  to  procure 
the  earth  to  be  applied,  as  the  sub-soil  is  often  very 
different  from  the  surface  soil,  and  simple  deep  plow- 
ing will  suffice,  in  such  cases,  to  produce  the  required 
admixture,  by  bringing  up  the  earth  from  below  to 
mingle  it  with  that  of  a  different  character  at  the  sur- 
face. 

Until  it  is  demonstrated  that  a  large  admixture  of 
the  sub-soil  will  not  lessen  the  fertility  of  the  surface 
(and  in  a  large  majority  of  cases  it  will  not),  it  is 
safest  to  deepen  the  plowing  inch  by  inch.  This 
subject  is  worthy  of  the  consideration  of  all  farmers, 
for  there  are  very  few  cases  in  which  the  arable  sur- 
face will  not  be  improved  by  the  addition  of  matters 
contained  in  the  sub-soil.  Even  the  earth  thrown 
from  the  bottom  of  deep  ditches  sometimes  has  an 
astonishing  effect  on  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  it 
would  be  well  to  try  the  experiment  of  digging  a 
deep  pit,  spreading  the  earth  taken,  from  it  on  the 
surface  of  the  land.  If  this  is  found  to  have  a  good 
effect,  it  will  offer  a  ready  means  of  improving  the 
soil. 


MANUKES.  160 

In  the  foregoing  remarks  on  the  subject  of  mineral 
manm'es,  I  have  endeavored  to  point  out  such  a 
course  as  would  result  in  the  "  greatest  good  to  the 
greatest  number,"  and  consequently,  have  neglected 
much  which  might  discourage  the  farmer  with  the 
idea,  that  the  whole  system  of  scientific  agriculture 
is  too  expensive  for  his  adoption.  Still,  while  I  have 
confined  my  remarks  to  the  more  simple  improve- 
ments on  the  present  system  of  management,  I 
would  say  briefly,  that  no  manuring  can  he  strictly 
economical  that  is  not  hased  on  a  hnowledge  of  the  re- 
quirements of  the  soil  o/nd  of  the  crops^  and  of  the 
hest  means  of  supplying  them,  together  with  the  most 
scrupulous  care  of  every  ounce  of  evaporating  or  sol- 
uble manure  made  on  the  farm,  a/rid  a  return  of  the 
earthy  matters  sold  off  in  produce. 


CHAPTEE  X. 

ATMOSPHERIC    FEETILIZEES. 

It  is  not  common  to  regard  the  gases  in  the  at- 
mosphere in  the  light  of  manures,  but  they  are  the 
most  important  manures  we  have,  as  they  are  the 
original  source  of  more  than  nine-tenths  of  the  entire 
production  of  our  fields.  Indeed,  they  are  almost  the 
only  organic  manure  ever  received  by  the  uncultiva- 
ted parts  of  the  earth,  as  well  as  by  a  large  portion  of 

8 


170  MAJfTJKES. 

that  which  is  occupied  in  the  production  of  food  for 
man. 

If  these  gases  were  not  manures  ;  if  there  were  no 
means  by  which  they  could  be  used  by  plants,  the 
fertility  of  the  soil  would  long  since  have  ceased,  and 
the  earth  would  be  unfertile.  That  this  must  be 
true,  will  be  shown  by  a  few  moments'  reflection  on 
the  facts  stated  in  the  first  part  of  this  book.  The 
fertilizing  gases  in  the  atmosphere  being  composed 
of  the  constituents  of  decayed  plants  and  animals,  it 
is  as  necessary  that  they  should  be  again  returned  to 
the  form  of  organized  matter,  as  it  is  that  constitu- 
ents taken  from  the  soil  should  not  be  put  out  of 
existence. 

AMMONIA. 

The  ammonia  in  the  atmosphere  probably  cannot 
be  appropriated  by  the  leaves  of  plants,  and  must, 
therefore,  enter  the  soil  to  be  assimilated  by  roots. 
It  reaches  the  soil  in  two  ways.  It  is  either  arrested 
from  the  air  circulating  through  the  soil,  or  it  is  ab- 
sorbed by  rains  in  the  atmosphere,  and  thus  carried 
to  the  earth,  where  it  is  retained  by  its  clay  and  car- 
bon, for  the  uses  of  plants.  In  the  soil,  ammonia  is 
the  most  important  of  all  organic  manures.  In  fact, 
the  value  of  the  organic  parts  of  manure  may  be 
estimated,  either  by  the  amount  of  ammonia  which 
they  will  yield,  or  by  their  power  of  absorbing  am- 
monia from  other  sources. 

The  most  important  use  of  ammonia  in  the  soil  is 


MANURES.  171 

to  supply  nitrogen  to  plants  ;  but  it  has  other  offices 
which  are  of  consequence.  It  assists  in  some  of  the 
chemical  changes  necessary  to  prepare  the  matters 
in  the  soil  for  assimilation,  and  gives  to  the  water  in 
which  it  is  dissolved  an  increased  power  to  dissolve 
mineral  plant  food. 

Although,  in  the  course  of  nature,  the  atmospheric 
fertilizers  are  largely  supplied  to  the  soil,  without 
the  immediate  attention  of  the  farmer,  it  is  not  be- 
yond his  power  to  cause  their  absorption  in  still 
greater  quantity.  The  means  for  doing  this  have 
been  repeatedly  given  in  the  preceding  pages,  but  it 
may  be  well  to  name  them  again  in  this  chapter. 

The  condition  of  the  soil  is  the  main  point  to  be 
considered.  It  must  be  such  as  to  absorb  and  retain 
ammonia — to  allow  water  to  pass  through  it,  and  be 
discharged  helow  the  depth  to  which  the  roots  of 
crops  are  searching  for  food — and  to  admit  of  a  free 
circulation  of  air. 

The  power  of  absorbing  and  retaining  ammonia  is 
not  possessed  by  sand,  but  it  is  a  prominent  property 
of  clay,  charcoal,  and  some  other  matters  named  as 
absorbents.  Hence,  if  the  soil  consist  of  pure  sand, 
it  will  not  make  use  of  the  ammonia  brought  to  it 
from  the  atmosphere,  but  will  allow  it  to  evaporate 
immediately  after  a  shower,  or  to  be  washed  through 
it  by  rains.  Soils  in  this  condition  require  additions 
of  absorbent  matters,  to  enable  them  to  use  the  am- 
monia received  from  the  atmosphere.  Soils  already 
containing  a  sufficient  amount  of  clay  or  charcoal,  are 
thus  far  prepared  to  receive  benefit  from  this  source. 


172  MANURES. 

The  next  point  is  to  cause  tlie  water  of  rains  to 
pass  through  the  soil.  If  it  lies  on  the  surface,  or 
runs  off  without  entering  the  soil,  it  is  not  probable 
that  the  fertilizing  matters  which  it  contains  will  all  be 
abstracted.  Some  of  them  will  undoubtedly  return 
to  the  atmosphere  on  the  evaporation  of  the  water ; 
but,  if  the  soil  contains  a  sufficient  supply  of  absorb- 
ents, and  will  allow  all  rain  water  to  pass  through  it, 
the  fertilizing  gases  will  all  be  retained.  They  will 
be  filtered  out  of  the  water,  which  will  pass  out  ot 
the  drains  almost  pure. 

This  subject  will  be  more  fully  treated  in  Section 
lY.,  in  connection  with  under-draining. 

Besides  the  properties  just  described,  the  soil 
ought  to  possess  the  power  of  admitting  a  free  cir- 
culation of  air.  To  effect  this,  the  soil  should  be 
well  pulverized  to  a  great  depth.  If,  in  addition  to 
-this,  it  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  allow  water  to 
pass  through  it,  it  will  facilitate  such  a  circulation  of 
air  as  is  best  calculated  to  give  the  greatest  supply 
of  ammonia. 

CAEBONIC   ACID  . 

Carbonic  acid  is  received  from  the  atmosphere, 
both  by  the  leaves  and  by  the  roots  of  plants. 

It  is  absorbed  by  the  water  in  the  soil,  and  greatly 
increases  its  power  of  dissolving  earthy  plant  food. 
This  use  is  one  of  very  great  importance,  as  it  is 
equivalent  to  making  the  minerals  themselves  more 
soluble.     Water  dissolves   carbonate  of  lime,  etc., 


MANURES.  173 

exactly  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  carbonic  acid 
which  it  contains.  We  shonld,  therefore,  strive  to 
have  as  much  carbonic  acid  as  possible  in  the  water 
in  the  soil.  One  way,  in  which  to  effect  this,  is  to 
admit  to  the  soil  the  largest  possible  quantity  of  at- 
mospheric air,  which  contains  this  gas. 

The  condition  of  soil  necessary  for  this,  is  the  same 
as  is  required  for  the  deposit  of  ammonia  by  the  same 
circulation  of  air. 

OXYGEN. 

Oxygen^  though  not  taken  up  by  plants  as  food 
in  its  pure  form,  may  justly  be  classed  among  ma- 
nures, if  we  consider  its  effects  both  chemical  and 
mechanical  in  the  soil. 

1.  By  oxidizing  or  rusting  some  of  the  constit- 
uents of  the  soil,  it  prepares  them  for  the  uses  of 
plants. 

2.  It  unites  with  the  ^r<9toxide  of  iron,  and 
changes  it  to  the  j^^roxide. 

3.  If  there  are  acids  in  the  soil,  which  make  it 
sour  and  unfertile,  it  may  be  opened  to  the  circula- 
tion of  the  air,  and  the  oxygen  will  prepare  some  of 
the  mineral  matters  contained  in  the  soil  to  unite 
with  the  acids  and  neutralize  them. 

4.  Oxygen  combines  with  the  carbon  of  organic 
matters  in  the  soil,  and  causes  them  to  decay.  The 
combination  produces  carbonic  acid. 

5.  It  undoubtedly  affects  in  some  way  the  matter 
which  is  thrown  out  from  the  roots  of  plants.     This, 


174  MANUKES. 

if  allowed  to  accumulate,  and  remain  unchanged,  is 
supposed  to  be  injurious  to  plants ;  but,  probably, 
the  oxygen  and  carbonic  acid  of  the  air  in  the  soil 
change  it  to  an  inoffensive  form,  and  even  make  it 
again  useful  to  the  plant. 

6.  It  may  also  improve  the  mechanical  condition 
of  the  soil,  as  it  causes  its  particles  to  crumble,  thus 
making  it  finer ;  and  it  roughens  the  surfaces  of  par- 
ticles, making  them  less  likely  to  become  too  com- 
pact. 

These  properties  of  oxygen  claim  for  it  a  high 
place  among  the  atmospheric  fertilizers. 

WATER. 

Water  may  be  considered  an  atmospheric  ma- 
nure, as  its  chief  supply  to  vegetation  is  received 
from  the  air  in  the  form  of  rain  or  dew.  Its  many 
effects  are  already  too  well  known  to  need  further 
comment. 

Supplying  water  to  the  soil  by  the  deposit  of  dew 
will  be  considered  in  Section  lY. 


CHAPTEK  XI. 

RECAPITULATION. 

Manures  have  two  distinct  classes  of  action  in  the 
soil,  namely,  chemical  and  mechanical. 


MAJS^UEES.  176 

Chemical  manures  are  those  which  enter  into  the 
construction  of  plants,  or  produce  such  chemical 
effects  on  matters  already  contained  in  the  soil  as 
shall  prepare  them  for  use. 

Mechanical  manures  are  those  which  improve  the 
mechanical  condition  of  the  soil,  such  as*  loosening 
stiff  clays,  compacting  light  sands,  pulverizing  large 
particles,  etc.  Many  manures  act  both  chemically 
and  mechanically. 

Manures  may  be  classified  under  three  distinct 
heads,  namely.  Organic^  mineral^  and  atmospheric. 

Organic  manures  comprise  all  vegetable  and  ani- 
mal matters  (except  ashes)  which  are  used  to  fer- 
tilize the  soil.  Yegetable  manures  supply  carbonic 
acid,  some  ammonia,  and  earthy  matter  to  plants. 
Animal  manures  supply  the  same  substances  and 
much  more  ammonia. 

Mineral  manures  comprise  ashes,  salt,  phosphate 
of  lime,  plaster,  etc.  They  supply  plants  with  earthy 
matter.  Their  usefulness  depends  in  great  degree  on 
their  solubility. 

Many  of  the  organic  and  mineral  manures  have 
the  power  of  absorbing  ammonia  arising  from  the  de- 
composition of  animal  manures,  as  well  as  that  which 
is  brought  to  the  soil  by  rains^these  are  called  ab- 
sorhents. 

Atmospheric  manures  consist  of  ammonia,  car- 
bonic acid,  oxygen  and  water.  Their  greatest  use- 
fulness requires  the  soil  to  allow  the  water  of  rains  to 
pass  through  it,  to  admit  of  a  free  circulation  of  air 
among    its    particles,   and   to   contain   a   sufficient 


176  MAKTKES. 

amount  of  absorbent  matter  to  arrest  and  retain  all 
ammonia  and  carbonic  acid  presented  to  it. 

Manures  should  be  applied  to  the  soil  with  due 
regard  to  its  requirements. 

Ammonia  and  carbon  are  always  useful,  but 
mineral  manures  become  mere  dirt  when  applied  to 
soils  already  containing  them  in  abundance. 

Organic  manures  must  be  protected  against  the 
escape  of  their  ammonia,  and  especially  against  the 
leaching  out  of  their  soluble  parts.  One  cord  of 
stable  manure  properly  preserved,  is  worth  ten  cords 
w^hich  have  lost  all  of  their  ammonia  by  evaporation, 
and  their  soluble  parts  by  leaching — as  is  the  case 
with  much  of  the  manure  kept  exposed  in  open 
barn-yards. 

Atmospheric  manures  cost  nothing,  and  are  of 
great  value  when  properly  employed.  In  conse- 
quence of  this,  the  soil  which  is  enabled  to  make  the 
largest  appropriation  of  the  atmospheric  fertilizers, 
is  worth  many  times  as  much  as  that  which  allows 
them  to  escape. 

In  fact,  it  may  be  considered  to  be  the  object  of  all 
cultivation,  to  use  the  advantages  which  the  soil  and 
manures  offer  for  the  purpose  of  consolidating  and 
giving  a  useful  form  to  the  carbonic  acid,  ammonia 
and  water,  which  are  freely  offered  to  all  seekers. 

Liebig  says  : — "  A  certain  mass  of  gold  and  silver 
circulates  in  the  world,  and  the  art  of  becoming 
rich  consists  in  knowing  the  way  to  divert  from 
the  main  stream  an  additional  brook  to  one's  own 
house.     In  like  manner  there  circulates,  in  the  air 


MANURES.  177 

and  in  the  soil,  a  relatively  inexhaustible  quantity 
of  the  food  of  plants ;  and  the  art  of  the  farmer  con- 
sists in  knowing  and  using  the  means  of  rendering 
this  food  available  for  his*  crops.  The  more  he  is 
able  to  divert  from  the  moving  stream  (the  air)  to 
the  immovable  promoter  of  his  production  (the 
soil  of  his  fields),  the  more  will  the  sum  of  his 
wealth  and  his  products  increase." 

8* 


SECTION  FOURTH. 

MECHANICAL  CULTIVATION, 


SECTION  FOURTH. 

MECHANICAL  CULTIVATION, 


CHAPTEE  I. 


THE   MECHANICAL   CHARACTER  OF   SOILS. 

The  meclianical  character  of  the  soil  has  been 
sufficiently  explained  in  the  preceding  remarks,  and 
the  learner  knows  that  it  has  many  offices  to  perform 
aside  from  the  feeding  of  plants. 

1.  It  admits  the  roots  of  plants,  and  holds  them  in 
their  position. 

2.  By  a  sponge-like  action,  it  holds  water  for  the 
uses  of  the  plant. 

3.  It  absorbs  moisture  from  the  atmosphere  to 
supply  the  demands  of  the  plants. 

4.  It  absorbs  heat  from  the  sun's  rays  to  assist  in 
the  processes  of  growth. 

4.  It  admits  air  to  circulate  among  roots,  and  sup- 
ply them  with  a  part  of  their  food,  while  the  oxygen 


182  CULTIVATION. 

of  that  air  renders  available  the  minerals  of  the  soil ; 
and  its  carbonic  acid,  being  absorbed  by  the  water  in 
the  soil,  gives  it  the  power  of  dissolving  and  supply- 
ing to  roots  more  earthy  matter  than  would  be  dis- 
solved by  purer  water. 

All  of  these  actions  the  soil  must  be  capable  of 
performing,  before  it  can  be  in  its  highest  state  of 
fertility.  There  are  comparatively  few  soils  now  in 
this  condition,  but  there  are  also  few  which  could 
not  be  profitably  rendered  so,  by  a  judicious  appli- 
cation of  the  various  modes  of  cultivation. 

The  three  great  objects  to  be  accomplished  are : — 

1.  To  adopt  such  a  system  of  drainage  as  will 
cause  as  much  as  possible  of  the  water  of  rains  to 
pass  through  the  soil,  instead  of  evaporating  from  the 
surface. 

2.  To  pulverize  the  soil  to  a  considerable  depth. 

3.  To  darken  its  color,  and  to  render  it  capable  of 
absorbing  atmospheric  fertilizers. 

The  means  used  to  secure  these  effects  are  under- 
draining^  sub-soil  and  surface-jplowing^  digging^  ap- 
plying muok^  etc. 


CHAPTEK  II. 


UNDEK-DRAINING. 


All  soils  which  are  cultivated  should  be  thorough- 
ly underdrained,  either  naturally  or  artificially. 


CULTIVATION.  183 

All  lands  which  are  made  wet  by  springs  or 
through  which  the  water  of  rains  does  not  readily 
settle  away,  must  be  drained  artificially  before  they 
can  be  cultivated  to  the  best  advantage. 

The  advantages  of  under-drains  over  qpen-drsdns 
are  very  great. 

When  open  drains  are  used,  much  water  passes 
into  them  immediately  from  the  surface,  and  carries 
with  it  fertilizing  parts  of  the  soil,  while  their  beds 
are  often  puddled  by  the  running  water  and  baked 
by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  so  that  they  become  water 
tight,  and  do  not  admit  water  from  the  lower  parts 
of  the  soil. 

The  sides  of  these  drains  are  often  covered  with 
weeds,  which  spread  their  seeds  throughout  the  whole 
field.  Open  drains  are  not  only  a  great  obstruction 
to  the  proper  cultivation  of  the  land,  but  they  cause 
much  waste  of  room,  as  we  can  rarely  plow  nearer 
than  within  six  or  eight  feet  of  them. 

There  are  none  of  these  objections  to  the  use  of 
under-drains,  as  these  are  completely  covered,  and  do 
not  at  all  interfere  with  the  cultivation  of  the  sur- 
face. 

Under-drains  may  be  made  with  brush,  stones,  or 
tiles.  Brush  is  a  very  poor  material,  and  its  use  is 
hardly  to  be  recommended,  except  when  a  better 
material  cannot  be  afforded.  Small  stones  are  bet- 
ter, and  if  these  be  placed  in  the  bottom  of  the 
trenches,  to  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten  inches,  and  cov- 
ered with  a  little  litter,  having  the  earth  packed  well 
down  on  them,  they  make  very  good  drains.     But 


184 


CULTTVATION. 


thej  are  very  much  more  costly  than  tile  drains,  and 
are  not  so  permanent. 

*      TILE     DKAINESra. 

The  best  nnder-drains  are  those  made  with  tiles, 
or  burnt  clay  pipes.  The  first  form  of  these  used 
was  that  called  the  horse-shoe  tile^  which  has  the 
form  of  an  arch,  leaving  the  unprotected  ground  for 
the  water  to  flow  over ;  this  was  superseded  by  the 
round  pvpe^  and  the  sole  tile. 

"  Experience  in  both  public  and  private  works  in  this 
country,  and  the  cumulative  testimony  of  English  and 
French  engineers,  have  demonstrated  that  the  only 
tile  which  it  is  economical  to  use,  is  the  hest  that  can 
be  found,  and  that  the  best, — much  the  best, — thus 
far  invented,  is  the  pipe,  or  round  tile,  (Mid  collar  ; 


Fig.  3.— Round  Tile  and  Collar. 

and  these  are  unhesitatingly  recommended  for  use  in 
all  cases.  Round  tiles  of  small  sizes  should  not  be  laid 
without  collars,  as  the  ability  to  use  these  constitutes 
their  chief  advantage;  holding  them  perfectly  in 
place,  preventing  the  rattling  in  of  loose  dirt  in  lay- 
ing, and  giving  twice  the  space  for  the  entrance  of 
water  at  the  joints.  A  chief  advantage  of  the 
larger  sizes  is,  that  they  may  be  laid  on  any  side  and 
thus  made  to  fit  closely.     The  usual  sizes  of  these 


CTTLTIYATION.  185 

tiles  are  IJ  inches,  ^i  inches,  and  3|-  inches  in  inte- 
rior diameter.  Sections  of  the  2J  inch  make  collars 
for  the  1^  inch,  and  sections  of  the  3^  inch  make 
collars  for  the  2  J  inch.  The  S^-  inch  does  not  need 
collars,  as  it  is  easily  secured  in  place,  and  is  only 
used  when  the  flow  of  water  wonld  be  sufficient  to 
wash  out  the  slight  quantity  of  foreign  matters  that 
might  enter  at  the  joints."  ^ 


Fig.  4— Sole  TUe. 

This  tile  is  made  (like  the  horse-shoe  and  pipe  tile) 
of  common  brick  clay,  and  is  burned  the  same  as 
bricks.  It  is  about  one  half  or  three  quarters  of  an 
inch  thick.  The  orifice  through  which  the  water 
passes  is  egg-shaped,  having  its  smallest  curve  at  the 
bottom.  This  shape  is  the  one  most  easily  kept  clear, 
as  any  particles  of  dirt  which  get  into  the  drain 
must  fall  immediately  to  the  point  where  even  the 
smallest  stream  of  water  runs,  and  are  thus  removed. 
An  orifice  of  about  two  inches  rise  is  sufficient  for  the 
smaller  drains,  while  the  main  drains  require  larger 
tiles. 

These  tiles  are  so  laid  that  their  ends  will  touch 
each  other,  on  the  bottoms  of  the  trenches,  and  are 
kept  in  position  by  having  the  earth  tightly  packed 

*  Draining  for  Profit  and  Draining  for  Healtli,  by  Gr.  E.  Waring, 
Jr,^  page  81. 


186 


CULTIVATION. 


around  tliem.  Care  must  be  taken  that  no  space  is 
left  between  the  ends  of  the  tiles,  as  dirt  would  be 
liable  to  get  in  and  choke  the  drain.  This  may  be 
best  prevented  by  the  use  of  collars  /  but  if  sole  tiles 
are  used,  as  collars  cannot  be  fitted  to  them,  it  is  well 
to  cover  the  top  of  the  joint  with  a  very  small  rope 
of  twisted  grass,  secured  by  a  stone  or  lump  of  clay 
on  each  end,  or  to  lay  on  the  joint  a  saddle  of  bent 
tin,  zinc,  or  galvanized  iron,  which  may  be  obtained 
at  little  cost  from  a  tinsmith,  cut  from  pieces  in  the 
waste-heap. 

The  ditches  for  tile  draining  may  be  narrowed  in, 
at  the  bottom,  to  a  width  barely  sufficient  for  the 
workman's  foot.  In  filling-in,  after  the  tile  is  laid, 
care  should  be  taken  that  no  stones  large  enough  to 
break  the  tile  be  allowed  to  fall  upon  them.  After 
the  tiles  are  covered  to  a  depth  of  a  foot  or  eighteen 
inches,  the  filling  should  be  trodden,  or  pounded, 
firmly  down,  so  as  to  fit  closely  around  the  tiles,  and 
leave  no  space  for  water  to  circulate  about  them. 

Tile  drains  are  made  with 
much  less  labor  than  the  stone 
drains,  as  they  require  less  dig- 
ging, while  the  breaking  up  of 
the  stone  for  the  stone  drain 
will  be  usually  more  expen- 
sive than  the  tiles.  Drains 
made  with  large  stones  are  not 
nearly  so  good  as  with  small 
<>-Sod  laid  on  the  stone,  ^^^^g^  because  they   are  more 

liable  to  be  choked  up  by  animals  working  in  them. 


Fig.  5. 
a — Tile  drain  trench. 
b — Stone  drain  trench. 


CULTIVATION.  187 

CHAPTEK  III. 

ADVANTAGES     OF     U  ND  E  E  -  DE  AINI  N  G. 

The  advantages  of  under-draining  are  many  and  im- 
portant. 

1.  It  greatly  lessens  the  injurious  effects  of  drought. 

2.  It  admits  an  increased  supply  of  atmospheric 
fertilizers. 

3.  It  warms  the  lower  portions  of  the  soil. 

4.  It  hastens  the  decomposition  of  roots  and  other 
organic  matter. 

5.  It  accelerates  the  disintegration  of  the  minerals 
in  the  soil. 

6.  It  causes  a  more  even  distribution  of  nutritious 
matters  among  those  parts  of  soil  traversed  by  roots. 

7.  It  improves  the  mechanical  texture  of  the  soil. 

8.  It  tends  to  prevent  grasses  from  "  running  out." 

9.  It  enables  us  to  deepen  the  surface  soil. 
By  removing  excess  of  water — 

10.  It  renders  soils  earlier  in  the  spring. 

11.  It  greatly  lessens  the  throwing  out  of  grain  in 
winter. 

12.  It  allows  us  to  work  sooner  after  rains. 

13.  It  keeps  off  the  effects  of  cold  weather  longer 
in  the  fall. 

14.  It  prevents  the  formation  of  acetic  and  other 
organic  acids,  which  induce  the  growth  of  sorrel  and 
similar  weeds. 

15.  It  hastens  the  decay  of  vegetable  matter,  and 


188  CULTIVATION. ' 

the  finer  comminution  of  the  earthy  parts  of  the 
soiL 

16.  It  prevents,  in  a  great  measure,  the  evapora- 
tion of  water,  and  the  consequent  cooling  of  the  soil. 

17.  It  admits  fresh  quantities  of  water  from  rains, 
etc.,  which  are  always  more  or  less  imbued  with  the 
fertilizing  gases  of  the  atmosphere,  to  be  deposited 
among  the  absorbent  parts  of  soil,  and  given  up  to 
the  demands  of  plants. 

18.  It  prevents  the  formation  of  so  hard  a  crust 
on  the  surface  of  the  soil  as  is  customary  on  heavy 
lands. 


1.  Under-draining  lessens  the  effect  of  droughty  be- 
cause it  gives  a  better  cu'culation  of  air  in  the  soil 
(it  does  so  by  making  it  more  open).  There  is  al- 
ways the  same  amount  of  water  in  and  about  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  In  winter  there  is  more  in  the 
soil  than  in  summer,  while  in  summer,  that  which 
has  been  diied  out  of  the  soil  exists  in  the  atmosphere 
in  the  form  of  a  vai^or.  It  is  held  in  the  vapory- 
form  by  heat^  which  acts  as  hraces  to  keep  it  distend- 
ed. When  vapor  comes  in  contact  with  substances 
sufficiently  colder  than  itself,  it  gives  up  its  heat — 
thus  losing  its  braces — contracts,  and  becomes  liquid 
water. 

This  may  be  observed  in  hundreds  of  common 
operations. 

It  is  well  known  that  a  cold  pitcher  in  summer 


CULTIVATION.  189 

robs  the  vapor  in  the  atmosphere  of  its  heat,  and 
causes  it  to  be  deposited  on  its  own  surface.  It  looks 
as  though  the  pitcher  were  sweating^  but  the  water 
all  comes  from  the  atmosphere,  not,  of  course,  through 
the  sides  of  the  pitcher. 

If  we  breathe  on  a  knife-blade,  it  condenses  in  the 
same  manner  the  moisture  of  the  breath,  and  becomes 
covered  with  a  film  of  water. 

Stone  houses  are  damp  in  summer,  because  the 
inner  surfaces  of  the  walls,  being  cooler  than  the 
atmosphere,  cause  its  moisture  to  be  deposited  in  the 
manner  described.  By  leaving  a  space,  however, 
between  the  walls  and  the  plaster,  this  moisture  is 
prevented  from  being  troublesome,  and  if  the  space 
is  closed  against  the  circulation  of  air  containing 
moisture  there  will  be  no  vapor  brought  in  contact 
with  the  cool  surface  of  the  wall,  and  therefore  no 
deposit  of  moisture. 

JN^early  every  night  in  the  summer  season,  the  cold 
earth  receives  moistm-e  from  the  atmosphere  in  the 
form  of  dew. 

A  cabbage,  which  at  night  is  very  cold,  condenses 
water  to  the  amount  of  a  gill  or  more. 

The  same  operation  takes  place  in  the  soil.  When 
the  air  is  allowed  to  circulate  among  its  lower  and 
cooler  particles,  they  receive  moisture  from  the  same 
process  of  condensation.  Therefore,  when,  by  the 
aid  of  under-drains,  the  lower  soil  becomes  sufficient- 
ly open  to  admit  of  a  circulation  of  air,  the  deposit  of 
atmospheric  moisture  will  keep  the  soil  supplied  with 
water  at  a  point  easily  accessible  to  the  roots  of  plants. 


190  CIJLTTVATION. 

If  we  wish  to  satisfy  ourselves  that  this  is  practi- 
cally correct,  we  have  only  to  prepare  two  boxes  of 
finely  pulverized  soil — one,  five  or  six  inches  deep, 
and  the  other  fifteen  or  twenty  inches  deep — and 
place  them  in  the  sun  at  mid-day  in  summer.  The 
thinner  soil  will  be  completely  dried,  while  the  deeper 
one,  though  it  may  have  been  dried  in  an  oven  at 
first,  will  soon  accumulate  a  large  amount  of  water 
on  those  particles  which,  being  lower  and  more 
sheltered  from  the  sun's  heat  than  the  particles  of 
the  thin  soil,  are  made  cooler. 

"With  an  open  condition  of  subsoil,  then,  such  as 
may  be  secured  by  under-draining,  we  fortify  our- 
selves against  drought. 

2.  Under-draining  admits  an  increased  supply  of 
atmospheric  fertilizers^  because  it  secures  a  change 
of  air  in  the  soil.  This  change  is  produced  when 
ever  the  soil  becomes  filled  with  water,  and  then 
dried ;  when  the  air  above  the  earth  is  in  rapid  mo- 
tion, and  when  the  comparative  temperature  of  the 
upper  and  lower  soils  changes.  It  causes  new  quan- 
tities of  the  ammonia  and  carbonic  acid  which  it 
contains  to  be  presented  to  the  absorbent  parts  of 
the  soil. 

3.  Under-draining  warms  the  lower  parts  of  the 
soil,  because  the  deposit  of  moisture  (1)  is  necessarily 
accompanied  by  an  abstraction  of  heat  from  the  at- 
mospheric vapor,  and  because  heat  is  withdrawn 
from  the  whole  amount  of  air  circulating  through 
the  cooler  soil. 

When  rain  falls  on  the  parched  surface  soil^  it  robs 


CULTIVATION.  191 

it  of  a  portion  of  its  heat,  which,  is  carried  down  to 
equalize  the  temperature  for  the  Avhole  depth.  The 
heat  of  the  rain-water  itself  is  given  up  to  the  soil, 
leaving  the  water  from  one  to  ten  degrees  cooler, 
when  it  passes  out  of  the  drains,  than  when  received 
by  the  earth. 

This  heating  of  the  lower  soil  of  course  renders  it 
more  favorable  to  vegetation. 

4.  Under-draining  hastens  the  decomposition  of 
roots  and  other  organic  matters  in  the  soil,  by  ad- 
mitting increased  quantities  of  air,  thus  supplying 
oxygen^  which  is  as  essential  in  decay  as  it  is  in  com- 
bustion. It  also  allows  the  resultant  gases  of  de- 
composition to  pass  away,  leaving  the  air  around 
the  decaying  substances  in  a  condition  to  continue 
the  process. 

This  organic  decay,  besides  its  other  benefits,  pro- 
duces an  amount  of  heat  perfectly  perceptible  to  the 
smaller  roots  of  plants,  though  not  so  to  us. 

5.  Draining  accelerates  the  disintegration  of  the 
minerals  in  the  soil,  by  admitting  water  and  oxvgen 
to  keep  up  the  process.  This  disintegration  is  aG-. 
cessary  to  fertility,  because  the  roots  of  plants  can 
feed  only  on  matters  dissolved  from  surfaces  /  and 
the  more  finely  we  pulverize  the  soil,  the  more  sur- 
face we  expose.  For  instance,  the  interior  of  a  stone 
can  furnish  no  food  for  plants;  while,  if  it  were 
finely  crushed,  it  might  make  a  fertile  soil. 

Anything  tending  to  open  thesoilto  the  air  facili- 
tates the  disintegration  of  its  particles,  and  thereby 
increases  its  fertility. 


192  CULTIVATION. 

6.  Draining  causes  a  more  even  distribution  of 
nutritious  rrtatters  among  those  jparts  of  soil  trav- 
ersedhy  roots^  because  it  increases  the  ease  with  which 
water  travels  about,  descending  by  its  own  weight, 
moving  sideways  by  a  desire  to  find  its  level,  or  car- 
ried upward  by  attraction  to  supply  the  evaporation 
at  the  surface.  By  this  continued  motion  of  the 
water,  soluble  matter  from  one  part  of  the  soil  may 
be  carried  to  adjacent  parts ;  and  another  constitu- 
ent from  this  latter  position  may  be  carried  back  to 
the  former.  Thus  the  food  of  vegetables  is  evenly 
distributed  through  the  soil.  As  soon  as  one  parti- 
cle is  fully  supplied  with  any  element  of  plant  nu- 
trition, further  amounts  brought  by  water  are  carried 
to  the  next  particle  that  can  receive  it — and  so  on, 
until  the  supply  of  soluble  material  is  exhausted. 
This  food  is  ready  for  absorption  at  any  point  where 
it  is  needed,  while  the  more  open  character  of  the 
soil  enables  roots  to  occupy  larger  portions,  making  a 
more  even  drain  on  the  whole,  and  preventing  the 
undue  impoverishment  of  any  part. 

7.  Under-drains  improve  the  mechanical  texture  of 
the  soil  I  because,  by  the  decomposition  of  its  parts, 
as  previously  described  (4  and  5),  it  is  rendered  of 
a  character  to  be  more  easily  worked ;  while  smooth 
round  particles,  which  have  a  tendency  to  pack,  are 
roughened  by  the  oxidation  of  their  surfaces,  and 
move  less  easily  among  each  other. 

8.  By  under-draining,  grasses  are  prevented  from 
running  out.  The  grasses  of  meadows  usually  con- 
sist of  tillering  plants,  which  reproduce  themselves 


CULTIVATION.  103 

in  sprouts  from  the  upper  parts  of  their  roots,  or 
from  the  joints  of  the  roots.  These  sprouts  become 
independent  plants,  and  continue  to  tiller  (thus 
keeping  the  land  supplied  with  a  full  growth  ),  until 
the  roots  of  the  stools  (  or  clumps  of  tillers ),  come 
in  contact  with  an  uncongenial  part  of  the  soil, 
when  the  tillering  ceases ;  the  stools  become  extinct 
on  the  death  'of  their  plants,  and  the  grasses  run 
out. 

The  open  and  healthy  condition  of  soil  pro- 
duced by  draining  prevents  the  tillering  from  being 
stopped  so  long  as  the  fertility  of  the  soil  lasts,  and 
thus  keeps  up  a  full  growth  of  grass  until  the  nutri- 
ment of  the  soil  is  exhausted. 

9.  Draining  enables  us  to  deepen  the  surface-soil^ 
because  the  admission  of  air  and  the  decay  of  roots, 
(  which  descend  much  deeper  in  drained  than  in  un- 
drained  land,)  render  the  condition  of  the  sub-soil 
such,  that  it  may  be  brought  up  and  mixed  with  the 
surface-soil,  without  injuring  its  quality. 

The  second  class  of  advantages  of  under-drain- 
ing, arising  in  the  removal  of  the  excess  of  water 
in  the  soil,  are  quite  as  important  as  those  just  de- 
scribed. 

10.  Soils  are^  thereby^  rendered  earlier  in  spring^ 
because  the  water,  which  rendered  them  cold,  heavy, 
and  nntillable,  is  earlier  removed,  leaving  them  ear- 
lier in  a  growing  condition. 

11.  The  throwing  out  of  grain  in  winter  is  les- 
sened, because  the  water  falling  on  the  earth  is  im- 
mediately removed  instead  of  remaining  to  throw  up 

9 


194  CULTIVATION. 

the  soil  by  freezing,  as  it  always  does,  from  the  up- 
right position  taken  by  the  particles  of  ice. 

12.  We  are  enabled  to  work  sooner  after  rains, 
because  the  water  descends,  and  is  immediately  re- 
moved, instead  of  lying  to  be  taken  off  by  the  slow  pro- 
cess of  evaporation,  and  sinking  through  a  heavy  soil. 

13.  The  effects  of  cold  weather  are  Itejpt  off  longer 
in  the  fall,  by  the  removal  of  the  excess  of  water 
w^hich  would  produce  an  unfertile  condition  on  the 
first  appearance  of  cold  weather. 

The  drains  also,  from-  causes  already  named  (3), 
keep  the  soil  warmer  than  before  being  drained,  thus 
actually  lengthening  the  season,  by  making  the  soil 
warm  enough  for  vegetable  growth  earlier  in  springj 
and  later  in  autumn. 

14.  Lands  are  prevented  from  hecoming  sour  hy 
the  formation  of  acetic  acid,  etc.,  because  these  acids 
are  produced  in  the  soil  only  when  organic  matter 
decomposes  in  contact  with  an  excessive  quantity  of 
water.  If  the  water  is  removed,  the  decomposition 
of  the  organic  matter  assumes  a  healthy  form,  while 
the  acids  already  produced  are  neutralized  by  atmos- 
pheric influences,  and  the  soil  is  restored  to  a  condi- 
tion in  which  it  is  fitted  for  the  growth  of  the  more 
valuable  plants. 

15.  The  deca/y  of  roots,  etc.,  is  allowed  to  proceed, 
because  the  preservative  influence  of  too  much  water 
is  removed.  Wood,  leaves,  or  other  vegetable  matter 
kept  continually  under  water,  will  last  for  ages  ; 
while,  if  exposed  to  the  action  of  the  weather,  as  in 
under-drained  soils,  they  soon  decay. 


CULTIVATION.  195 

The  presence  of  too  much  water,  by  excluding  the 
oxygen  of  the  air,  prevents  the  comminution  of  m^in- 
eral  matters  necessary  to  fertility. 

16.  The  evajporation  of  water ^  and  the  consequent 
cooling  of  the  soil^  is  in  a  great  measure  prevented 
by  draining  the  water  out  at  the  hottom^  of  the  soil, 
instead  of  leaving  it  to  be  dried  off  from  the  sur- 
face. 

When  water  assumes  the  gaseous  (or  vapory)  form, 
it  occupies  nearly  2000  times  the  space  it  occupied 
as  a  liquid,  and  as  the  vapor  is  of  the  same  tempera- 
ture as  the  liquid,  it  follows  that  it  contains  vastly 
more  heat.  A  large  part  of  this  heat  is  derived 
from  surrounding  substances.  When  water  is  sprink- 
led on  the  floor,  it  cools  the  room ;  because,  as  it 
becomes  a  vapor,  it  takes  heat  from  the  room.  The 
reason  why  vapor  does  not  feel  hotter  than  liquid 
water  is,  that,  its  heat  is  diffused  through  the  larger 
mass,  so  that  a  cubic  inch  of  vapor,  into  which  we  place 
the  bulb  of  a  thermometer,  contains  no  more  heat  than 
a  cubic  inch  of  water.  The  principle  is  the  same  in 
some  other  cases.  A  sponge  containing  a  table- 
spoonful  of  water  is  just  as  wet  as  one  twice  as  large 
containing  two  spoonfuls. 

If  a  wet  cloth  be  placed  on  the  head,  and  the  evap- 
oration of  its  water  assisted  by  fanning,  the  head 
becomes  cooler — a  portion  of  its  heat  being  taken  to 
sustain  the  vapory  condition  of  the  water. 

The  same  principle  holds  true  with  the  soil. 
When  the  evaporation  of  water  is  rapidly  going  on, 
by  the   assistance   of   the  sun,  wind,  etc.,  a  large 


196  CULTIVATION. 

quantity  of  heat  is  abstracted,  and  the  soil  becomes 
cold. 

This  cooling  of  the  soil  by  the  evaporation  of 
water,  is  of  very  great  injury  to  its  power  of  pro- 
ducing crops,  and  the  fact  that  under-drains  lessen 
it,  is  one  of  the  best  arguments  in  favor  of  their 
use.  Some  idea  may,  perhaps,  be  formed  of  the 
amount  of  heat  taken  from  the  soil  in  this  way,  from 
the  fact  that,  in  midsummer,  twenty-iive  hogsheads 
of  water  may  be  evaporated  from  a  single  acre  in 
twelve  hours. 

17.  When  not  saturated  with  water  the  soil  ad- 
mits the  water  of  rains,  etc.,  which  bring  with  them 
fertilizing  gases  from  the  atmosphere^  to  be  deposit- 
ed among  the  absorbent  parts  of  the  soil,  and  given 
up  for  the  necessities  of  the  plant.  When  this  rain 
falls  on  lands  already  saturated,  it  cannot  enter  the 
soil,  but  must  run  off  from  the  surface,  or  be  re- 
moved by  evaporation,  either  of  which  is  injurious. 
The  first,  because  fertilizing  matter  is  washed  away. 
The  second,  because  the  soil  is  deprived  of  necessary 
heat. 

18.  The  formation  of  crust  on  the  surface  of  the 
soil  is  due  to  the  evaporation  of  the  water  of  the  soil. 
It  arises  partly  from  the  fact  that  the  water  in  the 
soil  is  saturated  with  mineral  substances,  which  it 
leaves  at  its  point  of  evaporation  at  the  surface. 
This  soluble  matter  often  forms  a  very  hard  crust, 
which  is  a  complete  shield  to  prevent  the  admission  of 
air  with  its  ameliorating  effects,  and  should,  as  far 
as  possible,  be  avoided.     Under-draining  is  the  best 


CULTIVATION.  197 

means  of  doing  this,  as  it  is  the  best  means  of  lessen- 
ing the  evaporation,  and  of  preventing  the  puddling 
of  the  clay  in  the  soil. 

The  foregoing  are  some  of  the  more  important 
reasons  why  nnder-draining  is  always  beneficial. 
Thorough  experiments  have  amply  proved  the  truth 
of  the  theory. 

"  Land  which  requires  draining  is  that  which,  at 
some  time  during  the  year,  (either  from  an  accumu- 
lation of  the  rains  which  fall  upon  it,  from  the  later- 
al flow  or  soakage  from  adjoining  land,  from  springs 
which  open  within  it,  or  from  a  combination  of  two 
or  all  of  these  sources,)  becomes  filled  with  water 
that  does  not  readily  find  a  natural  outlet,  but 
remains  until  removed  by  evaporation.  Every  con- 
siderable addition  to  its  water  wells  up,  and  soaks 
its  very  surface  ;  and  that  which  is  added  after  it  is 
already  brim-full,  must  flow  ofi"  over  the  surface,  or  lie 
in  puddles  upon  it.  Evaporation  is  a  slow  process, 
and  it  becomes  more  and  more  slow  as  the  level  of 
the  water  recedes  from  the  surface,  and  is  sheltered 
by  the  overlying  earth  from  the  action  of  sun  and 
wind.  Therefore,  at  least  during  the  periods  of 
spring  and  fall  preparation  of  the  land,  during  the 
early  growth  of  plants,  and  often  even  in  mid- 
summer, the  water-taUe^ — the  top  of  the  water  of 
saturation, — is  within  a  few  inches  of  the  surface, 
preventing  the  natural  descent  of  roots,  and,  by 
reason  of  the  small  space  to  receive  fresh  rains,  caus- 
ing an  interruption  of  work  for  some  days  after  each 
storm. 


198  CULTIVATION. 

"  If  such  land  is  properly  furnished  with  tile  drains, 
(having  a  clear  and  sufficient  outfall,  offering  suffi- 
cient means  of  entrance  to  the  water  which  reaches 
them,  and  carrying  it,  by  a  uniform  or  increasing 
descent,  to  the  outlet,)  its  water  will  be  removed  to 
nearly,  or  quite,  the  level  of  the  floor  of  the  drains, ' 
and  its  water-table  will  be  at  the  distance  of  some 
feet  from  the  surface,  leaving  the  spaces  between  the 
particles  of  all  the  soil  above  it  filled  with  air  instead 
of  water.  The  water  below  the  drains  stands  at  a 
level,  like  any  other  water  that  is  dammed  up. 
Rain-water  falling  upon  the  soil,  will  descend  by  its 
own  weight  to  this  level,  and  the  water  will  rise  into 
the  drains,  as  it  would  flow  over  a  dam,  until  the 
proper  level  is  again  obtained.  Spring-water  enter- 
ing from  below,  and  water  oozing  from  the  adjoin- 
ing land,  will  be  removed  in  like  manner,  and  the 
usual  condition  of  the  soil,  above  the  water-table, 
will  be  that  which  is  best  adapted  to  the  growth  of 
useful  plants. 

"In  the  heaviest  storms,  some  water  will  flow  over 
the  surface  of  even  the  dry  est  beach  sand ;  but  in  a 
well-drained  soil  the  water  of  ordinary  rains  will  be 
at  once  absorbed,  will  slowly  descend  toward  the 
water-  able,  and  will  be  removed  by  the  drains  so 
rapidly,  even  in  heavy  clays,  as  to  leave  the  ground 
fit  for  cultivation,  and  in  a  condition  for  steady 
growth,  within  a  short  time  after  the  rain  ceases.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  a  drained  soil  has  room 
between  its  particles  for  about  one  quarter  of  its 
bulk  of  water,  that  is,  four  inches  of  drained  soil  con- 


CULTIVATION.  199 

tains  free  space  enough  to  receive  a  rain-fall  one  inch 
in  depth,  and,  by  the  same  token,  four  feet  of 
drained  soil  can  receive  twelve  inches  of  rain, — 
more  than  is  known  to  have  ever  fallen  in  twenty- 
four  hours  since  the  deluge,  and  more  than  one  quar- 
ter of  the  annual  rain-fall  in  the  United  States y  * 

Of  the  ^VQQi^e  profits  of  under-draining  this  is  not 
the  place  to  speak :  many  of  the  agricultural  papers 
contain  numerous  accounts  of  its  success.  It  may  be 
well  to  remark  here,  that  many  English  farmers 
give  it,  as  their  experience,  that  under-drains  on 
heavy  clay  lands  in  ordinary  cultivation,  pay  for 
themselves  every  three  years,  or  that  they  produce  a 
perpetual  profit  of  33^-  per  cent.,  on  their  original 
cost.  This  is  not  the  opinion  of  theorists  and  hooh 
farmers.  It  is  the  conviction  of  practical  men,  who 
know,yr(?m  experience^  that  under-drains  are  bene- 
ficial. 

The  best  evidence  of  the  utility  of  under-drain- 
ing is  the  position,  with  regard  to  it,  which  has  been 
taken  by  the  English  national  government,  which 
aifords  much  protection  to  the  agricultural  interests 
of  the  people, — a  protection  which  in  this  country  is 
unwisely  and  unjustly  withheld. 

In  England,  a  very  large  sum  from  the  public 
treasury  has  been  appropriated  as  a  fund  for  loans, 
on  under-di*ains,  which  was  lent  to  farmers  for  the 
purpose  of  under-draining  their  estates,  the  only 
security  given  being  the  increased  value  of  the  soil. 
The  time  allowed  for  payments  was  twenty  years, 
*  Drainmg  for  Profit  and  Health,  p.  22. 


200  CULTIVATION. 

and  only  i^ve  per  cent,  interest  is  charged.  By  the 
influence  of  this  patronage,  the  actual  wealth  of  the 
kingdom  has  been  rapidly  increased,  while  the 
farmers  themselves  can  raise  their  farms  to  the 
highest  fertility,  without  immediate  investment  for 
draining. 

The  best  proof  that  the  government  has  not  acted 
injudiciously  in  this  matter  is,  that  private  capitalists 
employ  their  money  in  the  same  manner,  and  loans 
on  under-drains  are  considered  a  very  safe  invest- 
ment. 

One  very  important,  though  not  strictly  agricul- 
tural, effect  of  thorough  drainage  is  its  removal  of 
certain  local  diseases,  peculiar  to  the  vicinity  of 
marshy  or  low  moist  soils.  The  health-reports  in 
several  places  in  England,  show  that  where  fever  and 
ague  was  once  common,  it  lias  almost  entirely  dis- 
appeared since  the  general  use  of  under-drains  in 
those  localities. 


CHAPTEK  lY. 


SUB-SOIL      PLOWING. 


The  sub-soil  plow  is  an  implement  differing  in  figure 
from  the  surface  plow.  It  does  not  turn  a  furrow, 
but  merely  runs  through  the  sub-soil  like  a  mole — 
loosening  and  making  it  finer  by  lifting,  but  allow- 
ing it  to  fall  back  and  occupy  its  former  place.     It 


CULTIVATION. 


20i 


usually  follows  the  surface  plow,  entering  the  soil  to 
the  depth  of  from  eight  to  fifteen  inches  below  the 
bottom  of  the  surface  furrow. 

The  best   pattern   now   made  (the  steel   sub-soil 
plow)  is  represented  in  the  following  figure. 


Fig.  6.— Wrought  Iron  and  Steel  Sub-soil  Plow. 

The  sub-soil  plows  first  made  raised  the  whole  soil 
about  eight  inches,  and  required  very  great  power  in 
their  use,  often  six  or  eight  oxen.  The  implement 
shown  in  the  figure,  raising  the  soil  but  slightly,  may 
be  worked  with  much  less  power,  and  produces 
equally  good  results.  It  may  be  run  to  a  good 
depth  in  most  soils  by  a  single  yoke  of  oxen. 

The  motion  of  any  part  of  the  soil  w^hich  is  efifected 

by  this  sub-soil  plow  is  very  slight,  but  it  is  exerted 

throughout  the  whole  mass  of  the   soil  above  the 

9* 


202  CULTIVATION. 

plow  and  for  a  considerable  distance  sideways  tow- 
ard the  surface.  If  the  land  is  too  wet,  this  motion 
will  be  injurious  rather  than  beneficial,  but  if  it  is 
dry  enough  to  crumble,  it  will  be  very  much  loosened. 
If  we  hold  in  the  hand  a  ball  of  dry  clay,  and  press 
it  hard  enough  to  produce  the  least  motion  among 
its  particles,  the  whole  mass  becomes  pulverized. 
On  the  same  principle,  the  sub-soil  plow  renders  the 
compact  lower  soil  sufficiently  fine  for  the  entrance 
of  roots. 

Notwithstanding  its  great  benefits  on  land,  which 
is  sufficiently  dry,  sub-soiling  cannot  be  recommended 
for  wet  lands  ;  for,  in  such  case,  the  rains  of  a  single 
season  would  often  be  sufficient  to  entirely  overcome 
its  efiects  by  packing  the  sub-soil  down  to  its  former 
hardness. 

On  lands  not  overcharged  with  water,  it  is  produc- 
tive of  the  best  results,  it  being  often  sufficient  to 
turn  the  balance  between  a  gaining  and  a  losing 
business  in  farming. 

It  increases  nearly  every  efiect  of  under-draining ; 
especially  does  it  overcome  drought,  by  loosening 
the  soil,  and  admitting  air  to  circulate  among  the 
particles  of  the  sub-soil,  and  deposit  its  moisture,  on 
the  principle  described  in  the  chapter  on  under- 
draining. 

It  deepens  the  surface-soil,  because  it  admits  roots 
into  the  sub-soil  where  they  decay  and  leave  carbon, 
while  the  circulation  of  air  so  afiects  the  mineral 
parts,  that  they  become  of  a  fertile  character.  As 
a  majority  of  roots  decay  in  the  surface-soil,  they 


CULTIVATION.  203 

there  deposit  much  mineral  matter  obtained  from 
the  sub-soil,  and  thus  render  it  richer. 

The  retention  of  atmospheric  manures  is  more 
folly  insured  by  the  better  exposure  of  the  clayey 
portions  of  the  soil. 

The  sub-soil  often  contains  matters  which  are  defi- 
cient in  the  surface-soil.  By  the  use  of  the  sub-soil 
plow,  they  are  rendered  available. 

Sub-soiling  is  similar  to  under-draining  in  continu- 
ing the  tillering  of  grasses. 

"When  the  sub-soil  is  a  thin  layer  of  clay  on  a  sandy 
bed  (as  in  many  parts  of  the  country),  the  sub-soil 
plow,  by  passing  through  it,  opens  a  passage  for  water, 
and  often  affords  a  sufiicient  drainage. 

If  plants  will  grow  better  on  a  soil  six  inches  deep 
than  on  one  of  three  inches,  there  is  no  reason  why 
they  should  not  be  benefited  in  proportion,  by  disturb- 
ing the  soil  to  the  whole  depth  to  which  roots  will 
travel — even  to  a  depth  of  two  feet.  The  minute 
rootlets  of  corn  and  most  other  plants  will,  if  allow- 
ed by  cultivation,  occupy  the  soil  to  a  greater  depth 
than  this,  having  a  fibre  in  nearly  every  cubic  inch  of 
the  soil  for  the  whole  distance.  There  are  very  few 
cultivated  plants  whose  roots  would  not  travel  to  a 
depth  of  thirty  inches  or  more.  Even  the  onion  sends 
its  roots  to  the  depth  of  eighteen  inches  when  the  soil 
is  well  cultivated. 

The  object  of  loosening  the  soil  is  to  admit  roots- 
to  a  sufiicient  depth  to  hold  the  plant  in  its  position, 
— to  obtain  the  nutriment  necessary  to  its  growth, — 
to  receive  moisture  from  the  lower  portions  of  the 


20dl:  CULTIVATION. 

soil, — and,  if  it  be  a  bulb,  tuber,  or  tap,  to  assume 
the  form  requisite  for  its  largest  development. 

It  must  be  evident  that  roots,  penetrating  the  soil 
to  a  depth  of  two  feet,  anchor  the  plant  with  greater 
stability  than  those  which  are  spread  more  thinly 
near  the  surface. 

The  roots  of  plants  traversing  the  soil  to  such 
great  distances,  and  being  located  in  nearly  every 
part,  absorb  mineral  and  other  food,  in  solution  in 
water,  only  through  the  spongioles  at  their  ends. 
Consequently,  by  having  these  ends  in  every  part  of 
the  soil,  it  is  all  brought  under  contribution,  and  the 
amount  supplied  is  greater,  while  the  demand  on  any 
particular  part  may  be  less  than  when  the  whole  re- 
quirements of  plants  have  to  be  supplied  from  a  depth 
of  a  few  inches. 

The  ability  of  roots  to  assume  a  natural  shape  in 
the  soil,  and  grow  to  their  largest  size,  must  depend 
on  the  condition  of  the  soil.  If  it  is  finely  pulverized 
to  the  whole  depth  to  which  they  ought  to  go,  they 
will  be  fully  developed ;  while,  if  the  soil  be  too  hard 
for  penetration,  they  will  be  deformed  or  small.  Thus 
a  parsnip  may  grow  to  the  length  of  two  and  a  half 
feet,  and  be  of  perfect  shape,  while,  if  it  meet  in  its 
course,  at  a  depth  of  eight  or  ten  inches,  a  cold^  hard 
sub-soil,  its  growth  must  be  arrested,  or  its  form  in- 
jured. 

Roots  are  turned  aside  by  a  hard  or  wet  sub-soil, 
as  they  would  be  if  received  by  the  surface  of  a  plate 
of  glass. 

Add  to  this  the  fact  tb^t  cold,  impenetrable  sub- 


CULTIVATION.  205 

soils  are  chemically  uncongenial  to  vegetation,  and 
we  have  sufficient  evidence  of  the  importance,  and 
in  many  cases  the  absolute  necessity  of  sub-soiling 
and  under-draining. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  urge  the  fact  that  a  garden 
soil  of  two  feet  is  more  productive  than  a  field  soil 
of  six  inches ;  and  it  is  certain  that  proper  attention 
to  these  two  modes  of  cultivation  will  in  a  majority 
of  cases  make  a  garden  of  the  field — more  than  doub- 
ling its  value  in  ease  of  working,  increased  produce, 
certain  security  against  drought,  and  more  even  distri- 
bution of  the  demands  on  the  soil — while  the  outlay 
will  be  largely  repaid  by  an  immediate  increase  of 
crops. 

The  sub-soil  will  be  much  improved  in  its  charac- 
ter the  first  year,  and  a  continual  advancement  ren- 
ders it  in  time  equal  to  the  original  surface-soil,  and 
extending  to  a  depth  of  two  feet  or  more. 

The  sub-soil  plow  has  come  into  very  general  use. 
The  implement  has  ceased  to  be  a  curiosity ;  and  the 
man  who  now  objects  to  its  use,  may  be  classed  with 
him  who  shells  his  corn  on  a  shovel  over  a  half-bush- 
el, instead  of  employing  an  improved  machine,  which 
will  enable  him  to  do  more  in  a  day  than  he  can  do 
in  the  "  good  old  way  "  in  a  week. 

In  no  case  will  the  use  of  the  sub-soil  plow  be  found 
anything  but  satisfactory,  except  in  occasional  in- 
stances where  there  is  some  chemical  difficulty  in  the 
sub-soil,  which  will  be  overcome  by  a  year  or  two 
of  exposure — and  even  such  cases  are  extremely  rare. 

As  was  before  stated,  its  use  on  wet  lands  is  not 


203  CULTIVATION. 

advisable  until  thej  have  been  under-drained,  as 

excess  of  water  prevents  its  effects  from  being  per- 
manent. 


CHAPTEK  Y. 

PLOWING     AND     OTHEK     PROCESSES     FOR 
PULVERIZING    THE     SOIL. 

The  advantages  of  pulverizing  the  soil,  and  the 
reasons  why  it  is  necessary,  have  been  sufficiently 
explained  to  need  no  further  remark.  Few  farmers, 
when  they  plow,  dig,  or  harrow,  are  enabled  to  give 
substantial  reasons  for  the  operation.  If  they  will  re- 
j9.ect  on  what  has  been  said  in  the  preceding  chapters, 
concerning  the  supply  of  mineral  food  to  the  plant 
by  the  soil,  and  the  effect  of  air  and  moisture  about 
the  roots,  they  will  find  more  satisfaction  in  their 
labor. 

PLOWING. 

The  kind  of  plow  used  in  cultivating  the  surface- 
soil,  must  be  decided  by  the  kind  of  soil.  This 
question  the  practical,  observing  farmer  will  be  able 
to  solve. 

As  a  general  rule,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  plow 
which  runs  the  deejpest^  with  the  same  amount  of 


CULTIVATION'.  207 

force,  is  the  best,  but  this  rule  is  not  without  its 
exceptions. 

The  advantages  of  deejp  plowing  cannot  be  too 
strongly  urged. 

The  statement  that  the  deeper  and  the  jmer  the 
soil  is  rendered,  the  more  productive  it  will  become, 
is  in  every  respect  true,  and  no  single  instance  will 
contradict  it. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this,  that  we  would 
advise  a  farmer,  who  has  always  plowed  his  soil  to 
the  depth  of  only  six  inches,  to  double  the  depth  at 
once.  Such  a  practice  in  some  soils  would  be  highly 
injurious,  as  it  would  completely  bury  the  more  fer- 
tile and  better  cultivated  soil,  and  bring  to  the  top 
one  which  contains  no  organic  matter,  and  has  never 
been  subject  to  atmospheric  influences.  This  would, 
perhaps,  be  so  little  fitted  for  vegetation  that  it 
would  scarcely  sustain  plants  until  their  roots  could 
reach  the  more  fertile  parts  below.  Such  treatment 
of  the  soil  ( turning  it  upside  down  )  is  excellent  in 
garden  culture,  where  the  great  amount  of  manures 
applied  is  sufiicient  to  overcome  the  temporary  bar- 
renness of  the  soil,  but  it  is  not  to  be  recommended 
for  all  field  cultivation,  where  much  less  manure  is 
employed. 

The  course  to  be  pursued  in  such  cases  is  to  plow 
a  little  deeper  each  year.  By  this  means  the  soil 
may  be  gradually  deepened  to  any  desired  extent. 
The  amount  of  uncongenial  soil  which  will  thus  be 
brought  up,  is  slight,  and  will  not  interfere  at  all 
with  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  while  the  elevated  por- 


208  CULTIVATION. 

tion  will  become,  in  a  single  year,  so  altered  bv  ex- 
posure, that  it  will  equal  the  rest  of  the  soil  in 
fertility. 

Often  where  lime  has  been  used  in  excess,  it  has 
sunk  to  the  sub-soil,  where  it  remains  inactive.  A 
slight  deepening  of  the  surface  plowing  would  mix 
this  lime  with  the  surface-soil,  and  render  it  again 
useful. 

When  the  soil  is  light  and  sandy,  resting  on  a 
heavy  clay  sub-soil,  or  clay  on  sand,  the  bringing  up 
of  the  mass  from  below  will  improve  the  texture  of 
the  upper  parts. 

As  an  instance  of  the  success  of  deep  plowing,  we 
call  to  mind  the  case  of  a  farmer  in  New  Jersey, 
who  had  a  field  which  had  yielded  about  twenty-five 
bushels  of  corn  per  acre.  It  had  been  cultivated  at 
ordinary  depths.  After  laying  it  out  in  eight-step 
lands  (24  feet,)  he  plowed  it  at  all  depths  from  five 
to  ten  inches  on  the  difierent  lands,  and  sowed  oats 
evenly  over  the  whole  field.  The  crop  on  the  five 
inch  soil  was  very  poor,  on  the  six  inch  rather  better, 
on  the  seven  inch  better  still,  and  on  the  ten  inch 
soil  it  was  as  fine  as  ever  grew  in  'New  Jersey ;  it 
had  stifi"  straw  and  broad  leaves,  while  the  grain 
was  also  much  better  than  on  the  remainder  of  the 
field. 

There  is  an  old  anecdote  of  a  man  who  died,  leav- 
ing his  sons  with  the  information  that  he  had  buried 
a  pot  of  gold  for  them,  somewhere  on  the  farm. 
They  commenced  digging  for  the  gold,  and  dug  over 
the  whole  farm  to  a  great  depth  without  finding  the 


CULTIVATION.  209 

gold.  The  digging,  however,  so  enriched*  the  soil 
that  they  were  fully  compensated  for  their  disap- 
pointment, and  became  wealthy  from  the  increased 
produce  of  their  farm. 

Farmers  will  find,  on  experiment,  that  they  have 
gold  buried  in  their  soil,  if  they  will  but  dig  deep 
enough  to  obtain  it.  The  law  gives  a  man  the  own- 
ership of  the  soil  for  an  indefinite  distance  from  the 
surface,  but  few  seem  to  realize  that  there  is  another 
farrrh  below  the  one  they  are  cultivating,  which  is 
quite  as  valuable  as  the  one  on  the  surface,  if  it  were 
but  properly  worked. 

Fall  jplowing^  especially  for  heavy  lands,  is  the 
best  means  of  securing  the  action  of  the  frosts  of 
winter  to  pulverize  the  soil.  If  it  be  a  stiff  clay,  it 
will  be  well  to  throw  the  up-soil  in  high  ridges  (  by 
ridging  and  back-furrowing,)  so  as  to  expose  the 
largest  possible  amount  of  surface  to  the  freezing  and 
thawing  of  winter.  This,  with  the  rotting  of  the 
sod,  (which  is  thus  made  ready  for  the  feeding 
of  plants,)  makes  the  effects  of  fall  plowing  almost 
universally  beneficial.  The  earlier  the  plowing  is 
done,  the  more  thoroughly  the  sod  is  rotted  and  pre- 
pared for  the  nutrition  of  the  crop  of  the  next  year. 

The  great  improvement  of  the  age  in  the  mechan- 
ical branch  of  agriculture,  has  been  made  in  England, 
during  the  past  ten  or  tw^elve  years,  in  the  application 
of  the  steam-engine  to  the  work  of  cultivating  the 
soil.  It  would  be  beyond  the  scope  of  a  simple 
elementary  book  like  this  to  enter  fully  into  a  de- 
scription of  the  machinery  by  which  this  work  is 


210  CULTIVATION. 

done,  and  the  method  of  its  operation  ;  but  it  is  worthy 
of  remark,  that  there  are  now  in  use  in  England 
about  500  sets  of  the  apparatus,  and  that  the  system 
has  been  in  successful  operation  there  for  about  a 
dozen  years.  A  single  engine  (of  14  horse  power) 
moves  to  the  field  on  its  own  wheels,  carrying  the 
tackle  with  it,  and  plows  an  acre  an  hour  with  ease, 
or  draws  a  deep  cultivator  through  from  three  to  five 
acres  in  an  hour.  The  engine  stands  on  one  head- 
land, and  a  pulley- wheel  on  the  other,  an  endless  steel 
wire  rope  passes  around  a  windlass  under  the  engine, 
and  around  the  pulley  opposite.  The  gang  of  plows, 
or  the  wide  cultivator,  is  drawn  back  and  forth  be- 
tween the  two. 


THE    HAEKOW   AND   CULTIVATOR. 

The  harrow^  an  implement  largely  used  in  all 
parts  of  the  world,  to  pulverize  the  soil,  and  break 
clods,  has  become  so  firmly  rooted  in  the  afiections 
of  farmers,  that  it  must  be  a  very  long  time  before 
they  can  be  convinced  that  it  is  not  the  best  imple- 
ment for  the  use  to  which  it  is  devoted.  It  is  true 
that  it  pulverizes  the  soil  for  a  depth  of  two  or  three 
inches,  and  thus  much  improves  its  appearance,  bene- 
fiting it,  without  doubt,  for  the  earliest  stages  of  the 
growth  of  plants.  Its  action,  however,  is  very  defec- 
tive, because,  from  the  wedge  shape  of  its  teeth,  it 
continually  acts  to  jpack  the  soil ;  thus — although 
favorable  for  the  germination  of  the  seed — it  is  not 
calculated  to  benefit  the  plant  during  the  later  stages 


CULTIVATION.  211 

of  its  growth,  when  the  roots  require  the  soil  to  be 
pulverized  to  a  considerable  depth. 

The  cultivator  may  be  considered  an  i7nproved 
harrow,  the  principal  difference  between  them  being, 
that  while  the  teeth  of  the  harrow  are  pointed  at 
the  lower  end,  those  of  the  cultivator  are  shaped 
like  a  small  double  plow,  being  large  at  the  bottom 
and  growing  smaller  toward  the  top.  They  lift 
the  earth  up,  instead  of  pressing  it  downward,  thus 
loosening  instead  of  compacting  the  soil. 

Many  styles  of  cultivators  are  now  sold  at  agri- 
cultural warehouses.  A  very  good  one,  for  field  use, 
may  be  made  by  substituting  the  cultivator  teeth  for 
the  spikes  in  an  old  harrow  frame. 


CHAPTEK  YI. 

ROLLING,      MULCHING,       WEEDING,       ETC. 
ROLLING. 

Rolling  the  soil  with  a  large  roller,  drawn  by 
a  team,  is  in  many  instances  a  good  accessory  to  cul- 
tivation. By  its  means,  the  following  results  are  ob- 
tained : — 

1.  The  soil  at  the  surface  is  pulverized  without  the 
compacting  of  the  lower  parts,  the  area  of  contact 
being  large. 


212  CTJLTIVATION. 

2.  The  stones  on  the  land  are  pressed  down  so  as 
to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  mowing  machine. 

3.  The  soil  is  compacted  around  seeds  after  sow- 
ing in  such  a  manner  as  to  exclude  light  and  to  touch 
them  in  every  part,  both  of  which  are  of  essential 
advantage  in  their  germination,  and  assist  in  giving 
them  a  good  start. 

4.  When  the  soil  is  smoothed  in  this  manner,  there 
is  less  surface  exposed  for  the  evaporation  of  water 
with  its  cooling  effect. 

5.  Light  sandy  lands,  by  being  rolled  in  the  fall, 
are  rendered  more  compact,  and  the  loosening  effects 
of  frequent  freezing  and  thawing  are  lessened. 

6.  The  most  important  use  of  the  roller  is  in  com- 
pacting the  earth  about  the  roots  of  grass  and  grain 
crops  early  in  the  spring.  The  freezing  and  thaw- 
ing of  winter  leave  them  usually  partly  uncovered, 
or  surrounded  by  air  spaces.  Their  best  growth  re- 
quires that  these  roots  be  closely  pressed  by  the  earth, 
— ^and  this  pressure  is  given  by  the  roller  better  than 
in  any  other  way. 

If  well  under-drained,  a  large  majority  of  soils 
would  doubtless  be  benefited  by  a  judicious  use  of  the 
roller.* 

MULCHING. 

Mulching  consists  in  covering  the  soil  with  salt 
hay,  litter,  seaweed,  leaves,  spent  tanbark,  chips,  or 
other  refuse  matter. 

Every  farmer  must  have  noticed  that,  if  a  board  or 
*  Field  rollers  should  be  made  in  sections,  for  ease  of  turning. 


CULTIVATION.  213 

rail,  or  an  old  brush-heap,  be  removed  in  spring  from 
soil  where  grass,  is  growing,  the  grass  afterward 
grows  in  those  places  much  larger  and  better  than 
in  other  parts  of  the  field. 

This  improvement  arises  from  various  causes. 

1.  The  evaporation  of  water  fi-om  the  soil  is  pre- 
vented during  drought  by  the  shade  afforded  by  the 
malch ;  and  it  is  therefore  kept  in  better  condition, 
as  to  moisture  and  temperature,  than  when  evapora- 
tion goes  on  more  freely.  This  condition  is  well  cal- 
culated to  advance  the  chemical  changes  necessary  to 
prepare  the  matters — both  organic  and  mineral — in 
the  soil  for  the  use  of  plants. 

2.  A  heavy  mulch  breaks  the  force  of  rains,  and 
prevents  them  from  compacting  the  soil,  as  would  be 
the  result  were  no  such  precaution  taken. 

3.  Mulching  protects  the  surface-soil  from  freez- 
ing as  readily  as  w^hen  exposed,  and  thus  keeps  it 
longer  open  for  the  admission  of  air  and  moisture. 
"When  unprotected,  the  soil  early  becomes  frozen  ; 
and  all  water  falling,  instead  of  entering,  as  it  should 
do,  passes  oiF  over  the  surface. 

5.  The  throwing  out  of  winter  grain  is  often  pre- 
vented, because  this  is  due  to  the  frequent  freezing 
and  thawing  of  the  surface-soil. 

6.  When  the  wet  surface-soil  freezes,  it  is  raised  up, 
and  the  young  plants  growing  in  it  are  raised  with 
it ;  when  the  frost  is  thawed  out,  the  soil  falls  back 
to  its  original  position,  while  parts  of  the  crowns  or 
roots  of  the  crop  remain  raised.  The  next  freeze 
takes  hold  of  them  lower  down,  and  lifts  them  again  ; 


214  CULTIVATION. 

the  next  thaw  leaves  them  higher  than  ever, — until  in 
spring,  sonietimes,  the  crown  of  a  shoot  of  wheat 
will  be  standing  several  inches  above  the  level  of 
the  soil.  The  use  of  a  mulch  prevents  both  the 
freezing  and  the  thawing  from  being  so  frequent  and 
active  as  thej  would  be  if  no  protection  were  used. 

7.  It  also  prevents  the  "  baking  "  of  the  soil,  or  the 
formation  of  a  crust. 

Nursery-men  often  keep  the  soil  about  the  roots  of 
young  trees  mulched  continually.  One  of  the  chief 
arguments  for  this  treatment  is,  that  it  prevents  the 
removal  of  the  moisture  from  the  soil  and  the  conse- 
quent loss  of  heat.  Also  that  it  keeps  up  a  full  sup- 
ply of  water  for  the  uses  of  the  roots,  because  it  keeps 
the  surface  of  the  soil  cool,  and  causes  a  deposit  of  dew. 

It  has  been  suggested,  and  is  undoubtedly  true,  that 
a  mulch  on  the  ground,  by  affording  a  good  shelter  for 
minute  (microscopic)  insects,  causes  them  to  accumu- 
late in  such  quantities  as  to  add  (by  their  eggs,  their 
excrement,  and  their  dead  bodies)  to  the  fertilizing 
matter  in  the  soil.  How  important  this  addition 
may  be,  we  cannot  of  course  know,  but  it  is  certain 
that  mulching  exercises  greater  good  effect  than  can 
reasonably  be  attributed,  in  the  present  state  of  our 
knowledge,  to  any  or  all  of  the  above  described  actions. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  many,  that  at  least  one-half  of 
the  beneficial  effect  of  seaweed,  or  coarse  stable  ma- 
nure, when  used  as  a  top  dressing,  is  due  to  its  action 
as  a  mulch. 

It  is  a  good  plan  to  sow  oats  very  thinly  over  land 
intended  for  winter  fallow,  after  the  removal  of  crops, 


CULTIVATION.  215 

as  they  will  grow  a  little  before  being  killed  by  the 
frost,  when  they  will  fall  down,  thus  affording  a  very 
beneficial  mulch  to  the  soil. 

When  farmers  spread  coarse  manure  on  their  fields 
in  the  fall  to  be  plowed  under  in  the  spring,  they  ben- 
efit the  land  by  the  mulching,  perhaps  as  much  as  by 
the  addition  of  fertilizing  matter,  because  they  give 
it  the  protecting  influence  of  the  straw,  etc. 

It  is  an  old  and  true  saying  that  "  snow  is  the 
poor  man's  manure."  One  reason  why  it  is  so  bene- 
ficial is,  that  it  acts  as  a  most  excellent  mulch.  It 
contains  no  more  ammonia  than  rain-water  does ; 
and,  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  it  protects  the  soil 
against  loss  of  heat,  and  produces  other  benefits  of 
mulching,  it  would  have  no  more  advantageous  effect. 
The  severity  of  the  winters  at  the  North  is  largely 
compensated  for  by  the  long  duration  of  snow. 

It  is  well  known  that  when  there  is  but  little  snow 
in  cold  countries,  wheat  is  very  liable  to  be  winter 
hilled.  An  evenly  spread  mulch,  and  thorough 
draining,  will  greatly  prevent  this. 

This  treatment  is  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  flowers,  both  in  pots  and  in  beds  out  of 
doors.  It  is  almost  indispensable  to  the  profitable 
production  of  strawberries,  and  many  other  garden 
crops,  such  as  asparagus,  rhubarb,  etc.  An  excel- 
lent treatment  for  newly  transplanted  trees,  is  to  put 
stones  about  their  roots.  A  good  mulching,  by  the 
use  of  leaves,  copying  the  action  of  nature  in  forests, 
has  nearly  as  good  an  effect ;  for  it  is  chiefly  as  a 
mulch  that  the  stones  are  beneficial. 


216  CULTIVATION. 


WEEDma. 

If  a  farmer  were  asked — what  is  the  use  of  weeds  ? 
he  might  make  out  quite  a  list  of  their  benefits, 
among  which  might  be  some  of  the  following : — ■ 

1.  Thej  shade  tender  plants,  and  in  a  measure 
serve  as  a  mulch  to  the  ground. 

2.  Some  weeds,  by  their  offensive  odor,  drive 
away  many  insects. 

^  3.  They  may  serve  as  a  green  crop  to  be  plowed 
into  the  soil,  and  increase  its  organic  matter. 

4.  They  make  us  stir  the  soil,  and  thus  increase 
its  fertility. 

Still,  while  thinking  out  these  excuses  for  weeds 
(all  but  the  last  of  which  are  very  feeble  ones),  he 
would  see  other  and  more  urgent  reasons  why  they 
should  not  be  allowed  to  grow. 

1.  They  occupy  the  soil  to  the  disadvantage  of 
crops. 

2.  They  exclude  light  and  heat  from  cultivated 
plants,  and  thus  interfere  with  their  growth. 

3.  They  take  up  mineral  and  other  matters  from 
the  soil,  and  hold  them  during  the  growing  season, 
thus  depriving  crops  of  their  use. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  argue  the  injury  done  by 
weeds.  Every  farmer  is  well  convinced  that  they 
should  be  destroyed,  and  the  best  means  of  accom- 
plishing this  is  of  the  greatest  importance. 

In  the  first  place, we  should  protect  ourselves  against 
their  increase.     This  may  be  done  (in  a  measure) : — 

Bjr  decomposing  all  manures  in  compost,  whereby 


'  CULTIVATION.  217 

many  of  the  seeds  contained  will  be  killed  by  the 
heat  of  fermentation. 

By  hoeing,  or  otherwise  destroying  growing  weeds 
before  they  mature  their  seeds ;  and 

By  keeping  the  soil  in  the  best  chemical  condition. 

This  last  point  is  one  of  much  importance.  It 
is  well  known  that  soils  deficient  in  potash  will 
naturally  produce  one  kind  of  plants,  while  soils 
deficient  in  phosphoric  acid  will  produce  plants 
of  another  species,  etc.  Many  soils  produce  certain 
weeds  which  would  not  grow  on  them  spontaneously 
if  they  were  fitted  for  the  growth  of  better  plants. 
It  is  also  believed  that  those  weeds,  which  naturally 
grow  on  the  most  fertile  soils,  are  the  ones  most 
easily  destroyed.  There  are  exceptions  (of  which 
the  Thistle  is  one),  but  this  is  given  as  a  general  rule. 

By  careful  attention  to  the  foregoing  points, 
weeds  may  be  kept  from  increasing,  while  those 
already  in  the  soil  may  be  eradicated  in  various 
ways,  chiefly  by  mechanical  means,  such  as  hoeing, 
plowing,  etc. 

Prof.  Mapes  used  to  say,  and  experience  often 
shows,  that  six  bushels  of  salt  annually  sown  broad- 
cast over  each  acre  of  land,  will  destroy  very  many 
weeds,  as  well  as  grubs  and  worms. 

The  common  hoe  is  a  very  imperfect  tool  for  the 
purpose  of  removing  weeds,  as  it  prepares  a  better 
soil  for,  and  replants  in  a  position  to  grow,  nearly  as 
many  weeds  as  it  destroys. 

The  scuffle-hoe  (or  push-hoe)  is  much  more  efiec- 
tive,  as,  when  worked  by  a  man  walking  backward^ 

10 


218  CULTIVATION. 

and  retiring  as  he  works,  it  leaves  nearly  all  of  the 
weeds  on  the  surface  of  the  soil  to  be  killed  by  the 
sun.  When  used  in  this  way,  the  earth  is  not 
trodden  on  after  being  hoed — as  is  the  case  when 
the  common  hoe  is  employed.  This  treading,  besides 
compacting  the  soil,  covers  the  roots  of  many  weeds, 
and  causes  them  to  grow  again. 

The  scuffle-hoe,  however,  except  in  very  light  soil, 
will  not  run  so  deeply  as  it  is  often  desirable  to 
loosen  it,  and  must,  in  such  cases,  be  superseded  by 
ihQ prong-hoe  (or  potato-hook),  which  is  a  capital  sub- 
stitute for  the  common  hoe  in  nearly  all  cases. 

Much  of  the  labor  of  weeding  usually  performed 
by  men,  might  be  more  cheaply  done  by  horses. 
There  are  various  implements  for  this  purpose,  some 
of  which  have  come  into  very  general  use. 

One  of  the  best  of  these  is  the  Langdon  Harse 
Hoe^  which  is  a  shovel-shaped  plow,  to  be  run  one 
or  two  inches  deep.  It  has  a  wing  on  each  side  to 
prevent  the  earth  from  falling  on  to  the  plants  in  the 
rows.  At  the  rear,  or  upper  edge,  is  a  kind  of  rake 
or  comb,  which  allows  the  earth  to  pass  through, 
while  the  weeds  pass  over  the  comb  and  fall  on  the 
surface  of  the  soil,  to  be  killed  by  the  heat  of  the 
sun.  It  is  a  simple  and  cheap  tool,  and  will  perform 
the  work  of  twenty  men  with  hoes.  The  hand  hoe 
will  be  necessary  only  in  the  rows. 

CULTIVATOES. 

The  cultivator^  which  was  described  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter,  and  of  which  there  are  various  pat- 


CULTIVATION. 


219 


terns  in  nse,  is  excellent  for  weeding  and  for  loosen- 
ing the  soil  between  the  rows  of  corn,  etc.  The 
one  called  the  uTviversal  cultivator,  having  its  side 
bars  made  of  iron,  curved  so  that  at  whatever  dis- 
tance it  is  placed  the  teeth  will  point  straight  for- 
ward^ is  a  much  better  tool  than  those  of  the  older 
patterns,  which  had  the  teeth  so  arranged  that  when 
set  for  wide  rows,  they  pointed  toward  the  clevis. 
It  is  difficult  to  keep  such  a  cultivator  in  its  place, 
while  the  "  universal "  is  as  difficult  to  move  out  of 
a  straight  line. 


IMPEOVED   HOKSE-HOE. 

The  irnjproved  (or  Knox's)  horse-hoe^  is  a  combina- 


FiG.   7. 


tion  of  the  "  Langdon  "  horse-hoe  and  the  cultivator, 
and  is  the  best  implement,  for  many  purposes,  that 
has  yet  been  made. 

An  excellent  tool,  called  a  Muller,  is  used  in  Rhode 


220  CULTIVATION. 

Island.  It  consists  of  a  stick  of  heavy  wood,  five  or 
six  feet  long  and  about  three  inches  by  six  inches  in 
size,  drawn  by  fastening  one  trace  to  each  end,  having 
stilts  or  handles  rising  from  the  upper  side,  and  two 
rows  of  sharpened  iron  teeth  six  inches  long  on  the 
under  side — the  front  row  of  teeth  point  forward,  and 
the  rear  row  backward.  It  is  a  "  horse-rake"  for  the 
ground,  and  leaves  it  as  fine  as  a  hand-rake  would, 
while  it  works  it  much  more  deeply. 

One  of  the  best  cultivators  that  it  is  possible  to  use 
between  rows  of  corn — or  other  plants — is  a  small 
sub-soil  plow  of  the  kind  shown  on  p.  201,  drawn  by 
one  horse,  and  running  five  or  six  inches  deep.  It 
mellows  the  land  deeply  and  thoroughly. 


There  is  much  truth  in  the  following  proverbs : 
"  A  garden  that  is  well  kept,  is  kept  easily." 
"  You  must  conquer  weeds,  or  weeds  will  conquer 
you." 

"The  best  time  to  kill  weeds  is  before  they  come 
up." 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  give  a  recapitulation  of 
the  matters  treated  in  this  section,  as  it  is,  itself,  but 
an  outline  of  subjects  which  might  occupy  our  whole 
book.  The  scholar  and  the  farmer  should  understand 
every  principle  which  it  contains  as  well  as  they  un- 
derstand the  multiplication  table ;  and  their  applica- 
tion will  be  found,  in  every  instance,  to  produce  the 
best  results. 


CTJLTIYATION.  221 

The  two  great  rules   of  meclianical  cultivation 
are — 

Thorough  uNDER-DKAmiNG. 

Deep  and  frequent  disturbance  of  the  soil. 


SECTION    FIFTH. 

ANALYSIS 


SECTM  FIFTH. 

ANALYSIS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


.  At  the  time  when  this  book  was  first  written,  iii 
1853,  it  was  the  very  general  opinion  of  scientific, 
and  of  many  practical,  men,  that  it  was  within  the 
power  of  the  chemist,  by  separating  the  different 
parts  of  the  soil,  weighing  each,  to  determine  wheth- 
er the  soil  were  fertile  or  barren ;  how  long  it  might 
continue  fertile  without  the  use  of  manure;  what 
manures  were  best  suited  to  restoring  or  preserving 
its  fertility ;  and  what  class  of  plants  it  was  best  fit- 
ted to  produce. 

In  this  belief,  these  pages  were  devoted,  very  large- 
ly, to  showing  the  farmer  how  he  could  best  regulate 
his  operations  in  the  light  of  such  teachings  as  soil 
analysis  gives. 

As  is  often  the  case  in  the  adoption  of  new  discov- 
eries, a  further  acquaintance  with  the  subject  showed 


226  ANALYSIS. 

that,  so  far  as  the  processes  of  practical  agriculture  are 
concerned,  soil  analysis  is  of  but  little,  if  any,  value. 
True,  the  amount  of  potash,  for  instance,  which  is 
contained  in  the  soil,  may  be  determined  with  great 
precision,  and  it  seemed,  at  first,  that  this  sort  of 
knowledge  was  enough  for  practical  use  ;  but  further 
research  and  reasoning  have  shown  that  the  question 
of  quantity  is  of  no  more  consequence  than  the 
question  of  condition.  Of  the  potash  in  the  soil 
only  the  y^  or  the  -j-oV'o  P^^'*  ^^  available  to  the 
plants  of  a  single  year's  growth ; — why  the  other  99, 
or  999  parts  are  not  available,  and  how  they  may  be 
made  so,  the  soil  analysis,  from  which  so  much  was 
hoped  for,  does  not  tell  us. 

The  causes  of  fertility  and  barrenness  lie  beyond 
the  reach  of  weight  aiid  measure,  and  it  is  an  unfor- 
tunate truth  that,  aside  from  a  very  simple  indica- 
tion of  the  internal  character  of  our  soils,  the  science 
of  chemistry  can  only  help  us  in  studying  their  char- 
acter wlien  we  follow  it  through  the  by-ways  of  its 
more  subtle  reasoning.  Much  of  what  is  known  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  soil  gives  nutriment  to  the 
plant  has  been  learned  from  the  bringing  together  of 
the  results  of  many  experiments, — studying  them  by 
the  light  of  what  chemistry  has  positively  taught. 
This  knowledge  is  of  great  value,  and  is  sufficient 
to  §)rm  the  foundation  of  a  really  scientific  agricul- 
ture ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  much  more  is  yet  to 
be  learned,  and  that  we  are  still  very  far  from  know- 
ing all  that  we  must  know  of  the  use  of  manures, 
the  functions  of  the  soil,  and  the  growth  of  plants. 


ANALYSIS.  227 

While  waiting  for  its  further  instruction,  let  us  make 
the  best  possible  use  of  what  chemistry  now  teaches 
with  certainty,  in  the  analysis  of  the  ashes  of  plants, 
and  of  manures. 

Practice  and  science  have  combined  to  show  us 
how  all  soils  may  be  raised  to  a  high,  possibly  to  the 
highest,  state  of  fertility,  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
composition  of  crops  and  manures  shows  how  we 
may  best  maintain  its  good  condition. 

The  one  safe  rule  for  all  farmers  to  adopt  is  the 
following : — 

Always  ketuen  in  the  earthy  constitubnts  of 

MANURE  the  FULL  EQUIVALENT  OF  THE  EARTHY  CON- 
STITUENTS OF  THE  CROP. 

This  will  prevent  the  soil  from  deteriorating,  and 
we  may  safely  trust  to  the  process  of  cultivation,  and 
to  the  action  of  atmospheric  influences,  to  make  it 
yearly  better,  by  developing  fresh  supplies  of  its  ash- 
forming  parts. 


228 


ANALYSIS. 


CHAPTEH  II. 

TABLES     OF     ANALYSIS. 

AJSTALYSES  OF  THE  ASHES  OE  CKOPS. 

No.  I. 


Wheat. 


Wheat     I     -p^^ 
Straw.     I     ^y®- 


Rye 

Straw. 


Ashes  in  1000  dry  parts 

Silica  (sand) 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Peroxide  of  Iron 

Potash 

Soda 

Chlorine 

Sulphuric  Acid 

Phosphoric  Acid 


20 


16 

28 

120 

7 

23t 

91 

3 

498 


60 


654 
67 
83 
13 
124 
~^  2 
11 
58 
31 


24 


5 

50 

104 

14 

221 

116 

10 
496 


40 

645 
91 
24 

14 

174 

3 

5 

8 
38 


No.  II. 


Corn. 


Corn 
Stalks. 


Barley. 


Barley 

Straw. 


Ashes  in  1000  dry  parts 

Silica  (sand) 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Peroxide  of  Iron 

Oxide  of  Manganese 

Potash 

Soda 

Chlorine 

Sulphuric  Acid 

Phosphoric  Acid 


15 


15 

15 

162 

8 

261 

63 

2 

23 

449 


44 


270 

86 

66 

8 

96 
277 

20 

5 

171 


28 


271 
26 
75 
15 

136 

81 

1 

1 

389 


61 


706 

95 

32 

7 

1 

62 

6 

10 

16 

31 


ANALYSIS. 


229 


No.  III. 


Oats. 

Oat 
Straw. 

Buck 

Wheat. 

Po- 
tatoes, 

Ashes  in  1000  dry  parts 

20 

51 

21 

90 

Silica  {sand) 

7 
60 
99 

4 

i262f 

3 

104 
438 

484 
81 
38 
18 

191 
97 
32 
33 
27 

7 
67 

104 
11 
87 

201 

22 
500 

42 

Lime 

21 

Magnesia 

53 

Peroxide  of  Iron 

5 

Potash 

557 

Soda 

19 

Chlorine 

43 

Sulphuric  Acid 

137 

Phosphoric  Acid 

126 

Organic  Matter 

T50 

Water. 

No.  lY. 


Peas. 

Beans. 

Turnips. 

Turnip 
Tops. 

Ashes  in  1 000  dry  parts 

25 

27 

76 

170 

Silica  (sand)     

5 
53 
85 
10 

361 
91 
23 
44 

333 

12 

58 

80 

6 

336 

106 

1^ 

378 

71 
128 

48 

9 

398 

108 

37 
131 

67 
870  Water. 

8 

233 

Mao'nesia       

81 

Peroxide  of  Iron 

8 

Potash     

286 

Soda 

54 

160 

Sulphuric  Acid       

125 

PhnQnbnrio  A  fid          .          ....... 

93 

Organic  Matter 

230 


ANALYSIS. 


No.  y. 


Ashes  in  1000  dry  parts 

Silica  (sand) 

Aluraiaa  (day) 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Peroxide  of  Iron 

Potash 

Soda . 

Chlorine 

Sulphuric  Acid 

Phosphoric  Acid 


Flax. 
50 


257 

37? 
148 

44 

36? 
117 
118 

29 

32 
130 


Linseed. 


46 


75 

83 

146 

9 

240 

45 

2 

23 

865 


Meadow 
Hay. 


60 


344 

196 

78 

7 

236 
19 
28 
29 
68 


Eed 

Clover. 


75 


48 

371 

46 
2 
267 
71 
48 
60 
88 


No.  YI. 


Amount  of  Inorganic  Matter  removed  from  the  soil  by  ten  bushels  of 
grains,  etc.,  and  by  the  straw,  etc.,  required  in  their  production 
— estimated  in  pounds : 


1620  Iba. 

Rye 
Straw. 

11.34 

.20 

5.91 

1.58 

.88 

.05 

2.49 

.30 

42.25 

66 


Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Oxide  of  Iron . . . . 
Sulphuric  Acid. . . 
Phosphoric  Acid. . 

Chlorine 

Silica 

Pounds  carried  oflf. 


1200  lbs. 

Wheat. 

Wheat 

Eye. 

Straw. 

2.86 

8.97 

2.51 

1.04 

.12 

1.33 

.34 

4.84 

.56 

1.46 

2.76 

1.18 

.08 

.94 

.15 

.03 

4.20 

.11 

6.01 

2.22 
.79 

6.64 

.14 

47.16 

.05 

12 

72 

Hi 

ANALYSIS. 


231 


No.  VIL 


Corn. 

1620  lbs. 
Corn 

Stalks. 

Oats. 

700  lbs. 

Oat 
Straw. 

Potash 

2.78 

.12 
1.52 

4.52 
.06 

6.84 

19.83 

6.02 

4.74 

.57 

.36 

12.15 

1.33 

19.16 

1.69 

.39 
.64 
.02 
.66 

2.80 
.02 

.18 

12.08 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

3.39 
1.59 

Oxide  of  Iron 

.78 

Sulphuric  Acid 

1.41 

Phosphoric  Acid       

1  07 

Chlorine 

136 

Silica 

20.32 

Pounds  carried  off 

9 

71 

H 

42 

No.  VIII. 


Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Oxide  of  Iron . . . . 
Sulphuric  Acid  . . 
Phosphoric  Acid. . 

Chlorine 

Silica 

Pounds  carried  off 


Buck 
Wheat. 


1.01 

2.13 
,78 

1.20 
.14 
.25 

5.40 

.09 


11 


Barley. 


1.90 
1.18 

.96 
LOO 

.20 

.01 
6.35 

.01 
3.90 


14 


660  bbls. 
Barley 
Straw. 


2.57 
.23 

3.88 

1.81 
.90 
.66 

1.25 

.40 

28.80 


40 


2000  lbs. 
Flax. 


11  78 

11.82 

11. «5 

9.38 

7.32 

3.19 

13.05 

2.90 

25.71 


100 


232 


ANALYSIS. 


No.  IX 


Beans. 

1120  lbs. 
Bean 
Straw. 

Field 
Peas. 

1366  lbs. 

Pea 

Straw. 

Potash 

5.54 

1.83 

98.98 

.28 

.10 

.16 

7.80 

.13 

.18 

86.28 

1.09 

13.60 

4.55 

.20 

.64 

5.00 

1.74 

4.90 

5.90 
1.40 

.81 
1.30 

.15 

.64 
5.50 

.23 
.7 

3.78 

Soda 

Lime 

43.93 

Magnesia 

6.50 

Oxide  of  Iron 

1.40 

Sulphuric  Acid   

5.43 

Phosphoric  Acid  ...... 

3.86 

Chlorine 

.08 

Sihca 

16.02 

Pounds  carried  off 

17 

68 

16 

80 

No.  X. 


Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Oxide  of  Iron. . . . 
Sulphuric  Acid.  . . 
Phosphoric  Acid . . 

Chlorine 

Silica 

Pounds  carried  off. 


ITon 
Turnips. 


7.14 
.86 

2.31 
.91 
.23 

2.30 

L29 
.61 

1.36 


Turnip 
Tops. 


4.34 

.84 

3.61 

.48 

.13 

1.81 

1.31 

2.35 

.13 


ITon 
Potatoes. 


27.82 
.93 
1.03 
2  63 
.26 
6.81 
6  25 
2.13 
2.14 


2000  lbs. 

Red 
Clover. 

31.41 
8.34 

43.77 

5.25 

.23 

7.05 

10.28 
5.86 
5.81 


17 


15 


50 


118 


ANALYSIS. 


233 


No.  XI. 


Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Oxide  of  Iron. . . 
Sulphuric  Acid. . 
Phosphoric  Acid 

Chlorine 

Silica 


Pounds  carried  off. 


2000  lbs. 

2000  lbs. 

Meadow 

Cabbage. 

Hay. 

Water  9-10 

18.11 

5.25 

1.35 

9.20 

22.95 

9.45 

6.75 

2.70 

1.69 

.25 

2.70 

9.60 

5.97 

5.60 

2.59 

2.60 

37.89 

.35 

:oo 


45 


No.  XII. 

Composition  of  Ashes,  leached  and  unleached,  showing  their  manurial 
value : 


Oak 
unleached. 

Oak 
leached. 

Beech 
unleached. 

Beech 
leached. 

Potash 

84 
56 
750 
45 
6 
12 
35 

548 
6 

8 

158 

29 

634 

113 

8 

14 

31 

2 

Soda 

Lime 

426 

Magnesia . . 

70 

Oxide  of  Iron 

15 

Sulphuric  Acid 

Phosphoric  Acid 

57 

Chlorine 

234 


Al^ALYSIS. 


No.  XIII. 


Potash 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 

Oxide  of  Iron . . 
Sulphuric  Acid. 
Phosphoric  Acid 
Chlorine 


Birch 

Seaweed 

leached. 

unleached. 

180 

210 

522 

94 

30 

99 

5 

3 

248 

43 

52 

^98 

Bitumin- 
ous Coal 
unleached. 


2 
2 

21 
2 

40 
9 
2 
1 


No.  xiy. 

TOBACCO. 

Analysis  of  the  ash  of  the  Plant  [Will  &  Fresenius] — 

Potash 19.55 

Soda 0.2'7 

Magnesia 1 1.07 

Lime 48.68 

Phosphoric  Acid ; , 3.66 

Sulphuric  Acid 3. 29 

Oxide  of  Iron 2.99 

Chloride  of  Sodium 3.54 

Loss.... 6.95 


100.00 


Analysis  of  the  ash  of  the  Root  [Berthier] — 

Soluble  Matter 12.8 

Insoluble  Matter ST.*? 

The  Soluble  parts  consist  of  nearly — 

Carbonic  Acid 10.0 

Sulphuric  Acid. 10.3 

Muriatic  Acid  (Chlorine,  &c.) 18.26 

Potash  and  Soda 61.44 


100.00 


ANALYSIS. 


235 


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236 


ANALYSIS. 


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ANALYSIS. 


237 


No.  XYII. 

Amount  of  Ash  left  after  burning  1000  lbs.  of  various  plants,  ordina- 
rily dry: 

its  straw 


Wheat 
Barley 
Oats 
Rye 

Indian  Corn 
Pea 
Bean 

Meadow  Hay- 
Clover 
Rye  Grass  " 
Potato 
Turnip 
Carrot 


20 
30 
40 
20 
15 
30 
30 
60 
90 
95 
8 
5 
15 


to  100 


15 

8 
20 


No.   XVIII. 
MANURES. 

HOESE  MANURE. 

Solid  Dung — 

Combustible  Matter 19.68 

Ash 3.07 

Water 77.25 

Composition  of  the  Ash—  10.000 

Silica 62.40 

Potash 11. .30 

Soda 1.98 

Oxide  of  Iron 1.17 

Lime 4  63 

Magnesia 3.84 

Oxide  of  Manganese 2. 1 3 

Phosphoric  Acid 10.49 

Sulphuric  Acid 1.89 

Chlorine 0.03 

Loss , 0.14 


100.00 


238  ANALYSIS. 

No.  XIX. 

NIGHT     SOIL. 

Solid  (Ash)  - 

Earthy  Phosphates,  and  a  trace  of  Sulphate  of  Lime 100 

Sulphate  of  Soda  and  Potash,  and  Phosphate  of  Soda. ...  8 

Carbonate  of  Soda 8 

Silica 16 

Charcoal  and  Loss 18 

150 

Urine — 

Urea* 30.10 

Uric  Acid 1.00 

Sal  Ammoniac* 1.50 

Lactic  Acid,  etc 17.14 

Mucus .32 

Sulphate  of  Potash 3.71 

Sulphate  of  Soda 3.16 

Phosphate  of  Ammonia* 1.65 

Earthy  Phosphates 3.94 

Salt  (Chloride  of  Sodium)  : 4.45 

Silica 0.03 

67.00 
Water 983.00 

1000.00 
♦  Supply  Ammonia. 


No.  XX. 

cow   MANURE. 

Solid  (Ash)— 

Phosphates 20.9 

Peroxide  of  Iron 8.8 

Lime 1.5 

Sulphate  of  Lime  (Plaster) 3.1 

Chloride  of  Potassium trace 

Silica 63.7 

Loss 2.0 

100.0 


ANALYSIS.  239 

ItsTo.  XXI. 
COMPARATIVE  YALTJE  OP  THT3  URINE  OF  DIFFERENT  ANIMALS. 

Solid  Matter. 

Organic.                      Inorgania  Total. 

Man 23.4                                 7.6  31 

Horse 27.                                  83.  60 

Cow 50.                                 20.  70 

Pig 56.                                 18.  74 

Sheep 28.                                12.  40 


No.  XXII. 

GUANO. 

Water 6.40 

Ammonia 2,71 

Uric  Acid 34.70 

Oxalic  Acid,  etc 26.79 

Fixed  Alkaline  Salts. 

Sulphate  of  Soda 2.94 

Phosphate  of  Soda 48 

Chloride  of  Sodium  (salt) 86 

Earthy  Salts. 

Carbonate  of  Lime 1.36 

Phosphates 19.24 

Foreign  Matter. 

Silicious  grit  and  sand 4.52 

100.00 


Composition  of  Fresh  Farm-yard  Manure,  (composed  of  Horse,  Pig, 
and  Cow  Dung,  about  14  days  old).  Analysis  made  Nov.  3d.  1854^ 
by  Dr.  Augustus  Yoelcker,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  Eoyal  Ag- 
ricultural College,  Cirencester,  England : 

Water 66.17 

Soluble  Organic  Matter 2.48 

*  Soluble  Inorganic  Matter  (Ash) — 

Soluble  Silica  (silicic  acid) 237 

Phosphate  of  Lime 299 

Lime 066 

Magnesia Oil 

Potash 573 

*  Containing  Nitrogen 149 

Equal  to  Ammonia .181 


2i0  ANALYSIS. 

Chloride  of  Sodium 030 

Carbonic  Acid  and  loss 218 

1.54 

♦insoluble  Organic  Matter 25.76 

Insoluble  Inorganic  Matter  (Ash) — 

Soluble  Silica    (    .,.  .        ..) 96*7 

Insoluble  Silica  \  ''^^^^"  ^^'^^  \ 561 

Oxide  of  Iron,  Alumina,  with  Phosphates 596 

(Containing  Phosphoric  Acid,  .118) 
(Equal  to  bone  earth,  .386) 

Lime 1.120 

Magnesia , .,  — .......     .143 

Potash 099 

Soda 019 

Sulphuric  Acid 061 

Carbonic  Acid  and  loss 484 

4.05 


100.00 
According  to  this  analysis  one  ton  (2,000  lbs.)  Farm-yard  Manure  con- 
tains— 

Soluble  Silica  (silicic  acid) 24     lbs. 

Ammonia  (actual  or  potential) 15f 

Phosphate  of  Lime 13^o 

Lime 23jo 

Magnesia.  , —       3|o 

Potash 13i 

Soda If 

Common  Salt .".'; ^o 

Sulphuric  Acid 2^ 

Water 132:i| 

Woody  Fibre,  etc    5*79 

Of  course  no  two  samples  of  Farm-yard  Manure  are  exactly  of  the 
same  composition.  Tiiat  analyzed  by  Dr.  Voelcker  was  selected 
-with  much  care,  as  representing  a  fair  average. 


GREEN   SAND   MARL   ( OF   NEW   JERSEY). 

Protoxide  of  Iron 15.5 

Alumina 6.9 

Lime 5.3 

Magnesia 1.6 

Potash 4.8 

*  Containing  Nitrogen 494 

Equal  to  Ammonia .599 

The  whole  Manure  contains  Ammonia  in  a  free  state 034 

»        '        "  "  "         in  the  form  of  salts 088 


ANALYSIS.  241 

Soluble  Silica 32.4 

Insoluble  Silica  and  Sand 19.8 

Sulphuric  Acid 6 

Phosphoric  Acid 1.3 

"Water 8.0 

Carbonic  Acid,  etc 3.8 

lOO.O 
This  is  an  average  of  three  analyses  copied  from  Prof.  Geo.  H.  Cook's 
report  of  the  Geology  of  New  Jersey.     According  to  this  estimate 
one  ton  (2000  lbs.)  of  Green  Sand  Marl  contains — 

Lime 106  lbs. 

Magnesia 32    " 

Potash   96    " 

Soluble  Silicic  Acid 648    " 

Sulphuric  Acid 12    " 

Phosphoric  Acid 26   " 

(Equal  to  Phosphate  of  Lime  56^  lbs.) 

For  the  analysis  of  fertile  and  barren  soils,  see  page  63. 
11 


THE  PRACTICAL  FARMER, 


THE  PRACTICAL  FARMER. 


Who  is  \hQ  practical  farmer  f  Let  us  look  at  two 
pictures  and  decide. 

Here  is  a  farm  of  100  acres  iu  ordinary  condition. 
It  is  owned  and  tilled  by  a  hard-working  man,  who, 
in  the  busy  season,  employs  one  or  two  assistants. 
The  farm  is  free  from  debt,  but  it  does  not  produce 
an  abundant  income;  therefore,  its  owner  cannot 
afford  to  purchase  the  best  implements  or  make 
other  needed  improvements ;  besides,  he  don't 
helieve  in  such  things.  His  father  was  a  good  solid 
farmer;  so  was  his  grandfather;  and  so  is  he,  or 
he  thinks  he  is.  He  is  satisfied  that  "  the  good  old 
way  "  is  best,  and  he  sticks  to  it.  He  works  from 
morning  till  night ;  from  spring  till  fall.  In  the 
winter  he  rests,  as  much  as  his  lessened  duties  will 
allow.  During  this  time,  he  reads  little,  or  nothing. 
Least  of  all  does  he  read  about  farming.  He  don't 
w^ant  to  learn  how  to  dig  potatoes  out  of  a  book. 
Book  farming  is  nonsense.  Many  other  similar  ideas 
keep  him  from  agricultural  reading.  His  house  is 
comfortable,  and  his  barns  are  quite  as  good  as  his 


246  THE    PRACTICAL    FARMER. 

neighbors',  while  his  farm  gives  him  a  living.  It 
is  true  that  his  soil  does  not  produce  as  much  as  it 
did  ten  years  ago ;  but  prices  are  better,  and  he  is 
satisfied. 

Let  us  look  at  his  premises,  and  see  how  his  affairs 
are  managed. .  First,  examine  the  land.  Well,  it  is 
good  fair  land.  Some  of  it  is  a  little  springy,  but  it 
is  not  to  be  called  loeb.  When  first  laid  down,  it  will 
produce  a  ton  and  a  half  of  hay  to  the  acre — it  used 
to  produce  two  tons.  There  are  some  stones  on  the 
land,  but  not  enough,  in  his  estimation,  to  do  harm. 
The  plowed  fields  are  pretty  good ;  they  will  produce 
35  bushels  of  corn,  13  bushels  of  wheat,  or  30  bushels 
of  oats  per  acre,  when  the  season  is  not  dry.  His 
father  used  to  get  more  ;  but,  somehow,  the  weather 
is  not  so  favorable  as  it  was  in  old  times.  He  ha^ 
thought  of  raising  root  crops,  but  they  take  more 
labor  than  he  can  afford  to  hire.  Over  in  the  back 
part  of  tlie  land  there  is  a  muck-hole,  which  is  the 
only  piece  of  worthless  land  on  the  whole  farm. 

ISTow,  let  us  look  at  the  barns  and  barn-yards. 
The  stables  are  pretty  good.  There  are  some  wide 
cracks  in  the  siding,  but  they  help  to  ventilate,  and 
make  it  healthier  for  the  cattle.  The  manure  is 
thrown  out  of  the  back  windows,  and  is  left  in  piles 
under  the  eaves  of  the  barn.  The  rain  and  sun  make 
it  nicer  to  handle.  The  cattle  have  to  go  some  dis- 
tance for  water ;  and  this  gives  them  exercise.  All 
of  the  cattle  are  not  kept  in  the  stable ;  the  fatten- 
ing stock  are  kept  in  the  various  fields,  where  hay  is 
fed  out  to  them  from  the  stack.     The  barn-yard  is 


THE    PKACTICAL    FARMER.  247 

often  occupied  by  cattle,  and  is  covered  with  their 
manure,  which  lies  there  until  it  is  carted  on  to  the 
land.  In  the  shed  are  the  tools  of  the  farm,  consist- 
ing of  carts,  plows — not  deep  plows:  this  farmer 
thinks  it  best  to  have  roots  near  the  surface  of  the 
soil  where  they  can  have  the  benefit  of  the  sun's  heat, 
— a  harrow,  hoes,  rakes,  etc.  These  tools  are  all  in 
good  order;  and,  anlike  those  of  his  less  prudent 
neighbor,  they  are  protected  from  the  weather. 

The  crops  are  cultivated  with  the  plow  and  hoe,  as 
they  have  been  since  the  land  was  cleared,  and  as 
they  always  will  be  until  this  man  dies. 

Here  is  the  '  practical  farmer '  of  the  present  day- 
Hard  working,  out  of  debt,  and  economical, — of  dol- 
lars and  cents,  if  not  of  soil  and  manures.  He  is  a 
better  farmer  than  two-thirds  of  the  three  million 
farmers  in  the  country.  He  is  one  of  the  best  farm- 
ers in  his  town — there  are  but  few  better  in  the 
county,  not  many  in  the  State.  He  represents  the 
better  average  class  of  his  profession. 

"With  all  this,  he  is,  in  matters  relating  to  his  busi- 
ness, an  unreading,  unthinking  man.  He  knows 
nothing  of  the  first  principles  of  farming,  and  is  suc- 
cessful by  the  indulgence  of  nature,  not  because  he 
imderstands  her,  and  is  able  to  make  the  most  of  her 
assistance. 

This  is  an  unpleasant  fact,  but  it  is  one  which 
cannot  be  denied.  We  do  not  say  this  to  disparage 
the  farmer,  but  to  arouse  him  to  a  realization  of  his 
position,  and  of  his  power  to  improve  it. 

But  let  us  see  where  he  is  wrong. 


248  THE   PRACTICAL   FAEMER. 

He  is  wrong  in  thinking  that  his  land  does  not 
need  draining.  He  is  wrong  in  being  satisfied  with 
one  and  a  half  tons  of  hay  to  the  acre  when  he  might 
easily  get  two  and  a  half.  He  is  wrong  in  not 
removing  as  far  as  possible  every  stone  that  can 
interfere  with  the  deep  and  thorough  cultivation  of 
his  soil.  He  is  wrong  in  reaping  less  than  his  father 
did,  when  he  should  get  more.  He  is  wrong  in  as- 
cribing to  the  weather,  and  similar  causes,  what  is 
due  to  the  actual  impoverishment  of  his  soil.  He  is 
wrong  in  not  raising  turnips,  carrots,  and  other 
roots,  which  his  winter  stock  so  much  need,  when 
they  might  be  raised  at  a  cost  of  less  than  one-third 
of  their  value  as  food.  He  is  wrong  in  considering 
worthless  a  deposit  of  muck,  which  is  a  mine  of 
wealth  if  properly  employed.  He  is  wrong  in 
ventilating  his  stables  at  the  cost  of  heat  He  is 
wrong  in  his  treatment  of  his  manures,  for  he  loses 
more  than  one  half  of  their  value  from  evaporation, 
fermentation,  and  leaching.  He  is  wrong  in  not 
having  water  at  hand  for  his  cattle — their  exercise 
detracts  from  their  accumulation  of  fat  and  the 
economy  of  their  heat,  and  it  exposes  them  to  cold. 
He  is  wrong  in  not  protecting  his  fattening  stock  from 
the  cold  of  winter ;  for,  under  exposure  to  cold,  the 
food,  which  would  otherwise  be  used  in  the  forma- 
tion oifat,  goes  to  the  production  of  the  animal  heat 
necessary  to  counteract  the  chilling  influence  of  the 
weather,  p.  44.  He  is  wrong  in  allowing  his  manure 
to  lie  unprotected  in  the  barn-yard.  He  is  wrong 
in  not  adding  to  his  tools  the  deep  surface  plow,  the 


THE    PRACTICAL    FAKMEK.  249 

sub-soil  plow,  the  cultivator,  and  many  other  imple- 
ments of  improved  construction.  He  is  wrong  in 
cultivating  with  the  plow  and  hoe,  those  crops  which 
could  be  better  or  more  cheaply  managed  with  the 
cultivator  or  horse-hoe.  He  is  wrong  in  many  things 
more,  as  we  shall  see  if  we  examine  all  of  his  yearly 
routine  of  work.  He  is  right  in  a  few  things ;  and 
but  a  few,  as  he  himself  would  admit,  had  he  that 
knowledge  of  his  business  which  he  could  obtain  in 
the  leisure  hours  of  a  single  winter.  Still  he  thinks 
himself  a  practical  farmer.  In  twenty  years,  we 
shall  have  fewer  such,  for  our  young  men  have  the 
mental  capacity  and  mental  energy  necessary  to  raise 
them  to  the  highest  point  of  practical  education,  and 
to  that  point  they  are  gradually  but  surely  rising. 
We  have  far  fewer  now  than  twenty  years  ago. 

Let  us  now  place  this  same  farm  in  the  hands  of 
an  educated  and  understanding  cultivator;  and  at 
the  end  of  ^nq  years,  look  at  it  again  : 

He  has  sold  one  half  of  it,  and  cultivates  but  fifty 
acres.  The  money  for  which  the  other  fifty  were 
sold  has  been  used  in  the  improvement  of  the  farm. 
The  land  has  all  been  under-drained,  and  shows  the 
many  improvements  consequent  on  such  treatment. 
The  stones  and  small  rocks  have  been  removed,  leav- 
ing the  surface  of  the  soil  smooth,  and  allowing  the 
use  of  the  sub-soil  plow,  which,  with  the  under-drains, 
has  more  than  doubled  the  productive  power  of  the 
farm.  Sufiicient  labor  is  employed  to  cultivate  with 
improved  tools,  extensive  root  crops,  and  they  invari- 
ably give  a  large  yield.     The  grass  land  produces  a 

11* 


250  THE   PEACTICAL   FAKMEB. 

yearly  average  of  2^  tons  of  hay  per  acre.  From  80 
to  100  bushels  of  corn,  30  bushels  of  wheat,  and  45 
bushels  of  oats  are  the  average  of  the  crops  reaped. 
The  soil  has  been  put  in  the  best  possible  condition, 
while  it  is  regularly  supplied  with  manures  containing 
everything  taken  away  in  the  abundant  crops.  Tlie 
principle  that  all  earthy  matters  sold  away  must  be 
bought  back  again,  is  never  lost  sight  of  in  the  regu- 
lation of  crops  and  the  application  of  manm'es.  The 
worthless  muck-bed  was  retained,  and  is  made  worth 
a  dollar  a  load  to  the  compost-heap,  especially  as  the 
land  requires  an  increase  of  organic  matter.  A  new 
barn  has  been  built  large  enough  to  store  all  of  the 
hay  produced  on  the  farm.  It  has  stables,  which 
are  tight  and  warm,  and  are  well  ventilated  above  the 
cattle.  The  stock  being  thus  protected  from  the 
loss  of  their  heat,  give  more  milk,  and  make  more 
fat  on  a  less  amount  of  food  than  they  did  under  the 
old  system.  Water  is  near  at  hand,  and  the  animals 
are  not  obliged  to  over-exercise.  The  manure  is 
carefully  composted,  either  under  a  shed  constructed 
for  the  pui-pose  with  a  tank  and  pump,  or  is  thrown 
into  the  cellar  below,  where  the  hogs  mix  it  with  a 
large  amount  of  muck,  which  has  been  carted  in 
after  being  thoroughly  decomposed  by  the  lime  and 
salt  mixture. 

They  are  thus  protected  against  all  loss,  and  are 
prepared  for  the  immediate  use  of  crops.  'No  ma- 
nures are  allowed  to  lie  in  the  barn-yard,  but  they 
are  all  early  removed  to  the  compost  heap,  where 
they  are  preserved  by  being  mixed  with  carbona- 


THE    PK ACTIO AL    FAEMEK.  251 

ceous  matter.  In  the  tool  shed,  we  find  deep  sur- 
face-plows, sub-soil  plows,  cultivators,  horse-hoes, 
seed-drills,  and  many  other  valuable  implements. 

This  farmer  takes  one  or  more  agricultural  papers, 
from  which  he  learns  new  methods  of  cultiva- 
tion, while  his  knowledge  of  the  reasons  of  various 
agricultural  effects  enables  him  to  discard  the  injudi- 
cious suggestions  of  mere  hook  farmers  and  unedu- 
cated dreamers. 

Here  are  two  specimen  farmers.  ITeither  descrip- 
tion is  over-drawn.  The  first  is  much  more  care- 
ful in  his  operations  than  the  majority  of  our  rural 
population.  The  second  is  no  better  than  many  who 
may  be  found  in  America. 

"We  appeal  to  the  common  sense  of  the  reader  of 
this  work  to  know  which  of  the  two  is  the  jpraotical 
farmer — let  him  imitate  either,  as  his  judgment 
shall  dictate. 


FINIS. 


EXPLANATION  OF  TERMS. 


Absokb— to  soak  up  a  liquid  or  gas,  or  to  take  substances  from 

air  or  from  watery  solutions, 
Abstbact— to  take  from. 
Acid — sour  ;  a  sour  substance, 
Agricultube — the  art  of  cultivating-  the  soil. 
Alkali — the  direct  opposite  of  an  add^  with  which  it  has  a  ten- 
dency to  unite. 
Alumesta — the  base  of  clay. 

Analysis — separating  into  its  primary  parts  any  compound  sub- 
stance, 
Cabbonate— ^a  compoiind,  consisting  of   carbonic  acid  and  an 

alkali. 
Caustic — burning. 

Chlobide — a  compound  containing  chlorine. 
CLEVis^that  part  of  a  plow  by  which  the  drawing  power  is  at- 
tached. 
Decoimpose — to  separate  the  constituents  of  a  body  from  their 
combinations,  forming    simple    substances   into   new  com- 
pounds. 
Digestion — the  decomposition  of  food  in  the  stomach  and  in- 
testines of  animals  (agricultural). 
Dew — deposit  of  the  insensible  vapor  of  the  atmosphere  on  cold 

surfaces, 
ExcBEMENT — the  matter  given  out  by  the  organs  of  plants  and 
animals,  being  those  parts  of  their  food  which  they  are  una- 
ble to  assimilate. 
Fermentation — a  kind  of  decomposition. 
Gas — air — aeriform  matter. 
Ingredient — component  part. 


254  EXPLANATION   OF   TERMS. 

Inorganic — mineral,  or  earthy,  not  organized  by  animal  or  veg- 
etable life. 
MouLDBOARD — that  part  of  the  surface-plow  which  turns  the 

sod. 
Mulching — covering  the  soil  with  litter,  leaves,  or  other  refuse 

matter.     See  p.  212. 
Neutralize — to  overcome  the  characteristic  properties  or  effects 

of. 
Organic  Matter — that  kind  of  matter  which  possesses  or  has 

possessed  an  organized  (or  living)  form. 
Oxide — a  compound  of  oxygen  with  a  metal. 
Phosphate — a  compound  of  phosphoric  acid  with  an  alkali. 
Pungent — pricking. 
Putrefaction — rotting. 
Saturate — to  fU  the  pores  of  any  substance,  as  a  sponge  with 

water,  or  charcoal  with  ammonia. 
Silicate — a  compound  of  silicic  acid  with  an  alkali. 
Soluble — capable  of  being  dissolved. 

Solution — a  liquid  containing  another  substance  dissolved  in  it. 
Saturated  Solution — one   which  contains  as  much  of   the 

foreign  substance  as  it  is  capable  of  holding. 
Spongioles — the  absorbent  ends  of  roots. 
Sulphate — a  compound  of  sulphuric  acid  with  an  alkali 
Vapor — (see  "gas"). 


!(r^