16-i 



aqricultural communitr, of the inorcjanic elements becominff deficient in 

 quantity. Many, and perliaps, the greater portion of farmers, suppose 

 that they have necessarily supplied the soil Avith more or less of it, and all 

 vegetables possess the power to take it up, as it is easily soluble in water 

 slightly acidulated with any acid. Thus it is generally present in plants, 

 though sometimes in a very small amount. It does not appear so impor- 

 tant to the plant itself, as to the animals living upon it ; as iron is an 

 essential constituent of the blood of all vertebrated animals certainly, 

 if not of all animals ; and the only way by which it can generally be 

 taken into their systems in due quantity, is by their food. But in the 

 soil, iron is thought to be an important element, from the fact that it 

 greatly aids or promotes the formation of ammonia, or the retaining of 

 it in the soil, which, we have already said, is of great importance to the 

 growth af vegetation. To explain its action in the formation of ammo- 

 nia would carry us too deeply into the principles of chemistry for our 

 present purpose. This, however, is its greatest use, in rendering a soil 

 fertile. The salts of iron are sometimes so abundant in the soil, as to be 

 injurious to vegetation. They are, however, easily neutralized by the 

 application of lime. The salt of iron most usually present, being the 

 sulphate of iron, it can be converted from an injurious ingredient to a 

 most useful fertilizer, by the application of lime, thus forming plaster of 

 Paris, the iron being then simply an oxide, to act as described above. 



Oxide of Manganese. — The last, as well as the substance of the least 

 importance on our list, is the oxide of manganese. This is not so com- 

 mon a substance as the oxide of iron, neither is it generally familiar to 

 the farmer. It is formed, however, with the proper materials, if they 

 have but spread, in sufficient quantity, common barn-yard manure upon 

 it. This manure may be either what is called long or short manure ; 

 more commonly, however, it is the long, and not in the least composted. 

 This consists almost, if not wholly, of organic matter. It is true, that 

 in some districts of country, the organic portion of soils may be the 

 portion most readily exhausted. In such instances, organic matters are 

 the ones to be supplied. In other instances, it is the inorganic portion 

 that is first exhausted and requires to be supplied ; generally, however, 

 both of these kinds of elements are lessened rapidly by the removal of 

 crops, and need equally to be restored in some way to the soil that it 

 may retain its proper fertility. 



