142 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



Peroxide of iron aud alinnhui 20. 6')i'» 



Lirno 5. :3tj0 



Magiicsiii 11.560 



Soda 3.410 



Carbouic acid 11. '-^38 



Pliospbori c acid aud potash, each a tracir. 



100. 000 



It lias not, therefore, a higli value as a fertilizer; tbc 11.5 parts of 

 magnesia wbicli it contains being its most important element. 



Hon. Clinton Lloyd, of Washington, District of Columbia, presented 

 a sample of "Clark's ammouiated bone," manufactured in Philadelphia, 

 Pennsylvania. Its composition is — 



Water, determined at 100° C 0.2000 



Organic matter 37.6500 



Soluble phosphoric acid ^- 0670 



Insoluble i)hosphoric acid y. 0787 



Lime ■- 19.2696 



. Sulphuric acid 4. 9648 



Alkalies 0.5000 



Silica 14.6699 



100. 0000 



Many letters have been received at this Department, from several 

 places in Texas, asking an explanation of what the writers call "poison- 

 soil." The phenomena of these soils are Trell described in a letter from 

 G. W. Danover, Breckinridge, Dallas County, Texas ; from which we 

 make the following extract : 



I send you a specimen ol our poison-soils. All our soils for many miles in every 

 direction are of the same character ; therefore I suppose one specimen would bo suffi- 

 cient. 



There is no perceptible difference between the poison-soil and that which surrounds 

 it. It is distinguished only by the premature decay of vegetation growing upon it. 

 It exists in limited areas, as far as I can learn, throughout the State, in every vaxiety 

 of soil. Sometimes cotton covering fifty acres dies on one plantation. "We can never 

 tell where it exists until we plant the ground in cotton, fruit-trees, or root-vegetables. 

 The natural grasses, prairie and mesqnite, grow well upon it. Timothy and clover 

 are not adapted to this soil and climate. Vegetation that derives most of its vitality 

 from the tap-root is more liable to die than that supported mainly through lateral 

 surface-roots. It does not affect injuriously cereals, corn, wheat, &c. Trees usually 

 grow one or two years before dying. Root- vegetables and cotton die and rot just be- 

 fore fully developing themselves. "* * * * The soil is loamy when properly culti- 

 vated, but very tenacious when wet. It is underlaid with a thick bed of soft lime- 

 stone. This is called the "black sticky land." It produces from twenty-five to 

 Seventy-five bushels of corn and from one-fourth to one and a half bales of cotton per 

 acre when not affected by the poison, as we call it. * , * * In procuring this speci- 

 men -I removed the dirt four inches below the surface, then cut a slice ten inches 

 deeper. The difficulty doubtless lies some distance below the surface, from the fact 

 that often one stalk of cotton will die, and another standing almost against it will 

 grow luxuriantly. On examiuatiou their roots will bo found to be different in shaiie, 

 the dead one having a straight root and the living one mostly lateral roots. 



The specimen of soil sent to the laboratory was very dark-colored— 

 nearly black — with a slight brown shade, and so hard that it was pul- 

 verized with difficulty. A preliminary qualitative examination showed 

 nothing new or nnusual in the soil; so, the cause of its peculiarity is to 

 be found in the proportions of the ordinary soil-ingredients, or in the 

 manner in which they are combined. Subjecting a sample of the soil, 

 well pulverized, to the action of cold distilled v.ater, we found but nine 

 hundredths of one per cent. (.09) soluble. Not satislied with this indica- 

 tion, we determined, by an ultimate analysis, to ascertain the exact com- 

 position of the soil, as the only reliable method of solving the problem. 

 The analysis gave the following composition in 100 parts : 



