i.792. «'' ihe production of nitre. 6y 



THOUGHTS ON THE PRODUCTION OF NITRE. 



Few phenomena have occurred that are more unaccount- 

 able than those which relate to the production of nitre ; 

 and the experiments that have been iwade on this subject 

 have afforded results extremely different, in circumstances 

 that seemed to be efsentially the same. Hence it hap- 

 pens that the same procefs which produces abundajice of 

 nitre i^l one country, will yield none at all in another, 

 though conducted with equal care. 



I have never yet heard of an attempt to account for ' 

 this singular peculiarity. . It is in general supposed that 

 nitre is a fofsil production ; that it is generated in greatest 

 abundance in fat vegetable mould, which has been impreg- 

 nated with animal substances j but though rich vegetable 

 mould, impregnated with animal substances, yields nitre 

 on some occasions in abundance, in other, situations it 

 has been found to afford none at all. This seems to af- 

 ford a satisfactory proof that animal impregnation aljne is 

 not the efsential circumstance for the production of nitre. 



Vegetable mould is originally generated by the decay- 

 ing of vegetable substances in it. This position 1 believe 

 wiil not be disputed. If so, as there are a variety of ve- 

 getables that pofsefs qualities extremely different from 

 each other, it ought to follow that the soil which has been 

 generated by the decayed vegetables of one kind, may be 

 very different, in certain respects, from the soil that has 

 been produced by the decomposition of vegetables of an- 

 other clafs, though they may be both equally capable of 

 rearing the common kinds of plants that grow in Europe. 

 Two soils, therefore, may be equally lich, considered as 

 to their vegetative power, which are extremely dilsimilar. 

 in other respects. 



