FARMERS' REGISTER. 



155 



Indian corn from Africa, and the country of the 

 Nile furnishes us wiih peas and beans. 



The population QfChina is immense and support- 

 ed wholly Horn the soil. The allowance for a 

 China man is indeed small, as three dollars per year 

 will serve to keep soul and body toyeiiier ; but 

 even to earn this, every person does and nuist work. 

 Amon<:^ this people airricuhure is carried to an ex- 

 traordinary degree of perfection. With us too larii;e 

 a portion ofour people are devoted to trade ; and ihe 

 pursuits of rural industry are deserted for the ha- 

 zards of speculation and commercial lilii. As we 

 cross our breeds oi'cattle that we may improve our 

 stock, it would be fortunate if we could so cross 

 our farmers and merchants that the habits of exact- 

 ness in keeping accounts and the enterprise and 

 spirit of progress, which distinguish the mercantile 

 classes, could be in some n)easure transferred or 

 inliised into our farmers. i 



Great advantages seem to result from the mere j 

 mechanical mixture of soils, as l()r example, of sand } 

 with clay, or clay with sand. This seems to affect j 

 their electro-motive power and induces absorption | 

 in the plant. Besides the combined acids which - 

 exist in soils, there is often much free acid which ; 

 requires to be taken up or neutralized. There is 

 much siliceous matter in all soils. The oxides of | 

 diH'erent minerals abound in soils. These have j 

 different electric powers, which require to be under- j 

 stood and regarded. Many soils which have lieen 

 thought to contain no vegetable matter, have l>een 

 (bund upon examination to contain eighty-six tons 

 of vegetable matter to an acre. Fields of barren 

 sand have been rendered product ve by the appli- 

 cation of alkaline substances. These soils have 

 been ashed, and portions of vegetable matter have 

 been removed by two successive crops. In some 

 soils there is a large amount of vegetable matter in 

 an insoluble state. In this case it must by some 

 application be rendered soluble, and this can easily 

 be done. 



The geological formation of soils is of much im- 

 portance. A soil with a loose substratum must 

 lose much by infiltration.* The farmer will find 

 great advantages from the chemical analysis of his 

 soils. A g.'-oss analysis will not show the difi'er- 

 ences which exist. It must be conducted with a re- 

 finement of skill and care. The influenceof half a 

 bushel of gypsum spread upon an acre of land has 

 been known to render it ieriile. It seemed a mere 

 drop in the bucket, yet it produced a surprising 

 difl'erence in the crop. Gypsum has not the same 

 efl'ect on all soils. If the soil abounds in the in- 

 gredients which are applied, they are thrown away. 

 If a soil, for example, contains 1.5 percent, oi' phos- 

 phate of lime, it does not require the application of 

 bone manure. So of lime where lime abounds. — 

 Thesoil of the banks oithe Nile, probably the most 



* The Dr. here gave another pointed reference to the 

 impure state of the well waterof Boston, which was felt 

 like an electric shock in <^he abdominal tnuscles of tlie 

 representatives from the country; ( the Boston gentlemen 

 are too far gone in this matter to feel at all,) and made 

 them think at once of resigning their seats or removing 

 the seatof government. There are salts cf iime enou^^h 

 in the waterof Boston v/eils drank every yp;ir, io make 

 ten statues as largo as Lofs wiie ! and as to the other 

 impurities which exist in it, according to the Dr.'s ac- 

 count, they are not to he named. No apothecary's 

 mixture surpasses it ; and we know of nothing for which 

 it is suited but for wlii=ky or brandy punch ! 



fertile in the world, contain only 2.8 per cent, of 

 lime. The saline manures, such as carbonates, 

 sulphates, phosphates, &c. are absorbed by the 

 plants. They act as stimuli to vegetation ; and 

 change the soil so as to render it fertile. Saline 

 manures do not act always in the same way. They 

 act principally on the foliage. Tiiey excite action 

 in the plant, and carbonic acid gas is absorbed. 

 The decomposition of vegetable substances gives 

 out carbonic acid gas, v,?hich is immediately seized 

 upon by the plants. Large amounts of ammoniacal 

 gas are obtained from the putrefaction of animal 

 substances. This is a valuable manure. The car- 

 bonate ofammonia, to obtain it pure from the shops, 

 would be too expensive for a manure. We must 

 make it in our dung heaps. 



The nature of manures is just beginning to be 

 understood. The attention paid to it, when sci- 

 ence was imperfect, led to few valuable results. — 

 Two new acids were discovered by Berzelius in 

 1833— the crenic ami apocrcnic. They were dis- 

 covered in the Porlar well in Sweden. They are 

 found in all soils. They are among the cunsiiiu- 

 enls of peat. They are probably universal. These 

 acids must be neutralized. 



The opinions of farmers are often only blind 

 prejudices, though there are bright and honorable 

 exceptions to this remark. Facts which are uni- 

 versally admitted must have a foundation. These 

 acids are found in humus or geine— are found also 

 in our waters — in all soils — sometimes in union 

 with bases— sometimes in a free state. In respect 

 to these scientific investigations, we have as yet 

 oidy skimmed the surface. More, however, has 

 been effected within the last three years than ever 

 before since the history of man. 



Geological and agricultural surveys are credita- 

 ble to the state. The facts which they collect and 

 embody, may be rendered of the highest service. — 

 A state geologist might be fully occupied in the 

 analysis of soils. Agriculture, thus made the sub- 

 ject of scientific inquiry, would cease to be a drudge- 

 ry and attain its proper rank among the first em- 

 ployments of man. Agricultural books are many 

 of them full of absurdities, because the nature of 

 the elements of which they treat is so little under- 

 stood. Many have heard of the experiment of the 

 man who shut up a hen and fed her exclusively up- 

 on wheat. It was a matter of insoluble mystery 

 how, under such circumstances, she could obtain 

 lime enough to form ttie shells of the eggs which 

 she laid, which in truth contained a weight of lime 

 greater than the weight of her body. It was not 

 known that the wheal itself on which she was fed, 

 llirnished the linu; which she required. Chemistry 

 shovvb that lime enitis into iJie composition of 

 wheat. 



Every farmer has not a tas'e for science ; but 



some have, and this ta^te should be cultivated and 



encouraged. Suljecib- counecled with ao-riculture 



are well adapted for country lyceums. Here facts 



would be obtained from practical and observing 



minds. The action of manures should particularly 



I invite attention. Experiments in cultivation should 



{ be made on soils whose composiiiun is known ; and 



I products shoidd be exactly uoied and compared 



I with each other. 



I De Candoile, a distinguished Swiss philosopher, 

 I who has given particular attention to vegetable 

 I physiology, has treated of i.he action ofpoisons up- 

 ;nn'plants. Ther.'^ arc euhetance? whi'- h are poi- 



