FARMERS' REGISTER. 



399 



of man, at least, at a time "whereof the memory 

 ofmnn runneth not to the contrary," yet this most 

 perishable of all wood is nearly as sound as if cut 

 from the (brest last fall. A dried plant has parted 

 wilh most ofits sap, ihat moisture essential to the 

 commencement of vinous and acetous fermenta- 

 tion. DuriniT the very act of decay, (iom the 

 moment when its living functions have ceased, 

 new combinations of its elements beijin. It has 

 already he^un to be destroyed by ttie very agents 

 which save it lile. This is the be<:iiinii7g of 

 putrefiction. Let us not be deceived by a nfmie. 

 Putrelaction we always associate with disorustinff 

 effluvia. But in the wide sense we have defined 

 it, it includes also the fragrance of new hay- 

 Whenever bodies consist only of ox yiren, hydro- 

 gen, carbon, and a trace of azote, their putrefic- 

 tion is frairant, or inodorous ; when, in addition to 

 these, bodies contain large portions of azolized 

 matter, gluien, albumen,' or sulphur, and phos- 

 phorus, putrefaction evolves abominable odors. 

 To the agriculturist, putrefaction is always a 

 wholesome process, beneficial to his best interests, 

 when promoted and controlled. There is only one 

 •case, where this jirocess produces loss. This may 

 be termed destructive putrefaction ; it is produced 

 by heaping together areen plants, or sometimes 

 by moistening dry vegetable substances. Here 

 oxysenis rapidly absorbed, and finally the mass 

 takes fire, and burns. Up to the moment ofinflam- 

 niiiiion this is putrelaction. New hay, stacked too 

 sreen, ig a familiar example. Volumes of steam 

 are evolved, which proceed partly from the de- 

 composition of the plant; decompositions, and 

 recomposiiions rapidly ensue ; these are the fer- 

 ment, whT.h keeps up the action till the plants 

 burn. Doubtless, all green jilants, ploushed in, 

 undergo to a greater or less exient destructive 

 putrelaction, which succeeds the vinous and acid 

 fermentations, perhaps caused by the very rapidity 

 of these processes. Hence, in addition to the su- 

 gar, starch, and gum of the plant, we lose a large 

 portion of its other substances, by turning it Tn 

 green. The products of this rapid fermentation 

 have been but little studied. Happy the farmer 

 who never witnesses the process. He should 

 never induce it, and may generally prevent its 

 extension, when once begun. It is a dead loss to 

 him; but in all other cases of putrefaction, the 

 products are valuable. These vary according as 

 the process takes place: 1st, in air; 2d, at "the 

 surface of the ground ; or, 3d, deep in the interior 

 of the earth. The last need not detain us — it 

 produces all the varieties of coal. 



1st. In the free air, having access ro all parts of 

 a plant, putrefaction produces carbonic acid, nitric 

 acid, and water. Rut ordinarily, in the air, as 

 oxygen does not find ready access to all parts, a 

 portion of the hydrogen of the plant combines then 

 with the carbon, sulphur, phosporus and azote of 

 the plant, and we have carburetted, sulphuretted, 

 and phosphureticd hydrogen, and aiTimonia pro- 

 duced. Now, as these exist but in small quantity 

 in vegetables, the lossof h3drogen will not be very 

 great by drying the plants, and it is possible, that 

 the removal of ihese may cause the other elements 

 to enter into more stable combinations, better 

 fitted to produce geine. In all cases of putrefaction 

 I" I, ^ °PP" air, oxygen is absorbed, and an equal 

 pulk of carbonic acid given out, while, at the same 

 lime, the oxygen and hydrogen of the plant escape 



as water. The result is, that in the substance 

 left, carbon exists in a greater portion, than in an 

 equal weight of fresh vegetables. In all cases of 

 putrelaction, new products are formed ; these 

 again resolve into others ; and (his action goes on 

 till we have no longer any organic products; we 

 have only binary or inorganic substances left. All 

 our researches into the philosophy of the changes 

 in fermentation, terminate in these binary p'ro- 

 ducts, that is, in compounds, consisting of only 

 two elements. During all these various^changes, 

 a variety of substances must, of course be lornTed. 

 As the elements of living, so the elements of 

 dead plants, are continually changing into new 

 forms. Nature is admirably simple, and never 

 so learned as our books. We ought not to dig- 

 nify with a new name, every new product of 

 putreliiction, which we may fortunately arrest. 

 However various these products may be, whe- 

 ther products or educts of putrelaction or of our 

 analytical methods of separating them, all pu- 

 trelaciion at the surface of the earth, ends by 

 Ibrujing a brownish, black, powdery mass, which 

 combines with the alkaline, earthy and metallic 

 bases in ihe plant. This substance has been call- 

 ed " geine/' As I have elsewhere defined it, it 

 is the decomposed organic matter of the soil. It 

 is the product ol putrefaction; continually subjected 

 to air and moisture, it is finally wholly dissipated in 

 air, leaving only the inorganic bases of the plant, 

 with which it was once combined. Now, whe- 

 ther we consider this as a simple substance, op 

 compo.sed olsevera! others, called crenic, apocrenic, 

 puteanic, ulmic acids, glairin, apotheme, extract, 

 humus, or mould, agriculture ever has, and proba- 

 bly ever will consider it one and the same thing, 

 requiring always similar treatment to produce ir^ 

 similar treatment to render it soluble when pro- 

 duced; similar treatment to render it an effectual 

 manure. It is the end of all compost heaps to 

 produce soluble geine, no matter how compound 

 our chemistry may teach this substance to be. 



Among the many economical modes of pro- 

 ducing geine, the plougfiing in of vegetable mat- 

 ter, has held a high rank. Nature teaches us to 

 turn in the dried plant. Dried leaves are her fa- 

 vorite morsels, and the very fact, that Nature al- 

 ways takes the dried plant, from which to prepare 

 the food of growing vegetables, should have 

 taught us long ago, the wisdom of ploughing in 

 dry crops. The careful collecting and hus'band'ing 

 of dried leaves, their superior efficacy in forming 

 compost, bears witness to the facts stated in you'r 

 letter. That the use of dried leaves for compost 

 has not led to the turning in of dry crops, has pro- 

 bably arisen from the consideration, that a greater 

 quantity of geine may be produced, bv turning in 

 two or three srreen crops in a season, "than bygone 

 crop ol dry. This needs experimental confirmation. 

 The very act of tillage, on Mr. Keely's plan, by 

 exposing the insoluble geine of one crop, to air, 

 renders it soluble, while, at the same time, two or 

 three green crops must form a greater quantity of 

 salts. If only one crop can be turned in, let it be 

 dry. All our philosophy, and the late experiments 

 olyour agricultural friends, confirm this view. 



With great respect, I am very truly, yours, 

 Sam'l. L. Dana, 

 Rev. H. Colmax, 



Agricultural Cnmmissioncr. 



