426 



MONTHLY JOURIVAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



TABLE V....Br M. Berthier.'^ 



Ash of Wheat Straw. 



Sulphate of potash 00-4 



Chloride of potassium 03-2 



Silica 71-5 



Carbonate of lime 09-6 



Sulphate of lime trace 



Magnesia trace 



Oxide of iron trace 



O xide of manganese trace 



Silicate of potash 13 



Phosphate of lune 02-3 



Total 1000 



Although the practiced eye of the chemist 

 will readily perceive some disagreement be- 

 tween this Table and the lirst column of Table 

 4. he must acknowledge that these salts are 

 purely chemical, and occupy a prominent place 

 among chemical reagents. 



From the preceding discussion, (which might 

 be much extended.) we think it must be clear 

 that the relation of Chemistrj- to Agriculture is 

 intimate and interesting. All the material agents 

 employed in the nutrition and growth of plants 

 have the composition and affinities of chemical 

 bodies. The soil is a mixture of chemical com- 

 pounds, and so are atmo.spheric air, water, ma- 

 nure, the seed so^\^1. the plant produced, and 

 the seed gathered. We begin and end the pro- 

 cess of cultivation with the compounds and 

 agents well known iu Chemistry. The.se con- 

 clu.sions are true, whatever modifying or control- 

 ling influence otlier mysterious agents, such as 

 the vital power, may exercise over the u.snal 

 chemical affinities and relations of the bodies 

 employed. In a word. Agriculture is a chem- 

 ical art. 



In any department of Agricultare, therefore, 

 the Chemical Laboratorj- is needed. It .should 

 be amply provided with apparatus and chemical 

 agents for experiment, for illustration, and for 

 analysis. 



As Mineralogy and Geology- are both inti- 

 mately related to Chemi.«trj- and Agricuhure, 

 the Laboratorv- should be furnished with a cab- 

 inet of minerals and a collection of geological 

 specimens. 



But Geology is as closely related to Botanj-, 

 Zoology, Comparative Anatomy, Ornithology-, 

 and, mdeed. to all the useful and interesting 

 branches of Science connected with the animal 

 and vegetable kingdoms, as that is to Mmeralo- 

 gy, Chemistn,-, and Agriculture. In connection 

 with the Chemical Hall, ample collections might 

 be made in all the departments of Natural Sci- 

 ence. 



I have thus briefly considered what might be 

 appropriately attached to the Chemical Hall. — 

 Whatever is undertaken should be devised on 



* This table is from P.oussingault'a " Rural Econ- 

 otny," a work lioth practical tmd .scientific, and wor- 

 thy of a better Knglish dress than the one given it by 

 " George Law, Agriculturi.^t." 

 I8SG} 



a liberal scale. It should be v.orthy of the 

 princely gift of Smithson— worthy of the great 

 people he honored with his gift — worthy of the 

 Republican character and agricultural interests 

 of a wise and rapidlj- increasing nation. 



In the second place, the Agi-icnltural Depart- 

 ment should have a sufficient number of well- 

 endowed Professorships, to give instruction in 

 the branches of Science already mentioned. — 

 There should be — 



1st. A Professorship of Chemistrj-, designed 

 to teach the elementarv- principles of that Sci- 

 ence, the art of chemical manipulation, and the 

 best methods of chemical analysis. 



2d. A Profes.sorship of Agricultural Chemist- 

 rj-, to be filled only by a thorough chemist and 

 a skillful, scientific farmer. He should teach the 

 principles of Agricultural Chemistrj- — give in- 

 struction in the analysis of soils, manures, seed- 

 plants, and the like — and superintend an exper- 

 imental farm, which should be connected with 

 his department. In the Professorship, prov-ision 

 might be made, to a certain extent, for analyzing 

 the soils of the farmers and planters of the coun- 

 trj-, as they might desire. 



3d. A Professorship of Mineralogy and Geol- 

 ogj-, in which these sciences should be taught, 

 both in theorj' and practice. Minute geological 

 and mineralogical surveys of the adjacent coun- 

 trj- should be required of this Professorship. 



4th. A Professorship of Botany and Vegeta- 

 ble Physiology, organized on the same plan as 

 the preceding Professorship. 



5th. A Profes.sorship of Animated Nature, em- 

 bracmg Zoologj', Ornithology, Ichthjologj-, 

 Comparative Anatomy, and their cognate 

 branches of Natural Science. In any of these 

 departments. Assistant Professorships may be 

 added, if they should be found necessary. 



I cannot enter into the details which ought to 

 be observ-ed in the organization of these depart- 

 ments ; the duties of each should be clearly pre- 

 scribed and rigidlj- exacted. The instruction 

 given should be eminently practical, carrj-ing 

 the mind of the learner to the actual observation 

 of Nature, and making him familiar with theo- 

 retical and practical Agriculture, and with those 

 sciences to which Agriculture is closely re- 

 lated. 



In the third place, attention should be given 

 to the formation of manures and the improve- 

 ment of agricultural implements, and, perhaps, 

 I might add, of domestic animals. 



Respecting manures, two things should be 

 specially observed : — 1st. Means for testing 

 new methods of forming them and increasing 

 their quantitj- should be provided on the exper- 

 imental farm. 2d. Provision should be made 

 for discovering and making known the best 

 methods of preserving all kinds of manures, and 

 especiallj- those necessarilj- formed on evei-y 



