DESULTORY NOTES. 



611 



spelled) is what g\veBa.mucila^7novs chsmic- 

 er and excellence to tliis soup. The powder 

 consists of nothing more than the leaves of the 

 sassafras cured in th^ shade, and then pounded 

 and sifted ; therefore, any family in the countrj- 

 can always have it in the hoose. It is on sale in 



the shops in the 3o*h. Thus, any one who will | their pretensions ! 



taJce the pains may, any day in the year have 

 a tareen of most palatable and very nutritious 

 soap, out of very ordinarj- materials 



^p^Some men pretend to despise these 

 '• small matters,' but put them within reach of 

 them and see how their actions square with 



DESULTORY NOTES OX A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS. 



There is in Edinburgh, connected with the [ order to verify his opinion, a minute analysis of 



Highland Agricultural Societj-, ^n" Agricultur- 

 al Chemical Association," conducted by Pro- 

 fessor Johnston. 



The laboratory of this Association contains sev- 

 en apartments, in which analytical operations 

 are continually carried on. 



It may serve to impress on the minds of those 

 who think it a mere trifle to analyze any sub- 

 stance, and expect chemists to do it for no con- 



the substance, provided they would agree to 

 publish the same. Since that, offer he has heard 

 no more of the action. 



Here, again. Members of Congress may have 

 an inkling of what the Smithsonian Institute 

 could dfi for Agriculture, if the prominent fea- 

 ture of its organization looked that way f Not 

 only might farmers get every substance and 

 earth analyzed, but here thev would have the 



sideration, to state that, in this extensive tabora- means of clipping the winss of various humbugs 

 tory, to analyze carefully three different oil- 

 cakes, so that the Professor might feel perfectly 

 confident of the result, it took ?fim and two of 

 his Sissisiaims three months. He has five assist- 

 ants constantly employed. Some of the practi- 

 cal benefits to the farmer arising from the analy- 

 sis of this single substance, oilcake, are indica- 

 ted by the propositions which will be found on 

 another page. 



Members of Congress may form some idea of 

 what would have to be done in the Chemical 

 Laboratories of a great National Institution, 

 when they are told that, at this Agricultural 

 Chemical Association, deriving no assistance 

 from Government, there were 572 analyses 

 made in the year. The subjects were : Guano 

 and other manures : soils — stiff and fine clays : 

 limestones and marls ; iron and manganese ores ; 

 waters, turnips, oil cakes, refuse manufactures, 

 potatoes ; determination of nitrogen air, oats, 

 barley, oil-cake, slates, and other rocks, ashes of 

 oats, potatoes, (tubers and tops), wheat, barley, 

 and oil-cakes. It is a curious fact that the Com- 

 mittee of this Agricultural Chemical Association 

 in urgin? the propriety of a salary of a little more 

 than S2.000 to Professor Johnston, refer to the 

 " risks incurred by him as achentist of the As- 

 sociation." Among these risks, say they, " ex- 

 posure to actions of damages, for advice given to 

 members, should not be lost sight of During 

 the last six months, an action was raised against 

 him for an opinion given at one of the monthly 

 meetinss. as to the value and use of an English 

 artificial manure, the effect of which was alleged 

 to be a depreciation of the price of tlie compound, 

 and for which damages to the extent of fifty 

 thou.sand dollars were claimed. Professor 

 Johnston offered to make for the patentees, in 



that are let loose, in succession, one year after 

 another, to amuse or fleece the agricultural or 

 horticultural communities. But we should re- 

 member they are not agiculturists or horticultur- 

 ists that most efficiently electioneer in the pot- 

 houses ! 



Suppose half as much to be taken out of the 

 Treasury for ihe diSusion of aaricultural know- 

 ledge, and the construction of agricultural high- 

 ways, as is done annually for the warlike ma- 

 chinerj- of the Republic ! Why, for military 

 surveys alone it is proposed to pay more than 

 $100,000 next year ! 



In illustration of the ad^-antage8 derived from 

 the Scotch Association, one practical farmer 

 specifies a case in which Professor Johnston, on 

 application, sho'vs-ed him how he could himself 

 make a certain manure, which he was aboat to 

 buy, at a cost so much less than it was sold for. 

 as to save him SlOO on the quantity he should 

 have purchased at that time. The same Lo- 

 thian farmer says : " I have no doubt the day is 

 not far distant when an intelligent agriculturist 

 ■will, on entering a farm, obtain correct analyses 

 of his soils and subsoils of the manures he uses, 

 and oi the crops he rears. In this way he will 

 be able to keep such a Dr. and Cr. account, 

 between his soils and manures on the one hand, 

 and his produce on the other, as will enable him 

 to know what substances to apply so as, with 

 the assistance of tlie mechanical improvements 

 oi the soU. to produce an amount of animals and 

 vegetables, from a certain breadth of land, which 

 even the most sanguine hardly dares to hope 

 for !" And he might have added that it would be 

 in the power of the farmer, by these means, to 

 calcalate. with a good deal of accuracy, how 

 much h:s l:ind is gaining or losing in fertilitj- 



