THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



285 



manure alone, which was applied at the same 

 time on the surrounding land. 



The same valuable work contains a caution 

 to the farmer which may save him (rom a dan- 

 gerous error. " He is not to suppose that cal- 

 careous earth can enrich a soil by direct means. 

 It destroys ihe worst I6e of prodtictiveness, [acidi- 

 ty] and uses to the greatest advaniaae the (ertiliz- 

 ini; powers of oilier maiiureH ; but of iiselT il 

 gives no leriility to soils, nor furnishes the least 

 food to growing plants." In oiher words, it is 

 the strong box /or ihe treasure, but not the treasure 

 itself. 



Lime also possesses the properly of making 

 eandy soils closer and firmer, and clayey soils 

 lighter. It is a mean between two extremes. 



I was conversing several years ago, with a 

 farmer from a sandstone district, who expressed 

 some surprise that 40 bushels of wheat could be 

 raised to the acre. '' i don't believe," said he. 

 " that our land could be made rich enough to 

 produce such a crop — it would lodge." I am 

 entirely of the same opinion, unless lime be em- 

 ployed. Stable manure is too stimulating — the 

 stem grows too rapidly — it is succulent and weak. 

 Whether the lime by combining with silica as- 

 sists in stiffening the stalk, or not, we may be 

 certain at least, that it yields nourishment as the 

 plant needs it ; and that every part will be healthy 

 and properly developed. 



Professor Emmons says in one of his Geologi- 

 cal Reports, that the most fertile soil formed ar- 

 tificially, by the mixture of different earths, 

 yielded on analysis 37 per cent, of carbonate ol 

 lime. As it is known, however, that lime in 

 some soils soon ceases to be a carbonate,* it is 

 probable that the real quantity of lime was even 

 greater than what was indicated by the analysis. 

 I have seen soils of remarkable (eriility, that natu- 

 rally contained a very large proportion of lime ; 

 and (here is no danger of fiaving too much when 

 it is properly applied. 



In drought, how are plants supplied with wa- 

 ter? Afier a shower, the soil may be wet enough 

 for a time ; but when the sun and wind dry the 

 surface, the moisture rises up from below by ca- 

 pillary attraction, as the melted tallow rises up 

 through the wick of a candle to supply the defici- 

 ency above. It is from (his circumslRncethat our 

 crops over deep beds of sand suffer less in dry 

 weather than where the subsoil is hard and imper- 

 meable—showing the benefit of deep and tho- 

 rough ploughing. In either case, however, as the 

 supply begins lo fail, and the soil grows drier, its 

 finest parts absorb moisture from the air ; and the 

 plants are constantly nourished by this invisible 

 fountain. 



But the different constituent parts of the soil 

 act with different degrees of energy.f Of the 

 earths, the silicious is the weakest.]: and the 

 aluminous the strongest, while lime holds an 

 intermediate position. Not one of these how- 

 ever would do by itself We want sand, be- 

 cause no soil consisting entirely of impalpable 



* Essay on Calcareous Manures. 



t Davy's Agricultural Chemistry. 



t "Sand e;ives little absorbent power.' — ^gric. 

 Chemistry. " Sand is incapable of absorbing moisture 

 from the atmosphere, or of retaining any valuable 

 vapor or fluid."— Es.say on Calcareous^Mamires. 



matters is fertile ;* and we want it to keep the 

 soil loose, so that the air can enter its pores, and 

 give up the water which it holds as vapor. — 

 Without such assistance, stiff clay or aluminous 

 earth would absorb but little moisture I'rom the 

 atmosphere, because it cakes, and shuts out the 

 air. Lime is also a valuable auxiliary in ren- 

 dering the soil more absorbent, independent of its 

 otiii'r iiidispi'iis.ible qunliiies. 



Biii the soil, however it may be tempered and 

 constituted, can never be absorbent m a high 

 degree without culture. Some crops indeed re- 

 quire more of this quality than others. Thus 

 Indian corn requires more than wheat ; and 

 wheat more than the grasses of '.he meadow. But 

 vegetable and animul matters are more absor- 

 bent than the earths ; and culture only can 

 properly introduce them into the soil. Even 

 when there, Irequent siirrina: is necessary to keep 

 the ground loose and tlie pores open, lor the free 

 admission ol the air and the easy passage of the 

 roots. 



Our coats sometimes become spotted with mud. 

 We apply the brush, but the bristles pass over 

 without efiecting its removal. What is the rea- 

 son 1 The clay which was suspended in the 

 water, forms a alaze or crust. It is just so with 

 the interior of a soil which has laid long un- 

 stirred. The clay forms a crust round Ihe in- 

 side of all the little cavities, preventing the free 

 circulation ol' air, and the inlroduciion of moist 

 vapor. The /ertilizing principles are excluded. 



The celebrated Tull, observing the extraor- 

 dinary effects of high culture, concluded that 

 plants fed on mellow earth, and Duhamel adopt- 

 ed the same notion. Their philosophy was 

 coarse, but their practice was fine. If we were 

 to follow their example, making plenty of fine 

 earth for the plants — not to Jeed on, but to drink 

 from, our crops might be greatly increased. One 

 of the chief errors of our husbandry is to culti- 

 vate too much land, because it is only half done. 

 Half the quantity with double the work on it, 

 and double crops would be found more profita- 

 ble. 



I have long believed, however, that no part of 

 the system required reformation more than our 

 management of manures. Manure has been 

 called the wealth of the fiirmer. When it is 

 taken out in the spring, it is commonly scatter- 

 ed over the ground in large lumps ; the plough 

 comes along and covers them, or not, as the 

 ca?e may be. If covered, they intercept the as- 

 cent of the moisture from below, especially in 

 dry seasons. If not covered, they lie wasting 

 on the ground — of very little value. Indeed some 

 excellent farmers have satisfied themselves that 

 strawy manure is unprofitable Icr summer crops. 



I am far from holding that opinion, however. 

 The error consists in not applying it to the soil 

 in the best manner. In the spring of 1840, I 

 had no ground liar field beets, but a small lot 

 where corn had grown for two years in succes- 

 sion. It was unfit for such a crop without ma- 

 nure ; and I had only fresh manure from the 

 stable, which has long been considered most 

 unfavorable to the beet. My necessity, however, 

 prevailed against opinion ; and I took the re- 

 sponsibility. From each line where the beeia 



* Agr. Chem. 



