THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



437 



ON ORGANIC MINERAL MANURES. 



By Prof. Charles Sprengel, (translated from the 

 German.) 



From the Gardeners' Chronicle. 

 Under the name olorganic mineral manures are 

 comprised iliose materials which (as the name im- 

 plies) are composed parily ol' organic remains and 

 partly of muieral substances ; thereto belong 

 mould, mud, ariificialiy prepared com|)osr, rubbish 

 collecled in the streets, the soil ot' sinks, &c. 

 These organic muieral manures are of great im- 

 portance in agriculture. 



1. Mould.— Mo\i\A 13 that kind of soil which 

 occurs olien in low lands, is very rich in humus, 

 and at times contains some remains ofplanis. lithe 

 situation is not too damp, and il the higher grounds 

 which surround it are composed of clay, argilla- 

 ceous, marly, ur calcareous substances, it generally 

 possesses such superior qualities that it can be 

 immediately carried a„d spread as manure, inas- 

 much as, under the circumstances just mentioned, 

 it consists ol'a mixture olearihs impregnated with 

 Immic acid and other materials strongly promoting 

 vegetation. i\\ however, ihia mouldls accumulat- 

 ed la wet places, and the surrounding heights are 

 composed ol sand, it is, generally speakingfoi'such 

 an anomalous composition that it will spoil any 

 ground on which it may be carried, unless it un- 

 dergoes some previous preparation, because in this 

 case it contains much protoxide of iron impreg- 

 nated with humic acid, and is, at the same lime, 

 very deficient in the earths combined with that 

 acid, as well as in the saline substances which 

 constitute a most essential nuiriment of plants. 

 The value of every sort oi' mould depends (as is 

 the case with all substances used as manures) on 

 its component pans. Hit is, iherefoie, intended 

 to form at once an accurate; idea o/'the effect which 

 this manure will produce, it is to be subjected to an 

 accurate chemical analysis; especially the organic 

 remains containing nitrogen, are to be inquired'^mto, 

 inasmuch as its value will entirely depend upon 

 their quantity. The generally received opinion, 

 however, is, that any sort of mould is only so far 

 useful as it supplies the soil with a greater quantity 

 of humus, I have already analysed several sorts 

 of mould which were used as manures, and lor the 

 sake of proving what I have just stated, I subjoin 

 the analysis of a mould which came Irom a valley 

 surrounded by sand-hills, and which, in its applica- 

 tion, did not produce any considerable result. 

 100,000 parts of it are composed of— 

 52,910 " silica and quartz. 

 31,269 " humic acid. 



10,200 " coal ofhuraus and vegetable remains. 

 2;312 " alumine, combined partly with humic 



acid, but mostly with silica. 

 1,554 " protoxide and oxide of iron, combin- 

 ed with humic and phosphoric acid. 

 0,044 " protoxide of manganese partly com- 

 bined with humic acid. 

 0,632 " lime, mostly combined with sulphuric 

 acid, but partly mixed with the 

 coal of humus. 

 0,146 " magnesia, partly combined with sili- 

 ca or mixed with the coal of humus. 

 0,870 " sulphuric acid, partly combined with 

 calcareous earth, partly mixed with 

 coal of humus and vegetable re- 

 mains. 



0,045 



0,008 

 0,010 



phosphoric acid, combined with ox- 

 ide of iron, 

 common salt, 



potassa, mostly combined with silica, 

 and (races of substances composed 



of nitrogen, 



100,000 parts. 



If an approximate calculation is made of the 

 (]uantity of humic acid which is combined with 

 ihe bases (alumine, nunganese and iron,) it will 

 be seen, that this mould contains at least 15,000 

 pans of Iree humic acid, acting as such. To iliis 

 IS to be added, that it contained neither humate of 

 lime, humate of potass, or soda, nor any substance 

 containing nitrogen ; and another reason why it 

 could not yield a good manure is, that if contained 

 a quantity of humic protoxide of iron. This mould 

 was, therefore, ol very liitle use ; so rnuch so, that 

 ah additional quantity of common manure was re- 

 quired. 



All those kinds of mould which are ascertained 

 to possess superior manuring qualities and which 

 are found in low places surrounded by clayey or 

 argillaceous hiils, are, on the other hand, composed 

 ot I he Ibllowing substances : — 33 per cent, humic 

 acid, 6 per cent, coal of humus, 9 p, c, alumina, 

 3 1-2 p, c, lime, 1-2 p, c, magnesia, 2 1-2 p, c. ox- 

 ide of iron, 1-2 p. c. oxide of manganese, 42 p, c. 

 silica and quartz or sand, 1-2 p, c. gypsum 3-4 p. c, 

 phosphate of lime, 1-4 p. c. potash, 1-10 p, c, com- 

 mon salt, and 1 1-2 p. c, organic remains contain- 

 ing nitrogen. From the quantity of bases here, it 

 is clear that such kinds of mould cannot contain 

 any free humic acid ; they consequently act very 

 differently Irom the last. At times, good kinds of 

 mould contain only 12-13 p. c. of humic acidj and 

 45-50 p. c. of sand. 



It would be superfluous for me todelail again in 

 what manner the humic acid of the mould is bene- 

 ficial to vegetation, as this has been repeatedly 

 Slated on lorm^ r occasions, II' it contain organic 

 remains composed of nitrogen, they form by their 

 decomposition nitric acid, which then, combined 

 with ihe different bases, Ibrms saltpetre, possessing 

 powerful manuring qualities, 



JMould improve?, chemically, all sorts of soil, 

 even that richest in humus not excepted, because 

 it contains generally from 50-60 p, c. mineral sub- 

 stances, amonast which are, as we have just seen, 

 some very efficient ones. The mould, or the hu- 

 mus contained in it, renders a clayey soil more 

 light, whilst a sandy soil is made thereby more firm 

 and kept in a damp state. It is, consequently, es- 

 pecially adapted for soils that burn, in which it is 

 often more efficacious than even dung. If the 

 soil is light and sandy, you will make use of a 

 mould somewhat clayey ; if, on the contrary, the 

 soil is clayey, a rather sandy mould is to be em- 

 ployed. 



The length of time during which the effects of 

 the mould may continue, cannot be easily deter- 

 mined, as it depends on its quality and the quantity 

 used. Large quantities improve the soil after even 

 20 and more years, whilst small quaniilies act but 

 lor a comparatively short time. 



Belbre the mould is ploughed in, it is to be well 

 pulverized, which will have the advantage ofcaus- 

 ing the seed of weeds which may be contained in 

 it to germinate, and of inducing the protoxide of 

 iron contained in every sort of mould sooner (o 

 cliange into the oxide. It is this protoxide which 



