NEW PUCLICATIONS. 237 



nure ; but we see, however, that the difficulty is easily remedied 

 by the alkalies, as lime, soda and potash. 



3. Organic Matters of Soils. Vegetables, by decay, undergo 

 in the process a species of fermentation, and are ultimately con- 

 verted into acids, which combine with the leaves and earths in the 

 soil. This is a different result than that obtained when the decay 

 takes place in bogs, as here there is rarely an alkaline or earthy 

 base with which they may combine. In a pure silicious soil, those 

 salts are not found ; and in those we see the necessity of adding 

 ashes, lime, ammoniacal manures, &c. The turning in of green 

 crops does not suffice in these cases. The following organic mat- 

 ters, according to Dr. J., are always present in soils, having ob- 

 tained them from soils procured in every quarter of the world. 



1. Crenic acid and crenates. 2. Apocrenic acid combined with 

 bases. 3. Humic acid. 4. Humin, or undecomposed vegetable 

 jmatter. 5. Extract of humus. 6. Another extract, not named j 

 jmd 7. Phosphoric acid combined with lime, alumina, or magnesia. 

 I Origin of Saline Matter in Soils. These are traced distinctly 

 :o the mineral kingdom. The vegetable acids which form soluble 

 salts in the earth, are formed from the constituents of the atmos- 

 jahere and water — as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. 



The saline matter of plants having mineral bases, are always 



present, but vary their proportions in different parts of the same 



iilant, as w^ell as in different kinds of vegetables. These saline bodies 



ire derived solely from the soil. The following analysis shows the 



elative quantities of those bodies in two very different plants : 



I Red Raspberry Bush. Indian Corn. 



Ashes. Ashes. 



Silica, 0.25 38.45 



Phos. of lime, 3.65 17.27 



Carb. lime, 3.40 2.50 



Potash, 5.24 13.82 



Soda, 0.50 trace. 



Oxide manganese, 1 . 00 



Carbonic acid and loss, 2.16 



Phos. of potassa, 2,25 



Carb. magnesia, 2.1G 



Sulphate of lime and magnesia,. .. . 0.79 



Silica, mechanically present, 0.0 1.70 



Alumina and loss, — — 165 . 



