No. 4. 



Important Discovery in Agriculture. 



125 



Importaut Discovery in Agriculture. 



We call attention to the following most interesting 

 article. It has long been our endeavour to bring into 

 general notice the theory of top-dressing, being con- 

 vinced that it is consistent with the economy of nature 

 — the instance liere recorded comes directly in aid of 

 that hypothesis, and proves indeed that nature in all 

 her ways is perfect; the only wonder being, that the dis- 

 covery had not long ago been made in exactly the way 

 in which it has now been brought about, namely, in 

 observing that " Nature, when unassisted and unob- 

 structed, possesses the power of renovation." The beau- 

 tiful simplicity of the doctrine strikes us with admira- 

 tion, and would almost incline to the belief of it, with- 

 out farther e.vperinient; we have, however, put it to 

 that test, and shall, with pleasure, render from time to 

 time an account of our success. 



In the 5th vol. of the Cabinet, p. 184, Mr. Priestley is 

 said to have preserved his grain from the etfects of frost 

 by throwing a covering of buckwheat straw over it, 

 remarking, that it was thus protected from the cold 

 winds, the grain appearing through the straw. We 

 strongly suspect, however, that the eflect was caused 

 by the renovating powers contained in the decomposing 

 vegetable covering, according to the principles here ad- 

 vocated. — Ed. 



In the Phalange, a Fourier paper published 

 at Paris, Sept. 8th, a novel discovery is de- 

 scribed, which, if true, will work a great 

 change in an important departinent of agri- 

 cultural labour. It is communicated to the 

 Paris print, by Charles Poillard and M. Ber- 

 nard, who dated their letter at Brest, August, 

 1841. It appears, that while they and some 

 of their friends, who farm their own estates, 

 were engaged in conversation on the subject 

 of agriculture, it was observed by one of them, 

 that that branch of industry was suffering 

 more from the want of capital and enterprise 

 than any other, and that nothing was to be 

 done witliout manure, which was every day 

 becoining more scarce and expensive. This 

 remark led to an inquiry into the properties 

 of manure, and particularly as to what provi- 

 sion nature had made in those uncultivated 

 regions, where there seems to be a vigorous 

 and luxuriant growth, without artificial as- 

 sistance. 



"In observing nature unassisted, or un- 

 thwarted, rather, by the hand of man in vege- 

 table reproduction, it is found that when the 

 seed is ripe it falls upon the ground, and then 

 the plant which has produced it, sheds its 

 leaves, or falls itself upon it in decay, and 

 covers and protects it from the weather, until 

 generation has commenced and the young 

 plant is able to grow up in health and strength 

 and full development, to recommence the same 

 routine of seeding and of reproduction. 



" From this it follows, that in nature, every 

 plant produces its own soil or Aumus, and that 

 the earth only serves to bear the plant, and 

 not to aid or nourish it in vegetation. The 



nourishment of plants is thus supposed to be 

 derived from air and water, heat and light, or 

 electricity; in different proportions, adapted 

 to the different varieties of vegetable nature." 



With this general notion in their minds, 

 and considering wheat to be, in present cir- 

 cumstances, one of the most important vege- 

 table substances, they agreed to try experi- 

 ments, and in October last undertook the fol- 

 lowing operations: — 



In a field which had been sown with rye, 

 because the land was deemed too poor for 

 wlieat, a plot of twelve square yards, untilled 

 and left without manure was carefully strewed 

 over with grains of wheat, and wheaten straw 

 was laid upon it closely, and about one inch 

 in thickness. In a garden, also, which had 

 been neglected several years, a few square 

 yards of earth were trodden over, and the 

 surface being made close and hard, some 

 grains of wheat were scattered on this hard- 

 ened surface, and a layer of straw one inch 

 in depth was carefully laid over it, and left, as 

 in the former case, to take its chance without 

 ulterior attention. And, in order to make 

 doubt impossible concerning the mere second- 

 ary functions of mineral earth in vegetable re- 

 production, twenty grains of wheat were sown 

 upon the surface of a pane of glass and covered 

 with some straw alone, as in the other case. 



The germination of the seed was soon ap- 

 parent, and most healthy in development. 

 " The winter has been rigorous," say these 

 correspondents, "for this part of the country, 

 and the earth has sometimes been frozen in 

 one solid mass to a depth of six inches in the 

 garden where the wheat was sown, and this 

 has happened several times during the win- 

 ter, to the great injury of many plants, and 

 even the entire destruction of some, while the 

 spots protected by the straw were never tho- 

 roughly congealed, nor were the grains of 

 wheat, though lying on the surface under the 

 straw, at all affected by the cold. During 

 the spring, excessive droughts prevailed, and 

 several times repeated, have prevented vege- 

 tation on the common plan from flourishing 

 in healthy progress, while our little spots of 

 wheat have hardly fell the inconvenience of 

 excessive dryness, for the earth, protected by 

 the straw, has never been deprived entirely 

 of moisture, and our blades of corn were flour- 

 ishing, when all around was drooping and un- 

 certain. To conclude then, we have tho- 

 roughly succeeded in our practical experi- 

 ment, and the wheat produced is of the finest 

 quality. The straw was more than six feet 

 high, and in the ears were 50, 60, and even 

 80 grains of wheat of full development, the 

 admiration of all who saw them ; and particu- 

 larly those which grew upon the pane of 

 glass, which were quite as healthy and as 

 large as those which grew upon the common 



