208 



Aitr action and Repulsion. — The Soiling System. Vol. VI. 



ground, and should descend the first foot in 

 lour minutes, it would fall the next in one 

 minute : it is upon this universal law that 

 many of the remarks and experiments which 

 follow are grounded. 



Caloric. — Chemists have discovered that 

 this subtle agent pervades all nature, and con- 

 stantly opposes gravitation ; it is omnipresent, 

 exerting as great influence in the minutest 

 as in the most stupendous wonders of crea- 

 tion ; it may be collected from all parts of the 

 material world, and rendered evident to the 

 senses; it cannot be subject to gravitation, 

 for every experiment tends to prove that its 

 particles are mutually repellent. 



The world then is composed of matter (the 

 particles of which attract and are attracted 

 by each other) and of caloric (the particles of 

 which repel and are repelled by each other) ; 

 but the particles of matter attract and are at- 

 tracted by caloric, and those of caloric attract 

 and are attracted by matter — from these prin- 

 ciples, universally known and allowed, the 

 following facts appear to be clearly dedu- 

 cible. 



From the mutual repellency of the particles 

 of caloric, it is plain that they must have a 

 constant tendency to diffuse themselves equal- 

 ly over all space ; so that were there nothing 

 to oppose this repellent power, they would be 

 present everywhere in equal quantity; but 

 as this repellency is uniformly counteracted 

 by gravitation, they exist in larger quantities 

 in those bodies where the power of gravita- 

 tion is so far overcome as to leave more space 

 between their particles than in those which 

 are in greater subjection to this power, and 

 consequently have less space ; but as the 

 power of attraction increases as the particles 

 approach, and decreases as they recede from 

 each other, in the ratio of the squares of the 

 distance, the power necessary to overcome 

 or counterbalance it must vary according to 

 the same proportion; therefore if it required 

 a power as twenty to separate to any given 

 distance particles within each other's attrac- 

 tion, it would only require a power of thirty- 

 five to place them at a double distance. 



From hence it is plain that a much greater 

 power is necessary to balance attraction in 

 denser bodies than in those of less density : 

 and though in two bodies of unequal densities, 

 weifiht for weight, the least dense will con- 

 tain the largest quantity of caloric, yet space 

 for space the densest will contain considera- 

 bly the most ; thus a pound of cork would 

 have in itself more caloric than a pound of 

 lead, because it would contain more space be- 

 tween its particles, but a square inch of lead 

 •would contain much more than the same space 

 of cork, and of course in a more compressed 

 state, because the particles of the lead being 

 held together by a stronger power of attrac- 



tion than those of the cork, it would require 

 a proportionably greater power of caloric to 

 counterbalance attraction in the lead than in 

 the cork. As the particles of caloric are thus 

 mutually repellent, they are regulated by the 

 same law which holds good in all elastic bo- 

 dies, and exert, when compressed, a greater 

 force of repellency in proportion to the com- 

 pression ; and as the power of attraction in- 

 creases in the proportion of the squares of the 

 distance, so the repellency of caloric increases 

 in the proportion of the squares of the com- 

 pression : so, if we compress any quantity of 

 caloric into half the space which it formerly 

 occupied, its repellency will be thereby in- 

 creased four-fold ; thus exactly tallying with 

 the increase of attraction in matter. If then 

 any quantity of caloric is sufficiently com- 

 pressed to cause the repellency of its parti- 

 cles to overcome the attraction by which they 

 are drawn towards matter, it will fly off in 

 rays through the surrounding medium, and 

 that with a greater or less degree of force, 

 proportionate to the compression which it has 

 undergone. These are the most obvious pro- 

 perties of caloric, all arising from the power 

 of repulsion exerted by its particles. We 

 see then that the particles of matter attract, 

 and those of caloric repel each other : and 

 thus, though they mutually attract each 

 other, the repulsion of caloric opposes the at- 

 traction of matter, and the attraction of mat- 

 ter opposes the repulsion of caloric ; and that 

 the repellency of one and the attraction of 

 the other are regulated by the same princi- 

 ple. Upon this simple arrangement depend 

 all the infinitely varied, and seemingly com- 

 plicated processes of nature." 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 The Soiling System. 



Mr. Editor, — In reference to the soiling 

 system I have heard a fact stated which I 

 have not seen noticed in any publication, viz. 

 that clover fields that are not pastured in the 

 fall invariably suffer from the frost, especially 

 in open winters. The reason given is, that 

 the treading of the cattle makes the surface 

 of the soil more compact, and consequently 

 the clover roots are better protected. An in- 

 stance has been named to me of two adjacent 

 lots, of which one was pastured and the other 

 not, in which the difference in the crops was 

 equal to 100 per cent, in favour of the pas- 

 tured lot. 



It is also said here, that in fields not pas- 

 tured the mice do great injury to the clover 

 roots in dry seasons; but that the vermin will 

 ncit burrow where cattle tread frequently. 



I should like to hear the experience of 

 some of your numerous readers in these mat- 

 ters. Yours, &c. X. 

 York Co., Pa. 



