No. 2. 



Slone Coal. — Agriculture. 



55 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Stone Coal— Agriculture. 



Mr. Editor, — There are few who are 

 aware of the effect which the burning' of 

 stone coal has upon agriculture. The con- 

 nection between the two, is one of vast im- 

 portance. The use of stone coal is destined 

 to cause a great change in the system of ag- 

 riculture. Perhaps you are surprised at my 

 stating this, but I will attempt to make the 

 matter clear to you. You are aware that 

 the principal food of all vegetables is car- 

 bonic acid gas, and that for the purpose of 

 supplying their vegetables with this gas, 

 farmers put themselves to a great deal of 

 trouble, inconvenience, and expense, to ac- 

 cumulate, preserve, and apply their manures 

 — the decay of these manures furnishing the 

 gas. You are also aware that stone coal is 

 composed principally of carbon, which, in 

 the process of burning, enters into chemical 

 combination with the oxygen of the atmos- 

 phere, forming carbonic acid gas. From the 

 consumption of stone coal by our factories, 

 furnaces, rolling-mills, machine-shops, steam- 

 boats, &.C., we have an extremely large ad- 

 dition to the supply of carbonic acid. This 

 carbonic acid has, until very recently, been 

 locked up in the bowels of the earth, and is 

 now being added to our former supply; for 

 the wood which has heretofore been used 

 for many of the purposes for which coal is 

 now substituted, goes on still to decay, and 

 thus supply its own quota of carbonic acid. 

 Hence, I say, that the carbonic acid which 

 is now supplied by the stone coal, is addi- 

 tional to the supply we have formerly had. 

 Now this additional supply cannot remain in 

 the atmosphere, nor can it remain in the 

 form of carbonic acid, for the vegetation 

 will absorb it, and if the other circumstances 

 be favourable, the result will be an increase 

 in the size of the vegetable. This is the 

 result so ardently desired by the farmer, and 

 for which he applies his manure, his time, 

 his labour, his money, and his talents. The 

 extensive and rapidly extending consump- 

 tion of stone coal, is therefore destined to 

 relieve the farmer from much of his labour 

 and trouble in the procuring and applying of 

 manures, when his object is to furnish his 

 plants with carbonic acid. 



But the benefits do not stop here. His 

 plants also need nitrogen, an element which 

 they derive from ammonia. This ammonia 

 is often of the nature of an alkali — so much 

 eo as to be called a volatile alkali. It is a 

 very precious substance, and is much needed 

 in the culture of grain. It is therefore very 

 valuable, and much care is required for its 

 preservation and use. The sulphur of stone 



coal in connection with oxygen, forms, du- 

 ring the process of burning the coal, sul- 

 phuric acid. This acid will readily enter 

 into chemical combination with ammonia, 

 and fixes it, so that it loses its volatility. 

 The sulphuric acid is deposited on the grain, 

 grass, and fruit trees of the farmer, along 

 with the carbonic acid. The sulphuric acid 

 not being needed in any large quantity by 

 the plant, is thrown off by its roots in the 

 form of excrement, and remains in the 

 ground. In times of rain and snow, the 

 volatile alkali, — ammonia, — which has been 

 condensed in large quantities by the water 

 of the rain, is thrown to the earth, and as 

 the water sinks into the ground it carries 

 the ammonia with it; and if nothing pre- 

 vents, when the water evaporates the ammo- 

 nia again becomes gaseous, and escapes to 

 the atmosphere. But if an acid be in the soil, 

 it will enter into chemical combination with 

 this ammonia, and retain it until some power 

 sufficiently strong to break the force of the 

 chemical attraction, being brought to bear 

 upon it, succeeds in wresting the ammonia 

 from its grasp. When this acid is the sul- 

 puric acid, the compound is called sulphate 

 of ammonia. This sulphuric acid which has 

 been expelled by the plant is close at hand, 

 and if the plant cannot absorb and assimi- 

 late all the nitrogen contained in the ammo- 

 nia supplied by the rain, the sulphuric acid 

 retains it; and when the plant is prepared 

 for the remainder of the ammonia, the roots 

 absorb the sulphate of ammonia, and the 

 plant possesses the power of destroying the 

 chemical affinity, and after assimilating the 

 nitrogen contained in the ammonia, expel- 

 ling the sulphuric acid as before, only to 

 perform its office over again. 



Thus we see the consumer of stone coal 

 benefits, and will continue to benefit — and 

 that too, to an enormous extent — the agri- 

 culturist. The increasing consumption of 

 stone £oal, induces me to think that the 

 time is not far distant when the farmer will 

 have to desist from hauling manures upon 

 his fields — this part of his labour being su- 

 perceded by the supply of gases furnished 

 by the atmosphere, Tliis will be effecting 

 a great change in the system of agriculture, 

 for much of the labour and capital of the 

 farmer are devoted to the procuring and ap- 

 plying of his manures. Relieved from this 

 liard and disagreeable task, his business will 

 be more profitable and far more attractive 

 than it has been heretofore, and prosperity 

 and happiness crown the board from which, 

 they have too long been absent. 



But we must turn from so agreeable a 

 view of this matter, for the reality of the 

 case requires it. Would that the happiness 



