THE GENESEE FAPwMER 



47 



mere cattle shows, horse shows and racing, and the 

 idle, it not vain, exhibition of men as well as beasts, 

 is to excite the i-egret, and call forth the reluctant 

 censure of thousands of the best friends of agricul- 

 tund progress and improvement. Analytical chem- 

 istry, in its application to soils and their products, 

 needs the fostering care of minds at once elevated 

 by proper culture, free from that love of " empty 

 shoAv" which "splits the ears of groundlings," and 

 willing to labor for the equal elevation of all who 

 are less informed than themselves. If a depraved 

 popular taste delights in bull-fights, as in Spain, or 

 in any thing akin thereto, it needs not the stimulus 

 of the United States Agricultural Society, in addi- 

 tion to all other stimuli^ to keep it alive in this 

 country. It is that quiet, humble, close study, 

 which begets learning, science, virtue, and happi- 

 ness, that demands the support of public opinion 

 and of our free institutions. The study of soils can 

 not be carried to any considerable extent and accu- 

 racy, without the assistance of analytical chemistry; 

 and instead of rejecting soil-analyses as useless and 

 worthless, they should become more diversified — 

 more comprehensive in their investigations — more 

 in harmony with the broad and varied agriculture 

 of this extended republic. d. lee. 



Remarks. — The above able sketch of the history 

 oi Analytical Chemistry, as applied to the composi- 

 tion of soils, is quite interesting; and our readers 

 will unite with us in thanking Dr. Lee for the clear, 

 concise, and enthusiastic style, in which he handles 

 the subject. We can not conceive, however, that 

 Dr. Lee intends it a.s a reply to our remarks on the 

 practical inutility of soil-analyses, in the September 

 and Iv'ovember numbers of the Genesee Farrm-f of 

 last year. We there showed that a chemist is 

 utterly incapable of pointing out any ditFerence in 

 chemical composition between two soils, one of 

 which produced a large crop of turnips, and the 

 other a crop that was not worth gathering ; or the 

 difference between two soils, one of which pro- 

 duced only fifteen bushels of wheat per acre, and 

 the other thirty-five bushels per acre. He can, by 

 analysis, determine whether a soil is destitute of any 

 , element of plant-food ; but this, we showed, is of no 

 I practical use, from the fact that if any plant grows 

 ■ on the soil, we have positive proof that the soil con- 

 j tains all the elements necessary for the growth of 

 ] plants. If it did not, no plant would grow upon it. 

 1' [n analyzing a soil, therefore, the object is not to as- 

 j| jertaia whether it contains all the elements necessa- 

 (■ 7 for the growth of plants, but whether it contams 

 tt Dhem in sufficient quantity for the production of 

 '■ profitable crops. We brought forward several facts 

 J' tvhich we thought clearly showed that the chemist 

 ,| X)uld -not at present determine this point. Put a 

 « lundred tons of manure on one acre of soO, and 

 '' eave an adjoining acre without anything, and send 

 J, i sample of each to the chemist, and we contend 

 .J ;hat the most searching analysis he can make will 



not enable him to tell w^hich soil has been manured 

 and which has not ; and yet one may produce good 

 crops, and the other, crops too poor to harveet. 



On these and similar tacts, we based our objec- 

 tions to the practical utility of soil-analyses. These 

 objections Dr. Lee has not attempted to answer, 

 and it seems hardly worth while to discuss other 

 and less important branches of the subject. We 

 will, however, briefly allude to one or two points 

 in the above article, which seem to have a slight 

 bearing on the matter in question. 



{a) We can easily show, if necessary, that at 

 the present time many of the ablest chemists in 

 Europe entertain doubts of the practical value of 

 sod-analyses. We have no hesitation in saying that 

 no European chemist who has had any experience 

 in soil-analyses, attaches half as much importance 

 to them as he did a few years ago. 



(b) Any one who has examined the old "marl- 

 pits" of England, will come to the conclusion that 

 "enterprising farmers" had mixed clay with sand 

 (if not sand with clay) long before Sir Humphkey 

 Davy recommended the practice, and that it " re- 

 sulted in an increase of fertility." That English 

 farmers have ever been in the habit of havuig 

 their soils analyzed before concluding to put clay, 

 or sand, or lime, on any particular field, may well 

 be questioned. Here and there a land-holder or 

 an amateur farmer procures an analysis of his soil ; 

 but we never happened to meet with any one -wlio 

 found any particular benefit from it, and the pi-ac- 

 tice is now nearly abandoned. 



To analyze a soil in order to ascertain whether it 

 required lime, was a pet theory of many chemico- 

 agi-icultural writers some years ago. An incident 

 in the experience of John Hilditch, Esq., of Stan- 

 ton, England, which he related a few years ago, 

 when we had the pleasure of visiting his beautiful 

 farm, will throw fight on this subject. Sir HuMpn- 

 EEY Davy had recently published a "simple test for 

 lune," and stated, truly, that if a soil was destitute 

 of lime, it would not produce wheat. The test was 

 easily applied. It was simply to pour a little 

 muriatic acid on the soil, and, if it effervesced, the 

 soil contained carbonate of Hme, and would pro- 

 duce wheat ; but if it did not effervesce, it did not 

 contain lime, and must be limed before it could 

 grow Avheat. Mr. IL, Avho is a gentleman of great 

 intelligeuce, as weU as a most excellent farmer, 

 and one ever ready to carry out the suggestions of 

 science, had three large fields prepared for wheat 

 when he read Sir Htjmphbey's book. He immedi- 

 ately took samples of soil from the three fields, 

 and applied the acid. Two efliervesced, but the 

 other did not. "Kow," said he, "according to Sir 



