NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



349 



eu scarcely less visible and valuable thanthe 

 of plaster when first applied. This prccous 

 \\ abounds throughout our country. It firms 

 ;tane) an essential ingredient in restoring ind 

 , ing the fertility of soils. Our farmers well uu- 

 1 this, and they now apply it to an extentind 

 nlike credit.ible to their cnterprize and in:;Ui- 

 Gut to realize its full benefit, it must b( se- 

 nd with moderate dressings from the barn acd 



.Is from seven to nine yiars." 



re does not appear to us to be any thing myieri- 



unaccountable in the fact that plaster of Biris, 



ppliid in too great quantities and for too long a time 



lould cease to produce a good effect. The best jiulg 



tell us that gypsum produces its beneficial results i. 



ro ways, to wit, by slimuhhng the joung vegetabli, 



id giving it, as it were, an appetite for its food, aid 



entering into the substance of s>me plants, a a 



cessary constituent of their organzation, whicl- is 



id to be imperfect without it. Consdered as a stm- 



us it is obvious that a small quantity only is waned. 



yo much gypsum given to a vegeLble will no Bore 



nduce to its growth and healthy ondition, than too 



ach pepper, salt or alcohol wouldprjduce the ;atae 



feet with regard to an animal. Aid, as respects 



ose plants which require gypsum to nake a part of 



eir substance, and in which it is of cmrse detected 



chemical analysis, small quantities ojy of gypsum 



e wanted, and if you supply it in la^e quantities 



lU counteract the law of nature relati* to feeding 



manuring such plants. " In the comnjp course of 



Itiration," says Sir Humphrey Davy, 'gypsum is 



rnished in the manure, for it is containecjn stable 



ng and in the dung of all cattle fed on riss i and 



3 not taken up in corn [grain] crops, or c^psofpeas 



1 beans, and in very small quantities in tuljp crops ; 



t where lands are exclusively devoted tojsturage 



d bay it will be continually consumed." 



The principal food of plants, (or that subsjnce of 



lich they consume the greatest quantity) isarbon, 



coaly matter. This goes to constitute th' wiodyji- 



:, and is a constituent in other products f vegeta- 



a. Carbon and its compounds are the pricipal in- 



dients in stable and barn-yard manur. Such 



nure is very efficacious, because it umishes 



he greatest quantity that substance whit plants 



isume in the greatest quantity. But a pint will 



grow in a dung heap, because it cannot >ed ex- 



ively on carbon, and other products w/ich that 



i of manure can yield. It dies of a sunit of its 



jrite food, when placed in that situation. 



i. cultivator may as well over-manure is plants 



h the contents of his stable and cow yai as with 



stcr of Paris. His crops require more, ind will 



r more of the former than of the latter ; bt he may 



a them loo imich of either. " Change i' pasture 



kes fat calves," and change of manure tie crops. 



. a sound judgment, and knowledge of th subject 



t be exercised in such alterations to insui against 



lange from bad to worse. 



Ve do not pretend to say by what cause omode of 

 ralion a soil which, as Mr. Roberts assureus, had 

 ome " saddened and unproductive" by te use of 

 ter should be rendered " open and produtive" by 

 ig lime. Common limestone consists of limand car- 

 le acid,and plaster is composed also of limtogether 

 1 sulphuric acid. Both these substances.herefore 

 tain one of the same materials, and it majwell puz- 

 philosopher (o explain how one of them lould re- 

 y tlie defects of, or present an antidote tovils pro- 

 5d by the other. It is not fitting, howe?r, for us 

 jj eny effects, bccaus* we cannot explain tha- causes. 



We know that results may be produced from com- 

 pounds very different from what could be brought about 

 by the in/iedients of such c. nipounds, if such insrredi- 

 ents were separately applied, or were used in different 

 proportions. 



ON THE IMPORTANCE OF CHEMISTRY AS CON- 

 NECTED WITH AGRICULTURE. 

 Were I nddressiog myself to the father of a 

 family, I would say, — Is your .son born in opu- 

 lence, — is he an heir (o an extensive domain ; 

 make him an analytical chemist, and you ena- 

 ble him to appreciate the real value of his es- 

 tate, and to turn every acre of it to the best ac- 

 count. Has he a barren tract of country, which 

 has been unproductive from generation to gene- 

 ration ; he will then carefully explore it for 

 tiidden treasures, and will probably not explore 

 't in vain. By analysing the minerals wliich he 

 discovers, he will ascertain with facility and ex- 

 actness what proportion of metal they contain, 

 and which of them may be worked to advan- 

 tage. Thus he will operate on sure grounds, 

 and be prevented from engaging in expensive 

 and unprofitable undertakings. 



Chemistry will teach him also how to improve 

 the cultivated parts of his estate; and by-trans- 

 porting and transposing the different soils, he 

 will soon learn some method by which each of 

 his fields may be rendered more productive. 

 The dnalysis of the soils will be followed by 

 that of the waters which rise upon, or flow 

 through them; by which means he will dis- 

 cover those proper for irrigation; a practice 

 the value of which is sufficiently known to ev- 

 ery good agriculturist. 



Should he himself occupy the farm, and be- 

 come himself the cultivator of his own estate ; 

 he must of necessity become a chemist, before 

 he can make the best of his land, or put it into 

 a high state of cultivation, at the smallest pos- 

 sible expense. It will be his concern not only 

 to analyse the soils on different parts of his 

 farm, but the peat, the marie, the lime, and the 

 other manures must be subjected to experiment, 

 before he can avail himself of the advantages 

 which they possess, before he can be certain 

 of producing any particular effect by their 

 means. The necessity of analysis to the far- 

 mer is evident from a knowledge of the cir- 

 cumstance, that some kind of lime is really in- 

 jurieus, and would render land which had been 

 hitherto very productive, actually sterile. 



I allude here to the magnesian limestone, 

 which is common in many districts in England, 

 particularly at Breedon in Leicestershire, where 

 the calcareous earth contains 50 per cent, of 

 magnesia. But, as the Earl of Dundonald has 

 remarked, such lime will be extremely useful 

 on what are called sour soils, or such as con- 

 tain sulphate of iron, from the decomposition 

 of martial pyrites, as the magnesia will unite 

 with the acid of that salt and (orm sulphate of 

 magnesia, (Epsom salt,) which greatly pro- 

 motes vegetation. 



Besides, a knowledge of the first principles 

 of chemistry will teach him when to use lime 

 /tot from the kiln, and when slacked; how to 

 promote the putrefactive process in his com- 

 posts, and at what period to check it, so as to 

 prevent the fertilizing particles becoming eSete, 

 and of little value. It will also teach him the 

 difference in the properties of marie, lime, 

 peat, wood ashes, alkaline salt, soap waste, sea 



water, &c. and consequently, which to prefer 

 in all varietits of soil. A knowlenge of the 

 chemical properties of bodies will thus give a 

 new character to the agriculturist, and render 

 his employment rational and respectable." 



Pnrl.e\i Chemical Essays. 



Erom the Colnmhinn Centinel. 

 CAUTION. 



The public are cautioned against using Cheese 

 covered with Lead, whether red or white, as both 

 are poisonous. 



The attention of the public is invited to the fol- 

 lowing facts : 



!n this town a Cheese was bought last year, 

 and /our of the family immediately upon eating 

 some of it, were taken severely sick. The 

 cheese was examined by the attending physi- 

 cian, and judged to be overlaid with red lead. 

 The same cheese was eaten by several others, 

 the rind being previously lahcn off", were soon 

 very sick. When thrown off the stomach they 

 were relieved. 



A few weeks ago, three of another family be- 

 came exceedingly ill, cause unknown ; but was 

 soon supposed to be produced by Cheese, cover- 

 ed with white lead. A dog which ate the rind 

 was extremely convulsed, and in a day or two 

 died. — Another ate of it and became very ill; 

 to which a dose of lamp oil was given, and hav- 

 ing cast up the rind, which remained almost 

 entire, recovered. — A third dog, which took 

 but little, was sick. Fifteen or twenty persons 

 in this town the last year and this, have been 

 made sick, and most of them very sick by means 

 of lead on cheese. And doubtless many become 

 sick, and may die by the same means and know 

 not the cause. Attending physicians say the 

 symptoms in these cases are what they should 

 expect lead to produce, and can assign no other 

 cause of those affections. Besides, trial has been 

 made and satisfactory evidence obtained that red 

 and rschile lead covered the Cheeses in question. 



The public are cautioned against using any 

 cheese brought to our markets without due 

 examination. And ought not Cheese to be 

 inspected, before sold in market, with particular 

 reference to this article ? Human life and 

 health are too precious to be trifled with in 

 this manner. Doubtless thousands have thus 

 been destroyed, and never knew the cause of 

 their excruciating distress, and have little tho't 

 that their bane was brought from the dairy- 

 rooms of our country. — Should it be thought de- 

 sirable, probably the renders of these Cheeses 

 might easily be ascertained, and, if necessary, 

 shall be made known. S. Reading, May 1824' 



A valuable counterpart to the " cotton gin," the 

 invention of two citizens of Vermont, (Tyler and An- 

 drew,) has been introduced into Georgia. It is a ma- 

 chine for threshing rice, — is operated by two or three 

 horses — and obviates inconvenience in the rice planta- 

 tions heretofore severely felt. " One very valuable ap- 

 pendage to the machine is a culler, which cuts the rice 

 straw to any length desired with incredible rapidity, 

 and will render, what was before nearly waste, an 

 excellent article, -when mixed with the flour and chaff, 

 for the fattening of cattle during the winter." This 

 machine is not entirely a new invention — others on the 

 same principle having been advantageously employed 

 in the threshing of corn, rye, and other grains ; but 

 the first application of its powers to threshing rice was 

 made near Darieu a week or two since. It is said in a 

 Georgia paper that fifty bushels of rice have been 

 threshed by it in an hour, and that it may be construct- 

 ed so as to thresh an additional ten bushels in the same 

 time. — A". Y. Patriot. 



