NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



SIARCn 39, 1843. 



ter. A compost of manure, with a larire quantity 

 of ashes and fine sand, is the right dressing for 

 such spots. 



When the primitive growth of wnod on our new 

 lands is fulled, and burnt upon the groMnd, and 

 there is sometimes two or three hundred cords per 

 acre and none of the ashes carried off, we almost 

 invariably obtain a heavy crop of wheat or rye. 1 

 hive known of more than 50 bushels of wheat, or 

 GO bushels of rye per acre on such lands. The 

 intense heat shivers up the rocks; the great amount 

 of alkali readily dissolves the disintegrated rock, 

 and, ill its soluble state, it forms a stiff stalk, with 

 a hard, thick glaze upon the straw, which prevents 

 the rupturing of the eap vessels : the sap, instead 

 of oozing out upon the stalk and rusting, is carried 

 to the head of the grain and fills it with a heavy, 

 plump kernel. The crops of grass that follow for 

 several years, correspond with the grain crops, but 

 ultimately the vegetable matter is used up, and 

 nearly all the soluble potash is used up — so that 

 the farmer must resort to the plow and manure to 

 get a fair crop again. 



Every practical farmer who has attempted to 

 raise wheat on highly manured land that has been 

 long cultivated, knows that it is liable to lodue, 

 and very frequently to rust or mildew. These two 

 evils might, 1 think, be nearly remedied by the ap- 

 plication of the right amount of ashes — if that 

 tight amount could be asctrtained and obtained by 

 the farmer. As to the amount, he need not fear 

 of getting on loo much, if he will just reflect how 

 much is left upon an acre of burnt land where 

 two or three hundred cords of hard wood is con- 

 verted to ashes; but in all probability a very much 

 less amount would answer. I conceive there is 

 but little difficulty in any or every farmer's obtain- 

 ing his supply, by plowing up a small patch of 

 sandy or gravelly sward land, and letting the fur- 

 rows remain till dry, then commence a fire, with a 

 small quantity of wood, and gradually pile on the 

 sods, and very large heaps may thus be converted 

 to ashes. The vegetable matter would be burnt, 

 the particles of quartz, feldspar and mica would be 

 broken and shivered, and thereby rendered soluble, 

 and afford those very salts so essential to a good 

 growth of grain. After the mass had become cool 

 enough to be removed it should be put under cover, 

 to he applied to his wheat ground, aficr being 

 plowed in the spring. In all probability fiftf!en or 

 twenty cnrtloa<l3 would have the desired effect, and 

 the good effects would also be felt for several years 

 by the succeeding crops. 



Frequently promising crops of wheat are almost 

 entirely destroyed by rust. On highly manured 

 lands, if there happens to be a day or two of warm, 

 steamy, good corn weather, in Julv or August, at 

 about tlie time wheat is in the milk, the rush of 

 sap is so great, that if it do not produce apoplexy. 

 It does that which is nearly as bad — it ruptures 

 the /eii(/<T and inefficitnt coating in the stalk ; the 

 Hap vessels burst; the sap exudes and forms a 

 coat of rust, and the crop is nearly ruined. In 

 some of the agricultural papers the last year, I 

 read an account that wheat never rusted where it 

 was sowed upon an old coal hearth, and that grass 

 and other crops always succeed well and were 

 luxuriant. I think this was attributed to the re- 

 mains of the charcoal ; but perhaps a part might 

 be justly attributed to some other cause — to its 

 furnishing a thicker coat of glaze to the grain, and 

 preventing the rupturing of the sap vessels. 



I might cite a great many more facts in addi- 



tion, to satisfy any one of the benefit of adding to 

 our cultivated soils, potash in a more soluble state 

 than we find it, as locked up in sand, gravel, stones 

 or rocks. Vou will find some of them in Mr Col- 

 man's Fourth Report, viz : Mr Haggerston's com- 

 post of peat and barilla; Mr Jarvis's account of 

 glass factory manure; Mr VVhipple's statements 

 in regard to iho value of saltpetre or nitre- — that 

 being about one-half potash ; 102 lbs. of nitre con- 

 tains as much potash as 79 lbs. of pot or pearlash 

 of commerce. He applies about "150 lbs. to tlie 

 acre. 



Hut ashes are also useful in agriculture for neu- 

 tralizing acidity in soil.s, and for the formation of 

 nitre or saltpetre for agricultural purposes. 



In the fith number (June, 184'2,) of the Farmer's 

 Monthly Visitor, thc^re is taken from the Albany 

 Cultivator, an article on, or review of, Dr. Dana's 

 Muck Manual. In this article there is a statement 

 made by the Doctor, and another by the reviewer, 

 which I think are calculated to lead to erroneous 

 conclusions. The Doctor says, his first ))rinciple 

 in agricultural chemistry is, "one rock, and conse- 

 quently one soil ;" — from this, he lays down his 

 second principle, " that rocks do not affect the vege- 

 tation which covers them." The reviewer says 

 that " rocks certainly exert a powerful influence on 

 the soil that covers them, in many cases," but this, 

 he says, " is owing to their physical condition, and 

 not to their chemical constitution." Now I think, 

 to the mind of every farmer, the plain English of 

 the above would be this: All soils are derived 

 from rocks; all rocks are chemically the same; 

 ergo, the chemical constituents of rocks never af- 

 fect vegetation. 



For the sake of many of our farmers, I wish 

 the above was true ; but the weak and sickly ap- 

 pearance, and light and short crops of corn, we 

 every year see growing upon soils containing sul- 

 phurate of iron — iron pyrites — or what farmers 

 more commonly call brimstone rocks, proves the 

 above doctrine untrue. There are six thousand of 

 acres of laud in this State, that once yielded heavy 

 crops of corn, that now with a dressing of fifteen 

 or twenty loads of manure, will not give more than 

 the same number of bushels of corn, and wit.^out 

 manure it would not yield five bushels per acre ; 

 and this decrease in amount of crop, is almost 

 wholly in consequence of sulphurous or sulphuric 

 acid in the soil, derived from the disintegration of 

 locks containing sulphur and iron. Hundreds of 

 our farmers h:ive dug solid and heavy rocks from 

 the soil, and laid them into wall, and soon the oxy- 

 gen of the air and water coinbiiics with the iron, 

 and it is decomposed and converted to an oxide or 

 rust; this sets the sulphur free, and that combines 

 with oxygen and forms sulphurous or sulphuric 

 acid, according to the amount of oxygen in combi- 

 nation with the sulphur. This renders the soil 

 acid, and unfortunately, the more this land is work- 

 ed by the plow and harrow, the worse it is, by ex- 

 posing the stone more and more to the action of 

 the oxygen and eliminating increased quantities of 

 sulphur. 



When corn is planted on lands, containing this 

 acid, derived from such rocks, it generally looks 

 well and promising for a few weeks, at least as 

 long as the plant draws its nourishment from the 

 decompo.>iing kernel. 13ut after the rootlets on the 

 main roots are formed, and they begin to fulfil their 

 office, by absorbing water from the soil, a reaction 

 takes place, and the plant remains stationary for 

 several weeks — the leaves assume a reddish pur- 



ple color, the main root is corroded or rusted off, 

 to the length of one or two inches, and ihe farmer 

 generally lays all the blame to worms, \ihen in 

 fact, there may not be a dozen in an acre. After 

 a while, a new set of roots start out at the lower 

 joint, but so few and weak, the crop is liglit, and 

 a large portion of the corn in attempting to cut it, 

 is pulled up nt harvesting, by the sickle. 



I think upon inquiry among farmers having lands 

 containing this kind of rock, you will find hundreds 

 that will confirm my statements. Here the inqui- 

 ry may arise, is there any remedy ? Yes : unleach- 

 ed ashes will neutralize the acidity of such soils, 

 (precisely as salsratus does sour dough,) by com- 

 bining with the free acid of the soil and forming a 

 neutral sulphate of potash. But I have my doubts 

 about plaster of Paris being useful on such soils, 

 for it is cotnposed of 40 parts sulphuric acid, (oil 

 of vitriol) and 28 of lime ; but the acid is neutral- 

 ized by the lime, and therefore inert. But reason- 

 ing from chemical principles, if we apply to such 

 soils, hydrate or slacked lime, it will combine with 

 the acid of the soil, and the lime will be converted 

 into sulphate of lime — plaster of Paris — and thus 

 remove the free acid from the soil, in the ratio ol 

 40 lbs. of acid to 28 lbs. of lime. It ciin also be 

 remedied by very heavy dressings of manure ; but 

 that is not always within the reacli of the farmer 

 " It is well ascertained that different soils have 

 different properties, prejudicial to the growth ol 

 some plants, and favorable to the perfection of oth- 

 ers ;" and it would be a most fortunate circum- 

 stance if these differences in the properties of soils 

 were better understood, and more generally actet 

 upon by the great mass of farmers. Notwithstand 

 ing the bad character I have given soils containing 

 sulphur in excess, for growing corn, (and for inanj 

 other crops it is equally prejudicial,) yet it is pecu- 

 liarly favorable to the perfection of others. Ii 

 Jones's " Conversations on Chemistry," page 136 

 speaking of sulphur, he says, " it exists in soin( 

 vegetables, especially those of a crucifurm bibe'^ 

 that is, the tribe of plants consisting of cabbage 

 turnip, mustard, radish and cress, of every variety 

 In some respects this family of plants possesses pe 

 culiarities contained in no other tribe. 



In the December number of the Genesee Far 

 mer, page 185, there is an extract copied from tin 

 Farmer's Journal, Eng., on soils, by VVm. Chatter 

 ly, from which I make the following extract: 



" The state of chemical combinations, in whici 

 the various ingredients of the soil are found, alsi 

 materially influences its fertility, thoigh such com 

 bination should differ somewhat for particular crops 

 for instance, wheat requires tiiat a portion of silici 

 should be in union with potash; and for clovei 

 that sulphur should exist in the soil in Ihe condi 

 lion of a soluble sulphate. In confirmation of th 

 above theories, I will rtelale a few facts that hav 

 come under my immediate observation. In ]83( 

 I came into possession of an old farm that had nc 

 had a furrow plowed on it for 20 years. In one o 

 the fields there were 12 or 15 acres that had bee 

 yearly mowed all this time, and did not average 

 cwt. of hay per acre. Many of the rocks an 

 stones in the soil were of the 'brimstone order 

 Tliat spring I plowed about an acre and a half- 

 being, as far as I could judge, the best land of th 

 field, manured with about 20 loads of manure 

 something over an acri! was planted with potatoei 

 the rest with sorn. From the friable apjiearanc 

 of the soil and the long time it had laid in grass, 

 expected to have raised a good crop ; but in Jul 



