AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



PUCLISHED BY JOSEPH BRECK & CO., NO. 52 NOUTH MARKET STREET, (AamcoiTuiiAL WAaEHOD»«.)-ALLEN PUTNAM, EDITOR. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVf;NING, JUNE 14, 1843. 



N. E. FARMER, 



OXALIC ACID— SORREL.— REPLY TO « D." 



To ihe Editor of ihe New England Farmer; 



Dear Sir — 1 conunonly receive your paper the 

 morning afier its publication. No. 47, (May 24tli,) 

 came to me iwentyfour hours in advance. I uas 

 sure it was not my^egiilar number, for on opening 

 it, I found the hand of the person who sent it, 

 painting to the communication of " D." on the 1st 

 pasre. Though I do not feel myself called upon 

 to reply to the request of " D.," because thus pub- 

 licly made, I shall be hnppy, if in this instance I 

 can thro>v any light upon the subject to whicli his 

 paper refers, by laying before him such thoughts 

 as have occurred to me on reading his remarks. 



Mr Darling has stated in his extract from Dr. 

 Kane, and in his own remarks, (see N. E. Far. May 

 17,) the well known, long received, and established 

 chemistry of the oriranic acids of plants, and their 

 transformations. To recall this to mind, I would 

 state the main facts, as chemists understand tliem, 

 relating to oxalic acid : 



1st. Plants form oxalic acid. Almost every, 

 perhaps all, plants contain this acid. The soil sel- 

 dom contains traces of oxalic acid. Wlienever it 

 is there found, it has proceeded from organic de- 

 composition : decaying plants. That plants form 

 this acid, is evident from the fact that some lichens 

 grown on naked granitic rocks, contain from 20 to 

 Ct) per cent, of oxalate of lime. 



2d. Oxalic acid does not exist in plants free. 

 It is always combined with a base — generally with 

 lime or potash. In sorrel, (including in this both 

 T- )od and common sheep's sorrel — oxalis end ru- 

 mex) — the oxalic acid exists as super oxalate of 

 potash. Each portion of potash is combined with 

 four portions of acid. The salt of sorrel is the 

 salt of lemons of the shops. 



3d. These bases, lime and»potash, are essential 

 to the formation of oxalic acid by plants. The 

 plants never form bases. They are derived from 

 the soil or air. Hence, before the oxalate-forming 

 plant, sorrel, can grow, the bases to saturate its 

 acid as it is formed, must freely exist in soil. 



4th. Oxalic acid is composed of — carbon, two 

 parts ; oxygen, three parts. We cannot, plants 

 probably do not, form oxalic acid by the direct 

 union of its elements. We can, and do, for the 

 arts, transform starch and sugar, by the aid of 

 aquafortis, into oxalic acid. So, plants, wonderful- 

 ly more exquisite in their elaboratory, transform 

 sugar, starch and gum into oxalic acid. If we, in 

 our imitation of nature, require the strongest acid, 

 her delicate hand may effect a similar transforma- 

 tion by the aid of such weak acids as vinegar, and 

 the organic acids found in muck and soil. There 

 is some reason for this belief, when we call to 

 mind the fact, that without any fermentation, sugar 

 is easily transformed by weak vinegar into vinegar. 

 This is a well known process. I go farther : plants 

 translorni these weak acids into oxalic acid. This 

 is the great source of that acid. We have only to 

 deprive, as does the plant, vinegar of its hydrogen, 



and double its oxygon, to convert it into oxalic 

 acid. This is done by the oxalaic-forniing plant, 

 simply liy the aid of oxygen only, as we in our 

 process of art, change alcohol to vinegar by a cur- 

 rent of air and the aid of a ferment. Life is this 

 ferment in the plant. Oxygen in either case ef- 

 fects all the other change. 



To apply those principles to the remarks of "D." 

 It has been shown that lime and potash are essen- 

 tial to the existence of oxalate forming plants, us 

 sorrel ; that weak organic acids are easily trans- 

 formed into oxalic acid. When, therefore, such 

 acids dissolve, and supply easily the lime and pot- 

 ash to the plant, the acids being in excess, (for we 

 have seen that the salt of sorrel is a super salt,) 

 these oxalates will be formed. In other words, 

 sorrel grows best where free acids and small por- 

 tions of alkali exist. By applying sour muck, filled 

 with weak organic acids and their bases, to soil, 

 we supply it with the food of sorrel. Lime, or 

 potash only, is not this food. Dissolve these bases 

 by weak organic acids, form super-salts of them, 

 and you may expect to find, yea, you do find, oxal- 

 ates produced, sorrel growing. 



But it is said that the common chemical doc- 

 trine of the agricultural press is wrong. What is 

 that doctrine ? JVeiitrctlize the free acids — take the 

 sour out of the soil, and sorrel grows not. The 

 doctrine is, netUralize. All hangs on that word. 

 If you only partially neutralize, you supply the 

 sorrel with its natural food — an acid salt. You 

 feed it, both with its acid in excess, to be convert- 

 ed into oxygen, and the base with which that acid 

 is to combine. You give the sorrel, in the same 

 spoon, both its solid and liquid food : — these acid 

 salts are the hasty-pudding of plants. 



But is it possible that "a coat of lime two inch- 

 es thick," does not neutralize the acids? Yea. 

 Your coat of lime is here on the surface. It has 

 been slacked there. During that process, if by 

 air only, it has become an insoluble carbonate: it 

 has not entered the soil, [f slacked by water, 

 then a small portion has entered the soil as lime- 

 water. This portion has not neutralized the small 

 portion of organic acid in that soil. I go farther : 

 its' excess has caused the inert vegetable matter 

 to become acid to a greater degree than the lime 

 can saturate. It has formed with it an acid salt. 

 In this salt, sorrel finds its food. It pushes up 

 through your two inches of coating. That insolu- 

 ble carbonate does not affect its growth any mure 

 than sand. The small portion of lime added to, 

 not iipoH, the soil, having furnished the food for 

 which the sorrel had famished, that now springs up, 

 rejoicing that the lime has caused the indifferent 

 vegetable matter to become acid, and to act upon 

 the potash of the soil. Perhaps in these cases, 

 lime is substituted for potash, — an isomorphous 

 substitution. 



Lay down your spent ashes, Mr Editor, in a 

 heap. You know its alkaline power is developed 

 slowly by the action of air upon its silicate of pot- 

 ash. Cart it off now, to top dress your reclaimed 

 meadow. You have left, where your pile was, the 

 very material to partly saturate the organic acids 



of the soil — perhaps even increased them. You 

 have formed acid salts, by whose absorption OKal- 

 atc-forming plants, snrrcl, will be [produced. That 

 this etfecl may follow an under doso of alknlicH, 

 may be understood from what has been advanced. 

 If «// the acid is ftdli/ neutralized, then the trans- 

 formation of the neutral anil is probably not effect- 

 ed : — sorrel grows not. If, on the other hand, you 

 supply the weak organic acids freely, as by sour 

 muck, these, finding in all soils a small portion of 

 lime and potash, the super-salts are formed, and 

 sorrel grows. It will grow till the acids are ex- 

 hausted. 



I consider, then, Mr Editor, that the common 

 opinion is well founded. I have great reverence 

 fur common opinion on such subjects. It is gen- 

 erally based on observation. In this case, it is 

 supported by chemical philosophy. The doctrine 

 of the agricultural press appears, in the present 

 state of our knowledge, to be the true one. JVeu- 

 tralize the fret acids — but do this by soluble alka- 

 lies in tho soil, not on it. 



To the last inquiry of "D." I reply, there is no 

 better test of the presence of acid in the soil, than 

 the growth of sorrel or oxalate-forming plants. It 

 is often a better test than the chemist can apply. 

 Unfortunately it is an analyst always ready for the 

 task. Like his brother analysts, he points out the 

 existence of evil, but leaves to others the task of 

 remedy, which the study of his habits teaches. 

 With great regard, your ob't serv't, 



SAM'L L. DANA. 



Lowell, June 2d, 184.3. 



SUGAR. 

 No one article, perhaps, enters so largely into 

 the use of every class in society, as sugar. Wo 

 scarcely eat or drink that sugar does not form a 

 part. Who then can doubt the importance of tho 

 recent experiments by which it appears that, acre 

 for acre, the cornstalk will vie with if not surpass 

 the cane. In every State in this Union, sugar 

 may be produced, and instead of the enormous im- 

 portation from abroad, we shall be enabled to pro- 

 duce this great article at home, thereby rewardinc 

 our own people, and making the return to our own 

 soil. It is true that experience is still necessary, 

 but the tact and aptitude of our people will soon 

 acquire this, and if each farmer shall not make his 

 own sugar, he may supply the cornstalk to some 

 neighboring factory that will do it for him. Our 

 Indian corn crop can be extended to aiinnst any 

 required extent, ond the time may not be far dis- 

 tant when we shall become qtcporters of sugar. It 

 appears from Mr Ellsworth's report, that the beet 

 sugar is diminishing in France, and from the poli- 

 cy of tho government there, giving place to that of 

 the French colonies ; but that the cornstalk has 

 there already attracted notice : already the experi- 

 ments made leave no doubt of the preference of 

 tho corn over the boot, and induce a strong proba- 

 bility that it will also surpnss the cane. Corn will 

 thrive better in our Middle and Northern States, 

 than in the tropical regions. — Far. Month. Vis. 



