24 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



■vvhich are constituent elements of our plants 

 of culture, and with the examination of the 

 excrements of man ami animals, as well as of 

 a great number of soils acknowledged as fer- 

 tile. These labors have been before the 

 scientific world long since, Ijut only a very 

 confined application lias been made of them 

 in Agriculture. 



The farmer is by his position not in the 

 condition to procure and command the effica- 

 cious elements necessary for the restoration 

 and increase of the fertility of his fields in a 

 right proportion and suitable form. For this 

 purpose, science and industry must combine 

 their aid. 



I have been so fortunate as to remove the 

 difficulties which are opposed to the applica- 

 tion of a mere mixture of the elements of ma- 

 nui-e. If we employ the different elements 

 of manure exactly in those proportions in 

 which they are necessary according to expe- 

 rience, for a rich crop of wheat, peas, turnips, 

 potatoes, (fcc., and if, at the same time, we 

 leave them in their common state, they do not 

 produce that effect which we might have ex- 

 pected ; the cause of this is that the different 

 elements of manure possess a very unequal 

 stability, the ammonia evaporates, the solu- 

 ble elements are carried oft' by the rain, and 

 the effect is more ui proportion with the 

 amount of those ingredients of the manm-e 

 "which are less soluble. 



I have found means to give every soluble 

 ingredient of manure, by its combination 

 with others, any degree of solubility, without 

 altering its effect on vegetation. I give, for 

 instance, the alkalies in such a state as not 

 to be more soluble than gypsum, which, as 

 is well known, acts through many years, 

 even as long as a particle of it remains m the 

 soil. 



The mixture of the manures has Vjeen 

 adapted to the mean quantity of rain in this 

 country ; the manure which is used in sum- 

 mer has a greater degree of solubility than 

 that used iu winter. Experience must lead 

 to farther results, and in future the fanner will 

 be able to calculate the amount of produce 

 of liis fields, if temperature, want of rain, »fcc., 

 do not oppose the manures coming fauiy into 

 action. 



I must, however, observe that the artificial 

 manures in no way alter the mechanical cmi- 

 dition of the fields, that they do not render a 

 heavy sod more accessible to air and mois- 

 ture. For such fields, the porous stable ma- 

 nure will always have its great value ; it 

 can be given together with the artificial ma- 

 nure. 



Messrs. Muspratt and Co. have undertaken 

 to execute my prescriptions on a large scale, 

 and they are prepared to have ready a quan- 

 tity of manure in autumn, for wheat, clover, 

 etc., to satisfy the orders of the farmers. One 

 of my former pupils, now Professor of Chem- 

 isti-y as applied to arts and manufactures, in 

 this University, is to superintend the fabrica- 

 tion of these different manures ; all necessary 



(72) 



guaranties are therefore given as regards their 

 composition. 



To prepare for the coming autumn a suffi- 

 cient quantity of manures, it is necessary that 

 the orders be given at the earliest possible 

 time. It would be very expedient in case 

 that different kinds of sod are cultivated in a 

 fann, to acquaint Messrs. Muspratt and Co. 

 with the fact, as the proportions regarding si- 

 lica ai'e different for clayey and calcareous 

 soils, to which latter, in order to render them 

 fertile for grain, more of an easily dissolving 

 sihcate must be added. 



All manure vi^hich is to be used during next 

 winter cout;nns a quantity of ammonia con-es- 

 ponding with the amount of nitrogen in the 

 grain and crops which are to be grown. Ex- 

 periments, in which lam at present engaged, 

 will show whether in future times the cost of 

 this manure can be greatly lessened by ex- 

 cluding half or the whole amount of ammo- 

 nia. 1 believe that this can be accomplished 

 for many plants, as for clover and all very 

 fohaceous vegetables, and for peas and beans ; 

 but my trials are not so far advanced as to 

 prove the fact with certaint}'. 



(Signed) DR. JUSTUS LIEBIG. 



Gicssen Unieersity, 1845. 



Nott's Electric Telegraph. — An exper- 

 iment, completely successful, was witnessed 

 on Saturday last, in the Isle of Wight, of the 

 powers of Mr. Nott's Electric Telegi'aph. A 

 perfect and rapid communication was estab- 

 lished between East and West Cowes by 

 means of a single wire sunk across the Chan- 

 nel. The telegraphs were attached, one being 

 placed at Medina Hotel, and the other at the 

 opposite side of the Channel, near the Fountain 

 Hotel. The signal bells were then rung sim- 

 ultaneously, and the telegi-aphs commenced 

 working and communicating questions and 

 answers with the greatest precision and cer- 

 tainty with a galvanic battery of low power, 

 showing that a single isolated wire immersed 

 in the water would carry the electric current 

 a distance of half a mile. The water 

 brought back the current to its source, with- 

 out the .slightest perceptible dispersion or 

 loss of the dynamic power. This experiment 

 demonstrates the perfect practicability of sub- 

 marine communication, and the question as 

 to its application may be said to be satisfac- 

 torily solved. The consequences can scarce- 

 ly be as yet appreciated, though tliey are- 

 wonderfd to contempliitc. Instantaneous 

 communication niay be established between 

 places divided by estuaries and channels, 

 and islands and continents brought into im- 

 mediate proximity of correspondence. 



I^p" A French engineer, M. Doumel, pro-- 

 poses to dig a number of Artesian wells along 

 the great African Desert ; and thus to cour 

 nect Algiers and Timbuctoo. 



