336 



FARMERS' REGISTER— ATMOSPHERIC INFLUENCE, &c. 



ON ATMOSPHERIC INFLUKNCE, ANU ON THE 

 IMPORTANCE OF PROPERLY PREPARING 



LANii TO PROFIT BY IT. — By 31. Bastidc 

 d'/zars. 



Translated fur the Farmers' Register, from the Journal d'Jlgri- 

 ciiltuie etc. des Pays-Bas, 



I set out with these principles; first, that calo- 

 ric, water and the atmospheric gases contribute to 

 vegetation still more than earth, (vegetable mould 

 excepted) ; that this earth which bears the plants 

 is little more than tlie matrix in which the coml)i- 

 nations of'the alimentary substances are more or less 

 perfectly effected: second and consequently, that 

 unfertile lands are so, principally because they have 

 too much or too little density or porosity, that is to 

 say, that they receive or preserve too abundantly or 

 in insufficient quantity the atmospheric infiuences : 

 third, that on such lands, the object is to pulverize 

 the one and to render the other more compact: 

 fourth and last, that this operation should precede 

 the use of the various manures, or proceed simul- 

 taneously with it. 



I shall not stop here to prove the above princi- 

 ples in detail, but they are those of the best au- 

 thors, and I have adopted them because they are 

 daily confirmed by my experience. Yet, a conside- 

 rable number of agriculturists still believe that 

 the earth nourishes the plant, as bread supports 

 man, and that the unproductiveness of a soil should 

 be attributed to its natural deficiency in alimenta- 

 ry resources. The addition of animal, vegetable, 

 and mineral manures giving generally more or 

 less vigor to plants, these agriculturists, from this 

 circumstance, conclude that the atmosphere has no 

 share, or but a small share in vegetation. Yet, 

 how many facts combine to prove their error. 



The atmosphere, in the acceptation which I here 

 give to it in speaking of its influences, contains 

 the air, the water, the calorie and carbon which 

 are found in it, always combined with oxygen. 

 This atmosphere, the good and ill effects of which 

 are unknown, has many constituents in common 

 with plants and manures, as is proved by subject- 

 ing each to an analysis. 



In a vase containing a certain quantity of earth, 

 you behold that beautiful tree ; it weighs many 

 hundred weight, yet the earth which bears it has 



!)erhaps lost only one or two ounces : the manure it 

 las received has not supplied all the weight of the 

 tree, for it would have attained its growth, less ra- 

 pidly indeed, yet it would have grown without the 

 manure : but it has been watered, it has respired 

 the air which surrounds it, &c. At Marmande, 

 near St. Martin du Touch, a willow root insinu- 

 ated itself into a long circular subterranean conduit 

 designed for irrigations, at the outlet of a fountain. 

 There it acquired such a diameter as entirely to 

 close up the conduit for a distance of many metres; 

 yet there was in the conduit no more than air and 

 running water. The air and the water then, in 

 this case, nourished the growth of the willow root 

 to its gigantic proportions. Beans have been cul- 

 tivated without any earth,^ — bulbous roots live in 

 vases of water on our mantel-pieces, &c. ; these are 

 the facts which support my first principle. 



What is obtained from lands in an excess of rain 

 or of drought, or in uncommonly cold or unseason- 

 ably foggy weather .=■ What land is good enough 

 and sufficiently well manured to return a good 

 product in such cases ? 



Give me the management of your best soil, rich 

 in vegetable mould and calcareous matter. I will 

 harden it by means of a mall, or render it close 

 and compact by trampling, or by two wet a plough- 

 ing: what will this soil produce.' Or shall I adopt 

 a course directly the reverse.'' I will mix with the 

 vegetable surface a quantify of very dry and 

 coarse straw, and bits of hard brush wood laid 

 crosswise, which, acting as levers, to a certain 

 depth, will prevent the roots of the plants from 

 being seasonably moistened, and will leave them 

 naked and exposed to heat and cold; and again 

 we shall see what can be produced by the unassist- 

 ed excellence of the texture of the soil. Two or 

 three years ago. Professor Dispan took the trouble 

 to put into some vessels, for experiment, portions of 

 earth taken from my lands, and from which, not- 

 withstanding the aid of marl, compound manures 

 &c., I have never been able to derive any advan- 

 tage. M. Dispan, without the addition of any ma- 

 nure, but by pulverising, by paring and burning, 

 (^ecnbiiage,') by a mixture of sand, and by simply 

 watering it at proper intervals and in proper propor- 

 tions with pure water, has obtained from this land 

 satisfactory pnKlucts of wheat and maize for two 

 years; and the wheat which he has sowed on it 

 this year is really astonishing for its beauty ; it 

 would be supposed to grow in an excellent soil. 

 So much for my second principle. 



When a soil is too jwrous, too pervious, the rain 

 water filters through it too rapidly, and the roots 

 of vegetables cultivated on such a soil die of thirst 

 during a drought. The stalks, the branches, the 

 leaves, the whole plant suffers; the fruit is not 

 formed or it is imperfect ; the sudden changes of 

 temperature are very pernicious to plants so situ- 

 ated. A vine that has been worked, but without 

 laying its roots bare, on the evening preceding a 

 hard frost, suffers ten times as much injury as ano- 

 ther not yet touched ; and soils naturally too po- 

 rous are always in the disadvantageous condition 

 in which this vine has been accidentally placed. 

 Last summer all my clover, sowed in October and 

 November 1825, died, leaves, stalks and roots, 

 while that sowed in 1826 Avithstood the drought. 

 I grant that a plant which has only a year longer 

 to live, is more exposed to unlucky accidents than 

 another which has still two years to continue; but 

 I particularly attribute the dying of my old clover 

 to the greater porosity which it gave to its soil ; 

 thereby rendering the drying of the earth quicker, 

 more complete and more fatal. The proof of this 

 great porosity, resulting from the continued growth 

 of clover, lucerne and other plants with tap roots 

 which occupy the land for several years, I derive 

 from the thirstiness of such soils, which is so great, 

 that during the heaviest rains, there seldom re- 

 mains a drop of water on the surface ; while simi- 

 lar lands sowed in wheat, lor example, are over- 

 flowed by the same rains. 



Soils which are too close, have the defect of not 

 permitting the growth and suitable direction of the 

 roots of plants. Lucerne sowed on my land grows 

 well and dies within the year. On digging into 

 the earth lielow them, their tap roots are found de- 

 viating from the perpendicular direction, branch- 

 ing into forks, taking an unnatural course, and ex- 

 hausting the vicinity. These compact soils, once 

 dried, require a long time to become wet; and 

 once wet are also very slow in drying : and in 

 many instances these delays are prejudicial to the 



