12 



GENESEE FARiMER. 



Jan 



The Analysis of Soils. 



A distinguislipc] Chemist told tlie writer, that for ordi- 

 nriry earthy sub.'taiicrs, t!ie dttortion of a thousandth part 

 required skilful analysis. Minuter portions uf some consti- 

 tuents are more easily delecicd tlcm ef otlurs. But sup- 

 pose a ten-thousandth part tlie utmost limit foj agricultural 

 pracrice, a few instances will show the inadeijuacy of anal- 

 .ysis in cases which may occur.—/. J. Thoman' Prize Eimy. 



The cases referred to are the quantity ofgyp- 

 ■sum, muriate of ammonia, and pliosphoric acid 

 in soils, which, while too small for detection, may 

 nevertheless, exist in the earth and confer great 

 advantages on growing crops. This is true in 

 the main, and we copy the above extract to show 

 the fact that "distinguished chemists" regard 

 the detection of an element equal to the 1000th 

 part of a soil, a.s requiring "skilful analysis." — 

 Many eminent chemists could be named ihat 

 have expressed similar opinions. Now, we claim 

 to have made great improvements on the ordina- 

 ry process of conducting these chemical manip- 

 ulations, by which farmer's sons only 16 years 

 oH at their first trial, extract, and correctly 

 Weigh a mineral equal to the fifteen thousandth 

 part of a soil. Instead of a "ten-thousandth 

 paft" being "the utmost limit" in our laborato- 

 ry, we are prepared to demonstrate a result ten 

 times more minute than that. As we work for 

 the public good, and pay out five dollars for 

 chemicals where we get one back, we will state 

 a single process. 



In analyzing the soils of the southern tier of 

 counties in this State in the ordinary way, by 

 taking only 100 grains, we can find scarcely a 

 trace of lime ; and yet all plants that grow there, 

 contain notable portions of this mineral in their 

 asties. As all practical farmers, a.s well as men 

 of science, concede the great value of lime in 

 all soils, and especially for growing wheat and 

 •oilier cereal plants, we have reg irded it as worth 

 some trouble, and expense to find out a way to 

 determine the quantity of lime in a soil, al- 

 though it shall make only one part in one hun- 

 dred thousand. This is our process : Burn off 

 the organic matter in ten poundsof the earth, by 

 repeated doses in a large crucible, or clean iron 

 basin. Two ])ounds of this may be treated at a 

 time in a large glass basin so thin that it will 

 stand the heal of a spirit lamp without breaking; 

 or it may be ])laced in a sand bath, and the soil 

 toiled in diluted muriatic acid. As we do not 

 care to get out all, or any of the alumina and 

 iron, it is not necessary to have more than an 

 ounce of acid to two pounds of soil, and distilled 

 water eiiough to cover the mass an inch or two 

 deep. The solution is poured off into a tall pre- 

 cipitating jar after it ha.s boiled on the soil 80 mi- 

 liutes. The soil is washed with pure wafer, to 

 remove all the acid solution ; which is also put 

 to settle, in the precipitating jar. The clean li 



evaporated down to half a pint, and aqua am- 

 monia added in slight excess to neutralize the 

 muriatic acid. A precipitate will fall, which is 

 mo.stly iron and alumnia. These must be separ- 

 ated by filtering. The lime, if there be any, 

 will still be dissolved in the liquid, which passes 

 through the filter. To this must be added a 

 strong solution of the oxalate of ammovia, so 

 long as any precipitate falls. This precipitate is 

 white, and the oxalate of lime. It must be col- 

 lected on a filter, dried, burnt and weighed. If 

 the soil has one part of lime in 153.600 of earth, 

 our lime will weigh one tenth of a grain. To 

 make the result however more satisfactory, boil 

 j the ten pounds of soil in successive jiortions of 

 two pounds each in weak acid to dissolve out the 

 lime, settle, and filter till the solution is limpid, 

 evaporate down to a gill, get rid of the iron and 

 alumina by ammonia, and then separate the lime 

 as above described. It will be a most extraordi- 

 nary soil if ten pounds, or 76,800 grains do not 

 give at least a half grain of this important min- 

 eral. If the soil contain only 1 part in 768,000 

 it can be separated and weighed. 



There is nothing to prevent our leaching one 

 or two hundred pounds of any soil either with 

 cold or hot water ; or with diluted vinegar, sul 

 phuric, nitric, muriatic, or other acid, to dissolve 

 out the phosphate of lime, or any other valuable 

 constituent of our crops. Have not practical 

 men long leached t le e«rJ( of plants, and evapo- 

 rated the solution to obtain their potash and so- 

 da ? And who will say that we may not per- 

 form a similar operation to show how much pot- 

 ash and soda there is in the soil that yields the 

 ashes of forest trees ? The science of chemical 

 analysis is now in its infancy ; and, for one, we 

 protest against the injustice of popular writers, 

 like Henry Colman and others, who are most 

 liberally paid for their compositions, in seeking 

 every possible opportunity to disparage the value 

 of this science. Must the farmers of the United 

 States be taught to regard with contempt and 

 treat with ridicule all efforts to foster the study 

 of Agricultural Chemistry in this country, be- 

 cause it is letter for them to be dependent on 

 Great Britain, France and Germany for their 

 information on this important subject ? Such is 

 the position in which the agriculturists of the U. 

 States now stand. They look up tc Johnston, 

 Liebig and Boussingault as the beginning and 

 end of all progress in the application of Chemis- 

 try to rural affairs. We honor these names as 

 much as they deserve, which is not a little. — 

 But of all idolatry, that of man-worship is the 

 most pernicious to the advancement of true 

 knowledge. 



The great volume of Nature is alike open 

 to all ; and why should not all read, and under- 



quid is poured off into a clean evaporating dish, stand the original text? We are confident that 

 and the sediment in the jar is well washed on a vve shall be able to determine how much of the 

 Kjter. The liquids being all added together, are ' substance of the soil is ordinarily consumed in 



