1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



473 



deficiencies which are required to constitute a 

 good soil," should he able also " to form a better 

 opinion, by examinincr the subsoil, what the sur 

 face soil needs to fertilize it, than a chemist would 

 be likely to do by analyzing the surface soil." But 

 to the uninitiated in the magic art, the followiuf 

 from the Family Visitor may not be uninteresting 

 It may be found in t\\Q Journal of AgricuUurc, 

 Boston, July 2d, 1851, p. 21 : " Science cannot 

 long be despised as the mere speculations of tlie- 

 orists, but must be considered, by all ranks of 

 men, in its true point of view — as the refinement 

 of common sense, guided by experience, gradually 

 substituting sound and rational principle for vague, 

 popular prejudices. If land be comparatively un- 

 productive, the sure method of determining the 

 cause is — first, to ascertain the extra nature and 

 relative qualities of the ingredients of the soil, 

 (which can only be done by chemical analysis,) 

 and then to supply the soil with the deficient ma- 

 terials requisite for the growth of such vegetables 

 as it is best fitted to produce. The preparation 

 of compost will only be of real use when materials 

 which do not afford, singly, an efScient or con- 

 venient manure, are made to do so by their mix- 

 ture. Evei'y farmer has it in his power so to 

 compound the best from his store of manuring 

 materials, that the defects of his soil may not only 

 be remedied, but that the crops may receive those 

 substances in sufficient quantity which are required 

 for their vigorous growth. To do this, however, 

 it is requisite to know, not only the component 

 parts of the soil, but also those of the crops. If 

 these are not taken into the account, no clear idea 

 of the composition, much less of the action of ma- 

 nures, will ever be obtained ; and many substances 

 of real value will be tried, and, from misapplica- 

 tion, tend to useless if not injurious results." One 

 word more, and I leave this ; a man with whom 1 

 was at work the other day in the hay-field, and 

 conversing upon the subject of experimental farm- 

 ing, suggested the following query: viz., If Mr. 

 Silas Brown can ascertain, by examining the sub- 

 soil, what are "the deficiencies which are required 

 to constitute " the " surface soil " a good one, 

 can he also, by the same process, determine the 

 presence and relative quantities of those mineral 

 substances, which, when existing in excess, render 

 a soil " productive of abundant barrenness." 



TDE PROPER APPLICATION. 



In his first communication on experimental 

 farming, your correspondent asserts that " all far- 

 mers know that clay with sand will improve the 

 soil," and leaves the novice in agricultural pur- 

 suits to refer back to a letter of Prof. Mapes, on 

 page 71 mo. Farmer for February, to learn the 

 why and wherefore ; and in his experimental farm- 

 ing, again he goes still deeper into the matter, 

 and says, "experience has taught us that clay ap- 

 plied to the surface of a quicksand subsoil was a 

 proper application ; but how he is going to recon- 

 cile the remark that " no experienced farmer 

 would apply it to an argillaceous foundation," with 

 his recommendation of a " compound of every sub- 

 stance, vegetable and mineral, which would have 

 a tendency to benefit any kind of soil," is one of 

 the things which " I have yet to learn." 



THE PROBLEM. 



With my small capability of entering deeply 

 into important subjects, I have but little hope of 



attaining the exalted position in society which my 

 friend B. holds up to view as an inducement to at- 

 tempt the solution of his ingenious problem in re- 

 lation to increasing the productiveness of ground 

 by analyzing it ; yet " I believe " that if the 

 " soil at tlio surface " be carefully removed, and 

 the soil be thoroughly dug to a depth of several 

 feet and carefully examined, and a fair average 

 sample selected for the chemist's use, which shall 

 not represent the ground as deficient of any ele- 

 ment of fertility, which, however absent from one 

 place, may abound but a short distance therefrom, 

 and the " surface soil," after the analysis is per- 

 formed, returned to its former position and prop- 

 erly cultivated, the subsequent crop, of whatever 

 kind it may be, will be of far more luxuriant 

 growth than it would have been had no such 

 analysis been performed. 



THE DICTATORSHIP. 



Farmers should not " be governed by the dicta- 

 tion of chemists of doubtful skill," neither should 

 they rely entirely upon their own experiments, 

 but should know enough of chemistry to under- 

 stand the rationale of what is recommended, and 

 be able to carry out an experiment in exact ac- 

 cordance with the directions given. Here let me 

 bring in a few more testimonials, from Prof. Nor- 

 ton and others ; and let those who prate of the 

 " need of the creation or perfection of science for 

 agriculture,^'' as well as those who deem it a " diffi- 

 culty approaching an impossibility that the best 

 practical chemist can give directions to the farmer 

 how to prepare his manures to suit his different 

 kinds of soils, and fit them to pi'oduce different 

 kinds of crops with any precision," whilst they 

 recommend an indescribable compound of an al- 

 most endless variety of substances, cease hence- 

 forth to use the writings, or even the name ol 

 Prof J. P. Norton, for the purpose of establish- 

 ing their own retrograde theories. Elements of 

 Scientific Agriculture, pp. 185, 187, &c.: "The 

 farmer can annihilate nothing ; he can only change 

 the form of his materials ; every study which will 

 enable him to do this according to his wish, should 

 be pursued eagerly and perseveringly. In order 

 to know what is in a soil, and to determine what 

 are the quantities of its constituents, an intimate 

 acquaintance is necessary not only with the sub- 

 stances themselves, in their almost endless rela- 

 tions and changes, but with great numbers of oth- 

 er substances from which they must be distinguish- 

 ed, and with which they are likely to be confounded 

 by an inexperienced person. Uninstructed per- 

 sons must constantly be making mistakes of the 

 most flagrant description. The worst difliculty of 

 all is, that in many cases, not having knowledge 

 enough to know when they have gone astray, they 

 actually rely 'upon their own work as trustworthy, 

 and lead others to do so too. The farmer who 

 knows little or nothing of even chemical names, 

 perhaps is not competent to judge of a good anal- 

 ysis ; he cannot tell the difference between a pre- 

 tender to scientific knowledge and one who really 

 knows something that is true and valuable. He 

 takes these erroneous analyses as his guide, and 

 probably falls at once into some serious mistake, 

 by attempting to alter the supposed constitution 

 of his soil. After he has been disappointed in this 

 way a few times, he is very apt to condemn all 

 scientific agriculture as ridiculous, and of no avail 

 for any practical purpose. What I wish to im- 



