J. B. LA WES AND JUSTCTS VON LIEBIQ. 



The crops the first jear "turned out so moderate, 

 — so bad, ill fact," that no details are given. The 

 yield of turnip?, clover, and potatoes did not suffice 

 for keeping one cow. In every case, however, where 

 organic manures containing ammonia were used, the 

 crops " were heavier than elsewhere." The wheat 

 manured with " stable-dung and minerals, was equal 

 to any in the neighborhood." AVhy not have tried a 

 plot with stable-dung, without any minerals? It must 

 be evident to all that the first year's results of Lie- 

 BKi's experiments are strongly in favor of organic or 

 ammoniLical manures. We are told that in the sec- 

 ond, third, and fourth years the soil increased in pro- 

 ductiveness, though no details at all are given. In 

 1840, Liebig's gardener "purchased the whole field, 

 and the industrious man who could not afford to buy 

 manure, manages with profit the well-conditioned lit- 

 tle farm, assisted during the summer mouths by a 

 little business, in selling refreshments, he is able to. 

 upport himself and family, keeping two cow?, and 

 annually raising several head of cattle; and ho has 

 icquired enough to enable him to enlarge his build- 

 auildings, and all this without ammonia, or huniu.^ 

 ind only by help of mineral manures." 



This is certainly a very gratifying result. After 

 !xpending on ten acres of land $3,200 for mineral 

 nanures, &c., an industrious Dutchman, by the aid of 

 I little business, which probably his wife and children 

 ■ngaged, in, was enabled to support himself; and all 

 his without the aid of ammonia? Was it ever heard 

 )efore that a man could get a living from 10 acres of 

 and, in close prosimity to a large city? But let us 

 lee whether this was accomplished without the aid of 

 mmonia. The forest muck, saw-dust, and stable- 

 tianure used the first year, all contained ammonia, 

 ud the crops were much the best tchere they were 

 sed. LiEiiic. says: " Since the present owner came 

 nto possession, the stable-manure and all the animal 

 screments produced on the premises, and especially 

 he urine, liave been collected with the greatest care, 

 nd of course have been incorporated with the soil.' 

 n other words, great care has been used to save all 

 he ammonia and incorporate it with the soil, and 

 lir crops, after a period of eight years, have reward- 

 d the care and skill of the cultivator. Who knows 

 >ut this fame result might have been attained in one 

 ear, by an application of ammonia? If the atmos- 

 here is capable of supplying all the ammonia that 

 ilants require, why, on this field, v.hicli had been so 

 ivishly dressed with all the mineral elements of 

 ■i ilanls, was it found necessary to save all the dung, 

 •nd "especially the u/ine," and incorporate them with 



the soil. Surely, the gardener evidenced little faith 

 in the teachings of his great master. If those exper- 

 iments prove any thing, it is the very reverse of what 

 LiEiiiG intended they should prove; and they are the 

 only experiments brought forward to prove his posi- 

 tion. 



After disparaging Mr. Lawes experiments, Liebig 

 says: " The single problem worthy of scientific ag- 

 riculture at the present time, is to establish in place 

 of a change of crops, a change or succession of ma- 

 nures, ,which shall enable the farmer to grow on 

 each of his fields that crop, which, under the circum- 

 stances, will be most profitable. How simple a form 

 would the labors of the farm assume, could he con- 

 tinuously cultivate the same plant on the same field." 

 This is certainly a good idea, though an old one; but 

 how shall we ascertain what manures are best adapt- 

 ed for the same crops. Liebio himself took out a 

 patent for " a preparation of compounds, based upon 

 analysis of plants, which were estimated to provide 

 a given species of plants with a nourishment it would 

 need throughout a series of years." That these com- 

 pounds utterly failed in Germany, England, and Amer- 

 ica, is notorioua The idea was a splendid deduction, 

 but, unfortunately for the farmer, so far from revolu- 

 tionizing agriculture, as was predicted, it proved what 

 might have been foreseen, that deduction is not a safe 

 guide in scientific agriculture. We shall probably 

 incur Liebig's displeasure by referring to this unfor- 

 tunate manure speculation. He has brought forward 

 a number of sentences from his various works to 

 show that he did not teach the " pure mineral theo- 

 ry;" but this patent mineral manure, which is a jjrac- 

 tical embodiment of the theory, is not so easily dis- 

 posed of, hence the bitternes manifested on the sub- 

 ject. 



Liebig's patent mineral manures have failed to solve 

 " the single problem worthy of scientific agriculture." 

 We cannot, by their use, "continuously cultivate the 

 same plant on the same field." Now, though Mr. 

 Lawes does not think it desirable to cultivate the 

 same crops on the same land, he has succeeded in 

 doing so to an extent which one would suppose from 

 the above sentence, should have secured the appro- 

 bation of the great GJerraan chemist There is now 

 growing on Broadback* the tuwlfth annual wheat 

 crop, and the crop of last year was the largest yet 

 harvested from it; the plot yielding 55 bushels of 

 wheat per acre. So with the turnips on Barnfieldi 



• Froadback is the name of "Mr. I.AWTCS' experimental whpatfield. 

 All the lieltlB in Kngland .-.re' named. Barvlield, Cerscroft, Hoot- 

 field, are the oamefl of the exporimental turnip, bean, pea, tare, and 



