48 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



(Continued from page 16.) 



The phosphates act much like the nitrates, their acid 

 forming a constituent of the plant. 



The proper, proportionate quantity of all these salts 

 in the soil, is generally in the order already given; the 

 carbonates in the greater quantity, the nitrates in less 

 quantity, and the phosphates least. The quantity of any 

 salt which may be used to advantage, however, will de- 

 pend upon the demands or necessity of the plant which 

 will show for itself the salt proper for its well being and 

 perfection. 



To still further simplify the idea of the use and opera- 

 tion of these salts and their necessity, it will be well for 

 the reader to again imagine a similarity between the plant 

 and an animal. The stomach of the animal secretes, or 

 produces, gastric juice and other acids which come from 



and other acids of the animal stomach, convert it into pre- 

 pared food, so to speak, and the plant absorbs it, is nour- 

 ished by it and grows to maturity. 



Silicates An Essential to Fertility. 



There is one important prevailing element in all soil 

 which can neither be overlooked nor ignored, in fact, its 

 power of fertility is unlimited; we refer to silicates. Salts 

 are spoken of as the inorganic substances acting upon 

 humus or organic matter to produce nourishing foods that 

 can be absorbed by the plant, but behind these salts, there 

 is another substance which really constitutes the frame- 

 work of the plant structure, the bony framework of the 

 plant, the sinew of the soil. 



Silex, or silica, which is the earth of flints, is, in its 

 pure state, a perfectly white, insipid, tasteless powder. 

 Glass pulverized is an illustration, so also is a sand heap. 



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practically similar salts, by the action of which the or- 

 ganic matter the meat and vegetables put into the stom- 

 ach, are digested and distributed to nourish every part of 

 of the body. If there were no gastric juice, or other acids 

 formed from the salts of the body, the organic matter 

 put into the stomach could never become food, and the 

 body, left without nourishment, would starve and die. 



So it is substantially with plants. The main differ- 

 ence being that the plant has no stomach within itself, but 

 it requires food just the same as the animal, and if it does 

 not receive it, it starves and dies. By the active principle 

 of life in the plant as in the animal, the salts of the soil 

 are brought into the presence of each other to form acids 

 which act upon the organic matter in the soil, or the hu- 

 mus, in very much the same manner as the gastric juice 



But earth of flints, sand heaps, are barren and worthless, 

 as much so as a peat bog; but put the two together, and 

 there is astonishing fertility. The silica unites readily 

 with the mineral substances or bases, forming what are 

 called "neutral salts," to which is given the name "sili- 

 cates." Thus we have the silicate of soda, of potash, of 

 lime, of magnesia, of alumina, of iron and of manganese, 

 a class which forms the great bulk of all rock and soil. 



The action of the silicates is simple and easily under- 

 stood. When humus, or decomposed organic matter 

 manure for instance is mixed with silica, that is added 

 to a common sand heap, there is an immediate decompo- 

 sition of the silicate of potash, which we have said is a 

 neutral salt, and it becomes an active salt of potash which 

 (Continued on page 53.) 



