of Plants, in Charcoal. 255 



used half a year for vegetation; in this instance a and 6 were in the 

 proportion of 122 to 75 of ashes from 1000 of charcoal. Undoubt- 

 edly the dissoluble salts were, in proportion to the increasing decom- 

 position of the charcoal, absorbed by the roots. That the greater 

 weight of the ashes of c is not decisive, has been already mentioned. 

 To make very correct experiments of this sort, charcoal from the 

 same tree should be burnt, equally reduced to powder, and, in plant- 

 ing in this ])Owder, all itnpurities of garden mould, &c., carefully 

 avoided, and watering the plants with rain water attended to. 



5. Antiseptic power of charcoal. — The antiseptic powers of 

 charcoal are of great importance, for it has very little power of 

 retaining water, and the little it retains is partly absorbed by the 

 roots and partly evaporated. This property deserves the 

 greatest attention of gardeners, in respect to the recovering the 

 health of plants, the roots of which have become injured by being 

 in a clayey soil, and too freely watered, or after continued rain, 

 or being in contact with manure not sufficiently decomposed. 

 They should be immediately transplanted into charcoal pow- 

 der, as the most effectual method of cure. 



In concluding this article, which we have condensed as much 

 as possible, and at the same time preserve all the necessary in- 

 formation, in order that our readers may understand the experi- 

 ments and be able to repeat them, we cannot but recommend 

 the trial of experiments by our amateur cultivators of the use 

 of charcoal, in propagating plants, as well as in renovating 

 sickly and diseased ones. No particular care is necessary, nor 

 are we aware that there is any material difference in the quali- 

 ties of charcoal: oak, maple, and pine are often brought to 

 market together, and may be obtained in mixture, or may be 

 separated and used by themselves after they have been pow- 

 dered. As we understand it, the only care is to powder and 

 sift the charcoal, using only the dust which may be put into a 

 box or pot, as is usual with common soil, and the cuttings in- 

 serted. We shall institute some experiments ourselves, and 

 give the results in our pages. Those of our friends who 

 may adopt M. Lucas's plan, will, we trust, keep some re- 

 cord of their operations, and send us an account of them. 

 A list of the plants experimented upon, — the length of time 

 which they required to root, and other particulars connected 

 with their growth, would be interesting, and furnish some data 

 by which others might be guided in further experiments. 



