98 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



OCTOBER 5. 1810. 



of anim.i's, nor in maintaining (combustion) of in- 

 flariiniable boilies. 



The part of the atmosphere which is absolute- 

 ly necessary for these purposes, is called by the 

 name of oii/g-en, and nearly make up the remain- 

 ing fifth part of atmospheric air. In its su| iiort 

 of^life it always, and in maintaining combustion 

 ofnn, unites with a chemical element, which is 

 called carbon. '1 his is familiarly known as form- 

 ing the |)rincipal part of charcoal. In its union 

 with carbon, oxygen forms a peculiar gas known 

 by the nnme of carbonic acid. 



Carbonic acid is always found in small quanti- 

 ties in the atmosiihere, to which it is furnished by 

 the breath of animals and the fumes of burning 

 bodies. It is, when in considerable quantities, fa- 

 tal to the life of animals, but is prevented from 

 accumulating to an irjurioiis extent in conse- 

 quence of its being taken up by water ; it is there- 

 fore dissolved, in iuo|.ortions about equal to those 

 in which it is formed, by rivers, lakes, the ocean, 

 and the moisture of the soil. 



Water exists in the atmosphere in the form of 

 -vapor. The great source of this vapor is the ex- 

 -tended surface of the ocean; and it is governed 

 "by a mechanical law, by which it is continually 

 tending to distribute itself uniformly over the 

 ■whole "surface of the earth. It may thus exist in 

 as large quantities over the surlace of the dryest 

 land as over that of the ocean itself. 'Ibis ten- 

 dency to equal distribution is continually counter- 

 acted by the changes in the sensible heat {temper- 

 o(iire) of the atmosphere, and of the surface of 

 the earth, which follow the alternations of day 

 and night', and the vicissitudes of tl« seasons. 15y 

 these alterations and changes, the vapor is caused 

 to fall (precipitated) in the form of rain, snow, hail, 

 dew, or white frost, according to circumstances. 

 As such changes of temperature are more frequent 

 on the land than on the ocean, the water which 

 falls on the former in either of these forms is great- 

 er in qtiantity than that which falls on equal sur- 

 faces of the latter. Thus, by a wise and benevo- 

 lent provision of Providence, the water of the 

 ocean is continually furnishing vapor which is 

 precipitated on the land for the support of vege- 

 tation and the supply of springs, and whose ex- 

 cess is poured back into the ocean in streams and 



rivers. 



Water has been found by chemists to be a com- 

 pound substance, made up of two elements. One 

 of these which forms eight-ninths of its weight, is 

 the gas already mentioned under the name of ox- 

 ygen; the other, a peculiar gas, known by tlie 

 name of hydrogen. 



Hydrogen, when free, is the lightest of all known 

 bodies, rising and floating in atmospheric air ; it 

 not only combines with oxygen, to form water, 

 but with carbon to form a great variety of com- 

 pounds — gaseous, liquid, viscid, and solid. It 

 also combines with nitrogen, and forms a gas 

 known by the name of ammonia, which is well 

 known by the peculiar smell it gives to spirits of 

 hartshorn (^liquid ammonia.) 



Hydrogen also combines with sulphur, forming 

 a gas known by the name of sulphuretted hydro- 

 gen ; this exists in the atmosphere, but in such 

 small quantities as only to be detected by the ni- 

 cest chemical tests. It combines in like manner 

 with phosphorus, foaming phosphurretted hydro- 

 gen gas, whose presence in the air is occasionally 

 perceptible. 



Oxygen, as we have seen, unites with carbon, 



gas which we have called carbonic 



to fcjrm a 

 acid. 



This receives the latter part of its name from 

 its similarity in properties to an extensive class of 

 compound bodies, known by the name of The 

 Acids. The greater part of these, like carbonic 

 acid, are condiinations of inflammable bodies with 

 oxygen. The most important of these in refer- 

 ence to our present object, are the sulphuric and 

 phosphoric acids, named from the two substances 

 (sulphur anil phosphorus) which are their bases. 

 Muriatic acid may also be mentioned here, al- 

 though its composition is of a different character. 

 Oxygen unites with other bodies to form a class 

 of compounds known under the name of oxids. 



The acids unite with earths, alkalies, and me- 

 talic oxids, to form a class of compounds known 

 under the general name of salts. These are nain- 

 ed from the two substances which enter into their 

 composition : thus the salt formed of sulphuric 

 acid and the earth lime, is called sulphurate of 

 lime. The substances which unite with acids to 

 form salts, are called the bases of the resjiective 

 salts. 



Of these bases, the alkalies and earths are the 

 most important. Of the alkalies, it is only neces.. i 

 sary to know the names of two, namely poinssa 

 and soda, and to be aware that their distinctive I 

 properties, are : to possess an acrid taste, a caustic J 

 operation, to render oils capable of mixing with | 

 water, and to neutralize the properties of acids. 



The earth which chemists call by the name of 

 silex or si7tcff, is found almost pure in flint and 

 rock crystal ; it is also almost pure in sharp col- 

 orless sands, and is by far the larger part of sands 

 of every description. So far as the farmer need 

 know its pro|)erties : it is hard, rough to the touch, 

 has no attraction for water, which it permits to 

 filter through, or evaporate from it, with the great- 

 est ease. It is capable of uniting with the other 

 earths in compounds which are called silicates, 

 and is the only earth which enters into the for- 

 mation of soils uncombined with the others or 

 with other elemenis. 



The earth which chemists call by the name of 

 alumina, is so named because it is obtained by 

 them in a pure form from the well known salt 

 called alum, of which it is the basis. Its most 

 marked characteristic is plasticity : that is to say, 

 it may be well formed into a paste with water, 

 will then easily receive any form which may he 

 given it, and retain that form unaltered, even by 

 violent heat. It never exists in soils unmixed, 

 but in intimate association, or more probably 

 chemical combination with silica, it is the well- 

 known sidistaice called clay, or argillaceous earth. 

 White clays are this coir bination nearly pure and 

 colored clays often contain it with no other addi- 

 tion than metallic coloring matter. Clay retains 

 the plastic property of alumina; it therefore cau- 

 ses soils to be retentive of moisture; and, when 

 they dry, makes them form tough clods or crusts, 

 similar in character to sun-dried brick. 



Soils which contain clay are often also mixed 

 with sand, or with an excess of silica in grains, 

 which does not enter into the composition of the 

 clay. Such a soil is less liable to form a tough 

 crust than a pure clay, but it will require a very 

 large proportion of sand to destroy this property 

 altogether. 



Clay mixed with sandy soils renders thorn more 

 retentive of moisture. Sand and clay have there- 

 fore been used as manures for each other ; but it 



may reasonably be doubted whether all the ad- 

 vantage that has been anticipated by some from 

 from this process, can be realized, as such a mix- 

 ture will be merely mechanical. 



Loamy soils are generally said to be mixtures 

 of sand and clay; they umioubtedly usually con- 

 tain both these earths, and even somet nies a large 

 excess of sand. But we shall give reasons for be- 

 lieving that loams owe their peculiar value to a 

 combination of with clay another substance, by 

 which a change is produced in its chemical char- 

 acters. 



(To be continued.) 



DlBECTION FOR SOWING THE SEED AND RAISING 

 THE PLANTS OF THE WHITE ITALIAN MCLBERRT 

 TREE. 



1. To SOW an ounce of seed, prepare a bed 50 

 feet long and 4 feet broad. Maniire it well with 

 a compost composed of one third stable manure, 

 one third ashes, and one third decomposed leaves 

 from the woods, or garden mould ; dig dee]), pul- 

 verize finely, and then lay the beds off in drills 12 

 inches apart, one quarter or one half of an inch 

 deep ; sow the seed as thick as your onion or pars- 

 nips ; cover with rich mould, press the mould 

 down gently, but sufficiently to cause the seed to 

 come into contact with the earth ; and should the 

 weather be dry, water the seed bed every other 

 evening, it will assist in promoting the germina- 

 tion of the seed and vigorous growth of the plant. 



2. Keep the beds clean of weeds ; and give an 

 occasional watering with suds and water, say once 

 a week after they are up. 



3. The second year, if not removed before, 

 the plants must be removed into the nursery rows, 

 which must be prepared as for any other crop. 

 The ragged roots being taken oft and the tap root 

 shortened, the plants must be planted out 12 inch- 

 es ajjart in rows three feet apart, the earth to be 

 well trodden around the plant. As before, the 

 earth must be kept open and free from weeds. 



4. At two years old, the plants may be plant- 

 ed out into hedges, at 18 inches apart in rows six 

 feet wide. The ground should be prepared as 

 before directed, and some good rich mould put 

 into the holes, to be pressed around the plant. If 

 intended to be planted out as standard trees, 20 

 feet square apart would be a good distance ; but in 

 that case the plants should not be transplanted un- 

 til they are about ten inches in diameter. In either 

 case they will require trimnjing and topping, and 

 if kept as hedges should be treated as other hedges 

 are. — Southern .4gr. 



Peat. We perceive that the farmers around 



Taunton and in the adjoining towns are bringing 

 lar^e quanlities of this valuable article into our 

 markeis. When the mode of using this species 

 of fuel iy better understood, and the cheapest meth- 

 od of getting out and curing it, is discovered by 

 experiment and practice, we are of the opinion 

 that it will in some degree supplant coal and wood. 

 It is well known that it will retain fire longer than 

 any other fuel ; — it is very convenient therefore 

 in chambers or other places where it is desirable 

 to have fire constantly burning. It was used by 

 some families here, last winter, in this way — at 

 night they throw a few pieces into their grates, 

 where they were accustomed to burn anthracite, 

 and found a very comfortable fire in the morning. 

 There is an inexhaustible fund of Peat in this 

 vicinity. — Taunton Whig. 



