suifr. 11, 1839. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



Boston, VVedneeday, September 11,1839. 



on principles eiuirelv different." It would seem like- 

 wise, fn ni a reniiirk of Professor Hitchcock, that he 

 himself is not poitive ,is to the particular form in which 

 the presence of lime is essential to the success of culti- 

 vation. In the pas.sage first quoted, he says the carbon- 

 ate pf lime i,s the jfreat ilesidoratum in our soils, but on 

 page 48 ho says, 'I doubt not many a crop has failed 

 from the want of ihat one per cent, ofsulpliate or phos- 

 Fuels indeed seem to me to warrant the 

 form, laud will 



THIRD REPORT OF THE GEOLOGY OF MAINE 

 BY C.T.JACKSON, .VI. D. 

 We proraised some farther remarks upon ihie able re- | phate of limi 

 port. We make them, however, with a good deal of , conclusion, that without Ji 

 diffidence. A scientific examination of the report is ! not produce any valuable vegetation." 

 not proposed by us. That we shall leave to other hands. { It is a curious fact in this mailer, to which we may 

 A general and popular knowledge of the principles of j conveniently advert here, and seems to have surprised 

 chemislry is common enough: but its manipulations | both of the learned ge.,looists..lhat even the '-limestone 

 and a thorough examination of its subtle proces..ea, re- i soils," that k, soils lying above limeslone and full of the 

 quire peculiar facilities and advantages, leisure and e,- outcroppings of lime m the form of a carbonate, should 

 pense, which few can give to U, and such improvemenls '• conlain no more of the salts of lime than other parts 

 are constantly in progress, and the boundaries of t):e of the State." Prof Hitchcock here refers to the soils 

 scienceareconstantly becoming so much enlarged, that of Berkshire county. Dr. Jackson say. likewise th.it 

 it demands almost the exclusive devotion of one's lime " h is an interesting and curious fact lliat the soMs of 



and studies to keep pace with it 



All that we mean to do is, to state our diffinnlties in 

 the way of adopting the theories in respect to vegeta- 

 tion and the use of saline manures, and parliculaily the 

 carbonate of lime, which have suggested themselves 

 from the statements made in the report itself, and other 

 facts which liiive occurred to our observation. We 

 should be very glad if these observations should bo the 

 means of calling out the learned geologist himself to 

 give us a fuller illustration of his theory ; and we shall 

 in all cases welcome him cordially to the use of our col- 

 umns. 



The Dr. remarks in his report, pai'e 123— 

 " Whoever considers the attempts made to raise wheat 

 upon soil totally destitute of lime, will at once appre- 

 ciate the value of that mineral substance and its impor- 

 tance in the production ofgrain. An imperfect or blight- 

 ed produce is sure to follow the planting of this grain 

 upon soils destitute of lime, while it is well known that 

 certain districts where the soil contains this mineral 

 are alwaysfavored with luxuriant and heavy crops. This 

 is one of the setlltd poir.ls in agriculture, and one which 

 every farmer should duly appreciate, if he wishes to 

 prosper in his art. Jndiaa corn requires but little if any 

 lime, and iience we see excellent crops of that giain rais- 

 ed upon sandy plains, unsuited to vvheat." 



Professor Hitchcock says, (" Economical Geology," 

 page u2,) " The grand desideratum iu our soils is calca- 

 leous mailer, that is, the carbonate of lime." 



We are not about to deny the utility of lime in agri- 

 culture. It would seem that lliis point is determined ; 



but that it is indispensable in the form of a carbonate 



that without it our wbeat is " suie" to be blighted, and 

 that soils containing this mineral "are alwaysfavored 

 with luxuriant and heavy crops." are points not so we 



Thcmaston, so celebrated for its lime quarries, should 

 be wanting in lime." Prof Hitchcock suggests a theo- 

 ry which we beg leave to state respectfully, is wholly 

 unsupported by evidence, and in which we have no 

 faith; " that the calcareous matter which the soil once 

 conlaincd has been exhausted by cultivation." But Dr 

 Jackson in his analysis of the Tliomaston soil, (p. In2) 

 showing that it i-ontained of carbonate of lime only 0.2 

 in 100 parts, adds that '■ this soil was select- d from the 

 midst of a grove, where it had never been nillivated." 

 It would seem in the next place that lime is not en- 

 tirely wanting in any of our soils. The domestic fowls 

 when left at liberty, and the birds find no difficulty in 

 obtaining all that is required fjr the shells of their eggs. 

 The bones of all animals are mainly composed of it. It 

 is found to a certain degree in all plants and in almost 

 all animal manures. Prof Hitchcook says, " in respect 

 to the sulphate of lime or gypsum, it may not be unex- 

 pected that we should find it in all soils, since we know 

 it to occur in all natural waters throughout the State.— 

 Again, the sulphate ami phosphate of lime were found 

 in greater or le.ss quantity in every soil analyzed. 'J'here 

 is strong reason to believe that this salt is a constituent 

 of all soils in their natural state.'' Vegetablesol various 

 descriptions contain phosphate of lime. Indian corn, 

 according to Prof Gorlmm, contains 1.5 per cenl. phos- 

 phati? and sulphate of lime. Rice, wheat, barley, rye 

 and oats all c<mlam notable portions of phosphate of 

 lime, not only in the grain but in the straw." The 

 dang of cows and of horses contain portions of phos- 

 phate, carbonate and sulphate of lime. The clays of 

 Massachusetts and all argillaceous slate soils contain 

 carb(mate of lime. Now whether we have enough of 



established. Let us see how certain facts well attested, j this ingredient in our soils for the purpose of ripe^ning 

 bear upon the case. We must necessarily present the our crops, or whether our occasional failures be owin» 

 matter in an irregular and desultory form, bec.an.se our : to the deficiency of this calcareous matter incur soils" 

 time and situation in travellinj and away from home '■ ■ ■ - ' 



forbid any other course 



Dr. Jackson says that these are all settled points in 

 airicultuie. But it is a fact that there is great disagr'ee- 

 ment among chemists themselves in regard to the mode 



oflhe operations of lime. Dr Dana consideis the form in lands, recently cleared, aad where the wood o 

 which it is found in the soil, whether as a sulphate, phos- | has been burnt and the ashes left upoo the soil 



.- .. matter in whose determination facts are vastly more 

 important than theories, which, to say the least, are 

 imperfectly established. Let us look at some of these 

 facts. First then, throughout the State wheat is almost 

 invariably raised with success and abundantly on new 



brush 

 poo till) soil. Th 



phate or carbonate of lime, of little or no importance -,: fact we believe will not be questioned. It is equally 

 and that a bushel of wood ashes in its power of con- well established that m the first settlement of our coun- 

 verting insoluble into soluble geine or the food of plants, | try, take Ihe Stale of Vermont for example, who.e clear- 

 is fully equal to a cask of lone. Sir Humphrey Davy, ' ance is within the memory of many now hving, wheat 

 maintains, (Lectures, p. 2SJ,)" that chalk and marl, or i was as common and certain a crop as any which was 

 the carbonate of lime, will only improve the texluie of cultivated : and in those places where now the farmers 

 the soil in its relation to absorption ; it acts merely as , complain that they cannot raise it, or rather only occa- 



one ofits earthy ingredients." " The operation of quick 

 lime and marl or chalk, (carbonate of lime,) depends 



sionally succeed. Second, the farmers on Long Island, 

 N. V , feel so confident of success with their wheat if 



they can obtain leached ashes, that they are wilhng to 

 go to an expense of twelve cents a bushel in order to ob- 

 tain them for their wheat crop.s. If lime would have 

 furnished an efficient substitute, they would lo ,» since 

 have ascertained.it, and saved themselves much expense 

 and trouble. It may be s:.id that there is always a por- 

 tion of lime in limched ashes ; but this is certainly not 

 the particular ingredient on which ithey depend, or they 

 would have discovered it by the repeated trials v^hich 

 they have m.ide. A third lact in the case is, that large 

 cropsof wheat are often raised upon soils where the car- 

 bonate of lime is not found. This is the case with the 

 alluvions on Connecticut river, where thirty and forty 

 bushels of wheat to the acre have been repeatedly no. 

 taineil. One of the best wheat districts in Massachu- 

 setts, where it has been cultivated f;>r years with gen- 

 eral and almost invariable success, is West Newbury, 

 Essex county. No carbonate of lime has been discov- 

 ered here. Upon the farm of Mr Adams, in Chelms- 

 ford, an alluvial soil on the Merrimack river, wheat has 

 been raised successfully at an average rate of thirty bush- 

 els to the acre for twenty years in succession with but 

 a single instance of failure from any cause. Upon the 

 chemical analysis of this .soil by Dr. Dana, it was found 

 not to contain a trace of the carbonate of lime. Such an 

 instance as this thus fully established, is as good as a 

 thousand l<. disprove the position that the carbonate of 

 lime is indispensaUe to the production of wheat. (See 

 the Second Reportoftlie Agriculture of Jlassachusetts. 

 Appendix.) But it may be said in this ca^e that the 

 portion of lime needed was furnished by the manure ap- 

 plied. The manure itself came from Ihe products of 

 the land. It lollows then most clearly that where the 

 manure is returned to the soil, there can be no exhaus- 

 tion of the ingredient necessary to the production of 

 wheat. Indeed the doctrine suggested by Prof HitcJi- 

 cock, that our soils have been drained of calcareous 

 matter by cultivation, where the land has been enrich- 

 ed by its own products, is not, in our opinion, likely to 

 find much favor. The amount oflime orofsilex found 

 in any planl is a very inconsiderable matter ; and until 

 the earths can be rendered volatile and made to assume 

 a gaseous form, i: is ditficult to conceive of their being 

 carried away. The suggestion of Sir Humphrey Davy 

 that an acre of clover or sainfoin would, if reduced to 

 ashes, yield three or four bushels of gypsum, requires 

 other proof than has yet been furnished to render it 

 credible. A fourth tact, and a very curious one, is slat- 

 ed by Professor Hitchcock, which is, that on an exam- 

 ination of five oflhe most productive oflhe rich soils of 

 the Western States, it appears " that although they are 

 of the very first quality, the superiority of the western 

 soils over those of Massachusetts (in respect to the salts 

 ol lime) will not appear as great as is generally supposed." 

 Five analyses are given. Carbonate of lime is found in 

 them in these proportions; 1.5 percent , 1.3,3.3 2.8. In 

 seven of the Massachusetts soils where the carbonate of 

 lime is found, and two of these are from limestone soils, 

 the proportions in which this form of lime is found areas 

 follows; 1.3 per cent., 0.8, 3.2,3.0,2.1,0.4,2.0. But 

 in respect to the presence oflime in the ITjrm of a sul- 

 phate or phosphate, the Ma.ssaehusetts soils can hardly 

 be said to be inferior to the western soils, from the ta- 

 bles given in Prof Hitchcock's report. Indeed they 

 present a greater average propoilion. In the fifth place, 

 there is wanting the proof from facts that the applica- 

 tion of lime to the soil in any form in Massachusetts, 

 has been sure to secure a crop of wheat, according to 

 the statement of what Dr Jackson pronounces a settled 

 point in agriculture. 



The application of lime vo the seed of wheat after it 

 has been steeped in brine, is an established remedy 



