66 



THE N^W~GENESEe1^ARMER^ 



XGKiCULTllRAI. ADDRESS. 



We publish wiih plensin-e the following valiiahle 

 addreea, delivered February 1st, before the Cnyuga 

 County Agriculiurnl Society at Auburn, N. Y., by 

 David Thomas of Aurora. Mr. Thomas is well 

 known to the readers of the New Genesee Farmer as 

 one of its most frequent and instructive correepon- 

 aents, and for two years a co-editor of this journal. 

 We cannot eay we assent to several of the positions 

 taken in this address; first, because several of them 

 relate to matters which ore at present obscure and un- 

 settled ; and second, because some of them ore not 

 confirmed by our own observation and experience. 

 But we do not like the address the less for this reason. 

 We cannot be supposed, because we publish them, to 

 endorse the opinions of our correspondents or of oth- 

 ers. This we beg to say, once fur all, is never to be 

 Bssimed or inferred ; but we do as little hold ourselves 

 Infallible, and are always desirous in all cases " to 

 hear the other side." Mr. Thomas thinks for him- 

 self and has a mind of his own. We like him all the 

 better for this. We should be sorry to have every 

 body agree with iis ; or ourselves to agree with every 

 body else. This would be very dull work ; and put 

 an effectual stop to all inquiry, and consequently to all 

 intellectual progress. This would make the waters of 

 life stagnant and putrid. They might be radiant and 

 beautiful on the surface ; but all their freshness and 

 spirit would be gone, and who would wish to drink of 

 them. We value books, discourses, sermons, ad- 

 dresses, &c., for two reasons ; first, when they con- 

 vey some useful knowledge or information ; second, 

 when by their original and independent thought, 

 whether we acquiesce in their truth cr not, they set 

 our minds in vigorous operation. But how few are 

 of this character, or any thing more than the stale 

 repetition of matters, which every school boy has by 

 rote. Waen an independent thinker, therefore, 

 utters his convictions, be they ever so distant from 

 our own, we always listen with pleasure : but when 

 one of your parrots gets up, who never spread his 

 winga nor ever learnt to say anything but what he 

 heard other people eny, and looks as grave as an owl, 

 and then shakes hia bead as though there were some- 

 thing in it, and with wonderful parade of learning, 

 informs us, for example, " that the light of the moon 

 being reflected is not quite so intense as that of the 

 sun, and that water is a fluid and the tendency of all 

 fluids is to run down bill, and so on," we confess we 

 are sorry to say that whether at home, or, if we must 

 tell all, at church either, we are so overpowered with 

 admiration or something else, that we have great diffi- 

 culty in keeping awake, 



Cayuga Co. Agricultural Society— Address. 

 Geologists inform us that soils were chiefly derived 

 from the wear and tear — the disintegration and decom- 

 position of solid rocks. In some tracts of country, 

 the soil is nearly identical with the rock that immedi- 

 ately underlays it, or partakes largely of its nature ; 

 but such occurrences are rare in this country. So 

 extremely active was the deluge that swept over and 

 rounded our highest hills, that many a square league 

 of stony strata was entirely buried by materials tbat 

 drilled from other parts of the country, and which 

 have no resemblance to the rocks they cover. 



Favorably for the southern parts of our county, 

 that deluge came from the north, sweeping over a 

 limestone region, and depositing in its course over out 

 barren state, the rich collection it had made. Arid 

 here let us stop to consider : if tbat flood had come in 

 on opposite direction, bringing along the unproduc- 

 tive detritus of the mountains, instead of our fertile 

 fields, and flocks and herds, we might have witnessed 

 nothing more inviting than scrub oak plains, and a 

 few wandering deer. 



Like other floods, however, its deposites were ir- 

 regular, OS its velocity was increased or retarded — as 

 it whirled into eddies, or rushed onward in its course. 

 Pure clay indeed, can scarcely be found in this forma- 

 tion ; but all the varieties of loam, whether clayey, 

 sandy, or gravelly, occur ; and some deep beds of both 



sand and gravel, are so pure as not to discolor the 

 water into which they are thrown. 



Such instance., however, are ra-e ; and the_grind- 

 ing and mixing of so many substances by that deluge, 

 have been etf ineutly beneficial to our farms. No 

 soil is fertile, says Humphrey Davy, that conia.ns 

 ns much as lU parts out of 20, of any one materud oi 

 .-onstituent. On tlie conliary, soils that contain mix- 

 tures of many things, are general y very ferule, - 

 provided that clay, l.me, and sand, form a l"rge «^nj 

 of the mass. When you see therefore, "Id "i°' "■ 

 the sweepings of the smiih shop, or leached ashes 

 thrown intolhe highway, you >"°y ^-"^'yj^'unn' 

 that the owner is greatly in want of instruction. 

 These are excellent manures, and permanent in their 



"'^Fe'haps some would ask, why »,re difTcrcnt things 

 nccc-Bsary to constitute a ertile soiH Aibw me to 

 answer in the language of Dr. Jackson s Geological 

 Report on Rhode Island : " Cuemical science ar- 

 ranges all bodies as electropositive, or electro-nega- 

 tive The electropositive are always the alka ine or 

 basic substances, while the acids are always electro- 

 ne»ative when brought in contact with matters ol the 

 poruivc class, if a soil is wholly positive or negative 

 in its nature, it fails to be fertile ; and when one pow- 

 er greatly predominates over the other, it is not m iis 

 moit favored condition. Silex is regarded as an acid, 

 and alumina, lime, magnesia, iron, and the alkalies, 

 are its opposites." •, j 



According to this view, the soil may be coiisidered 

 OS a vast galvanic battery. "It is rendered nearly 

 certain," says an eminent writer, •' that manures act 

 bv the salts they contain, acting when brought m con- 

 t^t with the earths in producing galvanic currents 

 and of course stimulating the plants in their growtb. 

 On this subject, however, I give no opinion ot my 

 own, because I can comprehend much more clearly, 

 the neutralizing efl-ects of acids and alkalies, and the 

 absorbent powers of the different materials. I his 

 view may regulate our practice quite as well as the 

 former ; and indeed there seems to bo nothing discor- 

 dant between them. . r -J 

 It is not many years since the existence of acid 

 soils was denied, or overlooked. The talented editor 

 of the Farmer's Register in Virginia, was tbt; first to 

 point out the error or oversight: and the subject is 

 now better understood. He furnishefl no evidence 

 indeed of the presence of uncombiued acid : but the 

 circumstantial evidence was very strong and pointed; 

 and in my judgment he fairly made out bis case. 

 Since the publication of his " Essay on Calcareous 

 Manures," other writers of great respectability, have 

 either adopted his views, or furnished additional and 

 positive proofs of their coirectness 



The question may occur, why is not an acid soil 

 as fertile as any other? It is more fertile than any 

 other for such plants 08 the Red Sorrel ; but not lor 

 the plants which ore the chief objects of the farmer s 

 culture. These generally require a neutral soil— that 

 is, one in which lime under some form or other, oc- 

 curs in considerable quantity. , , c 

 Although clay, according to Dr. Jockson s classih- 

 cation, is arranged as an alkaline earth, yet as such, 

 it is so feeble that when united with silica or sand 

 a'one, the mass becomes acid, ond unfitted for our 

 usual crops. On such lands, Indian corn assumes a 

 yellow sickly aspect, even when it is not in.iured by 

 stagnant water. And what is the cure ? Apply liine 

 enough, and then, says an accurate observer, "the 

 young corn lakes immediatrly a deep, healthy color, 

 before there is anv perceptible difl'erence in size. 1 he 

 crop will produce from fill); to one hundred perctnt. 

 more the first year, before its supply of food can have 

 possibly been increased.* And why ? Because the 

 poison which has paralized it, was destroyed. 



It is well known that when magnesia occurs among 

 quick-lime, it is often injurious to the land. Such a 

 mixture is called hot lime, from its burning alkaline 

 quality,— the magnesia not combining so speedily as 

 lime does, with carbonic acid, which would reiider it 

 mild. Besides, the lime, having a stronger attrac- 

 tion for that acid, will either be served first, or take it 

 from the mngnesia till it has got enough. I have seen 

 spots of earth, where large heaps bad been thrown 

 down to slock, remain barren- asfree from vegetation 

 as this floor— for two or three years, although the 

 ground had been carefully scraped over when the heap 

 was removed. 



Yet such is the stuff" to which the south eastern 

 pact of Pennsylvania owes much of its fertility. For- 

 merly, when 1 lent a hand to that process, it was con- 

 sidered tbat 30 or 40 bushels to the acre were as much 

 as the land could bear without injury. It was found. 



hdwever that rich land 

 land ; ond in pr 



.vould bear more than p( 

 lime they diaco^ered tbat 1( 





j„# 



l;,b;tll 

 iMill* 



pis 



Btllb 



mid, 



*E96ny on Calcareous IManurBs. 



Sd::;;h;';c;;m;ghti;e- ..^y and profitably aj ,..;'?^, 

 pied to pastures or meadows. The Imie was slacWl- • 

 ed in large heaps ; and ibcn from a cart or wagon o 

 a ca r^ day, it was scattered with a shovel evenly ove 

 "he gmss It fell among the decaying leaves w'^hm . 

 in worm weather yield carbonic acid, and it becaia , 

 mild without injuring the crop. . r .l i -u 



Some years ago, 1 published on aecoun o Hh f , 

 simple method, believing it superior to tbat of ai ^«j; 

 oZ country, and you may judge of my suiprise i 'd* 

 see it stated n a work of high authority, bearing tbi 0:'\ 

 date of 1S40, that magnesian limestone is unht for tte ,#^* 



'7::^ ,t:^:Ss:ies mher properties besidj l^^ 

 that iutrahzing acids. One of the most remark ,« 

 ble is the power to absorb putrescent -^»;«';«; ^ Z"' * ,', 

 to hold the fertilizing escence till u is ^'''""'^ ^V tbte F 

 crop, through every vicissitude "^ '^If «^"»°"«', '''Jf " 

 through indefinite periods of lime. The e it is, loch* , 

 edup"; and nothing at common temperatu.es but th . 

 eiief"Vofn growing plant, can unlock It. .,|" „ 



Lime has ^heretofore been styled the basis of alLrf 

 good husbandry. It scores up the manure tl'^^ J^ »» «»^'; 



mediately wanted, for future use-a kind of sal. »oM«; 

 ««. When the supplies from the barn yard are spreai. 

 and ploughed into a soil that is nearly destitute W 

 l.me. the growing crop catches a pan of i .=■ virtue 

 butnveiy'largepart escapes and very ''' '^ ^ ' ^ , 

 left for the benefit ot those tbat succeed. I hod bce.^i,b 

 used to such soils until 1 removed to my present fa tn 

 ond was tlien agreeably surprised to see how mud^ 

 more durable were the efl-fcts of stable manure. M)| 

 fields were limed by the deluge. 



Unwholesome vapors ond viliainous smells, ar 

 also absorbed by lime ; and some places once remarfc 

 able for insalubrity, have been changed m ^^^'J^'-^" [\ 

 acterby liming or marling the fields around them I, ... 

 Nuisances are t-onverted into manures. A ^ j^^ft 

 illustration of this piinciple is contamed in 'l'« f"!!* 

 lowing account from the Essay on Calcareous M.. e- 



'Tb'; carcase of a cow, killed byaecident late in th.. « 

 soring was laid on the ground, and covci^d by abou- « 

 25 bushels of broken sheila mixed with 45 bushcjso ,- 

 earth chiefly silicious. After the rams had Bet led tb. 

 heap, it was only six inches thick over he bights- (,. 

 part ;.! the carcass. The process of putrefaction wa. „,. 

 so 8!„«fcat several weeks passed belore it «as ov" «. 

 nor wW ever eo violent ns to throw off" any efiluvi. 

 that the calcareous earth d\dmtinUrcepttn itsescape.. 

 so that no ofl-eusive smell was ever perceived. If 

 October the whole heap was carried out and opplie. 

 to one sixth of an acre of wheat ; and the efiect pro 

 duced far exceeded that ot the calcareous irianur. 

 alone, which was applied at the same time on the sur 

 rounding land. », 



The same valuable work contains a caution to th.. k 

 farmer which may save him from dangeious error 

 ■' He is not to suppose that calcareous earth con en 

 rich a soil by direct means. It desiroj s the worst lo 

 of productiveness, [acidity] and uses to the greates 

 advantage the fertilizing powers ol other ina.imcs 

 but of ifself it gives no fertility to soils, nor furnishc f 

 the least food to growing plants." In other words, i 

 IB the strong box lor the treasure, but not the treesur. 



'"^Liine also possesses the property of making sandy 

 soils closer and firmer, and clayey soils lighter. It i£' .[ 

 a mean between two extremes. . , r 



I was conversing several years ago, with a farmei 

 from a sandstone district, who expressed sorne sur- 

 prise tbat 40 bushels of wheat could be raised to the 

 acre. "1 don't believe," said be, "that our land 

 could be made rich enough to produce such a crop- 

 it would lod»e." 1 am entirely of the same opinion, 

 unless lime be employed. Stable manure is too sum- 

 uloiing— the stem grows too lapidly— it is succulent 

 and weak. Whether the lime by combining wiili, 

 .ihca assists in stifl-ening the stalk, or not, we may be- 

 certain at least, that it yields nourishinent as the plant 

 needs it ; and that cvcrj^art will be healthy and 

 properly developed. ^^ !„„.„„i 



Professor Emmons soys in one of his Geologiial 

 Reports, that the most fertile soil forrned artificially, 

 bv ihe mixture of difl-erent earths, yielded on analysis 

 :i7 per cent, of c arbonate of lime. A j_u_is_k>.ovni, 



iTliefon^nTextrattfro™ Liebig's Organic Cliemistry, 

 " ''An afinoS'p'r'oZ^ion of certai- ecnponent parts o_f 

 pl..nt." presuppose, a power and "P--"!' '^ '/ ■\!'"'f^ "^ 

 io nhii-btlumost poicerful chcvuciil orton cannot lie cri 

 pared Th5bestde.a. fit nir-v lie formed by ''ons^f";.^- 

 hBt it .urp<««. the pcusr of the strcgest l"'"'^''^'}'"^ 

 wiih wbicb we are % able to eepnratc the oiyg.-n from 

 cjiibonic 



