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i 
1843. 
THE GARDENERS’ CHRONICLE. 
847 
restoring fertility to exhauste: 
of the guano—a manure which, although of recent intro- 
duction into England, has found such general and exten- 
sive application. 
“We believe that the importation of one hundred-weight 
of guano is equivalent to the importation of eight hundred- 
weight of Wheat—the hundred-weight of guano assumes 
in a time which can be accurately estimated the form of a 
quantity of food corresponding to eight bh zt ight of 
Wheat. The same estimate is applicable in the valuation 
of bones. 
“ Tf it were possible to restore to the soil of England and 
Scotland the phosphates which during the last fifty years 
have been carried to the sea by the Thames and the Clyde, 
it would be equivalent to manuring with millions of hun- 
dred-weights of bones, and the produce of the land would 
increase one-third, or perhaps double itself, in 5 or 10 years. 
“We cannot doubt thatthe sameresult would follow if the 
price of the guano admitted the application of a quantity 
to the surface of the fields, containing as much of the 
phosphates as have been withdrawn from them in the 
same period. 
“Tfa rich and cheap source of phosphate of lime and the 
alkaline phosphates were open to England, there can be 
No question that the importation of foreign Corn might be 
altogether dispensed with after a short time. For these 
materials England is at present dependent upon foreign 
countries, and the high price of guano and of bones pre- 
vents their general application, and in sufficient quantity. 
Every year the trade in these substances must decrease, 
or their price will rise as the demand for them increases, 
‘* According to these premises, it cannot be disputed, 
that the annual expense of Great Britain for the importa- 
tion of bones and guano is equivalent to a duty on Corn: 
with this difference only, that the amount is paid to 
foreigners in money. 
“To restore the disturbed equilibrium of constitution 
of the soil,—to fertilise her fields,—England requires an 
€normous supply of animal excrements, and it must there- 
fore excite considerable interest to learn that she possesses 
beneath her soil beds of fossil guano, strata of animal 
excrements, in a state which will probably allow of their 
being employed as a manure at a very small expense. 
The coprolithes discovered by Dr. Buckland, (a discovery 
of the highest interest to Geology,) are these excrements ; 
and it seems extremely probable that in these strata 
England possesses the means, of supplying the place of 
recent bones, and therefore the principal conditions of 
improving agriculture —of restoring and exalting the 
fertility of her fields. 
“Tn the autumn of 1842, Dr. Buckland pointed out to 
me a bed of coprolithes in the neighbourhood of Clifton, 
from half to one foot thick, inclosed in alimestone forma- 
tion, extending as a brown stripe in the rocks, for miles 
along the banks of the Severn. The limestone marl of 
Lyme Regis consists, for the most part, of one-fourth 
part of fossil excrements and bones. The same are abund- 
ant in the lias of Bath, Eastern and Broadway Hill, near 
Eversham. Dr. Buckland mentions beds, several miles 
in extent, the substance of which consists in many places, 
of a fourth part of coprolithes. 
“Pieces of the limestone rock of Clifton, near Bristol, 
which is rich in coprolithes and organic remains, frag- 
ments of bones, teeth, &c., were subjected to analysis, 
and were found to contain above 18 per cent. of phosphate 
Of lime. If this limestone is burned and brought in that 
State to the fields, it must be a perfect substitute for bones, 
the efficacy of which as a manure does not depend, as has 
been generally but erroneously supposed, upon the nitro- 
Senised matter which they contain, but on their phosphate 
of lime. The osseous breccia found in many parts of 
England deserves especial attention, as it is highly pro- 
bable that in a short time it will become an important 
article of commerce. What a curious and interesting 
Subject for contemplation ! In the remains of an extinct 
@nimal world, England is to find the means of increasing 
her wealth in agricultural produce, as she has already 
found the great support of her manufacturing industry in 
fossil fuel,—the preserved matter of primeval forests,— 
the remains of a vegetable world.” 
We quote this passage for the sake of showing the vivid 
Style of the author, and not because we quite} concur in 
tof, Liebig’s anticipations concerning coprolites, whose 
Value is probably exaggerated. é ‘ 
rom these we turn to other considerations. It will be 
Yemembered that in former editions the author adopted, 
88 a proved fact, the theory of excrementitions deposits 
Y plants, and even went so far as to assert that it was a 
Necessary consequence of their secreting power that excre- 
Mentitious matters should be formed. We and others 
‘ave pointed out the objections that must be taken to 
these views ; and upon turning over the pages of this new 
edition we at first believed that they had been quietly 
abandoned. We find, however, at p. 75, that the accu- 
Tacy of Macaire Prinsep’s views is still unquestioned, at 
least in part. In this instance Dr Liebig relies upon the 
fo lowing case :— 
“Let us,” he says “ consider the composition ofthe ashes 
of two Fir-trees as analysed by an acute and most accurate 
chemist. One of these grew in Norway, on a soil of 
Mvariable composition, but to which soluble salts and 
Particularly common salt, were conveyed in great quantity 
by rain-water. How did it happen that its ashes contained 
NO appreciable trace of salt, although we are certain that 
its roots must have absorbed it after every shower ? 
‘We can explain the absence of salt in this case by 
Means of the direct and positive observations referred to, 
Which have shown that plants have the power of return- 
4ng to the soil all substances unnecessary to their existence.” 
‘ut to our apprehension there must either be some 
frror in these analyses, or the trees mever could have 
| land is afforded by the use 
absorbed any salt. For if they had ever taken it up, there 
must have been some portion remaining at the time when 
they were felled. It strikes us that this case proves too 
much, 
But if the old theory of vegetable excrements be virtually 
abandoned, or limited to the extrication of oxygen (p. 170) 
we have a new one, which is not a little curious. Profes- 
sor Liebig considers bark a kind of excrement. To avoid 
the suspicion of misrepresentation we quote his words :— 
- “ These barks are in so far true excrements, that they 
arise from living plants, and play no further part in their 
vital functions ; they may even be removed from them, 
without thereby endangering their existence. It is known 
that certain trees throw off annually their barks: this 
circumstance, viewed in its proper light, shows that, 
during the formation of certain products formed by the 
vital processes, materials arise which are incapable of 
experiencing a further change. : 
‘There is every reason to believe ‘that this separation 
takes place over the whole surface; it is observed not 
only on the stem but also on the smallest twigs ; and 
hence we must conclude that the same excretory process 
goes on in the roots.” 
We will not set about seriously refuting this strange 
hallucination, but content ourselves with asking whether 
scurfskin, the points of our hairs, the ends of our nails, 
or the slough of a snake are excrements ? 
We had hoped that Professor Mohl had put an end to 
the folly of asserting that dryness of the soil is of no con- 
sequence to plants when matured ; that is, we suppose, 
when the fruit is ripened. We are, however, mistaken. 
Professor Liebig maintains this opinion with as much 
pertinacity as if there was nota tree or bush within a 
hundred miles of Giessen :— 
“«* When a plant is quite matured, and when the organs 
by which it obtains food from the atmosphere are formed, 
the carbonic acid of the soil is no further required. 
“ Deficiency of moisture in the soil, or its complete dry- 
ness, does not now check the growth of a plant, provided 
it receives from the dew and from the atmosphere as 
much as is requisite for the process of assimilation. 
During the heat of summer it derives its carbon exclusively 
from the atmosphere.’ 
It seems useless to put him right upon such points, for 
he does not appear to be acquainted with some of the 
commonest facts connected with vegetable life. We shall 
therefore dismiss the subject for the present without 
further comment, inthe hope that with time this learned 
chemist may become sensible of such errors as this, and 
his speculations about lactescent plants, which he still 
maintains have their moisture secwred from evaporation 
by a coating of caoutchouc and waa, which surrounds 
them by a waterproof envelope ! ! 
The Almanacs of Farming and Gardening.— The 
approach of another year reminds us of these little pro- 
ductions. Two Gardeners’ Almanacs are beforeus: John- 
son’s, published by the company of Stationers, is a useful 
publication of 96 closely-printed pages, filled with all sorts 
of information relating to Horticulture ; Glenny’s is a sort 
of Florists’ Calendar, very trashy, very dear, and chiefly 
intended as a puff of ‘‘ The Gardener,” a book containing 
a greater mass of ignorance than any work that we are 
acquainted with. The author tells his readers (p. 20) 
that ‘‘if the ground be hard frozen the seed cannot be 
sown ;”’ that ¢ender annuals may be planted out at ¢he end 
of April (p. 27); that Chrysanthemums are the most 
“untidy of adi our flowers’’ (p. 34); that when stone 
fruit-trees are budded in July the stocks are to be cut 
down to within a few inches of the ground (p. 34), and so 
on. Of the Farmers’ Almanacs that by Johnson and 
Shaw contains 100 pages of very closely-printed matter, 
besides as much more of extremely useful advertisements. 
We need not say that such a companion is invaluable to a 
farmer. The British Farmers’ Almanac has 96 pages, 
more loosely printed, and 16 pages of miscellaneous adver- 
tisements ; it contains two calendars, one for farmers, the 
other for gardeners, and the usual information concerning 
fairs, tariff, &c. 
Theorie der Girtnerei, von John Lindley. 
Theory of Horticuliure.) 8vo. Vienna. 
(Continued from page 743.) 
Page 131.—If the majority of contrivances for the pur- 
pose of warming plant-houses be examined, it will be 
found that through the warm air they engender during 
severe and enduring cold, they produce no other 
effects than are often seen to take place by removing 
plants after exposure to a severe winter into one of these 
deficiently-warmed greenhouses. The foliage of such 
plants is often Jess interesting than that of the plants ina 
well-preserved Herbarium. i 
age 131,—‘‘ Figure B re- 
presents a rain-gauge. A cop- 
per funnel, a, which has an 
opening below of a quarter of 
an inch in diameter, is fastened 
upon a cylindrical tube, 5. At 
the side of this a glass-tube, 
c, is placed, which communi- 
cates with it below, and has @ 
graduated scale attached. It is 
evident that any water will stand 
in the two tubes at the same 
height, and will be measured by 
the graduated scale. Enough 
water is then poured into the 
funnel to rise above the brass seed 
ring which fastens the glass tube 
just above the cock, and this : 
will form the zero point of the Fig. B. 
(Lindley’s 
1842. 
scales The diameter of the rim of the funnel being 
known, a quantity of water that would occupy the same 
surface for an inch in height must be poured into the fun- 
nel, and the height at which it stands in the glass tube 
will indicate the height at which an inch of fallen rain 
would stand in the instrument, and must accordingly be 
marked off on the scale, The same quantity of water should 
be added again and again, in order to mark off on the scale 
several inches. As the diameter of the tube is small com- 
pared with that of the funnel, the water rises several 
inches in the tube, and by this means many subdivisions 
of the inch may be easily made. When the scale is con- 
structed in this way, it is of little importance what the 
form of the funnel is, as the relative depth of the rain is 
measured, and not the actual quantity. This apparatus 
rests upon a tripod, which should be fastened to the 
ground, so that the wind may not turnit over. The edge 
of the funnel should stand horizontal, and the opening of it 
should be small, in order to prevent a rapid evaporation of 
the water, as the true quantity of the rain should be 
ascertained independent of external circumstances. The 
best way is to measure off the water as soon as convenient 
after rain, reducing the quantity of it to the point marked 
zero in the scale before alluded to. 
Page 132.—*« Jt is through the wind that the moisture 
of plants and the earth is constantly borne away, and thus 
the evaporation of plants is increased, for no still damp 
air, as is the case in a calm, surrounds plants. 
Page 135.—** Shades over plants recently transplanted 
not only prevent evaporation from the plant, but they also 
prevent the moisture of the soil being carried away. 
Page 141.—** In the case of plants covered with thatched 
hurdles, it should be borne in mind that the material 
used for covering absorbs heat during the day, and pro- 
duces an increased temperature by offering a resistance to 
the influence of the cold air, by radiating the heat imme- 
diately the sun is away. The heat also thus absorbed will 
be communicated to the covered plant, as there must 
always be a tendency to a balance of temperature between 
the covered and covering body. 
Page 141.—‘* We find it very advantageous, during the 
winter, to surround those plants which grow on grass with 
leaf-earth (Lauberde) to the extent of about six inches in 
height and twelve inches in breadth. 
Page 142.—‘‘In a climate such as ours, (Vienna,) 
where frost and rime so often appear before or at the 
time of the flowering of our fruit-trees, it would be a 
senseless experiment to endeavour to force the blossoms 
by blackening the walls. In many parts of the country, 
branches of the Conifere are employed asa means of 
covering against the severe frosts at the beginning of the 
winter, and are continued till the time of the disappear- 
ance of frost and rime. The longer permanent rest and 
the greater power of the sun’s rays soon remove the 
resulting interruption. 
Page 143.—The expression, 30° Fahrenheit, as stated 
in the original, can only be regarded as an error of the 
press. (The translator has altered it in the text of the 
work to 3° Reaumur.) 
(To be continued.) 
THE NATURALIST’S CORNER. 
(Continued from page 808.) 
66. Impurities of Water corrected.—The use of cer- 
tain plants and vegetable juices in correcting the bad 
qualities of water admits of ample illustration. It is 
understood that the original inducement of the Chinese 
to the use of tea was for the purpose of correcting the bad 
qualities of their water ; and our early colonists in Ame- 
rica infused in the water, for the same purpose, the branches 
of Sassafras. Niebuhr, speaking of the Nile, observes, 
“The water is always somewhat muddy, but by rubbing 
with bitter almonds, prepared in a particular manner, the 
earthen jars in which it is kept, this water is rendered 
clear, light, and salutary.” Roberts, in his “ Oriental 
Tilustrations,’’ has some interesting observations concern- 
ing the practices of the Hindoos with reference to this 
subject. He informs us that the brackish water in the 
neighbourhood of the salt-pans, or of the sea, is often 
corrected by the natives throwing into it the wood called 
Perru-Nelli (Phyllanthus emblica) ; and should the water 
be very bad, the well is lined with planks cut out of this 
tree. He adds—‘‘In swampy grounds, or where there 
has not been rain for any long time, the water is often 
muddy and very unwholesome. But Providence has again 
been bountiful; by giving to the people the T'eatta maram 
(Strychnos potatorum). All who live in the neighbour. 
hood of such water, or who have to travel where it is, 
always carry a supply of the nuts of this tree. They grind 
one or two of them on the side of an earthen vessel; the 
water is then poured in, and the impurities soon subside.” 
67. Darnel.—The Lolium temulentum, or Darnel, is 
remarkable as being the only well-authenticated instance 
of a plant belonging to the order of Grasses in which nar- 
cotic or even deleterious properties have been found. The 
grains are said to produce intoxication in man, beasts, and 
birds, and to bring on fatal convulsions. According to 
Christison, Darnel, when mixed with flour and made into 
bread, has been known to produce headache, giddiness, 
somnolency, delirium, convulsions, paralysis, and even 
death. Some years ago, the same author tells us almost 
all the inmates of the Sheffield workhouse were attacked 
with symptoms supposed to be produced by their Oatmeal 
having been accidentally adulterated with Lolium ; and a 
case is on record of a farmer, near Poictiers, in France, 
having killed himse)f by persevering in the use of Darne] 
flour for making bread. His wife and servant, who dis 
continued to eat it, escaped, but were violently affected 
with vomiting and purging. 
CALENDAR OF OPERATIONS for the ensuing week. 
For some yetrs I have entertained views on early forcing 
Grapes at variance with common practice, without the oppor» 
