332 THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. [May 
utely free from chalk, had | silicate of ammonia was muc mor o 
e eg e kee geen dee aid a 6 etn ope beorptive propert toa far ge | containing carbonic acid gas, 5 ‘ats steal ea m water 
e ia SA a by ike il. Thi * rious | extent, E the aon et chalk to it did not increase > had been fo und that one gallon of 4 
eee in tn oder i suppose ed 8 be due to cer- tion of carbonic acid dissolved ab saturated sle 
and most OE result : it i indicated a power in the | that pow Again, it was sup f luble ER f f about two 
soil to combine with certain organic ene es and | tain rino compounds « apable of forming tr u a 0 Ser ie rom the double Silicate 
salts, and to render 33 insoluble—a power which pre- combinations with ammonia ; but although h di not twice as mu ure water, If the 
viously had never been supposed to ity When he | deny that such so Joada might exist, the property in that annually fell on an acre of land, and w. 
(Mr. Way) took up the subject, he soon found that this | question was clearly not referable to 5 7 for not only much as from 2000 to 3000 tons s, was 
property was not confined to the salts of ammonia, but did a clay dug from a Pit, white and free altogether 1 and that. part of the wa 
extended more or less to all the different alkaline com- from organic compounds, absorb ammonia, but a soi oil, and might be engaged ove itt toil 
pounds of manure—that it was shared by salts of potash, | when burnt so as to destroy 10 bi rid contents, s read in mcrae the ammonia and presenting it to the plant, 
magnesia, lime, &c., and that phosphoric acid and a a gl pete te aig oe SAT 5 sat ck Le ri erar? te iil Feuer DA A how the fey 
uble phosphates were included. e also observed | therefore did not 0 zona required by the Wheat crop mi 
er, Migs wer of the soil—its tendency to retain the of lime, neither 92 5 ie biking to the ie bodies be supplied to it with sufficient rapidity for its ordinn 
compounds—only applied to the base, and not to the|of the soil; and it could only therefore pertain to growth. But still it Was possible that under certain 
whole salt ; that is to say, that if a solution of sulphate | the clay, or sess. betii nce in the clay. That it circumstances the slight solubility of the silicate of 
of ammonia were filtered through a si the sulphuric | was not shared by the whole 1 he was early con- ammonia might somewhat retard vegetation, and thatthis 
acid was found in the liquid, not indeed in the free or vinced ; because, if so, the amount of the power would might explain the action of common salt, He hadf 
uncombined state, but as sulphate of hg or in combi- | have been far greater than it anf bars He (Mr. Way) | that a solution o common salt dissolved the ammonia in 
nation with some other earthy or alkaline substance. | had early g that 0 was connected with the much larger quantity than even rion - 7 — water: 
The filtration process, too, did not appear to be neces- existence of some double class of N r ; and he had thus, one gallon of w water, containing WO grains of 
sary. A salt when in solution had only to be incor- ens this belie ay bye ve months ago, when | common salt, would dissolve 20 grains of Me ia 
porated with the soil, and could not afterwards be | lecturing to them of lime. And knowing | the silicate, or twenty times as much as p 
washed out of it. This action was instantaneous, or | that clay ee a 1 8 Pa the felspar, and other How very likely it was that this was the real ex 
almost so: no length of time was needed for its occur- e as which ae existed in the rocks from which the of the action o common salt! but in order they 
rence. With regard to the extent of the action, it was | clay w as originally fo 8 l; nih was induced to try 1 | might fully understand this part of the subject, he must 
found that 100 parts of an ordinary loamy soil ‘emt tepi were the Ainin which he was in quest. | explain to them an idea which he had taken in reference 
unite with 2-10ths or 3-10ths of ammonia, and a larger | Felspar is a double silicate A alumina and potash ; 10 to this double silicate of ammonia and alumina, He had 
quantity of 3 or in 1 words, 1000 Ibs. of soil S be supposed capable of yielding its potash up to | already stated that water did not dissolve the whole salt, 
would unite with from 2 to 3 lbs. of ammonia, This | certain acids and t aking ammonia from them instead. | but that the silicate of alumina remained undissolved, 
888 Ai at first seem small, ioe it was not so , powdered felspar was digesti in sulphate | whilst the silicate of ammonia was dissolved in small 
when taken in connection with the vast mass of the of ammo d of result was obtained. He had quantity. Now he had found that this solution of sili- 
od i i dried up on 
cu- | was poured upo 
dated to weigh 100 tons; and if 6 inches of the soil were | soluble salt of lime, i the resulting liquid always con- | very thin glass, and — scales were found upon 
cultivated, that quantity would weigh 600 . 5 and tained lime in solution. It was thought, shea that nation to be silica ; the ammonia having evaporated with 
would be found equal to unite with nearl 13 ton of | soils 1 contain an insoluble allet e of lime capable the water, and ane thesilica as a transparent varnish 
ammonia—a quantity which would e cain by about of uniting with ammonia in place “of lime, and so on the dish. Was it not likely that this fact formed the 
7} tons of sulphate of ammonia, or 10 tons of Peruvian | givi =“ ‘table the results observed. Silicate of lime | true eg of the manner in which silica wasdepo- 
guano, It was plain, therefore, ‘hat the power of was therefore prepared by adding to a — of a salt sited on the of Wheat? He thought it might be. 
absorption was fully twenty times as much as was neces- of lime a solu pont — ete of soda, or soluble glass, Chemis to had aly nest had a diffculty in accounti 
sary, or likely to be ever put in force ; so that, allowing as it was someti called; but the res resulting silicate, | this 3 ion of silica on the straw of cereal plants by 
for a very large portion of the soil not being brought after being . id r had not the requisite reference to the — — of potash and soda ; and 
Anto contact with the manures, the power in question | action on salts of ammonia. It was, — ecessary | the solubility of silica in onia had not been before 
Vas practically ample for all purposes. He had endea- to look further ; and an attempt was made to produce | observed. By the easiest vata simplest process a weak 
_ Youred to show how important the property was in rela- artificially, and without the aid of heat, a class of com- 80 so lution of silicate of ammonia, in passing through the 
unds s A 
manure . Lawes’ obser- 
Salts did not remain in the soil in such a state that they had hardly been known to chemists, or, if known, had | vation of the loss of ammonia from the soil in the growth 
might be washed away by the first shower into the been but little studied, and certainly not with re- of corn crops. Mr. Lawes had found that for — 
drains—th i fet i i ast ; 
i nure ngs. The present 
: „entrusted to the soil, and that . . to be them — been eminently successful, | 
of crops was not so wasteful a process (with due an ped h rv o clear u 8 
‘ance for ti nature of the Soil) as might eie mep] — the difficulty i in regard to the absorptive powers of soils. | that is to say, that 5 lbs. of ammonia were regu 
; deen sup) was important, also, as removing | Mr. Way here ora to the meeting the way in which produce a 2 of Wheat conta equal 
any fear of the effects of drainage, and indeed threw | these silicates were formed. A solution oF common | to 1 Ib. of ammonia, This loss would atonce be accounted 
am oy 3 the benefit of ae asa means | alum gave, with 5 Flas of silicate of soda, a bulky for, and va inevitably result, if the a 
i j e manure into con iets depth and | precipitate, which was not silicate of alumina only, but | the silica’ were due to the action to which he 
: Pay a ‘the soil which an 2 its retention. | a compound of silicate of alumina and silicate of soda. referred. This argument might seem opposed to 
t shown, too, that ny e had given Mr. Way explained that the best plan to get this - | general i iacal salts, whilst — 
a new feature to irrigation, an d to the use of liquid | pound of definite composition and containing the we od ore Wheat very lux in 
‘soil a? at ater might, and did, carry into the proportion of alkali, was to dissolve pure precipitated | produce, were attended with * e objection of HET 
in solution substances which it would leave there | alumina in tony or soda, and to add to this a solution of | causi ng the crop to lodge from want of stre strength in he 
th i i a was in relation to | straw. But this difficulty he could meet. et of 
er ower of the so 0 
7 
1 
m 
8 
á 
nm 
2 
— 
0 W spin) il erties equival e 
e ough perhaps not large by absolute | distilled water, and dried, Mr. Wa t | 
r 0 5 fi ent on to say | twe 
za was, on account of its more perfect and equal | that this double silicate of soda and alumina was the | it followed mot 
ht, y 3 l as a conseque 
* e W in 558 15 a mechan Hug type e of several o thers which could mr formed from it. | | containing a fair 7 portion of clay, all 1 soil, 
; 8 anure. ure m I it in a di orated wi 
have been —he might say had been supposed aly Silicate l {Silica lagram, compo unds, ii a Te e. followed that in 
of Soda Al : 
a With water of combination; ordinary and natural circumstances, the form 
Alumina { Soda of i 
if such 
as that i i f 
any liquid were to escape into the | and stated that, 7 the water 3 driven off by heat, of the silicate by carbonic acid water, Wo ted to the 
é its nee bpa 00 parts w. one in which the ammonia could be present 
£ | toe ove 2 ae ant. 3 atu 
Were or were ca n it; and that manure was Soda C 1 the only compounds of r substance, to 
: solid DOn AI Y — 1 1 if applied in the or in — relation of two Oquivalenite of silica to one of | | Vegetation. He might iran pe the way, bos P re of 
ag Se s many more soda and one of alumina. This silicate was chiefly of t k th harmless | is 
. — TA n ie dines ast Sl ical, the source of others ; thus, when digested i bers acids (the silicie anit carbonic) ws considers of 
with manure. But Y. 8 Ai unite | a solution of a salt of ammonia, solved out in the | fit ing them for the nu of the deli te hle 
aud mat presented themselves :—Ist. What is the cause | whilst the an „r, Lulphate; as the case might be ow, in the case of manuring Yis, which wis 
and nature of the change which the different melt or — . and dried, would now | salts, especially in the form of top- Ar ES hle that 8 
en ; PERS 0 ammonia. On the table we uite 
e undergo by Solos ings kah 2dly. er of tae siliea i i rs, l woul, — 4 of 8 en 4 weet 1 the a ‘a ne- 
2 > 4 X ren 0! prese > : 7 * eee ig ergo 
insoluble in the soil, do plants ultimately get at them for | to the silicate of alumi ager 2 9 is herd be unchanged 5 3 — Fo ei true form of 
the ? It was in res to 0 ammoniacal salts 
ir nourishment He had n labo: d conversion in 
. pect obtain | Cessary elaboration and e 
questions that he é hielthars of GA e taining it with er full theoretical food, the sili 10 carbonate 5 
PN s aduen f 5 ilicate or ; 
5 E 44 a aon pine ; but he would remark > much as Nia gt ve all h pm e i 3 — 5 3 mre 
report of the progress that had been A "The than 2 It was 1 ery slightly soluble in | 8 erasers * he nage Meera which pro auch $ 
was Wall kad wens re oe a wd rae pu ‘water ; 1 A was h cg A id to be | all highly fordii and stimulating Taai matters, 
i i tan è 7 > wate j A an 20 
peat sp orem ; bers p 11 1 ive to have po Ase ssi whole compound, but left the e silicato of f al 3 r and ammoniacal malte incorporation with 
the “ Soci pe ei Be eh i mber of solved. The solu bility was such that one 1s- should be brought into — 5 of sowing; then r 
V -nnna eee + 1. 8 r rr himself i in | ammonia dissolved in 70,000 f pitsat water, or Eoia soil by being used h lt: the of n on 
with a brief outline of the principal ords, an imperial gallon 5 * woul ould diss issolve tegen Retr oy sop wi evidently found 
e cause of th changes, from the silicate one Upon or | for the Wheat ing were correct, of the 
pan pey 4 were not the | deration, this would be seen to 2 an excessively sli sli * 2 — ee y If anal fo compounds of 
ji sg A perdi degree of of solubilit - for an equal quantity of pe daite rapari with the soil: and the use of 3 heaps: 
er from eam t ynie acid, would dissolve twice much | manure and soil had, since he comme ost phi 
vad: WE a e 5, hed two ro of carbonate of lime, which was b iiy ments, alwi to him by ara m all eren 
the sil “pigs vad 1 Sled oe i ‘ale 2 soned an insoluble substance, 0 of the t phi ms 85 5 1 oyi ng 
been red 3 ne t that | questions- namely, a as to how plants got their ammonia su gest fort e 5 = ether I e 
independent of the “net that emit ro — there 8. 4 p i — manu — . 
i t wå 
ee tne ae Heed so little of didn t A bie i was ede 4 shed ; or if 
oned for having believed at t first that no l mirkt bé un sear 
ammonia passed through the soil. But the 8 wae igh the manure was to A 
