THE 



AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



43 





•** 



^mTT^it decompose 5 the 

 manner. "*. ther e cai 



vege 



table | 

 little 





f~L in d therms- .-- alumina , nurugcu. 



^tSi. «* * s P 0t !l e d from their form erchemi- 

 ?*Tt, are disengaged tr°i it were, 



•ttt- 



ily 



-oersted, u ^ , , lp m wa ter c „ 

 Since is .ol«We in ^ ^ m r e 



■■! "TT. plants wiU not uc fthan i ut elv need. On 

 £ toi of lim \ th 2 acTd lime will also 



^iTtfaat contained « the J ^ ^ . g t i y 



7 te rendered nearly roso d tQ b the 



j£ f what was f° ^ rly acid of the soil from 



pa,, which may oe w ener ated, which 



2*5 tho- also humat of me i g of ^.^ 



^^nourishmen ophn ts^as 



soluble m water, r a i ways required, 



petter quantity 



!„, dayey soils mus «« | generally contain 



* than other rort. of soil, a ^ ej g ^ J 



* b ^lelS* potash and soda contained in 



— *P e-ei ? C ' T/micallv with the silica and driving 

 ^ ^combining c. em caHy w ^ ^^ 



rf the potash and soda, wn ^ ^^ .^ combl . 



S? W r?hi Mr d silica contained in the soil, 

 niUoa wi h the hyarat ^^ and thlg 1§ 



forming a'.ihcste of hmv™ m 



beneficial, a, crops tope«allj tt ^ ^.^ wQuld 



obuia ^toWM£™ B this proces8 , how- 

 Buke them difficult of digesno y of 



rftntains much hydrated silica, the plants ; will not 



Ztot • sufficient quantity of lime, for it will all be 



Sored in decomposing this compound and forming 



S which, as already said, is insoluble in water ; 



mbtL with lime thus often needs to be repeated 



Ztrtl times. It is a very important fact, moreover, that 



line lapoaeB the protoxide of iron and manganese to 



attract omen from the air, and thus to be converted into 



oxides, in which latter state they will be useful to the 



crota, whilst in the former they are often detrimental. 



We shall find, therefore, that manuring with lime will be 



especially useful to ferruginous soils. 



Hard clayey soils will be much loosened by a strong 

 •muring with lime ; in fact they will attain quite another 

 texture, and this is caused by the different extent to which 

 the two earths are distended by the absorption of water. 

 This will be shown more clearly when treating of marl. 

 Most probably lime also disposes the oxygen and nitrogen 

 of the air to form nitric acid, by which nitrate of lime is 



formed, which is a very powerful manure. In fine, 



caring all the decompositions and combinations which 

 fine undergoes, electricity is developed ; and this also 

 wiU certainly increase the activity of the soil. Caustic 

 uae will also act beneficially in destroying many seeds of 

 teds, or rather it will cause that if they should germi- 

 nate they will not come to perfection. It also kills many 

 of the lower orders of insects and worms. 



(To be continued.) 



OX. THE APPLICATION OF CHEMISTRY TO 

 AGRICULTURE UPON .RATIONAL 

 PRINCIPLES.-Nd. II. 



v , (Continued from page 27.) 



«ow the fertility of all soils depends upon the 

 Proportion which they contain of the above principles. It 

 ■ she object of Agricultural Chemistry to point out where 

 «J Of them is deficient; and it is the object of the 

 wrawic farmer to remedy this deficiency, and to main- 

 «n we correct proportion of each by suitable and judi- 

 «»« applications in the form of manures. 



10 understand this, it is quite clear he must have some 

 HofZ t l mbl constitution of manure as well 



It i« T 5, ese sub J e cts we shall consider hereafter, 

 dard t S'l?? that the farm er should have a stan- 

 aar ffrwnS th \ krm y of a soil, in its natural state, 

 *tte iW 1 aS a maximum ^ the due proportions 

 » bf, s J : i ments ; and ' secondl y> th *t he should be 

 fcr himself ' . proccss > to ascertain these proportions 



nfiS? 10 ,? standard of fertility, I confess 

 °*lj be deri ( l°r e v, P rellmina <7 difficulty, because it can 

 *** Present * • e : x P eriraents » and of these we have 

 tf ** Mi™ be n. Dt t0 / 0rm P° sitive conclusions. But 

 Uj.r!^ C0ncede d as important, it will be soon 



t .11 «oils there is a variable amount of moisture, 

 wMch can oily b driven off by heat. This property of 

 r^atng moisture is greatest in heavy soils or those in 

 which there is the largest portion of impalpable matter ; 

 Ind the least in light soils, where that proportion is less. 

 Here the" we have our starting-point dependent upon 

 !j«mW of fertility ; for it is not necessary for me to 



Xde^ ° f tMS qUaUty ° f S0US t0 



ltS lfS soils, the amount of insensible moisture may 

 be fixed as a maximum at one-eighth of the entire soil ; 

 the loose gravel and undecomposed vegetable fibre at one- 



ei8 Thus ra ifwe take 400 grains, we shall have as a maxi- 

 m um in heavy soils 50 grains of moisture, 1 and 50 gr ains 

 of loose gravel and undecomposed vegetable fibre. It 

 will sedo m exceed this proportion, but will frequently be 

 be ow it We shall now have 300 grains, which are divi- 

 sible by a very simple process into two portions, a fine 

 sand and an impalpable powder. The question is now to 

 decide what are the proportions of these two substances 

 -Tr this will fix the character of the soil. In a heavy te- 

 nacious soil which I recently examined the result was 

 108 Trains of impalpable powder, 187 of fine sand 54 



g ain g s of' co°arse * V U « **» "■« ^ £. 



feet vegetable and animal matter and loss This bo 1 the 

 farmer told me would grow good crops of Corn, if he 

 S but " work it ;" but the difficulty in doing this 

 was such, that he considered it the worst field on bis 

 farm Now it would not be sound to attempt to establish 

 nrinc'iples upon a single experiment, but as the result 

 S^ees wy much with the observations of others, and 

 has been, with little variation, confirmed by other expe- 

 riments" I am induced to propose one part of impalpable 

 matter in four of the entire soil, to be characteristic of 

 Hair specimen of heavy soil ; every five grams above this 

 ItZS bringing it nearer to absolute c a y^ every 

 five grains below approximating it to the stanaara 1 pro 



V °V^SMs'.-ln an excellent light soil which I exa- 

 mined and which will be further alluded to hereafter, I 

 found the following proportions u> 400 gwm :- 



Moisture .... 21 grainb. 

 Loose gravel . . • 2 < 



Fine sand . . . * ZZ 

 Impalpable matter . . 7 a 



Loss . . . 25 





»» 



due 



200 



234 

 260 

 260 



100 

 100 

 100 

 100 



^"uuatfor a trnm^ T I s the ob i ect of experiment, I 

 ^Cr^ We Shal1 have »any Tolnn- 

 "^ * Preient ««' ^ l ', however ' that l consider neces- 

 , l P r 4ie tW f! ly be wcomplished. 

 ^ W a u ^ndarLf SUl !? ard of fertility," which will 

 ^^befoCdel qU l Uty ° f 80ils - should for the 

 ^^P^pable matterV Pr ° POrti0nS ° f " ^ 8and " 



^^orffiil 6 ^^ tllat g ives tbe quality of 



£!?/ b y g'ancin, a tt 80,1S ; ? nd ? wiU be easil y ob - 



Zi. 11 "ntains the nl, • g6 , n . eral anal y sis detailed above, 



u!?* J n all soil* P ^organic and fertilising in- 



22 *i yCwn 1 a m S?« ° Ur ? tandard foundea 



?«iai A^;...w "general division nf n c«;i „ Q ™„cf 



mentis 



■dfosi 

 ta *ijaas 



multiplied t rt miscrv progresses and experi- 



a P«fect : staS r .V Ur invest 'g a tions further, 



standard upon a perfect series of 



400 grains. 



Sir H Davy, in an' excellent Wheat-soil, found three 



Fine sand . . 80 



Impalpable matter , 



400 



tvt^v rrood fertile light soils, particularly Turnip-lands, 



]\Iany ^ ^I'l^^ ' f impalpable matter than 



h r; 6 ? W but I think we may fairly'take the proper- 



"wtenthe proportion is as low as one part of impalp- 



M lien tne proj ui should denominate 



abb matter ... ten o^ the en£« m^ . decreasing as ^ 



£ Sptf rnat^r diminishes, until Rotate 

 Sty is arrived at, which, upon the author, j r of Sir H. 

 Davy, we may fix at 20 in 400 grains, or one In 20 of the 



eD M r ; standards would then come in the following order- 

 Barren , clay {m ^ Mei ■ Finc - and . Coar.e oK c. 



Fertile ; heavy soils . 100 or i of the soil 

 Fertile ; light soils . 66 or I of the so. 

 Fertile; sandy . . 40 or ,', of the so. 

 Barren, sand . . 20 or^of the so.1 



Between these standards there will of course be a great 

 many Ills of difference, but the character of the so.l » 

 easily determined by its approximation to he , at, ove 

 f, e u es Thus, if the amount of impalpable matter in 400 

 gfs t fromilO to 84 grs. the soils are vane .eso 



heavy soils j if it vary from 82 ! to 54 8"-. *«' %'™° 

 ties of light soils ; and if ft be 50, or 30, or 2o hey 

 would be specimens of sandy soils.-C. R. Brce, Ztou. 



market, , „ , N 



(To be contin ued.) 



ON THE APPUCATIONOF COPROLITES AS A 



MANURE. . 



Mn Pottfr has directed attention (AgneuUural 

 G„*t'te p 10?to some obseryations I late y laid before 

 the Geoio'gical Society on certain nodules found in the 

 crag formation at FelUton. in Suffolk aoi *h.cl i I hare 

 considered to be of coprolitic or.g.n. I belie ve that this 

 was not before inspected ; at least I know that ^ some : ot 

 our eminent geologists were of opinion that ^ B0 « ^ 

 might be only hardened masses of London clay, which 

 had been rolled into, various shapes at the time th crag 

 was deposited, and which had subsequently undergone 

 some alteration in their mineral character The nature ^f 

 the evidence upon which I satisfied myse f that they we re 

 coprolitic need not here be alluded to ; tatlw.4f 

 offer a few remarks upon the probability of heir bein 

 found useful for agricultural purposes. Liebig has P™ 

 bably allowed his enthusiasm to ge the bcttei of J* 

 judgment, when, after noticing certain s «!»«>•*«" n 

 Coprolites and osseous breccia, he concludes Ins ec ntly 

 published letters in this strain:- " ™at a c urioM a ml 

 interesting subject for contemplation 1 In the remams of 

 an extinct animal world, England w to find I the mwna ot 

 increasing her wealth in agricultural produce as she has 



already found the great support of her manufacturing in- 

 dustry in fossil fuel— the preserved matter of primeval 

 forests— the remains of a vegetable world. May this 

 expectation be realised ! and may her excellent ^popula- 

 tion be thus redeemed from poverty and misery ! 



Devoutly as we may all desire such a consummatiou.let 

 us neither too hastily adopt nor yet too hastily reject these 

 speculations of the German chemist. If he is correct m 

 supposing that the phosphate of lime contained in fossil 

 bones and Coprolites can be economically converted to 

 the same purposes as that in recent bones, his observa- 

 tions will be worthy the most serious attention of Agri- 

 culturists ; but even if his kindest wishes for our national 

 prosperity are not likely to be realised, coprolitic deposits 

 may still turn out to be of great local importance. Mr. 

 Potter's interesting analysis gives as nauch as 56 per cent 

 of phosphate of lime in the copro htic nodules of the 

 crae ' It will be a subject for statistical inquiry whether 

 they can be collected and pounded, or otherwise pre- 

 pared, with sufficient economy to make them aernceabte 

 to the Agriculturist. The collecting iron pyr.es by hand 

 along our eastern coast is found to pay well ; and cer- 

 tify it appears to me not improbable that ,t would 

 requfre much less labour to collect a ton of Coprohtes at 

 Feiixton than of iron pyrites I do not unde and why 

 Mr Potter has supposed there is any difficulty in dis- 

 tTnguish ng them from pebbles by their externa appear- 

 anc S e abnf ; a very slightly-practised eye .could never 

 make the mistake. The children employed at t he O sh 

 mines to separate the broken fragments of ore >n toj hree 

 or four samples have a much more difficult task, which 

 they accomplish with unerring certainty and wonderM 

 rapidity, and a single day's lesson would be sufficient to 

 each anyone to distinguish these nodules from rolled 

 stones I do not recolfect that they are found in any 

 qnantity upon the beach ; and the impress.on on my mind 

 s that they soon disintegrate or decompose when exposed 

 there. The rounded form which many of them present is 

 not due to attrition, as Mr. Potter suggests, hn « the 

 shape they have assumed naturally. A ery many of them 

 3 evident traces of the derm.c apparatus of 



crustacean* and in some instances the ent.re forms of 

 crustaceans, anu ' T . possibly account for 



crabs are distinguishable, xnis ow; y i -.wii 



the very high proportion of phosphate of lime which 

 Mr Potter has detected in them, and it may be important 

 to ascertain whether this character un.form^prevas 

 In considering these bodies as coprolitic, I do not suppose 

 hem all to live been the digested mat. in* ;£ro«™d ^ 

 .sharks thou»h some of the specimens affect the character 

 of Cop'roliTel from other formations which have been so 

 esteemed • but the more common character of the»e Lo 

 p'S U to have the material folded longrtndm. ly m . 

 thickened convolution round an axis which i» treqnentiy 

 thicKeneu con intestines of sharks and rays 



Fs e 't ansver-se. It may he worthy of inquiry whether some 

 of these nodiles may'not have resulted from the presence 

 of animal matter which has never been subjected to the 



the remarkable fact, that numerous traces o ^ taceans f 



SSzsA vr gsga; 



shale's ear This awakened attention, and further inves 



these circumstances a little m detail, in nop ; 



lng further attention to the^ ct V erj po ^ ^ 



a C 'few weeks on the east coast, as ^mucli . 



have myself received in working out their hwtory. 



SJ .'he i-alcu.ab,e ; dvant.ges wh.ch ^gt^ta^ 



ledge of natural history is always ; ro 



we cannot visit a spot upon the ee rth ^s surt 



meeting with a ^ffi«enoy of occupa .on for ^ ox ? ^ 



in snch invest.gat.ons as tb«u. . I nee ns 



roughly condemned as , , w. tenng P ace. U J ft 



would not stay there "»«" *^ ' w * EnglaIld , with excel- 

 is ^ated in one othenoblesbs^ng i , e ^ ^ 



last awg- trjsx 



Romans had fed on U00 y ears i ago i thege 



and other objects of antiquarian ^f^ ^ n0 time 



securing comparative results, and then *o 



year has passed away we may be m a po» in °n '' 



ll no to Liebig, and bid him try aga n M-T «^ 



that some one of our Agricultural Sociejw i 



the question which is to be solved qu.te as wen wo y 





