THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



i 



** * CT %r Wheat, and four cwt. for Potatoes and 1 urmps. 

 *» P5 °A account of the facility and cheapness of 

 Ia EDg t he%ano seems to promise most In Peru a 

 transport, the * oundSf C ost between three and five 



?"K mm os. to 85.). In Hamburgh it is sold at from 

 * nn '. ( r£ dollars (from 9*. to 14*. per cwt., according 

 3 l t0 o rix-dollars i Germany , the use of guano 



"^X^*™*** i " Bavaria ; where T it - is f r d 



^h, cheaper than bone-dust or Poudretle It is, how- 

 to rprv Sesirable that some of the rich possessors of 

 r'J.hould try some experiments on the subject, 

 ^rnlno ecommends itself on account of its great con- 

 Y^Hnii and the facility with which it may be employed 

 SS ^ieavier manures cannot be carried It is very pro- 

 line that many of the steep, stony, mountainous districts 

 Wh Dos-f «» at present little soil, but by further break- 

 Tn, down promise a rich vegetation as soon as they shall 

 be brought into cultivation,-such for instance as the steep 

 rid.es of bills in the Rhenish vine regions, would quickly 

 rtoav the expense of manuring them with guano But it 

 mL not be concealed that such culture in the first in- 

 stance would require a considerable outlay of capital. 



"With respect to the peculiar nature of guano, from con- 

 taining many volatile ingredients, which are lost by im- 

 mediate contact with the atmosphere, it should be re- 

 membered, 1st, that it proves less beneficial for manur- 

 ing in winter than in spring ; and 2d, that it is used 

 cheapest where it can be dissolved, and consequently 

 where manure cannot be carried, yet where a spring of 

 water exists, by which the guano may be dissolved, it 

 may be used successfully. 



In America, the farmer often takes a small quantity of 

 powdered guano, about as much as he can hold in his 

 fingers, and places it in a shallow hole at the root 

 of any plant to be manured, and then pours over it a 

 email quantity of water. Guano cannot be recommended 

 in those districts of Germany where the expense of carriage 

 Vrould counterbalance its advantages, or where water 

 cannot be easily obtained. In the cultivation of gardens 

 it promises much, as well as for increasing the growth 

 of Grass on pleasure-grounds. — Munich, Feb. 13, 1843. 



ON THE APPLICATION OF CHEMISTRY TO 

 AGRICULTURE UPON RATIONAL 



PRINCIPLES.— No. VIII. 



(Continued from page 123 .) 



Of the Inorganic Elements in the Composition 



of Plants.* 



Lime. — Composed of calcium and oxygen, one equiva- 

 lent of each — exists in variable proportions in almost all 

 plants, and, consequently, must form part of the soil in 

 which they grow. It is essential for the formation of 

 bone in animals, hence the necessity for its existence in 

 plants. United with carbonic acid, it is known to the 

 farmer as chalk, marl, &c, with sulphuric acid as gyp- 

 sum, and with phosphoric acid as phosphate of lime. 



Phosphorus united with oxygen forms phosphoric acid, 

 which again uniting with lime, forms the phosphate of 

 lime above alluded to, and this is contained in consider- 

 able quantity in the husk of grain. Phosphate of lime is 

 the form in which the earth of bones is deposited. 

 Phosphorus is also essential to the formation of brain 

 ana nervous matter. Its importance, therefore, as an 

 ingredient of the soil is evident, and the more so as it is 



lw£ 0rg \ D,C '"f edient most deficient in ail soils. Bran, 

 which contains the phosphate of lime, is therefore a good 

 manure when added to other ingredients. Crushed bones, 

 or course, contain it in abundance, united with the azo- 

 twed Principle gelatine. In some remarks which have 

 been made upon the experiments of His Grace the Duke 



addSn™ :- the . fact of the B»*l>niiri<! acid which was 

 SoSinE J eDt | ln ? thG 8SCa P e of a^onia from the decom- 



den m.m gelal , 1De hSS been lost si § ht of ' To be ™ pffi - 

 snec I? 7 e ' P ho ?P h »te of lime must be added to other 



of ammnni 5 i hUS iQ S uan ° ^ is united with sulphate 

 St5jS^ a i and . ln the ex P eri '»ents of Mr. Lawes, of 

 «^ri£«.t UX ° n ° f P h0s P hates of lime and a "™° nia 



wi&r itCd -7 lth0Xy 8« n ' M silicic acid, and, again, 

 ^3 c P f ° " k f S »*** of potash, is essential to the stiff- 

 lands ,h- B tu he Cerealia - Wheat grows best on light 



P«i«A^T? C ° Xl u in mUch siIex in tne forra of finesand. 

 tct„„ u _, ls ' whlch « a compound of potassium and 



1 for agri- 



— not becnmo rcc" "■ '" " c,,ulcnL » l °e scancs of the Corn 

 <Wes a , ' and are object to mildew and other 



infor *ed me thS ?"?>!" M * ^ighbourhood, Mr. Boby, 

 farm f 0r tn 7 nat h,s fath er used to burn the straw from his 



<l ue nce w» ^ rpose of procuring the potash. The conse- 



P ot ash man, } J Crops becarae subject to mildew. The 



EitQ er p 0t « K y Was givea U P» and the mildew ceased, 

 tures ofm , ° r Soda are necessary in the soil of all pas- 

 ^oold nrnii.; ' f0r without the alkaline base the cows 



Sulih • n ° milk ' 

 ** plants' 1S i! 0UlnX in m ? st soils > and aIs o as a constituent 



The constituents of plants forming food for animals | 

 will stand thus : — 



NON-AZOTISED. 

 Sugar "^ 



Starch I 



Gum 



Oil 



Fat I 



Wax J 



AZOTISED. 

 Albumen "\ Restoration of waste, formation of 

 Fibrine > muscle, and all other organic tissue of 



Casein J the animal body. 



oiveen i««i ' Which ! « a compound ofpotns 



coitSS pulses Vn^JT^ ** ,he Soi 



do not hL ' I S :J ( lt ls deficient, the stalks of 



I For supporting; respiration and animal 

 I heat, and for the formation of fat. 



As existing in the gluten 

 of Wheat, &c, the legru- 

 men of Peas, Beans, &c. 



Inorganic Elements. 

 Lime . — for the formation of earth of bone. 



Phn^nhomo / for the formation of brain, nervous matter, and 

 Fno pnorus 1 earth of bone. 

 Sulphur — not known. 



Soda &h ° r } for the formation of bile , milk, See. 



Iron . — as a carrier of oxygen. 



Silica and Alumina are not used in the vital economy of animals. 



The chemical composition of crops will be best con- 

 sidered in the next section, where I propose to treat at 

 some length the subject of the practical application of 

 manures. — C, R. Bree, Stowmarket, 



{.To be continued.) 



ON MINERAL AND INORGANIC MANURES. 



No. IX. 



By Professor Charles Sprexgel. 



Another very important substance contained in marl is 

 the phosphate of lime. It neither occasions nor undergoes 

 any decomposition in the soil, yet it improves the plants 

 more than any other of the component parts of marl — 

 it supplies them with phosphorus, so indispensable to 

 vegetation. Phosphate of lime, as we know already, is not 

 soluble in pure water, yet it dissolves in such as is impreg- 

 nated with either humic or carbonic acid; from which it 

 may be seen that it is important, even in this respect, that 

 a soil to be manured with marl should contain humic acid. 

 The quantity of phosphate of lime which the soil may 

 obtain from marl is often greater than may be believed, 

 because if the marl contain only \ per cent, of the above 

 phosphate, 20,000 lbs. of marl used on one acre will bring 

 100 lbs. on this area, which is enough for more than 100 

 crops ; and there are marls which contain about 2 to 3 per 

 cent, of phosphate of lime. 



If marl contains gypsum, which is often the case, it is one 

 of the most valuable of its ingredients, as it is well known 

 how astonishingly this mineral substance promotes the 

 growth of plants. Gypsum passes into plants without 

 being decomposed, and is soluble in 450 parts of water. 

 If any sort of marl were merely to contain \ per cent, of 

 gypsum, 20,000 lbs. of marl would bring 100 lbs. into the 

 soil, and this would have a great effect on the first crops ; 

 and there are sorts of marl which contain 2 to 3 per cent, 

 of gypsum. 



Marl also generally contains common salt, which passes 

 without decomposition into plants and nourishes them. 

 By this substance, however, marl acts only for a short 

 time, because common salt jis easily soluble in water, and 

 is only contained in the marl in very small quantities. 

 It does not effect any decomposition in the soil. 



A substance found in many sorts of marl, especially 

 those of alluvial lands, is silicate of potash. It is not 

 soluble in water, and therefore cannot serve as food for 

 plants until it is decomposed by the humic and carbonic 

 acids of the soil, and converted into humate and carbonate 

 of potash, which are easily soluble in water. Some 

 marls contain one per cent, of potash combined with 

 silica; if, therefore, 20,000 lbs. of marl are conveyed on 

 one acre, the soil will obtain thereby 200 lbs. of potash, on 

 which account the effect of the silicate of potash, which 

 is difficult of decomposition, will last for many years. 

 Another ingredient of several marls of the alluvial lands, 

 is silicate of soda. I have found in several of them so 

 much as \\ per cent., and as (like the silicate of potash) it 

 is successively decomposed, by the humic and carbonic 

 acids, and changed into carbonate and humate of soda, 

 such marl will supply the crops for many years with soda. 



At times marl contains also an ingredient which will 

 chiefly improve the growth of cerealia, and this is saltpetre. 

 lt will, however, act but very transiently, as its amount is 

 mostly very small, and as it is too easily soluble in water 

 for the furrow slice to retain it for any length of time ; 

 it neither induces nor undergoes decomposition, but acts 

 directly on the plants. 



{To lie continued.) 



and harmony, than the faithful discharge by our Legis- 

 lature and rulers of their responsible duties. 



The present law of arrest is one of the greatest barriers 

 to a stranger's comfort, and, as a consequence, to the 

 island's prosperity. It will surprise the English reader to 

 be informed that it is in the power of any Manxman to 

 arrest a resident stranger (should he even be the lessee or 

 the freeholder of 100 acres) for 5s., nay for 5rf., if he (the 

 native) will venture to make oath that he has heard and 

 believes that the stranger is about to leave the island ; or 

 he can arrest for any sum above 40s. upon a mere loose 

 affidavit that the debtor is not a native of the island. 



The frequent facilities which fraudulent debtors possess 

 for escaping to the neighbouring kingdoms, render it quite 

 necessary that some check should be provided for the pro- 

 tection of the creditor ; but the stranger has surely a right 

 to expect that such protection should be reciprocal, and 

 that he too, in case of need, shall have an equal right to 

 arrest his Manx debtor. As the law now stands, he has no 



such privilege. 



If he can positively swear that a native, in his debt, is 

 about to leave the island (a subject upon which he may 

 expect no previous information), he can arrest him ; but, 

 as before stated, the stranger is liable to summary arrest 

 upon the loose oath of his creditor that he •• is not a native 

 of the island." Englishmen would almost stand aghast at 

 the tyrannical and galling manner in which the law may 

 be, and often is carried into effect. 



The debt may be altogether a fallacious one, or it may 

 arise upon a disputed account, or, what is worse, may be 

 a mere speculative action for damages, as for a libel, an 

 assault, &c. f which when brought before a Jury falls to 

 the ground, or perhaps is never brought before a Jury, 

 because the stranger would oftentimes prefer to submit 

 to extortion or to a robbery rather than be torn from his 

 family and his property ; the former to be afflicted, and 

 the latter to be distributed during his incarceration. But 

 setting aside commercial engagements (which are allowed 

 to require some extra protection), it is an unpleasant part 

 of the writer's duty to state that the tenant-farmer is placed 

 in a still less enviable position. The laws endow the 

 landlord with the power of arresting for rent before it is 

 due: a tenant may enter upon a farm at Lady Day, 

 or at any other period; he may stock, manure, clean, 

 and crop it, and yet the landlord has the power to 

 arrest the man and imprison him until he finds 

 security for the current year's rent ; and, although 

 he may have in hand to-day his landlord's receipt for 

 rent due yesterday, he may to-day be called on to find 

 security for the next year's payment. It is an ungrateful 

 office to announce that such senseless laws should exist 

 in an island claiming to be civilised, and situate within a 

 day's journey of the metropolis of the world ; but it would 

 ill accord with the writer's duty to leave these facts 



unnoticed. 



It is but just, in conclusion, to state that an active, 

 industrious farmer, with adequate capital and of concilia- 

 ting disposition, will find little practical obstruction from 

 these causes. Let the Legislature of the island, who may 

 literally be said to hold the " keys " of its prosperity, only 

 unlock its resources by the timely improvement of its 

 institutions ; let it hold the scales of justice fairly balanced 

 between the native and the stranger, and Mona, if not 

 destined to become, in the language of the poet — 



" The first flower of the earth, 

 The first gem of the sea," 



may nevertheless remain the abode of industry, plenty, 

 and harmony; and should be content if, in the peaceful 

 contests of civilisation, commerce, and Agriculture, she 

 can give full effect to her ancient motto of war — 



•* Quocunque jeceris stabit." 

 —Cultor. 





* Plan's If, ■ »«iw, auu a»u as a wiiauiuuu 



* n °wn,W ,w U . SC . ln th e vital economy is not exactly 

 in the egir \x\^ 1S im P ortan * is proved by its presence 

 ^natant inn • exception of lime, it is the most 



/,«- , ,,0r g a mC Constituent nf animal etrnMnr* 





iron — v """ l, «;ui oi animai structure. 



ani ttalbo<Iv a J' Cry . important Unction to fulfil in the 



Tert ebrate i' * i ^^ M * n 0xide ia the blood of al1 

 of oxygen" fr a i aQd Serves tue P u «"POse of a "carrier 



?*«• of the wl tUe T ? tm °? phere ' through the lungs to all 



m tke Dlanr. « ' . • 1S therefore an essential ingr 

 Piantsjipon which animals feed. 



PabUshh,^ Sf* r e '"H^^rtl handled in th 



redient 



e papers now 



- — — ""115 in. t n - n .,^ ,7 , "T • JV ' " v »i uauiueu in tne papers now 



tt °™ than allude to each. Y Pr ° f ' S P ren S c, » that X need do iittle 



+ Vide ^'cultural Gazette, 13th January. 



MANX AGRICULTURE.— No. IV. 



{Concluded from page 123.) 



Before concluding this sketch of Manx Agriculture, it 

 devolves upon the writer, as an impartial historian, to 

 point out any circumstances of a counteracting nature, 

 the knowledge of which may be essential to the personal 

 comfort or the worldly success of an intending emigrant. 

 Ttte chief difficulty "which the "stranger" (as every 

 settler in this colony is called) has to encounter, arises not 

 from an ungrateful soil, or a capricious climate, but from 

 the state of existing Manx laws and institutions. The 

 domestic government of the colony is vested in a Governor 

 with his Council, and in the House of Keys. The latter 

 was in better times elected by the people, but now con- 

 sists of 24 self-elected and irresponsible men. 



The island is happily free from the jarring contests of 

 politics, and in a small agricultural community this must 

 be considered as no social evil. Questions of church- 

 rates, pro or con — the uneasy yoke of an income-tax, or of 

 Queen's taxes, poor-rates, heavy turnpike tolls — vex not 

 the spirit of the Manx farmer; for of all these he is hap- 

 pily ignorant. Little more is required to promote peace 



1 





Home Correspondence. 



O/i Gorse. — My attention has been drawn to an article 

 on '« Gorse, as a Winter Food for Horses," in your Paper 

 of the 3d ult., and as 1 can speak from experience, I here- 

 with send you a few remarks on the culture of the Furze 

 —its preparation for food, and its results, as a winter food 

 for all cat:le, but more especially for milch cows. Furze 

 will grow well on any soil which is of a dry, gravelly, 

 sandy, or loamy nature. The seed should be sown about 

 the beginning of April, in drills one foot apart, after the 

 land has been made as clean as possible. As soon as the 

 plant appears, the ground should be hoed. In the I ebruary 

 following, you may brush off with a scythe what little 

 crop there is, for litter. Continue hoeing till the following 

 November, when you may begin to cut for food : the crop 

 will be comparatively small, but much better the following 

 year. No manure whatever is required in any stage. 

 The period for commencing cutting must be regulated by 

 the season, from the latter end of October or beginning of 

 November, till the middle or end of March, when the sap 

 begins to rise, and the cattle do not relish the food so well. 

 A labourer cuts and carts home sufficient for a day's con- 

 sumption with a short strong scythe, such as is used for 

 mowing rough grass, or for stubble cutting. On Saturday 

 enough must be cut and prepared for the following day, 

 and to prevent fermentation it must be spread thinly on a 

 barn floor, or other boarded place ; and perhaps lorae 

 chaff mixed with it would assist in preventing fermenta- 

 tion. The least expensive method of preparing the Furze 

 for food, is on a floor of Oak or Ash stubs, raised about 

 16 or 18 inches above the level on which the labourer 

 stands to chop it. The floor should be about seven feet 

 long and three wide, quite level, and the stubs or blocks 

 of wood both firmly and nicely fitted together ; and it 

 placed in the corner of a barn or lodge, additional firmness 

 would be secured by making the building form the Oacs 

 and one side. Round the outsides, in order to prevent 

 the Furze tumbling out, must be placed a stron- skirting 



