250 



THE AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE. 



[Apr. 20, 



a very influential motive for dispensing sabots through 

 the length and breadth of Ireland. 



The sufferings of thousands of our poor in winter, in 

 various localities, from the combined want of fuel and 

 covering for the feet, are horrifying. Of these two defi- 

 ciencies, one is directly remediable by the use of wooden 

 shoes. They cost from Zd. to \Qd. a pair, exclusively of 

 the leather strap, which is drawn across the instep, and 

 nailed at each side near the bottom. A working-man 

 •will wear out in the year from two to three pair; and his 

 labots are usually made not to require any straps, though 

 the sabots of the females are generally furnished with 

 them. He must have two pair of strong well-knitted 

 worsted stockings at \$.?>d. a pair ; and this cheap sup- 

 ply is sufficient for those farm-labourers who have not 

 occasion to walk much upon the roads. From early and 

 constant familiarity with the sabot, the French do not find 

 them impediments to motion; and, in summer, wear 

 them without stockings, from early habit, without any un- 

 pleasant sensation to their feet. 



But to be comfortable in winter, every one who can 

 afford the indulgence has list slippers, which, besides 

 imparting warmth, prevent even the tenderest feet from 

 feeling any inconvenience from the sabot : it keeps them 

 so firmly fixed in it at the heel, which would otherwise 

 often slip out, that a person, when a little accustomed to 

 labots, can walk rapidly, or run in them, — children dance 

 in them. These shoes are bought in France for about 

 half-a-crown a pair. 1 think they would cost in Ireland 

 (or Scotland) little more than half this, on account of the 

 much greater cheapness of our woollens. The whole 

 average annual expense, including leather shoes for three 

 months in the summer, to the Freuch labourer or farmer's 

 boy for preserving his feet, may be estimated at 10s. His 

 wife and children are rendered really comfortable in the 

 same respect the year round, and without any interrup- 

 tions, for a far lower sum. 



To women, they answer all the purposes of the English 

 patten, with the advantage of much greater warmth. In 

 wet and sloppy weather, they may be instantaneously 

 taken off on entering the liouse, and are slipped on again 

 in a moment on going out. 



Women break stones for the road very frequently in 

 France, and do much of the labour which with us is per- 

 formed exclusively by men; wooden shoes to persons 

 standing or sitting all day on wet soil are invaluable. 



(Tu be continued)* 



On the INORGANIC and other CONSTITUENTS 

 of VARIOUS AGRICULTURAL PLANTS. 



Bv R. Smith, Esq., Ph. D., Royal Institution, Manchester. 



Remarks in Connection with these Tables. — The 

 following Tables contain all that we at present know, with 

 any degree of certainty, of the organic and inorganic 

 ingredients in field and garden crops, and they will, we 

 believe, be found of great service to the farmer, as data 

 cither for calculating the value of any quantity of food, 

 for choosing manure, or for determining on the crops to 

 be cultivated, provided it is combined with a knowledge 

 of the soil and the constituents of various manures. We 

 have given first the results of Professor Sprengel, as 

 arranged by Professor Daubeoy, being fuller than those 

 of any other analyst ; and although, in several instances, 

 they differ from those of other chemists, the great diffi- 

 culty attending such an inquiry haa hitherto deterred any 

 one from pursuing it further thnn he has done. 



We have in Tables II. and III. given the analyses of 

 several substances by others — Table II. being by Dr. Play- 

 fair, and Table III. made in the laboratory of Liebig ; 

 which being done later, and under greater advantages from 

 the progress of chemical knowledge, may probably be pre- 

 ferred by many as data for calculation. We will first 

 direct attention to Table I. and its uses. 



TABLE I.-Showino thbCokstitukms ofFibld and Gardbx 

 Crops.— Arranged from the Analyses ot Sprengel and lious- 

 •ingauir, by Prof. Dacbbny. 



Sanfoia 

 Red 

 Clover 

 Flax - 

 Bee'nmt, dry 



— leaves do. 

 Cabbage 

 Turnips J - 

 Swedes 

 Parsnips 

 Carrots 



Meadow Cattail - 

 R»e-RTas» 



IBrtO 

 0579 



The quantity of gluten is here given, and the amount 

 of inorganic or mineral ingredients in 100.000 lbs. of each 

 crop. By looking at column 3d, we see that the quantity 

 of mineral constituents differs very much in various plants 

 t. e., that plants vary much in their power of absorbing 

 matter from a soil ; and again, that the quantity of each 

 individual constituent varies much. The seed of Wheat re- 

 quires 400 of silica, the Straw 2870, whilst Potatoes 





' require only 8, for 100,000 lbs. It will be seen that the 

 Straw of corn requires a large proportion of silica ; it is 

 necessary, therefore, that this should be supplied in the 

 soil. Although silica is the chief ingredient in every soil, 

 it does not follow that every soil can give to the plants a 

 sufficient supply, as they cannot absorb it unless presented 

 to them in the form of silicate of potash, or at least in a 

 disintegrated form, and not as hard gravel or sand. The 

 question might now be asked. How are we to know when 

 there is sufficient silicate of potash in the soil of any field 

 on which we wish to sow? It would be impossible for 

 farmers to have every variety of soil analysed, which in a 

 large farm they are obliged to deal with, and we would 

 suggest the possibility of obtaining a correct knowledge 

 of a soil and its ingredients by a mere consideration of 

 what crops have previously grown well upon it, and what 

 have failed. Suppose the Wheat Straw has been bad, has 

 been stunted in its growth, both in a wet and dry season, 

 we have good reason to suppose that the supply of silicate 

 of potash has been deficient, and in manuring for future 

 crops, we must choose some substance which will supply 

 this deficiency. We must choose one rich in silicates, or 

 allow the land to remain without removing from it a crop 

 of corn, until the silicates contained in the soil have be- 

 come soluble. Supposing we choose the latter course, we 

 might either allow it to remain fallow, or take from it 

 some crop which would diminish in a very small degree 

 the amount of silica. Potatoes seem the lowest in this 

 column ; they require, however, a considerable quantity 

 of potash and soda ; so that a manure containing these is 

 next required. Supposing, again, the produce in grain 

 has been small, the effect has probably been owing to the 

 want of phosphoric acid, magnesia, and the alkalies, which 

 by the Table will be seen to compose a great part of the 

 constituents of the ear of Wheat, as well as of every other 

 nutritious substance. In this case a manure containing 

 phosphoric acid, magnesia, and potash, is to be sought 

 for. The same reasoning may be applied to Beans, Peas, 

 &c., and the experienced farmer will probably see various 

 applications of it. As the gluten requires the phosphates 

 of magnesia, lime, potash, and soda, we cannot expect any 

 part of a plan: rich in nutritious matter to grow without 

 a supply of those sutatinces. In every case, therefore, 

 iH which a crop containing much gluten is to be reaped, 

 there is the greatest necessity for attending to these salts, 

 as they are more frequently wanting in a soil than any of 

 the others, soluble silicate of potash excepted. A deficient 

 crop of Peas or Beans might be caused by this circumstance 

 alone. But in this case both the Straw and the seed 

 would be deficient, as we see from the Table that both 

 require a considerable supply of phosphates. As it is not 

 our object here to treat of the rotation of crops, but merelv 

 to give some explanation of these Tables, and to show 

 their practical use, we shall leave the details for the 

 present. Correct analyses of various manures would be 

 of great importance to the farmer, in giving him the 

 power of choosing one which would supply that ingredient 

 in which he considers his land deficient. 



The quantity of gluten and inorganic ingredients sub- 

 tracted from 100,000 leave the quantity of starch, water, 

 &c, in Wheat and other grain ; but as the nature of this 

 remaining portion has not been so minutely examined, the 

 information on this subject has not been tabulated. 



Table II. gives the per rentage of water, unazotised 

 matter, &c. according to Dr. Playfair. The unazotised 

 matter in grain is chiefly starch, and it varies inversely as 

 the amount of gluten in Wheat varies. Wheat, in 

 favourable circumstances, especially from warm countries, 

 contains as much as 33 per cent, of gluten ; in this case 

 the per centage of starch is less than when the gluten 

 amounts to 14 only. If abundance of phosphates are 

 supplied to the soil, for example, in the form of human 

 urine, Wheat has been found to contain 35 per cent, of 

 gluten ; if a small supply of phosphates has been present, 

 less than 12 per cent, has been the produce. We have 

 very little distinct information on the nature of the sub- 

 stances in col. 3 ; it must, however, be remembered that 

 the great object of a farmer is to obtain in his crops a 

 large proportion of gluten (col. 2), this being the prin- 

 cipal nutritious substance. 



The quantity of Starch has been estimated as follows :— 



Wheat 



Usually . 

 Oatmeal . 

 Ryemeal 



Barleymeal 



Rice 



Peas , 



Beans 



Potatoes . 



5673 



71 



59 

 61 



66 (about) 



85 



32 



35 



15 



percent. Vauquelin. 



• 4 



II 



M 



«« 

 • ( 

 M 

 << 

 «« 



Vogel. 

 Einhof. 



Braconnot, 

 Einhof. 



Einhof and others. 



The constituents given in Table II. agree very closely 

 with those given by Sprengel, especially in the* amount 

 of gluten. 



TABLE II.— Showing- the pro 

 panic constiruents of certai 



100 lbs. contain of 



Water 



Albu- 





16 



men 



Peas 



29 



lieans 



14 



31 



Lentils 



16 



33 



Oars 



18 



11 



Oatmeal 



9 





Barley meal 



15$ 



14 



Hay 



16 



8 



Wheat Straw 



18 





Turnips 



89 



1 



Swedish Turnips 



85 





Mangold Wartzel 



89 





White Carrot 



87 



2 



Potatoes 



72 



2 



Red liect 



B9 



-1 



Linseed Cake 



17 



V 



portion of the 



n plunts, by Dr. 



org-anicand inor- 

 Lyoti Playfair. 



Non- 



azorised 



matter 



514 



514 



48 

 68 



68} 



684 



764 



9 



Total 





Organic 



Ashes 



matter 



• 



HO* 



34 



824 



34 



81 



3 



79 



3 



89 



2 



10 



84 





Tabl 

 chem 



ble III. is a collection of analyse* bv « ■ 

 chemists. Here we have a composition different from'!? 4 

 given by Sprengel, a larger quantity of phosphoric aciH 

 absence of silica from the grain of Wheat, and a U ** 

 portion of it in the Straw. There is, however, noT***" 

 sity for any hesitation in using the Tables on'accotoTf 

 this discrepancy, as from each of them we may dr« \\1 

 conclusion, that to obtain a good crop of Wheat i h!*? 

 ear and straw, the presence of phosphates and siUatftT 

 indispensable. We may, however, add that as tw! 

 analyses have been done very lately, and with peat awT 

 they are probably the most accurate we have • it is o«i 

 to be regretted that there are too few from which to fo * 

 a Table similar to that of Sprengel. The analysts have not 

 given here the percentage of ashes which they found, 

 this is, however, an unimportant point, as they vary some' 

 times several per cent., the proportion of each ingredient 

 remaining the same, according to Liebig. 



< S 



o 



» 



p 



w 



r^ 





i 



«-l 



C0 



p 



■ ♦ 





*t 



3 



p 





3 





2. S3 O 



?> 2 * 



c — -i 



S3 a 



2 



p 



O 



I 



tar 

 p 

 c 



3 



p 



P 

 3 



S3 



3 



P 

 3 



r 



e 

 o 

 o 



3 



CO 



■ 



O 



<5 



Silica, with 

 Potash. 







^ - 





to 



to 



i 



• 



<o 



to 



co 



OD 



r 





Sulphate of 

 Potash. 



— 03 



»» I 



Ol CO J 



*. CO 



• ft 



— co 



0> tw 



03 



Carbonate 

 of Potath. 





I ^ = 



c* 

 »o 



I 



or. c. 



* • 



to o 



00 



CO 



»0 



Chloride of 

 Potassium, 



CO 

 CO 



^1 



03 



to 



to 



O CO 

 C sEs. 



to 



w 



Carbonate 

 of Soda. 



1 ^ ta ^-^™"^»"" fc ^ lta ^s| 



Sulphate 

 of Potash. 



■-1 . 



O Ot 



Chloride of 

 Sodium. 



is© — 



CO G) 



tC CO 



co re 



cc w 



10 



to 



>mmoii 

 Salt. 





is 



r- C. 



U 



Lime, with 



Silica* 



CO 



to 



OT 



CO 



to 

 to 



- — 



CO o 



— 



-*» CO 



or • 



— On 



Carbonate 

 of Lime. 





to 



Magnesia 



CO — — — 



•vj 03 

 CT-CO 



Ot IO 



C71 



- 



Magnesia, 



to 



03 



to 



(X 



Phosphate 

 of Lime. 



Phosphate 

 ofMagnesia 



ft 



CO 



■ ft 



03 C7» 



CflCl »- 



0*" CO 



CO o 



J.. 





CO 



to 



ft ■ 



CO C. 



CC 



o 



Phosphate 

 of Lime. 



Phosphate 

 of Magnet 



CO 



* 



rO 



Phosph. ox, 

 of Iron. 



o « 



CO 



cc 



Carbonace- 

 ous matter. 



CO <o CO 2 



Cl 



Phosphate 

 of Iron. 



CO 



p S S to S? I 5 





to 



Phosphate 

 of Alumina. 



•vj 

 en 



09 

 CO 



Silicic Acid. 



en 



to 



•M CO 



I to CO 



to — 



CD C7* 



ft) ■ 



CO Cl 



— tit. 



COO 



IO 



to 



Silica, 



S3 ^ 







o 







* 



p 



Q. 



1 



X 



4 



99 

 o 



p 



CO 



p 



2* 



o 



Silica 



, Or C7» C7« 05 

 | IO bD tO fi 



Phosphate 

 of Potash. 



c^ 



Phospht. of 

 Lime. 



Cn 



{ 



cwto 



o. to 



- 1M 



Phosphate 

 Z of Soda. 



CO 



CO 

 10 



y, Perphospht. 

 of Iron. 



** I Lime. 



O o Cn Cn CO 



Phosphate 

 of Lime. 



- -§>?-- 



Phospht. of 

 Magnesia. 



CO 



hi 



Magnesia 



P r P ! 



Phosphate 

 of Iron. 



Gypsum. 



to 

 to 



Sulpht. of 



Potash. 



03 



Chloride of 

 Potassium. 



to 



r. 



Carbonate 

 of Soda. 



Loss. 



a 



3 



Table IV. almost explains itself. B is * nM ?*£lto» 



laoie iv. almost explains iwo^i. -- Avbeen**" 



to explain the nature of gluten, as it has alreaay ^ 



crops 

 100 lbs. of it. The 

 wilt be remarked 



in the Gazette; sufficient to say that, as u ntUy of 

 element of nutrition, we have calculated tn 4 ^ obuiB 

 certain field crops which are required mora ^ % 



>e great quantity in Peas flf ^ 



will De remarKea at first sight, as onlj ^\* 8 antity 



latter are required in order to ^""Vn. of P» latoe1, 

 of gluten which is contained in «aJ » ™- e cf op 



Column 4 gives the quantity of gluten in an ^ ptrti . 

 upon one acre, by which the value of tooa 

 cular may be estimated. . ^ 



Table V. will give a very good comparative tie* o 

 constituents of some of the most usual heioc r^gf 

 salts there mentioned are never absent Ir0 ff* 



food, being all necessary in the animal eco * ^ 

 silica appears to be used chiefly, if not w™"' ' fre **» 

 firmness to the stalk, as from the analyse 

 and Will, only a trace is to be found m tne g 



