THE PHILADELPHIA FLORIST. 



51 



>c 



7 



1852.] 



(^second sowing is made from the failure of the first through a.ny cause, ^n 

 - it is well known that the result is rarely successful ; but this is to be W 

 guarded against more securely by the soil being in a proper state r 5 

 than even by liberal applications of manure. 



One of the peculiarities which impart value to farm-yard manure 

 is its plentiful applicaiion being ancillary to a highly pulverised state 

 of the soil. In heavy lands, especially, the soil is kept loose by the 

 manure, and hence one of the great grounds of superiority of this sub- 

 stance as compared with the portable manures; for, although the lat- 

 ter may supply the ingredients which the land require, they exercise 

 no perceptible mechanical effect upon the soil. Nothing can, in fact, 

 make amends for the absence of that finely comminuted state of di- 

 vision which farmyard manure so much aids in producing. — Dublin 

 Nation. 



M. J. BERKELEY ON THE SELECTING POWER OF PLANTS. 



Plants have no power of selecting their own food, but imbibe 

 whatever is mixed up with the moisture contained in the soil in 

 which they grow ; and though a certain porportion of the ne- 

 cessary elements is require for the healthy normal growth of each 

 particular species, a derangement of this proportion within moderate 

 limits is not necessarily injurious ; yet if it be materially altered, cul- 

 tivation either becomes entirely impossible, or diseased action takes 

 place. Thus in the neighborhood of certain chemical works we 

 constantly hear of greater or less damage to the surrounding vegeta- 

 tion, ending either in palpable disease or actual death. In these cases 

 the air is almost constantly charged with noxious matter, and comes 

 in contact with the tissues by means of the stomata, but to a far 

 greater degree, doubtless, by the absorption of the surrounding atmos- 

 phere by the soil in which the plants grow. But even where this con- 

 tinued supply of noxious air does not take place, the following fact will 

 perhaps tend to show the baneful influence to vegetation which may 

 arise even from any great temporary derangement of the atmosphere 

 from which so large a portion of the nutriment of plants is actually 

 derived, long after the cause has been removed. 



A collec'ion of plants consisting principally of half-hardy Cis- 

 tuses, Brooms, and composite plants from Portugal, was placed in the 

 wide windows of a school-room where they were flourishing to a decree 

 which gave great promise for the ensuing season. At this time a 

 chemical entertainment was given in the room, which, as it dwelt 

 principally on explosive matters, such as gunpowder, detonating com- 

 positions, colored lights, and phospuretted hydrogen, caused a o-reat 

 escape of various gaseous matters materially affecting the composition 

 of the air contained in the apartment. The concluding blue signal 

 light made it impossible for the spectators to remain much longer,°and 

 a hasty retreat was made. The room was cleared the next morning 

 and ventilated, and in the course of a few days some of the plants 

 were evidently much affected. Two months have now elapsed, and 

 the diseased action is still going on, showing itself in the splitting of 

 the leaves and occasional death, while other plants, which were at 

 first materially injured, seem to be making a new growth from be- 

 low. It is impossible to say to which particular experiment the mis- c 

 fortune is due, but it is easy to understand that these noxious gases, &) 



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