215 



true cl.iy, feldspar and mica. St>ii-c 

 Somo of the oilier elements in the 

 soil are owf^^on, which ocenrs frci; 

 and in conii)inati()ii with nearly all 

 the other eloinents. Carbon occurs 

 as part of the liunuis, also united 

 with calcium ami maj^esium in 

 the form of carbonates ; also as 

 carbonic acid j^as which lilaj-s such 

 an impoTtant part in the solution 

 of plant food. Sulphur occurs as 

 sulphates. Hydrogen is united 

 with oxyg«n in the water. Chlor- 

 ine occurs in limited t^uantities 

 generallv in the form of common 

 salt (sodium chloride). It seems 

 to be in some way es.^ential to 

 plant life. I'hosphorus is never 

 fcnmd in nature in a free state but 

 always combined with some other 

 substance. It is \erv generallv 

 distributed through the soil but in 

 small quantities and is very essen- 

 tial to plant life. Nitrogen is found 

 in the soil in a combined form in 

 the humus and the vegetable and 

 animal matter, which upon decay- 

 ing give up the nitrigen in the 

 form of amm.onia, which is turned 

 into nitric acid by bacteria. The 

 nitric acid unites with potash, 

 soda or other soil ingredients and 

 is taken up by the plant as a ni- 

 trate. Nitrates are extremely 

 soluble and easily washed out of 

 the soil. Calciimi and magnesium 

 in the form of carbonates compose 

 the limestone beds of the earth. 

 Both calcium carbonate or lime, 

 and magnesia are necessary plant 

 foods, and both are generally pre- 

 sent in the soil in sufhcient quan- 

 tities to supply the plant with the 

 required amount. Potassium is 

 another element found in soils 

 which is verv necessary. It is wide- 

 ly distributed as a constituent of 

 some feld-spars and micas. Sodi. 

 um, which is the base of common 

 salt, is also widely distributed, it 

 verv m('.ich resembles potassium as 

 a chemical element, but can in no 

 sense take its place in plant life. 

 Iron is always present in, the soil 

 in sufficient quantities for the 

 plant. 



— Chemical Analysis. — 



It would be supposed,, that to 

 find what foods were necessary for 

 soils, all that would be necessary 

 would be a chemical analysis of 

 the particular soil. Then if any 

 element was found to be lacking in 

 sufficient quantity, the addition of 

 this or these elements would give 

 the desi'red results. But chemical 

 analysis of the soil as they have 

 been made, unfortunately can and 

 do throw but a very dim and un- 

 certain light upon either the con- 

 dition of the amount of plant food 

 a soil may contain. 



It is true that the results of 

 these analysis show a marked dif- 

 ference in soils, but from the data 

 at hand, these variati()ns may rea- 

 sonably be supposed to l>e dvie 

 more to the relative size 'of the 

 soil grains than to any chemical 

 diflerences in the composition of 

 the soil. Taking an average of 

 dilTcrent analysis of .soils the 

 following has been stated by 

 one writer. Potash enough to 

 last 1,521 years, soda 4,050 years, 

 magnesia 3,300 years, lime 4,367 

 years ; phosphoric acid only 542 

 vears, sul])huric acid 292 years, 

 and soluble silica 1 7,650 years. 



These aniounts of jjlant food are 

 what chemical analyses have told 

 us were in the top foot of soil, 

 and we know that plants siend 

 their roots foraging two, three and 

 four feet down. And the subsoil 

 is sometimes richer in certain in- 

 grediients than the surface or top 

 soil. 



Seeing these figures' anyone 

 would think it superfluous to add 

 anv more of these elements to his 

 ground. Of what earthly use 

 would it be to add a paltry 25 

 or' 50 poi'inds more ? Why, it 

 would be lost. A chemist with 

 the most accurate and caref|ul 

 analyses could never find it. It 

 would be money thrown away. 



But we know from practical ex- 

 perience that ninety-nine times out 

 of a himdred crops are increased 

 more than enough to pay for the 

 manure or fertiUzer added. We 

 know that in spite of these figures, 

 which there is no reason at all to 

 doubt, soils do need fertilizing, 

 they do play out, that farms do 

 run down and become unproduc- 

 tive. And only by feeding can the 

 soil be kept up to its fertility. So 

 we cannot be governed, by a 

 chemical analyses as to the differ- 

 ent elements our soils need. The 

 only way is by trials, experiments, 

 and careful observation. 



The most important thing in 

 considering a soil is the mechani- 

 cal condition. Is it too stiff or 

 too light for your purpose ? Has 

 it enough humjus or organic mat- 

 ter incorporated in it ) The pro- 

 portions of clay, loam and sand 

 can be readily ascertained in a 

 laboratory with a simple appara- 

 tus, the percentage of humus can 

 also b) ascertained by analysis. 

 But a practical man can .judge a 

 soil very closely by feeling it and 

 observing how it works. 



Soils, generally, have the power 

 of fixing the plant food added to 

 them. By fixing, we mean hold- 

 ing the food in such a state that 

 it cannot be washed out by the 



rain. Tliis is true of phosphoric 

 acid and potash, but nitrogen is 

 very easily lost by leaching in the 

 form of nitrates and under certain 

 conditions escaped into the air. 

 Clays hold the plant food more 

 firmly than sandv soils and the 

 same is true of moisture. Ilumus 

 also helps. to hold the moisture by 

 absorbing it in the same way a 

 sponge does, while clay holds it 

 by surrounding it as though it 

 were in a cup. 



Oxygen or fre.sh ait is very ne- 

 cessary to the soil to promote the 

 growth of the innumerable bacteria 

 that are always i)resent in a fer- 

 tile soil and to assist the chemical 

 reactions that a-re continually go- 

 ing on. When the water in soil 

 eva]Jorates or is used by the plant, 

 air rushes in to take its place. 

 When more water is added, air 

 and any injuriouis gases which may 

 have been formed is driven out, 

 and when this water is gone more 

 fresh air is taken in. Also fresh 

 air is taken into the soil at night. 

 When the evening comes on, the 

 soil cools and shrinks and air is 

 drawn in to fill the vacant spaces. 

 The opposite occurs when the soil 

 grains expand with the heat in the 

 morning. So you might say that 

 the soil takes a breath once every 

 twenty-four hours. 



OLD WASH WAYS ARE GOOD 



bat tk« 



GLF.ANSO WAY IS BETTER. 



The old washing ways had to be tho- 

 roughly tested before they could really 

 be called GOOD. If you do the same 

 with COX' CLEANSO— give it » tho- 

 rough test, use it according to the 

 instructions on each bottle (n»t using 

 too much) there is only one conclu- 

 sion you can come to, and that is, 

 that it is far better than the old v^&y 

 of rubbing with a lot of soap, for 



CliEANSO saves half your time, 

 CIJEANSO saves a go»d deal of so«p 



CLEANSO dispenses with the need 

 of a washboard. 



CLEANSO obviates all tiresome rub- 

 bing and scrubbing ; amd there- 

 fore clothes last much longer. 



CLEANSO cleanses THOROUGHLY 



CLEANSO is non-injurious to even 

 the most delieate fabrics and 

 laoM. 



EVERY GROCER SELLS CLEANSO 



