274 



THE SOUTHE 



RN PLANTER. 



guage wheel, and the difference of draft was so 

 great, with or without a wheel, that those who 

 had not a wheel, borrowed one before they 

 would go through with a trial. Your commit- 

 tee think this point settled in the minds of every 

 one who saw this trial, that a wheel is an in- 

 dispensable accompaniment to a good plough in 

 sward land, or indeed in almost any other." 



For the Southern Planter. 



PLASTER OF PARIS. — CHARCOAL. 



JWr. Editor, — A distinguished politician of 

 the West adopted as his motto, " Clay first. Clay 

 last, and Clay all the time." My motto as a 

 farmer is, Manure first, Manure last, and Ma- 

 nure all the time. It is a well known fact, that 

 most of the farmers east of Richmond, who 

 have been induced to sow plaster upon their 

 fields, have long since given up the use of it as 

 worthless, and upon some minds a strong pre- 

 judice exists against its use, not having seen, as 

 they say, the least beneficial results from it. — 

 Plaster is a very insoluble substance, requiring 

 nearly five hundred parts of water to dissolve 

 one of plaster. When it is sown upon the soil, 

 therefore, and acts beneficially, it is owing to its 

 chemical action. Unless it comes in contact 

 with some substance in the soil capable of de- 

 composing it, it will remain unchanged and in- 

 ert, and no good result can be expected to follow 

 its use. Professor Liebig's theory, that plaster 

 decomposes the ammonia that falls in rain wa- 

 ter, I am disposed to call in question, for the fol- 

 lowing reason* It is rational to conclude that 

 the same quantity of ammonia, (which he says 

 is always present in rain water) would be brought 

 down in one place as in another, and the benefi- 

 cial effects of plaster would be (according to his 

 theory) everywhere alike manifest. This we 

 know from experience is not the case. But I 

 must be permitted to say that where the use of 

 plaster comes to be properly understood, it is, in 

 my judgment, destined to hold a high rank 

 among the farmers of the East, as it now does 

 among the farmers of the West. To all I would 

 say, use plaster liberally in constructing your 

 manure and compost heaps ; never allow either 

 to ferment without a proper admixture of ground 

 plaster in the heap. In this way the plaster is 

 decomposed, and two compounds are formed, 

 sulphate of ammonia and carbonate of lime, 

 and the volatile portion of the manure heap will 

 be retained for the use of crops. And here I 



* The fact that plaster and carbonate of ammonia 

 mutually decompose each other when brought into 

 contact at common temperatures I do not for a mo- 

 ment call in question. The decomposition, however, 

 is slow. The quantity of plaster is so small gener- 

 ally when sown upon the surface, and the action upon 

 some soils so different from that of others I cannot 

 subscribe to his theory about rain water and plaster. 



would respectfully urge upon my brother far- 

 mers to adopt some plan without delay to save 

 the liquid manure of their animals. The ready 

 wit of every farmer will suggest the manner of 

 doing it. Some might be aided by reference to 

 an article of mine in your paper, Januaiy num- 

 ber for 1842. If the solid and liquid excrements 

 cannot be saved together in a well constructed 

 reservoir, water tight, and protected from the 

 weather, the solid may be fermented by pouring 

 the liquid upon it, but don't forget the plaster. 

 After fermentation especially, in all cases, it 

 should be protected from the weather, or much 

 of the value will be lost from drenching rains. 

 I have nearly filled two sides of my sheet, but 

 I must say something about 



CHARCOAL. 



Professor Liebig has said, charcoal previously 

 heated to redness, will absorb ninety times its vo- 

 lume of ammoniacal gas. I have no doubt of 

 it. Mark the words in italics, "previously 

 heated to redness." Charcoal has also great 

 affinity for carbonic acid, but it has a greater 

 affinity for water than for any of the gases ; 

 when filled with either carbonic acid or ammo- 

 niacal gas, upon being made wet this gas will 

 be liberated and the pores of the charcoal be- 

 come filled with water. Now suppose from ex- 

 posure to the atmosphere the pores of the char- 

 coal should be filled with carbonic acid. Then 

 place it over a stream of ammoniacal gas, the 

 ammonia could not enter, because it could not 

 displace the carbonic acid ; but suppose the far- 

 mer should use charcoal in his manure heaps 

 instead of plaster, and it should be in a condition 

 to absorb the ammoniacal gas, the character of 

 the ammonia is still the same ; charcoal does 

 not deprive it of its volatility ; consequently, the 

 moment it is disengaged by the charcoal be- 

 coming wet, there is danger of a loss of all the 

 ammonia. 



I have made the foregoing plain remarks in 

 regard to charcoal, because I perceive from the 

 agricultural periodicals it is becoming very fash- 

 ionable, and I fear many fatal mistakes will be 

 the result* 



In conclusion, I must again say to all, use 

 ground plaster liberally in your stables, cow- 

 sheds, manure and compost heaps, and the re- 

 sult cannot be doubtful. 



I remain truly, yours, 



Geo. Woodfin. 



SALTING HORSES. 



A curious fact is mentioned in Parker's Trea- 

 ties on Salt. "A person who kept sixteen farming 



* Charcoal is most usually recommended to be 

 used about manure heaps to retain the ammonia, — I 

 would not rely upon it. Will Mr. Drummond give 

 us the practical results of his experiment with char- 

 coal as a manure? 



