134 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



and, with Macbeth, must be content with the 

 question, " Can such things be true ?" it is con- 

 solatory to refer to the evidence of facts, such 

 as are detailed in that estimable article by John 

 Morton, Esq., in No. XLI. of the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society of England, Vol. I. part iv., 

 giving an account of the mode of cultivation 

 adopted on Stinchcombe Farm, by Dr. Dimme- 

 ry. Herein we perceive a simple three-course 

 rotation practiced for more than twenty-five 

 years, with increase rather than diminution of 

 produce, and wherein one of the chief fertilizers 

 is cool soot. "The general price is 6d. per 

 bushel, the quantity used on the farm is up- 

 wards of 3,000 bushels a year, one half of which 

 is applied to the potato and the other to the wheat 

 cropP A large flock of sheep gives " tail-dress," 

 preparatory to turnips, which follow the wheat, 

 and intervene between it and the potatoes. It 

 is not the present object to enter into any further 

 detail of the particular routine, but merely to 

 make use of the preceding quotation as a pre- 

 lude to the question of soot as a manure. " We 

 have not," says Mr. Morton, " been able to ob- 

 tain from Dimmery an idea of how soot acts in 

 producing such effects, as it evidently does both 

 on the potato and wheat crop ; the effect of it 

 is particularly evident on the wheat, for however 

 sickly it looks in the spring, its color and the 

 vigor of its growth is changed in a few days 

 after it has been applied." p. 401. Whatever 

 may be thought of the limited and special ap- 

 plicability of soot, yet where it does suit, and is 

 proved by continuous facts to be eminently use- 

 ful, even when applied in quantity so small as 

 twenty-five bushels to the acre, in such places 

 it is, to all available intents and purposes, the 

 very compound itself which comprises the es- 

 sentials of the vaunted, mystified, preparation 

 of carbon, that now bores the imagination. — 

 Soot is the purest carbonized product of mineral 

 coal; it contains oil and volatilized resinous 

 matters, and above all, a fixed neutral salt of j 

 ammonia, which is perfectly soluble in watery 

 menstrua, but retentive of its ammonia till a 

 more powerful alkali displace it ; then as by 

 mixture with lime, potass, or soda, the volatile 

 ammonia is liberated, and revealed by its pun- 

 gent odor. Without ascertaining what may or 

 may not be the components of any nostrum, we 

 unhesitatingly offer a strong opinion of the effi- 

 cacy of soot — an efficacy not to be rivalled or 

 surpassed by any known preparation whose 

 chief component is free carbon. 



Mark-lane {London) Express. 



SALT FOR GRUB WORMS. 

 In our last volume we recommended the ap- 

 plication of a spoonful of salt to the hills of corn 

 or cabbage to prevent the ravages of the cut or 



grub worm. We have noticed many testimo- 

 nials to its efficacy since, and consider it more 

 than ever worthy the attention of our readers. 

 It is advised to apply it in quantities from one to 

 two table-spoonsful on the suiface of the hill 

 without placing it in contact with the corn. — 

 One individual remarked that a lot of cabbage 

 plants watered from a salt pork barrel daily, es- 

 caped the ravages of the worm, whilst the 

 neighboring plants were entirely destroyed. 



EFFECTS OF CULTURE. 



The almond, with its tough coriaceous husk, 

 has been changed by long culture into the peach, 

 with its beautiful, soft, and delicious pulp ; the 

 acrid sloe, into the luscious plum ; and the harsh, 

 bitter crab, into the golden pippin. Attention to 

 nutrition has produced quite as marked changes 

 in the pear, cherry, and other fruit-trees; many 

 of which have not only been altered in their 

 qualities and appearance, but even in their ha- 

 bits. Celery, so agreeable to most palates, is a 

 modification of the apium graveolens, the taste 

 of which is so acrid and bitter that it cannot be 

 eaten. Our cauliflowers and cabbages, which 

 weigh many pounds, are largely-developed cole- 

 worts, that grow wild on the sea-shore, and do 

 not weigh more than half an ounce each. The 

 rose has been produced, by cultivation, from the 

 common wild-brier. Many plants may be mo- 

 dified with advantage by suppressing the growth 

 of one part, which causes increased development 

 of other parts. 



AMMONIA. 

 Since the publication of Liebig's work on 

 vegetable chemistry, it has been assumed that 

 the ammonia constituted the most valuable part 

 of stable manure. To arrest and retain this 

 volatile gas then, has been the great desidera- 

 tum. The use of plaster, the sulphate of lime, 

 has been recommended for this purpose. It is 

 advised to be strewn over the stable litter before 

 it is removed from the stall. In this case, Lie- 

 big says, a double decomposition will take place, 

 from which will result, sulphate of ammonia, 

 and carbonate of lime ; by this means, the am- 

 monia will be retained in a soluble shape for the 

 use of plants. Mr. Partridge, of New York, 

 who proclaims himself a practised and experi- 

 enced chemist, denies that any such action will 

 result from the combination, at atmospheric tem- 

 perature. Now, nostrum tantas componere Hies, 

 that is, it is not for us to decide when doctors 

 disagree. But we see it recommended, possibly 



