THE SOUTHERN PLANTER; 



Betoote* to ^srtculture, horticulture, autt the ^ouselioltr ^rt#- 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. 



Xenopkon. 



Vol. III. 



RUST PREVENTED BY THE USE OF ASHES. 



One of the chief constituents of the stalks of 

 plants is silica, which is neither more nor less than 

 the pure earth of the common flint ; the quantity 

 varies with the nature of the plant; in some, as 

 in wheat especially, it is apparent in the glazed 

 appearance of the stalk to the most common 

 observation. Upon this circumstance, Mr. Levi 

 Bartlett has built up the following ingenious 

 theory. For want of a sufficient quantity of 

 silica, the straw of wheat grows up soft and 

 tender ; the more rank and luxuriant it is made 

 by manure, the smaller will be the portion of 

 this hardening property falling to each stalk of 

 grain ; then it is, that it falls, or lodges ; if there 

 happens to be a day or two of warm, moist 

 weather about the time the wheat is in milk, 

 the rush of sap is so great, that it ruptures the 

 tender and inefficient coating in the stalk; the 

 sap vessels burst : the sap exudes, and forms a 

 coat of rust, and the crop is nearly ruined. 



The silica in the shape of sand, quartz, &c. 

 Mr. Bartlett admits, is generally present in suffi- 

 cient quantities in the soil ; but he thinks, to be 

 useful, it must be soluble, which, he says, can 

 be effected only by an alkali. For this purpose 

 he recommends the use of potash, and it is to 

 this action, that he ascribes chiefly the advan- 

 tages of using ashes as a manure. 



That this is the effect of potash upon silica, 

 Mr. Bartlett infers from the fact, that lye will 

 dissolve the silica in wood. From this Well 

 known circumstance, tubs for leached ashes are 

 usually made of pine, which does not contain 

 so much silica as oak, and which is, therefore, 

 less affected by the potash. An oak tub after 

 having been used a few times for a leach tub, 

 would have its silica dissolved, and the staves 

 if dried, would shrink to half their width. 



That ashes is beneficial to the crop in thus 

 liberating the silica of the soil is a new and in- 

 genious, and we will add, a plausible doctrine. 

 Liebig recommends also the use of ashes but he 

 offers a different exposition of the modus operan- 

 Vol. IH.— 22 



Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the 

 State. — Sully. 



No. 8. 



di. He too, conceives the silica to be frequently 

 wanting in soils which have been long culti- 

 vated in wheat, but it is in the form of a silicate 

 of potash that he supposes it to be furnished di- 

 rectly by the ashes. So far, however, they 

 both agree, that soils often fail in wheat for want 

 of something that is furnished by the ashes. — 

 But that rust proceeds from the want of the indu- 

 rating quality in the straw afforded by the sili- 

 ca, is, as far as we know, entirely original with 

 Mr. Bartlett. This is a most important point, 

 and one worthy of the deepest attention ; there 

 is a plausibility about the doctrine that entitles 

 it to investigation. If ashes alone is wanting, 

 and, as is suggested, in very small quantities, it 

 may be obtained by paring and burning the 

 soil, from wood, and various sources, in quanti- 

 ties sufficient for the largest field. Save us from 

 the fly and rust, and there is no crop that is so 

 dear to a Virginia farmer as his wheat ; in spite 

 of these malignant enemies, there is none likely 

 to supplant it in his affections. The labor of 

 cultivation is so light, compared with either 

 Com or tobacco, and it comes in so conveniently 

 to fill the gap between the finishing of the 

 spring crop and the closing in of winter ; be- 

 sides, our habits and customs, our experience, 

 and the establishment of our manufacturing 

 mills, all make the wheat an indispensable crop 

 with us. Any thing, therefore, that promises 

 to rid us of one of the sore evils which annually 

 threaten the hopes of the husbandman, will at- 

 tract attention and secure consideration. 



This want of stamina Mr. Bartlett thinks is 

 not peculiar to the straw of the wheat. ' It is 

 not uncommon, he says, to see a piece of land 

 receiving the wash of a barn putting forth a 

 luxuriant growth of grass early in the spring, 

 the freshness and vigor of which gives promise 

 of a goodly crop ; but for the want of stamina, 

 owing to the deficiency of soluble silica in the 

 soil, it falls before it heads, and when made into 

 hay, the weight is light in proportion to the bulk. 



Are these ingenious presumptions correct — 



C. T. BOTTSj Editor. 



RICHMOND, AUGUST, 1843. 



