136 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



when exhausted we have a barren soil. But sup- 

 pose the silica remain at 648, whilst there is an ex- 

 haustion of phosphorus, potash, lime, organic mat- 

 ter, &c, still the soil is exhausted. 



Now if we will have the soil analyzed we will 

 be able to determine scientifically what it needs. 

 In other words, (as Davey explains it,) according 

 to " refined common sense" we will know what our 

 land needs. We would urge upon all farmers with 

 poor lands, to have them analyzed. But are there 

 no means of ascertaining the constituents of soil, 

 apart from analysis, and consequently their defects 

 when exhausted'? Yes, to a considerable extent. It 

 is to ascertain what substances enter into the com- 

 position of the various crops raised. If a certain 

 piece of land brought good crops, and now brings 

 none, it follows that the crops have taken away the 

 materials to produce them. Now if we know what 

 these crops were composed of, then we can put the 

 same thing into the soil, and restore it to its origi- 

 nal productiveness. This is a practical fact, with 

 which every farmer ought to be acquainted. An- 

 other important matter is, to know the composition 

 of the natural growth of the land. Take land well 

 set with well grown oak, hickory, sugar tree, pop- 

 lar, dogwood, &c, and you have land that will 

 bring good corn, wheat, rye, oats, tobacco, &c. 

 Now exhaust this land by excessive cropping, and 

 it will grow up in old field pine, and they will be 

 succeeded in years by oak, hickory, &c. Now this 

 land will bring grain again. It is restored. Nature 

 thus gives us an important idea. It teaches clearly 

 that if we will return to the soil the ingredients 

 contained in the primary growth we will restore 

 the land to its original fertility. But to do this 

 we must know what these ingredients are. A 

 knowledge of these matters, in our judgment, 

 constitutes the great secret of making the land 

 rich and keeping it so. We shall place before the 

 reader the inorganic and organic matters contained 

 in the most important vegetables of the natural 

 growth, as well as cultivated plants. And whilst 

 we claim no originality, but write the substance of 

 what we have learned from various chemical and 

 agricultural authors, yet we shall adopt our own 

 way of communicating what we have to say. 



The following will show the amount of inorganic 

 substances contained in several kinds of trees : 





Wood. 



Leaves. 



Willow, - 



0.45 



8.23 



Elm, 



1.88 



11.8 



Poplar, - 



1.98 



9.22 



Beach, - 



- .0.36 



6.69 



Oak, 



0.21 



4.5 



Birch, 



0.34 



5.0 



Pitch pine, 



0.25 



3.15 



Now let us see the amount of inorganic matter 

 contained in our commonly cultivated plants. Ac- 

 cording to the analysis of Sprengel, as quoted by 

 Professor Johnson, we have the following : 



Grain of 



Per cent. 



Straw of 



Per cent. 



Wheat, 



1.18 



Wheat, 



3.51 



Rye, 



1.4 



Eye, 



2.79 



Barley, 



2.35 



Barley, 



5.24 



Oats, 



2.58 



Oats, 



5.75 



Field beans, 



2.14 



Field beans, 



3.12 



Peas, 



2.46 



Peas, 



4.47 



No w if the reader will examine these tables he 



will find that the cultivated crop's take a much 

 larger amount of inorganic matter from the soil 

 than forest trees, and that the straw of the former 

 contains more than the grain, as well as the leaves 



of the latter more than the wood. And whilst the 

 trees generously return the leaves to mother earth 

 our forefathers returned nothing. Could we expect 

 any thing else than exhausted land 1 And is it not 

 evident that if we return the ingredients extracted 

 the land will be renovated. 



But it is not enough to know that plants contain 

 inorganic matter without knowing what they are. 

 They are thg following : 



Chlorine, Phosphorus, Potassium, 



Sulphur, Aluminum, Sodium, 



Calcium, Iron, 



Magnesium, Manganese, 



Silicon. 



These substances are combined with others, and 

 some times among themselves. Chlorine forms 

 chlorides, iodine forms iodides, as the iodide of po- 

 tassa; sulphur forms with hydrogen gas, sulphu- 

 retted hydrogen, and with oxygen sulphuric acid. 

 Phosphorus forms with hydrogen, phosphuretted 

 hydrogen, and with oxygen phosphoric acid. Po- 

 tassium forms with oxygen potassa, commonly 

 called potash, and with chlorine the chloride and 

 chlorate of potash. Sodium forms with oxygen 

 soda, with carbonic acid the carbonate and bicar- 

 bonate of soda, and with chlorine common table 

 salt. Calcium forms with oxygen quick lime, with 

 sulphuric acid plaster of Paris, or sulphate of lime, 

 with muriatic acid muriate of lime, with carbonic 

 acid carbonate of lime, with nitric acid nitrate of 

 lime, &c. Aluminum forms with oxygen alumina; 

 silicon forms silica, or sand; iron forms oxides of 

 iron ; magnesium forms magnesia. The above are 

 the principal mineral constituents of plants. To 

 these we must add the following non-metallic ele- 

 ments : oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen. In 

 our next we shall show the amount of these ingre- 

 dients entering into the composition of cultivated 

 crops. 



Wm. H. H., M. D. 



For the Southern Planter. 



DIGESTED OR UNDIGESTED STRAW. 



Mr. Editor, — Without meaning to depreciate the 

 able address of Mr. Edmunds, or the excellent cri- 

 ticism on some of his positions, by F. B. Watkins, 

 in the last number of the Planter, I will venture to 

 suggest, in regard to the principal point of differ- 

 ence between these gentlemen, viz. the compara- 

 tive value of digested and undigested straw, that 

 it is not "worth a straw" to the practical farmer, 

 in which way it is decided ; at all events, to him 

 who has a due regard to the general improvement 

 of his land and the good condition of his stock. I\ 

 know that a great deal has been said and written 

 upon the subject, but I really do not think, with 

 all deference, that the play has been worth the 

 candle. Simple as the question is, it is narrowed 

 down among plain practical farmers to a still sim- 

 pler form, viz. whether it is expedient to keep 

 cattle enough to eat up all the straw ^n order to 

 make manure. And many a farm have you and I 

 seen, Mr. Editor, where the appearance of the land 

 and the stock afford abundant proof of the absur- 

 dity of pursuing such a system. In determining 

 the number of stock which it is desirable to keep, 

 I conceive that the very least of all considerations 

 bearing upon the question is that under discussion, 

 indeed, I make bold to say, it is an item which 

 should not enter into the calculation^ all. My 



