650 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[November 



it thrives best in clayey loam, on a rather 

 retentive subsoil, and on gently sloping- 

 ground ) Ash and Elm, on a gravelly loam, 

 on gravel or sand, at an altitude under 500 

 feet above the level of the sea ; Sycamore, 

 at 100 feet higher than tlie Ash or Elm, 

 and in a more retentive soil and subsoil; 

 Eeaeh, on a dry gravelly soil, and in a rather 

 high situation, but it is often luxuriant on 

 strong retentive clay, and in a low damp 

 situation. 



APPLICATION OF MANURE. 



. If the soil does not contain the ingre- 

 dients required -for a crop, they must be ad- 

 ded in the form of manure. The principle 

 of manuring is to supply what the plant 

 cannot obtain from the soil, and to render 

 certain matters already in the soil available 

 for nutrition. In order that this may be 

 properly practised, there must be an analy- 

 sis of the soil, of the plant, and of the 

 manure. Hence the importance of agricul- 

 tural chemistry to the farmer. 



VARIOUS KINDS OF MANURE. 



Natural Manures, as firm-yard dung' 

 are more valuable than simple manures; in- 

 asmuch' as the former furnish all the sub- 

 stances required for the growth of plants 

 while the latter only supply a particular in- 

 gredient. The plant itself, in a soluble 

 state, would be the best manure. In ordina- 

 ry farm-yard manure, the straw is again 

 made available for the purpose of the plant. 

 The ^Yhole crop of wheat and oats, how- 

 ever, cannot be returned to the soil, as 

 part must be retained for food. A substi- 

 tute, therefore, must be found for the por- 

 tion thus taken away. This contains both 

 azotised and unazotised matters, the former 

 consisting of protein e compounds which 

 supply nitrogen for the muscular tissue of 

 man and animals; the latter of starchy, 

 mucilaginous and saccharine matters, which 

 furnish carbon as a material for respiration 

 and fat. The object of manuring is chiefly 

 to increase the former, and hence those ma- 

 nures are most valuable which contain solu- 

 ble nitrogenous compounds. 



The value of manures is often estimated by 

 the quantity of gluten which is produced by 

 their application. Hermbstaedt sowed equal 

 quantities of the same wheat on equal parts 

 of the same ground, and manured them 

 with equal weights of different manures, 

 and from 100 parts of each sample of grain 



produced, he obtained gluten and starch in 

 the following proportions : 



Gluten. Starch* 



Without manure 9.2 66.7 



Cow dung 12.0 62.3 



Pigeons 1 ' do 12.2 63.2 



Horse do 13.7 61.6 



Goats 1 do 32.0 42.4 



Sheep do;.it 32.9 42.8 



Dried night soil 33.1 41.4 



Dried Ox blood 34.2 41.3 



Manures containing ammonia, owe their 

 excellent qualities to the nitrogen which en- 

 ters into their composition ; hence the value 

 of sulphate of ammonia, ammonial liquor of 

 gas-works and urine. The value of guano, 

 or the dung of sea-fowl, depends chiefly on 

 the ammoniacal salts, and the phosphates 

 which it contains- thus supplying the nitro- 

 gen and phosphorous requisite for the pro- 

 teine compounds which contain the elements 

 of flesh and blood. The guano, which is 

 imported, is the excrement of numerous sea- 

 fowl which frequent the shores of South 

 x\merica and Africa. It often contains 

 beautiful specimens of infusoria, as Campy- 

 lodiscus, Coscinodiscus, &c. The guano 

 found in caves on the coasts of Malacca and 

 Cochin-China, is the produce of frugivorous 

 and insectivorous bats, and of a species of 

 swallow — the last being the best. 



The following analyses by Dr. Colquhoun 

 of Glasgow, which are the result of an ex- 

 amination of a large number of samples, 

 give a general idea of the composition of 

 guano. The term ammoniacal matter, in- 

 cludes urate of ammonia and other am- 

 moniacal salts, as oxalate, phosphate, and 

 muriate, as well as decayed organic matter 

 of animal origin. The term bone earth, in- 

 cludes phosphate of lime, (always the principal 

 ingredient,) phosphate of magnesia, (always 

 in small amount,) oxalate of lime; and in 

 African guano, a minute quantity of carbo- 

 nate of lime, and from J to 2 per cent, of 

 fragments of sea shells. The fixed alkaline 

 salts, are various salts of soda, as muriate, 

 phosphate, and sulphate ; a little of a potash 

 salt has been detected. 



SOUTH AMERICAN GUANO. 



Fine Mid- 



In- 



Low 



Chincha. dling. 



ferior. 



qualities. 



Ammoniacal matter. 62 42 



28 



12 If) 



Bone earth 20 24 



30 



50 37 



Fixed alkaline salts, 10 14 



21 



10 5 



Rock, sand, earth. . . 0.5 5 



3 



15 34 





18 



13 9 



100.0 100 



100 



100 100 



