I860.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



521 



almost double that of gypsum or the sul- 

 phate of lime; the first being 4.7, and the 

 latter 2.72. Generally it is found white, or 

 reddish, yellowish white, grey, and even 

 black, compact, granular, crystaiine, &c. In- 

 soluble in water, and when decomposed, as 

 may be done by calcining together powdered 

 charcoal, or sugar, starch, resine, &c, with 

 sulphate of barytes, the barytes will dissolve 

 in nitric or muriatic acid, from which it will 

 always be precipitated by the addition of ( 

 sulphuric acid. It will be recollected that the j 

 sulphate of lime is sensibly soluble in water, j 

 more so than lime, for when sulphuric acid . 

 is added to limewater no precipitate is 

 thrown; whereas, when a few drops of sul- 

 phuric acid are added to a solution of the 

 nitrate, muriate, or to the oxyd of barytes 

 in solution, a white precipitate never fails to 

 fall. The carbonate of barytes may be easily 

 distinguished from the sulphate by its effer- 

 vescing, as it does slowly on the application 

 of nitric acrid. It is composed of — 



Sulphuric acid, 34.37 ) jrin 



Barytes, 65.63 j — ^ uu 



It is, however, often found mixed with 

 different substances, such as sulphate of 

 strontian, sulphate and carbonate of lime, 

 silex, oxyd of iron, and alumine. It occurs 

 in veins in the primitive and secondary rocks, 

 and is most always found in veins of lead, 

 copper, silver, and mercury; in the metal- 

 liferous regions of Europe, in the Hartz, 

 Saxony, Hungary, Almaden, in Spain; in 

 the United States, in New York, Connecti- 

 cut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, 

 Virginia, Missouri, &c. 



Owing to the great analogy that exists be- 

 tween the characters of the salts of stron- 

 tian and those of barytes, it would be sur- 

 prising if the fertilizing properties attributed 

 to the one were not common to both, partic- 

 ularly if the acid were found to be the ac- 

 tive fertilizing principle as well in the sul- 

 phate of lime as that of barytes ; other sul- 

 phates, such as the sulphate of iron, (green 

 vitriol,) when much diluted with water, 

 without the presence of lime, have extraor- 

 dinarily advanced the growth of plants, in- 

 cluding beans, potatoes, rye, Indian corn, 

 carrots, &c. Weak sulphuric acid has also 

 a favorable effect when applied to clover, but 

 in both cases it may be argued that the sul- 

 phate of iron, (which is soluble,) and the 

 sulphuric acid come in contact with lime in 

 the soil, and sulphate of lime is then form- 



ed, and may act in that state upon crops; 

 or the acid, in one case or the other, may 

 combine with ammonia, already existing in 

 and combined with the earth, and form sul- 

 phate of ammonia, which is a valuable and 

 well-known fertilizer. But we will here re- 

 mark that, in our laboratories, the sulphates 

 of barytes is found to be one of the most 

 stable of salts, and its combination is in no 

 instance decomposed by lime or ammonia. 

 Nor does barytes form a constituent of any 

 vegetable or animal organism within our 

 knowledge. A small quantity of the nitrate 

 of barytes will destroy vegetable life very 

 quickly ; yet nitric acid is a strong fertilizer, 

 and one of the principal furnishers of nitro- 

 gen to plants. 



{To be Continued.) 



Sleep. 



There is no fact more clearly established 

 in the physiology of man than this, that 

 the brain expends its energies and itself 

 during the hours of wakefulness, and that 

 these are recuperated during sleep; if the 

 recuperation does not equal the expenditure, 

 the brain withers — this is insanity. 



Thus it is that, in early English history, 

 persons who were condemned to death by 

 being prevented from sleeping always died 

 raving maniacs ; thus it is, also, that those 

 who are starved to death become insane ; 

 the brain is not nourished, and the}?- can- 

 not sleep. The practical inferences are 

 these : 



First. Those who think most, who do 

 most brainwork, require most sleep. 



Second. That time saved from necessa- 

 ry sleep is infallibly destructive to mind, 

 body, and estate. 



Third. Give yourself, your children, 

 your servants — give all that are under you 

 the fullest amount of sleep they will take, 

 by compelling them to go to bed at some 

 regular early hour, and ro rise in the morn- 

 ing the moment they awake; and, within a 

 fortnight, nature, with almost the regularity 

 of the rising sun, will unloose the bonds of 

 sleep the moment enough repose has been 

 secured for the wants of the system. 



This is the only safe and sufficient rule — 

 and as to the question how much sleep any 

 ono requires, each must be a rule for him- 

 self — great nature will never fail to write it 

 out to the obseryer under the regulations 

 just given* — Dr. Spicer. 



