134 
AGRICULTURAL ERRORS. 
AGRICULTURAL ERRORS. 
An Essay read before the Natural History De¬ 
partment of the Brooklyn Institute , March 6th, 
1844. 
In the early development of a new science or in 
the recent application of an established science to 
any new art, terms are used and notions entertain¬ 
ed by its votaries, which retard its progress and 
must be swept away before any permanent im¬ 
provement can be made, or any general benefit be 
derived by its application. 
It is but a few years since the science of chemis¬ 
try was applied to agriculture, and its progress has 
already been much retarded by the introduction of 
crude notions and indefinite terms. Rot long since 
all their talk was of humus. I sought for an ex¬ 
planation from writers and speakers, but none of 
them had a definite idea of its meaning, everyone 
giving a different explanation. I therefore consider 
it on a par with the term phlogiston, so glibly 
used by chemists within my recollection, that 
thousands talked sfbout, but no one could clearly 
explain. Fortunately for the progress of that sci¬ 
ence, the French school swept from the board all 
unmeaning terms and opinions, and substituted 
such as were strictly scientific and readily un¬ 
derstood by practical operators. It would tend 
much to the advancement of agriculture if some 
influential savans would undertake to make a cor¬ 
rect nomenclature of agricultural terms, and sweep 
away useless notions, adopting such only as would 
convey to the mind definite meanings. I was led 
into noticing this subject by an article in the Cul¬ 
tivator for February of this year, where a writer 
in describing ammonia as found in nature merely 
gives two of its component parts, nitrogen and hy¬ 
drogen as constituting its fertilizing power. Now 
it is well known that nitrogen and hydrogen afford 
a very minor portion of vegetable matter, only 
about one quarter; whereas the carbonic gas, al¬ 
ways combined with free ammonia, furnishes it 
with nearly seventy-five per cent., yet the writer 
never mentions this important portion. Besides, 
too much nitrogen is destructive to vegetation, a 
fact well known by those who make nitrate of soda 
in South America, for on such soils no vegetation 
of any kind will grow. The same article when 
collected in a condensed state is used in Europe as 
one of their best fertilizers, at the rate of not more 
than 120 pounds to the acre, but when used in ex¬ 
cess will destroy the crop. It appears when used 
in excess to be too stimulating. To furnish ve¬ 
getation therefore with too much nitrogen, is in 
its operative effect like unto a man drinking too 
much alcohol, its stimulative power destroys life. 
No such effect has ever been noticed in other car¬ 
bonates, even where the soil has contained over 
ninety per cent, of carbonated calcareous matter. 
I have lately had several applications from agri¬ 
cultural societies for estimates of apparatus, agents 
and reagents for analyzing soils, and have heard 
much said at farmers’ clubs on the same subject, 
but no one has suggested nor have I heard any one 
even hint at the utility of having an analysis of 
agricultural products as a leading desideratum. 
Now it is self-evident, that however expert an 
agriculturist may become in the analysis of soil's 
and he remains ignorant of the component parts of 
the plant he intends to raise, that he will have ac¬ 
quired no knowledge that can be beneficial to him ; 
for he will remain quite as much in the dark as be¬ 
fore he knew anything of analysis. Some two or 
three years since I sent an essay to the Cultivator, 
offering to be one of a hundred to contribute thirty 
dollars each to procure an accurate analysis of such 
plants as are usually raised by our farmers, and 
proposed that tables of contents should be sent to 
all who wanted them. I also suggested that such 
analysis should be made in France, Germany, and 
England, with an interchange of tables among all 
these nations;. with such tables any chemist would 
instantly understand what material would be re¬ 
quired to- add to a soil to raise any particular plant,, 
either agricultural or horticultural. 
The component parts of several plants have al¬ 
ready been ascertained by analysis, and they are 
found to consist of from 84 to 92 per cent, of gase¬ 
ous matter, and from 8 to 16 per cent, of solids.. 
The gaseous portion is composed of carbon, ox¬ 
ygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen; the solid'portion of 
fixed alkalies, silex, iron, &c. The varied proper¬ 
ties of different vegetables are from all the various 
combinations of the four gases, together with the 
products so formed combining with the alkaline 
portion of the plants. 
Sugar in plants is composed of oxygen,, carbon^ 
and hydrogen; oxalic acid in sorel and other 
plants is a compound of carbon and oxygen ; malic, 
acid in apples and other fruit, is composed of car¬ 
bon, oxygen, and hydrogen; citric acid in the lemon 
and other fruit, is composed of carbon, oxygen, and 
hydrogen; the difference in all these consisting 
merely in the combinations varying in their propor¬ 
tions. Oxalates, malates, and citrates, will be form¬ 
ed by these acids combining with the alkaline por¬ 
tion of the plants. V egetable gums are composed of 
carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen; vegetable oils, of 
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The bitter of the 
almond and of many other kernels, in the leaves of 
tree and plants, as well as in some varieties of 
fruit, is occasioned by the presence of cyanogen* 
which is composed of carbon and nitrogen, with a 
trace of hydrogen. This material when concen¬ 
trated is a deadly poison. 
Thus we perceive there is produced from four 
simple substances at the fiat of creative intelligence* 
a great variety of products, all necessary for sustain¬ 
ing life. I would advise our farmers, until some¬ 
thing better offers, to persevere in the use of char¬ 
coal and lime, as these are to be obtained in any 
quantitv and in most situations at a very trifling 
cost. The lime will supply carbon and oxygen to 
the plants during their growth, and the charcoal 
will take up and supply them with all the am¬ 
monia necessary to their full development without 
any over-supply. Charcoal will also afford to 
plants sufficient moisture during long droughts from 
its hydratic quality of saturating its pores, and 
from its great retentive power. It also lightens 
the soil, permitting the sun and air to penetrate to 
the roots of the plants, and letting all the rain per¬ 
colate freely through it that is not required for its 
own saturation. 
