PRACTICAL AND SCIENTIFIC FARMING-ANALYSES OF SOILS. 
213 
certain substances from the soil than others, 
and it is essential to know at what rate we are 
exhausting each of the materials of the soil, in 
order to return the exhausted portions, and at 
all times maintain a full supply. Thus the clo¬ 
vers require gypsum; wheat and the white 
grains, potatoes, and turnips, bone dust; grass 
requires bone dust and ashes, &c. This is not 
all these crops demand; they need more or 
less of the ingredients contained in every one of 
the manures, but they consume them in vary¬ 
ing proportions, more of one kind and less of 
another. 
There are certain manures of universal appli¬ 
cation ; such as ashes among the mineral sub¬ 
stances, and farmyard manure and guano, the 
latter combining both the animal and mineral? 
and the former, animal, vegetable, and mineral. 
Guano and the muck heap may be taken for 
the use of every soil and every crop, with ab¬ 
solute certainty that we cannot go amiss. They 
are, therefore, the safest of all manures for the 
use of the ignorant and unskillful. To the more 
initiated, however, some simple mineral sub¬ 
stance may be found, on analysing the soil, to 
be all that is necessary to add, as carbonate 
of lime, gypsum, salt, &c. They can thus fur¬ 
nish the deficient ingredients at the cost of a few 
shillings per acre instead of as many dollars, 
which the ignoramus must expend for supply¬ 
ing an assortment from which the vegetables 
can extract the one or more they need. 
For the purpose of rendering this necessary 
aid to the farmer, we have secured the services of 
Dr. Antisell, who may be consulted at his office, 
No. 63 Franklin street, or addressed through the 
mail. By sending him specimens of soil, a re¬ 
port on them can be immediately returned, with 
full explanations as to the proper mode of treat¬ 
ment. Thus, not only the ingredients of the 
soil can be given, but those required for suc¬ 
cessive crops may be indicated, as well as the 
most economical sources from which they can 
be procured. 
We commence this new feature of our peri¬ 
odical with an analysis of soils received from 
Dr. Blake, for which, and Dr. Antisell’s analyses, 
accompanied with remarks and advice, see the 
following columns. 
A Cheap and Excellent Manure For Goose¬ 
berries.— A French nurseryman says that ex* 
hausted tan bark spread on the surface, around 
the roots of gooseberry bushes, is an effectual 
remedy for caterpillars. A cart load of bark is 
sufficient for a large garden. 
PRACTICAL AND SCIENTIFIC FARMING—ANALY¬ 
SES OF SOILS. 
I herewith send you two samples of soil tak¬ 
en from one of my fields, to which was applied, 
a year or two since, about 80 bushels of lime to 
the acre. 
After analysing these soils, I wish you to in¬ 
form me in what chemical constituents the land 
is deficient, and what manures or fertilisers, 
with the quantity of each, per acre, will be ne¬ 
cessary to be added to render it suitable for the 
following crops, namely, Indian corn, oats, 
wheat, and clover. 
Respectfully yours, 
John L. Blake, Orange, N. J. 
To Dr. Thos. Antisell, New York. 
The following is a copy of the analyses of 
the soil and subsoil of the above samples as 
made in the laboratory of Dr. Antisell, which 
we publish for the benefit of our readers; and 
we recommend others who are in need of simi¬ 
lar information, to adopt the same praiseworthy 
plan herein offered by Dr. Blake. —Eds. 
Surface soil. Subsoil. 
Organic vegetable matter, 
4.56 
0.83 
Fine sand and silicates of lime and iron, 
86.20 
86.00 
Alumina, 
2.^7 
3.20 
Per-oxide of iron, 
0.26 
0.43 
Oxide of manganese, 
— 
0.06 
Lime, 
0.44 
0.80 
Magnesia, 
0.21 
0.45 
Potassa, 
0.01 
0.04 
Soda, 
0.03 
0.06 
Chlorine, 
0.04 
0.08 
Sulphuric acid, 
0.11 
0.05 
Phosphoric acid, 
— 
trace 
Carbonic acid, 
0.06 
_ 
Loss, 
0.01 
_ 
Moisture, 
5.70 
4.00 
100.00 
100.00 
The amount of organic vegetable matter in 
the soil is in moderate quantity, not sufficient 
for grain crops. It is in great part composed 
of undecomposed roots, and which, when sep¬ 
arated, leaves a very small portion of vegetable 
matter in a rotted condition, fit for the imme¬ 
diate use of plants. It therefore requires that 
more vegetable matter should be added. 
The quantity of lime is much too small either 
for the crops to be raised or for acting upon the 
rootlets not yet decomposed into mould. Thirty 
bushels of caustic lime will bring the amount of 
that substance in an acre of ground three inches 
deep, over one per cent. This will be the 
smallest quantity that should be added, and it 
will need repeating for every crop of wheat. 
It would then, perhaps, be better to add it in 
the compost form. In any case, it must be ad¬ 
ded previous to, and independent of, the follow¬ 
ing rmanures. There is sufficient sulphuric 
