252 
THE  RURAL  NEW-YORKER. 
April  16 
No  Manure. 
mind,  I  resolved  to  have  a  theory  of  my  own.  The 
first  night  we  relied  on  our  thermometers  to  tell  us 
when  to  work  and  where  to  work  hardest;  the  next 
night  being  of  about  the  same  temperature,  and  the 
spirit  of  investigation  having  been  aroused,  we  asked 
the  thermometers  what,  if  any,  good  we  were  doing 
and  they  told  us  that  on  the  same  level  the  tempera¬ 
ture  was  precisely  the  same  under  the  smoke  as  at 
one  side. 
Now,  I  do  not  say  that  a  situation  could  not  be  found 
so  shut  in  and  protected  as  to  hold  a  cloud  of  smoke  of 
sufficient  density  to  cause  a  rise  of  temperature,  but  it 
seems  to  me  as  if,  with  but  a  slight 
current  of  air  stirring,  and  plenty 
of  damp  leaves  and  rubbish,  the 
temperature  might  have  been 
raised  at  least  half  a  degree,  if 
the  theory  that  smoke  will  protect 
from  frost  is  to  be  of  much  prac- 
tical  good.  “But,”  says  one, 
“  scores  have  built  fires  around 
their  orchards  during  cold  snaps 
at  blooming  time,  and  had  a  good 
crop  of  apples  while  neighbors 
had  none.”  Yes,  and  A  butch¬ 
ers  in  the  dark  of  the  moon, 
while  B  butchers  in  the  light. 
A’s  meat  always  lasts ;  B’s  does 
not.  Does  not  this  prove  that 
one  ought  to  butcher  in  the  dark 
even  if  it  is  not  quite  so  handy  ? 
It  may  be  asked  if  the  ther¬ 
mometer  is  a  true  test  of  danger? 
All  I  know  is  that,  whenever  on 
those  two  nights  it  dropped  to 
33  degrees,  which  was  only  in 
the  hollows  mentioned,  frost 
formed  on  the  leaves,  and  when¬ 
ever  it  went  to  30  degrees,  they 
became  stiff,  and  fruit  was  killed 
in  the  bud.  Open  bloom  was 
injured  above  32  degrees  on  other 
portions  of  the  field. 
One  of  our  experiment  sta¬ 
tions,  at  considerable  pains, 
prepared  to  fight  frost  with  smoke 
from  burning  straw  piles,  and 
because  frost  did  not  come,  let 
the  experiment  drop.  If  a  smoke 
cloud  is  as  good  as  one  of  watery 
vapor  to  prevent  the  earth  from 
parting  with  its  heat,  why  can  it 
not  be  proved  whenever  the  air 
is  cooler  than  the  soil  ?  Now,  I 
am  not  particularly  anxious  to 
overthrow  a  supposed  scientific 
fact ;  that  is  generally  a  thank¬ 
less  task,  for  some  of  the  learned 
gentlemen  will  deny  a  thing’s 
existence  even  if  you  break  their 
spectacles  writh  the  thing  itself  ; 
nor  is  it  any  great  pleasure  to  me 
to  learn  that  after  more  than  a 
year  of  unceasing  thought,  labor, 
expense  and  daily  rising  hopes  of 
a  rich  and  profitable  harvest,  all 
may  be  blasted  in  a  single  night 
in  spite  of  my  best  efforts.  Will 
it  pay  in  dollars  and  cents?  That’s 
what  we  want  to  know.  I  say, 
“No.”  Who  says,  “Yes,”  and 
what  is  his  proof  ?  c.  t.  sweet. 
us  the  nitrogen  in  immeasurable  quantities,  it  offers 
it  to  us  free  of  cost;  but  we  must  inquire,  is  it  possible 
to  make  this  rich  source  of  nitrogen  which  is  offered 
to  us  for  nothing,  accessible  to  the  plants  we  cultivate? 
“  To  this  question  the  researches  of  late  years  have 
given  a  definite  answer  of  considerable  value  to  prac¬ 
tical  agriculture,  and  indeed  an  answer  which  entirely 
contradicts  previous  statements.  For  many  years  we 
have  been  told  that  “  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  atmos¬ 
phere  is  not  accessible  to  cultivated  plants,”  but  this 
doctrine  was  false:  the  researches  of  Prof.  Hell- 
riegel,  above  all  others,  have  shown  us  conclusively 
Potash,  Phosphoric  Acid, 
No  Nitrogen. 
Potash,  Phosphoric  Acid, 
and  Nitrogen. 
Experiments  with  Potash  and  Phosphoric  Acid  on  Vetches.  Fig.  131 
No  Manure. 
Potash,  Phosphoric  Acid, 
no  Nitrogen. 
Experiments  with  Potash  and  Phosphoric  Acid  on  Wheat 
(Vetches.) 
The  cheapest  Nitrogen 
and  Phosphate. 
How  are  Nitrogen  and  Phosphoric 
Acid  to  be  Obtained  in  the 
Cheapest  Way. 
The  following  is  a  transla¬ 
tion,  for  which  we  are  indebted 
to  the  London  Agricultural  Ga¬ 
zette,  of  a  lecture  on  the  above 
subject  recently  delivered  by  Prof. 
Paul  Wagner,  Director  of  the 
Armstadt  Experiment  Station: 
“  In  the  manure  market  we 
find  nitrogen  in  the  form  of  Chili 
saltpeter,  ammonia  salts,  blood- 
meal,  guano,  meat-meal,  etc.,  and  we  must  pay  a 
mark-and-a-lialf  per  kilo  (about  18  cents  per  pound,) 
for  nitrogen  in  these  fertilizing  materials.  This  is 
dear.  Is  there  no  cheaper  source?  Does  not  chemistry 
teach  us  that  four-fifths  of  the  atmospheric  air  which 
surrounds  us,  consists  of  nitrogen?  Does  not  chemical 
analysis  show  us  that  humus  soil  and  moor  soil  con¬ 
tain  rich  stores  of  it?  That  not  less  than  1,  2,  or  3 
pounds  of  nitrogen  are  contained  in  100  pounds  of  dry 
moor  substance  ?  Certainly  !  we  need  not  seek  for 
richer  sources  of  nitrogen.  The  atmospheric  air  offers 
of  the  Crop.  Fig.  133. 
(Wheat.) 
No  Manure,  2'9  ounces.  2.  Potash,  Phosphoric  Acid,  no  Nitrogen,  24‘6  ounces.  Increase:  2P7  ounces.  3.  Potash, 
Phosphoric  Acid  and  Nitrogen,  25  4  ounces.  Increase:  22'5  ounces.  4.  No  Manure,  0‘8  ounces.  5.  Potash,  Phos¬ 
phoric  Acid,  no  Nitrogen,  94  ounces  (>.  Potash.  Phosphoric  Acid  and  Nitrogen,  16  3  ounces  Increase:  1 5*5  ounces. 
the  incorrectness  of  it.  Hellriegel  has  shown  us  that 
the  free  nitrogen  of  the  atmospheric  air  is  accessible, 
if  not  to  all,  yet  to  a  well-known  and  highly-im- 
portant  class  of  cultivated  plants. 
“When  leguminosse  are  perishing  for  nitrogen,  when 
vetches,  peas,  beans,  clover,  lucern,  esparsette, 
serradella,  lupins,  etc.,  have  consumed  the  soluble 
nitrogen  present  in  the  soil,  then  certain  little  micro¬ 
scopic  fungi  (so-called  micro-organisms)  of  the  soil- 
attach  themselves  to  the  roots  of  these  plants  and 
cause  little  warty  nodules  to  form  upon  them,  and 
from  this  time  forward  the  free  nitrogen  of  the  at¬ 
mospheric  air  takes  part  in  the  nourishing  processes 
of  the  above-mentioned  plants.  The  plants  henceforth 
grow  in  a  most  luxuriant  manner,  and  no  longer  lang¬ 
uish  for  nitrogen. 
“  The  results  show  us  most  distinctly  that  this  ni¬ 
trogen,  for  which  we  must  pay  the  manure  merchant 
so  dearly,  and  of  which  the  cultivated  plants  have 
to  take  up  not  less  than  from  100  to  200  or  300  kilos 
per  hectare  (89,  178  or  267  pounds  per  acre)  in 
order  to  yield  a  maximum  harvest,  is  offered  to 
us  by  the  atmospheric  air,  free  of  cost.  Clover¬ 
like  plants,  all  kinds  of  vetches, 
peas,  beans,  lupins,  serradella — 
in  short,  all  plants  which  bear 
a  pod  fruit,  which  belong  to  the 
so-called  “leguminosae,”  are  en¬ 
dowed  with  the  power  of  avail¬ 
ing  themselves  of  this  inexpensive 
and  rich  store  of  nitrogen  offered 
by  the  air. 
“How  is  it,  then,  that  there  are 
so  many  fields  upon  which  clover, 
vetches,  peas,  etc.,  may  be  seen 
starving?  How  is  to  be  explained 
that  the  yield  of  meadows  is 
frequently  so  exceptionally  small, 
even  when  the  clover,  the  peas, 
vetches,  and  all  the  numerous 
kinds  of  leguminosaa  of  meadow 
flora  have  at  their  disposal  this 
vast  quantity  of  nitrogen  ;  this 
food  which  is  so  necessary  to  the 
profuse  development  of  all  culti¬ 
vated  plants  ? 
“The  answer  to  this  question 
is  not  difficult ;  it  is  simply  to 
the  following  effect :  meadows, 
clover  fields,  pea,  and  vetch 
fields,  etc. ,  do  not  hunger  for  ni¬ 
trogen,  but  for  phosphoric  acid, 
and  perhaps  also  for  potash  and 
lime.  Nitrogen  stands  at  their 
disposal  in  superfluous  quanti¬ 
ties,  but  they  cannot  take  up  and 
elaborate  the  nitrogen  of  the  air 
as  long  as  they  are  in  want  of 
phosphoric  acid,  potash  and  lime. 
If  it  is  required  to  prove  whether 
this  statement  is  correct  or  not, 
the  verification  is  very  easy. 
Apply,  late  in  the  autumn  or  in 
the  winter,  about  15  centners 
(equal  to  six  cwt.  per  acre)  of 
Thomas’s  phosphate  powder  and 
12  centners  of  kainit  or  four  cent¬ 
ners  of  potassium  muriate  (potas¬ 
sium  chloride)  per  hectare  (equal 
to  four  cwt.  of  kainit  per  acre, 
or  1%  cwt.  of  muriate  of  potash) 
to  a  poor  meadow  which  is  yield¬ 
ing  only  a  very  feeble  crop  of 
grass  and  wild  herbage,  etc,,  and 
you  will  find  that  quite  a  differ¬ 
ent  vegetation  will  be  developed; 
even  in  the  first  summer  after 
this  treatment  has  been  intro¬ 
duced.  Vetch-like  and  clover¬ 
like  plants,  which  otherwise  show 
themselves  only  on  rich  meadows, 
and  which  hitherto  had  not 
been  observed  upon  the  meadow 
in  question,  spring  forth  in  vast 
quantities ;  they  will  develop 
well,  and,  if  in  the  following  year 
the  same  manuring  is  repeated, 
then  the  poor  and  barren  meadow 
will  be  converted  into  one  thickly 
set  with  clovers.  It  will  become 
a  rich  one,  and  will  yield  nourish¬ 
ing  hay  instead  of  the  previous^ 
hard,  herbaceous,  inferior  fodder. 
This  is  no  imaginary  experi¬ 
ment  ;  it  has  already  been  made 
by  thousands  of  farmers  during 
recent  years  with  the  best  re¬ 
sults,  which  have  frequently  been 
incredibly  favorable,  and,  per¬ 
haps,  all  of  the  experimenters 
have  already  satisfied  themselves  sufficiently  that  an 
enormous  increase  in  yield  can  be  obtained  by  manur¬ 
ing  meadows  in  the  autumn  and  winter  with  potash 
and  phosphoric  acid.” 
This  experiment  is  quoted  because  it  shows  in  such 
an  extremely  feasible  manner,  in  which  way  and  by 
which  means  we  can  bring  ourselves  to  participate  in 
the  great  advantages  offered  to  us  by  the  store  of  ni¬ 
trogen  in  the  atmospheric  air.  We  manure  leguminosse 
with  an  abundant  dressing  of  phosphoric  acid,  and, 
when  necessary,  with  potash,  for  we  know  that 
Potash,  Phosphoric  Acid, 
and  Nitrogen. 
Fig.  132. 
6 
