126 
THE CULTIVATOR, 
April 
COLMAN’S EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE—PART V. 
In matters of a practical nature, this number is, as we 
have before intimated, decidedly superior to any that 
has preceded it. 
Mr. Colman proposes to arrange his observations un¬ 
der three great divisions, to wit: arable farming • breed¬ 
ing and grazing; and dairying. He does not intend, 
however, to give “specific and exact directions in de¬ 
tail for the cultivation of every crop, and for every de¬ 
partment of farm management.” * * * “My prin 
cipal object,” he observes, “ is to point out in Euro¬ 
pean agriculture such circumstances of difference be¬ 
tween it and our own as may serve for the improve¬ 
ment of the agriculture of the United States, and to give 
such an account of the modes of management which 
prevail abroad, and which have been sanctioned by long 
practice and experience, as may facilitate their adopt¬ 
ion, as far as the circumstances existing among us would 
render their adoption eligible.” He admits that every 
country must practice modes in some degree peculiar to 
itself, owing to the variation of climate, facility for 
procuring manures, price of labor, value of products, &c. 
“ At the same time,” says Mr. C., “the general prin¬ 
ciples of agricultural practice are every where the same; 
and these with the various modifications which they 
may be expected to assume under different degrees of 
civilization, or different degrees of improvement in 
sciences and the arts, and their general and special 
application cannot be too fully discussed and illustra¬ 
ted.” * * * “ We may learn much from those wdio 
cultivate better, and from those who do not cultivate 
so well as ourselves. There is little hope in anything 
so far as great improvement is concerned, for the man 
who implicitly follows any guide whatever. He must 
exercise his own reason, experience, observation, and 
judgment, in the application of rules which may be 
laid down for his direction.” 
The Soil. —Under this head it is remarked that “ the 
farmer’s whole business so far as cultivation is concern¬ 
ed, lies with the soil; and upon the soil, and the skill 
and intelligence with which he manages it, must depend 
his success.” Mr. Colman does not assent to the posi¬ 
tion of “ some scientific persons that the principal, if 
not the only use of soil is for the support of the plant, 
and that the food of the plant is derived wholly from 
the atmosphere.” Yet, in conclusion, he says—“that 
plants receive a large portion of their nourishment 
from the air, does not admit of a doubt.” He does not 
allow much credit to the “notion that plants receive a 
large portion of their nourishment through their leaves.” 
As before remarked, however, he admits that the at¬ 
mosphere contributes essentially to vegetation, but, he 
says,—“ so far as any practical use whatever is to be 
made of the fact, we must consider this nourishment as 
received through the roots, and consequently through 
the medium of the soil in which these roots spread 
themselves, and the manures by which it is enriched. 
The soil, therefore, as the basis of all vegetation, is the 
great object of the farmer’s consideration.” 
Theories of the operation of the Soil. —The 
subject of this chapter gives occasion to speak of chemi¬ 
cal analysis, to which reference has been made in a 
preceding number. He remarks—“ The common pro¬ 
perties of soil may be distinguished by the eye or the 
feel, with persons of experience and practical observa¬ 
tion; but chemical examination may often be of the 
highest importance in detecting the presence of some 
mineral ingredient, by which the cultivation of par¬ 
ticular crops may be hindered or wholly prevented.” 
* * * “ What portion of the soil is abstracted for 
vegetable food is not yet determined; and it is a singu¬ 
lar fact that though analytical chemistry has demonstra¬ 
ted that certain mineral substances are taken up in the 
organism of plants, and are essential in composing their 
structure, and has proceeded to calculate the actual 
amount in pounds’ weight abstracted by the growth of 
crops of a particular quantity, it has never yet, by an 
analysis of the soil before the planting, and as exact an 
examination after the crop has been removed, deter¬ 
mined the loss in such case. Why this has not been 
done, or whether it be beyond the power of chemical 
analysis to accomplish,—extraordinary as is the degree 
of perfection to which the science has been advanced, 
must be left to others to answer.” 
The theory of Decandolle, in regard to the exuda¬ 
tions or excrementitious matter of plants, by which the 
soil was supposed to be unfitted for the production of 
the same species, Mr. Colman thinks is now generally 
abandoned. But the necessity and advantage ol a rota¬ 
tion of crops, is fully admitted both by practical and 
scientific men, and there seems to be no doubt that a 
particular crop exhausts the soil of certain elements 
essential to its production; but adds Mr. C., “ it would 
be extremely interesting if the fact of such exhaustion, 
and its extent, could be more particularly determined 
by a chemical examination of the soil which has been 
cultivated.” 
Mr. Colman alludes to the theory of Liebig, that the 
mineral ingredients which are found in the ashes of 
plants, and which are carried off when the products are 
removed, require to be returned either artificially or 
naturally—“ that the land being suffered to rest, or ap¬ 
plied to a different production, the ordinary influences 
of air and moisture in decomposing the rocks of the 
soil, will renew the supply of these mineral elements 
which have been removed.” He thinks that the expe¬ 
riments to which this has led, and which are now go¬ 
ing on, must shortly determine this matter, and greatly 
simplify the processes of agriculture. 
To show that the advantages of chemical analysis 
may be overrated, a quotation is given from the noted 
chemist, Boussingault: “ Chemists of great talent,” 
(says Boussingault,) “ have made many complete analy¬ 
ses of soils noted for their fertility; still, practical agri¬ 
culture has hitherto derived very slender benefits from 
labors of this kind. The reason of this is very simple; 
the qualities which we esteem in a workable soil de¬ 
pend almost exclusively upon the mechanical mixture 
of its elements; we are much less interested in its che¬ 
mical composition than jn this; so that simple washing 
which shows the relations between the sand and the 
clay, tells of itself, much more that is important to us, 
than an elaborate chemical analysis.” 
In regard to the proportion of lime which is essen¬ 
tial to the fertility of soils for various crops, Mr. Col¬ 
man refers both to Boussingault and Yon Thaer, and 
also to an experiment of Payen, to show that that point 
is not yet settled. In one of the extracts given from 
Yon Thaer, it is stated that the richest argillaceous 
soil that he ever analyzed, was taken from the bank of 
Elbe. Of one hundred parts, four and a half were lime. 
This soil it was said, “ was made to bear the richest 
crops, as cabbages, wheat, autumnal corn, beans, &c., 
but every sixth year it was necessary to manure it 
thoroughly and give it a fallow.” In another state¬ 
ment of Yon Thaer’s referred to, he says—“ The richest 
land I ever analyzed, and which was taken from the 
marshes of the Oder, contained 19| parts in 100 of 
humus, 70 of clay, a little line sand, and an almost im¬ 
perceptible quantity of lime.” 
Mr. C. next quotes from Boussingault, who cites the 
analysis of “ one of the most fertile soils iu the world,” 
to show that the proportion of lime, if indeed its pre¬ 
sence is actually required in the soil, is much smaller 
than some have thought essential. The analysis re¬ 
ferred to is that of the soil of Tchornoizem, which em¬ 
braces an extensive district in Russia. It is stated to 
have been the opinion of Mr. Murchison, that this land 
“ is a submarine deposite formed by the accumulation 
of sands rich in organic matters. It is (says Boussin¬ 
gault) the best soil in Russia for wheat and pasturage.” 
The analysis was made by M. Payen, who found the 
soil to contain— 
Organic matter,. 6.95 
(containing 2.45 per cent of azote.) » 
Silica,.. 71.56 
Alumina, ..... — . 11.40 
Oxide of Iron,. 5.62 
Lime,... 0.80 
Magnesia....... 1.22 
