April, 
132 THE CULTIVATOR. 
near the time for pulling the flax, when most of the 
balls are so far advanced that the seed within them 
will ripen, though they are more immature than is 
desirable. The loss in the seed will therefore in 
most cases be small, compared with the loss that 
will be sustained in lint, if the crop remains many 
days ungathered, after this malady makes its ap¬ 
pearance. 
Agricultural Chemistry. 
Eds. Cultivator —-The application of Chemistry 
to Agriculture formed a new era in agricultural im¬ 
provement. Scientific minds brought their ener¬ 
gies to bear on the subject, and a vast amount of 
knowledge is the result of their investigations. 
The theories of active, inquiring minds which expe¬ 
riments seemed to sustain, were tested,—those that 
were true, established, and those that were false, 
abandoned,—and every truth developed, prepared 
the way for further discoveries. Science answers 
the interrogatories of Art, which must otherwise 
have remained in doubt; for speculative experiments 
in agriculture lead to no results that can be relied 
on. 
Works on Agricultural Chemistry are so nume¬ 
rous, that all may furnish themselves with the means 
to become acquainted in some degree with the sci¬ 
ence of agriculture . The results of experiments con¬ 
ducted by deep-searching minds, have been given to 
the world. The operations of nature in the chemi¬ 
cal changes that are constantly taking place in the 
vegetable kingdom, are no longer shrouded in myste¬ 
ry ; for the laws that govern vegetation in its rise, 
growth and decay, have been searched out by sci¬ 
ence, and are now plainly understood. 
Prof. Liebig has given in his “Familiar Letters 
on Chemistry ,* a great amount of information at 
once interesting and instructive j and it may be stu¬ 
died with profit by the farmer, manufacturer and 
merchant. The application of chemistry to physio¬ 
logy, is perhaps, not so generally understood as in 
its application to agriculture. It is true, man may 
live and breathe, eat, drink, and labor through a 
long life, in entire ignorance of the laws of his be¬ 
ing; without understanding how he lives, why he 
breathes, or in what way food sustains life, and 
adapts his system to endure labor. Still it is not to 
be denied, that with a knowledge of physiological 
laws, he might escape many of the ills of life that 
ignorance inflicts upon him. Everyone knows that 
the system daily requires a certain amount of food, 
but few know how much it requires, except as they 
are told by the appetite, and that is not an unerring 
monitor. Especially in the case of young children, 
ignorance is the rule rather than the exception, as 
to the quantity and kind of food necessary for life 
and perfect health. Food must contain all the ele¬ 
ments that form the various parts of the system, 
and what is required to sustain the waste that is 
constantly going on. But what are these elements? 
and why is one kind of food more nutritious than 
another? or why nutritious at all? Science alone 
can answer these questions. Flesh, blood and bone 
contain nitrogen and phosphates, therefore the food 
must contain these, or it cannot be converted into 
blood, which is the life-of the system. A part of 
the food must also consist of carbon and hydrogen, 
for the oxygen that is taken into the lungs in respi¬ 
ration, combines with these elements for the pro¬ 
* Chemistry, m its Application to Physiology, Agriculture, and 
Commerce. By Professor Liebig. Fowler & Wells, New-York. 
Price 20 cents. 
duction of animal heat. Hence, life cannot be sus¬ 
tained by gum, starch, sugar or spirits, because 
they contain neither nitrogen or phosphates, nor can 
respiration be continued without these in some form; 
that is, their carbon and hydrogen. In feeding ani¬ 
mals, a knowledge of this subject is important, in 
order to understand what substances are best adapt¬ 
ed to the growth of muscle and fat, or to give 
strength to labor. It would not do to feed animals 
on turneps or potatoes alone, as they contain from 
75 to 92 per cent, of water, and but a small portion 
of nitrogen. It is well known that hay is better 
than grass for working animals, and still better is 
it to feed some with oats or corn. Chemistry as ap¬ 
plied to physiology, informs us in regard to all these 
matters, and is a study with which all farmers 
should be acquainted. 
A knowledge of agricultural chemistry is but lit¬ 
tle disseminated, even among that class of people 
that it is especially designed to benefit. Indeed, 
the science is not yet fully developed, for the field 
of investigation is extensive, and progress necessa¬ 
rily slow, owing to the complicated nature of che¬ 
mical examinations and experiments. But much 
has already been done, and the knowledge elicited 
is exerting a great influence in agricultural improve¬ 
ment. In the results of investigations that have 
been reached by different processes of reasoning and 
experiments, it would be strange if there was al¬ 
ways an exact agreement. But if there are errors, 
no doubt but in time they will be discovered and cor¬ 
rected. It is the generally received opinion, I think, 
that manures are valuable in proportion to the 
amount of nitrogen they contain. Dr. Dana main¬ 
tains this opinion in his Muck Manual , p. 123. 
11 The nitrogen then, in dung, is that organic ele¬ 
ment, to which must be attributed its chief enrich¬ 
ing quality.” And on page 143, “A great part of 
the value of bone as a manure, depends on its car¬ 
tilage.” Liebig in Letter 16, says— 11 My recent 
researches into the constituent ingredients of our 
cultivated fields, have led me to the conclusion that 
of all the elements furnished to plants by the soil, 
and ministering to their nourishment, the phosphate 
of lime, or rather the phosphates generally, must 
be regarded as the most important.” p. 52, “Bones 
contain from 30 to 36 per cent, of earthy matter— 
chiefly phosphate of lime, and the remainder is ge¬ 
latine. Their efficacy as manure does not depend, 
as has been generally but erroneously supposed, up¬ 
on the nitrogenized matter which they contain, but 
on their phosphate of lime.” pp. 14, 54. 
Liebig also maintains that the atmosphere contains 
a sufficient quantity of carbon and nitrogen, for all 
the purposes of vegetation, and if the other ele¬ 
ments exist in the soil, these will be supplied from 
the atmosphere. By a process of reasoning which 
appears perfectly correct, in which a great variety 
of facts and experiments are taken into considera¬ 
tion, he arrives at the following conclusion:—“ The 
effect of an artificial supply of ammonia as a 
source of nitrogen, is therefore, precisely analogous 
to that of humus as a source of carbonic acid—it is 
limited to a gain of time; that is, it accelerates 
the development of plants. This is of great im¬ 
portance, and should always be taken into account 
in gardening, especially in the treatment of the kit¬ 
chen garden: and as much as possible in agricul¬ 
ture on a large scale, where the time occupied in the 
growth of the plants cultivated is of importance.” 
p. 52. 
The following extract shows plainly the import¬ 
ance of science in conducting farming operations 
successfully. If a farmer, without the guidance of 
