1848. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
203 
“MAW(IKES—THEIR NATURE AW® ACTION.” 
The April No. of the Cultivator has been received, 
and I have perused the article on “ Manures—their na¬ 
ture and action,” by J. M. Ward. And I fully agree 
with him that “ the right understanding of this sub¬ 
ject is the foundation of all correct and profitable farm¬ 
ing.” And I frankly admit, that for many years I was 
of the same opinion of Mr. Ward, in regard to the very 
great value and importance to the farmer of the nitro¬ 
gen in his manures. Impressed with this opinion, I 
have reasoned and talked to farmers of its use—I have 
written articles for publication upon this subject, and 
with a small box of 11 genuine Peruvian guano ” in one 
hand, and a box of slaked lime in the other, I have lec¬ 
tured and illustrated to hundreds of farmers and others, 
of its great value for their growing crops, and the im¬ 
portance of fixing this volatile substance. 
But by the force of numerous well attested facts, aid¬ 
ed by study, practice, observation, and the application 
of the “ sober second thought,” I have been constrain¬ 
ed to very greatly alter that opinion—in fact, to aban¬ 
don it. 
I have no favorite theory to advocate, no pride of 
opinion to sustain, only as far as truth will sustain me. 
I can, and do, most fully appreciate Mr. Ward’s good 
and benevolent motives in giving his views upon this 
subject through the columns of the widely circulating 
Cultivator—his object was to further the great cause 
of Agriculture—to enlighten the path of the practical 
farmer—*to point out to him a way to increase his pro¬ 
fits by a more economical use of the means already 
within his reach. In giving my views so opposite to 
his—(for either Mr. W. or myself, are greatly mista¬ 
ken in this matter.) I claim from him the same measure 
of charity, that I have meted out to him, in reference 
to motives. 
I am well aware that M. Bousingault says, manure 
is valuable according to the amount of nitrogen it con¬ 
tains^—and thousands of farmers, theoretical and prac¬ 
tical, respond to it, as though it were a fixed fact. 
Hence arises the supposed necessity and great im¬ 
portance of securing it in the manure heap, by the ad¬ 
dition of dilute sulphuric acid—gypsum or sulphate of 
iron, (copperas) all of which substances possess the 
property of combining with the carbonate of ammonia 
a volatile salt, and converting it into a sulphate, a so¬ 
luble, but not a volatile salt of ammonia. 
I am also aware of the absolute necessity of nitro¬ 
gen in the cereals—(grain,) and all other food, used for 
the sustenance of men and animals. 
Ammonia is formed by a union of the nitrogen and 
hydrogen, in decomposing animal and vegetable matter 
—fourteen parts of nitrogen chemically combining with 
three parts of hydrogen. 
If the advocates of that side of the question mean to 
be understood that the nitrogen in a given quantity, or 
quality of manure, is its most valuable part, I must 
beg leave to dissent from them—not in part, but in to- 
to; and further say, that the nitrogen in manure is a 
substance of no consequence compared with the inor¬ 
ganic matters of the manure—and still farther, that as 
large crops can be grown without the use of nitrogen¬ 
ous manures, as can be with them, and I believe there 
is a vastly greater amount of Indian corn and wheat— 
(grains requiring much nitrogen in their composition,) 
grown in the United States, without the use of any kind 
of artificially applied nitrogenous manures, than there 
is by the aid of them. 
But before proceeding farther, I wish to point out the 
analogy subsisting between the soil, the plant and the 
animal. Chemical research teaches us that some ten 
or eleven mineral or inorganic substances, enter into 
the composition of all naturally fertile soils. It further 
teaches us, that these same substances are found in the 
ash of plants, and it clearly establishes the fact, that 
plants derive their inorganic constituents from the soil, 
and upon the quantity, relative proportions and solubil¬ 
ity of these substances in the soil, depends its fertility, 
rather than upon the quantity of what is generally 
termed the organic matter of the soil, viz. humus, ve¬ 
getable matter, &c. And farther, analytical research 
has established the fact that the same inorganic bodies 
are found in the ash of the bone and muscle of animals, 
and that these same substances have been derived from 
the food upon which the animal subsisted. 
Chemistry also teaches us that four elementary prin¬ 
ciples enter into vegetable structure, and hence are 
termed organic substances—they are carbon, hydrogen, 
oxygen and nitrogen. The three first are furnished by 
the atmosphere in sufficient quantity to meet the de¬ 
mand of the growing plant. To the above statements 
I feel sure of having Mr. W.’s assent. The nitrogen 
being the only question at issue between us. 
His theory is, “that if we would obtain vegetable 
products rich in nitrogenised principles, we must sur¬ 
round the growing plant with animal or vegetable ma¬ 
nures, containing an additional amount of these princi¬ 
ples.” Another is, “ that one of the great problems 
for the agriculturist to solve, is how to furnish plants 
with the requisite nitrogen at the least expense ”— 
and u that the value of manures in common use may 
be measured by the quantity of nitrogen which they 
contain, or their power of forming nitrates.” 
The above propositions of Mr. Ward, I believe, are 
wholly untenable, and were I not actuated by a desire 
to disseminate correct views in the cause of agriculture, 
I would never expend one drop of ink in attempting to 
expose their fallacy; and in order to more clearly elu¬ 
cidate my views, I must digress from the question at 
issue for a short time. 
Chemical science has established the fact that vege¬ 
table food possesses a three-fold value—1st, bodies con¬ 
taining nitrogen, such as the gluten of wheat, the le- 
gumin of peas and beans, and in their chemical com¬ 
position they are nearly identical with the muscle, lean 
meat of animals. 2d. Bodies containing no nitrogen, 
like the starch of the wheat and potato. 3d. Inorgan¬ 
ic salts, all of which are serviceable in the animal eco¬ 
nomy. 
“ The nitrogenous bodies, from their solution in the 
blood, form the tissues, the actual organism. The bo¬ 
dies wanting nitrogen contribute by their more or less 
perfect combustion to the warmth of the animal body, 
and for the formation of fat; and the phosphoric acid 
and alkaline earths serve in building up the osseous 
frame work, besides constituting an essential part of 
every part of the animal system. Their values for the 
latter purpose are in proportion to the phosphates the 
ashes contain.” 
The nitrogenous and carbonaceous constituents of 
plants and animals are wholly derived from the four 
organic elements already named. The oxygen and ni¬ 
trogen in a gaseous form, compose the air we breathe; 
oxygen and hydrogen, in certain proportions in a liquid 
form, compose the water we drink; carbon is charcoal, 
dissolved, or in a gaseous form combined with oxygen; 
and termed carbonic acid. These gaseous substances 
