464 
CARBONIC  ACID  IN  THE  SOIL. 
Stir  them  frequently,  and  in  a  short  time,  they  will  be  entirely 
decomposed  and  fitted  for  use.  These  two  masses,  being  equal- 
ly rich  in  the  elements  of  fertility,  the  one  of  ammonia  and  the 
other  of  phosphorus,  are  equally  valuable  as  fertilizers,  and 
adapted  to  any  and  every  variety  of  soil  that  may  be  deficient 
in  these  elements,  and  equally  necessary  for  the  healthful  matu- 
rity of  every  growing  plant,  whether  of  grain,  grasses,  fruits,  or 
roots.  I  now  advise  a  mixture  of  these  two  masses  with  the 
general  compost,  to  secure  a  general  diffusion  of  them  upon  the 
different  fields  to  be  manured.  My  reason  for  the  general  dif- 
fusion of  these  masses,  upon  the  different  fields  is,  first,  every 
plant  needs  them.  Secondly,  the  farmer's  resources,  in  this 
line,  will  be  mainly  within  himself.  This  will  be  true  of  those 
that  live  at  a  distance  from  villages  and  cities.  Their  resources 
must  be  small.  Thirdly,  the  elements  of  the  bone,  both  animal 
and  mineral,  w^ere  taken  from  the  different  fields,  and  should, 
therefore,  be  returned  to  the  same  fields.  To  keep  up  the  fer- 
tility of  each  field,  it  is  necessary  to  return  to  it  annually  the 
same  elements  that  are  taken  away.  The  farmer  may  secure  a 
larger  crop  of  any  kind,  on  any  field,  by  robbing  other  fields  of 
the  same  elements  of  fertility  to  enrich  that  one.  But  such  a 
policy  would  not  only  be  bad,  but  ruinous  if  pursued. — Drug- 
gists' Oiraular,  from  Country/  Gentleman. 
CARBONIC  ACID  IN  THE  SOIL. 
Van  den  Broek  says  (^Annalen  der  Chem.  und  Pharm.,  Bd. 
cxv.  s.  87)  that  a  solution  of  carbonic  acid  percolating  through 
the  soil,  is,  up  to  a  certain  limit,  robbed  of  its  carbonic  acid,  so 
that  the  filtrate  no  longer  causes  any  turbidity  with  lime-water  ; 
and,  if  a  stream  of  hydrogen  gas  be  passed  through  a  layer  of 
earth,  the  carbonic  acid  can  be  displaced.  The  author  lays  stress 
on  this  property  of  the  soil  holding  carbonic  acid,  as  supporting 
Liebig's  views  on  the  subject  of  the  nutrition  of  plants  Qhem. 
News,  London,  March  16,  1861. 
