initial commit of ebook 31105HEADmain

20 files changed, 32194 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6833f05
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.gitattributes
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+* text=auto
+*.txt text
+*.md text
diff --git a/31105-8.txt b/31105-8.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..21d0814
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-8.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9436 @@
+Project Gutenberg's The Elements of Agriculture, by George E. Waring
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Elements of Agriculture
+       A Book for Young Farmers, with Questions Prepared for the Use of Schools
+
+Author: George E. Waring
+
+Release Date: January 27, 2010 [EBook #31105]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Giacomelli, Brownfox and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES
+
+Most pages of the book include at the bottom a number of questions for
+the student to consider. These have been retained in this version and
+enclosed in square brackets.
+
+Some corrections to typographical errors have been made. These are
+recorded at the end of the text.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+G. E. WARING, JR.
+
+Consulting Agriculturist.
+
+ACCURATE ANALYSES OF SOILS, MANURES, AND
+CROPS PROCURED. FARMS VISITED,
+TREATMENT RECOMMENDED,
+ETC.
+
+
+Letters of advice on analyses will be written for those who require
+them, for $25 each.
+
+Letters on other branches of the subject, inclosing a suitable fee, will
+receive prompt attention.
+
+
+OFFICE, 143 FULTON-STREET, NEW YORK, (UP STAIRS.
+POST-OFFICE ADDRESS, RYE, N. Y.
+
+
+DR. CHARLES ENDERLIN,
+
+ANALYTICAL AND CONSULTING
+
+Chemist,
+
+84 WALKER-STREET,
+NEW YORK.
+
+
+ANALYSIS OF MINERALS, SOILS,--ORGANIC ANALYSIS, ETC.
+
+
+D. APPLETON & COMPANY
+
+HAVE IN COURSE OF PREPARATION,
+
+THE
+
+EARTHWORKER;
+
+OR,
+
+Book of Husbandry.
+
+BY G. E. WARING, JR.
+
+AUTHOR OF THE "ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE."
+
+
+This book is intended as a sequel to the Elements of Agriculture, being
+a larger and more complete work, containing fuller directions for the
+treatment of the different kinds of soils, for the _preparation of
+manures_, and especially for the drainage of lands, whether level,
+rolling, hilly, or springy. Particular attention will be paid to the use
+of analysis. The feeding of different animals, and the cultivation of
+the various crops, will be described with care.
+
+The size of the work will be about 400 pp. 8vo., and it will probably be
+published January 1st, 1856. Price $1. Orders sent to the publishers, or
+to the author, at Rye, N. Y., will be supplied in the order in which
+they are received.
+
+
+
+
+ELEMENTS
+
+OF
+
+AGRICULTURE
+
+
+
+
+Extract from a letter to the author from Prof. Mapes, editor of the
+_Working Farmer_:
+
+    * * * "After a perusal of your manuscript, I feel authorized in
+    assuring you that, for the use of young farmers, and schools,
+    your book is superior to any other elementary work extant. JAMES
+    J. MAPES."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Letter from the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune:
+
+    MY FRIEND WARING,
+
+    If all who need the information given in your _Elements of
+    Agriculture_ will confess their ignorance as frankly as I do,
+    and seek to dispel it as promptly and heartily, you will have
+    done a vast amount of good by writing it. * * * * * I have found
+    in every chapter important truths, which I, as a
+    would-be-farmer, needed to know, yet which I _did not_ know, or
+    had but a confused and glimmering consciousness of, before I
+    read your lucid and straightforward exposition of the bases of
+    Agriculture as a science. I would not have my son grow up as
+    ignorant of these truths as I did for many times the price of
+    your book; and, I believe, a copy of that book in every family
+    in the Union, would speedily add at least ten per cent. per acre
+    to the aggregate product of our soil, beside doing much to stem
+    and reverse the current which now sets so strongly away from the
+    plow and the scythe toward the counter and the office. Trusting
+    that your labors will be widely regarded and appreciated,
+
+                          I remain yours truly,
+                                                     HORACE GREELEY.
+
+    New York, June 23, 1854.
+
+
+
+
+THE
+ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE:
+
+A Book for Young Farmers,
+
+WITH QUESTIONS PREPARED FOR THE USE OF
+SCHOOLS.
+
+BY
+
+GEO. E. WARING, JR.,
+CONSULTING AGRICULTURIST.
+
+The effort to extend the dominion of man over nature is the most healthy
+and most noble of all ambitions.--BACON.
+
+NEW YORK:
+D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
+346 & 348 BROADWAY.
+
+M DCCC LIV.
+
+
+
+
+Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by
+
+GEO. E. WARING, JR.,
+
+in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
+Southern District of New York.
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+MY FRIEND AND TUTOR,
+
+PROF. JAMES J. MAPES,
+
+THE PIONEER OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN AMERICA,
+
+This Book
+
+IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
+
+BY HIS PUPIL,
+
+      THE AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+TO THE STUDENT.
+
+
+This book is presented to you, not as a work of science, nor as a dry,
+chemical treatise, but as a plain statement of the more simple
+operations by which nature produces many results, so common to our
+observation, that we are thoughtless of their origin. On these results
+depend the existence of man and the lower animals. No man should be
+ignorant of their production.
+
+In the early prosecution of the study, you will find, perhaps, nothing
+to relieve its tediousness; but, when the foundation of agricultural
+knowledge is laid in your mind so thoroughly that you know the character
+and use of every stone, then may your thoughts build on it fabrics of
+such varied construction, and so varied in their uses, that there will
+be opened to you a new world, even more wonderful and more beautiful
+than the outward world, which exhibits itself to the senses. Thus may
+you live two lives, each assisting in the enjoyment of the other.
+
+But you may ask the _practical_ use of this. "The world is made up of
+little things," saith the proverb. So with the productive arts. The
+steam engine consists of many parts, each part being itself composed of
+atoms too minute to be detected by our observation. The earth itself, in
+all its solidity and life, consists entirely of atoms too small to be
+perceived by the naked eye, each visible particle being an aggregation
+of thousands of constituent elements. The crop of wheat, which the
+farmer raises by his labor, and sells for money, is produced by a
+combination of particles equally small. They are not mysteriously
+combined, nor irregularly, but each atom is taken from its place of
+deposit, and carried to its required location in the living plant, by
+laws as certain as those which regulate the motion of the engine, or the
+revolutions of the earth.
+
+It is the business of the practical farmer to put together these
+materials, with the assistance of nature. He may learn her ways, assist
+her action, and succeed; or he may remain ignorant of her operations,
+often counteract her beneficial influences, and often fail.
+
+A knowledge of the _inner_ world of material things about us will
+produce pleasure to the thoughtful, and profit to the practical.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+SECTION FIRST.
+
+THE PLANT.
+
+                                                                   PAGE.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Introduction,                                            11
+
+   "   II.--Atmosphere,                                              15
+
+   "  III.--Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen,                          23
+
+   "   IV.--Inorganic Matter,                                        29
+
+   "    V.--Growth,                                                  40
+
+   "   VI.--Proximate division of Plants,                            43
+
+   "  VII.--Location of the Proximates, and variations in the
+              Ashes of Plants,                                       52
+
+   " VIII.--Recapitulation,                                          56
+
+
+SECTION SECOND.
+
+THE SOIL.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Formation and Character of the Soil,                     65
+
+   "   II.--Uses of Organic Matter,                                  77
+
+   "  III.--Uses of Inorganic Matter,                                84
+
+
+SECTION THIRD.
+
+MANURES.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Character and varieties of Manure,                       93
+
+   "   II.--Excrements of Animals,                                   96
+
+   "  III.--Waste of Manure,                                        101
+
+   "   IV.--Absorbents,                                             109
+
+   "    V.--Composting Stable Manure,                               118
+
+   "   VI.--Different kinds of Animal Excrement,                    126
+
+   "  VII.--Other Organic Manures,                                  136
+
+   " VIII.--Mineral Manures,                                        149
+
+   "   IX.--Deficiencies of Soils, means of Restoration, etc.,      155
+
+   "    X.--Atmospheric Fertilizers,                                197
+
+   "   XI.--Recapitulation,                                         203
+
+
+SECTION FOURTH.
+
+MECHANICAL CULTIVATION.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Mechanical Character of the Soil,                       209
+
+   "   II.--Under-draining,                                         211
+
+   "  III.--Advantages of Under-draining,                           217
+
+   "   IV.--Sub-soil Plowing,                                       232
+
+   "    V.--Plowing and other modes of Pulverizing the Soil,        239
+
+   "   VI.--Rolling, Mulching, Weeding, etc.,                       245
+
+
+SECTION FIFTH.
+
+ANALYSIS.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Nature of Analysis,                                     259
+
+   "   II.--Tables of Analysis,                                     264
+
+
+THE PRACTICAL FARMER,                                               279
+
+EXPLANATION OF TERMS,                                               287
+
+
+
+
+SECTION FIRST.
+
+THE PLANT.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+[What is the object of cultivating the soil?
+
+What is necessary in order to cultivate with economy?
+
+Are plants created from nothing?]
+
+The object of cultivating the soil is to raise from it a crop of
+_plants_. In order to cultivate with economy, we must _raise the largest
+possible quantity with the least expense, and without permanent injury
+to the soil_.
+
+Before this can be done we must study the character of plants, and learn
+their exact composition. They are not _created_ by a mysterious power,
+they are merely made up of matters already in existence. They take up
+water containing food and other matters, and discharge from their roots
+those substances that are not required for their growth. It is necessary
+for us to know what kind of matter is required as food for the plant,
+and where this is to be obtained, which we can learn only through such
+means as shall separate the elements of which plants are composed; in
+other words, we must _take them apart_, and examine the different pieces
+of which they are formed.
+
+[What must we do to learn the composition of plants?
+
+What takes place when vegetable matter is burned?
+
+What do we call the two divisions produced by burning?
+
+Where does organic matter originate? Inorganic?
+
+How much of chemistry should farmers know?]
+
+If we burn any vegetable substance it disappears, except a small
+quantity of earthy matter, which we call _ashes_. In this way we make an
+important division in the constituents of plants. One portion dissipates
+into the atmosphere, and the other remains as ashes.
+
+That part which burns away during combustion is called _organic matter_;
+the ashes are called _inorganic matter_. The organic matter has become
+air, and hence we conclude that it was originally obtained from air. The
+inorganic matter has become earth, and was obtained from the soil.
+
+This knowledge can do us no good except by the assistance of chemistry,
+which explains the properties of each part, and teaches us where it is
+to be found. It is not necessary for farmers to become chemists. All
+that is required is, that they should know enough of chemistry to
+understand the nature of the materials of which their crops are
+composed, and how those materials are to be used to the best advantage.
+
+This amount of knowledge may be easily acquired, and should be possessed
+by every person, old or young, whether actually engaged in the
+cultivation of the soil or not. All are dependent on vegetable
+productions, not only for food, but for every comfort and convenience of
+life. It is the object of this book to teach children the first
+principles of agriculture: and it contains all that is absolutely
+necessary to an understanding of the practical operations of
+cultivation, etc.
+
+[Is organic matter lost after combustion?
+
+Of what does it consist?
+
+How large a part of plants is carbon?]
+
+We will first examine the _organic_ part of plants, or that which is
+driven away during combustion or burning. This matter, though apparently
+lost, is only changed in form.
+
+It consists of one solid substance, _carbon_ (or charcoal), and three
+gases, _oxygen_, _hydrogen_ and _nitrogen_. These four kinds of matter
+constitute nearly the whole of most plants, the ashes forming often less
+than one part in one hundred of their dry weight.
+
+[What do we mean by gas?
+
+Does oxygen unite with other substances?
+
+Give some instances of its combinations]
+
+When wood is burned in a close vessel, or otherwise protected from the
+air, its carbon becomes charcoal. All plants contain this substance, it
+forming usually about one half of their dry weight. The remainder of
+their organic part consists of the three gases named above. By the word
+gas, we mean _air_. Oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, when pure, are always
+in the form of air. Oxygen has the power of uniting with many
+substances, forming compounds which are different from either of their
+constituents alone. Thus: oxygen unites with _iron_ and forms oxide of
+iron or _iron-rust_, which does not resemble the gray metallic iron nor
+the gas oxygen; oxygen unites with carbon and forms carbonic acid, which
+is an invisible gas, but not at all like pure oxygen; oxygen combines
+with hydrogen and forms water. All of the water, ice, steam, etc., are
+composed of these two gases. We know this because we can artificially
+decompose, or separate, all water, and obtain as a result simply oxygen
+and hydrogen, or we can combine these two gases and thus form pure
+water; oxygen combines with nitrogen and forms nitric acid. These
+chemical changes and combinations take place only under certain
+circumstances, which, so far as they affect agriculture, will be
+considered in the following pages.
+
+As the organic elements of plants are obtained from matters existing in
+the atmosphere which surrounds our globe, we will examine its
+constitution.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+ATMOSPHERE.
+
+
+[What is atmospheric air composed of?
+
+In what proportions?
+
+What is the use of nitrogen in air?
+
+Does the atmosphere contain other matters useful to vegetation?
+
+What are they?]
+
+Atmospheric air is composed of oxygen and nitrogen. Their proportions
+are, one part of oxygen to four parts of nitrogen. Oxygen is the active
+agent in the combustion, decay, and decomposition of organized bodies
+(those which have possessed animal or vegetable life, that is, organic
+matter), and others also, in the breathing of animals. Experiments have
+proved that if the atmosphere consisted of pure oxygen every thing would
+be speedily destroyed, as the processes of combustion and decay would be
+greatly accelerated, and animals would be so stimulated that death would
+soon ensue. The use of the nitrogen in the air is to _dilute_ the
+oxygen, and thus reduce the intensity of its effect.
+
+Besides these two great elements, the atmosphere contains certain
+impurities which are of great importance to vegetable growth; these are,
+_carbonic acid, water, ammonia, etc._
+
+
+CARBONIC ACID.
+
+[What is the source of the carbon of plants?
+
+What is carbonic acid?
+
+What is its proportion in the atmosphere?
+
+Where else is it found?
+
+How does it enter the plant?
+
+What are the offices of leaves?]
+
+Carbonic acid is in all probability the only source of the carbon of
+plants, and consequently is of more importance to vegetation than any
+other single sort of food. It is a gas, and is not, under natural
+circumstances, perceptible to our senses. It constitutes about 1/2500 of
+the atmosphere, and is found in combination with many substances in
+nature. Marble, limestone and chalk, are carbonate of lime, or carbonic
+acid and lime in combination; and carbonate of magnesia is a compound of
+carbonic acid and magnesia. This gas exists in combination with many
+other mineral substances, and is contained in all water not recently
+boiled. Its supply, though small, is sufficient for the purposes of
+vegetation. It enters the plant in two ways--through the roots in the
+water which goes to form the sap, and at the leaves, which absorb it
+from the air in the form of gas. The leaf of the plant seems to have
+three offices: that of absorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere--that
+of assisting in the chemical preparation of the sap--and that of
+evaporating its water. If we examine leaves with a microscope we shall
+find that some have as many as 170,000 openings, or mouths, in a square
+inch; others have a much less number. Usually, the pores on the under
+side of the leaf absorb the carbonic acid. This absorptive power is
+illustrated when we apply the lower side of a cabbage leaf to a wound,
+as it draws strongly--the other side of the leaf has no such action.
+Young sprouts may have the power of absorbing and decomposing carbonic
+acid.
+
+[What parts of roots absorb food?
+
+How much of their carbon may plants receive through their roots?
+
+What change does carbonic acid undergo after entering the plant?
+
+In what parts of the plant, and under what influence, is carbonic acid
+decomposed?]
+
+The roots of plants terminate at their ends in minute spongioles, or
+mouths for the absorption of fluids containing nutriment. In these
+fluids there exist greater or less quantities of carbonic acid, and a
+considerable amount of this gas enters into the circulation of the
+plants and is carried to those parts where it is required for
+decomposition. Plants, under favorable circumstances, may thus obtain
+about one-third of their carbon.
+
+Carbonic acid, it will be recollected, consists of _carbon and oxygen_,
+while it supplies only _carbon_ to the plant. It is therefore necessary
+that it be divided, or decomposed, and that the carbon be retained while
+the oxygen is sent off again into the atmosphere, to reperform its
+office of uniting with carbon. This decomposition takes place in the
+_green_ parts of plants and only under the influence of daylight. It is
+not necessary that the sun shine directly on the leaf or green shoot,
+but this causes a _more rapid_ decomposition of carbonic acid, and
+consequently we find that plants which are well exposed to the sun's
+rays make the most rapid growth.
+
+[Explain the condition of different latitudes.
+
+Does the proportion of carbonic acid in the atmosphere remain about the
+same?]
+
+The fact that light is essential to vegetation explains the conditions
+of different latitudes, which, so far as the assimilation of carbon is
+concerned, are much the same. At the Equator the days are but about
+twelve hours long. Still, as the growth of plants is extended over eight
+or nine months of the year, the duration of daylight is sufficient for
+the requirements of a luxuriant vegetation. At the Poles, on the
+contrary, the summer is but two or three months long; here, however, it
+is daylight all summer, and plants from continual growth develop
+themselves in that short time.
+
+It will be recollected that carbonic acid constitutes but about 1/2500
+of the air, yet, although about one half of all the vegetable matter in
+the world is derived from this source, as well as all of the carbon
+required by the growth of plants, its proportion in the atmosphere is
+constantly about the same. In order that we may understated this, it
+becomes necessary for us to consider the means by which it is formed.
+Carbon, by the aid of fire, is made to unite with oxygen, and always
+when bodies containing carbon are burnt _with the presence of
+atmospheric air_, the oxygen of that air unites with the carbon, and
+forms carbonic acid. The same occurs when bodies containing carbon
+_decay_, as this is simply a slower _burning_ and produces the same
+results. The respiration (or breathing) of animals is simply the union
+of the carbon of the blood with the oxygen of the air drawn into the
+lungs, and their breath, when thrown out, always contains carbonic acid.
+From this we see that the reproduction of this gas is the direct effect
+of the destruction of all organized bodies, whether by fire, decay, or
+consumption by animals.
+
+[Explain some of the operations in which this reproduction
+takes place.
+
+How is it reproduced?]
+
+Furnaces are its wholesale manufactories. Every cottage fire is
+continually producing a new supply, and the blue smoke issuing from the
+cottage-chimney, as described by so many poets, possesses a new beauty,
+when we reflect that besides indicating a cheerful fire on the hearth,
+it contains materials for making food for the cottager's tables and new
+faggots for his fire. The wick of every burning lamp draws up the carbon
+of the oil to be made into carbonic acid at the flame. All matters in
+process of combustion, decay, fermentation, or putrefaction, are
+returning to the atmosphere those constituents, which they obtained from
+it. Every living animal, even to the smallest insect, by respiration,
+spends its life in the production of this material necessary to the
+growth of plants, and at death gives up its body in part for such
+formation by decay.
+
+Thus we see that there is a continual change from the carbon of plants
+to air, and from air back to plants, or through them to animals. As each
+dollar in gold that is received into a country permanently increases its
+amount of circulating medium, and each dollar sent out permanently
+decreases it until returned, so the carbonic acid sent into the
+atmosphere by burning, decay, or respiration, becomes a permanent stock
+of constantly changeable material, until it shall be locked up for a
+time, as in a house which may last for centuries, or in an oak tree
+which may stand for thousands of years. Still, at the decay of either of
+these, the carbon which they contain must be again resolved into
+carbonic acid.
+
+[What are the coal-beds of Pennsylvania?
+
+What are often found in them?]
+
+The coal-beds of Pennsylvania are mines of carbon once abstracted from
+the atmosphere by plants. In these coal-beds are often found fern
+leaves, toads, whole trees, and in short all forms of organized matter.
+These all existed as living things before the great floods, and at the
+breaking away of the barriers of the immense lakes, of which our present
+lakes were merely the deep holes in their beds, they were washed away
+and deposited in masses so great as to take fire from their chemical
+changes. It is by many supposed that this fire acting throughout the
+entire mass (without the presence of air _to supply oxygen_ except on
+the surface) caused it to become melted carbon, and to flow around those
+bodies which still retained their shapes, changing them to coal without
+destroying their structures. This coal, so long as it retains its
+present form, is lost to the vegetable kingdom, and each ton that is
+burned, by being changed into carbonic acid, adds to the ability of the
+atmosphere to support an increased amount of vegetation.
+
+[Explain the manner in which they become coal.
+
+How does the burning of coal benefit vegetation?
+
+Is carbon ever permanent in any of its forms?
+
+What enables it to change its condition?]
+
+Thus we see that, in the provisions of nature, carbon, the grand basis,
+on which all organized matter is founded, is never permanent in any of
+its forms. Oxygen is the carrier which enables it to change its
+condition. For instance, let us suppose that we have a certain quantity
+of charcoal; this is nearly pure carbon. We ignite it, and it unites
+with the oxygen of the air, becomes carbonic acid, and floats away into
+the atmosphere. The wind carries it through a forest, and the leaves of
+the trees with their millions of mouths drink it in. By the assistance
+of light it is decomposed, the oxygen is sent off to make more carbonic
+acid, and the carbon is retained to form a part of the tree. So long as
+that tree exists in the form of wood, the carbon will remain unaltered,
+but when the wood decays, or is burned, it immediately takes the form of
+carbonic acid, and mingles with the atmosphere ready to be again taken
+up by plants, and have its carbon deposited in the form of vegetable
+matter.
+
+[Give an instance of such change.
+
+How do plants and animals benefit each other?
+
+Describe the experiment with the glass tube.]
+
+The blood of animals contains carbon derived from their food. This
+unites with the oxygen of the air drawn into the lungs and forms
+carbonic acid. Without this process, animals could not live. Thus, while
+by the natural operation of breathing, they make carbonic acid for the
+uses of the vegetable world, plants, in taking up carbon, throw off
+oxygen to keep up the life of animals. There is perhaps no way in which
+we can better illustrate the changes of form in carbon than by
+describing a simple experiment.
+
+Take a glass tube filled with oxygen gas, and put in it a lump of
+charcoal, cork the ends of the tube tightly, and pass through the corks
+the wires of an electrical battery. By passing a stream of electrical
+fluid over the charcoal it may be ignited, when it will burn with great
+brilliancy. In burning it is dissolved in the oxygen forming carbonic
+acid, and disappears. It is no more lost, however, than is the carbon of
+wood which is burned in a stove; although invisible, it is still in the
+tube, and may be detected by careful weighing. A more satisfactory proof
+of its presence may be obtained by _decomposing_ the carbonic acid by
+drawing the wires a short distance apart, and giving a _spark_ of
+electricity. This immediately separates the oxygen from the carbon which
+forms a dense black smoke in the tube. By pushing the corks together we
+may obtain a wafer of charcoal of the same weight as the piece
+introduced. In this experiment we have changed carbon from its solid
+form to an invisible gas and back again to a solid, thus fully
+representing the continual changes of this substance in the destruction
+of organic matter and the growth of plants.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+HYDROGEN, OXYGEN AND NITROGEN.
+
+
+HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN.
+
+[What is water composed of?
+
+If analyzed, what does it yield?
+
+How do plants obtain their hydrogen and oxygen?]
+
+Let us now consider the three gases, _hydrogen_, _oxygen_ and
+_nitrogen_, which constitute the remainder of the organic part of
+plants.
+
+Hydrogen and oxygen compose _water_, which, if analyzed, yields simply
+these two gases. Plants perform such analysis, and in this way are able
+to obtain a sufficient supply of these materials, as their sap is
+composed chiefly of water. Whenever vegetable matter is destroyed by
+burning, decay, or otherwise, its hydrogen and oxygen unite and form
+water, which is parted with usually in the form of an invisible vapor.
+The atmosphere of course contains greater or less quantities of watery
+vapor arising from this cause and from the evaporation of liquid water.
+This vapor condenses, forming rains, etc.
+
+Hydrogen and oxygen are never taken into consideration in manuring
+lands, as they are so readily obtained from the water constituting the
+sap of the plant, and consequently should not occupy our attention in
+this book.
+
+
+NITROGEN.
+
+[If vegetable matter be destroyed, what becomes of these
+constituents?
+
+What is the remaining organic constituent?
+
+Why is it worthy of close attention?
+
+Do plants appropriate the nitrogen of the atmosphere?]
+
+_Nitrogen_, the only remaining _organic_ constituent of vegetable
+matter, is for many reasons worthy of close attention.
+
+1. It is necessary to the growth and perfection of all cultivated
+plants.
+
+2. It is necessary to the formation of animal muscle.
+
+3. It is often deficient in the soil.
+
+4. It is liable to be easily lost from manures.
+
+Although about four fifths of atmospheric air are pure nitrogen, it is
+almost certain that plants get no nutriment at all from this source. It
+is all obtained from some of its compounds, chiefly from the one called
+ammonia. Nitric acid is also a source from which plants may obtain
+nitrogen, though to the farmer of less importance than ammonia.
+
+
+AMMONIA.
+
+[What is the principal source from which they obtain nitrogen?
+
+What is ammonia?
+
+How is it formed?
+
+Where does it always exist?
+
+How do plants take up ammonia?]
+
+_Ammonia_ is composed of nitrogen and hydrogen. It has a pungent smell
+and is familiarly known as _hartshorn_. The same odor is perceptible
+around stables and other places where animal matter is decomposing. All
+animal muscle, certain parts of plants, and other organized substances,
+consist of compounds containing nitrogen. When these compounds undergo
+combustion, or are in any manner decomposed, the nitrogen which they
+contain usually unites with hydrogen, and forms ammonia. In consequence
+of this the atmosphere always contains more or less of this gas, arising
+from the decay, etc., which is continually going on all over the world.
+
+This ammonia in the atmosphere is the capital stock to which all plants,
+not artificially manured, must look for their supply of nitrogen. As
+they can take up ammonia only through their roots, we must discover
+some means by which it may be conveyed from the atmosphere to the soil.
+
+[Does water absorb it?
+
+What is _spirits of hartshorn_?
+
+Why is this power of water important in agriculture?
+
+What instance may be cited to prove this?]
+
+Water may be made to absorb many times its bulk of this gas, and water
+with which it comes in contact will immediately take it up. Spirits of
+hartshorn is merely water through which ammonia has been passed until it
+is saturated.[A] This power of water has a direct application to
+agriculture, because the water constituting rains, dews, &c., absorbs
+the ammonia which the decomposition of nitrogenous matter had sent into
+the atmosphere, and we find that all rain, snow and dew, contain
+ammonia. This fact may be chemically proved in various ways, and is
+perceptible in the common operations of nature. Every person must have
+noticed that when a summer's shower falls on the plants in a flower
+garden, they commence their growth with fresh vigor while the blossoms
+become larger and more richly colored. This effect cannot be produced by
+watering with spring water, unless it be previously mixed with ammonia,
+in which case the result will be the same.
+
+Although ammonia is a gas and pervades the atmosphere, few, if any,
+plants can take it up, as they do carbonic acid, through their leaves.
+It must all enter through the roots in solution in the water which goes
+to form the sap. Although the amount received from the atmosphere is of
+great importance, there are few cases where artificial applications are
+not beneficial. The value of farm-yard and other animal manures, depends
+chiefly on the ammonia which they yield on decomposition. This subject,
+also the means for retaining in the soil the ammoniacal parts of
+fertilizing matters, will be fully considered in the section on manures.
+
+[Can plants use more ammonia than is received from the
+atmosphere?
+
+On what does the value of animal manure chiefly depend?
+
+What changes take place after ammonia enters the plant?
+
+May the same atom of nitrogen perform many different offices?]
+
+After ammonia has entered the plant it may be decomposed, its hydrogen
+sent off, and its nitrogen retained to answer the purposes of growth.
+The changes which nitrogen undergoes, from plants to animals, or, by
+decomposition, to the form of ammonia in the atmosphere, are as varied
+as those of carbon and the constituents of water. The same little atom
+of nitrogen may one year form a part of a plant, and the next become a
+constituent of an animal, or, with the decomposed dead animal, may form
+a part of the soil. If the animal should fall into the sea he may become
+food for fishes, and our atom of nitrogen may form a part of a fish.
+That fish may be eaten by a larger one, or at death may become food for
+the whale, through the marine insect, on which it feeds. After the
+abstraction of the oil from the whale, the nitrogen may, by the
+putrefaction of his remains, be united to hydrogen, form ammonia, and
+escape into the atmosphere. From here it may be brought to the soil by
+rains, and enter into the composition of a plant, from which, could its
+parts speak as it lies on our table, it could tell us a wonderful tale
+of travels, and assure us that, after wandering about in all sorts of
+places, it had returned to us the same little atom of nitrogen which we
+had owned twenty years before, and which for thousands of years had been
+continually going through its changes.
+
+[Is the same true of the other constituents of plants?
+
+Is any atom of matter ever lost?]
+
+The same is true of any of the organic or inorganic constituents of
+plants. They are performing their natural offices, or are lying in the
+earth, or floating in the atmosphere, ready to be lent to _any_ of their
+legitimate uses, sure again to be returned to their starting point.
+
+Thus no atom of matter is ever lost. It may change its place, but it
+remains for ever as a part of the capital of nature.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] By _saturated_, we mean that it contains all that it is capable of
+holding.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+INORGANIC MATTER.
+
+
+[What are ashes called?
+
+How many kinds of matter are there in the ashes of plants?
+
+Into what three classes may they be divided?
+
+What takes place when alkalies and acids are brought together?]
+
+We will now examine the ashes left after burning vegetable substances.
+This we have called inorganic matter, and it is obtained from the soil.
+Organic matter, although forming so large a part of the plant, we have
+seen to consist of four different substances. The inorganic portion, on
+the contrary, although forming so small a part, consists of no less than
+_nine_ or _ten_ different kinds of matter.[B] These we will consider in
+order. In their relations to agriculture they may be divided into
+_three_ classes--_alkalies_, _acids_, and _neutrals_.[C]
+
+[Is the character of a compound the same as that of its
+constituents?
+
+Give an instance of this.
+
+Do neutrals combine with other substances?
+
+Name the four alkalies found in the ashes of plants.]
+
+Alkalies and acids are of opposite properties, and when brought together
+they unite and neutralize each other, forming compounds which are
+neither alkaline nor acid in their character. Thus, carbonic acid (a
+gas,) unites with lime--a burning, caustic substance--and forms marble,
+which is a hard tasteless stone. Alkalies and acids are characterized
+by their desire to unite with each other, and the compounds thus formed
+have many and various properties, so that the characters of the
+constituents give no indication of the character of the compound. For
+instance, lime causes the gases of animal manure to escape, while
+sulphate of lime (a compound of sulphuric acid and lime) produces an
+opposite effect, and prevents their escape.
+
+The substances coming under the signification of neutrals, are less
+affected by the laws of combination, still they often combine feebly
+with other substances, and some of the resultant compounds are of great
+importance to agriculture.
+
+
+ALKALIES.
+
+The alkalies which are found in the ashes of plants are four in number;
+they are _potash_, _soda_, _lime_ and _magnesia_.
+
+
+POTASH.
+
+[How may we obtain potash from ashes?
+
+What are some of its agricultural uses?]
+
+When we pour water over wood ashes it dissolves the _potash_ which they
+contain, and carries it through in solution. This solution is called
+_ley_, and if it be boiled to dryness it leaves a solid substance from
+which pure potash may be made. Potash left exposed to the air absorbs
+carbonic acid and becomes carbonate of potash, or _pearlash_; if another
+atom of carbonic acid be added, it becomes super-carbonate of potash, or
+_salæratus_. Potash has many uses in agriculture.
+
+1. It forms a constituent of nearly all plants.
+
+2. It unites with silica (a neutral), and forms a compound which water
+can dissolve and carry into the roots of plants; thus supplying them
+with an ingredient which gives them much of their strength.[D]
+
+3. It is a strong agent in the decomposition of vegetable matter, and is
+thus of much importance in preparing manures.
+
+4. It roughens the smooth round particles of sandy soils, and prevents
+their compacting, as they are often liable to do.
+
+5. It is also of use in killing certain kinds of insects, and, when
+artificially applied, in smoothing the bark of fruit trees.
+
+The source from which this and the other inorganic matters required are
+to be obtained, will be fully considered in the section on manures.
+
+
+SODA.
+
+[Where is soda found most largely?
+
+What is Glauber's salts?
+
+What is washing soda?
+
+What are some of the uses of lime?]
+
+_Soda_, one of the alkalies contained in the ashes of plants, is very
+much the same as potash in its agricultural character. Its uses are the
+same as those of potash--before enumerated. Soda exists very largely in
+nature, as it forms an important part of common salt, whether in the
+ocean or in those inland deposits known as rock salt. When combined with
+sulphuric acid it forms sulphate of soda or _Glauber's salts_. In
+combination with carbonic acid, as carbonate of soda, it forms the
+common washing soda of the shops. It is often necessary to render soils
+fertile.
+
+
+LIME.
+
+_Lime_ is in many ways important in agriculture:
+
+1. It is a constituent of plants and animals.
+
+2. It assists in the decomposition of vegetable matter in the soil.
+
+3. It corrects the acidity[E] of sour soils.
+
+4. As chloride or sulphate of lime it is a good absorbent of fertilizing
+gases.
+
+[How is caustic lime made?
+
+How much carbonic acid is thus liberated?
+
+How does man resemble Sinbad the sailor?]
+
+In nature it usually exists in the form of carbonate of lime: that is,
+as marble, limestone, and chalk--these all being of the same
+composition. In manufacturing caustic (or quick) lime, it is customary
+to burn the carbonate of lime in a kiln; by this means the carbonic acid
+is thrown off into the atmosphere and the lime remains in a pure or
+caustic state. A French chemist states that every cubic yard of
+limestone that is burned, throws off _ten thousand_ cubic yards of
+carbonic acid, which may be used by plants. This reminds us of the story
+of Sinbad the sailor, where we read of the immense _genie_ who came out
+of a very small box by the sea-shore, much to the surprise of Sinbad,
+who could not believe his eyes, until the _genie_ changed himself into a
+cloud of smoke and went into the box again. Sinbad fastened the lid, and
+the _genie_ must have remained there until the box was destroyed.
+
+Now man is very much like Sinbad, he lets the carbonic acid out from the
+limestone (when it expands and becomes a gas); and then he raises a
+crop, the leaves of which drink it in and pack the carbon away in a very
+small compass as vegetable matter. Here it must remain until the plant
+is destroyed, when it becomes carbonic acid again, and occupies just as
+much space as ever.
+
+The burning of limestone is a very prolific source of carbonic acid.
+
+
+MAGNESIA.
+
+[What do you know about magnesia?
+
+What is phosphoric acid composed of?
+
+With what substance does it form its most important compound?]
+
+_Magnesia_ is the remaining alkali of vegetable ashes. It is well known
+as a medicine, both in the form of calcined magnesia, and, when mixed
+with sulphuric acid, as epsom salts.
+
+Magnesia is necessary to nearly all plants, but too much of it is
+poisonous, and it should be used with much care, as many soils already
+contain a sufficient quantity. It is often found in limestone rocks
+(that class called _dolomites_), and the injurious effects of some kinds
+of lime, as well as the barrenness of soils made from dolomites, may be
+attributed entirely to the fact that they contain too much magnesia.
+
+
+ACIDS.
+
+PHOSPHORIC ACID.
+
+_Phosphoric acid._--This subject is one of the greatest interest to the
+farmer. Phosphoric acid is composed of phosphorus and oxygen. The end
+of a loco-foco match contains phosphorus, and when it is lighted it
+unites with the oxygen of the atmosphere and forms phosphoric acid; this
+constitutes the white smoke which is seen for a moment before the
+sulphur commences burning. Being an acid, this substance has the power
+of combining with any of the alkalies. Its most important compound is
+with lime.
+
+[Will soils, deficient in phosphate of lime, produce good
+crops?
+
+From what source do plants obtain their phosphorus?]
+
+_Phosphate of lime_ forms about 65 per cent. of the dry weight of the
+bones of all animals, and it is all derived from the soil through the
+medium of plants. As plants are intended as food for animals, nature has
+provided that they shall not attain their perfection without taking up a
+supply of phosphate of lime as well as of the other earthy matters;
+consequently, there are many soils which will not produce good crops,
+simply because they are deficient in phosphate of lime. It is one of the
+most important ingredients of manures, and its value is dependent on
+certain conditions which will be hereafter explained.
+
+Another use of phosphoric acid in the plant is to supply it with a small
+amount of _phosphorus_, which seems to be required in the formation of
+the seed.
+
+
+SULPHURIC ACID.
+
+[What is sulphuric acid composed of?
+
+What is plaster?
+
+What is silica?
+
+Why is it necessary to the growth of plants?
+
+What compounds does it form with alkalies?]
+
+_Sulphuric acid_ is important to vegetation and is often needed to
+render soils fertile. It is composed of sulphur and oxygen, and is made
+for manufacturing purposes, by burning sulphur. With lime it forms
+_sulphate of lime_, which is gypsum or 'plaster.' In this form it is
+often found in nature, and is generally used in agriculture. Other
+important methods for supplying sulphuric acid will be described
+hereafter. It gives _to_ the plant a small portion of _sulphur_, which
+is necessary to the formation of some of its parts.
+
+
+NEUTRALS.
+
+SILICA.
+
+[How can you prove its existence in corn stalks?
+
+What instance does Liebig give to show its existence in grass?
+
+How do we supply silicates?
+
+Why does grain lodge?
+
+What is the most important compound of chlorine?]
+
+This is sand, the base of flint. It is necessary for the growth of all
+plants, as it gives them much of their strength. In connection with an
+alkali it constitutes the hard shining surface of corn stalks, straw,
+etc. Silica unites with the alkalies and forms compounds, such as
+_silicate of potash_, _silicate of soda, etc._, which are soluble in
+water, and therefore available to plants. If we roughen a corn stalk
+with sand-paper we may sharpen a knife upon it. This is owing to the
+hard particles of silica which it contains. Window glass is silicate of
+potash, rendered insoluble by additions of arsenic and litharge.
+
+Liebig tells us that some persons discovered, between Manheim and
+Heidelberg in Germany, a mass of melted glass where a hay-stack had been
+struck by lightning. They supposed it to be a meteor, but chemical
+analysis showed that it was only the compound of silica and potash which
+served to strengthen the grass.
+
+There is always _enough_ silica in the soil, but it is often necessary
+to add an alkali to render it available. When grain, etc., lodge or fall
+down from their own weight, it is altogether probable that they are
+unable to obtain from the soil a sufficient supply of the soluble
+silicates, and some form of alkali should be added to the soil to unite
+with the sand and render it soluble.
+
+
+CHLORINE.
+
+[Of what use is chloride of lime?
+
+What is oxide of iron?
+
+What is the difference between the _per_oxide and the _prot_oxide of
+iron?]
+
+_Chlorine_ is an important ingredient of vegetable ashes, and is often
+required to restore the balance to the soil. It is not found alone in
+nature, but is always in combination with other substances. Its most
+important compound is with sodium, forming _chloride of sodium_ (or
+common salt). Sodium is the base of soda, and common salt is usually the
+best source from which to obtain both soda and chlorine. Chlorine unites
+with lime and forms _chloride of lime_, which is much used to absorb the
+unpleasant odors of decaying matters, and in this character it is of use
+in the treatment of manures.
+
+
+OXIDE OF IRON.
+
+_Oxide of iron_, one of the constituents of ashes, is common iron rust.
+_Iron_ itself is naturally of a grayish color, but when exposed to the
+atmosphere, it readily absorbs oxygen and forms a reddish compound. It
+is in this form that it usually exists in nature, and many soils as well
+as the red sandstones are colored by it. It is seldom, if ever,
+necessary to apply this as a manure, there being usually enough of it in
+the soil.
+
+This red oxide of iron, of which we have been speaking, is called by
+chemists the _peroxide_. There is another compound which contains less
+oxygen than this, and is called the _protoxide of iron_, which is
+poisonous to plants. When it exists in the soil it is necessary to use
+such means of cultivation as shall expose it to the atmosphere and allow
+it to take up more oxygen and become the peroxide. The black scales
+which fly from hot iron when struck by the blacksmith's hammer are
+protoxide of iron.
+
+The _peroxide of iron_ is a very good absorbent of ammonia, and
+consequently, as will be hereafter described, adds to the fertility of
+the soil.
+
+[What can you say of the oxide of manganese?
+
+How do you classify the inorganic constituents?]
+
+OXIDE OF MANGANESE, though often found in small quantities in the ashes
+of cultivated plants, cannot be considered indispensable.
+
+Having now examined all of the materials from which the ashes of plants
+are formed,[F] we are enabled to classify them in a simple manner, so
+that they may be recollected. They are as follows:--
+
+ALKALIES.    ACIDS.          NEUTRALS.
+
+Potash.    Sulphuric acid.   Silica.
+Soda.      Phosphoric "      Chlorine.
+Lime.                        Oxide of Iron.
+Magnesia.                      "  Manganese.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[B] Bromine, iodine, etc., are sometimes detected in particular plants,
+but need not occupy the attention of the farmer.
+
+[C] This classification is not strictly scientific, but it is one which
+the learner will find it well to adopt. These bodies are called neutrals
+because they have no decided alkaline or acid character.
+
+[D] In some soils the _fluorides_ undoubtedly supply plants with soluble
+silicates, as _fluoric acid_ has the power of dissolving silica. Thus,
+in Derbyshire (England), where the soil is supplied with fluoric acid,
+grain is said never to lodge.
+
+[E] Sourness.
+
+[F] There is reason to suppose that _alumina_ is an essential
+constituent of many plants.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+GROWTH.
+
+
+[Of what does a perfect young plant consist?
+
+How must the food of plants be supplied?
+
+Can carbon and earthy matter be taken up at separate stages of growth,
+or must they both be supplied at once?]
+
+Having examined the materials of which plants are made, it becomes
+necessary to discover how they are put together in the process of
+growth. Let us therefore suppose a young wheat-plant for instance to be
+in condition to commence independent growth.
+
+It consists of roots which are located in the soil; leaves which are
+spread in the air, and a stem which connects the roots and leaves. This
+stem contains sap vessels (or tubes) which extend from the ends of the
+roots to the surfaces of the leaves, thus affording a passage for the
+sap, and consequently allowing the matters taken up to be distributed
+throughout the plant.
+
+[What seems to be nature's law with regard to this?
+
+What is the similarity between making a cart and raising a crop?
+
+In the growth of a young plant, what operations take place about the
+same time?]
+
+It is necessary that the materials of which plants are made should be
+supplied in certain proportions, and at the same time. For instance,
+carbon could not be taken up in large quantities by the leaves, unless
+the roots, at the same time, were receiving from the soil those mineral
+matters which are necessary to growth. On the other hand, no
+considerable amount of earthy matter could be appropriated by the roots
+unless the leaves were obtaining carbon from the air. This same rule
+holds true with regard to all of the constituents required; Nature
+seeming to have made it a law that if one of the important ingredients
+of the plant is absent, the others, though they may be present in
+sufficient quantities, cannot be used. Thus, if the soil is deficient in
+potash, and still has sufficient quantities of all of the other
+ingredients, the plant cannot take up these ingredients, because potash
+is necessary to its life.
+
+If a farmer wishes to make a cart he prepares his wood and iron, gets
+them all in the proper condition, and then can very readily put them
+together. But if he has all of the _wood_ necessary and no _iron_, he
+cannot make his cart, because bolts, nails and screws are required, and
+their place cannot be supplied by boards. This serves to illustrate the
+fact that in raising plants we must give them every thing that they
+require, or they will not grow at all.
+
+In the case of our young plant the following operations are going on at
+about the same time.
+
+The leaves are absorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere, and the
+roots are drinking in water from the soil.
+
+[What becomes of the carbonic acid?
+
+How is the sap disposed of?
+
+What does it contain?
+
+How does the plant obtain its carbon?
+
+Its oxygen and hydrogen?
+
+Its nitrogen?
+
+Its inorganic matter?]
+
+Under the influence of daylight, the carbonic acid is decomposed; its
+oxygen returned to the atmosphere, and its carbon retained in the plant.
+
+The water taken in by the roots circulates through the sap vessels of
+the plant, and, from various causes, is drawn up towards the leaves
+where it is evaporated. This water contains the _nitrogen_ and the
+_inorganic matter_ required by the plant and some carbonic acid, while
+the water itself consists of _hydrogen_ and _oxygen_.
+
+Thus we see that the plant obtains its food in the following manner:--
+
+CARBON.--In the form of _carbonic acid_ from the atmosphere, and from
+           that contained in the sap, the oxygen being returned to the
+           air.
+
+OXYGEN   } From the elements of the water constituting the sap.
+   &     }
+HYDROGEN.}
+
+NITROGEN.--From the soil (chiefly in form of ammonia). It is carried
+           into the plant through the roots in solution in water.
+
+INORGANIC} From the soil, and only _in solution_ in water.
+MATTER.  }
+
+[What changes does the food taken up by the plant undergo?]
+
+Many of the chemical changes which take place in the interior of the
+plant are well understood, but they require too much knowledge of
+chemistry to be easily comprehended by the young learner, and it is not
+absolutely essential that they should be understood by the scholar who
+is merely learning the _elements_ of the science.
+
+It is sufficient to say that the food taken up by the plant undergoes
+such changes as are required for its growth; as in animals, where the
+food taken into the stomach, is digested, and formed into bone, muscle,
+fat, hair, etc., so in the plant the nutritive portions of the sap are
+resolved into wood, bark, grain, or some other necessary part.
+
+The results of these changes are of the greatest importance in
+agriculture, and no person can call himself a _practical farmer_ who
+does not thoroughly understand them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+PROXIMATE DIVISION OF PLANTS, ETC.
+
+
+We have hitherto examined what is called the _ultimate_ division of
+plants. That is, we have looked at each one of the elements separately,
+and considered its use in vegetable growth.
+
+[Of what do wood, starch and the other vegetable compounds
+chiefly consist?
+
+Are their small ashy parts important?
+
+What are these compounds called?
+
+Into how many classes may proximate principles be divided?
+
+Of what do the first class consist? The second?
+
+What vegetable compounds do the first class comprise?]
+
+We will now examine another division of plants, called their _proximate
+division_. We know that plants consist of various substances, such as
+wood, gum, starch, oil, etc., and on examination we shall discover that
+these substances are composed of the various _organic_ and _inorganic_
+ingredients described in the preceding chapters. They are made up almost
+entirely of _organic_ matter, but their ashy parts, though very small,
+are (as we shall soon see) sometimes of great importance.
+
+These compounds are called _proximate principles_,[G] or _vegetable
+proximates_. They may be divided into two classes.
+
+The first class are composed of _carbon_, _hydrogen_, and _oxygen_.
+
+The second class contain the same substances and _nitrogen_.
+
+[Are these substances of about the same composition?
+
+Can they be artificially changed from one to another?
+
+Give an instance of this.
+
+Is the ease with which these changes take place important?
+
+From what may the first class of proximates be formed?]
+
+The first class (those compounds not containing nitrogen) comprise the
+wood, starch, gum, sugar, and fatty matter which constitute the greater
+part of all plants, also the acids which are found in sour fruits, etc.
+Various as are all of these things in their characters, they are
+entirely composed of the same ingredients (carbon, hydrogen and oxygen),
+and usually combined in about the _same proportion_. There may be a
+slight difference in the composition of their _ashes_, but the organic
+part is much the same in every case, so much so, that they can often be
+artificially changed from one to the other.
+
+As an instance of this, it may be recollected by those who attended the
+Fair of the American Institute, in 1834, that Prof. Mapes exhibited
+samples of excellent sugar made from the juice of the cornstalk, starch,
+linen, and woody fibre.
+
+The ease with which these proximates may be changed from one to the
+other is their most important agricultural feature, and should be
+clearly understood before proceeding farther. It is one of the
+fundamental principles on which the growth of both vegetables depends.
+
+The proximates of the first class constitute usually the greater part of
+all plants, and they are readily formed from the carbonic acid and water
+which in nature are so plentifully supplied.
+
+[Why are those of the second class particularly important to
+farmers?
+
+What is the general name under which they are known?
+
+What is the protein of wheat called?
+
+Why is flour containing much gluten preferred by bakers?
+
+Can protein be formed without nitrogen?
+
+If plants were allowed to complete their growth without a supply of this
+ingredient, what would be the result?]
+
+The _second class_ of proximates, though forming only a small part of
+the plant, are of the greatest importance to the farmer, being the ones
+from which _animal muscle_[H] is made. They consist, as will be
+recollected, of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and _nitrogen_, or of _all_ of
+the organic elements of plants. They are all of much the same character,
+though each kind of plant has its peculiar form of this substance, which
+is known under the general name of _protein_.
+
+The protein of wheat is called _gluten_--that of Indian corn is
+_zein_--that of beans and peas is _legumin_. In other plants the protein
+substances are _vegetable albumen_, _casein_, etc.
+
+Gluten absorbs large quantities of water, which causes it to swell to a
+great size, and become full of holes. Flour which contains much gluten,
+makes light, porous bread, and is preferred by bakers, because it
+absorbs so large an amount of water.
+
+[What is the result if a field be deficient in nitrogen?]
+
+The protein substances are necessary to animal and vegetable life, and
+none of our cultivated plants will attain maturity (complete their
+growth), unless allowed the materials required for forming this
+constituent. To furnish this condition is the object of nitrogen given
+to plants as manure. If no _nitrogen_ is supplied the protein
+substances cannot be formed, and the plant must cease to grow.
+
+When on the contrary _ammonia_ is given to the soil (by rains or
+otherwise), it furnishes nitrogen, while the carbonic acid and water
+yield the other constituents of protein, and a healthy growth continues,
+provided that the soil contains the _mineral_ matters required in the
+formation of the ash, in a condition to be useful.
+
+The wisdom of this provision is evident when we recollect that the
+protein substances are necessary to the formation of muscle in animals,
+for if plants were allowed to complete their growth without a supply of
+this ingredient, our grain and hay might not be sufficiently well
+supplied with it to keep our oxen and horses in working condition, while
+under the existing law plants must be of nearly a uniform quality (in
+this respect), and if a field is short of nitrogen, its crop will not be
+large, and of a very poor quality, but the soil will produce good plants
+as long as the nitrogen lasts, and then the growth must cease.[I]
+
+
+ANIMALS.
+
+That this principle may be clearly understood, it may be well to explain
+more fully the application of the proximate constituents of plants in
+feeding animals.
+
+[Of what are the bodies of animals composed?
+
+What is the office of vegetation?
+
+What part of the animal is formed from the first class of proximates?
+
+From the second?
+
+Which contains the largest portions of inorganic matter, plants or
+animals?
+
+Must animals have a variety of food, and why?]
+
+Animals are composed (like plants) of organic and inorganic matter, and
+every thing necessary to build them up exists in plants. It seems to be
+the office of the vegetable world to prepare the gases in the
+atmosphere, and the minerals in the earth for the uses of animal life,
+and to effect this plants put these gases and minerals together in the
+form of the various _proximates_ (or compound substances) which we have
+just described.
+
+In animals the compounds containing _no nitrogen_ comprise the fatty
+substances, parts of the blood, etc., while the protein compound, or
+those which _do contain nitrogen_, form the muscle, a part of the bones,
+the hair, and other portions of the animal.
+
+Animals contain a larger proportion of inorganic matter than plants do.
+Bones contain a large quantity of phosphate of lime, and we find other
+inorganic materials performing important offices in the system.
+
+In order that animals may be perfectly developed, they must of course
+receive as food all of the materials required to form their bodies. They
+cannot live if fed entirely on one ingredient. Thus, if _starch_ alone
+be eaten by the animal, he might become _fat_, but his strength would
+soon fail, because his food contains nothing to keep up the vigor of his
+_muscles_. If on the contrary the food of an animal consisted entirely
+of _gluten_, he might be very strong from a superior development of
+muscle, but would not be fat. Hence we see that in order to keep up the
+proper proportion of both fat and muscle in our animals (or in
+ourselves), the food must be such as contains a proper proportion of the
+two kinds of proximates.
+
+[Why is grain good for food?
+
+On what does the value of flour depend?
+
+Is there any relation between the ashy part of plants and those of
+animals?
+
+How may we account for unhealthy bones and teeth?]
+
+It is for this reason that grain, such as wheat for instance, is so good
+for food. It contains both classes of proximates, and furnishes material
+for the formation of both fat and muscle. The value of _flour_ depends
+very much on the manner in which it is manufactured. This will be soon
+explained.
+
+[What is a probable cause of consumption?
+
+What is an important use of the first class of proximates?
+
+What may lungs be called?
+
+Explain the production of heat during decomposition.
+
+Why is the heat produced by decay not perceptible?]
+
+Apart from the relations between the _proximate principles_ of plants,
+and those of animals, there exists an important relation between their
+_ashy_ or _inorganic_ parts; and, food in order to satisfy the demands
+of animal life, must contain the mineral matter required for the
+purposes of that life. Take bones for instance. If phosphate of lime is
+not always supplied in sufficient quantities by food, animals are
+prevented from the formation of healthy bones. This is particularly to
+be noticed in teeth. Where food is deficient of phosphate of lime, we
+see poor teeth as a result. Some physicians have supposed that one of
+the causes of consumption is the deficiency of phosphate of lime in
+food.
+
+[Why is the heat produced by combustion apparent?
+
+Explain the production of heat in the lungs of animals?
+
+Why does exercise augment the animal heat?
+
+Under what circumstances is the animal's own fat used in the production
+of heat?]
+
+The first class of proximates (starch, sugar, gum, etc.), perform an
+important office in the animal economy aside from their use in making fat.
+They constitute the _fuel_ which supplies the animal's fire, and gives him
+his _heat_. The lungs of men and other animals may be called delicate
+_stoves_, which supply the whole body with heat. But let us explain this
+matter more fully. If wood, starch, gum, or sugar, be burned in a stove,
+they produce heat. These substances consist, as will be recollected, of
+carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and when they are destroyed in any way
+(provided they be exposed to the atmosphere), the hydrogen and oxygen unite
+and form water, and the carbon unites with the oxygen of the air and forms
+carbonic acid, as was explained in a preceding chapter. This process is
+always accompanied by the liberation of _heat_, and the _intensity_ of this
+heat depends on the _time_ occupied in its _production_. In the case of
+decay, the chemical changes take place so slowly that the heat, being
+conducted away as soon as formed, is not perceptible to our senses. In
+combustion (or burning) the same changes take place with much greater
+rapidity, and the same _amount_ of heat being concentrated, or brought out
+in a far shorter time, it becomes intense, and therefore apparent. In the
+lungs of animals the same law holds true. The blood contains matters
+belonging to this carbonaceous class, and they undergo in the lungs the
+changes which have been described under the head of combustion and decay.
+Their hydrogen and oxygen unite, and form the moisture of the breath, while
+their carbon is combined with the oxygen of the air drawn into the lungs,
+and is thrown out as carbonic acid. The same consequence--heat--results in
+this, as in the other cases, and this heat is produced with sufficient
+rapidity for the animal necessities. When an animal exercises violently,
+his blood circulates with increased rapidity, thus carrying carbon more
+rapidly to the lungs. The breath also becomes quicker, thus supplying
+increased quantities of oxygen. In this way the decomposition becomes more
+rapid, and the animal is heated in proportion.
+
+Thus we see that food has another function besides that of forming
+animal matter, namely to supply heat. When the food does not contain a
+sufficient quantity of starch, sugar, etc., to answer the demands of
+the system the _animal's own fat_ is carried to the lungs, and there
+used in the production of heat. This important fact will be referred to
+again.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[G] By _proximate principle_, we mean that combination of vegetable
+elements which is known as a vegetable product, such as _wood_, etc.
+
+[H] _Muscle_ is _lean meat_, it gives to animals their strength and
+ability to perform labor.
+
+[I] This, of course, supposes that the soil is fertile in other
+respects.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+LOCATION OF THE PROXIMATES AND VARIATIONS IN THE ASHES OF PLANTS.
+
+
+[Of what proximate are plants chiefly composed?
+
+What is the principal constituent of the potato root?
+
+Of the carrot and turnip?
+
+What part of the plant contains usually the most nutriment?]
+
+Let us now examine plants with a view to learning the _location_ of the
+various plants.
+
+The stem or trunk of the plant or tree consists almost entirely of
+_woody fibre_; this also forms a large portion of the other parts except
+the seeds, and, in some instances, the roots. The roots of the potato
+contain large quantities of _starch_. Other roots such as the _carrot_
+and _turnip_ contain _pectic acid_,[J] a nutritious substance resembling
+starch.
+
+It is in the _seed_ however that the more nutritive portions of most
+plants exist, and here they maintain certain relative positions which
+it is well to understand, and which can be best explained by reference
+to the following figures, as described by Prof. Johnston:--
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
+
+"Thus _a_ shows the position of the oil in the outer part of the
+seed--it exists in minute drops, inclosed in six-sided cells, which
+consists chiefly of gluten; _b_, the position and comparative quantity
+of the starch, which in the heart of the seed is mixed with only a small
+proportion of gluten; _c_, the germ or chit which contains much
+gluten."[K]
+
+[Is the composition of the inorganic matter of different parts
+of the plant the same, or different?
+
+What is the difference between the ash of the straw and that of the
+grain of wheat?]
+
+The location of the _inorganic_ part of plants is one of much interest,
+and shows the adaptation of each part to its particular use. Take a
+wheat plant, for instance--the stalk, the leaf, and the grain, show in
+their ashes, important difference of composition. The stalk or straw
+contains three or four times as large a proportion of ash as the grain,
+and a no less remarkable difference of composition may be noticed in
+the ashes of the two parts. In that of the straw, we find a large
+proportion of silica and scarcely any phosphoric acid, while in that of
+the grain there is scarcely a trace of silica, although phosphoric acid
+constitutes more than one half of the entire weight. The leaves contain
+a considerable quantity of lime.
+
+[What is the reason for this difference?
+
+In what part of the grain does phosphoric acid exist most largely?]
+
+This may at first seem an unimportant matter, but on examination we
+shall see the use of it. The straw is intended to support the grain and
+leaves, and to convey the sap from the roots to the upper portions of
+the plant. To perform these offices, _strength_ is required, and this is
+given by the _silica_, and the woody fibre which forms so large a
+proportion of the stalk. The silica is combined with an alkali, and
+constitutes the glassy coating of the straw. While the plant is young,
+this coating is hardly apparent, but as it grows older, as the grain
+becomes heavier, (verging towards ripeness), the silicious coating of
+the stalk assumes a more prominent character, and gives to the straw
+sufficient strength to support the golden head. The straw is not the
+most important part of the plant as _food_, and therefore requires but
+little phosphoric acid.
+
+[Why is Graham flour more wholesome than fine flour?
+
+Are the ashes of all plants the same in their composition?]
+
+The grain, on the contrary, is especially intended as food, and
+therefore must contain a large proportion of phosphoric acid--this
+being, as we have already learned, necessary to the formation of
+bone--while, as it has no necessity for strength, and as silica is not
+needed by animals, this ingredient exists in the grain only in a very
+small proportion. It may be well to observe that the phosphoric acid of
+grain exists most largely in the hard portions near the shell, or bran.
+This is one of the reasons why Graham flour is more wholesome than fine
+flour. It contains all of the nutritive materials which render the grain
+valuable as food, while flour which is very finely bolted[L] contains
+only a small part of the outer portions of the grain (where the
+phosphoric acid, protein and fatty matters exist most largely). The
+starchy matter in the interior of the grain, which is the least capable
+of giving strength to the animal, is carefully separated, and used as
+food for man, while the better portions, not being ground so finely, are
+rejected. This one thing alone may be sufficient to account for the
+fact, that the lives of men have become shorter and less blessed with
+health and strength, than they were in the good old days when a stone
+mortar and a coarse sieve made a respectable flour mill.
+
+Another important fact concerning the ashes of plants is the difference
+of their composition in different plants. Thus, the most prominent
+ingredient in the ash of the potato is _potash_; of wheat and other
+grains, _phosphoric acid_; of meadow hay, _silica_; of clover, _lime_;
+of beans, _potash_, etc. In grain, _potash_ (or _soda_), etc., are among
+the important ingredients.
+
+[Of what advantage are these differences to the farmer?
+
+Of what are plants composed?]
+
+These differences are of great importance to the practical farmer, as by
+understanding what kind of plants use the most of one ingredient, and
+what kind requires another in large proportion, he can regulate his
+crops so as to prevent his soil from being exhausted more in one
+ingredient than in the others, and can also manure his land with
+reference to the crop which he intends to grow. The tables of analyses
+in the fifth section will point out these differences accurately.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[J] This pectic acid gelatinizes food in the stomach, and thus renders
+it more digestible.
+
+[K] See Johnston's Elements, page 41.
+
+[L] Sifted through a fine cloth called a bolting cloth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+RECAPITULATION.
+
+
+We have now learned as much about the plant as is required for our
+immediate uses, and we will carefully reconsider the various points with
+a view to fixing them permanently in the mind.
+
+Plants are composed of _organic_ and _inorganic_ matter.
+
+[What is organic matter? Inorganic?
+
+Of what does organic matter consist? Inorganic?
+
+How do plants obtain their organic food?
+
+How their inorganic?
+
+How is ammonia supplied? Carbonic acid?]
+
+Organic matter is that which burns away in the fire. Inorganic matter is
+the ash left after burning.
+
+The organic matter of plants consists of three gases, oxygen, hydrogen
+and nitrogen, and one solid substance carbon (or charcoal). The
+inorganic matter of plants consists of potash, soda, lime, magnesia,
+sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, chlorine, silica, oxide of iron, and
+oxide of manganese.
+
+Plants obtain their organic food as follows:--Oxygen and hydrogen from
+water, nitrogen from some compound containing nitrogen (chiefly from
+ammonia), and carbon from the atmosphere where it exists as carbonic
+acid--a gas.
+
+They obtain their inorganic food from the soil.
+
+The water which supplies oxygen and hydrogen to plants is readily
+obtained without the assistance of manures.
+
+Ammonia is obtained from the atmosphere, by being absorbed by rain and
+carried into the soil, and it enters plants through their roots. It may
+be artificially supplied in the form of animal manure with profit.
+
+Carbonic acid is absorbed from the atmosphere by leaves, and decomposed
+in the green parts of plants under the influence of daylight; the carbon
+is retained, and the oxygen is returned to the atmosphere.
+
+[When plants are destroyed by combustion or decay, what
+becomes of their constituents?
+
+How does the inorganic matter enter the plant?
+
+Are the alkalies soluble in their pure forms?
+
+Which one of them is injurious when too largely present?
+
+How may sulphuric acid be supplied?
+
+Is phosphoric acid important?
+
+How must silica be treated?
+
+From what source may we obtain chlorine?]
+
+When plants are destroyed by decay, or burning, their organic
+constituents pass away as water, ammonia, carbonic acid, etc., ready
+again to be taken up by other plants.
+
+The inorganic matters in the soil can enter the plant only when
+dissolved in water. _Potash_, _soda_, _lime_, and _magnesia_, are
+soluble in their pure forms. Magnesia is injurious when present in too
+large quantities.
+
+_Sulphuric_ acid is often necessary as a manure, and is usually most
+available in the form of sulphate of lime or plaster. It is also
+valuable in its pure form to prevent the escape of ammonia from
+composts.
+
+_Phosphoric_ acid is highly important, from its frequent deficiency in
+worn-out soils. It is available only under certain conditions which will
+be described in the section on manures.
+
+_Silica_ is the base of common sand, and must be united to an alkali
+before it can be used by the plant, because it is insoluble except when
+so united.
+
+_Chlorine_ is a constituent of common salt (chloride of sodium), and
+from this source may be obtained in sufficient quantities for manurial
+purposes.
+
+[What is the difference between _per_oxide and _prot_oxide of
+iron?
+
+How must the food of plants be supplied?
+
+What takes place after it enters the plant?
+
+What name is given to the compounds thus formed?
+
+How are proximates divided?
+
+Which class constitutes the largest part of the plant?
+
+Of what are animals composed, and how do they obtain the materials from
+which to form their growth?]
+
+_Oxide of iron_ is iron rust. There are two oxides of iron, the
+_peroxide_ (red) and the _protoxide_ (black). The former is a
+fertilizer, and the latter poisons plants.
+
+_Oxide of manganese_ is often absent from the ashes of our cultivated
+plants.
+
+The food of plants, both organic and inorganic, must be supplied in
+certain proportions, and at the time when it is required. In the plant,
+this food undergoes such chemical changes as are necessary to growth.
+
+The compounds formed by these chemical combinations are called
+_proximates_.
+
+Proximates are of two classes, those not containing nitrogen, and those
+which do contain it.
+
+The first class constitute nearly the whole plant.
+
+The second class, although small in quantity, are of the greatest
+importance to the farmer, as from them all animal muscle is made.
+
+Animals, like plants, are composed of both organic and inorganic matter,
+and their bodies are obtained directly or indirectly from plants.
+
+[What parts of the animal belong to the first class of
+proximates?
+
+What to the second?
+
+What is necessary to the perfect development of animals?
+
+Why are seeds valuable for working animals?
+
+What other important use, in animal economy, have proximates of the
+first class?
+
+Under what circumstances is animal fat decomposed?]
+
+The first class of proximates in animals comprise the fat, and like
+tissues.
+
+The second class form the muscle, hair, gelatine of the bones, etc.
+
+In order that they may be perfectly developed, animals must eat both
+classes of proximates, and in the proportions required by their natures.
+
+They require the phosphate of lime and other inorganic food which exist
+in plants.
+
+Seeds are the best adapted to the uses of working animals, because they
+are rich in all kinds of food required.
+
+Aside from their use in the formation of _fat_, proximates of the first
+class are employed in the lungs, as fuel to keep up animal heat, which
+is produced (as in fire and decay) by the decomposition of these
+substances.
+
+When the food is insufficient for the purposes of heat, the animal's own
+fat is decomposed, and carried to the lungs as fuel.
+
+The stems, roots, branches, etc., of most plants consist principally of
+_woody fibre_.
+
+Their seeds, and sometimes their roots, contain considerable quantities
+of _starch_.
+
+[Name the parts of the plant in which the different proximates
+exist.
+
+State what you know about flour.
+
+Do we know that different plants have ashes of different composition?]
+
+The _protein_ and the _oils_ of most plants exist most largely in the
+_seeds_.
+
+The location of the proximates, as well as of the inorganic parts of the
+plant, show a remarkable reference to the purposes of growth, and to the
+wants of the animal world, as is noticed in the difference between the
+construction of the straw and that of the kernel of wheat.
+
+The reason why the fine flour now made is not so healthfully nutritious
+as that which contained more of the coarse portions, is that it is
+robbed of a large proportion of protein and phosphate of lime, while it
+contains an undue amount of starch, which is available only to form fat,
+and to supply fuel to the lungs.
+
+Different plants have ashes of different composition. Thus--one may take
+from the soil large quantities of potash, another of phosphoric acid,
+and another of lime.
+
+By understanding these differences, we shall be able so to regulate our
+rotations, that the soil may not be called on to supply more of one
+ingredient than of another, and thus it may be kept in balance.
+
+[How are farmers to be benefited by such knowledge?]
+
+The facts contained in this chapter are the _alphabet of agriculture_,
+and the learner should not only become perfectly familiar with them, but
+should also clearly understand the _reasons_ why they are true, before
+proceeding further.
+
+
+
+
+SECTION SECOND.
+
+THE SOIL.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+FORMATION AND CHARACTER OF THE SOIL.
+
+
+[What is a necessary condition of growth?]
+
+In the foregoing section, we have studied the character of plants and
+the laws which govern their growth. We learned that one necessary
+condition for growth is a fertile soil, and therefore we will examine
+the nature of different soils, in order that we may understand the
+relations between them and plants.
+
+[What is a fixed character of soils?
+
+How is the chemical character of the soil to be ascertained?
+
+What do we first learn in analyzing a soil?
+
+How do the proportions of organic or inorganic parts of soils compare
+with those of plants?
+
+Of what does the organic part of soils consist?]
+
+The soil is not to be regarded as a mysterious mass of dirt, whereon
+crops are produced by a mysterious process. Well ascertained scientific
+knowledge has proved beyond question that all soils, whether in America
+or Asia, whether in Maine or California, have certain fixed properties,
+which render them fertile or barren, and the science of agriculture is
+able to point out these characteristics in all cases, so that we can
+ascertain from a scientific investigation what would be the chances for
+success in cultivating any soil which we examine.
+
+The soil is a great chemical compound, and its chemical character is
+ascertained (as in the case of plants) by analyzing it, or taking it
+apart.
+
+We first learn that fertile soils contain both organic and inorganic
+matter; but, unlike the plant, they usually possess much more of the
+latter than of the former.
+
+In the plant, the organic matter constitutes the most considerable
+portion of the whole. In the soil, on the contrary, it usually exists in
+very small quantities, while the inorganic portions constitute nearly
+the whole bulk.
+
+[Can the required proportion be definitely indicated?
+
+From what source is the inorganic part of soils derived?
+
+Do all soils decompose with equal facility?
+
+How does frost affect rocks?
+
+Does it affect soils in the same way?]
+
+The organic part of soils consists of the same materials that constitute
+the organic part of the plants, and it is in reality decayed vegetable
+and animal matter. It is not necessary that this organic part of the
+soil should form any particular proportion of the whole, and indeed we
+find it varying from one and a half to fifty, and sometimes, in peaty
+soils, to over seventy per cent. All fertile soils contain some organic
+matter, although it seems to make but little difference in fertility,
+whether it be ten or fifty per cent.
+
+The inorganic part of soils is derived from the crumbling of rocks. Some
+rocks (such as the slates in Central New York) decompose, and crumble
+rapidly on being exposed to the weather; while granite, marble, and
+other rocks will last for a long time without perceptible change. The
+_causes_ of this crumbling are various, and are not unimportant to the
+agriculturist; as by the same processes by which his soil was formed, he
+can increase its depth, or otherwise improve it. This being the case, we
+will in a few words explain some of the principal pulverizing agents.
+
+1. The action of frost. When water lodges in the crevices of rocks, and
+_freezes_, it expands, and bursts the rock, on the same principle as
+causes it to break a pitcher in winter. This power is very great, and by
+its assistance, large cannon may be burst. Of course the action of frost
+is the same on a small scale as when applied to large masses of matter,
+and, therefore, we find that when water freezes in the _pores_[M] of
+rocks or stones, it separates their particles and causes them to
+crumble. The same rule holds true with regard to stiff clay soils. If
+they are _ridged_ in autumn, and left with a rough surface exposed to
+the frosts of winter, they will become much lighter, and can afterwards
+be worked with less difficulty.
+
+[What is the effect of water on certain rocks?
+
+How are some rocks affected by exposure to the atmosphere? Give an
+instance of this.]
+
+2. The action of water. Many kinds of rock become so soft on being
+soaked with water, that they readily crumble.
+
+3. The chemical changes of the constituents of the rock. Many kinds of
+rock are affected by exposure to the atmosphere, in such a manner, that
+changes take place in their chemical character, and cause them to fall
+to pieces. The red kellis of New Jersey (a species of sandstone), is,
+when first quarried, a very hard stone, but on exposure to the
+influences of the atmosphere, it becomes so soft that it may be easily
+crushed between the thumb and finger.
+
+[What is the similarity between the composition of soils and
+the rocks from which they were formed?
+
+What does feldspar rock yield? Talcose slate? Marls?
+
+Does a soil formed entirely from rock contain organic matter?
+
+How is it affected by the growth of plants?]
+
+Other actions, of a less simple kind, exert an influence on the
+stubbornness of rocks, and cause them to be resolved into soils.[N] Of
+course, the composition of the soil must be similar to that of the rock
+from which it was formed; and, consequently, if we know the chemical
+character of the rock, we can tell whether the soil formed from it can
+be brought under profitable cultivation. Thus feldspar, on being
+pulverized, yields potash; talcose slate yields magnesia; marls yield
+lime, etc.
+
+The soil formed entirely from rock, contains, of course, no organic
+matter.[O] Still it is capable of bearing plants of a certain class, and
+when these die, they are deposited in the soil, and thus form its
+organic portions, rendering it capable of supporting those plants which
+furnish food for animals. Thousands of years must have been occupied in
+preparing the earth for habitation by man.
+
+As the inorganic or mineral part of the soil is usually the largest, we
+will consider it first.
+
+As we have stated that this portion is formed from rocks, we will
+examine their character, with a view to showing the different qualities
+of soils.
+
+[What is the general rule concerning the composition of rocks?
+
+Do these distinctions affect the fertility of soils formed from them?
+
+What do we mean by the mechanical character of the soil?
+
+Is its fertility indicated by its mechanical character?]
+
+As a general rule, it may be stated that _all rocks are either
+sandstones, limestones, or clays; or a mixture of two or more of these
+ingredients_. Hence we find that all mineral soils are either _sandy_,
+_calcareous_, (limey), or _clayey_; or consist of a mixture of these, in
+which one or another usually predominates. Thus, we speak of a sandy
+soil, a clay soil, etc. These distinctions (sandy, clayey, loamy, etc.)
+are important in considering the _mechanical_ character of the soil, but
+have little reference to its fertility.
+
+By _mechanical_ character, we mean those qualities which affect the ease
+of cultivation--excess or deficiency of water, ability to withstand
+drought, etc. For instance, a heavy clay soil is difficult to
+plow--retains water after rains, and bakes quite hard during drought;
+while a light sandy soil is plowed with ease, often allows water to pass
+through immediately after rains, and becomes dry and powdery during
+drought. Notwithstanding those differences in their mechanical
+character, both soils may be very fertile, or one more so than the
+other, without reference to the clay and sand which they contain, and
+which, to _our observation_, form their leading characteristics. The
+same facts exist with regard to a loam, a calcareous (or limey) soil, or
+a vegetable mould. Their mechanical texture is not essentially an index
+to their fertility, nor to the manures required to enable them to
+furnish food to plants. It is true, that each kind of soil appears to
+have some general quality of fertility or barrenness which is well known
+to practical men, yet this is not founded on the fact that the clay or
+the sand, or the vegetable matter, enter more largely into the
+constitution of plants than they do when they are not present in so
+great quantities, but on certain other facts which will be hereafter
+explained.
+
+[What is a sandy soil? A clay soil? A loamy soil? A marl? A
+calcareous soil? A peaty soil?]
+
+As the following names are used to denote the character of soils, in
+ordinary agricultural description, we will briefly explain their
+application:
+
+A _Sandy soil_ is, of course, one in which sand largely predominates.
+
+_Clay soil_, one where _clay_ forms a large proportion of the soil.
+
+_Loamy soil_, where sand and clay are about equally mixed.
+
+_Marl_ contains from five to twenty per cent. of carbonate of lime.
+
+_Calcareous soil_ more than twenty per cent.
+
+_Peaty soils_, of course, contain large quantities of organic matter.[P]
+
+
+[How large a part of the soil may be used as food by plants?
+
+What do we learn from the analyses of barren and fertile soils?]
+
+We will now take under consideration that part of the soil on which
+depends its ability to supply food to the plant. This portion rarely
+constitutes more than five or ten per cent. of the entire soil,
+sometimes less--and it has no reference to the sand, clay, and vegetable
+matters which they contain. From analyses of many fertile soils, and of
+others which are barren or of poorer quality, it has been ascertained
+that the presence of certain ingredients is necessary to fertility. This
+may be better explained by the assistance of the following table:
+
+ ---------------------------+--------------+-------------+----------
+  In one hundred pounds.    | Soil fertile |  Good       | Barren.
+                            | without      | wheat soil. |
+                            | manure.      |             |
+ ---------------------------+--------------+-------------+----------
+ Organic matter,            |  9.7         |  7.0        |  4.0
+ Silica (sand),             | 64.8         | 74.3        | 77.8
+ Alumina (clay),            |  5.7         |  5.5        |  9.1
+ Lime,                      |  5.9         |  1.4        |   .4
+ Magnesia,                  |   .9         |   .7        |   .1
+ Oxide of iron,             |  6.1         |  4.7        |  8.1
+ Oxide of manganese,        |   .1         |             |   .1
+ Potash,                    |   .2         |  1.7        |
+ Soda,                      |   .4         |   .7        |
+ Chlorine,                  |   .2         |   .1        |
+ Sulphuric acid,            |   .2         |   .1        |
+ Phosphoric acid,           |   .4         |   .1½       |
+ Carbonic acid,             |  4.0         |             |
+ Loss during the analysis   |  1.4         |  3.6½       |   .4
+                            +--------------+-------------+----------
+                            |100.0         |100.0        |100.0
+ ---------------------------+--------------+-------------+----------
+
+[What can you say of the soils represented in the table of
+analyses?
+
+What proportion of the fertilizing ingredients is required?
+
+If the soil represented in the third column contained all the
+ingredients required except potash and soda, would it be fertile?
+
+What would be necessary to make it so?
+
+What is the reason for this?
+
+What are the offices performed by the inorganic part of soils?]
+
+The soil represented in the first column might still be fertile with
+less organic matter, or with a larger proportion of clay (alumina), and
+less sand (silica). These affect its _mechanical_ character; but, if we
+look down the column, we notice that there are small quantities of lime,
+magnesia, and the other constituents of the ashes of plants (except ox.
+of manganese). It is not necessary that they should be present in the
+soil in the exact quantity named above, but _not one must be entirely
+absent, or greatly reduced in proportion_. By referring to the third
+column, we see that these ingredients are not all present, and the soil
+is barren. Even if it were supplied with all but one or two, potash and
+soda for instance, it could not support a crop without the assistance of
+manures containing these alkalies. The reason for this must be readily
+seen, as we have learned that no plant can arrive at maturity without
+the necessary supply of materials required in the formation of the ash,
+and these materials can be obtained only from the soil; consequently,
+when they do not exist there, it must be barren.
+
+The inorganic part of soils has two distinct offices to perform. The
+clay and sand form a mass of material into which roots can penetrate,
+and thus plants are supported in their position. These parts also absorb
+heat, air and moisture to serve the purposes of growth, as we shall see
+in a future chapter. The minute portions of soil, which comprise the
+acids, alkalies, and neutrals, furnish plants with their ashes, and are
+the most necessary to the fertility of the soil.
+
+
+GEOLOGY.
+
+[What is geology?
+
+Is the same kind of rock always of the same composition?
+
+How do rocks differ?]
+
+The relation between the inorganic part of soils and the rocks from
+which it was formed, is the foundation of Agricultural Geology. Geology
+may be briefly named the _science of rocks_. It would not be proper in
+an elementary work to introduce much of this study, and we will
+therefore simply state that the same kind of rock is of the same
+composition all over the world; consequently, if we find a soil in New
+England formed from any particular rock, and a soil from the same rock
+in Asia, their natural fertility will be the same in both localities.
+Some rocks consist of a mixture of different kinds of minerals; and
+some, consisting chiefly of one ingredient, are of different degrees of
+_hardness_. Both of these changes must affect the character of the soil,
+but it may be laid down as rule that, _when the rocks of two locations
+are exactly alike, the soils formed from them will be of the same
+natural fertility, and in proportion as the character of rocks changes,
+in the same proportion will the soils differ_.
+
+[What rule may be given in relation to soils formed from the
+same or different rocks?
+
+Are all soils formed from the rocks on which they lie?
+
+What instances can you give of this?]
+
+In most districts the soil is formed from the rock on which it lies; but
+this is not always the case. Soils are often formed by deposits of
+matter brought by water from other localities. Thus the alluvial banks
+of rivers consist of matters brought from the country through which the
+rivers have passed. The river Nile, in Egypt, yearly overflows its
+banks, and deposits large quantities of mud brought from the uninhabited
+upper countries. The prairies of the West owe a portion of their soil to
+deposits by water. Swamps often receive the washings of adjacent hills;
+and, in these cases, their soil is derived from a foreign source.
+
+We might continue to enumerate instances of the relations between soils
+and the sources whence they originated, thus demonstrating more fully
+the importance of geology to the farmer; but it would be beyond the
+scope of this work, and should be investigated by scholars more advanced
+than those who are studying merely the _elements_ of agricultural
+science.
+
+The mind, in its early application to any branch of study, should not
+be charged with intricate subjects. It should master well the
+_rudiments_, before investigating those matters which should _follow_
+such understanding.
+
+[In what light will plants and soils be regarded by those who
+understand them?]
+
+By pursuing the proper course, it is easy to learn all that is necessary
+to form a good foundation for a thorough acquaintance with the subject.
+If this foundation is laid thoroughly, the learner will regard plants
+and soils as old acquaintances, with whose formation and properties he
+is as familiar as with the construction of a building or simple machine.
+A simple spear of grass will become an object of interest, forming
+itself into a perfect plant, with full development of roots, stem,
+leaves, and seeds, by processes with which he feels acquainted. The soil
+will cease to be mere dirt; it will be viewed as a compound substance,
+whose composition is a matter of interest, and whose care is productive
+of intellectual pleasure. The commencement of study in any science must
+necessarily be wearisome to the young mind, but its more advanced stages
+amply repay the trouble of early exertions.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[M] The spaces between the particles.
+
+[N] In very many instances the crevices and seams of rocks are permeated
+by roots, which, by decaying and thus inducing the growth of other
+roots, cause these crevices to become filled with organic matter. This,
+by the absorption of moisture, may expand with sufficient power to burst
+the rock.
+
+[O] Some rocks contain sulphur, phosphorus, etc., and these may,
+perhaps, be considered as organic matter.
+
+[P] These distinctions are not essential to be learned, but are often
+convenient.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+USES OF ORGANIC MATTER.
+
+
+[What proportion of organic matter is required for fertility?
+
+How does the soil obtain its organic matter?
+
+How does the growth of clover, etc., affect the soil?]
+
+It will be recollected that, in addition to its mineral portions, the
+soil contains organic matter in varied quantities. It may be fertile
+with but one and a half per cent. of organic matter, and some peaty
+soils contain more than fifty per cent. or more than one half of the
+whole.
+
+The precise amount necessary cannot be fixed at any particular sum;
+perhaps five parts in a hundred would be as good a quantity as could be
+recommended.
+
+The soil obtains its organic matter in two ways. First, by the decay of
+roots and dead plants, also of leaves, which have been brought to it by
+wind, etc. Second, by the application of organic manures.
+
+[When organic matter decays in the soil, what becomes of it?
+
+Is charcoal taken up by plants?
+
+Are humus and humic acid of great practical importance?]
+
+When a crop of clover is raised, it obtains its carbon from the
+atmosphere; and, if it be plowed under, and allowed to decay, a portion
+of this carbon is deposited in the soil. Carbon constitutes nearly the
+whole of the dry weight of the clover, aside from the constituents of
+water; and, when we calculate the immense quantity of hay, and roots
+grown on an acre of soil in a single season, we shall find that the
+amount of carbon thus deposited is immense. If the clover had been
+removed, and the roots only left to decay, the amount of carbon
+deposited would still have been very great. The same is true in all
+cases where the crop is removed, and the roots remain to form the
+organic or vegetable part of the soil. While undergoing decomposition, a
+portion of this matter escapes in the form of gas, and the remainder
+chiefly assumes the form of carbon (or charcoal), in which form it will
+always remain, without loss, unless driven out by fire. If a bushel of
+charcoal be mixed with the soil now, it will be the same bushel of
+charcoal, neither more nor less, a thousand years hence, unless some
+influence is brought to bear on it aside from the growth of plants. It
+is true that, in the case of the decomposition of organic matter in the
+soil, certain compounds are formed, known under the general names of
+_humus_ and _humic acid_, which may, in a slight degree, affect the
+growth of plants, but their practical importance is of too doubtful a
+character to justify us in considering them. The application of manures,
+containing organic matter, such as peat, muck, animal manure, etc.,
+supplies the soil with carbon on the same principle, and the decomposing
+matters also generate[Q] carbonic acid gas while being decomposed. The
+agricultural value of carbon in the soil depends (as we have stated),
+not on the fact that it enters into the composition of plants, but on
+certain other important offices which it performs, as follows:--
+
+[On what does the agricultural value of the carbon in the soil
+depend?
+
+Why does it make the soil more retentive of manure?
+
+What is the experiment with the barrels of sand?]
+
+1. It makes the soil more retentive of manures.
+
+2. It causes it to appropriate larger quantities of the fertilizing
+gases of the atmosphere.
+
+3. It gives it greater power to absorb moisture.
+
+4. It renders it warmer.
+
+1. Carbon (or charcoal) makes the soil retentive of manures, because it
+has in itself a strong power to absorb, and retain[R] fertilizing
+matters. There is a simple experiment by which this power can be shown.
+
+Ex.--Take two barrels of pure beach sand, and mix with the sand in one
+barrel a few handfuls of charcoal dust, leaving that in the other pure.
+Pour the brown liquor of the barn-yard through the pure sand, and it
+will pass out at the bottom unaltered. Pour the same liquor through the
+barrel, containing the charcoal, and pure water will be obtained as a
+result. The reason for this is that the charcoal retains all of the
+impurities of the liquor, and allows only the water to pass through.
+Charcoal is often employed to purify water for drinking, or for
+manufacturing purposes.
+
+[Will charcoal purify water?
+
+If a piece of tainted meat, or a fishy duck be buried in a rich garden
+soil, what takes place?
+
+What is the reason of this?
+
+How does charcoal overcome offensive odors?
+
+How can you prove that charcoal absorbs the _mineral_ impurities of
+water?]
+
+A rich garden-soil contains large quantities of carbonaceous matter;
+and, if we bury in such a soil a piece of tainted meat or a fishy duck,
+it will, in a short time, be deprived of its odor, because the charcoal
+in the soil will entirely absorb it.
+
+Carbon absorbs gases as well as the impurities of water; and, if a
+little charcoal be sprinkled over manure, or any other substance,
+emitting offensive odors, the gases escaping will be taken up by the
+charcoal, and the odor will cease.
+
+It has also the power of absorbing _mineral_ matters, which are
+contained in water. If a quantity of salt water be filtered through
+charcoal, the salt will be retained, and the water will pass through
+pure.
+
+We are now able to see how carbon renders the soil retentive of manures.
+
+1st. Manures, which resemble the brown liquor of barn-yards, have their
+fertilizing matters taken out, and retained by it.
+
+[How does charcoal in the soil affect the manures applied?
+
+Why does charcoal in the soil cause it to appropriate the gases of the
+atmosphere?
+
+What fertilizing gases exist in the atmosphere?
+
+How are they carried to the soil?
+
+Does the carbon retain them after they reach the soil?
+
+What can you say of the air circulating through the soil?
+
+How does carbon give the soil power to absorb moisture?]
+
+2d. The gases arising from the decomposition (_rotting_) of manure are
+absorbed by it.
+
+3d. The soluble mineral portions of manure, which might in some soils
+leach down with water, are arrested and retained at a point at which
+they can be made use of by the roots of plants.
+
+2. Charcoal in the soil causes it to appropriate larger quantities of
+the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere, on account of its power, as
+just named, to absorb gases.
+
+The atmosphere contains results, which have been produced by the
+breathing of animals and by the decomposition of various kinds of
+organic matter, which are exposed to atmospheric influences. These gases
+are chiefly ammonia and carbonic acid, both of which are largely
+absorbed by water, and consequently are contained in rain, snow, etc.,
+which, as they enter the soil, give up these gases to the charcoal, and
+they there remain until required by plants. Even the air itself, in
+circulating through the soil, gives up fertilizing gases to the carbon,
+which it may contain.
+
+3. Charcoal gives to the soil power to absorb moisture, because it is
+itself one of the best absorbents in nature; and it has been proved by
+accurate experiment that peaty soils absorb moisture with greater
+rapidity, and part with it more slowly than any other kind.
+
+[How does it render it warmer?
+
+Is the heat produced by the decomposition of organic matter perceptible
+to our senses?
+
+Is it so to the growing plant?
+
+What is another important part of the organic matter in the soil?]
+
+4. Carbon in the soil renders it warmer, because it darkens its color.
+Black surfaces absorb more heat than light ones, and a black coat, when
+worn in the sun, is warmer than one of a lighter color. By mixing carbon
+with the soil, we darken its color, and render it capable of absorbing a
+greater amount of heat from the sun's rays.
+
+It will be recollected that, when vegetable matter decomposes in the
+soil, it produces certain gases (carbonic acid, etc.), which either
+escape into the atmosphere, or are retained in the soil for the use of
+plants. The production of these gases is always accompanied by _heat_,
+which, though scarcely perceptible to our senses, is perfectly so to the
+growing plant, and is of much practical importance. This will be
+examined more fully in speaking of manures.
+
+[How is it obtained by the soil?
+
+What offices does the organic matter in the soil perform?]
+
+Another important part of the organic matter in the soil is that which
+contains _nitrogen_. This forms but a very small portion of the soil,
+but it is of the greatest importance to vegetables. As the nitrogen in
+food is of absolute necessity to the growth of animals, so the nitrogen
+in the soil is indispensable to the growth of cultivated plants. It is
+obtained by the soil in the form of ammonia (or nitric acid), from the
+atmosphere, or by the application of animal matter. In some cases,
+manures called _nitrates_[S] are used; and, in this manner, nitrogen is
+given to the soil.
+
+We have now learned that the organic matter in the soil performs the
+following offices:--
+
+Organic matter thoroughly decomposed is _carbon_, and has the various
+effects ascribed to this substance on p. 79.
+
+Organic matter in process of decay produces carbonic acid, and sometimes
+ammonia in the soil; also its decay causes heat.
+
+Organic matter containing _nitrogen_, such as animal substances, etc.,
+furnish ammonia, and other nitrogenous substances to the roots of
+plants.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Q] Produce.
+
+[R] By absorbing and retaining, we mean taking up and holding.
+
+[S] Nitrates are compounds of nitric acid (which consists of nitrogen
+and oxygen), and alkaline substances. Thus nitrate of potash
+(saltpetre), is composed of nitric acid and potash: nitrate of soda
+(cubical nitre), of nitric acid and soda.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+USES OF INORGANIC MATTER.
+
+
+[What effect has clay besides the one already named?
+
+How does it compare with charcoal for this purpose?]
+
+The offices performed by the inorganic constituents of the soil are many
+and important.
+
+These, as well as the different conditions in which the bodies exist,
+are necessary to be thoroughly studied.
+
+Those parts which constitute the larger proportion of the soil, namely
+the clay, sand, and limy portions, are useful for purposes which have
+been named in the first part of this section, while the _clay_ has an
+additional effect in the absorption of ammonia.
+
+For this purpose, it is as effectual as charcoal, the gases escaping
+from manures, as well as those existing in the atmosphere, and in
+rain-water, being arrested by clay as well as charcoal.[T]
+
+[What particular condition of inorganic matter is requisite
+for fertility?
+
+What is the fixed rule with regard to this?
+
+What is the condition of the alkalies in most of their combinations? Of
+the acids?
+
+What is said of phosphate of lime?]
+
+The more minute ingredients of the soil--those which enter into the
+construction of plants--exist in conditions which are more or less
+favorable or injurious to vegetable growth. The principal condition
+necessary to fertility is _capacity to be dissolved_, it being (so far
+as we have been able to ascertain) a fixed rule, as was stated in the
+first section, that _no mineral substance can enter into the roots of a
+plant except it be dissolved in water_.
+
+The _alkalies_ potash, soda, lime, and magnesia, are in nearly all of
+their combinations in the soil sufficiently soluble for the purposes of
+growth.
+
+The _acids_ are, as will be recollected, sulphuric and phosphoric. These
+exist in the soil in combination with the alkalies, as sulphates and
+phosphates, which are more or less soluble under natural circumstances.
+Phosphoric acid in combination with lime as phosphate of lime is but
+slightly soluble; but, when it exists in the compound known as
+_super_-phosphate of lime, it is much more soluble, and consequently
+enters into the composition of plants with much greater facility. This
+matter will be more fully explained in the section on manures.
+
+[How may silica be rendered soluble?
+
+What is the condition of chlorine in the soil?
+
+Do peroxide and protoxide of iron affect plants in the same way?
+
+How would you treat a soil containing protoxide of iron?
+
+On what does the usefulness of all these matters in the soil depend?]
+
+The _neutrals_, silica, chlorine, oxide of iron, and oxide of manganese,
+deserve a careful examination. Silica exists in the soil usually in the
+form of _sand,_ in which it is, as is well known, perfectly insoluble;
+and, before it can be used by plants, which often require it in large
+quantities, it must be made soluble, which is done by combining it with
+an alkali.
+
+For instance, if the silica in the soil is insoluble, we must make an
+application of an alkali, such as potash, which will unite with the
+silica, and form the silicate of potash, which is in the exact condition
+to be dissolved and carried into the roots of plants.
+
+Chlorine in the soil is probably always in an available condition.
+
+Oxide of iron exists, as has been previously stated, usually in the form
+of the _per_oxide (or red oxide). Sometimes, however, it exists in the
+form of the _prot_oxide (or black oxide), which is poisonous to plants,
+and renders the soil unfertile. By loosening the soil in such a manner
+as to admit air and water, this compound takes up more oxygen, which
+renders it a peroxide, and makes it available for plants. The oxide of
+manganese is probably of little consequence.
+
+The usefulness of all of these matters in the soil depends on their
+_exposure_; if they are in the _interior_ of particles, they cannot be
+made use of; while, if the particles are so pulverized that their
+constituents are exposed, they become available, because water can
+immediately attack to dissolve, and carry them into roots.
+
+[What is one of the chief offices of plowing and hoeing?
+
+Is the subsoil usually different from the surface soil?
+
+What circumstances have occasioned the difference? In what way?]
+
+This is one of the great offices of plowing and hoeing; the _lumps_ of
+soil being thereby more broken up and exposed to the action of
+atmospheric influences, which are often necessary to produce a fertile
+condition of soil, while the trituration of particles reduces them in
+size.
+
+
+SUBSOIL.
+
+[May the subsoil be made to resemble the surface soil?
+
+May all soils be brought to the highest state of fertility?
+
+On what examination must improvement be based?
+
+What is the difference between the soil of some parts of Massachusetts
+and that of the Miami valley?]
+
+The subsoil is usually of a different character from the surface soil,
+but this difference is more often the result of circumstances than of
+formation. The surface soil from having been long cultivated has been
+more opened to the influences of the air than is the case with the
+subsoil, which has never been disturbed so as to allow the same action.
+Again the growth of plants has supplied the surface soil with roots,
+which by decaying have given it organic matter, thus darkening its
+color, rendering it warmer, and giving greater ability to absorb heat
+and moisture, and to retain manures. All of these effects render the
+surface soil of a more fertile character than it was before vegetable
+growth commenced; and, where frequent cultivation and manures have been
+applied, a still greater benefit has resulted. In most instances the
+subsoil may by the same means be gradually improved in condition until
+it equals the surface soil in fertility. The means of producing this
+result, also farther accounts of its advantages, will be given under the
+head of _Cultivation_ (Sect. IV.)
+
+
+IMPROVEMENT.
+
+From what has now been said of the character of the soil, it must be
+evident that, as we know the _causes_ of fertility and barrenness, we
+may by the proper means improve the character of all soils which are not
+now in the highest state of fertility.
+
+Chemical analysis will tell us the _composition_ of a soil, and an
+examination, such as any farmer may make, will inform us of its
+deficiencies in _mechanical_ character, and we may at once resort to the
+proper means to secure fertility. In some instances the soil may contain
+every thing that is required, but not in the necessary condition. For
+instance, in some parts of Massachusetts, there are nearly _barren_
+soils which show by analysis precisely the same chemical composition as
+the soil of the Miami valley of Ohio, one of the most _fertile_ in the
+world. The cause of this great difference in their agricultural
+capabilities, is that the Miami soil has its particles finely
+pulverized; while in the Massachusetts soil the ingredients are combined
+within particles (such as pebbles, etc.), where they are out of the
+reach of roots.
+
+[Why do soils of the same degree of fineness sometimes differ
+in fertility?
+
+Can soils always be rendered fertile with profit?
+
+Can we determine the cost before commencing the work?
+
+What must be done before a soil can be cultivated understandingly?
+
+What must be done to keep up the quality of the soil?]
+
+In other cases, we find two soils, which are equally well pulverized,
+and which appear to be of the same character, having very different
+power to support crops. Chemical analysis will show in these instances a
+difference of composition.
+
+All of these differences may be overcome by the use of the proper means.
+Sometimes it could be done at an expense which would be justified by the
+result; and, at others, it might require too large an outlay to be
+profitable. It becomes a question of economy, not of ability, and
+science is able to estimate the cost.
+
+Soil cannot be cultivated understandingly until it has been subjected to
+such an examination as will tell us exactly what is necessary to render
+it fertile. Even after fertility is perfectly restored it requires
+thought and care to maintain it. The ingredients of the soil must be
+returned in the form of manures as largely as they are removed by the
+crop, or the supply will eventually become too small for the purposes of
+vegetation.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[T] It is due to our country, as well as to Prof. Mapes and others, who
+long ago explained this absorptive power of clay and carbon, to say that
+the subject was perfectly understood and practically applied in America
+a number of years before Prof. Way published the discovery in England as
+original.
+
+
+
+
+SECTION THIRD.
+
+MANURES.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+CHARACTER AND VARIETIES OF MANURES.
+
+
+[What must a farmer know in order to avoid failures?
+
+Can this be learned entirely from observation?
+
+What kind of action have manures?
+
+Give examples of each of these.
+
+May mechanical effects be produced by chemical action?
+
+How does potash affect the soil?]
+
+To understand the science of _manures_ is the most important branch of
+practical farming. No baker would be called a good practical baker who
+kept his flour exposed to the sun and rain. No shoemaker would be called
+a good practical shoemaker, who used morocco for the soles of his shoes,
+and heavy leather for the uppers. No carpenter would be called a good
+practical carpenter, who tried to build a house without nails, or other
+fastenings. So with the farmer. He cannot be called a good practical
+farmer if he keeps the materials, from which he is to make plants, in
+such a condition, that they will have their value destroyed, uses them
+in the wrong places, or tries to put them together without having every
+thing present that is necessary. Before he can avoid failures _with
+certainty_, he must know what manures are composed of, how they are to
+be preserved, where they are needed, and what kinds are required. True,
+he may from observation and experience, _guess_ at results, but he
+cannot _know_ that he is right until he has learned the facts above
+named. In this section of our work, we mean to convey some of the
+information necessary to this branch of _practical farming_.
+
+We shall adopt a classification of the subject somewhat different from
+that found in most works on manures, but the _facts_ are the same. The
+action of manures is either _mechanical_ or _chemical_, or a combination
+of both. For instance: some kinds of manure improve the mechanical
+character of the soil, such as those which loosen stiff clay soils, or
+others which render light sandy soils compact--these are called
+_mechanical_ manures. Some again furnish food for plants--these are
+called _chemical_ manures.
+
+Many mechanical manures produce their effects by means of chemical
+action. Thus _potash_ combines chemically with sand in the soil. In so
+doing, it roughens the surfaces of the particles of sand, and renders
+the soil less liable to be compacted by rains. In this manner, it acts
+as a _mechanical_ manure. The compound of sand and potash,[U] as well as
+the potash alone, may enter into the composition of plants, and hence it
+is a _chemical_ manure. In other words, potash belongs to both classes
+described above.
+
+It is important that this distinction should be well understood by the
+learner, as the words "mechanical" and "chemical" in connection with
+manures will be made use of throughout the following pages.
+
+[What are absorbents?
+
+What kind of manure is charcoal?]
+
+There is another class of manures which we shall call _absorbents_.
+These comprise those substances which have the power of taking up
+fertilizing matters, and retaining them for the use of plants. For
+instance, _charcoal_ is an absorbent. As was stated in the section on
+soils, this substance is a retainer of all fertilizing gases and many
+minerals. Other matters made use of in agriculture have the same effect.
+These absorbents will be spoken of more fully in their proper places.
+
+TABLE.
+
+MECHANICAL MANURES are those which improve the mechanical condition of
+                   soils.
+
+CHEMICAL      "    are those which serve as food for plants.
+
+ABSORBENTS         are those substances which absorb and retain
+                   fertilizing matters.
+
+[Into what classes may manures be divided?
+
+What are organic manures?
+
+Inorganic? Atmospheric?]
+
+Manures may be divided into three classes, viz.: _organic_, _inorganic_,
+and _atmospheric_.
+
+ORGANIC manures comprise all _animal_ and _vegetable_ matters which are
+used to fertilize the soil, such as dung, muck, etc.
+
+INORGANIC manures are those which are of a purely _mineral_ character,
+such as lime, ashes, etc.
+
+ATMOSPHERIC manures consist of those organic manures which are in the
+form of gases in the atmosphere, and which are absorbed by rains and
+carried to the soil. These are of immense importance. The ammonia and
+carbonic acid in the air are atmospheric manures.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[U] Silicate of potash.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+EXCREMENTS OF ANIMALS.
+
+
+[Of what is animal excrement composed?
+
+Explain the composition of the food of animals.
+
+What does hay contain?
+
+To what does Liebig compare the consumption of food by animals, and
+why?]
+
+The first organic manure which we shall examine, is animal _excrement_.
+
+This is composed of those matters which have been eaten by the animal as
+food, and have been thrown off as solid or liquid manure. In order that
+we may know of what they consist, we must refer to the composition of
+food and examine the process of digestion.
+
+The food of animals, we have seen to consist of both organic and
+inorganic matter. The organic part may be divided into two classes, _i.
+e._, that portion which contains nitrogen--such as gluten, albumen,
+etc., and that which does not contain nitrogen--such as starch, sugar,
+oil, etc.
+
+The inorganic part of food may also be divided into _soluble_ matter and
+_insoluble_ matter.
+
+
+DIGESTION AND ITS PRODUCTS.
+
+[Of what does that part of dung consist which resembles soot?
+
+What else does the dung contain?
+
+In what manner does the digested part of food escape from the body?]
+
+Let us now suppose that we have a full-grown ox, which is not increasing
+in any of his parts, but only consumes food to keep up his respiration,
+and to supply the natural wastes of his body. To this ox we will feed a
+ton of hay which contains organic matter, with and without nitrogen, and
+soluble and insoluble inorganic substances. Now let us try to follow it
+through its changes in the animal, and observe its destination. Liebig
+compares the consumption of food by animals to the imperfect burning of
+wood in a stove, where a portion of the fuel is resolved into gases and
+ashes (that is, it is completely burned), and another portion, which is
+not thoroughly burned, passes off as _soot_. In the animal action in
+question, the food undergoes changes which are similar to this burning
+of wood. A part of the food is _digested_ and taken up by the blood,
+while another portion remains undigested, and passes the bowels as solid
+dung--corresponding to soot. This part of the dung then, we see is
+merely so much of the food as passes through the system without being
+materially changed. Its nature is easily understood. It contains organic
+and inorganic matter in nearly the same condition as they existed in the
+hay. They have been rendered finer and softer, but their chemical
+character is not materially altered. The dung also contains small
+quantities of nitrogenous matter, which _leaked out_, as it were, from
+the stomach and intestines. The digested food, however, undergoes
+further changes which affect its character, and it escapes from the body
+in three ways--_i. e._, through the lungs, through the bladder, and
+through the bowels. It will be recollected from the first section of
+this book, p. 22, that the carbon in the blood of animals, unites with
+the oxygen of the air drawn into the lungs, and is thrown off in the
+breath as carbonic acid. The hydrogen and oxygen unite to form a part of
+the water which constitutes the moisture of the breath.
+
+[Explain the escape of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
+
+What becomes of the nitrogenous parts?
+
+How is the _soluble_ ash of the digested food parted with?
+
+The insoluble?
+
+If any portions of the food are not returned in the dung, how are they
+disposed of?]
+
+That portion of the organic part of the hay which has been taken up by
+the blood of the ox, and which does not contain nitrogen (corresponding
+to the _first_ class of proximates, as described in Sect. I), is emitted
+through the lungs. It consists, as will be recollected, of carbon,
+hydrogen and oxygen, and these assume, in respiration, the form of
+carbonic acid and water.
+
+The organic matter of the digested hay, in the blood, which contains
+nitrogen (corresponding to the _second_ class of proximates, described
+in Sect. I), goes to the _bladder_, where it assumes the form of urea--a
+constituent of urine or liquid manure.
+
+We have now disposed of the imperfectly digested food (dung), and of the
+_organic_ matter which was taken up by the blood. All that remains to be
+examined is the inorganic or mineral matter in the blood, which would
+have become _ashes_, if the hay had been burned. The _soluble_ part of
+this inorganic matter passes into the bladder, and forms the _inorganic
+part of urine_. The _insoluble_ part passes the bowels, in connection
+with the dung.
+
+[How is their place supplied?
+
+Is food put out of existence when it is fed to animals?
+
+What does the solid dung contain? Liquid manure? The breath?]
+
+If any of the food taken up by the blood is not returned as above
+stated, it goes to form fat, muscle, hair, bones, or some other part of
+the animal, and as he is not growing (not increasing in weight) an
+equivalent amount of the body of the animal goes to the manure to take
+the place of the part retained.[V]
+
+We now have our subject in a form to be readily understood. We learn
+that when food is given to animals it is not _put out of existence_, but
+is merely _changed in form_; and that in the impurities of the breath,
+we have a large portion of those parts of the food which plants obtain
+from air and from water; while the solid and liquid excrements contain
+all that was taken by the plants from the soil and manures.
+
+The SOLID DUNG contains the undigested parts of the food, the
+                _insoluble_ parts of the ash, and the nitrogenous
+                matters which have _escaped_ from the digestive organs.
+
+"LIQUID MANURE" the nitrogenous or _second class_ of proximates of the
+                digested food, and the _soluble_ parts of the ash.
+
+THE BREATH contains the _first class_ of proximates, those which contain
+                carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but _no nitrogen_.[W]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[V] This account of digestion is not, perhaps, strictly accurate in a
+physiological point of view, but it is sufficiently so to give an
+elementary understanding of the character of excrements as manures.
+
+[W] The excrements of animals contain more or less of sulphur, and
+sometimes small quantities of phosphorus.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+WASTE OF MANURE.
+
+
+[What are the first causes of loss of manure?
+
+What is _evaporation_?]
+
+The loss of manure is a subject which demands most serious attention.
+Until within a few years, little was known about the true character of
+manures, and consequently, of the importance of protecting them against
+loss.
+
+The first causes of waste are _evaporation_ and _leaching_.
+
+
+EVAPORATION.
+
+[Name a solid body which evaporates.
+
+What takes place when a dead animal is exposed to the atmosphere for a
+sufficient time?
+
+What often assist the evaporation of solids?]
+
+Evaporation is the changing of a solid or liquid body to a vapory form.
+Thus common smelling salts, a solid, if left exposed, passes into the
+atmosphere in the form of a gas or vapor. Water, a liquid, evaporates,
+and becomes a vapor in the atmosphere. This is the case with very many
+substances, and in organic nature, both solid and liquid, they are
+liable to assume a gaseous form, and become mixed with the atmosphere.
+They are not destroyed, but are merely changed in form.
+
+As an instance of this action, suppose an animal to die and to decay on
+the surface of the earth. After a time, the flesh will entirely
+disappear, but is not lost. It no longer exists as the flesh of an
+animal, but its carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, still exist in
+the air. They have been liberated from the attractions which held them
+together, and have passed away; but (as we already know from what has
+been said in a former section) they are ready to be again taken up by
+plants, and pressed into the service of life.
+
+The evaporation of liquids may take place without the aid of any thing
+but heat; still, in the case of solids, it is often assisted by decay
+and combustion, which break up the bonds that hold the constituents of
+bodies together, and thus enable them to return to the atmosphere, from
+which they were originally derived.
+
+[What is the cause of odor?
+
+When we perceive an odor, what is taking place?
+
+Why do manures give off offensive odors?
+
+How may we detect ammonia escaping from manure?]
+
+It must be recollected that every thing, which has an _odor_ (or can be
+smelled), is evaporating. The odor is caused by parts of the body
+floating in the air, and acting on the nerves of the nose. This is an
+invariable rule; and, when we perceive an odor, we may be sure that
+parts of the material, from which it emanates, are escaping. If we
+perceive the odor of an apple, it is because parts of the volatile oils
+of the apple enter the nose. The same is true when we smell hartshorn,
+cologne, etc.
+
+Manures made by animals have an offensive odor, simply because volatile
+parts of the manure escape into the air, and are therefore made
+perceptible. All organic parts in turn become volatile, assuming a
+gaseous form as they decompose.
+
+We do not see the gases rising, but there are many ways by which we can
+detect them. If we wave a feather over a manure heap, from which ammonia
+is escaping, the feather having been recently dipped in manure, white
+fumes will appear around the feather, being the muriate of ammonia
+formed by the union of the escaping gas with the muriatic acid. Not only
+ammonia, but also carbonic acid, and other gases which are useful to
+vegetation escape, and are given to the winds. Indeed it may be stated
+in few words that all of the organic part of _plants_ (all that was
+obtained from the air, water, and ammonia), constituting more than nine
+tenths of their dry weight, may be evaporated by the assistance of decay
+or combustion. The organic part of _manures_ may be lost in the same
+manner; and, if the process of decomposition be continued long enough,
+nothing but a mass of mineral matter will remain, except perhaps a small
+quantity of carbon which has not been resolved into carbonic acid.
+
+[What remains after manure has been long exposed to
+decomposition?
+
+What gaseous compounds are formed by the decomposition of manures?]
+
+The proportion of solid manure lost by evaporation (made by the
+assistance of decay), is a very large part of the whole. Manure cannot
+be kept a single day in its natural state without losing something. It
+commences to give out an offensive odor immediately, and this odor is
+occasioned, as was before stated, by the loss of some of its fertilizing
+parts.
+
+Animal manure contains, as will be seen by reference to p. 100, all of
+the substances contained in plants, though not always in the correct
+relative proportions to each other. When decomposition commences, the
+carbon unites with the oxygen of the air, and passes off as carbonic
+acid; the hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water (which evaporates),
+and the _nitrogen is mostly resolved into ammonia, which escapes into
+the atmosphere_.
+
+[Describe fire-fanging.
+
+What takes place when animal manure is exposed in an open barn-yard?
+
+What does liquid manure lose by evaporation?]
+
+If manure is thrown into heaps, it often ferments so rapidly as to
+produce sufficient heat to set fire to some parts of the manure, and
+cause it to be thrown off with greater rapidity. This may be observed in
+nearly all heaps of animal excrement. When they have lain for some time
+in mild weather, gray streaks of _ashes_ are often to be seen in the
+centre of the pile. The organic part of the manure having been _burned_
+away, nothing but the ash remains,--this is called _fire-fanging_.
+
+Manures kept in cellars without being mixed with refuse matter are
+subject to the same losses.
+
+When kept in the yard, they are still liable to be lost by evaporation.
+They are here often saturated with water, and this water in its
+evaporation carries away the ammonia, and carbonic acid which it has
+obtained from the rotting mass. The evaporation of the water is rapidly
+carried on, on account of the great extent of surface. The whole mass is
+spongy, and soaks the liquids up from below (through hollow straws,
+etc.), to be evaporated at the surface on the same principle as causes
+the wick of a lamp to draw up the oil to supply fuel for the flame.
+
+LIQUID MANURE containing large quantities of nitrogen, and forming much
+ammonia, is also liable to lose all of its organic part from evaporation
+(and fermentation), so that it is rendered as much less valuable as is
+the solid dung.[X]
+
+[When does the waste of exposed manure commence?
+
+What does economy of manure require?
+
+What is the effect of leaching?
+
+Give an illustration of leaching.]
+
+From these remarks, it may be justly inferred that a very large portion
+of the _value_ of solid and liquid manure as ordinarily kept is lost by
+evaporation in a sufficient length of time, depending on circumstances,
+whether it be three months or several years. The wasting commences as
+soon as the manure is dropped, and continues, except in very cold
+weather, until the destruction is complete. Hence we see that true
+economy requires that the manures of the stable, stye, and
+poultry-house, should be protected from evaporation (as will be
+hereafter described), as soon as possible after they are made.
+
+
+LEACHING.
+
+The subject of _leaching_ is as important in considering the _inorganic_
+parts of manures as evaporation is to the organic, while leaching also
+affects the organic gases, they being absorbed by water in a great
+degree.
+
+A good illustration of leaching is found in the manufacture of potash.
+When water is poured over wood-ashes, it dissolves their potash which
+it carries through in solution, making ley. If ley is boiled to dryness,
+it leaves the potash in a solid form, proving that this substance had
+been dissolved by the water and removed from the insoluble parts of the
+ashes.
+
+[How does water affect decomposing manures?
+
+Does continued decomposition continue to prepare material to be leached
+away?
+
+How far from the surface of the soil may organic constituents be carried
+by water?]
+
+In the same way water in passing through manures takes up the soluble
+portions of the ash as fast as liberated by decomposition, and carries
+them into the soil below; or, if the water runs off from the surface,
+they accompany it. In either case they are lost to the manure. There is
+but a small quantity of ash exposed for leaching in recent manures; but,
+as the decomposition of the organic part proceeds, it continues to
+develope it more and more (in the same manner as burning would do, only
+slower), thus preparing fresh supplies to be carried off with each
+shower. In this way, while manures are largely injured by evaporation,
+the soluble inorganic parts are removed by water until but a small
+remnant of its original fertilizing properties remains.
+
+[What arrests their farther progress?
+
+What would be the effect of allowing these matters to filter downwards?
+
+What does evaporation remove from manure? Leaching?]
+
+It is a singular fact concerning leaching, that water is able to carry
+no part of the organic constituents of vegetables more than about
+thirty-four inches below the surface in a fertile soil. They would
+probably be carried to an unlimited distance in pure sand, as it
+contains nothing which is capable of arresting them; but, in most soils,
+the clay and carbon which they contain retain all of the ammonia; also
+nearly all of the matters which go to form the inorganic constituents of
+plants within about the above named distance from the surface of the
+soil. If such were not the case, the fertility of the earth must soon be
+destroyed, as all of those elements which the soil must supply to
+growing plants would be carried down out of the reach of roots, and
+leave the world a barren waste, its surface having lost its elements of
+fertility, while the downward filtration of these would render the water
+of wells unfit for our use. Now, however, they are all retained near the
+surface of the soil, and the water issues from springs comparatively
+pure.
+
+EVAPORATION removes from manure--
+
+    Carbon, in the form of carbonic acid.
+
+    Hydrogen and oxygen, in the form of water.
+
+    Nitrogen, in the form of ammonia.
+
+LEACHING removes from manure--
+
+    The soluble and most valuable parts of the ash in solution in
+    water, besides carrying away some of the named above forms of
+    organic matter.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[X] It should be recollected that every bent straw may act as a syphon,
+and occasion much loss of liquid manure.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ABSORBENTS.
+
+
+[What substances are called absorbents?
+
+What is the most important of these?
+
+What substances are called charcoal in agriculture?
+
+How is vegetable matter rendered useful as charcoal?]
+
+Before considering farther the subject of animal excrement, it is
+necessary to examine a class of manures known as _absorbents_. These
+comprise all matters which have the power of absorbing, or soaking up,
+as it were, the gases which arise from the evaporation of solid and
+liquid manures, and retaining them until required by plants.
+
+The most important of these is undoubtedly _carbon_ or charcoal.
+
+
+CHARCOAL.
+
+_Charcoal_, in an agricultural sense, means all forms of carbon, whether
+as peat, muck, charcoal dust from the spark-catchers of locomotives,
+charcoal hearths, river and swamp deposits, leaf mould, decomposed spent
+tanbark or sawdust, etc. In short, if any vegetable matter is decomposed
+with the partial exclusion of air (so that there shall not be oxygen
+enough supplied to unite with all of the carbon), a portion of its
+carbon remains in the exact condition to serve the purposes of charcoal.
+
+[What is the first-named effect of charcoal? The second?
+Third? Fourth?
+
+Explain the first action.]
+
+The offices performed in the soil by carbonaceous matter were fully
+explained in a former section (p. 79, Sect. 2), and we will now examine
+merely its action with regard to manures. When properly applied to
+manures, in compost, it has the following effects:
+
+1. It absorbs and retains the fertilizing gases evaporating from
+decomposing matters.
+
+2. It acts as a _divisor_, thereby reducing the strength (or intensity)
+of powerful manures--thus rendering them less likely to injure the roots
+of plants; and also increases their bulk, so as to prevent _fire
+fanging_ in composts.
+
+3. It in part prevents the leaching out of the soluble parts of the ash.
+
+4. It keeps the compost moist.
+
+The first-named office of charcoal, _i. e._, absorbing and retaining
+gases, is one of the utmost importance. It is this quality that gives to
+it so high a position in the opinion of all who have used it. As was
+stated in the section on soils, carbonaceous matter seems to be capable
+of absorbing every thing which may be of use to vegetation. It is a
+grand purifier, and while it prevents offensive odors from escaping, it
+is at the same time storing its pores with food for the nourishment of
+plants.
+
+[Explain its action as a divisor.
+
+How does charcoal protect composts against injurious action of rains?
+
+How does it keep them moist?]
+
+2d. In its capacity as a _divisor_ for manures, charcoal should be
+considered as excellent in all cases, especially to use with strongly
+concentrated (or heating) animal manures. These, when applied in their
+natural state to the soil, are very apt to injure young roots by the
+violence of their action. When mixed with a divisor, such manures are
+_diluted_, made less active, and consequently less injurious. In
+composts, manures are liable, as has been before stated, to become
+burned by the resultant heat of decomposition; this is called _fire
+fanging_, and is prevented by the liberal use of divisors, because, by
+increasing the bulk, the heat being diffused through a larger mass,
+becomes less intense. The same principle is exhibited in the fact that
+it takes more fire to boil a cauldron of water than a tea-kettle full.
+
+3d. Charcoal has much power to arrest the passage of mineral matters in
+solution; so much so, that compost heaps, well supplied with muck, are
+less affected by rains than those not so supplied. All composts,
+however, should be kept under cover.
+
+4th. Charcoal keeps the compost moist from the ease with which it
+absorbs water, and its ability to withstand drought.
+
+[What source of carbon is within the reach of most farmers?
+
+What do we mean by muck?
+
+Of what does it consist?
+
+How does it differ in quality?]
+
+With these advantages before us, we must see the importance of an
+understanding of the modes for obtaining charcoal. Many farmers are so
+situated that they can obtain sufficient quantities of charcoal dust.
+Others have not equal facilities. Nearly all, however, can obtain
+_muck_, and to this we will now turn our attention.
+
+
+MUCK, AND THE LIME AND SALT MIXTURE.
+
+[What is the first step in preparing muck for decomposition?
+
+With what proportion of the lime and salt mixture should it be
+composted?
+
+Why should this compost be made under cover?
+
+What is this called after decomposition?
+
+Why should we not use muck immediately after taking it from the swamp?]
+
+By _muck_, we mean the vegetable deposits of swamps and rivers. It
+consists of decayed organic substances, mixed with more or less earth.
+Its principal constituent is _carbon_, in different degrees of
+development, which has remained after the decomposition of vegetable
+matter. Muck varies largely in its quality, according to the amount of
+carbon which it contains, and the perfection of its decomposition. The
+best muck is usually found in comparatively dry locations, where the
+water which once caused the deposit has been removed. Muck which has
+been long in this condition, is usually better decomposed than that
+which is saturated with water. The muck from swamps, however, may soon
+be brought to the best condition. It should be thrown out, if possible,
+at least one year before it is required for use (a less time may
+suffice, except in very cold climates) and left, in small heaps or
+ridges, to the action of the weather, which will assist in pulverizing
+it, while, from having its water removed, its decomposition goes on more
+rapidly.
+
+After the muck has remained in this condition a sufficient length of
+time, it may be removed to the barn-yard and composted with the lime and
+salt mixture (described on page 115) in the proportion of one cord of
+muck to four bushels of the mixture. This compost ought to be made under
+cover, lest the rain leach out the constituents of the mixture, and thus
+occasion loss; at the end of a month or more, the muck in the compost
+will have been reduced to a fine pulverulent mass, nearly equal to
+charcoal dust for application to animal excrement. When in this
+condition it is called _prepared_ muck, by which name it will be
+designated in the following pages.
+
+Muck should not be used immediately after being taken from the swamp, as
+it is then almost always _sour_, and is liable to produce sorrel. Its
+_sourness_ is due to _acids_ which it contains, and these must be
+rectified by the application of an alkali, or by long exposure to the
+weather, before the muck is suitable for use.
+
+
+LIME AND SALT MIXTURE.
+
+[What proportions of lime and salt are required for the
+decomposing mixture?
+
+Explain the process of making it.
+
+Why should it be made under cover?]
+
+The lime and salt mixture, used in the decomposition of muck, is made in
+the following manner:
+
+RECIPE.--Take _three_ bushels of shell lime, _hot from the kiln_, or as
+fresh as possible, and slake it with water in which _one_ bushel of salt
+has been dissolved.
+
+Care must be taken to use only so much water as is necessary to dissolve
+the salt, as it is difficult to induce the lime to absorb a larger
+quantity.
+
+In dissolving the salt, it is well to hang it in a basket in the upper
+part of the water, as the salt water will immediately settle towards the
+bottom (being heavier), and allow the freshest water to be nearest to
+the salt. In this way, the salt may be all dissolved, and thus make the
+brine used to slake the lime. It may be necessary to apply the brine at
+intervals of a day or two, and to stir the mass often, as the amount of
+water is too great to be readily absorbed.
+
+This mixture should be made under cover, as, if exposed, it would obtain
+moisture from rain or dew, which would prevent the use of all the
+brine. Another objection to its exposure to the weather is its great
+liability to be washed away by rains. It should be at least ten days old
+before being used, and would probably be improved by an age of three or
+four months, as the chemical changes it undergoes will require some time
+to be completed.
+
+[Explain the character of this mixture as represented in the
+diagram. (Black board.)]
+
+The character of this mixture may be best described by the following
+diagram:--
+
+We have originally--
+
++----------------------------------+
+|                                  |
+ Lime-+                        Salt
+      |                    consisting of
+      |                   +---Chlorine  }   Chloride
+      |                   |     and     }      of
+      |                   | +-Sodium.   }   Sodium.
+      |                   | | --Carbonic acid
+      |                   | |        and
+      |                   | | --Oxygen in the air.
+      +-Chloride of lime.-+ |
+                            +-Carbonate of Soda.
+                                        [Y]
+
+The lime unites with the chlorine of the salt and forms _chloride of
+lime_.
+
+The sodium, after being freed from the chlorine, unites with the oxygen
+of the air and forms soda, which, combining with the carbonic acid of
+the atmosphere, forms carbonate of soda.
+
+Chloride of lime and carbonate of soda are better agents in the
+decomposition of muck than pure salt and lime; and, as these compounds
+are the result of the mixture, much benefit ensues from the operation.
+
+When _shell_ lime cannot be obtained, Thomaston, or any other very pure
+lime, will answer, though care must be taken that it do not contain much
+magnesia.
+
+
+LIME.
+
+[What effect has lime on muck?
+
+On what does the energy of this effect depend?
+
+Why should a compost of muck and lime be protected from rain?]
+
+Muck may be decomposed by the aid of other materials. _Lime_ is very
+efficient, though not as much so as when combined with salt. The action
+of lime, when applied to the muck, depends very much on its condition.
+Air-slaked lime (carbonate of lime), and hydrate of lime, slaked with
+water, have but a limited effect compared with lime freshly burned and
+applied in a caustic (or pure) form. When so used, however, the compost
+should not be exposed to rains, as this would have a tendency to make
+_mortar_ which would harden it.
+
+
+POTASH.
+
+[Is potash valuable for this use?
+
+From what sources may potash be obtained?
+
+In what proportion should ashes be applied to muck? Sparlings?]
+
+_Potash_ is a very active agent in decomposing vegetable matter, and may
+be used with great advantage, especially where an analysis of the soil
+which is to be manured shows a deficiency of potash.
+
+_Unleached_ wood ashes are generally the best source from which to
+obtain this, and from five to twenty-five bushels of these mixed with
+one cord of muck will produce the desired result.[Z]
+
+The sparlings (or refuse) of potash warehouses may often be purchased at
+sufficiently low rates to be used for this purpose, and answer an
+excellent end. They may be applied at the rate of from twenty to one
+hundred pounds to each cord of muck.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By any of the foregoing methods, muck may be _prepared_ for use in
+composting.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Y] There is, undoubtedly, some of this lime which does not unite with
+the chlorine; this, however, is still as valuable as any lime.
+
+[Z] _Leached_ ashes will not supply the place of these, as the leaching
+has deprived them of their potash.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+COMPOSTING STABLE MANURE.
+
+
+[What principles should regulate us in composting?
+
+In what condition is solid dung of value as a fertilizer?
+
+What do we aim to do in composting?]
+
+In composting stable manure in the most economical manner, the
+evaporation of the organic parts and the leaching of the ashy (and
+other) portions must be avoided, while the condition of the mass is such
+as to admit of the perfect decomposition of the manure.
+
+Solid manures in their fresh state are of but very little use to plants.
+It is only as they are decomposed, and have their nitrogen turned into
+ammonia, and their other ingredients resolved into the condition
+required by plants, that they are of much value as fertilizers. We have
+seen that, if this decomposition takes place without proper precautions
+being made, the most valuable parts of the manure would be lost. Nor
+would it be prudent to keep manures from decomposing until they are
+applied to the soil, for then they are not immediately ready for use,
+and time is lost. By composting, we aim to save every thing while we
+prepare the manures for immediate use.
+
+
+SHELTER.
+
+[What is the first consideration for composts?
+
+Describe the arrangement of floor.]
+
+The first consideration in preparing for composting, is to provide
+proper shelter. This may be done either by means of a shed or by
+arranging a cellar under the stables, or in any other manner that may be
+dictated by circumstances. It is no doubt better to have the manure shed
+enclosed so as to make it an effectual protection; this however is not
+absolutely necessary if the roof project far enough over the compost to
+shelter it from the sun's rays and from driving rains.
+
+The importance of some protection of this kind, is evident from what has
+already been said, and indeed it is impossible to make an economical use
+of manures without it. The trifling cost of building a shed, or
+preparing a cellar, is amply repaid in the benefit resulting from their
+uses.
+
+
+THE FLOOR.
+
+The _floor_ or foundation on which to build the compost deserves some
+consideration. It may be of plank tightly fitted, a hard bed of clay, or
+better, a cemented surface. Whatever material is used in its
+construction (and stiff clay mixed with water and beaten compactly down
+answers an excellent purpose), the floor must have such an inclination
+as will cause it to discharge water only at one point. That is, one part
+of the edge must be lower than the rest of the floor, which must be so
+shaped that water will run towards this point from every part of it;
+then--the floor being water-tight--all of the liquids of the compost may
+be collected in a
+
+
+TANK.
+
+[How should the tank be attached?]
+
+This _tank_ used to collect the liquids of the manure may be made by
+sinking a barrel or hogshead (according to the size of the heap) in the
+ground at the point where it is required, or in any other convenient
+manner.
+
+In the tank a pump of cheap construction may be placed, to raise the
+liquid to a sufficient height to be conveyed by a trough to the centre
+of the heap, and there distributed by means of a perforated board with
+raised edges, and long enough to reach across the heap in any direction.
+By altering the position of this board, the liquid may be carried evenly
+over the whole mass.
+
+The appearance of the apparatus required for composting, and the compost
+laid up, may be better shown by the following figure.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 2.
+
+_a_, tank; _b_, pump; _c_ & _g_, perforated board; _d_, muck; _e_,
+manure; _f_, floor.]
+
+[How is the compost made?]
+
+The compost is made by laying on the floor ten or twelve inches of muck,
+and on that a few inches of manure, then another heavy layer of muck,
+and another of manure, continuing in this manner until the heap is
+raised to the required height, always having a thick layer of muck at
+the top.
+
+[What liquids are best for moistening the compost?
+
+How should they be applied?
+
+What are the advantages of this moistening?
+
+How does it compare with forking over?]
+
+After laying up the heap, the tank should be filled with liquid manure
+from the stables, slops from the house, soap-suds, or other water
+containing fertilizing matter, to be pumped over the mass. There should
+be enough of the liquid to saturate the heap and filter through to fill
+the tank twice a week, at which intervals it should be again pumped up,
+thus continually being passed through the manure. This liquid should not
+be changed, as it contains much soluble manure. Should the liquid
+manures named above not be sufficient, the quantity may be increased by
+the use of rain-water. That falling during the first ten minutes of a
+shower is the best, as it contains much ammonia.
+
+The effects produced by frequently watering the compost is one of the
+greatest advantages of this system.
+
+The soluble portions of the manure are equally diffused through every
+part of the heap.
+
+Should the heat of fermentation be too great, the watering will reduce
+it.
+
+When the compost is saturated with water, the air is driven out; and, as
+the water subsides, _fresh_ air enters and takes its place. This fresh
+air contains oxygen, which assists in the decomposition of the manure.
+
+In short, the watering does all the work of forking over by hand much
+better and much more cheaply.
+
+[Why will the ammonia of manure thus made, not escape if it be
+used as a top dressing?
+
+What are the advantages of preparing manures in this manner?
+
+What is the profit attending it?]
+
+At the end of a month or more, this compost will be ready for use. The
+layers in the manure will have disappeared, the whole mass having become
+of a uniform character, highly fertilizing, and ready to be immediately
+used by plants.
+
+It may be applied to the soil, either as a top-dressing, or otherwise,
+without fear of loss, as the muck will retain all of the gases which
+would otherwise evaporate.
+
+The cost and trouble of the foregoing system of composting are trifling
+compared with its advantages. The quantity of the manure is much
+increased, and its quality improved. The health of the animals is
+secured by the retention of those gases, which, when allowed to escape,
+render impure the air which they have to breathe.
+
+The cleanliness of the stable and yard is much advanced as the effete
+matters, which would otherwise litter them, are carefully removed to the
+compost.
+
+As an instance of the profit of composting, it may be stated that Prof.
+Mapes has decomposed ninety-two cords of swamp muck, with four hundred
+bushels of the lime and salt mixture, and then composted it with eight
+cords of _fresh_ horse dung, making one hundred cords of manure fully
+equal to the same amount of stable-manure alone, which has lain one
+year exposed to the weather. Indeed one cord of muck well decomposed,
+and containing the chlorine lime and soda of four bushels of the
+mixture, is of itself equal in value to the same amount of manure which
+has lain in an open barn-yard during the heat and rain of one season,
+and is then applied to the land in a _raw_ or undecomposed state.
+
+[In what other manners may muck be used in the preservation of
+manures?
+
+How may liquid manure be made most useful?]
+
+The foregoing system of composting is the best that has yet been
+suggested for making use of solid manures. Many other methods may be
+adopted when circumstances will not admit of so much attention. It is a
+common and excellent practice to throw prepared muck into the cellar
+under the stables, to be mixed and turned over with the manure by swine.
+In other cases the manures are kept in the yard, and are covered with a
+thin layer of muck every morning. The principle which renders these
+systems beneficial is the absorbent power of charcoal.
+
+
+LIQUID MANURE.
+
+_Liquid manure_ from animals may, also, be made useful by the assistance
+of prepared muck. Where a tank is used in composting, the liquids from
+the stable may all be employed to supply moisture to the heap; but where
+any system is adopted, not requiring liquids, the urine may be applied
+to muck heaps, and then allowed to ferment. Fermentation is necessary in
+urine as well as in solid dung, before it is very active as a manure.
+Urine, as will be recollected, contains nitrogen and forms ammonia on
+fermentation.
+
+[Describe the manner of digging out the bottoms of stalls.]
+
+It is a very good plan to dig out the bottoms of the stalls in a
+circular or gutter-like form, three or four feet deep in the middle,
+cement the ground, or make it nearly water-tight, by a plastering of
+stiff clay, and fill them up with prepared muck. The appearance of a
+cross section of the floor thus arranged would be as follows:
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
+
+The prepared muck in the bottom of the stalls would absorb the urine as
+soon as voided, while yet warm with the animal heat, and receive heat
+from the animal's body while lying down at night. This heat will hasten
+the decomposition of the urea,[AA] and if the muck be renewed twice a
+month, and that which is removed composted under cover, it will be found
+a most prolific source of good manure. In Flanders, the liquid manure of
+a cow is considered worth $10 per year, and it is not less valuable
+here. As was stated in the early part of this section, the inorganic (or
+mineral) matter contained in urine, is soluble, and consequently is
+immediately useful as food for plants.
+
+By referring to the analysis of liquid and solid manure, in section V.,
+their relative value may be seen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMAL EXCREMENT.
+
+
+The manures of different animals are, of course, of different value, as
+fertilizers, varying according to the food, the age of the animals, etc.
+
+
+STABLE MANURE.
+
+By stable manure we mean, usually, that of the horse, and that of
+horned cattle. The case described in chap. 2 (of this section), was one
+where the animal was not increasing in any of its parts, but returned,
+in the form of manure, and otherwise, the equivalent of every thing
+eaten. This case is one of the most simple kind, and is subject to many
+modifications.
+
+[Is the manure of full-grown animals of the same quality as
+that of other animals?
+
+Why does that of the growing animal differ?
+
+Why does not the formation of _fat_ reduce the quality of manure?
+
+What does _milk_ remove from the food?]
+
+The _growing_ animal is increasing in size, and as he derives his
+increase from his food, he does not return in the form of manure as much
+as he eats. If his bones are growing, he is taking from his food
+phosphate of lime and nitrogenous matter; consequently, the manure will
+be poorer in these ingredients. The same may be said of the formation of
+the muscles, in relation to nitrogen.
+
+The _fatting_ animal, if full grown, makes manure which is as good as
+that from animals that are not increasing in size, because the fat is
+taken from those parts of the food which is obtained by plants from the
+atmosphere, and from nature, (_i. e._ from the 1st class of proximates).
+Fat contains no nitrogen, and, consequently, does not lessen the amount
+of this ingredient in the manure.
+
+_Milch Cows_ turn a part of their food to the formation of milk, and
+consequently, they produce manure of reduced value.
+
+[How do the solid and liquid manure of the horse and ox
+compare?
+
+What occasions these differences?]
+
+The solid manure of the horse is better than that of the ox, while the
+liquid manure of the ox is comparatively better than that of the horse.
+The cause of this is that the horse has poorer digestive organs than the
+ox, and consequently passes more of the valuable parts of his food, in
+an undigested form, as dung, while the ox, from chewing the cud and
+having more perfect organs, turns more of his food into urine than the
+horse.
+
+
+RECAPITULATION.
+
+FULL GROWN animals not     }
+  producing milk, and full } make the best manure.
+  grown animals fattening  }
+
+GROWING ANIMALS reduce the value of their manure, taking portions of
+their food to form their bodies.
+
+MILCH COWS reduce the value of their manure by changing a part of their
+food into milk.
+
+THE OX makes poor dung and rich urine.
+
+THE HORSE makes rich dung and poor urine.[AB]
+
+
+NIGHT SOIL.
+
+[What is the most valuable manure accessible to the farmer?
+
+What is the probable value of the night soil yearly lost in the United
+States?
+
+Of what does the manure of man consist?]
+
+The _best_ manure within the reach of the farmer is _night soil_, or
+human excrement. There has always been a false delicacy about mentioning
+this fertilizer, which has caused much waste, and great loss of health,
+from the impure and offensive odors which it is allowed to send forth to
+taint the air.
+
+The value of the night soil yearly lost in the United States is,
+probably, about _fifty millions of dollars_ (50,000,000); an amount
+nearly equal to the entire expenses of our National Government. Much of
+the ill health of our people is undoubtedly occasioned by neglecting the
+proper treatment of night soil.
+
+[Describe this manure as compared with the excrements of other
+animals.
+
+Does the use of night soil produce disagreeable properties in plants?]
+
+That which directly affects agriculture, as treated of in this book, is
+the value of this substance as a fertilizer. The manure of man consists
+(as is the case with that of other animals) of those parts of his food
+which are not retained in the increase of his body. If he be _growing_,
+his manure is poorer, as in the case of the ox, and it is subject to all
+the other modifications named in the early part of this chapter. His
+food is usually of a varied character, and is rich in nitrogen, the
+phosphates, and other inorganic constituents; consequently, his manure
+is made valuable by containing large quantities of these matters. As is
+the case with the ox, the _dung_ contains the undigested food, the
+secretions (or leakings) of the digestive organs, and the insoluble
+parts of the ash of the digested food. The _urine_, in like manner,
+contains a large proportion of the nitrogen and the soluble inorganic
+parts of the digested food. When we consider how much richer the _food_
+of man is than that of horned cattle, we shall see the superior value of
+his _excrement_.
+
+Night soil has been used as a manure, for ages, in China, which is,
+undoubtedly, one great secret of their success in supporting a dense
+population, for so long a time, without impoverishing the soil. It has
+been found, in many instances, to increase the productive power of the
+natural soil three-fold. That is, if a soil would produce ten bushels of
+wheat per acre, without manure, it would produce thirty bushels if
+manured with night soil.
+
+Some have supposed that manuring with night soil would give disagreeable
+properties to plants: such is not the case; their quality is invariably
+improved. The color and odor of the rose become richer and more delicate
+by the use of the most offensive night soil as manure.
+
+[What is the direct object of plants?
+
+What would result if this were not the case?
+
+How may night soil be easily prepared for use, and its offensive odor
+prevented?]
+
+It is evident that this is the case from the fact that plants have it
+for their direct object to make over and put together the refuse organic
+matter, and the gases and the minerals found in nature, for the use of
+animals. If there were no natural means of rendering the excrement of
+animals available to plants, the earth must soon be shorn of its
+fertility, as the elements of growth when once consumed would be
+essentially destroyed, and no soil could survive the exhaustion. There
+is no reason why the manure of man should be rejected by vegetation more
+than that of any other animal; and indeed it is not, for ample
+experience has proved that for most soils there is no better manure in
+existence.
+
+A single experiment will suffice to show that night soil may be so kept
+that there shall be no loss of its valuable gases, and consequently no
+offensive odor arising from it, while it may be removed and applied to
+crops without unpleasantness. All that is necessary to effect this
+wonderful change in night soil, and to turn it from its disagreeable
+character to one entirely inoffensive, is to mix with it a little
+charcoal dust, prepared muck, or any other good absorbent--thus making
+what is called poudrette. The mode of doing this must depend on
+circumstances. In many cases, it would be expedient to keep a barrel of
+the absorbent in the privy and throw down a small quantity every day.
+The effect on the odor of the house would amply repay the trouble.
+
+[Should pure night soil be used as a manure?
+
+What precaution is necessary in preparing hog manure for use?]
+
+The manure thus made is of the most valuable character, and may be used
+under any circumstances with a certainty of obtaining a good crop. It
+should not be used unmixed with some absorbent, as it is of such
+strength as to kill plants.
+
+For an analysis of human manure, see Section V.
+
+
+HOG MANURE.
+
+_Hog Manure_ is very valuable, but it must be used with care. It is so
+violent in its action that, when applied in a pure form to crops, it
+often produces injurious results. It is liable to make cabbages
+_clump-footed_, and to induce a disease in turnips called _ambury_ (or
+fingers and toes). The only precaution necessary is to supply the stye
+with prepared muck, charcoal-dust, leaf-mould, or any absorbent in
+plentiful quantities, often adding fresh supplies. The hogs will work
+this over with the manure; and, when required for use, it will be found
+an excellent fertilizer. The absorbent will have overcome its injurious
+tendency, and it may be safely applied to any crop. From the variety and
+rich character of the food of this animal, his manure is of a superior
+quality.
+
+[Why is the manure from butchers' hog-pens very valuable?
+
+How does the value of poultry manure compare with that of guano?
+
+How may it be protected against loss?]
+
+_Butchers' hog-pen manure_ is one of the best fertilizers known. It is
+made by animals that live almost entirely on blood and other animal
+refuse, and is very rich in nitrogen and the phosphates. It should be
+mixed with prepared muck, or its substitute, to prevent the loss of its
+ammonia, and as a protection against its injurious effect on plants.
+
+
+POULTRY HOUSE MANURE.
+
+Next in value to night soil, among domestic manures, are the excrements
+of poultry, pigeons, etc. Birds live on the nice bits of creation,
+seeds, insects, etc., and they discharge their solid and liquid
+excrements together. Poultry-dung is nearly equal in value to guano
+(except that it contains more water), and it deserves to be carefully
+preserved and judiciously used. It is as well worth twenty-five cents
+per bushel as guano is worth fifty dollars a ton (at which price it is
+now sold).
+
+Poultry-manure is liable to as much injury from evaporation and leaching
+as is any other manure, and equal care should be taken (by the same
+means) to prevent such loss. Good shelter over the roosts, and daily
+sprinkling with prepared muck or charcoal-dust will be amply repaid by
+the increased value of the manure, and its better action and greater
+durability in the soil. The value of this manure should be taken into
+consideration in calculating the profit of keeping poultry (as indeed
+with all other stock). It has been observed by a gentleman of much
+experience, in poultry raising, that the yearly manure of a hundred
+fowls applied to previously unmanured land would produce _extra_ corn
+enough to keep them for a year. This is probably a large estimate, but
+it serves to show that this fertilizer is very valuable, and also that
+poultry may be kept with great profit, if their excrements are properly
+secured.
+
+The manure of pigeons has been a favorite fertilizer in some countries
+for more than 2000 years.
+
+Market gardeners attach much value to rabbit-manure.
+
+
+SHEEP MANURE.
+
+[What can you say of the manure of sheep?]
+
+The manure of sheep is less valuable than it would be, if so large a
+quantity of the nitrogen and mineral parts of the food were not employed
+in the formation of wool. This has a great effect on the richness of the
+excrements, but they are still a very good fertilizer, and should be
+protected from loss in the same way as stable manure.
+
+
+GUANO.
+
+[Should the use of guano induce us to disregard other manures?
+
+Where and in what manner is the best guano deposited?]
+
+_Guano_ as a manure has become world renowned. The worn-out tobacco
+lands of Virginia, and other fields in many parts of the country, which
+seemed to have yielded to the effect of an ignorant course of
+cultivation, and to have sunk to their final repose, have in many cases
+been revived to the production of excellent crops, and have had their
+value multiplied many fold by the use of guano. Although an excellent
+manure, it should not cause us to lose sight of those valuable materials
+which exist on almost every farm. Every ton of guano imported into the
+United States is an addition to our national wealth, but every ton of
+stable-manure, or poultry-dung, or night soil evaporated or carried away
+in rivers, is equally a _deduction_ from our riches. If the imported
+manure is to really benefit us, we must not allow it to occasion the
+neglect and consequent loss of our domestic fertilizers.
+
+The Peruvian guano (which is considered the best) is brought from
+islands near the coast of Peru. The birds which frequent these islands
+live almost entirely on fish, and drop their excrements here in a
+climate where rain is almost unknown, and where, from the dryness of the
+air, there is but little loss sustained by the manure. It is brought to
+this country in large quantities, and is an excellent fertilizer,
+superior even to night soil.
+
+[How should it be prepared for use?]
+
+It should be mixed with an absorbent before being used, unless it is
+plowed deeply under the soil, as it contains much ammonia which would be
+lost from evaporation. It would probably also injure plants. The best
+way to use guano, is in connection with sulphuric acid and bones, as
+will be described hereafter.
+
+The composition of the various kinds of guano may be found in the
+section on analysis.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AA] The nitrogenous compound in the urine.
+
+[AB] Comparatively.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+OTHER ORGANIC MANURES.
+
+
+The number of organic manures is almost countless. The most common of
+these have been described in the previous chapters on the excrements of
+animals. The more prominent of the remaining ones will now be
+considered. As a universal rule, it may be stated that all organic
+matter (every thing which has had vegetable or animal life) is capable
+of fertilizing plants.
+
+
+DEAD ANIMALS.
+
+[What are the chief fertilizing constituents of dead animals?
+
+What becomes of these when exposed to the atmosphere?
+
+How may this be prevented?]
+
+The bodies of animals contain much _nitrogen_, as well as valuable
+quantities, the phosphates and other inorganic materials required in the
+growth of plants. On their decay, the nitrogen is resolved into
+_ammonia_,[AC] and the mineral matters become valuable as food for the
+inorganic parts of plants.
+
+If the decomposition of animal bodies takes place in exposed situations,
+and without proper precautions, the ammonia escapes into the atmosphere,
+and much of the mineral portion is leached out by rains. The use of
+absorbents, such as charcoal-dust, prepared muck, etc., will entirely
+prevent evaporation, and will in a great measure serve as a protection
+against leaching.
+
+If a dead horse be cut in pieces and mixed with ten loads of muck, the
+whole mass will, in a single season, become a most valuable compost.
+Small animals, such as dogs, cats, etc., may be with advantage buried by
+the roots of grape-vines or trees.
+
+
+BONES.
+
+[Of what do the bones of animals consist?
+
+What is gelatine?
+
+Describe the fertilizing qualities of fish.]
+
+The _bones_ of animals contain phosphate of lime and gelatine. The
+gelatine is a nitrogenous substance, and produces ammonia on its
+decomposition. This subject will be spoken of more fully under the head
+of 'phosphate of lime' in the chapter on mineral manures, as the
+treatment of bones is more directly with reference to the fertilizing
+value of their inorganic matter.
+
+
+FISH.
+
+In many localities near the sea-shore large quantities of fish are
+caught and applied to the soil. These make excellent manure. They
+contain much nitrogen, which renders them strongly ammoniacal on
+decomposition. Their bones consist of phosphate and carbonate of lime;
+and, being naturally soft, they decompose in the soil with great
+facility, and become available to plants. The scales of fish contain
+valuable quantities of nitrogen, phosphate of lime, etc., all of which
+are highly useful.
+
+Refuse fishy matters from markets and from the house are well worth
+saving. These and fish caught for manure may be made into compost with
+prepared muck, etc.; and, as they putrefy rapidly, they soon become
+ready for use. They may be added to the compost of stable manure with
+great advantage.
+
+[Should these be applied as a top dressing to the soil?
+
+What are the fertilizing properties of woollen rags?
+
+What is the best way to use them?]
+
+Fish (like all other nitrogenous manures) should never be applied as a
+top dressing, unless previously mixed with a good absorbent of ammonia,
+but should when used alone be immediately plowed under to considerable
+depth, to prevent the evaporation--and consequent loss--of their
+fertilizing gases.
+
+
+WOOLLEN RAGS, ETC.
+
+_Woollen rags, hair, waste of woollen factories_, etc., contain both
+nitrogen and phosphate of lime; and, like all other matters containing
+these ingredients, are excellent manures, but must be used in such a way
+as to prevent the escape of their fertilizing gases. They decompose
+slowly, and are therefore considered a _lasting_ manure. Like all
+_lasting_ manures, however, they are _slow_ in their effects, and the
+most advantageous way to use them is to compost them with stable manure,
+or with some other rapidly fermenting substance, which will hasten their
+decomposition and render them sooner available.
+
+Rags, hair, etc., thus treated, will in a short time be reduced to such
+a condition that they may be immediately used by plants instead of lying
+in the soil to be slowly taken up. It is better in all cases to have
+manures act _quickly_ and give an immediate return for their cost, than
+to lie for a long time in the soil before their influence is felt.
+
+[What is their value compared with that of farm-yard manure?
+
+How should old leather be treated?
+
+Describe the manurial properties of tanners' refuse.
+
+How should they be treated?
+
+Are horn piths, etc. valuable?]
+
+A pound of woollen rags is worth, as a manure, twice as much as is paid
+for good linen shreds for paper making; still, while the latter are
+always preserved, the former are thrown away, although considered by
+good judges to be worth forty times as much as barn-yard manure.
+
+Old leather should not be thrown away. It decomposes very slowly, and
+consequently is of but a little value; but, if put at the roots of young
+trees, it will in time produce appreciable effects.
+
+_Tanners' and curriers' refuse_, and all other animal offal, including
+that of the slaughter-house, is well worth attention, as it contains
+more or less of those two most important ingredients of manures,
+nitrogen and phosphate of lime.
+
+It is unnecessary to add that, in common with all other animal manures,
+these substances must be either composted, or immediately plowed under
+the soil. Horn piths, and horn shavings, if decomposed in compost, with
+substances which ferment rapidly, make very good manure, and are worth
+fully the price charged for them.
+
+
+ORGANIC MANURES OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN.
+
+_Muck_, the most important of the purely vegetable manures, has been
+already sufficiently described. It should be particularly borne in mind
+that, when first taken from the swamp it is often _sour_, or _cold_, but
+that if exposed for a long time to the air, or if well treated with
+lime, unleached ashes, the lime and salt mixture, or any other alkali,
+its acids will be _neutralized_ (or overcome), and it becomes a good
+application to any soil, except peat or other soils already containing
+large quantities of organic matter. In applying muck to the soil (as has
+been before stated), it should be made a vehicle for carrying ammoniacal
+manures.
+
+
+SPENT TAN BARK.
+
+[Why is decomposed bark more fertilizing than that of decayed
+wood?]
+
+_Spent tan bark_, if previously decomposed by the use of the lime and
+salt mixture, or potash, answers all the purposes of prepared muck, but
+is more difficult of decomposition.
+
+[How may bark be decomposed?
+
+Why should tan bark be composted with an alkali?
+
+Why is it good for mulching?
+
+Is sawdust of any value?]
+
+The bark of trees contains a larger proportion of inorganic matter than
+the wood, and much of this, on the decomposition of the bark, becomes
+available as manure. The chemical effect on the bark, of using it in
+the tanning of leather, is such as to render it difficult to be rotted
+by the ordinary means, but, by the use of the lime and salt mixture it
+may be reduced to the finest condition, and becomes a most excellent
+manure. It probably contains small quantities of nitrogen (obtained from
+the leather), which adds to its value. Unless tan bark be composted with
+lime, or some other alkali, it may produce injurious effects from the
+_tannic acid_ which it is liable to contain. Alkaline substances will
+neutralize this acid, and prevent it from being injurious.
+
+One great benefit resulting from the use of spent tan bark, is due to
+its power of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. For this reason it
+is very valuable for _mulching_[AD] young trees and plants when first
+set out.
+
+
+SAWDUST.
+
+[Why is sawdust a good addition to the pig-stye?
+
+What is the peculiarity of sawdust from the beech, etc.?
+
+What is a peculiarity of soot?
+
+Why may soot be used as a top dressing without losing its ammonia?]
+
+_Sawdust_ in its natural state is of very little value to the land, but
+when decomposed, as may be done by the same method as was described for
+tan bark, it is of some importance, as it contains a large quantity of
+carbon. Its ash, too, which becomes available, contains soluble
+inorganic matter, and in this way it acts as a direct manure. So far as
+concerns the value of the ash, however, the bark is superior to sawdust.
+Sawdust may be partially rotted by mixing it with strong manure (as hog
+manure), while it acts as a _divisor_, and prevents the too rapid action
+of this when applied to the soil. Some kinds of sawdust, such as that
+from beech wood, form acetic acid on their decomposition, and these
+should be treated with, at least, a sufficient quantity of lime to
+correct the acid.
+
+_Soot_ is a good manure. It contains much carbon, and has, thus far, all
+of the beneficial effects of charcoal dust. The sulphur, which is one of
+its constituents, not only serves as food for plants, but, from its
+odor, is a good protection against some insects. By throwing a handful
+of soot on a melon vine, or young cabbage plant, it will keep away many
+insects.
+
+Soot contains some ammonia, and as this is in the form of a _sulphate_,
+it is not volatile, and consequently does not evaporate when the soot is
+applied as a top dressing, which is the almost universal custom.
+
+
+GREEN CROPS.
+
+[What plants are most used as green crops?
+
+What office is performed by the roots of green crops?
+
+How do such manures increase the organic matter of soils?]
+
+_Green crops_, to plow under, are in many places largely raised, and are
+always beneficial. The plants most used for this purpose, in our
+country, are clover, buckwheat, and peas. These plants have very long
+roots, which they send deep in the soil, to draw up mineral matter for
+their support. This mineral matter is deposited in the plant. The leaves
+and roots receive carbonic acid and ammonia from the air, and from
+water. In this manner they obtain their carbon. When the crop is turned
+under the soil, it decomposes, and the carbon, as well as the mineral
+ingredients obtained from the subsoil, are deposited in the surface
+soil, and become of use to succeeding crops. The hollow stalks of the
+buckwheat and pea, serve as tubes, in the soil, for the passage of air,
+and thus, in heavy soils, give a much needed circulation of atmospheric
+fertilizers.
+
+[What office is performed by the straw of the buckwheat and
+pea?
+
+What treatment may be substituted for the use of green crops?
+
+Which course should be adopted in high farming?
+
+Why is the use of green crops preferable in ordinary cultivation?
+
+Name some other valuable manures.]
+
+Although green crops are of great benefit, and are managed with little
+labor, there is no doubt but the same results may be more economically
+produced. A few loads of prepared muck will do more towards increasing
+the organic matter in the soil, than a very heavy crop of clover, while
+it would be ready for immediate cultivation, instead of having to lie
+idle during the year required in the production and decomposition of
+the green crop. The effect of the roots penetrating the subsoil is, as
+we have seen, to draw up inorganic matter, to be deposited within reach
+of the roots of future crops. In the next section we shall show that
+this end may be much more efficiently attained by the use of the
+sub-soil plow, which makes a passage for the roots into the subsoil,
+where they can obtain for themselves what would, in the other case, be
+brought up for them by the roots of the green crop.
+
+The offices of the hollow straws may be performed by a system of ridging
+and back furrowing, having previously covered the soil with leaves, or
+other refuse organic material.
+
+In _high farming_, where the object of the cultivator is to make a
+profitable investment of labor, these last named methods will be found
+most expedient; but, if the farmer have a large quantity of land, and
+can afford but a limited amount of labor, the raising of green crops, to
+be plowed under in the fall, will probably be adopted.
+
+Before closing this chapter, it may be well to remark that there are
+various other fertilizers, such as the _ammoniacal liquor of
+gas-houses_, _soapers' wastes_, _bleachers' lye_, _lees of old oil
+casks, etc._, which we have not space to consider at length, but which
+are all valuable as additions to the compost heap, or as applications,
+in a liquid form, to the soil.
+
+[What are the advantages arising from burying manure in its
+green state?
+
+Which is generally preferable, this course, or composting? Why?]
+
+In many cases (when heavy manuring is practised), it may be well to
+apply organic manures to the soil in a green state, turn them under, and
+allow them to undergo decomposition in the ground. The advantages of
+this system are, that the _heat_, resulting from the chemical changes,
+will hasten the growth of plants, by making the soil warmer; the
+carbonic acid formed will be presented to the roots instead of escaping
+into the atmosphere; and if the soil be heavy, the rising of the gases
+will tend to loosen it, and the leaving vacant of the spaces occupied by
+the solid matters will, on their being resolved into gases, render the
+soil of a more porous character. As a general rule, however, in ordinary
+farming, where the amount of manure applied is only sufficient for the
+supply of food to the crop, it is undoubtedly better to have it
+previously decomposed--_cooked_ as it were, for the uses of the
+plants--as they can then obtain the required amount of nutriment as fast
+as needed.
+
+
+ABSORPTION OF MOISTURE.
+
+It is often convenient to know the relative power of different manures
+to absorb moisture from the atmosphere, especially when we wish to
+manure lands that suffer from drought. The following results are given
+by C. W. Johnson, in his essay on salt, (pp. 8 and 19). In these
+experiments the animal manures were employed without any admixture of
+straw.
+
+                                                       PARTS
+1000 parts of horse dung, dried in a temperature
+           of 100°, absorbed by exposure
+           for three hours, to air saturated
+           with moisture, of the temperature of
+           62°                                         145
+1000 parts of cow dung, under the same circumstances,
+           absorbed                                    130
+1000 parts pig dung                                    120
+1000   "   sheep  "                                     81
+1000   "   pigeon "                                     50
+1000   "   rich alluvial soil                           14
+1000   "   fresh tanner's bark                         115
+1000   "   putrified   "                               145
+1000   "   refuse marine salt sold as manure            49½
+1000   "   soot                                         36
+1000   "   burnt clay                                   29
+1000   "   coal ashes                                   14
+1000   "   lime                                         11
+1000   "   sediment from salt pans                      10
+1000   "   crushed rock salt                            10
+1000   "   gypsum                                        9
+1000   "   salt                                          4[AE]
+
+Muck is a most excellent absorbent of moisture, when thoroughly
+decomposed.
+
+
+DISTRIBUTION OF MANURES.
+
+The following table from Johnson, on manures, will be found convenient
+in the distribution of manures.
+
+By its assistance the farmer will know how many loads of manure he
+requires, dividing each load into a stated number of heaps, and placing
+them at certain distances. In this manner manure may be applied evenly,
+and calculation may be made as to the amount, per acre, which a certain
+quantity will supply.[AF]
+
+----------+-----------------------------------------------------------
+DISTANCE  |
+OF        |
+THE HEAPS.|             NUMBER OF HEAPS IN A LOAD.
+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----
+          |  1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  5  |  6  |  7  |  8  | 9   | 10
+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----
+3 yards.  | 538 | 269 | 179 | 134 | 108 |  89½|  77 |  67 |  60 |  54
+3½ do.    | 395 | 168 | 132 |  99 |  79 |  66 |  56½|  49½|  44 |  39½
+4  do.    | 303 | 151 | 101 |  75½|  60½|  50½|  43¼|  37¾|  33½|  30¼
+4½ do.    | 239 | 120 |  79½|  60 |  47¾|  39¾|  34¼|  30 |  26½|  24
+5  do.    | 194 |  97 |  64½|  48½|  38¾|  32¼|  27¾|  24¼|  21½|  19¼
+5½ do.    | 160 |  80 |  53½|  40 |  32 |  26¾|  22¾|  20 |  17¾|  16
+6  do.    | 131 |  67 |  44¾|  33½|  27 |  22½|  19¼|  16¾|  15 |  13½
+6½ do.    | 115 |  57½|  38¼|  28¾|  23 |  19 |  16¼|  14¼|  12¾|  11½
+7  do.    |  99 |  49½|  33 |  24¾|  19¾|  16½|  14 |  12¼|  11 |  10
+7½ do.    |  86 |  43 |  28¾|  21½|  17¼|  14¼|  12¼|  10¾|   9½|   8½
+8  do.    |  75½|  37¾|  25¼|  19 |  15¾|  12½|  10¾|   9½|   8½|   7½
+8½ do.    |  67 |  33½|  22¼|  16¾|  13½|  11¼|   9½|   8½|   7½|   6¾
+9  do.    |  60 |  30 |  20 |  15 |  12 |  10 |   8½|   7¾|   6¾|   6
+9½ do.    |  53½|  26¾|  18 |  13½|  10¾|   9 |   7¾|   6¾|   6 |   5¼
+10 do.    |  48½|  24¼|  16¼|  12 |   9¾|   8 |   7 |   6 |   5½|   4¾
+----------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----
+
+_Example 1._--Required, the number of loads necessary to manure an acre
+of ground, dividing each load into six heaps, and placing them at a
+distance of 4½ yards from each other? The answer by the table is 39¾.
+
+_Example 2._--A farmer has a field containing 5½ acres, over which he
+wishes to spread 82 loads of dung. Now 82 divided by 5½, gives 15 loads
+per acre; and by referring to the table, it will be seen that the
+desired object may be accomplished, by making 4 heaps of a load, and
+placing them 9 yards apart, or by 9 heaps at 6 yards, as may be thought
+advisable.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AC] Under some circumstances, _nitric acid_ is formed, which is equally
+beneficial to vegetable growth.
+
+[AD] See the glossary at the end of the book.
+
+[AE] Working Farmer, vol. 1, p. 55.
+
+[AF] It is not necessary that this and the foregoing table should be
+learned by the scholar, but they will be found valuable for reference by
+the farmer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+MINERAL MANURES.
+
+
+[How many kinds of action have inorganic manures?
+
+What is the first of these? The second? Third? Fourth?
+
+Do all mineral manures possess all of these qualities?]
+
+The second class of manures named in the general division of the
+subject, in the early part of this chapter, comprises those of a mineral
+character, or _inorganic_ manures.
+
+These manures have four kinds of action when applied to the soil.
+
+1st. They furnish food for the inorganic part of plants.
+
+2d. They prepare matters already in the soil, for assimilation by roots.
+
+3d. They improve the mechanical condition of the soil.
+
+4th. They absorb ammonia.
+
+Some of the mineral manures produce in the soil only one of these
+effects, and others are efficient in two or all of them.
+
+The principles to be considered in the use of mineral manures are
+essentially given in the first two sections of this book. It may be
+well, however, to repeat them briefly in this connection, and to give
+the _reasons_ why any of these manures are needed, from which we may
+learn what rules are to be observed in their application.
+
+[Relate what you know of the properties of vegetable ashes?
+
+How does this relate to the fertility of the soil?
+
+According to what two rules may we apply mineral manures?
+
+What course would you pursue to raise potatoes on a soil containing a
+very little phosphoric acid and no potash?]
+
+1st. Those which are used as food by plants. It will be recollected that
+the _ash_ left after burning plants, and which formed a part of their
+structures, has a certain chemical composition; that is, it consists of
+alkalies, acids, and neutrals. It was also stated that the ashes of
+plants of the same kind are always of about the same composition, while
+the ashes of different kinds of plants may vary materially. Different
+parts of the same plant too, as we learned, are supplied with different
+kinds of ash.
+
+For instance, _clover_, on being burned, leaves an ash containing
+_lime_, as one of its principal ingredients, while the ash of _potatoes_
+contains more of _potash_ than of any thing else.
+
+In the second section (on soils), we learned that some soils contain
+every thing necessary to make the ashes of all plants, and in sufficient
+quantity to supply what is required, while other soils are either
+entirely deficient in one or more ingredients, or contain so little of
+them that they are unfertile for certain plants.
+
+[Would you manure it in the same way for wheat?
+
+Why?]
+
+From this, we see that we may pursue either one of two courses. After we
+know the exact composition of the soil--which we can learn only from
+correct analysis--we may manure it with a view either to making it
+fertile for all kinds of plants or only for one particular plant. For
+instance, we may find that a soil contains a very little phosphoric
+acid, and no potash. If we wish to raise potatoes on such a soil, we
+have only to apply potash (if the soil is good in other particulars),
+which is largely required by this plant, though it needs but little
+phosphoric acid; while, if we wish to make it fertile for wheat, and all
+other plants, we must apply more phosphoric acid as well as potash. As a
+universal rule, it may be stated that to render a soil fertile for any
+particular plant, we must supply it (unless it already contains them)
+with those matters which are necessary to _make_ the ash of that plant;
+and, if we would render it capable of producing _all_ kinds of plants,
+it must be furnished with the materials required in the formation of
+_all kinds of vegetable ashes_.
+
+It is not absolutely necessary to have the soil analyzed before it can
+be cultivated with success, but it is the _cheapest_ way.
+
+[How is the fertility of the soil to be maintained, if the
+crops are _sold_?
+
+What rule is given for general treatment?
+
+Give an instance of matters in the soil that are to be rendered
+available by mineral manures?]
+
+We might proceed from an analysis of the plant required (which will be
+found in Section V.), and apply to the soil in the form of manure every
+thing that is necessary for the formation of the ash of that plant. This
+would give a good crop on _any_ soil that was in the proper _mechanical_
+condition, and contained enough organic matter; but a moment's
+reflection will show that, if the soil contained a large amount of
+potash, or of phosphate of lime, it would not be necessary to make an
+application of more of these ingredients--at an expense of perhaps three
+times the cost of an analysis. It is true that, if the crop is _sold_,
+and it is desired to maintain the fertility of the soil, the full amount
+of the ash must be applied, either before or after the crop is grown;
+but, in the ordinary use of crops for feeding purposes, a large part of
+the ash will exist in the excrements of the animals; so that the
+judicious farmer will be able to manure his land with more economy than
+if he had to apply to each crop the whole amount and variety required
+for its ash. The best rule for practical manuring is probably to
+_strengthen the soil in its weaker points, and prevent the stronger ones
+from becoming weaker_. In this way, the soil may be raised to the
+highest state of fertility, and be fully maintained in its productive
+powers.
+
+2d. Those manures which render available matter already contained in the
+soil.
+
+[How may silica be developed?
+
+How does lime affect soils containing coarse particles?
+
+How do mineral manures sometimes improve the mechanical texture of the
+soil?]
+
+Silica (or sand), it will be recollected, exists in all soils; but, in
+its pure state, is not capable of being dissolved, and therefore cannot
+be used by plants. The alkalies (as has been stated), have the power of
+combining with this silica, making compounds, which are called
+_silicates_. These are readily dissolved by water, and are available in
+vegetable growth. Now, if a soil is deficient in these soluble
+silicates, it is well known that grain, etc., grown on it, not being
+able to obtain the material which gives them strength, will fall down or
+_lodge_; but, if such measures be taken, as will render the sand
+soluble, the straw will be strong and healthy. Alkalies used for this
+purpose, come under the head of those manures which develope the natural
+resources of the soil.
+
+Again, much of the mineral matter in the soil is combined within
+particles, and is therefore out of the reach of roots. Lime, among other
+thing, has the effect of causing these particles to crumble and expose
+their constituents to the demand of roots. Therefore, lime has for one
+of its offices the development of the fertilizing ingredients of the
+soil.
+
+3d. Those manures which improve the mechanical condition of the soil.
+
+The alkalies, in combining with sand, commence their action on the
+surfaces of the particles, and roughen them--_rust_ them as it were.
+This roughening of particles of the soil prevents them from moving among
+each other as easily as they do when they are smooth, and thus keeps the
+soil from being compacted by heavy rains, as it is liable to be in its
+natural condition. In this way, the mechanical texture of the soil is
+improved.
+
+It has just been said that _lime_ causes the pulverization of the
+particles of the soil; and thus, by making it finer, improves its
+mechanical condition.
+
+Some mineral manures, as plaster and salt, have the power of absorbing
+moisture from the atmosphere; and this is a mechanical improvement to
+dry soils.
+
+[Name some mineral manures which absorb ammonia?]
+
+4th. Those mineral manures which have the power of absorbing ammonia.
+
+_Plaster_, _chloride of lime_, _alumina_ (_clay_), etc., are large
+absorbents of ammonia, whether arising from the fermentation of animal
+manures or washed down from the atmosphere by rains. The ammonia thus
+absorbed is of course very important in the vegetation of crops.
+
+Having now explained the reasons why mineral manures are necessary, and
+the manner in which they produce their effects, we will proceed to
+examine the various deficiencies of soils and the character of many
+kinds of this class of fertilizers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+DEFICIENCIES OF SOILS, MEANS OF RESTORATION, ETC.
+
+
+As will be seen by referring to the analyses of soils on p. 72, they
+may be deficient in certain ingredients, which it is the object of
+mineral manures to supply. These we will take up in order, and endeavor
+to show in a simple manner the best means of managing them in practical
+farming.
+
+
+ALKALIES.
+
+POTASH.
+
+[Do all soils contain a sufficient amount of potash?
+
+How may its deficiency have been caused?
+
+How may its absence be detected?
+
+Does barn-yard manure contain sufficient potash to supply its deficiency
+in worn-out soils?]
+
+_Potash_ is often deficient in the soil. Its deficiency may have been
+caused in two ways. Either it may not have existed largely in the rock
+from which the soil was formed, and consequently is equally absent from
+the soil itself, or it may have once been present in sufficient
+quantities, and been carried away in crops, without being returned to
+the soil in the form of manure until too little remains for the
+requirements of fertility.
+
+In either case, its absence may be accurately detected by a skilful
+chemist, and it may be supplied by the farmer in various ways. Potash,
+as well as all of the other mineral manures, is contained in the
+excrements of animals, but not (as is also the case with the others) in
+sufficient quantities to restore the proper balance to soils where it is
+largely deficient, nor even to make up for what is yearly removed with
+each crop, except that crop (or its equivalent) has been fed to such
+animals as return _all_ of the fertilizing constituents of their food in
+the form of manure, and this be all carefully preserved and applied to
+the soil. In all other cases, it is necessary to apply more potash than
+is contained in the excrements of animals.
+
+[What is generally the most available source from which to
+obtain this alkali?
+
+Will leached ashes answer the same purpose?
+
+How may ashes be used?]
+
+_Unleached wood ashes_ is generally the most available source from which
+to obtain this alkali. The ashes of all kinds of wood contain potash
+(more or less according to the kind--see analysis section V.) If the
+ashes are _leached_, the potash is removed; and, hence for the purpose
+of supplying it, they are worthless; but _unleached_ ashes are an
+excellent source from which to obtain it. They may be made into compost
+with muck, as directed in a previous chapter, or applied directly to the
+soil. In either case the potash is available directly to the plant, or
+is capable of uniting with the silica in the soil to form silicate of
+potash. Neither potash nor any other alkali should ever be applied to
+animal manures unless in compost with an absorbent, as they cause the
+ammonia to be thrown off and lost.
+
+[From what other sources may potash be obtained?
+
+How may we obtain soda?
+
+In what quantities should pure salt be applied to the soil?]
+
+_Potash sparlings_, or the refuse of potash warehouses, is an excellent
+manure for lands deficient in this constituent.
+
+_Potash marl_, such as is found in New Jersey, contains a large
+proportion of potash, and is an excellent application to soils requiring
+it.
+
+_Feldspar_, _kaolin_, and other minerals containing potash, are, in some
+localities, to be obtained in sufficient quantities to be used for
+manurial purposes.
+
+_Granite_ contains potash, and if it can be crushed (as is the case with
+some of the softer kinds,) it serves a very good purpose.
+
+
+SODA.
+
+[If applied in large quantities will it produce permanent
+injury?
+
+In what quantities should salt be applied to composts? To asparagus?]
+
+_Soda_, the requirement of which is occasioned by the same causes as
+create a deficiency of potash, and all of the other ingredients of
+vegetable ashes, may be very readily supplied by the use of _common
+salt_ (chloride of sodium), which consists of about one half sodium (the
+base of soda). The best way to use salt is in the lime and salt mixture,
+previously described, or as a direct application to the soil. If too
+much salt be given to the soil it will kill any plant. In small
+quantities, however, it is highly beneficial, and if _six bushels per
+acre_ be sown broadcast over the land, to be carried in by rains and
+dews, it will not only destroy many insects (grubs, worms, etc.), but
+will, after decomposing and becoming chlorine and soda, prove an
+excellent manure. Salt, even in quantities large enough to denude the
+soil of all vegetation, is never _permanently_ injurious. After the
+first year, it becomes resolved into its constituents, and furnishes
+chlorine and soda to plants, without injuring them. One bushel of salt
+in each cord of compost will not only hasten the decomposition of the
+manures, but will kill all seeds and grubs--a very desirable effect.
+While small quantities of salt in a compost heap are beneficial, too
+much (as when applied to the soil) is positively injurious, as it
+arrests decomposition; fairly _pickles_ the manures, and prevents them
+from rotting.
+
+[What is generally the best way to use salt?
+
+What is nitrate of soda?
+
+What plants contain lime?]
+
+For _asparagus_, which is a marine plant, salt is an excellent manure,
+and may be applied in almost unlimited quantities, _while the plants are
+growing_, if used after they have gone to top, it is injurious. Salt has
+been applied to asparagus beds in such quantities as to completely cover
+them, and with apparent benefit to the plants. Of course large doses of
+salt kill all weeds, and thus save labor and the injury to the asparagus
+roots, which would result from their removal by hoeing. Salt may be used
+advantageously in any of the foregoing manners, but should always be
+applied with care. For ordinary farm purposes, it is undoubtedly most
+profitable to use the salt with lime, and make it perform the double
+duty of assisting in the decomposition of vegetable matter, and
+fertilizing the soil.
+
+Soda unites with the silica in the soil, and forms the valuable
+_silicate of soda_.
+
+_Nitrate of soda_, or cubical nitre, which is found in South America,
+consists of soda and nitric acid. It furnishes both soda and nitrogen to
+plants, and is an excellent manure.
+
+
+LIME.
+
+The subject of _lime_ is one of most vital importance to the farmer;
+indeed, so varied are its modes of action and its effects, that some
+writers have given it credit for every thing good in the way of farming,
+and have gone so far as to say that _all_ permanent improvement of
+agriculture must depend on the use of lime. Although this is far in
+excess of the truth (as lime cannot plow, nor drain, nor supply any
+thing but _lime_ to the soil), its many beneficial effects demand for it
+the closest attention.
+
+[Do all soils contain enough lime for the use of plants?
+
+What amount is needed for this purpose?
+
+What is its first-named effect on the soil?
+
+Its second? Third? Fourth? Fifth?
+
+How are acids produced in the soil?]
+
+As food for plants, lime is of considerable importance. All plants
+contain lime--some of them in large quantities. It is an important
+constituent of straw, meadow hay, leaves of fruit trees, peas, beans,
+and turnips. It constitutes more than one third of the ash of red
+clover. Many soils contain lime enough for the use of plants, in others
+it is deficient, and must be supplied artificially before they can
+produce good crops of those plants of which lime is an important
+ingredient. The only way in which the exact quantity of lime in the soil
+can be ascertained is by chemical analysis. However, the amount required
+for the mere feeding plants is not large, (much less than one per
+cent.), but lime is often necessary for other purposes; and setting
+aside, for the present, its feeding action, we will examine its various
+effects on the mechanical and chemical condition of the soil.
+
+1. It corrects acidity (sourness).
+
+2. It hastens the decomposition of the organic matter in the soil.
+
+3. It causes the mineral particles of the soil to crumble.
+
+4. By producing the above effects, it prepares the constituents of the
+soil for assimilation by plants.
+
+5. It is _said_ to exhaust the soil, but it does so in a very desirable
+manner, the injurious effects of which may be easily avoided.
+
+[How does lime correct them?
+
+How does it affect animal manures in the soil?]
+
+1. The decomposition of organic matter in the soil, often produces
+acids which makes the land _sour_, and cause it to produce sorrel and
+other weeds, which interfere with the healthy growth of crops. Lime is
+an _alkali_, and if applied to soils suffering from sourness, it will
+unite with the acids, and neutralize them, so that they will no longer
+be injurious.
+
+2. We have before stated that lime is a decomposing agent, and hastens
+the rotting of muck and other organic matter. It has the same effect on
+the organic parts of the soil, and causes them to be resolved into the
+gases and minerals of which they are formed. It has this effect,
+especially, on organic matters containing _nitrogen_, causing them to
+throw off ammonia; consequently, it liberates this gas from the animal
+manures in the soil.
+
+3. Various inorganic compounds in the soil are so affected by lime, that
+they lose their power of holding together, and crumble, or are reduced
+to finer particles, while some of their constituents are rendered
+soluble. One way in which this is accomplished is by the action of the
+lime on the silica contained in these compounds, forming the silicate of
+lime. This crumbling effect improves the mechanical as well as the
+chemical condition of the soil.
+
+4. We are now enabled to see how lime prepares the constituents of the
+soil for the use of plants.
+
+[Inorganic compounds?
+
+How does lime prepare the constituents of the soil for use?
+
+What can you say of the remark that lime exhausts the organic matter in
+the soil?]
+
+By its action on the roots, buried stubble, and other organic matter in
+the soil, it causes them to be decomposed, and to give up many of their
+gaseous and inorganic constituents for the use of roots. In this manner
+the organic matter is prepared for use more rapidly than would be the
+case, if there were no lime present to hasten its decomposition.
+
+By the decomposing action of lime on the mineral parts of the soil (3),
+they also are placed more rapidly in a useful condition than would be
+the case, if their preparation depended on the slow action of
+atmospheric influences.
+
+Thus, we see that lime, aside from its use directly as food for plants,
+exerts a beneficial influence on both the organic and inorganic parts of
+the soil.
+
+5. Many contend that lime _exhausts_ the soil.
+
+If we examine the manner in which it does so, we shall see that this is
+no argument against its use.
+
+[How can lime exhaust the mineral parts of the soil?
+
+Must the matter taken away be returned to the soil?]
+
+It exhausts the organic parts of the soil, by decomposing them, and
+resolving them into the gases and minerals of which they are composed.
+If the soil do not contain a sufficient quantity of absorbent matter,
+such as clay or charcoal, the gases arising from the organic matter are
+liable to escape; but when there is a sufficient amount of these
+substances present (as there always should be), these gases are all
+retained until required by the roots of plants. Hence, although the
+organic matter of manure and vegetable substances may be _altered in
+form_, by the use of lime, it can escape (except in very poor soils)
+only as it is taken up by roots to feed the crop, and such exhaustion is
+certainly profitable; still, in order that the fertility of the soil may
+be _maintained_, enough of organic manure should be applied, to make up
+for the amount taken from the soil by the crop, after liberation for its
+use by the action of the lime. This will be but a small proportion of
+the organic matter contained in the crop, as it obtains the larger part
+from the atmosphere.
+
+The only way in which lime can exhaust the inorganic part of the soil
+is, by altering its condition, so that plants can use it more readily.
+That is, it exposes it for solution in water. We have seen that
+fertilizing matter cannot be leached out of a good soil, in any material
+quantity, but can only be carried down to a depth of about thirty-four
+inches. Hence, we see that there can be no loss in this direction; and,
+as inorganic matter cannot evaporate from the soil, the only way in
+which it can escape is through the structure of plants.
+
+[If this course be pursued, will the soil suffer from the use
+of lime?
+
+Is it the lime, or its crop, that exhausts the soil?
+
+Is lime containing magnesia better than pure lime?
+
+What is the best kind of lime?]
+
+If lime is applied to the soil, and increases the amount of crops grown
+by furnishing a larger supply of inorganic matter, of course, the
+removal of inorganic substances from the soil will be more rapid than
+when only a small amount of crop is grown, and the soil will be sooner
+exhausted--not by the lime, but by the plants. In order to make up for
+this exhaustion, it is necessary that a sufficient amount of inorganic
+matter be supplied to compensate for the increased quantity taken away
+by plants.
+
+Thus we see, that it is hardly fair to accuse the _lime_ of exhausting
+the soil, when it only improves its character, and increases the amount
+of its yield. It is the _crop_ that takes away the fertility of the soil
+(the same as would be the case if no lime were used, only faster as the
+crop is larger), and in all judicious cultivation, this loss will be
+fully compensated by the application of manures, thereby preventing the
+exhaustion of the soil.
+
+[Is the purchase of marl to be recommended?
+
+How is lime prepared for use? (Note.)
+
+Describe the burning and slaking of lime.]
+
+_Kind of lime to be used._ The first consideration in procuring lime for
+manuring land, is to select that which contains but little, if any
+_magnesia_. Nearly all stone lime contains more or less of this, but
+some kinds contain more than others. When magnesia is applied to the
+soil, in too large quantities, it is positively injurious to plants, and
+great care is necessary in making selection. As a general rule, it may
+be stated, that the best plastering lime makes the best manure. Such
+kinds only should be used as are known from experiment not to be
+injurious.
+
+_Shell lime_ is undoubtedly the best of all, for it contains no
+magnesia, and it does contain a small quantity of _phosphate of lime_.
+In the vicinity of the sea-coast, and near the lines of railroads,
+oyster shells, clam shells, etc., can be cheaply procured. These may be
+prepared for use in the same manner as stone lime.[AG]
+
+_The preparation of the lime_ is done by first burning and then slaking,
+or by putting it directly on the land, in an unslaked condition, after
+its having been burned. Shells are sometimes _ground_, and used without
+burning; this is hardly advisable, as they cannot be made so fine as by
+burning and slaking. As was stated in the first section of this book,
+lime usually exists in nature, in the form of carbonate of lime, as
+limestone, chalk, or marble (being lime and carbonic acid combined), and
+when this is burned, the carbonic acid is thrown off, leaving the lime
+in a pure or caustic form. This is called burned lime, quick-lime, lime
+shells, hot lime, etc. If the proper quantity of water be poured on it,
+it is immediately taken up by the lime, which falls into a dry powder,
+called _slaked lime_. If _quick-lime_ were left exposed to the weather,
+it would absorb moisture from the atmosphere, and become what is termed
+_air slaked_.
+
+[What is air slaking?
+
+If slaked lime be exposed to the air, what change does it undergo?
+
+What is the object of slaking lime?
+
+How much carbonic acid is contained in a ton of carbonate of lime?
+
+How much lime does a ton of slaked lime contain?
+
+What is the most economical form for transportation?]
+
+When _slaked lime_ (consisting of lime and water) is exposed to the
+atmosphere, it absorbs carbonic acid, and becomes carbonate of lime
+again; but it is now in the form of a very fine powder, and is much more
+useful than when in the stone.
+
+If quick-lime is applied directly to the soil, it absorbs first
+moisture, and then carbonic acid, becoming finally a powdered carbonate
+of lime.
+
+One ton of _carbonate of lime_ contains 11¼ cwt. of lime; the remainder
+is carbonic acid. One ton of _slaked lime_ contains about 15 cwt. of
+lime; the remainder is water.
+
+Hence we see that lime should be burned, and not slaked, before being
+transported, as it would be unprofitable to transport the large quantity
+of carbonic acid and water contained in carbonate of lime and slaked
+lime. The quick-lime may be slaked, and carbonated after reaching its
+destination, either before or after being applied to the land.
+
+[What is the best form for immediate action on the inorganic
+matter in the soil?
+
+For most other purposes?]
+
+As has been before stated, much is gained by slaking lime with _salt
+water_, thus imitating the lime and salt mixture. Indeed in many cases,
+it will be found profitable to use all lime in this way. Where a direct
+action on the inorganic matters contained in the soil is desired, it may
+be well to apply the lime directly in the form of quick-lime; but, where
+the decomposition of the vegetable and animal constituents of the soil
+is desired, the correction of _sourness_, or the supplying of lime to
+the crop, the mixture with salt would be advisable.
+
+_The amount of lime_ required _by plants_ is, as was before observed,
+usually small compared with the whole amount contained in the soil;
+still it is not unimportant.
+
+                                  OF LIME.
+25 bus. of wheat contain about    13   lbs.
+25     "   barley        "        10½   "
+25     "   oats          "        11    "
+ 2 tons of turnips       "        12    "
+ 2     "  potatoes       "         5    "
+ 2     "  red clover     "        77    "
+ 2     "  rye grass      "        30    "[AH]
+
+[What is the best guide concerning the quantity of lime to be
+applied?
+
+What is said of the sinking of lime in the soil?
+
+What is plaster of Paris composed of?
+
+Why is it called plaster of Paris?]
+
+The amount of lime required at each application, and the frequency of
+those applications, must depend on the chemical and mechanical condition
+of the soil. No exact rule can be given, but probably the custom of each
+district--regulated by long experience--is the best guide.
+
+_Lime sinks in the soil_; and therefore, when used alone, should always
+be applied as a top dressing to be carried into the soil by rains. The
+tendency of lime to settle is so great that, when cutting drains, it may
+often be observed in a whitish streak on the top of the subsoil. After
+heavy doses of lime have been given to the soil, and have settled so as
+to have apparently ceased from their action, they may be brought up and
+mixed with the soil by deeper plowing.
+
+_Lime should never be mixed with animal manures_, unless in compost with
+muck, or some other good absorbent, as it is liable to cause the escape
+of their ammonia.
+
+
+PLASTER OF PARIS.
+
+_Plaster of Paris or Gypsum_ (sulphate of lime) is composed of sulphuric
+acid and lime in combination. It is called 'plaster of Paris,' because
+it constitutes the rock underlying the city of Paris.
+
+[Is it a constituent of plants?
+
+What else does it furnish them?
+
+How does it affect manure?
+
+How does it produce sorrel in the soil?
+
+How may the acidity be overcome?]
+
+It is a constituent of many plants. It also furnishes them with
+sulphur--a constituent of the sulphuric acid which it contains.
+
+It is an excellent absorbent of ammonia, and is very useful to sprinkle
+around stables, poultry houses, pig-styes, and privies, where it absorbs
+the escaping gases, saving them for the use of plants, and purifying the
+air, thus rendering stables, etc., more healthy than when not so
+supplied.
+
+It has been observed that the extravagant use of plaster sometimes
+induces the growth of _sorrel_. This is probably the case only where the
+soil is deficient in lime. In such instances, the lime required by
+plants is obtained by the decomposition of the plaster. The lime enters
+into the construction of the plant, and the sulphuric acid remains
+_free_, rendering the soil _sour_, and therefore in condition to produce
+sorrel. In such a case, an application of _lime_ will correct the acid
+by uniting with it and converting it into _plaster_.
+
+
+CHLORIDE OF LIME.
+
+[What does chloride of lime supply to plants?
+
+How does it affect manures?
+
+How may it be used?
+
+How may magnesia be supplied, when wanting?
+
+What care is necessary concerning the use of magnesia?]
+
+_Chloride of lime_ is a compound of _lime and chlorine_. It furnishes
+both of these constituents to plants, and it is an excellent absorbent
+of ammonia and other gases arising from decomposition--hence its
+usefulness in destroying bad odors, and in preserving fertilizing
+matters for the use of crops.
+
+It may be used like plaster, or in the decomposition of organic matters,
+where it not only hastens decay, but absorbs and retains the escaping
+gases. It will be recollected that _chloride of lime_ is one of the
+products of the _lime and salt mixture_.
+
+_Lime_ in combination with _phosphoric acid_ forms the valuable
+_phosphate of lime_, of which so large a portion of the ash of grain,
+and the bones of animals, is formed. This will be spoken of more at
+length under the head of 'phosphoric acid.'
+
+
+MAGNESIA.
+
+Magnesia is a constituent of vegetable ashes, and is almost always
+present in the soil in sufficient quantities. When analysis indicates
+that it is needed, it may be applied in the form of _magnesian lime_, or
+_refuse epsom salts_, which are composed of sulphuric acid and magnesia
+(sulphate of magnesia).
+
+The great care necessary concerning the use of magnesia is, not to apply
+too much of it, it being, when in excess, as has been previously
+remarked, injurious to the fertility of the soil. Some soils are
+hopelessly barren from the fact that they contain too much magnesia.
+
+
+ACIDS.
+
+SULPHURIC ACID.
+
+[What is sulphuric acid commonly called?
+
+How may it be used?
+
+How does it prevent the escape of ammonia?]
+
+_Sulphuric acid_ is a very important constituent of vegetable ashes,
+especially of oats and the root-crops.
+
+It is often deficient in the soil, particularly where potatoes have been
+long cultivated. One of the reasons why _plaster_ (sulphate of lime) is
+so beneficial to the potato crop is undoubtedly that it supplies it with
+sulphuric acid.
+
+Sulphuric acid is commonly known by the name of _oil vitriol_, and may
+be purchased for agricultural purposes at a low price. It may be used in
+a very dilute form (weakened by mixing it with a large quantity of
+water) to the compost heap, where it will change the ammonia to a
+sulphate as soon as formed, and thus prevent its loss, as the sulphate
+of ammonia is not volatile; and, being soluble in water, is useful to
+plants. Some idea of the value of this compound may be formed from the
+fact that manufacturers of manures are willing to pay seven cents per
+lb., or even more, for sulphate of ammonia, to insure the success of
+their fertilizers. Notwithstanding this, many farmers persist in
+throwing away hundreds of pounds of _ammonia_ every year, as a tax for
+their ignorance (or indolence), while a small tax in _money_--not more
+valuable, nor more necessary to their success--for the support of common
+schools, and the better education of the young, is too often unwillingly
+paid.
+
+[What is the effect of using too much sulphuric acid?]
+
+If a tumbler full of sulphuric acid (costing a few cents), be thrown
+into the tank of the compost heap once a month, the benefit to the
+manure would be very great.
+
+Where a deficiency of sulphuric acid in the soil is indicated by
+analysis, it may be supplied in this way, or by the use of plaster or
+refuse epsom salts.
+
+Care is necessary that _too much_ sulphuric acid be not used, as it
+would prevent the proper decomposition of manures, and would induce a
+growth of sorrel in the soil by making it _sour_.
+
+In many instances, it will be found profitable to use sulphuric acid in
+the manufacture of super-phosphate of lime (as directed under the head
+of 'phosphoric acid,') thus making it perform the double purpose of
+preparing an available form of phosphate, and of supplying sulphur and
+sulphuric acid to the plant.
+
+
+PHOSPHORIC ACID.
+
+[How large a part of the ashes of grain consists of phosphoric
+acid?
+
+Of what other substances does it form a leading ingredient?
+
+How many pounds of sulphuric acid are contained in one hundred bushels
+of wheat?]
+
+We come now to the consideration of one of the most important of all
+subjects connected with agriculture, that is, _phosphoric acid_.
+
+_Phosphoric acid_, forming about one half of the ashes of wheat, rye,
+corn, buckwheat, and oats; nearly the same proportion of those of
+barley, peas, beans and linseed; an important ingredient of the ashes of
+potatoes and turnips; one quarter of the ash of milk and a large
+proportion of the bones of animals, often exists in the soil in the
+proportion of only about one or two pounds in a thousand. The
+cultivation of our whole country has been such, as to take away the
+phosphoric acid from the soil without returning it, except in very
+minute quantities. Every hundred bushels of wheat sold contains (and
+removes permanently from the soil) about _sixty pounds_ of phosphoric
+acid. Other grains, as well as the root crops and grasses, remove
+likewise a large quantity of it. It has been said by a contemporary
+writer, that for each cow kept on a pasture through the summer, there is
+carried off in veal, butter and cheese, not less than _fifty_ lbs. of
+phosphate of lime (bone-earth) on an average. This would be _one
+thousand lbs._ for twenty cows; and it shows clearly why old dairy
+pastures become so exhausted of this substance, that they will no longer
+produce those nutritious grasses, which are favorable to butter and
+cheese-making.
+
+[How much phosphate of lime will twenty cows remove from a
+pasture during a summer?
+
+What has this removal of phosphate of lime occasioned?
+
+How have the Genesee and Mohawk valleys been affected by this removal of
+phosphoric acid?]
+
+That this removal of the most valuable constituent of the soil, has been
+the cause of more exhaustion of farms, and more emigration, in search of
+fertile districts, than any other single effect of injudicious farming,
+is a fact which multiplied instances most clearly prove.
+
+It is stated that the Genesee and Mohawk valleys, which once produced an
+average of _thirty-five_ or _forty bushels_ of wheat, per acre, have
+since been reduced in their average production to _twelve and a half_
+bushels. Hundreds of similar cases might be stated; and in a large
+majority of these, could the cause of the impoverishment be ascertained,
+it would be found to be the removal of the phosphoric acid from the
+soil.
+
+[How may this devastation be arrested?
+
+Is any soil inexhaustible?
+
+What is usually the best source from which to obtain phosphoric acid?]
+
+The evident tendency of cultivation being to continue this murderous
+system, and to prey upon the vital strength of the country, it is
+necessary to take such measures as will arrest the outflow of this
+valuable material. This can never be fully accomplished until laws shall
+be made preventing the wastes of cities and towns. Such laws have
+existed for a long time in China, and have doubtlessly been the secret
+of the long subsistence and present prosperity of the millions of people
+inhabiting that country.
+
+We have, nevertheless, a means of restoring to fertility many of our
+worn-out lands, and preserving our fertile fields from so rapid
+impoverishment as they are now suffering. Many suppose that soils which
+produce good crops, year after year, are inexhaustible, but time will
+prove to the contrary. They may possess a sufficiently large stock of
+phosphoric acid, and other constituents of plants, to last a long time,
+but when that stock becomes so reduced, that there is not enough left
+for the uses of full crops, the productive power of the soil will yearly
+decrease, until it becomes worthless. It may last a long time, a
+century, or even more, but as long as the system is--to _remove every
+thing, and return nothing_,--the fate of the most fertile soil is
+evident.
+
+The source mentioned, from which to obtain phosphoric acid, is the bones
+of animals. These contain large quantities of _phosphate of lime_. They
+are the receptacles which collect nearly all of the phosphates in crops,
+which are fed to animals, and are not returned in their excrements. For
+the grain, etc., sent out of the country, there is no way to be repaid
+except by the importation of this material; but, all that is fed to
+animals, or to human beings, may, if a proper use be made of their
+excrement, and of their bones after death, be returned to the soil. With
+the treatment of animal excrements we are already familiar, and we will
+now turn our attention to the subject of
+
+
+BONES.
+
+[Of what do dried bones consist?
+
+What is the organic matter of bones?
+
+The inorganic?
+
+What can you say of the use of whole bones?]
+
+_Bones_ consist, when dried, of about one third organic matter, and two
+thirds inorganic matter.
+
+The organic matter consists chiefly of _gelatine_--a compound containing
+_nitrogen_.
+
+The inorganic part is chiefly _phosphate of lime_.
+
+Hence, we see that bones are excellent, as both organic and mineral
+manure. The organic part, containing nitrogen, forms _ammonia_, and the
+inorganic part supplies the much needed _phosphoric acid_ to the soil.
+
+Liebig says that, as a producer of ammonia, 100 lbs. of dry bones are
+equivalent to 250 lbs. of human urine.
+
+[How does the value of bone dust compare with that of broken
+bones?
+
+What is the reason of the superiority of bone dust?
+
+How is bone-black made?
+
+Of what does it consist?]
+
+Bones are applied to the soil in almost every conceivable form. _Whole
+bones_ are often used in very large quantities; their action, however,
+is extremely slow, and it is never advisable to use bones in this form.
+
+Ten bushels of bones, finely ground, will produce larger results, during
+the current ten years after application, than would ensue from the use
+of one hundred bushels merely broken, not because the dust contains more
+fertilizing matter than the whole bones, but because that which it does
+contain is in a much more available condition. It ferments readily, and
+produces ammonia, while the ashy parts are exposed to the action of
+roots.
+
+[Should farmers burn bones before using them?
+
+How would you compost bones with ashes?
+
+In what way would you prevent the escape of ammonia?]
+
+_Bone-black._ If bones are burned in retorts, or otherwise protected
+from the atmosphere, their organic matter will all be driven off, except
+the carbon, which not being supplied with oxygen cannot escape. In this
+form bones are called _ivory black_, or _bone-black_. It consists of the
+inorganic matter, and the carbon of the bones. The nitrogen having been
+expelled it can make no ammonia, and thus far the original value of
+bones is reduced by burning; that is, one ton of bones contains more
+fertilizing matter before, than after burning; but one ton of bone black
+is more valuable than one ton of raw bones, as the carbon is retained in
+a good form to act as an absorbent in the soil, while the whole may be
+crushed or ground much more easily than before being burned. This means
+of pulverizing bones is adopted by manufacturers, who replace the
+ammonia in the form of guano, or otherwise; but it is not to be
+recommended for the use of farmers, who should not lose the ammonia,
+forming a part of bones, more than that of other manure.
+
+_Composting bones with ashes_ is a good means of securing their
+decomposition. They should be placed in a water-tight vessel (such as a
+cask); first, three or four inches of bones, then the same quantity of
+strong unleached wood ashes, continuing these alternate layers until the
+cask is full, and keeping them _always wet_. If they become too dry they
+will throw off an offensive odor, accompanied by the escape of ammonia,
+and consequent loss of value. In about one year, the whole mass of bones
+(except, perhaps, those at the top) will be softened, so that they may
+be easily crushed, and they are in a good condition for manuring. The
+ashes are, in themselves, valuable, and this compost is excellent for
+many crops, particularly for Indian corn. A little dilute sulphuric
+acid, occasionally sprinkled on the upper part of the matter in the
+cask, will prevent the escape of the ammonia.
+
+[What is the effect of boiling bones under pressure?
+
+How is super-phosphate of lime made?
+
+Describe the composition of phosphate of lime, and the chemical changes
+which take place in altering it to super-phosphate of lime.]
+
+_Boiling bones under pressure_, whereby their gelatine is dissolved
+away, and the inorganic matter left in an available condition, from its
+softness, is a very good way of rendering them useful; but, as it
+requires, among other things, a steam boiler, it is hardly probable that
+it will be largely adopted by farmers of limited means.
+
+Any or all of these methods are good, but bones cannot be used with true
+economy, except by changing their inorganic matter into
+
+
+SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME.
+
+_Super-phosphate of lime_ is made by treating phosphate of lime, or the
+ashes of bones, with _sulphuric acid_.
+
+Phosphate of lime, as it exists in bones, consists of one atom of
+phosphoric acid and three atoms of lime. It may be represented as
+
+                 { Lime
+Phosphoric acid  { Lime
+                 { Lime
+
+By adding a proper quantity of sulphuric acid with this, it becomes
+_super_-phosphate of lime; that is, the same amount of phosphoric acid,
+with a smaller proportion of lime (or a _super_-abundance of phosphoric
+acid), the sulphuric acid, taking two atoms of lime away from the
+compound, combined with it making sulphate of lime (plaster). The
+changes may be thus represented.
+
+                  {Phosphoric acid} Super-phosphate
+Phosphate of lime {Lime           }   of lime.
+                  {Lime}
+                  {Lime} Sulphate of lime.
+         Sulphuric acid}
+
+Super-phosphate of lime may be made from whole bones, bone dust,
+bone-black, or from the pure ashes of bones.
+
+[How should sulphuric acid be applied to whole bones?
+
+What is the necessity for so large an amount of water?]
+
+The process of making it from whole bones is slow and troublesome, as it
+requires a long time for the effect to diffuse itself through the whole
+mass of a large bone. When it is made in this way, the bones should be
+_dry_, and the acid should be diluted in many times its bulk of water,
+and should be applied to the bones (which may be placed in a suitable
+cask, with a spiggot at the bottom), in quantities sufficient to cover
+them, about once in ten days; and at the end of that time, one half of
+the liquid should be drawn off by the spiggot. This liquid is a solution
+of super-phosphate of lime, containing sulphate of lime, and may be
+applied to the soil in a liquid form, or through the medium of a compost
+heap. The object of using so much water is to prevent an incrustation of
+sulphate of lime on the surfaces of the bones, this must be removed by
+stirring the mass, which allows the next application of acid to act
+directly on the phosphate remaining. The amount of acid required is
+about 50 or 60 lbs. to each 100 lbs. of bones. The gelatine will remain
+after the phosphate is all dissolved, and may be composted with muck, or
+plowed under the soil, where it will form ammonia.
+
+[May less water be employed in making super-phosphate from
+bone dust or crushed bones?]
+
+_Bone dust_, or _crushed bones_, may be much more easily changed to the
+desired condition, as the surface exposed is much greater, and the acid
+can act more generally throughout the whole mass. The amount of acid
+required is the same as in the other case, but it may be used
+_stronger_, two or three times its bulk of water being sufficient, if
+the bones are finely ground or crushed--more or less water should be
+used according to the fineness of the bones. The time occupied will also
+be much less, and the result of the operation will be in better
+condition for manure.
+
+Bones may be made fine enough for this operation, either by grinding,
+etc., or by boiling under pressure, as previously described; indeed, by
+whatever method bones are pulverized, they should always be treated with
+sulphuric acid before being applied to the soil, as this will more than
+double their value for immediate use.
+
+Bone-black is chiefly used by manufacturers of super-phosphate of lime,
+who treat it with acid the same as has been directed above, only that
+they grind the black very finely before applying the acid.
+
+[What other forms of bones may be used in making
+super-phosphate of lime?
+
+Why is super-phosphate of lime a better fertilizer than phosphate of
+lime?
+
+What can you say of the _lasting manures_?]
+
+_Bone ashes_, or bones burned to whiteness, may be similarly treated.
+Indeed, in all of the forms of bones here described, the phosphate of
+lime remains unaltered, as it is indestructible by heat; the differences
+of composition are only in the admixture of organic constituents.
+
+_The reason why super-phosphate of lime is so much better than
+phosphate_, may be easily explained. The _phosphate_ is very _slowly_
+soluble in water, and consequently furnishes food to plants slowly. A
+piece of bone as large as a pea may lie in the soil for years without
+being all consumed; consequently, it will be years before its value is
+returned, and it pays no interest on its cost while lying there. The
+_super-phosphate_ dissolves very _rapidly_ and furnishes food for plants
+with equal facility; hence its much greater value as a manure.
+
+It is true that the _phosphate_ is the most _lasting_ manure; but, once
+for all, let us caution farmers against considering this a virtue in
+mineral manures, or in organic manures either, when used on soils
+containing the proper absorbents of ammonia. They are _lasting_, only
+in proportion as they are _lazy_. Manures are worthless unless they are
+in condition to be immediately used. The farmer who wishes his manures
+to _last_ in the soil, and to lose their use, may be justly compared
+with the _miser_, who buries his gold and silver in the ground for the
+satisfaction of knowing that he owns it. It is an old and a true saying
+that "a nimble sixpence is better than a slow shilling."
+
+
+IMPROVED SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME.
+
+[What are the ingredients of the _improved_ super-phosphate of
+lime?]
+
+To show the manner in which super-phosphate of lime is perfected, and
+rendered the best manure for general uses, which has yet been made,
+containing large quantities of phosphoric acid and a good supply of
+ammonia,--hereby covering the two leading deficiencies in a majority of
+soils, it may be well to explain the composition of the _improved
+super-phosphate of lime_ invented by Prof. Mapes.
+
+This manure consists of the following ingredients in the proportions
+named:--
+
+100  lbs.  bone-black (phosphate of lime and carbon).
+56    "    sulphuric acid.
+36    "    guano.
+20    "    sulphate of ammonia.
+
+[Explain the uses of these different constituents.
+
+What is nitrogenized phosphate?]
+
+The sulphuric acid has the before-mentioned effect on the bone-black,
+and _fixes_ the ammonia of the guano by changing it to a sulphate. The
+twenty pounds of sulphate of ammonia added increase the amount, so as to
+furnish nitrogen to plants in sufficient quantities to give them energy,
+and induce them to take up the super-phosphate of lime in the manure
+more readily than would be done, were there not a sufficient supply of
+ammonia in the soil.
+
+The addition of the guano, which contains all of the elements of
+fertility, and many of them in considerable quantities, renders the
+manure of a more general character, and enables it to produce very large
+crops of almost any kind, while it assists in fortifying the soil in
+what is usually its weakest point--phosphoric acid.
+
+Prof. Mapes has more recently invented a new fertilizer called
+nitrogenized super-phosphate of lime, composed of the improved
+super-phosphate of lime and blood, dried and ground before mixture, in
+equal proportions. This manure, from its highly nitrogenous character,
+theoretically surpasses all others, and probably will be found in
+practice to have great value; its cost will be rather greater than
+guano.
+
+We understand its manufacture will shortly be commenced by a company now
+forming for that purpose.
+
+[What should be learned before purchasing amendments for the
+soil?
+
+What do you know of silica?]
+
+Many farmers will find it expedient to purchase bones, or bone dust, and
+manufacture their own super-phosphate of lime; others will prefer to
+purchase the prepared manure. In doing so, it should be obtained of men
+of known respectability, as manures are easily adulterated with
+worthless matters; and, as their price is so high, that such deception
+may occasion great loss.
+
+We would not recommend the application of any artificial manure, without
+first obtaining an analysis of the soil, and knowing _to a certainty_
+that the manure is needed; still, when no analysis has been procured, it
+may be profitable to apply such manures as most generally produce good
+results--such as stable manure, night soil, the improved super-phosphate
+of lime; or, if this cannot be procured, guano.
+
+
+NEUTRALS.
+
+SILICA.
+
+_Silica_ (or sand) always exists in the soil in sufficient quantities
+for the supply of food for plants; but, as has been often stated in the
+preceding pages, not always in the proper condition. This subject has
+been so often explained to the student of this book, that it is only
+necessary to repeat here, that when the weakness of the straw or stalk
+of plants grown on any soil indicates an inability in that soil to
+supply the silicates required for strength, not more sand should be
+added, but _alkalies_, to combine with the sand already contained in it,
+and make _soluble silicates_ which are available to roots.
+
+Sand is often necessary to stiff clays, as a _mechanical_ manure, to
+loosen their texture and render them easier of cultivation, and more
+favorable to the distribution of roots, and to the circulation of air
+and water.
+
+
+CHLORINE.
+
+[How may chlorine be applied?]
+
+_Chlorine_, a necessary constituent of plants, and often deficient in
+the soil (as indicated by analysis), may be applied in the form of salt
+(chloride of sodium), or chloride of lime. The former may be dissolved
+in the water used to slake lime, and the latter may, with much
+advantage, be sprinkled around stables and other places where
+fertilizing gases are escaping, and, after being saturated with ammonia,
+applied to the soil, thus serving a double purpose.
+
+
+OXIDE OF IRON.
+
+[How may the protoxide of iron be changed to peroxide?]
+
+Nearly all soils contain sufficient quantities of _oxide of iron_, or
+iron rust, so that this substance can hardly be required as a manure.
+
+Some soils, however, contain the _prot_oxide of iron in such quantities
+as to be injurious to plants,--see page 86. When this is the case, it is
+necessary to plow the soil thoroughly, and use such other mechanical
+means as shall render it open to the admission of air. The _prot_oxide
+of iron will then take up more oxygen, and become the _per_oxide--which
+is not only inoffensive, but is absolutely necessary to fertility.
+
+
+OXIDE OF MANGANESE.
+
+This can hardly be called an essential constituent of plants, and is
+never taken into consideration in manuring lands.
+
+
+VARIOUS OTHER MINERAL MANURES.
+
+LEACHED ASHES.
+
+[Why are leached ashes inferior to those that have not been
+leached?
+
+On what do the benefits of leached ashes depend?
+
+Can these ingredients be more cheaply obtained in another form?
+
+Why do unleached ashes, applied in the spring, sometimes cause grain to
+lodge?]
+
+Among the mineral manures which have not yet been mentioned--not coming
+strictly under any of the preceding heads, is the one known as _leached
+ashes_.
+
+These are not without their benefits, though worth much less than
+unleached ashes, which, besides the constituents of those which have
+been leached, contain much potash, soda, etc.
+
+Farmers have generally overrated the value of leached ashes, because
+they contain small quantities of available phosphate of lime, and
+soluble silicates, in which most old soils are deficient. While we
+witness the good results ensuing from their application, we should not
+forget that the fertilizing ingredients of _thirty bushels_ of these
+ashes may be bought in a more convenient form for _ten_ or _fifteen
+cents_, or for less than the cost of spreading the ashes on the soil. In
+many parts of Long Island farmers pay as much as eight or ten cents per
+bushel for this manure, and thousands of loads of leached ashes are
+taken to this locality from the river counties of New York, and even
+from the State of Maine, and are sold for many times their value,
+producing an effect which could be as well and much more cheaply
+obtained by the use of small quantities of super-phosphate of lime and
+potash.
+
+These ashes often contain a little charcoal (resulting from the
+imperfect combustion of the wood), which acts as an absorbent of
+ammonia.
+
+It is sometimes observed that _unleached_ ashes, when applied in the
+spring, cause grain to lodge. When this is the case, as it seldom is, it
+may be inferred that the potash which they contain causes so rapid a
+growth, that the soil is not able to supply silicates as fast as they
+are required by the plants, but after the first year, the potash will
+have united with the silica in the soil, and overcome the difficulty.
+
+
+OLD MORTAR.
+
+[What are the most fertilizing ingredients of old mortar?]
+
+_Old mortar_ is a valuable manure, because it contains nitrate of potash
+and other compounds of nitric acid with alkalies.
+
+These are slowly formed in the mortar by the changing of the nitrogen of
+the hair (in the mortar) into nitric acid, and the union of this with
+the small quantities of _potash_, or with the _lime_ of the plaster.
+Nitrogen, presented in other forms, as ammonia, for instance, may be
+transformed into nitric acid, by uniting with the oxygen of the air, and
+this nitric acid combines immediately with the alkalies of the
+mortar.[AI]
+
+The lime contained in the mortar may be useful in the soil for the many
+purposes accomplished by other lime.
+
+
+GAS HOUSE LIME.
+
+[How may gas-house lime be prepared for use?
+
+Why should it not be used fresh, from the gas house?
+
+On what do its fertilizing properties depend?
+
+What use may be made of its offensive odor?]
+
+_The refuse lime of gas works_, where it can be cheaply obtained, may be
+advantageously used as a manure. It consists, chiefly, of various
+compounds of sulphur and lime. It should be composted with earth or
+refuse matter, so as to expose it to the action of air. It should never
+be used fresh from the gas house. In a few months the sulphur will have
+united with the oxygen of the air, and become sulphuric acid, which
+unites with the lime and makes sulphate of lime (plaster), which form it
+must assume, before it is of much value. Having been used to purify gas
+made from coal, it contains a small quantity of ammonia, which adds to
+its value. It is considered a profitable manure in England, at the price
+there paid for it (forty cents a cartload), and, if of good quality, it
+may be worth double that sum, especially for soils deficient in plaster,
+or for such crops as are much benefited by plaster. Its price must, of
+course, be regulated somewhat by the price of lime, which constitutes a
+large proportion of its fertilizing parts. The offensive odor of this
+compound renders it a good protection against many insects.
+
+The refuse _liquor of gas works_ contains enough ammonia to make it a
+valuable manure.
+
+
+SOAPERS' LEY AND BLEACHERS' LEY.
+
+[What use may be made of the refuse ley of soap-makers and
+bleachers?
+
+What peculiar qualities does soapers' ley possess?]
+
+The refuse ley of soap factories and bleaching establishments contains
+greater or less quantities of soluble silicates and alkalies (especially
+soda and potash), and is a good addition to the tank of the compost
+heap, or it may be used directly as a liquid application to the soil.
+The soapers' ley, especially, will be found a good manure for lands on
+which grain lodges.
+
+Much of the benefit of this manure arises from the soluble silicates it
+contains, while its nitrogenous matter,[AJ] obtained from those parts of
+the fatty matters which cannot be converted into soap, and consequently
+remains in this solution, forms a valuable addition. Heaps of soil
+saturated with this liquid in autumn, and subjected to the freezings of
+winter, form an admirable manure for spring use. Mr. Crane, near Newark
+(N. J.), has long used a mixture of spent ley and stable manure, applied
+in the fall to trenches plowed in the soil, and has been most successful
+in obtaining large crops.
+
+
+IRRIGATION.
+
+[On what does the benefit arising from irrigation chiefly
+depend?
+
+What kind of water is best for irrigation?
+
+How do under-drains increase the benefits of irrigation?]
+
+_Irrigation_ does not come strictly under the head of inorganic manures,
+as it often supplies ammonia to the soil. Its chief value, however, in
+most cases, must depend on the amount of mineral matter which it
+furnishes.
+
+The word "irrigation" means simply _watering_. In many districts water
+is in various ways made to overflow the land, and is removed when
+necessary for the purposes of cultivation. All river and spring water
+contains some impurities, many of which are beneficial to vegetation.
+These are derived from the earth over, or through which, the water has
+passed, and ammonia absorbed from the atmosphere. When water is made to
+cover the earth, especially if its rapid motion be arrested, much of
+this fertilizing matter settles, and is deposited on the soil. The water
+which sinks into the soil carries its impurities to be retained for the
+uses of plants. When, by the aid of under-drains, or in open soils, the
+water passes _through_ the soil, its impurities are arrested, and become
+available in vegetable growth. It is, of course, impossible to say
+exactly what kind of mineral matter is supplied by water, as that
+depends on the kind of rock or soil from which the impurities are
+derived; but, whatever it may be, it is generally soluble and ready for
+immediate use by plants.
+
+[What is the difference between water which only runs over the
+surface of the earth, and that which runs out of the earth?
+
+Why should strong currents of water not be allowed to traverse the
+soil?]
+
+Water which has run over the surface of the earth contains both ammonia
+and mineral matter, while that which has arisen out of the earth,
+contains usually only mineral matter. The direct use of the water of
+irrigation as a solvent for the mineral ingredients of the soil, is one
+of its main benefits.
+
+To describe the many modes of irrigation would be too long a task for
+our limited space. It may be applied in any way in which it is possible
+to cover the land with water, at stated times. Care is necessary,
+however, that it do not wash more fertilizing matter from the soil than
+it deposits on it, as would often be the case, if a strong current of
+water were run over it. Brooks may be dammed up, and thus made to cover
+a large quantity of land. In such a case the rapid current would be
+destroyed, and the fertilizing matter would settle; but, if the course
+of the brook were turned, so that it would run in a current over any
+part of the soil, it might carry away more than it deposited, and thus
+prove injurious. Small streams turned on to land, from the washing of
+roads, or from elevated springs, are good means of irrigation, and
+produce increased fertility, except where the soil is of such a
+character as to prevent the water from passing away, in which case it
+should be under-drained.
+
+Irrigation was one of the oldest means of fertility ever used by man,
+and still continues in great favor wherever its effects have been
+witnessed.
+
+
+MIXING SOILS.
+
+[How are soils improved by mixing?]
+
+The _mixing of soils_ is often all that is necessary to render them
+fertile, and to improve their _mechanical_ condition. For instance,
+soils deficient in potash, or any other constituent, may have that
+deficiency supplied, by mixing with them soil containing this
+constituent in excess.
+
+It is very frequently the case, that such means of improvement are
+easily availed of. While these chemical effects are being produced,
+there may be an equal improvement in the mechanical character of the
+soil. Thus stiff clay soils are rendered lighter, and more easily
+workable, by an admixture of sand, while light blowy sands are
+compacted, and made more retentive of manure, by a dressing of clay or
+of muck.
+
+[Why may the same effect sometimes be produced by deep
+plowing?
+
+What is absolutely necessary to economical manuring?]
+
+Of course, this cannot be depended on as a sure means of chemical
+improvement, unless the soils are previously analyzed, so as to know
+their requirements; but, in a majority of cases, the soil will be
+benefited, by mixing with it soil of a different character. It is not
+always necessary to go to other locations to procure the soil to be
+applied, as the subsoil is often very different from the surface soil,
+and simple deep plowing will suffice, in such cases, to produce the
+required admixture, by bringing up the earth from below to mingle it
+with that of a different character at the surface.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the foregoing remarks on the subject of mineral manures, the writer
+has endeavored to point out such a course as would produce the "greatest
+good to the greatest number," and, consequently, has neglected much
+which might discourage the farmer with the idea, that the whole system
+of scientific agriculture is too expensive for his adoption. Still,
+while he has confined his remarks to the more simple improvements on the
+present system of management, he would say, briefly, that _no manuring
+can be strictly economical that is not based on an analysis of the soil,
+and a knowledge of the best means of overcoming the deficiencies
+indicated, together with the most scrupulous care of every ounce of
+evaporating or soluble manure_.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AG] Marl is earth containing lime, but its use is not to be recommended
+in this country, except where it can be obtained at little cost, as the
+expenses of carting the _earth_ would often be more than the value of
+the _lime_.
+
+[AH] The straw producing the grain and the turnip and potato tops
+contain more lime than the grain and roots.
+
+[AI] See Working Farmer, vol. 2, p. 278.
+
+[AJ] Glycerine, etc.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+ATMOSPHERIC FERTILIZERS.
+
+
+[Are the gases in the atmosphere manures?
+
+What would be the result if they were not so?]
+
+It is not common to look on the gases in the atmosphere in the light of
+manures, but they are decidedly so. Indeed, they are almost the only
+organic manure ever received by the uncultivated parts of the earth, as
+well as a large portion of that which is occupied in the production of
+food for man.
+
+If these gases were not manures; if there were no means by which they
+could be used by plants, the fertility of the soil would long since have
+ceased, and the earth would now be in an unfertile condition. That this
+must be true, will be proved by a few moments' reflection on the facts
+stated in the first part of this book. The fertilizing gases in the
+atmosphere being composed of the constituents of decayed plants and
+animals, it is as necessary that they should be again returned to the
+form of organized matter, as it is that constituents taken from the
+_soil_ should not be put out of existence.
+
+
+AMMONIA.
+
+[How is ammonia used by plants?
+
+How may it be carried to the soil?
+
+How may the value of organic manures be estimated?
+
+What effects has ammonia beside supplying food to plants?]
+
+The _ammonia_ in the atmosphere probably cannot be appropriated by the
+leaves of plants, and must, therefore, enter the soil to be assimilated
+by roots. It reaches the soil in two ways. It is either arrested from
+the air circulating through the soil, or it is absorbed by rains in the
+atmosphere, and thus carried to the earth, where it is retained by clay
+and carbon, for the uses of plants. In the soil, ammonia is the most
+important of all organic manures. In fact, the value of organic manure
+may be estimated, either by the amount of ammonia which it will yield,
+or by its power of absorbing ammonia from other sources.
+
+The most important action of ammonia in the soil is the supply of
+_nitrogen_ to plants; but it has other offices which are of consequence.
+It assists in some of the chemical changes necessary to prepare the
+matters in the soil for assimilation. Some argue that ammonia
+_stimulates_ the roots of plants, and causes them to take up increased
+quantities of inorganic matter. The discussion of this question would be
+out of place here, and we will simply say, that it gives them such vigor
+that they require increased amounts of ashy matter, and enables them to
+take this from the soil.
+
+[To how great a degree can the farmer control atmospheric
+fertilizers?
+
+What should be the condition of the soil?
+
+What substances are good absorbents in the soil?
+
+How may sandy soils be made retentive of ammonia?]
+
+Although, in the course of nature, the atmospheric fertilizers are
+plentifully supplied to the soil, without the immediate attention of the
+farmer, it is not beyond his power to manage them in such a manner as
+to arrest a greater quantity. The precautions necessary have been
+repeatedly given in the preceding pages, but it may be well to name them
+again in this chapter.
+
+The condition of the soil is the main point to be considered. It must be
+such as to absorb and retain ammonia--to allow water to pass _through_
+it, and be discharged _below_ the point to which the roots of crops are
+searching for food--and to admit of a free circulation of air.
+
+The power of absorbing and retaining ammonia is not possessed by sand,
+but it is a prominent property of clay, charcoal, and some other matters
+named as absorbents. Hence, if the soil consists of nearly pure sand, it
+will not make use of the ammonia brought to it from the atmosphere, but
+will allow it to evaporate immediately after a shower. Soils in this
+condition require additions of absorbent matters, to enable them to use
+the ammonia received from the atmosphere. Soils already containing a
+sufficient amount of clay or charcoal, are thus far prepared to receive
+benefit from this source.
+
+[Why does under-draining increase the absorptive power of the
+soil?
+
+How do plants obtain their carbonic acid?
+
+How does carbonic acid affect caustic lime in the soil?]
+
+The next point is to cause the water of rains to pass _through_ the
+soil. If it lies on the surface, or runs off without entering the soil,
+or even if it only enters to a slight depth, and comes in contact with
+but a small quantity of the absorbents, it is not probable that the
+fertilizing matters which it contains will all be abstracted. Some of
+them will undoubtedly return to the atmosphere on the evaporation of the
+water; but, if the soil contains a sufficient supply of absorbents, and
+will allow all rain water to pass through it, the fertilizing gases will
+all be retained. They will be filtered (or raked) out of the water.
+
+This subject will be more fully treated in Section IV. in connection
+with under-draining.
+
+Besides the properties just described, the soil must possess the power
+of admitting a free circulation of air. To effect this, it is necessary
+that the soil should be well pulverized to a great depth. If, in
+addition to this, the soil be such as to admit water to pass through, it
+will allow that circulation of air necessary to the greatest supply of
+ammonia.
+
+
+CARBONIC ACID.
+
+[What power does it give to water?
+
+What condition of the soil is necessary for the reception of the largest
+quantity of carbonic acid?
+
+May oxygen be considered a manure?
+
+What is the effect of the oxidation of the constituents of the soil?]
+
+Carbonic acid is received from the atmosphere, both by the leaves and
+roots of plants.
+
+If there is caustic lime in the soil, it unites with it, and makes it
+milder and finer. It is absorbed by the water in the soil, and gives it
+the power of dissolving many more substances than it would do without
+the carbonic acid. This use is one of very great importance, as it is
+equivalent to making the minerals themselves more soluble. Water
+dissolves carbonate of lime, etc., exactly in proportion to the amount
+of carbonic acid which it contains. We should, therefore, strive to have
+as much carbonic acid as possible in the water in the soil; and one way,
+in which to effect this, is to admit to the soil the largest possible
+quantity of atmospheric air which contains this gas.
+
+The condition of soil necessary for this, is the same as is required for
+the deposit of ammonia by the same circulation of air.
+
+
+OXYGEN.
+
+[How does it affect the protoxide of iron?
+
+How does it neutralize the acids in the soil?
+
+How does it affect its organic parts?
+
+How does it form nitric acid?
+
+How may it affect excrementitious matter of plants?
+
+What effect has it on the mechanical condition of the soil?]
+
+_Oxygen_, though not taken up by plants in its pure form, may justly be
+classed among manures, if we consider its effects both chemical and
+mechanical in the soil.
+
+1. By oxidizing or _rusting_ some of the constituents of the soil, it
+prepares them for the uses of plants.
+
+2. It unites with the _prot_oxide of iron, and changes it to the
+_per_oxide.
+
+3. If there are _acids_ in the soil, which make it sour and unfertile,
+it may be opened to the circulation of the air, and the oxygen will
+prepare some of the mineral matters contained in the soil to unite with
+the acids and neutralize them.
+
+4. Oxygen combines with the carbon of organic matters in the soil, and
+causes them to decay. The combination produces carbonic acid.
+
+5. It combines with the nitrogen of decaying substances and forms
+_nitric acid_, which is serviceable as food for plants.
+
+6. It undoubtedly affects in some way the matter which is thrown out
+from the roots of plants. This, if allowed to accumulate, and remain
+unchanged, is often very injurious to plants; but, probably, the oxygen
+and carbonic acid of the air in the soil change it to a form to be
+inoffensive, or even make it again useful to the plant.
+
+7. It may also improve the _mechanical_ condition of the soil, as it
+causes its particles to crumble, thus making it finer; and it roughens
+the surfaces of particles, making them less easy to move among each
+other.
+
+These properties of oxygen claim for it a high place among the
+atmospheric fertilizers.
+
+
+WATER.
+
+[Why may water be considered an atmospheric manure?
+
+What classes of action have manures?
+
+What are chemical manures? Mechanical?]
+
+_Water_ may be considered an atmospheric manure, as its chief supply to
+vegetation is received from the air in the form of rain or dew. Its many
+effects are already too well known to need farther comment.
+
+The means of supplying water to the soil by the deposit of _dew_ will be
+fully explained in Section IV.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+RECAPITULATION.
+
+
+Manures have two distinct classes of action in the soil, namely,
+_chemical_ and _mechanical_.
+
+_Chemical_ manures are those which enter into the construction of
+plants, or produce such chemical effects on matters in the soil as shall
+prepare them for use.
+
+_Mechanical_ manures are those which improve the mechanical condition
+of the soil, such as loosening stiff clays, compacting light sands,
+pulverizing large particles, etc.
+
+[What are the three kinds of manures?
+
+What are organic manures, and what are their uses? Mineral?
+Atmospheric?]
+
+Manures are of three distinct kinds, namely, _Organic_, _mineral_, and
+_atmospheric_.
+
+_Organic_ manures comprise all vegetable and animal matters (except
+ashes) which are used to fertilize the soil. Vegetable manures supply
+carbonic acid, and inorganic matter to plants. Animal manures supply the
+same substances and ammonia.
+
+_Mineral_ manures comprise ashes, salt, phosphate of lime, plaster, etc.
+They supply plants with inorganic matter. Their usefulness depends on
+their solubility.
+
+Many of the organic and mineral manures have the power of absorbing
+ammonia arising from the decomposition of animal manures, as well as
+that which is brought to the soil by rains--these are called absorbents.
+
+_Atmospheric_ manures consist of ammonia, carbonic acid, oxygen and
+water. Their greatest usefulness requires the soil to allow the water of
+rains to pass _through_ it, to admit of a free circulation of air among
+its particles, and to contain a sufficient amount of absorbent matter to
+arrest and retain all ammonia and carbonic acid presented to it.
+
+[What rule should regulate the application of manures?
+
+How must organic manures be managed? Atmospheric?]
+
+Manures should never be applied to the soil without regard to its
+requirements.
+
+Ammonia and carbon are almost always useful, but mineral manures become
+mere _dirt_ when applied to soils not deficient of them.
+
+The only true guide to the exact requirements of the soil is _chemical
+analysis_; and this must always be obtained before farming can be
+carried on with true economy.
+
+Organic manures must be protected against the escape of their ammonia
+and the leaching out of their soluble parts. One cord of stable manure
+properly preserved, is worth ten cords which have lost all of their
+ammonia by evaporation, and their soluble parts by leaching--as is the
+case with much of the manure kept exposed in open barn-yards.
+
+Atmospheric manures cost nothing, and are of great value when properly
+employed. In consequence of this, the soil which is enabled to make the
+largest appropriation of the atmospheric fertilizers, is worth many
+times as much as that which allows them to escape.
+
+
+
+
+SECTION FOURTH.
+
+MECHANICAL CULTIVATION.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE MECHANICAL CHARACTER OF SOILS.
+
+
+[What is the first office of the soil?
+
+How does it hold water for the uses of the plant?
+
+How does it obtain a part of its moisture?]
+
+The mechanical character of the soil is well understood from preceding
+remarks, and the learner knows that there are many offices to be
+performed by the soil aside from the feeding of plants.
+
+1. It admits the roots of plants, and holds them in their position.
+
+2. By a sponge-like action, it holds water for the uses of the plant.
+
+3. It absorbs moisture from the atmosphere to supply the demands of
+plants.
+
+[How may it obtain heat?
+
+What is the use of the air circulating among its particles?
+
+Could most soils be brought to the highest state of fertility?
+
+What is the first thing to be done?
+
+Should its color be darkened?]
+
+4. It absorbs heat from the sun's rays to assist in the process of
+growth.
+
+5. It admits air to circulate among roots, and supply them with a part
+of their food, while the oxygen of that air renders available the
+minerals of the soil; and its carbonic acid, being absorbed by the water
+in the soil, gives it the power of dissolving, and carrying into roots
+more inorganic matter than would be contained in purer water.
+
+6. It allows the excrementitious matter thrown out by roots to be
+carried out of their reach.
+
+All of these actions the soil must be capable of performing, before it
+can be in its highest state of fertility. There are comparatively few
+soils now in this condition, but there are also few which could not be
+profitably rendered so, by a judicious application of the modes of
+cultivation to be described in the following chapters.
+
+The three great objects to be accomplished are:--
+
+1. To adopt such a system of drainage as will cause all of the water of
+rains to pass _through_ the soil, instead of evaporating from the
+surface.
+
+2. To pulverize the soil to a considerable depth.
+
+3. To darken its color, and render it capable of absorbing atmospheric
+fertilizers.
+
+[Name some of the means used to secure these effects.
+
+Why are under-drains superior to open drains?]
+
+The means used to secure these effects are _under-draining, sub-soil and
+surface-plowing, digging, applying muck, etc._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+UNDER-DRAINING.
+
+
+The advantages of _under_-drains over _open_ drains are very great.
+
+When open drains are used, much water passes into them immediately from
+the surface, and carries with it fertilizing parts of the soil, while
+their beds are often compacted by the running water and the heat of the
+sun, so that they become water-tight, and do not admit water from the
+lower parts of the soil.
+
+The sides of these drains are often covered with weeds, which spread
+their seeds throughout the whole field. Open drains are not only a great
+obstruction to the proper cultivation of the land, but they cause much
+waste of room, as we can rarely plow nearer than within six or eight
+feet of them.
+
+There are none of these objections to the use of under-drains, as these
+are completely covered, and do not at all interfere with the
+cultivation of the surface.
+
+[With what materials may under-drains be constructed?
+
+Describe the tile.]
+
+Under drains may be made with brush, stones, or tiles. Brush is a very
+poor material, and its use is hardly to be recommended. Small stones are
+better, and if these be placed in the bottoms of the trenches, to a
+depth of eight or ten inches, and covered with sods turned upside down,
+having the earth packed well down on to them, they make very good
+drains.
+
+
+TILE DRAINING.
+
+The best under-drains are those made with tiles, or burnt clay pipes.
+The first form of these used was that called the _horse-shoe tile_,
+which was in two distinct pieces; this was superseded by a round pipe,
+and we have now what is called the _sole tile_, which is much better
+than either of the others.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 4--Sole Tile.]
+
+[Why is the sole tile superior to those of previous
+construction?
+
+How are these tiles laid?
+
+How may the trenches be dug?]
+
+This tile is made (like the horse-shoe and pipe tile) of common brick
+clay, and is burned the same as bricks. It is about one half or three
+quarters of an inch thick, and is so porous that water passes directly
+through it. It has a flat bottom on which to stand, and this enables it
+to retain its position, while making the drain, better than would be
+done by the round pipe. The orifice through which the water passes is
+egg-shaped, having its smallest curve at the bottom. This shape is the
+one most easily kept clear, as any particles of dirt which get into the
+drain must fall immediately to the point where even the smallest stream
+of water runs, and are thus removed. An orifice of about two inches is
+sufficient for the smaller drains, while the main drains require larger
+tiles.
+
+These tiles are laid, so that their ends will touch each other, on the
+bottoms of the trenches, and are kept in position by having the earth
+tightly packed around them. Care must be taken that no space is left
+between the ends of the tiles, as dirt would be liable to get in and
+choke the drain. It is advisable to place a sod--grass side down--over
+each joint, before filling the trench, as this more effectually protects
+them against the entrance of dirt. There is no danger of keeping the
+water out by this operation, as it will readily pass through any part of
+the tiles.
+
+In _digging the trenches_ it is not necessary (except in very stony
+ground) to dig out a place wide enough for a man to stand in, as there
+are tools made expressly for the purpose, by which a trench may be dug
+six or seven inches wide, and to any required depth. One set of these
+implements consists of a long narrow spade and a hoe to correspond, such
+as are represented in the accompanying figure.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 5.
+
+Upton tool.
+
+Spade and hoe.]
+
+With these tools, and a long light crowbar, for hard soils, trenches may
+be dug much more cheaply than with the common spade and pickaxe. Where
+there are large boulders in the soil, these draining tools may dig under
+them so that they will not have to be removed.
+
+When the trenches are dug to a sufficient depth, the bottoms must be
+made perfectly smooth, with the required descent (from six inches to a
+few feet in one hundred feet). Then the tiles may be laid in, so that
+their ends will correspond, be packed down, and the trenches filled up.
+Such a drain, if properly constructed, may last for ages. Unlike the
+stone drain, it is not liable to be frequented by rats, nor choked up by
+the soil working into it.
+
+The position of the tile may be best represented by a figure, also the
+mode of constructing stone drains.
+
+[Why are small stones better than large stones in the
+construction of drains?
+
+On what must the depth of under-drains depend?]
+
+It will be seen that the tile drain is made with much less labor than
+the stone drain, as it requires less digging, while the breaking up of
+the stone for the stone drain will be nearly, or quite as expensive as
+the tiles. Drains made with large stones are not nearly so good as with
+small ones, because they are more liable to be choked up by animals
+working in them.[AK]
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 6.
+
+_a_--Tile drain trench.
+_b_--Stone drain trench.
+_c_--Sod laid on the stone.]
+
+[Describe the principle which regulates these relative depths
+and distances. (Blackboard.)
+
+Which is usually the cheaper plan of constructing drains?]
+
+The _depth_ of the drains must depend on the distances at which they are
+placed. If but _twenty_ feet apart, they need be but _three_ feet deep;
+while, if they are _eighty_ feet apart, they must be _five_ feet deep,
+to produce the same effect. The reason for this is, that the water in
+the drained soil is not level, but is higher midway between the drains,
+than at any other point. It is necessary that this highest point should
+be sufficiently far from the surface not to interfere with the roots of
+plants, consequently, as the water line between two drains is _curved_,
+the most distant drains must be the deepest. This will be understood by
+referring to the following diagram.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 7.
+
+_aa_--5 feet drains, 80 ft. apart. _bb_--3 feet drains, 20 ft. apart.]
+
+The curved line represents the position of the water.
+
+In most soils it will be easier to dig one trench five feet deep, than
+four trenches three feet deep, and the deep trenches will be equally
+beneficial; but where the soil is very hard below a depth of three feet,
+the shallow trenches will be the cheapest, and in such soils they will
+often be better, as the hard mass might not allow the water to pass down
+to enter the deeper drains.
+
+By following out these instructions, land may be cheaply, thoroughly,
+and permanently drained.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AK] It is probable that a composition of hydraulic cement and some
+soluble material will be invented, by which a continuous pipe may be
+laid in the bottoms of trenches, becoming porous as the soluble material
+is removed by water.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ADVANTAGES OF UNDER-DRAINING.
+
+
+The advantages of under-draining are many and important.
+
+1. It entirely prevents drought.
+
+2. It furnishes an increased supply of atmospheric fertilizers.
+
+3. It warms the lower portions of the soil.
+
+4. It hastens the decomposition of roots and other organic matter.
+
+5. It accelerates the disintegration of the mineral matters in the soil.
+
+6. It causes a more even distribution of nutritious matters among those
+parts of soil traversed by roots.
+
+7. It improves the mechanical texture of the soil.
+
+8. It causes the poisonous excrementitious matter of plants to be
+carried out of the reach of their roots.
+
+9. It prevents grasses from running out.
+
+10. It enables us to deepen the surface soil.
+
+By removing excess of water--
+
+11. It renders soils earlier in the spring.
+
+12. It prevents the throwing out of grain in winter.
+
+13. It allows us to work sooner after rains.
+
+14. It keeps off the effects of cold weather longer in the fall.
+
+15. It prevents the formation of _acetic_ and other organic acids, which
+induce the growth of sorrel and similar weeds.
+
+16. It hastens the decay of vegetable matter, and the finer comminution
+of the earthy parts of the soil.
+
+17. It prevents, in a great measure, the evaporation of water, and the
+consequent abstraction of heat from the soil.
+
+18. It admits fresh quantities of water from rains, etc., which are
+always more or less imbued with the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere,
+to be deposited among the absorbent parts of soil, and given up to the
+necessities of plants.
+
+19. It prevents the formation of so hard a crust on the surface of the
+soil as is customary on heavy lands.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[How does under-draining prevent drought?]
+
+1. Under-draining _prevents drought_, because it gives a better
+circulation of air in the soil; (it does so by making it more open).
+There is always the same amount of water _in_ and _about_ the surface of
+the earth. In winter, there is more in the soil than in summer, while in
+summer, that which has been dried out of the soil exists in the
+atmosphere in the form of a _vapor_. It is held in the vapory form by
+_heat_, which acts as _braces_ to keep it distended. When vapor comes in
+contact with substances sufficiently colder than itself, it gives up its
+heat--thus losing its braces--contracts, and becomes liquid water.
+
+This may be observed in hundreds of common operations.
+
+[Why is there less water in the soil in summer than in winter,
+and where does it exist?
+
+What holds it in its vapory form?
+
+How is it affected by cold substances?
+
+Describe the deposit of moisture on the outside of a pitcher in summer.
+
+What other instances of the same action can be named?]
+
+It is well known that a cold pitcher in summer robs the vapor in the
+atmosphere of its heat, and causes it to be deposited on its own
+surface. It looks as though the pitcher were _sweating_, but the water
+all comes from the atmosphere, not, of course, through the sides of the
+pitcher.
+
+If we breathe on a knife-blade, it condenses in the same manner the
+moisture of the breath, and becomes covered with a film of water.
+
+Stone houses are damp in summer, because the inner surfaces of the
+walls, being cooler than the atmosphere, cause its moisture to be
+deposited in the manner described. By leaving a space, however, between
+the walls and the plaster, this moisture is prevented from being
+troublesome.
+
+[How does this principle affect the soil?
+
+Explain the experiment with the two boxes of soil.]
+
+Nearly every night in the summer season, the cold earth receives
+moisture from the atmosphere in the form of dew.
+
+A cabbage, which at night is very cold, condenses water to the amount of
+a gill or more.
+
+The same operation takes place in the soil. When the air is allowed to
+circulate among its lower and _cooler_ particles, they receive moisture
+from the same process of condensation. Therefore, when, by the aid of
+under-drains, the lower soil becomes sufficiently open to admit of a
+circulation of air, the deposit of atmospheric moisture will keep the
+soil supplied with water at a point easily accessible to the roots of
+plants.
+
+If we wish to satisfy ourselves that this is _practically_ correct, we
+have only to prepare two boxes of finely pulverized soil, one, five or
+six inches deep, and the other fifteen or twenty inches deep, and place
+them in the sun at mid-day in summer. The thinner soil will be
+completely dried, while the deeper one, though it may have been
+perfectly dry at first, will soon accumulate a large amount of water on
+those particles which, being lower and more sheltered from the sun's
+heat than the particles of the thin soil, are made cooler.
+
+With an open condition of subsoil, then, such as may be secured by
+under-draining, we entirely overcome drought.
+
+[How does under-draining supply to the soil an increased
+amount of atmospheric fertilizers?
+
+How does it warm the lower parts of the soil?]
+
+2. Under-draining _furnishes an increased supply of atmospheric
+fertilizers_, because it secures a change of air in the soil. This
+change is produced whenever the soil becomes filled with water, and then
+dried; when the air above the earth is in rapid motion, and when the
+comparative temperature of the upper and lower soils changes. It causes
+new quantities of the ammonia and carbonic acid which it contains to be
+presented to the absorbent parts of the soil.
+
+3. Under-draining _warms the lower parts of the soil_, because the
+deposit of moisture (1) is necessarily accompanied by an abstraction of
+heat from the atmospheric vapor, and because heat is withdrawn from the
+whole amount of air circulating through the cooler soil.
+
+When rain falls on the parched surface soil, it robs it of a portion of
+its heat, which is carried down to equalize the temperature for the
+whole depth. The heat of the rain-water itself is given up to the soil,
+leaving the water from one to ten degrees cooler, when it passes out of
+the drains, than when received by the earth.
+
+There is always a current of air passing from the lower to the upper end
+of a well constructed drain; and this air is always cooler in warm
+weather, when it issues from, than when it enters the drain. Its lost
+heat is imparted to the soil.
+
+[How does it hasten the decomposition of roots and other
+organic matter in the soil?
+
+How does it accelerate the disintegration of its mineral parts?
+
+Why is this disintegration necessary to fertility?]
+
+This heating of the lower soil renders it more favorable to vegetation,
+partially by expanding the spongioles at the end of the roots, thus
+enabling them to absorb larger quantities of nutritious matters.
+
+4. Under-draining _hastens the decomposition of roots and other organic
+matters in the soil_, by admitting increased quantities of air, thus
+supplying _oxygen_, which is as essential in decay as it is in
+combustion. It also allows the resultant gases of decomposition to pass
+away, leaving the air around the decaying substances in a condition to
+continue the process.
+
+This organic decay, besides its other benefits, produces an amount of
+heat perfectly perceptible to the smaller roots of plants, though not so
+to us.
+
+5. Draining _accelerates the disintegration of the mineral matters in
+the soil_, by admitting water and oxygen to keep up the process. This
+disintegration is necessary to fertility, because the roots of plants
+can feed only on matters dissolved from _surfaces_; and the more finely
+we pulverize the soil, the more surface we expose. For instance, the
+interior of a stone can furnish no food for plants; while, if it were
+finely crushed, it might make a fertile soil.
+
+Any thing, tending to open the soil to exposure, facilitates the
+disintegration of its particles, and thereby increases its fertility.
+
+[How does under-draining equalize the distribution of the
+fertilizing parts of the soil?
+
+Why does this distribution lessen the impoverishment of the soil?
+
+How does under-draining improve the mechanical texture of the soil?
+
+How do drains affect the excrementitious matter of plants?]
+
+6. Draining _causes a more even distribution of nutritious matters among
+those parts of soil traversed by roots_, because it increases the ease
+with which water travels around, descending by its own weight, moving
+sideways by a desire to find its level, or carried upward by attraction
+to supply the evaporation at the surface. By this continued motion of
+the water, soluble matter of one part of the soil may be carried to some
+other part; and another constituent from this latter position may be
+carried back to the former. Thus the food of vegetables is continually
+circulating around among their roots, ready for absorption at any point
+where it is needed, while the more open character of the soil enables
+roots to occupy larger portions, making a more even drain on the whole,
+and preventing the undue impoverishment of any part.
+
+7. Under-drains _improve the mechanical texture of the soil_; because,
+by the decomposition of its parts, as previously described (4 and 5), it
+is rendered of a character to be more easily worked; while smooth round
+particles, which have a tendency to pack, are roughened by the oxidation
+of their surfaces, and move less easily among each other.
+
+8. Drains _cause the excrementitious matter of plants to be carried out
+of the reach of their roots_. Nearly all plants return to the soil those
+parts of their food, which are not adapted to their necessities, and
+usually in a form that is poisonous to plants of the same kind. In an
+open soil, this matter may be carried by rains to a point where roots
+cannot reach it, and where it may undergo such changes as will fit it to
+be again taken up.
+
+[Why do they prevent grasses from running out?]
+
+9. By under-draining, _grasses are prevented from running out_, partly
+by preventing the accumulation of the poisonous excrementitious matter,
+and partly because these grasses usually consist of _tillering_ plants.
+
+These plants continually reproduce themselves in sprouts from the upper
+parts of their roots. These sprouts become independent plants, and
+continue to tiller (thus keeping the land supplied with a full growth),
+until the roots of the _stools_ (or clumps of tillers), come in contact
+with an uncongenial part of the soil, when the tillering ceases; the
+stools become extinct on the death of their plants, and the grasses run
+out.
+
+The open and healthy condition of soil produced by draining prevents the
+tillering from being stopped, and thus keeps up a full growth of grass
+until the nutriment of the soil is exhausted.
+
+10. Draining _enables us to deepen the surface-soil_, because the
+admission of air and the decay of roots render the condition of the
+subsoil such that it may be brought up and mixed with the surface-soil,
+without injuring _its quality_.
+
+The second class of advantages of under-draining, arising in the removal
+of the excess of water in the soil, are quite as important as those just
+described.
+
+[How does the removal of water render soils earlier in spring?
+
+Why does it prevent the throwing out of grain in winter?
+
+Why does it enable us to work sooner after rains?
+
+Why does it keep off the effects of cold weather longer in the fall?]
+
+11. _Soils are, thereby, rendered earlier in spring_, because the water,
+which rendered them cold, heavy, and untillable, is earlier removed,
+leaving them earlier in a growing condition.
+
+12. _The throwing out of grain in winter_ is prevented, because the
+water falling on the earth is immediately removed instead of remaining
+to throw up the soil by freezing, as it always does from the upright
+position taken by the particles of ice.
+
+13. _We are enabled to work sooner after rains_, because the water
+descends, and is immediately removed instead of lying to be taken off by
+the slow process of evaporation, and sinking through a heavy soil.
+
+14. _The effects of cold weather are kept off longer in the fall_,
+because the excess of water is removed, which would produce an unfertile
+condition on the first appearance of cold weather.
+
+The drains also, from causes already named (3), keep the soil warmer
+than before being drained, thus actually lengthening the season, by
+making the soil warm enough for vegetable growth earlier in spring, and
+later in autumn.
+
+[How does it prevent lands from becoming sour?
+
+Why does it hasten the decay of roots, and the comminution of mineral
+matters?
+
+How does it prevent the abstraction of heat from the soil?]
+
+15. _Lands are prevented from becoming sour by the formation of acetic
+acid_, etc., because these acids are produced in the soil only when the
+decomposition of organic matter is arrested by the _antiseptic_
+(preserving) powers of water. If the water is removed, the decomposition
+of the organic matter assumes a healthy form, while the acids already
+produced are neutralized by atmospheric influences, and the soil is
+restored from sorrel to a condition in which it is fitted for the growth
+of more valuable plants.
+
+16. _The decay of roots_, etc., is allowed to proceed, because the
+preservative influence of too much water is removed. Wood, leaves, or
+other vegetable matter kept continually under water, will last for ages;
+while, if exposed to the action of the weather, as in under-drained
+soils, they soon decay.
+
+The presence of too much water, by excluding the oxygen of the air,
+prevents the _comminution of matters_ necessary to fertility.
+
+[How much heat does water take up in becoming vapor?
+
+Why does water sprinkled on a floor render it cooler?
+
+Why is not a cubic inch of vapor warmer than a cubic inch of water?
+
+Why does a wet cloth on the head make it cooler when fanned?
+
+How does this principle apply to the soil?]
+
+17. _The evaporation of water, and the consequent abstraction of heat
+from the soil, is in a great measure prevented_ by draining the water
+out at the _bottom_ of the soil, instead of leaving it to be dried off
+from the surface.
+
+When water assumes the gaseous (or vapory) form, it takes up 1723 times
+as much _heat_ as it contained while a liquid. A large part of this heat
+is derived from surrounding substances. When water is sprinkled on the
+floor, it cools the room; because, as it becomes a vapor, it takes heat
+from the room. The reason why vapor does not feel hotter than liquid
+water is, that, while it contains 1723 times as much heat, it is 1723 as
+large. Hence, a cubic inch of vapor, into which we place the bulb of a
+thermometer, contains no more heat than a cubic inch of water. The
+principle is the same in some other cases. A sponge containing a
+table-spoonful of water is just as _wet_ as one twice as large and
+containing two spoonsful.
+
+If a wet cloth be placed on the head, and the evaporation of its water
+assisted by fanning, the head becomes cooler--a portion of its heat
+being taken to sustain the vapory condition of the water.
+
+The same principle holds true with the soil. When the evaporation of
+water is rapidly going on, by the assistance of the sun, wind, etc., a
+large quantity of heat is abstracted, and the soil becomes cold.
+
+When there is no evaporation taking place, except of water which has
+been deposited on the lower portions of soil, and carried to the surface
+by capillary attraction (as is nearly true on under-drained soils), the
+loss of heat is compensated by that taken from the moisture in the
+atmosphere by the soil, in the above-named manner.
+
+This cooling of the soil by the evaporation of water, is of very great
+injury to its powers of producing crops, and the fact that under-drains
+avoid it, is one of the best arguments in favor of their use. Some idea
+may, perhaps, be formed of the amount of heat taken from the soil in
+this way, from the fact that, in midsummer, 25 hogsheads of water may be
+evaporated from a single acre in twelve hours.
+
+[When rains are allowed to _enter_ the soil, how do they
+benefit it?
+
+How do under-drains prevent the formation of a crust on the surface of a
+soil?]
+
+18. When not saturated with water the soil admits the water of rains,
+etc., which bring with them _fertilizing gases from the atmosphere_, to
+be deposited among the absorbent parts of soil, and given up to the
+necessities of the plant. When this rain falls on lands already
+saturated, it cannot enter the soil, but must run off from the surface,
+or be removed by evaporation, either of which is injurious. The first,
+because fertilizing matter is washed away. The second, because the soil
+is deprived of necessary heat.
+
+19. _The formation of crust on the surface of the soil_ is due to the
+evaporation of water, which is drawn up from below by capillary
+attraction. It arises from the fact that the water in the soil is
+saturated with mineral substances, which it leaves at its point of
+evaporation at the surface. This soluble matter from below, often forms
+a very hard crust, which is a complete shield to prevent the admission
+of air with its ameliorating effects, and should, as far as possible, be
+avoided. Under-draining is the best means of doing this, as it is the
+best means of lessening the evaporation.
+
+The foregoing are some of the more important reasons why under-draining
+is always beneficial. Thorough experiments have amply proved the truth
+of the theory.
+
+[What kinds of soil are benefited by under-draining?]
+
+The _kinds of soil benefited by under-draining_ are nearly as unlimited
+as the kinds of soil in existence. It is a common opinion, among
+farmers, that the only soils which require draining are those which are
+at times covered with water, such as swamps and other low lands; but the
+facts stated in the early part of this chapter, show us that every kind
+of soil--wet, dry, compact, or light--receives benefit from the
+treatment. The fact that land is _too dry_, is as much a reason why it
+should be drained, as that it is _too wet_, as it overcomes drought as
+effectually as it removes the injurious effects of too much water.
+
+All soils in which the water of heavy rains does not immediately pass
+down to a depth of at least _thirty inches_, should be under-drained,
+and the operation, if carried on with judgment, would invariably result
+in profit.
+
+[What do English farmers name as the profits of
+under-draining?
+
+What stand has been taken by the English government with regard to
+under-draining?]
+
+Of the precise _profits_ of under-draining this is not the place to
+speak: many of the agricultural papers contain numerous accounts of its
+success. It may be well to remark here, that many English farmers give
+it, as their experience, that under-drains pay for themselves every
+three years, or that they produce a perpetual profit of 33-1/3 per
+cent., or their original cost. This is not the opinion of _theorists_
+and _book farmers_. It is the conviction of practical men, who know,
+_from experience_, that under-drains are beneficial.
+
+The best evidence of the utility of under-draining is the position, with
+regard to it, which has been taken by the English national government,
+which affords much protection to the agricultural interests of her
+people--a protection which in this country is unwisely and unjustly
+withheld.
+
+In England a very large sum from the public treasury has been
+appropriated as a fund for loans, on under-drains, which is lent to
+farmers for the purpose of under-draining their estates, the only
+security given being the increased value of the soil. The time allowed
+for payments is twenty years, and only five per cent. interest is
+charged. By the influence of this patronage, the actual wealth of the
+kingdom is being rapidly increased, while the farmers themselves, can
+raise their farms to any desired state of fertility, without immediate
+investment.
+
+[How does under-draining affect the healthfulness of marshy
+countries?
+
+Describe the sub-soil plow.]
+
+The best proof that the government has not acted injudiciously in this
+matter is, that private capitalists are fast employing their money in
+the same manner, and loans on under-drains are considered a very safe
+investment.
+
+There is no doubt that we may soon have similar facilities for improving
+our farms, and when we do, we shall find that it is unnecessary to move
+West to find good soil. The districts nearer market, where the expense
+of transportation is much less, may, by the aid of under-drains, and a
+judicious system of cultivation, be made equally fertile.
+
+One very important, though not strictly agricultural, effect of thorough
+drainage is its removal of certain local diseases, peculiar to the
+vicinity of marshy or low moist soils. The health-reports in several
+places in England, show that where _fever and ague_ was once common, it
+has almost entirely disappeared since the general use of under-drains in
+those localities.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+SUB-SOIL PLOWING.
+
+
+[Describe the Mapes plow.
+
+Why is the motion in the soil of one and a half inches sufficient?
+
+How does the oxidation of the particles of the soil resemble the rusting
+of cannon balls in a pile?]
+
+The _sub-soil plow_ is an implement differing in figure from the surface
+plow. It does not turn a furrow, but merely runs through the subsoil
+like a mole--loosening and making it finer by lifting, but allowing it
+to fall back and occupy its former place. It usually follows the surface
+plow, entering the soil to the depth of from twelve to eighteen inches
+below the bottom of the surface furrow.
+
+The best pattern now made (the Mapes plow) is represented in the
+following figure.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 8.
+
+The Mapes plow and its mode of action. _a_--Shape of the foot of the
+plow, _b_--Its effect on the soil.]
+
+The sub-soil plows first made raised the whole soil about eight inches,
+and required very great power in their use often six, eight, or even ten
+oxen. The Mapes plow, raising the soil but slightly, may be worked with
+much less power, and produces equally good results. It may be run to its
+full depth in most soils by a single yoke of oxen.
+
+Of course a motion in the soil of but one and a half inches is very
+slight, but it is sufficient to move each particle from the one next to
+it which, in dry soils, is all that is necessary. Whoever has examined a
+pile of cannon-balls must have observed that at the points where they
+touch each other, there is a little rust. In the soil, the same is often
+the case. Where the particles touch each other, there is such a chemical
+change produced as renders them fit for the use of plants. While these
+particles remain in their first position, the changed portions are out
+of the reach of roots; but, if, by the aid of the sub-soil plow, their
+position is altered, these parts are exposed for the uses of plants. If
+we hold in the hand a ball of dry clay, and press it hard enough to
+produce the least motion among its particles, the whole mass becomes
+pulverized. On the same principle, the sub-soil plow renders the compact
+lower soil sufficiently fine for the requirements of fertility.
+
+[Why are the benefits of sub-soiling not permanent on wet
+lands?
+
+Does sub-soiling overcome drought?
+
+How does it deepen the surface soil?]
+
+Notwithstanding its great benefits on land, which is sufficiently dry,
+sub-soiling cannot be recommended for wet lands; for, in such case, the
+rains of a single season would often be sufficient to entirely overcome
+its effects by packing the subsoil down to its former hardness.
+
+On lands not overcharged with water, it is productive of the best
+results, it being often sufficient to turn the balance between a gaining
+and a losing business in farming.
+
+It increases nearly every effect of under-draining; especially does it
+overcome drought, by loosening the soil, and admitting air to circulate
+among the particles of the subsoil and deposit its moisture on the
+principle described in the chapter on under-draining.
+
+It deepens the surface-soil, because it admits roots into the subsoil
+where they decay and leave carbon, while the circulation of air so
+affects the mineral parts, that they become of a fertilizing character.
+The deposit of carbon gives to the subsoil the power of absorbing, and
+retaining the atmospheric fertilizers, which are more freely presented,
+owing to the fact that the air is allowed to circulate with greater
+freedom. As a majority of roots decay in the surface-soil, they there
+deposit much mineral matter obtained from the subsoil.
+
+[Why is the retention of atmospheric manures ensured by
+sub-soiling?
+
+Why are organic manures plowed deeply under the soil, less liable to
+evaporation than when deposited near the surface?
+
+How does sub-soiling resemble under-draining in relation to the
+tillering of grasses?
+
+When the subsoil consists of a thin layer of clay on a sandy bed, what
+use may be made of the sub-soil plow?]
+
+The retention of atmospheric manures is more fully ensured by the
+better exposure of the clayey portions of the soil.
+
+Those manures which are artificially applied, by being plowed under to
+greater depths, are less liable to evaporation, as, from the greater
+amount of soil above them, their escape will more probably be arrested;
+and, from the greater prevalence of roots, they are more liable to be
+taken up by plants.
+
+The subsoil often contains matters which are deficient in the
+surface-soil. By the use of the sub-soil plow, they are rendered
+available.
+
+Sub-soiling is similar to under-draining in continuing the tillering of
+grasses, and in getting rid of the poisonous excrementitious matter of
+plants.
+
+When the subsoil is a thin layer of clay on a sandy bed (as in some
+plants of Cumberland Co. Maine), the sub-soil plow, by passing through
+it, opens a passage for water, and often affords a sufficient drainage.
+
+[To how great a depth will the roots of plants usually occupy
+the soil?
+
+What is the object of loosening the soil?
+
+How are these various effects better produced in deep than in shallow
+soils?]
+
+If plants will grow better on a soil six inches deep than on one of
+three inches, there is no reason why they should not be benefited in
+proportion, by disturbing the soil to the whole depth to which roots
+will travel--which is usually more than two feet. The minute rootlets
+of corn and most other plants, will, if allowed by cultivation, occupy
+the soil to the depth or thirty-four inches, having a fibre in nearly
+every cubic inch of the soil for the whole distance. There are very few
+cultivated plants whose roots would not travel to a depth of thirty
+inches or more. Even the onion sends its roots to the depth of eighteen
+inches when the soil is well cultivated.
+
+The object of loosening the soil is to admit roots to a sufficient depth
+to hold the plant in its position--to obtain the nutriment necessary to
+its growth--to receive moisture from the lower portions of the
+soil--and, if it be a bulb, tuber, or tap, to assume the form requisite
+for its largest development.
+
+It must be evident that roots, penetrating the soil to a depth of two
+feet, anchor the plant with greater stability than those which are
+spread more thinly near the surface.
+
+The roots of plants traversing the soil to such great distances, and
+being located in nearly every part, absorb mineral and other food, in
+solution in water, only through the _spongioles at their ends_.
+Consequently, by having these ends in _every part_ of the soil, it is
+_all_ brought under contribution, and the amount supplied is greater,
+while the demand on any particular part may be less than when the whole
+requirements of plants have to be supplied from a depth of a few inches.
+
+[May garden soils be profitably imitated in field culture?]
+
+The ability of roots, to assume a natural shape in the soil, and grow to
+their largest sizes, must depend on the condition of the soil. If it is
+finely pulverized to the whole depth to which they ought to go, they
+will be fully developed; while, if the soil be too hard for penetration,
+they will be deformed or small. Thus a carrot may grow to the length of
+two and a half feet, and be of perfect shape, while, if it meet in its
+course at a depth of eight or ten inches a _cold, hard_ subsoil, its
+growth must be arrested, or its form injured.
+
+Roots are turned aside by a hard sub-soil, as they would be if received
+by the surface of a plate of glass.
+
+Add to this the fact that cold, impenetrable subsoils are _chemically_
+uncongenial to vegetation, and we have sufficient evidence of the
+importance, and in many cases the absolute necessity of sub-soiling and
+under-draining.
+
+It is unnecessary to urge the fact that a garden soil of two feet is
+more productive than a field soil of six inches; and it is certain that
+proper attention to these two modes of cultivation will in a majority of
+cases make a garden of the field--more than doubling its value in ease
+of working, increased produce, certain security against drought, and
+more even distribution of the demands on the soil--while the outlay will
+be immediately repaid by an increase of crops.
+
+[Is the use of the sub-soil plow increasing?
+
+Will its use ever injure crops?]
+
+The subsoil will be much improved in its character the first year, and a
+continual advancement renders it in time equal to the original
+surface-soil, and extending to a depth of two feet or more.
+
+The sub-soil plow is coming rapidly into use. There are now in New
+Jersey more foundries casting sub-soil plows than there were sub-soil
+plows in the State six years ago. The implement has there, as well as in
+many other places, ceased to be a curiosity; and the man who now objects
+to its use, is classed with him who shells his corn on a shovel over a
+half-bushel, instead of employing an improved machine, which will enable
+him to do more in a day than he can do in the "good old way" in a week.
+
+Had we space, we might give many instances of the success of
+sub-soiling, but the agricultural papers of the present day (at least
+one of which every farmer should take) have so repeatedly published its
+advantages, that we will not do so.
+
+In no case will its use be found any thing but satisfactory, except in
+occasional instances where there is some chemical difficulty in the
+subsoil, which an analysis will tell us how to overcome.
+
+As was before stated, its use on wet lands is not advisable until they
+have been under-drained, as excess of water prevents its effects from
+being permanent.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+PLOWING AND OTHER MODES OF PULVERIZING THE SOIL.
+
+
+[May the satisfaction attending labor be increased by an
+understanding of the natural laws which regulate our operations?
+
+On what depends the kind of plow to be used?]
+
+The advantages of pulverizing the soil, and the _reasons_ why it is
+necessary, are now too well known to need remark. Few farmers, when they
+plow, dig, or harrow, are enabled to give substantial reasons for so
+doing. If they will reflect on what has been said in the previous
+chapters, concerning the supply of mineral food to the plant by the
+soil, and the effect of air and moisture about roots, they will find
+more satisfaction in their labor than it can afford when applied without
+thought.
+
+
+PLOWING.
+
+[What is a general rule with regard to this?
+
+Should deep plowing be immediately adopted? Why?
+
+Why is this course of treatment advisable for garden culture?]
+
+The kind of plow used in cultivating the surface-soil must be decided
+by the kind of soil. This question the practical, _observing_ farmer
+will be able to solve.
+
+As a general rule, it may be stated that the plow which runs the
+_deepest_, with the same amount of force, is the best.
+
+We might enter more fully into this matter but for want of space.
+
+The advantages of _deep plowing_ cannot be too strongly urged.
+
+The statement that the _deeper_ and the _finer_ the soil is rendered,
+the more productive it will become, is in every respect true, and which
+no single instance will contradict.
+
+It must not be inferred from this, that we would advise a farmer, who
+has always plowed his soil to the depth of only six inches, to double
+the depth at once. Such a practice in some soils would be highly
+injurious, as it would completely bury the more fertile and better
+cultivated soil, and bring to the top one which contains no organic
+matter, and has never been subject to atmospheric influences. This
+would, perhaps, be so little fitted for vegetation that it would
+scarcely sustain plants until their roots could reach the more fertile
+parts below. Such treatment of the soil (turning it upside down) is
+excellent in _garden_ culture, where the great amount of manures
+applied is sufficient to overcome the temporary barrenness of the soil,
+but it is not to be recommended for all _field_ cultivation, where much
+less manure is employed.
+
+[How should field plowing be conducted?
+
+How does such treatment affect soils previously limed?
+
+How may it sometimes improve sandy or clay soils?]
+
+The course to be pursued in such cases is to _plow one inch deeper each
+year_. By this means the soil maybe gradually deepened to any desired
+extent. The amount of uncongenial soil which will thus be brought up, is
+slight, and will not interfere at all with the fertility of the soil,
+while the elevated portion will become, in one year, so altered by
+exposure, that it will equal the rest of the soil in fertility.
+
+Often where lime has been used in excess, it has sunk to the subsoil,
+where it remains inactive. The slight deepening of the surface plowing
+would mix this lime with the surface-soil, and render it again useful.
+
+When the soil is light and sandy, resting on a heavy clay subsoil, or
+clay on sand, the bringing up of the mass from below will improve the
+texture of the soil.
+
+As an instance of the success of deep plowing, we call to mind the case
+of a farmer in New Jersey, who had a field which had yielded about
+twenty-five bushels of corn per acre. It had been cultivated at ordinary
+depths. After laying it out in eight step lands (24 feet), he plowed it
+at all depths from five to ten inches, on the different lands, and
+sowed oats evenly over the whole field. The crop on the five inch soil
+was very poor, on the six inch rather better, on the seven inch better
+still, and on the ten inch soil it was as fine as ever grew in New
+Jersey; it had stiff straw and broad leaves, while the grain was also
+much better than on the remainder of the field.
+
+[What kind of soils are benefited by fall plowing?]
+
+There is an old anecdote of a man who died, leaving his sons with the
+information that he had buried a pot of gold for them, somewhere on the
+farm. They commenced digging for the gold, and dug over the whole farm
+to a great depth without finding the gold. The digging, however, so
+enriched the soil that they were fully compensated for their
+disappointment, and became wealthy from the increased produce of their
+farm.
+
+Farmers will find, on experiment, that they have gold buried in their
+soil, if they will but dig deep enough to obtain it. The law gives a man
+the ownership of the soil for an indefinite distance from the surface,
+but few seem to realize that there is _another farm_ below the one they
+are cultivating, which is quite as valuable as the one on the surface,
+if it were but properly worked.
+
+_Fall plowing_, especially for heavy lands, is a very good means of
+securing the action of the frosts of winter to pulverize the soil. If it
+be a stiff clay, it may be well to throw the soil up into ridges (by
+ridging and back furrowing), so as to expose the largest possible amount
+of surface to the freezing and thawing of winter. Sandy soils should not
+be plowed in the fall, as it renders them too light.
+
+
+DIGGING MACHINES.
+
+[What is the digging machine?]
+
+A recent invention has been made in England, known as the digging
+machine or rotary spade, which--although from having too much gearing
+between the power and the part performing the labor, it is not adapted
+to general use--has given such promise of future success, that Mr. Mechi
+(an agricultural writer of the highest standing) has said that "the plow
+is doomed." This can hardly be true, for the varied uses to which it may
+be applied, will guarantee its continuance in the favor of the farmer.
+
+Already, in this country, Messrs. Gibbs & Mapes, have invented a digging
+machine of very simple construction, which seems calculated to serve an
+excellent purpose, even in the hands of the farmer of limited means.
+
+Its friends assert that, with one pair of oxen, it will dig perfectly
+three feet wide, and for a depth of fifteen inches. An experiment with
+an unperfected machine, in the presence of the writer, seemed to justify
+their hopes.
+
+This machine thoroughly pulverizes the soil to a considerable depth, and
+for smooth land must prove far superior to the plow.
+
+
+THE HARROW AND CULTIVATOR.
+
+[Why is the harrow a defective implement?
+
+Why is the cultivator superior to the harrow?]
+
+The _harrow_, an implement largely used in all parts of the world, to
+pulverize the soil, and break clods, has become so firmly rooted in the
+affections of farmers, that it must be a very long time before they can
+be convinced that it is not the best implement for the use to which it
+is devoted. It is true that it pulverizes the soil for a depth of two or
+three inches, and thus much improves its appearance, benefiting it,
+without doubt, for the earliest stages of the growth of plants. Its
+action, however, is very defective, because, from the _wedge_ shape of
+its teeth, it continually acts to _pack_ the soil; thus--although
+favorable for the germination of the seed--it is not calculated to
+benefit the plant during the later stages of its growth, when the roots
+require the soil to be pulverized to a considerable depth.
+
+The _cultivator_ may be considered an _improved harrow_. The principal
+difference between them being, that while the teeth of the harrow are
+pointed at the lower end, those of the cultivator are shaped like a
+small double plow, being large at the bottom and growing smaller
+towards the top. They lift the earth up, instead of pressing it
+downwards, thus loosening instead of compacting the soil.
+
+Many styles of cultivators are now sold at agricultural warehouses. A
+very good one, for field use, may be made by substituting the cultivator
+teeth for the spikes in an old harrow frame.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+ROLLING, MULCHING, WEEDING, ETC.
+
+
+ROLLING.
+
+[Name some of the benefits of rolling?]
+
+_Rolling_ the soil with a large roller, arranged to be drawn by a team,
+is in many instances a good accessory to cultivation. By its means, the
+following results are obtained:--
+
+1. The soil at the surface is pulverized without the compacting of the
+lower parts, the area of contact being large.
+
+2. The stones on the land are pressed down so as to be out of the way of
+the scythe in mowing.
+
+3. The soil is compacted around seeds after sowing in such a manner as
+to exclude light and to _touch_ them in every part, both of which are
+essential to their germination and to the healthfulness of the plants.
+
+[Under what circumstances should the roller be used?]
+
+4. The soil is so compacted at the surface, that it is less frequented
+by _grubs_, etc., than when it is more loose.
+
+5. When the soil is smoothed in this manner, there is less surface
+exposed for the evaporation of water with its cooling effect.
+
+6. Light sandy lands, by being rolled in the fall, are rendered more
+compact, and the loosening effects of frequent freezing and thawing are
+avoided.
+
+Although productive of these various effects, rolling should be adopted
+only with much care, and should never be applied to very heavy lands,
+except in dry weather when lumpy after plowing, as its tendency in such
+cases would be to render them still more difficult of cultivation. Soils
+in which air does not circulate freely, are not improved by rolling, as
+it presses the surface-particles still more closely together, and
+prevents the free admission of the atmosphere.
+
+If well _under-drained_, a large majority of soils would doubtless be
+benefited by a judicious use of the roller.[AL]
+
+
+MULCHING.
+
+[What is mulching?
+
+What are some of its benefits?]
+
+_Mulching_ (called Gurneyism in England) consists in covering the soil
+with salt hay, litter, seaweed, leaves, spent tanbark, chips, or other
+refuse matter.
+
+Every farmer must have noticed that, if a board or rail, or an old
+brush-heap be removed in spring from soil where grass is growing, the
+grass afterwards grows in those places much larger and better than in
+other parts of the field.
+
+This improvement arises from various causes.
+
+1. The evaporation of water from the soil is prevented during drought by
+the shade afforded by the mulch; and it is therefore kept in better
+condition, as to moisture and temperature, than when evaporation goes on
+more freely. This condition is well calculated to advance the chemical
+changes necessary to prepare the matters--both organic and mineral--in
+the soil for the use of plants.
+
+2. By preventing evaporation, we partially protect the soil from losing
+ammonia resultant from decaying organic matter.
+
+3. A heavy mulch breaks the force of rains, and prevents them from
+compacting the soil, as would be the result, were no such precaution
+taken.
+
+4. Mulching protects the surface-soil from freezing as readily as when
+exposed, and thus keeps it longer open for the admission of air and
+moisture. When unprotected, the soil early becomes frozen; and all water
+falling, instead of entering as it should do, passes off on the surface.
+
+[Why does mulching take the place of artificial watering?
+
+Why is the late sowing of oats beneficial?
+
+From what arises the chief benefit of top dressing the soil with manure
+in autumn?]
+
+5. The throwing out of winter grain is often prevented, because this is
+due to the freezing of the surface-soil.
+
+6. Mulching prevents the growth of some weeds, because it removes from
+them the fostering heat of the sun.
+
+Many of the best nursery-men keep the soil about the roots of young
+trees mulched continually. One of the chief arguments for this treatment
+is, that it prevents the removal of the moisture from the soil and the
+consequent loss of heat. Also that it keeps up a full supply of water
+for the uses of the roots, because it keeps the soil cool, and causes a
+deposit of dew.
+
+7. It also prevents the "baking" of the soil, or the formation of a
+crust.
+
+It is to be recommended in nearly all cases to sow oats very thinly over
+land intended for winter fallow after the removal of crops, as they will
+grow a little before being killed by the frost, when they will fall
+down, thus affording a very beneficial mulch to the soil.
+
+When farmers spread manure on their fields in the fall to be plowed
+under in the spring, they benefit the land by the mulching more than by
+the addition of fertilizing matter, because they give it the protecting
+influence of the straw, etc., while they lose much of the ammonia of
+their manure by evaporation. The same mulching might be more cheaply
+done with leaves, or other refuse matter, and the ammonia of the manure
+made available by composting with absorbents.
+
+[Why is snow particularly beneficial?]
+
+It is an old and true saying that "snow is the poor man's manure." The
+reason why it is so beneficial is, chiefly, that it acts as a most
+excellent mulch. It contains no more ammonia than rain-water does; and,
+were it not for the fact that it protects the soil against loss of heat,
+and produces other benefits of mulching, it would have no more
+advantageous effect. The severity of winters at the North is partially
+compensated by the long duration of snow.
+
+It is a well known fact that when there is but little snow in cold
+countries, wheat is very liable to be _winter killed_. The same
+protection is afforded by artificial mulching.
+
+This treatment is peculiarly applicable to the cultivation of flowers,
+both in pots and in beds out of doors. It is almost indispensable to the
+profitable production of strawberries, and many other garden crops, such
+as asparagus, rhubarb, etc. Many say that the best treatment for trees
+is to put stones about their roots. This is simply _mulching_ them, and
+might be done more cheaply by the use of leaves, copying the action of
+nature in forests;[AM] for, unless these stones be removed in spring,
+they will sink and compact the soil in part during open weather.
+
+
+WEEDING.
+
+[What are some of the uses of weeds? Their disadvantages?]
+
+If a farmer were asked--what is the use of _weeds_? he might make out
+quite a list of their benefits, among which might be some of the
+following:--
+
+1. They shade tender plants, and in a measure serve as a mulch to the
+ground.
+
+2. Some weeds, by their offensive odor, drive away many insects.
+
+3. They may serve as a green crop to be plowed into the soil, and
+increase its organic matter.
+
+4. _They make us stir the soil_, and thus increase its fertility.
+
+Still, while thinking out these excuses for weeds, he would see other
+and more urgent reasons why they should not be allowed to grow.
+
+1. They occupy the soil to the disadvantage of crops.
+
+2. They exclude light and heat from cultivated plants, and thus
+interfere with their growth.
+
+3. They take up mineral and other matters from the soil, and hold them
+during the growing season, thus depriving crops of their use.
+
+It is not necessary to argue the injury done by weeds. Every farmer is
+well convinced that they should be destroyed, and the best means of
+accomplishing this are of the greatest importance.
+
+[How may we protect ourselves against their increase?
+
+Why is it especially important for this purpose to maintain the balance
+of the soil?]
+
+In the first place, we should protect ourselves against their increase.
+This may be done:--
+
+By decomposing all manures in compost, whereby the seeds contained will
+be killed by the heat of fermentation; or, if one bushel of salt be
+mixed through each cord of compost (as before recommended), it will kill
+seeds as well as grubs,--
+
+By hoeing, or, otherwise, destroying growing weeds before they mature
+their seeds, and
+
+By keeping the soil in the best chemical condition.
+
+This last point is one of much importance. It is well known that soils
+deficient in potash, will naturally produce one kind of plants, while
+soils deficient in phosphoric acid will produce plants of another
+species, etc. Many soils produce certain weeds which would not grow on
+them if they were made chemically perfect, as indicated by analysis. It
+is also believed that those weeds, which naturally grow on the most
+fertile soils, are the ones most easily destroyed. There are exceptions
+(of which the Thistle is one), but this is given as a general rule.
+
+[How much salt may be used with advantage?
+
+Why is the scuffle-hoe superior to the common hoe?]
+
+By careful attention to the foregoing points, weeds may be kept from
+increasing while those already in the soil may be eradicated in various
+ways, chiefly by mechanical means, such as hoeing, plowing, etc.[AN]
+
+Prof. Mapes says that six bushels of salt annually sown broadcast over
+each acre of land, will destroy very many weeds as well as grubs and
+worms.
+
+The _common hoe_ is a very imperfect tool for the purpose of removing
+weeds, as it prepares a better soil for, and replants in a position to
+grow, nearly as many weeds as it destroys.
+
+The _scuffle-hoe_ (or push-hoe) is much more effective, as, when worked
+by a man walking backwards, and retiring as he works, it leaves nearly
+all of the weeds on the surface of the soil to be killed by the sun.
+When used in this way, the earth is not trodden on after being hoed--as
+is the case when the common hoe is employed. This treading, besides
+compacting the soil, covers the roots of many weeds, and causes them to
+grow again.
+
+[How may much labor be saved in removing weeds?
+
+What is the Langdon horse-hoe?
+
+Describe the _universal_ cultivator?]
+
+Much of the labor of weeding usually performed by men, might be more
+cheaply done by horses. There are various implements for this purpose,
+some of which are coming, in many parts of the country, into very
+general use.
+
+One of the best of these is the _Langdon Horse Hoe_, which is a
+shovel-shaped plow, to be run one or two inches deep. It has a wing on
+each side to prevent the earth from falling on to the plants in the
+rows. At the rear, or upper edge, is a kind of rake or comb, which
+allows the earth to pass through, while the weeds pass over the comb and
+fall on the surface of the soil, to be killed by the heat of the sun. It
+is a simple and cheap tool, and will perform the work of twenty men with
+hoes. The hand hoe will be necessary only in the rows.
+
+
+CULTIVATOR.
+
+The _cultivator_, which was described in the preceding chapter, and of
+which there are various patterns in use, is excellent for weeding, and
+for loosening the soil between the rows of corn, etc. The one called
+the _universal_ cultivator, having its side bars made of iron, curved so
+that at whatever distance it is placed the teeth will point _straight
+forward_, is a much better tool than those of the older patterns, which
+had the teeth so arranged that when set for wide rows, they pointed
+towards the clevis. It is difficult to keep such a cultivator in its
+place, while the "_universal_" is as difficult to move out of a straight
+line.
+
+
+IMPROVED HORSE-HOE.
+
+[What is the improved horse-hoe?]
+
+The _improved horse-hoe_ is a combination of the "Langdon" horse hoe and
+the cultivator, and is the best implement, for many purposes, that has
+yet been made.[AO]
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 9]
+
+
+HARVESTING MACHINES.
+
+Until within a comparatively short period, but little attention has been
+paid to the production of machines for harvesting the various crops.
+
+During the past few years, however, many valuable inventions have
+appeared. Among these we notice Ketchum's mower, Hussey's mower and
+reaper, and Wagener's grain and grass seed harvester. The latter machine
+gathers only the grain and seeds of the crop, leaving the straw to be
+plowed under the soil, thus maintaining its supply of soluble silicates,
+and increasing its amount of organic matter. After taking the seed heads
+from the standing straw and grasses, it thrashes them, blows out the
+chaff, separates the different kinds of seeds, and discharges them into
+bags ready for market. It consists of a car containing the machinery; to
+this may be attached any required number of horses. The inventor affirms
+that it has harvested the grain of two acres in one hour, performing the
+work with accuracy.[AP]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There is much truth in the following proverbs:
+
+"A garden that is well kept, is kept easily."
+
+"You must conquer weeds, or weeds will conquer you."
+
+[What are the two great rules in mechanical cultivation?]
+
+It is almost impossible to give a _recapitulation_ of the matters
+treated in this section, as it is, itself, but an outline of subjects
+which might occupy our whole book. The scholar and the farmer should
+understand every principle which it contains, as well as they understand
+the multiplication table; and their application will be found, in every
+instance, to produce the best results.
+
+The two great rules of mechanical cultivation are--
+
+THOROUGH UNDER-DRAINING.
+
+DEEP AND FREQUENT DISTURBANCE OF THE SOIL.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AL] Field rollers should be made in sections, for ease of turning.
+
+[AM] The beneficial effects of mulching is so great as to lead us to the
+conclusion that it has other means of action than those mentioned in
+this book. Future experiments may lead to more knowledge on this
+subject.
+
+[AN] It is possible that the excrementitious matter thrown out by some
+plants may be sufficiently destructive to other kinds to exterminate
+them from the soil--thus, farmers in Maine say that a single crop of
+turnips will entirely rid the soil of _witch grass_. This is,
+undoubtedly, the effect of the excrementitious matter of the turnips.
+This subject is one of practical importance, and demands close
+investigation by farmers, which may lead to its being reduced to a
+system.
+
+[AO] The improved horse-hoe is made and sold by Ruggles, Nourse & Mason,
+of Worcester, Mass., and Quincy Hall, Boston.
+
+[AP] This machine is more fully noticed in the advertising pages.
+
+
+
+
+SECTION FIFTH.
+
+ANALYSIS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+[Why does true practical economy require that the soil should
+be analyzed?]
+
+At the present time, when such marked improvements have been, and are
+still being made, in the practice of agriculture, the farmer cannot be
+too strongly advised to procure an analysis of his soil, and for obvious
+reasons.
+
+It has been sufficiently proved that the plant draws from the soil
+certain kinds of mineral matter, in certain proportions; also, that if
+the soil do not contain the constituents required, the plants cannot
+obtain them, and consequently cannot grow. Furthermore, in proportion to
+the ability of the soil to supply these materials, in exactly the same
+proportion will it, when under good treatment, produce good and
+abundant crops.
+
+[Can each farmer make his own analyses?
+
+Why will not travelling chemists answer the purpose?
+
+How must an analysis be used?]
+
+All admit the value and the necessity of manures; they are required to
+make up deficiencies in the soil, and consequently, they must supply to
+it the matters which are wanting. In order to know what is wanting, we
+must know the composition of the soil. This can be learned only by
+accurate chemical analysis. Such an analysis every farmer must possess
+before he can conduct his operations with _true practical economy_.
+
+An important question now arises as to whether each farmer can make his
+own analyses. He cannot do so without long study and practice. The late
+Prof. Norton said that, at least _two years'_ time would be necessary to
+enable a man to become competent to make a reliable analysis. When we
+reflect that a farmer may never need more than five or six analyses, we
+shall see that the time necessary to learn the art would be much more
+valuable than the cost of the analyses (at $5 or $10 each), setting
+aside the cost of apparatus, and the fact that while practising in the
+laboratory, he must not use his hands for any labor that would unfit
+them for the most delicate manipulations.
+
+Neither will _travelling_ chemists be able to make analyses as
+accurately and as cheaply as those who work in their own laboratories,
+where their apparatus is not liable to the many injuries consequent on
+frequent removal. The cost of sending one hundred samples of soil to a
+distant chemist, would be much less than the expense of having his
+apparatus brought to the town where his services are required.
+
+[How may a farmer obtain the requisite knowledge?
+
+When are the services of a consulting agriculturist required?]
+
+_The way in which an analysis should be used_ is a matter of much
+importance. To a man who knows nothing of chemistry (be he ever so
+successful a farmer), an analysis, as received from a chemist, would be
+as useless and unintelligible as though it were written in Chinese;
+while, if a chemist who knew nothing of farming, were to give him advice
+concerning the application of manures, he would be led equally astray,
+and his course would be any thing but _practical_. It is necessary that
+chemical and practical knowledge should be combined, and then the value
+of analysis will be fully demonstrated. The _amount_ of knowledge
+required is not great, but it must be _thorough_. The information
+contained in this little book is sufficient, but it would be folly for a
+man to attempt to use an analysis from reading it once hurriedly over.
+It must be studied and thought on with great care, before it can be of
+material assistance. The evenings of one winter, devoted to this
+subject, will enable a farmer to understand the application of analysis
+to practical farming, especially if other and more compendious works
+are also read. A less time could hardly be recommended.
+
+[Is there any doubt as to the practical value of analysis?
+
+How should samples of soil for analysis be selected?]
+
+Where this attention cannot be given to the subject, the services of a
+Consulting Agriculturist should be employed to advise the treatment
+necessary to render fertile the soil analyzed.
+
+Every farmer, however, should learn enough of the principles of
+agriculture to be able to use an analysis, when procured, without such
+assistance.[AQ]
+
+Nearly all scientific men (all of the highest merit) are unanimous in
+their conviction of the _practical_ value of an analysis of soils; and a
+volume of instances of their success, with hardly a single failure,
+might be published.
+
+Prof. Mapes says, in the _Working Farmer_, that he has given advice on
+hundreds of different soils, and _not a single instance_ can be found
+where he has failed to produce a profit greater than the cost of
+analysis and advice. Dr. T. C. Jackson, of Boston, the late Prof.
+Norton, of Yale College, and others, have had universal success in this
+matter.
+
+Analysis must be considered the only sure road to economical farming.
+
+_To select samples of soil for analysis_, take a spadeful from various
+parts of the field--going to exactly the depth to which it has been
+plowed--until, say a wheel-barrow full, has been obtained. Mix this
+well together, and send about a quart or a pint of it (free from stones)
+to the chemist. This will represent all of that part of the farm which
+has been subject to the same cultivation, and is of the same mechanical
+character. If there are marked differences in the kinds of soil,
+separate analyses will be necessary.
+
+[Give an instance of the success of treatment according to
+analysis?]
+
+When an analysis is obtained, a regular debtor and creditor account may
+be kept with the soil; and the farmer may know by the composition of the
+ashes of his crops, and the manures supplied, whether he is maintaining
+the fertility of his soil.
+
+Prof. Mapes once purchased some land which could not produce corn at
+all, and by applying only such manures as analysis indicated to be
+necessary, at a cost of less than $2 per acre, he obtained the first
+year over _fifty bushels of shelled corn per acre_. The land has since
+continued to improve, and is as fertile as any in the State. It has
+produced in one season a sufficient crop of cabbages to pay the expense
+of cultivation, and over $250 per acre besides, though it was apparently
+_worthless_ when he purchased it.
+
+These are strong facts, and should arouse the farmers of the whole
+country to their true interests. Let them not call the teachings of
+science "book-farming," but "prove all things--hold fast that which is
+good."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AQ] See Author's card in the front of the book.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+TABLES OF ANALYSIS.
+
+ANALYSES OF THE ASHES OF CROPS.
+
+
+No. I.
+
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------
+                              | Wheat.  |   Wheat   |   Rye.  |  Rye
+                              |         |   Straw.  |         |  Straw.
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts       |   20    |     60    |    24   |   40
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------
+Silica (_sand_)               |   16    |    654    |     5   |  645
+Lime                          |   28    |     67    |    50   |   91
+Magnesia                      |  120    |     33    |   104   |   24
+Peroxide of Iron              |    7    |     13    |    14   |   14
+Potash                        |  237    |    124    |   221   |  174
+Soda                          |   91    |      2    |   116   |    3
+Chlorine                      |         |     11    |         |    5
+Sulphuric Acid                |    3    |     58    |    10   |    8
+Phosphoric Acid               |  498    |     31    |   496   |   38
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------
+
+No. II.
+
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------
+                              |  Corn.  |  Corn     | Barley. |  Barley
+                              |         |  Stalks.  |         |  Straw.
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts.      |     15  |      44   |     28  |    61
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------
+Silica (_sand_)               |     15  |     270   |    271  |   706
+Lime                          |     15  |      86   |     26  |    95
+Magnesia                      |    162  |      66   |     75  |    32
+Peroxide of Iron              |      3  |       8   |     15  |     7
+Oxide of Manganese            |         |           |         |     1
+Potash                        |    261  |      96   |    136  |    62
+Soda                          |     63  |     277   |     81  |     6
+Chlorine                      |      2  |      20   |      1  |    10
+Sulphuric Acid                |     23  |       5   |      1  |    16
+Phosphoric Acid               |    449  |     171   |    389  |    31
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------
+
+No. III.
+
+------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+----------
+                        |   Oats.   |  Oat   |  Buck  | Potatoes.
+                        |           | Straw. | Wheat. |
+------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+----------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts |     20    |   51   |   21   |    90
+------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+----------
+Silica (_sand_)         |      7    |  484   |    7   |    42
+Lime                    |     60    |   81   |   67   |    21
+Magnesia                |     99    |   38   |  104   |    53
+Peroxide of Iron        |      4    |   18   |   11   |     5
+Potash                  |   {262}   |  191   |   87   |   557
+Soda                    |   {   }   |   97   |  201   |    19
+Chlorine                |      3    |   32   |        |    43
+Sulphuric Acid          |    104    |   33   |   22   |   137
+Phosphoric Acid         |    438    |   27   |  500   |   126
+Organic Matter          |           |        |        |   750
+                        |           |        |        |  Water.
+------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+---------
+
+No. IV.
+
+------------------------+---------+--------+----------+--------
+                        |  Peas.  | Beans. | Turnips. | Turnip
+                        |         |        |          |  Tops.
+------------------------+---------+--------+----------+--------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts |    25   |   27   |    76    |   170
+------------------------+---------+--------+----------+--------
+Silica (_sand_)         |     5   |   12   |    71    |     8
+Lime                    |    53   |   58   |   128    |   233
+Magnesia                |    85   |   80   |    48    |    31
+Peroxide of Iron        |    10   |    6   |     9    |     8
+Potash                  |   361   |  336   |   398    |   286
+Soda                    |    91   |  106   |   108    |    54
+Chlorine                |    23   |    7   |    37    |   160
+Sulphuric Acid          |    44   |   10   |   131    |   125
+Phosphoric Acid         |   333   |  378   |    67    |    93
+Organic Matter          |         |        |870 Water.|
+------------------------+---------+--------+----------+--------
+
+No. V.
+
+--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
+                          |  Flax. | Linseed. | Meadow |  Red
+                          |        |          |  Hay.  | Clover.
+--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts   |    50  |    46    |   60   |    75
+--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
+Silica (_sand_)           |   257  |    75    |  344   |    48
+Alumina (_clay_)          |    37? |          |        |
+Lime                      |   148  |    83    |  196   |   371
+Magnesia                  |    44  |   146    |   78   |    46
+Peroxide of Iron          |    36? |     9    |    7   |     2
+Potash                    |   117  |   240    |  236   |   267
+Soda                      |   118  |    45    |   19   |    71
+Chlorine                  |    29  |     2    |   28   |    48
+Sulphuric Acid            |    32  |    23    |   29   |    60
+Phosphoric Acid           |   130  |   365    |   58   |    88
+--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
+
+No. VI.
+
+Amount of Inorganic Matter removed from the soil by ten bushels of
+grains, etc., and by the straw, etc., required in their
+production--estimated in pounds:
+
+-------------------+--------+-----------+----------+----------
+                   |        | 1200 lbs. |          | 1620 lbs.
+                   | Wheat. |   Wheat   |   Rye.   |    Rye
+                   |        |   Straw.  |          |  Straw.
+-------------------+--------+-----------+----------+----------
+Potash             |  2.86  |    8.97   |   2.51   |    11.34
+Soda               |  1.04  |     .12   |   1.33   |      .20
+Lime               |   .34  |    4.84   |    .56   |     5.91
+Magnesia           |  1.46  |    2.76   |   1.18   |     1.58
+Oxide of Iron      |   .08  |     .94   |    .15   |      .88
+Sulphuric Acid     |   .03  |    4.20   |    .11   |      .05
+Phosphoric Acid    |  6.01  |    2.22   |   5.64   |     2.49
+Chlorine           |        |     .79   |          |      .30
+Silica             |   .14  |   47.16   |    .05   |    42.25
+-------------------+--------+-----------+----------+----------
+Pounds carried off |   12   |    72     |   11½    |    66
+-------------------+--------+-----------+----------+----------
+
+No. VII.
+
+-------------------+-------+----------+-------+----------
+                   |       | 1620 lbs.|       | 700 lbs.
+                   | Corn. |   Corn   | Oats. |  Oat
+                   |       |  Stalks. |       |  Straw.
+-------------------+-------+----------+-------+----------
+Potash             | 2.78  |   6.84   |  1.69 |  12.08
+Soda               |       |  19.83   |       |
+Lime               |  .12  |   6.02   |   .39 |   3.39
+Magnesia           | 1.52  |   4.74   |   .64 |   1.59
+Oxide of Iron      |       |    .57   |   .02 |    .78
+Sulphuric Acid     |       |    .36   |   .66 |   1.41
+Phosphoric Acid    | 4.52  |  12.15   |  2.80 |   1.07
+Chlorine           |       |   1.33   |   .02 |   1.36
+Silica             |  .06  |  19.16   |   .18 |  20.32
+-------------------+-------+----------+-------+----------
+Pounds carried off |   9   |    71    |  6½   |   42
+-------------------+-------+----------+-------+----------
+
+No. VIII.
+
+-------------------+--------+---------+----------+----------
+                   | Buck   |         | 660 lbs. | 2000 lbs.
+                   | Wheat. | Barley. |  Barley  |   Flax.
+                   |        |         |  Straw.  |
+-------------------+--------+---------+----------+----------
+Potash             |  1.01  |   1.90  |   2.57   |   11.78
+Soda               |  2.13  |   1.18  |    .23   |   11.82
+Lime               |   .78  |    .96  |   3.88   |   11.85
+Magnesia           |  1.20  |   1.00  |   1.31   |    9.38
+Oxide of Iron      |   .14  |    .20  |    .90   |    7.32
+Sulphuric Acid     |   .25  |    .01  |    .66   |    3.19
+Phosphoric Acid    |  5.40  |   5.35  |   1.25   |   13.05
+Chlorine           |        |    .01  |    .40   |    2.90
+Silica             |   .09  |   3.90  |  28.80   |   25.71
+-------------------+--------+---------+----------+----------
+Pounds carried off |   11   |    14   |    40    |   100
+-------------------+--------+---------+----------+----------
+
+No. IX.
+
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------
+                    |          | 1120 lbs.|          |1366 lbs.
+                    |  Beans.  |  Bean    |  Field   |  Pea
+                    |          | Straw.   |  Peas.   | Straw.
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------
+Potash              |  5.54    | 36.28    |  5.90    |  3.78
+Soda                |  1.83    |  1.09    |  1.40    |
+Lime                | 98.98    | 13.60    |   .81    | 43.93
+Magnesia            |   .28    |  4.55    |  1.30    |  5.50
+Oxide of Iron       |   .10    |   .20    |   .15    |  1.40
+Sulphuric Acid      |   .16    |   .64    |   .64    |  5.43
+Phosphoric Acid     |  7.80    |  5.00    |  5.50    |  3.86
+Chlorine            |   .13    |  1.74    |   .23    |   .08
+Silica              |   .18    |  4.90    |   .7     | 16.02
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------
+Pounds carried off  |   17     |   68     |   16     |   80
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------
+
+No. X.
+
+--------------------+------------+----------+-------------+-----------
+                    |            | 635 lbs. |             | 2000 lbs.
+                    |    1 Ton   |  Turnip  |    1 Ton    |   Red
+                    |  Turnips.  |   Tops.  |  Potatoes.  |  Clover.
+--------------------+------------+----------+-------------+-----------
+Potash              |   7.14     |  4.34    |   27.82     |  31.41
+Soda                |    .86     |   .84    |     .93     |   8.34
+Lime                |   2.31     |  3.61    |    1.03     |  43.77
+Magnesia            |    .91     |   .48    |    2.63     |   5.25
+Oxide of Iron       |    .23     |   .13    |     .26     |    .23
+Sulphuric Acid      |   2.30     |  1.81    |    6.81     |   7.05
+Phosphoric Acid     |   1.29     |  1.31    |    6.25     |  10.28
+Chlorine            |    .61     |  2.35    |    2.13     |   5.86
+Silica              |   1.36     |   .13    |    2.14     |   5.81
+--------------------+------------+----------+-------------+-----------
+Pounds carried off  |    17      |   15     |     50      |    118
+--------------------+------------+----------+-------------+-----------
+
+No. XI.
+
+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+                                  | 2000 lbs.|  2000 lbs.
+                                  |  Meadow  |  Cabbage
+                                  |   Hay.   | Water 9-10
+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+Potash                            | 18.11    |     5.25
+Soda                              |  1.35    |     9.20
+Lime                              | 22.95    |     9.45
+Magnesia                          |  6.75    |     2.70
+Oxide of Iron                     |  1.69    |      .25
+Sulphuric Acid                    |  2.70    |     9.60
+Phosphoric Acid                   |  5.97    |     5.60
+Chlorine                          |  2.59    |     2.60
+Silica                            | 37.89    |      .35
+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+Pounds carried off                |  100     |       45
+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+
+No. XII.
+
+Composition of Ashes, leached and unleached, showing their manurial
+value:
+
+-------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                         |  Oak      |  Oak      | Beech     |  Beech
+                         |unleached. | leached.  |unleached. | leached.
+-------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+Potash                   |    84     |     --    |   158     |     --
+Soda                     |    56     |     --    |    29     |     --
+Lime                     |   750     |    548    |   634     |    426
+Magnesia                 |    45     |      6    |   113     |     70
+Oxide of Iron            |     6     |     --    |     8     |     15
+Sulphuric Acid           |    12     |     --    |    14     |     --
+Phosphoric Acid          |    35     |      8    |    31     |     57
+Chlorine                 |           |           |     2     |
+-------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+
+No. XIII.
+
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------
+                  |  Birch    |  Seaweed   | Bituminous
+                  |  leached. | unleached. |  Coal
+                  |           |            | unleached.
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------
+Potash            |    --     |   180      |    2
+Soda              |    --     |   210      |    2
+Lime              |   522     |   94       |   21
+Magnesia          |    30     |   99       |    2
+Oxide of Iron     |     5     |    3       |   40
+Sulphuric Acid    |    --     |  248       |    9
+Phosphoric Acid   |    43     |   52       |    2
+Chlorine          |    --     |   98       |    1
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------
+
+No. XIV.
+
+TOBACCO.
+
+Analysis of the ash of the PLANT [Will & Fresedius]--
+
+Potash             19.55
+Soda                0.27
+Magnesia           11.07
+Lime               48.68
+Phosphoric Acid     3.66
+Sulphuric Acid      3.29
+Oxide of Iron       2.99
+Chloride of Sodium  3.54
+Loss                6.95
+                  ------
+                  100.00
+
+Analysis of the ash of the ROOT [Berthier]--
+
+Soluble Matter                 12.3
+Insoluble                      87.7
+
+The Soluble parts consist of nearly--
+
+Carbonic Acid                  10.0
+Sulphuric Acid                 10.3
+Muriatic Acid (Chlorine, &c.)  18.26
+Potash and Soda                61.44
+                              ------
+                              100.00
+
+No. XV.
+
+Composition of some of the more common Compounds of Acids and Alkalies.
+
+--------------------------------------+----------------+------------------
+            100 Parts of              | Contain of the |  Contain of the
+                                      |    Alkalies    |      Acids
+--------------------------------------+----------------+------------------
+Carbonate of Potash (Pearlash)        |  Potash  68.09 | Carbonic   31.91
+Bi-Carbonate of Potash (Saleratus)    |    do.   51.62 | Carbonic   48.38
+Nitrate of Potash (Saltpetre)         |    do.   46.56 | Nitric     53.44
+Silicate of Potash                    |    do.   50.54 | Silicic    49.46
+Carbonate of Soda                     |   Soda   58.58 | Carbonic   41.42
+Bi-Carbonate of Soda (Common Soda)[AR]|    do.   41.42 | Carbonic   58.58
+Nitrate of Soda                       |    do.   36.60 | Nitric     63.40
+Sulphate of Soda (Glauber Salts)[AR]  |    do.   19.38 | Sulphuric  24.85
+Silicate of Soda                      |    do.   40.37 | Silicic    59.63
+Carbonate of Lime (Limestone)         |   Lime   56.29 | Carbonic   43.71
+Sulphate of Lime (Plaster Paris)[AR]  |    do.   32.90 | Sulphuric  46.31
+Sulphate of Lime (Burned)             |    do.   41.53 | Sulphuric  58.47
+Phosphate of Lime                     |    do.   54.48 | Phosphoric 45.52
+Super-Phosphate of Lime               |    do.   28.52 | Phosphoric 71.48
+Silicate of Lime                      |    do.   38.15 | Silicic    61.85
+Carbonate of Magnesia                 | Magnesia 48.31 | Carbonic   51.69
+Sulphate of Magnesia (Epsom Salts)[AR]|    do.   16.70 | Sulphuric  32.40
+Silicate of Alumina                   | Alumina  17.05 | Silicic    72.95
+Sulphate of Iron (Green Vitriol)[AR]  | Oxide of       | Sulphuric  31.03
+                                      |    Iron  27.19 |
+--------------------------------------+----------------+------------------
+
+No. XVI.
+
+Proximate Analyses of Crops, showing the amount of the different Organic
+Compounds contained in Grain, Roots, Hay, etc.--estimated in pounds:
+
+--------------------------+--------+---------+---------+----------+--------
+                          | Water. | Husk or | Starch, | Gluten,  | Fatty
+                          |        | Woody   | Gum and | Albumen, | Matter.
+                          |        | Fibre.  | Sugar.  | Legumin. |
+                          +--------+---------+---------+----------+--------
+       10 Bushels.        |        |         |         |          |
+Wheat            600 lbs. |    90  |     90  |  330    |   87     |   18
+Barley           515 lbs. |    77  |     77  |  309    |   70     |   13
+Oats             425 lbs. |    68  |     85  |  255    |   70     |   25
+Rye              520 lbs. |    62  |     78  |  312    |   65     |   18
+Indian Corn      600 lbs. |    84  |     36  |  420    |   72     |   42
+Buck Wheat       425 lbs. |    64  |    106  |  212    |   34     |   2?
+Beans            640 lbs. |    90  |     61  |  256    |  166     |   16
+Peas             640 lbs. |    90  |     58  |  320    |  154     |   14
+                          |        |         |         |          |
+       2000 lbs.          |        |         |         |          |
+Potatoes                  |  1500  |     80  |  360    |   40     |    6
+Turnips                   |  1760  |     40  |  180[AS]|   30     |    6
+Carrots                   |  1700  |     60  |  200[AS]|   30     |    8
+Mangold Wurtzel           |  1700  |     40  |  220[AS]|   40     |    ?
+Meadow Hay                |   280  |    600  |  800    |  140     |   70
+Clover Hay                |   280  |    500  |  800    |  186     |   80
+Pea Straw                 |   250  |    500  |  900    |  246     |   30
+Rye Straw                 |   270  |    900  |  760    |   26     |    ?
+Corn Stalks               |   240  |    500  | 1040    |   60     |   34
+100 lbs. Fine Wheat Flour |    10  |         |   79    |   11     |
+100 lbs. Wheat Bran       |    13  |         |   55    |   19     |    5
+--------------------------+--------+---------+---------+----------+--------
+
+No. XVII.
+
+Amount of Ash left after burning 1000 lbs. of various plants, ordinarily
+dry--
+
+Wheat         20            its straw   50
+Barley        30                   "    50
+Oats          40                   "    60
+Rye           20                   "    40
+Indian Corn   15                   "    50
+Pea           30                   "    50
+Bean          30
+Meadow   Hay  50  to    100
+Clover    "   90
+Rye Grass "   95
+Potato         8  to     15
+Turnip         5  to      8
+Carrot        15  to     20
+--------------------------------------------------------------
+
+No. XVIII.
+
+MANURES.
+
+HORSE MANURE.
+
+Solid Dung--
+Combustible Matter                19.68
+Ash                                3.07
+Water                             77.25
+                                 ------
+                                 100.00
+
+Composition of the Ash--
+
+Silica                            62.40
+Potash                            11.30
+Soda                               1.98
+Oxide of Iron                      1.17
+Lime                               4.63
+Magnesia                           3.84
+Oxide of Manganese                 2.13
+Phosphoric Acid                   10.49
+Sulphuric Acid                     1.89
+Chlorine                           0.03
+Loss                               0.14
+                                 ------
+                                 100.00
+
+No. XIX.
+
+NIGHT SOIL.
+
+Solid (Ash)--
+  Earthy Phosphates and a trace of Sulphate of Lime      100
+  Sulphate of Soda and Potash, and Phosphate of Soda       8
+  Carbonate of Soda                                        8
+  Silica                                                  16
+  Charcoal and Loss                                       18
+                                                         ---
+                                                         150
+
+Urine
+  Urea[AT]                                             30.10
+  Uric Acid                                             1.00
+  Sal Ammoniac[AT]                                      1.50
+  Lactic Acid, etc.                                    17.14
+  Mucus                                                  .32
+  Sulphate of Potash                                    3.71
+  Sulphate of Soda                                      3.16
+  Phosphate of Ammonia[AT]                              1.65
+  Earthy Phosphates                                     3.94
+  Salt (Chloride of Sodium)                             4.45
+  Silica                                                0.03
+                                                      ------
+                                                       67.00
+Water                                                 933.00
+                                                      ------
+                                                     1000.00
+
+No. XX.
+
+COW MANURE.
+
+Solid (Ash)--
+  Phosphates                                           20.9
+  Peroxide of Iron                                      8.8
+  Lime                                                  1.5
+  Sulphate of Lime (Plaster)                            3.1
+  Chloride of Potassium                               trace
+  Silica                                               63.7
+    Loss                                                2.0
+                                                      -----
+                                                      100.0
+
+No. XXI.
+
+COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE URINE OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS.
+
+               Solid Matter.
+          Organic.      Inorganic.           Total.
+Man         23.4           7.6                31
+Horse       27.           33.                 60
+Cow         50.           20.                 70
+Pig         56.           18.                 74
+Sheep       28.           12.                 40
+
+No. XXII.
+
+GUANO.
+
+Water                       6.40
+Ammonia                     2.71
+Uric Acid                  34.70
+Oxalic Acid, etc.          26.79
+  Fixed Alkaline Salts.
+Sulphate of Soda            2.94
+Phosphate of Soda            .48
+Chloride of Sodium (salt)    .86
+  Earthy Salts.
+Carbonate of Lime           1.36
+Phosphates                 19.24
+  Foreign Matter.
+Silicious grit and sand     4.52
+                          ------
+                          100.00
+
+For the analysis of fertile and barren soils, see page 72.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AR] Contain a large amount of Water.
+
+[AS] Pectic Acid.
+
+[AT] Supply Ammonia.
+
+
+
+
+THE PRACTICAL FARMER.
+
+
+Who is the _practical farmer_? Let us look at two pictures and decide.
+
+Here is a farm of 100 acres in ordinary condition. It is owned and
+tilled by a hard-working man, who, in the busy season, employs one or
+two assistants. The farm is free from debt, but it does not produce an
+abundant income; therefore, its owner cannot afford to purchase the best
+implements, or make other needed improvements; besides, he don't
+_believe_ in such things. His father was a good solid farmer; so was his
+grandfather; and so is he, or thinks he is. He is satisfied that 'the
+good old way' is best, and he sticks to it. He works from morning till
+night; from spring till fall. In the winter, he _rests_, as much as his
+lessened duties will allow. During this time, he reads little, or
+nothing. Least of all does he read about farming. He don't want to learn
+how to dig potatoes out of a book. Book farming is nonsense. Many other
+similar ideas keep him from agricultural reading. His house is
+comfortable, and his barns are quite as good as his neighbors', while
+his farm gives him a living. It is true that his soil does not produce
+as much as it did ten years ago; but prices are better, and he is
+satisfied.
+
+Let us look at his premises, and see how his affairs are managed. First,
+examine the land. Well, it is good fair land. Some of it is a little
+springy, but is not to be called _wet_. It will produce a ton and a half
+of hay to the acre--it used to produce two tons. There are some stones
+on the land, but not enough in his estimation to do harm. The plowed
+fields are pretty good; they will produce 35 bushels of corn, 13 bushels
+of wheat, or 30 bushels of oats per acre, when the season is not dry.
+His father used to get more; but, somehow, the _weather_ is not so
+favorable as it was in old times. He has thought of raising root crops,
+but they take more labor than he can afford to hire. Over, in the back
+part of the land there is a muck-hole, which is the only piece of
+_worthless_ land on the whole farm.
+
+Now, let us look at the barns and barn-yards. The stables are pretty
+good. There are some wide cracks in the siding, but they help to
+ventilate, and make it healthier for the cattle. The manure is thrown
+out of the back windows, and is left in piles under the eaves on the
+sunny side of the barn. The rain and sun make it nicer to handle. The
+cattle have to go some distance for water; and this gives them exercise.
+All of the cattle are not kept in the stable; the fattening stock are
+kept in the various fields, where hay is fed out to them from the stack.
+The barn-yard is often occupied by cattle, and is covered with their
+manure, which lies there until it is carted on to the land. In the shed
+are the tools of the farm, consisting of carts, plows--not deep plows,
+this farmer thinks it best to have roots near the surface of the soil
+where they can have the benefit of the sun's heat,--a harrow, hoes,
+rakes, etc. These tools are all in good order; and, unlike those of his
+less prudent neighbor, they are protected from the weather.
+
+The crops are cultivated with the plow, and hoe, as they have been since
+the land was cleared, and as they always will be until this man dies.
+
+Here is the 'practical farmer' of the present day. Hard working, out of
+debt, and economical--of dollars and cents, if not of soil and manures.
+He is a better farmer than two thirds of the three millions of farmers
+in the country. He is one of the best farmers in his town--there are but
+few better in the county, not many in the State. He represents the
+better class of his profession.
+
+With all this, he is, in matters relating to his business, an unreading,
+unthinking man. He knows nothing of the first principles of farming, and
+is successful by the _indulgence_ of nature, not because he understands
+her, and is able to make the most of her assistance.
+
+This is an unpleasant fact, but it is one which cannot be denied. We do
+not say this to disparage the farmer, but to arouse him to a realization
+of his position and of his power to improve it.
+
+But let us see where he is wrong.
+
+He is wrong in thinking that his land does not need draining. He is
+wrong in being satisfied with one and a half tons of hay to the acre
+when he might easily get two and a half. He is wrong in not removing as
+far as possible every stone that can interfere with the deep and
+thorough cultivation of his soil. He is wrong in reaping less than his
+father did, when he should get more. He is wrong in ascribing to the
+weather, and similar causes, what is due to the actual impoverishment of
+his soil. He is wrong in not raising turnips, carrots, and other roots,
+which his winter stock so much need, when they might be raised at a cost
+of less than one third of their value as food. He is wrong in
+considering worthless a deposit of muck, which is a mine of wealth if
+properly employed. He is wrong in _ventilating_ his stables at the cost
+of _heat_. He is wrong in his treatment of his manures, for he loses
+more than one half of their value from evaporation, fermentation, and
+leaching. He is wrong in not having water at hand for his cattle--their
+exercise detracts from their accumulation of fat and their production of
+heat, and it exposes them to cold. He is wrong in not protecting his
+fattening stock from the cold of winter; for, under exposure to cold,
+the food, which would otherwise be used in the formation of _fat_, goes
+to the production of the animal heat necessary to counteract the
+chilling influence of the weather, p. 50. He is wrong in allowing his
+manure to lie unprotected in the barn-yard. He is wrong in not adding to
+his tools the deep surface plow, the subsoil plow, the cultivator, and
+many others of improved construction. He is wrong in cultivating with
+the plow and hoe, those crops which could be better or more cheaply
+managed with the cultivator or horse-hoe. He is wrong in many things
+more, as we shall see if we examine all of his yearly routine of work.
+He is right in a few things; and but a few, as he himself would admit,
+had he that knowledge of his business which he could obtain in the
+leisure hours of a single winter. Still, he thinks himself a _practical_
+farmer. In twenty years, we shall have fewer such, for our young men
+have the mental capacity and mental energy necessary to raise them to
+the highest point of practical education, and to that point they are
+gradually but surely rising.
+
+Let us now place this same farm in the hands of an educated and
+understanding cultivator; and, at the end of five years, look at it
+again.
+
+He has sold one half of it, and cultivates but fifty acres. The money
+for which the other fifty were sold has been used in the improvement of
+the farm. The land has all been under-drained, and shows the many
+improvements consequent on such treatment. The stones and small rocks
+have been removed, leaving the surface of the soil smooth, and allowing
+the use of the sub-soil plow, which with the under-drains have more than
+doubled the productive power of the farm. Sufficient labor is employed
+to cultivate with improved tools, extensive root crops, and they
+invariably give a large yield. The grass land produces a yearly average
+of 2½ tons of hay per acre. From 80 to 100 bushels of corn, 30 bushels
+of wheat, and 45 bushels of oats are the average of the crops reaped.
+The soil has been analyzed, and put in the best possible condition,
+while it is yearly supplied with manures containing every thing taken
+away in the abundant crops. The analysis is never lost sight of in the
+regulation of crops and the application of manures. The _worthless_ muck
+bed was retained, and is made worth one dollar a load to the compost
+heap, especially as the land requires an increase of organic matter. A
+new barn has been built large enough to store all of the hay produced on
+the farm. It has stables, which are tight and warm, and are well
+ventilated _above_ the cattle. The stock being thus protected from the
+loss of their heat, give more milk, and make more fat on a less amount
+of food than they did under the old system. Water is near at hand, and
+the animals are not obliged to over exercise. The manure is carefully
+composted, either under a shed constructed for the purpose with a tank
+and pump, or is thrown into the cellar below, where the hogs mix it with
+a large amount of muck, which has been carted in after being thoroughly
+decomposed by the lime and salt mixture.
+
+They are thus protected against all loss, and are prepared for the
+immediate use of crops. No manures are allowed to lie in the barn-yard,
+but they are all early removed to the compost heap, where they are
+preserved by being mixed with carbonaceous matter. In the tool shed, we
+find deep surface-plows, sub-soil plows, cultivators, horse-hoes,
+seed-drills, and many other valuable improvements.
+
+This farmer takes one or more agricultural papers, from which he learns
+many new methods of cultivation, while his knowledge of the _reasons_ of
+various agricultural effects enables him to discard the injudicious
+suggestions of mere _book farmers_ and uneducated dreamers.
+
+Here are two specimens of farmers. Neither description is over-drawn.
+The first is much more careful in his operations than the majority of
+our rural population. The second is no better than many who may be found
+in America.
+
+We appeal to the common sense of the reader of this work to know which
+of the two is the _practical farmer_--let him imitate either as his
+judgment shall dictate.
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+EXPLANATION OF TERMS.
+
+
+ABSORB--to soak in a liquid or a gas.
+
+ABSTRACT--to take from.
+
+ACID--sour; a sour substance.
+
+AGRICULTURE--the art of cultivating the soil.
+
+ALKALI--the direct opposite of an _acid_, with which it has a tendency
+    to unite.
+
+ALUMINA--the base of clay.
+
+ANALYSIS--separating into its primary parts any compound substance.
+
+CARBONATE--a compound, consisting of carbonic acid and an alkali.
+
+CAUSTIC--burning.
+
+CHLORIDE--a compound containing chlorine.
+
+CLEVIS--that part of a plow by which the drawing power is attached.
+
+DECOMPOSE--to separate the constituents of a body from their
+    combinations, forming new kinds of compounds.
+
+DIGESTION--the decomposition of food in the stomach and intestines of
+    animals (agricultural).
+
+DEW--deposit of the insensible vapor of the atmosphere on cold bodies.
+
+EXCREMENT--the matter given out by the organs of plants and animals,
+    being those parts of their food which they are unable to assimilate.
+
+FERMENTATION--a kind of decomposition.
+
+GAS--air--aeriform matter.
+
+GURNEYISM--see _Mulching_.
+
+INGREDIENT--component part.
+
+INORGANIC--mineral, or earthy.
+
+MOULDBOARD--that part of a surface plow which turns the sod.
+
+MULCHING--covering the soil with litter, leaves, or other refuse matter.
+    See p. 247.
+
+NEUTRALIZE--To overcome the characteristic properties of.
+
+ORGANIC MATTER--that kind of matter which at times possesses an
+    organized (or living) form, and at others exists as a gas in the
+    atmosphere.
+
+OXIDE--a compound of oxygen with a metal.
+
+PHOSPHATE--a compound of phosphoric acid with an alkali.
+
+PROXIMATE--an organic compound, such as wood, starch, gum, etc.; a
+    product of life.
+
+PUNGENT--pricking.
+
+PUTREFACTION--rotting.
+
+SATURATE--to _fill_ the pores of any substance, as a sponge with water,
+    or charcoal with ammonia.
+
+SILICATE--a compound of silica with an alkali.
+
+SOLUBLE--capable of being dissolved.
+
+SOLUTION--a liquid containing another substance dissolved in it.
+
+SATURATED SOLUTION--one which contains as much of the foreign substance
+    as it is capable of holding.
+
+SPONGIOLES--the mouths at the ends of roots.
+
+SULPHATE--a compound of sulphuric acid with an alkali.
+
+VAPOR--gas.
+
+
+
+
+KETCHUM'S
+
+PATENT MOWING MACHINES
+
+[Illustration]
+
+=The greatest Improvement ever made for Simplicity, Durability, and Ease
+of Action.=
+
+
+It is now beyond a question, from the complete triumph over all other
+machines this season, that this is the _only_ successful Grass Cutter
+known. It is in fact the _only_ machine that has ever cut _all kinds of
+grass_ without _clogging_ or _interruption_. More than 1000 have been
+sold the present season under the following warranty, and not in a
+single instance have we been called on to take one back.
+
+(Warranty:) That said machines are capable of Cutting and Spreading,
+with one span of horses and driver, from ten to fifteen acres per day,
+_of any kind of grass, heavy or light, wet or dry, lodged or standing_,
+and do it as well as is done with a scythe by the best mowers.
+
+The price of our machine, with two sets of knives and extras, is $110,
+cash, delivered on board of cars or boat, free of charge.
+
+HOWARD & CO.,
+Manufacturers and Proprietors, Buffalo, N. Y.
+
+_Buffalo_, Aug. 1, 1853.
+
+
+RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & Co., Manufacture Ketchum's Mower for New
+    England.
+
+WARDER & BROKAW, Springfield, Ohio; for Southern Ohio and Kentucky.
+
+SEYMOUR & MORGAN, Brockport, N. Y.; for Michigan and Illinois.
+
+
+
+
+NEW AND USEFUL WORKS.
+
+JUST PUBLISHED BY
+
+_D. APPLETON & COMPANY_
+
+
+A new and much, enlarged edition of
+
+=DR. URE'S=
+
+DICTIONARY OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES AND MINES.
+
+Containing a clear Exposition of their principles and practice.
+Illustrated with nearly 1,600 engravings. Complete in two large 8vo.
+volumes; counts over 2,000 pages. Price $5.00.
+
+    This new edition is nearly a quarter of a century in advance of
+    any previous one.
+
+    It contains one third more matter than the latest previous one.
+
+    The statistics, inventions, and improvements, are all brought
+    down to the present time.
+
+    The results of the London Exhibition on the respective subjects
+    of which the Dictionary treats, are presented with great fulness
+    and accuracy.
+
+    The numerous errors in the typography of the London edition have
+    been corrected in this.
+
+
+=SIR CHARLES LYELL'S=
+
+PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY;
+
+Or, the Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, considered as
+illustrative of Geology. A new and much enlarged edition. Illustrated
+with maps, plates, and wood-cuts. 1 vol. 8vo., of 850 pages. Price
+$2.25.
+
+
+=SIR CHARLES LYELL'S=
+
+MANUAL OF ELEMENTARY GEOLOGY;
+
+Or, the Ancient Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, as illustrated
+by Geological Monuments. A new and greatly enlarged edition. Illustrated
+with 500 wood-cuts. 1 vol. 8vo. Price $1.75.
+
+    [***] The author of these works, stands in the very front rank
+    of scientific men, and his works upon the science to which he
+    has devoted his great powers and his indefatigable study, are
+    the standard books upon these subjects.
+
+
+=APPLETON'S=
+
+MODERN ATLAS OF THE EARTH.
+
+With an Alphabetical Index of the Latitudes and Longitudes of 18,000
+places. Thirty-four beautifully engraved and colored maps, with
+Temperature Scales. 4to. size, bound in 1 vol., royal 8vo. Price $3.50.
+
+    This is the only complete portable Modern Atlas yet published.
+    The maps are engraved on steel, and executed with great
+    clearness, distinctness and accuracy. The delineations of
+    mountainous districts, the sources of rivers and boundary lines,
+    have been made with great care. It is designed for the table of
+    the Student and the office of the Professional Man, and is
+    issued in a very finished and elegant style, and embraces
+    extensive details of all the important parts of the Earth.
+
+
+
+
+_D. APPLETON AND CO.'S PUBLICATIONS._
+
+Popular Science.
+
+The Chemistry of Common Life.
+
+BY JAMES F. W. JOHNSTON, M.A., F.R.S.S. L. & E., &c.
+
+Author of "Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology," a "Catechism
+of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology," &c.
+
+
+ADVERTISEMENT.
+
+    The common life of man is full of wonders, Chemical and
+    Physiological. Most of us pass through this life without seeing
+    or being sensible of them, though every day our existence and
+    our comforts ought to recall them to our minds. One main cause
+    of this is, that our schools tell us nothing about them--do not
+    teach those parts of modern learning which would fit us for
+    seeing them. What most concerns the things that daily occupy our
+    attention and cares, are in early life almost sedulously kept
+    from our knowledge. Those who would learn any thing regarding
+    them, must subsequently teach themselves through the help of the
+    press: hence the necessity for a Popular Chemical Literature.
+
+    It is with a view to meet this want of the Public, and at the
+    same time to supply a Manual for the Schools, that the present
+    work has been projected. It treats, in what appears to be their
+    natural order, of THE AIR WE BREATHE and THE WATER WE DRINK, in
+    their relations to human life and health--THE SOIL WE CULTIVATE
+    AND THE PLANT WE REAR, as the sources from which the chief
+    sustenance of all life is obtained--THE BREAD WE EAT AND THE
+    BEEF WE COOK, as the representatives of the two grand divisions
+    of human food--THE BEVERAGES WE INFUSE, from which so much of
+    the comfort of modern life, both savage and civilized, is
+    derived--THE SWEETS WE EXTRACT, the history of which presents so
+    striking an illustration of the economical value of chemical
+    science--THE LIQUORS WE FERMENT, so different from the sweets in
+    their action on the system, and yet so closely connected with
+    them in chemical history--THE NARCOTICS WE INDULGE IN, as
+    presenting us with an aspect of the human constitution which,
+    both chemically and physiologically, is more mysterious and
+    wonderful than any other we are acquainted with--THE ODOURS WE
+    ENJOY AND THE SMELLS WE DISLIKE; the former because of the
+    beautiful illustration it presents of the recent progress of
+    organic chemistry in its relations to comforts of common life,
+    and the latter because of its intimate connection with our most
+    important sanitary arrangements--WHAT WE BREATHE FOR and WHY WE
+    DIGEST, as functions of the body at once the most important to
+    life, and the most purely chemical in their nature--THE BODY WE
+    CHERISH, as presenting many striking phenomena, and performing
+    many interesting chemical functions not touched upon in the
+    discussion of the preceding topics--and lastly, THE CIRCULATION
+    OF MATTER, as exhibiting in one view the end, purpose, and
+    method of all the changes in the natural body, in organic
+    nature, and in the mineral kingdom, which are connected with and
+    determine the existence of life.
+
+    It has been the object of the Author in this Work to exhibit the
+    present condition of chemical knowledge and of matured
+    scientific opinion upon the subjects to which it is devoted. The
+    reader will not be surprised, therefore, should he find in it
+    some things which differ from what is to be found in other
+    popular works already in his hands or on the shelves of his
+    library.
+
+    The Work is being published in 5 or 6 NUMBERS, price 25 cents
+    each, in the following order, forming 1 vol. 12mo. of about 400
+    pages.
+
+    1. The AIR we Breathe and
+    2. The WATER we Drink.
+    3. The SOIL we Cultivate and
+    4. The PLANT we Rear.
+    5. The BREAD we Eat and
+    6. The BEEF we Cook.
+    7. The BEVERAGES we Infuse.
+    8. The SWEETS we Extract.
+    9. The LIQUORS we Ferment.
+    10. The NARCOTICS we Indulge in.
+    11. The ODOURS we Enjoy and
+    12. The SMELLS we Dislike.
+    13. What we BREATHE and BREATHE FOR, and
+    14. What, How, and Why we DIGEST
+    15. The BODY we Cherish, and
+    16. The CIRCULATION of MATTER, a Recapitulation.
+
+
+
+
+WORKS ON AGRICULTURE, THE HORSE, & DOG.
+
+_Published by D. Appleton, & Co._
+
+
+THE FARMER'S HAND-BOOK
+
+Being a Full and Complete Guide for the Farmer and Emigrant.
+Comprising--The Clearing of Forest and Prairie Lands; Gardening; Farming
+Generally; Farriery; The Management and Treatment of Cattle; Cookery;
+The Construction of Dwellings; Prevention and Cure of Disease; with
+copious Tables, Recipes, Hints, &c., &c. By JOSIAH T. MARSHALL. One
+volume, 12mo., illustrated with numerous wood engravings. Neatly bound.
+Price $1; paper cover, 62½ cents.
+
+    "One of the most useful books we ever saw."--_Boston Post._
+
+
+RURAL ECONOMY,
+
+In its relations with Chemistry, Physics, and Meteorology; or, Chemistry
+applied to Agriculture. By J. B. BOUISSANGAULT. Translated, with Notes,
+etc., by George Law, Agriculturist. 12mo, over 500 pages, $1 50.
+
+    "The work is the fruit of a long life of study and experiment,
+    and its perusal will aid the farmer greatly in obtaining a
+    practical and scientific knowledge of his profession."--_American
+    Agriculturist._
+
+
+THE FARMER'S MANUAL:
+
+A Practical Treatise on the Nature and Value of Manures, founded from
+Experiments on various Crops, with a brief account of the most Recent
+Discoveries in Agricultural Chemistry. By F. FALKNER and the Author of
+"British Husbandry." 12mo, 50 cts.
+
+
+THE FARMER'S TREASURE:
+
+Containing "Falkner's Farmer's Manual," and "Smith's Productive
+Farming," bound together. 12mo, 75 cents.
+
+
+STABLE ECONOMY:
+
+A Treatise on the Management of Horses, in relation to Stabling,
+Grooming, Feeding, Watering, and Working. By JOHN STEWART, Veterinary
+Surgeon. With Notes and Additions, adapting it to American Food and
+Climate, by A. B. ALLEN. 12mo, illustrated with 23 Engravings, $1.
+
+    "No one should build a stable or own a horse without consulting
+    the excellent directions for stabling and using the horse, in
+    this book of Stewart's. It is an invaluable _vade mecum_ for all
+    who have the luxury of a stable."--_Eve. Mirror._
+
+
+THE HORSE'S FOOT; AND HOW TO KEEP IT SOUND.
+
+With Illustrations by WILLIAM MILES, Esq., from the Third London
+Edition, with 23 plates. Price 25 cents.
+
+This work has received the unqualified recommendation of the Quarterly,
+the Edinburgh, and the Reviews generally, of England. The price of the
+English copy is $3.
+
+    "It should be in the hands of every owner or friend of the
+    horse."
+
+
+DOGS: THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES.
+
+Directions as to their general Management. With numerous original
+anecdotes. Also Complete Instructions as to Treatment under Disease. By
+H. D. RICHARDSON. Illustrated with numerous Wood Engravings. 1 vol.
+12mo, 25 cts. paper cover, 38 cts. cloth.
+
+    This is not only a cheap, but one of the best works ever
+    published on the Dog.
+
+
+THE BOOK OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE:
+
+A Cyclopædia of Six Thousand Practical Receipts, and Collateral
+Information in the Arts, Manufactures, and Trades; including Medicine,
+Pharmacy, and Domestic Economy, designed as a compendious Book of
+Reference for the Manufacturer, Tradesman, Amateur, and Heads of
+Families. By ARNOLD JAMES COOLEY, Practical Chemist. Illustrated with
+numerous Wood Engravings. Forming one handsome volume, 8vo, of 464
+pages. Price $2 25, bound.
+
+
+TREATISE ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING:
+
+ADAPTED TO NORTH AMERICA, WITH A VIEW TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF COUNTRY
+RESIDENCES--
+
+Comprising Historical Notices and General Principles of the Art, Directions for
+      Laying Out Grounds and Arranging Plantations, the Description and
+         Cultivation of Hardy Trees, Decorative Accompaniments of the
+           House and Grounds, the Formation of pieces of Artificial
+              Water, Flower Gardens, etc., with remarks on Rural
+                    Architecture. A new edition, enlarged,
+                       revised and newly illustrated.
+
+By A. J. DOWNING, author of "Designs for Cottage Residences," etc.
+
+A new and improved edition, 8vo., illustrated, $3 50.
+
+    "Insult not Nature with absurd expense,
+    Nor spoil her simple charms by vain pretense;
+    Weigh well the subject, be with caution bold,
+    Profuse of genius, not profuse of gold."
+
+RIKER, THORPE & CO., 129 Fulton st., New York.
+
+"There is no work extant which can be compared in ability to Downing's
+volume on this subject. It is not overlaid with elaborate and learned
+disquisition, like the English works, but it is truly
+practical."--_Louisville Journal._
+
+"Mr. Downing's works have been greatly influential in recommending among
+us that life which has always seemed to us the perfection of human
+existence--the life of men of education, living upon and cultivating
+their own farms."--_Cour. and Enq._
+
+"The principles he lays down are not only sound, but are developed on a
+uniform system, which is not paralleled in any English work."--_Prof.
+Lindley's Chronicle, London._
+
+
+=RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & CO.=,
+
+_MANUFACTURERS AT WORCESTER_,
+
+And Wholesale and Retail Dealers in
+
+AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINES,
+
+=Garden, Field and Flower Seeds=,
+
+FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ROSES, VINES AND PLANTS,
+
+GUANO, BONE DUST, PHOSPHATES, POUDRETTE, &c.
+
+Also, Agricultural and Horticultural Publications, and Agents for
+Principal Nurseries,
+
+AT THE
+
+QUINCY HALL
+
+=AGRICULTURAL WAREHOUSE AND SEED STORE=,
+
+OVER QUINCY MARKET, SOUTH MARKET ST.,
+
+=BOSTON, MASS.=
+
+
+
+
+WAGENER'S AMERICAN SEED
+
+=HARVESTER.=
+
+
+HIGHEST PREMIUMS AWARDED
+
+=At the World's Fair Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, 1853.=
+
+ALSO BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE, NEW YORK.
+
+VARIOUS OTHER APPROBATIONS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED.
+
+This Machine consists of a simple frame and box mounted on wheels, in
+front of which is a cylinder, set with spiral knives, acting in concert
+with curved spring teeth, in combination with a straight knife, which
+forms a perfect shear, and severs the head from the stalk; the heads are
+at the same time discharged into the box. The teeth being made to spring
+and vibrate, not a particle of clover, however stalky or thick, can
+possibly escape being cut, or allow the teeth to become clogged. The
+Cylinder and Knives are protected by an adjustible guard plate, thus
+allowing only the heads to pass to the Knives, retaining the head, and
+the head only--thus leaving the stalk to enrich the soil. The machine is
+so constructed that it can be made adjustible to the height of the
+Clover and Timothy.
+
+To be seen at the Crystal Palace. Price of the machines moderate.
+
+    The Farmer will find that by this process, he may save two crops
+    of Timothy per year. When the seed is ripe the tops can be
+    clipped, and the straw left until fall to mature. You now have
+    your seed and hay in two crops of equal value; in case of
+    clover, you mow the first crop for hay, the second for seed; you
+    in both cases get better seed and hay with less labor and
+    expense than grain crops, at the same time leaving the soil
+    clothed with a coat of straw, for the coming season, which will
+    increase the value of the soil for crops, make fine pastures and
+    fine stock, while it fits the land for fine grain. In this way
+    lands in our states have been raised in production from five to
+    twenty-five or thirty bushels of wheat per acre, in the course
+    of a few years.
+
+    This is within the reach of every farmer, without money or
+    labor, as organic matter accumulates from the atmosphere and is
+    deposited in the soil.
+
+Manufactured and for sale by the Patentee and Proprietor,
+
+JEPTHA A. WAGENER.
+_Office 348 West Twenty-Fourth Street, New York._
+
+All orders for Machines this season should be sent in immediately, in
+order to have them in readiness for harvest time.
+
+=Price of Machines, $100 and $110, two sizes, at the Manufactory.=
+
+--> Rights of States and Counties on favorable terms.
+
+    "Wagener's Clover and Timothy Seed Harvester has been in
+    successful operation two seasons, and has received the premium
+    at the World's Fair and at the Fair of the American Institute,
+    and various other testimonials of superior value. They are
+    manufactured and for sale by the inventor, Jeptha A. Wagener, at
+    348 West 24th street, New York."--_U. S. Journal._
+
+The Grain Harvester is in course of preparation, and will soon be
+offered for sale.
+
+
+
+
+THE WORKING FARMER,
+
+PUBLISHED ON THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH,
+
+At 143 Fulton St., (upper side,) a few doors east of Broadway, New York.
+
+
+TERMS.
+
+One year, _payable in advance_,                         $1 00
+Clubs of six subscribers,                                5 00
+Clubs of twelve subscribers,                            10 00
+Clubs of twenty-five subscribers,                       20 00
+Single copies,                                             10
+Volume one, in paper cover,                                50
+Volumes two, three, four and five, in paper cover, each  1 00
+
+Postage on the WORKING FARMER, _if paid at the Subscriber's Post
+Office_, is, for
+
+Any distance within the United States, 3000 miles and under, _one cent_
+for each paper. If paid at a Subscriber's Post Office, _in advance_, 1¾
+cents per quarter, or 7 cents per year.
+
+Postage on bound volumes in _paper covers, if pre-paid at the New York
+Post Office_,
+
+                            Vol. I.  | Vols. II., III., IV & V.
+Any distance within United     cts.  | cts.
+States, 3000 miles and under     22  | 26 each volume.
+
+If not pre-paid at the New York Post Office, double the above rates will
+be charged.
+
+Subscriptions must commence with the year, namely, March; or the even
+half year, September; and for not less than one year.
+
+Remittances can be made, from such States as have no small paper
+circulation, in gold dollars, Post Office stamps, or the bills of other
+States.
+
+=ADVERTISEMENTS.=
+
+Five lines, one dollar each insertion, and in the same ratio for more
+lengthy advertisements.
+
+Post-paid Letters, addressed to the Publisher, will meet with prompt
+attention.
+
+FRED'K McCREADY,
+143 Fulton street, upper side, a few doors east of Broadway.
+
+
+MAPES'
+
+IMPROVED
+
+SUPER
+
+PHOSPHATE OF LIME
+
+160 lbs.
+
+FREDK. McCREADY
+
+WHOLESALE AGT. 143 FULTON STREET,
+
+KEEP DRY. N.Y.
+
+SEVERAL IMITATIONS of this celebrated fertilizer having been introduced
+among the dealers since the introduction of the _Improved
+Super-Phosphate of Lime_, I beg to state that all manufactured under the
+recipe of Prof. J. J. Mapes, is
+
+MARKED ON THE BAGS AS ABOVE,
+
+and each bag contains his certificate of having been made under his
+superintendence.
+
+--> Orders for the above fertilizer by mail, from strangers, should be
+accompanied with the money, a draft, or proper references. The bags
+contain exactly 160 lbs., which at two and a half cents per pound,
+amounts to four dollars.
+
+FRED'K McCREADY, 143 Fulton street, New York.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THE UNIVERSAL CULTIVATOR,
+
+Described on page 254,
+
+Is represented in the above cut. It is manufactured by us, and is sold
+by all implement dealers.
+
+
+OUR
+
+IMPROVED HORSE HOE,
+
+Of which a cut may be seen on p. 254,
+
+Is now manufactured at our establishment, and is sold throughout the
+Union. It is the best implement for weeding, etc. ever made.
+
+
+THE SOD AND SUB-SOIL PLOW,
+
+(Sometimes called the MICHIGAN PLOW,)
+
+Consists of two plows on the same beam. The first inverts the sod to the
+depth of a few inches, and the hindmost plow brings up the lower soil,
+depositing it on the inverted sod.
+
+FOR DEEP TILLAGE, especially on prairie land, this is superior to any of
+its competitors.
+
+RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & CO.
+Worcester, Mass., and Quincy Hall, Boston.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES
+
+Page   8 Page number added for tables of analysis
+Page  22 Period added after "great brilliancy"
+Page  33 seashore standardised to sea-shore; genii standardised to genie
+Page  39 No footnote anchor was in place. Anchor added after "are
+         formed," as this seemed most reasonable in context.
+Page  52 quanties corrected to quantities; nutricious corrected to
+         nutritious
+Page  53 Footnote marker added for "See Johnston's Elements, page 41."
+Page  55 ? added after "in their composition" in footer
+Page  74 Removed second "the" in "is the the foundation of Agricultural
+         Geology."
+Page 142 pigstye standardised to pig-stye
+Page 144 plough standardised to plow
+Pages 145, 211 subsoil plow standardised to sub-soil plow [Note that in
+         line with the more common usage in this work, the phrases
+         sub-soil plow and sub-soiling have retained their hyphens]
+Page 148 Removed second n in mannures
+Page 152 postash corrected to potash
+Page 157 suplying corrected to supplying
+Page 167 carbonia corrected to carbonic
+Page 174 buck-wheat standardised to buckwheat
+Pages 196, 232, 234, 235, 237, 238, 241 sub-soil standardised to subsoil
+Page 204 ? Added after Mineral in the question section
+Page 211 water tight standardised to water-tight
+Page 223 Second 6. changed to 7.
+Page 232 oxydation standardised to oxidation
+Page 266 Period added after lbs in 1620 lbs rye straw
+Page 272 Title No. XVI. added to table
+Page 273 10,000 corrected to 100.00
+Page 290 accurracy corrected to accuracy
+Page 292 Number of pages unclear. 464 Guessed.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Elements of Agriculture, by George E. Waring
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 31105-8.txt or 31105-8.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/1/0/31105/
+
+Produced by Steven Giacomelli, Brownfox and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/31105-8.zip b/31105-8.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d749868
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-8.zip
diff --git a/31105-h.zip b/31105-h.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a846054
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h.zip
diff --git a/31105-h/31105-h.htm b/31105-h/31105-h.htm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9fa602a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/31105-h.htm
@@ -0,0 +1,13305 @@
+<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+    "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Elements of Agriculture, by George E. Waring, Jr.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
+
+body {
+    margin-left: 10%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+}
+
+    h1,h2,h3,h4 {
+    text-align: center; /* all headings centered */
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+p {
+    margin-top: .75em;
+    text-align: justify;
+    margin-bottom: .75em;
+}
+
+hr {
+    width: 33%;
+    margin-top: 2em;
+    margin-bottom: 2em;
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+    clear: both;
+}
+
+table {
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right: auto;
+    border: 0;
+    border-collapse:collapse;
+}
+
+.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+    /*  visibility: hidden;  */
+    position: absolute;
+    left: 92%;
+    font-size: smaller;
+    text-align: right;
+    text-indent:0em;
+    padding-left:0em;
+    font-weight: normal;
+    font-style: normal;
+} /* page numbers */
+
+
+.blockquot {
+    margin-left: 5%;
+    margin-right: 10%;
+    font-size: small;
+}
+
+.sidenote {
+    width: 60%;
+    padding-bottom: .5em;
+    padding-top: .5em;
+    padding-left: .5em;
+    padding-right: .5em;
+    margin-left: auto;
+    margin-right:auto;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    font-size: smaller;
+    color: black;
+    background: #eeeeee;
+    border: dashed 1px;
+}
+
+.bb       {border-bottom: solid 2px;}
+
+.bl       {border-left: solid 2px;}
+
+.bt       {border-top: solid 2px;}
+
+.br       {border-right: solid 2px;}
+
+.bbox     {border: solid 2px;}
+
+.center   {text-align: center;}
+
+.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
+
+.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
+
+.caption  {font-weight: bold;}
+
+/* Images */
+.figcenter   {
+    margin: auto;
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+.figleft {
+    float: left;
+    clear: left;
+    margin-left: 0;
+    margin-bottom: 1em;
+    margin-top: 1em;
+    margin-right: 1em;
+    padding: 0;
+    text-align: center;
+}
+
+
+/* Footnotes */
+.footnotes        {border: dashed 1px;}
+
+.footnote         {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;}
+
+.footnote .label  {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;}
+
+.fnanchor {
+    vertical-align: super;
+    font-size: .8em;
+    text-decoration:
+    none;
+}
+
+/* Poetry */
+.poem {
+    margin-left:50%;
+    margin-right:10%;
+    text-align: left;
+}
+
+.poem br {display: none;}
+
+.poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em -10em;}
+
+.poem span.i0 {
+    display: block;
+    margin-left: 0em;
+    padding-left: 3em;
+    text-indent: -3em;
+}
+
+.poem span.i2 {
+    display: block;
+    margin-left: 2em;
+    padding-left: 3em;
+    text-indent: -3em;
+}
+
+.poem span.i4 {
+    display: block;
+    margin-left: 4em;
+    padding-left: 3em;
+    text-indent: -3em;
+}
+
+.gap0     {margin-top:0em; margin-bottom:0em;}
+.gap2     {margin-top:2em;}
+.gap4     {margin-top:4em;}
+.smaller  {font-size:smaller;}
+.larger  {font-size:larger;}
+.ralign   {text-align:right;}
+.tablenum {text-align:right; padding-right:2em;}
+.tablenum2 {text-align:right; padding-right:1.2em;}
+.hangspecial {text-indent:-6em; padding-left:6em;}
+.hangindent {text-indent:-2em; padding-left:2em;}
+.padlr     {padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;}
+.padlr2     {padding-left:0.5em;}
+.padlr3    {padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:1.5em;}
+.padr       {padding-right:1em;}
+    </style>
+  </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+Project Gutenberg's The Elements of Agriculture, by George E. Waring
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Elements of Agriculture
+       A Book for Young Farmers, with Questions Prepared for the Use of Schools
+
+Author: George E. Waring
+
+Release Date: January 27, 2010 [EBook #31105]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Giacomelli, Brownfox and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="bbox" style="width:60%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;">
+<h2>TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES</h2>
+
+<p class="padlr">Most pages of the book include at the bottom a number of questions for
+the student to consider. These have been retained in this version in grey boxes with dashed outlines.</p>
+
+<p class="padlr">Some corrections to typographical errors have been made. These are
+recorded at the end of the text.</p>
+</div>
+
+<h3>G. E. WARING, <span class="smcap">Jr</span>.</h3>
+
+<h2>Consulting Agriculturist.</h2>
+
+<p class="center gap0">ACCURATE ANALYSES OF SOILS, MANURES, AND</p>
+<p class="center gap0">CROPS PROCURED. FARMS VISITED,</p>
+<p class="center gap0">TREATMENT RECOMMENDED,</p>
+<p class="center gap0">ETC.</p>
+
+<p class="center gap2">Letters of advice on analyses will be written for those who
+require them, for $25 each.</p>
+
+<p class="center gap2">Letters on other branches of the subject, inclosing a suitable
+fee, will receive prompt attention.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center gap2 smcap">Office, 143 Fulton-street, New York, (up stairs.</p>
+<p class="center gap0 smcap">Post-Office Address, Rye, N. Y.</p>
+
+<hr style="width:70%;" />
+
+<h3>DR. CHARLES ENDERLIN,</h3>
+
+<h4>ANALYTICAL AND CONSULTING</h4>
+
+<h2>Chemist,</h2>
+
+<p class="center">84 WALKER-STREET,</p>
+<p class="center smaller">NEW YORK.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Analysis of Minerals, Soils</span>,&mdash;<span class="smcap">Organic Analysis, etc.</span></p>
+
+<hr style="width:70%;" />
+
+<h4>D. APPLETON &amp; COMPANY</h4>
+
+<p class="center smaller">HAVE IN COURSE OF PREPARATION,</p>
+
+<p class="center">THE</p>
+
+<h2>EARTHWORKER;</h2>
+
+<p class="center">OR,</p>
+
+<h3>Book of Husbandry.</h3>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> G. E. WARING, <span class="smcap">Jr</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Author of the "Elements of Agriculture."</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>This book is intended as a sequel to the Elements of Agriculture,
+being a larger and more complete work, containing
+fuller directions for the treatment of the different kinds of
+soils, for the <i>preparation of manures</i>, and especially for the
+drainage of lands, whether level, rolling, hilly, or springy.
+Particular attention will be paid to the use of analysis. The
+feeding of different animals, and the cultivation of the various
+crops, will be described with care.</p>
+
+<p>The size of the work will be about 400 pp. 8vo., and it
+will probably be published January 1st, 1856. Price $1.
+Orders sent to the publishers, or to the author, at Rye, N. Y.,
+will be supplied in the order in which they are received.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">ELEMENTS</h2>
+
+<h3>OF</h3>
+
+<h1>AGRICULTURE</h1>
+
+
+
+<p>Extract from a letter to the author from Prof. Mapes, editor
+of the <i>Working Farmer</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>* * * "After a perusal of your manuscript, I feel authorized
+in assuring you that, for the use of young farmers, and schools, your book is superior
+to any other elementary work extant. JAMES J. MAPES."</p></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 25%;" />
+
+<p>Letter from the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+
+<p style="margin-left:2em;"><span class="smcap">My Friend Waring</span>,</p>
+
+<p>If all who need the information given in your <i>Elements
+of Agriculture</i> will confess their ignorance as frankly as I do, and seek to dispel
+it as promptly and heartily, you will have done a vast amount of good by writing
+it. * * * * * I have found in every chapter important truths, which I,
+as a would-be-farmer, needed to know, yet which I <i>did not</i> know, or had but a
+confused and glimmering consciousness of, before I read your lucid and straightforward
+exposition of the bases of Agriculture as a science. I would not have my
+son grow up as ignorant of these truths as I did for many times the price of your
+book; and, I believe, a copy of that book in every family in the Union, would
+speedily add at least ten per cent. per acre to the aggregate product of our soil,
+beside doing much to stem and reverse the current which now sets so strongly
+away from the plow and the scythe toward the counter and the office. Trusting
+that your labors will be widely regarded and appreciated,</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left:40%;">I remain yours truly,</p>
+<p style="margin-left:60%;">HORACE GREELEY.</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left:2em;">New York, June 23, 1854.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h3 class="gap4">THE</h3>
+<h1>ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE:</h1>
+
+<h2>A Book for Young Farmers,</h2>
+
+<p class="center gap0">WITH QUESTIONS PREPARED FOR THE USE OF</p>
+<h3 class="gap0">SCHOOLS.</h3>
+
+<p class="center gap2">BY</p>
+
+<h2>GEO. E. WARING, <span class="smcap">Jr.</span>,</h2>
+<p class="center smaller">CONSULTING AGRICULTURIST.</p>
+
+<p class="gap2">The effort to extend the dominion of man over nature is the most healthy and
+most noble of all ambitions.&mdash;<span class="smcap">Bacon.</span></p>
+
+<p class="center gap2">NEW YORK:</p>
+<p class="center">D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,</p>
+<p class="center">346 &amp; 348 BROADWAY.</p>
+
+<p class="center">M DCCC LIV.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<p class="center smaller gap4">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">GEO. E. WARING, <span class="smcap">Jr.</span>,</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
+District of New York.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<p class="center smaller gap4">TO</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">MY FRIEND AND TUTOR,</p>
+
+<p class="center">PROF. JAMES J. MAPES,</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">THE PIONEER OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN AMERICA,</p>
+
+<p class="center">This Book</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">BY HIS PUPIL,</p>
+
+<p style="margin-left:50%">THE AUTHOR.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">TO THE STUDENT.</h2>
+
+
+<p>This book is presented to you, not as a work of science,
+nor as a dry, chemical treatise, but as a plain statement
+of the more simple operations by which nature produces
+many results, so common to our observation, that we are
+thoughtless of their origin. On these results depend the
+existence of man and the lower animals. No man should
+be ignorant of their production.</p>
+
+<p>In the early prosecution of the study, you will find,
+perhaps, nothing to relieve its tediousness; but, when the
+foundation of agricultural knowledge is laid in your mind
+so thoroughly that you know the character and use of
+every stone, then may your thoughts build on it fabrics
+of such varied construction, and so varied in their uses,
+that there will be opened to you a new world, even more
+wonderful and more beautiful than the outward world,
+which exhibits itself to the senses. Thus may you live
+two lives, each assisting in the enjoyment of the other.</p>
+
+<p>But you may ask the <i>practical</i> use of this. "The
+world is made up of little things," saith the proverb. So
+with the productive arts. The steam engine consists of
+many parts, each part being itself composed of atoms too
+minute to be detected by our observation. The earth
+itself, in all its solidity and life, consists entirely of atoms<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>
+too small to be perceived by the naked eye, each visible
+particle being an aggregation of thousands of constituent
+elements. The crop of wheat, which the farmer raises by
+his labor, and sells for money, is produced by a combination
+of particles equally small. They are not mysteriously
+combined, nor irregularly, but each atom is taken from its
+place of deposit, and carried to its required location in the
+living plant, by laws as certain as those which regulate the
+motion of the engine, or the revolutions of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>It is the business of the practical farmer to put together
+these materials, with the assistance of nature. He
+may learn her ways, assist her action, and succeed; or he
+may remain ignorant of her operations, often counteract
+her beneficial influences, and often fail.</p>
+
+<p>A knowledge of the <i>inner</i> world of material things
+about us will produce pleasure to the thoughtful, and profit
+to the practical.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4"><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+<p class="center gap2">SECTION FIRST.</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">THE PLANT.</p>
+
+<table style="width:90%;" summary="TOC">
+<tr>
+<td style="width:3em;">&nbsp;</td>
+<td style="width:2em;">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign smaller" style="width:3em;">PAGE.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="smcap">Chapter</td>
+<td class="ralign">I.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Introduction,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">II.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Atmosphere,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">III.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">IV.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Inorganic Matter,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">V.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Growth,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">VI.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Proximate division of Plants,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">VII.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Location of the Proximates, and variations in the Ashes of Plants,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_52">52</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">VIII.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Recapitulation,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+<p class="center gap2">SECTION SECOND.</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">THE SOIL.</p>
+
+<table style="width:90%;" summary="TOC">
+<tr>
+<td style="width:3em;" class="center smcap">Chapter</td>
+<td style="width:2em;" class="ralign">I.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Formation and Character of the Soil,</td>
+<td class="ralign" style="width:3em;"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">II.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Uses of Organic Matter,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">III.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Uses of Inorganic Matter,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+
+<p class="center gap2">SECTION THIRD.</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">MANURES.</p>
+
+<table style="width:90%;" summary="TOC">
+<tr>
+<td style="width:3em;" class="center smcap">Chapter</td>
+<td style="width:2em;" class="ralign">I.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Character and varieties of Manure,</td>
+<td style="width:3em;" class="ralign"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">II.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Excrements of Animals,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></td>
+<td class="ralign">III.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Waste of Manure,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">IV.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Absorbents,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">V.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Composting Stable Manure,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">VI.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Different kinds of Animal Excrement,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">VII.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Other Organic Manures,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">VIII.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Mineral Manures,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_149">149</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">IX.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Deficiencies of Soils, means of Restoration, etc.,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">X.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Atmospheric Fertilizers,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">XI.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Recapitulation,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<p class="center gap2">SECTION FOURTH.</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">MECHANICAL CULTIVATION.</p>
+
+<table style="width:90%;" summary="TOC">
+<tr>
+<td style="width:3em;" class="center smcap">Chapter</td>
+<td style="width:2em;" class="ralign">I.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Mechanical Character of the Soil,</td>
+<td style="width:3em;" class="ralign"><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">II.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Under-draining,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">III.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Advantages of Under-draining,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">IV.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Sub-soil Plowing,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">V.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Plowing and other modes of Pulverizing the Soil,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">VI.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Rolling, Mulching, Weeding, etc.,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<p class="center gap2">SECTION FIFTH.</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">ANALYSIS.</p>
+
+<table style="width:90%;" summary="TOC">
+<tr>
+<td style="width:3em;" class="center smcap">Chapter</td>
+<td style="width:2em;" class="ralign">I.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Nature of Analysis,</td>
+<td style="width:3em;" class="ralign"><a href="#Page_259">259</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="ralign">II.</td>
+<td>&mdash;Tables of Analysis,</td>
+<td class="ralign"><a href="#Page_264">264</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="padding-top:2em;" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">The Practical Farmer</span>,</td>
+<td style="width:3em;padding-top:2em;" class="ralign"><a href="#Page_279">279</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="padding-top:2em;" colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Explanation of Terms</span>,</td>
+<td style="width:3em;padding-top:2em;" class="ralign"><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="gap4"><a name="SECTION_FIRST" id="SECTION_FIRST"></a>SECTION FIRST.</h3>
+
+<h2>THE PLANT.</h2>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>INTRODUCTION.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the object of cultivating the soil?</p>
+
+<p>What is necessary in order to cultivate with economy?</p>
+
+<p>Are plants created from nothing?</p></div>
+
+<p>The object of cultivating the soil is to raise from it
+a crop of <i>plants</i>. In order to cultivate with economy,
+we must <i>raise the largest possible quantity with the
+least expense, and without permanent injury to the
+soil</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Before this can be done we must study the character
+of plants, and learn their exact composition.
+They are not <i>created</i> by a mysterious power, they
+are merely made up of matters already in existence.
+They take up water containing food and other mat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>ters,
+and discharge from their roots those substances
+that are not required for their growth. It is necessary
+for us to know what kind of matter is required
+as food for the plant, and where this is to be obtained,
+which we can learn only through such means as shall
+separate the elements of which plants are composed;
+in other words, we must <i>take them apart</i>, and examine
+the different pieces of which they are formed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What must we do to learn the composition of plants?</p>
+
+<p>What takes place when vegetable matter is burned?</p>
+
+<p>What do we call the two divisions produced by burning?</p>
+
+<p>Where does organic matter originate? Inorganic?</p>
+
+<p>How much of chemistry should farmers know?</p></div>
+
+<p>If we burn any vegetable substance it disappears,
+except a small quantity of earthy matter, which we
+call <i>ashes</i>. In this way we make an important
+division in the constituents of plants. One portion
+dissipates into the atmosphere, and the other remains
+as ashes.</p>
+
+<p>That part which burns away during combustion
+is called <i>organic matter</i>; the ashes are called <i>inorganic
+matter</i>. The organic matter has become air,
+and hence we conclude that it was originally obtained
+from air. The inorganic matter has become earth,
+and was obtained from the soil.</p>
+
+<p>This knowledge can do us no good except by the
+assistance of chemistry, which explains the properties
+of each part, and teaches us where it is to be
+found. It is not necessary for farmers to become
+chemists. All that is required is, that they should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>
+know enough of chemistry to understand the nature
+of the materials of which their crops are composed,
+and how those materials are to be used to the best
+advantage.</p>
+
+<p>This amount of knowledge may be easily acquired,
+and should be possessed by every person, old or
+young, whether actually engaged in the cultivation
+of the soil or not. All are dependent on vegetable
+productions, not only for food, but for every comfort
+and convenience of life. It is the object of this book
+to teach children the first principles of agriculture:
+and it contains all that is absolutely necessary to an
+understanding of the practical operations of cultivation,
+etc.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is organic matter lost after combustion?</p>
+
+<p>Of what does it consist?</p>
+
+<p>How large a part of plants is carbon?</p></div>
+
+<p>We will first examine the <i>organic</i> part of plants,
+or that which is driven away during combustion or
+burning. This matter, though apparently lost, is
+only changed in form.</p>
+
+<p>It consists of one solid substance, <i>carbon</i> (or
+charcoal), and three gases, <i>oxygen</i>, <i>hydrogen</i> and
+<i>nitrogen</i>. These four kinds of matter constitute
+nearly the whole of most plants, the ashes forming
+often less than one part in one hundred of their dry
+weight.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What do we mean by gas?</p>
+
+<p>Does oxygen unite with other substances?</p>
+
+<p>Give some instances of its combinations</p></div>
+
+<p>When wood is burned in a close vessel, or otherwise
+protected from the air, its carbon becomes charcoal.
+All plants contain this substance, it forming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
+usually about one half of their dry weight. The remainder
+of their organic part consists of the three
+gases named above. By the word gas, we mean <i>air</i>.
+Oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, when pure, are always
+in the form of air. Oxygen has the power
+of uniting with many substances, forming compounds
+which are different from either of their constituents
+alone. Thus: oxygen unites with <i>iron</i> and forms
+oxide of iron or <i>iron-rust</i>, which does not resemble
+the gray metallic iron nor the gas oxygen; oxygen
+unites with carbon and forms carbonic acid, which
+is an invisible gas, but not at all like pure oxygen;
+oxygen combines with hydrogen and forms water.
+All of the water, ice, steam, etc., are composed of
+these two gases. We know this because we can artificially
+decompose, or separate, all water, and obtain
+as a result simply oxygen and hydrogen, or we can
+combine these two gases and thus form pure water;
+oxygen combines with nitrogen and forms nitric
+acid. These chemical changes and combinations
+take place only under certain circumstances, which,
+so far as they affect agriculture, will be considered in
+the following pages.</p>
+
+<p>As the organic elements of plants are obtained
+from matters existing in the atmosphere which surrounds
+our globe, we will examine its constitution.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>ATMOSPHERE.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is atmospheric air composed of?</p>
+
+<p>In what proportions?</p>
+
+<p>What is the use of nitrogen in air?</p>
+
+<p>Does the atmosphere contain other matters useful to vegetation?</p>
+
+<p>What are they?</p></div>
+
+<p>Atmospheric air is composed of oxygen and nitrogen.
+Their proportions are, one part of oxygen to four
+parts of nitrogen. Oxygen is the active agent in
+the combustion, decay, and decomposition of organized
+bodies (those which have possessed animal or
+vegetable life, that is, organic matter), and others
+also, in the breathing of animals. Experiments have
+proved that if the atmosphere consisted of pure oxygen
+every thing would be speedily destroyed, as the
+processes of combustion and decay would be greatly
+accelerated, and animals would be so stimulated that
+death would soon ensue. The use of the nitrogen in
+the air is to <i>dilute</i> the oxygen, and thus reduce the
+intensity of its effect.</p>
+
+<p>Besides these two great elements, the atmosphere
+contains certain impurities which are of great importance
+to vegetable growth; these are, <i>carbonic
+acid, water, ammonia, etc.</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">CARBONIC ACID.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the source of the carbon of plants?</p>
+
+<p>What is carbonic acid?</p>
+
+<p>What is its proportion in the atmosphere?</p>
+
+<p>Where else is it found?</p>
+
+<p>How does it enter the plant?</p>
+
+<p>What are the offices of leaves?</p></div>
+
+<p>Carbonic acid is in all probability the only source
+of the carbon of plants, and consequently is of more
+importance to vegetation than any other single sort of
+food. It is a gas, and is not, under natural circumstances,
+perceptible to our senses. It constitutes
+about <sup>1</sup>&#8260;<sub>2500</sub> of the atmosphere, and is found in combination
+with many substances in nature. Marble,
+limestone and chalk, are carbonate of lime, or carbonic
+acid and lime in combination; and carbonate
+of magnesia is a compound of carbonic acid and
+magnesia. This gas exists in combination with
+many other mineral substances, and is contained in
+all water not recently boiled. Its supply, though
+small, is sufficient for the purposes of vegetation. It
+enters the plant in two ways&mdash;through the roots in
+the water which goes to form the sap, and at the
+leaves, which absorb it from the air in the form of
+gas. The leaf of the plant seems to have three
+offices: that of absorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere&mdash;that
+of assisting in the chemical preparation
+of the sap&mdash;and that of evaporating its water.
+If we examine leaves with a microscope we shall find
+that some have as many as 170,000 openings, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>
+mouths, in a square inch; others have a much less
+number. Usually, the pores on the under side of
+the leaf absorb the carbonic acid. This absorptive
+power is illustrated when we apply the lower side of
+a cabbage leaf to a wound, as it draws strongly&mdash;the
+other side of the leaf has no such action. Young
+sprouts may have the power of absorbing and decomposing
+carbonic acid.</p>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What parts of roots absorb food?</p>
+
+<p>How much of their carbon may plants receive through their
+roots?</p>
+
+<p>What change does carbonic acid undergo after entering the
+plant?</p>
+
+<p>In what parts of the plant, and under what influence, is carbonic
+acid decomposed?</p></div>
+
+<p>The roots of plants terminate at their ends in
+minute spongioles, or mouths for the absorption of
+fluids containing nutriment. In these fluids there
+exist greater or less quantities of carbonic acid, and
+a considerable amount of this gas enters into the
+circulation of the plants and is carried to those parts
+where it is required for decomposition. Plants, under
+favorable circumstances, may thus obtain about
+one-third of their carbon.</p>
+
+<p>Carbonic acid, it will be recollected, consists of
+<i>carbon and oxygen</i>, while it supplies only <i>carbon</i>
+to the plant. It is therefore necessary that it be
+divided, or decomposed, and that the carbon be retained
+while the oxygen is sent off again into the
+atmosphere, to reperform its office of uniting with
+carbon. This decomposition takes place in the <i>green</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
+parts of plants and only under the influence of daylight.
+It is not necessary that the sun shine directly
+on the leaf or green shoot, but this causes a <i>more
+rapid</i> decomposition of carbonic acid, and consequently
+we find that plants which are well exposed
+to the sun's rays make the most rapid growth.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Explain the condition of different latitudes.</p>
+
+<p>Does the proportion of carbonic acid in the atmosphere remain
+about the same?</p></div>
+
+<p>The fact that light is essential to vegetation explains
+the conditions of different latitudes, which, so
+far as the assimilation of carbon is concerned, are
+much the same. At the Equator the days are but about
+twelve hours long. Still, as the growth of plants is
+extended over eight or nine months of the year, the
+duration of daylight is sufficient for the requirements
+of a luxuriant vegetation. At the Poles, on the contrary,
+the summer is but two or three months long;
+here, however, it is daylight all summer, and plants
+from continual growth develop themselves in that
+short time.</p>
+
+<p>It will be recollected that carbonic acid constitutes
+but about <sup>1</sup>&#8260;<sub>2500</sub> of the air, yet, although
+about one half of all the vegetable matter in the
+world is derived from this source, as well as all of the
+carbon required by the growth of plants, its proportion
+in the atmosphere is constantly about the same.
+In order that we may understated this, it becomes
+necessary for us to consider the means by which
+it is formed. Carbon, by the aid of fire, is made to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
+unite with oxygen, and always when bodies containing
+carbon are burnt <i>with the presence of atmospheric
+air</i>, the oxygen of that air unites with the carbon,
+and forms carbonic acid. The same occurs when
+bodies containing carbon <i>decay</i>, as this is simply a
+slower <i>burning</i> and produces the same results. The
+respiration (or breathing) of animals is simply the
+union of the carbon of the blood with the oxygen of
+the air drawn into the lungs, and their breath, when
+thrown out, always contains carbonic acid. From
+this we see that the reproduction of this gas is the
+direct effect of the destruction of all organized bodies,
+whether by fire, decay, or consumption by animals.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Explain some of the operations in which this reproduction takes
+place.</p>
+
+<p>How is it reproduced?</p></div>
+
+<p>Furnaces are its wholesale manufactories. Every
+cottage fire is continually producing a new supply, and
+the blue smoke issuing from the cottage-chimney, as
+described by so many poets, possesses a new beauty,
+when we reflect that besides indicating a cheerful
+fire on the hearth, it contains materials for making
+food for the cottager's tables and new faggots for his
+fire. The wick of every burning lamp draws up the
+carbon of the oil to be made into carbonic acid at
+the flame. All matters in process of combustion,
+decay, fermentation, or putrefaction, are returning to
+the atmosphere those constituents, which they obtained
+from it. Every living animal, even to the
+smallest insect, by respiration, spends its life in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>
+production of this material necessary to the growth of
+plants, and at death gives up its body in part for
+such formation by decay.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we see that there is a continual change from
+the carbon of plants to air, and from air back to
+plants, or through them to animals. As each dollar
+in gold that is received into a country permanently
+increases its amount of circulating medium, and each
+dollar sent out permanently decreases it until returned,
+so the carbonic acid sent into the atmosphere
+by burning, decay, or respiration, becomes a permanent
+stock of constantly changeable material, until it shall
+be locked up for a time, as in a house which may last
+for centuries, or in an oak tree which may stand for
+thousands of years. Still, at the decay of either of
+these, the carbon which they contain must be again
+resolved into carbonic acid.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are the coal-beds of Pennsylvania?</p>
+
+<p>What are often found in them?</p></div>
+
+<p>The coal-beds of Pennsylvania are mines of
+carbon once abstracted from the atmosphere by
+plants. In these coal-beds are often found fern
+leaves, toads, whole trees, and in short all forms of
+organized matter. These all existed as living things
+before the great floods, and at the breaking away of
+the barriers of the immense lakes, of which our present
+lakes were merely the deep holes in their beds,
+they were washed away and deposited in masses so
+great as to take fire from their chemical changes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
+It is by many supposed that this fire acting throughout
+the entire mass (without the presence of air <i>to
+supply oxygen</i> except on the surface) caused it to
+become melted carbon, and to flow around those
+bodies which still retained their shapes, changing
+them to coal without destroying their structures.
+This coal, so long as it retains its present form, is
+lost to the vegetable kingdom, and each ton that is
+burned, by being changed into carbonic acid, adds to
+the ability of the atmosphere to support an increased
+amount of vegetation.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Explain the manner in which they become coal.</p>
+
+<p>How does the burning of coal benefit vegetation?</p>
+
+<p>Is carbon ever permanent in any of its forms?</p>
+
+<p>What enables it to change its condition?</p></div>
+
+<p>Thus we see that, in the provisions of nature,
+carbon, the grand basis, on which all organized
+matter is founded, is never permanent in any of
+its forms. Oxygen is the carrier which enables it to
+change its condition. For instance, let us suppose
+that we have a certain quantity of charcoal;
+this is nearly pure carbon. We ignite it, and
+it unites with the oxygen of the air, becomes carbonic
+acid, and floats away into the atmosphere. The
+wind carries it through a forest, and the leaves of the
+trees with their millions of mouths drink it in. By
+the assistance of light it is decomposed, the oxygen
+is sent off to make more carbonic acid, and the carbon
+is retained to form a part of the tree. So long as that
+tree exists in the form of wood, the carbon will re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>main
+unaltered, but when the wood decays, or is
+burned, it immediately takes the form of carbonic
+acid, and mingles with the atmosphere ready to be
+again taken up by plants, and have its carbon deposited
+in the form of vegetable matter.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Give an instance of such change.</p>
+
+<p>How do plants and animals benefit each other?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the experiment with the glass tube.</p></div>
+
+<p>The blood of animals contains carbon derived
+from their food. This unites with the oxygen of the
+air drawn into the lungs and forms carbonic acid.
+Without this process, animals could not live. Thus,
+while by the natural operation of breathing, they
+make carbonic acid for the uses of the vegetable
+world, plants, in taking up carbon, throw off oxygen
+to keep up the life of animals. There is perhaps no
+way in which we can better illustrate the changes of
+form in carbon than by describing a simple experiment.</p>
+
+<p>Take a glass tube filled with oxygen gas, and
+put in it a lump of charcoal, cork the ends of the
+tube tightly, and pass through the corks the wires of
+an electrical battery. By passing a stream of electrical
+fluid over the charcoal it may be ignited, when it
+will burn with great brilliancy. In burning it is dissolved
+in the oxygen forming carbonic acid, and disappears.
+It is no more lost, however, than is the
+carbon of wood which is burned in a stove; although
+invisible, it is still in the tube, and may be detected
+by careful weighing. A more satisfactory proof of its
+presence may be obtained by <i>decomposing</i> the car<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>bonic
+acid by drawing the wires a short distance apart,
+and giving a <i>spark</i> of electricity. This immediately
+separates the oxygen from the carbon which forms a
+dense black smoke in the tube. By pushing the
+corks together we may obtain a wafer of charcoal of
+the same weight as the piece introduced. In this
+experiment we have changed carbon from its solid
+form to an invisible gas and back again to a solid,
+thus fully representing the continual changes of this
+substance in the destruction of organic matter and
+the growth of plants.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>HYDROGEN, OXYGEN AND NITROGEN.</h3>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is water composed of?</p>
+
+<p>If analyzed, what does it yield?</p>
+
+<p>How do plants obtain their hydrogen and oxygen?</p></div>
+
+<p>Let us now consider the three gases, <i>hydrogen</i>,
+<i>oxygen</i> and <i>nitrogen</i>, which constitute the remainder
+of the organic part of plants.</p>
+
+<p>Hydrogen and oxygen compose <i>water</i>, which, if
+analyzed, yields simply these two gases. Plants perform
+such analysis, and in this way are able to obtain
+a sufficient supply of these materials, as their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
+sap is composed chiefly of water. Whenever vegetable
+matter is destroyed by burning, decay, or
+otherwise, its hydrogen and oxygen unite and form
+water, which is parted with usually in the form of an
+invisible vapor. The atmosphere of course contains
+greater or less quantities of watery vapor arising from
+this cause and from the evaporation of liquid water.
+This vapor condenses, forming rains, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Hydrogen and oxygen are never taken into consideration
+in manuring lands, as they are so readily
+obtained from the water constituting the sap of the
+plant, and consequently should not occupy our attention
+in this book.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">NITROGEN.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>If vegetable matter be destroyed, what becomes of these constituents?</p>
+
+<p>What is the remaining organic constituent?</p>
+
+<p>Why is it worthy of close attention?</p>
+
+<p>Do plants appropriate the nitrogen of the atmosphere?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Nitrogen</i>, the only remaining <i>organic</i> constituent
+of vegetable matter, is for many reasons worthy of close
+attention.</p>
+
+<p>1. It is necessary to the growth and perfection of
+all cultivated plants.</p>
+
+<p>2. It is necessary to the formation of animal
+muscle.</p>
+
+<p>3. It is often deficient in the soil.</p>
+
+<p>4. It is liable to be easily lost from manures.</p>
+
+<p>Although about four fifths of atmospheric air
+are pure nitrogen, it is almost certain that plants<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
+get no nutriment at all from this source. It is all
+obtained from some of its compounds, chiefly from
+the one called ammonia. Nitric acid is also a source
+from which plants may obtain nitrogen, though to
+the farmer of less importance than ammonia.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">AMMONIA.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the principal source from which they obtain nitrogen?</p>
+
+<p>What is ammonia?</p>
+
+<p>How is it formed?</p>
+
+<p>Where does it always exist?</p>
+
+<p>How do plants take up ammonia?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Ammonia</i> is composed of nitrogen and hydrogen.
+It has a pungent smell and is familiarly known as
+<i>hartshorn</i>. The same odor is perceptible around
+stables and other places where animal matter is decomposing.
+All animal muscle, certain parts of
+plants, and other organized substances, consist of
+compounds containing nitrogen. When these compounds
+undergo combustion, or are in any manner
+decomposed, the nitrogen which they contain usually
+unites with hydrogen, and forms ammonia. In consequence
+of this the atmosphere always contains
+more or less of this gas, arising from the decay, etc.,
+which is continually going on all over the world.</p>
+
+<p>This ammonia in the atmosphere is the capital
+stock to which all plants, not artificially manured,
+must look for their supply of nitrogen. As they can
+take up ammonia only through their roots, we must<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
+discover some means by which it may be conveyed
+from the atmosphere to the soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Does water absorb it?</p>
+
+<p>What is <i>spirits of hartshorn</i>?</p>
+
+<p>Why is this power of water important in agriculture?</p>
+
+<p>What instance may be cited to prove this?</p></div>
+
+<p>Water may be made to absorb many times its
+bulk of this gas, and water with which it comes in
+contact will immediately take it up. Spirits of
+hartshorn is merely water through which ammonia
+has been passed until it is saturated.<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> This power
+of water has a direct application to agriculture,
+because the water constituting rains, dews, &amp;c.,
+absorbs the ammonia which the decomposition of
+nitrogenous matter had sent into the atmosphere,
+and we find that all rain, snow and dew, contain
+ammonia. This fact may be chemically proved in
+various ways, and is perceptible in the common
+operations of nature. Every person must have
+noticed that when a summer's shower falls on the
+plants in a flower garden, they commence their
+growth with fresh vigor while the blossoms become
+larger and more richly colored. This effect cannot be
+produced by watering with spring water, unless it be
+previously mixed with ammonia, in which case the
+result will be the same.</p>
+
+<p>Although ammonia is a gas and pervades the
+atmosphere, few, if any, plants can take it up, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
+they do carbonic acid, through their leaves. It
+must all enter through the roots in solution in the
+water which goes to form the sap. Although the
+amount received from the atmosphere is of great
+importance, there are few cases where artificial applications
+are not beneficial. The value of farm-yard
+and other animal manures, depends chiefly on the
+ammonia which they yield on decomposition. This
+subject, also the means for retaining in the soil the
+ammoniacal parts of fertilizing matters, will be fully
+considered in the section on manures.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Can plants use more ammonia than is received from the atmosphere?</p>
+
+<p>On what does the value of animal manure chiefly depend?</p>
+
+<p>What changes take place after ammonia enters the plant?</p>
+
+<p>May the same atom of nitrogen perform many different offices?</p></div>
+
+<p>After ammonia has entered the plant it may
+be decomposed, its hydrogen sent off, and its
+nitrogen retained to answer the purposes of growth.
+The changes which nitrogen undergoes, from plants
+to animals, or, by decomposition, to the form of
+ammonia in the atmosphere, are as varied as those of
+carbon and the constituents of water. The same
+little atom of nitrogen may one year form a part of a
+plant, and the next become a constituent of an animal,
+or, with the decomposed dead animal, may form a
+part of the soil. If the animal should fall into the
+sea he may become food for fishes, and our atom of
+nitrogen may form a part of a fish. That fish may
+be eaten by a larger one, or at death may become<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>
+food for the whale, through the marine insect, on
+which it feeds. After the abstraction of the oil from
+the whale, the nitrogen may, by the putrefaction of
+his remains, be united to hydrogen, form ammonia,
+and escape into the atmosphere. From here it may
+be brought to the soil by rains, and enter into the
+composition of a plant, from which, could its parts
+speak as it lies on our table, it could tell us a wonderful
+tale of travels, and assure us that, after wandering
+about in all sorts of places, it had returned to
+us the same little atom of nitrogen which we had
+owned twenty years before, and which for thousands
+of years had been continually going through its
+changes.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is the same true of the other constituents of plants?</p>
+
+<p>Is any atom of matter ever lost?</p></div>
+
+<p>The same is true of any of the organic or inorganic
+constituents of plants. They are performing
+their natural offices, or are lying in the earth, or
+floating in the atmosphere, ready to be lent to <i>any</i>
+of their legitimate uses, sure again to be returned to
+their starting point.</p>
+
+<p>Thus no atom of matter is ever lost. It may
+change its place, but it remains for ever as a part of
+the capital of nature.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> By <i>saturated</i>, we mean that it contains all that it is capable
+of holding.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>INORGANIC MATTER.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are ashes called?</p>
+
+<p>How many kinds of matter are there in the ashes of plants?</p>
+
+<p>Into what three classes may they be divided?</p>
+
+<p>What takes place when alkalies and acids are brought together?</p></div>
+
+<p>We will now examine the ashes left after burning
+vegetable substances. This we have called inorganic
+matter, and it is obtained from the soil. Organic
+matter, although forming so large a part of the plant,
+we have seen to consist of four different substances.
+The inorganic portion, on the contrary, although
+forming so small a part, consists of no less than <i>nine</i>
+or <i>ten</i> different kinds of matter.<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> These we will consider
+in order. In their relations to agriculture
+they may be divided into <i>three</i> classes&mdash;<i>alkalies</i>, <i>acids</i>,
+and <i>neutrals</i>.<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is the character of a compound the same as that of its constituents?</p>
+
+<p>Give an instance of this.</p>
+
+<p>Do neutrals combine with other substances?</p>
+
+<p>Name the four alkalies found in the ashes of plants.</p></div>
+
+<p>Alkalies and acids are of opposite properties, and
+when brought together they unite and neutralize
+each other, forming compounds which are neither alkaline
+nor acid in their character. Thus, carbonic
+acid (a gas,) unites with lime&mdash;a burning, caustic
+substance&mdash;and forms marble, which is a hard taste<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>less
+stone. Alkalies and acids are characterized by
+their desire to unite with each other, and the compounds
+thus formed have many and various properties,
+so that the characters of the constituents give
+no indication of the character of the compound.
+For instance, lime causes the gases of animal manure
+to escape, while sulphate of lime (a compound of
+sulphuric acid and lime) produces an opposite effect,
+and prevents their escape.</p>
+
+<p>The substances coming under the signification of
+neutrals, are less affected by the laws of combination,
+still they often combine feebly with other substances,
+and some of the resultant compounds are of great
+importance to agriculture.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ALKALIES.</h3>
+
+<p>The alkalies which are found in the ashes of
+plants are four in number; they are <i>potash</i>, <i>soda</i>,
+<i>lime</i> and <i>magnesia</i>.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">POTASH.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may we obtain potash from ashes?</p>
+
+<p>What are some of its agricultural uses?</p></div>
+
+<p>When we pour water over wood ashes it dissolves
+the <i>potash</i> which they contain, and carries it through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
+in solution. This solution is called <i>ley</i>, and if it be
+boiled to dryness it leaves a solid substance from
+which pure potash may be made. Potash left exposed
+to the air absorbs carbonic acid and becomes
+carbonate of potash, or <i>pearlash</i>; if another atom of
+carbonic acid be added, it becomes super-carbonate of
+potash, or <i>sal&aelig;ratus</i>. Potash has many uses in agriculture.</p>
+
+<p>1. It forms a constituent of nearly all plants.</p>
+
+<p>2. It unites with silica (a neutral), and forms a
+compound which water can dissolve and carry into
+the roots of plants; thus supplying them with an
+ingredient which gives them much of their strength.<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a></p>
+
+<p>3. It is a strong agent in the decomposition of
+vegetable matter, and is thus of much importance in
+preparing manures.</p>
+
+<p>4. It roughens the smooth round particles of
+sandy soils, and prevents their compacting, as they
+are often liable to do.</p>
+
+<p>5. It is also of use in killing certain kinds of
+insects, and, when artificially applied, in smoothing
+the bark of fruit trees.</p>
+
+<p>The source from which this and the other inor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>ganic
+matters required are to be obtained, will be
+fully considered in the section on manures.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SODA.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Where is soda found most largely?</p>
+
+<p>What is Glauber's salts?</p>
+
+<p>What is washing soda?</p>
+
+<p>What are some of the uses of lime?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Soda</i>, one of the alkalies contained in the ashes
+of plants, is very much the same as potash in its
+agricultural character. Its uses are the same as
+those of potash&mdash;before enumerated. Soda exists
+very largely in nature, as it forms an important part
+of common salt, whether in the ocean or in those inland
+deposits known as rock salt. When combined
+with sulphuric acid it forms sulphate of soda or <i>Glauber's
+salts</i>. In combination with carbonic acid, as
+carbonate of soda, it forms the common washing soda
+of the shops. It is often necessary to render soils fertile.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">LIME.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Lime</i> is in many ways important in agriculture:</p>
+
+<p>1. It is a constituent of plants and animals.</p>
+
+<p>2. It assists in the decomposition of vegetable
+matter in the soil.</p>
+
+<p>3. It corrects the acidity<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a> of sour soils.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+<p>4. As chloride or sulphate of lime it is a good
+absorbent of fertilizing gases.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How is caustic lime made?</p>
+
+<p>How much carbonic acid is thus liberated?</p>
+
+<p>How does man resemble Sinbad the sailor?</p></div>
+
+<p>In nature it usually exists in the form of carbonate
+of lime: that is, as marble, limestone, and
+chalk&mdash;these all being of the same composition. In
+manufacturing caustic (or quick) lime, it is customary
+to burn the carbonate of lime in a kiln; by this
+means the carbonic acid is thrown off into the atmosphere
+and the lime remains in a pure or caustic state.
+A French chemist states that every cubic yard of
+limestone that is burned, throws off <i>ten thousand</i>
+cubic yards of carbonic acid, which may be used by
+plants. This reminds us of the story of Sinbad the
+sailor, where we read of the immense <i>genie</i> who came
+out of a very small box by the sea-shore, much to the
+surprise of Sinbad, who could not believe his eyes,
+until the <i>genie</i> changed himself into a cloud of smoke
+and went into the box again. Sinbad fastened the
+lid, and the <i>genie</i> must have remained there until the
+box was destroyed.</p>
+
+<p>Now man is very much like Sinbad, he lets the
+carbonic acid out from the limestone (when it expands
+and becomes a gas); and then he raises a
+crop, the leaves of which drink it in and pack the
+carbon away in a very small compass as vegetable
+matter. Here it must remain until the plant is de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>stroyed,
+when it becomes carbonic acid again, and
+occupies just as much space as ever.</p>
+
+<p>The burning of limestone is a very prolific source
+of carbonic acid.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">MAGNESIA.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What do you know about magnesia?</p>
+
+<p>What is phosphoric acid composed of?</p>
+
+<p>With what substance does it form its most important compound?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Magnesia</i> is the remaining alkali of vegetable
+ashes. It is well known as a medicine, both in the
+form of calcined magnesia, and, when mixed with sulphuric
+acid, as epsom salts.</p>
+
+<p>Magnesia is necessary to nearly all plants, but
+too much of it is poisonous, and it should be used
+with much care, as many soils already contain a sufficient
+quantity. It is often found in limestone rocks
+(that class called <i>dolomites</i>), and the injurious effects
+of some kinds of lime, as well as the barrenness of
+soils made from dolomites, may be attributed entirely
+to the fact that they contain too much magnesia.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ACIDS.</h3>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">PHOSPHORIC ACID.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Phosphoric acid.</i>&mdash;This subject is one of the
+greatest interest to the farmer. Phosphoric acid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
+is composed of phosphorus and oxygen. The
+end of a loco-foco match contains phosphorus, and
+when it is lighted it unites with the oxygen of the
+atmosphere and forms phosphoric acid; this constitutes
+the white smoke which is seen for a moment
+before the sulphur commences burning. Being an
+acid, this substance has the power of combining with
+any of the alkalies. Its most important compound
+is with lime.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Will soils, deficient in phosphate of lime, produce good crops?</p>
+
+<p>From what source do plants obtain their phosphorus?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Phosphate of lime</i> forms about 65 per cent.
+of the dry weight of the bones of all animals, and
+it is all derived from the soil through the medium
+of plants. As plants are intended as food for
+animals, nature has provided that they shall not
+attain their perfection without taking up a supply
+of phosphate of lime as well as of the other
+earthy matters; consequently, there are many soils
+which will not produce good crops, simply because
+they are deficient in phosphate of lime. It is one of
+the most important ingredients of manures, and its
+value is dependent on certain conditions which will
+be hereafter explained.</p>
+
+<p>Another use of phosphoric acid in the plant is
+to supply it with a small amount of <i>phosphorus</i>,
+which seems to be required in the formation of the
+seed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SULPHURIC ACID.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is sulphuric acid composed of?</p>
+
+<p>What is plaster?</p>
+
+<p>What is silica?</p>
+
+<p>Why is it necessary to the growth of plants?</p>
+
+<p>What compounds does it form with alkalies?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Sulphuric acid</i> is important to vegetation and is
+often needed to render soils fertile. It is composed
+of sulphur and oxygen, and is made for manufacturing
+purposes, by burning sulphur. With lime it forms
+<i>sulphate of lime</i>, which is gypsum or 'plaster.' In
+this form it is often found in nature, and is generally
+used in agriculture. Other important methods for
+supplying sulphuric acid will be described hereafter.
+It gives <i>to</i> the plant a small portion of <i>sulphur</i>,
+which is necessary to the formation of some of its
+parts.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">NEUTRALS.</h3>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SILICA.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How can you prove its existence in corn stalks?</p>
+
+<p>What instance does Liebig give to show its existence in grass?</p>
+
+<p>How do we supply silicates?</p>
+
+<p>Why does grain lodge?</p>
+
+<p>What is the most important compound of chlorine?</p></div>
+
+<p>This is sand, the base of flint. It is necessary
+for the growth of all plants, as it gives them much
+of their strength. In connection with an alkali it
+constitutes the hard shining surface of corn stalks,
+straw, etc. Silica unites with the alkalies and forms
+compounds, such as <i>silicate of potash</i>, <i>silicate of
+soda, etc.</i>, which are soluble in water, and therefore<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>
+available to plants. If we roughen a corn stalk
+with sand-paper we may sharpen a knife upon it.
+This is owing to the hard particles of silica which it
+contains. Window glass is silicate of potash, rendered
+insoluble by additions of arsenic and litharge.</p>
+
+<p>Liebig tells us that some persons discovered,
+between Manheim and Heidelberg in Germany, a
+mass of melted glass where a hay-stack had been
+struck by lightning. They supposed it to be a
+meteor, but chemical analysis showed that it was only
+the compound of silica and potash which served to
+strengthen the grass.</p>
+
+<p>There is always <i>enough</i> silica in the soil, but it
+is often necessary to add an alkali to render it available.
+When grain, etc., lodge or fall down from
+their own weight, it is altogether probable that they
+are unable to obtain from the soil a sufficient supply
+of the soluble silicates, and some form of alkali
+should be added to the soil to unite with the sand
+and render it soluble.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">CHLORINE.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what use is chloride of lime?</p>
+
+<p>What is oxide of iron?</p>
+
+<p>What is the difference between the <i>per</i>oxide and the <i>prot</i>oxide
+of iron?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Chlorine</i> is an important ingredient of vegetable
+ashes, and is often required to restore the balance to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>
+the soil. It is not found alone in nature, but is
+always in combination with other substances. Its
+most important compound is with sodium, forming
+<i>chloride of sodium</i> (or common salt). Sodium is the
+base of soda, and common salt is usually the best
+source from which to obtain both soda and chlorine.
+Chlorine unites with lime and forms <i>chloride of lime</i>,
+which is much used to absorb the unpleasant odors
+of decaying matters, and in this character it is of use
+in the treatment of manures.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">OXIDE OF IRON.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Oxide of iron</i>, one of the constituents of ashes, is
+common iron rust. <i>Iron</i> itself is naturally of a
+grayish color, but when exposed to the atmosphere,
+it readily absorbs oxygen and forms a reddish compound.
+It is in this form that it usually exists in
+nature, and many soils as well as the red sandstones
+are colored by it. It is seldom, if ever, necessary to
+apply this as a manure, there being usually enough
+of it in the soil.</p>
+
+<p>This red oxide of iron, of which we have been
+speaking, is called by chemists the <i>peroxide</i>. There
+is another compound which contains less oxygen than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>
+this, and is called the <i>protoxide of iron</i>, which is
+poisonous to plants. When it exists in the soil it is
+necessary to use such means of cultivation as shall
+expose it to the atmosphere and allow it to take up
+more oxygen and become the peroxide. The black
+scales which fly from hot iron when struck by the
+blacksmith's hammer are protoxide of iron.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>peroxide of iron</i> is a very good absorbent of
+ammonia, and consequently, as will be hereafter
+described, adds to the fertility of the soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What can you say of the oxide of manganese?</p>
+
+<p>How do you classify the inorganic constituents?</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Oxide of Manganese</span>, though often found in small
+quantities in the ashes of cultivated plants, cannot
+be considered indispensable.</p>
+
+<p>Having now examined all of the materials from
+which the ashes of plants are formed,<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> we are enabled
+to classify them in a simple manner, so that they may
+be recollected. They are as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table style="width:50%;" summary="">
+<tr><td>ALKALIES.</td><td>ACIDS.</td><td>NEUTRALS.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Potash.</td><td>Sulphuric acid.</td><td>Silica.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Soda.</td><td>Phosphoric&nbsp;"</td><td>Chlorine.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Lime.</td><td></td><td>Oxide of Iron.</td></tr>
+<tr><td>Magnesia.</td><td></td><td>&nbsp;&nbsp;"&nbsp;&nbsp;Manganese.</td></tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class="footnotes gap2"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> Bromine, iodine, etc., are sometimes detected in particular
+plants, but need not occupy the attention of the farmer.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> This classification is not strictly scientific, but it is one which
+the learner will find it well to adopt. These bodies are called
+neutrals because they have no decided alkaline or acid character.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> In some soils the <i>fluorides</i> undoubtedly supply plants with
+soluble silicates, as <i>fluoric acid</i> has the power of dissolving silica.
+Thus, in Derbyshire (England), where the soil is supplied with
+fluoric acid, grain is said never to lodge.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> Sourness.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> There is reason to suppose that <i>alumina</i> is an essential
+constituent of many plants.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>GROWTH.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what does a perfect young plant consist?</p>
+
+<p>How must the food of plants be supplied?</p>
+
+<p>Can carbon and earthy matter be taken up at separate stages
+of growth, or must they both be supplied at once?</p></div>
+
+<p>Having examined the materials of which plants
+are made, it becomes necessary to discover how they
+are put together in the process of growth. Let us
+therefore suppose a young wheat-plant for instance
+to be in condition to commence independent growth.</p>
+
+<p>It consists of roots which are located in the soil;
+leaves which are spread in the air, and a stem which
+connects the roots and leaves. This stem contains
+sap vessels (or tubes) which extend from the
+ends of the roots to the surfaces of the leaves, thus
+affording a passage for the sap, and consequently
+allowing the matters taken up to be distributed
+throughout the plant.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What seems to be nature's law with regard to this?</p>
+
+<p>What is the similarity between making a cart and raising a crop?</p>
+
+<p>In the growth of a young plant, what operations take place
+about the same time?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is necessary that the materials of which plants
+are made should be supplied in certain proportions,
+and at the same time. For instance, carbon
+could not be taken up in large quantities by the
+leaves, unless the roots, at the same time, were receiving
+from the soil those mineral matters which are
+necessary to growth. On the other hand, no con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>siderable
+amount of earthy matter could be appropriated
+by the roots unless the leaves were obtaining
+carbon from the air. This same rule holds true with
+regard to all of the constituents required; Nature
+seeming to have made it a law that if one of the
+important ingredients of the plant is absent, the
+others, though they may be present in sufficient
+quantities, cannot be used. Thus, if the soil is deficient
+in potash, and still has sufficient quantities
+of all of the other ingredients, the plant cannot take
+up these ingredients, because potash is necessary to
+its life.</p>
+
+<p>If a farmer wishes to make a cart he prepares his
+wood and iron, gets them all in the proper condition,
+and then can very readily put them together. But
+if he has all of the <i>wood</i> necessary and no <i>iron</i>, he
+cannot make his cart, because bolts, nails and screws
+are required, and their place cannot be supplied by
+boards. This serves to illustrate the fact that in
+raising plants we must give them every thing that
+they require, or they will not grow at all.</p>
+
+<p>In the case of our young plant the following operations
+are going on at about the same time.</p>
+
+<p>The leaves are absorbing carbonic acid from the
+atmosphere, and the roots are drinking in water from
+the soil.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What becomes of the carbonic acid?</p>
+
+<p>How is the sap disposed of?</p>
+
+<p>What does it contain?</p>
+
+<p>How does the plant obtain its carbon?</p>
+
+<p>Its oxygen and hydrogen?</p>
+
+<p>Its nitrogen?</p>
+
+<p>Its inorganic matter?</p></div>
+
+<p>Under the influence of daylight, the carbonic acid
+is decomposed; its oxygen returned to the atmosphere,
+and its carbon retained in the plant.</p>
+
+<p>The water taken in by the roots circulates
+through the sap vessels of the plant, and, from
+various causes, is drawn up towards the leaves where
+it is evaporated. This water contains the <i>nitrogen</i>
+and the <i>inorganic matter</i> required by the plant and
+some carbonic acid, while the water itself consists of
+<i>hydrogen</i> and <i>oxygen</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we see that the plant obtains its food in the
+following manner:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+<td><span class="smcap">Carbon.</span></td>
+<td>&mdash;</td>
+<td>In the form of <i>carbonic acid</i> from the atmosphere, and from
+that contained in the sap, the oxygen being returned to the
+air.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><span class="smcap">Oxygen &amp; Hydrogen.</span></td>
+<td>&mdash;</td>
+<td>From the elements of the water constituting the sap.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><span class="smcap">Nitrogen.</span></td>
+<td>&mdash;</td>
+<td>From the soil (chiefly in form of ammonia). It is carried
+into the plant through the roots in solution in water.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><span class="smcap">Inorganic Matter.</span></td>
+<td>&mdash;</td>
+<td>From the soil, and only <i>in solution</i> in water.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What changes does the food taken up by the plant undergo?</p></div>
+
+<p>Many of the chemical changes which take place
+in the interior of the plant are well understood, but
+they require too much knowledge of chemistry to be
+easily comprehended by the young learner, and it is
+not absolutely essential that they should be understood
+by the scholar who is merely learning the
+<i>elements</i> of the science.</p>
+
+<p>It is sufficient to say that the food taken up by the
+plant undergoes such changes as are required for its
+growth; as in animals, where the food taken into the
+stomach, is digested, and formed into bone, muscle,
+fat, hair, etc., so in the plant the nutritive portions of
+the sap are resolved into wood, bark, grain, or some
+other necessary part.</p>
+
+<p>The results of these changes are of the greatest
+importance in agriculture, and no person can call
+himself a <i>practical farmer</i> who does not thoroughly
+understand them.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>PROXIMATE DIVISION OF PLANTS, ETC.</h3>
+
+
+<p>We have hitherto examined what is called the
+<i>ultimate</i> division of plants. That is, we have looked
+at each one of the elements separately, and considered
+its use in vegetable growth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what do wood, starch and the other vegetable compounds
+chiefly consist?</p>
+
+<p>Are their small ashy parts important?</p>
+
+<p>What are these compounds called?</p>
+
+<p>Into how many classes may proximate principles be divided?</p>
+
+<p>Of what do the first class consist? The second?</p>
+
+<p>What vegetable compounds do the first class comprise?</p></div>
+
+<p>We will now examine another division of plants,
+called their <i>proximate division</i>. We know that
+plants consist of various substances, such as wood,
+gum, starch, oil, etc., and on examination we shall
+discover that these substances are composed of the
+various <i>organic</i> and <i>inorganic</i> ingredients described
+in the preceding chapters. They are made up almost
+entirely of <i>organic</i> matter, but their ashy parts,
+though very small, are (as we shall soon see) sometimes
+of great importance.</p>
+
+<p>These compounds are called <i>proximate principles</i>,<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a>
+or <i>vegetable proximates</i>. They may be divided
+into two classes.</p>
+
+<p>The first class are composed of <i>carbon</i>, <i>hydrogen</i>,
+and <i>oxygen</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The second class contain the same substances
+and <i>nitrogen</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Are these substances of about the same composition?</p>
+
+<p>Can they be artificially changed from one to another?</p>
+
+<p>Give an instance of this.</p>
+
+<p>Is the ease with which these changes take place important?</p>
+
+<p>From what may the first class of proximates be formed?</p></div>
+
+<p>The first class (those compounds not containing
+nitrogen) comprise the wood, starch, gum, sugar, and
+fatty matter which constitute the greater part of all
+plants, also the acids which are found in sour fruits,
+etc. Various as are all of these things in their charac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>ters,
+they are entirely composed of the same ingredients
+(carbon, hydrogen and oxygen), and usually
+combined in about the <i>same proportion</i>. There may
+be a slight difference in the composition of their <i>ashes</i>,
+but the organic part is much the same in every case,
+so much so, that they can often be artificially changed
+from one to the other.</p>
+
+<p>As an instance of this, it may be recollected by
+those who attended the Fair of the American Institute,
+in 1834, that Prof. Mapes exhibited samples
+of excellent sugar made from the juice of the cornstalk,
+starch, linen, and woody fibre.</p>
+
+<p>The ease with which these proximates may be
+changed from one to the other is their most important
+agricultural feature, and should be clearly
+understood before proceeding farther. It is one of
+the fundamental principles on which the growth of
+both vegetables depends.</p>
+
+<p>The proximates of the first class constitute usually
+the greater part of all plants, and they are readily
+formed from the carbonic acid and water which in
+nature are so plentifully supplied.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why are those of the second class particularly important to
+farmers?</p>
+
+<p>What is the general name under which they are known?</p>
+
+<p>What is the protein of wheat called?</p>
+
+<p>Why is flour containing much gluten preferred by bakers?</p>
+
+<p>Can protein be formed without nitrogen?</p>
+
+<p>If plants were allowed to complete their growth without a supply
+of this ingredient, what would be the result?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>second class</i> of proximates, though forming
+only a small part of the plant, are of the greatest
+importance to the farmer, being the ones from which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>
+<i>animal muscle</i><a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a> is made. They consist, as will be recollected,
+of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and <i>nitrogen</i>,
+or of <i>all</i> of the organic elements of plants. They are
+all of much the same character, though each kind of
+plant has its peculiar form of this substance, which is
+known under the general name of <i>protein</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The protein of wheat is called <i>gluten</i>&mdash;that of
+Indian corn is <i>zein</i>&mdash;that of beans and peas is <i>legumin</i>.
+In other plants the protein substances are <i>vegetable
+albumen</i>, <i>casein</i>, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Gluten absorbs large quantities of water, which
+causes it to swell to a great size, and become full of
+holes. Flour which contains much gluten, makes
+light, porous bread, and is preferred by bakers,
+because it absorbs so large an amount of water.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the result if a field be deficient in nitrogen?</p></div>
+
+<p>The protein substances are necessary to animal
+and vegetable life, and none of our cultivated plants
+will attain maturity (complete their growth), unless
+allowed the materials required for forming this constituent.
+To furnish this condition is the object of
+nitrogen given to plants as manure. If no <i>nitrogen</i><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
+is supplied the protein substances cannot be formed,
+and the plant must cease to grow.</p>
+
+<p>When on the contrary <i>ammonia</i> is given to the
+soil (by rains or otherwise), it furnishes nitrogen,
+while the carbonic acid and water yield the other
+constituents of protein, and a healthy growth continues,
+provided that the soil contains the <i>mineral</i>
+matters required in the formation of the ash, in a
+condition to be useful.</p>
+
+<p>The wisdom of this provision is evident when we
+recollect that the protein substances are necessary to
+the formation of muscle in animals, for if plants were
+allowed to complete their growth without a supply of
+this ingredient, our grain and hay might not be sufficiently
+well supplied with it to keep our oxen and
+horses in working condition, while under the existing
+law plants must be of nearly a uniform quality (in
+this respect), and if a field is short of nitrogen, its
+crop will not be large, and of a very poor quality, but
+the soil will produce good plants as long as the nitrogen
+lasts, and then the growth must cease.<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ANIMALS.</h3>
+
+<p>That this principle may be clearly understood, it
+may be well to explain more fully the application of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+the proximate constituents of plants in feeding
+animals.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what are the bodies of animals composed?</p>
+
+<p>What is the office of vegetation?</p>
+
+<p>What part of the animal is formed from the first class of proximates?</p>
+
+<p>From the second?</p>
+
+<p>Which contains the largest portions of inorganic matter, plants
+or animals?</p>
+
+<p>Must animals have a variety of food, and why?</p></div>
+
+<p>Animals are composed (like plants) of organic
+and inorganic matter, and every thing necessary to
+build them up exists in plants. It seems to be
+the office of the vegetable world to prepare the gases
+in the atmosphere, and the minerals in the earth for
+the uses of animal life, and to effect this plants put
+these gases and minerals together in the form of the
+various <i>proximates</i> (or compound substances) which
+we have just described.</p>
+
+<p>In animals the compounds containing <i>no nitrogen</i>
+comprise the fatty substances, parts of the blood, etc.,
+while the protein compound, or those which <i>do contain
+nitrogen</i>, form the muscle, a part of the bones,
+the hair, and other portions of the animal.</p>
+
+<p>Animals contain a larger proportion of inorganic
+matter than plants do. Bones contain a large
+quantity of phosphate of lime, and we find other
+inorganic materials performing important offices in
+the system.</p>
+
+<p>In order that animals may be perfectly developed,
+they must of course receive as food all of the materials
+required to form their bodies. They cannot live if
+fed entirely on one ingredient. Thus, if <i>starch</i> alone<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
+be eaten by the animal, he might become <i>fat</i>, but his
+strength would soon fail, because his food contains
+nothing to keep up the vigor of his <i>muscles</i>. If on
+the contrary the food of an animal consisted entirely
+of <i>gluten</i>, he might be very strong from a superior development
+of muscle, but would not be fat. Hence
+we see that in order to keep up the proper proportion
+of both fat and muscle in our animals (or in ourselves),
+the food must be such as contains a proper proportion
+of the two kinds of proximates.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is grain good for food?</p>
+
+<p>On what does the value of flour depend?</p>
+
+<p>Is there any relation between the ashy part of plants and
+those of animals?</p>
+
+<p>How may we account for unhealthy bones and teeth?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is for this reason that grain, such as wheat for
+instance, is so good for food. It contains both
+classes of proximates, and furnishes material for the
+formation of both fat and muscle. The value of <i>flour</i>
+depends very much on the manner in which it is
+manufactured. This will be soon explained.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is a probable cause of consumption?</p>
+
+<p>What is an important use of the first class of proximates?</p>
+
+<p>What may lungs be called?</p>
+
+<p>Explain the production of heat during decomposition.</p>
+
+<p>Why is the heat produced by decay not perceptible?</p></div>
+
+<p>Apart from the relations between the <i>proximate
+principles</i> of plants, and those of animals, there exists
+an important relation between their <i>ashy</i> or <i>inorganic</i>
+parts; and, food in order to satisfy the demands of
+animal life, must contain the mineral matter required
+for the purposes of that life. Take bones for instance.
+If phosphate of lime is not always supplied in sufficient
+quantities by food, animals are prevented from
+the formation of healthy bones. This is particularly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
+to be noticed in teeth. Where food is deficient of
+phosphate of lime, we see poor teeth as a result.
+Some physicians have supposed that one of the causes
+of consumption is the deficiency of phosphate of lime
+in food.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is the heat produced by combustion apparent?</p>
+
+<p>Explain the production of heat in the lungs of animals?</p>
+
+<p>Why does exercise augment the animal heat?</p>
+
+<p>Under what circumstances is the animal's own fat used in the
+production of heat?</p></div>
+
+<p>The first class of proximates (starch, sugar, gum,
+etc.), perform an important office in the animal
+economy aside from their use in making fat. They
+constitute the <i>fuel</i> which supplies the animal's fire,
+and gives him his <i>heat</i>. The lungs of men and other
+animals may be called delicate <i>stoves</i>, which supply
+the whole body with heat. But let us explain this
+matter more fully. If wood, starch, gum, or sugar,
+be burned in a stove, they produce heat. These
+substances consist, as will be recollected, of carbon,
+hydrogen, and oxygen, and when they are destroyed
+in any way (provided they be exposed to the atmosphere),
+the hydrogen and oxygen unite and form
+water, and the carbon unites with the oxygen of the air
+and forms carbonic acid, as was explained in a preceding
+chapter. This process is always accompanied
+by the liberation of <i>heat</i>, and the <i>intensity</i> of this
+heat depends on the <i>time</i> occupied in its <i>production</i>.
+In the case of decay, the chemical changes take place
+so slowly that the heat, being conducted away as soon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
+as formed, is not perceptible to our senses. In combustion
+(or burning) the same changes take place
+with much greater rapidity, and the same <i>amount</i>
+of heat being concentrated, or brought out in a
+far shorter time, it becomes intense, and therefore
+apparent. In the lungs of animals the same law holds
+true. The blood contains matters belonging to this
+carbonaceous class, and they undergo in the lungs the
+changes which have been described under the head of
+combustion and decay. Their hydrogen and oxygen
+unite, and form the moisture of the breath, while
+their carbon is combined with the oxygen of the air
+drawn into the lungs, and is thrown out as carbonic
+acid. The same consequence&mdash;heat&mdash;results in this,
+as in the other cases, and this heat is produced with
+sufficient rapidity for the animal necessities. When
+an animal exercises violently, his blood circulates
+with increased rapidity, thus carrying carbon more
+rapidly to the lungs. The breath also becomes
+quicker, thus supplying increased quantities of
+oxygen. In this way the decomposition becomes
+more rapid, and the animal is heated in proportion.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we see that food has another function
+besides that of forming animal matter, namely to
+supply heat. When the food does not contain a
+sufficient quantity of starch, sugar, etc., to answer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+the demands of the system the <i>animal's own fat</i> is
+carried to the lungs, and there used in the production
+of heat. This important fact will be referred to
+again.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> By <i>proximate principle</i>, we mean that combination of vegetable
+elements which is known as a vegetable product, such as
+<i>wood</i>, etc.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> <i>Muscle</i> is <i>lean meat</i>, it gives to animals their strength and
+ability to perform labor.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a> This, of course, supposes that the soil is fertile in other respects.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>LOCATION OF THE PROXIMATES AND VARIATIONS
+IN THE ASHES OF PLANTS.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what proximate are plants chiefly composed?</p>
+
+<p>What is the principal constituent of the potato root?</p>
+
+<p>Of the carrot and turnip?</p>
+
+<p>What part of the plant contains usually the most nutriment?</p></div>
+
+<p>Let us now examine plants with a view to learning
+the <i>location</i> of the various plants.</p>
+
+<p>The stem or trunk of the plant or tree consists
+almost entirely of <i>woody fibre</i>; this also forms a large
+portion of the other parts except the seeds, and, in
+some instances, the roots. The roots of the potato
+contain large quantities of <i>starch</i>. Other roots such
+as the <i>carrot</i> and <i>turnip</i> contain <i>pectic acid</i>,<a name="FNanchor_J_10" id="FNanchor_J_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_J_10" class="fnanchor">[J]</a> a
+nutritious substance resembling starch.</p>
+
+<p>It is in the <i>seed</i> however that the more nutritive
+portions of most plants exist, and here they maintain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>
+certain relative positions which it is well to understand,
+and which can be best explained by reference
+to the following figures, as described by Prof.
+Johnston:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 596px;">
+<img src="images/fig001.png" width="596" height="263" alt="Fig. 1." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Fig. 1.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Thus <i>a</i> shows the position of the oil in the outer
+part of the seed&mdash;it exists in minute drops, inclosed
+in six-sided cells, which consists chiefly of gluten; <i>b</i>,
+the position and comparative quantity of the starch,
+which in the heart of the seed is mixed with only a
+small proportion of gluten; <i>c</i>, the germ or chit which
+contains much gluten."<a name="FNanchor_K_11" id="FNanchor_K_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_K_11" class="fnanchor">[K]</a></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is the composition of the inorganic matter of different parts of
+the plant the same, or different?</p>
+
+<p>What is the difference between the ash of the straw and that
+of the grain of wheat?</p></div>
+
+<p>The location of the <i>inorganic</i> part of plants is one
+of much interest, and shows the adaptation of each
+part to its particular use. Take a wheat plant, for
+instance&mdash;the stalk, the leaf, and the grain, show in
+their ashes, important difference of composition.
+The stalk or straw contains three or four times as
+large a proportion of ash as the grain, and a no less
+remarkable difference of composition may be noticed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
+in the ashes of the two parts. In that of the straw,
+we find a large proportion of silica and scarcely any
+phosphoric acid, while in that of the grain there is
+scarcely a trace of silica, although phosphoric acid
+constitutes more than one half of the entire weight.
+The leaves contain a considerable quantity of lime.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the reason for this difference?</p>
+
+<p>In what part of the grain does phosphoric acid exist most
+largely?</p></div>
+
+<p>This may at first seem an unimportant matter,
+but on examination we shall see the use of it. The
+straw is intended to support the grain and leaves,
+and to convey the sap from the roots to the upper
+portions of the plant. To perform these offices,
+<i>strength</i> is required, and this is given by the <i>silica</i>,
+and the woody fibre which forms so large a proportion
+of the stalk. The silica is combined with an
+alkali, and constitutes the glassy coating of the straw.
+While the plant is young, this coating is hardly apparent,
+but as it grows older, as the grain becomes
+heavier, (verging towards ripeness), the silicious
+coating of the stalk assumes a more prominent character,
+and gives to the straw sufficient strength to
+support the golden head. The straw is not the most
+important part of the plant as <i>food</i>, and therefore
+requires but little phosphoric acid.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is Graham flour more wholesome than fine flour?</p>
+
+<p>Are the ashes of all plants the same in their composition?</p></div>
+
+<p>The grain, on the contrary, is especially intended
+as food, and therefore must contain a large proportion
+of phosphoric acid&mdash;this being, as we have al<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>ready
+learned, necessary to the formation of bone&mdash;while,
+as it has no necessity for strength, and as
+silica is not needed by animals, this ingredient exists
+in the grain only in a very small proportion. It may
+be well to observe that the phosphoric acid of grain
+exists most largely in the hard portions near the
+shell, or bran. This is one of the reasons why Graham
+flour is more wholesome than fine flour. It
+contains all of the nutritive materials which render
+the grain valuable as food, while flour which is very
+finely bolted<a name="FNanchor_L_12" id="FNanchor_L_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_L_12" class="fnanchor">[L]</a> contains only a small part of the outer
+portions of the grain (where the phosphoric acid,
+protein and fatty matters exist most largely). The
+starchy matter in the interior of the grain, which is
+the least capable of giving strength to the animal, is
+carefully separated, and used as food for man, while
+the better portions, not being ground so finely, are
+rejected. This one thing alone may be sufficient to
+account for the fact, that the lives of men have become
+shorter and less blessed with health and strength,
+than they were in the good old days when a stone
+mortar and a coarse sieve made a respectable flour
+mill.</p>
+
+<p>Another important fact concerning the ashes of
+plants is the difference of their composition in different
+plants. Thus, the most prominent ingredient in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>
+the ash of the potato is <i>potash</i>; of wheat and other
+grains, <i>phosphoric acid</i>; of meadow hay, <i>silica</i>; of
+clover, <i>lime</i>; of beans, <i>potash</i>, etc. In grain, <i>potash</i>
+(or <i>soda</i>), etc., are among the important ingredients.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what advantage are these differences to the farmer?</p>
+
+<p>Of what are plants composed?</p></div>
+
+<p>These differences are of great importance to the
+practical farmer, as by understanding what kind of
+plants use the most of one ingredient, and what kind
+requires another in large proportion, he can regulate
+his crops so as to prevent his soil from being exhausted
+more in one ingredient than in the others, and
+can also manure his land with reference to the crop
+which he intends to grow. The tables of analyses
+in the fifth section will point out these differences
+accurately.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_J_10" id="Footnote_J_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_J_10"><span class="label">[J]</span></a> This pectic acid gelatinizes food in the stomach, and thus
+renders it more digestible.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_K_11" id="Footnote_K_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_K_11"><span class="label">[K]</span></a> See Johnston's Elements, page 41.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_L_12" id="Footnote_L_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_L_12"><span class="label">[L]</span></a> Sifted through a fine cloth called a bolting cloth.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>RECAPITULATION.</h3>
+
+
+<p>We have now learned as much about the plant as is
+required for our immediate uses, and we will carefully
+reconsider the various points with a view to fixing
+them permanently in the mind.</p>
+
+<p>Plants are composed of <i>organic</i> and <i>inorganic</i>
+matter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is organic matter? Inorganic?</p>
+
+<p>Of what does organic matter consist? Inorganic?</p>
+
+<p>How do plants obtain their organic food?</p>
+
+<p>How their inorganic?</p>
+
+<p>How is ammonia supplied? Carbonic acid?</p></div>
+
+<p>Organic matter is that which burns away in the
+fire. Inorganic matter is the ash left after burning.</p>
+
+<p>The organic matter of plants consists of three
+gases, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, and one solid
+substance carbon (or charcoal). The inorganic
+matter of plants consists of potash, soda, lime,
+magnesia, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, chlorine,
+silica, oxide of iron, and oxide of manganese.</p>
+
+<p>Plants obtain their organic food as follows:&mdash;Oxygen
+and hydrogen from water, nitrogen from
+some compound containing nitrogen (chiefly from
+ammonia), and carbon from the atmosphere where it
+exists as carbonic acid&mdash;a gas.</p>
+
+<p>They obtain their inorganic food from the soil.</p>
+
+<p>The water which supplies oxygen and hydrogen
+to plants is readily obtained without the assistance
+of manures.</p>
+
+<p>Ammonia is obtained from the atmosphere, by
+being absorbed by rain and carried into the soil, and it
+enters plants through their roots. It may be artificially
+supplied in the form of animal manure with
+profit.</p>
+
+<p>Carbonic acid is absorbed from the atmosphere by
+leaves, and decomposed in the green parts of plants
+under the influence of daylight; the carbon is re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>tained,
+and the oxygen is returned to the atmosphere.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>When plants are destroyed by combustion or decay, what becomes
+of their constituents?</p>
+
+<p>How does the inorganic matter enter the plant?</p>
+
+<p>Are the alkalies soluble in their pure forms?</p>
+
+<p>Which one of them is injurious when too largely present?</p>
+
+<p>How may sulphuric acid be supplied?</p>
+
+<p>Is phosphoric acid important?</p>
+
+<p>How must silica be treated?</p>
+
+<p>From what source may we obtain chlorine?</p></div>
+
+<p>When plants are destroyed by decay, or burning,
+their organic constituents pass away as water,
+ammonia, carbonic acid, etc., ready again to be taken
+up by other plants.</p>
+
+<p>The inorganic matters in the soil can enter the
+plant only when dissolved in water. <i>Potash</i>, <i>soda</i>,
+<i>lime</i>, and <i>magnesia</i>, are soluble in their pure
+forms. Magnesia is injurious when present in too
+large quantities.</p>
+
+<p><i>Sulphuric</i> acid is often necessary as a manure,
+and is usually most available in the form of sulphate of
+lime or plaster. It is also valuable in its pure form
+to prevent the escape of ammonia from composts.</p>
+
+<p><i>Phosphoric</i> acid is highly important, from its
+frequent deficiency in worn-out soils. It is available
+only under certain conditions which will be described
+in the section on manures.</p>
+
+<p><i>Silica</i> is the base of common sand, and must be
+united to an alkali before it can be used by the plant,
+because it is insoluble except when so united.</p>
+
+<p><i>Chlorine</i> is a constituent of common salt (chloride<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>
+of sodium), and from this source may be obtained in
+sufficient quantities for manurial purposes.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the difference between <i>per</i>oxide and <i>prot</i>oxide of iron?</p>
+
+<p>How must the food of plants be supplied?</p>
+
+<p>What takes place after it enters the plant?</p>
+
+<p>What name is given to the compounds thus formed?</p>
+
+<p>How are proximates divided?</p>
+
+<p>Which class constitutes the largest part of the plant?</p>
+
+<p>Of what are animals composed, and how do they obtain the
+materials from which to form their growth?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Oxide of iron</i> is iron rust. There are two oxides
+of iron, the <i>peroxide</i> (red) and the <i>protoxide</i> (black).
+The former is a fertilizer, and the latter poisons
+plants.</p>
+
+<p><i>Oxide of manganese</i> is often absent from the
+ashes of our cultivated plants.</p>
+
+<p>The food of plants, both organic and inorganic,
+must be supplied in certain proportions, and at the
+time when it is required. In the plant, this food
+undergoes such chemical changes as are necessary to
+growth.</p>
+
+<p>The compounds formed by these chemical combinations
+are called <i>proximates</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Proximates are of two classes, those not containing
+nitrogen, and those which do contain it.</p>
+
+<p>The first class constitute nearly the whole plant.</p>
+
+<p>The second class, although small in quantity, are
+of the greatest importance to the farmer, as from
+them all animal muscle is made.</p>
+
+<p>Animals, like plants, are composed of both organic
+and inorganic matter, and their bodies are
+obtained directly or indirectly from plants.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What parts of the animal belong to the first class of proximates?</p>
+
+<p>What to the second?</p>
+
+<p>What is necessary to the perfect development of animals?</p>
+
+<p>Why are seeds valuable for working animals?</p>
+
+<p>What other important use, in animal economy, have proximates
+of the first class?</p>
+
+<p>Under what circumstances is animal fat decomposed?</p></div>
+
+<p>The first class of proximates in animals comprise
+the fat, and like tissues.</p>
+
+<p>The second class form the muscle, hair, gelatine
+of the bones, etc.</p>
+
+<p>In order that they may be perfectly developed,
+animals must eat both classes of proximates, and in
+the proportions required by their natures.</p>
+
+<p>They require the phosphate of lime and other inorganic
+food which exist in plants.</p>
+
+<p>Seeds are the best adapted to the uses of working
+animals, because they are rich in all kinds of food required.</p>
+
+<p>Aside from their use in the formation of <i>fat</i>,
+proximates of the first class are employed in the
+lungs, as fuel to keep up animal heat, which is produced
+(as in fire and decay) by the decomposition of
+these substances.</p>
+
+<p>When the food is insufficient for the purposes of
+heat, the animal's own fat is decomposed, and carried
+to the lungs as fuel.</p>
+
+<p>The stems, roots, branches, etc., of most plants
+consist principally of <i>woody fibre</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Their seeds, and sometimes their roots, contain
+considerable quantities of <i>starch</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Name the parts of the plant in which the different proximates
+exist.</p>
+
+<p>State what you know about flour.</p>
+
+<p>Do we know that different plants have ashes of different composition?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>protein</i> and the <i>oils</i> of most plants exist
+most largely in the <i>seeds</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The location of the proximates, as well as of the
+inorganic parts of the plant, show a remarkable reference
+to the purposes of growth, and to the wants
+of the animal world, as is noticed in the difference
+between the construction of the straw and that of
+the kernel of wheat.</p>
+
+<p>The reason why the fine flour now made is not so
+healthfully nutritious as that which contained more of
+the coarse portions, is that it is robbed of a large
+proportion of protein and phosphate of lime, while
+it contains an undue amount of starch, which is available
+only to form fat, and to supply fuel to the
+lungs.</p>
+
+<p>Different plants have ashes of different composition.
+Thus&mdash;one may take from the soil large quantities
+of potash, another of phosphoric acid, and
+another of lime.</p>
+
+<p>By understanding these differences, we shall be
+able so to regulate our rotations, that the soil
+may not be called on to supply more of one ingredient
+than of another, and thus it may be kept
+in balance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How are farmers to be benefited by such knowledge?</p></div>
+
+<p>The facts contained in this chapter are the
+<i>alphabet of agriculture</i>, and the learner should not
+only become perfectly familiar with them, but should
+also clearly understand the <i>reasons</i> why they are
+true, before proceeding further.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<h3 class="gap4"><a name="SECTION_SECOND" id="SECTION_SECOND"></a>SECTION SECOND.</h3>
+
+<h2>THE SOIL.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>FORMATION AND CHARACTER OF THE
+SOIL.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is a necessary condition of growth?</p></div>
+
+<p>In the foregoing section, we have studied the character
+of plants and the laws which govern their
+growth. We learned that one necessary condition for
+growth is a fertile soil, and therefore we will examine
+the nature of different soils, in order that we
+may understand the relations between them and
+plants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is a fixed character of soils?</p>
+
+<p>How is the chemical character of the soil to be ascertained?</p>
+
+<p>What do we first learn in analyzing a soil?</p>
+
+<p>How do the proportions of organic or inorganic parts of soils
+compare with those of plants?</p>
+
+<p>Of what does the organic part of soils consist?</p></div>
+
+<p>The soil is not to be regarded as a mysterious
+mass of dirt, whereon crops are produced by a
+mysterious process. Well ascertained scientific<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+knowledge has proved beyond question that all soils,
+whether in America or Asia, whether in Maine or
+California, have certain fixed properties, which render
+them fertile or barren, and the science of agriculture
+is able to point out these characteristics in all cases, so
+that we can ascertain from a scientific investigation
+what would be the chances for success in cultivating
+any soil which we examine.</p>
+
+<p>The soil is a great chemical compound, and its
+chemical character is ascertained (as in the case of
+plants) by analyzing it, or taking it apart.</p>
+
+<p>We first learn that fertile soils contain both organic
+and inorganic matter; but, unlike the plant,
+they usually possess much more of the latter than of
+the former.</p>
+
+<p>In the plant, the organic matter constitutes the
+most considerable portion of the whole. In the soil,
+on the contrary, it usually exists in very small quantities,
+while the inorganic portions constitute nearly
+the whole bulk.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Can the required proportion be definitely indicated?</p>
+
+<p>From what source is the inorganic part of soils derived?</p>
+
+<p>Do all soils decompose with equal facility?</p>
+
+<p>How does frost affect rocks?</p>
+
+<p>Does it affect soils in the same way?</p></div>
+
+<p>The organic part of soils consists of the same
+materials that constitute the organic part of the
+plants, and it is in reality decayed vegetable and
+animal matter. It is not necessary that this organic
+part of the soil should form any particular proportion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>
+of the whole, and indeed we find it varying from one
+and a half to fifty, and sometimes, in peaty soils, to
+over seventy per cent. All fertile soils contain some
+organic matter, although it seems to make but little
+difference in fertility, whether it be ten or fifty per
+cent.</p>
+
+<p>The inorganic part of soils is derived from the
+crumbling of rocks. Some rocks (such as the slates
+in Central New York) decompose, and crumble rapidly
+on being exposed to the weather; while
+granite, marble, and other rocks will last for a long
+time without perceptible change. The <i>causes</i> of this
+crumbling are various, and are not unimportant to
+the agriculturist; as by the same processes by which
+his soil was formed, he can increase its depth, or
+otherwise improve it. This being the case, we will
+in a few words explain some of the principal pulverizing
+agents.</p>
+
+<p>1. The action of frost. When water lodges
+in the crevices of rocks, and <i>freezes</i>, it expands,
+and bursts the rock, on the same principle as
+causes it to break a pitcher in winter. This
+power is very great, and by its assistance, large
+cannon may be burst. Of course the action of frost
+is the same on a small scale as when applied to large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+masses of matter, and, therefore, we find that when
+water freezes in the <i>pores</i><a name="FNanchor_M_13" id="FNanchor_M_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_M_13" class="fnanchor">[M]</a> of rocks or stones, it separates
+their particles and causes them to crumble.
+The same rule holds true with regard to stiff clay
+soils. If they are <i>ridged</i> in autumn, and left with a
+rough surface exposed to the frosts of winter, they
+will become much lighter, and can afterwards be
+worked with less difficulty.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the effect of water on certain rocks?</p>
+
+<p>How are some rocks affected by exposure to the atmosphere?
+Give an instance of this.</p></div>
+
+<p>2. The action of water. Many kinds of rock
+become so soft on being soaked with water, that they
+readily crumble.</p>
+
+<p>3. The chemical changes of the constituents of
+the rock. Many kinds of rock are affected by exposure
+to the atmosphere, in such a manner, that
+changes take place in their chemical character, and
+cause them to fall to pieces. The red kellis of New
+Jersey (a species of sandstone), is, when first quarried,
+a very hard stone, but on exposure to the influences
+of the atmosphere, it becomes so soft that
+it may be easily crushed between the thumb and
+finger.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the similarity between the composition of soils and the
+rocks from which they were formed?</p>
+
+<p>What does feldspar rock yield? Talcose slate? Marls?</p>
+
+<p>Does a soil formed entirely from rock contain organic matter?</p>
+
+<p>How is it affected by the growth of plants?</p></div>
+
+<p>Other actions, of a less simple kind, exert an influence
+on the stubbornness of rocks, and cause them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>
+to be resolved into soils.<a name="FNanchor_N_14" id="FNanchor_N_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_N_14" class="fnanchor">[N]</a> Of course, the composition
+of the soil must be similar to that of the rock
+from which it was formed; and, consequently, if we
+know the chemical character of the rock, we can tell
+whether the soil formed from it can be brought
+under profitable cultivation. Thus feldspar, on being
+pulverized, yields potash; talcose slate yields magnesia;
+marls yield lime, etc.</p>
+
+<p>The soil formed entirely from rock, contains, of
+course, no organic matter.<a name="FNanchor_O_15" id="FNanchor_O_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_O_15" class="fnanchor">[O]</a> Still it is capable of
+bearing plants of a certain class, and when these die,
+they are deposited in the soil, and thus form its
+organic portions, rendering it capable of supporting
+those plants which furnish food for animals. Thousands
+of years must have been occupied in preparing
+the earth for habitation by man.</p>
+
+<p>As the inorganic or mineral part of the soil is
+usually the largest, we will consider it first.</p>
+
+<p>As we have stated that this portion is formed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>
+from rocks, we will examine their character, with a
+view to showing the different qualities of soils.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the general rule concerning the composition of rocks?</p>
+
+<p>Do these distinctions affect the fertility of soils formed from
+them?</p>
+
+<p>What do we mean by the mechanical character of the soil?</p>
+
+<p>Is its fertility indicated by its mechanical character?</p></div>
+
+<p>As a general rule, it may be stated that <i>all rocks
+are either sandstones, limestones, or clays; or a mixture
+of two or more of these ingredients</i>. Hence we
+find that all mineral soils are either <i>sandy</i>, <i>calcareous</i>,
+(limey), or <i>clayey</i>; or consist of a mixture of these,
+in which one or another usually predominates. Thus,
+we speak of a sandy soil, a clay soil, etc. These
+distinctions (sandy, clayey, loamy, etc.) are important
+in considering the <i>mechanical</i> character of the
+soil, but have little reference to its fertility.</p>
+
+<p>By <i>mechanical</i> character, we mean those qualities
+which affect the ease of cultivation&mdash;excess or
+deficiency of water, ability to withstand drought, etc.
+For instance, a heavy clay soil is difficult to plow&mdash;retains
+water after rains, and bakes quite hard during
+drought; while a light sandy soil is plowed with ease,
+often allows water to pass through immediately after
+rains, and becomes dry and powdery during drought.
+Notwithstanding those differences in their mechanical
+character, both soils may be very fertile, or one
+more so than the other, without reference to the clay
+and sand which they contain, and which, to <i>our observation</i>,
+form their leading characteristics. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>
+same facts exist with regard to a loam, a calcareous
+(or limey) soil, or a vegetable mould. Their mechanical
+texture is not essentially an index to their
+fertility, nor to the manures required to enable them
+to furnish food to plants. It is true, that each kind
+of soil appears to have some general quality of fertility
+or barrenness which is well known to practical
+men, yet this is not founded on the fact that the clay
+or the sand, or the vegetable matter, enter more largely
+into the constitution of plants than they do when
+they are not present in so great quantities, but on certain
+other facts which will be hereafter explained.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is a sandy soil? A clay soil? A loamy soil? A marl?
+A calcareous soil? A peaty soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>As the following names are used to denote the
+character of soils, in ordinary agricultural description,
+we will briefly explain their application:</p>
+
+<p>A <i>Sandy soil</i> is, of course, one in which sand
+largely predominates.</p>
+
+<p><i>Clay soil</i>, one where <i>clay</i> forms a large proportion
+of the soil.</p>
+
+<p><i>Loamy soil</i>, where sand and clay are about equally
+mixed.</p>
+
+<p><i>Marl</i> contains from five to twenty per cent. of
+carbonate of lime.</p>
+
+<p><i>Calcareous soil</i> more than twenty per cent.</p>
+
+<p><i>Peaty soils</i>, of course, contain large quantities of
+organic matter.<a name="FNanchor_P_16" id="FNanchor_P_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_P_16" class="fnanchor">[P]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p>
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How large a part of the soil may be used as food by plants?</p>
+
+<p>What do we learn from the analyses of barren and fertile soils?</p></div>
+
+<p>We will now take under consideration that part
+of the soil on which depends its ability to supply
+food to the plant. This portion rarely constitutes
+more than five or ten per cent. of the entire soil, sometimes
+less&mdash;and it has no reference to the sand, clay,
+and vegetable matters which they contain. From
+analyses of many fertile soils, and of others which are
+barren or of poorer quality, it has been ascertained
+that the presence of certain ingredients is necessary
+to fertility. This may be better explained by the assistance
+of the following table:</p>
+
+<table summary="Mineral content">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">In one hundred pounds.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:6em;">Soil fertile without manure.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:6em;">Good wheat soil.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:6em;">Barren.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Organic matter,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">9.7</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">7.0</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">4.0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Silica (sand),</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">64.8</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">74.3</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">77.8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Alumina (clay),</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">5.7</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">5.5</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">9.1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lime,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">5.9</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">1.4</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Magnesia,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.9</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.7</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Oxide of iron,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">6.1</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">4.7</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">8.1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Oxide of manganese,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.1</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Potash,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.2</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">1.7</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Soda,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.4</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.7</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Chlorine,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.2</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.1</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphuric acid,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.2</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.1</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Phosphoric acid,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.4</td>
+<td class="tablenum2 bl">.1&frac12;</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Carbonic acid,</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">4.0</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Loss during the analysis</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">1.4</td>
+<td class="tablenum2 bl">3.6&frac12;</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl">.4</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl bt bb">100.0</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl bt bb">100.0</td>
+<td class="tablenum bl bt bb">100.0</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What can you say of the soils represented in the table of analyses?</p>
+
+<p>What proportion of the fertilizing ingredients is required?</p>
+
+<p>If the soil represented in the third column contained all the ingredients
+required except potash and soda, would it be fertile?</p>
+
+<p>What would be necessary to make it so?</p>
+
+<p>What is the reason for this?</p>
+
+<p>What are the offices performed by the inorganic part of soils?</p></div>
+
+<p>The soil represented in the first column might
+still be fertile with less organic matter, or with a
+larger proportion of clay (alumina), and less sand
+(silica). These affect its <i>mechanical</i> character; but,
+if we look down the column, we notice that there are
+small quantities of lime, magnesia, and the other constituents
+of the ashes of plants (except ox. of
+manganese). It is not necessary that they should be
+present in the soil in the exact quantity named above,
+but <i>not one must be entirely absent, or greatly reduced
+in proportion</i>. By referring to the third
+column, we see that these ingredients are not all
+present, and the soil is barren. Even if it were
+supplied with all but one or two, potash and soda
+for instance, it could not support a crop without the
+assistance of manures containing these alkalies. The
+reason for this must be readily seen, as we have learned
+that no plant can arrive at maturity without the
+necessary supply of materials required in the formation
+of the ash, and these materials can be obtained
+only from the soil; consequently, when they do not
+exist there, it must be barren.</p>
+
+<p>The inorganic part of soils has two distinct
+offices to perform. The clay and sand form a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+mass of material into which roots can penetrate, and
+thus plants are supported in their position. These
+parts also absorb heat, air and moisture to serve the
+purposes of growth, as we shall see in a future
+chapter. The minute portions of soil, which comprise
+the acids, alkalies, and neutrals, furnish plants
+with their ashes, and are the most necessary to
+the fertility of the soil.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">GEOLOGY.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is geology?</p>
+
+<p>Is the same kind of rock always of the same composition?</p>
+
+<p>How do rocks differ?</p></div>
+
+<p>The relation between the inorganic part of soils
+and the rocks from which it was formed, is the
+foundation of Agricultural Geology. Geology
+may be briefly named the <i>science of rocks</i>. It would
+not be proper in an elementary work to introduce much
+of this study, and we will therefore simply state that
+the same kind of rock is of the same composition all
+over the world; consequently, if we find a soil in
+New England formed from any particular rock, and a
+soil from the same rock in Asia, their natural fertility
+will be the same in both localities. Some rocks
+consist of a mixture of different kinds of minerals;
+and some, consisting chiefly of one ingredient, are of
+different degrees of <i>hardness</i>. Both of these changes
+must affect the character of the soil, but it may be
+laid down as rule that, <i>when the rocks of two loca<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>tions
+are exactly alike, the soils formed from them
+will be of the same natural fertility, and in proportion
+as the character of rocks changes, in the same
+proportion will the soils differ</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What rule may be given in relation to soils formed from the
+same or different rocks?</p>
+
+<p>Are all soils formed from the rocks on which they lie?</p>
+
+<p>What instances can you give of this?</p></div>
+
+<p>In most districts the soil is formed from the rock
+on which it lies; but this is not always the case.
+Soils are often formed by deposits of matter brought
+by water from other localities. Thus the alluvial
+banks of rivers consist of matters brought from the
+country through which the rivers have passed. The
+river Nile, in Egypt, yearly overflows its banks,
+and deposits large quantities of mud brought from
+the uninhabited upper countries. The prairies of the
+West owe a portion of their soil to deposits by
+water. Swamps often receive the washings of adjacent
+hills; and, in these cases, their soil is derived
+from a foreign source.</p>
+
+<p>We might continue to enumerate instances of the
+relations between soils and the sources whence they
+originated, thus demonstrating more fully the importance
+of geology to the farmer; but it would be
+beyond the scope of this work, and should be investigated
+by scholars more advanced than those
+who are studying merely the <i>elements</i> of agricultural
+science.</p>
+
+<p>The mind, in its early application to any branch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>
+of study, should not be charged with intricate
+subjects. It should master well the <i>rudiments</i>,
+before investigating those matters which should
+<i>follow</i> such understanding.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>In what light will plants and soils be regarded by those who
+understand them?</p></div>
+
+<p>By pursuing the proper course, it is easy to learn
+all that is necessary to form a good foundation for a
+thorough acquaintance with the subject. If this
+foundation is laid thoroughly, the learner will regard
+plants and soils as old acquaintances, with whose
+formation and properties he is as familiar as with
+the construction of a building or simple machine. A
+simple spear of grass will become an object of
+interest, forming itself into a perfect plant, with full
+development of roots, stem, leaves, and seeds, by
+processes with which he feels acquainted. The soil
+will cease to be mere dirt; it will be viewed as a
+compound substance, whose composition is a matter
+of interest, and whose care is productive of intellectual
+pleasure. The commencement of study in any
+science must necessarily be wearisome to the young
+mind, but its more advanced stages amply repay the
+trouble of early exertions.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_M_13" id="Footnote_M_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_M_13"><span class="label">[M]</span></a> The spaces between the particles.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_N_14" id="Footnote_N_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_N_14"><span class="label">[N]</span></a> In very many instances the crevices and seams of rocks are
+permeated by roots, which, by decaying and thus inducing the
+growth of other roots, cause these crevices to become filled with
+organic matter. This, by the absorption of moisture, may expand
+with sufficient power to burst the rock.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_O_15" id="Footnote_O_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_O_15"><span class="label">[O]</span></a> Some rocks contain sulphur, phosphorus, etc., and these may,
+perhaps, be considered as organic matter.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_P_16" id="Footnote_P_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_P_16"><span class="label">[P]</span></a> These distinctions are not essential to be learned, but are often
+convenient.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p>
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>USES OF ORGANIC MATTER.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What proportion of organic matter is required for fertility?</p>
+
+<p>How does the soil obtain its organic matter?</p>
+
+<p>How does the growth of clover, etc., affect the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>It will be recollected that, in addition to its mineral
+portions, the soil contains organic matter in varied
+quantities. It may be fertile with but one and a half
+per cent. of organic matter, and some peaty soils contain
+more than fifty per cent. or more than one half
+of the whole.</p>
+
+<p>The precise amount necessary cannot be fixed
+at any particular sum; perhaps five parts in a
+hundred would be as good a quantity as could be
+recommended.</p>
+
+<p>The soil obtains its organic matter in two ways.
+First, by the decay of roots and dead plants, also of
+leaves, which have been brought to it by wind, etc.
+Second, by the application of organic manures.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>When organic matter decays in the soil, what becomes of it?</p>
+
+<p>Is charcoal taken up by plants?</p>
+
+<p>Are humus and humic acid of great practical importance?</p></div>
+
+<p>When a crop of clover is raised, it obtains its
+carbon from the atmosphere; and, if it be plowed
+under, and allowed to decay, a portion of this carbon
+is deposited in the soil. Carbon constitutes nearly
+the whole of the dry weight of the clover, aside from
+the constituents of water; and, when we calculate
+the immense quantity of hay, and roots grown on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
+an acre of soil in a single season, we shall find that
+the amount of carbon thus deposited is immense.
+If the clover had been removed, and the roots only
+left to decay, the amount of carbon deposited would
+still have been very great. The same is true in all
+cases where the crop is removed, and the roots remain
+to form the organic or vegetable part of the
+soil. While undergoing decomposition, a portion of
+this matter escapes in the form of gas, and the remainder
+chiefly assumes the form of carbon (or
+charcoal), in which form it will always remain,
+without loss, unless driven out by fire. If a bushel
+of charcoal be mixed with the soil now, it will be the
+same bushel of charcoal, neither more nor less, a
+thousand years hence, unless some influence is brought
+to bear on it aside from the growth of plants. It is
+true that, in the case of the decomposition of organic
+matter in the soil, certain compounds are
+formed, known under the general names of <i>humus</i>
+and <i>humic acid</i>, which may, in a slight degree, affect
+the growth of plants, but their practical importance
+is of too doubtful a character to justify us in considering
+them. The application of manures, containing
+organic matter, such as peat, muck, animal
+manure, etc., supplies the soil with carbon on the
+same principle, and the decomposing matters also<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
+generate<a name="FNanchor_Q_17" id="FNanchor_Q_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_Q_17" class="fnanchor">[Q]</a> carbonic acid gas while being decomposed.
+The agricultural value of carbon in the soil depends
+(as we have stated), not on the fact that it enters into
+the composition of plants, but on certain other
+important offices which it performs, as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>On what does the agricultural value of the carbon in the soil
+depend?</p>
+
+<p>Why does it make the soil more retentive of manure?</p>
+
+<p>What is the experiment with the barrels of sand?</p></div>
+
+<p>1. It makes the soil more retentive of manures.</p>
+
+<p>2. It causes it to appropriate larger quantities of
+the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>3. It gives it greater power to absorb moisture.</p>
+
+<p>4. It renders it warmer.</p>
+
+<p>1. Carbon (or charcoal) makes the soil retentive
+of manures, because it has in itself a strong power to
+absorb, and retain<a name="FNanchor_R_18" id="FNanchor_R_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_R_18" class="fnanchor">[R]</a> fertilizing matters. There is a
+simple experiment by which this power can be
+shown.</p>
+
+<p>Ex.&mdash;Take two barrels of pure beach sand,
+and mix with the sand in one barrel a few handfuls
+of charcoal dust, leaving that in the other pure.
+Pour the brown liquor of the barn-yard through the
+pure sand, and it will pass out at the bottom unaltered.
+Pour the same liquor through the barrel,
+containing the charcoal, and pure water will be obtained
+as a result. The reason for this is that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>
+charcoal retains all of the impurities of the liquor,
+and allows only the water to pass through. Charcoal
+is often employed to purify water for drinking,
+or for manufacturing purposes.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Will charcoal purify water?</p>
+
+<p>If a piece of tainted meat, or a fishy duck be buried in a rich
+garden soil, what takes place?</p>
+
+<p>What is the reason of this?</p>
+
+<p>How does charcoal overcome offensive odors?</p>
+
+<p>How can you prove that charcoal absorbs the <i>mineral</i> impurities
+of water?</p></div>
+
+<p>A rich garden-soil contains large quantities of
+carbonaceous matter; and, if we bury in such a soil
+a piece of tainted meat or a fishy duck, it will, in a
+short time, be deprived of its odor, because the
+charcoal in the soil will entirely absorb it.</p>
+
+<p>Carbon absorbs gases as well as the impurities of
+water; and, if a little charcoal be sprinkled over
+manure, or any other substance, emitting offensive
+odors, the gases escaping will be taken up by the
+charcoal, and the odor will cease.</p>
+
+<p>It has also the power of absorbing <i>mineral</i>
+matters, which are contained in water. If a quantity
+of salt water be filtered through charcoal, the
+salt will be retained, and the water will pass through
+pure.</p>
+
+<p>We are now able to see how carbon renders the
+soil retentive of manures.</p>
+
+<p>1st. Manures, which resemble the brown liquor
+of barn-yards, have their fertilizing matters taken
+out, and retained by it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does charcoal in the soil affect the manures applied?</p>
+
+<p>Why does charcoal in the soil cause it to appropriate the gases
+of the atmosphere?</p>
+
+<p>What fertilizing gases exist in the atmosphere?</p>
+
+<p>How are they carried to the soil?</p>
+
+<p>Does the carbon retain them after they reach the soil?</p>
+
+<p>What can you say of the air circulating through the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How does carbon give the soil power to absorb moisture?</p></div>
+
+<p>2d. The gases arising from the decomposition
+(<i>rotting</i>) of manure are absorbed by it.</p>
+
+<p>3d. The soluble mineral portions of manure,
+which might in some soils leach down with water,
+are arrested and retained at a point at which they
+can be made use of by the roots of plants.</p>
+
+<p>2. Charcoal in the soil causes it to appropriate
+larger quantities of the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere,
+on account of its power, as just named, to absorb
+gases.</p>
+
+<p>The atmosphere contains results, which have been
+produced by the breathing of animals and by the decomposition
+of various kinds of organic matter, which
+are exposed to atmospheric influences. These gases
+are chiefly ammonia and carbonic acid, both of which
+are largely absorbed by water, and consequently are
+contained in rain, snow, etc., which, as they enter
+the soil, give up these gases to the charcoal, and
+they there remain until required by plants. Even
+the air itself, in circulating through the soil, gives up
+fertilizing gases to the carbon, which it may contain.</p>
+
+<p>3. Charcoal gives to the soil power to absorb
+moisture, because it is itself one of the best ab<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>sorbents
+in nature; and it has been proved by accurate
+experiment that peaty soils absorb moisture
+with greater rapidity, and part with it more slowly
+than any other kind.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does it render it warmer?</p>
+
+<p>Is the heat produced by the decomposition of organic matter
+perceptible to our senses?</p>
+
+<p>Is it so to the growing plant?</p>
+
+<p>What is another important part of the organic matter in the
+soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>4. Carbon in the soil renders it warmer, because
+it darkens its color. Black surfaces absorb more
+heat than light ones, and a black coat, when worn
+in the sun, is warmer than one of a lighter color.
+By mixing carbon with the soil, we darken its color,
+and render it capable of absorbing a greater amount
+of heat from the sun's rays.</p>
+
+<p>It will be recollected that, when vegetable matter
+decomposes in the soil, it produces certain gases
+(carbonic acid, etc.), which either escape into the
+atmosphere, or are retained in the soil for the use of
+plants. The production of these gases is always accompanied
+by <i>heat</i>, which, though scarcely perceptible
+to our senses, is perfectly so to the growing
+plant, and is of much practical importance. This
+will be examined more fully in speaking of manures.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How is it obtained by the soil?</p>
+
+<p>What offices does the organic matter in the soil perform?</p></div>
+
+<p>Another important part of the organic matter in
+the soil is that which contains <i>nitrogen</i>. This forms
+but a very small portion of the soil, but it is of the
+greatest importance to vegetables. As the nitrogen
+in food is of absolute necessity to the growth of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
+animals, so the nitrogen in the soil is indispensable
+to the growth of cultivated plants. It is obtained
+by the soil in the form of ammonia (or nitric acid),
+from the atmosphere, or by the application of animal
+matter. In some cases, manures called <i>nitrates</i><a name="FNanchor_S_19" id="FNanchor_S_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_S_19" class="fnanchor">[S]</a>
+are used; and, in this manner, nitrogen is given to
+the soil.</p>
+
+<p>We have now learned that the organic matter in
+the soil performs the following offices:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>Organic matter thoroughly decomposed is <i>carbon</i>,
+and has the various effects ascribed to this substance
+on p. 79.</p>
+
+<p>Organic matter in process of decay produces carbonic
+acid, and sometimes ammonia in the soil; also
+its decay causes heat.</p>
+
+<p>Organic matter containing <i>nitrogen</i>, such as
+animal substances, etc., furnish ammonia, and other
+nitrogenous substances to the roots of plants.</p>
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_Q_17" id="Footnote_Q_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Q_17"><span class="label">[Q]</span></a> Produce.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_R_18" id="Footnote_R_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_R_18"><span class="label">[R]</span></a> By absorbing and retaining, we mean taking up and holding.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_S_19" id="Footnote_S_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_S_19"><span class="label">[S]</span></a> Nitrates are compounds of nitric acid (which consists of nitrogen
+and oxygen), and alkaline substances. Thus nitrate of
+potash (saltpetre), is composed of nitric acid and potash: nitrate
+of soda (cubical nitre), of nitric acid and soda.</p></div>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>USES OF INORGANIC MATTER.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What effect has clay besides the one already named?</p>
+
+<p>How does it compare with charcoal for this purpose?</p></div>
+
+<p>The offices performed by the inorganic constituents
+of the soil are many and important.</p>
+
+<p>These, as well as the different conditions in which
+the bodies exist, are necessary to be thoroughly
+studied.</p>
+
+<p>Those parts which constitute the larger proportion
+of the soil, namely the clay, sand, and limy
+portions, are useful for purposes which have been
+named in the first part of this section, while the <i>clay</i>
+has an additional effect in the absorption of ammonia.</p>
+
+<p>For this purpose, it is as effectual as charcoal,
+the gases escaping from manures, as well as those
+existing in the atmosphere, and in rain-water, being
+arrested by clay as well as charcoal.<a name="FNanchor_T_20" id="FNanchor_T_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_T_20" class="fnanchor">[T]</a></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What particular condition of inorganic matter is requisite for
+fertility?</p>
+
+<p>What is the fixed rule with regard to this?</p>
+
+<p>What is the condition of the alkalies in most of their combinations?
+Of the acids?</p>
+
+<p>What is said of phosphate of lime?</p></div>
+
+<p>The more minute ingredients of the soil&mdash;those
+which enter into the construction of plants&mdash;exist in
+conditions which are more or less favorable or in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>jurious
+to vegetable growth. The principal condition
+necessary to fertility is <i>capacity to be dissolved</i>,
+it being (so far as we have been able to ascertain) a
+fixed rule, as was stated in the first section, that
+<i>no mineral substance can enter into the roots of a
+plant except it be dissolved in water</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>alkalies</i> potash, soda, lime, and magnesia,
+are in nearly all of their combinations in the soil
+sufficiently soluble for the purposes of growth.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>acids</i> are, as will be recollected, sulphuric
+and phosphoric. These exist in the soil in combination
+with the alkalies, as sulphates and phosphates,
+which are more or less soluble under natural circumstances.
+Phosphoric acid in combination with lime
+as phosphate of lime is but slightly soluble; but,
+when it exists in the compound known as <i>super</i>-phosphate
+of lime, it is much more soluble, and consequently
+enters into the composition of plants with
+much greater facility. This matter will be more
+fully explained in the section on manures.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may silica be rendered soluble?</p>
+
+<p>What is the condition of chlorine in the soil?</p>
+
+<p>Do peroxide and protoxide of iron affect plants in the same way?</p>
+
+<p>How would you treat a soil containing protoxide of iron?</p>
+
+<p>On what does the usefulness of all these matters in the soil
+depend?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>neutrals</i>, silica, chlorine, oxide of iron, and
+oxide of manganese, deserve a careful examination.
+Silica exists in the soil usually in the form of <i>sand,</i>
+in which it is, as is well known, perfectly insoluble;
+and, before it can be used by plants, which often re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>quire
+it in large quantities, it must be made soluble,
+which is done by combining it with an alkali.</p>
+
+<p>For instance, if the silica in the soil is insoluble,
+we must make an application of an alkali, such as
+potash, which will unite with the silica, and form
+the silicate of potash, which is in the exact condition
+to be dissolved and carried into the roots of plants.</p>
+
+<p>Chlorine in the soil is probably always in an
+available condition.</p>
+
+<p>Oxide of iron exists, as has been previously
+stated, usually in the form of the <i>per</i>oxide (or red
+oxide). Sometimes, however, it exists in the form
+of the <i>prot</i>oxide (or black oxide), which is poisonous
+to plants, and renders the soil unfertile. By loosening
+the soil in such a manner as to admit air and water,
+this compound takes up more oxygen, which renders
+it a peroxide, and makes it available for plants. The
+oxide of manganese is probably of little consequence.</p>
+
+<p>The usefulness of all of these matters in the soil
+depends on their <i>exposure</i>; if they are in the <i>interior</i>
+of particles, they cannot be made use of; while, if
+the particles are so pulverized that their constituents
+are exposed, they become available, because water
+can immediately attack to dissolve, and carry them
+into roots.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is one of the chief offices of plowing and hoeing?</p>
+
+<p>Is the subsoil usually different from the surface soil?</p>
+
+<p>What circumstances have occasioned the difference?
+In what way?</p></div>
+
+<p>This is one of the great offices of plowing and
+hoeing; the <i>lumps</i> of soil being thereby more broken
+up and exposed to the action of atmospheric influences,
+which are often necessary to produce a fertile
+condition of soil, while the trituration of particles
+reduces them in size.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SUBSOIL.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>May the subsoil be made to resemble the surface soil?</p>
+
+<p>May all soils be brought to the highest state of fertility?</p>
+
+<p>On what examination must improvement be based?</p>
+
+<p>What is the difference between the soil of some parts of
+Massachusetts and that of the Miami valley?</p></div>
+
+<p>The subsoil is usually of a different character from
+the surface soil, but this difference is more often the
+result of circumstances than of formation. The
+surface soil from having been long cultivated has
+been more opened to the influences of the air than is
+the case with the subsoil, which has never been disturbed
+so as to allow the same action. Again the
+growth of plants has supplied the surface soil with
+roots, which by decaying have given it organic matter,
+thus darkening its color, rendering it warmer,
+and giving greater ability to absorb heat and
+moisture, and to retain manures. All of these effects
+render the surface soil of a more fertile character
+than it was before vegetable growth commenced;
+and, where frequent cultivation and manures have
+been applied, a still greater benefit has resulted. In
+most instances the subsoil may by the same means<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+be gradually improved in condition until it equals
+the surface soil in fertility. The means of producing
+this result, also farther accounts of its advantages,
+will be given under the head of <i>Cultivation</i> <a href="#SECTION_FOURTH">(Sect. IV.)</a></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap4">IMPROVEMENT.</h3>
+
+<p>From what has now been said of the character of
+the soil, it must be evident that, as we know the
+<i>causes</i> of fertility and barrenness, we may by the proper
+means improve the character of all soils which
+are not now in the highest state of fertility.</p>
+
+<p>Chemical analysis will tell us the <i>composition</i>
+of a soil, and an examination, such as any farmer
+may make, will inform us of its deficiencies in <i>mechanical</i>
+character, and we may at once resort to the
+proper means to secure fertility. In some instances
+the soil may contain every thing that is required,
+but not in the necessary condition. For instance, in
+some parts of Massachusetts, there are nearly <i>barren</i>
+soils which show by analysis precisely the same
+chemical composition as the soil of the Miami valley
+of Ohio, one of the most <i>fertile</i> in the world. The
+cause of this great difference in their agricultural
+capabilities, is that the Miami soil has its particles<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>
+finely pulverized; while in the Massachusetts soil the
+ingredients are combined within particles (such as
+pebbles, etc.), where they are out of the reach of roots.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why do soils of the same degree of fineness sometimes differ
+in fertility?</p>
+
+<p>Can soils always be rendered fertile with profit?</p>
+
+<p>Can we determine the cost before commencing the work?</p>
+
+<p>What must be done before a soil can be cultivated understandingly?</p>
+
+<p>What must be done to keep up the quality of the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>In other cases, we find two soils, which are equally
+well pulverized, and which appear to be of the
+same character, having very different power to support
+crops. Chemical analysis will show in these
+instances a difference of composition.</p>
+
+<p>All of these differences may be overcome by the
+use of the proper means. Sometimes it could be
+done at an expense which would be justified by the
+result; and, at others, it might require too large an
+outlay to be profitable. It becomes a question of
+economy, not of ability, and science is able to estimate
+the cost.</p>
+
+<p>Soil cannot be cultivated understandingly until
+it has been subjected to such an examination as
+will tell us exactly what is necessary to render it
+fertile. Even after fertility is perfectly restored
+it requires thought and care to maintain it. The
+ingredients of the soil must be returned in the form
+of manures as largely as they are removed by the
+crop, or the supply will eventually become too small
+for the purposes of vegetation.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_T_20" id="Footnote_T_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_T_20"><span class="label">[T]</span></a> It is due to our country, as well as to Prof. Mapes and others,
+who long ago explained this absorptive power of clay and carbon,
+to say that the subject was perfectly understood and practically
+applied in America a number of years before Prof. Way published
+the discovery in England as original.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="gap4"><a name="SECTION_THIRD" id="SECTION_THIRD"></a>SECTION THIRD.</h3>
+
+<h2>MANURES.</h2>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>CHARACTER AND VARIETIES OF MANURES.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What must a farmer know in order to avoid failures?</p>
+
+<p>Can this be learned entirely from observation?</p>
+
+<p>What kind of action have manures?</p>
+
+<p>Give examples of each of these.</p>
+
+<p>May mechanical effects be produced by chemical action?</p>
+
+<p>How does potash affect the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>To understand the science of <i>manures</i> is the most
+important branch of practical farming. No baker
+would be called a good practical baker who kept his
+flour exposed to the sun and rain. No shoemaker
+would be called a good practical shoemaker, who used
+morocco for the soles of his shoes, and heavy leather
+for the uppers. No carpenter would be called a good
+practical carpenter, who tried to build a house without
+nails, or other fastenings. So with the farmer. He
+cannot be called a good practical farmer if he keeps
+the materials, from which he is to make plants, in
+such a condition, that they will have their value<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
+destroyed, uses them in the wrong places, or tries to
+put them together without having every thing present
+that is necessary. Before he can avoid failures
+<i>with certainty</i>, he must know what manures are composed
+of, how they are to be preserved, where they are
+needed, and what kinds are required. True, he may
+from observation and experience, <i>guess</i> at results, but
+he cannot <i>know</i> that he is right until he has learned
+the facts above named. In this section of our work,
+we mean to convey some of the information necessary
+to this branch of <i>practical farming</i>.</p>
+
+<p>We shall adopt a classification of the subject
+somewhat different from that found in most works
+on manures, but the <i>facts</i> are the same. The action
+of manures is either <i>mechanical</i> or <i>chemical</i>,
+or a combination of both. For instance: some
+kinds of manure improve the mechanical character
+of the soil, such as those which loosen stiff clay soils,
+or others which render light sandy soils compact&mdash;these
+are called <i>mechanical</i> manures. Some again
+furnish food for plants&mdash;these are called <i>chemical</i>
+manures.</p>
+
+<p>Many mechanical manures produce their effects
+by means of chemical action. Thus <i>potash</i> combines
+chemically with sand in the soil. In so doing, it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>
+roughens the surfaces of the particles of sand, and
+renders the soil less liable to be compacted by rains.
+In this manner, it acts as a <i>mechanical</i> manure.
+The compound of sand and potash,<a name="FNanchor_U_21" id="FNanchor_U_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_U_21" class="fnanchor">[U]</a> as well as the
+potash alone, may enter into the composition of
+plants, and hence it is a <i>chemical</i> manure. In other
+words, potash belongs to both classes described above.</p>
+
+<p>It is important that this distinction should be
+well understood by the learner, as the words "mechanical"
+and "chemical" in connection with manures will
+be made use of throughout the following pages.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are absorbents?</p>
+
+<p>What kind of manure is charcoal?</p></div>
+
+<p>There is another class of manures which we shall
+call <i>absorbents</i>. These comprise those substances
+which have the power of taking up fertilizing matters,
+and retaining them for the use of plants. For
+instance, <i>charcoal</i> is an absorbent. As was stated
+in the section on soils, this substance is a retainer
+of all fertilizing gases and many minerals. Other
+matters made use of in agriculture have the same
+effect. These absorbents will be spoken of more
+fully in their proper places.</p>
+
+<p class="center">TABLE.</p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+<td class="smcap">Mechanical Manures</td>
+<td>are those which improve the mechanical condition of soils.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span><span class="smcap">Chemical&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</span></td>
+<td>are those which serve as food for plants.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="smcap">Absorbents</td>
+<td>are those substances which absorb and retain
+fertilizing matters.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Into what classes may manures be divided?</p>
+
+<p>What are organic manures?</p>
+
+<p>Inorganic? Atmospheric?</p></div>
+
+<p>Manures may be divided into three classes, viz.:
+<i>organic</i>, <i>inorganic</i>, and <i>atmospheric</i>.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Organic</span> manures comprise all <i>animal</i> and <i>vegetable</i>
+matters which are used to fertilize the soil,
+such as dung, muck, etc.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Inorganic</span> manures are those which are of a
+purely <i>mineral</i> character, such as lime, ashes, etc.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Atmospheric</span> manures consist of those organic
+manures which are in the form of gases in the atmosphere,
+and which are absorbed by rains and carried
+to the soil. These are of immense importance. The
+ammonia and carbonic acid in the air are atmospheric
+manures.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_U_21" id="Footnote_U_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_U_21"><span class="label">[U]</span></a> Silicate of potash.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>EXCREMENTS OF ANIMALS.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what is animal excrement composed?</p>
+
+<p>Explain the composition of the food of animals.</p>
+
+<p>What does hay contain?</p>
+
+<p>To what does Liebig compare the consumption of food by animals,
+and why?</p></div>
+
+<p>The first organic manure which we shall examine, is
+animal <i>excrement</i>.</p>
+
+<p>This is composed of those matters which have
+been eaten by the animal as food, and have been
+thrown off as solid or liquid manure. In order that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>
+we may know of what they consist, we must refer to
+the composition of food and examine the process of
+digestion.</p>
+
+<p>The food of animals, we have seen to consist of
+both organic and inorganic matter. The organic
+part may be divided into two classes, <i>i. e.</i>, that portion
+which contains nitrogen&mdash;such as gluten, albumen,
+etc., and that which does not contain nitrogen&mdash;such
+as starch, sugar, oil, etc.</p>
+
+<p>The inorganic part of food may also be divided into
+<i>soluble</i> matter and <i>insoluble</i> matter.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">DIGESTION AND ITS PRODUCTS.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what does that part of dung consist which resembles soot?</p>
+
+<p>What else does the dung contain?</p>
+
+<p>In what manner does the digested part of food escape from the
+body?</p></div>
+
+<p>Let us now suppose that we have a full-grown ox,
+which is not increasing in any of his parts, but only
+consumes food to keep up his respiration, and to supply
+the natural wastes of his body. To this ox we
+will feed a ton of hay which contains organic matter,
+with and without nitrogen, and soluble and insoluble
+inorganic substances. Now let us try to follow it
+through its changes in the animal, and observe its
+destination. Liebig compares the consumption of
+food by animals to the imperfect burning of wood in
+a stove, where a portion of the fuel is resolved into
+gases and ashes (that is, it is completely burned), and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>
+another portion, which is not thoroughly burned,
+passes off as <i>soot</i>. In the animal action in question,
+the food undergoes changes which are similar to this
+burning of wood. A part of the food is <i>digested</i> and
+taken up by the blood, while another portion remains
+undigested, and passes the bowels as solid dung&mdash;corresponding
+to soot. This part of the dung then,
+we see is merely so much of the food as passes through
+the system without being materially changed. Its
+nature is easily understood. It contains organic and
+inorganic matter in nearly the same condition as they
+existed in the hay. They have been rendered finer
+and softer, but their chemical character is not materially
+altered. The dung also contains small
+quantities of nitrogenous matter, which <i>leaked out</i>,
+as it were, from the stomach and intestines. The
+digested food, however, undergoes further changes
+which affect its character, and it escapes from the
+body in three ways&mdash;<i>i. e.</i>, through the lungs, through
+the bladder, and through the bowels. It will be recollected
+from the first section of this book, p. 22,
+that the carbon in the blood of animals, unites with
+the oxygen of the air drawn into the lungs, and is
+thrown off in the breath as carbonic acid. The hydrogen
+and oxygen unite to form a part of the water
+which constitutes the moisture of the breath.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Explain the escape of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.</p>
+
+<p>What becomes of the nitrogenous parts?</p>
+
+<p>How is the <i>soluble</i> ash of the digested food parted with?</p>
+
+<p>The insoluble?</p>
+
+<p>If any portions of the food are not returned in the dung, how
+are they disposed of?</p></div>
+
+<p>That portion of the organic part of the hay which
+has been taken up by the blood of the ox, and which
+does not contain nitrogen (corresponding to the <i>first</i>
+class of proximates, as described in <a href="#SECTION_FIRST">Sect. I</a>), is emitted
+through the lungs. It consists, as will be recollected,
+of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and these assume,
+in respiration, the form of carbonic acid and
+water.</p>
+
+<p>The organic matter of the digested hay, in the
+blood, which contains nitrogen (corresponding to the
+<i>second</i> class of proximates, described in <a href="#SECTION_FIRST">Sect. I</a>), goes
+to the <i>bladder</i>, where it assumes the form of urea&mdash;a
+constituent of urine or liquid manure.</p>
+
+<p>We have now disposed of the imperfectly digested
+food (dung), and of the <i>organic</i> matter which
+was taken up by the blood. All that remains to be
+examined is the inorganic or mineral matter in the
+blood, which would have become <i>ashes</i>, if the hay
+had been burned. The <i>soluble</i> part of this inorganic
+matter passes into the bladder, and forms the <i>inorganic
+part of urine</i>. The <i>insoluble</i> part passes the
+bowels, in connection with the dung.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How is their place supplied?</p>
+
+<p>Is food put out of existence when it is fed to animals?</p>
+
+<p>What does the solid dung contain? Liquid manure? The
+breath?</p></div>
+
+<p>If any of the food taken up by the blood is not
+returned as above stated, it goes to form fat, muscle,
+hair, bones, or some other part of the animal, and as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>
+he is not growing (not increasing in weight) an
+equivalent amount of the body of the animal goes to
+the manure to take the place of the part retained.<a name="FNanchor_V_22" id="FNanchor_V_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_V_22" class="fnanchor">[V]</a></p>
+
+<p>We now have our subject in a form to be readily
+understood. We learn that when food is given to
+animals it is not <i>put out of existence</i>, but is merely
+<i>changed in form</i>; and that in the impurities of the
+breath, we have a large portion of those parts
+of the food which plants obtain from air and from
+water; while the solid and liquid excrements contain
+all that was taken by the plants from the soil and
+manures.</p>
+
+<p class="hangspecial">The <span class="smcap">Solid Dung</span> contains the undigested parts of the food, the
+<i>insoluble</i> parts of the ash, and the nitrogenous
+matters which have <i>escaped</i> from the digestive organs.</p>
+
+<p class="hangspecial">"<span class="smcap">Liquid Manure</span>" the nitrogenous or <i>second class</i> of proximates of the
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>digested food, and the <i>soluble</i> parts of the ash.</p>
+
+<p class="hangspecial"><span class="smcap">The Breath</span> contains the <i>first class</i> of proximates, those which contain
+carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but <i>no nitrogen</i>.<a name="FNanchor_W_23" id="FNanchor_W_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_W_23" class="fnanchor">[W]</a></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_V_22" id="Footnote_V_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_V_22"><span class="label">[V]</span></a> This account of digestion is not, perhaps, strictly accurate in
+a physiological point of view, but it is sufficiently so to give an
+elementary understanding of the character of excrements as
+manures.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_W_23" id="Footnote_W_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_W_23"><span class="label">[W]</span></a> The excrements of animals contain more or less of sulphur,
+and sometimes small quantities of phosphorus.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>WASTE OF MANURE.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are the first causes of loss of manure?</p>
+
+<p>What is <i>evaporation</i>?</p></div>
+
+<p>The loss of manure is a subject which demands most
+serious attention. Until within a few years, little
+was known about the true character of manures, and
+consequently, of the importance of protecting them
+against loss.</p>
+
+<p>The first causes of waste are <i>evaporation</i> and
+<i>leaching</i>.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">EVAPORATION.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Name a solid body which evaporates.</p>
+
+<p>What takes place when a dead animal is exposed to the atmosphere
+for a sufficient time?</p>
+
+<p>What often assist the evaporation of solids?</p></div>
+
+<p>Evaporation is the changing of a solid or liquid
+body to a vapory form. Thus common smelling salts,
+a solid, if left exposed, passes into the atmosphere in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>
+the form of a gas or vapor. Water, a liquid, evaporates,
+and becomes a vapor in the atmosphere.
+This is the case with very many substances, and in organic
+nature, both solid and liquid, they are liable
+to assume a gaseous form, and become mixed with
+the atmosphere. They are not destroyed, but are
+merely changed in form.</p>
+
+<p>As an instance of this action, suppose an animal
+to die and to decay on the surface of the earth.
+After a time, the flesh will entirely disappear, but is
+not lost. It no longer exists as the flesh of an animal,
+but its carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen,
+still exist in the air. They have been liberated from
+the attractions which held them together, and have
+passed away; but (as we already know from what
+has been said in a former section) they are ready to
+be again taken up by plants, and pressed into the service
+of life.</p>
+
+<p>The evaporation of liquids may take place without
+the aid of any thing but heat; still, in the case of
+solids, it is often assisted by decay and combustion,
+which break up the bonds that hold the constituents
+of bodies together, and thus enable them to return
+to the atmosphere, from which they were originally
+derived.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the cause of odor?</p>
+
+<p>When we perceive an odor, what is taking place?</p>
+
+<p>Why do manures give off offensive odors?</p>
+
+<p>How may we detect ammonia escaping from manure?</p></div>
+
+<p>It must be recollected that every thing, which has<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>
+an <i>odor</i> (or can be smelled), is evaporating. The
+odor is caused by parts of the body floating in the
+air, and acting on the nerves of the nose. This is
+an invariable rule; and, when we perceive an odor,
+we may be sure that parts of the material, from which
+it emanates, are escaping. If we perceive the odor
+of an apple, it is because parts of the volatile oils of
+the apple enter the nose. The same is true when we
+smell hartshorn, cologne, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Manures made by animals have an offensive odor,
+simply because volatile parts of the manure escape
+into the air, and are therefore made perceptible. All
+organic parts in turn become volatile, assuming a
+gaseous form as they decompose.</p>
+
+<p>We do not see the gases rising, but there are
+many ways by which we can detect them. If we
+wave a feather over a manure heap, from which
+ammonia is escaping, the feather having been recently
+dipped in manure, white fumes will appear around
+the feather, being the muriate of ammonia formed by
+the union of the escaping gas with the muriatic acid.
+Not only ammonia, but also carbonic acid, and other
+gases which are useful to vegetation escape, and are
+given to the winds. Indeed it may be stated in few
+words that all of the organic part of <i>plants</i> (all that
+was obtained from the air, water, and ammonia),<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
+constituting more than nine tenths of their dry
+weight, may be evaporated by the assistance of decay
+or combustion. The organic part of <i>manures</i> may
+be lost in the same manner; and, if the process of
+decomposition be continued long enough, nothing
+but a mass of mineral matter will remain, except
+perhaps a small quantity of carbon which has not
+been resolved into carbonic acid.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What remains after manure has been long exposed to decomposition?</p>
+
+<p>What gaseous compounds are formed by the decomposition of
+manures?</p></div>
+
+<p>The proportion of solid manure lost by evaporation
+(made by the assistance of decay), is a very
+large part of the whole. Manure cannot be kept a
+single day in its natural state without losing something.
+It commences to give out an offensive odor
+immediately, and this odor is occasioned, as was
+before stated, by the loss of some of its fertilizing
+parts.</p>
+
+<p>Animal manure contains, as will be seen by reference
+to p. <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, all of the substances contained
+in plants, though not always in the correct relative
+proportions to each other. When decomposition
+commences, the carbon unites with the
+oxygen of the air, and passes off as carbonic acid;
+the hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water
+(which evaporates), and the <i>nitrogen is mostly resolved
+into ammonia, which escapes into the atmosphere</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Describe fire-fanging.</p>
+
+<p>What takes place when animal manure is exposed in an open
+barn-yard?</p>
+
+<p>What does liquid manure lose by evaporation?</p></div>
+
+<p>If manure is thrown into heaps, it often ferments
+so rapidly as to produce sufficient heat to set
+fire to some parts of the manure, and cause it to be
+thrown off with greater rapidity. This may be observed
+in nearly all heaps of animal excrement. When
+they have lain for some time in mild weather, gray
+streaks of <i>ashes</i> are often to be seen in the centre of
+the pile. The organic part of the manure having
+been <i>burned</i> away, nothing but the ash remains,&mdash;this
+is called <i>fire-fanging</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Manures kept in cellars without being mixed
+with refuse matter are subject to the same losses.</p>
+
+<p>When kept in the yard, they are still liable to be
+lost by evaporation. They are here often saturated
+with water, and this water in its evaporation carries
+away the ammonia, and carbonic acid which it has
+obtained from the rotting mass. The evaporation of
+the water is rapidly carried on, on account of the
+great extent of surface. The whole mass is spongy,
+and soaks the liquids up from below (through hollow
+straws, etc.), to be evaporated at the surface on
+the same principle as causes the wick of a lamp
+to draw up the oil to supply fuel for the flame.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Liquid Manure</span> containing large quantities of
+nitrogen, and forming much ammonia, is also liable
+to lose all of its organic part from evaporation (and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>
+fermentation), so that it is rendered as much less
+valuable as is the solid dung.<a name="FNanchor_X_24" id="FNanchor_X_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_X_24" class="fnanchor">[X]</a></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>When does the waste of exposed manure commence?</p>
+
+<p>What does economy of manure require?</p>
+
+<p>What is the effect of leaching?</p>
+
+<p>Give an illustration of leaching.</p></div>
+
+<p>From these remarks, it may be justly inferred that a
+very large portion of the <i>value</i> of solid and liquid
+manure as ordinarily kept is lost by evaporation in a
+sufficient length of time, depending on circumstances,
+whether it be three months or several years. The
+wasting commences as soon as the manure is dropped,
+and continues, except in very cold weather, until
+the destruction is complete. Hence we see that true
+economy requires that the manures of the stable,
+stye, and poultry-house, should be protected from
+evaporation (as will be hereafter described), as soon
+as possible after they are made.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">LEACHING.</h3>
+
+<p>The subject of <i>leaching</i> is as important in considering
+the <i>inorganic</i> parts of manures as evaporation
+is to the organic, while leaching also affects the
+organic gases, they being absorbed by water in a great
+degree.</p>
+
+<p>A good illustration of leaching is found in the
+manufacture of potash. When water is poured<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
+over wood-ashes, it dissolves their potash which it carries
+through in solution, making ley. If ley is boiled
+to dryness, it leaves the potash in a solid form, proving
+that this substance had been dissolved by the water
+and removed from the insoluble parts of the ashes.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does water affect decomposing manures?</p>
+
+<p>Does continued decomposition continue to prepare material to
+be leached away?</p>
+
+<p>How far from the surface of the soil may organic constituents
+be carried by water?</p></div>
+
+<p>In the same way water in passing through manures
+takes up the soluble portions of the ash as fast
+as liberated by decomposition, and carries them into
+the soil below; or, if the water runs off from the
+surface, they accompany it. In either case they are
+lost to the manure. There is but a small quantity
+of ash exposed for leaching in recent manures; but,
+as the decomposition of the organic part proceeds, it
+continues to develope it more and more (in the same
+manner as burning would do, only slower), thus preparing
+fresh supplies to be carried off with each
+shower. In this way, while manures are largely injured
+by evaporation, the soluble inorganic parts are
+removed by water until but a small remnant of its
+original fertilizing properties remains.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What arrests their farther progress?</p>
+
+<p>What would be the effect of allowing these matters to filter
+downwards?</p>
+
+<p>What does evaporation remove from manure? Leaching?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is a singular fact concerning leaching, that
+water is able to carry no part of the organic constituents
+of vegetables more than about thirty-four
+inches below the surface in a fertile soil. They
+would probably be carried to an unlimited distance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
+in pure sand, as it contains nothing which is capable
+of arresting them; but, in most soils, the clay and
+carbon which they contain retain all of the ammonia;
+also nearly all of the matters which go to form the inorganic
+constituents of plants within about the above
+named distance from the surface of the soil. If such
+were not the case, the fertility of the earth must soon
+be destroyed, as all of those elements which the soil
+must supply to growing plants would be carried down
+out of the reach of roots, and leave the world a
+barren waste, its surface having lost its elements of
+fertility, while the downward filtration of these
+would render the water of wells unfit for our use.
+Now, however, they are all retained near the surface
+of the soil, and the water issues from springs comparatively
+pure.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Evaporation</span> removes from manure&mdash;</p>
+
+<div style="padding-left:6em;"><p class="hangspecial">Carbon, in the form of carbonic acid.</p>
+
+<p class="hangspecial">Hydrogen and oxygen, in the form of water.</p>
+
+<p class="hangspecial">Nitrogen, in the form of ammonia.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Leaching</span> removes from manure&mdash;</p>
+
+<div style="padding-left:6em;"><p class="hangspecial">The soluble and most valuable parts of
+the ash in solution in water, besides
+carrying away some of the named
+above forms of organic matter.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_X_24" id="Footnote_X_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_X_24"><span class="label">[X]</span></a> It should be recollected that every bent straw may act as a
+syphon, and occasion much loss of liquid manure.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>ABSORBENTS.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What substances are called absorbents?</p>
+
+<p>What is the most important of these?</p>
+
+<p>What substances are called charcoal in agriculture?</p>
+
+<p>How is vegetable matter rendered useful as charcoal?</p></div>
+
+<p>Before considering farther the subject of animal
+excrement, it is necessary to examine a class of
+manures known as <i>absorbents</i>. These comprise all
+matters which have the power of absorbing, or soaking
+up, as it were, the gases which arise from the
+evaporation of solid and liquid manures, and retaining
+them until required by plants.</p>
+
+<p>The most important of these is undoubtedly <i>carbon</i>
+or charcoal.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap4">CHARCOAL.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Charcoal</i>, in an agricultural sense, means all
+forms of carbon, whether as peat, muck, charcoal
+dust from the spark-catchers of locomotives, charcoal
+hearths, river and swamp deposits, leaf mould, decomposed
+spent tanbark or sawdust, etc. In short,
+if any vegetable matter is decomposed with the partial
+exclusion of air (so that there shall not be oxygen
+enough supplied to unite with all of the carbon), a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>
+portion of its carbon remains in the exact condition
+to serve the purposes of charcoal.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the first-named effect of charcoal? The second?
+Third? Fourth?</p>
+
+<p>Explain the first action.</p></div>
+
+<p>The offices performed in the soil by carbonaceous
+matter were fully explained in a former section (p. <a href="#Page_79">79</a>,
+Sect. 2), and we will now examine merely its action
+with regard to manures. When properly applied to
+manures, in compost, it has the following effects:</p>
+
+<p>1. It absorbs and retains the fertilizing gases
+evaporating from decomposing matters.</p>
+
+<p>2. It acts as a <i>divisor</i>, thereby reducing the
+strength (or intensity) of powerful manures&mdash;thus
+rendering them less likely to injure the roots of
+plants; and also increases their bulk, so as to prevent
+<i>fire fanging</i> in composts.</p>
+
+<p>3. It in part prevents the leaching out of the
+soluble parts of the ash.</p>
+
+<p>4. It keeps the compost moist.</p>
+
+<p>The first-named office of charcoal, <i>i. e.</i>, absorbing
+and retaining gases, is one of the utmost importance.
+It is this quality that gives to it so high a position
+in the opinion of all who have used it. As was
+stated in the section on soils, carbonaceous matter
+seems to be capable of absorbing every thing which
+may be of use to vegetation. It is a grand purifier,
+and while it prevents offensive odors from escaping,
+it is at the same time storing its pores with
+food for the nourishment of plants.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Explain its action as a divisor.</p>
+
+<p>How does charcoal protect composts against injurious action of
+rains?</p>
+
+<p>How does it keep them moist?</p></div>
+
+<p>2d. In its capacity as a <i>divisor</i> for manures, charcoal
+should be considered as excellent in all cases,
+especially to use with strongly concentrated (or heating)
+animal manures. These, when applied in their
+natural state to the soil, are very apt to injure young
+roots by the violence of their action. When mixed
+with a divisor, such manures are <i>diluted</i>, made less
+active, and consequently less injurious. In composts,
+manures are liable, as has been before stated, to become
+burned by the resultant heat of decomposition;
+this is called <i>fire fanging</i>, and is prevented by the
+liberal use of divisors, because, by increasing the
+bulk, the heat being diffused through a larger mass,
+becomes less intense. The same principle is exhibited
+in the fact that it takes more fire to boil a
+cauldron of water than a tea-kettle full.</p>
+
+<p>3d. Charcoal has much power to arrest the passage
+of mineral matters in solution; so much so, that
+compost heaps, well supplied with muck, are less affected
+by rains than those not so supplied. All
+composts, however, should be kept under cover.</p>
+
+<p>4th. Charcoal keeps the compost moist from the
+ease with which it absorbs water, and its ability to
+withstand drought.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What source of carbon is within the reach of most farmers?</p>
+
+<p>What do we mean by muck?</p>
+
+<p>Of what does it consist?</p>
+
+<p>How does it differ in quality?</p></div>
+
+<p>With these advantages before us, we must see
+the importance of an understanding of the modes for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
+obtaining charcoal. Many farmers are so situated
+that they can obtain sufficient quantities of charcoal
+dust. Others have not equal facilities. Nearly all,
+however, can obtain <i>muck</i>, and to this we will now
+turn our attention.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">MUCK, AND THE LIME AND SALT MIXTURE.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the first step in preparing muck for decomposition?</p>
+
+<p>With what proportion of the lime and salt mixture should it
+be composted?</p>
+
+<p>Why should this compost be made under cover?</p>
+
+<p>What is this called after decomposition?</p>
+
+<p>Why should we not use muck immediately after taking it from
+the swamp?</p></div>
+
+<p>By <i>muck</i>, we mean the vegetable deposits of
+swamps and rivers. It consists of decayed organic
+substances, mixed with more or less earth. Its principal
+constituent is <i>carbon</i>, in different degrees of
+development, which has remained after the decomposition
+of vegetable matter. Muck varies largely
+in its quality, according to the amount of carbon
+which it contains, and the perfection of its decomposition.
+The best muck is usually found in comparatively
+dry locations, where the water which once
+caused the deposit has been removed. Muck which
+has been long in this condition, is usually better decomposed
+than that which is saturated with water.
+The muck from swamps, however, may soon be
+brought to the best condition. It should be thrown
+out, if possible, at least one year before it is required
+for use (a less time may suffice, except in very cold<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>
+climates) and left, in small heaps or ridges, to the
+action of the weather, which will assist in pulverizing
+it, while, from having its water removed, its decomposition
+goes on more rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>After the muck has remained in this condition
+a sufficient length of time, it may be removed to the
+barn-yard and composted with the lime and salt mixture
+(described on page <a href="#Page_115">115</a>) in the proportion of one
+cord of muck to four bushels of the mixture. This
+compost ought to be made under cover, lest the rain
+leach out the constituents of the mixture, and thus
+occasion loss; at the end of a month or more, the
+muck in the compost will have been reduced to a fine
+pulverulent mass, nearly equal to charcoal dust for
+application to animal excrement. When in this
+condition it is called <i>prepared</i> muck, by which name
+it will be designated in the following pages.</p>
+
+<p>Muck should not be used immediately after being
+taken from the swamp, as it is then almost always
+<i>sour</i>, and is liable to produce sorrel. Its <i>sourness</i> is
+due to <i>acids</i> which it contains, and these must be
+rectified by the application of an alkali, or by long
+exposure to the weather, before the muck is suitable
+for use.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">LIME AND SALT MIXTURE.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What proportions of lime and salt are required for the decomposing
+mixture?</p>
+
+<p>Explain the process of making it.</p>
+
+<p>Why should it be made under cover?</p></div>
+
+<p>The lime and salt mixture, used in the decomposition
+of muck, is made in the following manner:</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Recipe.</span>&mdash;Take <i>three</i> bushels of shell lime, <i>hot
+from the kiln</i>, or as fresh as possible, and slake it
+with water in which <i>one</i> bushel of salt has been dissolved.</p>
+
+<p>Care must be taken to use only so much water as
+is necessary to dissolve the salt, as it is difficult to
+induce the lime to absorb a larger quantity.</p>
+
+<p>In dissolving the salt, it is well to hang it in a
+basket in the upper part of the water, as the salt
+water will immediately settle towards the bottom
+(being heavier), and allow the freshest water to be
+nearest to the salt. In this way, the salt may be all
+dissolved, and thus make the brine used to slake the
+lime. It may be necessary to apply the brine at intervals
+of a day or two, and to stir the mass often,
+as the amount of water is too great to be readily
+absorbed.</p>
+
+<p>This mixture should be made under cover, as, if
+exposed, it would obtain moisture from rain or dew,
+which would prevent the use of all the brine.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>
+Another objection to its exposure to the weather is
+its great liability to be washed away by rains. It
+should be at least ten days old before being used,
+and would probably be improved by an age of three
+or four months, as the chemical changes it undergoes
+will require some time to be completed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Explain the character of this mixture as represented in the
+diagram. (Black board.)</p></div>
+
+<p>The character of this mixture may be best described
+by the following diagram:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>We have originally&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl bt">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Lime</td>
+<td class="bt br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">Salt</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4">consisting of</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td></td>
+<td></td>
+<td class="br"></td>
+<td></td>
+<td></td>
+<td></td>
+<td></td>
+<td colspan="3" rowspan="2">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="bt"></td>
+<td class="bt br"></td>
+<td rowspan="2">Chloride</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td></td>
+<td></td>
+<td class="br"></td>
+<td></td>
+<td></td>
+<td></td>
+<td class="bl bt"></td>
+<td></td>
+<td class="br"></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl"></td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>and</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="center">of</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl bt">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2">Sodium.</td>
+<td class="br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="center">Sodium.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl"></td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4">&mdash;Carbonic Acid</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl"></td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4" class="center">and</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl"></td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4">&mdash;Oxygen in the air.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>Chloride of lime.</td>
+<td class="br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl">&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td></td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="4">Carbonate of Soda.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td><a name="FNanchor_Y_25" id="FNanchor_Y_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_Y_25" class="fnanchor">[Y]</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>The lime unites with the chlorine of the salt and
+forms <i>chloride of lime</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The sodium, after being freed from the chlorine,
+unites with the oxygen of the air and forms soda,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>
+which, combining with the carbonic acid of the atmosphere,
+forms carbonate of soda.</p>
+
+<p>Chloride of lime and carbonate of soda are better
+agents in the decomposition of muck than pure salt
+and lime; and, as these compounds are the result
+of the mixture, much benefit ensues from the operation.</p>
+
+<p>When <i>shell</i> lime cannot be obtained, Thomaston,
+or any other very pure lime, will answer, though care
+must be taken that it do not contain much magnesia.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">LIME.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What effect has lime on muck?</p>
+
+<p>On what does the energy of this effect depend?</p>
+
+<p>Why should a compost of muck and lime be protected from
+rain?</p></div>
+
+<p>Muck may be decomposed by the aid of other materials.
+<i>Lime</i> is very efficient, though not as much
+so as when combined with salt. The action of lime,
+when applied to the muck, depends very much on its
+condition. Air-slaked lime (carbonate of lime),
+and hydrate of lime, slaked with water, have but a
+limited effect compared with lime freshly burned
+and applied in a caustic (or pure) form. When so
+used, however, the compost should not be exposed to
+rains, as this would have a tendency to make <i>mortar</i>
+which would harden it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">POTASH.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is potash valuable for this use?</p>
+
+<p>From what sources may potash be obtained?</p>
+
+<p>In what proportion should ashes be applied to muck? Sparlings?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Potash</i> is a very active agent in decomposing
+vegetable matter, and may be used with great advantage,
+especially where an analysis of the soil which
+is to be manured shows a deficiency of potash.</p>
+
+<p><i>Unleached</i> wood ashes are generally the best
+source from which to obtain this, and from five to
+twenty-five bushels of these mixed with one cord of
+muck will produce the desired result.<a name="FNanchor_Z_26" id="FNanchor_Z_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_Z_26" class="fnanchor">[Z]</a></p>
+
+<p>The sparlings (or refuse) of potash warehouses
+may often be purchased at sufficiently low rates to be
+used for this purpose, and answer an excellent end.
+They may be applied at the rate of from twenty to
+one hundred pounds to each cord of muck.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>By any of the foregoing methods, muck may be
+<i>prepared</i> for use in composting.</p>
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_Y_25" id="Footnote_Y_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Y_25"><span class="label">[Y]</span></a> There is, undoubtedly, some of this lime which does not unite
+with the chlorine; this, however, is still as valuable as any lime.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_Z_26" id="Footnote_Z_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_Z_26"><span class="label">[Z]</span></a> <i>Leached</i> ashes will not supply the place of these, as the
+leaching has deprived them of their potash.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>COMPOSTING STABLE MANURE.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What principles should regulate us in composting?</p>
+
+<p>In what condition is solid dung of value as a fertilizer?</p>
+
+<p>What do we aim to do in composting?</p></div>
+
+<p>In composting stable manure in the most economical
+manner, the evaporation of the organic parts and
+the leaching of the ashy (and other) portions must
+be avoided, while the condition of the mass is such as
+to admit of the perfect decomposition of the manure.</p>
+
+<p>Solid manures in their fresh state are of but very
+little use to plants. It is only as they are decomposed,
+and have their nitrogen turned into ammonia,
+and their other ingredients resolved into the condition
+required by plants, that they are of much value
+as fertilizers. We have seen that, if this decomposition
+takes place without proper precautions being
+made, the most valuable parts of the manure would
+be lost. Nor would it be prudent to keep manures
+from decomposing until they are applied to the soil,
+for then they are not immediately ready for use, and
+time is lost. By composting, we aim to save every
+thing while we prepare the manures for immediate
+use.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SHELTER.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the first consideration for composts?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the arrangement of floor.</p></div>
+
+<p>The first consideration in preparing for composting,
+is to provide proper shelter. This may be done
+either by means of a shed or by arranging a cellar
+under the stables, or in any other manner that may
+be dictated by circumstances. It is no doubt better
+to have the manure shed enclosed so as to make it
+an effectual protection; this however is not absolutely
+necessary if the roof project far enough over
+the compost to shelter it from the sun's rays and from
+driving rains.</p>
+
+<p>The importance of some protection of this kind,
+is evident from what has already been said, and
+indeed it is impossible to make an economical use of
+manures without it. The trifling cost of building a
+shed, or preparing a cellar, is amply repaid in the
+benefit resulting from their uses.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">THE FLOOR.</h3>
+
+<p>The <i>floor</i> or foundation on which to build the
+compost deserves some consideration. It may be of
+plank tightly fitted, a hard bed of clay, or better, a
+cemented surface. Whatever material is used in its
+construction (and stiff clay mixed with water and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
+beaten compactly down answers an excellent purpose),
+the floor must have such an inclination as will cause
+it to discharge water only at one point. That is,
+one part of the edge must be lower than the rest of
+the floor, which must be so shaped that water will
+run towards this point from every part of it; then&mdash;the
+floor being water-tight&mdash;all of the liquids of the
+compost may be collected in a</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">TANK.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How should the tank be attached?</p></div>
+
+<p>This <i>tank</i> used to collect the liquids of the manure
+may be made by sinking a barrel or hogshead
+(according to the size of the heap) in the ground at
+the point where it is required, or in any other convenient
+manner.</p>
+
+<p>In the tank a pump of cheap construction may
+be placed, to raise the liquid to a sufficient height to
+be conveyed by a trough to the centre of the heap,
+and there distributed by means of a perforated board
+with raised edges, and long enough to reach across the
+heap in any direction. By altering the position of
+this board, the liquid may be carried evenly over
+the whole mass.</p>
+
+<p>The appearance of the apparatus required for composting,
+and the compost laid up, may be better
+shown by the following figure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 591px;">
+<img src="images/fig002.png" width="591" height="547" alt="Fig. 2. a, tank; b, pump; c &amp; g, perforated board; d, muck;
+e, manure; f, floor." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Fig. 2.<br />
+<br />
+a, tank; b, pump; c &amp; g, perforated board; d, muck;
+e, manure; f, floor.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How is the compost made?</p></div>
+
+<p>The compost is made by laying on the floor ten
+or twelve inches of muck, and on that a few inches
+of manure, then another heavy layer of muck, and
+another of manure, continuing in this manner until
+the heap is raised to the required height, always having
+a thick layer of muck at the top.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What liquids are best for moistening the compost?</p>
+
+<p>How should they be applied?</p>
+
+<p>What are the advantages of this moistening?</p>
+
+<p>How does it compare with forking over?</p></div>
+
+<p>After laying up the heap, the tank should be
+filled with liquid manure from the stables, slops from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>
+the house, soap-suds, or other water containing fertilizing
+matter, to be pumped over the mass. There
+should be enough of the liquid to saturate the heap
+and filter through to fill the tank twice a week, at
+which intervals it should be again pumped up, thus
+continually being passed through the manure. This
+liquid should not be changed, as it contains much
+soluble manure. Should the liquid manures named
+above not be sufficient, the quantity may be increased
+by the use of rain-water. That falling
+during the first ten minutes of a shower is the best,
+as it contains much ammonia.</p>
+
+<p>The effects produced by frequently watering the
+compost is one of the greatest advantages of this
+system.</p>
+
+<p>The soluble portions of the manure are equally
+diffused through every part of the heap.</p>
+
+<p>Should the heat of fermentation be too great, the
+watering will reduce it.</p>
+
+<p>When the compost is saturated with water, the
+air is driven out; and, as the water subsides, <i>fresh</i>
+air enters and takes its place. This fresh air contains
+oxygen, which assists in the decomposition of
+the manure.</p>
+
+<p>In short, the watering does all the work of forking
+over by hand much better and much more cheaply.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why will the ammonia of manure thus made, not escape if it
+be used as a top dressing?</p>
+
+<p>What are the advantages of preparing manures in this manner?</p>
+
+<p>What is the profit attending it?</p></div>
+
+<p>At the end of a month or more, this compost will
+be ready for use. The layers in the manure will
+have disappeared, the whole mass having become
+of a uniform character, highly fertilizing, and ready
+to be immediately used by plants.</p>
+
+<p>It may be applied to the soil, either as a top-dressing,
+or otherwise, without fear of loss, as the
+muck will retain all of the gases which would
+otherwise evaporate.</p>
+
+<p>The cost and trouble of the foregoing system of
+composting are trifling compared with its advantages.
+The quantity of the manure is much increased, and
+its quality improved. The health of the animals is
+secured by the retention of those gases, which, when
+allowed to escape, render impure the air which they
+have to breathe.</p>
+
+<p>The cleanliness of the stable and yard is much
+advanced as the effete matters, which would otherwise
+litter them, are carefully removed to the compost.</p>
+
+<p>As an instance of the profit of composting, it may
+be stated that Prof. Mapes has decomposed ninety-two
+cords of swamp muck, with four hundred bushels
+of the lime and salt mixture, and then composted
+it with eight cords of <i>fresh</i> horse dung, making one
+hundred cords of manure fully equal to the same
+amount of stable-manure alone, which has lain one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>
+year exposed to the weather. Indeed one cord of
+muck well decomposed, and containing the chlorine
+lime and soda of four bushels of the mixture, is of itself
+equal in value to the same amount of manure which
+has lain in an open barn-yard during the heat and
+rain of one season, and is then applied to the land
+in a <i>raw</i> or undecomposed state.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>In what other manners may muck be used in the preservation
+of manures?</p>
+
+<p>How may liquid manure be made most useful?</p></div>
+
+<p>The foregoing system of composting is the best
+that has yet been suggested for making use of solid
+manures. Many other methods may be adopted
+when circumstances will not admit of so much attention.
+It is a common and excellent practice to
+throw prepared muck into the cellar under the stables,
+to be mixed and turned over with the manure by
+swine. In other cases the manures are kept in the
+yard, and are covered with a thin layer of muck
+every morning. The principle which renders these
+systems beneficial is the absorbent power of charcoal.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">LIQUID MANURE.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Liquid manure</i> from animals may, also, be made
+useful by the assistance of prepared muck. Where
+a tank is used in composting, the liquids from the
+stable may all be employed to supply moisture to the
+heap; but where any system is adopted, not requir<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>ing
+liquids, the urine may be applied to muck heaps,
+and then allowed to ferment. Fermentation is necessary
+in urine as well as in solid dung, before it is
+very active as a manure. Urine, as will be recollected,
+contains nitrogen and forms ammonia on fermentation.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Describe the manner of digging out the bottoms of stalls.</p></div>
+
+<p>It is a very good plan to dig out the bottoms of
+the stalls in a circular or gutter-like form, three or
+four feet deep in the middle, cement the ground,
+or make it nearly water-tight, by a plastering of
+stiff clay, and fill them up with prepared muck.
+The appearance of a cross section of the floor thus
+arranged would be as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 581px;">
+<img src="images/fig003.png" width="581" height="298" alt="Fig. 3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Fig. 3.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The prepared muck in the bottom of the stalls
+would absorb the urine as soon as voided, while yet
+warm with the animal heat, and receive heat from
+the animal's body while lying down at night. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
+heat will hasten the decomposition of the urea,<a name="FNanchor_AA_27" id="FNanchor_AA_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_AA_27" class="fnanchor">[AA]</a>
+and if the muck be renewed twice a month, and
+that which is removed composted under cover, it
+will be found a most prolific source of good manure.
+In Flanders, the liquid manure of a cow is considered
+worth $10 per year, and it is not less valuable
+here. As was stated in the early part of this section,
+the inorganic (or mineral) matter contained in
+urine, is soluble, and consequently is immediately
+useful as food for plants.</p>
+
+<p>By referring to the analysis of liquid and solid
+manure, in <a href="#SECTION_FIFTH">section V.</a>, their relative value may be
+seen.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMAL EXCREMENT.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The manures of different animals are, of course, of
+different value, as fertilizers, varying according to
+the food, the age of the animals, etc.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">STABLE MANURE.</h3>
+
+<p>By stable manure we mean, usually, that of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>
+horse, and that of horned cattle. The case described
+in chap. 2 (of this section), was one where the
+animal was not increasing in any of its parts, but
+returned, in the form of manure, and otherwise, the
+equivalent of every thing eaten. This case is one of
+the most simple kind, and is subject to many modifications.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is the manure of full-grown animals of the same quality as that
+of other animals?</p>
+
+<p>Why does that of the growing animal differ?</p>
+
+<p>Why does not the formation of <i>fat</i> reduce the quality of manure?</p>
+
+<p>What does <i>milk</i> remove from the food?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>growing</i> animal is increasing in size, and as
+he derives his increase from his food, he does not return
+in the form of manure as much as he eats. If
+his bones are growing, he is taking from his food
+phosphate of lime and nitrogenous matter; consequently,
+the manure will be poorer in these ingredients.
+The same may be said of the formation of
+the muscles, in relation to nitrogen.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>fatting</i> animal, if full grown, makes manure
+which is as good as that from animals that are not
+increasing in size, because the fat is taken from those
+parts of the food which is obtained by plants from
+the atmosphere, and from nature, (<i>i. e.</i> from the 1st
+class of proximates). Fat contains no nitrogen,
+and, consequently, does not lessen the amount of
+this ingredient in the manure.</p>
+
+<p><i>Milch Cows</i> turn a part of their food to the for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>mation
+of milk, and consequently, they produce manure
+of reduced value.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How do the solid and liquid manure of the horse and ox compare?</p>
+
+<p>What occasions these differences?</p></div>
+
+<p>The solid manure of the horse is better than that
+of the ox, while the liquid manure of the ox is comparatively
+better than that of the horse. The cause
+of this is that the horse has poorer digestive organs
+than the ox, and consequently passes more of the
+valuable parts of his food, in an undigested form, as
+dung, while the ox, from chewing the cud and having
+more perfect organs, turns more of his food into
+urine than the horse.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">RECAPITULATION.</h3>
+
+<div class="hangindent">
+<p><span class="smcap">Full Grown</span> animals not
+producing milk, and full
+grown animals fattening make the best manure.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Growing Animals</span> reduce the value of their manure,
+taking portions of their food to form their
+bodies.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Milch Cows</span> reduce the value of their manure by
+changing a part of their food into milk.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Ox</span> makes poor dung and rich urine.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">The Horse</span> makes rich dung and poor urine.<a name="FNanchor_AB_28" id="FNanchor_AB_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_AB_28" class="fnanchor">[AB]</a></p>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">NIGHT SOIL.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the most valuable manure accessible to the farmer?</p>
+
+<p>What is the probable value of the night soil yearly lost in the
+United States?</p>
+
+<p>Of what does the manure of man consist?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>best</i> manure within the reach of the farmer
+is <i>night soil</i>, or human excrement. There has always
+been a false delicacy about mentioning this fertilizer,
+which has caused much waste, and great
+loss of health, from the impure and offensive odors
+which it is allowed to send forth to taint the air.</p>
+
+<p>The value of the night soil yearly lost in the
+United States is, probably, about <i>fifty millions of
+dollars</i> (50,000,000); an amount nearly equal to
+the entire expenses of our National Government.
+Much of the ill health of our people is undoubtedly
+occasioned by neglecting the proper treatment of
+night soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Describe this manure as compared with the excrements of
+other animals.</p>
+
+<p>Does the use of night soil produce disagreeable properties in
+plants?</p></div>
+
+<p>That which directly affects agriculture, as treated
+of in this book, is the value of this substance as a
+fertilizer. The manure of man consists (as is the
+case with that of other animals) of those parts of
+his food which are not retained in the increase of
+his body. If he be <i>growing</i>, his manure is poorer,
+as in the case of the ox, and it is subject to all
+the other modifications named in the early part of
+this chapter. His food is usually of a varied character,
+and is rich in nitrogen, the phosphates, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>
+other inorganic constituents; consequently, his manure
+is made valuable by containing large quantities
+of these matters. As is the case with the ox, the
+<i>dung</i> contains the undigested food, the secretions (or
+leakings) of the digestive organs, and the insoluble
+parts of the ash of the digested food. The <i>urine</i>,
+in like manner, contains a large proportion of the
+nitrogen and the soluble inorganic parts of the digested
+food. When we consider how much richer
+the <i>food</i> of man is than that of horned cattle, we
+shall see the superior value of his <i>excrement</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Night soil has been used as a manure, for ages,
+in China, which is, undoubtedly, one great secret of
+their success in supporting a dense population, for
+so long a time, without impoverishing the soil. It
+has been found, in many instances, to increase the
+productive power of the natural soil three-fold.
+That is, if a soil would produce ten bushels of wheat
+per acre, without manure, it would produce thirty
+bushels if manured with night soil.</p>
+
+<p>Some have supposed that manuring with night
+soil would give disagreeable properties to plants:
+such is not the case; their quality is invariably improved.
+The color and odor of the rose become
+richer and more delicate by the use of the most offensive
+night soil as manure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the direct object of plants?</p>
+
+<p>What would result if this were not the case?</p>
+
+<p>How may night soil be easily prepared for use, and its offensive
+odor prevented?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is evident that this is the case from the fact
+that plants have it for their direct object to make
+over and put together the refuse organic matter, and
+the gases and the minerals found in nature, for the
+use of animals. If there were no natural means of
+rendering the excrement of animals available to
+plants, the earth must soon be shorn of its fertility,
+as the elements of growth when once consumed
+would be essentially destroyed, and no soil could
+survive the exhaustion. There is no reason why the
+manure of man should be rejected by vegetation
+more than that of any other animal; and indeed it
+is not, for ample experience has proved that for most
+soils there is no better manure in existence.</p>
+
+<p>A single experiment will suffice to show that
+night soil may be so kept that there shall be no loss
+of its valuable gases, and consequently no offensive
+odor arising from it, while it may be removed and
+applied to crops without unpleasantness. All that is
+necessary to effect this wonderful change in night soil,
+and to turn it from its disagreeable character to one
+entirely inoffensive, is to mix with it a little charcoal
+dust, prepared muck, or any other good absorbent&mdash;thus
+making what is called poudrette.
+The mode of doing this must depend on circumstances.
+In many cases, it would be expedient to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
+keep a barrel of the absorbent in the privy and throw
+down a small quantity every day. The effect on the
+odor of the house would amply repay the trouble.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Should pure night soil be used as a manure?</p>
+
+<p>What precaution is necessary in preparing hog manure for use?</p></div>
+
+<p>The manure thus made is of the most valuable
+character, and may be used under any circumstances
+with a certainty of obtaining a good crop. It should
+not be used unmixed with some absorbent, as it is of
+such strength as to kill plants.</p>
+
+<p>For an analysis of human manure, see <a href="#SECTION_FIFTH">Section V</a>.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">HOG MANURE.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Hog Manure</i> is very valuable, but it must be
+used with care. It is so violent in its action that,
+when applied in a pure form to crops, it often produces
+injurious results. It is liable to make cabbages
+<i>clump-footed</i>, and to induce a disease in turnips
+called <i>ambury</i> (or fingers and toes). The only precaution
+necessary is to supply the stye with prepared
+muck, charcoal-dust, leaf-mould, or any absorbent in
+plentiful quantities, often adding fresh supplies.
+The hogs will work this over with the manure; and,
+when required for use, it will be found an excellent
+fertilizer. The absorbent will have overcome its injurious
+tendency, and it may be safely applied to any
+crop. From the variety and rich character of the food
+of this animal, his manure is of a superior quality.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is the manure from butchers' hog-pens very valuable?</p>
+
+<p>How does the value of poultry manure compare with that of
+guano?</p>
+
+<p>How may it be protected against loss?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Butchers' hog-pen manure</i> is one of the best fertilizers
+known. It is made by animals that live
+almost entirely on blood and other animal refuse, and
+is very rich in nitrogen and the phosphates. It
+should be mixed with prepared muck, or its substitute,
+to prevent the loss of its ammonia, and as a protection
+against its injurious effect on plants.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">POULTRY HOUSE MANURE.</h3>
+
+<p>Next in value to night soil, among domestic manures,
+are the excrements of poultry, pigeons, etc.
+Birds live on the nice bits of creation, seeds, insects,
+etc., and they discharge their solid and liquid excrements
+together. Poultry-dung is nearly equal in
+value to guano (except that it contains more water),
+and it deserves to be carefully preserved and judiciously
+used. It is as well worth twenty-five cents
+per bushel as guano is worth fifty dollars a ton (at
+which price it is now sold).</p>
+
+<p>Poultry-manure is liable to as much injury from
+evaporation and leaching as is any other manure, and
+equal care should be taken (by the same means) to
+prevent such loss. Good shelter over the roosts, and
+daily sprinkling with prepared muck or charcoal-dust
+will be amply repaid by the increased value of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
+the manure, and its better action and greater durability
+in the soil. The value of this manure should
+be taken into consideration in calculating the profit
+of keeping poultry (as indeed with all other stock).
+It has been observed by a gentleman of much experience,
+in poultry raising, that the yearly manure of
+a hundred fowls applied to previously unmanured
+land would produce <i>extra</i> corn enough to keep them
+for a year. This is probably a large estimate, but it
+serves to show that this fertilizer is very valuable, and
+also that poultry may be kept with great profit, if
+their excrements are properly secured.</p>
+
+<p>The manure of pigeons has been a favorite fertilizer
+in some countries for more than 2000 years.</p>
+
+<p>Market gardeners attach much value to rabbit-manure.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SHEEP MANURE.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What can you say of the manure of sheep?</p></div>
+
+<p>The manure of sheep is less valuable than it
+would be, if so large a quantity of the nitrogen and
+mineral parts of the food were not employed in the
+formation of wool. This has a great effect on the
+richness of the excrements, but they are still a very
+good fertilizer, and should be protected from loss in
+the same way as stable manure.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">GUANO.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Should the use of guano induce us to disregard other manures?</p>
+
+<p>Where and in what manner is the best guano deposited?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Guano</i> as a manure has become world renowned.
+The worn-out tobacco lands of Virginia, and other
+fields in many parts of the country, which seemed to
+have yielded to the effect of an ignorant course of
+cultivation, and to have sunk to their final repose,
+have in many cases been revived to the production of
+excellent crops, and have had their value multiplied
+many fold by the use of guano. Although an excellent
+manure, it should not cause us to lose sight of those
+valuable materials which exist on almost every farm.
+Every ton of guano imported into the United States
+is an addition to our national wealth, but every ton
+of stable-manure, or poultry-dung, or night soil
+evaporated or carried away in rivers, is equally a <i>deduction</i>
+from our riches. If the imported manure is
+to really benefit us, we must not allow it to occasion
+the neglect and consequent loss of our domestic fertilizers.</p>
+
+<p>The Peruvian guano (which is considered the
+best) is brought from islands near the coast of Peru.
+The birds which frequent these islands live almost
+entirely on fish, and drop their excrements here in
+a climate where rain is almost unknown, and where,
+from the dryness of the air, there is but little loss<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>
+sustained by the manure. It is brought to this
+country in large quantities, and is an excellent fertilizer,
+superior even to night soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How should it be prepared for use?</p></div>
+
+<p>It should be mixed with an absorbent before
+being used, unless it is plowed deeply under the soil,
+as it contains much ammonia which would be lost from
+evaporation. It would probably also injure plants.
+The best way to use guano, is in connection with
+sulphuric acid and bones, as will be described hereafter.</p>
+
+<p>The composition of the various kinds of guano
+may be found in the section on analysis.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AA_27" id="Footnote_AA_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AA_27"><span class="label">[AA]</span></a> The nitrogenous compound in the urine.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AB_28" id="Footnote_AB_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AB_28"><span class="label">[AB]</span></a> Comparatively.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER VII.</h2>
+
+<h3>OTHER ORGANIC MANURES.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The number of organic manures is almost countless.
+The most common of these have been described
+in the previous chapters on the excrements
+of animals. The more prominent of the remaining
+ones will now be considered. As a universal rule, it
+may be stated that all organic matter (every thing
+which has had vegetable or animal life) is capable
+of fertilizing plants.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">DEAD ANIMALS.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are the chief fertilizing constituents of dead animals?</p>
+
+<p>What becomes of these when exposed to the atmosphere?</p>
+
+<p>How may this be prevented?</p></div>
+
+<p>The bodies of animals contain much <i>nitrogen</i>,
+as well as valuable quantities, the phosphates and
+other inorganic materials required in the growth of
+plants. On their decay, the nitrogen is resolved into
+<i>ammonia</i>,<a name="FNanchor_AC_29" id="FNanchor_AC_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_AC_29" class="fnanchor">[AC]</a> and the mineral matters become valuable
+as food for the inorganic parts of plants.</p>
+
+<p>If the decomposition of animal bodies takes place
+in exposed situations, and without proper precautions,
+the ammonia escapes into the atmosphere, and much
+of the mineral portion is leached out by rains. The
+use of absorbents, such as charcoal-dust, prepared
+muck, etc., will entirely prevent evaporation, and
+will in a great measure serve as a protection against
+leaching.</p>
+
+<p>If a dead horse be cut in pieces and mixed with
+ten loads of muck, the whole mass will, in a single
+season, become a most valuable compost. Small
+animals, such as dogs, cats, etc., may be with advantage
+buried by the roots of grape-vines or trees.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">BONES.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what do the bones of animals consist?</p>
+
+<p>What is gelatine?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the fertilizing qualities of fish.</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>bones</i> of animals contain phosphate of lime
+and gelatine. The gelatine is a nitrogenous substance,
+and produces ammonia on its decomposition.
+This subject will be spoken of more fully under the
+head of 'phosphate of lime' in the chapter on mineral
+manures, as the treatment of bones is more directly
+with reference to the fertilizing value of their inorganic
+matter.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">FISH.</h3>
+
+<p>In many localities near the sea-shore large quantities
+of fish are caught and applied to the soil.
+These make excellent manure. They contain much
+nitrogen, which renders them strongly ammoniacal
+on decomposition. Their bones consist of phosphate
+and carbonate of lime; and, being naturally soft,
+they decompose in the soil with great facility, and
+become available to plants. The scales of fish contain
+valuable quantities of nitrogen, phosphate of
+lime, etc., all of which are highly useful.</p>
+
+<p>Refuse fishy matters from markets and from the
+house are well worth saving. These and fish caught
+for manure may be made into compost with prepared<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>
+muck, etc.; and, as they putrefy rapidly, they soon
+become ready for use. They may be added to the
+compost of stable manure with great advantage.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Should these be applied as a top dressing to the soil?</p>
+
+<p>What are the fertilizing properties of woollen rags?</p>
+
+<p>What is the best way to use them?</p></div>
+
+<p>Fish (like all other nitrogenous manures) should
+never be applied as a top dressing, unless previously
+mixed with a good absorbent of ammonia, but should
+when used alone be immediately plowed under to considerable
+depth, to prevent the evaporation&mdash;and consequent
+loss&mdash;of their fertilizing gases.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">WOOLLEN RAGS, ETC.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Woollen rags, hair, waste of woollen factories</i>, etc.,
+contain both nitrogen and phosphate of lime; and,
+like all other matters containing these ingredients,
+are excellent manures, but must be used in such a
+way as to prevent the escape of their fertilizing gases.
+They decompose slowly, and are therefore considered
+a <i>lasting</i> manure. Like all <i>lasting</i> manures, however,
+they are <i>slow</i> in their effects, and the most advantageous
+way to use them is to compost them with
+stable manure, or with some other rapidly fermenting
+substance, which will hasten their decomposition
+and render them sooner available.</p>
+
+<p>Rags, hair, etc., thus treated, will in a short
+time be reduced to such a condition that they may
+be immediately used by plants instead of lying in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>
+soil to be slowly taken up. It is better in all cases
+to have manures act <i>quickly</i> and give an immediate
+return for their cost, than to lie for a long time in
+the soil before their influence is felt.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is their value compared with that of farm-yard manure?</p>
+
+<p>How should old leather be treated?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the manurial properties of tanners' refuse.</p>
+
+<p>How should they be treated?</p>
+
+<p>Are horn piths, etc. valuable?</p></div>
+
+<p>A pound of woollen rags is worth, as a manure,
+twice as much as is paid for good linen shreds for
+paper making; still, while the latter are always preserved,
+the former are thrown away, although considered
+by good judges to be worth forty times as
+much as barn-yard manure.</p>
+
+<p>Old leather should not be thrown away. It decomposes
+very slowly, and consequently is of but a
+little value; but, if put at the roots of young trees,
+it will in time produce appreciable effects.</p>
+
+<p><i>Tanners' and curriers' refuse</i>, and all other animal
+offal, including that of the slaughter-house, is
+well worth attention, as it contains more or less of
+those two most important ingredients of manures,
+nitrogen and phosphate of lime.</p>
+
+<p>It is unnecessary to add that, in common with
+all other animal manures, these substances must be
+either composted, or immediately plowed under
+the soil. Horn piths, and horn shavings, if decomposed
+in compost, with substances which ferment
+rapidly, make very good manure, and are worth fully
+the price charged for them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ORGANIC MANURES OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Muck</i>, the most important of the purely vegetable
+manures, has been already sufficiently described.
+It should be particularly borne in mind that, when
+first taken from the swamp it is often <i>sour</i>, or <i>cold</i>,
+but that if exposed for a long time to the air, or if
+well treated with lime, unleached ashes, the lime
+and salt mixture, or any other alkali, its acids will
+be <i>neutralized</i> (or overcome), and it becomes a good
+application to any soil, except peat or other soils already
+containing large quantities of organic matter.
+In applying muck to the soil (as has been before
+stated), it should be made a vehicle for carrying
+ammoniacal manures.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SPENT TAN BARK.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is decomposed bark more fertilizing than that of decayed
+wood?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Spent tan bark</i>, if previously decomposed by the
+use of the lime and salt mixture, or potash, answers
+all the purposes of prepared muck, but is more difficult
+of decomposition.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may bark be decomposed?</p>
+
+<p>Why should tan bark be composted with an alkali?</p>
+
+<p>Why is it good for mulching?</p>
+
+<p>Is sawdust of any value?</p></div>
+
+<p>The bark of trees contains a larger proportion of
+inorganic matter than the wood, and much of this,
+on the decomposition of the bark, becomes available
+as manure. The chemical effect on the bark, of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>
+using it in the tanning of leather, is such as to render
+it difficult to be rotted by the ordinary means,
+but, by the use of the lime and salt mixture it may
+be reduced to the finest condition, and becomes a
+most excellent manure. It probably contains small
+quantities of nitrogen (obtained from the leather),
+which adds to its value. Unless tan bark be composted
+with lime, or some other alkali, it may produce
+injurious effects from the <i>tannic acid</i> which it
+is liable to contain. Alkaline substances will neutralize
+this acid, and prevent it from being injurious.</p>
+
+<p>One great benefit resulting from the use of spent
+tan bark, is due to its power of absorbing moisture
+from the atmosphere. For this reason it is very valuable
+for <i>mulching</i><a name="FNanchor_AD_30" id="FNanchor_AD_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_AD_30" class="fnanchor">[AD]</a> young trees and plants when
+first set out.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SAWDUST.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is sawdust a good addition to the pig-stye?</p>
+
+<p>What is the peculiarity of sawdust from the beech, etc.?</p>
+
+<p>What is a peculiarity of soot?</p>
+
+<p>Why may soot be used as a top dressing without losing its
+ammonia?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Sawdust</i> in its natural state is of very little value
+to the land, but when decomposed, as may be
+done by the same method as was described for tan
+bark, it is of some importance, as it contains a large
+quantity of carbon. Its ash, too, which becomes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>
+available, contains soluble inorganic matter, and in
+this way it acts as a direct manure. So far as concerns
+the value of the ash, however, the bark is superior
+to sawdust. Sawdust may be partially rotted
+by mixing it with strong manure (as hog manure),
+while it acts as a <i>divisor</i>, and prevents the too rapid
+action of this when applied to the soil. Some
+kinds of sawdust, such as that from beech wood,
+form acetic acid on their decomposition, and these
+should be treated with, at least, a sufficient quantity
+of lime to correct the acid.</p>
+
+<p><i>Soot</i> is a good manure. It contains much carbon,
+and has, thus far, all of the beneficial effects of charcoal
+dust. The sulphur, which is one of its constituents,
+not only serves as food for plants, but, from
+its odor, is a good protection against some insects.
+By throwing a handful of soot on a melon vine, or
+young cabbage plant, it will keep away many insects.</p>
+
+<p>Soot contains some ammonia, and as this is in
+the form of a <i>sulphate</i>, it is not volatile, and consequently
+does not evaporate when the soot is applied
+as a top dressing, which is the almost universal custom.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">GREEN CROPS.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What plants are most used as green crops?</p>
+
+<p>What office is performed by the roots of green crops?</p>
+
+<p>How do such manures increase the organic matter of soils?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Green crops</i>, to plow under, are in many places
+largely raised, and are always beneficial. The plants
+most used for this purpose, in our country, are clover,
+buckwheat, and peas. These plants have very long
+roots, which they send deep in the soil, to draw up
+mineral matter for their support. This mineral
+matter is deposited in the plant. The leaves and
+roots receive carbonic acid and ammonia from the
+air, and from water. In this manner they obtain
+their carbon. When the crop is turned under the
+soil, it decomposes, and the carbon, as well as the
+mineral ingredients obtained from the subsoil, are
+deposited in the surface soil, and become of use to
+succeeding crops. The hollow stalks of the buckwheat
+and pea, serve as tubes, in the soil, for the
+passage of air, and thus, in heavy soils, give a much
+needed circulation of atmospheric fertilizers.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What office is performed by the straw of the buckwheat and
+pea?</p>
+
+<p>What treatment may be substituted for the use of green crops?</p>
+
+<p>Which course should be adopted in high farming?</p>
+
+<p>Why is the use of green crops preferable in ordinary cultivation?</p>
+
+<p>Name some other valuable manures.</p></div>
+
+<p>Although green crops are of great benefit, and
+are managed with little labor, there is no doubt but
+the same results may be more economically produced.
+A few loads of prepared muck will do more towards
+increasing the organic matter in the soil, than a very
+heavy crop of clover, while it would be ready for
+immediate cultivation, instead of having to lie idle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>
+during the year required in the production and decomposition
+of the green crop. The effect of the
+roots penetrating the subsoil is, as we have seen, to
+draw up inorganic matter, to be deposited within
+reach of the roots of future crops. In the next section
+we shall show that this end may be much more
+efficiently attained by the use of the sub-soil plow,
+which makes a passage for the roots into the subsoil,
+where they can obtain for themselves what would, in
+the other case, be brought up for them by the roots
+of the green crop.</p>
+
+<p>The offices of the hollow straws may be performed
+by a system of ridging and back furrowing, having
+previously covered the soil with leaves, or other refuse
+organic material.</p>
+
+<p>In <i>high farming</i>, where the object of the cultivator
+is to make a profitable investment of labor,
+these last named methods will be found most
+expedient; but, if the farmer have a large quantity
+of land, and can afford but a limited amount of labor,
+the raising of green crops, to be plowed under
+in the fall, will probably be adopted.</p>
+
+<p>Before closing this chapter, it may be well to remark
+that there are various other fertilizers, such as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>
+the <i>ammoniacal liquor of gas-houses</i>, <i>soapers' wastes</i>,
+<i>bleachers' lye</i>, <i>lees of old oil casks, etc.</i>, which we
+have not space to consider at length, but which are
+all valuable as additions to the compost heap, or as
+applications, in a liquid form, to the soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are the advantages arising from burying manure in its
+green state?</p>
+
+<p>Which is generally preferable, this course, or composting?
+Why?</p></div>
+
+<p>In many cases (when heavy manuring is practised),
+it may be well to apply organic manures to
+the soil in a green state, turn them under, and allow
+them to undergo decomposition in the ground. The
+advantages of this system are, that the <i>heat</i>, resulting
+from the chemical changes, will hasten the growth
+of plants, by making the soil warmer; the carbonic
+acid formed will be presented to the roots instead of
+escaping into the atmosphere; and if the soil be
+heavy, the rising of the gases will tend to loosen it,
+and the leaving vacant of the spaces occupied by the
+solid matters will, on their being resolved into gases,
+render the soil of a more porous character. As a
+general rule, however, in ordinary farming, where the
+amount of manure applied is only sufficient for the
+supply of food to the crop, it is undoubtedly better
+to have it previously decomposed&mdash;<i>cooked</i> as it were,
+for the uses of the plants&mdash;as they can then obtain
+the required amount of nutriment as fast as needed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ABSORPTION OF MOISTURE.</h3>
+
+<p>It is often convenient to know the relative power
+of different manures to absorb moisture from the
+atmosphere, especially when we wish to manure
+lands that suffer from drought. The following results
+are given by C. W. Johnson, in his essay on
+salt, (pp. 8 and 19). In these experiments the animal
+manures were employed without any admixture
+of straw.</p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>PARTS</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="width:5em;vertical-align:top;">1000 parts</td>
+<td>of horse dung, dried in a temperature
+of 100&deg;, absorbed by exposure
+for three hours, to air saturated
+with moisture, of the temperature of
+62&deg;</td>
+<td style="vertical-align:bottom;text-align:right;">145&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000 parts</td>
+<td>of cow dung, under the same circumstances,
+absorbed</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">130&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000 parts</td>
+<td>pig dung</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">120&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>sheep&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">81&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>pigeon&nbsp;"</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">50&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>rich alluvial soil</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">14&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>fresh tanner's bark</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">115&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>putrified&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">145&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>refuse marine salt sold as manure</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">49&frac12;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>soot</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">36&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>burnt clay</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">29&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>coal ashes</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">14&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>lime</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">11&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>sediment from salt pans</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">10&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>crushed rock salt</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">10&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>gypsum</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">9&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="vertical-align:top;">1000&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
+<td>salt</td>
+<td style="text-align:right;">4<a name="FNanchor_AE_31" id="FNanchor_AE_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_AE_31" class="fnanchor">[AE]</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Muck is a most excellent absorbent of moisture,
+when thoroughly decomposed.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">DISTRIBUTION OF MANURES.</h3>
+
+<p>The following table from Johnson, on manures,
+will be found convenient in the distribution of manures.</p>
+
+<p>By its assistance the farmer will know how
+many loads of manure he requires, dividing each
+load into a stated number of heaps, and placing
+them at certain distances. In this manner manure
+may be applied evenly, and calculation may be made
+as to the amount, per acre, which a certain quantity
+will supply.<a name="FNanchor_AF_32" id="FNanchor_AF_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_AF_32" class="fnanchor">[AF]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br center" rowspan="2">DISTANCE OF THE HEAPS.</td>
+  <td colspan="10" class="bt center">NUMBER OF HEAPS IN A LOAD.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br center">1</td>
+  <td class="bt br center">2</td>
+  <td class="bt br center">3</td>
+  <td class="bt br center">4</td>
+  <td class="bt br center">5</td>
+  <td class="bt br center">6</td>
+  <td class="bt br center">7</td>
+  <td class="bt br center">8</td>
+  <td class="bt br center">9</td>
+  <td class="bt center">10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">3 yards.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;538&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;269&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;179&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;134&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;108&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;89&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;77&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;67&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">&nbsp;60&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">&nbsp;54&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">3&frac12; do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">395&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">168&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">132&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">99&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">79&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">66&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">56&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">49&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">44&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">39&frac12;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">4  do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">303&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">151&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">101&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">75&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">60&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">50&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">43&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">37&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">33&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">30&frac14;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">4&frac12; do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">239&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">120&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">79&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">60&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">47&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">39&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">34&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">30&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">26&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">24&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">5  do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">194&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">97&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">64&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">48&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">38&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">32&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">27&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">24&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">21&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">19&frac14;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">5&frac12; do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">160&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">80&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">53&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">40&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">32&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">26&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">22&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">20&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">17&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">16&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">6  do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">131&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">67&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">44&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">33&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">27&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">22&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">19&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">16&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">15&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">13&frac12;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">6&frac12; do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">115&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">57&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">38&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">28&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">23&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">19&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">16&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">14&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">12&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">11&frac12;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">7  do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">99&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">49&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">33&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">24&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">19&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">16&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">14&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">12&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">11&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">10&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">7&frac12; do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">86&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">43&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">28&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">21&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">17&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">14&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">12&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">10&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">9&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">8&frac12;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">8  do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">75&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">37&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">25&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">19&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">15&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">12&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">10&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">9&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">8&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">7&frac12;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">8&frac12; do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">67&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">33&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">22&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">16&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">13&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">11&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">9&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">8&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">7&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">6&frac34;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">9  do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">60&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">30&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">20&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">15&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">12&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">10&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">8&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">7&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">6&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">6&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br">9&frac12; do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">53&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">26&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">18&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">13&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">10&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">9&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">7&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">6&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br ralign">6&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt ralign">5&frac14;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td class="bt br bb">10 do.</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">48&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">24&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">16&frac14;</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">12&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">9&frac34;</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">8&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">6&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+  <td class="bt br bb ralign">5&frac12;</td>
+  <td class="bt bb ralign">4&frac34;</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><i>Example 1.</i>&mdash;Required, the number of loads necessary to manure
+an acre of ground, dividing each load into six heaps, and
+placing them at a distance of 4&frac12; yards from each other? The answer
+by the table is 39&frac34;.</p>
+
+<p><i>Example 2.</i>&mdash;A farmer has a field containing 5&frac12; acres, over
+which he wishes to spread 82 loads of dung. Now 82 divided by
+5&frac12;, gives 15 loads per acre; and by referring to the table, it will
+be seen that the desired object may be accomplished, by making
+4 heaps of a load, and placing them 9 yards apart, or by 9 heaps
+at 6 yards, as may be thought advisable.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AC_29" id="Footnote_AC_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AC_29"><span class="label">[AC]</span></a> Under some circumstances, <i>nitric acid</i> is formed, which is
+equally beneficial to vegetable growth.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AD_30" id="Footnote_AD_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AD_30"><span class="label">[AD]</span></a> See the glossary at the end of the book.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AE_31" id="Footnote_AE_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AE_31"><span class="label">[AE]</span></a> Working Farmer, vol. 1, p. 55.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AF_32" id="Footnote_AF_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AF_32"><span class="label">[AF]</span></a> It is not necessary that this and the foregoing table should
+be learned by the scholar, but they will be found valuable for reference
+by the farmer.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<h3>MINERAL MANURES.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How many kinds of action have inorganic manures?</p>
+
+<p>What is the first of these? The second? Third? Fourth?</p>
+
+<p>Do all mineral manures possess all of these qualities?</p></div>
+
+<p>The second class of manures named in the gene<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>ral
+division of the subject, in the early part of this
+chapter, comprises those of a mineral character, or
+<i>inorganic</i> manures.</p>
+
+<p>These manures have four kinds of action when
+applied to the soil.</p>
+
+<p>1st. They furnish food for the inorganic part of
+plants.</p>
+
+<p>2d. They prepare matters already in the soil, for
+assimilation by roots.</p>
+
+<p>3d. They improve the mechanical condition of
+the soil.</p>
+
+<p>4th. They absorb ammonia.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the mineral manures produce in the soil
+only one of these effects, and others are efficient in
+two or all of them.</p>
+
+<p>The principles to be considered in the use of
+mineral manures are essentially given in the first
+two sections of this book. It may be well, however,
+to repeat them briefly in this connection, and to give
+the <i>reasons</i> why any of these manures are needed,
+from which we may learn what rules are to be observed
+in their application.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Relate what you know of the properties of vegetable ashes?</p>
+
+<p>How does this relate to the fertility of the soil?</p>
+
+<p>According to what two rules may we apply mineral manures?</p>
+
+<p>What course would you pursue to raise potatoes on a soil containing
+a very little phosphoric acid and no potash?</p></div>
+
+<p>1st. Those which are used as food by plants. It
+will be recollected that the <i>ash</i> left after burning
+plants, and which formed a part of their structures,
+has a certain chemical composition; that is, it consists
+of alkalies, acids, and neutrals. It was also<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>
+stated that the ashes of plants of the same kind are
+always of about the same composition, while the
+ashes of different kinds of plants may vary materially.
+Different parts of the same plant too, as we learned,
+are supplied with different kinds of ash.</p>
+
+<p>For instance, <i>clover</i>, on being burned, leaves
+an ash containing <i>lime</i>, as one of its principal ingredients,
+while the ash of <i>potatoes</i> contains more of
+<i>potash</i> than of any thing else.</p>
+
+<p>In the second section (on soils), we learned that
+some soils contain every thing necessary to make the
+ashes of all plants, and in sufficient quantity to supply
+what is required, while other soils are either
+entirely deficient in one or more ingredients, or contain
+so little of them that they are unfertile for certain
+plants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Would you manure it in the same way for wheat?</p>
+
+<p>Why?</p></div>
+
+<p>From this, we see that we may pursue either one
+of two courses. After we know the exact composition
+of the soil&mdash;which we can learn only from correct
+analysis&mdash;we may manure it with a view either
+to making it fertile for all kinds of plants or only for
+one particular plant. For instance, we may find
+that a soil contains a very little phosphoric acid, and
+no potash. If we wish to raise potatoes on such a
+soil, we have only to apply potash (if the soil is good<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>
+in other particulars), which is largely required by this
+plant, though it needs but little phosphoric acid;
+while, if we wish to make it fertile for wheat, and all
+other plants, we must apply more phosphoric acid
+as well as potash. As a universal rule, it may
+be stated that to render a soil fertile for any particular
+plant, we must supply it (unless it already
+contains them) with those matters which are necessary
+to <i>make</i> the ash of that plant; and, if we would
+render it capable of producing <i>all</i> kinds of plants, it
+must be furnished with the materials required in the
+formation of <i>all kinds of vegetable ashes</i>.</p>
+
+<p>It is not absolutely necessary to have the soil
+analyzed before it can be cultivated with success,
+but it is the <i>cheapest</i> way.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How is the fertility of the soil to be maintained, if the crops
+are <i>sold</i>?</p>
+
+<p>What rule is given for general treatment?</p>
+
+<p>Give an instance of matters in the soil that are to be rendered
+available by mineral manures?</p></div>
+
+<p>We might proceed from an analysis of the plant
+required (which will be found in <a href="#SECTION_FIFTH">Section V.</a>), and
+apply to the soil in the form of manure every thing
+that is necessary for the formation of the ash of
+that plant. This would give a good crop on <i>any</i>
+soil that was in the proper <i>mechanical</i> condition, and
+contained enough organic matter; but a moment's
+reflection will show that, if the soil contained a large
+amount of potash, or of phosphate of lime, it would
+not be necessary to make an application of more of
+these ingredients&mdash;at an expense of perhaps three
+times the cost of an analysis. It is true that, if the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>
+crop is <i>sold</i>, and it is desired to maintain the fertility
+of the soil, the full amount of the ash must be applied,
+either before or after the crop is grown; but, in the
+ordinary use of crops for feeding purposes, a large
+part of the ash will exist in the excrements of the
+animals; so that the judicious farmer will be able to
+manure his land with more economy than if he had
+to apply to each crop the whole amount and variety
+required for its ash. The best rule for practical
+manuring is probably to <i>strengthen the soil in its
+weaker points, and prevent the stronger ones from
+becoming weaker</i>. In this way, the soil may be
+raised to the highest state of fertility, and be fully
+maintained in its productive powers.</p>
+
+<p>2d. Those manures which render available matter
+already contained in the soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may silica be developed?</p>
+
+<p>How does lime affect soils containing coarse particles?</p>
+
+<p>How do mineral manures sometimes improve the mechanical
+texture of the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>Silica (or sand), it will be recollected, exists in
+all soils; but, in its pure state, is not capable of
+being dissolved, and therefore cannot be used by
+plants. The alkalies (as has been stated), have the
+power of combining with this silica, making compounds,
+which are called <i>silicates</i>. These are
+readily dissolved by water, and are available in vegetable
+growth. Now, if a soil is deficient in these
+soluble silicates, it is well known that grain, etc.,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>
+grown on it, not being able to obtain the material
+which gives them strength, will fall down or <i>lodge</i>; but,
+if such measures be taken, as will render the sand
+soluble, the straw will be strong and healthy. Alkalies
+used for this purpose, come under the head of those
+manures which develope the natural resources of the
+soil.</p>
+
+<p>Again, much of the mineral matter in the soil is
+combined within particles, and is therefore out of the
+reach of roots. Lime, among other thing, has the
+effect of causing these particles to crumble and expose
+their constituents to the demand of roots.
+Therefore, lime has for one of its offices the development
+of the fertilizing ingredients of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>3d. Those manures which improve the mechanical
+condition of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>The alkalies, in combining with sand, commence
+their action on the surfaces of the particles, and
+roughen them&mdash;<i>rust</i> them as it were. This roughening
+of particles of the soil prevents them from moving
+among each other as easily as they do when they are
+smooth, and thus keeps the soil from being compacted
+by heavy rains, as it is liable to be in its natural
+condition. In this way, the mechanical texture
+of the soil is improved.</p>
+
+<p>It has just been said that <i>lime</i> causes the pul<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>verization
+of the particles of the soil; and thus, by
+making it finer, improves its mechanical condition.</p>
+
+<p>Some mineral manures, as plaster and salt, have
+the power of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere;
+and this is a mechanical improvement to dry soils.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Name some mineral manures which absorb ammonia?</p></div>
+
+<p>4th. Those mineral manures which have the
+power of absorbing ammonia.</p>
+
+<p><i>Plaster</i>, <i>chloride of lime</i>, <i>alumina</i> (<i>clay</i>), etc.,
+are large absorbents of ammonia, whether arising
+from the fermentation of animal manures or washed
+down from the atmosphere by rains. The ammonia
+thus absorbed is of course very important in the
+vegetation of crops.</p>
+
+<p>Having now explained the reasons why mineral
+manures are necessary, and the manner in which
+they produce their effects, we will proceed to examine
+the various deficiencies of soils and the character of
+many kinds of this class of fertilizers.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<h3>DEFICIENCIES OF SOILS, MEANS OF
+RESTORATION, ETC.</h3>
+
+
+<p>As will be seen by referring to the analyses of soils<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
+on p. 72, they may be deficient in certain ingredients,
+which it is the object of mineral manures to
+supply. These we will take up in order, and endeavor
+to show in a simple manner the best means of
+managing them in practical farming.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ALKALIES.</h3>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">POTASH.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Do all soils contain a sufficient amount of potash?</p>
+
+<p>How may its deficiency have been caused?</p>
+
+<p>How may its absence be detected?</p>
+
+<p>Does barn-yard manure contain sufficient potash to supply its
+deficiency in worn-out soils?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Potash</i> is often deficient in the soil. Its deficiency
+may have been caused in two ways. Either
+it may not have existed largely in the rock from
+which the soil was formed, and consequently is
+equally absent from the soil itself, or it may have
+once been present in sufficient quantities, and been
+carried away in crops, without being returned to the
+soil in the form of manure until too little remains for
+the requirements of fertility.</p>
+
+<p>In either case, its absence may be accurately detected
+by a skilful chemist, and it may be supplied
+by the farmer in various ways. Potash, as well as
+all of the other mineral manures, is contained in
+the excrements of animals, but not (as is also the
+case with the others) in sufficient quantities to
+restore the proper balance to soils where it is largely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>
+deficient, nor even to make up for what is yearly
+removed with each crop, except that crop (or its
+equivalent) has been fed to such animals as return
+<i>all</i> of the fertilizing constituents of their food in the
+form of manure, and this be all carefully preserved
+and applied to the soil. In all other cases, it is necessary
+to apply more potash than is contained in the
+excrements of animals.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is generally the most available source from which to obtain
+this alkali?</p>
+
+<p>Will leached ashes answer the same purpose?</p>
+
+<p>How may ashes be used?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Unleached wood ashes</i> is generally the most
+available source from which to obtain this alkali.
+The ashes of all kinds of wood contain potash (more
+or less according to the kind&mdash;see analysis section
+V.) If the ashes are <i>leached</i>, the potash is removed;
+and, hence for the purpose of supplying it, they are
+worthless; but <i>unleached</i> ashes are an excellent
+source from which to obtain it. They may be made
+into compost with muck, as directed in a previous
+chapter, or applied directly to the soil. In either
+case the potash is available directly to the plant, or is
+capable of uniting with the silica in the soil to form
+silicate of potash. Neither potash nor any other
+alkali should ever be applied to animal manures
+unless in compost with an absorbent, as they cause
+the ammonia to be thrown off and lost.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>From what other sources may potash be obtained?</p>
+
+<p>How may we obtain soda?</p>
+
+<p>In what quantities should pure salt be applied to the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Potash sparlings</i>, or the refuse of potash ware<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>houses,
+is an excellent manure for lands deficient in
+this constituent.</p>
+
+<p><i>Potash marl</i>, such as is found in New Jersey,
+contains a large proportion of potash, and is an excellent
+application to soils requiring it.</p>
+
+<p><i>Feldspar</i>, <i>kaolin</i>, and other minerals containing
+potash, are, in some localities, to be obtained in sufficient
+quantities to be used for manurial purposes.</p>
+
+<p><i>Granite</i> contains potash, and if it can be crushed
+(as is the case with some of the softer kinds,) it
+serves a very good purpose.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SODA.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>If applied in large quantities will it produce permanent injury?</p>
+
+<p>In what quantities should salt be applied to composts? To
+asparagus?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Soda</i>, the requirement of which is occasioned
+by the same causes as create a deficiency of potash,
+and all of the other ingredients of vegetable ashes,
+may be very readily supplied by the use of <i>common
+salt</i> (chloride of sodium), which consists of about one
+half sodium (the base of soda). The best way to
+use salt is in the lime and salt mixture, previously
+described, or as a direct application to the soil. If
+too much salt be given to the soil it will kill any
+plant. In small quantities, however, it is highly
+beneficial, and if <i>six bushels per acre</i> be sown broadcast
+over the land, to be carried in by rains and dews,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>
+it will not only destroy many insects (grubs, worms,
+etc.), but will, after decomposing and becoming
+chlorine and soda, prove an excellent manure. Salt,
+even in quantities large enough to denude the soil of
+all vegetation, is never <i>permanently</i> injurious. After
+the first year, it becomes resolved into its constituents,
+and furnishes chlorine and soda to plants, without
+injuring them. One bushel of salt in each cord
+of compost will not only hasten the decomposition
+of the manures, but will kill all seeds and grubs&mdash;a
+very desirable effect. While small quantities of salt
+in a compost heap are beneficial, too much (as when
+applied to the soil) is positively injurious, as it arrests
+decomposition; fairly <i>pickles</i> the manures, and
+prevents them from rotting.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is generally the best way to use salt?</p>
+
+<p>What is nitrate of soda?</p>
+
+<p>What plants contain lime?</p></div>
+
+<p>For <i>asparagus</i>, which is a marine plant, salt is
+an excellent manure, and may be applied in almost
+unlimited quantities, <i>while the plants are growing</i>,
+if used after they have gone to top, it is injurious.
+Salt has been applied to asparagus beds in such quantities
+as to completely cover them, and with apparent
+benefit to the plants. Of course large doses of salt
+kill all weeds, and thus save labor and the injury to
+the asparagus roots, which would result from their
+removal by hoeing. Salt may be used advantageously
+in any of the foregoing manners, but should always
+be applied with care. For ordinary farm purposes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>
+it is undoubtedly most profitable to use the salt with
+lime, and make it perform the double duty of assisting
+in the decomposition of vegetable matter, and
+fertilizing the soil.</p>
+
+<p>Soda unites with the silica in the soil, and forms
+the valuable <i>silicate of soda</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Nitrate of soda</i>, or cubical nitre, which is found
+in South America, consists of soda and nitric acid.
+It furnishes both soda and nitrogen to plants, and is
+an excellent manure.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">LIME.</h3>
+
+<p>The subject of <i>lime</i> is one of most vital importance
+to the farmer; indeed, so varied are its modes
+of action and its effects, that some writers have given
+it credit for every thing good in the way of farming,
+and have gone so far as to say that <i>all</i> permanent
+improvement of agriculture must depend on the use
+of lime. Although this is far in excess of the truth
+(as lime cannot plow, nor drain, nor supply any thing
+but <i>lime</i> to the soil), its many beneficial effects demand
+for it the closest attention.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Do all soils contain enough lime for the use of plants?</p>
+
+<p>What amount is needed for this purpose?</p>
+
+<p>What is its first-named effect on the soil?</p>
+
+<p>Its second? Third? Fourth? Fifth?</p>
+
+<p>How are acids produced in the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>As food for plants, lime is of considerable importance.
+All plants contain lime&mdash;some of them in
+large quantities. It is an important constituent of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>
+straw, meadow hay, leaves of fruit trees, peas, beans,
+and turnips. It constitutes more than one third of
+the ash of red clover. Many soils contain lime
+enough for the use of plants, in others it is deficient,
+and must be supplied artificially before they can produce
+good crops of those plants of which lime is an
+important ingredient. The only way in which the
+exact quantity of lime in the soil can be ascertained
+is by chemical analysis. However, the amount required
+for the mere feeding plants is not large,
+(much less than one per cent.), but lime is often
+necessary for other purposes; and setting aside, for
+the present, its feeding action, we will examine its
+various effects on the mechanical and chemical condition
+of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>1. It corrects acidity (sourness).</p>
+
+<p>2. It hastens the decomposition of the organic
+matter in the soil.</p>
+
+<p>3. It causes the mineral particles of the soil to
+crumble.</p>
+
+<p>4. By producing the above effects, it prepares
+the constituents of the soil for assimilation by plants.</p>
+
+<p>5. It is <i>said</i> to exhaust the soil, but it does so in a
+very desirable manner, the injurious effects of which
+may be easily avoided.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does lime correct them?</p>
+
+<p>How does it affect animal manures in the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>1. The decomposition of organic matter in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>
+soil, often produces acids which makes the land <i>sour</i>,
+and cause it to produce sorrel and other weeds,
+which interfere with the healthy growth of crops.
+Lime is an <i>alkali</i>, and if applied to soils suffering
+from sourness, it will unite with the acids, and neutralize
+them, so that they will no longer be injurious.</p>
+
+<p>2. We have before stated that lime is a decomposing
+agent, and hastens the rotting of muck and
+other organic matter. It has the same effect on the
+organic parts of the soil, and causes them to be resolved
+into the gases and minerals of which they are
+formed. It has this effect, especially, on organic
+matters containing <i>nitrogen</i>, causing them to throw
+off ammonia; consequently, it liberates this gas
+from the animal manures in the soil.</p>
+
+<p>3. Various inorganic compounds in the soil are
+so affected by lime, that they lose their power of
+holding together, and crumble, or are reduced to
+finer particles, while some of their constituents are
+rendered soluble. One way in which this is accomplished
+is by the action of the lime on the silica contained
+in these compounds, forming the silicate of
+lime. This crumbling effect improves the mechanical
+as well as the chemical condition of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>4. We are now enabled to see how lime prepares
+the constituents of the soil for the use of plants.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Inorganic compounds?</p>
+
+<p>How does lime prepare the constituents of the soil for use?</p>
+
+<p>What can you say of the remark that lime exhausts the organic
+matter in the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>By its action on the roots, buried stubble, and
+other organic matter in the soil, it causes them to
+be decomposed, and to give up many of their gaseous
+and inorganic constituents for the use of roots. In
+this manner the organic matter is prepared for use
+more rapidly than would be the case, if there were
+no lime present to hasten its decomposition.</p>
+
+<p>By the decomposing action of lime on the mineral
+parts of the soil (3), they also are placed more
+rapidly in a useful condition than would be the case,
+if their preparation depended on the slow action of atmospheric
+influences.</p>
+
+<p>Thus, we see that lime, aside from its use directly
+as food for plants, exerts a beneficial influence on
+both the organic and inorganic parts of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>5. Many contend that lime <i>exhausts</i> the soil.</p>
+
+<p>If we examine the manner in which it does so,
+we shall see that this is no argument against its use.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How can lime exhaust the mineral parts of the soil?</p>
+
+<p>Must the matter taken away be returned to the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>It exhausts the organic parts of the soil, by decomposing
+them, and resolving them into the gases
+and minerals of which they are composed. If the
+soil do not contain a sufficient quantity of absorbent
+matter, such as clay or charcoal, the gases arising
+from the organic matter are liable to escape; but
+when there is a sufficient amount of these substances
+present (as there always should be), these gases are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>
+all retained until required by the roots of plants.
+Hence, although the organic matter of manure and
+vegetable substances may be <i>altered in form</i>, by
+the use of lime, it can escape (except in very poor
+soils) only as it is taken up by roots to feed the
+crop, and such exhaustion is certainly profitable;
+still, in order that the fertility of the soil may be
+<i>maintained</i>, enough of organic manure should be
+applied, to make up for the amount taken from the
+soil by the crop, after liberation for its use by the
+action of the lime. This will be but a small proportion
+of the organic matter contained in the crop, as
+it obtains the larger part from the atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>The only way in which lime can exhaust the inorganic
+part of the soil is, by altering its condition,
+so that plants can use it more readily. That is, it
+exposes it for solution in water. We have seen that
+fertilizing matter cannot be leached out of a good
+soil, in any material quantity, but can only be carried
+down to a depth of about thirty-four inches.
+Hence, we see that there can be no loss in this direction;
+and, as inorganic matter cannot evaporate
+from the soil, the only way in which it can escape
+is through the structure of plants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>If this course be pursued, will the soil suffer from the use of
+lime?</p>
+
+<p>Is it the lime, or its crop, that exhausts the soil?</p>
+
+<p>Is lime containing magnesia better than pure lime?</p>
+
+<p>What is the best kind of lime?</p></div>
+
+<p>If lime is applied to the soil, and increases the
+amount of crops grown by furnishing a larger supply
+of inorganic matter, of course, the removal of inor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>ganic
+substances from the soil will be more rapid
+than when only a small amount of crop is grown,
+and the soil will be sooner exhausted&mdash;not by the
+lime, but by the plants. In order to make up for
+this exhaustion, it is necessary that a sufficient
+amount of inorganic matter be supplied to compensate
+for the increased quantity taken away by
+plants.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we see, that it is hardly fair to accuse the
+<i>lime</i> of exhausting the soil, when it only improves its
+character, and increases the amount of its yield. It
+is the <i>crop</i> that takes away the fertility of the soil
+(the same as would be the case if no lime were used,
+only faster as the crop is larger), and in all judicious
+cultivation, this loss will be fully compensated by the
+application of manures, thereby preventing the exhaustion
+of the soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is the purchase of marl to be recommended?</p>
+
+<p>How is lime prepared for use? (Note.)</p>
+
+<p>Describe the burning and slaking of lime.</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Kind of lime to be used.</i> The first consideration
+in procuring lime for manuring land, is to select that
+which contains but little, if any <i>magnesia</i>. Nearly
+all stone lime contains more or less of this, but some
+kinds contain more than others. When magnesia
+is applied to the soil, in too large quantities, it is
+positively injurious to plants, and great care is necessary
+in making selection. As a general rule, it may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
+be stated, that the best plastering lime makes the
+best manure. Such kinds only should be used as
+are known from experiment not to be injurious.</p>
+
+<p><i>Shell lime</i> is undoubtedly the best of all, for it
+contains no magnesia, and it does contain a small
+quantity of <i>phosphate of lime</i>. In the vicinity of
+the sea-coast, and near the lines of railroads, oyster
+shells, clam shells, etc., can be cheaply procured.
+These may be prepared for use in the same manner
+as stone lime.<a name="FNanchor_AG_33" id="FNanchor_AG_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_AG_33" class="fnanchor">[AG]</a></p>
+
+<p><i>The preparation of the lime</i> is done by first burning
+and then slaking, or by putting it directly on
+the land, in an unslaked condition, after its having
+been burned. Shells are sometimes <i>ground</i>, and
+used without burning; this is hardly advisable, as
+they cannot be made so fine as by burning and slaking.
+As was stated in the first section of this book,
+lime usually exists in nature, in the form of carbonate
+of lime, as limestone, chalk, or marble (being
+lime and carbonic acid combined), and when this is
+burned, the carbonic acid is thrown off, leaving the
+lime in a pure or caustic form. This is called burned
+lime, quick-lime, lime shells, hot lime, etc. If<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
+the proper quantity of water be poured on it, it is
+immediately taken up by the lime, which falls into
+a dry powder, called <i>slaked lime</i>. If <i>quick-lime</i>
+were left exposed to the weather, it would absorb
+moisture from the atmosphere, and become what is
+termed <i>air slaked</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is air slaking?</p>
+
+<p>If slaked lime be exposed to the air, what change does it undergo?</p>
+
+<p>What is the object of slaking lime?</p>
+
+<p>How much carbonic acid is contained in a ton of carbonate of
+lime?</p>
+
+<p>How much lime does a ton of slaked lime contain?</p>
+
+<p>What is the most economical form for transportation?</p></div>
+
+<p>When <i>slaked lime</i> (consisting of lime and water)
+is exposed to the atmosphere, it absorbs carbonic
+acid, and becomes carbonate of lime again; but it is
+now in the form of a very fine powder, and is much
+more useful than when in the stone.</p>
+
+<p>If quick-lime is applied directly to the soil, it
+absorbs first moisture, and then carbonic acid, becoming
+finally a powdered carbonate of lime.</p>
+
+<p>One ton of <i>carbonate of lime</i> contains 11&frac14; cwt.
+of lime; the remainder is carbonic acid. One ton
+of <i>slaked lime</i> contains about 15 cwt. of lime; the
+remainder is water.</p>
+
+<p>Hence we see that lime should be burned, and
+not slaked, before being transported, as it would be
+unprofitable to transport the large quantity of carbonic
+acid and water contained in carbonate of lime
+and slaked lime. The quick-lime may be slaked,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
+and carbonated after reaching its destination, either
+before or after being applied to the land.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the best form for immediate action on the inorganic
+matter in the soil?</p>
+
+<p>For most other purposes?</p></div>
+
+<p>As has been before stated, much is gained by
+slaking lime with <i>salt water</i>, thus imitating the lime
+and salt mixture. Indeed in many cases, it will be
+found profitable to use all lime in this way. Where
+a direct action on the inorganic matters contained in
+the soil is desired, it may be well to apply the lime
+directly in the form of quick-lime; but, where the
+decomposition of the vegetable and animal constituents
+of the soil is desired, the correction of <i>sourness</i>,
+or the supplying of lime to the crop, the mixture
+with salt would be advisable.</p>
+
+<p><i>The amount of lime</i> required <i>by plants</i> is, as was
+before observed, usually small compared with the
+whole amount contained in the soil; still it is not unimportant.</p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="smaller" colspan="2">OF LIME.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">25</td>
+<td>bus. of&nbsp;</td>
+<td>wheat contain</td>
+<td>about</td>
+<td class="ralign">13&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td>lbs.</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">25</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>barley</td>
+<td>"</td>
+<td>10&frac12;</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">25</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>oats</td>
+<td>"</td>
+<td>11</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">2</td>
+<td>tons of&nbsp;</td>
+<td>turnips</td>
+<td>"</td>
+<td>12</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">2</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>potatoes</td>
+<td>"</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;5</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">2</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>red clover</td>
+<td>"</td>
+<td>77</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">2</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>rye grass</td>
+<td>"</td>
+<td>30</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td><a name="FNanchor_AH_34" id="FNanchor_AH_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_AH_34" class="fnanchor">[AH]</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p>
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the best guide concerning the quantity of lime to be
+applied?</p>
+
+<p>What is said of the sinking of lime in the soil?</p>
+
+<p>What is plaster of Paris composed of?</p>
+
+<p>Why is it called plaster of Paris?</p></div>
+
+<p>The amount of lime required at each application,
+and the frequency of those applications, must depend
+on the chemical and mechanical condition of the soil.
+No exact rule can be given, but probably the custom
+of each district&mdash;regulated by long experience&mdash;is
+the best guide.</p>
+
+<p><i>Lime sinks in the soil</i>; and therefore, when
+used alone, should always be applied as a top dressing
+to be carried into the soil by rains. The tendency of
+lime to settle is so great that, when cutting drains,
+it may often be observed in a whitish streak on the
+top of the subsoil. After heavy doses of lime have
+been given to the soil, and have settled so as to have
+apparently ceased from their action, they may be
+brought up and mixed with the soil by deeper plowing.</p>
+
+<p><i>Lime should never be mixed with animal manures</i>,
+unless in compost with muck, or some other good
+absorbent, as it is liable to cause the escape of their
+ammonia.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">PLASTER OF PARIS.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Plaster of Paris or Gypsum</i> (sulphate of lime)
+is composed of sulphuric acid and lime in combination.
+It is called 'plaster of Paris,' because it constitutes
+the rock underlying the city of Paris.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is it a constituent of plants?</p>
+
+<p>What else does it furnish them?</p>
+
+<p>How does it affect manure?</p>
+
+<p>How does it produce sorrel in the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How may the acidity be overcome?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is a constituent of many plants. It also furnishes
+them with sulphur&mdash;a constituent of the sulphuric
+acid which it contains.</p>
+
+<p>It is an excellent absorbent of ammonia, and is
+very useful to sprinkle around stables, poultry houses,
+pig-styes, and privies, where it absorbs the escaping
+gases, saving them for the use of plants, and
+purifying the air, thus rendering stables, etc., more
+healthy than when not so supplied.</p>
+
+<p>It has been observed that the extravagant use
+of plaster sometimes induces the growth of <i>sorrel</i>.
+This is probably the case only where the soil is
+deficient in lime. In such instances, the lime required
+by plants is obtained by the decomposition of
+the plaster. The lime enters into the construction
+of the plant, and the sulphuric acid remains <i>free</i>,
+rendering the soil <i>sour</i>, and therefore in condition to
+produce sorrel. In such a case, an application of
+<i>lime</i> will correct the acid by uniting with it and converting
+it into <i>plaster</i>.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">CHLORIDE OF LIME.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What does chloride of lime supply to plants?</p>
+
+<p>How does it affect manures?</p>
+
+<p>How may it be used?</p>
+
+<p>How may magnesia be supplied, when wanting?</p>
+
+<p>What care is necessary concerning the use of magnesia?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Chloride of lime</i> is a compound of <i>lime and
+chlorine</i>. It furnishes both of these constituents to
+plants, and it is an excellent absorbent of ammonia<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>
+and other gases arising from decomposition&mdash;hence
+its usefulness in destroying bad odors, and in preserving
+fertilizing matters for the use of crops.</p>
+
+<p>It may be used like plaster, or in the decomposition
+of organic matters, where it not only hastens
+decay, but absorbs and retains the escaping gases.
+It will be recollected that <i>chloride of lime</i> is one of
+the products of the <i>lime and salt mixture</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Lime</i> in combination with <i>phosphoric acid</i> forms
+the valuable <i>phosphate of lime</i>, of which so large a
+portion of the ash of grain, and the bones of animals,
+is formed. This will be spoken of more at length
+under the head of 'phosphoric acid.'</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">MAGNESIA.</h3>
+
+<p>Magnesia is a constituent of vegetable ashes, and
+is almost always present in the soil in sufficient
+quantities. When analysis indicates that it is
+needed, it may be applied in the form of <i>magnesian
+lime</i>, or <i>refuse epsom salts</i>, which are composed of
+sulphuric acid and magnesia (sulphate of magnesia).</p>
+
+<p>The great care necessary concerning the use of
+magnesia is, not to apply too much of it, it being,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>
+when in excess, as has been previously remarked, injurious
+to the fertility of the soil. Some soils are
+hopelessly barren from the fact that they contain too
+much magnesia.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ACIDS.</h3>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SULPHURIC ACID.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is sulphuric acid commonly called?</p>
+
+<p>How may it be used?</p>
+
+<p>How does it prevent the escape of ammonia?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Sulphuric acid</i> is a very important constituent
+of vegetable ashes, especially of oats and the root-crops.</p>
+
+<p>It is often deficient in the soil, particularly where
+potatoes have been long cultivated. One of the
+reasons why <i>plaster</i> (sulphate of lime) is so beneficial
+to the potato crop is undoubtedly that it supplies it
+with sulphuric acid.</p>
+
+<p>Sulphuric acid is commonly known by the name
+of <i>oil vitriol</i>, and may be purchased for agricultural
+purposes at a low price. It may be used in a very
+dilute form (weakened by mixing it with a large
+quantity of water) to the compost heap, where it
+will change the ammonia to a sulphate as soon as
+formed, and thus prevent its loss, as the sulphate of
+ammonia is not volatile; and, being soluble in water,
+is useful to plants. Some idea of the value of this
+compound may be formed from the fact that manufac<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>turers
+of manures are willing to pay seven cents per
+lb., or even more, for sulphate of ammonia, to insure
+the success of their fertilizers. Notwithstanding this,
+many farmers persist in throwing away hundreds of
+pounds of <i>ammonia</i> every year, as a tax for their ignorance
+(or indolence), while a small tax in <i>money</i>&mdash;not
+more valuable, nor more necessary to their success&mdash;for
+the support of common schools, and the better education
+of the young, is too often unwillingly paid.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the effect of using too much sulphuric acid?</p></div>
+
+<p>If a tumbler full of sulphuric acid (costing a
+few cents), be thrown into the tank of the compost
+heap once a month, the benefit to the manure would
+be very great.</p>
+
+<p>Where a deficiency of sulphuric acid in the soil
+is indicated by analysis, it may be supplied in this
+way, or by the use of plaster or refuse epsom salts.</p>
+
+<p>Care is necessary that <i>too much</i> sulphuric acid
+be not used, as it would prevent the proper decomposition
+of manures, and would induce a growth of
+sorrel in the soil by making it <i>sour</i>.</p>
+
+<p>In many instances, it will be found profitable to
+use sulphuric acid in the manufacture of super-phosphate
+of lime (as directed under the head of 'phosphoric
+acid,') thus making it perform the double
+purpose of preparing an available form of phosphate,
+and of supplying sulphur and sulphuric acid to the
+plant.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">PHOSPHORIC ACID.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How large a part of the ashes of grain consists of phosphoric
+acid?</p>
+
+<p>Of what other substances does it form a leading ingredient?</p>
+
+<p>How many pounds of sulphuric acid are contained in one hundred
+bushels of wheat?</p></div>
+
+<p>We come now to the consideration of one of the
+most important of all subjects connected with agriculture,
+that is, <i>phosphoric acid</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Phosphoric acid</i>, forming about one half of the
+ashes of wheat, rye, corn, buckwheat, and oats;
+nearly the same proportion of those of barley, peas,
+beans and linseed; an important ingredient of the ashes
+of potatoes and turnips; one quarter of the ash of
+milk and a large proportion of the bones of animals,
+often exists in the soil in the proportion of only about
+one or two pounds in a thousand. The cultivation
+of our whole country has been such, as to take away
+the phosphoric acid from the soil without returning
+it, except in very minute quantities. Every hundred
+bushels of wheat sold contains (and removes permanently
+from the soil) about <i>sixty pounds</i> of phosphoric
+acid. Other grains, as well as the root crops and
+grasses, remove likewise a large quantity of it. It has
+been said by a contemporary writer, that for each
+cow kept on a pasture through the summer, there is
+carried off in veal, butter and cheese, not less than <i>fifty</i>
+lbs. of phosphate of lime (bone-earth) on an average.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>
+This would be <i>one thousand lbs.</i> for twenty cows;
+and it shows clearly why old dairy pastures become
+so exhausted of this substance, that they will no
+longer produce those nutritious grasses, which are
+favorable to butter and cheese-making.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How much phosphate of lime will twenty cows remove from a
+pasture during a summer?</p>
+
+<p>What has this removal of phosphate of lime occasioned?</p>
+
+<p>How have the Genesee and Mohawk valleys been affected by
+this removal of phosphoric acid?</p></div>
+
+<p>That this removal of the most valuable constituent
+of the soil, has been the cause of more exhaustion
+of farms, and more emigration, in search
+of fertile districts, than any other single effect of
+injudicious farming, is a fact which multiplied instances
+most clearly prove.</p>
+
+<p>It is stated that the Genesee and Mohawk
+valleys, which once produced an average of <i>thirty-five</i>
+or <i>forty bushels</i> of wheat, per acre, have since
+been reduced in their average production to <i>twelve
+and a half</i> bushels. Hundreds of similar cases
+might be stated; and in a large majority of these,
+could the cause of the impoverishment be ascertained,
+it would be found to be the removal of the phosphoric
+acid from the soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may this devastation be arrested?</p>
+
+<p>Is any soil inexhaustible?</p>
+
+<p>What is usually the best source from which to obtain phosphoric
+acid?</p></div>
+
+<p>The evident tendency of cultivation being to
+continue this murderous system, and to prey upon
+the vital strength of the country, it is necessary to
+take such measures as will arrest the outflow of this
+valuable material. This can never be fully accomplished
+until laws shall be made preventing the wastes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>
+of cities and towns. Such laws have existed for a
+long time in China, and have doubtlessly been the
+secret of the long subsistence and present prosperity
+of the millions of people inhabiting that country.</p>
+
+<p>We have, nevertheless, a means of restoring to
+fertility many of our worn-out lands, and preserving
+our fertile fields from so rapid impoverishment as
+they are now suffering. Many suppose that soils
+which produce good crops, year after year, are inexhaustible,
+but time will prove to the contrary. They
+may possess a sufficiently large stock of phosphoric
+acid, and other constituents of plants, to last a long
+time, but when that stock becomes so reduced, that
+there is not enough left for the uses of full crops, the
+productive power of the soil will yearly decrease, until
+it becomes worthless. It may last a long time,
+a century, or even more, but as long as the system
+is&mdash;to <i>remove every thing, and return nothing</i>,&mdash;the
+fate of the most fertile soil is evident.</p>
+
+<p>The source mentioned, from which to obtain
+phosphoric acid, is the bones of animals. These
+contain large quantities of <i>phosphate of lime</i>. They
+are the receptacles which collect nearly all of the
+phosphates in crops, which are fed to animals, and
+are not returned in their excrements. For the grain,
+etc., sent out of the country, there is no way to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>
+repaid except by the importation of this material;
+but, all that is fed to animals, or to human beings,
+may, if a proper use be made of their excrement, and
+of their bones after death, be returned to the soil.
+With the treatment of animal excrements we are already
+familiar, and we will now turn our attention to
+the subject of</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">BONES.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Of what do dried bones consist?</p>
+
+<p>What is the organic matter of bones?</p>
+
+<p>The inorganic?</p>
+
+<p>What can you say of the use of whole bones?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Bones</i> consist, when dried, of about one third organic
+matter, and two thirds inorganic matter.</p>
+
+<p>The organic matter consists chiefly of <i>gelatine</i>&mdash;a
+compound containing <i>nitrogen</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The inorganic part is chiefly <i>phosphate of lime</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Hence, we see that bones are excellent, as both
+organic and mineral manure. The organic part,
+containing nitrogen, forms <i>ammonia</i>, and the inorganic
+part supplies the much needed <i>phosphoric acid</i>
+to the soil.</p>
+
+<p>Liebig says that, as a producer of ammonia, 100
+lbs. of dry bones are equivalent to 250 lbs. of human
+urine.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does the value of bone dust compare with that of broken
+bones?</p>
+
+<p>What is the reason of the superiority of bone dust?</p>
+
+<p>How is bone-black made?</p>
+
+<p>Of what does it consist?</p></div>
+
+<p>Bones are applied to the soil in almost every conceivable
+form. <i>Whole bones</i> are often used in very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
+large quantities; their action, however, is extremely
+slow, and it is never advisable to use bones in this
+form.</p>
+
+<p>Ten bushels of bones, finely ground, will produce
+larger results, during the current ten years after application,
+than would ensue from the use of one
+hundred bushels merely broken, not because the dust
+contains more fertilizing matter than the whole
+bones, but because that which it does contain is in a
+much more available condition. It ferments readily,
+and produces ammonia, while the ashy parts are exposed
+to the action of roots.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Should farmers burn bones before using them?</p>
+
+<p>How would you compost bones with ashes?</p>
+
+<p>In what way would you prevent the escape of ammonia?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Bone-black.</i> If bones are burned in retorts, or
+otherwise protected from the atmosphere, their organic
+matter will all be driven off, except the carbon,
+which not being supplied with oxygen cannot escape.
+In this form bones are called <i>ivory black</i>, or <i>bone-black</i>.
+It consists of the inorganic matter, and the
+carbon of the bones. The nitrogen having been expelled
+it can make no ammonia, and thus far the
+original value of bones is reduced by burning; that
+is, one ton of bones contains more fertilizing matter
+before, than after burning; but one ton of bone
+black is more valuable than one ton of raw bones,
+as the carbon is retained in a good form to act as an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>
+absorbent in the soil, while the whole may be crushed
+or ground much more easily than before being
+burned. This means of pulverizing bones is adopted
+by manufacturers, who replace the ammonia in the
+form of guano, or otherwise; but it is not to be recommended
+for the use of farmers, who should not
+lose the ammonia, forming a part of bones, more than
+that of other manure.</p>
+
+<p><i>Composting bones with ashes</i> is a good means of
+securing their decomposition. They should be placed
+in a water-tight vessel (such as a cask); first, three
+or four inches of bones, then the same quantity of
+strong unleached wood ashes, continuing these alternate
+layers until the cask is full, and keeping them
+<i>always wet</i>. If they become too dry they will throw
+off an offensive odor, accompanied by the escape of
+ammonia, and consequent loss of value. In about
+one year, the whole mass of bones (except, perhaps,
+those at the top) will be softened, so that they may
+be easily crushed, and they are in a good condition
+for manuring. The ashes are, in themselves, valuable,
+and this compost is excellent for many crops,
+particularly for Indian corn. A little dilute sulphuric
+acid, occasionally sprinkled on the upper part
+of the matter in the cask, will prevent the escape of
+the ammonia.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the effect of boiling bones under pressure?</p>
+
+<p>How is super-phosphate of lime made?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the composition of phosphate of lime, and the chemical
+changes which take place in altering it to super-phosphate of lime.</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Boiling bones under pressure</i>, whereby their gela<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>tine
+is dissolved away, and the inorganic matter left
+in an available condition, from its softness, is a very
+good way of rendering them useful; but, as it requires,
+among other things, a steam boiler, it is
+hardly probable that it will be largely adopted by
+farmers of limited means.</p>
+
+<p>Any or all of these methods are good, but bones
+cannot be used with true economy, except by changing
+their inorganic matter into</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Super-phosphate of lime</i> is made by treating
+phosphate of lime, or the ashes of bones, with <i>sulphuric
+acid</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Phosphate of lime, as it exists in bones, consists
+of one atom of phosphoric acid and three atoms of
+lime. It may be represented as</p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+<td rowspan="3">Phosphoric acid</td>
+<td rowspan="3" style="font-size:300%;">{</td>
+<td>Lime</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lime</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lime</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>By adding a proper quantity of sulphuric acid
+with this, it becomes <i>super</i>-phosphate of lime; that
+is, the same amount of phosphoric acid, with a
+smaller proportion of lime (or a <i>super</i>-abundance of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
+phosphoric acid), the sulphuric acid, taking two
+atoms of lime away from the compound, combined
+with it making sulphate of lime (plaster). The
+changes may be thus represented.</p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+<td rowspan="4">Phosphate of lime</td>
+<td rowspan="4" class="bt bl bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="3">Phosphoric acid</td>
+<td rowspan="2" class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td rowspan="2">Super-phosphate of lime.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lime</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td style="width:4em;">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lime</td>
+<td rowspan="3" class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td rowspan="3" colspan="3">Sulphate of lime.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td style="border:0px solid black;">Lime</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign" colspan="3">Sulphuric acid</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Super-phosphate of lime may be made from whole
+bones, bone dust, bone-black, or from the pure ashes
+of bones.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How should sulphuric acid be applied to whole bones?</p>
+
+<p>What is the necessity for so large an amount of water?</p></div>
+
+<p>The process of making it from whole bones is
+slow and troublesome, as it requires a long time for
+the effect to diffuse itself through the whole mass of
+a large bone. When it is made in this way, the
+bones should be <i>dry</i>, and the acid should be diluted
+in many times its bulk of water, and should be applied
+to the bones (which may be placed in a suitable
+cask, with a spiggot at the bottom), in quantities
+sufficient to cover them, about once in ten
+days; and at the end of that time, one half of the
+liquid should be drawn off by the spiggot. This
+liquid is a solution of super-phosphate of lime, containing
+sulphate of lime, and may be applied to the
+soil in a liquid form, or through the medium of a
+compost heap. The object of using so much water
+is to prevent an incrustation of sulphate of lime on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>
+the surfaces of the bones, this must be removed
+by stirring the mass, which allows the next application
+of acid to act directly on the phosphate remaining.
+The amount of acid required is about 50 or
+60 lbs. to each 100 lbs. of bones. The gelatine will
+remain after the phosphate is all dissolved, and may
+be composted with muck, or plowed under the soil,
+where it will form ammonia.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>May less water be employed in making super-phosphate from
+bone dust or crushed bones?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Bone dust</i>, or <i>crushed bones</i>, may be much more
+easily changed to the desired condition, as the surface
+exposed is much greater, and the acid can act more
+generally throughout the whole mass. The amount
+of acid required is the same as in the other case, but
+it may be used <i>stronger</i>, two or three times its bulk
+of water being sufficient, if the bones are finely
+ground or crushed&mdash;more or less water should be
+used according to the fineness of the bones. The time
+occupied will also be much less, and the result of the
+operation will be in better condition for manure.</p>
+
+<p>Bones may be made fine enough for this operation,
+either by grinding, etc., or by boiling under pressure,
+as previously described; indeed, by whatever method
+bones are pulverized, they should always be treated
+with sulphuric acid before being applied to the soil,
+as this will more than double their value for immediate
+use.</p>
+
+<p>Bone-black is chiefly used by manufacturers of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>
+super-phosphate of lime, who treat it with acid the
+same as has been directed above, only that they
+grind the black very finely before applying the
+acid.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What other forms of bones may be used in making super-phosphate
+of lime?</p>
+
+<p>Why is super-phosphate of lime a better fertilizer than phosphate
+of lime?</p>
+
+<p>What can you say of the <i>lasting manures</i>?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Bone ashes</i>, or bones burned to whiteness, may be
+similarly treated. Indeed, in all of the forms of
+bones here described, the phosphate of lime remains
+unaltered, as it is indestructible by heat; the differences
+of composition are only in the admixture of
+organic constituents.</p>
+
+<p><i>The reason why super-phosphate of lime is so
+much better than phosphate</i>, may be easily explained.
+The <i>phosphate</i> is very <i>slowly</i> soluble in water,
+and consequently furnishes food to plants slowly.
+A piece of bone as large as a pea may lie in the soil
+for years without being all consumed; consequently,
+it will be years before its value is returned, and it
+pays no interest on its cost while lying there. The
+<i>super-phosphate</i> dissolves very <i>rapidly</i> and furnishes
+food for plants with equal facility; hence its much
+greater value as a manure.</p>
+
+<p>It is true that the <i>phosphate</i> is the most <i>lasting</i>
+manure; but, once for all, let us caution farmers
+against considering this a virtue in mineral manures,
+or in organic manures either, when used on soils con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>taining
+the proper absorbents of ammonia. They
+are <i>lasting</i>, only in proportion as they are <i>lazy</i>.
+Manures are worthless unless they are in condition to
+be immediately used. The farmer who wishes his
+manures to <i>last</i> in the soil, and to lose their use, may
+be justly compared with the <i>miser</i>, who buries his
+gold and silver in the ground for the satisfaction of
+knowing that he owns it. It is an old and a true
+saying that "a nimble sixpence is better than a slow
+shilling."</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">IMPROVED SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are the ingredients of the <i>improved</i> super-phosphate of
+lime?</p></div>
+
+<p>To show the manner in which super-phosphate
+of lime is perfected, and rendered the best manure
+for general uses, which has yet been made, containing
+large quantities of phosphoric acid and a good
+supply of ammonia,&mdash;hereby covering the two leading
+deficiencies in a majority of soils, it may be well
+to explain the composition of the <i>improved super-phosphate
+of lime</i> invented by Prof. Mapes.</p>
+
+<p>This manure consists of the following ingredients
+in the proportions named:&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="">
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">100</td>
+<td>lbs.</td>
+<td>bone-black (phosphate of lime and carbon).</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">56</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>sulphuric acid.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">36</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>guano.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign">20</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td>sulphate of ammonia.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Explain the uses of these different constituents.</p>
+
+<p>What is nitrogenized phosphate?</p></div>
+
+<p>The sulphuric acid has the before-mentioned
+effect on the bone-black, and <i>fixes</i> the ammonia of
+the guano by changing it to a sulphate. The twenty
+pounds of sulphate of ammonia added increase the
+amount, so as to furnish nitrogen to plants in sufficient
+quantities to give them energy, and induce
+them to take up the super-phosphate of lime in the
+manure more readily than would be done, were there
+not a sufficient supply of ammonia in the soil.</p>
+
+<p>The addition of the guano, which contains all of
+the elements of fertility, and many of them in considerable
+quantities, renders the manure of a more
+general character, and enables it to produce very
+large crops of almost any kind, while it assists in
+fortifying the soil in what is usually its weakest
+point&mdash;phosphoric acid.</p>
+
+<p>Prof. Mapes has more recently invented a new
+fertilizer called nitrogenized super-phosphate of lime,
+composed of the improved super-phosphate of lime
+and blood, dried and ground before mixture, in equal
+proportions. This manure, from its highly nitrogenous
+character, theoretically surpasses all others,
+and probably will be found in practice to have great
+value; its cost will be rather greater than guano.</p>
+
+<p>We understand its manufacture will shortly be
+commenced by a company now forming for that
+purpose.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What should be learned before purchasing amendments for the
+soil?</p>
+
+<p>What do you know of silica?</p></div>
+
+<p>Many farmers will find it expedient to purchase
+bones, or bone dust, and manufacture their own
+super-phosphate of lime; others will prefer to purchase
+the prepared manure. In doing so, it should
+be obtained of men of known respectability, as manures
+are easily adulterated with worthless matters;
+and, as their price is so high, that such deception
+may occasion great loss.</p>
+
+<p>We would not recommend the application of any
+artificial manure, without first obtaining an analysis
+of the soil, and knowing <i>to a certainty</i> that the manure
+is needed; still, when no analysis has been procured,
+it may be profitable to apply such manures
+as most generally produce good results&mdash;such as
+stable manure, night soil, the improved super-phosphate
+of lime; or, if this cannot be procured,
+guano.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">NEUTRALS.</h3>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SILICA.</h3>
+
+<p><i>Silica</i> (or sand) always exists in the soil in sufficient
+quantities for the supply of food for plants; but,
+as has been often stated in the preceding pages, not
+always in the proper condition. This subject has
+been so often explained to the student of this book,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>
+that it is only necessary to repeat here, that when the
+weakness of the straw or stalk of plants grown on
+any soil indicates an inability in that soil to supply
+the silicates required for strength, not more sand
+should be added, but <i>alkalies</i>, to combine with the
+sand already contained in it, and make <i>soluble silicates</i>
+which are available to roots.</p>
+
+<p>Sand is often necessary to stiff clays, as a <i>mechanical</i>
+manure, to loosen their texture and render
+them easier of cultivation, and more favorable to the
+distribution of roots, and to the circulation of air
+and water.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">CHLORINE.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may chlorine be applied?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Chlorine</i>, a necessary constituent of plants, and
+often deficient in the soil (as indicated by analysis),
+may be applied in the form of salt (chloride of
+sodium), or chloride of lime. The former may be
+dissolved in the water used to slake lime, and the
+latter may, with much advantage, be sprinkled around
+stables and other places where fertilizing gases are
+escaping, and, after being saturated with ammonia,
+applied to the soil, thus serving a double purpose.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">OXIDE OF IRON.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may the protoxide of iron be changed to peroxide?</p></div>
+
+<p>Nearly all soils contain sufficient quantities of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>
+<i>oxide of iron</i>, or iron rust, so that this substance can
+hardly be required as a manure.</p>
+
+<p>Some soils, however, contain the <i>prot</i>oxide of
+iron in such quantities as to be injurious to plants,&mdash;see
+page <a href="#Page_86">86</a>. When this is the case, it is necessary
+to plow the soil thoroughly, and use such other
+mechanical means as shall render it open to the admission
+of air. The <i>prot</i>oxide of iron will then take
+up more oxygen, and become the <i>per</i>oxide&mdash;which
+is not only inoffensive, but is absolutely necessary to
+fertility.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">OXIDE OF MANGANESE.</h3>
+
+<p>This can hardly be called an essential constituent
+of plants, and is never taken into consideration in
+manuring lands.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">VARIOUS OTHER MINERAL MANURES.</h3>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">LEACHED ASHES.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why are leached ashes inferior to those that have not been
+leached?</p>
+
+<p>On what do the benefits of leached ashes depend?</p>
+
+<p>Can these ingredients be more cheaply obtained in another
+form?</p>
+
+<p>Why do unleached ashes, applied in the spring, sometimes cause
+grain to lodge?</p></div>
+
+<p>Among the mineral manures which have not yet
+been mentioned&mdash;not coming strictly under any of
+the preceding heads, is the one known as <i>leached
+ashes</i>.</p>
+
+<p>These are not without their benefits, though
+worth much less than unleached ashes, which, be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>sides
+the constituents of those which have been
+leached, contain much potash, soda, etc.</p>
+
+<p>Farmers have generally overrated the value of
+leached ashes, because they contain small quantities
+of available phosphate of lime, and soluble silicates,
+in which most old soils are deficient. While
+we witness the good results ensuing from their application,
+we should not forget that the fertilizing
+ingredients of <i>thirty bushels</i> of these ashes may be
+bought in a more convenient form for <i>ten</i> or <i>fifteen
+cents</i>, or for less than the cost of spreading the ashes
+on the soil. In many parts of Long Island farmers
+pay as much as eight or ten cents per bushel for this
+manure, and thousands of loads of leached ashes are
+taken to this locality from the river counties of New
+York, and even from the State of Maine, and are sold
+for many times their value, producing an effect which
+could be as well and much more cheaply obtained by
+the use of small quantities of super-phosphate of lime
+and potash.</p>
+
+<p>These ashes often contain a little charcoal (resulting
+from the imperfect combustion of the wood),
+which acts as an absorbent of ammonia.</p>
+
+<p>It is sometimes observed that <i>unleached</i> ashes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>
+when applied in the spring, cause grain to lodge.
+When this is the case, as it seldom is, it may be inferred
+that the potash which they contain causes so
+rapid a growth, that the soil is not able to supply
+silicates as fast as they are required by the plants,
+but after the first year, the potash will have united
+with the silica in the soil, and overcome the difficulty.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">OLD MORTAR.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are the most fertilizing ingredients of old mortar?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Old mortar</i> is a valuable manure, because it contains
+nitrate of potash and other compounds of nitric
+acid with alkalies.</p>
+
+<p>These are slowly formed in the mortar by the
+changing of the nitrogen of the hair (in the mortar)
+into nitric acid, and the union of this with the small
+quantities of <i>potash</i>, or with the <i>lime</i> of the plaster.
+Nitrogen, presented in other forms, as ammonia, for
+instance, may be transformed into nitric acid, by
+uniting with the oxygen of the air, and this nitric
+acid combines immediately with the alkalies of the
+mortar.<a name="FNanchor_AI_35" id="FNanchor_AI_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_AI_35" class="fnanchor">[AI]</a></p>
+
+<p>The lime contained in the mortar may be useful
+in the soil for the many purposes accomplished by
+other lime.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">GAS HOUSE LIME.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may gas-house lime be prepared for use?</p>
+
+<p>Why should it not be used fresh, from the gas house?</p>
+
+<p>On what do its fertilizing properties depend?</p>
+
+<p>What use may be made of its offensive odor?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>The refuse lime of gas works</i>, where it can be
+cheaply obtained, may be advantageously used as a
+manure. It consists, chiefly, of various compounds
+of sulphur and lime. It should be composted with
+earth or refuse matter, so as to expose it to the action
+of air. It should never be used fresh from
+the gas house. In a few months the sulphur will
+have united with the oxygen of the air, and become
+sulphuric acid, which unites with the lime and makes
+sulphate of lime (plaster), which form it must assume,
+before it is of much value. Having been
+used to purify gas made from coal, it contains a
+small quantity of ammonia, which adds to its value.
+It is considered a profitable manure in England, at
+the price there paid for it (forty cents a cartload),
+and, if of good quality, it may be worth double that
+sum, especially for soils deficient in plaster, or for
+such crops as are much benefited by plaster. Its
+price must, of course, be regulated somewhat by the
+price of lime, which constitutes a large proportion
+of its fertilizing parts. The offensive odor of this
+compound renders it a good protection against many
+insects.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The refuse <i>liquor of gas works</i> contains enough
+ammonia to make it a valuable manure.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">SOAPERS' LEY AND BLEACHERS' LEY.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What use may be made of the refuse ley of soap-makers and
+bleachers?</p>
+
+<p>What peculiar qualities does soapers' ley possess?</p></div>
+
+<p>The refuse ley of soap factories and bleaching establishments
+contains greater or less quantities of soluble
+silicates and alkalies (especially soda and potash),
+and is a good addition to the tank of the compost
+heap, or it may be used directly as a liquid application
+to the soil. The soapers' ley, especially, will be
+found a good manure for lands on which grain lodges.</p>
+
+<p>Much of the benefit of this manure arises from
+the soluble silicates it contains, while its nitrogenous
+matter,<a name="FNanchor_AJ_36" id="FNanchor_AJ_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_AJ_36" class="fnanchor">[AJ]</a> obtained from those parts of the fatty matters
+which cannot be converted into soap, and consequently
+remains in this solution, forms a valuable
+addition. Heaps of soil saturated with this liquid
+in autumn, and subjected to the freezings of winter,
+form an admirable manure for spring use. Mr.
+Crane, near Newark (N. J.), has long used a mixture
+of spent ley and stable manure, applied in the
+fall to trenches plowed in the soil, and has been most
+successful in obtaining large crops.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">IRRIGATION.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>On what does the benefit arising from irrigation chiefly depend?</p>
+
+<p>What kind of water is best for irrigation?</p>
+
+<p>How do under-drains increase the benefits of irrigation?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Irrigation</i> does not come strictly under the head
+of inorganic manures, as it often supplies ammonia
+to the soil. Its chief value, however, in most cases,
+must depend on the amount of mineral matter which
+it furnishes.</p>
+
+<p>The word "irrigation" means simply <i>watering</i>.
+In many districts water is in various ways made to
+overflow the land, and is removed when necessary for
+the purposes of cultivation. All river and spring
+water contains some impurities, many of which are
+beneficial to vegetation. These are derived from the
+earth over, or through which, the water has passed,
+and ammonia absorbed from the atmosphere. When
+water is made to cover the earth, especially if its rapid
+motion be arrested, much of this fertilizing matter
+settles, and is deposited on the soil. The water
+which sinks into the soil carries its impurities to be
+retained for the uses of plants. When, by the aid
+of under-drains, or in open soils, the water passes
+<i>through</i> the soil, its impurities are arrested, and become
+available in vegetable growth. It is, of course,
+impossible to say exactly what kind of mineral matter
+is supplied by water, as that depends on the kind
+of rock or soil from which the impurities are derived;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>
+but, whatever it may be, it is generally soluble and
+ready for immediate use by plants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the difference between water which only runs over the
+surface of the earth, and that which runs out of the earth?</p>
+
+<p>Why should strong currents of water not be allowed to traverse
+the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>Water which has run over the surface of the
+earth contains both ammonia and mineral matter,
+while that which has arisen out of the earth, contains
+usually only mineral matter. The direct use
+of the water of irrigation as a solvent for the mineral
+ingredients of the soil, is one of its main benefits.</p>
+
+<p>To describe the many modes of irrigation would
+be too long a task for our limited space. It may be
+applied in any way in which it is possible to cover
+the land with water, at stated times. Care is necessary,
+however, that it do not wash more fertilizing
+matter from the soil than it deposits on it, as would
+often be the case, if a strong current of water were
+run over it. Brooks may be dammed up, and thus
+made to cover a large quantity of land. In such
+a case the rapid current would be destroyed, and the
+fertilizing matter would settle; but, if the course
+of the brook were turned, so that it would run in a
+current over any part of the soil, it might carry away
+more than it deposited, and thus prove injurious.
+Small streams turned on to land, from the washing
+of roads, or from elevated springs, are good means
+of irrigation, and produce increased fertility, except<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>
+where the soil is of such a character as to prevent
+the water from passing away, in which case it should
+be under-drained.</p>
+
+<p>Irrigation was one of the oldest means of fertility
+ever used by man, and still continues in great
+favor wherever its effects have been witnessed.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">MIXING SOILS.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How are soils improved by mixing?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>mixing of soils</i> is often all that is necessary
+to render them fertile, and to improve their <i>mechanical</i>
+condition. For instance, soils deficient in potash,
+or any other constituent, may have that deficiency
+supplied, by mixing with them soil containing
+this constituent in excess.</p>
+
+<p>It is very frequently the case, that such means of
+improvement are easily availed of. While these
+chemical effects are being produced, there may be
+an equal improvement in the mechanical character
+of the soil. Thus stiff clay soils are rendered lighter,
+and more easily workable, by an admixture of
+sand, while light blowy sands are compacted, and
+made more retentive of manure, by a dressing of
+clay or of muck.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why may the same effect sometimes be produced by deep
+plowing?</p>
+
+<p>What is absolutely necessary to economical manuring?</p></div>
+
+<p>Of course, this cannot be depended on as a sure
+means of chemical improvement, unless the soils are
+previously analyzed, so as to know their require<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>ments;
+but, in a majority of cases, the soil will be
+benefited, by mixing with it soil of a different character.
+It is not always necessary to go to other
+locations to procure the soil to be applied, as the
+subsoil is often very different from the surface soil,
+and simple deep plowing will suffice, in such cases,
+to produce the required admixture, by bringing up the
+earth from below to mingle it with that of a different
+character at the surface.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>In the foregoing remarks on the subject of mineral
+manures, the writer has endeavored to point out
+such a course as would produce the "greatest good
+to the greatest number," and, consequently, has
+neglected much which might discourage the farmer
+with the idea, that the whole system of scientific
+agriculture is too expensive for his adoption. Still,
+while he has confined his remarks to the more simple
+improvements on the present system of management,
+he would say, briefly, that <i>no manuring can be
+strictly economical that is not based on an analysis
+of the soil, and a knowledge of the best means of
+overcoming the deficiencies indicated, together with the
+most scrupulous care of every ounce of evaporating
+or soluble manure</i>.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AG_33" id="Footnote_AG_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AG_33"><span class="label">[AG]</span></a> Marl is earth containing lime, but its use is not to be recommended
+in this country, except where it can be obtained at little
+cost, as the expenses of carting the <i>earth</i> would often be more than
+the value of the <i>lime</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AH_34" id="Footnote_AH_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AH_34"><span class="label">[AH]</span></a> The straw producing the grain and the turnip and potato
+tops contain more lime than the grain and roots.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AI_35" id="Footnote_AI_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AI_35"><span class="label">[AI]</span></a> See Working Farmer, vol. 2, p. 278.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AJ_36" id="Footnote_AJ_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AJ_36"><span class="label">[AJ]</span></a> Glycerine, etc.</p></div>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER X.</h2>
+
+<h3>ATMOSPHERIC FERTILIZERS.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Are the gases in the atmosphere manures?</p>
+
+<p>What would be the result if they were not so?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is not common to look on the gases in the atmosphere
+in the light of manures, but they are decidedly
+so. Indeed, they are almost the only organic manure
+ever received by the uncultivated parts of the
+earth, as well as a large portion of that which is occupied
+in the production of food for man.</p>
+
+<p>If these gases were not manures; if there were
+no means by which they could be used by plants, the
+fertility of the soil would long since have ceased, and
+the earth would now be in an unfertile condition.
+That this must be true, will be proved by a few moments'
+reflection on the facts stated in the first part
+of this book. The fertilizing gases in the atmosphere
+being composed of the constituents of decayed
+plants and animals, it is as necessary that they should
+be again returned to the form of organized matter,
+as it is that constituents taken from the <i>soil</i> should
+not be put out of existence.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">AMMONIA.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How is ammonia used by plants?</p>
+
+<p>How may it be carried to the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How may the value of organic manures be estimated?</p>
+
+<p>What effects has ammonia beside supplying food to plants?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>ammonia</i> in the atmosphere probably cannot
+be appropriated by the leaves of plants, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>
+must, therefore, enter the soil to be assimilated by
+roots. It reaches the soil in two ways. It is either
+arrested from the air circulating through the soil, or
+it is absorbed by rains in the atmosphere, and thus
+carried to the earth, where it is retained by clay
+and carbon, for the uses of plants. In the soil,
+ammonia is the most important of all organic
+manures. In fact, the value of organic manure
+may be estimated, either by the amount of ammonia
+which it will yield, or by its power of absorbing
+ammonia from other sources.</p>
+
+<p>The most important action of ammonia in the
+soil is the supply of <i>nitrogen</i> to plants; but it has
+other offices which are of consequence. It assists in
+some of the chemical changes necessary to prepare
+the matters in the soil for assimilation. Some argue
+that ammonia <i>stimulates</i> the roots of plants, and
+causes them to take up increased quantities of inorganic
+matter. The discussion of this question would
+be out of place here, and we will simply say, that it
+gives them such vigor that they require increased
+amounts of ashy matter, and enables them to take
+this from the soil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>To how great a degree can the farmer control atmospheric fertilizers?</p>
+
+<p>What should be the condition of the soil?</p>
+
+<p>What substances are good absorbents in the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How may sandy soils be made retentive of ammonia?</p></div>
+
+<p>Although, in the course of nature, the atmospheric
+fertilizers are plentifully supplied to the soil,
+without the immediate attention of the farmer, it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>
+not beyond his power to manage them in such a
+manner as to arrest a greater quantity. The precautions
+necessary have been repeatedly given in the
+preceding pages, but it may be well to name them
+again in this chapter.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of the soil is the main point to be
+considered. It must be such as to absorb and retain
+ammonia&mdash;to allow water to pass <i>through</i> it, and be
+discharged <i>below</i> the point to which the roots of
+crops are searching for food&mdash;and to admit of a free
+circulation of air.</p>
+
+<p>The power of absorbing and retaining ammonia
+is not possessed by sand, but it is a prominent property
+of clay, charcoal, and some other matters
+named as absorbents. Hence, if the soil consists of
+nearly pure sand, it will not make use of the ammonia
+brought to it from the atmosphere, but will allow
+it to evaporate immediately after a shower. Soils in
+this condition require additions of absorbent matters,
+to enable them to use the ammonia received from
+the atmosphere. Soils already containing a sufficient
+amount of clay or charcoal, are thus far prepared to
+receive benefit from this source.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why does under-draining increase the absorptive power of the
+soil?</p>
+
+<p>How do plants obtain their carbonic acid?</p>
+
+<p>How does carbonic acid affect caustic lime in the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>The next point is to cause the water of rains to
+pass <i>through</i> the soil. If it lies on the surface, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>
+runs off without entering the soil, or even if it only
+enters to a slight depth, and comes in contact with
+but a small quantity of the absorbents, it is not probable
+that the fertilizing matters which it contains
+will all be abstracted. Some of them will undoubtedly
+return to the atmosphere on the evaporation of
+the water; but, if the soil contains a sufficient
+supply of absorbents, and will allow all rain water to
+pass through it, the fertilizing gases will all be retained.
+They will be filtered (or raked) out of the
+water.</p>
+
+<p>This subject will be more fully treated in <a href="#SECTION_FOURTH">Section
+IV.</a> in connection with under-draining.</p>
+
+<p>Besides the properties just described, the soil
+must possess the power of admitting a free circulation
+of air. To effect this, it is necessary that the soil
+should be well pulverized to a great depth. If, in
+addition to this, the soil be such as to admit water
+to pass through, it will allow that circulation of air
+necessary to the greatest supply of ammonia.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">CARBONIC ACID.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What power does it give to water?</p>
+
+<p>What condition of the soil is necessary for the reception of the
+largest quantity of carbonic acid?</p>
+
+<p>May oxygen be considered a manure?</p>
+
+<p>What is the effect of the oxidation of the constituents of the
+soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>Carbonic acid is received from the atmosphere,
+both by the leaves and roots of plants.</p>
+
+<p>If there is caustic lime in the soil, it unites with
+it, and makes it milder and finer. It is absorbed by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>
+the water in the soil, and gives it the power of dissolving
+many more substances than it would do without
+the carbonic acid. This use is one of very great importance,
+as it is equivalent to making the minerals
+themselves more soluble. Water dissolves carbonate
+of lime, etc., exactly in proportion to the
+amount of carbonic acid which it contains. We
+should, therefore, strive to have as much carbonic
+acid as possible in the water in the soil; and one
+way, in which to effect this, is to admit to the soil
+the largest possible quantity of atmospheric air which
+contains this gas.</p>
+
+<p>The condition of soil necessary for this, is the
+same as is required for the deposit of ammonia by
+the same circulation of air.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">OXYGEN.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does it affect the protoxide of iron?</p>
+
+<p>How does it neutralize the acids in the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How does it affect its organic parts?</p>
+
+<p>How does it form nitric acid?</p>
+
+<p>How may it affect excrementitious matter of plants?</p>
+
+<p>What effect has it on the mechanical condition of the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Oxygen</i>, though not taken up by plants in its pure
+form, may justly be classed among manures, if we
+consider its effects both chemical and mechanical in
+the soil.</p>
+
+<p>1. By oxidizing or <i>rusting</i> some of the constituents
+of the soil, it prepares them for the uses of
+plants.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>2. It unites with the <i>prot</i>oxide of iron, and
+changes it to the <i>per</i>oxide.</p>
+
+<p>3. If there are <i>acids</i> in the soil, which make it
+sour and unfertile, it may be opened to the circulation
+of the air, and the oxygen will prepare some of
+the mineral matters contained in the soil to unite
+with the acids and neutralize them.</p>
+
+<p>4. Oxygen combines with the carbon of organic
+matters in the soil, and causes them to decay. The
+combination produces carbonic acid.</p>
+
+<p>5. It combines with the nitrogen of decaying substances
+and forms <i>nitric acid</i>, which is serviceable as
+food for plants.</p>
+
+<p>6. It undoubtedly affects in some way the matter
+which is thrown out from the roots of plants. This,
+if allowed to accumulate, and remain unchanged, is
+often very injurious to plants; but, probably, the
+oxygen and carbonic acid of the air in the soil change
+it to a form to be inoffensive, or even make it again
+useful to the plant.</p>
+
+<p>7. It may also improve the <i>mechanical</i> condition
+of the soil, as it causes its particles to crumble, thus
+making it finer; and it roughens the surfaces of particles,
+making them less easy to move among each
+other.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>These properties of oxygen claim for it a high
+place among the atmospheric fertilizers.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">WATER.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why may water be considered an atmospheric manure?</p>
+
+<p>What classes of action have manures?</p>
+
+<p>What are chemical manures? Mechanical?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Water</i> may be considered an atmospheric manure,
+as its chief supply to vegetation is received
+from the air in the form of rain or dew. Its many
+effects are already too well known to need farther
+comment.</p>
+
+<p>The means of supplying water to the soil by the
+deposit of <i>dew</i> will be fully explained in <a href="#SECTION_FOURTH">Section IV.</a></p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<h3>RECAPITULATION.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Manures have two distinct classes of action in the
+soil, namely, <i>chemical</i> and <i>mechanical</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Chemical</i> manures are those which enter into the
+construction of plants, or produce such chemical
+effects on matters in the soil as shall prepare them
+for use.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mechanical</i> manures are those which improve<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>
+the mechanical condition of the soil, such as loosening
+stiff clays, compacting light sands, pulverizing
+large particles, etc.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are the three kinds of manures?</p>
+
+<p>What are organic manures, and what are their uses? Mineral?
+Atmospheric?</p></div>
+
+<p>Manures are of three distinct kinds, namely, <i>Organic</i>,
+<i>mineral</i>, and <i>atmospheric</i>.</p>
+
+<p><i>Organic</i> manures comprise all vegetable and animal
+matters (except ashes) which are used to fertilize
+the soil. Vegetable manures supply carbonic
+acid, and inorganic matter to plants. Animal manures
+supply the same substances and ammonia.</p>
+
+<p><i>Mineral</i> manures comprise ashes, salt, phosphate
+of lime, plaster, etc. They supply plants with inorganic
+matter. Their usefulness depends on their solubility.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the organic and mineral manures have
+the power of absorbing ammonia arising from the decomposition
+of animal manures, as well as that which
+is brought to the soil by rains&mdash;these are called absorbents.</p>
+
+<p><i>Atmospheric</i> manures consist of ammonia, carbonic
+acid, oxygen and water. Their greatest usefulness
+requires the soil to allow the water of rains to
+pass <i>through</i> it, to admit of a free circulation of air
+among its particles, and to contain a sufficient
+amount of absorbent matter to arrest and retain all
+ammonia and carbonic acid presented to it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What rule should regulate the application of manures?</p>
+
+<p>How must organic manures be managed? Atmospheric?</p></div>
+
+<p>Manures should never be applied to the soil without
+regard to its requirements.</p>
+
+<p>Ammonia and carbon are almost always useful,
+but mineral manures become mere <i>dirt</i> when applied
+to soils not deficient of them.</p>
+
+<p>The only true guide to the exact requirements of
+the soil is <i>chemical analysis</i>; and this must always
+be obtained before farming can be carried on with true
+economy.</p>
+
+<p>Organic manures must be protected against the
+escape of their ammonia and the leaching out of their
+soluble parts. One cord of stable manure properly
+preserved, is worth ten cords which have lost all of
+their ammonia by evaporation, and their soluble parts
+by leaching&mdash;as is the case with much of the manure
+kept exposed in open barn-yards.</p>
+
+<p>Atmospheric manures cost nothing, and are of
+great value when properly employed. In consequence
+of this, the soil which is enabled to make the
+largest appropriation of the atmospheric fertilizers,
+is worth many times as much as that which allows
+them to escape.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="gap4"><a name="SECTION_FOURTH" id="SECTION_FOURTH"></a>SECTION FOURTH.</h3>
+
+<h2>MECHANICAL CULTIVATION.</h2>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MECHANICAL CHARACTER OF
+SOILS.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the first office of the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How does it hold water for the uses of the plant?</p>
+
+<p>How does it obtain a part of its moisture?</p></div>
+
+<p>The mechanical character of the soil is well understood
+from preceding remarks, and the learner
+knows that there are many offices to be performed
+by the soil aside from the feeding of plants.</p>
+
+<p>1. It admits the roots of plants, and holds them
+in their position.</p>
+
+<p>2. By a sponge-like action, it holds water for
+the uses of the plant.</p>
+
+<p>3. It absorbs moisture from the atmosphere to
+supply the demands of plants.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may it obtain heat?</p>
+
+<p>What is the use of the air circulating among its particles?</p>
+
+<p>Could most soils be brought to the highest state of fertility?</p>
+
+<p>What is the first thing to be done?</p>
+
+<p>Should its color be darkened?</p></div>
+
+<p>4. It absorbs heat from the sun's rays to assist in
+the process of growth.</p>
+
+<p>5. It admits air to circulate among roots, and
+supply them with a part of their food, while the
+oxygen of that air renders available the minerals of
+the soil; and its carbonic acid, being absorbed by the
+water in the soil, gives it the power of dissolving, and
+carrying into roots more inorganic matter than would
+be contained in purer water.</p>
+
+<p>6. It allows the excrementitious matter thrown
+out by roots to be carried out of their reach.</p>
+
+<p>All of these actions the soil must be capable of
+performing, before it can be in its highest state of
+fertility. There are comparatively few soils now in
+this condition, but there are also few which could not
+be profitably rendered so, by a judicious application
+of the modes of cultivation to be described in the following
+chapters.</p>
+
+<p>The three great objects to be accomplished are:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1. To adopt such a system of drainage as will
+cause all of the water of rains to pass <i>through</i> the
+soil, instead of evaporating from the surface.</p>
+
+<p>2. To pulverize the soil to a considerable depth.</p>
+
+<p>3. To darken its color, and render it capable of
+absorbing atmospheric fertilizers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Name some of the means used to secure these effects.</p>
+
+<p>Why are under-drains superior to open drains?</p></div>
+
+<p>The means used to secure these effects are <i>under-draining,
+sub-soil and surface-plowing, digging, applying
+muck, etc.</i></p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>UNDER-DRAINING.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The advantages of <i>under</i>-drains over <i>open</i> drains are
+very great.</p>
+
+<p>When open drains are used, much water passes
+into them immediately from the surface, and carries
+with it fertilizing parts of the soil, while their beds
+are often compacted by the running water and the
+heat of the sun, so that they become water tight,
+and do not admit water from the lower parts of the
+soil.</p>
+
+<p>The sides of these drains are often covered with
+weeds, which spread their seeds throughout the whole
+field. Open drains are not only a great obstruction
+to the proper cultivation of the land, but they cause
+much waste of room, as we can rarely plow nearer
+than within six or eight feet of them.</p>
+
+<p>There are none of these objections to the use of
+under-drains, as these are completely covered, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>
+do not at all interfere with the cultivation of the
+surface.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>With what materials may under-drains be constructed?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the tile.</p></div>
+
+<p>Under drains may be made with brush, stones,
+or tiles. Brush is a very poor material, and its use is
+hardly to be recommended. Small stones are better,
+and if these be placed in the bottoms of the trenches,
+to a depth of eight or ten inches, and covered with
+sods turned upside down, having the earth packed
+well down on to them, they make very good drains.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">TILE DRAINING.</h3>
+
+<p>The best under-drains are those made with tiles,
+or burnt clay pipes. The first form of these used
+was that called the <i>horse-shoe tile</i>, which was in
+two distinct pieces; this was superseded by a round
+pipe, and we have now what is called the <i>sole tile</i>,
+which is much better than either of the others.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 603px;">
+<img src="images/fig004.png" width="603" height="122" alt="Fig. 4-Sole Tile." title="" />
+<span class="caption">Fig. 4&mdash;Sole Tile.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is the sole tile superior to those of previous construction?</p>
+
+<p>How are these tiles laid?</p>
+
+<p>How may the trenches be dug?</p></div>
+
+<p>This tile is made (like the horse-shoe and pipe
+tile) of common brick clay, and is burned the same
+as bricks. It is about one half or three quarters of
+an inch thick, and is so porous that water passes di<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>rectly
+through it. It has a flat bottom on which
+to stand, and this enables it to retain its position,
+while making the drain, better than would
+be done by the round pipe. The orifice through
+which the water passes is egg-shaped, having its
+smallest curve at the bottom. This shape is the one
+most easily kept clear, as any particles of dirt which
+get into the drain must fall immediately to the point
+where even the smallest stream of water runs, and
+are thus removed. An orifice of about two inches is
+sufficient for the smaller drains, while the main
+drains require larger tiles.</p>
+
+<p>These tiles are laid, so that their ends will touch
+each other, on the bottoms of the trenches, and are
+kept in position by having the earth tightly packed
+around them. Care must be taken that no space is
+left between the ends of the tiles, as dirt would be
+liable to get in and choke the drain. It is advisable
+to place a sod&mdash;grass side down&mdash;over each joint,
+before filling the trench, as this more effectually protects
+them against the entrance of dirt. There is
+no danger of keeping the water out by this operation,
+as it will readily pass through any part of the tiles.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 163px;">
+<span class="caption">Fig. 5.</span>
+<img src="images/fig005.png" width="163" height="386" alt="Upton tool. Spade and hoe." title="" />
+<p class="caption" style="text-align:left;float:left;">Upton tool.</p>
+<p class="caption ralign">Spade and hoe.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p>In <i>digging the trenches</i> it is not necessary (except
+in very stony ground) to dig out a place wide enough
+for a man to stand in, as there are tools made expressly
+for the purpose, by which a trench may be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
+dug six or seven inches wide, and to any required
+depth. One set of these implements consists of a
+long narrow spade and a hoe to correspond, such as
+are represented in the accompanying figure.</p>
+
+<p>With these tools, and a long
+light crowbar, for hard soils,
+trenches may be dug much more
+cheaply than with the common
+spade and pickaxe. Where there
+are large boulders in the soil, these
+draining tools may dig under them
+so that they will not have to be
+removed.</p>
+
+<p style="clear:both;">When the trenches are dug to
+a sufficient depth, the bottoms
+must be made perfectly smooth,
+with the required descent (from
+six inches to a few feet in one
+hundred feet). Then the tiles
+may be laid in, so that their ends
+will correspond, be packed down,
+and the trenches filled up. Such a drain, if properly
+constructed, may last for ages. Unlike the stone
+drain, it is not liable to be frequented by rats, nor
+choked up by the soil working into it.</p>
+
+<p>The position of the tile may be best represented
+by a figure, also the mode of constructing stone
+drains.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why are small stones better than large stones in the construction
+of drains?</p>
+
+<p>On what must the depth of under-drains depend?</p></div>
+
+<p>It will be seen that the tile
+drain is made with much less
+labor than the stone drain, as it
+requires less digging, while the
+breaking up of the stone for
+the stone drain will be nearly,
+or quite as expensive as the
+tiles. Drains made with large
+stones are not nearly so good as
+with small ones, because they are more liable to be
+choked up by animals working in them.<a name="FNanchor_AK_37" id="FNanchor_AK_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_AK_37" class="fnanchor">[AK]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<span class="caption">Fig. 6.</span>
+<img src="images/fig006.png" width="442" height="358" alt="a-Tile drain trench. b-Stone drain trench. c-Sod laid on the stone."
+title="" />
+<span class="caption">
+<i>a</i>&mdash;Tile drain trench.<br />
+<i>b</i>&mdash;Stone drain trench.<br />
+<i>c</i>&mdash;Sod laid on the stone.
+</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Describe the principle which regulates these relative depths
+and distances. (Blackboard.)</p>
+
+<p>Which is usually the cheaper plan of constructing drains?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>depth</i> of the drains must depend on the distances
+at which they are placed. If but <i>twenty</i> feet
+apart, they need be but <i>three</i> feet deep; while, if
+they are <i>eighty</i> feet apart, they must be <i>five</i> feet
+deep, to produce the same effect. The reason for
+this is, that the water in the drained soil is not level,
+but is higher midway between the drains, than at
+any other point. It is necessary that this highest
+point should be sufficiently far from the surface not
+to interfere with the roots of plants, consequently,
+as the water line between two drains is <i>curved</i>, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>
+most distant drains must be the deepest. This will
+be understood by referring to the following diagram.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 655px;">
+<span class="caption">Fig. 7.</span>
+<img src="images/fig007.png" width="655" height="188" alt="aa-5 feet drains, 80 ft. apart. bb-3 feet drains, 20 ft. apart." title="" />
+<span class="caption">aa&mdash;5 feet drains, 80 ft. apart. bb&mdash;3 feet drains, 20 ft. apart.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The curved line represents the position of the
+water.</p>
+
+<p>In most soils it will be easier to dig one trench
+five feet deep, than four trenches three feet deep,
+and the deep trenches will be equally beneficial; but
+where the soil is very hard below a depth of three
+feet, the shallow trenches will be the cheapest, and
+in such soils they will often be better, as the hard
+mass might not allow the water to pass down to enter
+the deeper drains.</p>
+
+<p>By following out these instructions, land may be
+cheaply, thoroughly, and permanently drained.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AK_37" id="Footnote_AK_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AK_37"><span class="label">[AK]</span></a> It is probable that a composition of hydraulic cement and
+some soluble material will be invented, by which a continuous
+pipe may be laid in the bottoms of trenches, becoming porous as
+the soluble material is removed by water.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>ADVANTAGES OF UNDER-DRAINING.</h3>
+
+
+<p>The advantages of under-draining are many and
+important.</p>
+
+<p>1. It entirely prevents drought.</p>
+
+<p>2. It furnishes an increased supply of atmospheric
+fertilizers.</p>
+
+<p>3. It warms the lower portions of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>4. It hastens the decomposition of roots and
+other organic matter.</p>
+
+<p>5. It accelerates the disintegration of the mineral
+matters in the soil.</p>
+
+<p>6. It causes a more even distribution of nutritious
+matters among those parts of soil traversed by
+roots.</p>
+
+<p>7. It improves the mechanical texture of the
+soil.</p>
+
+<p>8. It causes the poisonous excrementitious matter
+of plants to be carried out of the reach of their
+roots.</p>
+
+<p>9. It prevents grasses from running out.</p>
+
+<p>10. It enables us to deepen the surface soil.</p>
+
+<p>By removing excess of water&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>11. It renders soils earlier in the spring.</p>
+
+<p>12. It prevents the throwing out of grain in
+winter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>13. It allows us to work sooner after rains.</p>
+
+<p>14. It keeps off the effects of cold weather longer
+in the fall.</p>
+
+<p>15. It prevents the formation of <i>acetic</i> and other
+organic acids, which induce the growth of sorrel and
+similar weeds.</p>
+
+<p>16. It hastens the decay of vegetable matter,
+and the finer comminution of the earthy parts of
+the soil.</p>
+
+<p>17. It prevents, in a great measure, the evaporation
+of water, and the consequent abstraction of
+heat from the soil.</p>
+
+<p>18. It admits fresh quantities of water from
+rains, etc., which are always more or less imbued
+with the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere, to be
+deposited among the absorbent parts of soil, and
+given up to the necessities of plants.</p>
+
+<p>19. It prevents the formation of so hard a crust
+on the surface of the soil as is customary on heavy
+lands.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does under-draining prevent drought?</p></div>
+
+<p>1. Under-draining <i>prevents drought</i>, because it
+gives a better circulation of air in the soil; (it does so
+by making it more open). There is always the same
+amount of water <i>in</i> and <i>about</i> the surface of the
+earth. In winter, there is more in the soil than in
+summer, while in summer, that which has been dried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>
+out of the soil exists in the atmosphere in the form
+of a <i>vapor</i>. It is held in the vapory form by <i>heat</i>,
+which acts as <i>braces</i> to keep it distended. When
+vapor comes in contact with substances sufficiently
+colder than itself, it gives up its heat&mdash;thus losing
+its braces&mdash;contracts, and becomes liquid water.</p>
+
+<p>This may be observed in hundreds of common
+operations.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is there less water in the soil in summer than in winter,
+and where does it exist?</p>
+
+<p>What holds it in its vapory form?</p>
+
+<p>How is it affected by cold substances?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the deposit of moisture on the outside of a pitcher in
+summer.</p>
+
+<p>What other instances of the same action can be named?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is well known that a cold pitcher in summer
+robs the vapor in the atmosphere of its heat, and
+causes it to be deposited on its own surface. It looks
+as though the pitcher were <i>sweating</i>, but the water
+all comes from the atmosphere, not, of course, through
+the sides of the pitcher.</p>
+
+<p>If we breathe on a knife-blade, it condenses in
+the same manner the moisture of the breath, and
+becomes covered with a film of water.</p>
+
+<p>Stone houses are damp in summer, because the
+inner surfaces of the walls, being cooler than the
+atmosphere, cause its moisture to be deposited in the
+manner described. By leaving a space, however,
+between the walls and the plaster, this moisture is
+prevented from being troublesome.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does this principle affect the soil?</p>
+
+<p>Explain the experiment with the two boxes of soil.</p></div>
+
+<p>Nearly every night in the summer season, the cold<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>
+earth receives moisture from the atmosphere in the
+form of dew.</p>
+
+<p>A cabbage, which at night is very cold, condenses
+water to the amount of a gill or more.</p>
+
+<p>The same operation takes place in the soil. When
+the air is allowed to circulate among its lower and
+<i>cooler</i> particles, they receive moisture from the same
+process of condensation. Therefore, when, by the
+aid of under-drains, the lower soil becomes sufficiently
+open to admit of a circulation of air, the deposit
+of atmospheric moisture will keep the soil supplied
+with water at a point easily accessible to the roots
+of plants.</p>
+
+<p>If we wish to satisfy ourselves that this is <i>practically</i>
+correct, we have only to prepare two boxes of
+finely pulverized soil, one, five or six inches deep,
+and the other fifteen or twenty inches deep, and
+place them in the sun at mid-day in summer. The
+thinner soil will be completely dried, while the deeper
+one, though it may have been perfectly dry at first,
+will soon accumulate a large amount of water on
+those particles which, being lower and more sheltered
+from the sun's heat than the particles of the thin soil,
+are made cooler.</p>
+
+<p>With an open condition of subsoil, then, such as
+may be secured by under-draining, we entirely overcome
+drought.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does under-draining supply to the soil an increased amount
+of atmospheric fertilizers?</p>
+
+<p>How does it warm the lower parts of the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>2. Under-draining <i>furnishes an increased supply
+of atmospheric fertilizers</i>, because it secures a change
+of air in the soil. This change is produced whenever
+the soil becomes filled with water, and then dried;
+when the air above the earth is in rapid motion, and
+when the comparative temperature of the upper and
+lower soils changes. It causes new quantities of the
+ammonia and carbonic acid which it contains to be
+presented to the absorbent parts of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>3. Under-draining <i>warms the lower parts of the
+soil</i>, because the deposit of moisture (1) is necessarily
+accompanied by an abstraction of heat from the atmospheric
+vapor, and because heat is withdrawn
+from the whole amount of air circulating through
+the cooler soil.</p>
+
+<p>When rain falls on the parched surface soil, it
+robs it of a portion of its heat, which is carried down
+to equalize the temperature for the whole depth.
+The heat of the rain-water itself is given up to the
+soil, leaving the water from one to ten degrees cooler,
+when it passes out of the drains, than when received
+by the earth.</p>
+
+<p>There is always a current of air passing from the
+lower to the upper end of a well constructed drain;
+and this air is always cooler in warm weather, when
+it issues from, than when it enters the drain. Its
+lost heat is imparted to the soil.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does it hasten the decomposition of roots and other organic
+matter in the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How does it accelerate the disintegration of its mineral parts?</p>
+
+<p>Why is this disintegration necessary to fertility?</p></div>
+
+<p>This heating of the lower soil renders it more
+favorable to vegetation, partially by expanding the
+spongioles at the end of the roots, thus enabling them
+to absorb larger quantities of nutritious matters.</p>
+
+<p>4. Under-draining <i>hastens the decomposition of
+roots and other organic matters in the soil</i>, by admitting
+increased quantities of air, thus supplying
+<i>oxygen</i>, which is as essential in decay as it is in combustion.
+It also allows the resultant gases of decomposition
+to pass away, leaving the air around the decaying
+substances in a condition to continue the process.</p>
+
+<p>This organic decay, besides its other benefits, produces
+an amount of heat perfectly perceptible to the
+smaller roots of plants, though not so to us.</p>
+
+<p>5. Draining <i>accelerates the disintegration of the
+mineral matters in the soil</i>, by admitting water and
+oxygen to keep up the process. This disintegration is
+necessary to fertility, because the roots of plants can
+feed only on matters dissolved from <i>surfaces</i>; and
+the more finely we pulverize the soil, the more surface
+we expose. For instance, the interior of a stone
+can furnish no food for plants; while, if it were finely
+crushed, it might make a fertile soil.</p>
+
+<p>Any thing, tending to open the soil to exposure,
+facilitates the disintegration of its particles, and
+thereby increases its fertility.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does under-draining equalize the distribution of the fertilizing
+parts of the soil?</p>
+
+<p>Why does this distribution lessen the impoverishment of the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How does under-draining improve the mechanical texture of the
+soil?</p>
+
+<p>How do drains affect the excrementitious matter of plants?</p></div>
+
+<p>6. Draining <i>causes a more even distribution of nutritious
+matters among those parts of soil traversed
+by roots</i>, because it increases the ease with which
+water travels around, descending by its own weight,
+moving sideways by a desire to find its level, or
+carried upward by attraction to supply the evaporation
+at the surface. By this continued motion of
+the water, soluble matter of one part of the soil may
+be carried to some other part; and another constituent
+from this latter position may be carried back to
+the former. Thus the food of vegetables is continually
+circulating around among their roots, ready
+for absorption at any point where it is needed, while
+the more open character of the soil enables roots to
+occupy larger portions, making a more even drain on
+the whole, and preventing the undue impoverishment
+of any part.</p>
+
+<p>7. Under-drains <i>improve the mechanical texture
+of the soil</i>; because, by the decomposition of its parts,
+as previously described (4 and 5), it is rendered
+of a character to be more easily worked; while
+smooth round particles, which have a tendency to
+pack, are roughened by the oxidation of their surfaces,
+and move less easily among each other.</p>
+
+<p>8. Drains <i>cause the excrementitious matter of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span>
+plants to be carried out of the reach of their roots</i>.
+Nearly all plants return to the soil those parts of
+their food, which are not adapted to their necessities,
+and usually in a form that is poisonous to plants of
+the same kind. In an open soil, this matter may
+be carried by rains to a point where roots cannot
+reach it, and where it may undergo such changes as
+will fit it to be again taken up.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why do they prevent grasses from running out?</p></div>
+
+<p>9. By under-draining, <i>grasses are prevented from
+running out</i>, partly by preventing the accumulation
+of the poisonous excrementitious matter, and
+partly because these grasses usually consist of <i>tillering</i>
+plants.</p>
+
+<p>These plants continually reproduce themselves in
+sprouts from the upper parts of their roots. These
+sprouts become independent plants, and continue to
+tiller (thus keeping the land supplied with a full
+growth), until the roots of the <i>stools</i> (or clumps of
+tillers), come in contact with an uncongenial part of
+the soil, when the tillering ceases; the stools become
+extinct on the death of their plants, and the
+grasses run out.</p>
+
+<p>The open and healthy condition of soil produced
+by draining prevents the tillering from being stopped,
+and thus keeps up a full growth of grass until the
+nutriment of the soil is exhausted.</p>
+
+<p>10. Draining <i>enables us to deepen the surface-soil</i>,
+because the admission of air and the decay of roots<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>
+render the condition of the subsoil such that it may
+be brought up and mixed with the surface-soil, without
+injuring <i>its quality</i>.</p>
+
+<p>The second class of advantages of under-draining,
+arising in the removal of the excess of water in the
+soil, are quite as important as those just described.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does the removal of water render soils earlier in spring?</p>
+
+<p>Why does it prevent the throwing out of grain in winter?</p>
+
+<p>Why does it enable us to work sooner after rains?</p>
+
+<p>Why does it keep off the effects of cold weather longer in the
+fall?</p></div>
+
+<p>11. <i>Soils are, thereby, rendered earlier in spring</i>,
+because the water, which rendered them cold, heavy,
+and untillable, is earlier removed, leaving them earlier
+in a growing condition.</p>
+
+<p>12. <i>The throwing out of grain in winter</i> is prevented,
+because the water falling on the earth is
+immediately removed instead of remaining to throw
+up the soil by freezing, as it always does from the
+upright position taken by the particles of ice.</p>
+
+<p>13. <i>We are enabled to work sooner after rains</i>,
+because the water descends, and is immediately removed
+instead of lying to be taken off by the slow
+process of evaporation, and sinking through a heavy
+soil.</p>
+
+<p>14. <i>The effects of cold weather are kept off longer
+in the fall</i>, because the excess of water is removed,
+which would produce an unfertile condition on the
+first appearance of cold weather.</p>
+
+<p>The drains also, from causes already named (3),<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>
+keep the soil warmer than before being drained, thus
+actually lengthening the season, by making the soil
+warm enough for vegetable growth earlier in spring,
+and later in autumn.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does it prevent lands from becoming sour?</p>
+
+<p>Why does it hasten the decay of roots, and the comminution of
+mineral matters?</p>
+
+<p>How does it prevent the abstraction of heat from the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>15. <i>Lands are prevented from becoming sour by
+the formation of acetic acid</i>, etc., because these acids
+are produced in the soil only when the decomposition
+of organic matter is arrested by the <i>antiseptic</i> (preserving)
+powers of water. If the water is removed,
+the decomposition of the organic matter assumes a
+healthy form, while the acids already produced are
+neutralized by atmospheric influences, and the soil
+is restored from sorrel to a condition in which it is
+fitted for the growth of more valuable plants.</p>
+
+<p>16. <i>The decay of roots</i>, etc., is allowed to proceed,
+because the preservative influence of too much water
+is removed. Wood, leaves, or other vegetable matter
+kept continually under water, will last for ages;
+while, if exposed to the action of the weather, as in
+under-drained soils, they soon decay.</p>
+
+<p>The presence of too much water, by excluding
+the oxygen of the air, prevents the <i>comminution of
+matters</i> necessary to fertility.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How much heat does water take up in becoming vapor?</p>
+
+<p>Why does water sprinkled on a floor render it cooler?</p>
+
+<p>Why is not a cubic inch of vapor warmer than a cubic inch of
+water?</p>
+
+<p>Why does a wet cloth on the head make it cooler when fanned?</p>
+
+<p>How does this principle apply to the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>17. <i>The evaporation of water, and the consequent
+abstraction of heat from the soil, is in a great measure
+prevented</i> by draining the water out at the <i>bottom</i> of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>
+the soil, instead of leaving it to be dried off from the
+surface.</p>
+
+<p>When water assumes the gaseous (or vapory)
+form, it takes up 1723 times as much <i>heat</i> as it contained
+while a liquid. A large part of this heat is
+derived from surrounding substances. When water
+is sprinkled on the floor, it cools the room; because,
+as it becomes a vapor, it takes heat from the room.
+The reason why vapor does not feel hotter than liquid
+water is, that, while it contains 1723 times as much
+heat, it is 1723 as large. Hence, a cubic inch of
+vapor, into which we place the bulb of a thermometer,
+contains no more heat than a cubic inch of water.
+The principle is the same in some other cases. A
+sponge containing a table-spoonful of water is just
+as <i>wet</i> as one twice as large and containing two
+spoonsful.</p>
+
+<p>If a wet cloth be placed on the head, and the
+evaporation of its water assisted by fanning, the head
+becomes cooler&mdash;a portion of its heat being taken to
+sustain the vapory condition of the water.</p>
+
+<p>The same principle holds true with the soil.
+When the evaporation of water is rapidly going on,
+by the assistance of the sun, wind, etc., a large quantity
+of heat is abstracted, and the soil becomes cold.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>When there is no evaporation taking place, except
+of water which has been deposited on the lower portions
+of soil, and carried to the surface by capillary
+attraction (as is nearly true on under-drained soils),
+the loss of heat is compensated by that taken from
+the moisture in the atmosphere by the soil, in the
+above-named manner.</p>
+
+<p>This cooling of the soil by the evaporation of
+water, is of very great injury to its powers of producing
+crops, and the fact that under-drains avoid it,
+is one of the best arguments in favor of their use.
+Some idea may, perhaps, be formed of the amount
+of heat taken from the soil in this way, from the
+fact that, in midsummer, 25 hogsheads of water may
+be evaporated from a single acre in twelve hours.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>When rains are allowed to <i>enter</i> the soil, how do they benefit it?</p>
+
+<p>How do under-drains prevent the formation of a crust on the
+surface of a soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>18. When not saturated with water the soil admits
+the water of rains, etc., which bring with them
+<i>fertilizing gases from the atmosphere</i>, to be deposited
+among the absorbent parts of soil, and given up to
+the necessities of the plant. When this rain falls
+on lands already saturated, it cannot enter the soil,
+but must run off from the surface, or be removed by
+evaporation, either of which is injurious. The first,
+because fertilizing matter is washed away. The second,
+because the soil is deprived of necessary heat.</p>
+
+<p>19. <i>The formation of crust on the surface of the
+soil</i> is due to the evaporation of water, which is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>
+drawn up from below by capillary attraction. It
+arises from the fact that the water in the soil is saturated
+with mineral substances, which it leaves at
+its point of evaporation at the surface. This soluble
+matter from below, often forms a very hard crust,
+which is a complete shield to prevent the admission
+of air with its ameliorating effects, and should, as
+far as possible, be avoided. Under-draining is the
+best means of doing this, as it is the best means of
+lessening the evaporation.</p>
+
+<p>The foregoing are some of the more important
+reasons why under-draining is always beneficial.
+Thorough experiments have amply proved the truth
+of the theory.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What kinds of soil are benefited by under-draining?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>kinds of soil benefited by under-draining</i> are
+nearly as unlimited as the kinds of soil in existence.
+It is a common opinion, among farmers, that the only
+soils which require draining are those which are at
+times covered with water, such as swamps and other
+low lands; but the facts stated in the early part of
+this chapter, show us that every kind of soil&mdash;wet,
+dry, compact, or light&mdash;receives benefit from the
+treatment. The fact that land is <i>too dry</i>, is as
+much a reason why it should be drained, as that it
+is <i>too wet</i>, as it overcomes drought as effectually as it
+removes the injurious effects of too much water.</p>
+
+<p>All soils in which the water of heavy rains does
+not immediately pass down to a depth of at least<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>
+<i>thirty inches</i>, should be under-drained, and the operation,
+if carried on with judgment, would invariably
+result in profit.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What do English farmers name as the profits of under-draining?</p>
+
+<p>What stand has been taken by the English government with
+regard to under-draining?</p></div>
+
+<p>Of the precise <i>profits</i> of under-draining this is
+not the place to speak: many of the agricultural
+papers contain numerous accounts of its success. It
+may be well to remark here, that many English farmers
+give it, as their experience, that under-drains
+pay for themselves every three years, or that they
+produce a perpetual profit of 33&#x2153; per cent., or their
+original cost. This is not the opinion of <i>theorists</i>
+and <i>book farmers</i>. It is the conviction of practical
+men, who know, <i>from experience</i>, that under-drains
+are beneficial.</p>
+
+<p>The best evidence of the utility of under-draining
+is the position, with regard to it, which has been
+taken by the English national government, which
+affords much protection to the agricultural interests
+of her people&mdash;a protection which in this country is
+unwisely and unjustly withheld.</p>
+
+<p>In England a very large sum from the public
+treasury has been appropriated as a fund for loans,
+on under-drains, which is lent to farmers for the purpose
+of under-draining their estates, the only security
+given being the increased value of the soil. The
+time allowed for payments is twenty years, and only
+five per cent. interest is charged. By the influence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>
+of this patronage, the actual wealth of the kingdom
+is being rapidly increased, while the farmers themselves,
+can raise their farms to any desired state of
+fertility, without immediate investment.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How does under-draining affect the healthfulness of marshy
+countries?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the sub-soil plow.</p></div>
+
+<p>The best proof that the government has not
+acted injudiciously in this matter is, that private
+capitalists are fast employing their money in the
+same manner, and loans on under-drains are considered
+a very safe investment.</p>
+
+<p>There is no doubt that we may soon have similar
+facilities for improving our farms, and when we do,
+we shall find that it is unnecessary to move West to
+find good soil. The districts nearer market, where
+the expense of transportation is much less, may, by
+the aid of under-drains, and a judicious system of
+cultivation, be made equally fertile.</p>
+
+<p>One very important, though not strictly agricultural,
+effect of thorough drainage is its removal of
+certain local diseases, peculiar to the vicinity of
+marshy or low moist soils. The health-reports in
+several places in England, show that where <i>fever and
+ague</i> was once common, it has almost entirely disappeared
+since the general use of under-drains in
+those localities.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>SUB-SOIL PLOWING.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Describe the Mapes plow.</p>
+
+<p>Why is the motion in the soil of one and a half inches sufficient?</p>
+
+<p>How does the oxidation of the particles of the soil resemble the
+rusting of cannon balls in a pile?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>sub-soil plow</i> is an implement differing in figure
+from the surface plow. It does not turn a furrow,
+but merely runs through the subsoil like a mole&mdash;loosening
+and making it finer by lifting, but allowing
+it to fall back and occupy its former place. It
+usually follows the surface plow, entering the soil to
+the depth of from twelve to eighteen inches below
+the bottom of the surface furrow.</p>
+
+<p>The best pattern now made (the Mapes plow) is
+represented in the following figure.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 635px;">
+<span class="caption">Fig. 8.</span>
+<img src="images/fig008.png" width="635" height="391" alt="The Mapes plow and its mode of action. a-Shape of the foot of
+the plow, b-Its effect on the soil." title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Mapes plow and its mode of action. <i>a</i>&mdash;Shape of the foot of
+the plow, <i>b</i>&mdash;Its effect on the soil.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The sub-soil plows first made raised the whole soil
+about eight inches, and required very great power in
+their use often six, eight, or even ten oxen. The
+Mapes plow, raising the soil but slightly, may be
+worked with much less power, and produces equally
+good results. It may be run to its full depth in most
+soils by a single yoke of oxen.</p>
+
+<p>Of course a motion in the soil of but one and a half
+inches is very slight, but it is sufficient to move each
+particle from the one next to it which, in dry soils, is
+all that is necessary. Whoever has examined a pile
+of cannon-balls must have observed that at the points
+where they touch each other, there is a little rust. In
+the soil, the same is often the case. Where the particles
+touch each other, there is such a chemical change
+produced as renders them fit for the use of plants.
+While these particles remain in their first position,
+the changed portions are out of the reach of roots;
+but, if, by the aid of the sub-soil plow, their position
+is altered, these parts are exposed for the uses of
+plants. If we hold in the hand a ball of dry clay,
+and press it hard enough to produce the least motion
+among its particles, the whole mass becomes pulverized.
+On the same principle, the sub-soil plow
+renders the compact lower soil sufficiently fine for the
+requirements of fertility.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why are the benefits of sub-soiling not permanent on wet lands?</p>
+
+<p>Does sub-soiling overcome drought?</p>
+
+<p>How does it deepen the surface soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding its great benefits on land, which
+is sufficiently dry, sub-soiling cannot be recommended
+for wet lands; for, in such case, the rains of a single
+season would often be sufficient to entirely overcome
+its effects by packing the subsoil down to its former
+hardness.</p>
+
+<p>On lands not overcharged with water, it is
+productive of the best results, it being often sufficient
+to turn the balance between a gaining and
+a losing business in farming.</p>
+
+<p>It increases nearly every effect of under-draining;
+especially does it overcome drought, by loosening the
+soil, and admitting air to circulate among the particles
+of the subsoil and deposit its moisture on the principle
+described in the chapter on under-draining.</p>
+
+<p>It deepens the surface-soil, because it admits roots
+into the subsoil where they decay and leave carbon,
+while the circulation of air so affects the mineral
+parts, that they become of a fertilizing character.
+The deposit of carbon gives to the subsoil the power
+of absorbing, and retaining the atmospheric fertilizers,
+which are more freely presented, owing to the fact
+that the air is allowed to circulate with greater
+freedom. As a majority of roots decay in the surface-soil,
+they there deposit much mineral matter obtained
+from the subsoil.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is the retention of atmospheric manures ensured by sub-soiling?</p>
+
+<p>Why are organic manures plowed deeply under the soil, less
+liable to evaporation than when deposited near the surface?</p>
+
+<p>How does sub-soiling resemble under-draining in relation to the
+tillering of grasses?</p>
+
+<p>When the subsoil consists of a thin layer of clay on a sandy bed,
+what use may be made of the sub-soil plow?</p></div>
+
+<p>The retention of atmospheric manures is more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>
+fully ensured by the better exposure of the clayey
+portions of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>Those manures which are artificially applied, by
+being plowed under to greater depths, are less liable
+to evaporation, as, from the greater amount of soil
+above them, their escape will more probably be
+arrested; and, from the greater prevalence of roots,
+they are more liable to be taken up by plants.</p>
+
+<p>The subsoil often contains matters which are deficient
+in the surface-soil. By the use of the sub-soil
+plow, they are rendered available.</p>
+
+<p>Sub-soiling is similar to under-draining in continuing
+the tillering of grasses, and in getting rid of
+the poisonous excrementitious matter of plants.</p>
+
+<p>When the subsoil is a thin layer of clay on a
+sandy bed (as in some plants of Cumberland Co.
+Maine), the sub-soil plow, by passing through it,
+opens a passage for water, and often affords a sufficient
+drainage.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>To how great a depth will the roots of plants usually occupy
+the soil?</p>
+
+<p>What is the object of loosening the soil?</p>
+
+<p>How are these various effects better produced in deep than in
+shallow soils?</p></div>
+
+<p>If plants will grow better on a soil six inches
+deep than on one of three inches, there is no reason
+why they should not be benefited in proportion, by
+disturbing the soil to the whole depth to which roots
+will travel&mdash;which is usually more than two feet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>
+The minute rootlets of corn and most other plants,
+will, if allowed by cultivation, occupy the soil to the
+depth or thirty-four inches, having a fibre in nearly
+every cubic inch of the soil for the whole distance.
+There are very few cultivated plants whose roots
+would not travel to a depth of thirty inches or more.
+Even the onion sends its roots to the depth of
+eighteen inches when the soil is well cultivated.</p>
+
+<p>The object of loosening the soil is to admit
+roots to a sufficient depth to hold the plant in its
+position&mdash;to obtain the nutriment necessary to its
+growth&mdash;to receive moisture from the lower portions
+of the soil&mdash;and, if it be a bulb, tuber, or tap, to
+assume the form requisite for its largest development.</p>
+
+<p>It must be evident that roots, penetrating the
+soil to a depth of two feet, anchor the plant with
+greater stability than those which are spread more
+thinly near the surface.</p>
+
+<p>The roots of plants traversing the soil to such
+great distances, and being located in nearly every
+part, absorb mineral and other food, in solution in
+water, only through the <i>spongioles at their ends</i>.
+Consequently, by having these ends in <i>every part</i>
+of the soil, it is <i>all</i> brought under contribution, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>
+the amount supplied is greater, while the demand on
+any particular part may be less than when the whole
+requirements of plants have to be supplied from a
+depth of a few inches.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>May garden soils be profitably imitated in field culture?</p></div>
+
+<p>The ability of roots, to assume a natural shape
+in the soil, and grow to their largest sizes, must
+depend on the condition of the soil. If it is finely
+pulverized to the whole depth to which they ought
+to go, they will be fully developed; while, if the soil
+be too hard for penetration, they will be deformed
+or small. Thus a carrot may grow to the length of
+two and a half feet, and be of perfect shape, while, if
+it meet in its course at a depth of eight or ten inches
+a <i>cold, hard</i> subsoil, its growth must be arrested, or
+its form injured.</p>
+
+<p>Roots are turned aside by a hard sub-soil, as
+they would be if received by the surface of a plate of
+glass.</p>
+
+<p>Add to this the fact that cold, impenetrable subsoils
+are <i>chemically</i> uncongenial to vegetation, and
+we have sufficient evidence of the importance, and
+in many cases the absolute necessity of sub-soiling
+and under-draining.</p>
+
+<p>It is unnecessary to urge the fact that a garden soil
+of two feet is more productive than a field soil of six
+inches; and it is certain that proper attention to
+these two modes of cultivation will in a majority of
+cases make a garden of the field&mdash;more than doubling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>
+its value in ease of working, increased produce, certain
+security against drought, and more even distribution
+of the demands on the soil&mdash;while the outlay
+will be immediately repaid by an increase of crops.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is the use of the sub-soil plow increasing?</p>
+
+<p>Will its use ever injure crops?</p></div>
+
+<p>The subsoil will be much improved in its character
+the first year, and a continual advancement
+renders it in time equal to the original surface-soil,
+and extending to a depth of two feet or more.</p>
+
+<p>The sub-soil plow is coming rapidly into use.
+There are now in New Jersey more foundries casting
+sub-soil plows than there were sub-soil plows in the
+State six years ago. The implement has there, as
+well as in many other places, ceased to be a curiosity;
+and the man who now objects to its use, is classed
+with him who shells his corn on a shovel over a half-bushel,
+instead of employing an improved machine,
+which will enable him to do more in a day than he
+can do in the "good old way" in a week.</p>
+
+<p>Had we space, we might give many instances of
+the success of sub-soiling, but the agricultural papers
+of the present day (at least one of which every farmer
+should take) have so repeatedly published its advantages,
+that we will not do so.</p>
+
+<p>In no case will its use be found any thing but
+satisfactory, except in occasional instances where
+there is some chemical difficulty in the subsoil, which
+an analysis will tell us how to overcome.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As was before stated, its use on wet lands is not
+advisable until they have been under-drained, as
+excess of water prevents its effects from being permanent.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<h3>PLOWING AND OTHER MODES OF PULVERIZING
+THE SOIL.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>May the satisfaction attending labor be increased by an understanding
+of the natural laws which regulate our operations?</p>
+
+<p>On what depends the kind of plow to be used?</p></div>
+
+<p>The advantages of pulverizing the soil, and the <i>reasons</i>
+why it is necessary, are now too well known to
+need remark. Few farmers, when they plow, dig, or
+harrow, are enabled to give substantial reasons for
+so doing. If they will reflect on what has been said
+in the previous chapters, concerning the supply of
+mineral food to the plant by the soil, and the effect
+of air and moisture about roots, they will find more
+satisfaction in their labor than it can afford when
+applied without thought.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">PLOWING.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is a general rule with regard to this?</p>
+
+<p>Should deep plowing be immediately adopted? Why?</p>
+
+<p>Why is this course of treatment advisable for garden culture?</p></div>
+
+<p>The kind of plow used in cultivating the surface-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>soil
+must be decided by the kind of soil. This question
+the practical, <i>observing</i> farmer will be able to
+solve.</p>
+
+<p>As a general rule, it may be stated that the plow
+which runs the <i>deepest</i>, with the same amount of
+force, is the best.</p>
+
+<p>We might enter more fully into this matter but
+for want of space.</p>
+
+<p>The advantages of <i>deep plowing</i> cannot be too
+strongly urged.</p>
+
+<p>The statement that the <i>deeper</i> and the <i>finer</i> the
+soil is rendered, the more productive it will become,
+is in every respect true, and which no single instance
+will contradict.</p>
+
+<p>It must not be inferred from this, that we would
+advise a farmer, who has always plowed his soil to
+the depth of only six inches, to double the depth at
+once. Such a practice in some soils would be highly
+injurious, as it would completely bury the more fertile
+and better cultivated soil, and bring to the top
+one which contains no organic matter, and has never
+been subject to atmospheric influences. This
+would, perhaps, be so little fitted for vegetation that
+it would scarcely sustain plants until their roots could
+reach the more fertile parts below. Such treatment
+of the soil (turning it upside down) is excellent in
+<i>garden</i> culture, where the great amount of manures<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>
+applied is sufficient to overcome the temporary barrenness
+of the soil, but it is not to be recommended
+for all <i>field</i> cultivation, where much less manure is
+employed.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How should field plowing be conducted?</p>
+
+<p>How does such treatment affect soils previously limed?</p>
+
+<p>How may it sometimes improve sandy or clay soils?</p></div>
+
+<p>The course to be pursued in such cases is to <i>plow
+one inch deeper each year</i>. By this means the soil
+maybe gradually deepened to any desired extent.
+The amount of uncongenial soil which will thus be
+brought up, is slight, and will not interfere at all with
+the fertility of the soil, while the elevated portion
+will become, in one year, so altered by exposure,
+that it will equal the rest of the soil in fertility.</p>
+
+<p>Often where lime has been used in excess, it has
+sunk to the subsoil, where it remains inactive. The
+slight deepening of the surface plowing would mix
+this lime with the surface-soil, and render it again
+useful.</p>
+
+<p>When the soil is light and sandy, resting on a
+heavy clay subsoil, or clay on sand, the bringing
+up of the mass from below will improve the texture
+of the soil.</p>
+
+<p>As an instance of the success of deep plowing, we
+call to mind the case of a farmer in New Jersey,
+who had a field which had yielded about twenty-five
+bushels of corn per acre. It had been cultivated at
+ordinary depths. After laying it out in eight step
+lands (24 feet), he plowed it at all depths from five<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>
+to ten inches, on the different lands, and sowed oats
+evenly over the whole field. The crop on the five
+inch soil was very poor, on the six inch rather better,
+on the seven inch better still, and on the ten inch
+soil it was as fine as ever grew in New Jersey;
+it had stiff straw and broad leaves, while the grain
+was also much better than on the remainder of
+the field.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What kind of soils are benefited by fall plowing?</p></div>
+
+<p>There is an old anecdote of a man who died,
+leaving his sons with the information that he had
+buried a pot of gold for them, somewhere on the
+farm. They commenced digging for the gold, and
+dug over the whole farm to a great depth without
+finding the gold. The digging, however, so enriched
+the soil that they were fully compensated for their
+disappointment, and became wealthy from the increased
+produce of their farm.</p>
+
+<p>Farmers will find, on experiment, that they have
+gold buried in their soil, if they will but dig deep
+enough to obtain it. The law gives a man the ownership
+of the soil for an indefinite distance from the
+surface, but few seem to realize that there is <i>another
+farm</i> below the one they are cultivating, which is
+quite as valuable as the one on the surface, if it were
+but properly worked.</p>
+
+<p><i>Fall plowing</i>, especially for heavy lands, is a very
+good means of securing the action of the frosts of
+winter to pulverize the soil. If it be a stiff clay, it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>
+may be well to throw the soil up into ridges (by
+ridging and back furrowing), so as to expose the
+largest possible amount of surface to the freezing
+and thawing of winter. Sandy soils should not be
+plowed in the fall, as it renders them too light.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">DIGGING MACHINES.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the digging machine?</p></div>
+
+<p>A recent invention has been made in England,
+known as the digging machine or rotary spade, which&mdash;although
+from having too much gearing between
+the power and the part performing the labor, it is not
+adapted to general use&mdash;has given such promise of
+future success, that Mr. Mechi (an agricultural writer
+of the highest standing) has said that "the plow is
+doomed." This can hardly be true, for the varied
+uses to which it may be applied, will guarantee its
+continuance in the favor of the farmer.</p>
+
+<p>Already, in this country, Messrs. Gibbs &amp; Mapes,
+have invented a digging machine of very simple construction,
+which seems calculated to serve an excellent
+purpose, even in the hands of the farmer of limited
+means.</p>
+
+<p>Its friends assert that, with one pair of oxen, it
+will dig perfectly three feet wide, and for a depth of
+fifteen inches. An experiment with an unperfected
+machine, in the presence of the writer, seemed to
+justify their hopes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This machine thoroughly pulverizes the soil to a
+considerable depth, and for smooth land must prove
+far superior to the plow.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">THE HARROW AND CULTIVATOR.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is the harrow a defective implement?</p>
+
+<p>Why is the cultivator superior to the harrow?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>harrow</i>, an implement largely used in all
+parts of the world, to pulverize the soil, and break
+clods, has become so firmly rooted in the affections
+of farmers, that it must be a very long time before
+they can be convinced that it is not the best implement
+for the use to which it is devoted. It is true
+that it pulverizes the soil for a depth of two or three
+inches, and thus much improves its appearance, benefiting
+it, without doubt, for the earliest stages of the
+growth of plants. Its action, however, is very defective,
+because, from the <i>wedge</i> shape of its teeth, it
+continually acts to <i>pack</i> the soil; thus&mdash;although favorable
+for the germination of the seed&mdash;it is not calculated
+to benefit the plant during the later stages of
+its growth, when the roots require the soil to be pulverized
+to a considerable depth.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>cultivator</i> may be considered an <i>improved
+harrow</i>. The principal difference between them
+being, that while the teeth of the harrow are pointed
+at the lower end, those of the cultivator are shaped
+like a small double plow, being large at the bottom<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>
+and growing smaller towards the top. They lift the
+earth up, instead of pressing it downwards, thus loosening
+instead of compacting the soil.</p>
+
+<p>Many styles of cultivators are now sold at agricultural
+warehouses. A very good one, for field use,
+may be made by substituting the cultivator teeth for
+the spikes in an old harrow frame.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<h3>ROLLING, MULCHING, WEEDING, ETC.</h3>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ROLLING.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Name some of the benefits of rolling?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Rolling</i> the soil with a large roller, arranged to be
+drawn by a team, is in many instances a good accessory
+to cultivation. By its means, the following
+results are obtained:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1. The soil at the surface is pulverized without
+the compacting of the lower parts, the area of contact
+being large.</p>
+
+<p>2. The stones on the land are pressed down so as
+to be out of the way of the scythe in mowing.</p>
+
+<p>3. The soil is compacted around seeds after sowing
+in such a manner as to exclude light and to <i>touch</i>
+them in every part, both of which are essential<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>
+to their germination and to the healthfulness of the
+plants.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Under what circumstances should the roller be used?</p></div>
+
+<p>4. The soil is so compacted at the surface, that
+it is less frequented by <i>grubs</i>, etc., than when it is
+more loose.</p>
+
+<p>5. When the soil is smoothed in this manner,
+there is less surface exposed for the evaporation of
+water with its cooling effect.</p>
+
+<p>6. Light sandy lands, by being rolled in the fall,
+are rendered more compact, and the loosening effects
+of frequent freezing and thawing are avoided.</p>
+
+<p>Although productive of these various effects, rolling
+should be adopted only with much care, and
+should never be applied to very heavy lands, except
+in dry weather when lumpy after plowing, as its
+tendency in such cases would be to render them still
+more difficult of cultivation. Soils in which air does
+not circulate freely, are not improved by rolling, as
+it presses the surface-particles still more closely
+together, and prevents the free admission of the atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>If well <i>under-drained</i>, a large majority of soils
+would doubtless be benefited by a judicious use of the
+roller.<a name="FNanchor_AL_38" id="FNanchor_AL_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_AL_38" class="fnanchor">[AL]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">MULCHING.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is mulching?</p>
+
+<p>What are some of its benefits?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>Mulching</i> (called Gurneyism in England) consists
+in covering the soil with salt hay, litter, seaweed,
+leaves, spent tanbark, chips, or other refuse matter.</p>
+
+<p>Every farmer must have noticed that, if a board
+or rail, or an old brush-heap be removed in spring
+from soil where grass is growing, the grass afterwards
+grows in those places much larger and better than
+in other parts of the field.</p>
+
+<p>This improvement arises from various causes.</p>
+
+<p>1. The evaporation of water from the soil is prevented
+during drought by the shade afforded by the
+mulch; and it is therefore kept in better condition,
+as to moisture and temperature, than when evaporation
+goes on more freely. This condition is well calculated
+to advance the chemical changes necessary to
+prepare the matters&mdash;both organic and mineral&mdash;in
+the soil for the use of plants.</p>
+
+<p>2. By preventing evaporation, we partially protect
+the soil from losing ammonia resultant from
+decaying organic matter.</p>
+
+<p>3. A heavy mulch breaks the force of rains, and
+prevents them from compacting the soil, as would be
+the result, were no such precaution taken.</p>
+
+<p>4. Mulching protects the surface-soil from freezing
+as readily as when exposed, and thus keeps it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>
+longer open for the admission of air and moisture.
+When unprotected, the soil early becomes frozen;
+and all water falling, instead of entering as it should
+do, passes off on the surface.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why does mulching take the place of artificial watering?</p>
+
+<p>Why is the late sowing of oats beneficial?</p>
+
+<p>From what arises the chief benefit of top dressing the soil with
+manure in autumn?</p></div>
+
+<p>5. The throwing out of winter grain is often prevented,
+because this is due to the freezing of the
+surface-soil.</p>
+
+<p>6. Mulching prevents the growth of some weeds,
+because it removes from them the fostering heat of
+the sun.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the best nursery-men keep the soil about
+the roots of young trees mulched continually. One
+of the chief arguments for this treatment is, that it
+prevents the removal of the moisture from the soil
+and the consequent loss of heat. Also that it keeps
+up a full supply of water for the uses of the roots, because
+it keeps the soil cool, and causes a deposit of dew.</p>
+
+<p>7. It also prevents the "baking" of the soil, or the
+formation of a crust.</p>
+
+<p>It is to be recommended in nearly all cases to sow
+oats very thinly over land intended for winter fallow
+after the removal of crops, as they will grow a little
+before being killed by the frost, when they will fall
+down, thus affording a very beneficial mulch to the soil.</p>
+
+<p>When farmers spread manure on their fields in the
+fall to be plowed under in the spring, they benefit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>
+the land by the mulching more than by the addition
+of fertilizing matter, because they give it the protecting
+influence of the straw, etc., while they lose
+much of the ammonia of their manure by evaporation.
+The same mulching might be more cheaply
+done with leaves, or other refuse matter, and the
+ammonia of the manure made available by composting
+with absorbents.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why is snow particularly beneficial?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is an old and true saying that "snow is the
+poor man's manure." The reason why it is so beneficial
+is, chiefly, that it acts as a most excellent
+mulch. It contains no more ammonia than rain-water
+does; and, were it not for the fact that it
+protects the soil against loss of heat, and produces
+other benefits of mulching, it would have no more
+advantageous effect. The severity of winters at the
+North is partially compensated by the long duration
+of snow.</p>
+
+<p>It is a well known fact that when there is but
+little snow in cold countries, wheat is very liable to
+be <i>winter killed</i>. The same protection is afforded by
+artificial mulching.</p>
+
+<p>This treatment is peculiarly applicable to the
+cultivation of flowers, both in pots and in beds out
+of doors. It is almost indispensable to the profitable
+production of strawberries, and many other garden
+crops, such as asparagus, rhubarb, etc. Many say
+that the best treatment for trees is to put stones<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>
+about their roots. This is simply <i>mulching</i> them,
+and might be done more cheaply by the use of leaves,
+copying the action of nature in forests;<a name="FNanchor_AM_39" id="FNanchor_AM_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_AM_39" class="fnanchor">[AM]</a> for, unless
+these stones be removed in spring, they will sink and
+compact the soil in part during open weather.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">WEEDING.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are some of the uses of weeds? Their disadvantages?</p></div>
+
+<p>If a farmer were asked&mdash;what is the use of <i>weeds</i>?
+he might make out quite a list of their benefits,
+among which might be some of the following:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>1. They shade tender plants, and in a measure
+serve as a mulch to the ground.</p>
+
+<p>2. Some weeds, by their offensive odor, drive
+away many insects.</p>
+
+<p>3. They may serve as a green crop to be plowed
+into the soil, and increase its organic matter.</p>
+
+<p>4. <i>They make us stir the soil</i>, and thus increase
+its fertility.</p>
+
+<p>Still, while thinking out these excuses for weeds,
+he would see other and more urgent reasons why they
+should not be allowed to grow.</p>
+
+<p>1. They occupy the soil to the disadvantage of
+crops.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p>
+<p>2. They exclude light and heat from cultivated
+plants, and thus interfere with their growth.</p>
+
+<p>3. They take up mineral and other matters from
+the soil, and hold them during the growing season,
+thus depriving crops of their use.</p>
+
+<p>It is not necessary to argue the injury done by
+weeds. Every farmer is well convinced that they
+should be destroyed, and the best means of accomplishing
+this are of the greatest importance.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may we protect ourselves against their increase?</p>
+
+<p>Why is it especially important for this purpose to maintain the
+balance of the soil?</p></div>
+
+<p>In the first place, we should protect ourselves
+against their increase. This may be done:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>By decomposing all manures in compost, whereby
+the seeds contained will be killed by the heat of
+fermentation; or, if one bushel of salt be mixed
+through each cord of compost (as before recommended),
+it will kill seeds as well as grubs,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>By hoeing, or, otherwise, destroying growing
+weeds before they mature their seeds, and</p>
+
+<p>By keeping the soil in the best chemical condition.</p>
+
+<p>This last point is one of much importance. It
+is well known that soils deficient in potash, will
+naturally produce one kind of plants, while soils
+deficient in phosphoric acid will produce plants
+of another species, etc. Many soils produce certain
+weeds which would not grow on them if they were
+made chemically perfect, as indicated by analysis. It is
+also believed that those weeds, which naturally grow on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>
+the most fertile soils, are the ones most easily destroyed.
+There are exceptions (of which the Thistle
+is one), but this is given as a general rule.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How much salt may be used with advantage?</p>
+
+<p>Why is the scuffle-hoe superior to the common hoe?</p></div>
+
+<p>By careful attention to the foregoing points,
+weeds may be kept from increasing while those
+already in the soil may be eradicated in various
+ways, chiefly by mechanical means, such as hoeing,
+plowing, etc.<a name="FNanchor_AN_40" id="FNanchor_AN_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_AN_40" class="fnanchor">[AN]</a></p>
+
+<p>Prof. Mapes says that six bushels of salt annually
+sown broadcast over each acre of land, will destroy
+very many weeds as well as grubs and worms.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>common hoe</i> is a very imperfect tool for the
+purpose of removing weeds, as it prepares a better
+soil for, and replants in a position to grow, nearly as
+many weeds as it destroys.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>scuffle-hoe</i> (or push-hoe) is much more effective,
+as, when worked by a man walking backwards,
+and retiring as he works, it leaves nearly all of the
+weeds on the surface of the soil to be killed by the
+sun. When used in this way, the earth is not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>
+trodden on after being hoed&mdash;as is the case when
+the common hoe is employed. This treading, besides
+compacting the soil, covers the roots of many weeds,
+and causes them to grow again.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may much labor be saved in removing weeds?</p>
+
+<p>What is the Langdon horse-hoe?</p>
+
+<p>Describe the <i>universal</i> cultivator?</p></div>
+
+<p>Much of the labor of weeding usually performed
+by men, might be more cheaply done by horses.
+There are various implements for this purpose, some
+of which are coming, in many parts of the country,
+into very general use.</p>
+
+<p>One of the best of these is the <i>Langdon Horse
+Hoe</i>, which is a shovel-shaped plow, to be run one
+or two inches deep. It has a wing on each side to
+prevent the earth from falling on to the plants in the
+rows. At the rear, or upper edge, is a kind of rake
+or comb, which allows the earth to pass through,
+while the weeds pass over the comb and fall on the
+surface of the soil, to be killed by the heat of the
+sun. It is a simple and cheap tool, and will perform
+the work of twenty men with hoes. The hand hoe
+will be necessary only in the rows.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">CULTIVATOR.</h3>
+
+<p>The <i>cultivator</i>, which was described in the preceding
+chapter, and of which there are various patterns
+in use, is excellent for weeding, and for loosening
+the soil between the rows of corn, etc. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>
+one called the <i>universal</i> cultivator, having its side
+bars made of iron, curved so that at whatever distance
+it is placed the teeth will point <i>straight forward</i>,
+is a much better tool than those of the older
+patterns, which had the teeth so arranged that when
+set for wide rows, they pointed towards the clevis.
+It is difficult to keep such a cultivator in its place,
+while the "<i>universal</i>" is as difficult to move out of
+a straight line.</p>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap2">IMPROVED HORSE-HOE.</h3>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What is the improved horse-hoe?</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>improved horse-hoe</i> is a combination of the
+"Langdon" horse hoe and the cultivator, and is the
+best implement, for many purposes, that has yet
+been made.<a name="FNanchor_AO_41" id="FNanchor_AO_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_AO_41" class="fnanchor">[AO]</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 699px;">
+<img src="images/fig009.png" width="699" height="383" alt="Fig. 9" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Fig. 9</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span></p>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">HARVESTING MACHINES.</h3>
+
+<p>Until within a comparatively short period, but
+little attention has been paid to the production of
+machines for harvesting the various crops.</p>
+
+<p>During the past few years, however, many valuable
+inventions have appeared. Among these we
+notice Ketchum's mower, Hussey's mower and reaper,
+and Wagener's grain and grass seed harvester. The
+latter machine gathers only the grain and seeds of
+the crop, leaving the straw to be plowed under the
+soil, thus maintaining its supply of soluble silicates,
+and increasing its amount of organic matter. After
+taking the seed heads from the standing straw and
+grasses, it thrashes them, blows out the chaff, separates
+the different kinds of seeds, and discharges
+them into bags ready for market. It consists of a
+car containing the machinery; to this may be attached
+any required number of horses. The inventor
+affirms that it has harvested the grain of two acres
+in one hour, performing the work with accuracy.<a name="FNanchor_AP_42" id="FNanchor_AP_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_AP_42" class="fnanchor">[AP]</a></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>There is much truth in the following proverbs:</p>
+
+<p>"A garden that is well kept, is kept easily."</p>
+
+<p>"You must conquer weeds, or weeds will conquer
+you."</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>
+<div class="sidenote"><p>What are the two great rules in mechanical cultivation?</p></div>
+
+<p>It is almost impossible to give a <i>recapitulation</i>
+of the matters treated in this section, as it is, itself,
+but an outline of subjects which might occupy
+our whole book. The scholar and the farmer should
+understand every principle which it contains, as well
+as they understand the multiplication table; and
+their application will be found, in every instance, to
+produce the best results.</p>
+
+<p>The two great rules of mechanical cultivation
+are&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Thorough under-draining.</span></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Deep and frequent disturbance of the
+soil.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AL_38" id="Footnote_AL_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AL_38"><span class="label">[AL]</span></a> Field rollers should be made in sections, for ease of turning.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AM_39" id="Footnote_AM_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AM_39"><span class="label">[AM]</span></a> The beneficial effects of mulching is so great as to lead us to
+the conclusion that it has other means of action than those mentioned
+in this book. Future experiments may lead to more knowledge
+on this subject.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AN_40" id="Footnote_AN_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AN_40"><span class="label">[AN]</span></a> It is possible that the excrementitious matter thrown out by
+some plants may be sufficiently destructive to other kinds to exterminate
+them from the soil&mdash;thus, farmers in Maine say that a
+single crop of turnips will entirely rid the soil of <i>witch grass</i>. This
+is, undoubtedly, the effect of the excrementitious matter of the
+turnips. This subject is one of practical importance, and demands
+close investigation by farmers, which may lead to its being reduced
+to a system.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AO_41" id="Footnote_AO_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AO_41"><span class="label">[AO]</span></a> The improved horse-hoe is made and sold by Ruggles, Nourse
+&amp; Mason, of Worcester, Mass., and Quincy Hall, Boston.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AP_42" id="Footnote_AP_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AP_42"><span class="label">[AP]</span></a> This machine is more fully noticed in the advertising pages.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<h3 class="gap4"><a name="SECTION_FIFTH" id="SECTION_FIFTH"></a>SECTION FIFTH.</h3>
+
+<h2>ANALYSIS.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Why does true practical economy require that the soil should be
+analyzed?</p></div>
+
+<p>At the present time, when such marked improvements
+have been, and are still being made, in the
+practice of agriculture, the farmer cannot be too
+strongly advised to procure an analysis of his soil,
+and for obvious reasons.</p>
+
+<p>It has been sufficiently proved that the plant
+draws from the soil certain kinds of mineral matter,
+in certain proportions; also, that if the soil do not
+contain the constituents required, the plants cannot
+obtain them, and consequently cannot grow. Furthermore,
+in proportion to the ability of the soil to
+supply these materials, in exactly the same propor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>tion
+will it, when under good treatment, produce
+good and abundant crops.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Can each farmer make his own analyses?</p>
+
+<p>Why will not travelling chemists answer the purpose?</p>
+
+<p>How must an analysis be used?</p></div>
+
+<p>All admit the value and the necessity of manures;
+they are required to make up deficiencies
+in the soil, and consequently, they must supply to it
+the matters which are wanting. In order to know
+what is wanting, we must know the composition of
+the soil. This can be learned only by accurate chemical
+analysis. Such an analysis every farmer must
+possess before he can conduct his operations with <i>true
+practical economy</i>.</p>
+
+<p>An important question now arises as to whether
+each farmer can make his own analyses. He cannot
+do so without long study and practice. The late
+Prof. Norton said that, at least <i>two years'</i> time would
+be necessary to enable a man to become competent
+to make a reliable analysis. When we reflect
+that a farmer may never need more than five or six
+analyses, we shall see that the time necessary to learn
+the art would be much more valuable than the cost
+of the analyses (at $5 or $10 each), setting aside the
+cost of apparatus, and the fact that while practising
+in the laboratory, he must not use his hands for any
+labor that would unfit them for the most delicate
+manipulations.</p>
+
+<p>Neither will <i>travelling</i> chemists be able to make
+analyses as accurately and as cheaply as those who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>
+work in their own laboratories, where their apparatus
+is not liable to the many injuries consequent on frequent
+removal. The cost of sending one hundred
+samples of soil to a distant chemist, would be much
+less than the expense of having his apparatus brought
+to the town where his services are required.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>How may a farmer obtain the requisite knowledge?</p>
+
+<p>When are the services of a consulting agriculturist required?</p></div>
+
+<p><i>The way in which an analysis should be used</i> is a
+matter of much importance. To a man who knows
+nothing of chemistry (be he ever so successful a farmer),
+an analysis, as received from a chemist, would
+be as useless and unintelligible as though it were written
+in Chinese; while, if a chemist who knew nothing
+of farming, were to give him advice concerning the application
+of manures, he would be led equally astray,
+and his course would be any thing but <i>practical</i>. It
+is necessary that chemical and practical knowledge
+should be combined, and then the value of analysis
+will be fully demonstrated. The <i>amount</i> of knowledge
+required is not great, but it must be <i>thorough</i>.
+The information contained in this little book is sufficient,
+but it would be folly for a man to attempt to
+use an analysis from reading it once hurriedly over.
+It must be studied and thought on with great care,
+before it can be of material assistance. The evenings
+of one winter, devoted to this subject, will enable
+a farmer to understand the application of analysis
+to practical farming, especially if other and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>
+more compendious works are also read. A less time
+could hardly be recommended.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Is there any doubt as to the practical value of analysis?</p>
+
+<p>How should samples of soil for analysis be selected?</p></div>
+
+<p>Where this attention cannot be given to the subject,
+the services of a Consulting Agriculturist should
+be employed to advise the treatment necessary to render
+fertile the soil analyzed.</p>
+
+<p>Every farmer, however, should learn enough of
+the principles of agriculture to be able to use an
+analysis, when procured, without such assistance.<a name="FNanchor_AQ_43" id="FNanchor_AQ_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_AQ_43" class="fnanchor">[AQ]</a></p>
+
+<p>Nearly all scientific men (all of the highest merit)
+are unanimous in their conviction of the <i>practical</i>
+value of an analysis of soils; and a volume of instances
+of their success, with hardly a single failure,
+might be published.</p>
+
+<p>Prof. Mapes says, in the <i>Working Farmer</i>, that
+he has given advice on hundreds of different soils,
+and <i>not a single instance</i> can be found where he has
+failed to produce a profit greater than the cost of
+analysis and advice. Dr. T. C. Jackson, of Boston,
+the late Prof. Norton, of Yale College, and others,
+have had universal success in this matter.</p>
+
+<p>Analysis must be considered the only sure road
+to economical farming.</p>
+
+<p><i>To select samples of soil for analysis</i>, take a
+spadeful from various parts of the field&mdash;going to
+exactly the depth to which it has been plowed&mdash;until,
+say a wheel-barrow full, has been obtained. Mix<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>
+this well together, and send about a quart or a pint of
+it (free from stones) to the chemist. This will represent
+all of that part of the farm which has been subject
+to the same cultivation, and is of the same mechanical
+character. If there are marked differences
+in the kinds of soil, separate analyses will be necessary.</p>
+
+<div class="sidenote"><p>Give an instance of the success of treatment according to analysis?</p></div>
+
+<p>When an analysis is obtained, a regular debtor
+and creditor account may be kept with the soil; and
+the farmer may know by the composition of the ashes
+of his crops, and the manures supplied, whether he
+is maintaining the fertility of his soil.</p>
+
+<p>Prof. Mapes once purchased some land which
+could not produce corn at all, and by applying only
+such manures as analysis indicated to be necessary,
+at a cost of less than $2 per acre, he obtained
+the first year over <i>fifty bushels of shelled corn per
+acre</i>. The land has since continued to improve, and
+is as fertile as any in the State. It has produced in
+one season a sufficient crop of cabbages to pay the
+expense of cultivation, and over $250 per acre besides,
+though it was apparently <i>worthless</i> when he
+purchased it.</p>
+
+<p>These are strong facts, and should arouse the farmers
+of the whole country to their true interests.
+Let them not call the teachings of science "book-farming,"
+but "prove all things&mdash;hold fast that
+which is good."</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AQ_43" id="Footnote_AQ_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AQ_43"><span class="label">[AQ]</span></a> See Author's card in the front of the book.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2 class="gap4">CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>TABLES OF ANALYSIS.</h3>
+
+<h3 class="gap2">ANALYSES OF THE ASHES OF CROPS.</h3>
+
+
+<h4>No. I.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_I">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Wheat.&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Wheat Straw.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Rye.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">Rye Straw.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb padr">Ashes in 1000 dry parts</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">20</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">60</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">24</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">40</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica (<i>sand</i>)</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">16</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">654</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">645</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">28</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">67</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">50</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">91</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">120</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">33</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">104</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">24</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Peroxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">7</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">13</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">14</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">237</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">124</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">221</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">174</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">91</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">116</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">11</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">3</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">58</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">10</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">498</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">31</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">496</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">38</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. II.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_II">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Corn.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Corn Stalks.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Barley.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">Barley Straw.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb padr">Ashes in 1000 dry parts.</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">15</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">44</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">28</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">61</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica (<i>sand</i>)</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">15</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">270</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">271</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">706</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">15</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">86</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">26</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">95</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">162</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">66</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">75</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">32</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Peroxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">3</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">8</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">15</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Manganese</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">261</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">96</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">136</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">62</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">63</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">277</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">81</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">20</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">23</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">449</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">171</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">389</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">31</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. III.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_III">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Oats.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Oat Straw.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Buck Wheat.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">Potatoes.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb padr">Ashes in 1000 dry parts</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">20</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">51</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">21</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">90</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica (<i>sand</i>)</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">7</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">484</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">7</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">42</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">60</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">81</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">67</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">99</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">38</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">104</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">53</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Peroxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">4</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">18</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">11</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr2" rowspan="2"><span style="font-size:200%">{</span>262<span style="font-size:200%">}</span></td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">191</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">87</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">557</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">97</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">201</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">3</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">32</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">43</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">104</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">33</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">22</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">137</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">438</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">27</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">500</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">126</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb">Organic Matter</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bb center smaller">750 Water.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. IV.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_IV">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Peas.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Beans.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Turnips.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">Turnip Tops.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb padr">Ashes in 1000 dry parts</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">25</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">27</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">76</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">170</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica (<i>sand</i>)</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">12</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">71</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">53</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">58</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">128</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">233</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">85</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">80</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">48</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">31</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Peroxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">10</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">9</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">361</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">336</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">398</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">286</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">91</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">106</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">108</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">54</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">23</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">7</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">37</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">160</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">44</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">10</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">131</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">125</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">333</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">378</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">67</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">93</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb">Organic Matter</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr"></td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr"></td>
+<td class="br bb center smaller">870 Water.</td>
+<td class="bb">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. V.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_V">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Flax.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Linseed.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Meadow Hay.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">Red Clover.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb padr">Ashes in 1000 dry parts</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">50</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">46</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">60</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">75</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica (<i>sand</i>)</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">257</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">75</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">344</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">48</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Alumina (<i>clay</i>)</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr2">37?</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">148</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">83</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">196</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">371</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">44</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">146</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">78</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">46</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Peroxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr2">36?</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">9</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">7</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">117</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">240</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">236</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">267</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">118</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">45</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">19</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">71</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">29</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">28</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">48</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">32</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">23</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">29</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br bb">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">130</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">365</td>
+<td class="br bb ralign padlr">58</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">88</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. VI.</h4>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Amount of Inorganic Matter removed from the soil by ten
+bushels of grains, etc., and by the straw, etc., required in
+their production&mdash;estimated in pounds:</p>
+
+<table summary="Table_VI" class="gap2">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Wheat.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">1200 lbs. Wheat Straw.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Rye.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">1620 lbs. Rye Straw.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.86</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">8.97</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.51</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">11.34</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.04</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.12</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.33</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.20</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.34</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">4.84</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.56</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5.91</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.46</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.76</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.18</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">1.58</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.08</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.94</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.15</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.88</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.03</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">4.20</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.11</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.05</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6.01</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.22</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5.64</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2.49</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.79</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.30</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.14</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">47.16</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.05</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">42.25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bb br padr">Pounds carried off</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">12</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">72</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">11&frac12;</td>
+<td class="bt bb ralign padlr">66</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. VII.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_VII">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Corn.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">1620 lbs. Corn Stalks.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Oats.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">700 lbs. Oat Straw.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.78</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6.84</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.69</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">12.08</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">19.83</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.12</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6.02</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.39</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">3.39</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.52</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">4.74</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.64</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">1.59</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.57</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.02</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.78</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr"></td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.36</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.66</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">1.41</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">4.52</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">12.15</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.80</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">1.07</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.33</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.02</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">1.36</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.06</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">19.16</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.18</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">20.32</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bb br padr">Pounds carried off</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">9</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">71</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">6&frac12;</td>
+<td class="bt bb ralign padlr">42</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. VIII.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_VIII">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Buck Wheat.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Barley.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">660 lbs. Barley Straw.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">2000 lbs. Flax.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.01</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.90</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.57</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">11.78</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.13</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.18</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.23</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">11.82</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.78</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.96</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">3.88</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">11.85</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.20</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.00</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.31</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">9.38</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.14</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.20</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.90</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">7.32</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.25</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.01</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.66</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">3.19</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5.40</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5.35</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.25</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">13.05</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.01</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.40</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2.90</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.09</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">3.90</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">28.80</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">25.71</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bb br padr">Pounds carried off</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">11</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">14</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">40</td>
+<td class="bt bb ralign padlr">100</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. IX.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_IX">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Beans.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">1120 lbs. Bean Straw.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Field Peas.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">1366 lbs. Pea Straw.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5.54</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">36.28</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5.90</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">3.78</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.83</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.09</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.40</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">98.98</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">13.60</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.81</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">43.93</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.28</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">4.55</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.30</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5.50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.10</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.20</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.15</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">1.40</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.16</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.64</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.64</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5.43</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">7.80</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5.00</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5.50</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">3.86</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.13</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.74</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.23</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.08</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.18</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">4.90</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.7</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">16.02</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bb br padr">Pounds carried off</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">17</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">68</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">16</td>
+<td class="bt bb ralign padlr">80</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. X.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_X">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">1 Ton Turnips.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">635 lbs. Turnip Tops.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">1 Ton Potatoes.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">2000 lbs. Red Clover.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">7.14</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">4.34</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">27.82</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">31.41</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.86</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.84</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.93</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">8.34</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.31</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">3.61</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.03</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">43.77</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.91</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.48</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.63</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5.25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.23</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.13</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.26</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.23</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.30</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.81</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6.81</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">7.05</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.29</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.31</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6.25</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">10.28</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.61</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.35</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.13</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5.86</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.36</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">.13</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.14</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5.81</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bb br padr">Pounds carried off</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">17</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">15</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">50</td>
+<td class="bt bb ralign padlr">118</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XI.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_XI">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">2000 lbs. Meadow Hay.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">2000 lbs. Cabbage Water 9-10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">18.11</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5.25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.35</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">9.20</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">22.95</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">9.45</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6.75</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2.70</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">1.69</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.70</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">9.60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5.97</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">5.60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">2.59</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2.60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Silica</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">37.89</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">.35</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bt bb br padr">Pounds carried off</td>
+<td class="bt bb br ralign padlr">100</td>
+<td class="bt bb ralign padlr">45</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XII.</h4>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Composition of Ashes, leached and unleached, showing their
+manurial value:</p>
+
+<table class="gap2" summary="Table_XII">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Oak unleached.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Oak leached.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Beech unleached.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">Beech leached.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">84</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">158</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">56</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">29</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">750</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">548</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">634</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">426</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">45</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">113</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">70</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">6</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">8</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">15</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">12</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">14</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br padr">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">35</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">8</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">31</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">57</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bb br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="bb br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bb br ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bb br ralign padlr">2</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XIII.</h4>
+
+<table class="gap2" summary="Table_XIII">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bb">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Birch leached.</td>
+<td class="bt br bb center" style="width:3em;">Seaweed unleached.</td>
+<td class="bt bb center" style="width:3em;">Bituminous Coal unleached.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Potash</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">180</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Soda</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">210</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Lime</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">522</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">94</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">21</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">30</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">99</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">5</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">3</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">40</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br">Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">248</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="br padr">Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">43</td>
+<td class="br ralign padlr">52</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">2</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bb br">Chlorine</td>
+<td class="bb br ralign padlr">&mdash;</td>
+<td class="bb br ralign padlr">98</td>
+<td class="bb ralign padlr">1</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XIV.</h4>
+
+<h4>TOBACCO.</h4>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Analysis of the ash of the <span class="smcap">Plant</span> [Will &amp; Fresedius]&mdash;</p>
+
+<table class="gap2" summary="Table_XIV 1">
+<tr>
+<td>Potash</td>
+<td class="ralign">19.55</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Soda</td>
+<td class="ralign">0.27</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Magnesia</td>
+<td class="ralign">11.07</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lime</td>
+<td class="ralign">48.68</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="ralign">3.66</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="ralign">3.29</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="ralign">2.99</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padr">Chloride of Sodium</td>
+<td class="ralign">3.54</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Loss</td>
+<td class="ralign">6.95</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt ralign">100.00</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Analysis of the ash of the <span class="smcap">Root</span> [Berthier]&mdash;</p>
+
+<table class="gap2" summary="Table_XIV 2">
+<tr>
+<td class="padr">Soluble Matter</td>
+<td class="ralign">12.3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Insoluble</td>
+<td class="ralign">87.7</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="hangindent">The Soluble parts consist of nearly&mdash;</p>
+
+<table class="gap2" summary="Table_XIV 3">
+<tr>
+<td>Carbonic Acid</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">10.0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">10.3</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padr">Muriatic Acid (Chlorine, &amp;c.)</td>
+<td class="ralign">18.26</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Potash and Soda</td>
+<td class="ralign">61.44</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt ralign">100.00</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XV.</h4>
+
+<h4>Composition of some of the more common Compounds of Acids and Alkalies.</h4>
+
+<table class="gap2" summary="Table_XV">
+<tr>
+<td class="bbox center">100 Parts of</td>
+<td class="bbox center padlr" colspan="2">Contain of the Alkalies</td>
+<td class="bbox center padlr" colspan="2">Contain of the Acids</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Carbonate of Potash (Pearlash)</td>
+<td>Potash</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">68.09</td>
+<td>Carbonic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">31.91</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Bi-Carbonate of Potash (Saleratus)</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">51.62</td>
+<td>Carbonic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">48.38</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Nitrate of Potash (Saltpetre)</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">46.56</td>
+<td>Nitric</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">53.44</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Silicate of Potash</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">50.54</td>
+<td>Silicic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">49.46</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Carbonate of Soda</td>
+<td>Soda</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">58.58</td>
+<td>Carbonic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">41.42</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br padr">Bi-Carbonate of Soda (Common Soda)<a href="#Footnote_AR_44" class="fnanchor">[AR]</a></td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">41.42</td>
+<td>Carbonic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">58.58</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Nitrate of Soda</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">36.60</td>
+<td>Nitric</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">63.40</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Sulphate of Soda (Glauber Salts)<a href="#Footnote_AR_44" class="fnanchor">[AR]</a></td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">19.38</td>
+<td>Sulphuric</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">24.85</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Silicate of Soda</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">40.37</td>
+<td>Silicic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">59.63</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Carbonate of Lime (Limestone)</td>
+<td>Lime</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">56.29</td>
+<td>Carbonic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">43.71</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Sulphate of Lime (Plaster Paris)<a href="#Footnote_AR_44" class="fnanchor">[AR]</a></td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">32.90</td>
+<td>Sulphuric</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">46.31</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Sulphate of Lime (Burned)</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">41.53</td>
+<td>Sulphuric</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">58.47</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Phosphate of Lime</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">54.48</td>
+<td>Phosphoric</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">45.52</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Super-Phosphate of Lime</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">28.52</td>
+<td>Phosphoric</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">71.48</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Silicate of Lime</td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">38.15</td>
+<td>Silicic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">61.85</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Carbonate of Magnesia</td>
+<td>Magnesia</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">48.31</td>
+<td>Carbonic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">51.69</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Sulphate of Magnesia (Epsom Salts)<a href="#Footnote_AR_44" class="fnanchor">[AR]</a></td>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;do.</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">16.70</td>
+<td>Sulphuric</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">32.40</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br">Silicate of Alumina</td>
+<td>Alumina</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">17.05</td>
+<td>Silicic</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">72.95</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bb bl br">Sulphate of Iron (Green Vitriol)<a name="FNanchor_AR_44" id="FNanchor_AR_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_AR_44" class="fnanchor">[AR]</a></td>
+<td class="bb">Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="bb br padlr ralign">27.19</td>
+<td class="bb">Sulphuric</td>
+<td class="bb br padlr ralign">31.03</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XVI.</h4>
+
+<h4>Proximate Analyses of Crops, showing the amount of the different Organic Compounds contained
+in Grain, Roots, Hay, etc.&mdash;estimated in pounds:</h4>
+
+<table class="gap2" summary="Table_XVI">
+<tr>
+<td class="bt br bl" colspan="2">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bbox center" style="width:6em;">Water.</td>
+<td class="bbox center" style="width:6em;">Husk or Woody Fibre.</td>
+<td class="bbox center" style="width:6em;">Starch, Gum and Sugar.</td>
+<td class="bbox center" style="width:6em;">Gluten, Albumen, Legumin.</td>
+<td class="bbox center" style="width:6em;">Fatty Matter.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br center smaller" colspan="2">10 Bushels.</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Wheat</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">600 lbs.</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">90</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">90</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">330</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">87</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Barley</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">515 lbs.</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">77</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">77</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">309</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">70</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">13</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Oats</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">425 lbs.</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">68</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">85</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">255</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">70</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Rye</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">520 lbs.</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">62</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">78</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">312</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">65</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Indian Corn</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">600 lbs.</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">84</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">36</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">420</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">72</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">42</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Buck Wheat</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">425 lbs.</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">64</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">106</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">212</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">34</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">2?</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Beans</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">640 lbs.</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">90</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">61</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">256</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">166</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Peas</td>
+<td class="br padlr ralign">640 lbs.</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">90</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">58</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">320</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">154</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl br center smaller" colspan="2">2000 lbs.</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bl br">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Potatoes</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">1500</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">80</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">360</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">40</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Turnips</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">1760</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">40</td>
+<td class="br padlr2 ralign">180<a href="#Footnote_AS_45" class="fnanchor">[AS]</a></td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">30</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">6</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Carrots</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">1700</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">60</td>
+<td class="br padlr2 ralign">200<a href="#Footnote_AS_45" class="fnanchor">[AS]</a></td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">30</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Mangold Wurtzel</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">1700</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">40</td>
+<td class="br padlr2 ralign">220<a name="FNanchor_AS_45" id="FNanchor_AS_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_AS_45" class="fnanchor">[AS]</a></td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">40</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">?</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Meadow Hay</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">280</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">600</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">800</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">140</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">70</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Clover Hay</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">280</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">500</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">800</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">186</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">80</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Pea Straw</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">250</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">500</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">900</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">246</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">30</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Rye Straw</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">270</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">900</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">760</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">26</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">?</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">Corn Stalks</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">240</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">500</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">1040</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">60</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">34</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl">100 lbs. Fine Wheat Flour</td>
+<td class="br">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">10</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">79</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">11</td>
+<td class="br padlr3 ralign">&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="bl bb">100 lbs. Wheat Bran</td>
+<td class="br bb ">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br bb padlr3 ralign">13</td>
+<td class="br bb padlr3 ralign">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="br bb padlr3 ralign">55</td>
+<td class="br bb padlr3 ralign">19</td>
+<td class="br bb padlr3 ralign">5</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span></p>
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XVII.</h4>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Amount of Ash left after burning 1000 lbs. of various plants,
+ordinarily dry&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="Table_XVII">
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Wheat</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">20</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>its straw</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Barley</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">30</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Oats</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">40</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Rye</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">20</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">40</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Indian Corn</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">15</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Pea</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">30</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="center">"</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Bean</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">30</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Meadow Hay</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">50</td>
+<td>to</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">100</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Clover</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">"</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">90</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Rye Grass</td>
+<td class="ralign padlr">"</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">95</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Potato</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">8</td>
+<td>to</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">15</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Turnip</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">5</td>
+<td>to</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">8</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td colspan="2">Carrot</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">15</td>
+<td>to</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">20</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XVIII.</h4>
+
+<h4>MANURES.</h4>
+
+<h4>HORSE MANURE.</h4>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Solid Dung&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="Table_XVIII_1">
+<tr>
+<td>Combustible Matter</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">19.68</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Ash</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">3.07</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Water</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">77.25</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt padlr ralign">100.00</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="gap2 hangindent">Composition of the Ash&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="Table_XVIII_2">
+<tr>
+<td>Silica</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">62.40</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Potash</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">11.30</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Soda</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">1.98</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Oxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">1.17</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lime</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">4.63</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Magnesia</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">3.84</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Oxide of Manganese</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">2.13</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Phosphoric Acid</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">10.49</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphuric Acid</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">1.89</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Chlorine</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">0.03</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Loss</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">0.14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt padlr ralign">100.00</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XIX.</h4>
+
+<h4>NIGHT SOIL.</h4>
+
+<p class="gap2 hangindent">Solid (Ash)&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="Table_XIX_1">
+<tr>
+<td>Earthy Phosphates and a trace of Sulphate of Lime</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">100</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphate of Soda and Potash, and Phosphate of Soda</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Carbonate of Soda</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Silica</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Charcoal and Loss</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">18</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt padlr ralign">150</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="gap2 hangindent">Urine</p>
+
+<table summary="Table_XIX_2">
+<tr>
+<td>Urea<a href="#Footnote_AT_46" class="fnanchor">[AT]</a></td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">30.10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Uric Acid</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">1.00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sal Ammoniac<a href="#Footnote_AT_46" class="fnanchor">[AT]</a></td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">1.50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lactic Acid, etc.</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">17.14</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Mucus</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">.32</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphate of Potash</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">3.71</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphate of Soda</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">3.16</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Phosphate of Ammonia<a name="FNanchor_AT_46" id="FNanchor_AT_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_AT_46" class="fnanchor">[AT]</a></td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">1.65</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Earthy Phosphates</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">3.94</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Salt (Chloride of Sodium)</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">4.45</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Silica</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">0.03</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt padlr ralign">67.00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Water</td>
+<td class="bt padlr ralign">933.00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt padlr ralign">1000.00</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XX.</h4>
+
+<h4>COW MANURE.</h4>
+
+<p class="gap2 hangindent">Solid (Ash)&mdash;</p>
+
+<table summary="Table_XX">
+<tr>
+<td>Phosphates</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">20.9</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Peroxide of Iron</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">8.8</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Lime</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">1.5</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphate of Lime (Plaster)</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">3.1</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Chloride of Potassium</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">trace</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Silica</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">63.7</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;&nbsp;Loss</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">2.0</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt padlr ralign">100.0</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XXI.</h4>
+
+<h4>COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE URINE OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_XXI" style="width:50%;">
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td colspan="2" class="center smaller">Solid Matter.</td>
+<td rowspan="2" class="ralign smaller" style="vertical-align:middle;">Total.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign smaller">Organic.</td>
+<td class="ralign smaller">Inorganic.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Man</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">23.4</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">7.6</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">31</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Horse</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">27.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">33.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">60</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Cow</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">50.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">20.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">70</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Pig</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">56.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">18.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">74</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sheep</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">28.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">12.&nbsp;&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">40</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<h4 class="gap2">No. XXII.</h4>
+
+<h4>GUANO.</h4>
+
+<table summary="Table_XXII" style="width:50%">
+<tr>
+<td>Water</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">6.40</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Ammonia</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">2.71</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Uric Acid</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">34.70</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Oxalic Acid, etc.</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">26.79</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center smaller">Fixed Alkaline Salts.</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Sulphate of Soda</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">2.94</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Phosphate of Soda</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">.48</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Chloride of Sodium (salt)</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">.86</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center smaller">Earthy Salts.</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Carbonate of Lime</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">1.36</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Phosphates</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">19.24</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="center smaller">Foreign Matter.</td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Silicious grit and sand</td>
+<td class="padlr ralign">4.52</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="bt padlr ralign">100.00</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p class="center">For the analysis of fertile and barren soils, see page <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AR_44" id="Footnote_AR_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AR_44"><span class="label">[AR]</span></a> Contain a large amount of Water.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AS_45" id="Footnote_AS_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AS_45"><span class="label">[AS]</span></a> Pectic Acid.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_AT_46" id="Footnote_AT_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_AT_46"><span class="label">[AT]</span></a> Supply Ammonia.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2 class="gap4"><a name="THE_PRACTICAL_FARMER" id="THE_PRACTICAL_FARMER"></a>THE PRACTICAL FARMER.</h2>
+
+
+<p>Who is the <i>practical farmer</i>? Let us look at two
+pictures and decide.</p>
+
+<p>Here is a farm of 100 acres in ordinary condition.
+It is owned and tilled by a hard-working man,
+who, in the busy season, employs one or two assistants.
+The farm is free from debt, but it does not
+produce an abundant income; therefore, its owner
+cannot afford to purchase the best implements, or
+make other needed improvements; besides, he don't
+<i>believe</i> in such things. His father was a good solid
+farmer; so was his grandfather; and so is he, or
+thinks he is. He is satisfied that 'the good old way'
+is best, and he sticks to it. He works from morning
+till night; from spring till fall. In the winter, he
+<i>rests</i>, as much as his lessened duties will allow.
+During this time, he reads little, or nothing. Least
+of all does he read about farming. He don't want
+to learn how to dig potatoes out of a book. Book
+farming is nonsense. Many other similar ideas keep
+him from agricultural reading. His house is comfort<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>able,
+and his barns are quite as good as his neighbors',
+while his farm gives him a living. It is true
+that his soil does not produce as much as it did ten
+years ago; but prices are better, and he is satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>Let us look at his premises, and see how his
+affairs are managed. First, examine the land. Well,
+it is good fair land. Some of it is a little springy,
+but is not to be called <i>wet</i>. It will produce a ton
+and a half of hay to the acre&mdash;it used to produce
+two tons. There are some stones on the land, but not
+enough in his estimation to do harm. The plowed
+fields are pretty good; they will produce 35 bushels
+of corn, 13 bushels of wheat, or 30 bushels of oats
+per acre, when the season is not dry. His father
+used to get more; but, somehow, the <i>weather</i> is not
+so favorable as it was in old times. He has thought
+of raising root crops, but they take more labor than
+he can afford to hire. Over, in the back part of the
+land there is a muck-hole, which is the only piece of
+<i>worthless</i> land on the whole farm.</p>
+
+<p>Now, let us look at the barns and barn-yards.
+The stables are pretty good. There are some wide
+cracks in the siding, but they help to ventilate, and
+make it healthier for the cattle. The manure is
+thrown out of the back windows, and is left in piles
+under the eaves on the sunny side of the barn. The
+rain and sun make it nicer to handle. The cattle
+have to go some distance for water; and this gives
+them exercise. All of the cattle are not kept in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>
+stable; the fattening stock are kept in the various
+fields, where hay is fed out to them from the stack.
+The barn-yard is often occupied by cattle, and is
+covered with their manure, which lies there until it
+is carted on to the land. In the shed are the tools
+of the farm, consisting of carts, plows&mdash;not deep
+plows, this farmer thinks it best to have roots near
+the surface of the soil where they can have the benefit
+of the sun's heat,&mdash;a harrow, hoes, rakes, etc. These
+tools are all in good order; and, unlike those of his
+less prudent neighbor, they are protected from the
+weather.</p>
+
+<p>The crops are cultivated with the plow, and hoe,
+as they have been since the land was cleared, and
+as they always will be until this man dies.</p>
+
+<p>Here is the 'practical farmer' of the present day.
+Hard working, out of debt, and economical&mdash;of dollars
+and cents, if not of soil and manures. He is a
+better farmer than two thirds of the three millions
+of farmers in the country. He is one of the best
+farmers in his town&mdash;there are but few better in the
+county, not many in the State. He represents the
+better class of his profession.</p>
+
+<p>With all this, he is, in matters relating to his
+business, an unreading, unthinking man. He knows
+nothing of the first principles of farming, and is successful
+by the <i>indulgence</i> of nature, not because he
+understands her, and is able to make the most of her
+assistance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This is an unpleasant fact, but it is one which
+cannot be denied. We do not say this to disparage
+the farmer, but to arouse him to a realization of his
+position and of his power to improve it.</p>
+
+<p>But let us see where he is wrong.</p>
+
+<p>He is wrong in thinking that his land does not
+need draining. He is wrong in being satisfied with
+one and a half tons of hay to the acre when he might
+easily get two and a half. He is wrong in not removing
+as far as possible every stone that can interfere
+with the deep and thorough cultivation of his
+soil. He is wrong in reaping less than his father did,
+when he should get more. He is wrong in ascribing
+to the weather, and similar causes, what is due to
+the actual impoverishment of his soil. He is wrong
+in not raising turnips, carrots, and other roots, which
+his winter stock so much need, when they might be
+raised at a cost of less than one third of their value
+as food. He is wrong in considering worthless a deposit
+of muck, which is a mine of wealth if properly
+employed. He is wrong in <i>ventilating</i> his stables at
+the cost of <i>heat</i>. He is wrong in his treatment of
+his manures, for he loses more than one half of their
+value from evaporation, fermentation, and leaching.
+He is wrong in not having water at hand for his
+cattle&mdash;their exercise detracts from their accumulation
+of fat and their production of heat, and it exposes
+them to cold. He is wrong in not protecting
+his fattening stock from the cold of winter; for,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>
+under exposure to cold, the food, which would
+otherwise be used in the formation of <i>fat</i>, goes to
+the production of the animal heat necessary to counteract
+the chilling influence of the weather, p. 50.
+He is wrong in allowing his manure to lie unprotected
+in the barn-yard. He is wrong in not
+adding to his tools the deep surface plow, the subsoil
+plow, the cultivator, and many others of improved
+construction. He is wrong in cultivating
+with the plow and hoe, those crops which could be
+better or more cheaply managed with the cultivator
+or horse-hoe. He is wrong in many things more, as
+we shall see if we examine all of his yearly routine of
+work. He is right in a few things; and but a few,
+as he himself would admit, had he that knowledge
+of his business which he could obtain in the leisure
+hours of a single winter. Still, he thinks himself a
+<i>practical</i> farmer. In twenty years, we shall have
+fewer such, for our young men have the mental
+capacity and mental energy necessary to raise them
+to the highest point of practical education, and to
+that point they are gradually but surely rising.</p>
+
+<p>Let us now place this same farm in the hands of
+an educated and understanding cultivator; and, at
+the end of five years, look at it again.</p>
+
+<p>He has sold one half of it, and cultivates but fifty
+acres. The money for which the other fifty were
+sold has been used in the improvement of the farm.
+The land has all been under-drained, and shows the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>
+many improvements consequent on such treatment.
+The stones and small rocks have been removed,
+leaving the surface of the soil smooth, and allowing
+the use of the sub-soil plow, which with the under-drains
+have more than doubled the productive power
+of the farm. Sufficient labor is employed to cultivate
+with improved tools, extensive root crops,
+and they invariably give a large yield. The grass
+land produces a yearly average of 2&frac12; tons of hay per
+acre. From 80 to 100 bushels of corn, 30 bushels
+of wheat, and 45 bushels of oats are the average of
+the crops reaped. The soil has been analyzed, and
+put in the best possible condition, while it is yearly
+supplied with manures containing every thing taken
+away in the abundant crops. The analysis is never
+lost sight of in the regulation of crops and the application
+of manures. The <i>worthless</i> muck bed was retained,
+and is made worth one dollar a load to the
+compost heap, especially as the land requires an
+increase of organic matter. A new barn has been
+built large enough to store all of the hay produced
+on the farm. It has stables, which are tight and
+warm, and are well ventilated <i>above</i> the cattle. The
+stock being thus protected from the loss of their heat,
+give more milk, and make more fat on a less amount
+of food than they did under the old system. Water
+is near at hand, and the animals are not obliged to
+over exercise. The manure is carefully composted,
+either under a shed constructed for the purpose with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>
+a tank and pump, or is thrown into the cellar below,
+where the hogs mix it with a large amount of muck,
+which has been carted in after being thoroughly decomposed
+by the lime and salt mixture.</p>
+
+<p>They are thus protected against all loss, and are
+prepared for the immediate use of crops. No manures
+are allowed to lie in the barn-yard, but they
+are all early removed to the compost heap, where
+they are preserved by being mixed with carbonaceous
+matter. In the tool shed, we find deep surface-plows,
+sub-soil plows, cultivators, horse-hoes, seed-drills,
+and many other valuable improvements.</p>
+
+<p>This farmer takes one or more agricultural papers,
+from which he learns many new methods of cultivation,
+while his knowledge of the <i>reasons</i> of various
+agricultural effects enables him to discard the injudicious
+suggestions of mere <i>book farmers</i> and uneducated
+dreamers.</p>
+
+<p>Here are two specimens of farmers. Neither
+description is over-drawn. The first is much more
+careful in his operations than the majority of our
+rural population. The second is no better than
+many who may be found in America.</p>
+
+<p>We appeal to the common sense of the reader of
+this work to know which of the two is the <i>practical
+farmer</i>&mdash;let him imitate either as his judgment
+shall dictate.</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller gap4">FINIS.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4"><a name="EXPLANATION_OF_TERMS" id="EXPLANATION_OF_TERMS"></a>EXPLANATION OF TERMS.</h2>
+
+
+<div class="hangindent"><p><span class="smcap">Absorb</span>&mdash;to soak in a liquid or a gas.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Abstract</span>&mdash;to take from.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Acid</span>&mdash;sour; a sour substance.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Agriculture</span>&mdash;the art of cultivating the soil.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Alkali</span>&mdash;the direct opposite of an <i>acid</i>, with which it has a tendency
+to unite.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Alumina</span>&mdash;the base of clay.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Analysis</span>&mdash;separating into its primary parts any compound substance.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Carbonate</span>&mdash;a compound, consisting of carbonic acid and an alkali.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Caustic</span>&mdash;burning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Chloride</span>&mdash;a compound containing chlorine.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Clevis</span>&mdash;that part of a plow by which the drawing power is attached.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Decompose</span>&mdash;to separate the constituents of a body from their combinations,
+forming new kinds of compounds.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Digestion</span>&mdash;the decomposition of food in the stomach and intestines
+of animals (agricultural).</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Dew</span>&mdash;deposit of the insensible vapor of the atmosphere on cold
+bodies.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Excrement</span>&mdash;the matter given out by the organs of plants and animals,
+being those parts of their food which they are unable to
+assimilate.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Fermentation</span>&mdash;a kind of decomposition.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Gas</span>&mdash;air&mdash;aeriform matter.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Gurneyism</span>&mdash;see <i>Mulching</i>.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Ingredient</span>&mdash;component part.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Inorganic</span>&mdash;mineral, or earthy.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mouldboard</span>&mdash;that part of a surface plow which turns the sod.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Mulching</span>&mdash;covering the soil with litter, leaves, or other refuse
+matter. See p. 247.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Neutralize</span>&mdash;To overcome the characteristic properties of.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Organic Matter</span>&mdash;that kind of matter which at times possesses an
+organized (or living) form, and at others exists as a gas in the
+atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Oxide</span>&mdash;a compound of oxygen with a metal.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Phosphate</span>&mdash;a compound of phosphoric acid with an alkali.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Proximate</span>&mdash;an organic compound, such as wood, starch, gum, etc.;
+a product of life.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Pungent</span>&mdash;pricking.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Putrefaction</span>&mdash;rotting.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Saturate</span>&mdash;to <i>fill</i> the pores of any substance, as a sponge with water,
+or charcoal with ammonia.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Silicate</span>&mdash;a compound of silica with an alkali.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Soluble</span>&mdash;capable of being dissolved.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Solution</span>&mdash;a liquid containing another substance dissolved in it.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Saturated Solution</span>&mdash;one which contains as much of the foreign
+substance as it is capable of holding.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Spongioles</span>&mdash;the mouths at the ends of roots.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Sulphate</span>&mdash;a compound of sulphuric acid with an alkali.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Vapor</span>&mdash;gas.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+<h3 class="gap4">KETCHUM'S</h3>
+
+<h2>PATENT MOWING MACHINES</h2>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 497px;">
+<img src="images/fig010.png" width="497" height="254" alt="Mowing Machine" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p class="center"><b>The greatest Improvement ever made for Simplicity, Durability,
+and Ease of Action.</b></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p>It is now beyond a question, from the complete triumph over
+all other machines this season, that this is the <i>only</i> successful Grass
+Cutter known. It is in fact the <i>only</i> machine that has ever cut
+<i>all kinds of grass</i> without <i>clogging</i> or <i>interruption</i>. More than
+1000 have been sold the present season under the following warranty,
+and not in a single instance have we been called on to take
+one back.</p>
+
+<p>(Warranty:) That said machines are capable of Cutting and
+Spreading, with one span of horses and driver, from ten to fifteen
+acres per day, <i>of any kind of grass, heavy or light, wet or dry,
+lodged or standing</i>, and do it as well as is done with a scythe by
+the best mowers.</p>
+
+<p>The price of our machine, with two sets of knives and extras,
+is $110, cash, delivered on board of cars or boat, free of charge.</p>
+
+<p class="ralign" style="margin-right: 5em;margin-bottom:0em;">HOWARD &amp; CO.,</p>
+<p class="ralign" style="margin-top:0em;">Manufacturers and Proprietors, Buffalo, N. Y.</p>
+
+<p><i>Buffalo</i>, Aug. 1, 1853.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<div class="hangindent smaller"><p><span class="smcap">Ruggles, Nourse, Mason</span> &amp; Co., Manufacture Ketchum's Mower for
+New England.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Warder &amp; Brokaw</span>, Springfield, Ohio; for Southern Ohio and
+Kentucky.</p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Seymour &amp; Morgan</span>, Brockport, N. Y.; for Michigan and Illinois.</p></div>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4"><a name="NEW_AND_USEFUL_WORKS" id="NEW_AND_USEFUL_WORKS"></a>NEW AND USEFUL WORKS.</h2>
+
+<p class="center smaller">JUST PUBLISHED BY</p>
+
+<h3><i>D. APPLETON &amp; COMPANY</i></h3>
+
+
+<p class="center">A new and much, enlarged edition of</p>
+
+<h4><b>DR. URE'S</b></h4>
+
+<h3>DICTIONARY OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES
+AND MINES.</h3>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Containing a clear Exposition of their principles and practice. Illustrated
+with nearly 1,600 engravings. Complete in two large
+8vo. volumes; counts over 2,000 pages. Price $5.00.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>This new edition is nearly a quarter of a century in advance of any previous one.</p>
+
+<p>It contains one third more matter than the latest previous one.</p>
+
+<p>The statistics, inventions, and improvements, are all brought down to the present
+time.</p>
+
+<p>The results of the London Exhibition on the respective subjects of which the Dictionary
+treats, are presented with great fulness and accuracy.</p>
+
+<p>The numerous errors in the typography of the London edition have been corrected
+in this.</p></div>
+
+
+<h4><b>SIR CHARLES LYELL'S</b></h4>
+
+<h3>PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY;</h3>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Or, the Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, considered
+as illustrative of Geology. A new and much enlarged edition.
+Illustrated with maps, plates, and wood-cuts. 1 vol. 8vo., of 850
+pages. Price $2.25.</p>
+
+
+<h4><b>SIR CHARLES LYELL'S</b></h4>
+
+<h3>MANUAL OF ELEMENTARY GEOLOGY;</h3>
+
+<p class="hangindent">Or, the Ancient Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, as illustrated
+by Geological Monuments. A new and greatly enlarged
+edition. Illustrated with 500 wood-cuts. 1 vol. 8vo. Price $1.75.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p><sup>*</sup><sub>*</sub><sup>*</sup> The author of these works, stands in the very front rank of scientific men, and
+his works upon the science to which he has devoted his great powers and his indefatigable
+study, are the standard books upon these subjects.</p></div>
+
+
+<h4><b>APPLETON'S</b></h4>
+
+<h3>MODERN ATLAS OF THE EARTH.</h3>
+
+<p class="hangindent">With an Alphabetical Index of the Latitudes and Longitudes of
+18,000 places. Thirty-four beautifully engraved and colored
+maps, with Temperature Scales. 4to. size, bound in 1 vol., royal
+8vo. Price $3.50.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>This is the only complete portable Modern Atlas yet published. The maps are
+engraved on steel, and executed with great clearness, distinctness and accuracy. The
+delineations of mountainous districts, the sources of rivers and boundary lines, have
+been made with great care. It is designed for the table of the Student and the office
+of the Professional Man, and is issued in a very finished and elegant style, and
+embraces extensive details of all the important parts of the Earth.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+<p class="center gap4"><i>D. APPLETON AND CO.'S PUBLICATIONS.</i></p>
+
+<h3>Popular Science.</h3>
+
+<h2>The Chemistry of Common Life.</h2>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> JAMES F. W. JOHNSTON, M.A., F.R.S.S. L. &amp; E., &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p class="center">Author of "Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology," a
+"Catechism of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology," &amp;c.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center"><i>ADVERTISEMENT.</i></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The common life of man is full of wonders, Chemical and Physiological. Most of us pass
+through this life without seeing or being sensible of them, though every day our existence and
+our comforts ought to recall them to our minds. One main cause of this is, that our schools
+tell us nothing about them&mdash;do not teach those parts of modern learning which would fit us
+for seeing them. What most concerns the things that daily occupy our attention and cares,
+are in early life almost sedulously kept from our knowledge. Those who would learn any
+thing regarding them, must subsequently teach themselves through the help of the press:
+hence the necessity for a Popular Chemical Literature.</p>
+
+<p>It is with a view to meet this want of the Public, and at the same time to supply a Manual
+for the Schools, that the present work has been projected. It treats, in what appears to be
+their natural order, of <span class="smaller">THE AIR WE BREATHE</span> and <span class="smaller">THE WATER WE DRINK</span>, in their relations to
+human life and health&mdash;<span class="smaller">THE SOIL WE CULTIVATE AND THE PLANT WE REAR</span>, as the sources
+from which the chief sustenance of all life is obtained&mdash;<span class="smaller">THE BREAD WE EAT AND THE BEEF WE
+COOK</span>, as the representatives of the two grand divisions of human food&mdash;<span class="smaller">THE BEVERAGES WE
+INFUSE</span>, from which so much of the comfort of modern life, both savage and civilized, is derived&mdash;<span class="smaller">THE
+SWEETS WE EXTRACT</span>, the history of which presents so striking an illustration of
+the economical value of chemical science&mdash;<span class="smaller">THE LIQUORS WE FERMENT</span>, so different from the
+sweets in their action on the system, and yet so closely connected with them in chemical
+history&mdash;<span class="smaller">THE NARCOTICS WE INDULGE IN</span>, as presenting us with an aspect of the human constitution
+which, both chemically and physiologically, is more mysterious and wonderful than
+any other we are acquainted with&mdash;<span class="smaller">THE ODOURS WE ENJOY AND THE SMELLS WE DISLIKE</span>; the
+former because of the beautiful illustration it presents of the recent progress of organic
+chemistry in its relations to comforts of common life, and the latter because of its intimate
+connection with our most important sanitary arrangements&mdash;<span class="smaller">WHAT WE BREATHE FOR</span> and
+<span class="smaller">WHY WE DIGEST</span>, as functions of the body at once the most important to life, and the most
+purely chemical in their nature&mdash;<span class="smaller">THE BODY WE CHERISH</span>, as presenting many striking phenomena,
+and performing many interesting chemical functions not touched upon in the discussion
+of the preceding topics&mdash;and lastly, <span class="smaller">THE CIRCULATION OF MATTER</span>, as exhibiting in
+one view the end, purpose, and method of all the changes in the natural body, in organic
+nature, and in the mineral kingdom, which are connected with and determine the existence
+of life.</p>
+
+<p>It has been the object of the Author in this Work to exhibit the present condition of
+chemical knowledge and of matured scientific opinion upon the subjects to which it is devoted.
+The reader will not be surprised, therefore, should he find in it some things which
+differ from what is to be found in other popular works already in his hands or on the shelves
+of his library.</p>
+
+<p>The Work is being published in 5 or 6 <span class="smcap">Numbers</span>, price 25 cents each, in the following
+order, forming 1 vol. 12mo. of about 400 pages.</p></div>
+
+<ol style="font-weight:bold;margin-left:20%;">
+<li>The AIR we Breathe and</li>
+<li>The WATER we Drink.</li>
+<li>The SOIL we Cultivate and</li>
+<li>The PLANT we Rear.</li>
+<li>The BREAD we Eat and</li>
+<li>The BEEF we Cook.</li>
+<li>The BEVERAGES we Infuse.</li>
+<li>The SWEETS we Extract.</li>
+<li>The LIQUORS we Ferment.</li>
+<li>The NARCOTICS we Indulge in.</li>
+<li>The ODOURS we Enjoy and</li>
+<li>The SMELLS we Dislike.</li>
+<li>What we BREATHE and BREATHE FOR, and</li>
+<li>What, How, and Why we DIGEST</li>
+<li>The BODY we Cherish, and</li>
+<li>The CIRCULATION of MATTER, a Recapitulation.</li>
+</ol>
+
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4"><a name="WORKS_ON_AGRICULTURE_THE_HORSE_DOG" id="WORKS_ON_AGRICULTURE_THE_HORSE_DOG"></a>WORKS ON AGRICULTURE, THE HORSE, &amp; DOG.</h2>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Published by D. Appleton, &amp; Co.</i></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3>THE FARMER'S HAND-BOOK</h3>
+
+<p>Being a Full and Complete Guide for the Farmer and Emigrant. Comprising&mdash;The
+Clearing of Forest and Prairie Lands; Gardening; Farming Generally; Farriery; The
+Management and Treatment of Cattle; Cookery; The Construction of Dwellings; Prevention
+and Cure of Disease; with copious Tables, Recipes, Hints, &amp;c., &amp;c. By
+<span class="smcap">Josiah T. Marshall</span>. One volume, 12mo., illustrated with numerous wood engravings.
+Neatly bound. Price $1; paper cover, 62&frac12; cents.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"One of the most useful books we ever saw."&mdash;<i>Boston Post.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h3>RURAL ECONOMY,</h3>
+
+<p>In its relations with Chemistry, Physics, and Meteorology; or, Chemistry applied to
+Agriculture. By <span class="smcap">J. B. Bouissangault</span>. Translated, with Notes, etc., by George Law,
+Agriculturist. 12mo, over 500 pages, $1&nbsp;50.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The work is the fruit of a long life of study and experiment, and its perusal will aid
+the farmer greatly in obtaining a practical and scientific knowledge of his profession."&mdash;<i>American
+Agriculturist.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h3>THE FARMER'S MANUAL:</h3>
+
+<p>A Practical Treatise on the Nature and Value of Manures, founded from Experiments
+on various Crops, with a brief account of the most Recent Discoveries in Agricultural
+Chemistry. By <span class="smcap">F. Falkner</span> and the Author of "British Husbandry." 12mo, 50 cts.</p>
+
+
+<h3>THE FARMER'S TREASURE:</h3>
+
+<p>Containing "Falkner's Farmer's Manual," and "Smith's Productive Farming,"
+bound together. 12mo, 75 cents.</p>
+
+
+<h3>STABLE ECONOMY:</h3>
+
+<p>A Treatise on the Management of Horses, in relation to Stabling, Grooming, Feeding,
+Watering, and Working. By <span class="smcap">John Stewart</span>, Veterinary Surgeon. With Notes and
+Additions, adapting it to American Food and Climate, by <span class="smcap">A. B. Allen</span>. 12mo, illustrated
+with 23 Engravings, $1.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"No one should build a stable or own a horse without consulting the excellent directions
+for stabling and using the horse, in this book of Stewart's. It is an invaluable <i>vade
+mecum</i> for all who have the luxury of a stable."&mdash;<i>Eve. Mirror.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h3 style="margin-bottom:0em;">THE HORSE'S FOOT;</h3>
+<h4 style="margin-top:0em;">AND HOW TO KEEP IT SOUND.</h4>
+
+<p>With Illustrations by <span class="smcap">William Miles</span>, Esq., from the Third London Edition, with 23
+plates. Price 25 cents.</p>
+
+<p>This work has received the unqualified recommendation of the Quarterly, the Edinburgh,
+and the Reviews generally, of England. The price of the English copy is $3.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It should be in the hands of every owner or friend of the horse."</p></div>
+
+
+<h3>DOGS: THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES.</h3>
+
+<p>Directions as to their general Management. With numerous original anecdotes. Also
+Complete Instructions as to Treatment under Disease. By <span class="smcap">H. D. Richardson</span>. Illustrated
+with numerous Wood Engravings. 1 vol. 12mo, 25 cts. paper cover, 38 cts. cloth.</p>
+
+<p class="blockquot">This is not only a cheap, but one of the best works ever published on the Dog.</p>
+
+
+<h3>THE BOOK OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE:</h3>
+
+<p>A Cyclop&aelig;dia of Six Thousand Practical Receipts, and Collateral Information in the
+Arts, Manufactures, and Trades; including Medicine, Pharmacy, and Domestic Economy,
+designed as a compendious Book of Reference for the Manufacturer, Tradesman,
+Amateur, and Heads of Families. By <span class="smcap">Arnold James Cooley</span>, Practical Chemist. Illustrated
+with numerous Wood Engravings. Forming one handsome volume, 8vo, of 464
+pages. Price $2&nbsp;25, bound.</p>
+
+
+<h3>TREATISE ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LANDSCAPE
+GARDENING:</h3>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Adapted to North America, with a View to the Improvement
+of Country Residences&mdash;</span></p>
+
+<div style="width:40em;margin:auto;">
+<p class="center" style="margin-bottom:0em;">Comprising Historical Notices and General Principles of the Art, Directions for</p>
+<p class="center" style="margin-bottom:0em;margin-top:0em;">Laying Out Grounds and Arranging Plantations, the Description and</p>
+<p class="center" style="margin-bottom:0em;margin-top:0em;">Cultivation of Hardy Trees, Decorative Accompaniments of the</p>
+<p class="center" style="margin-bottom:0em;margin-top:0em;">House and Grounds, the Formation of pieces of Artificial</p>
+<p class="center" style="margin-bottom:0em;margin-top:0em;">Water, Flower Gardens, etc., with remarks on Rural</p>
+<p class="center" style="margin-bottom:0em;margin-top:0em;">Architecture. A new edition, enlarged,</p>
+<p class="center" style="margin-top:0em;">revised and newly illustrated.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="center">By <span class="smcap">A. J. Downing</span>, author of "Designs for Cottage Residences," etc.</p>
+
+<p class="center">A new and improved edition, 8vo., illustrated, $3 50.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Insult not Nature with absurd expense,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor spoil her simple charms by vain pretense;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Weigh well the subject, be with caution bold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Profuse of genius, not profuse of gold."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p class="center">RIKER, THORPE &amp; CO., 129 Fulton st., New York.</p>
+
+<p>"There is no work extant which can be compared in ability to Downing's
+volume on this subject. It is not overlaid with elaborate and learned disquisition,
+like the English works, but it is truly practical."&mdash;<i>Louisville Journal.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Downing's works have been greatly influential in recommending among
+us that life which has always seemed to us the perfection of human existence&mdash;the
+life of men of education, living upon and cultivating their own farms."&mdash;<i>Cour.
+and Enq.</i></p>
+
+<p>"The principles he lays down are not only sound, but are developed on a
+uniform system, which is not paralleled in any English work."&mdash;<i>Prof. Lindley's
+Chronicle, London.</i></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h3><b>RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON &amp; CO.</b>,</h3>
+
+<p class="center"><i>MANUFACTURERS AT WORCESTER</i>,</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">And Wholesale and Retail Dealers in</p>
+
+<h2>AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINES,</h2>
+
+<h4><b>Garden, Field and Flower Seeds</b>,</h4>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Fruit and Ornamental Trees, Shrubs, Roses, Vines and Plants</span>,</p>
+
+<p class="center">GUANO, BONE DUST, PHOSPHATES, POUDRETTE, &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p class="center">Also, Agricultural and Horticultural Publications, and Agents for
+Principal Nurseries,</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">AT THE</p>
+
+<p class="center larger">QUINCY HALL</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b>AGRICULTURAL WAREHOUSE AND SEED STORE</b>,</p>
+
+<p class="center">OVER QUINCY MARKET, SOUTH MARKET ST.,</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b>BOSTON, MASS.</b></p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4"><a name="WAGENERS_AMERICAN_SEED" id="WAGENERS_AMERICAN_SEED"></a>WAGENER'S AMERICAN SEED</h2>
+
+<h3><b>HARVESTER.</b></h3>
+
+
+<p class="center">HIGHEST PREMIUMS AWARDED</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller"><b>At the World's Fair Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, 1853.</b></p>
+
+<p class="center">ALSO BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE, NEW YORK.</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">VARIOUS OTHER APPROBATIONS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED.</p>
+
+<p>This Machine consists of a simple frame and box mounted
+on wheels, in front of which is a cylinder, set with spiral
+knives, acting in concert with curved spring teeth, in combination
+with a straight knife, which forms a perfect shear, and
+severs the head from the stalk; the heads are at the same time
+discharged into the box. The teeth being made to spring and
+vibrate, not a particle of clover, however stalky or thick, can
+possibly escape being cut, or allow the teeth to become clogged.
+The Cylinder and Knives are protected by an adjustible guard
+plate, thus allowing only the heads to pass to the Knives, retaining
+the head, and the head only&mdash;thus leaving the stalk to
+enrich the soil. The machine is so constructed that it can be
+made adjustible to the height of the Clover and Timothy.</p>
+
+<p>To be seen at the Crystal Palace. Price of the machines
+moderate.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The Farmer will find that by this process, he may save two crops of Timothy
+per year. When the seed is ripe the tops can be clipped, and the straw left
+until fall to mature. You now have your seed and hay in two crops of equal
+value; in case of clover, you mow the first crop for hay, the second for seed;
+you in both cases get better seed and hay with less labor and expense than
+grain crops, at the same time leaving the soil clothed with a coat of straw, for
+the coming season, which will increase the value of the soil for crops, make fine
+pastures and fine stock, while it fits the land for fine grain. In this way lands
+in our states have been raised in production from five to twenty-five or thirty
+bushels of wheat per acre, in the course of a few years.</p>
+
+<p>This is within the reach of every farmer, without money or labor, as organic
+matter accumulates from the atmosphere and is deposited in the soil.</p></div>
+
+<p>Manufactured and for sale by the Patentee and Proprietor,</p>
+
+<p class="ralign larger" style="margin-right:6em;">JEPTHA A. WAGENER.</p>
+<p class="ralign"><i>Office 348 West Twenty-Fourth Street, New York.</i></p>
+
+<p>All orders for Machines this season should be sent in immediately,
+in order to have them in readiness for harvest time.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b>Price of Machines, $100 and $110, two sizes, at the Manufactory.</b></p>
+
+<p>&#x261e;Rights of States and Counties on favorable terms.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Wagener's Clover and Timothy Seed Harvester has been in successful operation
+two seasons, and has received the premium at the World's Fair and at the
+Fair of the American Institute, and various other testimonials of superior value.
+They are manufactured and for sale by the inventor, Jeptha A. Wagener, at 348
+West 24th street, New York."&mdash;<i>U. S. Journal.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The Grain Harvester is in course of preparation, and will soon
+be offered for sale.</p>
+
+
+
+<h2 class="gap4">THE WORKING FARMER,</h2>
+
+<p class="center smaller">PUBLISHED ON THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH,</p>
+
+<p class="center smaller">At 143 Fulton St., (upper side,) a few doors east of Broadway, New York.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">TERMS.</p>
+
+<table summary="" class="smaller">
+<tr>
+<td>One year, <i>payable in advance</i>,</td>
+<td class="ralign">$1&nbsp;00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Clubs of six subscribers,</td>
+<td class="ralign">5&nbsp;00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Clubs of twelve subscribers,</td>
+<td class="ralign">10&nbsp;00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Clubs of twenty-five subscribers,</td>
+<td class="ralign">20&nbsp;00</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Single copies,</td>
+<td class="ralign">10</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Volume one, in paper cover,</td>
+<td class="ralign">50</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>Volumes two, three, four and five, in paper cover, each</td>
+<td class="ralign">1&nbsp;00</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>Postage on the <span class="smcap">Working Farmer</span>, <i>if paid at the Subscriber's Post Office</i>, is, for</p>
+
+<p>Any distance within the United States, 3000 miles and under, <i>one cent</i> for
+each paper. If paid at a Subscriber's Post Office, <i>in advance</i>, 1&frac34; cents per
+quarter, or 7 cents per year.</p>
+
+<p>Postage on bound volumes in <i>paper covers, if pre-paid at the New York
+Post Office</i>,</p>
+
+<table summary="" style="width:60%">
+<tr>
+<td style="width:50%">&nbsp;</td>
+<td class="ralign br" style="padding-right:2em;">Vol. I.</td>
+<td style="padding-left:1em;">Vols. II., III., IV &amp; V.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td rowspan="2">Any distance within United States, 3000 miles and under</td>
+<td class="ralign br" style="padding-right:2em;">cts.</td>
+<td style="padding-left:2em;">cts.</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="ralign br" style="padding-right:2em;">22</td>
+<td style="padding-left:2em;">26 each volume.</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<p>If not pre-paid at the New York Post Office, double the above rates will be
+charged.</p>
+
+<p>Subscriptions must commence with the year, namely, March; or the even
+half year, September; and for not less than one year.</p>
+
+<p>Remittances can be made, from such States as have no small paper circulation,
+in gold dollars, Post Office stamps, or the bills of other States.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><b>ADVERTISEMENTS.</b></p>
+
+<p>Five lines, one dollar each insertion, and in the same ratio for more lengthy
+advertisements.</p>
+
+<p>Post-paid Letters, addressed to the Publisher, will meet with prompt attention.</p>
+
+<p class="ralign" style="margin-right:3em;">FRED'K McCREADY,</p>
+<p class="ralign">143 Fulton street, upper side, a few doors east of Broadway.</p>
+
+<h2 class="gap4">MAPES'</h2>
+
+<h2>IMPROVED</h2>
+
+<h2>SUPER</h2>
+
+<h2>PHOSPHATE OF LIME</h2>
+
+<h2>160 lbs.</h2>
+
+<h3>FRED<sup>K</sup>. M<sup>c</sup>CREADY</h3>
+
+<p class="center">WHOLESALE AG<sup>T</sup>. 143 FULTON STREET,</p>
+
+<p style="float:left; margin-left:20%;margin-top:0em;">KEEP DRY.</p>
+<p class="ralign" style="margin-right:20%;">N.Y.</p>
+
+<p style="clear:both;">SEVERAL IMITATIONS of this celebrated fertilizer having been introduced
+among the dealers since the introduction of the <i>Improved Super-Phosphate of
+Lime</i>, I beg to state that all manufactured under the recipe of Prof. J. J. Mapes, is</p>
+
+<p class="center">MARKED ON THE BAGS AS ABOVE,</p>
+
+<p>and each bag contains his certificate of having been made under his superintendence.</p>
+
+<p>&#x261e;Orders for the above fertilizer by mail, from strangers, should be accompanied
+with the money, a draft, or proper references. The bags contain exactly
+160 lbs., which at two and a half cents per pound, amounts to four dollars.</p>
+
+<p class="ralign">FRED'K McCREADY, 143 Fulton street, New York.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter gap4" style="width: 645px;">
+<img src="images/fig011.png" width="645" height="279" alt="Picture of the universal cultivator" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>THE UNIVERSAL CULTIVATOR,</h2>
+
+<p class="center smaller">Described on page <a href="#Page_254">254</a>,</p>
+
+<p>Is represented in the above cut. It is manufactured by us, and is
+sold by all implement dealers.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<p class="center smaller">OUR</p>
+
+<h2>IMPROVED HORSE HOE,</h2>
+
+<p class="center smaller">Of which a cut may be seen on p. <a href="#Page_254">254</a>,</p>
+
+<p>Is now manufactured at our establishment, and is sold throughout the Union.
+It is the best implement for weeding, etc. ever made.</p>
+
+<hr />
+<h2>THE SOD AND SUB-SOIL PLOW,</h2>
+
+<p class="center smaller">(Sometimes called the <span class="smcap">Michigan Plow</span>,)</p>
+
+<p>Consists of two plows on the same beam. The first inverts the sod to the
+depth of a few inches, and the hindmost plow brings up the lower soil, depositing
+it on the inverted sod.</p>
+
+<p>FOR DEEP TILLAGE, especially on prairie land, this is superior to any of its
+competitors.</p>
+
+<p class="ralign" style="margin-right: 3em;">RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON &amp; CO.</p>
+<p class="ralign">Worcester, Mass., and Quincy Hall, Boston.</p>
+
+<div class="bbox gap4" style="width:60%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;">
+<h2>TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES</h2>
+
+<p class="padlr">Page 8 Page number added for tables of analysis</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 22 Period added after "great brilliancy"</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 33 seashore standardised to sea-shore; genii standardised to genie</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 39 No footnote anchor was in place. Anchor added after "are
+         formed," as this seemed most reasonable in context.</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 52 quanties corrected to quantities; nutricious corrected to
+         nutritious</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 53 Footnote marker added for "See Johnston's Elements, page 41."</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 55 ? added after "in their composition" in footer</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 74 Removed second "the" in "is the the foundation of Agricultural
+         Geology."</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 142 pigstye standardised to pig-stye</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 144 plough standardised to plow</p>
+<p class="padlr">Pages 145, 211 subsoil plow standardised to sub-soil plow [Note that in
+         line with the more common usage in this work, the phrases
+         sub-soil plow and sub-soiling have retained their hyphens]</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 148 Removed second n in mannures</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 152 postash corrected to potash</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 157 suplying corrected to supplying</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 167 carbonia corrected to carbonic</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 174 buck-wheat standardised to buckwheat</p>
+<p class="padlr">Pages 196, 232, 234, 235, 237, 238, 241 sub-soil standardised to subsoil</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 204 ? Added after Mineral in the question section</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 211 water tight standardised to water-tight</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 223 Second 6. changed to 7.</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 232 oxydation standardised to oxidation</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 266 Period added after lbs in 1620 lbs rye straw</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 272 Title No. XVI. added to table</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 273 10,000 corrected to 100.00</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 290 accurracy corrected to accuracy</p>
+<p class="padlr">Page 292 Number of pages unclear. 464 Guessed.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Elements of Agriculture, by George E. Waring
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 31105-h.htm or 31105-h.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/1/0/31105/
+
+Produced by Steven Giacomelli, Brownfox and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
+
+
+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig001.png b/31105-h/images/fig001.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..87c0b2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig001.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig002.png b/31105-h/images/fig002.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7cde784
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig002.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig003.png b/31105-h/images/fig003.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..14a4e80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig003.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig004.png b/31105-h/images/fig004.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ad88e9b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig004.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig005.png b/31105-h/images/fig005.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1bc7c91
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig005.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig006.png b/31105-h/images/fig006.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e5fd93
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig006.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig007.png b/31105-h/images/fig007.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9e8fe07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig007.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig008.png b/31105-h/images/fig008.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2e7b9ba
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig008.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig009.png b/31105-h/images/fig009.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b104ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig009.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig010.png b/31105-h/images/fig010.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f51d4d2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig010.png
diff --git a/31105-h/images/fig011.png b/31105-h/images/fig011.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c66dd55
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105-h/images/fig011.png
diff --git a/31105.txt b/31105.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1554390
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,9437 @@
+Project Gutenberg's The Elements of Agriculture, by George E. Waring
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Elements of Agriculture
+       A Book for Young Farmers, with Questions Prepared for the Use of Schools
+
+Author: George E. Waring
+
+Release Date: January 27, 2010 [EBook #31105]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Giacomelli, Brownfox and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES
+
+Most pages of the book include at the bottom a number of questions for
+the student to consider. These have been retained in this version and
+enclosed in square brackets.
+
+Some corrections to typographical errors have been made. These are
+recorded at the end of the text.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+G. E. WARING, JR.
+
+Consulting Agriculturist.
+
+ACCURATE ANALYSES OF SOILS, MANURES, AND
+CROPS PROCURED. FARMS VISITED,
+TREATMENT RECOMMENDED,
+ETC.
+
+
+Letters of advice on analyses will be written for those who require
+them, for $25 each.
+
+Letters on other branches of the subject, inclosing a suitable fee, will
+receive prompt attention.
+
+
+OFFICE, 143 FULTON-STREET, NEW YORK, (UP STAIRS.
+POST-OFFICE ADDRESS, RYE, N. Y.
+
+
+DR. CHARLES ENDERLIN,
+
+ANALYTICAL AND CONSULTING
+
+Chemist,
+
+84 WALKER-STREET,
+NEW YORK.
+
+
+ANALYSIS OF MINERALS, SOILS,--ORGANIC ANALYSIS, ETC.
+
+
+D. APPLETON & COMPANY
+
+HAVE IN COURSE OF PREPARATION,
+
+THE
+
+EARTHWORKER;
+
+OR,
+
+Book of Husbandry.
+
+BY G. E. WARING, JR.
+
+AUTHOR OF THE "ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE."
+
+
+This book is intended as a sequel to the Elements of Agriculture, being
+a larger and more complete work, containing fuller directions for the
+treatment of the different kinds of soils, for the _preparation of
+manures_, and especially for the drainage of lands, whether level,
+rolling, hilly, or springy. Particular attention will be paid to the use
+of analysis. The feeding of different animals, and the cultivation of
+the various crops, will be described with care.
+
+The size of the work will be about 400 pp. 8vo., and it will probably be
+published January 1st, 1856. Price $1. Orders sent to the publishers, or
+to the author, at Rye, N. Y., will be supplied in the order in which
+they are received.
+
+
+
+
+ELEMENTS
+
+OF
+
+AGRICULTURE
+
+
+
+
+Extract from a letter to the author from Prof. Mapes, editor of the
+_Working Farmer_:
+
+    * * * "After a perusal of your manuscript, I feel authorized in
+    assuring you that, for the use of young farmers, and schools,
+    your book is superior to any other elementary work extant. JAMES
+    J. MAPES."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Letter from the Editor of the N. Y. Tribune:
+
+    MY FRIEND WARING,
+
+    If all who need the information given in your _Elements of
+    Agriculture_ will confess their ignorance as frankly as I do,
+    and seek to dispel it as promptly and heartily, you will have
+    done a vast amount of good by writing it. * * * * * I have found
+    in every chapter important truths, which I, as a
+    would-be-farmer, needed to know, yet which I _did not_ know, or
+    had but a confused and glimmering consciousness of, before I
+    read your lucid and straightforward exposition of the bases of
+    Agriculture as a science. I would not have my son grow up as
+    ignorant of these truths as I did for many times the price of
+    your book; and, I believe, a copy of that book in every family
+    in the Union, would speedily add at least ten per cent. per acre
+    to the aggregate product of our soil, beside doing much to stem
+    and reverse the current which now sets so strongly away from the
+    plow and the scythe toward the counter and the office. Trusting
+    that your labors will be widely regarded and appreciated,
+
+                          I remain yours truly,
+                                                     HORACE GREELEY.
+
+    New York, June 23, 1854.
+
+
+
+
+THE
+ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE:
+
+A Book for Young Farmers,
+
+WITH QUESTIONS PREPARED FOR THE USE OF
+SCHOOLS.
+
+BY
+
+GEO. E. WARING, JR.,
+CONSULTING AGRICULTURIST.
+
+The effort to extend the dominion of man over nature is the most healthy
+and most noble of all ambitions.--BACON.
+
+NEW YORK:
+D. APPLETON AND COMPANY,
+346 & 348 BROADWAY.
+
+M DCCC LIV.
+
+
+
+
+Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854, by
+
+GEO. E. WARING, JR.,
+
+in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the
+Southern District of New York.
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+MY FRIEND AND TUTOR,
+
+PROF. JAMES J. MAPES,
+
+THE PIONEER OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN AMERICA,
+
+This Book
+
+IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
+
+BY HIS PUPIL,
+
+      THE AUTHOR.
+
+
+
+
+TO THE STUDENT.
+
+
+This book is presented to you, not as a work of science, nor as a dry,
+chemical treatise, but as a plain statement of the more simple
+operations by which nature produces many results, so common to our
+observation, that we are thoughtless of their origin. On these results
+depend the existence of man and the lower animals. No man should be
+ignorant of their production.
+
+In the early prosecution of the study, you will find, perhaps, nothing
+to relieve its tediousness; but, when the foundation of agricultural
+knowledge is laid in your mind so thoroughly that you know the character
+and use of every stone, then may your thoughts build on it fabrics of
+such varied construction, and so varied in their uses, that there will
+be opened to you a new world, even more wonderful and more beautiful
+than the outward world, which exhibits itself to the senses. Thus may
+you live two lives, each assisting in the enjoyment of the other.
+
+But you may ask the _practical_ use of this. "The world is made up of
+little things," saith the proverb. So with the productive arts. The
+steam engine consists of many parts, each part being itself composed of
+atoms too minute to be detected by our observation. The earth itself, in
+all its solidity and life, consists entirely of atoms too small to be
+perceived by the naked eye, each visible particle being an aggregation
+of thousands of constituent elements. The crop of wheat, which the
+farmer raises by his labor, and sells for money, is produced by a
+combination of particles equally small. They are not mysteriously
+combined, nor irregularly, but each atom is taken from its place of
+deposit, and carried to its required location in the living plant, by
+laws as certain as those which regulate the motion of the engine, or the
+revolutions of the earth.
+
+It is the business of the practical farmer to put together these
+materials, with the assistance of nature. He may learn her ways, assist
+her action, and succeed; or he may remain ignorant of her operations,
+often counteract her beneficial influences, and often fail.
+
+A knowledge of the _inner_ world of material things about us will
+produce pleasure to the thoughtful, and profit to the practical.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+SECTION FIRST.
+
+THE PLANT.
+
+                                                                   PAGE.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Introduction,                                            11
+
+   "   II.--Atmosphere,                                              15
+
+   "  III.--Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen,                          23
+
+   "   IV.--Inorganic Matter,                                        29
+
+   "    V.--Growth,                                                  40
+
+   "   VI.--Proximate division of Plants,                            43
+
+   "  VII.--Location of the Proximates, and variations in the
+              Ashes of Plants,                                       52
+
+   " VIII.--Recapitulation,                                          56
+
+
+SECTION SECOND.
+
+THE SOIL.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Formation and Character of the Soil,                     65
+
+   "   II.--Uses of Organic Matter,                                  77
+
+   "  III.--Uses of Inorganic Matter,                                84
+
+
+SECTION THIRD.
+
+MANURES.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Character and varieties of Manure,                       93
+
+   "   II.--Excrements of Animals,                                   96
+
+   "  III.--Waste of Manure,                                        101
+
+   "   IV.--Absorbents,                                             109
+
+   "    V.--Composting Stable Manure,                               118
+
+   "   VI.--Different kinds of Animal Excrement,                    126
+
+   "  VII.--Other Organic Manures,                                  136
+
+   " VIII.--Mineral Manures,                                        149
+
+   "   IX.--Deficiencies of Soils, means of Restoration, etc.,      155
+
+   "    X.--Atmospheric Fertilizers,                                197
+
+   "   XI.--Recapitulation,                                         203
+
+
+SECTION FOURTH.
+
+MECHANICAL CULTIVATION.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Mechanical Character of the Soil,                       209
+
+   "   II.--Under-draining,                                         211
+
+   "  III.--Advantages of Under-draining,                           217
+
+   "   IV.--Sub-soil Plowing,                                       232
+
+   "    V.--Plowing and other modes of Pulverizing the Soil,        239
+
+   "   VI.--Rolling, Mulching, Weeding, etc.,                       245
+
+
+SECTION FIFTH.
+
+ANALYSIS.
+
+CHAPTER I.--Nature of Analysis,                                     259
+
+   "   II.--Tables of Analysis,                                     264
+
+
+THE PRACTICAL FARMER,                                               279
+
+EXPLANATION OF TERMS,                                               287
+
+
+
+
+SECTION FIRST.
+
+THE PLANT.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+INTRODUCTION.
+
+
+[What is the object of cultivating the soil?
+
+What is necessary in order to cultivate with economy?
+
+Are plants created from nothing?]
+
+The object of cultivating the soil is to raise from it a crop of
+_plants_. In order to cultivate with economy, we must _raise the largest
+possible quantity with the least expense, and without permanent injury
+to the soil_.
+
+Before this can be done we must study the character of plants, and learn
+their exact composition. They are not _created_ by a mysterious power,
+they are merely made up of matters already in existence. They take up
+water containing food and other matters, and discharge from their roots
+those substances that are not required for their growth. It is necessary
+for us to know what kind of matter is required as food for the plant,
+and where this is to be obtained, which we can learn only through such
+means as shall separate the elements of which plants are composed; in
+other words, we must _take them apart_, and examine the different pieces
+of which they are formed.
+
+[What must we do to learn the composition of plants?
+
+What takes place when vegetable matter is burned?
+
+What do we call the two divisions produced by burning?
+
+Where does organic matter originate? Inorganic?
+
+How much of chemistry should farmers know?]
+
+If we burn any vegetable substance it disappears, except a small
+quantity of earthy matter, which we call _ashes_. In this way we make an
+important division in the constituents of plants. One portion dissipates
+into the atmosphere, and the other remains as ashes.
+
+That part which burns away during combustion is called _organic matter_;
+the ashes are called _inorganic matter_. The organic matter has become
+air, and hence we conclude that it was originally obtained from air. The
+inorganic matter has become earth, and was obtained from the soil.
+
+This knowledge can do us no good except by the assistance of chemistry,
+which explains the properties of each part, and teaches us where it is
+to be found. It is not necessary for farmers to become chemists. All
+that is required is, that they should know enough of chemistry to
+understand the nature of the materials of which their crops are
+composed, and how those materials are to be used to the best advantage.
+
+This amount of knowledge may be easily acquired, and should be possessed
+by every person, old or young, whether actually engaged in the
+cultivation of the soil or not. All are dependent on vegetable
+productions, not only for food, but for every comfort and convenience of
+life. It is the object of this book to teach children the first
+principles of agriculture: and it contains all that is absolutely
+necessary to an understanding of the practical operations of
+cultivation, etc.
+
+[Is organic matter lost after combustion?
+
+Of what does it consist?
+
+How large a part of plants is carbon?]
+
+We will first examine the _organic_ part of plants, or that which is
+driven away during combustion or burning. This matter, though apparently
+lost, is only changed in form.
+
+It consists of one solid substance, _carbon_ (or charcoal), and three
+gases, _oxygen_, _hydrogen_ and _nitrogen_. These four kinds of matter
+constitute nearly the whole of most plants, the ashes forming often less
+than one part in one hundred of their dry weight.
+
+[What do we mean by gas?
+
+Does oxygen unite with other substances?
+
+Give some instances of its combinations]
+
+When wood is burned in a close vessel, or otherwise protected from the
+air, its carbon becomes charcoal. All plants contain this substance, it
+forming usually about one half of their dry weight. The remainder of
+their organic part consists of the three gases named above. By the word
+gas, we mean _air_. Oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, when pure, are always
+in the form of air. Oxygen has the power of uniting with many
+substances, forming compounds which are different from either of their
+constituents alone. Thus: oxygen unites with _iron_ and forms oxide of
+iron or _iron-rust_, which does not resemble the gray metallic iron nor
+the gas oxygen; oxygen unites with carbon and forms carbonic acid, which
+is an invisible gas, but not at all like pure oxygen; oxygen combines
+with hydrogen and forms water. All of the water, ice, steam, etc., are
+composed of these two gases. We know this because we can artificially
+decompose, or separate, all water, and obtain as a result simply oxygen
+and hydrogen, or we can combine these two gases and thus form pure
+water; oxygen combines with nitrogen and forms nitric acid. These
+chemical changes and combinations take place only under certain
+circumstances, which, so far as they affect agriculture, will be
+considered in the following pages.
+
+As the organic elements of plants are obtained from matters existing in
+the atmosphere which surrounds our globe, we will examine its
+constitution.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+ATMOSPHERE.
+
+
+[What is atmospheric air composed of?
+
+In what proportions?
+
+What is the use of nitrogen in air?
+
+Does the atmosphere contain other matters useful to vegetation?
+
+What are they?]
+
+Atmospheric air is composed of oxygen and nitrogen. Their proportions
+are, one part of oxygen to four parts of nitrogen. Oxygen is the active
+agent in the combustion, decay, and decomposition of organized bodies
+(those which have possessed animal or vegetable life, that is, organic
+matter), and others also, in the breathing of animals. Experiments have
+proved that if the atmosphere consisted of pure oxygen every thing would
+be speedily destroyed, as the processes of combustion and decay would be
+greatly accelerated, and animals would be so stimulated that death would
+soon ensue. The use of the nitrogen in the air is to _dilute_ the
+oxygen, and thus reduce the intensity of its effect.
+
+Besides these two great elements, the atmosphere contains certain
+impurities which are of great importance to vegetable growth; these are,
+_carbonic acid, water, ammonia, etc._
+
+
+CARBONIC ACID.
+
+[What is the source of the carbon of plants?
+
+What is carbonic acid?
+
+What is its proportion in the atmosphere?
+
+Where else is it found?
+
+How does it enter the plant?
+
+What are the offices of leaves?]
+
+Carbonic acid is in all probability the only source of the carbon of
+plants, and consequently is of more importance to vegetation than any
+other single sort of food. It is a gas, and is not, under natural
+circumstances, perceptible to our senses. It constitutes about 1/2500 of
+the atmosphere, and is found in combination with many substances in
+nature. Marble, limestone and chalk, are carbonate of lime, or carbonic
+acid and lime in combination; and carbonate of magnesia is a compound of
+carbonic acid and magnesia. This gas exists in combination with many
+other mineral substances, and is contained in all water not recently
+boiled. Its supply, though small, is sufficient for the purposes of
+vegetation. It enters the plant in two ways--through the roots in the
+water which goes to form the sap, and at the leaves, which absorb it
+from the air in the form of gas. The leaf of the plant seems to have
+three offices: that of absorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere--that
+of assisting in the chemical preparation of the sap--and that of
+evaporating its water. If we examine leaves with a microscope we shall
+find that some have as many as 170,000 openings, or mouths, in a square
+inch; others have a much less number. Usually, the pores on the under
+side of the leaf absorb the carbonic acid. This absorptive power is
+illustrated when we apply the lower side of a cabbage leaf to a wound,
+as it draws strongly--the other side of the leaf has no such action.
+Young sprouts may have the power of absorbing and decomposing carbonic
+acid.
+
+[What parts of roots absorb food?
+
+How much of their carbon may plants receive through their roots?
+
+What change does carbonic acid undergo after entering the plant?
+
+In what parts of the plant, and under what influence, is carbonic acid
+decomposed?]
+
+The roots of plants terminate at their ends in minute spongioles, or
+mouths for the absorption of fluids containing nutriment. In these
+fluids there exist greater or less quantities of carbonic acid, and a
+considerable amount of this gas enters into the circulation of the
+plants and is carried to those parts where it is required for
+decomposition. Plants, under favorable circumstances, may thus obtain
+about one-third of their carbon.
+
+Carbonic acid, it will be recollected, consists of _carbon and oxygen_,
+while it supplies only _carbon_ to the plant. It is therefore necessary
+that it be divided, or decomposed, and that the carbon be retained while
+the oxygen is sent off again into the atmosphere, to reperform its
+office of uniting with carbon. This decomposition takes place in the
+_green_ parts of plants and only under the influence of daylight. It is
+not necessary that the sun shine directly on the leaf or green shoot,
+but this causes a _more rapid_ decomposition of carbonic acid, and
+consequently we find that plants which are well exposed to the sun's
+rays make the most rapid growth.
+
+[Explain the condition of different latitudes.
+
+Does the proportion of carbonic acid in the atmosphere remain about the
+same?]
+
+The fact that light is essential to vegetation explains the conditions
+of different latitudes, which, so far as the assimilation of carbon is
+concerned, are much the same. At the Equator the days are but about
+twelve hours long. Still, as the growth of plants is extended over eight
+or nine months of the year, the duration of daylight is sufficient for
+the requirements of a luxuriant vegetation. At the Poles, on the
+contrary, the summer is but two or three months long; here, however, it
+is daylight all summer, and plants from continual growth develop
+themselves in that short time.
+
+It will be recollected that carbonic acid constitutes but about 1/2500
+of the air, yet, although about one half of all the vegetable matter in
+the world is derived from this source, as well as all of the carbon
+required by the growth of plants, its proportion in the atmosphere is
+constantly about the same. In order that we may understated this, it
+becomes necessary for us to consider the means by which it is formed.
+Carbon, by the aid of fire, is made to unite with oxygen, and always
+when bodies containing carbon are burnt _with the presence of
+atmospheric air_, the oxygen of that air unites with the carbon, and
+forms carbonic acid. The same occurs when bodies containing carbon
+_decay_, as this is simply a slower _burning_ and produces the same
+results. The respiration (or breathing) of animals is simply the union
+of the carbon of the blood with the oxygen of the air drawn into the
+lungs, and their breath, when thrown out, always contains carbonic acid.
+From this we see that the reproduction of this gas is the direct effect
+of the destruction of all organized bodies, whether by fire, decay, or
+consumption by animals.
+
+[Explain some of the operations in which this reproduction
+takes place.
+
+How is it reproduced?]
+
+Furnaces are its wholesale manufactories. Every cottage fire is
+continually producing a new supply, and the blue smoke issuing from the
+cottage-chimney, as described by so many poets, possesses a new beauty,
+when we reflect that besides indicating a cheerful fire on the hearth,
+it contains materials for making food for the cottager's tables and new
+faggots for his fire. The wick of every burning lamp draws up the carbon
+of the oil to be made into carbonic acid at the flame. All matters in
+process of combustion, decay, fermentation, or putrefaction, are
+returning to the atmosphere those constituents, which they obtained from
+it. Every living animal, even to the smallest insect, by respiration,
+spends its life in the production of this material necessary to the
+growth of plants, and at death gives up its body in part for such
+formation by decay.
+
+Thus we see that there is a continual change from the carbon of plants
+to air, and from air back to plants, or through them to animals. As each
+dollar in gold that is received into a country permanently increases its
+amount of circulating medium, and each dollar sent out permanently
+decreases it until returned, so the carbonic acid sent into the
+atmosphere by burning, decay, or respiration, becomes a permanent stock
+of constantly changeable material, until it shall be locked up for a
+time, as in a house which may last for centuries, or in an oak tree
+which may stand for thousands of years. Still, at the decay of either of
+these, the carbon which they contain must be again resolved into
+carbonic acid.
+
+[What are the coal-beds of Pennsylvania?
+
+What are often found in them?]
+
+The coal-beds of Pennsylvania are mines of carbon once abstracted from
+the atmosphere by plants. In these coal-beds are often found fern
+leaves, toads, whole trees, and in short all forms of organized matter.
+These all existed as living things before the great floods, and at the
+breaking away of the barriers of the immense lakes, of which our present
+lakes were merely the deep holes in their beds, they were washed away
+and deposited in masses so great as to take fire from their chemical
+changes. It is by many supposed that this fire acting throughout the
+entire mass (without the presence of air _to supply oxygen_ except on
+the surface) caused it to become melted carbon, and to flow around those
+bodies which still retained their shapes, changing them to coal without
+destroying their structures. This coal, so long as it retains its
+present form, is lost to the vegetable kingdom, and each ton that is
+burned, by being changed into carbonic acid, adds to the ability of the
+atmosphere to support an increased amount of vegetation.
+
+[Explain the manner in which they become coal.
+
+How does the burning of coal benefit vegetation?
+
+Is carbon ever permanent in any of its forms?
+
+What enables it to change its condition?]
+
+Thus we see that, in the provisions of nature, carbon, the grand basis,
+on which all organized matter is founded, is never permanent in any of
+its forms. Oxygen is the carrier which enables it to change its
+condition. For instance, let us suppose that we have a certain quantity
+of charcoal; this is nearly pure carbon. We ignite it, and it unites
+with the oxygen of the air, becomes carbonic acid, and floats away into
+the atmosphere. The wind carries it through a forest, and the leaves of
+the trees with their millions of mouths drink it in. By the assistance
+of light it is decomposed, the oxygen is sent off to make more carbonic
+acid, and the carbon is retained to form a part of the tree. So long as
+that tree exists in the form of wood, the carbon will remain unaltered,
+but when the wood decays, or is burned, it immediately takes the form of
+carbonic acid, and mingles with the atmosphere ready to be again taken
+up by plants, and have its carbon deposited in the form of vegetable
+matter.
+
+[Give an instance of such change.
+
+How do plants and animals benefit each other?
+
+Describe the experiment with the glass tube.]
+
+The blood of animals contains carbon derived from their food. This
+unites with the oxygen of the air drawn into the lungs and forms
+carbonic acid. Without this process, animals could not live. Thus, while
+by the natural operation of breathing, they make carbonic acid for the
+uses of the vegetable world, plants, in taking up carbon, throw off
+oxygen to keep up the life of animals. There is perhaps no way in which
+we can better illustrate the changes of form in carbon than by
+describing a simple experiment.
+
+Take a glass tube filled with oxygen gas, and put in it a lump of
+charcoal, cork the ends of the tube tightly, and pass through the corks
+the wires of an electrical battery. By passing a stream of electrical
+fluid over the charcoal it may be ignited, when it will burn with great
+brilliancy. In burning it is dissolved in the oxygen forming carbonic
+acid, and disappears. It is no more lost, however, than is the carbon of
+wood which is burned in a stove; although invisible, it is still in the
+tube, and may be detected by careful weighing. A more satisfactory proof
+of its presence may be obtained by _decomposing_ the carbonic acid by
+drawing the wires a short distance apart, and giving a _spark_ of
+electricity. This immediately separates the oxygen from the carbon which
+forms a dense black smoke in the tube. By pushing the corks together we
+may obtain a wafer of charcoal of the same weight as the piece
+introduced. In this experiment we have changed carbon from its solid
+form to an invisible gas and back again to a solid, thus fully
+representing the continual changes of this substance in the destruction
+of organic matter and the growth of plants.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+HYDROGEN, OXYGEN AND NITROGEN.
+
+
+HYDROGEN AND OXYGEN.
+
+[What is water composed of?
+
+If analyzed, what does it yield?
+
+How do plants obtain their hydrogen and oxygen?]
+
+Let us now consider the three gases, _hydrogen_, _oxygen_ and
+_nitrogen_, which constitute the remainder of the organic part of
+plants.
+
+Hydrogen and oxygen compose _water_, which, if analyzed, yields simply
+these two gases. Plants perform such analysis, and in this way are able
+to obtain a sufficient supply of these materials, as their sap is
+composed chiefly of water. Whenever vegetable matter is destroyed by
+burning, decay, or otherwise, its hydrogen and oxygen unite and form
+water, which is parted with usually in the form of an invisible vapor.
+The atmosphere of course contains greater or less quantities of watery
+vapor arising from this cause and from the evaporation of liquid water.
+This vapor condenses, forming rains, etc.
+
+Hydrogen and oxygen are never taken into consideration in manuring
+lands, as they are so readily obtained from the water constituting the
+sap of the plant, and consequently should not occupy our attention in
+this book.
+
+
+NITROGEN.
+
+[If vegetable matter be destroyed, what becomes of these
+constituents?
+
+What is the remaining organic constituent?
+
+Why is it worthy of close attention?
+
+Do plants appropriate the nitrogen of the atmosphere?]
+
+_Nitrogen_, the only remaining _organic_ constituent of vegetable
+matter, is for many reasons worthy of close attention.
+
+1. It is necessary to the growth and perfection of all cultivated
+plants.
+
+2. It is necessary to the formation of animal muscle.
+
+3. It is often deficient in the soil.
+
+4. It is liable to be easily lost from manures.
+
+Although about four fifths of atmospheric air are pure nitrogen, it is
+almost certain that plants get no nutriment at all from this source. It
+is all obtained from some of its compounds, chiefly from the one called
+ammonia. Nitric acid is also a source from which plants may obtain
+nitrogen, though to the farmer of less importance than ammonia.
+
+
+AMMONIA.
+
+[What is the principal source from which they obtain nitrogen?
+
+What is ammonia?
+
+How is it formed?
+
+Where does it always exist?
+
+How do plants take up ammonia?]
+
+_Ammonia_ is composed of nitrogen and hydrogen. It has a pungent smell
+and is familiarly known as _hartshorn_. The same odor is perceptible
+around stables and other places where animal matter is decomposing. All
+animal muscle, certain parts of plants, and other organized substances,
+consist of compounds containing nitrogen. When these compounds undergo
+combustion, or are in any manner decomposed, the nitrogen which they
+contain usually unites with hydrogen, and forms ammonia. In consequence
+of this the atmosphere always contains more or less of this gas, arising
+from the decay, etc., which is continually going on all over the world.
+
+This ammonia in the atmosphere is the capital stock to which all plants,
+not artificially manured, must look for their supply of nitrogen. As
+they can take up ammonia only through their roots, we must discover
+some means by which it may be conveyed from the atmosphere to the soil.
+
+[Does water absorb it?
+
+What is _spirits of hartshorn_?
+
+Why is this power of water important in agriculture?
+
+What instance may be cited to prove this?]
+
+Water may be made to absorb many times its bulk of this gas, and water
+with which it comes in contact will immediately take it up. Spirits of
+hartshorn is merely water through which ammonia has been passed until it
+is saturated.[A] This power of water has a direct application to
+agriculture, because the water constituting rains, dews, &c., absorbs
+the ammonia which the decomposition of nitrogenous matter had sent into
+the atmosphere, and we find that all rain, snow and dew, contain
+ammonia. This fact may be chemically proved in various ways, and is
+perceptible in the common operations of nature. Every person must have
+noticed that when a summer's shower falls on the plants in a flower
+garden, they commence their growth with fresh vigor while the blossoms
+become larger and more richly colored. This effect cannot be produced by
+watering with spring water, unless it be previously mixed with ammonia,
+in which case the result will be the same.
+
+Although ammonia is a gas and pervades the atmosphere, few, if any,
+plants can take it up, as they do carbonic acid, through their leaves.
+It must all enter through the roots in solution in the water which goes
+to form the sap. Although the amount received from the atmosphere is of
+great importance, there are few cases where artificial applications are
+not beneficial. The value of farm-yard and other animal manures, depends
+chiefly on the ammonia which they yield on decomposition. This subject,
+also the means for retaining in the soil the ammoniacal parts of
+fertilizing matters, will be fully considered in the section on manures.
+
+[Can plants use more ammonia than is received from the
+atmosphere?
+
+On what does the value of animal manure chiefly depend?
+
+What changes take place after ammonia enters the plant?
+
+May the same atom of nitrogen perform many different offices?]
+
+After ammonia has entered the plant it may be decomposed, its hydrogen
+sent off, and its nitrogen retained to answer the purposes of growth.
+The changes which nitrogen undergoes, from plants to animals, or, by
+decomposition, to the form of ammonia in the atmosphere, are as varied
+as those of carbon and the constituents of water. The same little atom
+of nitrogen may one year form a part of a plant, and the next become a
+constituent of an animal, or, with the decomposed dead animal, may form
+a part of the soil. If the animal should fall into the sea he may become
+food for fishes, and our atom of nitrogen may form a part of a fish.
+That fish may be eaten by a larger one, or at death may become food for
+the whale, through the marine insect, on which it feeds. After the
+abstraction of the oil from the whale, the nitrogen may, by the
+putrefaction of his remains, be united to hydrogen, form ammonia, and
+escape into the atmosphere. From here it may be brought to the soil by
+rains, and enter into the composition of a plant, from which, could its
+parts speak as it lies on our table, it could tell us a wonderful tale
+of travels, and assure us that, after wandering about in all sorts of
+places, it had returned to us the same little atom of nitrogen which we
+had owned twenty years before, and which for thousands of years had been
+continually going through its changes.
+
+[Is the same true of the other constituents of plants?
+
+Is any atom of matter ever lost?]
+
+The same is true of any of the organic or inorganic constituents of
+plants. They are performing their natural offices, or are lying in the
+earth, or floating in the atmosphere, ready to be lent to _any_ of their
+legitimate uses, sure again to be returned to their starting point.
+
+Thus no atom of matter is ever lost. It may change its place, but it
+remains for ever as a part of the capital of nature.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] By _saturated_, we mean that it contains all that it is capable of
+holding.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+INORGANIC MATTER.
+
+
+[What are ashes called?
+
+How many kinds of matter are there in the ashes of plants?
+
+Into what three classes may they be divided?
+
+What takes place when alkalies and acids are brought together?]
+
+We will now examine the ashes left after burning vegetable substances.
+This we have called inorganic matter, and it is obtained from the soil.
+Organic matter, although forming so large a part of the plant, we have
+seen to consist of four different substances. The inorganic portion, on
+the contrary, although forming so small a part, consists of no less than
+_nine_ or _ten_ different kinds of matter.[B] These we will consider in
+order. In their relations to agriculture they may be divided into
+_three_ classes--_alkalies_, _acids_, and _neutrals_.[C]
+
+[Is the character of a compound the same as that of its
+constituents?
+
+Give an instance of this.
+
+Do neutrals combine with other substances?
+
+Name the four alkalies found in the ashes of plants.]
+
+Alkalies and acids are of opposite properties, and when brought together
+they unite and neutralize each other, forming compounds which are
+neither alkaline nor acid in their character. Thus, carbonic acid (a
+gas,) unites with lime--a burning, caustic substance--and forms marble,
+which is a hard tasteless stone. Alkalies and acids are characterized
+by their desire to unite with each other, and the compounds thus formed
+have many and various properties, so that the characters of the
+constituents give no indication of the character of the compound. For
+instance, lime causes the gases of animal manure to escape, while
+sulphate of lime (a compound of sulphuric acid and lime) produces an
+opposite effect, and prevents their escape.
+
+The substances coming under the signification of neutrals, are less
+affected by the laws of combination, still they often combine feebly
+with other substances, and some of the resultant compounds are of great
+importance to agriculture.
+
+
+ALKALIES.
+
+The alkalies which are found in the ashes of plants are four in number;
+they are _potash_, _soda_, _lime_ and _magnesia_.
+
+
+POTASH.
+
+[How may we obtain potash from ashes?
+
+What are some of its agricultural uses?]
+
+When we pour water over wood ashes it dissolves the _potash_ which they
+contain, and carries it through in solution. This solution is called
+_ley_, and if it be boiled to dryness it leaves a solid substance from
+which pure potash may be made. Potash left exposed to the air absorbs
+carbonic acid and becomes carbonate of potash, or _pearlash_; if another
+atom of carbonic acid be added, it becomes super-carbonate of potash, or
+_salaeratus_. Potash has many uses in agriculture.
+
+1. It forms a constituent of nearly all plants.
+
+2. It unites with silica (a neutral), and forms a compound which water
+can dissolve and carry into the roots of plants; thus supplying them
+with an ingredient which gives them much of their strength.[D]
+
+3. It is a strong agent in the decomposition of vegetable matter, and is
+thus of much importance in preparing manures.
+
+4. It roughens the smooth round particles of sandy soils, and prevents
+their compacting, as they are often liable to do.
+
+5. It is also of use in killing certain kinds of insects, and, when
+artificially applied, in smoothing the bark of fruit trees.
+
+The source from which this and the other inorganic matters required are
+to be obtained, will be fully considered in the section on manures.
+
+
+SODA.
+
+[Where is soda found most largely?
+
+What is Glauber's salts?
+
+What is washing soda?
+
+What are some of the uses of lime?]
+
+_Soda_, one of the alkalies contained in the ashes of plants, is very
+much the same as potash in its agricultural character. Its uses are the
+same as those of potash--before enumerated. Soda exists very largely in
+nature, as it forms an important part of common salt, whether in the
+ocean or in those inland deposits known as rock salt. When combined with
+sulphuric acid it forms sulphate of soda or _Glauber's salts_. In
+combination with carbonic acid, as carbonate of soda, it forms the
+common washing soda of the shops. It is often necessary to render soils
+fertile.
+
+
+LIME.
+
+_Lime_ is in many ways important in agriculture:
+
+1. It is a constituent of plants and animals.
+
+2. It assists in the decomposition of vegetable matter in the soil.
+
+3. It corrects the acidity[E] of sour soils.
+
+4. As chloride or sulphate of lime it is a good absorbent of fertilizing
+gases.
+
+[How is caustic lime made?
+
+How much carbonic acid is thus liberated?
+
+How does man resemble Sinbad the sailor?]
+
+In nature it usually exists in the form of carbonate of lime: that is,
+as marble, limestone, and chalk--these all being of the same
+composition. In manufacturing caustic (or quick) lime, it is customary
+to burn the carbonate of lime in a kiln; by this means the carbonic acid
+is thrown off into the atmosphere and the lime remains in a pure or
+caustic state. A French chemist states that every cubic yard of
+limestone that is burned, throws off _ten thousand_ cubic yards of
+carbonic acid, which may be used by plants. This reminds us of the story
+of Sinbad the sailor, where we read of the immense _genie_ who came out
+of a very small box by the sea-shore, much to the surprise of Sinbad,
+who could not believe his eyes, until the _genie_ changed himself into a
+cloud of smoke and went into the box again. Sinbad fastened the lid, and
+the _genie_ must have remained there until the box was destroyed.
+
+Now man is very much like Sinbad, he lets the carbonic acid out from the
+limestone (when it expands and becomes a gas); and then he raises a
+crop, the leaves of which drink it in and pack the carbon away in a very
+small compass as vegetable matter. Here it must remain until the plant
+is destroyed, when it becomes carbonic acid again, and occupies just as
+much space as ever.
+
+The burning of limestone is a very prolific source of carbonic acid.
+
+
+MAGNESIA.
+
+[What do you know about magnesia?
+
+What is phosphoric acid composed of?
+
+With what substance does it form its most important compound?]
+
+_Magnesia_ is the remaining alkali of vegetable ashes. It is well known
+as a medicine, both in the form of calcined magnesia, and, when mixed
+with sulphuric acid, as epsom salts.
+
+Magnesia is necessary to nearly all plants, but too much of it is
+poisonous, and it should be used with much care, as many soils already
+contain a sufficient quantity. It is often found in limestone rocks
+(that class called _dolomites_), and the injurious effects of some kinds
+of lime, as well as the barrenness of soils made from dolomites, may be
+attributed entirely to the fact that they contain too much magnesia.
+
+
+ACIDS.
+
+PHOSPHORIC ACID.
+
+_Phosphoric acid._--This subject is one of the greatest interest to the
+farmer. Phosphoric acid is composed of phosphorus and oxygen. The end
+of a loco-foco match contains phosphorus, and when it is lighted it
+unites with the oxygen of the atmosphere and forms phosphoric acid; this
+constitutes the white smoke which is seen for a moment before the
+sulphur commences burning. Being an acid, this substance has the power
+of combining with any of the alkalies. Its most important compound is
+with lime.
+
+[Will soils, deficient in phosphate of lime, produce good
+crops?
+
+From what source do plants obtain their phosphorus?]
+
+_Phosphate of lime_ forms about 65 per cent. of the dry weight of the
+bones of all animals, and it is all derived from the soil through the
+medium of plants. As plants are intended as food for animals, nature has
+provided that they shall not attain their perfection without taking up a
+supply of phosphate of lime as well as of the other earthy matters;
+consequently, there are many soils which will not produce good crops,
+simply because they are deficient in phosphate of lime. It is one of the
+most important ingredients of manures, and its value is dependent on
+certain conditions which will be hereafter explained.
+
+Another use of phosphoric acid in the plant is to supply it with a small
+amount of _phosphorus_, which seems to be required in the formation of
+the seed.
+
+
+SULPHURIC ACID.
+
+[What is sulphuric acid composed of?
+
+What is plaster?
+
+What is silica?
+
+Why is it necessary to the growth of plants?
+
+What compounds does it form with alkalies?]
+
+_Sulphuric acid_ is important to vegetation and is often needed to
+render soils fertile. It is composed of sulphur and oxygen, and is made
+for manufacturing purposes, by burning sulphur. With lime it forms
+_sulphate of lime_, which is gypsum or 'plaster.' In this form it is
+often found in nature, and is generally used in agriculture. Other
+important methods for supplying sulphuric acid will be described
+hereafter. It gives _to_ the plant a small portion of _sulphur_, which
+is necessary to the formation of some of its parts.
+
+
+NEUTRALS.
+
+SILICA.
+
+[How can you prove its existence in corn stalks?
+
+What instance does Liebig give to show its existence in grass?
+
+How do we supply silicates?
+
+Why does grain lodge?
+
+What is the most important compound of chlorine?]
+
+This is sand, the base of flint. It is necessary for the growth of all
+plants, as it gives them much of their strength. In connection with an
+alkali it constitutes the hard shining surface of corn stalks, straw,
+etc. Silica unites with the alkalies and forms compounds, such as
+_silicate of potash_, _silicate of soda, etc._, which are soluble in
+water, and therefore available to plants. If we roughen a corn stalk
+with sand-paper we may sharpen a knife upon it. This is owing to the
+hard particles of silica which it contains. Window glass is silicate of
+potash, rendered insoluble by additions of arsenic and litharge.
+
+Liebig tells us that some persons discovered, between Manheim and
+Heidelberg in Germany, a mass of melted glass where a hay-stack had been
+struck by lightning. They supposed it to be a meteor, but chemical
+analysis showed that it was only the compound of silica and potash which
+served to strengthen the grass.
+
+There is always _enough_ silica in the soil, but it is often necessary
+to add an alkali to render it available. When grain, etc., lodge or fall
+down from their own weight, it is altogether probable that they are
+unable to obtain from the soil a sufficient supply of the soluble
+silicates, and some form of alkali should be added to the soil to unite
+with the sand and render it soluble.
+
+
+CHLORINE.
+
+[Of what use is chloride of lime?
+
+What is oxide of iron?
+
+What is the difference between the _per_oxide and the _prot_oxide of
+iron?]
+
+_Chlorine_ is an important ingredient of vegetable ashes, and is often
+required to restore the balance to the soil. It is not found alone in
+nature, but is always in combination with other substances. Its most
+important compound is with sodium, forming _chloride of sodium_ (or
+common salt). Sodium is the base of soda, and common salt is usually the
+best source from which to obtain both soda and chlorine. Chlorine unites
+with lime and forms _chloride of lime_, which is much used to absorb the
+unpleasant odors of decaying matters, and in this character it is of use
+in the treatment of manures.
+
+
+OXIDE OF IRON.
+
+_Oxide of iron_, one of the constituents of ashes, is common iron rust.
+_Iron_ itself is naturally of a grayish color, but when exposed to the
+atmosphere, it readily absorbs oxygen and forms a reddish compound. It
+is in this form that it usually exists in nature, and many soils as well
+as the red sandstones are colored by it. It is seldom, if ever,
+necessary to apply this as a manure, there being usually enough of it in
+the soil.
+
+This red oxide of iron, of which we have been speaking, is called by
+chemists the _peroxide_. There is another compound which contains less
+oxygen than this, and is called the _protoxide of iron_, which is
+poisonous to plants. When it exists in the soil it is necessary to use
+such means of cultivation as shall expose it to the atmosphere and allow
+it to take up more oxygen and become the peroxide. The black scales
+which fly from hot iron when struck by the blacksmith's hammer are
+protoxide of iron.
+
+The _peroxide of iron_ is a very good absorbent of ammonia, and
+consequently, as will be hereafter described, adds to the fertility of
+the soil.
+
+[What can you say of the oxide of manganese?
+
+How do you classify the inorganic constituents?]
+
+OXIDE OF MANGANESE, though often found in small quantities in the ashes
+of cultivated plants, cannot be considered indispensable.
+
+Having now examined all of the materials from which the ashes of plants
+are formed,[F] we are enabled to classify them in a simple manner, so
+that they may be recollected. They are as follows:--
+
+ALKALIES.    ACIDS.          NEUTRALS.
+
+Potash.    Sulphuric acid.   Silica.
+Soda.      Phosphoric "      Chlorine.
+Lime.                        Oxide of Iron.
+Magnesia.                      "  Manganese.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[B] Bromine, iodine, etc., are sometimes detected in particular plants,
+but need not occupy the attention of the farmer.
+
+[C] This classification is not strictly scientific, but it is one which
+the learner will find it well to adopt. These bodies are called neutrals
+because they have no decided alkaline or acid character.
+
+[D] In some soils the _fluorides_ undoubtedly supply plants with soluble
+silicates, as _fluoric acid_ has the power of dissolving silica. Thus,
+in Derbyshire (England), where the soil is supplied with fluoric acid,
+grain is said never to lodge.
+
+[E] Sourness.
+
+[F] There is reason to suppose that _alumina_ is an essential
+constituent of many plants.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+GROWTH.
+
+
+[Of what does a perfect young plant consist?
+
+How must the food of plants be supplied?
+
+Can carbon and earthy matter be taken up at separate stages of growth,
+or must they both be supplied at once?]
+
+Having examined the materials of which plants are made, it becomes
+necessary to discover how they are put together in the process of
+growth. Let us therefore suppose a young wheat-plant for instance to be
+in condition to commence independent growth.
+
+It consists of roots which are located in the soil; leaves which are
+spread in the air, and a stem which connects the roots and leaves. This
+stem contains sap vessels (or tubes) which extend from the ends of the
+roots to the surfaces of the leaves, thus affording a passage for the
+sap, and consequently allowing the matters taken up to be distributed
+throughout the plant.
+
+[What seems to be nature's law with regard to this?
+
+What is the similarity between making a cart and raising a crop?
+
+In the growth of a young plant, what operations take place about the
+same time?]
+
+It is necessary that the materials of which plants are made should be
+supplied in certain proportions, and at the same time. For instance,
+carbon could not be taken up in large quantities by the leaves, unless
+the roots, at the same time, were receiving from the soil those mineral
+matters which are necessary to growth. On the other hand, no
+considerable amount of earthy matter could be appropriated by the roots
+unless the leaves were obtaining carbon from the air. This same rule
+holds true with regard to all of the constituents required; Nature
+seeming to have made it a law that if one of the important ingredients
+of the plant is absent, the others, though they may be present in
+sufficient quantities, cannot be used. Thus, if the soil is deficient in
+potash, and still has sufficient quantities of all of the other
+ingredients, the plant cannot take up these ingredients, because potash
+is necessary to its life.
+
+If a farmer wishes to make a cart he prepares his wood and iron, gets
+them all in the proper condition, and then can very readily put them
+together. But if he has all of the _wood_ necessary and no _iron_, he
+cannot make his cart, because bolts, nails and screws are required, and
+their place cannot be supplied by boards. This serves to illustrate the
+fact that in raising plants we must give them every thing that they
+require, or they will not grow at all.
+
+In the case of our young plant the following operations are going on at
+about the same time.
+
+The leaves are absorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere, and the
+roots are drinking in water from the soil.
+
+[What becomes of the carbonic acid?
+
+How is the sap disposed of?
+
+What does it contain?
+
+How does the plant obtain its carbon?
+
+Its oxygen and hydrogen?
+
+Its nitrogen?
+
+Its inorganic matter?]
+
+Under the influence of daylight, the carbonic acid is decomposed; its
+oxygen returned to the atmosphere, and its carbon retained in the plant.
+
+The water taken in by the roots circulates through the sap vessels of
+the plant, and, from various causes, is drawn up towards the leaves
+where it is evaporated. This water contains the _nitrogen_ and the
+_inorganic matter_ required by the plant and some carbonic acid, while
+the water itself consists of _hydrogen_ and _oxygen_.
+
+Thus we see that the plant obtains its food in the following manner:--
+
+CARBON.--In the form of _carbonic acid_ from the atmosphere, and from
+           that contained in the sap, the oxygen being returned to the
+           air.
+
+OXYGEN   } From the elements of the water constituting the sap.
+   &     }
+HYDROGEN.}
+
+NITROGEN.--From the soil (chiefly in form of ammonia). It is carried
+           into the plant through the roots in solution in water.
+
+INORGANIC} From the soil, and only _in solution_ in water.
+MATTER.  }
+
+[What changes does the food taken up by the plant undergo?]
+
+Many of the chemical changes which take place in the interior of the
+plant are well understood, but they require too much knowledge of
+chemistry to be easily comprehended by the young learner, and it is not
+absolutely essential that they should be understood by the scholar who
+is merely learning the _elements_ of the science.
+
+It is sufficient to say that the food taken up by the plant undergoes
+such changes as are required for its growth; as in animals, where the
+food taken into the stomach, is digested, and formed into bone, muscle,
+fat, hair, etc., so in the plant the nutritive portions of the sap are
+resolved into wood, bark, grain, or some other necessary part.
+
+The results of these changes are of the greatest importance in
+agriculture, and no person can call himself a _practical farmer_ who
+does not thoroughly understand them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+PROXIMATE DIVISION OF PLANTS, ETC.
+
+
+We have hitherto examined what is called the _ultimate_ division of
+plants. That is, we have looked at each one of the elements separately,
+and considered its use in vegetable growth.
+
+[Of what do wood, starch and the other vegetable compounds
+chiefly consist?
+
+Are their small ashy parts important?
+
+What are these compounds called?
+
+Into how many classes may proximate principles be divided?
+
+Of what do the first class consist? The second?
+
+What vegetable compounds do the first class comprise?]
+
+We will now examine another division of plants, called their _proximate
+division_. We know that plants consist of various substances, such as
+wood, gum, starch, oil, etc., and on examination we shall discover that
+these substances are composed of the various _organic_ and _inorganic_
+ingredients described in the preceding chapters. They are made up almost
+entirely of _organic_ matter, but their ashy parts, though very small,
+are (as we shall soon see) sometimes of great importance.
+
+These compounds are called _proximate principles_,[G] or _vegetable
+proximates_. They may be divided into two classes.
+
+The first class are composed of _carbon_, _hydrogen_, and _oxygen_.
+
+The second class contain the same substances and _nitrogen_.
+
+[Are these substances of about the same composition?
+
+Can they be artificially changed from one to another?
+
+Give an instance of this.
+
+Is the ease with which these changes take place important?
+
+From what may the first class of proximates be formed?]
+
+The first class (those compounds not containing nitrogen) comprise the
+wood, starch, gum, sugar, and fatty matter which constitute the greater
+part of all plants, also the acids which are found in sour fruits, etc.
+Various as are all of these things in their characters, they are
+entirely composed of the same ingredients (carbon, hydrogen and oxygen),
+and usually combined in about the _same proportion_. There may be a
+slight difference in the composition of their _ashes_, but the organic
+part is much the same in every case, so much so, that they can often be
+artificially changed from one to the other.
+
+As an instance of this, it may be recollected by those who attended the
+Fair of the American Institute, in 1834, that Prof. Mapes exhibited
+samples of excellent sugar made from the juice of the cornstalk, starch,
+linen, and woody fibre.
+
+The ease with which these proximates may be changed from one to the
+other is their most important agricultural feature, and should be
+clearly understood before proceeding farther. It is one of the
+fundamental principles on which the growth of both vegetables depends.
+
+The proximates of the first class constitute usually the greater part of
+all plants, and they are readily formed from the carbonic acid and water
+which in nature are so plentifully supplied.
+
+[Why are those of the second class particularly important to
+farmers?
+
+What is the general name under which they are known?
+
+What is the protein of wheat called?
+
+Why is flour containing much gluten preferred by bakers?
+
+Can protein be formed without nitrogen?
+
+If plants were allowed to complete their growth without a supply of this
+ingredient, what would be the result?]
+
+The _second class_ of proximates, though forming only a small part of
+the plant, are of the greatest importance to the farmer, being the ones
+from which _animal muscle_[H] is made. They consist, as will be
+recollected, of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and _nitrogen_, or of _all_ of
+the organic elements of plants. They are all of much the same character,
+though each kind of plant has its peculiar form of this substance, which
+is known under the general name of _protein_.
+
+The protein of wheat is called _gluten_--that of Indian corn is
+_zein_--that of beans and peas is _legumin_. In other plants the protein
+substances are _vegetable albumen_, _casein_, etc.
+
+Gluten absorbs large quantities of water, which causes it to swell to a
+great size, and become full of holes. Flour which contains much gluten,
+makes light, porous bread, and is preferred by bakers, because it
+absorbs so large an amount of water.
+
+[What is the result if a field be deficient in nitrogen?]
+
+The protein substances are necessary to animal and vegetable life, and
+none of our cultivated plants will attain maturity (complete their
+growth), unless allowed the materials required for forming this
+constituent. To furnish this condition is the object of nitrogen given
+to plants as manure. If no _nitrogen_ is supplied the protein
+substances cannot be formed, and the plant must cease to grow.
+
+When on the contrary _ammonia_ is given to the soil (by rains or
+otherwise), it furnishes nitrogen, while the carbonic acid and water
+yield the other constituents of protein, and a healthy growth continues,
+provided that the soil contains the _mineral_ matters required in the
+formation of the ash, in a condition to be useful.
+
+The wisdom of this provision is evident when we recollect that the
+protein substances are necessary to the formation of muscle in animals,
+for if plants were allowed to complete their growth without a supply of
+this ingredient, our grain and hay might not be sufficiently well
+supplied with it to keep our oxen and horses in working condition, while
+under the existing law plants must be of nearly a uniform quality (in
+this respect), and if a field is short of nitrogen, its crop will not be
+large, and of a very poor quality, but the soil will produce good plants
+as long as the nitrogen lasts, and then the growth must cease.[I]
+
+
+ANIMALS.
+
+That this principle may be clearly understood, it may be well to explain
+more fully the application of the proximate constituents of plants in
+feeding animals.
+
+[Of what are the bodies of animals composed?
+
+What is the office of vegetation?
+
+What part of the animal is formed from the first class of proximates?
+
+From the second?
+
+Which contains the largest portions of inorganic matter, plants or
+animals?
+
+Must animals have a variety of food, and why?]
+
+Animals are composed (like plants) of organic and inorganic matter, and
+every thing necessary to build them up exists in plants. It seems to be
+the office of the vegetable world to prepare the gases in the
+atmosphere, and the minerals in the earth for the uses of animal life,
+and to effect this plants put these gases and minerals together in the
+form of the various _proximates_ (or compound substances) which we have
+just described.
+
+In animals the compounds containing _no nitrogen_ comprise the fatty
+substances, parts of the blood, etc., while the protein compound, or
+those which _do contain nitrogen_, form the muscle, a part of the bones,
+the hair, and other portions of the animal.
+
+Animals contain a larger proportion of inorganic matter than plants do.
+Bones contain a large quantity of phosphate of lime, and we find other
+inorganic materials performing important offices in the system.
+
+In order that animals may be perfectly developed, they must of course
+receive as food all of the materials required to form their bodies. They
+cannot live if fed entirely on one ingredient. Thus, if _starch_ alone
+be eaten by the animal, he might become _fat_, but his strength would
+soon fail, because his food contains nothing to keep up the vigor of his
+_muscles_. If on the contrary the food of an animal consisted entirely
+of _gluten_, he might be very strong from a superior development of
+muscle, but would not be fat. Hence we see that in order to keep up the
+proper proportion of both fat and muscle in our animals (or in
+ourselves), the food must be such as contains a proper proportion of the
+two kinds of proximates.
+
+[Why is grain good for food?
+
+On what does the value of flour depend?
+
+Is there any relation between the ashy part of plants and those of
+animals?
+
+How may we account for unhealthy bones and teeth?]
+
+It is for this reason that grain, such as wheat for instance, is so good
+for food. It contains both classes of proximates, and furnishes material
+for the formation of both fat and muscle. The value of _flour_ depends
+very much on the manner in which it is manufactured. This will be soon
+explained.
+
+[What is a probable cause of consumption?
+
+What is an important use of the first class of proximates?
+
+What may lungs be called?
+
+Explain the production of heat during decomposition.
+
+Why is the heat produced by decay not perceptible?]
+
+Apart from the relations between the _proximate principles_ of plants,
+and those of animals, there exists an important relation between their
+_ashy_ or _inorganic_ parts; and, food in order to satisfy the demands
+of animal life, must contain the mineral matter required for the
+purposes of that life. Take bones for instance. If phosphate of lime is
+not always supplied in sufficient quantities by food, animals are
+prevented from the formation of healthy bones. This is particularly to
+be noticed in teeth. Where food is deficient of phosphate of lime, we
+see poor teeth as a result. Some physicians have supposed that one of
+the causes of consumption is the deficiency of phosphate of lime in
+food.
+
+[Why is the heat produced by combustion apparent?
+
+Explain the production of heat in the lungs of animals?
+
+Why does exercise augment the animal heat?
+
+Under what circumstances is the animal's own fat used in the production
+of heat?]
+
+The first class of proximates (starch, sugar, gum, etc.), perform an
+important office in the animal economy aside from their use in making fat.
+They constitute the _fuel_ which supplies the animal's fire, and gives him
+his _heat_. The lungs of men and other animals may be called delicate
+_stoves_, which supply the whole body with heat. But let us explain this
+matter more fully. If wood, starch, gum, or sugar, be burned in a stove,
+they produce heat. These substances consist, as will be recollected, of
+carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and when they are destroyed in any way
+(provided they be exposed to the atmosphere), the hydrogen and oxygen unite
+and form water, and the carbon unites with the oxygen of the air and forms
+carbonic acid, as was explained in a preceding chapter. This process is
+always accompanied by the liberation of _heat_, and the _intensity_ of this
+heat depends on the _time_ occupied in its _production_. In the case of
+decay, the chemical changes take place so slowly that the heat, being
+conducted away as soon as formed, is not perceptible to our senses. In
+combustion (or burning) the same changes take place with much greater
+rapidity, and the same _amount_ of heat being concentrated, or brought out
+in a far shorter time, it becomes intense, and therefore apparent. In the
+lungs of animals the same law holds true. The blood contains matters
+belonging to this carbonaceous class, and they undergo in the lungs the
+changes which have been described under the head of combustion and decay.
+Their hydrogen and oxygen unite, and form the moisture of the breath, while
+their carbon is combined with the oxygen of the air drawn into the lungs,
+and is thrown out as carbonic acid. The same consequence--heat--results in
+this, as in the other cases, and this heat is produced with sufficient
+rapidity for the animal necessities. When an animal exercises violently,
+his blood circulates with increased rapidity, thus carrying carbon more
+rapidly to the lungs. The breath also becomes quicker, thus supplying
+increased quantities of oxygen. In this way the decomposition becomes more
+rapid, and the animal is heated in proportion.
+
+Thus we see that food has another function besides that of forming
+animal matter, namely to supply heat. When the food does not contain a
+sufficient quantity of starch, sugar, etc., to answer the demands of
+the system the _animal's own fat_ is carried to the lungs, and there
+used in the production of heat. This important fact will be referred to
+again.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[G] By _proximate principle_, we mean that combination of vegetable
+elements which is known as a vegetable product, such as _wood_, etc.
+
+[H] _Muscle_ is _lean meat_, it gives to animals their strength and
+ability to perform labor.
+
+[I] This, of course, supposes that the soil is fertile in other
+respects.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+LOCATION OF THE PROXIMATES AND VARIATIONS IN THE ASHES OF PLANTS.
+
+
+[Of what proximate are plants chiefly composed?
+
+What is the principal constituent of the potato root?
+
+Of the carrot and turnip?
+
+What part of the plant contains usually the most nutriment?]
+
+Let us now examine plants with a view to learning the _location_ of the
+various plants.
+
+The stem or trunk of the plant or tree consists almost entirely of
+_woody fibre_; this also forms a large portion of the other parts except
+the seeds, and, in some instances, the roots. The roots of the potato
+contain large quantities of _starch_. Other roots such as the _carrot_
+and _turnip_ contain _pectic acid_,[J] a nutritious substance resembling
+starch.
+
+It is in the _seed_ however that the more nutritive portions of most
+plants exist, and here they maintain certain relative positions which
+it is well to understand, and which can be best explained by reference
+to the following figures, as described by Prof. Johnston:--
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
+
+"Thus _a_ shows the position of the oil in the outer part of the
+seed--it exists in minute drops, inclosed in six-sided cells, which
+consists chiefly of gluten; _b_, the position and comparative quantity
+of the starch, which in the heart of the seed is mixed with only a small
+proportion of gluten; _c_, the germ or chit which contains much
+gluten."[K]
+
+[Is the composition of the inorganic matter of different parts
+of the plant the same, or different?
+
+What is the difference between the ash of the straw and that of the
+grain of wheat?]
+
+The location of the _inorganic_ part of plants is one of much interest,
+and shows the adaptation of each part to its particular use. Take a
+wheat plant, for instance--the stalk, the leaf, and the grain, show in
+their ashes, important difference of composition. The stalk or straw
+contains three or four times as large a proportion of ash as the grain,
+and a no less remarkable difference of composition may be noticed in
+the ashes of the two parts. In that of the straw, we find a large
+proportion of silica and scarcely any phosphoric acid, while in that of
+the grain there is scarcely a trace of silica, although phosphoric acid
+constitutes more than one half of the entire weight. The leaves contain
+a considerable quantity of lime.
+
+[What is the reason for this difference?
+
+In what part of the grain does phosphoric acid exist most largely?]
+
+This may at first seem an unimportant matter, but on examination we
+shall see the use of it. The straw is intended to support the grain and
+leaves, and to convey the sap from the roots to the upper portions of
+the plant. To perform these offices, _strength_ is required, and this is
+given by the _silica_, and the woody fibre which forms so large a
+proportion of the stalk. The silica is combined with an alkali, and
+constitutes the glassy coating of the straw. While the plant is young,
+this coating is hardly apparent, but as it grows older, as the grain
+becomes heavier, (verging towards ripeness), the silicious coating of
+the stalk assumes a more prominent character, and gives to the straw
+sufficient strength to support the golden head. The straw is not the
+most important part of the plant as _food_, and therefore requires but
+little phosphoric acid.
+
+[Why is Graham flour more wholesome than fine flour?
+
+Are the ashes of all plants the same in their composition?]
+
+The grain, on the contrary, is especially intended as food, and
+therefore must contain a large proportion of phosphoric acid--this
+being, as we have already learned, necessary to the formation of
+bone--while, as it has no necessity for strength, and as silica is not
+needed by animals, this ingredient exists in the grain only in a very
+small proportion. It may be well to observe that the phosphoric acid of
+grain exists most largely in the hard portions near the shell, or bran.
+This is one of the reasons why Graham flour is more wholesome than fine
+flour. It contains all of the nutritive materials which render the grain
+valuable as food, while flour which is very finely bolted[L] contains
+only a small part of the outer portions of the grain (where the
+phosphoric acid, protein and fatty matters exist most largely). The
+starchy matter in the interior of the grain, which is the least capable
+of giving strength to the animal, is carefully separated, and used as
+food for man, while the better portions, not being ground so finely, are
+rejected. This one thing alone may be sufficient to account for the
+fact, that the lives of men have become shorter and less blessed with
+health and strength, than they were in the good old days when a stone
+mortar and a coarse sieve made a respectable flour mill.
+
+Another important fact concerning the ashes of plants is the difference
+of their composition in different plants. Thus, the most prominent
+ingredient in the ash of the potato is _potash_; of wheat and other
+grains, _phosphoric acid_; of meadow hay, _silica_; of clover, _lime_;
+of beans, _potash_, etc. In grain, _potash_ (or _soda_), etc., are among
+the important ingredients.
+
+[Of what advantage are these differences to the farmer?
+
+Of what are plants composed?]
+
+These differences are of great importance to the practical farmer, as by
+understanding what kind of plants use the most of one ingredient, and
+what kind requires another in large proportion, he can regulate his
+crops so as to prevent his soil from being exhausted more in one
+ingredient than in the others, and can also manure his land with
+reference to the crop which he intends to grow. The tables of analyses
+in the fifth section will point out these differences accurately.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[J] This pectic acid gelatinizes food in the stomach, and thus renders
+it more digestible.
+
+[K] See Johnston's Elements, page 41.
+
+[L] Sifted through a fine cloth called a bolting cloth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+RECAPITULATION.
+
+
+We have now learned as much about the plant as is required for our
+immediate uses, and we will carefully reconsider the various points with
+a view to fixing them permanently in the mind.
+
+Plants are composed of _organic_ and _inorganic_ matter.
+
+[What is organic matter? Inorganic?
+
+Of what does organic matter consist? Inorganic?
+
+How do plants obtain their organic food?
+
+How their inorganic?
+
+How is ammonia supplied? Carbonic acid?]
+
+Organic matter is that which burns away in the fire. Inorganic matter is
+the ash left after burning.
+
+The organic matter of plants consists of three gases, oxygen, hydrogen
+and nitrogen, and one solid substance carbon (or charcoal). The
+inorganic matter of plants consists of potash, soda, lime, magnesia,
+sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, chlorine, silica, oxide of iron, and
+oxide of manganese.
+
+Plants obtain their organic food as follows:--Oxygen and hydrogen from
+water, nitrogen from some compound containing nitrogen (chiefly from
+ammonia), and carbon from the atmosphere where it exists as carbonic
+acid--a gas.
+
+They obtain their inorganic food from the soil.
+
+The water which supplies oxygen and hydrogen to plants is readily
+obtained without the assistance of manures.
+
+Ammonia is obtained from the atmosphere, by being absorbed by rain and
+carried into the soil, and it enters plants through their roots. It may
+be artificially supplied in the form of animal manure with profit.
+
+Carbonic acid is absorbed from the atmosphere by leaves, and decomposed
+in the green parts of plants under the influence of daylight; the carbon
+is retained, and the oxygen is returned to the atmosphere.
+
+[When plants are destroyed by combustion or decay, what
+becomes of their constituents?
+
+How does the inorganic matter enter the plant?
+
+Are the alkalies soluble in their pure forms?
+
+Which one of them is injurious when too largely present?
+
+How may sulphuric acid be supplied?
+
+Is phosphoric acid important?
+
+How must silica be treated?
+
+From what source may we obtain chlorine?]
+
+When plants are destroyed by decay, or burning, their organic
+constituents pass away as water, ammonia, carbonic acid, etc., ready
+again to be taken up by other plants.
+
+The inorganic matters in the soil can enter the plant only when
+dissolved in water. _Potash_, _soda_, _lime_, and _magnesia_, are
+soluble in their pure forms. Magnesia is injurious when present in too
+large quantities.
+
+_Sulphuric_ acid is often necessary as a manure, and is usually most
+available in the form of sulphate of lime or plaster. It is also
+valuable in its pure form to prevent the escape of ammonia from
+composts.
+
+_Phosphoric_ acid is highly important, from its frequent deficiency in
+worn-out soils. It is available only under certain conditions which will
+be described in the section on manures.
+
+_Silica_ is the base of common sand, and must be united to an alkali
+before it can be used by the plant, because it is insoluble except when
+so united.
+
+_Chlorine_ is a constituent of common salt (chloride of sodium), and
+from this source may be obtained in sufficient quantities for manurial
+purposes.
+
+[What is the difference between _per_oxide and _prot_oxide of
+iron?
+
+How must the food of plants be supplied?
+
+What takes place after it enters the plant?
+
+What name is given to the compounds thus formed?
+
+How are proximates divided?
+
+Which class constitutes the largest part of the plant?
+
+Of what are animals composed, and how do they obtain the materials from
+which to form their growth?]
+
+_Oxide of iron_ is iron rust. There are two oxides of iron, the
+_peroxide_ (red) and the _protoxide_ (black). The former is a
+fertilizer, and the latter poisons plants.
+
+_Oxide of manganese_ is often absent from the ashes of our cultivated
+plants.
+
+The food of plants, both organic and inorganic, must be supplied in
+certain proportions, and at the time when it is required. In the plant,
+this food undergoes such chemical changes as are necessary to growth.
+
+The compounds formed by these chemical combinations are called
+_proximates_.
+
+Proximates are of two classes, those not containing nitrogen, and those
+which do contain it.
+
+The first class constitute nearly the whole plant.
+
+The second class, although small in quantity, are of the greatest
+importance to the farmer, as from them all animal muscle is made.
+
+Animals, like plants, are composed of both organic and inorganic matter,
+and their bodies are obtained directly or indirectly from plants.
+
+[What parts of the animal belong to the first class of
+proximates?
+
+What to the second?
+
+What is necessary to the perfect development of animals?
+
+Why are seeds valuable for working animals?
+
+What other important use, in animal economy, have proximates of the
+first class?
+
+Under what circumstances is animal fat decomposed?]
+
+The first class of proximates in animals comprise the fat, and like
+tissues.
+
+The second class form the muscle, hair, gelatine of the bones, etc.
+
+In order that they may be perfectly developed, animals must eat both
+classes of proximates, and in the proportions required by their natures.
+
+They require the phosphate of lime and other inorganic food which exist
+in plants.
+
+Seeds are the best adapted to the uses of working animals, because they
+are rich in all kinds of food required.
+
+Aside from their use in the formation of _fat_, proximates of the first
+class are employed in the lungs, as fuel to keep up animal heat, which
+is produced (as in fire and decay) by the decomposition of these
+substances.
+
+When the food is insufficient for the purposes of heat, the animal's own
+fat is decomposed, and carried to the lungs as fuel.
+
+The stems, roots, branches, etc., of most plants consist principally of
+_woody fibre_.
+
+Their seeds, and sometimes their roots, contain considerable quantities
+of _starch_.
+
+[Name the parts of the plant in which the different proximates
+exist.
+
+State what you know about flour.
+
+Do we know that different plants have ashes of different composition?]
+
+The _protein_ and the _oils_ of most plants exist most largely in the
+_seeds_.
+
+The location of the proximates, as well as of the inorganic parts of the
+plant, show a remarkable reference to the purposes of growth, and to the
+wants of the animal world, as is noticed in the difference between the
+construction of the straw and that of the kernel of wheat.
+
+The reason why the fine flour now made is not so healthfully nutritious
+as that which contained more of the coarse portions, is that it is
+robbed of a large proportion of protein and phosphate of lime, while it
+contains an undue amount of starch, which is available only to form fat,
+and to supply fuel to the lungs.
+
+Different plants have ashes of different composition. Thus--one may take
+from the soil large quantities of potash, another of phosphoric acid,
+and another of lime.
+
+By understanding these differences, we shall be able so to regulate our
+rotations, that the soil may not be called on to supply more of one
+ingredient than of another, and thus it may be kept in balance.
+
+[How are farmers to be benefited by such knowledge?]
+
+The facts contained in this chapter are the _alphabet of agriculture_,
+and the learner should not only become perfectly familiar with them, but
+should also clearly understand the _reasons_ why they are true, before
+proceeding further.
+
+
+
+
+SECTION SECOND.
+
+THE SOIL.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+FORMATION AND CHARACTER OF THE SOIL.
+
+
+[What is a necessary condition of growth?]
+
+In the foregoing section, we have studied the character of plants and
+the laws which govern their growth. We learned that one necessary
+condition for growth is a fertile soil, and therefore we will examine
+the nature of different soils, in order that we may understand the
+relations between them and plants.
+
+[What is a fixed character of soils?
+
+How is the chemical character of the soil to be ascertained?
+
+What do we first learn in analyzing a soil?
+
+How do the proportions of organic or inorganic parts of soils compare
+with those of plants?
+
+Of what does the organic part of soils consist?]
+
+The soil is not to be regarded as a mysterious mass of dirt, whereon
+crops are produced by a mysterious process. Well ascertained scientific
+knowledge has proved beyond question that all soils, whether in America
+or Asia, whether in Maine or California, have certain fixed properties,
+which render them fertile or barren, and the science of agriculture is
+able to point out these characteristics in all cases, so that we can
+ascertain from a scientific investigation what would be the chances for
+success in cultivating any soil which we examine.
+
+The soil is a great chemical compound, and its chemical character is
+ascertained (as in the case of plants) by analyzing it, or taking it
+apart.
+
+We first learn that fertile soils contain both organic and inorganic
+matter; but, unlike the plant, they usually possess much more of the
+latter than of the former.
+
+In the plant, the organic matter constitutes the most considerable
+portion of the whole. In the soil, on the contrary, it usually exists in
+very small quantities, while the inorganic portions constitute nearly
+the whole bulk.
+
+[Can the required proportion be definitely indicated?
+
+From what source is the inorganic part of soils derived?
+
+Do all soils decompose with equal facility?
+
+How does frost affect rocks?
+
+Does it affect soils in the same way?]
+
+The organic part of soils consists of the same materials that constitute
+the organic part of the plants, and it is in reality decayed vegetable
+and animal matter. It is not necessary that this organic part of the
+soil should form any particular proportion of the whole, and indeed we
+find it varying from one and a half to fifty, and sometimes, in peaty
+soils, to over seventy per cent. All fertile soils contain some organic
+matter, although it seems to make but little difference in fertility,
+whether it be ten or fifty per cent.
+
+The inorganic part of soils is derived from the crumbling of rocks. Some
+rocks (such as the slates in Central New York) decompose, and crumble
+rapidly on being exposed to the weather; while granite, marble, and
+other rocks will last for a long time without perceptible change. The
+_causes_ of this crumbling are various, and are not unimportant to the
+agriculturist; as by the same processes by which his soil was formed, he
+can increase its depth, or otherwise improve it. This being the case, we
+will in a few words explain some of the principal pulverizing agents.
+
+1. The action of frost. When water lodges in the crevices of rocks, and
+_freezes_, it expands, and bursts the rock, on the same principle as
+causes it to break a pitcher in winter. This power is very great, and by
+its assistance, large cannon may be burst. Of course the action of frost
+is the same on a small scale as when applied to large masses of matter,
+and, therefore, we find that when water freezes in the _pores_[M] of
+rocks or stones, it separates their particles and causes them to
+crumble. The same rule holds true with regard to stiff clay soils. If
+they are _ridged_ in autumn, and left with a rough surface exposed to
+the frosts of winter, they will become much lighter, and can afterwards
+be worked with less difficulty.
+
+[What is the effect of water on certain rocks?
+
+How are some rocks affected by exposure to the atmosphere? Give an
+instance of this.]
+
+2. The action of water. Many kinds of rock become so soft on being
+soaked with water, that they readily crumble.
+
+3. The chemical changes of the constituents of the rock. Many kinds of
+rock are affected by exposure to the atmosphere, in such a manner, that
+changes take place in their chemical character, and cause them to fall
+to pieces. The red kellis of New Jersey (a species of sandstone), is,
+when first quarried, a very hard stone, but on exposure to the
+influences of the atmosphere, it becomes so soft that it may be easily
+crushed between the thumb and finger.
+
+[What is the similarity between the composition of soils and
+the rocks from which they were formed?
+
+What does feldspar rock yield? Talcose slate? Marls?
+
+Does a soil formed entirely from rock contain organic matter?
+
+How is it affected by the growth of plants?]
+
+Other actions, of a less simple kind, exert an influence on the
+stubbornness of rocks, and cause them to be resolved into soils.[N] Of
+course, the composition of the soil must be similar to that of the rock
+from which it was formed; and, consequently, if we know the chemical
+character of the rock, we can tell whether the soil formed from it can
+be brought under profitable cultivation. Thus feldspar, on being
+pulverized, yields potash; talcose slate yields magnesia; marls yield
+lime, etc.
+
+The soil formed entirely from rock, contains, of course, no organic
+matter.[O] Still it is capable of bearing plants of a certain class, and
+when these die, they are deposited in the soil, and thus form its
+organic portions, rendering it capable of supporting those plants which
+furnish food for animals. Thousands of years must have been occupied in
+preparing the earth for habitation by man.
+
+As the inorganic or mineral part of the soil is usually the largest, we
+will consider it first.
+
+As we have stated that this portion is formed from rocks, we will
+examine their character, with a view to showing the different qualities
+of soils.
+
+[What is the general rule concerning the composition of rocks?
+
+Do these distinctions affect the fertility of soils formed from them?
+
+What do we mean by the mechanical character of the soil?
+
+Is its fertility indicated by its mechanical character?]
+
+As a general rule, it may be stated that _all rocks are either
+sandstones, limestones, or clays; or a mixture of two or more of these
+ingredients_. Hence we find that all mineral soils are either _sandy_,
+_calcareous_, (limey), or _clayey_; or consist of a mixture of these, in
+which one or another usually predominates. Thus, we speak of a sandy
+soil, a clay soil, etc. These distinctions (sandy, clayey, loamy, etc.)
+are important in considering the _mechanical_ character of the soil, but
+have little reference to its fertility.
+
+By _mechanical_ character, we mean those qualities which affect the ease
+of cultivation--excess or deficiency of water, ability to withstand
+drought, etc. For instance, a heavy clay soil is difficult to
+plow--retains water after rains, and bakes quite hard during drought;
+while a light sandy soil is plowed with ease, often allows water to pass
+through immediately after rains, and becomes dry and powdery during
+drought. Notwithstanding those differences in their mechanical
+character, both soils may be very fertile, or one more so than the
+other, without reference to the clay and sand which they contain, and
+which, to _our observation_, form their leading characteristics. The
+same facts exist with regard to a loam, a calcareous (or limey) soil, or
+a vegetable mould. Their mechanical texture is not essentially an index
+to their fertility, nor to the manures required to enable them to
+furnish food to plants. It is true, that each kind of soil appears to
+have some general quality of fertility or barrenness which is well known
+to practical men, yet this is not founded on the fact that the clay or
+the sand, or the vegetable matter, enter more largely into the
+constitution of plants than they do when they are not present in so
+great quantities, but on certain other facts which will be hereafter
+explained.
+
+[What is a sandy soil? A clay soil? A loamy soil? A marl? A
+calcareous soil? A peaty soil?]
+
+As the following names are used to denote the character of soils, in
+ordinary agricultural description, we will briefly explain their
+application:
+
+A _Sandy soil_ is, of course, one in which sand largely predominates.
+
+_Clay soil_, one where _clay_ forms a large proportion of the soil.
+
+_Loamy soil_, where sand and clay are about equally mixed.
+
+_Marl_ contains from five to twenty per cent. of carbonate of lime.
+
+_Calcareous soil_ more than twenty per cent.
+
+_Peaty soils_, of course, contain large quantities of organic matter.[P]
+
+
+[How large a part of the soil may be used as food by plants?
+
+What do we learn from the analyses of barren and fertile soils?]
+
+We will now take under consideration that part of the soil on which
+depends its ability to supply food to the plant. This portion rarely
+constitutes more than five or ten per cent. of the entire soil,
+sometimes less--and it has no reference to the sand, clay, and vegetable
+matters which they contain. From analyses of many fertile soils, and of
+others which are barren or of poorer quality, it has been ascertained
+that the presence of certain ingredients is necessary to fertility. This
+may be better explained by the assistance of the following table:
+
+ ---------------------------+--------------+-------------+----------
+  In one hundred pounds.    | Soil fertile |  Good       | Barren.
+                            | without      | wheat soil. |
+                            | manure.      |             |
+ ---------------------------+--------------+-------------+----------
+ Organic matter,            |  9.7         |  7.0        |  4.0
+ Silica (sand),             | 64.8         | 74.3        | 77.8
+ Alumina (clay),            |  5.7         |  5.5        |  9.1
+ Lime,                      |  5.9         |  1.4        |   .4
+ Magnesia,                  |   .9         |   .7        |   .1
+ Oxide of iron,             |  6.1         |  4.7        |  8.1
+ Oxide of manganese,        |   .1         |             |   .1
+ Potash,                    |   .2         |  1.7        |
+ Soda,                      |   .4         |   .7        |
+ Chlorine,                  |   .2         |   .1        |
+ Sulphuric acid,            |   .2         |   .1        |
+ Phosphoric acid,           |   .4         |   .1-1/2    |
+ Carbonic acid,             |  4.0         |             |
+ Loss during the analysis   |  1.4         |  3.6-1/2    |   .4
+                            +--------------+-------------+----------
+                            |100.0         |100.0        |100.0
+ ---------------------------+--------------+-------------+----------
+
+[What can you say of the soils represented in the table of
+analyses?
+
+What proportion of the fertilizing ingredients is required?
+
+If the soil represented in the third column contained all the
+ingredients required except potash and soda, would it be fertile?
+
+What would be necessary to make it so?
+
+What is the reason for this?
+
+What are the offices performed by the inorganic part of soils?]
+
+The soil represented in the first column might still be fertile with
+less organic matter, or with a larger proportion of clay (alumina), and
+less sand (silica). These affect its _mechanical_ character; but, if we
+look down the column, we notice that there are small quantities of lime,
+magnesia, and the other constituents of the ashes of plants (except ox.
+of manganese). It is not necessary that they should be present in the
+soil in the exact quantity named above, but _not one must be entirely
+absent, or greatly reduced in proportion_. By referring to the third
+column, we see that these ingredients are not all present, and the soil
+is barren. Even if it were supplied with all but one or two, potash and
+soda for instance, it could not support a crop without the assistance of
+manures containing these alkalies. The reason for this must be readily
+seen, as we have learned that no plant can arrive at maturity without
+the necessary supply of materials required in the formation of the ash,
+and these materials can be obtained only from the soil; consequently,
+when they do not exist there, it must be barren.
+
+The inorganic part of soils has two distinct offices to perform. The
+clay and sand form a mass of material into which roots can penetrate,
+and thus plants are supported in their position. These parts also absorb
+heat, air and moisture to serve the purposes of growth, as we shall see
+in a future chapter. The minute portions of soil, which comprise the
+acids, alkalies, and neutrals, furnish plants with their ashes, and are
+the most necessary to the fertility of the soil.
+
+
+GEOLOGY.
+
+[What is geology?
+
+Is the same kind of rock always of the same composition?
+
+How do rocks differ?]
+
+The relation between the inorganic part of soils and the rocks from
+which it was formed, is the foundation of Agricultural Geology. Geology
+may be briefly named the _science of rocks_. It would not be proper in
+an elementary work to introduce much of this study, and we will
+therefore simply state that the same kind of rock is of the same
+composition all over the world; consequently, if we find a soil in New
+England formed from any particular rock, and a soil from the same rock
+in Asia, their natural fertility will be the same in both localities.
+Some rocks consist of a mixture of different kinds of minerals; and
+some, consisting chiefly of one ingredient, are of different degrees of
+_hardness_. Both of these changes must affect the character of the soil,
+but it may be laid down as rule that, _when the rocks of two locations
+are exactly alike, the soils formed from them will be of the same
+natural fertility, and in proportion as the character of rocks changes,
+in the same proportion will the soils differ_.
+
+[What rule may be given in relation to soils formed from the
+same or different rocks?
+
+Are all soils formed from the rocks on which they lie?
+
+What instances can you give of this?]
+
+In most districts the soil is formed from the rock on which it lies; but
+this is not always the case. Soils are often formed by deposits of
+matter brought by water from other localities. Thus the alluvial banks
+of rivers consist of matters brought from the country through which the
+rivers have passed. The river Nile, in Egypt, yearly overflows its
+banks, and deposits large quantities of mud brought from the uninhabited
+upper countries. The prairies of the West owe a portion of their soil to
+deposits by water. Swamps often receive the washings of adjacent hills;
+and, in these cases, their soil is derived from a foreign source.
+
+We might continue to enumerate instances of the relations between soils
+and the sources whence they originated, thus demonstrating more fully
+the importance of geology to the farmer; but it would be beyond the
+scope of this work, and should be investigated by scholars more advanced
+than those who are studying merely the _elements_ of agricultural
+science.
+
+The mind, in its early application to any branch of study, should not
+be charged with intricate subjects. It should master well the
+_rudiments_, before investigating those matters which should _follow_
+such understanding.
+
+[In what light will plants and soils be regarded by those who
+understand them?]
+
+By pursuing the proper course, it is easy to learn all that is necessary
+to form a good foundation for a thorough acquaintance with the subject.
+If this foundation is laid thoroughly, the learner will regard plants
+and soils as old acquaintances, with whose formation and properties he
+is as familiar as with the construction of a building or simple machine.
+A simple spear of grass will become an object of interest, forming
+itself into a perfect plant, with full development of roots, stem,
+leaves, and seeds, by processes with which he feels acquainted. The soil
+will cease to be mere dirt; it will be viewed as a compound substance,
+whose composition is a matter of interest, and whose care is productive
+of intellectual pleasure. The commencement of study in any science must
+necessarily be wearisome to the young mind, but its more advanced stages
+amply repay the trouble of early exertions.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[M] The spaces between the particles.
+
+[N] In very many instances the crevices and seams of rocks are permeated
+by roots, which, by decaying and thus inducing the growth of other
+roots, cause these crevices to become filled with organic matter. This,
+by the absorption of moisture, may expand with sufficient power to burst
+the rock.
+
+[O] Some rocks contain sulphur, phosphorus, etc., and these may,
+perhaps, be considered as organic matter.
+
+[P] These distinctions are not essential to be learned, but are often
+convenient.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+USES OF ORGANIC MATTER.
+
+
+[What proportion of organic matter is required for fertility?
+
+How does the soil obtain its organic matter?
+
+How does the growth of clover, etc., affect the soil?]
+
+It will be recollected that, in addition to its mineral portions, the
+soil contains organic matter in varied quantities. It may be fertile
+with but one and a half per cent. of organic matter, and some peaty
+soils contain more than fifty per cent. or more than one half of the
+whole.
+
+The precise amount necessary cannot be fixed at any particular sum;
+perhaps five parts in a hundred would be as good a quantity as could be
+recommended.
+
+The soil obtains its organic matter in two ways. First, by the decay of
+roots and dead plants, also of leaves, which have been brought to it by
+wind, etc. Second, by the application of organic manures.
+
+[When organic matter decays in the soil, what becomes of it?
+
+Is charcoal taken up by plants?
+
+Are humus and humic acid of great practical importance?]
+
+When a crop of clover is raised, it obtains its carbon from the
+atmosphere; and, if it be plowed under, and allowed to decay, a portion
+of this carbon is deposited in the soil. Carbon constitutes nearly the
+whole of the dry weight of the clover, aside from the constituents of
+water; and, when we calculate the immense quantity of hay, and roots
+grown on an acre of soil in a single season, we shall find that the
+amount of carbon thus deposited is immense. If the clover had been
+removed, and the roots only left to decay, the amount of carbon
+deposited would still have been very great. The same is true in all
+cases where the crop is removed, and the roots remain to form the
+organic or vegetable part of the soil. While undergoing decomposition, a
+portion of this matter escapes in the form of gas, and the remainder
+chiefly assumes the form of carbon (or charcoal), in which form it will
+always remain, without loss, unless driven out by fire. If a bushel of
+charcoal be mixed with the soil now, it will be the same bushel of
+charcoal, neither more nor less, a thousand years hence, unless some
+influence is brought to bear on it aside from the growth of plants. It
+is true that, in the case of the decomposition of organic matter in the
+soil, certain compounds are formed, known under the general names of
+_humus_ and _humic acid_, which may, in a slight degree, affect the
+growth of plants, but their practical importance is of too doubtful a
+character to justify us in considering them. The application of manures,
+containing organic matter, such as peat, muck, animal manure, etc.,
+supplies the soil with carbon on the same principle, and the decomposing
+matters also generate[Q] carbonic acid gas while being decomposed. The
+agricultural value of carbon in the soil depends (as we have stated),
+not on the fact that it enters into the composition of plants, but on
+certain other important offices which it performs, as follows:--
+
+[On what does the agricultural value of the carbon in the soil
+depend?
+
+Why does it make the soil more retentive of manure?
+
+What is the experiment with the barrels of sand?]
+
+1. It makes the soil more retentive of manures.
+
+2. It causes it to appropriate larger quantities of the fertilizing
+gases of the atmosphere.
+
+3. It gives it greater power to absorb moisture.
+
+4. It renders it warmer.
+
+1. Carbon (or charcoal) makes the soil retentive of manures, because it
+has in itself a strong power to absorb, and retain[R] fertilizing
+matters. There is a simple experiment by which this power can be shown.
+
+Ex.--Take two barrels of pure beach sand, and mix with the sand in one
+barrel a few handfuls of charcoal dust, leaving that in the other pure.
+Pour the brown liquor of the barn-yard through the pure sand, and it
+will pass out at the bottom unaltered. Pour the same liquor through the
+barrel, containing the charcoal, and pure water will be obtained as a
+result. The reason for this is that the charcoal retains all of the
+impurities of the liquor, and allows only the water to pass through.
+Charcoal is often employed to purify water for drinking, or for
+manufacturing purposes.
+
+[Will charcoal purify water?
+
+If a piece of tainted meat, or a fishy duck be buried in a rich garden
+soil, what takes place?
+
+What is the reason of this?
+
+How does charcoal overcome offensive odors?
+
+How can you prove that charcoal absorbs the _mineral_ impurities of
+water?]
+
+A rich garden-soil contains large quantities of carbonaceous matter;
+and, if we bury in such a soil a piece of tainted meat or a fishy duck,
+it will, in a short time, be deprived of its odor, because the charcoal
+in the soil will entirely absorb it.
+
+Carbon absorbs gases as well as the impurities of water; and, if a
+little charcoal be sprinkled over manure, or any other substance,
+emitting offensive odors, the gases escaping will be taken up by the
+charcoal, and the odor will cease.
+
+It has also the power of absorbing _mineral_ matters, which are
+contained in water. If a quantity of salt water be filtered through
+charcoal, the salt will be retained, and the water will pass through
+pure.
+
+We are now able to see how carbon renders the soil retentive of manures.
+
+1st. Manures, which resemble the brown liquor of barn-yards, have their
+fertilizing matters taken out, and retained by it.
+
+[How does charcoal in the soil affect the manures applied?
+
+Why does charcoal in the soil cause it to appropriate the gases of the
+atmosphere?
+
+What fertilizing gases exist in the atmosphere?
+
+How are they carried to the soil?
+
+Does the carbon retain them after they reach the soil?
+
+What can you say of the air circulating through the soil?
+
+How does carbon give the soil power to absorb moisture?]
+
+2d. The gases arising from the decomposition (_rotting_) of manure are
+absorbed by it.
+
+3d. The soluble mineral portions of manure, which might in some soils
+leach down with water, are arrested and retained at a point at which
+they can be made use of by the roots of plants.
+
+2. Charcoal in the soil causes it to appropriate larger quantities of
+the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere, on account of its power, as
+just named, to absorb gases.
+
+The atmosphere contains results, which have been produced by the
+breathing of animals and by the decomposition of various kinds of
+organic matter, which are exposed to atmospheric influences. These gases
+are chiefly ammonia and carbonic acid, both of which are largely
+absorbed by water, and consequently are contained in rain, snow, etc.,
+which, as they enter the soil, give up these gases to the charcoal, and
+they there remain until required by plants. Even the air itself, in
+circulating through the soil, gives up fertilizing gases to the carbon,
+which it may contain.
+
+3. Charcoal gives to the soil power to absorb moisture, because it is
+itself one of the best absorbents in nature; and it has been proved by
+accurate experiment that peaty soils absorb moisture with greater
+rapidity, and part with it more slowly than any other kind.
+
+[How does it render it warmer?
+
+Is the heat produced by the decomposition of organic matter perceptible
+to our senses?
+
+Is it so to the growing plant?
+
+What is another important part of the organic matter in the soil?]
+
+4. Carbon in the soil renders it warmer, because it darkens its color.
+Black surfaces absorb more heat than light ones, and a black coat, when
+worn in the sun, is warmer than one of a lighter color. By mixing carbon
+with the soil, we darken its color, and render it capable of absorbing a
+greater amount of heat from the sun's rays.
+
+It will be recollected that, when vegetable matter decomposes in the
+soil, it produces certain gases (carbonic acid, etc.), which either
+escape into the atmosphere, or are retained in the soil for the use of
+plants. The production of these gases is always accompanied by _heat_,
+which, though scarcely perceptible to our senses, is perfectly so to the
+growing plant, and is of much practical importance. This will be
+examined more fully in speaking of manures.
+
+[How is it obtained by the soil?
+
+What offices does the organic matter in the soil perform?]
+
+Another important part of the organic matter in the soil is that which
+contains _nitrogen_. This forms but a very small portion of the soil,
+but it is of the greatest importance to vegetables. As the nitrogen in
+food is of absolute necessity to the growth of animals, so the nitrogen
+in the soil is indispensable to the growth of cultivated plants. It is
+obtained by the soil in the form of ammonia (or nitric acid), from the
+atmosphere, or by the application of animal matter. In some cases,
+manures called _nitrates_[S] are used; and, in this manner, nitrogen is
+given to the soil.
+
+We have now learned that the organic matter in the soil performs the
+following offices:--
+
+Organic matter thoroughly decomposed is _carbon_, and has the various
+effects ascribed to this substance on p. 79.
+
+Organic matter in process of decay produces carbonic acid, and sometimes
+ammonia in the soil; also its decay causes heat.
+
+Organic matter containing _nitrogen_, such as animal substances, etc.,
+furnish ammonia, and other nitrogenous substances to the roots of
+plants.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Q] Produce.
+
+[R] By absorbing and retaining, we mean taking up and holding.
+
+[S] Nitrates are compounds of nitric acid (which consists of nitrogen
+and oxygen), and alkaline substances. Thus nitrate of potash
+(saltpetre), is composed of nitric acid and potash: nitrate of soda
+(cubical nitre), of nitric acid and soda.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+USES OF INORGANIC MATTER.
+
+
+[What effect has clay besides the one already named?
+
+How does it compare with charcoal for this purpose?]
+
+The offices performed by the inorganic constituents of the soil are many
+and important.
+
+These, as well as the different conditions in which the bodies exist,
+are necessary to be thoroughly studied.
+
+Those parts which constitute the larger proportion of the soil, namely
+the clay, sand, and limy portions, are useful for purposes which have
+been named in the first part of this section, while the _clay_ has an
+additional effect in the absorption of ammonia.
+
+For this purpose, it is as effectual as charcoal, the gases escaping
+from manures, as well as those existing in the atmosphere, and in
+rain-water, being arrested by clay as well as charcoal.[T]
+
+[What particular condition of inorganic matter is requisite
+for fertility?
+
+What is the fixed rule with regard to this?
+
+What is the condition of the alkalies in most of their combinations? Of
+the acids?
+
+What is said of phosphate of lime?]
+
+The more minute ingredients of the soil--those which enter into the
+construction of plants--exist in conditions which are more or less
+favorable or injurious to vegetable growth. The principal condition
+necessary to fertility is _capacity to be dissolved_, it being (so far
+as we have been able to ascertain) a fixed rule, as was stated in the
+first section, that _no mineral substance can enter into the roots of a
+plant except it be dissolved in water_.
+
+The _alkalies_ potash, soda, lime, and magnesia, are in nearly all of
+their combinations in the soil sufficiently soluble for the purposes of
+growth.
+
+The _acids_ are, as will be recollected, sulphuric and phosphoric. These
+exist in the soil in combination with the alkalies, as sulphates and
+phosphates, which are more or less soluble under natural circumstances.
+Phosphoric acid in combination with lime as phosphate of lime is but
+slightly soluble; but, when it exists in the compound known as
+_super_-phosphate of lime, it is much more soluble, and consequently
+enters into the composition of plants with much greater facility. This
+matter will be more fully explained in the section on manures.
+
+[How may silica be rendered soluble?
+
+What is the condition of chlorine in the soil?
+
+Do peroxide and protoxide of iron affect plants in the same way?
+
+How would you treat a soil containing protoxide of iron?
+
+On what does the usefulness of all these matters in the soil depend?]
+
+The _neutrals_, silica, chlorine, oxide of iron, and oxide of manganese,
+deserve a careful examination. Silica exists in the soil usually in the
+form of _sand,_ in which it is, as is well known, perfectly insoluble;
+and, before it can be used by plants, which often require it in large
+quantities, it must be made soluble, which is done by combining it with
+an alkali.
+
+For instance, if the silica in the soil is insoluble, we must make an
+application of an alkali, such as potash, which will unite with the
+silica, and form the silicate of potash, which is in the exact condition
+to be dissolved and carried into the roots of plants.
+
+Chlorine in the soil is probably always in an available condition.
+
+Oxide of iron exists, as has been previously stated, usually in the form
+of the _per_oxide (or red oxide). Sometimes, however, it exists in the
+form of the _prot_oxide (or black oxide), which is poisonous to plants,
+and renders the soil unfertile. By loosening the soil in such a manner
+as to admit air and water, this compound takes up more oxygen, which
+renders it a peroxide, and makes it available for plants. The oxide of
+manganese is probably of little consequence.
+
+The usefulness of all of these matters in the soil depends on their
+_exposure_; if they are in the _interior_ of particles, they cannot be
+made use of; while, if the particles are so pulverized that their
+constituents are exposed, they become available, because water can
+immediately attack to dissolve, and carry them into roots.
+
+[What is one of the chief offices of plowing and hoeing?
+
+Is the subsoil usually different from the surface soil?
+
+What circumstances have occasioned the difference? In what way?]
+
+This is one of the great offices of plowing and hoeing; the _lumps_ of
+soil being thereby more broken up and exposed to the action of
+atmospheric influences, which are often necessary to produce a fertile
+condition of soil, while the trituration of particles reduces them in
+size.
+
+
+SUBSOIL.
+
+[May the subsoil be made to resemble the surface soil?
+
+May all soils be brought to the highest state of fertility?
+
+On what examination must improvement be based?
+
+What is the difference between the soil of some parts of Massachusetts
+and that of the Miami valley?]
+
+The subsoil is usually of a different character from the surface soil,
+but this difference is more often the result of circumstances than of
+formation. The surface soil from having been long cultivated has been
+more opened to the influences of the air than is the case with the
+subsoil, which has never been disturbed so as to allow the same action.
+Again the growth of plants has supplied the surface soil with roots,
+which by decaying have given it organic matter, thus darkening its
+color, rendering it warmer, and giving greater ability to absorb heat
+and moisture, and to retain manures. All of these effects render the
+surface soil of a more fertile character than it was before vegetable
+growth commenced; and, where frequent cultivation and manures have been
+applied, a still greater benefit has resulted. In most instances the
+subsoil may by the same means be gradually improved in condition until
+it equals the surface soil in fertility. The means of producing this
+result, also farther accounts of its advantages, will be given under the
+head of _Cultivation_ (Sect. IV.)
+
+
+IMPROVEMENT.
+
+From what has now been said of the character of the soil, it must be
+evident that, as we know the _causes_ of fertility and barrenness, we
+may by the proper means improve the character of all soils which are not
+now in the highest state of fertility.
+
+Chemical analysis will tell us the _composition_ of a soil, and an
+examination, such as any farmer may make, will inform us of its
+deficiencies in _mechanical_ character, and we may at once resort to the
+proper means to secure fertility. In some instances the soil may contain
+every thing that is required, but not in the necessary condition. For
+instance, in some parts of Massachusetts, there are nearly _barren_
+soils which show by analysis precisely the same chemical composition as
+the soil of the Miami valley of Ohio, one of the most _fertile_ in the
+world. The cause of this great difference in their agricultural
+capabilities, is that the Miami soil has its particles finely
+pulverized; while in the Massachusetts soil the ingredients are combined
+within particles (such as pebbles, etc.), where they are out of the
+reach of roots.
+
+[Why do soils of the same degree of fineness sometimes differ
+in fertility?
+
+Can soils always be rendered fertile with profit?
+
+Can we determine the cost before commencing the work?
+
+What must be done before a soil can be cultivated understandingly?
+
+What must be done to keep up the quality of the soil?]
+
+In other cases, we find two soils, which are equally well pulverized,
+and which appear to be of the same character, having very different
+power to support crops. Chemical analysis will show in these instances a
+difference of composition.
+
+All of these differences may be overcome by the use of the proper means.
+Sometimes it could be done at an expense which would be justified by the
+result; and, at others, it might require too large an outlay to be
+profitable. It becomes a question of economy, not of ability, and
+science is able to estimate the cost.
+
+Soil cannot be cultivated understandingly until it has been subjected to
+such an examination as will tell us exactly what is necessary to render
+it fertile. Even after fertility is perfectly restored it requires
+thought and care to maintain it. The ingredients of the soil must be
+returned in the form of manures as largely as they are removed by the
+crop, or the supply will eventually become too small for the purposes of
+vegetation.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[T] It is due to our country, as well as to Prof. Mapes and others, who
+long ago explained this absorptive power of clay and carbon, to say that
+the subject was perfectly understood and practically applied in America
+a number of years before Prof. Way published the discovery in England as
+original.
+
+
+
+
+SECTION THIRD.
+
+MANURES.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+CHARACTER AND VARIETIES OF MANURES.
+
+
+[What must a farmer know in order to avoid failures?
+
+Can this be learned entirely from observation?
+
+What kind of action have manures?
+
+Give examples of each of these.
+
+May mechanical effects be produced by chemical action?
+
+How does potash affect the soil?]
+
+To understand the science of _manures_ is the most important branch of
+practical farming. No baker would be called a good practical baker who
+kept his flour exposed to the sun and rain. No shoemaker would be called
+a good practical shoemaker, who used morocco for the soles of his shoes,
+and heavy leather for the uppers. No carpenter would be called a good
+practical carpenter, who tried to build a house without nails, or other
+fastenings. So with the farmer. He cannot be called a good practical
+farmer if he keeps the materials, from which he is to make plants, in
+such a condition, that they will have their value destroyed, uses them
+in the wrong places, or tries to put them together without having every
+thing present that is necessary. Before he can avoid failures _with
+certainty_, he must know what manures are composed of, how they are to
+be preserved, where they are needed, and what kinds are required. True,
+he may from observation and experience, _guess_ at results, but he
+cannot _know_ that he is right until he has learned the facts above
+named. In this section of our work, we mean to convey some of the
+information necessary to this branch of _practical farming_.
+
+We shall adopt a classification of the subject somewhat different from
+that found in most works on manures, but the _facts_ are the same. The
+action of manures is either _mechanical_ or _chemical_, or a combination
+of both. For instance: some kinds of manure improve the mechanical
+character of the soil, such as those which loosen stiff clay soils, or
+others which render light sandy soils compact--these are called
+_mechanical_ manures. Some again furnish food for plants--these are
+called _chemical_ manures.
+
+Many mechanical manures produce their effects by means of chemical
+action. Thus _potash_ combines chemically with sand in the soil. In so
+doing, it roughens the surfaces of the particles of sand, and renders
+the soil less liable to be compacted by rains. In this manner, it acts
+as a _mechanical_ manure. The compound of sand and potash,[U] as well as
+the potash alone, may enter into the composition of plants, and hence it
+is a _chemical_ manure. In other words, potash belongs to both classes
+described above.
+
+It is important that this distinction should be well understood by the
+learner, as the words "mechanical" and "chemical" in connection with
+manures will be made use of throughout the following pages.
+
+[What are absorbents?
+
+What kind of manure is charcoal?]
+
+There is another class of manures which we shall call _absorbents_.
+These comprise those substances which have the power of taking up
+fertilizing matters, and retaining them for the use of plants. For
+instance, _charcoal_ is an absorbent. As was stated in the section on
+soils, this substance is a retainer of all fertilizing gases and many
+minerals. Other matters made use of in agriculture have the same effect.
+These absorbents will be spoken of more fully in their proper places.
+
+TABLE.
+
+MECHANICAL MANURES are those which improve the mechanical condition of
+                   soils.
+
+CHEMICAL      "    are those which serve as food for plants.
+
+ABSORBENTS         are those substances which absorb and retain
+                   fertilizing matters.
+
+[Into what classes may manures be divided?
+
+What are organic manures?
+
+Inorganic? Atmospheric?]
+
+Manures may be divided into three classes, viz.: _organic_, _inorganic_,
+and _atmospheric_.
+
+ORGANIC manures comprise all _animal_ and _vegetable_ matters which are
+used to fertilize the soil, such as dung, muck, etc.
+
+INORGANIC manures are those which are of a purely _mineral_ character,
+such as lime, ashes, etc.
+
+ATMOSPHERIC manures consist of those organic manures which are in the
+form of gases in the atmosphere, and which are absorbed by rains and
+carried to the soil. These are of immense importance. The ammonia and
+carbonic acid in the air are atmospheric manures.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[U] Silicate of potash.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+EXCREMENTS OF ANIMALS.
+
+
+[Of what is animal excrement composed?
+
+Explain the composition of the food of animals.
+
+What does hay contain?
+
+To what does Liebig compare the consumption of food by animals, and
+why?]
+
+The first organic manure which we shall examine, is animal _excrement_.
+
+This is composed of those matters which have been eaten by the animal as
+food, and have been thrown off as solid or liquid manure. In order that
+we may know of what they consist, we must refer to the composition of
+food and examine the process of digestion.
+
+The food of animals, we have seen to consist of both organic and
+inorganic matter. The organic part may be divided into two classes, _i.
+e._, that portion which contains nitrogen--such as gluten, albumen,
+etc., and that which does not contain nitrogen--such as starch, sugar,
+oil, etc.
+
+The inorganic part of food may also be divided into _soluble_ matter and
+_insoluble_ matter.
+
+
+DIGESTION AND ITS PRODUCTS.
+
+[Of what does that part of dung consist which resembles soot?
+
+What else does the dung contain?
+
+In what manner does the digested part of food escape from the body?]
+
+Let us now suppose that we have a full-grown ox, which is not increasing
+in any of his parts, but only consumes food to keep up his respiration,
+and to supply the natural wastes of his body. To this ox we will feed a
+ton of hay which contains organic matter, with and without nitrogen, and
+soluble and insoluble inorganic substances. Now let us try to follow it
+through its changes in the animal, and observe its destination. Liebig
+compares the consumption of food by animals to the imperfect burning of
+wood in a stove, where a portion of the fuel is resolved into gases and
+ashes (that is, it is completely burned), and another portion, which is
+not thoroughly burned, passes off as _soot_. In the animal action in
+question, the food undergoes changes which are similar to this burning
+of wood. A part of the food is _digested_ and taken up by the blood,
+while another portion remains undigested, and passes the bowels as solid
+dung--corresponding to soot. This part of the dung then, we see is
+merely so much of the food as passes through the system without being
+materially changed. Its nature is easily understood. It contains organic
+and inorganic matter in nearly the same condition as they existed in the
+hay. They have been rendered finer and softer, but their chemical
+character is not materially altered. The dung also contains small
+quantities of nitrogenous matter, which _leaked out_, as it were, from
+the stomach and intestines. The digested food, however, undergoes
+further changes which affect its character, and it escapes from the body
+in three ways--_i. e._, through the lungs, through the bladder, and
+through the bowels. It will be recollected from the first section of
+this book, p. 22, that the carbon in the blood of animals, unites with
+the oxygen of the air drawn into the lungs, and is thrown off in the
+breath as carbonic acid. The hydrogen and oxygen unite to form a part of
+the water which constitutes the moisture of the breath.
+
+[Explain the escape of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
+
+What becomes of the nitrogenous parts?
+
+How is the _soluble_ ash of the digested food parted with?
+
+The insoluble?
+
+If any portions of the food are not returned in the dung, how are they
+disposed of?]
+
+That portion of the organic part of the hay which has been taken up by
+the blood of the ox, and which does not contain nitrogen (corresponding
+to the _first_ class of proximates, as described in Sect. I), is emitted
+through the lungs. It consists, as will be recollected, of carbon,
+hydrogen and oxygen, and these assume, in respiration, the form of
+carbonic acid and water.
+
+The organic matter of the digested hay, in the blood, which contains
+nitrogen (corresponding to the _second_ class of proximates, described
+in Sect. I), goes to the _bladder_, where it assumes the form of urea--a
+constituent of urine or liquid manure.
+
+We have now disposed of the imperfectly digested food (dung), and of the
+_organic_ matter which was taken up by the blood. All that remains to be
+examined is the inorganic or mineral matter in the blood, which would
+have become _ashes_, if the hay had been burned. The _soluble_ part of
+this inorganic matter passes into the bladder, and forms the _inorganic
+part of urine_. The _insoluble_ part passes the bowels, in connection
+with the dung.
+
+[How is their place supplied?
+
+Is food put out of existence when it is fed to animals?
+
+What does the solid dung contain? Liquid manure? The breath?]
+
+If any of the food taken up by the blood is not returned as above
+stated, it goes to form fat, muscle, hair, bones, or some other part of
+the animal, and as he is not growing (not increasing in weight) an
+equivalent amount of the body of the animal goes to the manure to take
+the place of the part retained.[V]
+
+We now have our subject in a form to be readily understood. We learn
+that when food is given to animals it is not _put out of existence_, but
+is merely _changed in form_; and that in the impurities of the breath,
+we have a large portion of those parts of the food which plants obtain
+from air and from water; while the solid and liquid excrements contain
+all that was taken by the plants from the soil and manures.
+
+The SOLID DUNG contains the undigested parts of the food, the
+                _insoluble_ parts of the ash, and the nitrogenous
+                matters which have _escaped_ from the digestive organs.
+
+"LIQUID MANURE" the nitrogenous or _second class_ of proximates of the
+                digested food, and the _soluble_ parts of the ash.
+
+THE BREATH contains the _first class_ of proximates, those which contain
+                carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but _no nitrogen_.[W]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[V] This account of digestion is not, perhaps, strictly accurate in a
+physiological point of view, but it is sufficiently so to give an
+elementary understanding of the character of excrements as manures.
+
+[W] The excrements of animals contain more or less of sulphur, and
+sometimes small quantities of phosphorus.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+WASTE OF MANURE.
+
+
+[What are the first causes of loss of manure?
+
+What is _evaporation_?]
+
+The loss of manure is a subject which demands most serious attention.
+Until within a few years, little was known about the true character of
+manures, and consequently, of the importance of protecting them against
+loss.
+
+The first causes of waste are _evaporation_ and _leaching_.
+
+
+EVAPORATION.
+
+[Name a solid body which evaporates.
+
+What takes place when a dead animal is exposed to the atmosphere for a
+sufficient time?
+
+What often assist the evaporation of solids?]
+
+Evaporation is the changing of a solid or liquid body to a vapory form.
+Thus common smelling salts, a solid, if left exposed, passes into the
+atmosphere in the form of a gas or vapor. Water, a liquid, evaporates,
+and becomes a vapor in the atmosphere. This is the case with very many
+substances, and in organic nature, both solid and liquid, they are
+liable to assume a gaseous form, and become mixed with the atmosphere.
+They are not destroyed, but are merely changed in form.
+
+As an instance of this action, suppose an animal to die and to decay on
+the surface of the earth. After a time, the flesh will entirely
+disappear, but is not lost. It no longer exists as the flesh of an
+animal, but its carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, still exist in
+the air. They have been liberated from the attractions which held them
+together, and have passed away; but (as we already know from what has
+been said in a former section) they are ready to be again taken up by
+plants, and pressed into the service of life.
+
+The evaporation of liquids may take place without the aid of any thing
+but heat; still, in the case of solids, it is often assisted by decay
+and combustion, which break up the bonds that hold the constituents of
+bodies together, and thus enable them to return to the atmosphere, from
+which they were originally derived.
+
+[What is the cause of odor?
+
+When we perceive an odor, what is taking place?
+
+Why do manures give off offensive odors?
+
+How may we detect ammonia escaping from manure?]
+
+It must be recollected that every thing, which has an _odor_ (or can be
+smelled), is evaporating. The odor is caused by parts of the body
+floating in the air, and acting on the nerves of the nose. This is an
+invariable rule; and, when we perceive an odor, we may be sure that
+parts of the material, from which it emanates, are escaping. If we
+perceive the odor of an apple, it is because parts of the volatile oils
+of the apple enter the nose. The same is true when we smell hartshorn,
+cologne, etc.
+
+Manures made by animals have an offensive odor, simply because volatile
+parts of the manure escape into the air, and are therefore made
+perceptible. All organic parts in turn become volatile, assuming a
+gaseous form as they decompose.
+
+We do not see the gases rising, but there are many ways by which we can
+detect them. If we wave a feather over a manure heap, from which ammonia
+is escaping, the feather having been recently dipped in manure, white
+fumes will appear around the feather, being the muriate of ammonia
+formed by the union of the escaping gas with the muriatic acid. Not only
+ammonia, but also carbonic acid, and other gases which are useful to
+vegetation escape, and are given to the winds. Indeed it may be stated
+in few words that all of the organic part of _plants_ (all that was
+obtained from the air, water, and ammonia), constituting more than nine
+tenths of their dry weight, may be evaporated by the assistance of decay
+or combustion. The organic part of _manures_ may be lost in the same
+manner; and, if the process of decomposition be continued long enough,
+nothing but a mass of mineral matter will remain, except perhaps a small
+quantity of carbon which has not been resolved into carbonic acid.
+
+[What remains after manure has been long exposed to
+decomposition?
+
+What gaseous compounds are formed by the decomposition of manures?]
+
+The proportion of solid manure lost by evaporation (made by the
+assistance of decay), is a very large part of the whole. Manure cannot
+be kept a single day in its natural state without losing something. It
+commences to give out an offensive odor immediately, and this odor is
+occasioned, as was before stated, by the loss of some of its fertilizing
+parts.
+
+Animal manure contains, as will be seen by reference to p. 100, all of
+the substances contained in plants, though not always in the correct
+relative proportions to each other. When decomposition commences, the
+carbon unites with the oxygen of the air, and passes off as carbonic
+acid; the hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water (which evaporates),
+and the _nitrogen is mostly resolved into ammonia, which escapes into
+the atmosphere_.
+
+[Describe fire-fanging.
+
+What takes place when animal manure is exposed in an open barn-yard?
+
+What does liquid manure lose by evaporation?]
+
+If manure is thrown into heaps, it often ferments so rapidly as to
+produce sufficient heat to set fire to some parts of the manure, and
+cause it to be thrown off with greater rapidity. This may be observed in
+nearly all heaps of animal excrement. When they have lain for some time
+in mild weather, gray streaks of _ashes_ are often to be seen in the
+centre of the pile. The organic part of the manure having been _burned_
+away, nothing but the ash remains,--this is called _fire-fanging_.
+
+Manures kept in cellars without being mixed with refuse matter are
+subject to the same losses.
+
+When kept in the yard, they are still liable to be lost by evaporation.
+They are here often saturated with water, and this water in its
+evaporation carries away the ammonia, and carbonic acid which it has
+obtained from the rotting mass. The evaporation of the water is rapidly
+carried on, on account of the great extent of surface. The whole mass is
+spongy, and soaks the liquids up from below (through hollow straws,
+etc.), to be evaporated at the surface on the same principle as causes
+the wick of a lamp to draw up the oil to supply fuel for the flame.
+
+LIQUID MANURE containing large quantities of nitrogen, and forming much
+ammonia, is also liable to lose all of its organic part from evaporation
+(and fermentation), so that it is rendered as much less valuable as is
+the solid dung.[X]
+
+[When does the waste of exposed manure commence?
+
+What does economy of manure require?
+
+What is the effect of leaching?
+
+Give an illustration of leaching.]
+
+From these remarks, it may be justly inferred that a very large portion
+of the _value_ of solid and liquid manure as ordinarily kept is lost by
+evaporation in a sufficient length of time, depending on circumstances,
+whether it be three months or several years. The wasting commences as
+soon as the manure is dropped, and continues, except in very cold
+weather, until the destruction is complete. Hence we see that true
+economy requires that the manures of the stable, stye, and
+poultry-house, should be protected from evaporation (as will be
+hereafter described), as soon as possible after they are made.
+
+
+LEACHING.
+
+The subject of _leaching_ is as important in considering the _inorganic_
+parts of manures as evaporation is to the organic, while leaching also
+affects the organic gases, they being absorbed by water in a great
+degree.
+
+A good illustration of leaching is found in the manufacture of potash.
+When water is poured over wood-ashes, it dissolves their potash which
+it carries through in solution, making ley. If ley is boiled to dryness,
+it leaves the potash in a solid form, proving that this substance had
+been dissolved by the water and removed from the insoluble parts of the
+ashes.
+
+[How does water affect decomposing manures?
+
+Does continued decomposition continue to prepare material to be leached
+away?
+
+How far from the surface of the soil may organic constituents be carried
+by water?]
+
+In the same way water in passing through manures takes up the soluble
+portions of the ash as fast as liberated by decomposition, and carries
+them into the soil below; or, if the water runs off from the surface,
+they accompany it. In either case they are lost to the manure. There is
+but a small quantity of ash exposed for leaching in recent manures; but,
+as the decomposition of the organic part proceeds, it continues to
+develope it more and more (in the same manner as burning would do, only
+slower), thus preparing fresh supplies to be carried off with each
+shower. In this way, while manures are largely injured by evaporation,
+the soluble inorganic parts are removed by water until but a small
+remnant of its original fertilizing properties remains.
+
+[What arrests their farther progress?
+
+What would be the effect of allowing these matters to filter downwards?
+
+What does evaporation remove from manure? Leaching?]
+
+It is a singular fact concerning leaching, that water is able to carry
+no part of the organic constituents of vegetables more than about
+thirty-four inches below the surface in a fertile soil. They would
+probably be carried to an unlimited distance in pure sand, as it
+contains nothing which is capable of arresting them; but, in most soils,
+the clay and carbon which they contain retain all of the ammonia; also
+nearly all of the matters which go to form the inorganic constituents of
+plants within about the above named distance from the surface of the
+soil. If such were not the case, the fertility of the earth must soon be
+destroyed, as all of those elements which the soil must supply to
+growing plants would be carried down out of the reach of roots, and
+leave the world a barren waste, its surface having lost its elements of
+fertility, while the downward filtration of these would render the water
+of wells unfit for our use. Now, however, they are all retained near the
+surface of the soil, and the water issues from springs comparatively
+pure.
+
+EVAPORATION removes from manure--
+
+    Carbon, in the form of carbonic acid.
+
+    Hydrogen and oxygen, in the form of water.
+
+    Nitrogen, in the form of ammonia.
+
+LEACHING removes from manure--
+
+    The soluble and most valuable parts of the ash in solution in
+    water, besides carrying away some of the named above forms of
+    organic matter.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[X] It should be recollected that every bent straw may act as a syphon,
+and occasion much loss of liquid manure.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ABSORBENTS.
+
+
+[What substances are called absorbents?
+
+What is the most important of these?
+
+What substances are called charcoal in agriculture?
+
+How is vegetable matter rendered useful as charcoal?]
+
+Before considering farther the subject of animal excrement, it is
+necessary to examine a class of manures known as _absorbents_. These
+comprise all matters which have the power of absorbing, or soaking up,
+as it were, the gases which arise from the evaporation of solid and
+liquid manures, and retaining them until required by plants.
+
+The most important of these is undoubtedly _carbon_ or charcoal.
+
+
+CHARCOAL.
+
+_Charcoal_, in an agricultural sense, means all forms of carbon, whether
+as peat, muck, charcoal dust from the spark-catchers of locomotives,
+charcoal hearths, river and swamp deposits, leaf mould, decomposed spent
+tanbark or sawdust, etc. In short, if any vegetable matter is decomposed
+with the partial exclusion of air (so that there shall not be oxygen
+enough supplied to unite with all of the carbon), a portion of its
+carbon remains in the exact condition to serve the purposes of charcoal.
+
+[What is the first-named effect of charcoal? The second?
+Third? Fourth?
+
+Explain the first action.]
+
+The offices performed in the soil by carbonaceous matter were fully
+explained in a former section (p. 79, Sect. 2), and we will now examine
+merely its action with regard to manures. When properly applied to
+manures, in compost, it has the following effects:
+
+1. It absorbs and retains the fertilizing gases evaporating from
+decomposing matters.
+
+2. It acts as a _divisor_, thereby reducing the strength (or intensity)
+of powerful manures--thus rendering them less likely to injure the roots
+of plants; and also increases their bulk, so as to prevent _fire
+fanging_ in composts.
+
+3. It in part prevents the leaching out of the soluble parts of the ash.
+
+4. It keeps the compost moist.
+
+The first-named office of charcoal, _i. e._, absorbing and retaining
+gases, is one of the utmost importance. It is this quality that gives to
+it so high a position in the opinion of all who have used it. As was
+stated in the section on soils, carbonaceous matter seems to be capable
+of absorbing every thing which may be of use to vegetation. It is a
+grand purifier, and while it prevents offensive odors from escaping, it
+is at the same time storing its pores with food for the nourishment of
+plants.
+
+[Explain its action as a divisor.
+
+How does charcoal protect composts against injurious action of rains?
+
+How does it keep them moist?]
+
+2d. In its capacity as a _divisor_ for manures, charcoal should be
+considered as excellent in all cases, especially to use with strongly
+concentrated (or heating) animal manures. These, when applied in their
+natural state to the soil, are very apt to injure young roots by the
+violence of their action. When mixed with a divisor, such manures are
+_diluted_, made less active, and consequently less injurious. In
+composts, manures are liable, as has been before stated, to become
+burned by the resultant heat of decomposition; this is called _fire
+fanging_, and is prevented by the liberal use of divisors, because, by
+increasing the bulk, the heat being diffused through a larger mass,
+becomes less intense. The same principle is exhibited in the fact that
+it takes more fire to boil a cauldron of water than a tea-kettle full.
+
+3d. Charcoal has much power to arrest the passage of mineral matters in
+solution; so much so, that compost heaps, well supplied with muck, are
+less affected by rains than those not so supplied. All composts,
+however, should be kept under cover.
+
+4th. Charcoal keeps the compost moist from the ease with which it
+absorbs water, and its ability to withstand drought.
+
+[What source of carbon is within the reach of most farmers?
+
+What do we mean by muck?
+
+Of what does it consist?
+
+How does it differ in quality?]
+
+With these advantages before us, we must see the importance of an
+understanding of the modes for obtaining charcoal. Many farmers are so
+situated that they can obtain sufficient quantities of charcoal dust.
+Others have not equal facilities. Nearly all, however, can obtain
+_muck_, and to this we will now turn our attention.
+
+
+MUCK, AND THE LIME AND SALT MIXTURE.
+
+[What is the first step in preparing muck for decomposition?
+
+With what proportion of the lime and salt mixture should it be
+composted?
+
+Why should this compost be made under cover?
+
+What is this called after decomposition?
+
+Why should we not use muck immediately after taking it from the swamp?]
+
+By _muck_, we mean the vegetable deposits of swamps and rivers. It
+consists of decayed organic substances, mixed with more or less earth.
+Its principal constituent is _carbon_, in different degrees of
+development, which has remained after the decomposition of vegetable
+matter. Muck varies largely in its quality, according to the amount of
+carbon which it contains, and the perfection of its decomposition. The
+best muck is usually found in comparatively dry locations, where the
+water which once caused the deposit has been removed. Muck which has
+been long in this condition, is usually better decomposed than that
+which is saturated with water. The muck from swamps, however, may soon
+be brought to the best condition. It should be thrown out, if possible,
+at least one year before it is required for use (a less time may
+suffice, except in very cold climates) and left, in small heaps or
+ridges, to the action of the weather, which will assist in pulverizing
+it, while, from having its water removed, its decomposition goes on more
+rapidly.
+
+After the muck has remained in this condition a sufficient length of
+time, it may be removed to the barn-yard and composted with the lime and
+salt mixture (described on page 115) in the proportion of one cord of
+muck to four bushels of the mixture. This compost ought to be made under
+cover, lest the rain leach out the constituents of the mixture, and thus
+occasion loss; at the end of a month or more, the muck in the compost
+will have been reduced to a fine pulverulent mass, nearly equal to
+charcoal dust for application to animal excrement. When in this
+condition it is called _prepared_ muck, by which name it will be
+designated in the following pages.
+
+Muck should not be used immediately after being taken from the swamp, as
+it is then almost always _sour_, and is liable to produce sorrel. Its
+_sourness_ is due to _acids_ which it contains, and these must be
+rectified by the application of an alkali, or by long exposure to the
+weather, before the muck is suitable for use.
+
+
+LIME AND SALT MIXTURE.
+
+[What proportions of lime and salt are required for the
+decomposing mixture?
+
+Explain the process of making it.
+
+Why should it be made under cover?]
+
+The lime and salt mixture, used in the decomposition of muck, is made in
+the following manner:
+
+RECIPE.--Take _three_ bushels of shell lime, _hot from the kiln_, or as
+fresh as possible, and slake it with water in which _one_ bushel of salt
+has been dissolved.
+
+Care must be taken to use only so much water as is necessary to dissolve
+the salt, as it is difficult to induce the lime to absorb a larger
+quantity.
+
+In dissolving the salt, it is well to hang it in a basket in the upper
+part of the water, as the salt water will immediately settle towards the
+bottom (being heavier), and allow the freshest water to be nearest to
+the salt. In this way, the salt may be all dissolved, and thus make the
+brine used to slake the lime. It may be necessary to apply the brine at
+intervals of a day or two, and to stir the mass often, as the amount of
+water is too great to be readily absorbed.
+
+This mixture should be made under cover, as, if exposed, it would obtain
+moisture from rain or dew, which would prevent the use of all the
+brine. Another objection to its exposure to the weather is its great
+liability to be washed away by rains. It should be at least ten days old
+before being used, and would probably be improved by an age of three or
+four months, as the chemical changes it undergoes will require some time
+to be completed.
+
+[Explain the character of this mixture as represented in the
+diagram. (Black board.)]
+
+The character of this mixture may be best described by the following
+diagram:--
+
+We have originally--
+
++----------------------------------+
+|                                  |
+ Lime-+                        Salt
+      |                    consisting of
+      |                   +---Chlorine  }   Chloride
+      |                   |     and     }      of
+      |                   | +-Sodium.   }   Sodium.
+      |                   | | --Carbonic acid
+      |                   | |        and
+      |                   | | --Oxygen in the air.
+      +-Chloride of lime.-+ |
+                            +-Carbonate of Soda.
+                                        [Y]
+
+The lime unites with the chlorine of the salt and forms _chloride of
+lime_.
+
+The sodium, after being freed from the chlorine, unites with the oxygen
+of the air and forms soda, which, combining with the carbonic acid of
+the atmosphere, forms carbonate of soda.
+
+Chloride of lime and carbonate of soda are better agents in the
+decomposition of muck than pure salt and lime; and, as these compounds
+are the result of the mixture, much benefit ensues from the operation.
+
+When _shell_ lime cannot be obtained, Thomaston, or any other very pure
+lime, will answer, though care must be taken that it do not contain much
+magnesia.
+
+
+LIME.
+
+[What effect has lime on muck?
+
+On what does the energy of this effect depend?
+
+Why should a compost of muck and lime be protected from rain?]
+
+Muck may be decomposed by the aid of other materials. _Lime_ is very
+efficient, though not as much so as when combined with salt. The action
+of lime, when applied to the muck, depends very much on its condition.
+Air-slaked lime (carbonate of lime), and hydrate of lime, slaked with
+water, have but a limited effect compared with lime freshly burned and
+applied in a caustic (or pure) form. When so used, however, the compost
+should not be exposed to rains, as this would have a tendency to make
+_mortar_ which would harden it.
+
+
+POTASH.
+
+[Is potash valuable for this use?
+
+From what sources may potash be obtained?
+
+In what proportion should ashes be applied to muck? Sparlings?]
+
+_Potash_ is a very active agent in decomposing vegetable matter, and may
+be used with great advantage, especially where an analysis of the soil
+which is to be manured shows a deficiency of potash.
+
+_Unleached_ wood ashes are generally the best source from which to
+obtain this, and from five to twenty-five bushels of these mixed with
+one cord of muck will produce the desired result.[Z]
+
+The sparlings (or refuse) of potash warehouses may often be purchased at
+sufficiently low rates to be used for this purpose, and answer an
+excellent end. They may be applied at the rate of from twenty to one
+hundred pounds to each cord of muck.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+By any of the foregoing methods, muck may be _prepared_ for use in
+composting.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[Y] There is, undoubtedly, some of this lime which does not unite with
+the chlorine; this, however, is still as valuable as any lime.
+
+[Z] _Leached_ ashes will not supply the place of these, as the leaching
+has deprived them of their potash.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+COMPOSTING STABLE MANURE.
+
+
+[What principles should regulate us in composting?
+
+In what condition is solid dung of value as a fertilizer?
+
+What do we aim to do in composting?]
+
+In composting stable manure in the most economical manner, the
+evaporation of the organic parts and the leaching of the ashy (and
+other) portions must be avoided, while the condition of the mass is such
+as to admit of the perfect decomposition of the manure.
+
+Solid manures in their fresh state are of but very little use to plants.
+It is only as they are decomposed, and have their nitrogen turned into
+ammonia, and their other ingredients resolved into the condition
+required by plants, that they are of much value as fertilizers. We have
+seen that, if this decomposition takes place without proper precautions
+being made, the most valuable parts of the manure would be lost. Nor
+would it be prudent to keep manures from decomposing until they are
+applied to the soil, for then they are not immediately ready for use,
+and time is lost. By composting, we aim to save every thing while we
+prepare the manures for immediate use.
+
+
+SHELTER.
+
+[What is the first consideration for composts?
+
+Describe the arrangement of floor.]
+
+The first consideration in preparing for composting, is to provide
+proper shelter. This may be done either by means of a shed or by
+arranging a cellar under the stables, or in any other manner that may be
+dictated by circumstances. It is no doubt better to have the manure shed
+enclosed so as to make it an effectual protection; this however is not
+absolutely necessary if the roof project far enough over the compost to
+shelter it from the sun's rays and from driving rains.
+
+The importance of some protection of this kind, is evident from what has
+already been said, and indeed it is impossible to make an economical use
+of manures without it. The trifling cost of building a shed, or
+preparing a cellar, is amply repaid in the benefit resulting from their
+uses.
+
+
+THE FLOOR.
+
+The _floor_ or foundation on which to build the compost deserves some
+consideration. It may be of plank tightly fitted, a hard bed of clay, or
+better, a cemented surface. Whatever material is used in its
+construction (and stiff clay mixed with water and beaten compactly down
+answers an excellent purpose), the floor must have such an inclination
+as will cause it to discharge water only at one point. That is, one part
+of the edge must be lower than the rest of the floor, which must be so
+shaped that water will run towards this point from every part of it;
+then--the floor being water-tight--all of the liquids of the compost may
+be collected in a
+
+
+TANK.
+
+[How should the tank be attached?]
+
+This _tank_ used to collect the liquids of the manure may be made by
+sinking a barrel or hogshead (according to the size of the heap) in the
+ground at the point where it is required, or in any other convenient
+manner.
+
+In the tank a pump of cheap construction may be placed, to raise the
+liquid to a sufficient height to be conveyed by a trough to the centre
+of the heap, and there distributed by means of a perforated board with
+raised edges, and long enough to reach across the heap in any direction.
+By altering the position of this board, the liquid may be carried evenly
+over the whole mass.
+
+The appearance of the apparatus required for composting, and the compost
+laid up, may be better shown by the following figure.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 2.
+
+_a_, tank; _b_, pump; _c_ & _g_, perforated board; _d_, muck; _e_,
+manure; _f_, floor.]
+
+[How is the compost made?]
+
+The compost is made by laying on the floor ten or twelve inches of muck,
+and on that a few inches of manure, then another heavy layer of muck,
+and another of manure, continuing in this manner until the heap is
+raised to the required height, always having a thick layer of muck at
+the top.
+
+[What liquids are best for moistening the compost?
+
+How should they be applied?
+
+What are the advantages of this moistening?
+
+How does it compare with forking over?]
+
+After laying up the heap, the tank should be filled with liquid manure
+from the stables, slops from the house, soap-suds, or other water
+containing fertilizing matter, to be pumped over the mass. There should
+be enough of the liquid to saturate the heap and filter through to fill
+the tank twice a week, at which intervals it should be again pumped up,
+thus continually being passed through the manure. This liquid should not
+be changed, as it contains much soluble manure. Should the liquid
+manures named above not be sufficient, the quantity may be increased by
+the use of rain-water. That falling during the first ten minutes of a
+shower is the best, as it contains much ammonia.
+
+The effects produced by frequently watering the compost is one of the
+greatest advantages of this system.
+
+The soluble portions of the manure are equally diffused through every
+part of the heap.
+
+Should the heat of fermentation be too great, the watering will reduce
+it.
+
+When the compost is saturated with water, the air is driven out; and, as
+the water subsides, _fresh_ air enters and takes its place. This fresh
+air contains oxygen, which assists in the decomposition of the manure.
+
+In short, the watering does all the work of forking over by hand much
+better and much more cheaply.
+
+[Why will the ammonia of manure thus made, not escape if it be
+used as a top dressing?
+
+What are the advantages of preparing manures in this manner?
+
+What is the profit attending it?]
+
+At the end of a month or more, this compost will be ready for use. The
+layers in the manure will have disappeared, the whole mass having become
+of a uniform character, highly fertilizing, and ready to be immediately
+used by plants.
+
+It may be applied to the soil, either as a top-dressing, or otherwise,
+without fear of loss, as the muck will retain all of the gases which
+would otherwise evaporate.
+
+The cost and trouble of the foregoing system of composting are trifling
+compared with its advantages. The quantity of the manure is much
+increased, and its quality improved. The health of the animals is
+secured by the retention of those gases, which, when allowed to escape,
+render impure the air which they have to breathe.
+
+The cleanliness of the stable and yard is much advanced as the effete
+matters, which would otherwise litter them, are carefully removed to the
+compost.
+
+As an instance of the profit of composting, it may be stated that Prof.
+Mapes has decomposed ninety-two cords of swamp muck, with four hundred
+bushels of the lime and salt mixture, and then composted it with eight
+cords of _fresh_ horse dung, making one hundred cords of manure fully
+equal to the same amount of stable-manure alone, which has lain one
+year exposed to the weather. Indeed one cord of muck well decomposed,
+and containing the chlorine lime and soda of four bushels of the
+mixture, is of itself equal in value to the same amount of manure which
+has lain in an open barn-yard during the heat and rain of one season,
+and is then applied to the land in a _raw_ or undecomposed state.
+
+[In what other manners may muck be used in the preservation of
+manures?
+
+How may liquid manure be made most useful?]
+
+The foregoing system of composting is the best that has yet been
+suggested for making use of solid manures. Many other methods may be
+adopted when circumstances will not admit of so much attention. It is a
+common and excellent practice to throw prepared muck into the cellar
+under the stables, to be mixed and turned over with the manure by swine.
+In other cases the manures are kept in the yard, and are covered with a
+thin layer of muck every morning. The principle which renders these
+systems beneficial is the absorbent power of charcoal.
+
+
+LIQUID MANURE.
+
+_Liquid manure_ from animals may, also, be made useful by the assistance
+of prepared muck. Where a tank is used in composting, the liquids from
+the stable may all be employed to supply moisture to the heap; but where
+any system is adopted, not requiring liquids, the urine may be applied
+to muck heaps, and then allowed to ferment. Fermentation is necessary in
+urine as well as in solid dung, before it is very active as a manure.
+Urine, as will be recollected, contains nitrogen and forms ammonia on
+fermentation.
+
+[Describe the manner of digging out the bottoms of stalls.]
+
+It is a very good plan to dig out the bottoms of the stalls in a
+circular or gutter-like form, three or four feet deep in the middle,
+cement the ground, or make it nearly water-tight, by a plastering of
+stiff clay, and fill them up with prepared muck. The appearance of a
+cross section of the floor thus arranged would be as follows:
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
+
+The prepared muck in the bottom of the stalls would absorb the urine as
+soon as voided, while yet warm with the animal heat, and receive heat
+from the animal's body while lying down at night. This heat will hasten
+the decomposition of the urea,[AA] and if the muck be renewed twice a
+month, and that which is removed composted under cover, it will be found
+a most prolific source of good manure. In Flanders, the liquid manure of
+a cow is considered worth $10 per year, and it is not less valuable
+here. As was stated in the early part of this section, the inorganic (or
+mineral) matter contained in urine, is soluble, and consequently is
+immediately useful as food for plants.
+
+By referring to the analysis of liquid and solid manure, in section V.,
+their relative value may be seen.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANIMAL EXCREMENT.
+
+
+The manures of different animals are, of course, of different value, as
+fertilizers, varying according to the food, the age of the animals, etc.
+
+
+STABLE MANURE.
+
+By stable manure we mean, usually, that of the horse, and that of
+horned cattle. The case described in chap. 2 (of this section), was one
+where the animal was not increasing in any of its parts, but returned,
+in the form of manure, and otherwise, the equivalent of every thing
+eaten. This case is one of the most simple kind, and is subject to many
+modifications.
+
+[Is the manure of full-grown animals of the same quality as
+that of other animals?
+
+Why does that of the growing animal differ?
+
+Why does not the formation of _fat_ reduce the quality of manure?
+
+What does _milk_ remove from the food?]
+
+The _growing_ animal is increasing in size, and as he derives his
+increase from his food, he does not return in the form of manure as much
+as he eats. If his bones are growing, he is taking from his food
+phosphate of lime and nitrogenous matter; consequently, the manure will
+be poorer in these ingredients. The same may be said of the formation of
+the muscles, in relation to nitrogen.
+
+The _fatting_ animal, if full grown, makes manure which is as good as
+that from animals that are not increasing in size, because the fat is
+taken from those parts of the food which is obtained by plants from the
+atmosphere, and from nature, (_i. e._ from the 1st class of proximates).
+Fat contains no nitrogen, and, consequently, does not lessen the amount
+of this ingredient in the manure.
+
+_Milch Cows_ turn a part of their food to the formation of milk, and
+consequently, they produce manure of reduced value.
+
+[How do the solid and liquid manure of the horse and ox
+compare?
+
+What occasions these differences?]
+
+The solid manure of the horse is better than that of the ox, while the
+liquid manure of the ox is comparatively better than that of the horse.
+The cause of this is that the horse has poorer digestive organs than the
+ox, and consequently passes more of the valuable parts of his food, in
+an undigested form, as dung, while the ox, from chewing the cud and
+having more perfect organs, turns more of his food into urine than the
+horse.
+
+
+RECAPITULATION.
+
+FULL GROWN animals not     }
+  producing milk, and full } make the best manure.
+  grown animals fattening  }
+
+GROWING ANIMALS reduce the value of their manure, taking portions of
+their food to form their bodies.
+
+MILCH COWS reduce the value of their manure by changing a part of their
+food into milk.
+
+THE OX makes poor dung and rich urine.
+
+THE HORSE makes rich dung and poor urine.[AB]
+
+
+NIGHT SOIL.
+
+[What is the most valuable manure accessible to the farmer?
+
+What is the probable value of the night soil yearly lost in the United
+States?
+
+Of what does the manure of man consist?]
+
+The _best_ manure within the reach of the farmer is _night soil_, or
+human excrement. There has always been a false delicacy about mentioning
+this fertilizer, which has caused much waste, and great loss of health,
+from the impure and offensive odors which it is allowed to send forth to
+taint the air.
+
+The value of the night soil yearly lost in the United States is,
+probably, about _fifty millions of dollars_ (50,000,000); an amount
+nearly equal to the entire expenses of our National Government. Much of
+the ill health of our people is undoubtedly occasioned by neglecting the
+proper treatment of night soil.
+
+[Describe this manure as compared with the excrements of other
+animals.
+
+Does the use of night soil produce disagreeable properties in plants?]
+
+That which directly affects agriculture, as treated of in this book, is
+the value of this substance as a fertilizer. The manure of man consists
+(as is the case with that of other animals) of those parts of his food
+which are not retained in the increase of his body. If he be _growing_,
+his manure is poorer, as in the case of the ox, and it is subject to all
+the other modifications named in the early part of this chapter. His
+food is usually of a varied character, and is rich in nitrogen, the
+phosphates, and other inorganic constituents; consequently, his manure
+is made valuable by containing large quantities of these matters. As is
+the case with the ox, the _dung_ contains the undigested food, the
+secretions (or leakings) of the digestive organs, and the insoluble
+parts of the ash of the digested food. The _urine_, in like manner,
+contains a large proportion of the nitrogen and the soluble inorganic
+parts of the digested food. When we consider how much richer the _food_
+of man is than that of horned cattle, we shall see the superior value of
+his _excrement_.
+
+Night soil has been used as a manure, for ages, in China, which is,
+undoubtedly, one great secret of their success in supporting a dense
+population, for so long a time, without impoverishing the soil. It has
+been found, in many instances, to increase the productive power of the
+natural soil three-fold. That is, if a soil would produce ten bushels of
+wheat per acre, without manure, it would produce thirty bushels if
+manured with night soil.
+
+Some have supposed that manuring with night soil would give disagreeable
+properties to plants: such is not the case; their quality is invariably
+improved. The color and odor of the rose become richer and more delicate
+by the use of the most offensive night soil as manure.
+
+[What is the direct object of plants?
+
+What would result if this were not the case?
+
+How may night soil be easily prepared for use, and its offensive odor
+prevented?]
+
+It is evident that this is the case from the fact that plants have it
+for their direct object to make over and put together the refuse organic
+matter, and the gases and the minerals found in nature, for the use of
+animals. If there were no natural means of rendering the excrement of
+animals available to plants, the earth must soon be shorn of its
+fertility, as the elements of growth when once consumed would be
+essentially destroyed, and no soil could survive the exhaustion. There
+is no reason why the manure of man should be rejected by vegetation more
+than that of any other animal; and indeed it is not, for ample
+experience has proved that for most soils there is no better manure in
+existence.
+
+A single experiment will suffice to show that night soil may be so kept
+that there shall be no loss of its valuable gases, and consequently no
+offensive odor arising from it, while it may be removed and applied to
+crops without unpleasantness. All that is necessary to effect this
+wonderful change in night soil, and to turn it from its disagreeable
+character to one entirely inoffensive, is to mix with it a little
+charcoal dust, prepared muck, or any other good absorbent--thus making
+what is called poudrette. The mode of doing this must depend on
+circumstances. In many cases, it would be expedient to keep a barrel of
+the absorbent in the privy and throw down a small quantity every day.
+The effect on the odor of the house would amply repay the trouble.
+
+[Should pure night soil be used as a manure?
+
+What precaution is necessary in preparing hog manure for use?]
+
+The manure thus made is of the most valuable character, and may be used
+under any circumstances with a certainty of obtaining a good crop. It
+should not be used unmixed with some absorbent, as it is of such
+strength as to kill plants.
+
+For an analysis of human manure, see Section V.
+
+
+HOG MANURE.
+
+_Hog Manure_ is very valuable, but it must be used with care. It is so
+violent in its action that, when applied in a pure form to crops, it
+often produces injurious results. It is liable to make cabbages
+_clump-footed_, and to induce a disease in turnips called _ambury_ (or
+fingers and toes). The only precaution necessary is to supply the stye
+with prepared muck, charcoal-dust, leaf-mould, or any absorbent in
+plentiful quantities, often adding fresh supplies. The hogs will work
+this over with the manure; and, when required for use, it will be found
+an excellent fertilizer. The absorbent will have overcome its injurious
+tendency, and it may be safely applied to any crop. From the variety and
+rich character of the food of this animal, his manure is of a superior
+quality.
+
+[Why is the manure from butchers' hog-pens very valuable?
+
+How does the value of poultry manure compare with that of guano?
+
+How may it be protected against loss?]
+
+_Butchers' hog-pen manure_ is one of the best fertilizers known. It is
+made by animals that live almost entirely on blood and other animal
+refuse, and is very rich in nitrogen and the phosphates. It should be
+mixed with prepared muck, or its substitute, to prevent the loss of its
+ammonia, and as a protection against its injurious effect on plants.
+
+
+POULTRY HOUSE MANURE.
+
+Next in value to night soil, among domestic manures, are the excrements
+of poultry, pigeons, etc. Birds live on the nice bits of creation,
+seeds, insects, etc., and they discharge their solid and liquid
+excrements together. Poultry-dung is nearly equal in value to guano
+(except that it contains more water), and it deserves to be carefully
+preserved and judiciously used. It is as well worth twenty-five cents
+per bushel as guano is worth fifty dollars a ton (at which price it is
+now sold).
+
+Poultry-manure is liable to as much injury from evaporation and leaching
+as is any other manure, and equal care should be taken (by the same
+means) to prevent such loss. Good shelter over the roosts, and daily
+sprinkling with prepared muck or charcoal-dust will be amply repaid by
+the increased value of the manure, and its better action and greater
+durability in the soil. The value of this manure should be taken into
+consideration in calculating the profit of keeping poultry (as indeed
+with all other stock). It has been observed by a gentleman of much
+experience, in poultry raising, that the yearly manure of a hundred
+fowls applied to previously unmanured land would produce _extra_ corn
+enough to keep them for a year. This is probably a large estimate, but
+it serves to show that this fertilizer is very valuable, and also that
+poultry may be kept with great profit, if their excrements are properly
+secured.
+
+The manure of pigeons has been a favorite fertilizer in some countries
+for more than 2000 years.
+
+Market gardeners attach much value to rabbit-manure.
+
+
+SHEEP MANURE.
+
+[What can you say of the manure of sheep?]
+
+The manure of sheep is less valuable than it would be, if so large a
+quantity of the nitrogen and mineral parts of the food were not employed
+in the formation of wool. This has a great effect on the richness of the
+excrements, but they are still a very good fertilizer, and should be
+protected from loss in the same way as stable manure.
+
+
+GUANO.
+
+[Should the use of guano induce us to disregard other manures?
+
+Where and in what manner is the best guano deposited?]
+
+_Guano_ as a manure has become world renowned. The worn-out tobacco
+lands of Virginia, and other fields in many parts of the country, which
+seemed to have yielded to the effect of an ignorant course of
+cultivation, and to have sunk to their final repose, have in many cases
+been revived to the production of excellent crops, and have had their
+value multiplied many fold by the use of guano. Although an excellent
+manure, it should not cause us to lose sight of those valuable materials
+which exist on almost every farm. Every ton of guano imported into the
+United States is an addition to our national wealth, but every ton of
+stable-manure, or poultry-dung, or night soil evaporated or carried away
+in rivers, is equally a _deduction_ from our riches. If the imported
+manure is to really benefit us, we must not allow it to occasion the
+neglect and consequent loss of our domestic fertilizers.
+
+The Peruvian guano (which is considered the best) is brought from
+islands near the coast of Peru. The birds which frequent these islands
+live almost entirely on fish, and drop their excrements here in a
+climate where rain is almost unknown, and where, from the dryness of the
+air, there is but little loss sustained by the manure. It is brought to
+this country in large quantities, and is an excellent fertilizer,
+superior even to night soil.
+
+[How should it be prepared for use?]
+
+It should be mixed with an absorbent before being used, unless it is
+plowed deeply under the soil, as it contains much ammonia which would be
+lost from evaporation. It would probably also injure plants. The best
+way to use guano, is in connection with sulphuric acid and bones, as
+will be described hereafter.
+
+The composition of the various kinds of guano may be found in the
+section on analysis.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AA] The nitrogenous compound in the urine.
+
+[AB] Comparatively.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+OTHER ORGANIC MANURES.
+
+
+The number of organic manures is almost countless. The most common of
+these have been described in the previous chapters on the excrements of
+animals. The more prominent of the remaining ones will now be
+considered. As a universal rule, it may be stated that all organic
+matter (every thing which has had vegetable or animal life) is capable
+of fertilizing plants.
+
+
+DEAD ANIMALS.
+
+[What are the chief fertilizing constituents of dead animals?
+
+What becomes of these when exposed to the atmosphere?
+
+How may this be prevented?]
+
+The bodies of animals contain much _nitrogen_, as well as valuable
+quantities, the phosphates and other inorganic materials required in the
+growth of plants. On their decay, the nitrogen is resolved into
+_ammonia_,[AC] and the mineral matters become valuable as food for the
+inorganic parts of plants.
+
+If the decomposition of animal bodies takes place in exposed situations,
+and without proper precautions, the ammonia escapes into the atmosphere,
+and much of the mineral portion is leached out by rains. The use of
+absorbents, such as charcoal-dust, prepared muck, etc., will entirely
+prevent evaporation, and will in a great measure serve as a protection
+against leaching.
+
+If a dead horse be cut in pieces and mixed with ten loads of muck, the
+whole mass will, in a single season, become a most valuable compost.
+Small animals, such as dogs, cats, etc., may be with advantage buried by
+the roots of grape-vines or trees.
+
+
+BONES.
+
+[Of what do the bones of animals consist?
+
+What is gelatine?
+
+Describe the fertilizing qualities of fish.]
+
+The _bones_ of animals contain phosphate of lime and gelatine. The
+gelatine is a nitrogenous substance, and produces ammonia on its
+decomposition. This subject will be spoken of more fully under the head
+of 'phosphate of lime' in the chapter on mineral manures, as the
+treatment of bones is more directly with reference to the fertilizing
+value of their inorganic matter.
+
+
+FISH.
+
+In many localities near the sea-shore large quantities of fish are
+caught and applied to the soil. These make excellent manure. They
+contain much nitrogen, which renders them strongly ammoniacal on
+decomposition. Their bones consist of phosphate and carbonate of lime;
+and, being naturally soft, they decompose in the soil with great
+facility, and become available to plants. The scales of fish contain
+valuable quantities of nitrogen, phosphate of lime, etc., all of which
+are highly useful.
+
+Refuse fishy matters from markets and from the house are well worth
+saving. These and fish caught for manure may be made into compost with
+prepared muck, etc.; and, as they putrefy rapidly, they soon become
+ready for use. They may be added to the compost of stable manure with
+great advantage.
+
+[Should these be applied as a top dressing to the soil?
+
+What are the fertilizing properties of woollen rags?
+
+What is the best way to use them?]
+
+Fish (like all other nitrogenous manures) should never be applied as a
+top dressing, unless previously mixed with a good absorbent of ammonia,
+but should when used alone be immediately plowed under to considerable
+depth, to prevent the evaporation--and consequent loss--of their
+fertilizing gases.
+
+
+WOOLLEN RAGS, ETC.
+
+_Woollen rags, hair, waste of woollen factories_, etc., contain both
+nitrogen and phosphate of lime; and, like all other matters containing
+these ingredients, are excellent manures, but must be used in such a way
+as to prevent the escape of their fertilizing gases. They decompose
+slowly, and are therefore considered a _lasting_ manure. Like all
+_lasting_ manures, however, they are _slow_ in their effects, and the
+most advantageous way to use them is to compost them with stable manure,
+or with some other rapidly fermenting substance, which will hasten their
+decomposition and render them sooner available.
+
+Rags, hair, etc., thus treated, will in a short time be reduced to such
+a condition that they may be immediately used by plants instead of lying
+in the soil to be slowly taken up. It is better in all cases to have
+manures act _quickly_ and give an immediate return for their cost, than
+to lie for a long time in the soil before their influence is felt.
+
+[What is their value compared with that of farm-yard manure?
+
+How should old leather be treated?
+
+Describe the manurial properties of tanners' refuse.
+
+How should they be treated?
+
+Are horn piths, etc. valuable?]
+
+A pound of woollen rags is worth, as a manure, twice as much as is paid
+for good linen shreds for paper making; still, while the latter are
+always preserved, the former are thrown away, although considered by
+good judges to be worth forty times as much as barn-yard manure.
+
+Old leather should not be thrown away. It decomposes very slowly, and
+consequently is of but a little value; but, if put at the roots of young
+trees, it will in time produce appreciable effects.
+
+_Tanners' and curriers' refuse_, and all other animal offal, including
+that of the slaughter-house, is well worth attention, as it contains
+more or less of those two most important ingredients of manures,
+nitrogen and phosphate of lime.
+
+It is unnecessary to add that, in common with all other animal manures,
+these substances must be either composted, or immediately plowed under
+the soil. Horn piths, and horn shavings, if decomposed in compost, with
+substances which ferment rapidly, make very good manure, and are worth
+fully the price charged for them.
+
+
+ORGANIC MANURES OF VEGETABLE ORIGIN.
+
+_Muck_, the most important of the purely vegetable manures, has been
+already sufficiently described. It should be particularly borne in mind
+that, when first taken from the swamp it is often _sour_, or _cold_, but
+that if exposed for a long time to the air, or if well treated with
+lime, unleached ashes, the lime and salt mixture, or any other alkali,
+its acids will be _neutralized_ (or overcome), and it becomes a good
+application to any soil, except peat or other soils already containing
+large quantities of organic matter. In applying muck to the soil (as has
+been before stated), it should be made a vehicle for carrying ammoniacal
+manures.
+
+
+SPENT TAN BARK.
+
+[Why is decomposed bark more fertilizing than that of decayed
+wood?]
+
+_Spent tan bark_, if previously decomposed by the use of the lime and
+salt mixture, or potash, answers all the purposes of prepared muck, but
+is more difficult of decomposition.
+
+[How may bark be decomposed?
+
+Why should tan bark be composted with an alkali?
+
+Why is it good for mulching?
+
+Is sawdust of any value?]
+
+The bark of trees contains a larger proportion of inorganic matter than
+the wood, and much of this, on the decomposition of the bark, becomes
+available as manure. The chemical effect on the bark, of using it in
+the tanning of leather, is such as to render it difficult to be rotted
+by the ordinary means, but, by the use of the lime and salt mixture it
+may be reduced to the finest condition, and becomes a most excellent
+manure. It probably contains small quantities of nitrogen (obtained from
+the leather), which adds to its value. Unless tan bark be composted with
+lime, or some other alkali, it may produce injurious effects from the
+_tannic acid_ which it is liable to contain. Alkaline substances will
+neutralize this acid, and prevent it from being injurious.
+
+One great benefit resulting from the use of spent tan bark, is due to
+its power of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. For this reason it
+is very valuable for _mulching_[AD] young trees and plants when first
+set out.
+
+
+SAWDUST.
+
+[Why is sawdust a good addition to the pig-stye?
+
+What is the peculiarity of sawdust from the beech, etc.?
+
+What is a peculiarity of soot?
+
+Why may soot be used as a top dressing without losing its ammonia?]
+
+_Sawdust_ in its natural state is of very little value to the land, but
+when decomposed, as may be done by the same method as was described for
+tan bark, it is of some importance, as it contains a large quantity of
+carbon. Its ash, too, which becomes available, contains soluble
+inorganic matter, and in this way it acts as a direct manure. So far as
+concerns the value of the ash, however, the bark is superior to sawdust.
+Sawdust may be partially rotted by mixing it with strong manure (as hog
+manure), while it acts as a _divisor_, and prevents the too rapid action
+of this when applied to the soil. Some kinds of sawdust, such as that
+from beech wood, form acetic acid on their decomposition, and these
+should be treated with, at least, a sufficient quantity of lime to
+correct the acid.
+
+_Soot_ is a good manure. It contains much carbon, and has, thus far, all
+of the beneficial effects of charcoal dust. The sulphur, which is one of
+its constituents, not only serves as food for plants, but, from its
+odor, is a good protection against some insects. By throwing a handful
+of soot on a melon vine, or young cabbage plant, it will keep away many
+insects.
+
+Soot contains some ammonia, and as this is in the form of a _sulphate_,
+it is not volatile, and consequently does not evaporate when the soot is
+applied as a top dressing, which is the almost universal custom.
+
+
+GREEN CROPS.
+
+[What plants are most used as green crops?
+
+What office is performed by the roots of green crops?
+
+How do such manures increase the organic matter of soils?]
+
+_Green crops_, to plow under, are in many places largely raised, and are
+always beneficial. The plants most used for this purpose, in our
+country, are clover, buckwheat, and peas. These plants have very long
+roots, which they send deep in the soil, to draw up mineral matter for
+their support. This mineral matter is deposited in the plant. The leaves
+and roots receive carbonic acid and ammonia from the air, and from
+water. In this manner they obtain their carbon. When the crop is turned
+under the soil, it decomposes, and the carbon, as well as the mineral
+ingredients obtained from the subsoil, are deposited in the surface
+soil, and become of use to succeeding crops. The hollow stalks of the
+buckwheat and pea, serve as tubes, in the soil, for the passage of air,
+and thus, in heavy soils, give a much needed circulation of atmospheric
+fertilizers.
+
+[What office is performed by the straw of the buckwheat and
+pea?
+
+What treatment may be substituted for the use of green crops?
+
+Which course should be adopted in high farming?
+
+Why is the use of green crops preferable in ordinary cultivation?
+
+Name some other valuable manures.]
+
+Although green crops are of great benefit, and are managed with little
+labor, there is no doubt but the same results may be more economically
+produced. A few loads of prepared muck will do more towards increasing
+the organic matter in the soil, than a very heavy crop of clover, while
+it would be ready for immediate cultivation, instead of having to lie
+idle during the year required in the production and decomposition of
+the green crop. The effect of the roots penetrating the subsoil is, as
+we have seen, to draw up inorganic matter, to be deposited within reach
+of the roots of future crops. In the next section we shall show that
+this end may be much more efficiently attained by the use of the
+sub-soil plow, which makes a passage for the roots into the subsoil,
+where they can obtain for themselves what would, in the other case, be
+brought up for them by the roots of the green crop.
+
+The offices of the hollow straws may be performed by a system of ridging
+and back furrowing, having previously covered the soil with leaves, or
+other refuse organic material.
+
+In _high farming_, where the object of the cultivator is to make a
+profitable investment of labor, these last named methods will be found
+most expedient; but, if the farmer have a large quantity of land, and
+can afford but a limited amount of labor, the raising of green crops, to
+be plowed under in the fall, will probably be adopted.
+
+Before closing this chapter, it may be well to remark that there are
+various other fertilizers, such as the _ammoniacal liquor of
+gas-houses_, _soapers' wastes_, _bleachers' lye_, _lees of old oil
+casks, etc._, which we have not space to consider at length, but which
+are all valuable as additions to the compost heap, or as applications,
+in a liquid form, to the soil.
+
+[What are the advantages arising from burying manure in its
+green state?
+
+Which is generally preferable, this course, or composting? Why?]
+
+In many cases (when heavy manuring is practised), it may be well to
+apply organic manures to the soil in a green state, turn them under, and
+allow them to undergo decomposition in the ground. The advantages of
+this system are, that the _heat_, resulting from the chemical changes,
+will hasten the growth of plants, by making the soil warmer; the
+carbonic acid formed will be presented to the roots instead of escaping
+into the atmosphere; and if the soil be heavy, the rising of the gases
+will tend to loosen it, and the leaving vacant of the spaces occupied by
+the solid matters will, on their being resolved into gases, render the
+soil of a more porous character. As a general rule, however, in ordinary
+farming, where the amount of manure applied is only sufficient for the
+supply of food to the crop, it is undoubtedly better to have it
+previously decomposed--_cooked_ as it were, for the uses of the
+plants--as they can then obtain the required amount of nutriment as fast
+as needed.
+
+
+ABSORPTION OF MOISTURE.
+
+It is often convenient to know the relative power of different manures
+to absorb moisture from the atmosphere, especially when we wish to
+manure lands that suffer from drought. The following results are given
+by C. W. Johnson, in his essay on salt, (pp. 8 and 19). In these
+experiments the animal manures were employed without any admixture of
+straw.
+
+                                                       PARTS
+1000 parts of horse dung, dried in a temperature
+           of 100 degrees, absorbed by exposure
+           for three hours, to air saturated
+           with moisture, of the temperature of
+           62 degrees                                  145
+1000 parts of cow dung, under the same circumstances,
+           absorbed                                    130
+1000 parts pig dung                                    120
+1000   "   sheep  "                                     81
+1000   "   pigeon "                                     50
+1000   "   rich alluvial soil                           14
+1000   "   fresh tanner's bark                         115
+1000   "   putrified   "                               145
+1000   "   refuse marine salt sold as manure            49-1/2
+1000   "   soot                                         36
+1000   "   burnt clay                                   29
+1000   "   coal ashes                                   14
+1000   "   lime                                         11
+1000   "   sediment from salt pans                      10
+1000   "   crushed rock salt                            10
+1000   "   gypsum                                        9
+1000   "   salt                                          4[AE]
+
+Muck is a most excellent absorbent of moisture, when thoroughly
+decomposed.
+
+
+DISTRIBUTION OF MANURES.
+
+The following table from Johnson, on manures, will be found convenient
+in the distribution of manures.
+
+By its assistance the farmer will know how many loads of manure he
+requires, dividing each load into a stated number of heaps, and placing
+them at certain distances. In this manner manure may be applied evenly,
+and calculation may be made as to the amount, per acre, which a certain
+quantity will supply.[AF]
+
+---------+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+DISTANCE |
+OF       |
+THE      |         NUMBER OF HEAPS IN A LOAD.
+HEAPS.   |
+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
+         |  1   |  2   |  3   |  4   |  5   |  6   |  7   |  8   |  9   |  10
+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
+3 yards. |538   |269   |179   |134   |108   |89-1/2|77    |67    |60    |54
+3-1/2 do.|395   |168   |132   |99    |79    |66    |56-1/2|49-1/2|44    |39-1/2
+4  do.   |303   |151   |101   |75-1/2|60-1/2|50-1/2|43-1/4|37-3/4|33-1/2|30-1/4
+4-1/2 do.|239   |120   |79-1/2|60    |47-3/4|39-3/4|34-1/4|30    |26-1/2|24
+5  do.   |194   |97    |64-1/2|48-1/2|38-3/4|32-1/4|27-3/4|24-1/4|21-1/2|19-1/4
+5-1/2 do.|160   |80    |53-1/2|40    |32    |26-3/4|22-3/4|20    |17-3/4|16
+6  do.   |131   |67    |44-3/4|33-1/2|27    |22-1/2|19-1/4|16-3/4|15    |13-1/2
+6-1/2 do.|115   |57-1/2|38-1/4|28-3/4|23    |19    |16-1/4|14-1/4|12-3/4|11-1/2
+7  do.   |99    |49-1/2|33    |24-3/4|19-3/4|16-1/2|14    |12-1/4|11    |10
+7-1/2 do.|86    |43    |28-3/4|21-1/2|17-1/4|14-1/4|12-1/4|10-3/4| 9-1/2| 8-1/2
+8  do.   |75-1/2|37-3/4|25-1/4|19    |15-3/4|12-1/2|10-3/4| 9-1/2| 8-1/2| 7-1/2
+8-1/2 do.|67    |33-1/2|22-1/4|16-3/4|13-1/2|11-1/4| 9-1/2| 8-1/2| 7-1/2| 6-3/4
+9  do.   |60    |30    |20    |15    |12    |10    | 8-1/2| 7-3/4| 6-3/4| 6
+9-1/2 do.|53-1/2|26-3/4|18    |13-1/2|10-3/4| 9    | 7-3/4| 6-3/4| 6    | 5-1/4
+10 do.   |48-1/2|24-1/4|16-1/4|12    | 9-3/4| 8    | 7    | 6    | 5-1/2| 4-3/4
+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------
+
+_Example 1._--Required, the number of loads necessary to manure an acre
+of ground, dividing each load into six heaps, and placing them at a
+distance of 4-1/2 yards from each other? The answer by the table is 39-3/4.
+
+_Example 2._--A farmer has a field containing 5-1/2 acres, over which he
+wishes to spread 82 loads of dung. Now 82 divided by 5-1/2, gives 15 loads
+per acre; and by referring to the table, it will be seen that the
+desired object may be accomplished, by making 4 heaps of a load, and
+placing them 9 yards apart, or by 9 heaps at 6 yards, as may be thought
+advisable.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AC] Under some circumstances, _nitric acid_ is formed, which is equally
+beneficial to vegetable growth.
+
+[AD] See the glossary at the end of the book.
+
+[AE] Working Farmer, vol. 1, p. 55.
+
+[AF] It is not necessary that this and the foregoing table should be
+learned by the scholar, but they will be found valuable for reference by
+the farmer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+MINERAL MANURES.
+
+
+[How many kinds of action have inorganic manures?
+
+What is the first of these? The second? Third? Fourth?
+
+Do all mineral manures possess all of these qualities?]
+
+The second class of manures named in the general division of the
+subject, in the early part of this chapter, comprises those of a mineral
+character, or _inorganic_ manures.
+
+These manures have four kinds of action when applied to the soil.
+
+1st. They furnish food for the inorganic part of plants.
+
+2d. They prepare matters already in the soil, for assimilation by roots.
+
+3d. They improve the mechanical condition of the soil.
+
+4th. They absorb ammonia.
+
+Some of the mineral manures produce in the soil only one of these
+effects, and others are efficient in two or all of them.
+
+The principles to be considered in the use of mineral manures are
+essentially given in the first two sections of this book. It may be
+well, however, to repeat them briefly in this connection, and to give
+the _reasons_ why any of these manures are needed, from which we may
+learn what rules are to be observed in their application.
+
+[Relate what you know of the properties of vegetable ashes?
+
+How does this relate to the fertility of the soil?
+
+According to what two rules may we apply mineral manures?
+
+What course would you pursue to raise potatoes on a soil containing a
+very little phosphoric acid and no potash?]
+
+1st. Those which are used as food by plants. It will be recollected that
+the _ash_ left after burning plants, and which formed a part of their
+structures, has a certain chemical composition; that is, it consists of
+alkalies, acids, and neutrals. It was also stated that the ashes of
+plants of the same kind are always of about the same composition, while
+the ashes of different kinds of plants may vary materially. Different
+parts of the same plant too, as we learned, are supplied with different
+kinds of ash.
+
+For instance, _clover_, on being burned, leaves an ash containing
+_lime_, as one of its principal ingredients, while the ash of _potatoes_
+contains more of _potash_ than of any thing else.
+
+In the second section (on soils), we learned that some soils contain
+every thing necessary to make the ashes of all plants, and in sufficient
+quantity to supply what is required, while other soils are either
+entirely deficient in one or more ingredients, or contain so little of
+them that they are unfertile for certain plants.
+
+[Would you manure it in the same way for wheat?
+
+Why?]
+
+From this, we see that we may pursue either one of two courses. After we
+know the exact composition of the soil--which we can learn only from
+correct analysis--we may manure it with a view either to making it
+fertile for all kinds of plants or only for one particular plant. For
+instance, we may find that a soil contains a very little phosphoric
+acid, and no potash. If we wish to raise potatoes on such a soil, we
+have only to apply potash (if the soil is good in other particulars),
+which is largely required by this plant, though it needs but little
+phosphoric acid; while, if we wish to make it fertile for wheat, and all
+other plants, we must apply more phosphoric acid as well as potash. As a
+universal rule, it may be stated that to render a soil fertile for any
+particular plant, we must supply it (unless it already contains them)
+with those matters which are necessary to _make_ the ash of that plant;
+and, if we would render it capable of producing _all_ kinds of plants,
+it must be furnished with the materials required in the formation of
+_all kinds of vegetable ashes_.
+
+It is not absolutely necessary to have the soil analyzed before it can
+be cultivated with success, but it is the _cheapest_ way.
+
+[How is the fertility of the soil to be maintained, if the
+crops are _sold_?
+
+What rule is given for general treatment?
+
+Give an instance of matters in the soil that are to be rendered
+available by mineral manures?]
+
+We might proceed from an analysis of the plant required (which will be
+found in Section V.), and apply to the soil in the form of manure every
+thing that is necessary for the formation of the ash of that plant. This
+would give a good crop on _any_ soil that was in the proper _mechanical_
+condition, and contained enough organic matter; but a moment's
+reflection will show that, if the soil contained a large amount of
+potash, or of phosphate of lime, it would not be necessary to make an
+application of more of these ingredients--at an expense of perhaps three
+times the cost of an analysis. It is true that, if the crop is _sold_,
+and it is desired to maintain the fertility of the soil, the full amount
+of the ash must be applied, either before or after the crop is grown;
+but, in the ordinary use of crops for feeding purposes, a large part of
+the ash will exist in the excrements of the animals; so that the
+judicious farmer will be able to manure his land with more economy than
+if he had to apply to each crop the whole amount and variety required
+for its ash. The best rule for practical manuring is probably to
+_strengthen the soil in its weaker points, and prevent the stronger ones
+from becoming weaker_. In this way, the soil may be raised to the
+highest state of fertility, and be fully maintained in its productive
+powers.
+
+2d. Those manures which render available matter already contained in the
+soil.
+
+[How may silica be developed?
+
+How does lime affect soils containing coarse particles?
+
+How do mineral manures sometimes improve the mechanical texture of the
+soil?]
+
+Silica (or sand), it will be recollected, exists in all soils; but, in
+its pure state, is not capable of being dissolved, and therefore cannot
+be used by plants. The alkalies (as has been stated), have the power of
+combining with this silica, making compounds, which are called
+_silicates_. These are readily dissolved by water, and are available in
+vegetable growth. Now, if a soil is deficient in these soluble
+silicates, it is well known that grain, etc., grown on it, not being
+able to obtain the material which gives them strength, will fall down or
+_lodge_; but, if such measures be taken, as will render the sand
+soluble, the straw will be strong and healthy. Alkalies used for this
+purpose, come under the head of those manures which develope the natural
+resources of the soil.
+
+Again, much of the mineral matter in the soil is combined within
+particles, and is therefore out of the reach of roots. Lime, among other
+thing, has the effect of causing these particles to crumble and expose
+their constituents to the demand of roots. Therefore, lime has for one
+of its offices the development of the fertilizing ingredients of the
+soil.
+
+3d. Those manures which improve the mechanical condition of the soil.
+
+The alkalies, in combining with sand, commence their action on the
+surfaces of the particles, and roughen them--_rust_ them as it were.
+This roughening of particles of the soil prevents them from moving among
+each other as easily as they do when they are smooth, and thus keeps the
+soil from being compacted by heavy rains, as it is liable to be in its
+natural condition. In this way, the mechanical texture of the soil is
+improved.
+
+It has just been said that _lime_ causes the pulverization of the
+particles of the soil; and thus, by making it finer, improves its
+mechanical condition.
+
+Some mineral manures, as plaster and salt, have the power of absorbing
+moisture from the atmosphere; and this is a mechanical improvement to
+dry soils.
+
+[Name some mineral manures which absorb ammonia?]
+
+4th. Those mineral manures which have the power of absorbing ammonia.
+
+_Plaster_, _chloride of lime_, _alumina_ (_clay_), etc., are large
+absorbents of ammonia, whether arising from the fermentation of animal
+manures or washed down from the atmosphere by rains. The ammonia thus
+absorbed is of course very important in the vegetation of crops.
+
+Having now explained the reasons why mineral manures are necessary, and
+the manner in which they produce their effects, we will proceed to
+examine the various deficiencies of soils and the character of many
+kinds of this class of fertilizers.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+DEFICIENCIES OF SOILS, MEANS OF RESTORATION, ETC.
+
+
+As will be seen by referring to the analyses of soils on p. 72, they
+may be deficient in certain ingredients, which it is the object of
+mineral manures to supply. These we will take up in order, and endeavor
+to show in a simple manner the best means of managing them in practical
+farming.
+
+
+ALKALIES.
+
+POTASH.
+
+[Do all soils contain a sufficient amount of potash?
+
+How may its deficiency have been caused?
+
+How may its absence be detected?
+
+Does barn-yard manure contain sufficient potash to supply its deficiency
+in worn-out soils?]
+
+_Potash_ is often deficient in the soil. Its deficiency may have been
+caused in two ways. Either it may not have existed largely in the rock
+from which the soil was formed, and consequently is equally absent from
+the soil itself, or it may have once been present in sufficient
+quantities, and been carried away in crops, without being returned to
+the soil in the form of manure until too little remains for the
+requirements of fertility.
+
+In either case, its absence may be accurately detected by a skilful
+chemist, and it may be supplied by the farmer in various ways. Potash,
+as well as all of the other mineral manures, is contained in the
+excrements of animals, but not (as is also the case with the others) in
+sufficient quantities to restore the proper balance to soils where it is
+largely deficient, nor even to make up for what is yearly removed with
+each crop, except that crop (or its equivalent) has been fed to such
+animals as return _all_ of the fertilizing constituents of their food in
+the form of manure, and this be all carefully preserved and applied to
+the soil. In all other cases, it is necessary to apply more potash than
+is contained in the excrements of animals.
+
+[What is generally the most available source from which to
+obtain this alkali?
+
+Will leached ashes answer the same purpose?
+
+How may ashes be used?]
+
+_Unleached wood ashes_ is generally the most available source from which
+to obtain this alkali. The ashes of all kinds of wood contain potash
+(more or less according to the kind--see analysis section V.) If the
+ashes are _leached_, the potash is removed; and, hence for the purpose
+of supplying it, they are worthless; but _unleached_ ashes are an
+excellent source from which to obtain it. They may be made into compost
+with muck, as directed in a previous chapter, or applied directly to the
+soil. In either case the potash is available directly to the plant, or
+is capable of uniting with the silica in the soil to form silicate of
+potash. Neither potash nor any other alkali should ever be applied to
+animal manures unless in compost with an absorbent, as they cause the
+ammonia to be thrown off and lost.
+
+[From what other sources may potash be obtained?
+
+How may we obtain soda?
+
+In what quantities should pure salt be applied to the soil?]
+
+_Potash sparlings_, or the refuse of potash warehouses, is an excellent
+manure for lands deficient in this constituent.
+
+_Potash marl_, such as is found in New Jersey, contains a large
+proportion of potash, and is an excellent application to soils requiring
+it.
+
+_Feldspar_, _kaolin_, and other minerals containing potash, are, in some
+localities, to be obtained in sufficient quantities to be used for
+manurial purposes.
+
+_Granite_ contains potash, and if it can be crushed (as is the case with
+some of the softer kinds,) it serves a very good purpose.
+
+
+SODA.
+
+[If applied in large quantities will it produce permanent
+injury?
+
+In what quantities should salt be applied to composts? To asparagus?]
+
+_Soda_, the requirement of which is occasioned by the same causes as
+create a deficiency of potash, and all of the other ingredients of
+vegetable ashes, may be very readily supplied by the use of _common
+salt_ (chloride of sodium), which consists of about one half sodium (the
+base of soda). The best way to use salt is in the lime and salt mixture,
+previously described, or as a direct application to the soil. If too
+much salt be given to the soil it will kill any plant. In small
+quantities, however, it is highly beneficial, and if _six bushels per
+acre_ be sown broadcast over the land, to be carried in by rains and
+dews, it will not only destroy many insects (grubs, worms, etc.), but
+will, after decomposing and becoming chlorine and soda, prove an
+excellent manure. Salt, even in quantities large enough to denude the
+soil of all vegetation, is never _permanently_ injurious. After the
+first year, it becomes resolved into its constituents, and furnishes
+chlorine and soda to plants, without injuring them. One bushel of salt
+in each cord of compost will not only hasten the decomposition of the
+manures, but will kill all seeds and grubs--a very desirable effect.
+While small quantities of salt in a compost heap are beneficial, too
+much (as when applied to the soil) is positively injurious, as it
+arrests decomposition; fairly _pickles_ the manures, and prevents them
+from rotting.
+
+[What is generally the best way to use salt?
+
+What is nitrate of soda?
+
+What plants contain lime?]
+
+For _asparagus_, which is a marine plant, salt is an excellent manure,
+and may be applied in almost unlimited quantities, _while the plants are
+growing_, if used after they have gone to top, it is injurious. Salt has
+been applied to asparagus beds in such quantities as to completely cover
+them, and with apparent benefit to the plants. Of course large doses of
+salt kill all weeds, and thus save labor and the injury to the asparagus
+roots, which would result from their removal by hoeing. Salt may be used
+advantageously in any of the foregoing manners, but should always be
+applied with care. For ordinary farm purposes, it is undoubtedly most
+profitable to use the salt with lime, and make it perform the double
+duty of assisting in the decomposition of vegetable matter, and
+fertilizing the soil.
+
+Soda unites with the silica in the soil, and forms the valuable
+_silicate of soda_.
+
+_Nitrate of soda_, or cubical nitre, which is found in South America,
+consists of soda and nitric acid. It furnishes both soda and nitrogen to
+plants, and is an excellent manure.
+
+
+LIME.
+
+The subject of _lime_ is one of most vital importance to the farmer;
+indeed, so varied are its modes of action and its effects, that some
+writers have given it credit for every thing good in the way of farming,
+and have gone so far as to say that _all_ permanent improvement of
+agriculture must depend on the use of lime. Although this is far in
+excess of the truth (as lime cannot plow, nor drain, nor supply any
+thing but _lime_ to the soil), its many beneficial effects demand for it
+the closest attention.
+
+[Do all soils contain enough lime for the use of plants?
+
+What amount is needed for this purpose?
+
+What is its first-named effect on the soil?
+
+Its second? Third? Fourth? Fifth?
+
+How are acids produced in the soil?]
+
+As food for plants, lime is of considerable importance. All plants
+contain lime--some of them in large quantities. It is an important
+constituent of straw, meadow hay, leaves of fruit trees, peas, beans,
+and turnips. It constitutes more than one third of the ash of red
+clover. Many soils contain lime enough for the use of plants, in others
+it is deficient, and must be supplied artificially before they can
+produce good crops of those plants of which lime is an important
+ingredient. The only way in which the exact quantity of lime in the soil
+can be ascertained is by chemical analysis. However, the amount required
+for the mere feeding plants is not large, (much less than one per
+cent.), but lime is often necessary for other purposes; and setting
+aside, for the present, its feeding action, we will examine its various
+effects on the mechanical and chemical condition of the soil.
+
+1. It corrects acidity (sourness).
+
+2. It hastens the decomposition of the organic matter in the soil.
+
+3. It causes the mineral particles of the soil to crumble.
+
+4. By producing the above effects, it prepares the constituents of the
+soil for assimilation by plants.
+
+5. It is _said_ to exhaust the soil, but it does so in a very desirable
+manner, the injurious effects of which may be easily avoided.
+
+[How does lime correct them?
+
+How does it affect animal manures in the soil?]
+
+1. The decomposition of organic matter in the soil, often produces
+acids which makes the land _sour_, and cause it to produce sorrel and
+other weeds, which interfere with the healthy growth of crops. Lime is
+an _alkali_, and if applied to soils suffering from sourness, it will
+unite with the acids, and neutralize them, so that they will no longer
+be injurious.
+
+2. We have before stated that lime is a decomposing agent, and hastens
+the rotting of muck and other organic matter. It has the same effect on
+the organic parts of the soil, and causes them to be resolved into the
+gases and minerals of which they are formed. It has this effect,
+especially, on organic matters containing _nitrogen_, causing them to
+throw off ammonia; consequently, it liberates this gas from the animal
+manures in the soil.
+
+3. Various inorganic compounds in the soil are so affected by lime, that
+they lose their power of holding together, and crumble, or are reduced
+to finer particles, while some of their constituents are rendered
+soluble. One way in which this is accomplished is by the action of the
+lime on the silica contained in these compounds, forming the silicate of
+lime. This crumbling effect improves the mechanical as well as the
+chemical condition of the soil.
+
+4. We are now enabled to see how lime prepares the constituents of the
+soil for the use of plants.
+
+[Inorganic compounds?
+
+How does lime prepare the constituents of the soil for use?
+
+What can you say of the remark that lime exhausts the organic matter in
+the soil?]
+
+By its action on the roots, buried stubble, and other organic matter in
+the soil, it causes them to be decomposed, and to give up many of their
+gaseous and inorganic constituents for the use of roots. In this manner
+the organic matter is prepared for use more rapidly than would be the
+case, if there were no lime present to hasten its decomposition.
+
+By the decomposing action of lime on the mineral parts of the soil (3),
+they also are placed more rapidly in a useful condition than would be
+the case, if their preparation depended on the slow action of
+atmospheric influences.
+
+Thus, we see that lime, aside from its use directly as food for plants,
+exerts a beneficial influence on both the organic and inorganic parts of
+the soil.
+
+5. Many contend that lime _exhausts_ the soil.
+
+If we examine the manner in which it does so, we shall see that this is
+no argument against its use.
+
+[How can lime exhaust the mineral parts of the soil?
+
+Must the matter taken away be returned to the soil?]
+
+It exhausts the organic parts of the soil, by decomposing them, and
+resolving them into the gases and minerals of which they are composed.
+If the soil do not contain a sufficient quantity of absorbent matter,
+such as clay or charcoal, the gases arising from the organic matter are
+liable to escape; but when there is a sufficient amount of these
+substances present (as there always should be), these gases are all
+retained until required by the roots of plants. Hence, although the
+organic matter of manure and vegetable substances may be _altered in
+form_, by the use of lime, it can escape (except in very poor soils)
+only as it is taken up by roots to feed the crop, and such exhaustion is
+certainly profitable; still, in order that the fertility of the soil may
+be _maintained_, enough of organic manure should be applied, to make up
+for the amount taken from the soil by the crop, after liberation for its
+use by the action of the lime. This will be but a small proportion of
+the organic matter contained in the crop, as it obtains the larger part
+from the atmosphere.
+
+The only way in which lime can exhaust the inorganic part of the soil
+is, by altering its condition, so that plants can use it more readily.
+That is, it exposes it for solution in water. We have seen that
+fertilizing matter cannot be leached out of a good soil, in any material
+quantity, but can only be carried down to a depth of about thirty-four
+inches. Hence, we see that there can be no loss in this direction; and,
+as inorganic matter cannot evaporate from the soil, the only way in
+which it can escape is through the structure of plants.
+
+[If this course be pursued, will the soil suffer from the use
+of lime?
+
+Is it the lime, or its crop, that exhausts the soil?
+
+Is lime containing magnesia better than pure lime?
+
+What is the best kind of lime?]
+
+If lime is applied to the soil, and increases the amount of crops grown
+by furnishing a larger supply of inorganic matter, of course, the
+removal of inorganic substances from the soil will be more rapid than
+when only a small amount of crop is grown, and the soil will be sooner
+exhausted--not by the lime, but by the plants. In order to make up for
+this exhaustion, it is necessary that a sufficient amount of inorganic
+matter be supplied to compensate for the increased quantity taken away
+by plants.
+
+Thus we see, that it is hardly fair to accuse the _lime_ of exhausting
+the soil, when it only improves its character, and increases the amount
+of its yield. It is the _crop_ that takes away the fertility of the soil
+(the same as would be the case if no lime were used, only faster as the
+crop is larger), and in all judicious cultivation, this loss will be
+fully compensated by the application of manures, thereby preventing the
+exhaustion of the soil.
+
+[Is the purchase of marl to be recommended?
+
+How is lime prepared for use? (Note.)
+
+Describe the burning and slaking of lime.]
+
+_Kind of lime to be used._ The first consideration in procuring lime for
+manuring land, is to select that which contains but little, if any
+_magnesia_. Nearly all stone lime contains more or less of this, but
+some kinds contain more than others. When magnesia is applied to the
+soil, in too large quantities, it is positively injurious to plants, and
+great care is necessary in making selection. As a general rule, it may
+be stated, that the best plastering lime makes the best manure. Such
+kinds only should be used as are known from experiment not to be
+injurious.
+
+_Shell lime_ is undoubtedly the best of all, for it contains no
+magnesia, and it does contain a small quantity of _phosphate of lime_.
+In the vicinity of the sea-coast, and near the lines of railroads,
+oyster shells, clam shells, etc., can be cheaply procured. These may be
+prepared for use in the same manner as stone lime.[AG]
+
+_The preparation of the lime_ is done by first burning and then slaking,
+or by putting it directly on the land, in an unslaked condition, after
+its having been burned. Shells are sometimes _ground_, and used without
+burning; this is hardly advisable, as they cannot be made so fine as by
+burning and slaking. As was stated in the first section of this book,
+lime usually exists in nature, in the form of carbonate of lime, as
+limestone, chalk, or marble (being lime and carbonic acid combined), and
+when this is burned, the carbonic acid is thrown off, leaving the lime
+in a pure or caustic form. This is called burned lime, quick-lime, lime
+shells, hot lime, etc. If the proper quantity of water be poured on it,
+it is immediately taken up by the lime, which falls into a dry powder,
+called _slaked lime_. If _quick-lime_ were left exposed to the weather,
+it would absorb moisture from the atmosphere, and become what is termed
+_air slaked_.
+
+[What is air slaking?
+
+If slaked lime be exposed to the air, what change does it undergo?
+
+What is the object of slaking lime?
+
+How much carbonic acid is contained in a ton of carbonate of lime?
+
+How much lime does a ton of slaked lime contain?
+
+What is the most economical form for transportation?]
+
+When _slaked lime_ (consisting of lime and water) is exposed to the
+atmosphere, it absorbs carbonic acid, and becomes carbonate of lime
+again; but it is now in the form of a very fine powder, and is much more
+useful than when in the stone.
+
+If quick-lime is applied directly to the soil, it absorbs first
+moisture, and then carbonic acid, becoming finally a powdered carbonate
+of lime.
+
+One ton of _carbonate of lime_ contains 11-1/4 cwt. of lime; the
+remainder is carbonic acid. One ton of _slaked lime_ contains about 15
+cwt. of lime; the remainder is water.
+
+Hence we see that lime should be burned, and not slaked, before being
+transported, as it would be unprofitable to transport the large quantity
+of carbonic acid and water contained in carbonate of lime and slaked
+lime. The quick-lime may be slaked, and carbonated after reaching its
+destination, either before or after being applied to the land.
+
+[What is the best form for immediate action on the inorganic
+matter in the soil?
+
+For most other purposes?]
+
+As has been before stated, much is gained by slaking lime with _salt
+water_, thus imitating the lime and salt mixture. Indeed in many cases,
+it will be found profitable to use all lime in this way. Where a direct
+action on the inorganic matters contained in the soil is desired, it may
+be well to apply the lime directly in the form of quick-lime; but, where
+the decomposition of the vegetable and animal constituents of the soil
+is desired, the correction of _sourness_, or the supplying of lime to
+the crop, the mixture with salt would be advisable.
+
+_The amount of lime_ required _by plants_ is, as was before observed,
+usually small compared with the whole amount contained in the soil;
+still it is not unimportant.
+
+                                    OF LIME.
+25 bus. of wheat contain about    13     lbs.
+25     "   barley        "        10-1/2  "
+25     "   oats          "        11      "
+ 2 tons of turnips       "        12      "
+ 2     "  potatoes       "         5      "
+ 2     "  red clover     "        77      "
+ 2     "  rye grass      "        30      "[AH]
+
+[What is the best guide concerning the quantity of lime to be
+applied?
+
+What is said of the sinking of lime in the soil?
+
+What is plaster of Paris composed of?
+
+Why is it called plaster of Paris?]
+
+The amount of lime required at each application, and the frequency of
+those applications, must depend on the chemical and mechanical condition
+of the soil. No exact rule can be given, but probably the custom of each
+district--regulated by long experience--is the best guide.
+
+_Lime sinks in the soil_; and therefore, when used alone, should always
+be applied as a top dressing to be carried into the soil by rains. The
+tendency of lime to settle is so great that, when cutting drains, it may
+often be observed in a whitish streak on the top of the subsoil. After
+heavy doses of lime have been given to the soil, and have settled so as
+to have apparently ceased from their action, they may be brought up and
+mixed with the soil by deeper plowing.
+
+_Lime should never be mixed with animal manures_, unless in compost with
+muck, or some other good absorbent, as it is liable to cause the escape
+of their ammonia.
+
+
+PLASTER OF PARIS.
+
+_Plaster of Paris or Gypsum_ (sulphate of lime) is composed of sulphuric
+acid and lime in combination. It is called 'plaster of Paris,' because
+it constitutes the rock underlying the city of Paris.
+
+[Is it a constituent of plants?
+
+What else does it furnish them?
+
+How does it affect manure?
+
+How does it produce sorrel in the soil?
+
+How may the acidity be overcome?]
+
+It is a constituent of many plants. It also furnishes them with
+sulphur--a constituent of the sulphuric acid which it contains.
+
+It is an excellent absorbent of ammonia, and is very useful to sprinkle
+around stables, poultry houses, pig-styes, and privies, where it absorbs
+the escaping gases, saving them for the use of plants, and purifying the
+air, thus rendering stables, etc., more healthy than when not so
+supplied.
+
+It has been observed that the extravagant use of plaster sometimes
+induces the growth of _sorrel_. This is probably the case only where the
+soil is deficient in lime. In such instances, the lime required by
+plants is obtained by the decomposition of the plaster. The lime enters
+into the construction of the plant, and the sulphuric acid remains
+_free_, rendering the soil _sour_, and therefore in condition to produce
+sorrel. In such a case, an application of _lime_ will correct the acid
+by uniting with it and converting it into _plaster_.
+
+
+CHLORIDE OF LIME.
+
+[What does chloride of lime supply to plants?
+
+How does it affect manures?
+
+How may it be used?
+
+How may magnesia be supplied, when wanting?
+
+What care is necessary concerning the use of magnesia?]
+
+_Chloride of lime_ is a compound of _lime and chlorine_. It furnishes
+both of these constituents to plants, and it is an excellent absorbent
+of ammonia and other gases arising from decomposition--hence its
+usefulness in destroying bad odors, and in preserving fertilizing
+matters for the use of crops.
+
+It may be used like plaster, or in the decomposition of organic matters,
+where it not only hastens decay, but absorbs and retains the escaping
+gases. It will be recollected that _chloride of lime_ is one of the
+products of the _lime and salt mixture_.
+
+_Lime_ in combination with _phosphoric acid_ forms the valuable
+_phosphate of lime_, of which so large a portion of the ash of grain,
+and the bones of animals, is formed. This will be spoken of more at
+length under the head of 'phosphoric acid.'
+
+
+MAGNESIA.
+
+Magnesia is a constituent of vegetable ashes, and is almost always
+present in the soil in sufficient quantities. When analysis indicates
+that it is needed, it may be applied in the form of _magnesian lime_, or
+_refuse epsom salts_, which are composed of sulphuric acid and magnesia
+(sulphate of magnesia).
+
+The great care necessary concerning the use of magnesia is, not to apply
+too much of it, it being, when in excess, as has been previously
+remarked, injurious to the fertility of the soil. Some soils are
+hopelessly barren from the fact that they contain too much magnesia.
+
+
+ACIDS.
+
+SULPHURIC ACID.
+
+[What is sulphuric acid commonly called?
+
+How may it be used?
+
+How does it prevent the escape of ammonia?]
+
+_Sulphuric acid_ is a very important constituent of vegetable ashes,
+especially of oats and the root-crops.
+
+It is often deficient in the soil, particularly where potatoes have been
+long cultivated. One of the reasons why _plaster_ (sulphate of lime) is
+so beneficial to the potato crop is undoubtedly that it supplies it with
+sulphuric acid.
+
+Sulphuric acid is commonly known by the name of _oil vitriol_, and may
+be purchased for agricultural purposes at a low price. It may be used in
+a very dilute form (weakened by mixing it with a large quantity of
+water) to the compost heap, where it will change the ammonia to a
+sulphate as soon as formed, and thus prevent its loss, as the sulphate
+of ammonia is not volatile; and, being soluble in water, is useful to
+plants. Some idea of the value of this compound may be formed from the
+fact that manufacturers of manures are willing to pay seven cents per
+lb., or even more, for sulphate of ammonia, to insure the success of
+their fertilizers. Notwithstanding this, many farmers persist in
+throwing away hundreds of pounds of _ammonia_ every year, as a tax for
+their ignorance (or indolence), while a small tax in _money_--not more
+valuable, nor more necessary to their success--for the support of common
+schools, and the better education of the young, is too often unwillingly
+paid.
+
+[What is the effect of using too much sulphuric acid?]
+
+If a tumbler full of sulphuric acid (costing a few cents), be thrown
+into the tank of the compost heap once a month, the benefit to the
+manure would be very great.
+
+Where a deficiency of sulphuric acid in the soil is indicated by
+analysis, it may be supplied in this way, or by the use of plaster or
+refuse epsom salts.
+
+Care is necessary that _too much_ sulphuric acid be not used, as it
+would prevent the proper decomposition of manures, and would induce a
+growth of sorrel in the soil by making it _sour_.
+
+In many instances, it will be found profitable to use sulphuric acid in
+the manufacture of super-phosphate of lime (as directed under the head
+of 'phosphoric acid,') thus making it perform the double purpose of
+preparing an available form of phosphate, and of supplying sulphur and
+sulphuric acid to the plant.
+
+
+PHOSPHORIC ACID.
+
+[How large a part of the ashes of grain consists of phosphoric
+acid?
+
+Of what other substances does it form a leading ingredient?
+
+How many pounds of sulphuric acid are contained in one hundred bushels
+of wheat?]
+
+We come now to the consideration of one of the most important of all
+subjects connected with agriculture, that is, _phosphoric acid_.
+
+_Phosphoric acid_, forming about one half of the ashes of wheat, rye,
+corn, buckwheat, and oats; nearly the same proportion of those of
+barley, peas, beans and linseed; an important ingredient of the ashes of
+potatoes and turnips; one quarter of the ash of milk and a large
+proportion of the bones of animals, often exists in the soil in the
+proportion of only about one or two pounds in a thousand. The
+cultivation of our whole country has been such, as to take away the
+phosphoric acid from the soil without returning it, except in very
+minute quantities. Every hundred bushels of wheat sold contains (and
+removes permanently from the soil) about _sixty pounds_ of phosphoric
+acid. Other grains, as well as the root crops and grasses, remove
+likewise a large quantity of it. It has been said by a contemporary
+writer, that for each cow kept on a pasture through the summer, there is
+carried off in veal, butter and cheese, not less than _fifty_ lbs. of
+phosphate of lime (bone-earth) on an average. This would be _one
+thousand lbs._ for twenty cows; and it shows clearly why old dairy
+pastures become so exhausted of this substance, that they will no longer
+produce those nutritious grasses, which are favorable to butter and
+cheese-making.
+
+[How much phosphate of lime will twenty cows remove from a
+pasture during a summer?
+
+What has this removal of phosphate of lime occasioned?
+
+How have the Genesee and Mohawk valleys been affected by this removal of
+phosphoric acid?]
+
+That this removal of the most valuable constituent of the soil, has been
+the cause of more exhaustion of farms, and more emigration, in search of
+fertile districts, than any other single effect of injudicious farming,
+is a fact which multiplied instances most clearly prove.
+
+It is stated that the Genesee and Mohawk valleys, which once produced an
+average of _thirty-five_ or _forty bushels_ of wheat, per acre, have
+since been reduced in their average production to _twelve and a half_
+bushels. Hundreds of similar cases might be stated; and in a large
+majority of these, could the cause of the impoverishment be ascertained,
+it would be found to be the removal of the phosphoric acid from the
+soil.
+
+[How may this devastation be arrested?
+
+Is any soil inexhaustible?
+
+What is usually the best source from which to obtain phosphoric acid?]
+
+The evident tendency of cultivation being to continue this murderous
+system, and to prey upon the vital strength of the country, it is
+necessary to take such measures as will arrest the outflow of this
+valuable material. This can never be fully accomplished until laws shall
+be made preventing the wastes of cities and towns. Such laws have
+existed for a long time in China, and have doubtlessly been the secret
+of the long subsistence and present prosperity of the millions of people
+inhabiting that country.
+
+We have, nevertheless, a means of restoring to fertility many of our
+worn-out lands, and preserving our fertile fields from so rapid
+impoverishment as they are now suffering. Many suppose that soils which
+produce good crops, year after year, are inexhaustible, but time will
+prove to the contrary. They may possess a sufficiently large stock of
+phosphoric acid, and other constituents of plants, to last a long time,
+but when that stock becomes so reduced, that there is not enough left
+for the uses of full crops, the productive power of the soil will yearly
+decrease, until it becomes worthless. It may last a long time, a
+century, or even more, but as long as the system is--to _remove every
+thing, and return nothing_,--the fate of the most fertile soil is
+evident.
+
+The source mentioned, from which to obtain phosphoric acid, is the bones
+of animals. These contain large quantities of _phosphate of lime_. They
+are the receptacles which collect nearly all of the phosphates in crops,
+which are fed to animals, and are not returned in their excrements. For
+the grain, etc., sent out of the country, there is no way to be repaid
+except by the importation of this material; but, all that is fed to
+animals, or to human beings, may, if a proper use be made of their
+excrement, and of their bones after death, be returned to the soil. With
+the treatment of animal excrements we are already familiar, and we will
+now turn our attention to the subject of
+
+
+BONES.
+
+[Of what do dried bones consist?
+
+What is the organic matter of bones?
+
+The inorganic?
+
+What can you say of the use of whole bones?]
+
+_Bones_ consist, when dried, of about one third organic matter, and two
+thirds inorganic matter.
+
+The organic matter consists chiefly of _gelatine_--a compound containing
+_nitrogen_.
+
+The inorganic part is chiefly _phosphate of lime_.
+
+Hence, we see that bones are excellent, as both organic and mineral
+manure. The organic part, containing nitrogen, forms _ammonia_, and the
+inorganic part supplies the much needed _phosphoric acid_ to the soil.
+
+Liebig says that, as a producer of ammonia, 100 lbs. of dry bones are
+equivalent to 250 lbs. of human urine.
+
+[How does the value of bone dust compare with that of broken
+bones?
+
+What is the reason of the superiority of bone dust?
+
+How is bone-black made?
+
+Of what does it consist?]
+
+Bones are applied to the soil in almost every conceivable form. _Whole
+bones_ are often used in very large quantities; their action, however,
+is extremely slow, and it is never advisable to use bones in this form.
+
+Ten bushels of bones, finely ground, will produce larger results, during
+the current ten years after application, than would ensue from the use
+of one hundred bushels merely broken, not because the dust contains more
+fertilizing matter than the whole bones, but because that which it does
+contain is in a much more available condition. It ferments readily, and
+produces ammonia, while the ashy parts are exposed to the action of
+roots.
+
+[Should farmers burn bones before using them?
+
+How would you compost bones with ashes?
+
+In what way would you prevent the escape of ammonia?]
+
+_Bone-black._ If bones are burned in retorts, or otherwise protected
+from the atmosphere, their organic matter will all be driven off, except
+the carbon, which not being supplied with oxygen cannot escape. In this
+form bones are called _ivory black_, or _bone-black_. It consists of the
+inorganic matter, and the carbon of the bones. The nitrogen having been
+expelled it can make no ammonia, and thus far the original value of
+bones is reduced by burning; that is, one ton of bones contains more
+fertilizing matter before, than after burning; but one ton of bone black
+is more valuable than one ton of raw bones, as the carbon is retained in
+a good form to act as an absorbent in the soil, while the whole may be
+crushed or ground much more easily than before being burned. This means
+of pulverizing bones is adopted by manufacturers, who replace the
+ammonia in the form of guano, or otherwise; but it is not to be
+recommended for the use of farmers, who should not lose the ammonia,
+forming a part of bones, more than that of other manure.
+
+_Composting bones with ashes_ is a good means of securing their
+decomposition. They should be placed in a water-tight vessel (such as a
+cask); first, three or four inches of bones, then the same quantity of
+strong unleached wood ashes, continuing these alternate layers until the
+cask is full, and keeping them _always wet_. If they become too dry they
+will throw off an offensive odor, accompanied by the escape of ammonia,
+and consequent loss of value. In about one year, the whole mass of bones
+(except, perhaps, those at the top) will be softened, so that they may
+be easily crushed, and they are in a good condition for manuring. The
+ashes are, in themselves, valuable, and this compost is excellent for
+many crops, particularly for Indian corn. A little dilute sulphuric
+acid, occasionally sprinkled on the upper part of the matter in the
+cask, will prevent the escape of the ammonia.
+
+[What is the effect of boiling bones under pressure?
+
+How is super-phosphate of lime made?
+
+Describe the composition of phosphate of lime, and the chemical changes
+which take place in altering it to super-phosphate of lime.]
+
+_Boiling bones under pressure_, whereby their gelatine is dissolved
+away, and the inorganic matter left in an available condition, from its
+softness, is a very good way of rendering them useful; but, as it
+requires, among other things, a steam boiler, it is hardly probable that
+it will be largely adopted by farmers of limited means.
+
+Any or all of these methods are good, but bones cannot be used with true
+economy, except by changing their inorganic matter into
+
+
+SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME.
+
+_Super-phosphate of lime_ is made by treating phosphate of lime, or the
+ashes of bones, with _sulphuric acid_.
+
+Phosphate of lime, as it exists in bones, consists of one atom of
+phosphoric acid and three atoms of lime. It may be represented as
+
+                 { Lime
+Phosphoric acid  { Lime
+                 { Lime
+
+By adding a proper quantity of sulphuric acid with this, it becomes
+_super_-phosphate of lime; that is, the same amount of phosphoric acid,
+with a smaller proportion of lime (or a _super_-abundance of phosphoric
+acid), the sulphuric acid, taking two atoms of lime away from the
+compound, combined with it making sulphate of lime (plaster). The
+changes may be thus represented.
+
+                  {Phosphoric acid} Super-phosphate
+Phosphate of lime {Lime           }   of lime.
+                  {Lime}
+                  {Lime} Sulphate of lime.
+         Sulphuric acid}
+
+Super-phosphate of lime may be made from whole bones, bone dust,
+bone-black, or from the pure ashes of bones.
+
+[How should sulphuric acid be applied to whole bones?
+
+What is the necessity for so large an amount of water?]
+
+The process of making it from whole bones is slow and troublesome, as it
+requires a long time for the effect to diffuse itself through the whole
+mass of a large bone. When it is made in this way, the bones should be
+_dry_, and the acid should be diluted in many times its bulk of water,
+and should be applied to the bones (which may be placed in a suitable
+cask, with a spiggot at the bottom), in quantities sufficient to cover
+them, about once in ten days; and at the end of that time, one half of
+the liquid should be drawn off by the spiggot. This liquid is a solution
+of super-phosphate of lime, containing sulphate of lime, and may be
+applied to the soil in a liquid form, or through the medium of a compost
+heap. The object of using so much water is to prevent an incrustation of
+sulphate of lime on the surfaces of the bones, this must be removed by
+stirring the mass, which allows the next application of acid to act
+directly on the phosphate remaining. The amount of acid required is
+about 50 or 60 lbs. to each 100 lbs. of bones. The gelatine will remain
+after the phosphate is all dissolved, and may be composted with muck, or
+plowed under the soil, where it will form ammonia.
+
+[May less water be employed in making super-phosphate from
+bone dust or crushed bones?]
+
+_Bone dust_, or _crushed bones_, may be much more easily changed to the
+desired condition, as the surface exposed is much greater, and the acid
+can act more generally throughout the whole mass. The amount of acid
+required is the same as in the other case, but it may be used
+_stronger_, two or three times its bulk of water being sufficient, if
+the bones are finely ground or crushed--more or less water should be
+used according to the fineness of the bones. The time occupied will also
+be much less, and the result of the operation will be in better
+condition for manure.
+
+Bones may be made fine enough for this operation, either by grinding,
+etc., or by boiling under pressure, as previously described; indeed, by
+whatever method bones are pulverized, they should always be treated with
+sulphuric acid before being applied to the soil, as this will more than
+double their value for immediate use.
+
+Bone-black is chiefly used by manufacturers of super-phosphate of lime,
+who treat it with acid the same as has been directed above, only that
+they grind the black very finely before applying the acid.
+
+[What other forms of bones may be used in making
+super-phosphate of lime?
+
+Why is super-phosphate of lime a better fertilizer than phosphate of
+lime?
+
+What can you say of the _lasting manures_?]
+
+_Bone ashes_, or bones burned to whiteness, may be similarly treated.
+Indeed, in all of the forms of bones here described, the phosphate of
+lime remains unaltered, as it is indestructible by heat; the differences
+of composition are only in the admixture of organic constituents.
+
+_The reason why super-phosphate of lime is so much better than
+phosphate_, may be easily explained. The _phosphate_ is very _slowly_
+soluble in water, and consequently furnishes food to plants slowly. A
+piece of bone as large as a pea may lie in the soil for years without
+being all consumed; consequently, it will be years before its value is
+returned, and it pays no interest on its cost while lying there. The
+_super-phosphate_ dissolves very _rapidly_ and furnishes food for plants
+with equal facility; hence its much greater value as a manure.
+
+It is true that the _phosphate_ is the most _lasting_ manure; but, once
+for all, let us caution farmers against considering this a virtue in
+mineral manures, or in organic manures either, when used on soils
+containing the proper absorbents of ammonia. They are _lasting_, only
+in proportion as they are _lazy_. Manures are worthless unless they are
+in condition to be immediately used. The farmer who wishes his manures
+to _last_ in the soil, and to lose their use, may be justly compared
+with the _miser_, who buries his gold and silver in the ground for the
+satisfaction of knowing that he owns it. It is an old and a true saying
+that "a nimble sixpence is better than a slow shilling."
+
+
+IMPROVED SUPER-PHOSPHATE OF LIME.
+
+[What are the ingredients of the _improved_ super-phosphate of
+lime?]
+
+To show the manner in which super-phosphate of lime is perfected, and
+rendered the best manure for general uses, which has yet been made,
+containing large quantities of phosphoric acid and a good supply of
+ammonia,--hereby covering the two leading deficiencies in a majority of
+soils, it may be well to explain the composition of the _improved
+super-phosphate of lime_ invented by Prof. Mapes.
+
+This manure consists of the following ingredients in the proportions
+named:--
+
+100  lbs.  bone-black (phosphate of lime and carbon).
+56    "    sulphuric acid.
+36    "    guano.
+20    "    sulphate of ammonia.
+
+[Explain the uses of these different constituents.
+
+What is nitrogenized phosphate?]
+
+The sulphuric acid has the before-mentioned effect on the bone-black,
+and _fixes_ the ammonia of the guano by changing it to a sulphate. The
+twenty pounds of sulphate of ammonia added increase the amount, so as to
+furnish nitrogen to plants in sufficient quantities to give them energy,
+and induce them to take up the super-phosphate of lime in the manure
+more readily than would be done, were there not a sufficient supply of
+ammonia in the soil.
+
+The addition of the guano, which contains all of the elements of
+fertility, and many of them in considerable quantities, renders the
+manure of a more general character, and enables it to produce very large
+crops of almost any kind, while it assists in fortifying the soil in
+what is usually its weakest point--phosphoric acid.
+
+Prof. Mapes has more recently invented a new fertilizer called
+nitrogenized super-phosphate of lime, composed of the improved
+super-phosphate of lime and blood, dried and ground before mixture, in
+equal proportions. This manure, from its highly nitrogenous character,
+theoretically surpasses all others, and probably will be found in
+practice to have great value; its cost will be rather greater than
+guano.
+
+We understand its manufacture will shortly be commenced by a company now
+forming for that purpose.
+
+[What should be learned before purchasing amendments for the
+soil?
+
+What do you know of silica?]
+
+Many farmers will find it expedient to purchase bones, or bone dust, and
+manufacture their own super-phosphate of lime; others will prefer to
+purchase the prepared manure. In doing so, it should be obtained of men
+of known respectability, as manures are easily adulterated with
+worthless matters; and, as their price is so high, that such deception
+may occasion great loss.
+
+We would not recommend the application of any artificial manure, without
+first obtaining an analysis of the soil, and knowing _to a certainty_
+that the manure is needed; still, when no analysis has been procured, it
+may be profitable to apply such manures as most generally produce good
+results--such as stable manure, night soil, the improved super-phosphate
+of lime; or, if this cannot be procured, guano.
+
+
+NEUTRALS.
+
+SILICA.
+
+_Silica_ (or sand) always exists in the soil in sufficient quantities
+for the supply of food for plants; but, as has been often stated in the
+preceding pages, not always in the proper condition. This subject has
+been so often explained to the student of this book, that it is only
+necessary to repeat here, that when the weakness of the straw or stalk
+of plants grown on any soil indicates an inability in that soil to
+supply the silicates required for strength, not more sand should be
+added, but _alkalies_, to combine with the sand already contained in it,
+and make _soluble silicates_ which are available to roots.
+
+Sand is often necessary to stiff clays, as a _mechanical_ manure, to
+loosen their texture and render them easier of cultivation, and more
+favorable to the distribution of roots, and to the circulation of air
+and water.
+
+
+CHLORINE.
+
+[How may chlorine be applied?]
+
+_Chlorine_, a necessary constituent of plants, and often deficient in
+the soil (as indicated by analysis), may be applied in the form of salt
+(chloride of sodium), or chloride of lime. The former may be dissolved
+in the water used to slake lime, and the latter may, with much
+advantage, be sprinkled around stables and other places where
+fertilizing gases are escaping, and, after being saturated with ammonia,
+applied to the soil, thus serving a double purpose.
+
+
+OXIDE OF IRON.
+
+[How may the protoxide of iron be changed to peroxide?]
+
+Nearly all soils contain sufficient quantities of _oxide of iron_, or
+iron rust, so that this substance can hardly be required as a manure.
+
+Some soils, however, contain the _prot_oxide of iron in such quantities
+as to be injurious to plants,--see page 86. When this is the case, it is
+necessary to plow the soil thoroughly, and use such other mechanical
+means as shall render it open to the admission of air. The _prot_oxide
+of iron will then take up more oxygen, and become the _per_oxide--which
+is not only inoffensive, but is absolutely necessary to fertility.
+
+
+OXIDE OF MANGANESE.
+
+This can hardly be called an essential constituent of plants, and is
+never taken into consideration in manuring lands.
+
+
+VARIOUS OTHER MINERAL MANURES.
+
+LEACHED ASHES.
+
+[Why are leached ashes inferior to those that have not been
+leached?
+
+On what do the benefits of leached ashes depend?
+
+Can these ingredients be more cheaply obtained in another form?
+
+Why do unleached ashes, applied in the spring, sometimes cause grain to
+lodge?]
+
+Among the mineral manures which have not yet been mentioned--not coming
+strictly under any of the preceding heads, is the one known as _leached
+ashes_.
+
+These are not without their benefits, though worth much less than
+unleached ashes, which, besides the constituents of those which have
+been leached, contain much potash, soda, etc.
+
+Farmers have generally overrated the value of leached ashes, because
+they contain small quantities of available phosphate of lime, and
+soluble silicates, in which most old soils are deficient. While we
+witness the good results ensuing from their application, we should not
+forget that the fertilizing ingredients of _thirty bushels_ of these
+ashes may be bought in a more convenient form for _ten_ or _fifteen
+cents_, or for less than the cost of spreading the ashes on the soil. In
+many parts of Long Island farmers pay as much as eight or ten cents per
+bushel for this manure, and thousands of loads of leached ashes are
+taken to this locality from the river counties of New York, and even
+from the State of Maine, and are sold for many times their value,
+producing an effect which could be as well and much more cheaply
+obtained by the use of small quantities of super-phosphate of lime and
+potash.
+
+These ashes often contain a little charcoal (resulting from the
+imperfect combustion of the wood), which acts as an absorbent of
+ammonia.
+
+It is sometimes observed that _unleached_ ashes, when applied in the
+spring, cause grain to lodge. When this is the case, as it seldom is, it
+may be inferred that the potash which they contain causes so rapid a
+growth, that the soil is not able to supply silicates as fast as they
+are required by the plants, but after the first year, the potash will
+have united with the silica in the soil, and overcome the difficulty.
+
+
+OLD MORTAR.
+
+[What are the most fertilizing ingredients of old mortar?]
+
+_Old mortar_ is a valuable manure, because it contains nitrate of potash
+and other compounds of nitric acid with alkalies.
+
+These are slowly formed in the mortar by the changing of the nitrogen of
+the hair (in the mortar) into nitric acid, and the union of this with
+the small quantities of _potash_, or with the _lime_ of the plaster.
+Nitrogen, presented in other forms, as ammonia, for instance, may be
+transformed into nitric acid, by uniting with the oxygen of the air, and
+this nitric acid combines immediately with the alkalies of the
+mortar.[AI]
+
+The lime contained in the mortar may be useful in the soil for the many
+purposes accomplished by other lime.
+
+
+GAS HOUSE LIME.
+
+[How may gas-house lime be prepared for use?
+
+Why should it not be used fresh, from the gas house?
+
+On what do its fertilizing properties depend?
+
+What use may be made of its offensive odor?]
+
+_The refuse lime of gas works_, where it can be cheaply obtained, may be
+advantageously used as a manure. It consists, chiefly, of various
+compounds of sulphur and lime. It should be composted with earth or
+refuse matter, so as to expose it to the action of air. It should never
+be used fresh from the gas house. In a few months the sulphur will have
+united with the oxygen of the air, and become sulphuric acid, which
+unites with the lime and makes sulphate of lime (plaster), which form it
+must assume, before it is of much value. Having been used to purify gas
+made from coal, it contains a small quantity of ammonia, which adds to
+its value. It is considered a profitable manure in England, at the price
+there paid for it (forty cents a cartload), and, if of good quality, it
+may be worth double that sum, especially for soils deficient in plaster,
+or for such crops as are much benefited by plaster. Its price must, of
+course, be regulated somewhat by the price of lime, which constitutes a
+large proportion of its fertilizing parts. The offensive odor of this
+compound renders it a good protection against many insects.
+
+The refuse _liquor of gas works_ contains enough ammonia to make it a
+valuable manure.
+
+
+SOAPERS' LEY AND BLEACHERS' LEY.
+
+[What use may be made of the refuse ley of soap-makers and
+bleachers?
+
+What peculiar qualities does soapers' ley possess?]
+
+The refuse ley of soap factories and bleaching establishments contains
+greater or less quantities of soluble silicates and alkalies (especially
+soda and potash), and is a good addition to the tank of the compost
+heap, or it may be used directly as a liquid application to the soil.
+The soapers' ley, especially, will be found a good manure for lands on
+which grain lodges.
+
+Much of the benefit of this manure arises from the soluble silicates it
+contains, while its nitrogenous matter,[AJ] obtained from those parts of
+the fatty matters which cannot be converted into soap, and consequently
+remains in this solution, forms a valuable addition. Heaps of soil
+saturated with this liquid in autumn, and subjected to the freezings of
+winter, form an admirable manure for spring use. Mr. Crane, near Newark
+(N. J.), has long used a mixture of spent ley and stable manure, applied
+in the fall to trenches plowed in the soil, and has been most successful
+in obtaining large crops.
+
+
+IRRIGATION.
+
+[On what does the benefit arising from irrigation chiefly
+depend?
+
+What kind of water is best for irrigation?
+
+How do under-drains increase the benefits of irrigation?]
+
+_Irrigation_ does not come strictly under the head of inorganic manures,
+as it often supplies ammonia to the soil. Its chief value, however, in
+most cases, must depend on the amount of mineral matter which it
+furnishes.
+
+The word "irrigation" means simply _watering_. In many districts water
+is in various ways made to overflow the land, and is removed when
+necessary for the purposes of cultivation. All river and spring water
+contains some impurities, many of which are beneficial to vegetation.
+These are derived from the earth over, or through which, the water has
+passed, and ammonia absorbed from the atmosphere. When water is made to
+cover the earth, especially if its rapid motion be arrested, much of
+this fertilizing matter settles, and is deposited on the soil. The water
+which sinks into the soil carries its impurities to be retained for the
+uses of plants. When, by the aid of under-drains, or in open soils, the
+water passes _through_ the soil, its impurities are arrested, and become
+available in vegetable growth. It is, of course, impossible to say
+exactly what kind of mineral matter is supplied by water, as that
+depends on the kind of rock or soil from which the impurities are
+derived; but, whatever it may be, it is generally soluble and ready for
+immediate use by plants.
+
+[What is the difference between water which only runs over the
+surface of the earth, and that which runs out of the earth?
+
+Why should strong currents of water not be allowed to traverse the
+soil?]
+
+Water which has run over the surface of the earth contains both ammonia
+and mineral matter, while that which has arisen out of the earth,
+contains usually only mineral matter. The direct use of the water of
+irrigation as a solvent for the mineral ingredients of the soil, is one
+of its main benefits.
+
+To describe the many modes of irrigation would be too long a task for
+our limited space. It may be applied in any way in which it is possible
+to cover the land with water, at stated times. Care is necessary,
+however, that it do not wash more fertilizing matter from the soil than
+it deposits on it, as would often be the case, if a strong current of
+water were run over it. Brooks may be dammed up, and thus made to cover
+a large quantity of land. In such a case the rapid current would be
+destroyed, and the fertilizing matter would settle; but, if the course
+of the brook were turned, so that it would run in a current over any
+part of the soil, it might carry away more than it deposited, and thus
+prove injurious. Small streams turned on to land, from the washing of
+roads, or from elevated springs, are good means of irrigation, and
+produce increased fertility, except where the soil is of such a
+character as to prevent the water from passing away, in which case it
+should be under-drained.
+
+Irrigation was one of the oldest means of fertility ever used by man,
+and still continues in great favor wherever its effects have been
+witnessed.
+
+
+MIXING SOILS.
+
+[How are soils improved by mixing?]
+
+The _mixing of soils_ is often all that is necessary to render them
+fertile, and to improve their _mechanical_ condition. For instance,
+soils deficient in potash, or any other constituent, may have that
+deficiency supplied, by mixing with them soil containing this
+constituent in excess.
+
+It is very frequently the case, that such means of improvement are
+easily availed of. While these chemical effects are being produced,
+there may be an equal improvement in the mechanical character of the
+soil. Thus stiff clay soils are rendered lighter, and more easily
+workable, by an admixture of sand, while light blowy sands are
+compacted, and made more retentive of manure, by a dressing of clay or
+of muck.
+
+[Why may the same effect sometimes be produced by deep
+plowing?
+
+What is absolutely necessary to economical manuring?]
+
+Of course, this cannot be depended on as a sure means of chemical
+improvement, unless the soils are previously analyzed, so as to know
+their requirements; but, in a majority of cases, the soil will be
+benefited, by mixing with it soil of a different character. It is not
+always necessary to go to other locations to procure the soil to be
+applied, as the subsoil is often very different from the surface soil,
+and simple deep plowing will suffice, in such cases, to produce the
+required admixture, by bringing up the earth from below to mingle it
+with that of a different character at the surface.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In the foregoing remarks on the subject of mineral manures, the writer
+has endeavored to point out such a course as would produce the "greatest
+good to the greatest number," and, consequently, has neglected much
+which might discourage the farmer with the idea, that the whole system
+of scientific agriculture is too expensive for his adoption. Still,
+while he has confined his remarks to the more simple improvements on the
+present system of management, he would say, briefly, that _no manuring
+can be strictly economical that is not based on an analysis of the soil,
+and a knowledge of the best means of overcoming the deficiencies
+indicated, together with the most scrupulous care of every ounce of
+evaporating or soluble manure_.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AG] Marl is earth containing lime, but its use is not to be recommended
+in this country, except where it can be obtained at little cost, as the
+expenses of carting the _earth_ would often be more than the value of
+the _lime_.
+
+[AH] The straw producing the grain and the turnip and potato tops
+contain more lime than the grain and roots.
+
+[AI] See Working Farmer, vol. 2, p. 278.
+
+[AJ] Glycerine, etc.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+ATMOSPHERIC FERTILIZERS.
+
+
+[Are the gases in the atmosphere manures?
+
+What would be the result if they were not so?]
+
+It is not common to look on the gases in the atmosphere in the light of
+manures, but they are decidedly so. Indeed, they are almost the only
+organic manure ever received by the uncultivated parts of the earth, as
+well as a large portion of that which is occupied in the production of
+food for man.
+
+If these gases were not manures; if there were no means by which they
+could be used by plants, the fertility of the soil would long since have
+ceased, and the earth would now be in an unfertile condition. That this
+must be true, will be proved by a few moments' reflection on the facts
+stated in the first part of this book. The fertilizing gases in the
+atmosphere being composed of the constituents of decayed plants and
+animals, it is as necessary that they should be again returned to the
+form of organized matter, as it is that constituents taken from the
+_soil_ should not be put out of existence.
+
+
+AMMONIA.
+
+[How is ammonia used by plants?
+
+How may it be carried to the soil?
+
+How may the value of organic manures be estimated?
+
+What effects has ammonia beside supplying food to plants?]
+
+The _ammonia_ in the atmosphere probably cannot be appropriated by the
+leaves of plants, and must, therefore, enter the soil to be assimilated
+by roots. It reaches the soil in two ways. It is either arrested from
+the air circulating through the soil, or it is absorbed by rains in the
+atmosphere, and thus carried to the earth, where it is retained by clay
+and carbon, for the uses of plants. In the soil, ammonia is the most
+important of all organic manures. In fact, the value of organic manure
+may be estimated, either by the amount of ammonia which it will yield,
+or by its power of absorbing ammonia from other sources.
+
+The most important action of ammonia in the soil is the supply of
+_nitrogen_ to plants; but it has other offices which are of consequence.
+It assists in some of the chemical changes necessary to prepare the
+matters in the soil for assimilation. Some argue that ammonia
+_stimulates_ the roots of plants, and causes them to take up increased
+quantities of inorganic matter. The discussion of this question would be
+out of place here, and we will simply say, that it gives them such vigor
+that they require increased amounts of ashy matter, and enables them to
+take this from the soil.
+
+[To how great a degree can the farmer control atmospheric
+fertilizers?
+
+What should be the condition of the soil?
+
+What substances are good absorbents in the soil?
+
+How may sandy soils be made retentive of ammonia?]
+
+Although, in the course of nature, the atmospheric fertilizers are
+plentifully supplied to the soil, without the immediate attention of the
+farmer, it is not beyond his power to manage them in such a manner as
+to arrest a greater quantity. The precautions necessary have been
+repeatedly given in the preceding pages, but it may be well to name them
+again in this chapter.
+
+The condition of the soil is the main point to be considered. It must be
+such as to absorb and retain ammonia--to allow water to pass _through_
+it, and be discharged _below_ the point to which the roots of crops are
+searching for food--and to admit of a free circulation of air.
+
+The power of absorbing and retaining ammonia is not possessed by sand,
+but it is a prominent property of clay, charcoal, and some other matters
+named as absorbents. Hence, if the soil consists of nearly pure sand, it
+will not make use of the ammonia brought to it from the atmosphere, but
+will allow it to evaporate immediately after a shower. Soils in this
+condition require additions of absorbent matters, to enable them to use
+the ammonia received from the atmosphere. Soils already containing a
+sufficient amount of clay or charcoal, are thus far prepared to receive
+benefit from this source.
+
+[Why does under-draining increase the absorptive power of the
+soil?
+
+How do plants obtain their carbonic acid?
+
+How does carbonic acid affect caustic lime in the soil?]
+
+The next point is to cause the water of rains to pass _through_ the
+soil. If it lies on the surface, or runs off without entering the soil,
+or even if it only enters to a slight depth, and comes in contact with
+but a small quantity of the absorbents, it is not probable that the
+fertilizing matters which it contains will all be abstracted. Some of
+them will undoubtedly return to the atmosphere on the evaporation of the
+water; but, if the soil contains a sufficient supply of absorbents, and
+will allow all rain water to pass through it, the fertilizing gases will
+all be retained. They will be filtered (or raked) out of the water.
+
+This subject will be more fully treated in Section IV. in connection
+with under-draining.
+
+Besides the properties just described, the soil must possess the power
+of admitting a free circulation of air. To effect this, it is necessary
+that the soil should be well pulverized to a great depth. If, in
+addition to this, the soil be such as to admit water to pass through, it
+will allow that circulation of air necessary to the greatest supply of
+ammonia.
+
+
+CARBONIC ACID.
+
+[What power does it give to water?
+
+What condition of the soil is necessary for the reception of the largest
+quantity of carbonic acid?
+
+May oxygen be considered a manure?
+
+What is the effect of the oxidation of the constituents of the soil?]
+
+Carbonic acid is received from the atmosphere, both by the leaves and
+roots of plants.
+
+If there is caustic lime in the soil, it unites with it, and makes it
+milder and finer. It is absorbed by the water in the soil, and gives it
+the power of dissolving many more substances than it would do without
+the carbonic acid. This use is one of very great importance, as it is
+equivalent to making the minerals themselves more soluble. Water
+dissolves carbonate of lime, etc., exactly in proportion to the amount
+of carbonic acid which it contains. We should, therefore, strive to have
+as much carbonic acid as possible in the water in the soil; and one way,
+in which to effect this, is to admit to the soil the largest possible
+quantity of atmospheric air which contains this gas.
+
+The condition of soil necessary for this, is the same as is required for
+the deposit of ammonia by the same circulation of air.
+
+
+OXYGEN.
+
+[How does it affect the protoxide of iron?
+
+How does it neutralize the acids in the soil?
+
+How does it affect its organic parts?
+
+How does it form nitric acid?
+
+How may it affect excrementitious matter of plants?
+
+What effect has it on the mechanical condition of the soil?]
+
+_Oxygen_, though not taken up by plants in its pure form, may justly be
+classed among manures, if we consider its effects both chemical and
+mechanical in the soil.
+
+1. By oxidizing or _rusting_ some of the constituents of the soil, it
+prepares them for the uses of plants.
+
+2. It unites with the _prot_oxide of iron, and changes it to the
+_per_oxide.
+
+3. If there are _acids_ in the soil, which make it sour and unfertile,
+it may be opened to the circulation of the air, and the oxygen will
+prepare some of the mineral matters contained in the soil to unite with
+the acids and neutralize them.
+
+4. Oxygen combines with the carbon of organic matters in the soil, and
+causes them to decay. The combination produces carbonic acid.
+
+5. It combines with the nitrogen of decaying substances and forms
+_nitric acid_, which is serviceable as food for plants.
+
+6. It undoubtedly affects in some way the matter which is thrown out
+from the roots of plants. This, if allowed to accumulate, and remain
+unchanged, is often very injurious to plants; but, probably, the oxygen
+and carbonic acid of the air in the soil change it to a form to be
+inoffensive, or even make it again useful to the plant.
+
+7. It may also improve the _mechanical_ condition of the soil, as it
+causes its particles to crumble, thus making it finer; and it roughens
+the surfaces of particles, making them less easy to move among each
+other.
+
+These properties of oxygen claim for it a high place among the
+atmospheric fertilizers.
+
+
+WATER.
+
+[Why may water be considered an atmospheric manure?
+
+What classes of action have manures?
+
+What are chemical manures? Mechanical?]
+
+_Water_ may be considered an atmospheric manure, as its chief supply to
+vegetation is received from the air in the form of rain or dew. Its many
+effects are already too well known to need farther comment.
+
+The means of supplying water to the soil by the deposit of _dew_ will be
+fully explained in Section IV.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+RECAPITULATION.
+
+
+Manures have two distinct classes of action in the soil, namely,
+_chemical_ and _mechanical_.
+
+_Chemical_ manures are those which enter into the construction of
+plants, or produce such chemical effects on matters in the soil as shall
+prepare them for use.
+
+_Mechanical_ manures are those which improve the mechanical condition
+of the soil, such as loosening stiff clays, compacting light sands,
+pulverizing large particles, etc.
+
+[What are the three kinds of manures?
+
+What are organic manures, and what are their uses? Mineral?
+Atmospheric?]
+
+Manures are of three distinct kinds, namely, _Organic_, _mineral_, and
+_atmospheric_.
+
+_Organic_ manures comprise all vegetable and animal matters (except
+ashes) which are used to fertilize the soil. Vegetable manures supply
+carbonic acid, and inorganic matter to plants. Animal manures supply the
+same substances and ammonia.
+
+_Mineral_ manures comprise ashes, salt, phosphate of lime, plaster, etc.
+They supply plants with inorganic matter. Their usefulness depends on
+their solubility.
+
+Many of the organic and mineral manures have the power of absorbing
+ammonia arising from the decomposition of animal manures, as well as
+that which is brought to the soil by rains--these are called absorbents.
+
+_Atmospheric_ manures consist of ammonia, carbonic acid, oxygen and
+water. Their greatest usefulness requires the soil to allow the water of
+rains to pass _through_ it, to admit of a free circulation of air among
+its particles, and to contain a sufficient amount of absorbent matter to
+arrest and retain all ammonia and carbonic acid presented to it.
+
+[What rule should regulate the application of manures?
+
+How must organic manures be managed? Atmospheric?]
+
+Manures should never be applied to the soil without regard to its
+requirements.
+
+Ammonia and carbon are almost always useful, but mineral manures become
+mere _dirt_ when applied to soils not deficient of them.
+
+The only true guide to the exact requirements of the soil is _chemical
+analysis_; and this must always be obtained before farming can be
+carried on with true economy.
+
+Organic manures must be protected against the escape of their ammonia
+and the leaching out of their soluble parts. One cord of stable manure
+properly preserved, is worth ten cords which have lost all of their
+ammonia by evaporation, and their soluble parts by leaching--as is the
+case with much of the manure kept exposed in open barn-yards.
+
+Atmospheric manures cost nothing, and are of great value when properly
+employed. In consequence of this, the soil which is enabled to make the
+largest appropriation of the atmospheric fertilizers, is worth many
+times as much as that which allows them to escape.
+
+
+
+
+SECTION FOURTH.
+
+MECHANICAL CULTIVATION.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE MECHANICAL CHARACTER OF SOILS.
+
+
+[What is the first office of the soil?
+
+How does it hold water for the uses of the plant?
+
+How does it obtain a part of its moisture?]
+
+The mechanical character of the soil is well understood from preceding
+remarks, and the learner knows that there are many offices to be
+performed by the soil aside from the feeding of plants.
+
+1. It admits the roots of plants, and holds them in their position.
+
+2. By a sponge-like action, it holds water for the uses of the plant.
+
+3. It absorbs moisture from the atmosphere to supply the demands of
+plants.
+
+[How may it obtain heat?
+
+What is the use of the air circulating among its particles?
+
+Could most soils be brought to the highest state of fertility?
+
+What is the first thing to be done?
+
+Should its color be darkened?]
+
+4. It absorbs heat from the sun's rays to assist in the process of
+growth.
+
+5. It admits air to circulate among roots, and supply them with a part
+of their food, while the oxygen of that air renders available the
+minerals of the soil; and its carbonic acid, being absorbed by the water
+in the soil, gives it the power of dissolving, and carrying into roots
+more inorganic matter than would be contained in purer water.
+
+6. It allows the excrementitious matter thrown out by roots to be
+carried out of their reach.
+
+All of these actions the soil must be capable of performing, before it
+can be in its highest state of fertility. There are comparatively few
+soils now in this condition, but there are also few which could not be
+profitably rendered so, by a judicious application of the modes of
+cultivation to be described in the following chapters.
+
+The three great objects to be accomplished are:--
+
+1. To adopt such a system of drainage as will cause all of the water of
+rains to pass _through_ the soil, instead of evaporating from the
+surface.
+
+2. To pulverize the soil to a considerable depth.
+
+3. To darken its color, and render it capable of absorbing atmospheric
+fertilizers.
+
+[Name some of the means used to secure these effects.
+
+Why are under-drains superior to open drains?]
+
+The means used to secure these effects are _under-draining, sub-soil and
+surface-plowing, digging, applying muck, etc._
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+UNDER-DRAINING.
+
+
+The advantages of _under_-drains over _open_ drains are very great.
+
+When open drains are used, much water passes into them immediately from
+the surface, and carries with it fertilizing parts of the soil, while
+their beds are often compacted by the running water and the heat of the
+sun, so that they become water-tight, and do not admit water from the
+lower parts of the soil.
+
+The sides of these drains are often covered with weeds, which spread
+their seeds throughout the whole field. Open drains are not only a great
+obstruction to the proper cultivation of the land, but they cause much
+waste of room, as we can rarely plow nearer than within six or eight
+feet of them.
+
+There are none of these objections to the use of under-drains, as these
+are completely covered, and do not at all interfere with the
+cultivation of the surface.
+
+[With what materials may under-drains be constructed?
+
+Describe the tile.]
+
+Under drains may be made with brush, stones, or tiles. Brush is a very
+poor material, and its use is hardly to be recommended. Small stones are
+better, and if these be placed in the bottoms of the trenches, to a
+depth of eight or ten inches, and covered with sods turned upside down,
+having the earth packed well down on to them, they make very good
+drains.
+
+
+TILE DRAINING.
+
+The best under-drains are those made with tiles, or burnt clay pipes.
+The first form of these used was that called the _horse-shoe tile_,
+which was in two distinct pieces; this was superseded by a round pipe,
+and we have now what is called the _sole tile_, which is much better
+than either of the others.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 4--Sole Tile.]
+
+[Why is the sole tile superior to those of previous
+construction?
+
+How are these tiles laid?
+
+How may the trenches be dug?]
+
+This tile is made (like the horse-shoe and pipe tile) of common brick
+clay, and is burned the same as bricks. It is about one half or three
+quarters of an inch thick, and is so porous that water passes directly
+through it. It has a flat bottom on which to stand, and this enables it
+to retain its position, while making the drain, better than would be
+done by the round pipe. The orifice through which the water passes is
+egg-shaped, having its smallest curve at the bottom. This shape is the
+one most easily kept clear, as any particles of dirt which get into the
+drain must fall immediately to the point where even the smallest stream
+of water runs, and are thus removed. An orifice of about two inches is
+sufficient for the smaller drains, while the main drains require larger
+tiles.
+
+These tiles are laid, so that their ends will touch each other, on the
+bottoms of the trenches, and are kept in position by having the earth
+tightly packed around them. Care must be taken that no space is left
+between the ends of the tiles, as dirt would be liable to get in and
+choke the drain. It is advisable to place a sod--grass side down--over
+each joint, before filling the trench, as this more effectually protects
+them against the entrance of dirt. There is no danger of keeping the
+water out by this operation, as it will readily pass through any part of
+the tiles.
+
+In _digging the trenches_ it is not necessary (except in very stony
+ground) to dig out a place wide enough for a man to stand in, as there
+are tools made expressly for the purpose, by which a trench may be dug
+six or seven inches wide, and to any required depth. One set of these
+implements consists of a long narrow spade and a hoe to correspond, such
+as are represented in the accompanying figure.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 5.
+
+Upton tool.
+
+Spade and hoe.]
+
+With these tools, and a long light crowbar, for hard soils, trenches may
+be dug much more cheaply than with the common spade and pickaxe. Where
+there are large boulders in the soil, these draining tools may dig under
+them so that they will not have to be removed.
+
+When the trenches are dug to a sufficient depth, the bottoms must be
+made perfectly smooth, with the required descent (from six inches to a
+few feet in one hundred feet). Then the tiles may be laid in, so that
+their ends will correspond, be packed down, and the trenches filled up.
+Such a drain, if properly constructed, may last for ages. Unlike the
+stone drain, it is not liable to be frequented by rats, nor choked up by
+the soil working into it.
+
+The position of the tile may be best represented by a figure, also the
+mode of constructing stone drains.
+
+[Why are small stones better than large stones in the
+construction of drains?
+
+On what must the depth of under-drains depend?]
+
+It will be seen that the tile drain is made with much less labor than
+the stone drain, as it requires less digging, while the breaking up of
+the stone for the stone drain will be nearly, or quite as expensive as
+the tiles. Drains made with large stones are not nearly so good as with
+small ones, because they are more liable to be choked up by animals
+working in them.[AK]
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 6.
+
+_a_--Tile drain trench.
+_b_--Stone drain trench.
+_c_--Sod laid on the stone.]
+
+[Describe the principle which regulates these relative depths
+and distances. (Blackboard.)
+
+Which is usually the cheaper plan of constructing drains?]
+
+The _depth_ of the drains must depend on the distances at which they are
+placed. If but _twenty_ feet apart, they need be but _three_ feet deep;
+while, if they are _eighty_ feet apart, they must be _five_ feet deep,
+to produce the same effect. The reason for this is, that the water in
+the drained soil is not level, but is higher midway between the drains,
+than at any other point. It is necessary that this highest point should
+be sufficiently far from the surface not to interfere with the roots of
+plants, consequently, as the water line between two drains is _curved_,
+the most distant drains must be the deepest. This will be understood by
+referring to the following diagram.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 7.
+
+_aa_--5 feet drains, 80 ft. apart. _bb_--3 feet drains, 20 ft. apart.]
+
+The curved line represents the position of the water.
+
+In most soils it will be easier to dig one trench five feet deep, than
+four trenches three feet deep, and the deep trenches will be equally
+beneficial; but where the soil is very hard below a depth of three feet,
+the shallow trenches will be the cheapest, and in such soils they will
+often be better, as the hard mass might not allow the water to pass down
+to enter the deeper drains.
+
+By following out these instructions, land may be cheaply, thoroughly,
+and permanently drained.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AK] It is probable that a composition of hydraulic cement and some
+soluble material will be invented, by which a continuous pipe may be
+laid in the bottoms of trenches, becoming porous as the soluble material
+is removed by water.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+ADVANTAGES OF UNDER-DRAINING.
+
+
+The advantages of under-draining are many and important.
+
+1. It entirely prevents drought.
+
+2. It furnishes an increased supply of atmospheric fertilizers.
+
+3. It warms the lower portions of the soil.
+
+4. It hastens the decomposition of roots and other organic matter.
+
+5. It accelerates the disintegration of the mineral matters in the soil.
+
+6. It causes a more even distribution of nutritious matters among those
+parts of soil traversed by roots.
+
+7. It improves the mechanical texture of the soil.
+
+8. It causes the poisonous excrementitious matter of plants to be
+carried out of the reach of their roots.
+
+9. It prevents grasses from running out.
+
+10. It enables us to deepen the surface soil.
+
+By removing excess of water--
+
+11. It renders soils earlier in the spring.
+
+12. It prevents the throwing out of grain in winter.
+
+13. It allows us to work sooner after rains.
+
+14. It keeps off the effects of cold weather longer in the fall.
+
+15. It prevents the formation of _acetic_ and other organic acids, which
+induce the growth of sorrel and similar weeds.
+
+16. It hastens the decay of vegetable matter, and the finer comminution
+of the earthy parts of the soil.
+
+17. It prevents, in a great measure, the evaporation of water, and the
+consequent abstraction of heat from the soil.
+
+18. It admits fresh quantities of water from rains, etc., which are
+always more or less imbued with the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere,
+to be deposited among the absorbent parts of soil, and given up to the
+necessities of plants.
+
+19. It prevents the formation of so hard a crust on the surface of the
+soil as is customary on heavy lands.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+[How does under-draining prevent drought?]
+
+1. Under-draining _prevents drought_, because it gives a better
+circulation of air in the soil; (it does so by making it more open).
+There is always the same amount of water _in_ and _about_ the surface of
+the earth. In winter, there is more in the soil than in summer, while in
+summer, that which has been dried out of the soil exists in the
+atmosphere in the form of a _vapor_. It is held in the vapory form by
+_heat_, which acts as _braces_ to keep it distended. When vapor comes in
+contact with substances sufficiently colder than itself, it gives up its
+heat--thus losing its braces--contracts, and becomes liquid water.
+
+This may be observed in hundreds of common operations.
+
+[Why is there less water in the soil in summer than in winter,
+and where does it exist?
+
+What holds it in its vapory form?
+
+How is it affected by cold substances?
+
+Describe the deposit of moisture on the outside of a pitcher in summer.
+
+What other instances of the same action can be named?]
+
+It is well known that a cold pitcher in summer robs the vapor in the
+atmosphere of its heat, and causes it to be deposited on its own
+surface. It looks as though the pitcher were _sweating_, but the water
+all comes from the atmosphere, not, of course, through the sides of the
+pitcher.
+
+If we breathe on a knife-blade, it condenses in the same manner the
+moisture of the breath, and becomes covered with a film of water.
+
+Stone houses are damp in summer, because the inner surfaces of the
+walls, being cooler than the atmosphere, cause its moisture to be
+deposited in the manner described. By leaving a space, however, between
+the walls and the plaster, this moisture is prevented from being
+troublesome.
+
+[How does this principle affect the soil?
+
+Explain the experiment with the two boxes of soil.]
+
+Nearly every night in the summer season, the cold earth receives
+moisture from the atmosphere in the form of dew.
+
+A cabbage, which at night is very cold, condenses water to the amount of
+a gill or more.
+
+The same operation takes place in the soil. When the air is allowed to
+circulate among its lower and _cooler_ particles, they receive moisture
+from the same process of condensation. Therefore, when, by the aid of
+under-drains, the lower soil becomes sufficiently open to admit of a
+circulation of air, the deposit of atmospheric moisture will keep the
+soil supplied with water at a point easily accessible to the roots of
+plants.
+
+If we wish to satisfy ourselves that this is _practically_ correct, we
+have only to prepare two boxes of finely pulverized soil, one, five or
+six inches deep, and the other fifteen or twenty inches deep, and place
+them in the sun at mid-day in summer. The thinner soil will be
+completely dried, while the deeper one, though it may have been
+perfectly dry at first, will soon accumulate a large amount of water on
+those particles which, being lower and more sheltered from the sun's
+heat than the particles of the thin soil, are made cooler.
+
+With an open condition of subsoil, then, such as may be secured by
+under-draining, we entirely overcome drought.
+
+[How does under-draining supply to the soil an increased
+amount of atmospheric fertilizers?
+
+How does it warm the lower parts of the soil?]
+
+2. Under-draining _furnishes an increased supply of atmospheric
+fertilizers_, because it secures a change of air in the soil. This
+change is produced whenever the soil becomes filled with water, and then
+dried; when the air above the earth is in rapid motion, and when the
+comparative temperature of the upper and lower soils changes. It causes
+new quantities of the ammonia and carbonic acid which it contains to be
+presented to the absorbent parts of the soil.
+
+3. Under-draining _warms the lower parts of the soil_, because the
+deposit of moisture (1) is necessarily accompanied by an abstraction of
+heat from the atmospheric vapor, and because heat is withdrawn from the
+whole amount of air circulating through the cooler soil.
+
+When rain falls on the parched surface soil, it robs it of a portion of
+its heat, which is carried down to equalize the temperature for the
+whole depth. The heat of the rain-water itself is given up to the soil,
+leaving the water from one to ten degrees cooler, when it passes out of
+the drains, than when received by the earth.
+
+There is always a current of air passing from the lower to the upper end
+of a well constructed drain; and this air is always cooler in warm
+weather, when it issues from, than when it enters the drain. Its lost
+heat is imparted to the soil.
+
+[How does it hasten the decomposition of roots and other
+organic matter in the soil?
+
+How does it accelerate the disintegration of its mineral parts?
+
+Why is this disintegration necessary to fertility?]
+
+This heating of the lower soil renders it more favorable to vegetation,
+partially by expanding the spongioles at the end of the roots, thus
+enabling them to absorb larger quantities of nutritious matters.
+
+4. Under-draining _hastens the decomposition of roots and other organic
+matters in the soil_, by admitting increased quantities of air, thus
+supplying _oxygen_, which is as essential in decay as it is in
+combustion. It also allows the resultant gases of decomposition to pass
+away, leaving the air around the decaying substances in a condition to
+continue the process.
+
+This organic decay, besides its other benefits, produces an amount of
+heat perfectly perceptible to the smaller roots of plants, though not so
+to us.
+
+5. Draining _accelerates the disintegration of the mineral matters in
+the soil_, by admitting water and oxygen to keep up the process. This
+disintegration is necessary to fertility, because the roots of plants
+can feed only on matters dissolved from _surfaces_; and the more finely
+we pulverize the soil, the more surface we expose. For instance, the
+interior of a stone can furnish no food for plants; while, if it were
+finely crushed, it might make a fertile soil.
+
+Any thing, tending to open the soil to exposure, facilitates the
+disintegration of its particles, and thereby increases its fertility.
+
+[How does under-draining equalize the distribution of the
+fertilizing parts of the soil?
+
+Why does this distribution lessen the impoverishment of the soil?
+
+How does under-draining improve the mechanical texture of the soil?
+
+How do drains affect the excrementitious matter of plants?]
+
+6. Draining _causes a more even distribution of nutritious matters among
+those parts of soil traversed by roots_, because it increases the ease
+with which water travels around, descending by its own weight, moving
+sideways by a desire to find its level, or carried upward by attraction
+to supply the evaporation at the surface. By this continued motion of
+the water, soluble matter of one part of the soil may be carried to some
+other part; and another constituent from this latter position may be
+carried back to the former. Thus the food of vegetables is continually
+circulating around among their roots, ready for absorption at any point
+where it is needed, while the more open character of the soil enables
+roots to occupy larger portions, making a more even drain on the whole,
+and preventing the undue impoverishment of any part.
+
+7. Under-drains _improve the mechanical texture of the soil_; because,
+by the decomposition of its parts, as previously described (4 and 5), it
+is rendered of a character to be more easily worked; while smooth round
+particles, which have a tendency to pack, are roughened by the oxidation
+of their surfaces, and move less easily among each other.
+
+8. Drains _cause the excrementitious matter of plants to be carried out
+of the reach of their roots_. Nearly all plants return to the soil those
+parts of their food, which are not adapted to their necessities, and
+usually in a form that is poisonous to plants of the same kind. In an
+open soil, this matter may be carried by rains to a point where roots
+cannot reach it, and where it may undergo such changes as will fit it to
+be again taken up.
+
+[Why do they prevent grasses from running out?]
+
+9. By under-draining, _grasses are prevented from running out_, partly
+by preventing the accumulation of the poisonous excrementitious matter,
+and partly because these grasses usually consist of _tillering_ plants.
+
+These plants continually reproduce themselves in sprouts from the upper
+parts of their roots. These sprouts become independent plants, and
+continue to tiller (thus keeping the land supplied with a full growth),
+until the roots of the _stools_ (or clumps of tillers), come in contact
+with an uncongenial part of the soil, when the tillering ceases; the
+stools become extinct on the death of their plants, and the grasses run
+out.
+
+The open and healthy condition of soil produced by draining prevents the
+tillering from being stopped, and thus keeps up a full growth of grass
+until the nutriment of the soil is exhausted.
+
+10. Draining _enables us to deepen the surface-soil_, because the
+admission of air and the decay of roots render the condition of the
+subsoil such that it may be brought up and mixed with the surface-soil,
+without injuring _its quality_.
+
+The second class of advantages of under-draining, arising in the removal
+of the excess of water in the soil, are quite as important as those just
+described.
+
+[How does the removal of water render soils earlier in spring?
+
+Why does it prevent the throwing out of grain in winter?
+
+Why does it enable us to work sooner after rains?
+
+Why does it keep off the effects of cold weather longer in the fall?]
+
+11. _Soils are, thereby, rendered earlier in spring_, because the water,
+which rendered them cold, heavy, and untillable, is earlier removed,
+leaving them earlier in a growing condition.
+
+12. _The throwing out of grain in winter_ is prevented, because the
+water falling on the earth is immediately removed instead of remaining
+to throw up the soil by freezing, as it always does from the upright
+position taken by the particles of ice.
+
+13. _We are enabled to work sooner after rains_, because the water
+descends, and is immediately removed instead of lying to be taken off by
+the slow process of evaporation, and sinking through a heavy soil.
+
+14. _The effects of cold weather are kept off longer in the fall_,
+because the excess of water is removed, which would produce an unfertile
+condition on the first appearance of cold weather.
+
+The drains also, from causes already named (3), keep the soil warmer
+than before being drained, thus actually lengthening the season, by
+making the soil warm enough for vegetable growth earlier in spring, and
+later in autumn.
+
+[How does it prevent lands from becoming sour?
+
+Why does it hasten the decay of roots, and the comminution of mineral
+matters?
+
+How does it prevent the abstraction of heat from the soil?]
+
+15. _Lands are prevented from becoming sour by the formation of acetic
+acid_, etc., because these acids are produced in the soil only when the
+decomposition of organic matter is arrested by the _antiseptic_
+(preserving) powers of water. If the water is removed, the decomposition
+of the organic matter assumes a healthy form, while the acids already
+produced are neutralized by atmospheric influences, and the soil is
+restored from sorrel to a condition in which it is fitted for the growth
+of more valuable plants.
+
+16. _The decay of roots_, etc., is allowed to proceed, because the
+preservative influence of too much water is removed. Wood, leaves, or
+other vegetable matter kept continually under water, will last for ages;
+while, if exposed to the action of the weather, as in under-drained
+soils, they soon decay.
+
+The presence of too much water, by excluding the oxygen of the air,
+prevents the _comminution of matters_ necessary to fertility.
+
+[How much heat does water take up in becoming vapor?
+
+Why does water sprinkled on a floor render it cooler?
+
+Why is not a cubic inch of vapor warmer than a cubic inch of water?
+
+Why does a wet cloth on the head make it cooler when fanned?
+
+How does this principle apply to the soil?]
+
+17. _The evaporation of water, and the consequent abstraction of heat
+from the soil, is in a great measure prevented_ by draining the water
+out at the _bottom_ of the soil, instead of leaving it to be dried off
+from the surface.
+
+When water assumes the gaseous (or vapory) form, it takes up 1723 times
+as much _heat_ as it contained while a liquid. A large part of this heat
+is derived from surrounding substances. When water is sprinkled on the
+floor, it cools the room; because, as it becomes a vapor, it takes heat
+from the room. The reason why vapor does not feel hotter than liquid
+water is, that, while it contains 1723 times as much heat, it is 1723 as
+large. Hence, a cubic inch of vapor, into which we place the bulb of a
+thermometer, contains no more heat than a cubic inch of water. The
+principle is the same in some other cases. A sponge containing a
+table-spoonful of water is just as _wet_ as one twice as large and
+containing two spoonsful.
+
+If a wet cloth be placed on the head, and the evaporation of its water
+assisted by fanning, the head becomes cooler--a portion of its heat
+being taken to sustain the vapory condition of the water.
+
+The same principle holds true with the soil. When the evaporation of
+water is rapidly going on, by the assistance of the sun, wind, etc., a
+large quantity of heat is abstracted, and the soil becomes cold.
+
+When there is no evaporation taking place, except of water which has
+been deposited on the lower portions of soil, and carried to the surface
+by capillary attraction (as is nearly true on under-drained soils), the
+loss of heat is compensated by that taken from the moisture in the
+atmosphere by the soil, in the above-named manner.
+
+This cooling of the soil by the evaporation of water, is of very great
+injury to its powers of producing crops, and the fact that under-drains
+avoid it, is one of the best arguments in favor of their use. Some idea
+may, perhaps, be formed of the amount of heat taken from the soil in
+this way, from the fact that, in midsummer, 25 hogsheads of water may be
+evaporated from a single acre in twelve hours.
+
+[When rains are allowed to _enter_ the soil, how do they
+benefit it?
+
+How do under-drains prevent the formation of a crust on the surface of a
+soil?]
+
+18. When not saturated with water the soil admits the water of rains,
+etc., which bring with them _fertilizing gases from the atmosphere_, to
+be deposited among the absorbent parts of soil, and given up to the
+necessities of the plant. When this rain falls on lands already
+saturated, it cannot enter the soil, but must run off from the surface,
+or be removed by evaporation, either of which is injurious. The first,
+because fertilizing matter is washed away. The second, because the soil
+is deprived of necessary heat.
+
+19. _The formation of crust on the surface of the soil_ is due to the
+evaporation of water, which is drawn up from below by capillary
+attraction. It arises from the fact that the water in the soil is
+saturated with mineral substances, which it leaves at its point of
+evaporation at the surface. This soluble matter from below, often forms
+a very hard crust, which is a complete shield to prevent the admission
+of air with its ameliorating effects, and should, as far as possible, be
+avoided. Under-draining is the best means of doing this, as it is the
+best means of lessening the evaporation.
+
+The foregoing are some of the more important reasons why under-draining
+is always beneficial. Thorough experiments have amply proved the truth
+of the theory.
+
+[What kinds of soil are benefited by under-draining?]
+
+The _kinds of soil benefited by under-draining_ are nearly as unlimited
+as the kinds of soil in existence. It is a common opinion, among
+farmers, that the only soils which require draining are those which are
+at times covered with water, such as swamps and other low lands; but the
+facts stated in the early part of this chapter, show us that every kind
+of soil--wet, dry, compact, or light--receives benefit from the
+treatment. The fact that land is _too dry_, is as much a reason why it
+should be drained, as that it is _too wet_, as it overcomes drought as
+effectually as it removes the injurious effects of too much water.
+
+All soils in which the water of heavy rains does not immediately pass
+down to a depth of at least _thirty inches_, should be under-drained,
+and the operation, if carried on with judgment, would invariably result
+in profit.
+
+[What do English farmers name as the profits of
+under-draining?
+
+What stand has been taken by the English government with regard to
+under-draining?]
+
+Of the precise _profits_ of under-draining this is not the place to
+speak: many of the agricultural papers contain numerous accounts of its
+success. It may be well to remark here, that many English farmers give
+it, as their experience, that under-drains pay for themselves every
+three years, or that they produce a perpetual profit of 33-1/3 per
+cent., or their original cost. This is not the opinion of _theorists_
+and _book farmers_. It is the conviction of practical men, who know,
+_from experience_, that under-drains are beneficial.
+
+The best evidence of the utility of under-draining is the position, with
+regard to it, which has been taken by the English national government,
+which affords much protection to the agricultural interests of her
+people--a protection which in this country is unwisely and unjustly
+withheld.
+
+In England a very large sum from the public treasury has been
+appropriated as a fund for loans, on under-drains, which is lent to
+farmers for the purpose of under-draining their estates, the only
+security given being the increased value of the soil. The time allowed
+for payments is twenty years, and only five per cent. interest is
+charged. By the influence of this patronage, the actual wealth of the
+kingdom is being rapidly increased, while the farmers themselves, can
+raise their farms to any desired state of fertility, without immediate
+investment.
+
+[How does under-draining affect the healthfulness of marshy
+countries?
+
+Describe the sub-soil plow.]
+
+The best proof that the government has not acted injudiciously in this
+matter is, that private capitalists are fast employing their money in
+the same manner, and loans on under-drains are considered a very safe
+investment.
+
+There is no doubt that we may soon have similar facilities for improving
+our farms, and when we do, we shall find that it is unnecessary to move
+West to find good soil. The districts nearer market, where the expense
+of transportation is much less, may, by the aid of under-drains, and a
+judicious system of cultivation, be made equally fertile.
+
+One very important, though not strictly agricultural, effect of thorough
+drainage is its removal of certain local diseases, peculiar to the
+vicinity of marshy or low moist soils. The health-reports in several
+places in England, show that where _fever and ague_ was once common, it
+has almost entirely disappeared since the general use of under-drains in
+those localities.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+SUB-SOIL PLOWING.
+
+
+[Describe the Mapes plow.
+
+Why is the motion in the soil of one and a half inches sufficient?
+
+How does the oxidation of the particles of the soil resemble the rusting
+of cannon balls in a pile?]
+
+The _sub-soil plow_ is an implement differing in figure from the surface
+plow. It does not turn a furrow, but merely runs through the subsoil
+like a mole--loosening and making it finer by lifting, but allowing it
+to fall back and occupy its former place. It usually follows the surface
+plow, entering the soil to the depth of from twelve to eighteen inches
+below the bottom of the surface furrow.
+
+The best pattern now made (the Mapes plow) is represented in the
+following figure.
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 8.
+
+The Mapes plow and its mode of action. _a_--Shape of the foot of the
+plow, _b_--Its effect on the soil.]
+
+The sub-soil plows first made raised the whole soil about eight inches,
+and required very great power in their use often six, eight, or even ten
+oxen. The Mapes plow, raising the soil but slightly, may be worked with
+much less power, and produces equally good results. It may be run to its
+full depth in most soils by a single yoke of oxen.
+
+Of course a motion in the soil of but one and a half inches is very
+slight, but it is sufficient to move each particle from the one next to
+it which, in dry soils, is all that is necessary. Whoever has examined a
+pile of cannon-balls must have observed that at the points where they
+touch each other, there is a little rust. In the soil, the same is often
+the case. Where the particles touch each other, there is such a chemical
+change produced as renders them fit for the use of plants. While these
+particles remain in their first position, the changed portions are out
+of the reach of roots; but, if, by the aid of the sub-soil plow, their
+position is altered, these parts are exposed for the uses of plants. If
+we hold in the hand a ball of dry clay, and press it hard enough to
+produce the least motion among its particles, the whole mass becomes
+pulverized. On the same principle, the sub-soil plow renders the compact
+lower soil sufficiently fine for the requirements of fertility.
+
+[Why are the benefits of sub-soiling not permanent on wet
+lands?
+
+Does sub-soiling overcome drought?
+
+How does it deepen the surface soil?]
+
+Notwithstanding its great benefits on land, which is sufficiently dry,
+sub-soiling cannot be recommended for wet lands; for, in such case, the
+rains of a single season would often be sufficient to entirely overcome
+its effects by packing the subsoil down to its former hardness.
+
+On lands not overcharged with water, it is productive of the best
+results, it being often sufficient to turn the balance between a gaining
+and a losing business in farming.
+
+It increases nearly every effect of under-draining; especially does it
+overcome drought, by loosening the soil, and admitting air to circulate
+among the particles of the subsoil and deposit its moisture on the
+principle described in the chapter on under-draining.
+
+It deepens the surface-soil, because it admits roots into the subsoil
+where they decay and leave carbon, while the circulation of air so
+affects the mineral parts, that they become of a fertilizing character.
+The deposit of carbon gives to the subsoil the power of absorbing, and
+retaining the atmospheric fertilizers, which are more freely presented,
+owing to the fact that the air is allowed to circulate with greater
+freedom. As a majority of roots decay in the surface-soil, they there
+deposit much mineral matter obtained from the subsoil.
+
+[Why is the retention of atmospheric manures ensured by
+sub-soiling?
+
+Why are organic manures plowed deeply under the soil, less liable to
+evaporation than when deposited near the surface?
+
+How does sub-soiling resemble under-draining in relation to the
+tillering of grasses?
+
+When the subsoil consists of a thin layer of clay on a sandy bed, what
+use may be made of the sub-soil plow?]
+
+The retention of atmospheric manures is more fully ensured by the
+better exposure of the clayey portions of the soil.
+
+Those manures which are artificially applied, by being plowed under to
+greater depths, are less liable to evaporation, as, from the greater
+amount of soil above them, their escape will more probably be arrested;
+and, from the greater prevalence of roots, they are more liable to be
+taken up by plants.
+
+The subsoil often contains matters which are deficient in the
+surface-soil. By the use of the sub-soil plow, they are rendered
+available.
+
+Sub-soiling is similar to under-draining in continuing the tillering of
+grasses, and in getting rid of the poisonous excrementitious matter of
+plants.
+
+When the subsoil is a thin layer of clay on a sandy bed (as in some
+plants of Cumberland Co. Maine), the sub-soil plow, by passing through
+it, opens a passage for water, and often affords a sufficient drainage.
+
+[To how great a depth will the roots of plants usually occupy
+the soil?
+
+What is the object of loosening the soil?
+
+How are these various effects better produced in deep than in shallow
+soils?]
+
+If plants will grow better on a soil six inches deep than on one of
+three inches, there is no reason why they should not be benefited in
+proportion, by disturbing the soil to the whole depth to which roots
+will travel--which is usually more than two feet. The minute rootlets
+of corn and most other plants, will, if allowed by cultivation, occupy
+the soil to the depth or thirty-four inches, having a fibre in nearly
+every cubic inch of the soil for the whole distance. There are very few
+cultivated plants whose roots would not travel to a depth of thirty
+inches or more. Even the onion sends its roots to the depth of eighteen
+inches when the soil is well cultivated.
+
+The object of loosening the soil is to admit roots to a sufficient depth
+to hold the plant in its position--to obtain the nutriment necessary to
+its growth--to receive moisture from the lower portions of the
+soil--and, if it be a bulb, tuber, or tap, to assume the form requisite
+for its largest development.
+
+It must be evident that roots, penetrating the soil to a depth of two
+feet, anchor the plant with greater stability than those which are
+spread more thinly near the surface.
+
+The roots of plants traversing the soil to such great distances, and
+being located in nearly every part, absorb mineral and other food, in
+solution in water, only through the _spongioles at their ends_.
+Consequently, by having these ends in _every part_ of the soil, it is
+_all_ brought under contribution, and the amount supplied is greater,
+while the demand on any particular part may be less than when the whole
+requirements of plants have to be supplied from a depth of a few inches.
+
+[May garden soils be profitably imitated in field culture?]
+
+The ability of roots, to assume a natural shape in the soil, and grow to
+their largest sizes, must depend on the condition of the soil. If it is
+finely pulverized to the whole depth to which they ought to go, they
+will be fully developed; while, if the soil be too hard for penetration,
+they will be deformed or small. Thus a carrot may grow to the length of
+two and a half feet, and be of perfect shape, while, if it meet in its
+course at a depth of eight or ten inches a _cold, hard_ subsoil, its
+growth must be arrested, or its form injured.
+
+Roots are turned aside by a hard sub-soil, as they would be if received
+by the surface of a plate of glass.
+
+Add to this the fact that cold, impenetrable subsoils are _chemically_
+uncongenial to vegetation, and we have sufficient evidence of the
+importance, and in many cases the absolute necessity of sub-soiling and
+under-draining.
+
+It is unnecessary to urge the fact that a garden soil of two feet is
+more productive than a field soil of six inches; and it is certain that
+proper attention to these two modes of cultivation will in a majority of
+cases make a garden of the field--more than doubling its value in ease
+of working, increased produce, certain security against drought, and
+more even distribution of the demands on the soil--while the outlay will
+be immediately repaid by an increase of crops.
+
+[Is the use of the sub-soil plow increasing?
+
+Will its use ever injure crops?]
+
+The subsoil will be much improved in its character the first year, and a
+continual advancement renders it in time equal to the original
+surface-soil, and extending to a depth of two feet or more.
+
+The sub-soil plow is coming rapidly into use. There are now in New
+Jersey more foundries casting sub-soil plows than there were sub-soil
+plows in the State six years ago. The implement has there, as well as in
+many other places, ceased to be a curiosity; and the man who now objects
+to its use, is classed with him who shells his corn on a shovel over a
+half-bushel, instead of employing an improved machine, which will enable
+him to do more in a day than he can do in the "good old way" in a week.
+
+Had we space, we might give many instances of the success of
+sub-soiling, but the agricultural papers of the present day (at least
+one of which every farmer should take) have so repeatedly published its
+advantages, that we will not do so.
+
+In no case will its use be found any thing but satisfactory, except in
+occasional instances where there is some chemical difficulty in the
+subsoil, which an analysis will tell us how to overcome.
+
+As was before stated, its use on wet lands is not advisable until they
+have been under-drained, as excess of water prevents its effects from
+being permanent.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+PLOWING AND OTHER MODES OF PULVERIZING THE SOIL.
+
+
+[May the satisfaction attending labor be increased by an
+understanding of the natural laws which regulate our operations?
+
+On what depends the kind of plow to be used?]
+
+The advantages of pulverizing the soil, and the _reasons_ why it is
+necessary, are now too well known to need remark. Few farmers, when they
+plow, dig, or harrow, are enabled to give substantial reasons for so
+doing. If they will reflect on what has been said in the previous
+chapters, concerning the supply of mineral food to the plant by the
+soil, and the effect of air and moisture about roots, they will find
+more satisfaction in their labor than it can afford when applied without
+thought.
+
+
+PLOWING.
+
+[What is a general rule with regard to this?
+
+Should deep plowing be immediately adopted? Why?
+
+Why is this course of treatment advisable for garden culture?]
+
+The kind of plow used in cultivating the surface-soil must be decided
+by the kind of soil. This question the practical, _observing_ farmer
+will be able to solve.
+
+As a general rule, it may be stated that the plow which runs the
+_deepest_, with the same amount of force, is the best.
+
+We might enter more fully into this matter but for want of space.
+
+The advantages of _deep plowing_ cannot be too strongly urged.
+
+The statement that the _deeper_ and the _finer_ the soil is rendered,
+the more productive it will become, is in every respect true, and which
+no single instance will contradict.
+
+It must not be inferred from this, that we would advise a farmer, who
+has always plowed his soil to the depth of only six inches, to double
+the depth at once. Such a practice in some soils would be highly
+injurious, as it would completely bury the more fertile and better
+cultivated soil, and bring to the top one which contains no organic
+matter, and has never been subject to atmospheric influences. This
+would, perhaps, be so little fitted for vegetation that it would
+scarcely sustain plants until their roots could reach the more fertile
+parts below. Such treatment of the soil (turning it upside down) is
+excellent in _garden_ culture, where the great amount of manures
+applied is sufficient to overcome the temporary barrenness of the soil,
+but it is not to be recommended for all _field_ cultivation, where much
+less manure is employed.
+
+[How should field plowing be conducted?
+
+How does such treatment affect soils previously limed?
+
+How may it sometimes improve sandy or clay soils?]
+
+The course to be pursued in such cases is to _plow one inch deeper each
+year_. By this means the soil maybe gradually deepened to any desired
+extent. The amount of uncongenial soil which will thus be brought up, is
+slight, and will not interfere at all with the fertility of the soil,
+while the elevated portion will become, in one year, so altered by
+exposure, that it will equal the rest of the soil in fertility.
+
+Often where lime has been used in excess, it has sunk to the subsoil,
+where it remains inactive. The slight deepening of the surface plowing
+would mix this lime with the surface-soil, and render it again useful.
+
+When the soil is light and sandy, resting on a heavy clay subsoil, or
+clay on sand, the bringing up of the mass from below will improve the
+texture of the soil.
+
+As an instance of the success of deep plowing, we call to mind the case
+of a farmer in New Jersey, who had a field which had yielded about
+twenty-five bushels of corn per acre. It had been cultivated at ordinary
+depths. After laying it out in eight step lands (24 feet), he plowed it
+at all depths from five to ten inches, on the different lands, and
+sowed oats evenly over the whole field. The crop on the five inch soil
+was very poor, on the six inch rather better, on the seven inch better
+still, and on the ten inch soil it was as fine as ever grew in New
+Jersey; it had stiff straw and broad leaves, while the grain was also
+much better than on the remainder of the field.
+
+[What kind of soils are benefited by fall plowing?]
+
+There is an old anecdote of a man who died, leaving his sons with the
+information that he had buried a pot of gold for them, somewhere on the
+farm. They commenced digging for the gold, and dug over the whole farm
+to a great depth without finding the gold. The digging, however, so
+enriched the soil that they were fully compensated for their
+disappointment, and became wealthy from the increased produce of their
+farm.
+
+Farmers will find, on experiment, that they have gold buried in their
+soil, if they will but dig deep enough to obtain it. The law gives a man
+the ownership of the soil for an indefinite distance from the surface,
+but few seem to realize that there is _another farm_ below the one they
+are cultivating, which is quite as valuable as the one on the surface,
+if it were but properly worked.
+
+_Fall plowing_, especially for heavy lands, is a very good means of
+securing the action of the frosts of winter to pulverize the soil. If it
+be a stiff clay, it may be well to throw the soil up into ridges (by
+ridging and back furrowing), so as to expose the largest possible amount
+of surface to the freezing and thawing of winter. Sandy soils should not
+be plowed in the fall, as it renders them too light.
+
+
+DIGGING MACHINES.
+
+[What is the digging machine?]
+
+A recent invention has been made in England, known as the digging
+machine or rotary spade, which--although from having too much gearing
+between the power and the part performing the labor, it is not adapted
+to general use--has given such promise of future success, that Mr. Mechi
+(an agricultural writer of the highest standing) has said that "the plow
+is doomed." This can hardly be true, for the varied uses to which it may
+be applied, will guarantee its continuance in the favor of the farmer.
+
+Already, in this country, Messrs. Gibbs & Mapes, have invented a digging
+machine of very simple construction, which seems calculated to serve an
+excellent purpose, even in the hands of the farmer of limited means.
+
+Its friends assert that, with one pair of oxen, it will dig perfectly
+three feet wide, and for a depth of fifteen inches. An experiment with
+an unperfected machine, in the presence of the writer, seemed to justify
+their hopes.
+
+This machine thoroughly pulverizes the soil to a considerable depth, and
+for smooth land must prove far superior to the plow.
+
+
+THE HARROW AND CULTIVATOR.
+
+[Why is the harrow a defective implement?
+
+Why is the cultivator superior to the harrow?]
+
+The _harrow_, an implement largely used in all parts of the world, to
+pulverize the soil, and break clods, has become so firmly rooted in the
+affections of farmers, that it must be a very long time before they can
+be convinced that it is not the best implement for the use to which it
+is devoted. It is true that it pulverizes the soil for a depth of two or
+three inches, and thus much improves its appearance, benefiting it,
+without doubt, for the earliest stages of the growth of plants. Its
+action, however, is very defective, because, from the _wedge_ shape of
+its teeth, it continually acts to _pack_ the soil; thus--although
+favorable for the germination of the seed--it is not calculated to
+benefit the plant during the later stages of its growth, when the roots
+require the soil to be pulverized to a considerable depth.
+
+The _cultivator_ may be considered an _improved harrow_. The principal
+difference between them being, that while the teeth of the harrow are
+pointed at the lower end, those of the cultivator are shaped like a
+small double plow, being large at the bottom and growing smaller
+towards the top. They lift the earth up, instead of pressing it
+downwards, thus loosening instead of compacting the soil.
+
+Many styles of cultivators are now sold at agricultural warehouses. A
+very good one, for field use, may be made by substituting the cultivator
+teeth for the spikes in an old harrow frame.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+ROLLING, MULCHING, WEEDING, ETC.
+
+
+ROLLING.
+
+[Name some of the benefits of rolling?]
+
+_Rolling_ the soil with a large roller, arranged to be drawn by a team,
+is in many instances a good accessory to cultivation. By its means, the
+following results are obtained:--
+
+1. The soil at the surface is pulverized without the compacting of the
+lower parts, the area of contact being large.
+
+2. The stones on the land are pressed down so as to be out of the way of
+the scythe in mowing.
+
+3. The soil is compacted around seeds after sowing in such a manner as
+to exclude light and to _touch_ them in every part, both of which are
+essential to their germination and to the healthfulness of the plants.
+
+[Under what circumstances should the roller be used?]
+
+4. The soil is so compacted at the surface, that it is less frequented
+by _grubs_, etc., than when it is more loose.
+
+5. When the soil is smoothed in this manner, there is less surface
+exposed for the evaporation of water with its cooling effect.
+
+6. Light sandy lands, by being rolled in the fall, are rendered more
+compact, and the loosening effects of frequent freezing and thawing are
+avoided.
+
+Although productive of these various effects, rolling should be adopted
+only with much care, and should never be applied to very heavy lands,
+except in dry weather when lumpy after plowing, as its tendency in such
+cases would be to render them still more difficult of cultivation. Soils
+in which air does not circulate freely, are not improved by rolling, as
+it presses the surface-particles still more closely together, and
+prevents the free admission of the atmosphere.
+
+If well _under-drained_, a large majority of soils would doubtless be
+benefited by a judicious use of the roller.[AL]
+
+
+MULCHING.
+
+[What is mulching?
+
+What are some of its benefits?]
+
+_Mulching_ (called Gurneyism in England) consists in covering the soil
+with salt hay, litter, seaweed, leaves, spent tanbark, chips, or other
+refuse matter.
+
+Every farmer must have noticed that, if a board or rail, or an old
+brush-heap be removed in spring from soil where grass is growing, the
+grass afterwards grows in those places much larger and better than in
+other parts of the field.
+
+This improvement arises from various causes.
+
+1. The evaporation of water from the soil is prevented during drought by
+the shade afforded by the mulch; and it is therefore kept in better
+condition, as to moisture and temperature, than when evaporation goes on
+more freely. This condition is well calculated to advance the chemical
+changes necessary to prepare the matters--both organic and mineral--in
+the soil for the use of plants.
+
+2. By preventing evaporation, we partially protect the soil from losing
+ammonia resultant from decaying organic matter.
+
+3. A heavy mulch breaks the force of rains, and prevents them from
+compacting the soil, as would be the result, were no such precaution
+taken.
+
+4. Mulching protects the surface-soil from freezing as readily as when
+exposed, and thus keeps it longer open for the admission of air and
+moisture. When unprotected, the soil early becomes frozen; and all water
+falling, instead of entering as it should do, passes off on the surface.
+
+[Why does mulching take the place of artificial watering?
+
+Why is the late sowing of oats beneficial?
+
+From what arises the chief benefit of top dressing the soil with manure
+in autumn?]
+
+5. The throwing out of winter grain is often prevented, because this is
+due to the freezing of the surface-soil.
+
+6. Mulching prevents the growth of some weeds, because it removes from
+them the fostering heat of the sun.
+
+Many of the best nursery-men keep the soil about the roots of young
+trees mulched continually. One of the chief arguments for this treatment
+is, that it prevents the removal of the moisture from the soil and the
+consequent loss of heat. Also that it keeps up a full supply of water
+for the uses of the roots, because it keeps the soil cool, and causes a
+deposit of dew.
+
+7. It also prevents the "baking" of the soil, or the formation of a
+crust.
+
+It is to be recommended in nearly all cases to sow oats very thinly over
+land intended for winter fallow after the removal of crops, as they will
+grow a little before being killed by the frost, when they will fall
+down, thus affording a very beneficial mulch to the soil.
+
+When farmers spread manure on their fields in the fall to be plowed
+under in the spring, they benefit the land by the mulching more than by
+the addition of fertilizing matter, because they give it the protecting
+influence of the straw, etc., while they lose much of the ammonia of
+their manure by evaporation. The same mulching might be more cheaply
+done with leaves, or other refuse matter, and the ammonia of the manure
+made available by composting with absorbents.
+
+[Why is snow particularly beneficial?]
+
+It is an old and true saying that "snow is the poor man's manure." The
+reason why it is so beneficial is, chiefly, that it acts as a most
+excellent mulch. It contains no more ammonia than rain-water does; and,
+were it not for the fact that it protects the soil against loss of heat,
+and produces other benefits of mulching, it would have no more
+advantageous effect. The severity of winters at the North is partially
+compensated by the long duration of snow.
+
+It is a well known fact that when there is but little snow in cold
+countries, wheat is very liable to be _winter killed_. The same
+protection is afforded by artificial mulching.
+
+This treatment is peculiarly applicable to the cultivation of flowers,
+both in pots and in beds out of doors. It is almost indispensable to the
+profitable production of strawberries, and many other garden crops, such
+as asparagus, rhubarb, etc. Many say that the best treatment for trees
+is to put stones about their roots. This is simply _mulching_ them, and
+might be done more cheaply by the use of leaves, copying the action of
+nature in forests;[AM] for, unless these stones be removed in spring,
+they will sink and compact the soil in part during open weather.
+
+
+WEEDING.
+
+[What are some of the uses of weeds? Their disadvantages?]
+
+If a farmer were asked--what is the use of _weeds_? he might make out
+quite a list of their benefits, among which might be some of the
+following:--
+
+1. They shade tender plants, and in a measure serve as a mulch to the
+ground.
+
+2. Some weeds, by their offensive odor, drive away many insects.
+
+3. They may serve as a green crop to be plowed into the soil, and
+increase its organic matter.
+
+4. _They make us stir the soil_, and thus increase its fertility.
+
+Still, while thinking out these excuses for weeds, he would see other
+and more urgent reasons why they should not be allowed to grow.
+
+1. They occupy the soil to the disadvantage of crops.
+
+2. They exclude light and heat from cultivated plants, and thus
+interfere with their growth.
+
+3. They take up mineral and other matters from the soil, and hold them
+during the growing season, thus depriving crops of their use.
+
+It is not necessary to argue the injury done by weeds. Every farmer is
+well convinced that they should be destroyed, and the best means of
+accomplishing this are of the greatest importance.
+
+[How may we protect ourselves against their increase?
+
+Why is it especially important for this purpose to maintain the balance
+of the soil?]
+
+In the first place, we should protect ourselves against their increase.
+This may be done:--
+
+By decomposing all manures in compost, whereby the seeds contained will
+be killed by the heat of fermentation; or, if one bushel of salt be
+mixed through each cord of compost (as before recommended), it will kill
+seeds as well as grubs,--
+
+By hoeing, or, otherwise, destroying growing weeds before they mature
+their seeds, and
+
+By keeping the soil in the best chemical condition.
+
+This last point is one of much importance. It is well known that soils
+deficient in potash, will naturally produce one kind of plants, while
+soils deficient in phosphoric acid will produce plants of another
+species, etc. Many soils produce certain weeds which would not grow on
+them if they were made chemically perfect, as indicated by analysis. It
+is also believed that those weeds, which naturally grow on the most
+fertile soils, are the ones most easily destroyed. There are exceptions
+(of which the Thistle is one), but this is given as a general rule.
+
+[How much salt may be used with advantage?
+
+Why is the scuffle-hoe superior to the common hoe?]
+
+By careful attention to the foregoing points, weeds may be kept from
+increasing while those already in the soil may be eradicated in various
+ways, chiefly by mechanical means, such as hoeing, plowing, etc.[AN]
+
+Prof. Mapes says that six bushels of salt annually sown broadcast over
+each acre of land, will destroy very many weeds as well as grubs and
+worms.
+
+The _common hoe_ is a very imperfect tool for the purpose of removing
+weeds, as it prepares a better soil for, and replants in a position to
+grow, nearly as many weeds as it destroys.
+
+The _scuffle-hoe_ (or push-hoe) is much more effective, as, when worked
+by a man walking backwards, and retiring as he works, it leaves nearly
+all of the weeds on the surface of the soil to be killed by the sun.
+When used in this way, the earth is not trodden on after being hoed--as
+is the case when the common hoe is employed. This treading, besides
+compacting the soil, covers the roots of many weeds, and causes them to
+grow again.
+
+[How may much labor be saved in removing weeds?
+
+What is the Langdon horse-hoe?
+
+Describe the _universal_ cultivator?]
+
+Much of the labor of weeding usually performed by men, might be more
+cheaply done by horses. There are various implements for this purpose,
+some of which are coming, in many parts of the country, into very
+general use.
+
+One of the best of these is the _Langdon Horse Hoe_, which is a
+shovel-shaped plow, to be run one or two inches deep. It has a wing on
+each side to prevent the earth from falling on to the plants in the
+rows. At the rear, or upper edge, is a kind of rake or comb, which
+allows the earth to pass through, while the weeds pass over the comb and
+fall on the surface of the soil, to be killed by the heat of the sun. It
+is a simple and cheap tool, and will perform the work of twenty men with
+hoes. The hand hoe will be necessary only in the rows.
+
+
+CULTIVATOR.
+
+The _cultivator_, which was described in the preceding chapter, and of
+which there are various patterns in use, is excellent for weeding, and
+for loosening the soil between the rows of corn, etc. The one called
+the _universal_ cultivator, having its side bars made of iron, curved so
+that at whatever distance it is placed the teeth will point _straight
+forward_, is a much better tool than those of the older patterns, which
+had the teeth so arranged that when set for wide rows, they pointed
+towards the clevis. It is difficult to keep such a cultivator in its
+place, while the "_universal_" is as difficult to move out of a straight
+line.
+
+
+IMPROVED HORSE-HOE.
+
+[What is the improved horse-hoe?]
+
+The _improved horse-hoe_ is a combination of the "Langdon" horse hoe and
+the cultivator, and is the best implement, for many purposes, that has
+yet been made.[AO]
+
+[Illustration: Fig. 9]
+
+
+HARVESTING MACHINES.
+
+Until within a comparatively short period, but little attention has been
+paid to the production of machines for harvesting the various crops.
+
+During the past few years, however, many valuable inventions have
+appeared. Among these we notice Ketchum's mower, Hussey's mower and
+reaper, and Wagener's grain and grass seed harvester. The latter machine
+gathers only the grain and seeds of the crop, leaving the straw to be
+plowed under the soil, thus maintaining its supply of soluble silicates,
+and increasing its amount of organic matter. After taking the seed heads
+from the standing straw and grasses, it thrashes them, blows out the
+chaff, separates the different kinds of seeds, and discharges them into
+bags ready for market. It consists of a car containing the machinery; to
+this may be attached any required number of horses. The inventor affirms
+that it has harvested the grain of two acres in one hour, performing the
+work with accuracy.[AP]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+There is much truth in the following proverbs:
+
+"A garden that is well kept, is kept easily."
+
+"You must conquer weeds, or weeds will conquer you."
+
+[What are the two great rules in mechanical cultivation?]
+
+It is almost impossible to give a _recapitulation_ of the matters
+treated in this section, as it is, itself, but an outline of subjects
+which might occupy our whole book. The scholar and the farmer should
+understand every principle which it contains, as well as they understand
+the multiplication table; and their application will be found, in every
+instance, to produce the best results.
+
+The two great rules of mechanical cultivation are--
+
+THOROUGH UNDER-DRAINING.
+
+DEEP AND FREQUENT DISTURBANCE OF THE SOIL.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AL] Field rollers should be made in sections, for ease of turning.
+
+[AM] The beneficial effects of mulching is so great as to lead us to the
+conclusion that it has other means of action than those mentioned in
+this book. Future experiments may lead to more knowledge on this
+subject.
+
+[AN] It is possible that the excrementitious matter thrown out by some
+plants may be sufficiently destructive to other kinds to exterminate
+them from the soil--thus, farmers in Maine say that a single crop of
+turnips will entirely rid the soil of _witch grass_. This is,
+undoubtedly, the effect of the excrementitious matter of the turnips.
+This subject is one of practical importance, and demands close
+investigation by farmers, which may lead to its being reduced to a
+system.
+
+[AO] The improved horse-hoe is made and sold by Ruggles, Nourse & Mason,
+of Worcester, Mass., and Quincy Hall, Boston.
+
+[AP] This machine is more fully noticed in the advertising pages.
+
+
+
+
+SECTION FIFTH.
+
+ANALYSIS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+[Why does true practical economy require that the soil should
+be analyzed?]
+
+At the present time, when such marked improvements have been, and are
+still being made, in the practice of agriculture, the farmer cannot be
+too strongly advised to procure an analysis of his soil, and for obvious
+reasons.
+
+It has been sufficiently proved that the plant draws from the soil
+certain kinds of mineral matter, in certain proportions; also, that if
+the soil do not contain the constituents required, the plants cannot
+obtain them, and consequently cannot grow. Furthermore, in proportion to
+the ability of the soil to supply these materials, in exactly the same
+proportion will it, when under good treatment, produce good and
+abundant crops.
+
+[Can each farmer make his own analyses?
+
+Why will not travelling chemists answer the purpose?
+
+How must an analysis be used?]
+
+All admit the value and the necessity of manures; they are required to
+make up deficiencies in the soil, and consequently, they must supply to
+it the matters which are wanting. In order to know what is wanting, we
+must know the composition of the soil. This can be learned only by
+accurate chemical analysis. Such an analysis every farmer must possess
+before he can conduct his operations with _true practical economy_.
+
+An important question now arises as to whether each farmer can make his
+own analyses. He cannot do so without long study and practice. The late
+Prof. Norton said that, at least _two years'_ time would be necessary to
+enable a man to become competent to make a reliable analysis. When we
+reflect that a farmer may never need more than five or six analyses, we
+shall see that the time necessary to learn the art would be much more
+valuable than the cost of the analyses (at $5 or $10 each), setting
+aside the cost of apparatus, and the fact that while practising in the
+laboratory, he must not use his hands for any labor that would unfit
+them for the most delicate manipulations.
+
+Neither will _travelling_ chemists be able to make analyses as
+accurately and as cheaply as those who work in their own laboratories,
+where their apparatus is not liable to the many injuries consequent on
+frequent removal. The cost of sending one hundred samples of soil to a
+distant chemist, would be much less than the expense of having his
+apparatus brought to the town where his services are required.
+
+[How may a farmer obtain the requisite knowledge?
+
+When are the services of a consulting agriculturist required?]
+
+_The way in which an analysis should be used_ is a matter of much
+importance. To a man who knows nothing of chemistry (be he ever so
+successful a farmer), an analysis, as received from a chemist, would be
+as useless and unintelligible as though it were written in Chinese;
+while, if a chemist who knew nothing of farming, were to give him advice
+concerning the application of manures, he would be led equally astray,
+and his course would be any thing but _practical_. It is necessary that
+chemical and practical knowledge should be combined, and then the value
+of analysis will be fully demonstrated. The _amount_ of knowledge
+required is not great, but it must be _thorough_. The information
+contained in this little book is sufficient, but it would be folly for a
+man to attempt to use an analysis from reading it once hurriedly over.
+It must be studied and thought on with great care, before it can be of
+material assistance. The evenings of one winter, devoted to this
+subject, will enable a farmer to understand the application of analysis
+to practical farming, especially if other and more compendious works
+are also read. A less time could hardly be recommended.
+
+[Is there any doubt as to the practical value of analysis?
+
+How should samples of soil for analysis be selected?]
+
+Where this attention cannot be given to the subject, the services of a
+Consulting Agriculturist should be employed to advise the treatment
+necessary to render fertile the soil analyzed.
+
+Every farmer, however, should learn enough of the principles of
+agriculture to be able to use an analysis, when procured, without such
+assistance.[AQ]
+
+Nearly all scientific men (all of the highest merit) are unanimous in
+their conviction of the _practical_ value of an analysis of soils; and a
+volume of instances of their success, with hardly a single failure,
+might be published.
+
+Prof. Mapes says, in the _Working Farmer_, that he has given advice on
+hundreds of different soils, and _not a single instance_ can be found
+where he has failed to produce a profit greater than the cost of
+analysis and advice. Dr. T. C. Jackson, of Boston, the late Prof.
+Norton, of Yale College, and others, have had universal success in this
+matter.
+
+Analysis must be considered the only sure road to economical farming.
+
+_To select samples of soil for analysis_, take a spadeful from various
+parts of the field--going to exactly the depth to which it has been
+plowed--until, say a wheel-barrow full, has been obtained. Mix this
+well together, and send about a quart or a pint of it (free from stones)
+to the chemist. This will represent all of that part of the farm which
+has been subject to the same cultivation, and is of the same mechanical
+character. If there are marked differences in the kinds of soil,
+separate analyses will be necessary.
+
+[Give an instance of the success of treatment according to
+analysis?]
+
+When an analysis is obtained, a regular debtor and creditor account may
+be kept with the soil; and the farmer may know by the composition of the
+ashes of his crops, and the manures supplied, whether he is maintaining
+the fertility of his soil.
+
+Prof. Mapes once purchased some land which could not produce corn at
+all, and by applying only such manures as analysis indicated to be
+necessary, at a cost of less than $2 per acre, he obtained the first
+year over _fifty bushels of shelled corn per acre_. The land has since
+continued to improve, and is as fertile as any in the State. It has
+produced in one season a sufficient crop of cabbages to pay the expense
+of cultivation, and over $250 per acre besides, though it was apparently
+_worthless_ when he purchased it.
+
+These are strong facts, and should arouse the farmers of the whole
+country to their true interests. Let them not call the teachings of
+science "book-farming," but "prove all things--hold fast that which is
+good."
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AQ] See Author's card in the front of the book.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+TABLES OF ANALYSIS.
+
+ANALYSES OF THE ASHES OF CROPS.
+
+
+No. I.
+
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------
+                              | Wheat.  |   Wheat   |   Rye.  |  Rye
+                              |         |   Straw.  |         |  Straw.
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts       |   20    |     60    |    24   |   40
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------
+Silica (_sand_)               |   16    |    654    |     5   |  645
+Lime                          |   28    |     67    |    50   |   91
+Magnesia                      |  120    |     33    |   104   |   24
+Peroxide of Iron              |    7    |     13    |    14   |   14
+Potash                        |  237    |    124    |   221   |  174
+Soda                          |   91    |      2    |   116   |    3
+Chlorine                      |         |     11    |         |    5
+Sulphuric Acid                |    3    |     58    |    10   |    8
+Phosphoric Acid               |  498    |     31    |   496   |   38
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+--------
+
+No. II.
+
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------
+                              |  Corn.  |  Corn     | Barley. |  Barley
+                              |         |  Stalks.  |         |  Straw.
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts.      |     15  |      44   |     28  |    61
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------
+Silica (_sand_)               |     15  |     270   |    271  |   706
+Lime                          |     15  |      86   |     26  |    95
+Magnesia                      |    162  |      66   |     75  |    32
+Peroxide of Iron              |      3  |       8   |     15  |     7
+Oxide of Manganese            |         |           |         |     1
+Potash                        |    261  |      96   |    136  |    62
+Soda                          |     63  |     277   |     81  |     6
+Chlorine                      |      2  |      20   |      1  |    10
+Sulphuric Acid                |     23  |       5   |      1  |    16
+Phosphoric Acid               |    449  |     171   |    389  |    31
+------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+---------
+
+No. III.
+
+------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+----------
+                        |   Oats.   |  Oat   |  Buck  | Potatoes.
+                        |           | Straw. | Wheat. |
+------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+----------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts |     20    |   51   |   21   |    90
+------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+----------
+Silica (_sand_)         |      7    |  484   |    7   |    42
+Lime                    |     60    |   81   |   67   |    21
+Magnesia                |     99    |   38   |  104   |    53
+Peroxide of Iron        |      4    |   18   |   11   |     5
+Potash                  |   {262}   |  191   |   87   |   557
+Soda                    |   {   }   |   97   |  201   |    19
+Chlorine                |      3    |   32   |        |    43
+Sulphuric Acid          |    104    |   33   |   22   |   137
+Phosphoric Acid         |    438    |   27   |  500   |   126
+Organic Matter          |           |        |        |   750
+                        |           |        |        |  Water.
+------------------------+-----------+--------+--------+---------
+
+No. IV.
+
+------------------------+---------+--------+----------+--------
+                        |  Peas.  | Beans. | Turnips. | Turnip
+                        |         |        |          |  Tops.
+------------------------+---------+--------+----------+--------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts |    25   |   27   |    76    |   170
+------------------------+---------+--------+----------+--------
+Silica (_sand_)         |     5   |   12   |    71    |     8
+Lime                    |    53   |   58   |   128    |   233
+Magnesia                |    85   |   80   |    48    |    31
+Peroxide of Iron        |    10   |    6   |     9    |     8
+Potash                  |   361   |  336   |   398    |   286
+Soda                    |    91   |  106   |   108    |    54
+Chlorine                |    23   |    7   |    37    |   160
+Sulphuric Acid          |    44   |   10   |   131    |   125
+Phosphoric Acid         |   333   |  378   |    67    |    93
+Organic Matter          |         |        |870 Water.|
+------------------------+---------+--------+----------+--------
+
+No. V.
+
+--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
+                          |  Flax. | Linseed. | Meadow |  Red
+                          |        |          |  Hay.  | Clover.
+--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
+Ashes in 1000 dry parts   |    50  |    46    |   60   |    75
+--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
+Silica (_sand_)           |   257  |    75    |  344   |    48
+Alumina (_clay_)          |    37? |          |        |
+Lime                      |   148  |    83    |  196   |   371
+Magnesia                  |    44  |   146    |   78   |    46
+Peroxide of Iron          |    36? |     9    |    7   |     2
+Potash                    |   117  |   240    |  236   |   267
+Soda                      |   118  |    45    |   19   |    71
+Chlorine                  |    29  |     2    |   28   |    48
+Sulphuric Acid            |    32  |    23    |   29   |    60
+Phosphoric Acid           |   130  |   365    |   58   |    88
+--------------------------+--------+----------+--------+----------
+
+No. VI.
+
+Amount of Inorganic Matter removed from the soil by ten bushels of
+grains, etc., and by the straw, etc., required in their
+production--estimated in pounds:
+
+-------------------+--------+-----------+----------+----------
+                   |        | 1200 lbs. |          | 1620 lbs.
+                   | Wheat. |   Wheat   |   Rye.   |    Rye
+                   |        |   Straw.  |          |  Straw.
+-------------------+--------+-----------+----------+----------
+Potash             |  2.86  |    8.97   |   2.51   |    11.34
+Soda               |  1.04  |     .12   |   1.33   |      .20
+Lime               |   .34  |    4.84   |    .56   |     5.91
+Magnesia           |  1.46  |    2.76   |   1.18   |     1.58
+Oxide of Iron      |   .08  |     .94   |    .15   |      .88
+Sulphuric Acid     |   .03  |    4.20   |    .11   |      .05
+Phosphoric Acid    |  6.01  |    2.22   |   5.64   |     2.49
+Chlorine           |        |     .79   |          |      .30
+Silica             |   .14  |   47.16   |    .05   |    42.25
+-------------------+--------+-----------+----------+----------
+Pounds carried off |   12   |    72     |   11-1/2 |    66
+-------------------+--------+-----------+----------+----------
+
+No. VII.
+
+-------------------+-------+----------+-------+----------
+                   |       | 1620 lbs.|       | 700 lbs.
+                   | Corn. |   Corn   | Oats. |  Oat
+                   |       |  Stalks. |       |  Straw.
+-------------------+-------+----------+-------+----------
+Potash             | 2.78  |   6.84   |  1.69 |  12.08
+Soda               |       |  19.83   |       |
+Lime               |  .12  |   6.02   |   .39 |   3.39
+Magnesia           | 1.52  |   4.74   |   .64 |   1.59
+Oxide of Iron      |       |    .57   |   .02 |    .78
+Sulphuric Acid     |       |    .36   |   .66 |   1.41
+Phosphoric Acid    | 4.52  |  12.15   |  2.80 |   1.07
+Chlorine           |       |   1.33   |   .02 |   1.36
+Silica             |  .06  |  19.16   |   .18 |  20.32
+-------------------+-------+----------+-------+----------
+Pounds carried off |   9   |    71    |  6-1/2|   42
+-------------------+-------+----------+-------+----------
+
+No. VIII.
+
+-------------------+--------+---------+----------+----------
+                   | Buck   |         | 660 lbs. | 2000 lbs.
+                   | Wheat. | Barley. |  Barley  |   Flax.
+                   |        |         |  Straw.  |
+-------------------+--------+---------+----------+----------
+Potash             |  1.01  |   1.90  |   2.57   |   11.78
+Soda               |  2.13  |   1.18  |    .23   |   11.82
+Lime               |   .78  |    .96  |   3.88   |   11.85
+Magnesia           |  1.20  |   1.00  |   1.31   |    9.38
+Oxide of Iron      |   .14  |    .20  |    .90   |    7.32
+Sulphuric Acid     |   .25  |    .01  |    .66   |    3.19
+Phosphoric Acid    |  5.40  |   5.35  |   1.25   |   13.05
+Chlorine           |        |    .01  |    .40   |    2.90
+Silica             |   .09  |   3.90  |  28.80   |   25.71
+-------------------+--------+---------+----------+----------
+Pounds carried off |   11   |    14   |    40    |   100
+-------------------+--------+---------+----------+----------
+
+No. IX.
+
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------
+                    |          | 1120 lbs.|          |1366 lbs.
+                    |  Beans.  |  Bean    |  Field   |  Pea
+                    |          | Straw.   |  Peas.   | Straw.
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------
+Potash              |  5.54    | 36.28    |  5.90    |  3.78
+Soda                |  1.83    |  1.09    |  1.40    |
+Lime                | 98.98    | 13.60    |   .81    | 43.93
+Magnesia            |   .28    |  4.55    |  1.30    |  5.50
+Oxide of Iron       |   .10    |   .20    |   .15    |  1.40
+Sulphuric Acid      |   .16    |   .64    |   .64    |  5.43
+Phosphoric Acid     |  7.80    |  5.00    |  5.50    |  3.86
+Chlorine            |   .13    |  1.74    |   .23    |   .08
+Silica              |   .18    |  4.90    |   .7     | 16.02
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------
+Pounds carried off  |   17     |   68     |   16     |   80
+--------------------+----------+----------+----------+---------
+
+No. X.
+
+--------------------+------------+----------+-------------+-----------
+                    |            | 635 lbs. |             | 2000 lbs.
+                    |    1 Ton   |  Turnip  |    1 Ton    |   Red
+                    |  Turnips.  |   Tops.  |  Potatoes.  |  Clover.
+--------------------+------------+----------+-------------+-----------
+Potash              |   7.14     |  4.34    |   27.82     |  31.41
+Soda                |    .86     |   .84    |     .93     |   8.34
+Lime                |   2.31     |  3.61    |    1.03     |  43.77
+Magnesia            |    .91     |   .48    |    2.63     |   5.25
+Oxide of Iron       |    .23     |   .13    |     .26     |    .23
+Sulphuric Acid      |   2.30     |  1.81    |    6.81     |   7.05
+Phosphoric Acid     |   1.29     |  1.31    |    6.25     |  10.28
+Chlorine            |    .61     |  2.35    |    2.13     |   5.86
+Silica              |   1.36     |   .13    |    2.14     |   5.81
+--------------------+------------+----------+-------------+-----------
+Pounds carried off  |    17      |   15     |     50      |    118
+--------------------+------------+----------+-------------+-----------
+
+No. XI.
+
+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+                                  | 2000 lbs.|  2000 lbs.
+                                  |  Meadow  |  Cabbage
+                                  |   Hay.   | Water 9-10
+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+Potash                            | 18.11    |     5.25
+Soda                              |  1.35    |     9.20
+Lime                              | 22.95    |     9.45
+Magnesia                          |  6.75    |     2.70
+Oxide of Iron                     |  1.69    |      .25
+Sulphuric Acid                    |  2.70    |     9.60
+Phosphoric Acid                   |  5.97    |     5.60
+Chlorine                          |  2.59    |     2.60
+Silica                            | 37.89    |      .35
+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+Pounds carried off                |  100     |       45
+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+
+No. XII.
+
+Composition of Ashes, leached and unleached, showing their manurial
+value:
+
+-------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+                         |  Oak      |  Oak      | Beech     |  Beech
+                         |unleached. | leached.  |unleached. | leached.
+-------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+Potash                   |    84     |     --    |   158     |     --
+Soda                     |    56     |     --    |    29     |     --
+Lime                     |   750     |    548    |   634     |    426
+Magnesia                 |    45     |      6    |   113     |     70
+Oxide of Iron            |     6     |     --    |     8     |     15
+Sulphuric Acid           |    12     |     --    |    14     |     --
+Phosphoric Acid          |    35     |      8    |    31     |     57
+Chlorine                 |           |           |     2     |
+-------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------
+
+No. XIII.
+
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------
+                  |  Birch    |  Seaweed   | Bituminous
+                  |  leached. | unleached. |  Coal
+                  |           |            | unleached.
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------
+Potash            |    --     |   180      |    2
+Soda              |    --     |   210      |    2
+Lime              |   522     |   94       |   21
+Magnesia          |    30     |   99       |    2
+Oxide of Iron     |     5     |    3       |   40
+Sulphuric Acid    |    --     |  248       |    9
+Phosphoric Acid   |    43     |   52       |    2
+Chlorine          |    --     |   98       |    1
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------
+
+No. XIV.
+
+TOBACCO.
+
+Analysis of the ash of the PLANT [Will & Fresedius]--
+
+Potash             19.55
+Soda                0.27
+Magnesia           11.07
+Lime               48.68
+Phosphoric Acid     3.66
+Sulphuric Acid      3.29
+Oxide of Iron       2.99
+Chloride of Sodium  3.54
+Loss                6.95
+                  ------
+                  100.00
+
+Analysis of the ash of the ROOT [Berthier]--
+
+Soluble Matter                 12.3
+Insoluble                      87.7
+
+The Soluble parts consist of nearly--
+
+Carbonic Acid                  10.0
+Sulphuric Acid                 10.3
+Muriatic Acid (Chlorine, &c.)  18.26
+Potash and Soda                61.44
+                              ------
+                              100.00
+
+No. XV.
+
+Composition of some of the more common Compounds of Acids and Alkalies.
+
+--------------------------------------+----------------+------------------
+            100 Parts of              | Contain of the |  Contain of the
+                                      |    Alkalies    |      Acids
+--------------------------------------+----------------+------------------
+Carbonate of Potash (Pearlash)        |  Potash  68.09 | Carbonic   31.91
+Bi-Carbonate of Potash (Saleratus)    |    do.   51.62 | Carbonic   48.38
+Nitrate of Potash (Saltpetre)         |    do.   46.56 | Nitric     53.44
+Silicate of Potash                    |    do.   50.54 | Silicic    49.46
+Carbonate of Soda                     |   Soda   58.58 | Carbonic   41.42
+Bi-Carbonate of Soda (Common Soda)[AR]|    do.   41.42 | Carbonic   58.58
+Nitrate of Soda                       |    do.   36.60 | Nitric     63.40
+Sulphate of Soda (Glauber Salts)[AR]  |    do.   19.38 | Sulphuric  24.85
+Silicate of Soda                      |    do.   40.37 | Silicic    59.63
+Carbonate of Lime (Limestone)         |   Lime   56.29 | Carbonic   43.71
+Sulphate of Lime (Plaster Paris)[AR]  |    do.   32.90 | Sulphuric  46.31
+Sulphate of Lime (Burned)             |    do.   41.53 | Sulphuric  58.47
+Phosphate of Lime                     |    do.   54.48 | Phosphoric 45.52
+Super-Phosphate of Lime               |    do.   28.52 | Phosphoric 71.48
+Silicate of Lime                      |    do.   38.15 | Silicic    61.85
+Carbonate of Magnesia                 | Magnesia 48.31 | Carbonic   51.69
+Sulphate of Magnesia (Epsom Salts)[AR]|    do.   16.70 | Sulphuric  32.40
+Silicate of Alumina                   | Alumina  17.05 | Silicic    72.95
+Sulphate of Iron (Green Vitriol)[AR]  | Oxide of       | Sulphuric  31.03
+                                      |    Iron  27.19 |
+--------------------------------------+----------------+------------------
+
+No. XVI.
+
+Proximate Analyses of Crops, showing the amount of the different Organic
+Compounds contained in Grain, Roots, Hay, etc.--estimated in pounds:
+
+--------------------------+--------+---------+---------+----------+--------
+                          | Water. | Husk or | Starch, | Gluten,  | Fatty
+                          |        | Woody   | Gum and | Albumen, | Matter.
+                          |        | Fibre.  | Sugar.  | Legumin. |
+                          +--------+---------+---------+----------+--------
+       10 Bushels.        |        |         |         |          |
+Wheat            600 lbs. |    90  |     90  |  330    |   87     |   18
+Barley           515 lbs. |    77  |     77  |  309    |   70     |   13
+Oats             425 lbs. |    68  |     85  |  255    |   70     |   25
+Rye              520 lbs. |    62  |     78  |  312    |   65     |   18
+Indian Corn      600 lbs. |    84  |     36  |  420    |   72     |   42
+Buck Wheat       425 lbs. |    64  |    106  |  212    |   34     |   2?
+Beans            640 lbs. |    90  |     61  |  256    |  166     |   16
+Peas             640 lbs. |    90  |     58  |  320    |  154     |   14
+                          |        |         |         |          |
+       2000 lbs.          |        |         |         |          |
+Potatoes                  |  1500  |     80  |  360    |   40     |    6
+Turnips                   |  1760  |     40  |  180[AS]|   30     |    6
+Carrots                   |  1700  |     60  |  200[AS]|   30     |    8
+Mangold Wurtzel           |  1700  |     40  |  220[AS]|   40     |    ?
+Meadow Hay                |   280  |    600  |  800    |  140     |   70
+Clover Hay                |   280  |    500  |  800    |  186     |   80
+Pea Straw                 |   250  |    500  |  900    |  246     |   30
+Rye Straw                 |   270  |    900  |  760    |   26     |    ?
+Corn Stalks               |   240  |    500  | 1040    |   60     |   34
+100 lbs. Fine Wheat Flour |    10  |         |   79    |   11     |
+100 lbs. Wheat Bran       |    13  |         |   55    |   19     |    5
+--------------------------+--------+---------+---------+----------+--------
+
+No. XVII.
+
+Amount of Ash left after burning 1000 lbs. of various plants, ordinarily
+dry--
+
+Wheat         20            its straw   50
+Barley        30                   "    50
+Oats          40                   "    60
+Rye           20                   "    40
+Indian Corn   15                   "    50
+Pea           30                   "    50
+Bean          30
+Meadow   Hay  50  to    100
+Clover    "   90
+Rye Grass "   95
+Potato         8  to     15
+Turnip         5  to      8
+Carrot        15  to     20
+--------------------------------------------------------------
+
+No. XVIII.
+
+MANURES.
+
+HORSE MANURE.
+
+Solid Dung--
+Combustible Matter                19.68
+Ash                                3.07
+Water                             77.25
+                                 ------
+                                 100.00
+
+Composition of the Ash--
+
+Silica                            62.40
+Potash                            11.30
+Soda                               1.98
+Oxide of Iron                      1.17
+Lime                               4.63
+Magnesia                           3.84
+Oxide of Manganese                 2.13
+Phosphoric Acid                   10.49
+Sulphuric Acid                     1.89
+Chlorine                           0.03
+Loss                               0.14
+                                 ------
+                                 100.00
+
+No. XIX.
+
+NIGHT SOIL.
+
+Solid (Ash)--
+  Earthy Phosphates and a trace of Sulphate of Lime      100
+  Sulphate of Soda and Potash, and Phosphate of Soda       8
+  Carbonate of Soda                                        8
+  Silica                                                  16
+  Charcoal and Loss                                       18
+                                                         ---
+                                                         150
+
+Urine
+  Urea[AT]                                             30.10
+  Uric Acid                                             1.00
+  Sal Ammoniac[AT]                                      1.50
+  Lactic Acid, etc.                                    17.14
+  Mucus                                                  .32
+  Sulphate of Potash                                    3.71
+  Sulphate of Soda                                      3.16
+  Phosphate of Ammonia[AT]                              1.65
+  Earthy Phosphates                                     3.94
+  Salt (Chloride of Sodium)                             4.45
+  Silica                                                0.03
+                                                      ------
+                                                       67.00
+Water                                                 933.00
+                                                      ------
+                                                     1000.00
+
+No. XX.
+
+COW MANURE.
+
+Solid (Ash)--
+  Phosphates                                           20.9
+  Peroxide of Iron                                      8.8
+  Lime                                                  1.5
+  Sulphate of Lime (Plaster)                            3.1
+  Chloride of Potassium                               trace
+  Silica                                               63.7
+    Loss                                                2.0
+                                                      -----
+                                                      100.0
+
+No. XXI.
+
+COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE URINE OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS.
+
+               Solid Matter.
+          Organic.      Inorganic.           Total.
+Man         23.4           7.6                31
+Horse       27.           33.                 60
+Cow         50.           20.                 70
+Pig         56.           18.                 74
+Sheep       28.           12.                 40
+
+No. XXII.
+
+GUANO.
+
+Water                       6.40
+Ammonia                     2.71
+Uric Acid                  34.70
+Oxalic Acid, etc.          26.79
+  Fixed Alkaline Salts.
+Sulphate of Soda            2.94
+Phosphate of Soda            .48
+Chloride of Sodium (salt)    .86
+  Earthy Salts.
+Carbonate of Lime           1.36
+Phosphates                 19.24
+  Foreign Matter.
+Silicious grit and sand     4.52
+                          ------
+                          100.00
+
+For the analysis of fertile and barren soils, see page 72.
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[AR] Contain a large amount of Water.
+
+[AS] Pectic Acid.
+
+[AT] Supply Ammonia.
+
+
+
+
+THE PRACTICAL FARMER.
+
+
+Who is the _practical farmer_? Let us look at two pictures and decide.
+
+Here is a farm of 100 acres in ordinary condition. It is owned and
+tilled by a hard-working man, who, in the busy season, employs one or
+two assistants. The farm is free from debt, but it does not produce an
+abundant income; therefore, its owner cannot afford to purchase the best
+implements, or make other needed improvements; besides, he don't
+_believe_ in such things. His father was a good solid farmer; so was his
+grandfather; and so is he, or thinks he is. He is satisfied that 'the
+good old way' is best, and he sticks to it. He works from morning till
+night; from spring till fall. In the winter, he _rests_, as much as his
+lessened duties will allow. During this time, he reads little, or
+nothing. Least of all does he read about farming. He don't want to learn
+how to dig potatoes out of a book. Book farming is nonsense. Many other
+similar ideas keep him from agricultural reading. His house is
+comfortable, and his barns are quite as good as his neighbors', while
+his farm gives him a living. It is true that his soil does not produce
+as much as it did ten years ago; but prices are better, and he is
+satisfied.
+
+Let us look at his premises, and see how his affairs are managed. First,
+examine the land. Well, it is good fair land. Some of it is a little
+springy, but is not to be called _wet_. It will produce a ton and a half
+of hay to the acre--it used to produce two tons. There are some stones
+on the land, but not enough in his estimation to do harm. The plowed
+fields are pretty good; they will produce 35 bushels of corn, 13 bushels
+of wheat, or 30 bushels of oats per acre, when the season is not dry.
+His father used to get more; but, somehow, the _weather_ is not so
+favorable as it was in old times. He has thought of raising root crops,
+but they take more labor than he can afford to hire. Over, in the back
+part of the land there is a muck-hole, which is the only piece of
+_worthless_ land on the whole farm.
+
+Now, let us look at the barns and barn-yards. The stables are pretty
+good. There are some wide cracks in the siding, but they help to
+ventilate, and make it healthier for the cattle. The manure is thrown
+out of the back windows, and is left in piles under the eaves on the
+sunny side of the barn. The rain and sun make it nicer to handle. The
+cattle have to go some distance for water; and this gives them exercise.
+All of the cattle are not kept in the stable; the fattening stock are
+kept in the various fields, where hay is fed out to them from the stack.
+The barn-yard is often occupied by cattle, and is covered with their
+manure, which lies there until it is carted on to the land. In the shed
+are the tools of the farm, consisting of carts, plows--not deep plows,
+this farmer thinks it best to have roots near the surface of the soil
+where they can have the benefit of the sun's heat,--a harrow, hoes,
+rakes, etc. These tools are all in good order; and, unlike those of his
+less prudent neighbor, they are protected from the weather.
+
+The crops are cultivated with the plow, and hoe, as they have been since
+the land was cleared, and as they always will be until this man dies.
+
+Here is the 'practical farmer' of the present day. Hard working, out of
+debt, and economical--of dollars and cents, if not of soil and manures.
+He is a better farmer than two thirds of the three millions of farmers
+in the country. He is one of the best farmers in his town--there are but
+few better in the county, not many in the State. He represents the
+better class of his profession.
+
+With all this, he is, in matters relating to his business, an unreading,
+unthinking man. He knows nothing of the first principles of farming, and
+is successful by the _indulgence_ of nature, not because he understands
+her, and is able to make the most of her assistance.
+
+This is an unpleasant fact, but it is one which cannot be denied. We do
+not say this to disparage the farmer, but to arouse him to a realization
+of his position and of his power to improve it.
+
+But let us see where he is wrong.
+
+He is wrong in thinking that his land does not need draining. He is
+wrong in being satisfied with one and a half tons of hay to the acre
+when he might easily get two and a half. He is wrong in not removing as
+far as possible every stone that can interfere with the deep and
+thorough cultivation of his soil. He is wrong in reaping less than his
+father did, when he should get more. He is wrong in ascribing to the
+weather, and similar causes, what is due to the actual impoverishment of
+his soil. He is wrong in not raising turnips, carrots, and other roots,
+which his winter stock so much need, when they might be raised at a cost
+of less than one third of their value as food. He is wrong in
+considering worthless a deposit of muck, which is a mine of wealth if
+properly employed. He is wrong in _ventilating_ his stables at the cost
+of _heat_. He is wrong in his treatment of his manures, for he loses
+more than one half of their value from evaporation, fermentation, and
+leaching. He is wrong in not having water at hand for his cattle--their
+exercise detracts from their accumulation of fat and their production of
+heat, and it exposes them to cold. He is wrong in not protecting his
+fattening stock from the cold of winter; for, under exposure to cold,
+the food, which would otherwise be used in the formation of _fat_, goes
+to the production of the animal heat necessary to counteract the
+chilling influence of the weather, p. 50. He is wrong in allowing his
+manure to lie unprotected in the barn-yard. He is wrong in not adding to
+his tools the deep surface plow, the subsoil plow, the cultivator, and
+many others of improved construction. He is wrong in cultivating with
+the plow and hoe, those crops which could be better or more cheaply
+managed with the cultivator or horse-hoe. He is wrong in many things
+more, as we shall see if we examine all of his yearly routine of work.
+He is right in a few things; and but a few, as he himself would admit,
+had he that knowledge of his business which he could obtain in the
+leisure hours of a single winter. Still, he thinks himself a _practical_
+farmer. In twenty years, we shall have fewer such, for our young men
+have the mental capacity and mental energy necessary to raise them to
+the highest point of practical education, and to that point they are
+gradually but surely rising.
+
+Let us now place this same farm in the hands of an educated and
+understanding cultivator; and, at the end of five years, look at it
+again.
+
+He has sold one half of it, and cultivates but fifty acres. The money
+for which the other fifty were sold has been used in the improvement of
+the farm. The land has all been under-drained, and shows the many
+improvements consequent on such treatment. The stones and small rocks
+have been removed, leaving the surface of the soil smooth, and allowing
+the use of the sub-soil plow, which with the under-drains have more than
+doubled the productive power of the farm. Sufficient labor is employed
+to cultivate with improved tools, extensive root crops, and they
+invariably give a large yield. The grass land produces a yearly average
+of 2-1/2 tons of hay per acre. From 80 to 100 bushels of corn, 30
+bushels of wheat, and 45 bushels of oats are the average of the crops
+reaped. The soil has been analyzed, and put in the best possible
+condition, while it is yearly supplied with manures containing every
+thing taken away in the abundant crops. The analysis is never lost sight
+of in the regulation of crops and the application of manures. The
+_worthless_ muck bed was retained, and is made worth one dollar a load
+to the compost heap, especially as the land requires an increase of
+organic matter. A new barn has been built large enough to store all of
+the hay produced on the farm. It has stables, which are tight and warm,
+and are well ventilated _above_ the cattle. The stock being thus
+protected from the loss of their heat, give more milk, and make more fat
+on a less amount of food than they did under the old system. Water is
+near at hand, and the animals are not obliged to over exercise. The
+manure is carefully composted, either under a shed constructed for the
+purpose with a tank and pump, or is thrown into the cellar below, where
+the hogs mix it with a large amount of muck, which has been carted in
+after being thoroughly decomposed by the lime and salt mixture.
+
+They are thus protected against all loss, and are prepared for the
+immediate use of crops. No manures are allowed to lie in the barn-yard,
+but they are all early removed to the compost heap, where they are
+preserved by being mixed with carbonaceous matter. In the tool shed, we
+find deep surface-plows, sub-soil plows, cultivators, horse-hoes,
+seed-drills, and many other valuable improvements.
+
+This farmer takes one or more agricultural papers, from which he learns
+many new methods of cultivation, while his knowledge of the _reasons_ of
+various agricultural effects enables him to discard the injudicious
+suggestions of mere _book farmers_ and uneducated dreamers.
+
+Here are two specimens of farmers. Neither description is over-drawn.
+The first is much more careful in his operations than the majority of
+our rural population. The second is no better than many who may be found
+in America.
+
+We appeal to the common sense of the reader of this work to know which
+of the two is the _practical farmer_--let him imitate either as his
+judgment shall dictate.
+
+FINIS.
+
+
+
+
+EXPLANATION OF TERMS.
+
+
+ABSORB--to soak in a liquid or a gas.
+
+ABSTRACT--to take from.
+
+ACID--sour; a sour substance.
+
+AGRICULTURE--the art of cultivating the soil.
+
+ALKALI--the direct opposite of an _acid_, with which it has a tendency
+    to unite.
+
+ALUMINA--the base of clay.
+
+ANALYSIS--separating into its primary parts any compound substance.
+
+CARBONATE--a compound, consisting of carbonic acid and an alkali.
+
+CAUSTIC--burning.
+
+CHLORIDE--a compound containing chlorine.
+
+CLEVIS--that part of a plow by which the drawing power is attached.
+
+DECOMPOSE--to separate the constituents of a body from their
+    combinations, forming new kinds of compounds.
+
+DIGESTION--the decomposition of food in the stomach and intestines of
+    animals (agricultural).
+
+DEW--deposit of the insensible vapor of the atmosphere on cold bodies.
+
+EXCREMENT--the matter given out by the organs of plants and animals,
+    being those parts of their food which they are unable to assimilate.
+
+FERMENTATION--a kind of decomposition.
+
+GAS--air--aeriform matter.
+
+GURNEYISM--see _Mulching_.
+
+INGREDIENT--component part.
+
+INORGANIC--mineral, or earthy.
+
+MOULDBOARD--that part of a surface plow which turns the sod.
+
+MULCHING--covering the soil with litter, leaves, or other refuse matter.
+    See p. 247.
+
+NEUTRALIZE--To overcome the characteristic properties of.
+
+ORGANIC MATTER--that kind of matter which at times possesses an
+    organized (or living) form, and at others exists as a gas in the
+    atmosphere.
+
+OXIDE--a compound of oxygen with a metal.
+
+PHOSPHATE--a compound of phosphoric acid with an alkali.
+
+PROXIMATE--an organic compound, such as wood, starch, gum, etc.; a
+    product of life.
+
+PUNGENT--pricking.
+
+PUTREFACTION--rotting.
+
+SATURATE--to _fill_ the pores of any substance, as a sponge with water,
+    or charcoal with ammonia.
+
+SILICATE--a compound of silica with an alkali.
+
+SOLUBLE--capable of being dissolved.
+
+SOLUTION--a liquid containing another substance dissolved in it.
+
+SATURATED SOLUTION--one which contains as much of the foreign substance
+    as it is capable of holding.
+
+SPONGIOLES--the mouths at the ends of roots.
+
+SULPHATE--a compound of sulphuric acid with an alkali.
+
+VAPOR--gas.
+
+
+
+
+KETCHUM'S
+
+PATENT MOWING MACHINES
+
+[Illustration]
+
+=The greatest Improvement ever made for Simplicity, Durability, and Ease
+of Action.=
+
+
+It is now beyond a question, from the complete triumph over all other
+machines this season, that this is the _only_ successful Grass Cutter
+known. It is in fact the _only_ machine that has ever cut _all kinds of
+grass_ without _clogging_ or _interruption_. More than 1000 have been
+sold the present season under the following warranty, and not in a
+single instance have we been called on to take one back.
+
+(Warranty:) That said machines are capable of Cutting and Spreading,
+with one span of horses and driver, from ten to fifteen acres per day,
+_of any kind of grass, heavy or light, wet or dry, lodged or standing_,
+and do it as well as is done with a scythe by the best mowers.
+
+The price of our machine, with two sets of knives and extras, is $110,
+cash, delivered on board of cars or boat, free of charge.
+
+HOWARD & CO.,
+Manufacturers and Proprietors, Buffalo, N. Y.
+
+_Buffalo_, Aug. 1, 1853.
+
+
+RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & Co., Manufacture Ketchum's Mower for New
+    England.
+
+WARDER & BROKAW, Springfield, Ohio; for Southern Ohio and Kentucky.
+
+SEYMOUR & MORGAN, Brockport, N. Y.; for Michigan and Illinois.
+
+
+
+
+NEW AND USEFUL WORKS.
+
+JUST PUBLISHED BY
+
+_D. APPLETON & COMPANY_
+
+
+A new and much, enlarged edition of
+
+=DR. URE'S=
+
+DICTIONARY OF ARTS, MANUFACTURES AND MINES.
+
+Containing a clear Exposition of their principles and practice.
+Illustrated with nearly 1,600 engravings. Complete in two large 8vo.
+volumes; counts over 2,000 pages. Price $5.00.
+
+    This new edition is nearly a quarter of a century in advance of
+    any previous one.
+
+    It contains one third more matter than the latest previous one.
+
+    The statistics, inventions, and improvements, are all brought
+    down to the present time.
+
+    The results of the London Exhibition on the respective subjects
+    of which the Dictionary treats, are presented with great fulness
+    and accuracy.
+
+    The numerous errors in the typography of the London edition have
+    been corrected in this.
+
+
+=SIR CHARLES LYELL'S=
+
+PRINCIPLES OF GEOLOGY;
+
+Or, the Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, considered as
+illustrative of Geology. A new and much enlarged edition. Illustrated
+with maps, plates, and wood-cuts. 1 vol. 8vo., of 850 pages. Price
+$2.25.
+
+
+=SIR CHARLES LYELL'S=
+
+MANUAL OF ELEMENTARY GEOLOGY;
+
+Or, the Ancient Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, as illustrated
+by Geological Monuments. A new and greatly enlarged edition. Illustrated
+with 500 wood-cuts. 1 vol. 8vo. Price $1.75.
+
+    [***] The author of these works, stands in the very front rank
+    of scientific men, and his works upon the science to which he
+    has devoted his great powers and his indefatigable study, are
+    the standard books upon these subjects.
+
+
+=APPLETON'S=
+
+MODERN ATLAS OF THE EARTH.
+
+With an Alphabetical Index of the Latitudes and Longitudes of 18,000
+places. Thirty-four beautifully engraved and colored maps, with
+Temperature Scales. 4to. size, bound in 1 vol., royal 8vo. Price $3.50.
+
+    This is the only complete portable Modern Atlas yet published.
+    The maps are engraved on steel, and executed with great
+    clearness, distinctness and accuracy. The delineations of
+    mountainous districts, the sources of rivers and boundary lines,
+    have been made with great care. It is designed for the table of
+    the Student and the office of the Professional Man, and is
+    issued in a very finished and elegant style, and embraces
+    extensive details of all the important parts of the Earth.
+
+
+
+
+_D. APPLETON AND CO.'S PUBLICATIONS._
+
+Popular Science.
+
+The Chemistry of Common Life.
+
+BY JAMES F. W. JOHNSTON, M.A., F.R.S.S. L. & E., &c.
+
+Author of "Lectures on Agricultural Chemistry and Geology," a "Catechism
+of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology," &c.
+
+
+ADVERTISEMENT.
+
+    The common life of man is full of wonders, Chemical and
+    Physiological. Most of us pass through this life without seeing
+    or being sensible of them, though every day our existence and
+    our comforts ought to recall them to our minds. One main cause
+    of this is, that our schools tell us nothing about them--do not
+    teach those parts of modern learning which would fit us for
+    seeing them. What most concerns the things that daily occupy our
+    attention and cares, are in early life almost sedulously kept
+    from our knowledge. Those who would learn any thing regarding
+    them, must subsequently teach themselves through the help of the
+    press: hence the necessity for a Popular Chemical Literature.
+
+    It is with a view to meet this want of the Public, and at the
+    same time to supply a Manual for the Schools, that the present
+    work has been projected. It treats, in what appears to be their
+    natural order, of THE AIR WE BREATHE and THE WATER WE DRINK, in
+    their relations to human life and health--THE SOIL WE CULTIVATE
+    AND THE PLANT WE REAR, as the sources from which the chief
+    sustenance of all life is obtained--THE BREAD WE EAT AND THE
+    BEEF WE COOK, as the representatives of the two grand divisions
+    of human food--THE BEVERAGES WE INFUSE, from which so much of
+    the comfort of modern life, both savage and civilized, is
+    derived--THE SWEETS WE EXTRACT, the history of which presents so
+    striking an illustration of the economical value of chemical
+    science--THE LIQUORS WE FERMENT, so different from the sweets in
+    their action on the system, and yet so closely connected with
+    them in chemical history--THE NARCOTICS WE INDULGE IN, as
+    presenting us with an aspect of the human constitution which,
+    both chemically and physiologically, is more mysterious and
+    wonderful than any other we are acquainted with--THE ODOURS WE
+    ENJOY AND THE SMELLS WE DISLIKE; the former because of the
+    beautiful illustration it presents of the recent progress of
+    organic chemistry in its relations to comforts of common life,
+    and the latter because of its intimate connection with our most
+    important sanitary arrangements--WHAT WE BREATHE FOR and WHY WE
+    DIGEST, as functions of the body at once the most important to
+    life, and the most purely chemical in their nature--THE BODY WE
+    CHERISH, as presenting many striking phenomena, and performing
+    many interesting chemical functions not touched upon in the
+    discussion of the preceding topics--and lastly, THE CIRCULATION
+    OF MATTER, as exhibiting in one view the end, purpose, and
+    method of all the changes in the natural body, in organic
+    nature, and in the mineral kingdom, which are connected with and
+    determine the existence of life.
+
+    It has been the object of the Author in this Work to exhibit the
+    present condition of chemical knowledge and of matured
+    scientific opinion upon the subjects to which it is devoted. The
+    reader will not be surprised, therefore, should he find in it
+    some things which differ from what is to be found in other
+    popular works already in his hands or on the shelves of his
+    library.
+
+    The Work is being published in 5 or 6 NUMBERS, price 25 cents
+    each, in the following order, forming 1 vol. 12mo. of about 400
+    pages.
+
+    1. The AIR we Breathe and
+    2. The WATER we Drink.
+    3. The SOIL we Cultivate and
+    4. The PLANT we Rear.
+    5. The BREAD we Eat and
+    6. The BEEF we Cook.
+    7. The BEVERAGES we Infuse.
+    8. The SWEETS we Extract.
+    9. The LIQUORS we Ferment.
+    10. The NARCOTICS we Indulge in.
+    11. The ODOURS we Enjoy and
+    12. The SMELLS we Dislike.
+    13. What we BREATHE and BREATHE FOR, and
+    14. What, How, and Why we DIGEST
+    15. The BODY we Cherish, and
+    16. The CIRCULATION of MATTER, a Recapitulation.
+
+
+
+
+WORKS ON AGRICULTURE, THE HORSE, & DOG.
+
+_Published by D. Appleton, & Co._
+
+
+THE FARMER'S HAND-BOOK
+
+Being a Full and Complete Guide for the Farmer and Emigrant.
+Comprising--The Clearing of Forest and Prairie Lands; Gardening; Farming
+Generally; Farriery; The Management and Treatment of Cattle; Cookery;
+The Construction of Dwellings; Prevention and Cure of Disease; with
+copious Tables, Recipes, Hints, &c., &c. By JOSIAH T. MARSHALL. One
+volume, 12mo., illustrated with numerous wood engravings. Neatly bound.
+Price $1; paper cover, 62-1/2 cents.
+
+    "One of the most useful books we ever saw."--_Boston Post._
+
+
+RURAL ECONOMY,
+
+In its relations with Chemistry, Physics, and Meteorology; or, Chemistry
+applied to Agriculture. By J. B. BOUISSANGAULT. Translated, with Notes,
+etc., by George Law, Agriculturist. 12mo, over 500 pages, $1 50.
+
+    "The work is the fruit of a long life of study and experiment,
+    and its perusal will aid the farmer greatly in obtaining a
+    practical and scientific knowledge of his profession."--_American
+    Agriculturist._
+
+
+THE FARMER'S MANUAL:
+
+A Practical Treatise on the Nature and Value of Manures, founded from
+Experiments on various Crops, with a brief account of the most Recent
+Discoveries in Agricultural Chemistry. By F. FALKNER and the Author of
+"British Husbandry." 12mo, 50 cts.
+
+
+THE FARMER'S TREASURE:
+
+Containing "Falkner's Farmer's Manual," and "Smith's Productive
+Farming," bound together. 12mo, 75 cents.
+
+
+STABLE ECONOMY:
+
+A Treatise on the Management of Horses, in relation to Stabling,
+Grooming, Feeding, Watering, and Working. By JOHN STEWART, Veterinary
+Surgeon. With Notes and Additions, adapting it to American Food and
+Climate, by A. B. ALLEN. 12mo, illustrated with 23 Engravings, $1.
+
+    "No one should build a stable or own a horse without consulting
+    the excellent directions for stabling and using the horse, in
+    this book of Stewart's. It is an invaluable _vade mecum_ for all
+    who have the luxury of a stable."--_Eve. Mirror._
+
+
+THE HORSE'S FOOT; AND HOW TO KEEP IT SOUND.
+
+With Illustrations by WILLIAM MILES, Esq., from the Third London
+Edition, with 23 plates. Price 25 cents.
+
+This work has received the unqualified recommendation of the Quarterly,
+the Edinburgh, and the Reviews generally, of England. The price of the
+English copy is $3.
+
+    "It should be in the hands of every owner or friend of the
+    horse."
+
+
+DOGS: THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES.
+
+Directions as to their general Management. With numerous original
+anecdotes. Also Complete Instructions as to Treatment under Disease. By
+H. D. RICHARDSON. Illustrated with numerous Wood Engravings. 1 vol.
+12mo, 25 cts. paper cover, 38 cts. cloth.
+
+    This is not only a cheap, but one of the best works ever
+    published on the Dog.
+
+
+THE BOOK OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE:
+
+A Cyclopaedia of Six Thousand Practical Receipts, and Collateral
+Information in the Arts, Manufactures, and Trades; including Medicine,
+Pharmacy, and Domestic Economy, designed as a compendious Book of
+Reference for the Manufacturer, Tradesman, Amateur, and Heads of
+Families. By ARNOLD JAMES COOLEY, Practical Chemist. Illustrated with
+numerous Wood Engravings. Forming one handsome volume, 8vo, of 464
+pages. Price $2 25, bound.
+
+
+TREATISE ON THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF LANDSCAPE GARDENING:
+
+ADAPTED TO NORTH AMERICA, WITH A VIEW TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF COUNTRY
+RESIDENCES--
+
+Comprising Historical Notices and General Principles of the Art, Directions for
+      Laying Out Grounds and Arranging Plantations, the Description and
+         Cultivation of Hardy Trees, Decorative Accompaniments of the
+           House and Grounds, the Formation of pieces of Artificial
+              Water, Flower Gardens, etc., with remarks on Rural
+                    Architecture. A new edition, enlarged,
+                       revised and newly illustrated.
+
+By A. J. DOWNING, author of "Designs for Cottage Residences," etc.
+
+A new and improved edition, 8vo., illustrated, $3 50.
+
+    "Insult not Nature with absurd expense,
+    Nor spoil her simple charms by vain pretense;
+    Weigh well the subject, be with caution bold,
+    Profuse of genius, not profuse of gold."
+
+RIKER, THORPE & CO., 129 Fulton st., New York.
+
+"There is no work extant which can be compared in ability to Downing's
+volume on this subject. It is not overlaid with elaborate and learned
+disquisition, like the English works, but it is truly
+practical."--_Louisville Journal._
+
+"Mr. Downing's works have been greatly influential in recommending among
+us that life which has always seemed to us the perfection of human
+existence--the life of men of education, living upon and cultivating
+their own farms."--_Cour. and Enq._
+
+"The principles he lays down are not only sound, but are developed on a
+uniform system, which is not paralleled in any English work."--_Prof.
+Lindley's Chronicle, London._
+
+
+=RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & CO.=,
+
+_MANUFACTURERS AT WORCESTER_,
+
+And Wholesale and Retail Dealers in
+
+AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINES,
+
+=Garden, Field and Flower Seeds=,
+
+FRUIT AND ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ROSES, VINES AND PLANTS,
+
+GUANO, BONE DUST, PHOSPHATES, POUDRETTE, &c.
+
+Also, Agricultural and Horticultural Publications, and Agents for
+Principal Nurseries,
+
+AT THE
+
+QUINCY HALL
+
+=AGRICULTURAL WAREHOUSE AND SEED STORE=,
+
+OVER QUINCY MARKET, SOUTH MARKET ST.,
+
+=BOSTON, MASS.=
+
+
+
+
+WAGENER'S AMERICAN SEED
+
+=HARVESTER.=
+
+
+HIGHEST PREMIUMS AWARDED
+
+=At the World's Fair Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations, 1853.=
+
+ALSO BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE, NEW YORK.
+
+VARIOUS OTHER APPROBATIONS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED.
+
+This Machine consists of a simple frame and box mounted on wheels, in
+front of which is a cylinder, set with spiral knives, acting in concert
+with curved spring teeth, in combination with a straight knife, which
+forms a perfect shear, and severs the head from the stalk; the heads are
+at the same time discharged into the box. The teeth being made to spring
+and vibrate, not a particle of clover, however stalky or thick, can
+possibly escape being cut, or allow the teeth to become clogged. The
+Cylinder and Knives are protected by an adjustible guard plate, thus
+allowing only the heads to pass to the Knives, retaining the head, and
+the head only--thus leaving the stalk to enrich the soil. The machine is
+so constructed that it can be made adjustible to the height of the
+Clover and Timothy.
+
+To be seen at the Crystal Palace. Price of the machines moderate.
+
+    The Farmer will find that by this process, he may save two crops
+    of Timothy per year. When the seed is ripe the tops can be
+    clipped, and the straw left until fall to mature. You now have
+    your seed and hay in two crops of equal value; in case of
+    clover, you mow the first crop for hay, the second for seed; you
+    in both cases get better seed and hay with less labor and
+    expense than grain crops, at the same time leaving the soil
+    clothed with a coat of straw, for the coming season, which will
+    increase the value of the soil for crops, make fine pastures and
+    fine stock, while it fits the land for fine grain. In this way
+    lands in our states have been raised in production from five to
+    twenty-five or thirty bushels of wheat per acre, in the course
+    of a few years.
+
+    This is within the reach of every farmer, without money or
+    labor, as organic matter accumulates from the atmosphere and is
+    deposited in the soil.
+
+Manufactured and for sale by the Patentee and Proprietor,
+
+JEPTHA A. WAGENER.
+_Office 348 West Twenty-Fourth Street, New York._
+
+All orders for Machines this season should be sent in immediately, in
+order to have them in readiness for harvest time.
+
+=Price of Machines, $100 and $110, two sizes, at the Manufactory.=
+
+--> Rights of States and Counties on favorable terms.
+
+    "Wagener's Clover and Timothy Seed Harvester has been in
+    successful operation two seasons, and has received the premium
+    at the World's Fair and at the Fair of the American Institute,
+    and various other testimonials of superior value. They are
+    manufactured and for sale by the inventor, Jeptha A. Wagener, at
+    348 West 24th street, New York."--_U. S. Journal._
+
+The Grain Harvester is in course of preparation, and will soon be
+offered for sale.
+
+
+
+
+THE WORKING FARMER,
+
+PUBLISHED ON THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH,
+
+At 143 Fulton St., (upper side,) a few doors east of Broadway, New York.
+
+
+TERMS.
+
+One year, _payable in advance_,                         $1 00
+Clubs of six subscribers,                                5 00
+Clubs of twelve subscribers,                            10 00
+Clubs of twenty-five subscribers,                       20 00
+Single copies,                                             10
+Volume one, in paper cover,                                50
+Volumes two, three, four and five, in paper cover, each  1 00
+
+Postage on the WORKING FARMER, _if paid at the Subscriber's Post
+Office_, is, for
+
+Any distance within the United States, 3000 miles and under, _one cent_
+for each paper. If paid at a Subscriber's Post Office, _in advance_,
+1-3/4 cents per quarter, or 7 cents per year.
+
+Postage on bound volumes in _paper covers, if pre-paid at the New York
+Post Office_,
+
+                            Vol. I.  | Vols. II., III., IV & V.
+Any distance within United     cts.  | cts.
+States, 3000 miles and under     22  | 26 each volume.
+
+If not pre-paid at the New York Post Office, double the above rates will
+be charged.
+
+Subscriptions must commence with the year, namely, March; or the even
+half year, September; and for not less than one year.
+
+Remittances can be made, from such States as have no small paper
+circulation, in gold dollars, Post Office stamps, or the bills of other
+States.
+
+=ADVERTISEMENTS.=
+
+Five lines, one dollar each insertion, and in the same ratio for more
+lengthy advertisements.
+
+Post-paid Letters, addressed to the Publisher, will meet with prompt
+attention.
+
+FRED'K McCREADY,
+143 Fulton street, upper side, a few doors east of Broadway.
+
+
+MAPES'
+
+IMPROVED
+
+SUPER
+
+PHOSPHATE OF LIME
+
+160 lbs.
+
+FREDK. McCREADY
+
+WHOLESALE AGT. 143 FULTON STREET,
+
+KEEP DRY. N.Y.
+
+SEVERAL IMITATIONS of this celebrated fertilizer having been introduced
+among the dealers since the introduction of the _Improved
+Super-Phosphate of Lime_, I beg to state that all manufactured under the
+recipe of Prof. J. J. Mapes, is
+
+MARKED ON THE BAGS AS ABOVE,
+
+and each bag contains his certificate of having been made under his
+superintendence.
+
+--> Orders for the above fertilizer by mail, from strangers, should be
+accompanied with the money, a draft, or proper references. The bags
+contain exactly 160 lbs., which at two and a half cents per pound,
+amounts to four dollars.
+
+FRED'K McCREADY, 143 Fulton street, New York.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THE UNIVERSAL CULTIVATOR,
+
+Described on page 254,
+
+Is represented in the above cut. It is manufactured by us, and is sold
+by all implement dealers.
+
+
+OUR
+
+IMPROVED HORSE HOE,
+
+Of which a cut may be seen on p. 254,
+
+Is now manufactured at our establishment, and is sold throughout the
+Union. It is the best implement for weeding, etc. ever made.
+
+
+THE SOD AND SUB-SOIL PLOW,
+
+(Sometimes called the MICHIGAN PLOW,)
+
+Consists of two plows on the same beam. The first inverts the sod to the
+depth of a few inches, and the hindmost plow brings up the lower soil,
+depositing it on the inverted sod.
+
+FOR DEEP TILLAGE, especially on prairie land, this is superior to any of
+its competitors.
+
+RUGGLES, NOURSE, MASON & CO.
+Worcester, Mass., and Quincy Hall, Boston.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBERS' NOTES
+
+Page   8 Page number added for tables of analysis
+Page  22 Period added after "great brilliancy"
+Page  33 seashore standardised to sea-shore; genii standardised to genie
+Page  39 No footnote anchor was in place. Anchor added after "are
+         formed," as this seemed most reasonable in context.
+Page  52 quanties corrected to quantities; nutricious corrected to
+         nutritious
+Page  53 Footnote marker added for "See Johnston's Elements, page 41."
+Page  55 ? added after "in their composition" in footer
+Page  74 Removed second "the" in "is the the foundation of Agricultural
+         Geology."
+Page 142 pigstye standardised to pig-stye
+Page 144 plough standardised to plow
+Pages 145, 211 subsoil plow standardised to sub-soil plow [Note that in
+         line with the more common usage in this work, the phrases
+         sub-soil plow and sub-soiling have retained their hyphens]
+Page 148 Removed second n in mannures
+Page 152 postash corrected to potash
+Page 157 suplying corrected to supplying
+Page 167 carbonia corrected to carbonic
+Page 174 buck-wheat standardised to buckwheat
+Pages 196, 232, 234, 235, 237, 238, 241 sub-soil standardised to subsoil
+Page 204 ? Added after Mineral in the question section
+Page 211 water tight standardised to water-tight
+Page 223 Second 6. changed to 7.
+Page 232 oxydation standardised to oxidation
+Page 266 Period added after lbs in 1620 lbs rye straw
+Page 272 Title No. XVI. added to table
+Page 273 10,000 corrected to 100.00
+Page 290 accurracy corrected to accuracy
+Page 292 Number of pages unclear. 464 Guessed.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Elements of Agriculture, by George E. Waring
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 31105.txt or 31105.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        https://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/1/0/31105/
+
+Produced by Steven Giacomelli, Brownfox and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images produced by Core Historical
+Literature in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions
+will be renamed.
+
+Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no
+one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation
+(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without
+permission and without paying copyright royalties.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+https://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+https://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at https://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit https://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
+donations.  To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     https://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
diff --git a/31105.zip b/31105.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..818190c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/31105.zip
diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6312041
--- /dev/null
+++ b/LICENSE.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..35a525e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #31105 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31105)