The Express.
London, England, 1851-10-09 00:00:00

barley and wheat straw being rettined upon the
farm. In that case the sale of grain will occasion a
loss of minerals to each acre of the fa m of from 20
to 21 Ills. of potass and soda, and 26 to 30 lbs. of
phosphoric acid, in the course of the rotation, or on
an average 5 to 6 lbs. of potass and soda, and 61 to
7l lbs. of phosphoric acid per acre per annum. In
the sale of animals there would be some additional
loss of phosphoric acid, though if it consisted solely
of feeding and not breeding stock, this would be less
considcruhlc than in the case of grain. They have
ascertained by experiment that the amouut of alka-
lies sent off m meat would be only about one-fourth
that of the phosphoric acid. Practically, phosphoric
acid is provided by the purchase of bones and other
phosphatic manures. The question, then, is what
external supply of the alkalies requires to be pro-
vided by external sources, and it seems that from 3
to 8 lbs. per acre per annum would be required to be
drawn by decomposition from the stores of the native
But in truth, such amounts of produce as above
stated are not exported from the farm, unless under
a system of purchased food for stock, or other sub-
, stances, as rapecake, &c., as manure for turnips; and
by either of these means more of the alkalies would
be brought upon the farm than could possibly be ex-
ported in the increased produce of corn and meat
arising from their use. Thus wherever land is well
.4Witinsted , the' -timiseis*-apcst the native soil for
alkalies, by the sale of corn, will most likely be less
than has been assumed; and it is not unlikely that
in our actual practice the available alkalies of the
soil will, from the two causes of import and disin-
tegration, accumulate rather than diminish.
It is suggested that to keep up the fertility of a
farm by imported manures alone, without stook,
would be too expensive; and it is asked of practical I
men, as a test of the mineral theory, " how it would
be possible that the increased growth of wheat should
be so limited, and that its cost should be so great as
in experience it is found to be, if the only manure
required were the mineral constituents found in its
ashes?" And further, "how, on the idea, on the
other hand, that the nitrogen supplied in our ma-
nures determines the produce of wheat, they [practi-
cal men] could account for the relative paces of
wheat and ammonia, unless on the supposition that
the expenditure and loss of the latter, during the
growth of the plant, is a fact which fundamentally
affects the production and cost of rain in practical
agriculture ?" And here we may 'mention that one
cwt. of Peruvian guano will supply as much phos-
phoric neid as would be contained in about 18 bushels
of wheat and its equivalent in straw, 1,800Ibs.; and
AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY; TURNIP CUL. of nitrogen, the same quantity of guano will contain,
TCRE ; FALLOWS. about as much as 11 bushels of wheat and I,loollm.
We have it proved to demonstration, by the ex- of straw.
penmen& of 3lessrs. Lewes and Gilbert, that as But, reverting to the illustrations drawn from'
regards wheat, the theory which would supply to practical husbandry in this country, besides the
plants a manure, founded on a knowledge of their cattle and other stock kept for the production off
per tentage composition alone, whether of their ashes meat, the animals kept for the performance of the
or of their organic substance, is fallacious, and farm labour must either consume a part of the pro-
nearly the converse of that proposition is true in duce of the land itself, in which ease the sales et
many. important cases. Thus wheat has in its corn- corn must be reduced, and consequently the az.
positton a low per ventage of nitrogen, and a reps- haustion of alkalies also, or they must be
tively high per centage of carbon; but experiment provided for by purchased food ; in which
has shown that in order to produce a luxuriant while most of the minerals of such food
growth of wheat, that crop requires au abundant will be retained upon the farm, much of its nitrogen
supple of nitrogen us manure, and that it is practi- and more of its carbon will be lost by the vital pro-
tally independent of impelled carbon. These export- MRCS during the consumption of it by animals.
mentsais we:l asthe practical experience of the termer, And this illustration, drawn from one particular
substantiate that there is a loss or expenditure of mode of farming, will be applicable in principle to
nitrogen during the growth of whent,derived through all the variations of practice adopted in Great Bri-
dle roots. On the other hund the leguminous plants, min. In some cases, owing to local circumstances,
which are highly nitrogenous, are not strik- such as the vicinity of large towns and so forth, hay
ingly benefited by nitrogenous manures. This and straw, and even root crops, are sent oft' the
shows leguminous plants form proper objects of farm ; but compensation is generally found fur this
cultivation in rotation with wheat. Clover, also, is otherwise exhausting process by the return of stable
not much dependent on au ern& al provision of manure, night soil, and other town manures; and as
nitrogen ; and it seems that the fallow crops, that is evidence that the alkalies are not relatively to
roots, green and leguminous crops, are essentially nitrogen exhausted by the sale of straw in tho
benefited by mineral manures. Indeed, Messrs. neighbourhood of London, may bo cited the exten-
Lewes and Gilbert say, the effect of alkalies upon sire use and marked effects of soot and other non-
leguminous plants, perhaps approaches more nearly mineral manures on the laud from which this straw
to consistency with the theory of Baron Liebig, titan is taken.
any other fact which has come under our observe- Baron Liebig has referred to our experience of
thin, for the alkalies, which we have found to have a fallow as showing the fallacy of the results of
very marked effect upon their increased growth, pro Messrs. Lewes and Gi,bcrts' experiments ; to which
dominate largely in their ashes. But again, in the they reply that the process of fallowing, and even
turnip, the theory of per centage composition fails ; of liming also, when rightly considered, confirm
for though the ash of both bulb and leaf of the their views. By that process of fallowing and
turnip shows a proportion of alkalies to phosphoric lining, the disintegration of the minerals of the
mid of four or five to one, and the theory would lead soil, and the increase of the available supply, there-
to the inference that alkalies formed the appropriate fore, of their several constituents must be enhanced ;
manure for turnip., common practice, as well as cx- and though the direct experiments of Wiegmann,
periment, has determined that phosphoric acid, rather Polstorff, Rogers, and others, prove such disintegra-
than the alkalies, is the special manure to be provided tion under the effect of air and water, yet there
for the turnip. In fact, the application of phosphoric seems reason for believing that the processes of fal-
acid to the turnip crop forms one of the most striking lowing and liming owe their efficacy as much or
improvements of modern husbandry. more to the changes which take place within the
In his recent edition of letters on chemistry Liebit soil, in regard to the available supply of the nitrogen
has, however, expressed an opinion inconsistent with which plants require, as of their purely mineral con-
that result. Thus, speaking of the exhaustion of stituents. Mulder concludes that the organic acids
phosphate of how and alkaline phosphates by the of the soil have the power of accumulating ammonia
sale of flour, cattle, &c., he says "it is certain that from the atmosphere ; and these compounds will
this incessant removal of the phosphates must tend only be retained in the soil where organic matter is
to exhaust the land and diminish its capability of subject to a very slow process of decomposition, and
predue; 7 -rain. The fields of Great Britain are in it is in the heavier clay soils, where the processes of
a state of progressive exhaustion from this UMW, as fallowing and liming are found to be most beneficial,
is proved, by the rapid extension of the cultivation that organic matter will be shut up and subject to
of turnips and inaugold wurzel, plants which contain a very slow decompoein¢ action, which such processes
the least amount of phosphates, and therefore re• will materially assist. Phis view is strongly corrobo•
quire the smallest quantity for their development." rated by the recent and very important experiments on
Certainly the English fanner would be astonished to the absorptive properties of various soils, which have
be told that the exhaustion of his land was the cause directly proved, as was previously supposed, that it
of his increases g his growth of roots. And the ex- is the heavy soils—those most influenced by fallow-
periments of Mr. Laves prove that, however small ing and liming—that possess in the highest degree
may be the quantity of phosphates contained in the the power of absorption and retention of ammeter%
turnip, the successful cultivation of it is more depen- and other substances to the action of which they
dent upon a large supply of phosphoric acid in the may be exposed. Mr. Huxtable first noticed that, in
manure than that of any other crop. the filtration of the liquid manure of his tanks
From 1813 to 1830 turnips were grown on a plot through a bed of ordinary loamy soil, the urine was
of land mithout any manure, and the produce by its passage through the filter-bed found to be
the first year was 4 tons, 3 cwt., and a fraction; the deprived of its colour and smell; that it went in
second year, 2 tons 4 cwt. ; and the third year, 13 manure and came out water. Mr. H. S. Thompson
cwt. Subsequently the bulbs have been so smal as also observed that soils had the faculty of separating
not to be worth weighing. On another plot manured ammonia from its solution ; a fact extraordinary, as
for eight successive years with superphosphate of there was no ordinary form of combination by which
lime alone, there has been an average produce of 81 chemists could conceive ammonia to become combined
tons of bulb per acre, varying a good deal from in a state of insolubility in the soil. On these hints
year to year according to the season. Thus in 1813 Mr. Way commenced a series of experiments on the
the produce was 12 tons 13 cwt. per acre, and the absorbent power of soils, a similar series having been
next year, 1846, only 1 ton 18 cwt. A third plot previously carried on by Mr. Thompson, with the
was manured liberally with potash and some soda assistance of Mr. Spence, of York. These indepen-
and magnesia, in addition to the superphosphate of dent experiments, conducted by different persons,
I;me. and the average produce of the eight years quite unknown to each other, and by some-
was 7 tons 15 cwt.; and the variation from season to what different methods, accord very per-
season was in this case as great as the former one. fectly in their results. The experiments are
Alkalies, therefore, decreased the crop instead of in- laborious and such confirmatiens accidentally ob-
creasing, as, according to the per-centage composition twined, are therefore very valuable. Both the ex-
theory, they should have done. And the efficacy perimenters have given full details of their experi-
of the superphosphate of lime cannot be ac- meats, in separate papers of the 11th volume of the
counted for on the notion of its supplying Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, which
the actual constituents of the crop, but is should be read with attention by all active agricul-
due to some special agency in developing the turista. The results may be briefly stated. Clay
assimilative processes of the plant. By means of soils are found to absorb and retain not only ammo-
superphosphate of lime alone, there was taken nia but salts of this base ; separating from solution
from the land more of the alkalies in which the ash and retaining the salts of manure until required by
of the turnip so peculiarly abounds, than would have vegetation ; but the cause of this singular action,
been lost from it in a century under the ordinary and the precise circumstances and condition in which
course of rotation and home manuring; and other it is exerted, require further researches. Some
experiments show that to increase the turnip crop negative results have been obtained in reference to
beyond the amount which can be obtained by nine- the second branch of the inquiry by ascertaining
rat manures alone, there must be a liberal supple of to what cause this power is not attributable. the
organic substance rich in carbon and nitrogen; then power of soils to absorb ammonia from the air was
alkalies in addition are effectual in increasing the known, and has been well shown by Liebig, in his
crop. These facts in relation to the growth of tar- work on Agricultural Chemistry. He has shown
nips, as well as those which have been given in re- that besides being brought down into the soil by
femme to wheat and the leguminous crops, prove rain, ammonia is absorbed by the soil from the atmo-
how impossible it is to form correct opinions of agri- sphere; and he refers this property. to the aluminous
cultural chemistry, without the guidance of expert- and ferruginous compounds of the soil, known to
mutt in the field. have peculiar attraction for ammonia, and likens it
To apply the results of the foregoing experiments to the powers possessed by charcoal to ma-
to the characteristic features of practical husbandry dense this gas. But he had no notion that
in this country : Take, for instance, the four soils have the power of separating ammonia from so-
course rotation of turnips, barley, clover, wheat ; lotion in water, for ho states that the alkali so ab-
assume that the turnips and clover are consumed sorbed from the air is separated by the first quantity
upon the farm by stock, and that the meat of rain that falls, and rendered available for plants. He'
thus produced, 40 bushels of barley and 30 bushels also supposes carbonate of ammonia in the soil to be
of wheat per acre are all the exports from the farm, liable to loss by evaporation, and attributes the value
the manure from the turnips and clover, and the of gypsum, as manure, to its faculty of converting

gUBLIC MEETING of MERCHANTS and
OC.rr. INTL/X.II'ED lad OMIIIIIIICATIONd with
. and elliNt, Tit E•rYPT.
The et of pr.i.tioa. allows lo 14,111 boatemig mired at • VIM.
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BRITISH HUSBANDRY.