The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-11-13 00:00:00

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COL U M N

To the student in the vegetable kingdom, especially
young beginners, nothing is of more importance than
correct local Floras, by which he may easily familiarise
himself with real specimens of those plants growing natu-
rally in his own locality, a single inspection of any living
specimen being of more benefit to the inquiring naturalist
than all the plates or written descriptions ever published.
But a good local flora is indispensable, as few could af-
ford time to ramble in search of plants without any know-
ledge of their habitats, and there are few towns of any
importance in the kingdom which have not a published
description of the plants growing in their vicinities.

" The Liverpool Florit" was-published by Mr. Hall a
few years since; but, though a valuable acquisition, it by
no means supplies all that is required, for, owing to the
insufficient information collected at that time, Mr. Hall's
work is very imperfect, and of little use to the practical
botanist.

To remedy this deficiency, the Natural History Club (a
section of the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical So-
ciety) have determined to collect all the information they
possibly can upon every branch of natural history, with a
view to the publication of a complete Flora and Fauna of
Liverpool and its vicinity, included within a circuit of 12
miles. The first steps in this most desirable undertaking
have already been taken, and the members of the Natural
History Club are actively engaged in collecting materials
in this useful work. We hope our botanical readers will
assist, and we shall be happy to receive any contributions,
which we will forward to the proper quarter, where they
will be duly acknowledged.

We are not at liberty to give a list of names of the gen-
tlemen engaged in this laudable work, but we can assure
our readers that they are amongst the most talented and
respectable of our townsmen—gentlemen who will appre-
ciate the smallest amount of assistance in their arduous
undertaking. They have our best wishes for their suc-
cess, and we feel sure we may say the same for our
readers.

PAPERS ON AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY.

NO. VII

We have shown the utility of humus and of carbon;
there is now another chemical agent of even greater im-
portance;—humus generates carbonic gas, which the
plants absorb, and by its means carry on their vital func-
tions ; but without nitrogen they cannot attain perfection,
nor can they become useful in the sustentation of animal
life, which is one of the grand purposes of animal exist-
ence.

Without nitrogen no fruit nor seed could be produced,
for this gas is an essential constituent of vegetal)le gluten
and albumen ; the saccharine matter of plants also con-
tains it in abundance. Its importance to cultivated plants
is thus clearly seen, as the value of vegetable products in
most instances depends chiefly upon the abundance of
these substances contained in them.

How then are plants to obtain this essential element?
The quantity contained in the atmosphere is very small,
and we know from experiment that small as it is it is not
assimilated by plants in its uncombined gaseous form ; we
must therefore look for some other source of supply, and
we find all we want in the decomposition of animal matter
and excrementous substances in a state of decay ; it also
arises, though not to so great an extent, from the decom-
position of vegetable matter; it is found in rain water,
from which it is rapidly taken up by vegetables, which
shew the accession of nitrogen after rain by the deeper
green of their foliage. The presence of large quantities
of ammonia constitutes the superior excellence of animal
manures. This combination of nitrogen and water, which
we designate ammonia, exists in enormous abundance in
animal excrements and exuviee ; in guano it is sensibly
present, being both in its most volatile form, and also
combined with many salts. Now it may be asked, how
do vegetables in a state of nature, and which ripen per-
fect fruits, obtain their supply of ammonia (or hydrate of
nitrogen) ? First, then, look to the atmosphere, from
which all plants are continually abstracting ammonia; in
the second place, wherever vegetables grow, there animals
live and die, and, living or dying, contribute their quota
of the required nitrogenous matter. It needs not the
gigantic elephant and carnivorous lion to produce this.
Millions of annelidm live in the soil, tens of millions of
insects flutter round the flowers, and are incessantly part-
ing with their ephemeral existence; and countless myriads
of aphides swarm over the foliage, live upon the leaves, and
fall with them to the ground, dying with the faded leaf, and
yielding their miteof am monis for the life theyhave enjoyed.
If the tree is a fruit-bearing one, thousands of birds,
monkeys, squirrels and other animals, are ready to make
*harvest of its produce, and linger in its branches as long
as it affords them food. Their excrements supply the
waste of nitrogen, and new impetus is given to the tree.
Thus, phcenix-like, new life is ever springing from decay,
and no particle of matter ceases to exist. Such are the
operations of nature. Art seeks to improve upon them :
this can only be done successfully where the natural ope-
ration is well understood and carefully assisted.