The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1842-07-21
CHARLOTTE. N. C. JULY 81. 1912.
CHARCOAL AS A MANURE.

There is no subject connected with Farm
ing that requires so great attention as " ma
nore." Let the land be ever so sterile ant
barren, it has beon fully asceriained that by
,dicious course of manuring il eau be en-
rIched and made productive. lie, the sol
he as rich and as full Of succulent matter
! calculated for the producing and nourshps
f the variety Of plants necessary TO be growr
for the use Of men and the benefit Of The AMI
NAL creation, continued course of tliIage
and series of years neglect of manurIne
will certainly render il barren and unpro.
ductive. Upon the state Of the soil on eve.
ry farm depends the living, we mus, cay, oil
the farmer and his family, and carry ing gu,
the principle in its most extensive sense, up.
on the activity and intelligence Of the farm
ing community depends the whole interest
ofthe entire commercial and civil commuui.
~ Of any country. These facts are so eyi.
dent TO any man, who will take but mo
ment for reflection upon them, that it is a
wonder indeed that more attention has and
is not directed TO this all important question
as 10 what are the best manures? NJ
doubt the manures that are well calculated
to producea decided and active influence q,
once upon many soils would not act so readi.
ly and so permanently upon many other
soils but there are many manures that so
ACT upon all soil or at best, there are many
applications that may be made TO almost any
soil, that if they are not manures them.
selves, form the basis upon which the prin.
ciples of other active natures may DO made
to produce the most astonishing effects.
have recently had my attention directed 10
the use Of charcoal, by the knowledge Of
some facts that have been communicated in
answer 10 ny enquiries, that has induced
me to devote paper to the subject, in the
hope, a, least; that il will excite attention.
aud be productive, in the end, Of great good
to the community, by inducing q series Of
experiments upon the use OF charcoal as a
manure, tina, will result in immense benefit
to the farming interest.
] shall not pretend TO enter into series
Of reasoniugs upon the chemical afilui,ies o.
charcoal 10 the soil upon which it may be
applied these matters shall leave TO those
whose education and pursuits have better
| fitted them to ascertain these things, by
enabling them to reach them by chemical
analysis, which | am unable TO make. |
shall simply state the facts which | have
observed, and those which have learned
from others, whom hive requested to look
10 them, together with the results that have
| hmm nitutnpd lnayipr 10 otkaEo 10
whether the question is no, Of sufficien, i'm
portance to lead them to try whether the re.
suits will not be equally beneficial 10 very
many other situations.
In the neighborhood in which live there
are great many hearths Of cold pits, as
they are called; places where wood has
been piled, and burned into charcoal, scat.
tered about the country. have invariably
observed, that upon these hearths in the
course of few years, luxurious coat Of
grass made its appearance, when all around
in the vicinity scarcely blade Of grass
could be found and wha, there was found
out Of the coal hearth was sckly and dwarf.
ish. This was so well known that in the
heat Of summer, when the pasture IN other
places was dried and withered by the sum.
mer drought, it was common practice 10
drive the cattle 10 the "coalings," as they
are called, sure tina; they would there OBJ.
tain food. During the las, summer, bust.
ness called me into Hartford county, in
Mary land. While there | was surprised
q, the exceedingly uxurian, growth of
crop Of grain but lately seeded into field,
on Deer creek. and also at the very pecu.
liar appearance of the soil. Tho soil upon
which the grain was growing had remark.
able dark appearance, and appeared TO DO
so mellow and friabs as nearly to bury the
foo, a, every step, aud although it lay very
level did not appear to the touch to be so
not as the soil in the other fields around il
on the same level. My attention was excl.
ted BY wba, saw. and | inquired if the
field had not been covered with charcoal,
and was told that it had been. inquired
when it was done, aud was told il had been
spread upon il more than ttrenty gears ago !
then asked what was the genera, quality
of the crops raised upon it, and | was told
that they we're invariably fine, both as TO
quantity and quality. The person who
lived upon the property informed me that
no had repeatedly hauled the soil from that
field and spread i, upon the surrounding
fields, and he could, for years, or in fact
from the time he spread il there to the pres.
en-, day, always see, by the growth upon
these places, exactly where he had put it !
had for some time pas, my attention di.
reoted to the subject but here found it fol.
ly developed to my full satisfaction.
When returned home. made it the
subject Of conversation frequently with the
farmers in our ueighborhood, and from one
Of them learned that when be lived in
Chester county, Pa, with his father, par,
of their farm became worn out and uupro.
ductive. II was abandoned Cor several
years and in the mean time many coal pits
had beer formed upon severn: Of the old
fields, by drawing the wood there TO burn
into coal, that had been cut in the adjoining
timber lands. After some time they again