The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1844-06-20

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neral way, enough q chemistry Cor ary
one 10 undersiasd The chemical n.l1rs II
manure. fou sef. rrzder. thar with com.
mon alientlon, bestowed Tor IN evenings
reading. one may learn lhese chemical
terms and their meaning. And nos, haF.
ing learned This lesson. lrt " review The
ground gone oter. az. once and for an,
these hrst principles in our minds. Les
Us DO this. BY practical application Of
the knowledge We hare g.ined. Lei us
analyze . plant. DO not he startled a.
The word. 10 ansiyze. means 10 sepe-
rate compound Substance into The seye-
raj subsisnces which form II. This may
be done BY very particular and minute.
or BY more general division. II may
be done Cor our present purpose. BY Sc
penting he several Substances Of plant
into flasses Of compounds You are al
ready chemist enough 20 undertake this
mode Of analysis: in truth you have al
ready done IL, assin and again. For our
purpose, the ancient chemists lad q very
good division Of all matter into four ele-
menls, Ere. sir, earth. and water. Now.b
fire you seperale plants into the other three
elements. You are. reader. though per-
haPs you do not know il. somewhat Of q
practical chemist. Whenever You have
burned charcoal pin. what did youi You
separated he wood into air, water, aud
earth. ...-s a
You drove OF By heat or ERE the airy
or volatile parts Of The plant. ynn leh lis
carbon, or coal; il you had burnt this. you
would have lelt ashes. Now these ashes
are earlhy paris Of plants. u you bnrn
grsen stick Of wood you drive off fret
its watsr and volatile parts. which form
SCOT. You burn IFS carbon. and leave is
ashes or salt So thai by simply burn
ing. ynu reduce the substance or elements
of plants 10 wafer, carbon. salts. All
plants then, without exception. contain
the several substances in our list above,
as water, carbon, and salts. TO apply
this knowledge 10 manure, we must say
word on the form in which some Of
these, which we call the elements Of
plants. exist in them. The sap is wa
ter; IL holds dissolved in il some salts Of
the plant. This sap. or juice, forms a
pretty large proportion Of the roots. say
seventy-6ye 10 eighty p'rts in one hun.
dred, of potatoes, iurnips. beeis, DC.
This may be called the water Of vegela-
ton. II we dry beet root. or any other
plant. we merely drive off this water Of
vegeistion. Now what hate we LEFT! To
go back TO our process Of analysis, let us
char the dried root. We drive of more wa.
ter and volatile parts. This water did not
exist, as such, in the plant II existed
there as hydrogen and oxygen gas. Now
this word gas 10 chemical term, and IL
means any substance in vapor, which can
not be condensed into liquid or solid,
at common temperatures, Different gases
may unite, and so become solids0r liquids.
Steam is not gas, for it is the vapor Of
water, and Immediately returns TO Ihe stats
of water, below 2l2 degrees. Perfect
steam is invisible, 60 are most gases. The
air we breathe is composed of Two gases.
/ oxygen any nitrogen. We do not see
them; we cannot, by c"oling or coupIes'
sion. make air take other shape than in
visible air. This is the general property
Of gas, as distinguished from vapor or
steam. Oxygen and hydrogen, in pl.nts.
exist in just the proportions 10 form wa.
ter, but we do not know that they are
united in these proportions. We have
compelled them to unite, by heating The
substance or root. The carbon is by the
same process consumed, and, you know,
has thus formed carbonic acid. Besides
this, a portion of the carbon nni.es with
some of the hydrogen Of the plant. This
forms light, iGfammable air. Now you
may collect this light, inAammable air, in
any stagnant water where plants are de-
caying. decay gives exactly the same
products, rs are formed m making char
coal. Decay is only slow combustion,
or burning; no matter whether we char
the plan, or leave it to decay. we obtain
exactly the same products as we did BY
our analysis. that is carbon and salts.
But because there IL no, heat enough.
we leave by decay portion Of the hydro
gen and oxygen still united to the coal
A slow moutiering fire leaves products
more like those OF decay. Decay is a
slow, Wondering fire, hence the products
Of the decay Of plants. are very ap,ly
termed mould. II is the product of a
Wondering fire, that is an imperceptihle
union of the oxygen Of the air. with the
carbon Of the plant. A union is slow,
that il gives out neither heat nor light.
And yet it is in its results, the same as u
fire had actually been seen and felt. Mould
contains, then, part of,he carbon. oxy-
gen and hydrogen. or if you like the terms
better, mould Of soil consists of the water
and coal and salts Of The plants. Mould is
! truly manure. 1.-THE mould Of soil. as II
has thus been defined, were separated
from The earthly portions of soil. it won:
deprive tina. soil of the power Of growing
crops. Here, then. we come to broad
:. distinction between soil and manure. The