The Hillsborough recorder., 1845-07-31

Science. The twenty-five bushels of
Kheai also lake from lhe soiI. IN he gEain.
ID pounds Of magneria. and in he straw,
one pound.
Prae. Far. Why. l have heard il said
that magnesia Is injurious Ia crops. and
that when farmers apply lime 10 lheir
land they shovld be careful 10 use .hal
whirh does not contain msgnesis. But
90 on; IS there any thing else in wheat
! can't stay much longer.
Science. In an acre Of wheat. welding
twenty-five bushels. there is In she grain
sia pounds ofsiliea. and in the straw eigIl-
iy-six pounds.
Prse. Far. Now am slumped! What
on earlh is silical
Science. The book says il IS lhc sub
stance OF flint or pure sand.
Prac. Far. What! The substance OF flint
or sand in wheall Pray, Mr.. Science, how
does Il get there!
Science. You know that sand can Be
melted, as Is done in the manufacture Of
glass. by the application Of heat with soda
and other chemical substances; and this
book tells US that II becomes soluble in wa
Ter, by the aid Of the potash and soda be-
fore mentioned; and when thus dissolved,
. il Is taken up by the roots of lhe plants.
But have not yet got through with The
component elements OF wheat.
/ One acre Of wheat yielding twenty-five
bushels, also contains. in the grain. three
quarters Of . pound Of sulphuric acid, and
IN the straw. one pound.
Prsc. Far. Why, that is the oil Of yilri-
ol, isn't il!
Science. There is also taken from the
soil, by twenty-five bushels Of wheat, in
the grain, 0.6 Of pound Of phosphoric
acid, and in the straw, five pounds; also
IN The grain, OILS OF pound Of chlorine,
and in the straw 90 ola pound. This IS
all, and you mus, remember these are in
organis substances, such as DO not grow
like vegetables, and therefore they must be
extracted from The soil. The total amount
Of these organic substances taken from one
acre Of The ground, yie.iing twenty-five
bushels Of wheat, and including the straw,
as il is usually cut by the cradle, is one
hundred and twenty pounds. Three
fourihs Of this is silica, which is rendered
soluble by the alkalies, potash, soda, and
lime. thus showing The. great importance
OF these substances IN soil producing
wheat.
y Prac. Far. Wen, I declare | did not
know that wheat had so many things in it.
always thought that wheat grew out Of
the kround, and go, its food from the ye-
gciable manure lliat was contained in it,
OF was put there by The farmer.
| Science. Well, friend, you knew be-
fore, BY sadexperience, that vegetable ma
nure alone would not raise wheat; for you
say tha. when You put manure on your
land, your wheat all wentto straw, which
was so weak that it fell down fat on the
ground, ..and had no berry in the heads
and when you sowed your seed without
manure, il was struck with the rust, anC
the grain shrivelled, so that you got nc
more than half crop. Now you see tha
this book has told you some things tha
You did no know before, and which per
haps you never would have found out by
your own efforts, withoutcallipg in the ait
OF science. ........-.
Prac. Far. Well, if the wheat crop con
tains all these substances, and they are al
extracted from the soil, how are we prac
iical farmers to know when they are not al
present in the soil! and above all, how arr
we TO obtain all this potash, and soda, ant
lime, aud flint, and sulphuric acid!
Science. The failure ofyour wheat crol
for a series Of years is pretty good evidence
that some Of these substances are wantin.
in the soil, but it will not decide which
The only way 10 determine which one o
the foregoing substances may be wanting
is to call in the aid of science, and have
correct analysis of the soil made. But
nevertheless, by the nature Of the diseas'
that effects the crops, we may be able L
4 Judge more correctly Of the substance tha
, may be wanting. When the straw is weak
and not able to stand erect, itmay be certain
that the alkalies are wanting TO produc
: their silica,es which are deposited in tn
, , stem, TO give it strength and firmness
: This book, however, will tell what subsian
: cess you must procure and apply TO tn
: land. which will supply the ingredient
:, contained in the wheat plant.
r Prac. Far. should like TO hear some
thing more about these matters. ...
!, Science. This book gives an account
" the component ingredients Of wood ashe:
. It says that" ashes always consist Of amls
y ture in variable proportions of carbonate'
j ! silicates. sulphates, and phosphates Of po
= ash, soda, lime, aud magnesia, with certai
;, other substances present in smaller quaint
: w, vet more or less necessary, it may b
|. presumed 10 vegetable growth. ""Bat the
5 contain greater or less quantity OF lm,Pe
. fectly burned carbonaceous matter"
charcoal. Here you will perceive TN
of you have nearly all the substances
: once, of which the wheat plant consist
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