Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1848-02-17

1eal.hful growth. When any Of these sub
stances may not not be present in the soil,
decreased luxuriance and diminished pro-
duct is the natural result; but though the
food of plants do consist of many ingredi-
ents, there is such thing as supplying too
much of any one of them, however good
and necessary that one may be when given
in its proper proportion. Hence it is but
reasonable to presume, that even too much
plaster may be given to land. At an early
period in the use Of plaster in England, it
was found that although it acted like a charm
in duplicating the products of the soils in
some localities, it was found wholly inert
in others. But there the analyses OF the
chemist came into the relief of the expert
mentors, and solved the mystery for we
are ,oldby Sir Humphrey Davy, that by an
alysing The soils in many places where plas-
ter had failed to act beneically, j, was found
that those soils already contained that min
eral in very sensible quantities, and, there
fore, that that which had been artifcially
applied was in excess, not being required by
the previous condition of such soils. Wheat
we know, requires fertile soil to produce it
well-requres soil in which there are ap-
preciable portions of vegetable remains
one of the main bases Of nitrogen or ammo
MIA. We know that without the presence
of these things in the soil, crop Of wheat
cannot be raised, and yet experience tells
US, that strong nnlriment manures cannot, in
large quantities, be safely applied directly
to the wheat crop, but that the safety con-
ssts in fits application to preceding fall
low crop. In England, beans or roots al
ways precede wheat; as the preraralive crop
here. CORN, the great crop of our country,
takes precedence.
We agree with our very able correspon-
dent, that the broad leaf plants derive the
most bene6. from applications Of plaster
|. is reasonable that they should, as all
such plants, from the very conformation and
volume of their leaves, have an advantage
not possessed by the narrow leaved tribe Of
plants-,hat of feeding as we'll by their
leaves as by their roots and spongioles-
and hence, as one of the Offices performed by
plaster is that of attracting to the earth the
nitrogen or ammonia which may be floating
in the atmosphere, it is natural that the
mouths of the leaves of the broad leaved
family, as corn, clover, tobacco, buckwheat,
&c., should appropriate to themselves por-
tons of this gaseous food in its descent
to the earth; whereas, the narrow leaved
ones have the more tardy process, conse-
quen, upon the powers of attraction, con-
densation. and percola,ion. Although Plas-
Ter attracts as much atmospheric nulriment,
when spread over the narrov as it does
when spread over the broad leaned faml-
lies of plants, yet lis agency ceases, in this
particular, when it brings that nu,rimentto
the surface of the earth while the former
has to wait for its supply until rain shall
come to convey the attracted food into the
soil, the latter has already been invig orated
by the portion which they appropriated TO
themselves while the aerial food was de-
scendng to the EARTH If this were not the
modus operaadi, the minute quantities Of
plaster which are applied could not exer, the
important influence which they do, as the
portions of lime end sul phuric acid, which
are contained in bushel of plaster, are en-
lreiy too inconsiderab!e, of themselves, TO
operate to the beneficial extent which they
do. To the affinity existing between pIas-
Ter and the nitrogen of the air, we ascribe
its potency of action, and regard the atmos-
phere as the great store-house whence ii de-
rives the the food which it dispenses 10 the
plants of the field.
The conclusion at which we arrive bv
the force of our premises, is ths-that Plas-
ter may be benefcially applied 10 all crops,
whether broad or narrow leaved wherever
that mineral may not already, in sufficient
quantities, be present in the soils IN which
such crops may be grown-and for the rea-
sons we have assigned, that the benefit will
be more to the former than to the latter class
of pIants.-Ed. FINER. Farmer.
Hollow HoRN-There is trie, but ne
verlheess true saying, that prevenlionis bet
ter than cure, and therefore, we anticipate
the occurrence Of this disease among our
Patrons cattle, by stating, that it may be pre-