The Port Gibson herald, and correspondent. (Port Gibson, Claiborne Co., Miss.) 1848-18??, 1850-10-25


tet first coming away was absolutely ,Iee
from ammonia. Such was the case also
with the caustic or carbonated alkalles,
potash, or soda. A power, he remarked,
is here found to reside in soils, by virtue
of which not only rain is'unable to wash |
out Of them those soluble ingredients for
ming necessary condition of vegetation,
but even those compounds, when introdu-
ced artifcially as manure, are laid hold OF
fixed in the soil 20 the absolute preclusion
of any loss either by rain or evaporation.
But he had found that this property of
clay did not apply only to the alkalies and
their carbonates, butto all the salts of these
bases with whatever acid they were COM
bined. Here again was provision; sui
phate of ammonia, when filtered through
u sui, left It's ammonia behind, but the sui
phuric acid was found in the filtered Ii
quid-not, however, in the free state, but
combined with lime; thus sui phate Of lime
was produced and brought away in the
water. In the same way muriate OF am
monia left its ammonia with the soil, It's
acid coming through in combination with
lime, as muriate of that base. The same
was true of all the salts of the different
alkalies, SO far as he had yet tried them.
Thus lime, in the economy of nature, was
destined TO one other great Office besides
those which had already been found for 1t
it was the means by which the salts
ministering to vegetation became localized
and distributed through the soil and re-
tanned there until they are required for
vegetation. 1t was necessary that when
the alka!i Of salt is laid hold Of by a soil,
some provision should exist for the neu-
tralization of the acid with which IT was
combined, for all other sorts, lime perform
ed this usual office, but it had nothing to
fall back upon for its own salts. Sulphate,
muriate, or nitrate Of lime, when passed
through soil, would come through un-
changed. This, however, did not extend
to lime itself nor to its carbonate, when dis
solved in carbonic acid, as it is found in
most waters. Quick-lime, when dissolv-
ed in water, is removed by passing the
water through most soils containing clay;
and carbonate Of lime in solution is so ef-
fectually removed that hard water may be
softened by the same process.
1t was not to be supposed that we could
90 on fltering indefinitely with the separ-
alton of the salts contained in the liquid.
On the contrary, the limit was soon reach
ed; but although small in percentage quan,
tity, the power was in reference to the sol
enormously great. He had found that q
pure clay would absorb perhaps two-tenths
per cent. of its weight Of ammonia-tha
is to say, 1000 grains would separate twt
grains of ammonia; and, from reasons
which need not then be noticed, loam o
well cultivated clay soil would ahsorI
nearly twice as much. Now every incl
in depth of soil over an acre of grount
weighed about one hundred tons. Con
sequently ten inches of depth of such sol
would weigh one thousand tons, and woult
be adequate to combine with and retail
, two tons of ammonia, quantity whicl
would be furnished by about twelve ton
4 of guano. Now one-sixtieth of this pow
S er would suffice for the preservation OF a
1 outside dose of guano; consequently n
was justified in saying that the propert
h was practically of immense activity.
:. Obviously, if there was provision
d the soil for the retention of the salts
l. manure, and for the ammonia and otht
J. products of the decomposition Of anim
$, and vegetable matter, the soil was II
v proper place for these compositions to
E on, and, no matter how remote the perit
is when the crop would be taken, it would
is perfectly safe to get the manure into Il
IS land as soon as practicable after It's produ
v, ton. Again, the equable distribution W
re a point, also, which seemed Of considerat
I'd Importance; for If it was an absolute nece
le sity that a new class of compounds W
as found in the soil as soon as the manu-
in reached it, il seemed to follow that the
tn compounds furnished the elements ofnut
to ton to plants; consequently we should Sc
of to produce them by every means in
power.