The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1850-12-28
To Restore Exhausted Lands.

The Farmer and Planter contains the Address
of the Hon. r. +. Simpson, lately delivered be-
fore the Pendleton Farmer Society. 1t is most
ly occupied with an examination of the constitu-
ents OF soils, rotation Of crops and the mode of
restoring exhausted lands. The subioined en-
tract, which deliberately discusses the latter sub
ject, should attract the attention Of planters and
farmers in the States
Continued cultivation with the benefit of faow
only, and no manure, has in all civilized coun-
tries reduced the land to barrenness. Nor can ro-
tation Of crops do more than delay exhaustion
Manure, therefore, is the only sure and rtain
remedy And this will not only restore what has
been taken away by crops, but can be so applied
as to give our worn out land fertility far beyond
what it had in its virgin state Plants derive from
the soil only inorganic matter, (saIts and soluble
silica.) Jf, therefore, the whole crop of a given
field, stalks, grain and all, were burned and the
ashes put back on the same field, all that the crop
had taken off would be restored again to the field
This field would then be in the same condition it
was before the crop was planted and, if this pro-
cess were continued, would grow the same crop
we'll without limit. But we must have the harvest.
1t is duty, therefore, to restore in manure, the
inorganic elements which the seed we take of for
food has taken from the soil. If this were done
annually. the soil would remain Of the same fer
tilly. Manurng, then, is designed 10 replace as
completely possible the inorganic constituents
of the soil taken up by the last crop. To do this
understandingy, you must know what elements
the crop has taken up-and you must know
whether the manure you propose TO give the land
contains these same elements.
There is but one source from which all manure
can be made, and that Is from the products of the
earth. The earth has G ven out TO them all the
elements which have been necessary for their full
Development, and these elements must be given
back to the earth before it can be restored. This
may be done by collecting the products Of the soil
burning them, and restoring the ashes-or by
feeding these products to animals and collecting
what is cast off by them, and restoring this to the
soil. Our author says that in studying the pas
sage Of vegetable matters through the bodies of
animals, we find their several constituents sub
serve various purposes in the animal organism.
The carbonaceous constituents Of plants are chief
ly applied to the support Of respiration, and the
production of animal heat-and in these processes
they are converted into carbonic acid and water,
and are thus restored in their original form to the
atmosphere whence they were derived. Thenitro
gen Of plants, after having served the purposes of
nutrition, passes out Of the animal body and the
decomposition which ensues on putrefaction, con-
verts their nitrogen into ammonia, and thus it too
is restored to the air in the form it was
originally derived. In this manner all the con-
stuents that are derived from the atmosphere are
returned again to the atmosphere. Now the con- |
siuents Of plants, which are derived from the
soil, when used for food, go in part to make
blood, muscles and bones, after various transfer
nations are separated from the organism by Sc
cetion and cast out. The ashes Of these are found
to contain the same elements precisely which
were in the food that was eaten The phosphate
Of lime which has gone into the bones, Is the only
part that is lost to the farmer And this, though
lost to him for time is after being buried in the
grave, ultimately restored to the earth The most
natural way to re-supply the soil with the NOR
ganic elements necessary for plants, our author
says is to give back to the soil all the dead bodies
Of the animals on the farm, and the faces of all
the living ones. This, with all the decayed vege-
tai n m
nure. The practical experience Of thousand
years has established the benefit Of employing all
these substances for manurng the land. Theory
or science had nothing to do in this. Only re-
Gently, however, has science sought and dlscov-
cred the of this favorable influence, and
also the kind Of manure that is suitable for par
ticular plant. All theories not based on science
or experience, often serve to lead us asray.
Thus the humus theory. hitherto much in vogue,
ascribed the efficiency Of manure principally to its
supplying the new crops with the nitrogen and
carbon necessary to their growth. But we have
seen that these elements are derived from the air
and not from the soil. And we have seen, also
that the benefit Of manure consists exclusively in
the supply Of salts and soluble earths which it
contains
Several interesting experiments are here detailed
by our author-made too, with great care in
France, all going to show that the crop expert
mented on contained a much larger quantity of nj
trogen and carbon than was contained IN the ma
nure appiied-in some instances TWICE the quaint
ty-which goes to show conciusvely that the air,
and not the manure, was the source from whence
these were drawn. Besides, so much has been
found out, as to render it impossible understand
and explain the known influences Of manure on
the humus theory, and that we must look TO min
eral constituents Of plants, for correct under
standing OF the benefits Of manure. This is, in
fact, the main principle Of the new theory. This
theory rejects the usual definition Of manure. to-
gether with the distinction between stimulating and
nutritive, but considers all manures as nutritive-
and nutritive in the precise proportion as they
contain the saline and earthly salts essential TO the