Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1852-05-26
/ ron RrHE SPECTATOR:
To the Farmers Of West vfrgfn,e
ND. 4:
SfricE or THE soft

|
Mr.. A. advised r1e Il week Of two
since not to mention the fact, that plant,
and trees breathe for he said ] would MOI
be believed, and that it was better not e
write at all, than to write what would pe
looked Upon as false or even fahclfdl: ny
reply was, that l supposed every one wouio
admit the influence of the air in promoting
vegetation and, if could give reasola-
BILE explanation of the manner in which
that influence Is eXerted, that my explana.
ton would be accepted, until better could
be found to take its place. The ONCE OF
the atmosphere in promoting the iefmation Ili on
of the organic parts of plants was briefly
discussed in the preceding number; "s
will now take up the Sd Question; :; ;,
"Wtat elements of tegelatloa are derioea
from the soil ?"
If we consider watery vapor and carbon
lc-acid as constituents of the atmosphere,
and moisture a constituent Of the soil, the
great sources of vegetable nourishment Will
be rednced to two-ths atmosphere proSid.
ing the elements received through the
leaves, and the soil those received through
the roots. 1t is the latter division of which
I propose now to treat. will here simply
state the fact, that considerable portion
of carbonic acid is absorbed by the, rain
water, as it falls through the atmosphere,
is thus carried to the roots of plants, and
enters with the water through that chan
mel. An additional quantity Of the same
gas is generated in the soil by the decay OF
vegetable matter this also becomes part
of the iiourishment received through the
roots. Hydrogen and Oxygen, in the form
of water also enter the circulating organs
of the plant through both leaves and roots:
The water seems to fulfill the double office,
of furnishing the two elementary substan-
ces of which it is composed, to aid In ma
king up the structure OF the vegetable or
gans, and secondly, Of acting as medium
OF circulation for the other elements
When it holds these elements in solution,
we call it sap, and may consider it analo..
eous to the blood of animals: AS the blood
carries the nou1shment of animals from
the lungs and the stomach 10 every point OF
the body, so the sap carries the fiourish'
ment of plants from the ieares and the
roofs to every part of the trunk and branch
es.
Nitrogen is not SO abundant as some othi
er substances, but is no less important III
promoting vegetation. Into some plants,
such as CLOVER peas, beans, &C., 1t is found
to enter directly from the atmosphere
through the leaves, as well as from the soil
through the roots, while into others, such
as Wheat and Indian Corn, it finds its way
only through the roots, and Of COURSE must
come altogether from the soil. The Nitro
gen of the soil is generally found in com.
bination with other substances. either with
oxygen forming Nitric-acid,or with hydro
gen forming Ammonia. These two COM
pounds are always present in the organic
matter of fertile isoils, and manures con.
tanning them abundantly are always very
valuable. = T.. i
The inorganic elements that Is, those ell
ements found in ashes, are derived ehtlte;
ly from the soil. They constitute mitch
smaller proportion of the bulk and weight
of the plant, than the organic elemehts. but
are Just as necessary to its mature growth;
The bones of child would sooh cease t6
grow, if it were fed exclusively on food
destitute of either Lime of Phosphoric::acid.
So if you take away from the soil ahy one
of those elements always found ih the full;
grown plant, that plant can never Arrive at
its full maturity. Wheat will not flourish
on land which contains no silica. no lims
or no nitrogen, because these substances
are always constituent elements u the
grain when fully grown, and cannot bs re;
ceived from the air.
To illustrate more plainly the influence,
which the absence of few elementary
substances may have on the fertility OF d
soil, append table showing the chem1i!;
cal constitution of two soils, one Of which
is veryfertile and the other very barren:
H., Inn Jbe EerJiIe sojJ Barren soif