The southerner., 1852-10-23
AN ADD7P PHISS,
Dezi0cred 6ctore the EdgeconeJe agricultural
Society, at its An"noI Meeting for 1852,
BY Dr. JAS. J. PHILIPS.
Concluded

Concluded
should look upon myself gentlemen as de-
parting from the duties assigned me to day, to
vile you with any expressions of fattcry; but
candor and truth force me to the decaration
that am now addressing myself to as intelligent,
industrious, energetic, and successful body of
farmers, as can be assembled in any one county,
not only of North Carolina, but Of any State in
the Union. But while say this, aud believe
what l say; permit me again to ask you, do you
know any thing of these fundamental principles
of agriculture, to which your attention has been
tlrawn-do you know any thing about the ele-
ments contained in your soils, your manures or
your vegetables? pause for your considera-
sion. Now if you know no law, and are under
the government of no law in your farming opcr-
ations, it is plain that if you shall be so success
tul as to stumble upon a correct principle, and
cttcmpt to carry it out, it may be defective in
mode or degree or both. If you apply lime to
your soil, the general principle is correct, for all
well balanced soils should have dae proper
ton of this necessary Ingredient If you shall
apply lime to soil which already has plenty
Of you pervert this correct principle, and use
it wholly wrong. fyou shall apply the same
quantity of lime to soil, partially, to en-
trely wanting in it; your in this consists in
degree, or the manner of using correct principle
If the vegetable which you wish to cultivate de-
lights more in potash than lime, and you shall
apply the latter for it's use, it is quite pcrcept-
ble that, in this substitution of one article for
another of primary choice, you attempt to strain
nature beyond those correct and fixed laws
which govern her. and that you use correct
material for all Soils to an improper design in this
4 instance. l might multiply these examples to
an almost innumerable extent; not only as appli-
cable to the present system of. manuring, but to
various other business operations upon your
farms; and in candor and truth say to you that
they must continue as such and probably will
ever continue, until corrected by the lights of
analytical chemistry and physics. | assure you
that physical nature requires, that, to produce a
perfect result, a correct cause must be rcsortcd
to. In your attempts to grow a vegetable 1t is
with the View Of making it as perfect as possible.
BY the application Of manurcs to your soil, your
object in view is to obtain this result or perfect
growth. Now to obtain this result, or perfect
vegetable growth requires that every vegetable
shall be nourlshel with that material in which
it most delights. 10 have more perfect VA
y
which should present itself to your mind, should
be, Of what elementary principles is the yegeta-
ble composed which you design to grow. The
second inquiry should be directed to ascertain
Of what elementary matter IS the soil composed
on which it is designed to grow such vegetable;
does !. contain that elementary matter, partitu-
larry Of the inorganic elements, necessary to the
growth of the vegetable: if not, it becomes the
primary duty of the farmer to furnish his soil
with the wanting material, be it one or more
substances. Some elements are required in lar
ger quantity than others. In looking over the
constituents of the ash Of the cotton plant, in
ats various parts-the stalk, the seed, and the
wool, it is discoyerable, that though there Is a
similarity Of constituency IN each, IN Its morgan
-1c matter, yet the proportion IN each varies
much. Those elements which figure larger than
others arc potash, lime and phosphorlc acid; this
IS likely to direct the mind to these, as, those
only Of primary necessity: and to the neglect Cd
the smaller quantity constituents, as that OF Sill
lca, Magncsia Chlorine, Sulphuric acid and even
lron-ncithcr the laws of nature Or the laws Of
chemical affinity allow of any more Importance
t be attached to those larger quantity lngre
dlcpts than to the smaller: for small Thee
IN complicated machinery, becomes necessary t.
the complete mechanism ofthe whole; yithou
which the machine is not complete available
so these smaller quantity ingredients in combina
tion, Of the various parts OF tLc cotton plant
perform important offices, and are as essential.
necessary to the formation, and healthy organi
cation, and growth Of the plant as those large
constituents. Both the larger, and smaller in
ii gredlcnts perform their part in life and non
however small or Insignificant to the farmer ca
be dispensed with; and what has been illustrat
ed by the cotton plant, is equally applicable t
other vegetables, Of different and various consti
tucnts.
do not design to enter into minute inves
tjgation of vegetable analysis: but by way of il
lustrating general principle still further, W
will take from the cotton plant two cts its ele
mcnts, phosphoric acid and lime-ln the ash c
the stalk we discover, leaving fractions out, tha
'f one hundred parts, lime makes up one nin'
'eenth and phosphoric acid one tWenty-e'ght
part, These two substances in combination
| sl::ke phosphate Of lime or bone earth: by e'
aminihg the ash of the seed we discover that {