Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1853-08-20

~ soR is wholly the result Of the dnegration Of hss,
Dy the action Of the natural elements, mixed with
Psganc remains Of vegetables and animals to which
N1e dlsntegrated materials have given successive sup
pe* The quality of soil will therefore greatly depend
tne KIND OF rock from which is produced slate
Ptouuces clayey SOIL limestone rock calcareous
spn rock sandy SOIL The best coils fol
purposes produced from chat geologsts
ce ae PIPER secondary and the tertiary formations,
whicu contain shells andsother organic remains mix
"a mHerent strata is found to be favorable to the
rrQd9ctveness Of SOIL and accordingly find in ma
nos IN more instances rocks beneyolently sua
a M NanFe that in their disintegration the various
elements of the different roaLs WIN DO 80
fosrther as to adapt them fayorabiy to the pur-
soil Ii too cayey, ii viii be cold from the con-
xaporn<scn Of water Of which it holds large guam
2ud then as y gets dry, II cracks and breaks "a
49, Abres Of tbs roots thereby eating oH ffU tne
plant ese sources OF supply II it is too sandy and
open ieaches - that is admits the air so freely that
urS1ric matter which the soil contains deconpoSes
more rapidly thin tie growing crop needs and is washt
away BY The rains Bach soils soon become STERILE ara
are difdcuis to recla1ns They much benefited b.
mHgling rome clay with them. e7zs
AS the scs al produced by the disirtegration Of
rocks, every thing in the SOIL however valuable has this
origin and noother Nor has this disinteEaton ceased
In many plas3 but wherever roeks* exist the
surface theRns and frost annually wearing off por
tions of them and thus adding and valuable ingre
denss to the SOIL Many parts of this county greatly
indebted oHn easily disintegaoe slate rock Tor the per
Inanency ofheir fertility and ae heavy cropping which
they successfully Scar; the rocks decomposng By the
on Of the natural elements and annually addag vaIua
Bile materials to the ev If such SOL becomes tempo
rary exhausted all hat is needed restore its Fertility
is fe years rest lng which of this rock may
become sinterated When this rock shall Az havo be-
fine and reduced TO s however you will have toal
ter your mode Of farming and resort to the same means
for crop the farmers. in Fairfax and Montgomery
have at present to I5u farm your lands hard rtp
hardtoo nd for the interest of those WHO to succeeds
you Unless greater ID taken than atpresent to
turn Of she inorganic clements abtracted by plants
he ~Jlfi
worked say from six to twelve inches deep Now the
amount of these inorganic elements used By plants and
to their growth which is contained in this
depth limited and particularly as respects some OIL the
is comparatively very small in the best
lands If is taken off than put on, is constantly
the with mos5 farming the quantity in the sod is be-
coming less and less The plant in its growth does not
make the elements it only collects and arrongs thcni FL
those needs in the soil atmosphere it cannot
get them and cannot grow any more than person can
build house without Materials for instance, n the
midst of the desert of sand If single neces
ingredient becomes exhausted thepant that requires
that as constituent however abundant the others may
be- grow The great crops that guano now en-
abing to grow will necessarily exhaust the soil u
aaey of indispensable ingredient unless more care
taken than present to return the soil the inorganic
elements that thus abstracted from it, and then the
lands win produce they now do even with the
application of guaro wish to urge your atten-
ton TO this point The present system of agriculture
Notwithstanding its boasted advance is almost univer
sally erhauRg one and will always be till arrange
nent are made TO return 10 our neus whence hey nave
been Withdrawn oil the ase animal and vegetable matter
from cities and also from our own premises lou
Faten cattle and grow and wheat and send them to
he Cities and foreign countries to be consumed
Ehereby qnntitiescf the alkaes phos
phatse and 6&2t easfhs which exist in only small qyaA
titles in the SOIL and yet its feblood and what
is made equivalent? At best perhaps 200
lbs. Of guano the This wi not maintain its fer
tility by any means, be readily shown by few
figures The analysis Of Peruvian guano gives for its
stituents the following, viz
In 100 lbs. of guano there CT water. lbs
Organic matter and animonacal salts....53.l6
Phosphates ........23.4S
Alkaline ...............................7 7e7
Sand i