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

In order to succeed in farming the ground should be
we'll prepared for the crop for which is intended il
is wet the first should be to get il dry This may
be done drains either surface under drains ditch
for this purpose, whether open or blind should always be
cut just The border Of the st tard it is from thence
springs proceed which render the contiguous parts
wet After the ground is dry it should be- Thoroughly
worked but never worked when wet. The object to be
aimed at in working land is not merely to l or turn
any grass and weeds that may be upon the ground
but to pverise TIE so to render II readily peryous
the of the plants also adapt to the ab
sopton Of the various gases which prcmotye Of their
growth Nearly the whole structure of plants ayerngng
ss sss saa ss ss.
gen. which are obpined plants
r. 5lBsI|s .ss .sss.' S' II 3 4 as;ss sssas
gaseous bodies and sbsolbahis ~ freshly pull
vsrized earth Hence The hsheat arising from fegaetly
working corn and tobaoco when not grassy the
ground is thereby rendered capable Of absorbing
these gases with which to noursh the growing plants
In fact II s far less the grass among and tobacco
than the rant Of corkg that such growth Of grass nd-
Gates that is unfavorabe to these crops Also the 1u
vegetable mould contained in the SOIL is useless to the
plant TILL by its union with the oxygen Of the air. it is
converted into carbonic acid When the ground is pull
verified the absorption of air oxygen is increased and
consequently Of the humus converted into carboRic
acid for the nourishment of the plant.
When the groundi dry and well worked the next thing
is to select good and clean seed Too ltte attention is
generally given to the selection of seed With compare
lively little trouble farmers might in cases, by col
ecng those heads ears vines that large and rpen
early select seed from their own crops better adapted
their soil than that which they could from abroad
Large of the kind and glossy seed should be preferred
Then the seed must be placed in the ground at the pro-
depth The object of covering seed with earth is to
induce and preserve that state of moisture which will i'm
part fuidty to the materials into which the grain is gra
duay changed in the of termination and there
BY admit of their arrangement in obedience to the law Of
organic life with which the plant is endowed Ii not
placed sufficiently deep, the SUMS heat by evaporating the
moisture will prevent destroy this fudity and kill the
germ Ii at TOO great DEPTH the excess of moisture and
want Of sufficient heat and air diminish the yigor of
the plant in the early stages Of its development and
render it feeble in its subsequent growth BY its
placing all the grains at uniform and proper depth,
rightly constructed dr is of great advantage in putting
in wheat. The hickest wheat the ground that ever
saw was in field of my friend, Ds Nobles of Phadel-
phia, on bis farm in Delaware. 1t Mediterranean
wheat seeded by drill with but three pecks to the
The surface of the whole field looked like uniform
compact group Of heads but STOPPING down it could
be dscerned that the stalks in rows standing about
eight inches apart There another advantage in seed
ing with drill The stalks being in admits of cir
cuation of air near the of the plant the part
where the root and stalk on which is the tender and Vi
tai part If those who the drill instead of running
it, as is generally done, twice along the head
lands across the ends Of these rows, were to take little
to extend the entirely out and thus admit of
more free circulation of air the roots from one side
Of the field to the other they would be well compensated
for their trouble As previously stated nutritye gases
absorbed from the air by the earth; and these being
then admitted freely between the of stalks would be
absorbed and pass to the nourishment Of the plant
When wheat is thin 1t often branches stote out
that when soil and season favorable number Of
stalks produced from single grain. But each stalt
has its roots to supply it by beautiful provision of
nature each pumule that dcends has corresponding
rdcle that descend to convey il nourshen Immediate
y from the earth that it is well served If it
proceeded directly from grain And may be remark
ed in this connexion that the thing is true in the
branching of tree; each branch like stole of wheat,
sends down its roots that large limb, by
nuous vascular structure, draws its own nourishment
from the soil 1t is therefore to suppose that
by removing limb from tree the sap that supplies
it will all pass into the sthers Great injury is frequently
done to fruit trees by trimming them when the branches
large AU improper shoots should Be remoyed
they are seen TO put forth.
To return to the seed. When seed is placed in O.
situation favorable for germinaton-thats where there
moisture air, and warmh-the starch which 1t con-
ains, and which is nsolube by interesting process
in natural chemistry is converted into deIuH sweet
mucilage and then into kind Of sugar which is soluble
and adapted to nourish the germ This change in the
seed from the fdrinaceous to the sGchar state what
is effected in the process of the art Of mailing grain by
brewers the soluble of saccharne matter after this ope
ration is capable of being extracted from the malt to
form the beverage of which il is important consti
tuent The same soluble material, formed in what may
be called process of natural mailing in the SOIL becomes
food for the embryo plant and the gradual increase
and development Of the corde heartfelt into Plunue and
radc the former Of which ascends into the air. and the
latter goes into the earth both in search Of food The
plumule soon puts forth leaves which perform most
important function in the vegetable economy, not only
and vapor from the air. but in decomposing these and
the compound nuriment received from the roots and
ganziHg their constituent elements, by which means
alone they enter into the structure Of portion Of
the plants The leaves may hence be regarded natu
raj gayanc batteries stimulated to activity by the solar
rays Sir Humphrey Davy, in 1908, rendered himself
emneny noted he deserved to be- by his successful
decomposition Of the alkaes and other compounds by
means of gavanic arrangement composed Of numerous
cells and the process regarded the result Of
| new chemical agent but similar operation had been
going on from oil time, in the leaves Of plants, which
are composed of number Of cells and constant
ly eectng the most important analytical and synthecal
processes The cells of the leaves frequently contain
peculiar coloring matter denomnated chron, from the
great variety of colors exhibits in the autum
nal forest leaves The colorng principle is believed
be combination Of iron. In the language Of the eo
auent Fourcroy whenever nature takes the pencil iron
is the coloring matter she employs The variety and
succession Of coors exhibited in autumn by the leaves Of
the same tree the circulation Of the sap ceases arise
from the gradual change in the quantity Of water with
which the cooring matter is united These changes Of
color from the presence or absence OF water are Of ire
quent occurrence in chemistry, familiar instance Of
which is seen in the chloride Of cobalt sympahic ink
Any writing with this ink paper is entirely invisible
till X is warmed, and the moisture expelled, when ii
shows itself distinctly in beautiful green letters but it
becomes invisible again il coos and absorbs more
moisture. The color that the leaves finally become in
the fall when the moisture is just all evaporated is the
color which the bark Of that tree will mpart to cloths
and substances prepared to receive it for 1t is in fact,
the natural dye on the cutcle of the leaf by the cooring
matter proper to the treea fact practically used in the
business of dyeing in England and which might be
ployed to great advantage in country. The
leaves not only decompose inorganic compounds but
previously stated, they organize them also. In this
spect the Office Of the leaves Of plants is similar to that