The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1854-08-05
agricultural.

concluded from lat ncck)
What We lnrst have, Sir, is such protection
from the National and State Governments as
will enable us to stop this hole in the nation s
pocket. The Government i. the voice of a
majority of the people, and before We can
hope for national Improvement we must
arouse the peol l. to ii full appreciation Of the
tuporttncc of our agricultural interests We
must educate them in the fundamental rril-
c:ples which govern our national success.
speak now, not for the farmer alone, but
for the Nhole people. Agriculture, under
wing as it does every other branch Of indus
try, and being the main support Of every man
in America, (whcther he realizes it or noD
must. in its success or failure carry with it all
ether trades and professions. Had the time
! might prove this by statistics, but every
man may learn from the Census Of 1850 that
NY assertions are correct.
am aware. Sir. that in cities and towns
idea Of Government protection to agriculture
is treated with scorn. The well-drcsscd re-
taller Of ribbons and laccs looks with COM
placcucy On the Custom-Ilouse statements Of
tn Immense value of those imported, and
feels that in selling them he is helping to
swell the revenue of the country--but he
Nould rdicule the idea Of expanding a por-
ton Of that revenue in arresting our unfair
ncr-like wastes, even though that would dou-
he our wealth. His calling when honolably
pursued is one which does him credit, Iut it
sAollli not so engross his attention rs to pre-
vent proper appreciation Of the art which
enables his customers to pay for his mer
chandisc.
] have been requested Sir, to refer to tie
means of restoring to our lands the proper
ties which they Lave lost. The most direct
and available Of these, is OF course the pur.
chase Of gnano, phosphate Of lime, bones and
.il other refuse matters. TO arrest the sew
arage of all cities and towns, and apply it to
the soil and to import from other countries
u, much OF the mineral constituents of food
as we have sent to them, are duties which will
sooner or later be performed. There are
natural processes by which the soil has its
1rrtising parts developed, but if this is con-
tnualiy removed, it must he returned, or the
soil will eventually become worthless.
Those matters which go into the sea, how
ever are not irrerocob'y lost. Those who were
present at this club two years ago, when Pro-
lessor Mapcs explained some Of the means
~ which these are returned, will need but a
f'w remarks to recall that explanations and
With your indulgence will briefly state some
oi the more important points.
All soluble or movable constituents of the
clrths surface are liable TO displacement by
the action OF rains, wasta9es, etc, and may
hc carried to the ocean by means Of rivers.
so great is this apparent waste that it is said
that a sufficient quantity of tcrtilizing matter
passes the city OF New Orleans III twcnty-four
hours to tcriii2e county. In the economy
ut nature this is restored to the requirements
Of vcgctation in many different ways.
Marine plants contain large quantities of
inorganic matter, and these are often used as
manure, while the employment of their ashes
III the manufacture of kc!p, soda and iodine
is u means of their being restored to the SOIL
Many fish, such AS shad. herring, mackercl,
clr., live near the mouths Of large rivers,
where the foreign matter is so largely pres
EN-, as to afford them support, and they year
J.; migrate to the upper parts Of the rivers
where they find water sufficiently pure for
tie development OF their ova. These fish ale
caught in large numbers, aud thus reach the
soil, Willie their ova are eaten by amphibious
auima.S, and through their assistance become
valuable 10 MAN. All fish caught and used
~ iood return to the soil matters which had
been carried to the sea in the water Of rivers.
Shells arc another source of return; so are
birds that live on fish, such as the birds which
frequent the guano islands. S "a foam and
spray are sometimes carried by winds to a
distance Of sixty miles from the shore, and
at this distance leaves lave been found with
salt Oh them, it having been carried there in
spray and crystalizcd on the evaporation of
the water.
The evaporation of sea water may be an
other means Of return. Cold sea-watcr may
absorb twice its bulk of chlorine, and when
ii is deposited in warm locations it gives it
up. The putritaction of sea-weeds and ma
rne animals is fertile source of ammonia
and carbonic acid. The Newark meadows,
containing many thousands Of acres, were
form ell partly by matters from the Hudson
and the Ocean; and partly by the wash of the
adjacent country. Old ship planks, spars,
etc, collect many of impurities Of the water
for instance, wood floating at sea aggregates
large quantities of phosphorus.
The large manufacture Of sea salt, the for
lnation Of coral rocks which gradually form
islands, and even large parts of continents
(he southern part Of Florida, being coral
iormation,) the use OF sea sand for mechani- |
cal and domestic purposes, and the formation
OF marine rocks by the crysallzation of the
impurities of sea water, are sources which |
return to the soil an incalculahlc amount of
former constituents, while the upheavngs OF
the ocean, forming the Islands Of the Tropics,
are a wholesome means of restoring inorganic |
na'tcr TO the service ofnan. These islands, |
in their various agricultural productions, re-
pay us in a slow mann " for the losses which |
We suffer to continue.
These causes are probably not sufficient to |
restore all matters washed from the SOIL but |