The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1854-09-01

lan,s used for spring top.dtessing may and
should be much greater than for fall use -
When two ingredients are required by the J
coil, which are sntugonistic to each other, !
such es potash aud smronia. then they should !
be separately applied. Suffering the ammo- |
MIA to sink into the soil before the aprlice-
,ion Of the slksli, 60 that il the acid with
which the ammonia hes previously beeo rem
dered uonvolatile should be distracted from
the soil BY the use OF the slkali that it may
do so at sufficient depth to insure the 30.
sorp,ion of the freed ammonia by the super.
ustaut portions Of soil. Thus guano should
never be spilled to the soil ss top dressing,
until il has first been mixed with some dy.
sor containing sulrhurc acid, which is capa.
BILE Of changing the carbonate OF ammonia Of
the gusno, intotke sulphate o. ammonia and f
to the tame soil potash or any other Alkali be
applied, It's application should be withheld
until few days after the application OF the
guano, and after the dews and rains, and nat
ural humidites of the soil shall have conveyed
II beneath the immediate s, rf0ce. The alkali
during its AFTER descent will become a carbo-
nate, before il comes In conta,t with the SUI
phate Of ammonia, and will be so divided as
to reach it in dilute state. acting itself as
manure by supplying olRal to the plants, and
iDsuring the decomposition of many of the con-
s,ltuents OF the soil for the use Of plapts, be-.
fore its final use Of decomposing The ground,
snd rendering it in fit state offopd Tor the
crop. All our crops have been analysed, and
the analyses published; therefore any farmer
may readily know, by an analysis OF his soil,
what are the requirements for his crop. The
most usual deficiency of souls for these crops
viii be found TO be soluble phcsphates. potash,
chlorine, soda, lime and nitrogeous mntter in
some safe and soluble form. All these NAV
he readily obtained. Unleached ashes will
supply potash. Common salt. which is COM
posed Of chlorine and soda, by previous
decomposition with causic lime will furnish
these ingredients, while bones dissolved in
sulphurc acid and incorporated with Peru
Wan guano, and sulphate of ammona as in
the improved snper-phosphdtc Of lime, will
insure the presence Of all these materials.-
When the soluble silicates are deficient in
soils, they be supplied by alkalis which
will act on the silica Of the soil, or by the
waste ley OF the soap-boier, which contains
II in solution. In the use ,of these or other
top-dressiDgs they should be divided by
admixture with large amount OF soil or
other material, such as charcoal dust, de-
composed swamp muck, or other diyisor
may be used. For fall top-dressings the
nitrogenous portions may be less than those
used in the spring, and after top-dressng
slight mulch Of leaves from the woods,
or other cheap and decomposable material
may be applied with advantage, nor will
this mulch interfere with the Introduction
of sp'ing-top dressings; for by that time
the drying of this mulch as its partial decom-
position will permit dews and rains to per-
coate the mulch so readily that it will
aiterward act as a protector to prevent the
loss OF the ammoniacal portions from the
direct action of the sun and air. have
al this time more than one hundred letters
from individuals who have top-C ressed their
grass aud grain crops with the soluble phos-
plates, and VINO have increased their quan-
titles to many times the cost of these ma-
nures by such application, while the portions
LEFT resident in the soil by their permanen t
Improvement are entirely equa! in value to
their cost.