Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1857-03-18
AGRICULTUR
From the cincinnatus.
The Relation of the Physical Nature of
the soil to its Fertility.

To a pious man of old the divine promise
was givensthat his seed should inherit a land
where milk and honey flows, and at all times
has a fruitful and fertile country been a safe
guarantee 10 a nations lasting welfare and
prosperity. Fertility of the soil is the all
important standard by which the farmer
measures and selects the spot where his home
is to be erected, and upon which his tolls
and energies are to be expended. Since the
day when man first undertook to cultivate
the earth, up 10 this enlightened present age,
the intelligent tiller of the soil has again
and again attempted to comprehend the man
fold problems o. his profession but has he,
with all the light Of science, and with all the
practical experience of ages, arrived at q
full and clear understanding Of the causes
which govern fertility and sterility of soil?
Can he account with certainty for the hun
dred, the thirty, or the tenfold yield which
his seed has producedf To this question we
have to answer, that we know but in part,
and ~prophesy but in part.
Chemistry, 1t is true, has of late taken a
strong hold upon this important topic, and
according to the results Of the most minute
analyses of the soil and the plant, her most
talented sons nave established thsoriss.
which, seeming quite natural and plausible,
have for some time pastflled the world with
wonder and enthusiasm. Their theories &C.
cord fully with many facts, and ancient Gus
toms of the farmer, with many other not less
important facts, however, that have so far
not been made to square. The future de-
yelopment of science and practical experience
only, will fully prove whether they are cor.
rect or false. It is not probable, nor rea.
sonable to expect, that this important ques-
ton can be satisfactorily settled by chemical
analysis alone, as many most important facts
depend on causes which necessarily escape
the observation of the investigator. Many
items of practical experience taken from tbs
laboratory of the farmer-wherein the nobl,
pillow is the most beneficial apparatus-mus
be taken into consideration. 1t would in
deed be unfair to suppose that the chemis
has done all the thinking, leaving the des
pissed labor to the farmer. On the other hand
however, it is to be acknowledged that agri
culture has been greatly pro6ted by the re
searches Of the learned.
We can readily find a fact to serve as al
average between the farmers and the chem
lists merits in the solution Of the question
The farmer can increase the yield of a Gel
tain crop by a high and skillful preparation
and cultivation of the soil. The chemist a
talns the same end by the application of
nN@ ~ eA1Csoi uudUuFe, u mOl
ern days, which is said to be indispensable
to the life and healthy condition of the plan
In the one case the physical nature Of tn
soil is improved more than commsnly, tn,
Is 70 say, q greater portion Of the soil
made ready to receive the beneficial induene,
OF the atmosphere, which introduces storl
OF vegetable nutrition. Many naost impo
tant ingredients Of the soil are theret
brought into direct action, which, preyio,
to the mechanical process of breaking Il
subsoil, have sleptin an inactive state und
the earth. In the other case, a powerf
stimulus is directly offered to the plant, WIFI
is eagerly devoured, without my referen
/ to the constituents of the soil, which lie b
j ried under the shallow crust of ~cultivat
earth. An inquiry into the causes of t
Fertility of the soil may appropriately
divided into . consideration of the chemis
n and the physical nature Of the soil. 30
roads in which the question is to be pursu
run for a time in the same direction, joint
4 hands at every step there is a point, no
ever, where they may be said to diyerge, |
one leading into the wide field of aricultu
profession the other into the darker lal
rinths of chemical science, in which. hi
attainments, that but few possess. are
\ CURED, to conduct investigation in SO corr
and minute q manner, as to render th
al beneficial and of any real value.