The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1857-05-27
From the Plough. Loom and Anvil.

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From the Plough. Loom and Anvil.
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. oF-PREsERvATIoN
We have seldom found the necessity Of
manures, and the choice to be made from
among them, expressed so much to our
minds as in the following, from the pen Of
Prof. Campbell, of North Carolina, in the
Soil Of the South. Prof. Campbell says:
"Soils that have been long under cultiva-
ton, must necessarily become deficient in
many Of the elements Of fertility, unless the
exhausted supply be restored from time to
time by proper applications. Without this
lrestoration, farming would soon become a
pro6tless business. Labor can not bring
from soil what is not there. When you
wish your horse to do long and faithful SER
vice, you feed him we'll If you do not, his
strength soon fails. and whip and spur are
insufficient to revive his dropping energies.
So. plough and hoe are equally inefficient in
reviying the energies of a starring field.
Economy in sustaining or restoring the
strength Of soils, is no less important than
economy in feeding horses and cattle. But
as an abundance OF such nutritious food as
may arise from the products Of home culture
is most economical in feeding stock, so the
free application Of home made manure, ceH
collected and ,oeH kept, is the most economical
of all fertilizers. The farmer who goes
abroad to buy guano, while he leaves at home
masses Of manure, from which wind and
rain are rapidly carrying of some of the
very same elements that give to guano It's
value, is not acting more wisely than he who
leaves his hay to be drenched with rain and
bleached by the sun, while he goes out to
buy oats or barley to take the place Of hay
in his next winters feeding. Let what you
have be made as available as possible then.
il more is needed, il will be time to look
abroad for it. After all proper means have
been resorted to for collecting your barn
yard, stable and hog-pe manure, ashes,
soapsuds, &C., YOU can better afford an occa-
si0nal tun OF guan0 for the sake of an extra
crop Of Wheat, and a succeeding fair set Of
clover"
Reader, the above is worth reading once.
if YOU agree with il, for il will confirm YOU
in the right. but more than once. if you do
not agree with it, for in that case il may
set you right. II most assuredly will, if you
weigh il thoroughly. You may better pur-
chase guano, superphcsphate, poudrette, any
thing that will answer the purpose, than
cultivate land destitute Of the ingredients for
crop. But what most pleases us in the
above is, that Z You can better afford an
occasional ton Of guano" after prudently
preserving and applying the home manures.
On the preservation and application Of these,
/ your success greatly depends
In speaking Of the importance Of prevent
ing loss in manures, during the interval
elapsing before they can be applied, Prof.
Campbell s.ates the following experiment:
a barrel was filled with fresh scrapings
from the stalls Of horses. Over the manure,
as thrown in, little ground plaster was
sprinkled from time TO time. After the
barrel had been compactly filled, il was al.
lowed TO stand some weeks, until il had gone
through the heating process found always TO
take place when newly collected manure is
thrown into heaps. But during this heating
or fermentation, las il NAV with propricty
be ealled,) there was none Of that 'yapor ;
Of strong odor which ordinarily arises from
fermenting manure heaps. When the mass
had become cool. clean rain water was passed
through il and collected at the bottom Of the
barrel. This water was found TO cantain
one Of the elements Of plaster, and one Of
the volatile substances Carbonate Of ammo.
MAI above alluded TO. On emptying the
barrel, white powder. looking very much
like plaster, was found mingled with its
contents. But when tested. this powder
was found TO contain only one Of the ele.
ments Of plaster while il contained also one
element of the volatile carbonate Of ammo.
MIA Just mentioned"
This experiment, without some explana.
tion, might seem Of little value to practical
men. Prof. Campbell explains as follows:
In order that those who are not familiar
with the principles Of chemistry may under
stand the foregoing experiment and fully
appreciate its results, little explanation Is
necessary.
"The volatile matter which escapes 50
rapidly from heaps Of manure, and the pre-.
sencc Of which is perceived BY is odor
about stables where horses are fed, Is called
BY chemical writer's carbonate Of ammonia,
consisting Of carbosic acid and ammonia.
combined.
"Plaster (gypsum) is, according TO chem
ical nomenclature, sulphate Of lime; !. q.
sulphuric acid and lime combined. l.iebig
says, carbonate Of ammonia aud sulphate
of lime Gypsum can not be brought To-
gether at common temperatures without
mutual decomposition. The ammonia enters
into combination with the sulphuric acid
and the carbonic acid with the lime. forming
compounds which are not volatile; and.
consequently, destitute Of all smell. Thus.
we get two new eompopnds; namely, car.
Donate % lime IN very fine powder, aud
suIphate of ammonia, which j. not volatile,
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