American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1858-05-20
0ITY0F LANCASTER.
TbuTsdnY Morning, May 30, 1855
.AeRIcULTURE, MATTERS.

MANURE.-It has been well said that
manure is the farmer fright bower.' He
can rely ON il at all times. and under all
circumstances To determine whatn'an1re
is, will give more definite ideas Of its use
and valae. s} ....t-1. " -.
Manure Is carbon, salts. and the elements
of water, usually called moald. Soil is the
earth in which plants groa0. Mould is the
tnaxure of the soil. Soil is earthy-mouId
is vegetable. The soil is called inorganic;
mould organic. '' l'o1 : & s'-" .'.'H
With these definitions we can under
stand what manure is; it is anything that
will, by decay or otherwise, produce mould
that is the elements Of water, salts. and
carbon. To understand this definition
fully, it may be necessary TO define some
OF the terms used in the first definition
By salts we are not TO understand what Is
commonly called salt, alone, but all SUBJ
stances formed by uniting an acid and an
alkali. When acids and alkalies thus u
mite they each lose their Distinguishing
property, aud form new substance oall'
ed a salt. Unite soda, which is an alkali.
with muriatio acid, and it forms common
salt. Unite potash. which is an alkali, to
nitric acid. aud it forms saltpetre. BY this
union they have neutralized each other,
and formed what is called neutral SAT-
So il we unite soda and sulphuric acid,
we form ,Glauber Salt; unite magnssia hnd
splphuric acid. and We have Epson Salts
This will givo our farmer friends. who
ara not chemists. sufficient knowledge o
the combinat> m that forms what are call
ek Salts. A Salts substance fo;med BY
uniting an alkal and az acid.
Alkalies are those substances that pro
duce burning substance to the tongue
like the I've of wood ashes. In speaking o
alkalies. then. we usually mean potash, So
ds, and ammonia. Potaslfis the alkaliso
land plants, soda OF sea plants, and ammo
MIA Of animal substances. Potash and sodl
are called fixed, that is they 60 not readily
eyaporate. Ammonia is, called volatile
because il always exists as yapor, unles
fixed by something else. Thus-scatter
ing plaster in alstable, or over animal mat
ter in state ofidecay, the volatile, carb IN
ato ammonia, is. changed to a snlphate
called sulphate OF ammonia, and is detain
ed asa sal. for the use ofplan!s." y This j
called fixing the ammonia. sg.s rs
Besides these alkalies, lime possesses al
kaline properties, but weaker than po.asb
and magpesia also, but wsaker sham lime
These are, therefore, called alkaline earth
Unite lime, which is an alkaline earth
with pbos2horic acid, Land weget phosphst
oflime. of which all bones are formed
Phosphorus acid is formed by an union o
phosphorus. aud the oxygen in the Amos
phere. The oxygen Of the air united wit
snlphure, forms sulphuric scid. and su
phuric acid, and sulphuric acid and linn
united forms plaster oi-paris, or gypsum
a Burning carbon forms carbonic acid.
With these definitions we'll fixed ID III
mind, every farmer is well prepared to TO
low us in our investigation Of manure.-
Volatile salts acts first, when usued as
manure. They act quick, and are SOC
over. The fixed salts act and last longe
The volatile salts acts in the. early ST
ges Of vegetable growth; the fixed salts !
tKe later stages. 't.l te .iiosqa a.s6 Z
The value of manure depends on the !
y mount OF sails It contains. Old worn o.
hand may contain an abundance Of vegst
bic matter. and still be unproductiys f
want oftbe salts. For such land manu-
rich ID salts is needed, aud with It. the
lands may Be fully restored. The fiji
great object, then, is to haverich manur
and the second to detain its richness. ~
manure Of animals'is rich Or poor, accor
ing to the substances en- which they fee
The food Of animals may be divided in
two kinds, nitrogenous. or that EcontainiI
nitrogen. and n-nitrogenous, OF thatco
tanning no nitrogen. The non.nitroge
ous food passes off in the dung Of anima
the nitrogenous portion passes of in the
Yine. Now ammonia, which is the vol
tile salt headed, and indeed indispensat
TO tbe vigorous growth ofplants, is col
posed Of fourteen parts Of nitrogen, 81
three Of hydrogen. This shows the il