Smyrna times., 1858-01-21
Farmers Department.
Dr.. Emerson's Address,


This address of the amiabe agricultural
Doctor Presents more points of interest and Of
practical Importance to the farmers of Della
ware, than perhaps are to be found in any other
of his addresses.
1t is with reasonable pride for his native
county, that he introduces his subject with q
picture of her past isolated position, when il
required nearly two days to reach the city Of
q" rotherly Love" by those time.saving ma
chimes commonly. called stage-coaches; and
then points in glowing, yet truthful description,
80 her present prosperous condition-her chan
ges and successes, wrought by the agricultural
snieFprize of her farmers and the glorious 9 en-
cies of the steamboat and railcor. Kent county
has been regenerated.
TO appreciate her advantages, as well as 10
Judge Of her future, the Doctor gIances at her
position, soil, climate and agricultural adapta-
tioa. goa" ''
BY means of the railroad, Kent can now pour
her grain into the lap of good city market
No better soil for the growth of the peach and
the culture Of the grape can anywhere be found
We regret that the Doctor did not undertake 10
show the probable results Of the grape culture
here,-wheiheri it would repay the farmer much
aud how much better than the ordinary tiilape
of wheat and corn but he has only thrown out
the idea Of profit, as likewise in the culture off
the sugar cane, which has lately been brought
10 the notice of farmers by Mr. Dorsey, who
has made, in the lower part of the county. good
syrups and sugars.
But so many other topics of more general |
and fundamental Importance 10 all who would |
be thorough farmers are unfoldcd, and pressed
for our attention and reflection, that We are
disposed TO overlook this defciency-if it be
One-and turn 10 what the Doctor has found
time to give Us a solid " contribution to our
"store of agricultural information. Ills re.
marks upon the necessity of the presence of
phosphoric acid in soils 10 maintain their fertii
~, and upon the mos. improved means of sup.
plying it, are Of this valuable nature.
,'"All upland soils" be says "lose more or less
OF their originalertiliy after culvali lionand we 6
know that many parts Of the Old World once |
famed for their productivcness and tecminp i
populations have long since passed INTO sterlllty r
aud desolation: Syria may be referred to as !
one example, and Sicily, the granary of old n
rome, another. Even III our New World, d
many portions of the Atlantic States once dis Il
tinguished for profitable hIIsbandry, have he. /,
come impoverished below the point which re. Il
TuItes labor. In such cases the soils have part- u
Ell with s)ne elements essential 10 the growth v
aud development OF plants, and the nost i'm ;,
portant of these has been ascertained 10 be al
phosphoric acid, which combined Chiefly with h,
lime, Rbounds fn the bones OF animals One of b,
the most eminent French philosophers, Nj. Ellie e.
de Beaumont, member of the National Insii. re
tute and Professor Of the Royal School of Mines OF
Has devoted himself to an Investigation of the IN
agricultural utility of phosphorc acid and its &C
TO the abstraction Of which from
the surface OF the earth he ascrbes that decay q,
1t powerful nations 10 which have alluded. "
he has even gone into u profound calcalAtoD hs
% show the vast amount of this fertilizing ma Do
,erial that has been buried six feet under W.
yronnd, III graves ;enantcd by the thousands OF ia
nrlilens who have succeSslvey passed away mi
lnce the days when the rude Celts yielded the ma
and to French cultivation and clvifiza,ion.- on
rue grand result which he arrives at is that ell:
% less than two millions Of tons of phosphate 10
= lime, has during This period BEEN drawn sla
rom The soil, converted into human bones and nh
ow lies beyond the reach of plants, lost TO CHI
egetatlon aud the necessities Of animal exist tia
nce.. efE
i" Colbert, he says, prophcsed that France rde
ould perish from the dest. ucIon OF her forests i'm
event which every one may conceive could sta
i've taken place, had It not been for her wealth ana
coal. In his time no one could comprehend mo
Nv great nation might perish -for want of 49,,
loSPhorus IN the soil. But this come to pass =
mineral resources fail to furnish aIewer,s bar
hlch viii administer TO agricultural neccssi- | rec
lies, what coal does to tie domestic wants and Dire
ecbanical arts. ''' ~ ;,
crease nrodnctiveness 10 sols I. " fora
ihe English farmers for good many years VIII
ST, and every part Of The world has been ran ton
cked 10 obtain them. Even the field of Water. r
have contr,bn,ed ox,ann a.e sSlu % part
Iousands of tons of bones-not however OF ura
man subJects-have been sent from Phila. sess
phla alone, until within the last two or three VI
ats, when the recognition of their great fan,
ue by our own farmers has so eLhanced their -
ce as nearly to prevent further expectations
: Whilst plants during their growth and de- Ken
opment can obtain more or less ammonia .-@s-
m the atmosphere, they are dependent en- "A
,ly upon the soil for the necessary supply OF a.
'sPhorle acid. But the proportion OF this
!, even in highly productive land is SO minute -
en- compared with the more common ingre- U
nts Of soils, that the efforts of chemists often LoO'
to detect lis presence. There ia ;nIao% the
lie of what is called the best land that NAV ana
be highly benefited by applications con o.
ming phosphoric acid. !' in A
Bones we're first employed as manure crush. Sher
into coarse fragments or ground into dust, dletc
les in which they were very slowly soluble ~
comparatively inactive. Very recently u
-on L:eOig recommended dissolving them in 80
Lrong acid in order 10 effect their more com ~"
te subdivision through chemical agency, and .E
9 enable them TO exert at once their fullest Sons
IIizing action. Experiments founded on tie o
so views. made soon after their announce. an
ni in England, by Mr.. FIemming, the Duke q.
Richmond. Messrs. Pusey and Morton, war. made
Leo thein 70 masking me strong declaration, bad