Arkansas true Democrat., 1859-01-26


 took forclble possession. His fidelity to the South has never been questioned, and without formal declaration to that effect, it is general | ly understood that he has "gone over to the | democracy" Indeed, man of his ability and honesty of purpose could not do otherwise. For the Trae Democrat Geological Survey ill Connection with
 Agriculture.
 At this time when the agricultural depart ment of the geological survey forms prominent feature in the present bill, providing for the further prosecution of the geological survey of the State, now before the General Assembly, a few remarks touching on the practical impor- tance of this subject will be both appropriate and useful.
 Living as the inhabitants of Arkansas do in the midst of the great valley of the Mississippi, one of the most fertile, level and extensive az rlcultural districts on the face of the globe, all that relates to the subject of agriculture must always be of peculiar interest, since the predo- minating occupation of the people, from the very nature of their geographical and physical position, must be the cultivation of the soil.
 ltis true thlt the lanls of the Mississippi val ley are remarkably fertile, so much 50 that there is gel eral, Lu5 very erroneous idea abroad which finds almost universal favor, that they are exha stblc
 Every crop which is annually removed from cultivated ground carries of more or less Of it's elements of fertility. Unless this loss be sup piled, either by artificial or natural manures, the land must of necessity be deteriArated, and that the more rapidly in proportion to the com bined weight of the mineral ingredients con tained in the ashes of the plant cultivated.
 In proof of th:s we have only to look at the results ot continuous culture and removal of successive crops in some of the older Syates.- Forty years since the soil of the Genessee and Mohawk valleys produced, on an average, thirty five or forty bushels of wheat, per acre; it will, the acre. Agricultural chemistry has shown that this has been mainly caused by the ex- haustion of the phosphorlc acid of the soil; since it has been ascertained that every hundred bushels of wh at consumed contains about six ty pounds of phosphorc acil, and this ingredj ent the wheat has appropriated from the soil; and could not have formed seel without it. A knowl dge of this fact at once suggests the meas ly wh.ch this loss of the fertlizing pro- perties of the soil may be restored, viz either by application of ground bones super phosphate of lime, coprolitc mrls, native posphatc of lime or good giano. It has shown a,so that this is the lrn pal ingredient removed, and renders unproductye old dairy farm, from winch milk, bu ter cheese and veal, have oeen taken to market; all of which ;pataia larsa pfppprtlonS of phosphate of lime (oone-earth) l. has been estimated that for every twenty cows kept on pasture through the sumner there is one thousand pounds of phosphate of lime carried off
 In other less productive regions of the S.Ate of New York soils which in the early ,,ticmelt of the country, produ;e l2 to 16 bl,hsls of wheat to the acre, now only give from two and a half to lou' blshes.
 Again many tracts of lanl in Virginia have b zen reducel almost to btrrenness, by growing continuously y on them successive crops of tobacco and wheat; the former appropriatns large quan- titles of lime and potash from the soil; the latter, as already stated, large quantities of phosphoric acid as well as potash, in the grain, anl larger quantities of silica (s.n!) and potash ia tn e straw.
 Even in the comparatively rev State of Ken lucky, where toblcco h,s been extensively grown for importation, from its early settlement, some of the lands have besn 50 exhausted as to be no longer thought worth cutivating.
 It is true that there are some soils derived from easily decomposng fossiliferous limestone and alternating marls, like the blue limestone sol' of Kentucky, that receive from the disn- tegraton of the adjacent rocks fresh supply of these mineral fertilizers almost rapidly as they are appropriated by agricultural commerce, that nearly compensates for he loss sustained; bat these are extraordinary exceptions and must not be calculated upon generally; and we may here remark that though the soil of the Mohawk valley is very analo 5ous in some respects, to that of some of the rich soils n the blue grass regions improvident agriculture as we have already shown.
 If the early farmers Of this country could have had knowledge of this princpl in asricnltu- ra chemistry; that every plant musS have for it's successful growth certain proportion of ike l, mineral bases and acids which they have uo means of obtaining but from the soil; and which are as essential to their growth as the far more bulky portion of the plant composed Of the com bustibe, organic elements, carbon oxygen, hydro gen aud nitrogen which they derive from ,rbonic acid and ammonia either floating in tn; atnos- phere, condensed in certain constituents of the seminated and undergoing decay or eremacausis; and if they had been aware that these essential constituents of plants can, by jud cious system of agriculture, be cconomSed or introduced at proper intervals, often without incurring great expense; and thereby the original fertility of soils retained We should not find, at this day, mil- lions of acres ofimpoverished of lands lying idle or returning but very indifferent crop to the la bors of the huSbandman.
 Again chemistry has obviatel the great loss of time and money, consequent on the old sys- tenn of following. Analysis has not only shown that the benefit derived therefrom is entirely due to chemical action going on in the soil by which elements which plants require that are, at first insoluble and in such state, unavailable become in time soluble, So that they can enter into the cultivation of plants, and thus afford them the required nourishment. But it has more over proved that there is by this old system O following or letting land lie idle, every few years