, 1860-09-14

the proportion Of vegetable mould: or to tho
accumulation Of tsrtalisinR particles conYeysd
to toe soil BY rhtns; or to the continusd ab-
stracnon o. OXYGEN from the atmosphere. In
tho action Of tho atmospheric air upon
tbs soil, whether In rendering it more
friable or in haataniug the putrefsctiop Of uox-
ious plants; or it IL owing to The abstrac.Ioa
and accumulation Of oxygen. In thu cass Of
trencaang' or asep P!owlng, It il owing 10 the
penstrate to the proper dspth, By which their
| sphere Of uourishme Il il increased. Dut Il
often happens that tbs soil can no louesr ba
amsioratsd by any Of the foregoing means, or
rot at least With sufficient rspidity Tor the pur-
must be direct aad actual application
made to It Of such substances is ara fittfd IN
restore it, fertility. uepcs the indispensab]e
necessity Of 1nanures, which consist chiefly Of
vegetable and animal remains that are buried
and finally decomPosed IN the soil, frcm which
plant, in q state Of solution,
rsEs or TIE SOIL TO VEGETABLES.
Soils afford to plants fixed nbodc and medi-
I'm Of dourisLnent. Esriha, exc!uniyely Of or.
gnni1ed matter aud water, aro allowed by most
ply siologists to be Of no other use TO p]anfa
than that Of supporting them, or furnishing
them medium BY which 1hey may liz them.
selTea to the globe. But the ea1ths ard organ
&nnnnFt
and food.
The pure eafths merely act as mechanical and
indirect chemical agents in the soil. The esrtba
all appear to be nlstallic buses united to orr.
gen; these oxides hive not completely decoaa- |
POSED, bus there is no reason 70 suppose that |
their earthy bases ate convertible into the eta.
ments Of organizsd cemp= unds, that il. into
carbon. hydrogen, and azote. Plants hare been |
mzde to gro" in given Quantities Of earth. /
They consume very small portions only; and
What is lost may be accounted for By the quan-
tttes found in their ashes; that is to say, il has
carbonic acid united to lime or maYnesia. If anv
stronger lcld hspPeEs 10 be fou6d in The soil |
during the fermentation Of vegetable matter |
which will disergage it from the ear.bs, NAV bs
decomposed; but the eaEths themeel,es cannot
b. supposed convertible into o.her subs,arcee,
cages the ashes Of plants contain some Of the
ear'hs Of the soil in which tbey grow; but these
earths, IS has been ascertAided from tie ashes
Afforded BY different plants, never quail more
than one tltisth Of tho weight Of the plant con-
sumed. It they be considered Us necessary to
neEs to it's organization. Thus it has been MN
t1ored that Whcut, oats, AID mony Of The hnI. |
low 'ked grasses, hare an ep!dermis princi.
paliy OF s'tlcious earth the Use Of which seeus
g !; be 10 strengthen them, AID defend tdem from
The attacks of INF &C q und parasitieal plants.
The true nuurishmeat o! plants Is water md
resiog org MIC matter; both these exist
onty IN hs,lls, nut II pure Earhs: but the ear;Lv
'arts Of tae soil ale useful in tetainisc wa'cr
70 as to supply it in ,h= proper proportions to
ne roots ct the vegetables, and they are like
rise ellicaciors in producing the proper distri.
'ution Of the animal or vegetable matter. When
:qually mixed with it they prevent it from de-
tGo rapidly; and BIZ their paeanatIe
|oluble parts are supplied In proper propor-
ions to the roots Of the vegetables, and they
re !; likewise enicAc'ous III Producing the proper
distribution Of the animal or vegetable matter
When equally mixed w4th it they prevent it
rom decomposing too rapidly; aud BY their
aeans he soluble parts are supplied in preptr
roportions.
Tae constituent parts Of The soil, which give
enac:ty and cohereace, are the foeiy divided :
aAsssss; and they possess the power Of giving
on.a'n much alnmina- 4 smuIE quantity of :
nety DIVIDED matter is sufficient TO tit aojs for
be production Of turnips and barley; and
aIcrabls c1op. Of turnips has been produced on g.
soil containing eleven parts out Of twelve Of +
and. A much grea'er proportion Of saud. q
owever, always produces absoiute s,eriji,y' :
e2eiao es, or animal matters, When finely al.
lded, not only give coherence, but ikexise
afsness and penetrabii.y; but neither they =
or any other part Of the soil must ba in to i
reat proportion, and xoil is uaproduciire If
consists entirely Of impa'pab'e matters. Pure q
II r. a.
onate Of masneSla, are incapable OF supporting O
ea'thy vegetation and no soil is fertile ,hat =,
sntains as much as nineteen out Of twenty Ct | In
1y OF these constituents. v
Tbs power Of soil to absorb water from air il
uch Connected with fertility. Where this s!
over ia great the plan. ia su. piled with mois. u
ire in dry seasons; and the elect Of erap3ra. Of
N IN the day is counterac;ed By the abscrp~ ps
u OF aqueous vapor from the atmosphere. by III
e Interior parts Of the soil during the dar
I'd By both the exterior and interior dur.n9 tie .
ghs.. The stiff clays approaching to pipe~ \
ass in their nature, which take up the great i
t quantity Of water wen it is poured npcu
EN- IN 1uld form, are not tho soils which ab~
rb most moisture from the atmosphere in dry ,
sather. They cake ind only present small n.
1fare to the air; and the vegetation on them -,
generally burnt up almost as readily ~ On :.
nds. 1he soils most efficient in supplying the =.
ant With Water By atmospheric absprrtion are | ~
Csc in Which there is due mixture Of sand. !.
ely divided clay, aud carbonate Of lime, with =
me animal or vegetable matter, and which ale
loose md light as to ba freely permeab!e by -
. atmosphere. With respect to this quaIi,y
rbonate of lu,c, and animal and veretat}e (
ttser, are Of great use in sofia; they give ab.
bent power to tue soil. without giving il
ewise tenacisy; sand which also destr5ys
acliy, on the c:11.ssrary, gives little absorbent
Fer. The absorbent power Of soils, with
pect to atmospheric moisture, il a1wayx
atest in the most fertile; so that it affords
method Of Judging Of the productiveness y,