Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-12-27
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M@-&$ - Ess1t1{
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IA ~ sausSr sflhe cxsry Gentle
msa. ~ end,e Article on this subject Of
unusual interest, ffp4 rbi,h We make some
sstEsctA contaiping Y.etul hints for our
4s1efs and queslionS tof tie Invest cation
Of phyg!olOSists., During the discussions
bsitgs the Hessschusetts Board Of Agri-
'cdltefG 1T Wiptet, professor .. Agassiz
- th.s Nohtt should be tskcn into ac-
eeshe IL the Aeaecticn Of breeds ofcatue.
He ~ notlccd thst the csttIe were small
Aaaptos sal granite districts, and large in
60oUeono end marlish secttons. Every
peel In Jura contained lime water. and the
eaetls there drunk in bones and growth
He never took care ofs COW. and did no,
knew hos 70 feed one but, - physiolo
.eise, i De wanted size, he should mix crush
Cd lime or Oh TX in their food, and thus
Givs then something 10 build upon, Com
neuting upon tlSsse remarks Of the learned
professor, the Country Gentlemen says:
There ore no doubt many thousands OF
acres q ths frssstone lauds Of New England
that have bsen h grass almost from time
immemorisl, that have been 80 fer exhaust
Cd Of the little lime they once contained as
to leave An inadequate supply for the build
ing up Of the frames Of the animals reared
upon them. This deficiency Of bone form.
ing material may some time manifest itseIi
only in the dwaried appearance Of the ami
mails, without any evident signs Of disease;
in some instances, however, the deficiency
is SO great that young animals become
weak IL their frsmes. and manifest . great
desire for bones, which they will chew for
hours. These cases require an immediate
remedy, and ground bones are often fcd
With bsne fetal effect, and Professor Agassiz
suggests the mixing Of crushed lime or
chalk with their food may answer the same
purpose. But while these lands have part
cd with their lime by long continued crop
ping, It Is not probable that they are equal
y wanting in the other ingredients essen
tial to the building up Of the muscle as well
- tho bone Of the animals reared upon
thsms This being the fact. then, and 10
order to render the cure perrna-
mont and the farmin profitable, the remedy
shonld be applied TO the land. not only in
the application Of lime, but Of such other
snrlching materials as will improve the
crops generally. Nature never intended
that animals should be fed on crushed bon, .
Or lime to furnish the material to build IN
their frames, but the supply should co.ue
from natures labrAtory, IN the well fed
crops OF grass and grain. The alpine and
granite districts alluded to, no doubt, are
net only deficient in lime, but the essen
tials generally Of "a good soil hence the
cattle reared in these districts will neccessa
rily be small. The Devon and the smaller
breeds Of cattle arc adapted to the soil and
climate Of New England, while the Durham
or Short Horn finds paradise in the lux
urisnt fields Of Kentucky. The impression
has prevailed tina. cclebf ated blue grass OF
Kentucky was variety peculiar to that
particular locality, when, in fact, it is SIN
ply the common Juno grass I1d pratensis)
Of our door yards.-lt is owing to the re-
markable depth and richness Of the sol Of
some six or eight Of the cen raj counties Of
Kentucky, in which this grass grows in the
greatest perfection, that gives the name t.
that section Of the State as the "Bluc Grass
Region" The geological character of this
section Of Kentucky is very remarkable aud
interesting. The soil is two or :hrec feet
deep, resting upen foundation of fosslif-
er0us limestone. Its average depth below
organic remains, and by constant action of
time is undergoing . rather rapid disinteg
ration, thus being y source Of inexhausta
bic fertility to the soil. Perhaps in no
country in the world can q more perfe~ It and
lasting soil be found 1t contains not only
m abundant supply Of lime, but all the 9th
CT elements essential to the most produc-
tive soil. have said that the limestone OF
this section Of Kentucky lies at an average
depth Of six or eight feet below the surface,
but there is hardly farm on which it doe,
not crop out in number of places, gener
ally on the face OF the southern slopes
This stone lies in thin strata, and furnishc.
very cheap and easily wrought material
for any amount Of fence required.
DR.. Robert Peter, of Lexington, connect.
cd with the late geological survey of the
State, who has analysed several hundr d
specimens OF soils, minerals, waters, grains
&c, furnishes some very interesting facts
for the farmers. Among these numerous
analysis two samples of Indian corn were
submitted to chemical tests. One sample
WAS grown upon the poorest land in one OF
the poorest counties in the State and the
other was the product OF the rich blue grass
land Of Fayette county near Lexington. The
object of the analysis was TO determine the
difference in the nutritive quality of the two
samples. and also to ascertain how much
more largely the corn grown upon the strong
limestone land Of Fayet'e would partakc OF
the mineral o. inorganic constituents of the
soil, than that which was produced on the
poor land. The result proved that the corn
grown upon the Fayette land was richer by
very considerable percentage in its fatten
ing and nourlshing qualities than tn" sam
pie grown on the poor land, while the anal
ysis OF the ash showed an equally large per
centage Of the mineral ingredients in favor
Of the same, among which were particular,
y named potash, soda, lime. magnesia,
phosphoric acid. &c, &c. This proves a
very important fact--onc, for my own part,
l was not prepared to anticipate. | had
previously supposed that the grain grown
upon any soil, however poor, would be as
rich in its organic and mineral constituents
As that grown upon the richest soils, belicv.
ing the difference would be alone in quaint.
~, and not IN quality. Such not being the
case. Il proves to the farmer the greater ne
cessity of maintaining his land in the best
possible condition In connection with this
subject, Or. Peters, in speaking Of the
character and quality Of the soil of this sec.
ton Of the State, formed by the dis,ntegra-
ton Of tho soft layers of the blue limestone
Of the lower Sllurian epoch, remarks:
IL have often had occasion to admire the
luxuriant growth of the vegetables, and the
rapid AID perfect development Of the AMI.
malls raised upon it. Compared with tn Use
Of the poorer soil Of some Of the other geo
logical formations, the horses, mules, hogs.
cattle, and even men, and the cats and dogs
seem to be Of larger growth, and present a
much more thrifty and well-fed appear.
ancc."
i, So far as It relates to domestic animals.
gu that DR.. Peters says is probably true
These are governed by instinct or the un
crring laws Of nature while man is endow.
Cd With reason, which too often fails to gov
ern his appetites or passions, and hence his
physical condition 10 impaired BY violations
Of these laws"
From the growth Of the lower animals the
same paper rises to the consideration Of
the influence Of soil upon the growth Of