Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1875-01-20
agricultural.
The Use Of Salt in Wheat Culture.

Some Of the best farmers of England.
such It's Mr. Mechi, and perhaps Gilbert
and Dawes have given a decided approval
of the use Of salt as II manure for the
wheat crop. but it would sc III that we are
never to hlvean permanently fixed prin-
cipie in agriculture, any more than they
appear to have in medicine. In Il recent
report in the Ro1aI Agrirultural G"@ette of
England, upon the application OF salt to
the wheat crop. and the manner of its
action, Professor Nodeker the famous
chemist of the society, presents some
views which Will explain WY, in some
cases, this mineral is extremely et1icacious,
whilst in others it is found en- irelv value
less His subject is Of much Importance
AS by uu lcr>tanding the character of the
soil to which it i applied. the farmer is
saved from Il useless eXpcn !iture or is en-
ableh to secure, ut y small cost. Il most
valuable fertilizer.
Says rc professor, a distinct proof is
given that common salt ms the power of
libe ;lting ammonia from soils that have
been highly manfred from rotten dung.
Peruvian gu,no, and other ammoniacal
mlnufes, which. i'll sandy subsoils especial
", exist in feeble combinations that readi
lv undergo decomposition when brought
in contact with solution of salt. In the
case before us. u portion of chloride of
(salU acted upon these feeble ammoniacal
combinations. produc nc on one hand soda
which become fixed in the soil and on the
other chloride of ammonia, which passed
into solution.
This ANALYTICAL result throws light on
the junction of salt i'll agriculture. 1t is
we'll known til It salt is most benefciallv
applied to light land after Il good dressing
with btrn-ytrd manure, alone or in con-
jun, ton with Peruvian guano, and that
it's application under these circumstances
is practically u>ful to wheat crops in
general. Practical experiments on a
large scale have shown, indeed, that by
salt alone Il large increase of grain was
produced off land in good hcat-that is,
had been previously well mlnured. In
this case The application of salt evidently
has the effect OF liberating ammonia, and
rendering it available for tie Immediate
use of our crops. which we know from ex-
perience are much benefited by it. On
land out of condition, suit must not be cX-
pected To produce such favorable effects,
and us this manure no doubt Is sometimes
put upon land exhauste by previous crop
ping, in which, therefore, 1t does not find
1illinOnlacal compounds upon winch IL can
act. one reason becomes evident why salt
Is etfcacious rs IL manure III some cases,
while in others its beneficial results are
unm ist;tkable.
Peruvian @uano and salt is a favorite
dressing with many farmers and justly SO
1t ha> been supposed by agricultural writ
els that the benefit resulting from this
mixture is due to the property of salt to
fix ammonia, have shown. however, else
wh're that Peruvian glano does not con
tam any apprcciabe quantity of free am
monia, While theory has erred in ascrib-
ing TO salt power that it does not possess
the practice of mixing guano with salt is
one that can be confidently recommend
ed. So far from fixing ammonia, sal
rather tends to liberate and disseminate
through the soil the ammonia contained il
the Pnruvian %uano applied to the land
which becomes fixed by the soil