The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1877-03-01

IL II an important discovery of recent
date, that soils have the powerof separat-
ing not onlyammoniab but other bases also
from their solutions, and of holding them
with great tenacity after their absorp-
ton. Thus one hundred grains of clay
soil, taken from tho plastic clay forma.
ton of England, absorbed 1850 grIins OF
potash from a solution of caustic potash
containing One per cent. of the alkali. 1t
is interesting to observe that the liquid
was not, in this case, filtered through the
soil but the cold solution was merely left
in contact with it for twelve hours.
1t has been further shown that soils
have the ability to separate the alkaline
bases from tho acids with which they are
combined. When saline solution were
slowly filtered through soils five or six
inches deep, the liquids which passed
through were deprived Of their alkaline
bases, as potash, soda, ammonia and mag
nesia, and only the acidswere to be found
in combination with some other base.
Thus, when muriate of ammonia was
filtered through the soil, the ammonia
was removed, and a corresponding guam
tity Of lime, in combination with
muriatic acid, was found in the filtered
liquid. In the same way, sulphate OF
potash was deprived of its base, and the
liquid collected gave sulphate of lime.
These soils which have the greatest
amount of capillary porosity will con
dense the greatest amount of manurial
o., hutonpou nm tbo;r ;ntornnl a,,rc,oo,
will retain thom longest against the adj
verse solvent action of water, and will
give them out most readily to the root
let's OF the growing plant.
A mass of adhesive clay will absorb but
n very slight amount of available man
ure but if this same mass is rendered
friable, by mechanical processes, its
power of absorption is amazingly in
creased. In view of what has been stated,
it is very clear that one way in which
blowing increases the fertility of land is
by increasing its porosity by pulveriza-
ton.
Again, many manurial substances exist
in the soil, which, being i~nsoluble, ex-
%ercises no action on the growtho Of plants;
but by the slow, though regular action
of the frosts and the rain, the cir and the
sunshine, insoluble and refractory com.
pounds are reduced to a soluble state,
and are appropriated and held on deposit
by the soil to the credit of the next cul-
tivated crop. This explains the well
known fact that soils which have been
cropped to the very verge of barrenness,
will recover their fertility if allowed to
remain long enough under the action of
climatic influences to saturate the soil
with the necessary plant-food, which
they have unlocked from their chemical
combinations, and given to the soil in a
perfectly physical condition. These
changes are brought about more rapidly
when certain mechanical changes of N
dition are wrought upon the soil.
Carbonic acid is one of the most active
of the agents employed in bringing the
insoluble organic matter in the soil into
that physical condition in which it be-
comes available as plant-toot. In order
that this soil may be formed, it is es-
sential that the ca%rbonaceous matter in
the soil should be brought into direct
contact with the atmosphere from which
they procure the oxygen necessary to
convert them into carbonic acid. So
long as ~stagnant water remains in the
soil, or so long as the soil is in a dense or
very compact condition, it is impossible
for tho carbon to be converted into acid.
Of Chemistry.