The Red Cloud chief., 1880-09-09

tale OF her danger and her deliverance.
Formation Of Soils.
VEGETATION and growth are very
complex processes. involving the action
Of the whole material universe. In
vegetation tbs sum acts by its light and
heat and chemical rays; the atmosphere
by its W elements and by the carbon
ic acid contained in il; the water that
pervades the atmosphere. or that is
! furnished in various other ways, cleo
tricity, and the earth, by furnishing the
mineral elements that are essential to
each kind Of vegetation.
There is thus a system of laws that
underlies all agriculture. The elements
taken from ether sources than the
earth-that is, from the atmosphere.
the water, and the heat and the light of
the sun-dO not exhaust the sources of
those elements, and cannot be restored
to them by human effort, but are re-
stored by the stated and constant ac-
ton of the system. Another funda-
mental fact is hat the elements taken
from the soil by crops do by degrees
exhaust it, and must be replaced, or
CISC Vic Sui VIII UCCOulo- U0LICu. AulS
is the most important fat in ~agricult-
ure. In some instances the distracted
elements are restored by natural proc
esses, as by the overflow of the Nile in
Egypt, and of the Ganges in India. and
some other similar cases; but as a rule
they must be restored by artificial
means.
If a process Of abstraction goes on
for a length of time varying in different
cases, the soil becomes barren for all
plants which demand the elements
taken away. BY a process of this kind
the larger part of the world could be
rendered barren, as large portions have
been, SO that a universal famine would
ensue. Hence the most pressing prob
lem of agriculture in all ages has been
to restore to the soil the elements thus
removed. At this point comes in an
other great fact. All the products of
the soil that are eaten and digested.
have, after this digestion, the identical
elements taken from the soil, and form
an effectual manure, which will restore
and perpetuate its fertility. What is
called manure is simply anything that
restores to the soil the distracted essen
tial food of plants. by which they live.
grow and become fruitful.
The results of digestion are the
most obvious e of effecting this,
and as such have been used i'm all ages.
But the same elements If procured from
other sources will produce the same re-
suits. SO that a wide field is open for
the manufacture Of manures.
In view of these facts certain things
are evident: l. That an understanding
of what each plant takes from the soil
is always desirable, and to a scientific
culture of any plant or tree absolutely
essential. 2. 1t is desirable to know
that the efficacy of manure depends on
the fact that it gives to the soil the
elements which have been taken from
it, or in which it was originally de-
ficient, but which are essential to the
cultivation of plants or trees. 3. That
it should be a principle Of National
policy to discourage. and if possible
to prevent the exhaustion of the
National domain OF any part of it by
repeated drafts on the earth. the great
bank of humanity, without any
adequate deposits to make good the
Withdrawals. During the greater part
of past ages there has not been y
scientific understandingsof these laws.
The chemical compOnents of plants and
the earths have not been understood
until this century. True, manures
have been used, but their composition
and action have been imperfectly COM
pretended, and the component elements
of plants and what they take from the
soil have been even less understood.
Observation and experiment have
taught what has been known as to ma
nure, and tradition has handed down the
rules an processes established by the
usages Of previous generations.
1t is, moreover, very desirable to
know what are constituent elements Of
every soil when it is first cultivated.
Assuming that the constituent elements
of all the plants to be raised are known.
it al be sccu If There u a deficiency Of
any requisite elements in the soil, or il
any are in danger of being soon ex-
hausted; or if any are not in a state to
be used. This will decide what manures
to use, when to use them. and how much
to employ. The soils of the globe have
been formed in past ages from the
rocky strata of the earth, acted on and
disintegrated by the air, by water, by
heat and cold. and other chemical
agents; the results of this disintsgra-
ton have been deposited by rivers and
floods, thus forming diluvial soils in low
lands. In higher lands the character Of
the soil depends upon the constituent
elements Of the rocks which have been
d~isintegrated. Thus in Gesner's '.New
Brunswick" we are told that from the
disintegration of granite and syenite.
slick, clay. lime and magnesia, result.
The soil from the rock contains much
potash, and produces hard wood. such
as beech, birch. maple, oak. ash and
butternut. The soil of granite and
syenite also produces these; but fire.
~auently, if the soil is deep and mixed
with sand, white and red pine grow to
a large size. In like manner all soils
can be traced to their original sourcess,
and their primary powers and adapta-
tions known. As q general fact, alluvi-
al soils are the most complex and the
most widely fertile, as containing .
greater variety of the elements needed
in the formation of different plants, and
often q greater abundance of them.
In addition to such original elements
of soil, a vegetable mold is added by the
dissolution of leaves, grasses, trees and
other vegetable products. In this. how
ever, are found elements previously
taken from the soil and the atmosphere.
1t is also important to know the degrees
of heat and cold to which plants will be
exposed. and the amount Of water to be
obtained from rains, brooks. rivers and
irrigation, for these are things the cul-
tivator is compelled to know through
the action of the climate and the sea
lsons.-Christidn Union.
IT 8 puzzling to the male intellect
to Observer young lady walking up the
street with thasun directly in front Of
her. holding over her shoulder the par
asol which is supposed to be carried for
shade, and allowing the sun to shine full
in her face. The male Intellect does
not at once grasp the fact that the par
asol has a silk lining whose color exact
" harmonizes with the young lady's
complexion.-Nesoork Su&dey Cak