The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1880-12-02
Agricultural.


There b 81 clauha quiie ptefalsnt
amons fasusn that special ieFtiaaers "a
= situuiaai upaa ths sasi. i1ring eat H.
ist q eaeFEies and loafe Is aiseE whils
paafcI ihaa lsiQrs. Ne oplnisu eoala te
more grfuaeoas THAI q suppoas that there
i auy saeh lhing a. stimulating tbs seil.
Stimulanss oae the.r Effects 70 their action
ugs-a the acrsoas > stem. l'ringing oui the
laioai ~ reserved power 81 the body.
sometimes s1hsastiag Il 70 that eHtens -
- destroy liie bot the soil has no nervous
system, aad plaats rceyive 20 food ,hrough
stimulEtian 4 cettaia smouus u beat
and moisture does sometimes seem 10
stimulate Frouth II is better ~ say
scceitfales H. Heat ADD moisture hasten
the preparation 81 plant food they Acoel-
crate toe decomposition nf the minerals in
the soil aud quicken the how Of the sap,
and heat causes the water Of the sap 70
eyaporate faster through the leaves The
more napidly the plant grows the faster Il
draws the elements of fertility from the
soil, and thus, by making rapid growth,
It hastens the exhaustion Of the soil The
difficulty with which We IN New England
have % contend is this. We can draw the
fertilizing elements from the soil three
times faster than the earth can give them
ap.
There are few countries where vegetable
growth is more rapid than in New England
Ia sir weeks, winter rye will grow so that
5 quarter Of an acre will furnish feed suf.
heisnt tor ten COWS for fortnight. A
soon as that is taken OF corn can be plant
ed, and by the first of August from twenty
to thirty or forty tons to the acre OF green
fodder can be taken of. Again, on the
same piece Of land barley can be sown with
winter rye aud in October another crop Of
green fodder Gun lie taken OF Thus the
climate produces three crops IN a season,
but the soil unaided would not produce
one Of these crops, and so, knowing the
capacity Of climate, ego to work to make
the soil equal TO it. Our first effort is to
apply our barnyard manure, but here we
find the quantity to be unequal to the task
and mans inventive genius is taxed TO pro
duee other material TO bring about the de-
sired result. Guano was largely used, and
found TO DO what was desired, but after a
few applications ii was found that the soil
could not produce the required crops even
with this assistance. and it was charged
with having stimulated the soil, and thus
exhausted it. The fertilizing elements
contained in the guano were exceedingly
and the plants fed rapidly upon
them, but guano did not contain all the
elements required by the plant, and these
were rapidly removed from the soil, This
being left exhausted OF one or two ele-
ments, it was the same as though all had
been removed, and it was barren even
though guano was added to it.
Again, the charge Of exhaustion was
urged through stimulation, but it was
really exhaustion Of material, because the
different elements were not duly proper
toned TO the wants of the plants Then
superphosphate was tried. This contained
but one leading element although two
others were present, sulphate of lime and
nitrogen in the form of ammonia. These
produce large crops So long as other
elements of food lasted in the soil, but
when these were expended, then again the
cry went up: Exhaustion through slim
ulatiou. The only stimulant was the
climate, which used the material faster
than it Was supplied. The best way to
furnish all the elements necessary for the
plants according to the capacity of the
climate for producing growth, is to use
arge amounts of decayed vegetable matter
either in the form Of barnyard manure or
some other material, use in connection
phosphate of lime and potash, and to this
add great amount Of culture. Were we
10 pillow twice where we pillow but once and
harrow twice or three times, and use the
cultiyator as much as now, we should
greatly accelerate nature in furnishing
from her laboratory. We must
bear in mind that while we have very
sterile soil, on account OF decomposition
going OH so slowly, we have one of the
most productive climates in the world.
While Great Britain has much more fer
tile soil, much better cultivated and more
highly mapured, yet her climate is not
nearly equal to ours in productive capacity.
We may have an idea of the climate in
some sections Of England from the fact
that they cannot produce peas before
August, in the open air, aud early Mohawk
beans have to be grown under glass.
From this we may learn something Of what
they have to contend with on account Of
the climate, while our contention is with
the soil, 10th Of which tend TO develope
the energies Of those who live by its culti-
walton. II may also appear strange to
some that We should claim that there is
more moisture in New England than in
Old Euglaud, but such is the fact. The
ainfall in this country is the greatest, but
the mother country BIAS more moist at
which sometimes retards the
growth. Vegetation throws off moisture
rapidly on hot sunny day; on cloudy
day, however, less water is eyaporated
and on a ioggy day scarcely any. The
more rapidly the sap pormeates vegetation
the faster il grows. AMI the more wafer is
given back 10 the atmosphere Old Eng
land has more cloudy days than we. and
fewer hot days II is true that one rarely
or never sees vegetation wilt there rs il
does here, but that is because the water