The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1895-07-26

seeks for results to repay the TIM
nerve force that he expends in his toll.
He aims to make every movement prac-
tical in securing the great ends of life in
his chosen vocation. His plans are vain
and labor useless unless he first of all
has good soil to work in. Soils are the
result to a large extent of the many
changes in the natural world. The
agencies for producing soil are abun-
.dant and continually at work ST each
season of the year. The frosts of win
ter and the heat of summer, the drought
that pinches almost to starvation point
the vegetation of earth, and the rain that
falls gently or furiously upon the sur
face; are each in turn doing their parts
thoroughly and well in producing soil.
Then there is mixture of decaying veg
etable deposit, as leaves, grass, stones
and sticks, that fall to the earth and go
to decay. We call this leaf or vegetable
mould or humus. This is of first i'm
portance to the farmer.
If we would understand the origin of
soils we must begin our study of the
earth's surface at very early period. 1t
is most evident that If the earth had been
left to itself there would have been no
trace of soil. We find that all the ele-
ments by which we are surrounded are
playing their parts in producing the soil
that we are so deeply interested in. A
fair knowledge of the subject would re-
~ xril1 no evident
to all that l can but throw out few
hints tonight, but l shall feel amply re-
paid for my effort, if these simple
thoughts should lead any of you TO
study the subject more thoroughly. We
have soil covered earth and we asso-
ciate with this soil all living things.
whether they belong to the flora or the
farmer of earth, for each derive
their nourishment from the soil, and
men hardly pause to think that the forces
of nature, under the control of loving
Heavenly Father, have been working on
continually from the very dawn of time
producing this soil and supplying its
waste.
Soils are simply broken or decomposed
rocks. We exclaim Goods mills grind
slow but sure" We examine and find in
soils the fragment of rocks. The micro
scope helps us to see that nearly all the
finer particles of the soil are simply
minute of some rock. Geology proves
that the earth was once in q moulten
state, and came to its present
condition through process of cooling,
by loss of heat its exterior surface solidi-
fed to crust of hard rock. In that
condition it was incapable of supporting
any plant life, for roots cannot penetrate
rock. The first work in the formation
of soil to prepare material by pulveriz-
ing rock. This has been accomplished
by mary agencies, ever progressing in
their work through long periods OF time.
The agencies employed in this work L
will enumerate as: First, changes in
temperature; second. water and ice IN
motion; third, chemical action of water
and air; fourth, influence of vegetable
and animal life. 1 would gladly dwell
upon each of these agencies but time
will not permit. One word however
about water as solvent for it exercises
most important influence in the disin-
tegrating of minerals. In nature we
never deal with pure water. Carboric
acid is absorbed by or dissolved in all
natural water to greater or less extent.
And this enables the water to act upon
and corrode or eat into the solid rock.
To illustrate this point drop Of COM
paratively pure water falling to the
earth as rain falling upon marble has
the power to remove one fifty thousandth
of its bulk from the surface of the mar.
BILE but, charge this falling drop of water
with carbopic acid and you have in
creased its dissolving power 5S times
For water thus charged will dissolve
/ one one thousandth of its bulk from thu
/ marble. Now all plants absorb, holt
and deposit through their roots carboni'
acid and thus the work of disintegratins
the solid rock or converting it init
minute particles of soil is carried Of
wherever the roots of tree or plan
/ touches the rock.
The rock covered with lichen
(although they have no distinct root
still where they cover the rock, the
deposit a certain amount of carbeni
acid. This eats into the rock so that
crumbles away and the work of so
making goes on much more rapid
than before. We at times find in tn
ground a stone that Is completed
: wrapped about with fine net work
roots from some plant or tree and "
NAV be sure that the decay of that stoI
is insured. 1t will soon crumble to dui
!. and mingle with other elements of I'll
soil. In ride of one mile recently
IBrookfield, I counted more than II
stone by the roadside, that were cruz
bling away, and / could realize th'
these stone would soon be in conditie
!. to help repair the waste of soil that
continually going forward on our hil
SIDES. Add to this the very importal
= agency of earthworms they take fro
the subsoil a large amount of materi
which they bring to the surface, so tn
n in few centuries the soil has been e
: ltirely overturned. Then ants are DOH
the same work. A large part of Il
sandy soils of Eastern Massachuset
n are curiously titled by these insec
year after year. The soil of earth is Il
riches of the world. It's products su
port all animal life. It is the home
all the roots of plants while to it we io'
and hope for the returns of a bountif
harvest. To certain extent man co
trolls the soil, while other agenci
which minister to the growth OF o
,r crops (such as the atmosphere and t
light and heat Of the sun) be cannot CO