CHAPTER II.

TABLES OF ANALYSIS.

ANALYSES OF THE ASHES OF CROPS.

No. I.

	Wheat.	Wheat Straw.	Rye.	Rye Straw.
Ashes in 1000 dry parts	20	60	24	40
Silica (sand)	16	654	5	645
Lime	28	67	50	91
Magnesia	120	33	104	24
Peroxide of Iron	7	13	14	14
Potash	237	124	221	174
Soda	91	2	116	3
Chlorine		11		5
Sulphuric Acid	3	58	10	8
Phosphoric Acid	498	31	496	38

No. II.

	Corn.	Corn Stalks.	Barley.	Barley Straw.
Ashes in 1000 dry parts.	15	44	28	61
Silica (sand)	15	270	271	706
Lime	15	86	26	95
Magnesia	162	66	75	32
Peroxide of Iron	3	8	15	7
Oxide of Manganese				1
Potash	261	96	136	62
Soda	63	277	81	6
Chlorine	2	20	1	10
Sulphuric Acid	23	5	1	16
Phosphoric Acid	449	171	389	31

No. III.

	Oats.	Oat Straw.	Buck Wheat.	Potatoes.
Ashes in 1000 dry parts	20	51	21	90
Silica (sand)	7	484	7	42
Lime	60	81	67	21
Magnesia	99	38	104	53
Peroxide of Iron	4	18	11	5
Potash	{262}	191	87	557
Soda	{262}	97	201	19
Chlorine	3	32		43
Sulphuric Acid	104	33	22	137
Phosphoric Acid	438	27	500	126
Organic Matter				750 Water.

No. IV.

	Peas.	Beans.	Turnips.	Turnip Tops.
Ashes in 1000 dry parts	25	27	76	170
Silica (sand)	5	12	71	8
Lime	53	58	128	233
Magnesia	85	80	48	31
Peroxide of Iron	10	6	9	8
Potash	361	336	398	286
Soda	91	106	108	54
Chlorine	23	7	37	160
Sulphuric Acid	44	10	131	125
Phosphoric Acid	333	378	67	93
Organic Matter			870 Water.

No. V.

	Flax.	Linseed.	Meadow Hay.	Red Clover.
Ashes in 1000 dry parts	50	46	60	75
Silica (sand)	257	75	344	48
Alumina (clay)	37?
Lime	148	83	196	371
Magnesia	44	146	78	46
Peroxide of Iron	36?	9	7	2
Potash	117	240	236	267
Soda	118	45	19	71
Chlorine	29	2	28	48
Sulphuric Acid	32	23	29	60
Phosphoric Acid	130	365	58	88

No. VI.

Amount of Inorganic Matter removed from the soil by ten bushels of grains, etc., and by the straw, etc., required in their production—estimated in pounds:

	Wheat.	1200 lbs. Wheat Straw.	Rye.	1620 lbs. Rye Straw.
Potash	2.86	8.97	2.51	11.34
Soda	1.04	.12	1.33	.20
Lime	.34	4.84	.56	5.91
Magnesia	1.46	2.76	1.18	1.58
Oxide of Iron	.08	.94	.15	.88
Sulphuric Acid	.03	4.20	.11	.05
Phosphoric Acid	6.01	2.22	5.64	2.49
Chlorine		.79		.30
Silica	.14	47.16	.05	42.25
Pounds carried off	12	72	11½	66

No. VII.

	Corn.	1620 lbs. Corn Stalks.	Oats.	700 lbs. Oat Straw.
Potash	2.78	6.84	1.69	12.08
Soda		19.83
Lime	.12	6.02	.39	3.39
Magnesia	1.52	4.74	.64	1.59
Oxide of Iron		.57	.02	.78
Sulphuric Acid		.36	.66	1.41
Phosphoric Acid	4.52	12.15	2.80	1.07
Chlorine		1.33	.02	1.36
Silica	.06	19.16	.18	20.32
Pounds carried off	9	71	6½	42

No. VIII.

	Buck Wheat.	Barley.	660 lbs. Barley Straw.	2000 lbs. Flax.
Potash	1.01	1.90	2.57	11.78
Soda	2.13	1.18	.23	11.82
Lime	.78	.96	3.88	11.85
Magnesia	1.20	1.00	1.31	9.38
Oxide of Iron	.14	.20	.90	7.32
Sulphuric Acid	.25	.01	.66	3.19
Phosphoric Acid	5.40	5.35	1.25	13.05
Chlorine		.01	.40	2.90
Silica	.09	3.90	28.80	25.71
Pounds carried off	11	14	40	100

No. IX.

	Beans.	1120 lbs. Bean Straw.	Field Peas.	1366 lbs. Pea Straw.
Potash	5.54	36.28	5.90	3.78
Soda	1.83	1.09	1.40
Lime	98.98	13.60	.81	43.93
Magnesia	.28	4.55	1.30	5.50
Oxide of Iron	.10	.20	.15	1.40
Sulphuric Acid	.16	.64	.64	5.43
Phosphoric Acid	7.80	5.00	5.50	3.86
Chlorine	.13	1.74	.23	.08
Silica	.18	4.90	.7	16.02
Pounds carried off	17	68	16	80

No. X.

	1 Ton Turnips.	635 lbs. Turnip Tops.	1 Ton Potatoes.	2000 lbs. Red Clover.
Potash	7.14	4.34	27.82	31.41
Soda	.86	.84	.93	8.34
Lime	2.31	3.61	1.03	43.77
Magnesia	.91	.48	2.63	5.25
Oxide of Iron	.23	.13	.26	.23
Sulphuric Acid	2.30	1.81	6.81	7.05
Phosphoric Acid	1.29	1.31	6.25	10.28
Chlorine	.61	2.35	2.13	5.86
Silica	1.36	.13	2.14	5.81
Pounds carried off	17	15	50	118

No. XI.

	2000 lbs. Meadow Hay.	2000 lbs. Cabbage Water 9-10
Potash	18.11	5.25
Soda	1.35	9.20
Lime	22.95	9.45
Magnesia	6.75	2.70
Oxide of Iron	1.69	.25
Sulphuric Acid	2.70	9.60
Phosphoric Acid	5.97	5.60
Chlorine	2.59	2.60
Silica	37.89	.35
Pounds carried off	100	45

No. XII.

Composition of Ashes, leached and unleached, showing their manurial value:

	Oak unleached.	Oak leached.	Beech unleached.	Beech leached.
Potash	84	—	158	—
Soda	56	—	29	—
Lime	750	548	634	426
Magnesia	45	6	113	70
Oxide of Iron	6	—	8	15
Sulphuric Acid	12	—	14	—
Phosphoric Acid	35	8	31	57
Chlorine			2

No. XIII.

	Birch leached.	Seaweed unleached.	Bituminous Coal unleached.
Potash	—	180	2
Soda	—	210	2
Lime	522	94	21
Magnesia	30	99	2
Oxide of Iron	5	3	40
Sulphuric Acid	—	248	9
Phosphoric Acid	43	52	2
Chlorine	—	98	1

No. XIV.

TOBACCO.

Analysis of the ash of the Plant [Will & Fresedius]—

Potash	19.55
Soda	0.27
Magnesia	11.07
Lime	48.68
Phosphoric Acid	3.66
Sulphuric Acid	3.29
Oxide of Iron	2.99
Chloride of Sodium	3.54
Loss	6.95
	100.00

Analysis of the ash of the Root [Berthier]—

Soluble Matter	12.3
Insoluble	87.7

The Soluble parts consist of nearly—

Carbonic Acid	10.0
Sulphuric Acid	10.3
Muriatic Acid (Chlorine, &c.)	18.26
Potash and Soda	61.44
	100.00

No. XV.

Composition of some of the more common Compounds of Acids and Alkalies.

100 Parts of	Contain of the Alkalies		Contain of the Acids
Carbonate of Potash (Pearlash)	Potash	68.09	Carbonic	31.91
Bi-Carbonate of Potash (Saleratus)	do.	51.62	Carbonic	48.38
Nitrate of Potash (Saltpetre)	do.	46.56	Nitric	53.44
Silicate of Potash	do.	50.54	Silicic	49.46
Carbonate of Soda	Soda	58.58	Carbonic	41.42
Bi-Carbonate of Soda (Common Soda)[AR]	do.	41.42	Carbonic	58.58
Nitrate of Soda	do.	36.60	Nitric	63.40
Sulphate of Soda (Glauber Salts)[AR]	do.	19.38	Sulphuric	24.85
Silicate of Soda	do.	40.37	Silicic	59.63
Carbonate of Lime (Limestone)	Lime	56.29	Carbonic	43.71
Sulphate of Lime (Plaster Paris)[AR]	do.	32.90	Sulphuric	46.31
Sulphate of Lime (Burned)	do.	41.53	Sulphuric	58.47
Phosphate of Lime	do.	54.48	Phosphoric	45.52
Super-Phosphate of Lime	do.	28.52	Phosphoric	71.48
Silicate of Lime	do.	38.15	Silicic	61.85
Carbonate of Magnesia	Magnesia	48.31	Carbonic	51.69
Sulphate of Magnesia (Epsom Salts)[AR]	do.	16.70	Sulphuric	32.40
Silicate of Alumina	Alumina	17.05	Silicic	72.95
Sulphate of Iron (Green Vitriol)[AR]	Oxide of Iron	27.19	Sulphuric	31.03

No. XVI.

Proximate Analyses of Crops, showing the amount of the different Organic Compounds contained in Grain, Roots, Hay, etc.—estimated in pounds:

		Water.	Husk or Woody Fibre.	Starch, Gum and Sugar.	Gluten, Albumen, Legumin.	Fatty Matter.
10 Bushels.
Wheat	600 lbs.	90	90	330	87	18
Barley	515 lbs.	77	77	309	70	13
Oats	425 lbs.	68	85	255	70	25
Rye	520 lbs.	62	78	312	65	18
Indian Corn	600 lbs.	84	36	420	72	42
Buck Wheat	425 lbs.	64	106	212	34	2?
Beans	640 lbs.	90	61	256	166	16
Peas	640 lbs.	90	58	320	154	14
2000 lbs.
Potatoes		1500	80	360	40	6
Turnips		1760	40	180[AS]	30	6
Carrots		1700	60	200[AS]	30	8
Mangold Wurtzel		1700	40	220 [AS]	40	?
Meadow Hay		280	600	800	140	70
Clover Hay		280	500	800	186	80
Pea Straw		250	500	900	246	30
Rye Straw		270	900	760	26	?
Corn Stalks		240	500	1040	60	34
100 lbs. Fine Wheat Flour		10		79	11
100 lbs. Wheat Bran		13		55	19	5

No. XVII.

Amount of Ash left after burning 1000 lbs. of various plants, ordinarily dry—

Wheat		20			its straw	50
Barley		30			"	50
Oats		40			"	60
Rye		20			"	40
Indian Corn		15			"	50
Pea		30			"	50
Bean		30
Meadow Hay		50	to	100
Clover	"	90
Rye Grass	"	95
Potato		8	to	15
Turnip		5	to	8
Carrot		15	to	20

No. XVIII.

MANURES.

HORSE MANURE.

Solid Dung—

Combustible Matter	19.68
Ash	3.07
Water	77.25
	100.00

Composition of the Ash—

Silica	62.40
Potash	11.30
Soda	1.98
Oxide of Iron	1.17
Lime	4.63
Magnesia	3.84
Oxide of Manganese	2.13
Phosphoric Acid	10.49
Sulphuric Acid	1.89
Chlorine	0.03
Loss	0.14
	100.00

No. XIX.

NIGHT SOIL.

Solid (Ash)—

Earthy Phosphates and a trace of Sulphate of Lime	100
Sulphate of Soda and Potash, and Phosphate of Soda	8
Carbonate of Soda	8
Silica	16
Charcoal and Loss	18
	150

Urine

Urea[AT]	30.10
Uric Acid	1.00
Sal Ammoniac[AT]	1.50
Lactic Acid, etc.	17.14
Mucus	.32
Sulphate of Potash	3.71
Sulphate of Soda	3.16
Phosphate of Ammonia [AT]	1.65
Earthy Phosphates	3.94
Salt (Chloride of Sodium)	4.45
Silica	0.03
	67.00
Water	933.00
	1000.00

No. XX.

COW MANURE.

Solid (Ash)—

Phosphates	20.9
Peroxide of Iron	8.8
Lime	1.5
Sulphate of Lime (Plaster)	3.1
Chloride of Potassium	trace
Silica	63.7
Loss	2.0
	100.0

No. XXI.

COMPARATIVE VALUE OF THE URINE OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS.

	Solid Matter.		Total.
	Organic.	Inorganic.	Total.
Man	23.4	7.6	31
Horse	27.	33.	60
Cow	50.	20.	70
Pig	56.	18.	74
Sheep	28.	12.	40

No. XXII.

GUANO.

Water	6.40
Ammonia	2.71
Uric Acid	34.70
Oxalic Acid, etc.	26.79
Fixed Alkaline Salts.
Sulphate of Soda	2.94
Phosphate of Soda	.48
Chloride of Sodium (salt)	.86
Earthy Salts.
Carbonate of Lime	1.36
Phosphates	19.24
Foreign Matter.
Silicious grit and sand	4.52
	100.00

For the analysis of fertile and barren soils, see page [72].

FOOTNOTES:

[AR] Contain a large amount of Water.

[AS] Pectic Acid.

[AT] Supply Ammonia.

THE PRACTICAL FARMER.

Who is the practical farmer? Let us look at two pictures and decide.

Here is a farm of 100 acres in ordinary condition. It is owned and tilled by a hard-working man, who, in the busy season, employs one or two assistants. The farm is free from debt, but it does not produce an abundant income; therefore, its owner cannot afford to purchase the best implements, or make other needed improvements; besides, he don't believe in such things. His father was a good solid farmer; so was his grandfather; and so is he, or thinks he is. He is satisfied that 'the good old way' is best, and he sticks to it. He works from morning till night; from spring till fall. In the winter, he rests, as much as his lessened duties will allow. During this time, he reads little, or nothing. Least of all does he read about farming. He don't want to learn how to dig potatoes out of a book. Book farming is nonsense. Many other similar ideas keep him from agricultural reading. His house is comfortable, and his barns are quite as good as his neighbors', while his farm gives him a living. It is true that his soil does not produce as much as it did ten years ago; but prices are better, and he is satisfied.

Let us look at his premises, and see how his affairs are managed. First, examine the land. Well, it is good fair land. Some of it is a little springy, but is not to be called wet. It will produce a ton and a half of hay to the acre—it used to produce two tons. There are some stones on the land, but not enough in his estimation to do harm. The plowed fields are pretty good; they will produce 35 bushels of corn, 13 bushels of wheat, or 30 bushels of oats per acre, when the season is not dry. His father used to get more; but, somehow, the weather is not so favorable as it was in old times. He has thought of raising root crops, but they take more labor than he can afford to hire. Over, in the back part of the land there is a muck-hole, which is the only piece of worthless land on the whole farm.

Now, let us look at the barns and barn-yards. The stables are pretty good. There are some wide cracks in the siding, but they help to ventilate, and make it healthier for the cattle. The manure is thrown out of the back windows, and is left in piles under the eaves on the sunny side of the barn. The rain and sun make it nicer to handle. The cattle have to go some distance for water; and this gives them exercise. All of the cattle are not kept in the stable; the fattening stock are kept in the various fields, where hay is fed out to them from the stack. The barn-yard is often occupied by cattle, and is covered with their manure, which lies there until it is carted on to the land. In the shed are the tools of the farm, consisting of carts, plows—not deep plows, this farmer thinks it best to have roots near the surface of the soil where they can have the benefit of the sun's heat,—a harrow, hoes, rakes, etc. These tools are all in good order; and, unlike those of his less prudent neighbor, they are protected from the weather.

The crops are cultivated with the plow, and hoe, as they have been since the land was cleared, and as they always will be until this man dies.

Here is the 'practical farmer' of the present day. Hard working, out of debt, and economical—of dollars and cents, if not of soil and manures. He is a better farmer than two thirds of the three millions of farmers in the country. He is one of the best farmers in his town—there are but few better in the county, not many in the State. He represents the better class of his profession.

With all this, he is, in matters relating to his business, an unreading, unthinking man. He knows nothing of the first principles of farming, and is successful by the indulgence of nature, not because he understands her, and is able to make the most of her assistance.

This is an unpleasant fact, but it is one which cannot be denied. We do not say this to disparage the farmer, but to arouse him to a realization of his position and of his power to improve it.

But let us see where he is wrong.

He is wrong in thinking that his land does not need draining. He is wrong in being satisfied with one and a half tons of hay to the acre when he might easily get two and a half. He is wrong in not removing as far as possible every stone that can interfere with the deep and thorough cultivation of his soil. He is wrong in reaping less than his father did, when he should get more. He is wrong in ascribing to the weather, and similar causes, what is due to the actual impoverishment of his soil. He is wrong in not raising turnips, carrots, and other roots, which his winter stock so much need, when they might be raised at a cost of less than one third of their value as food. He is wrong in considering worthless a deposit of muck, which is a mine of wealth if properly employed. He is wrong in ventilating his stables at the cost of heat. He is wrong in his treatment of his manures, for he loses more than one half of their value from evaporation, fermentation, and leaching. He is wrong in not having water at hand for his cattle—their exercise detracts from their accumulation of fat and their production of heat, and it exposes them to cold. He is wrong in not protecting his fattening stock from the cold of winter; for, under exposure to cold, the food, which would otherwise be used in the formation of fat, goes to the production of the animal heat necessary to counteract the chilling influence of the weather, p. 50. He is wrong in allowing his manure to lie unprotected in the barn-yard. He is wrong in not adding to his tools the deep surface plow, the subsoil plow, the cultivator, and many others of improved construction. He is wrong in cultivating with the plow and hoe, those crops which could be better or more cheaply managed with the cultivator or horse-hoe. He is wrong in many things more, as we shall see if we examine all of his yearly routine of work. He is right in a few things; and but a few, as he himself would admit, had he that knowledge of his business which he could obtain in the leisure hours of a single winter. Still, he thinks himself a practical farmer. In twenty years, we shall have fewer such, for our young men have the mental capacity and mental energy necessary to raise them to the highest point of practical education, and to that point they are gradually but surely rising.

Let us now place this same farm in the hands of an educated and understanding cultivator; and, at the end of five years, look at it again.

He has sold one half of it, and cultivates but fifty acres. The money for which the other fifty were sold has been used in the improvement of the farm. The land has all been under-drained, and shows the many improvements consequent on such treatment. The stones and small rocks have been removed, leaving the surface of the soil smooth, and allowing the use of the sub-soil plow, which with the under-drains have more than doubled the productive power of the farm. Sufficient labor is employed to cultivate with improved tools, extensive root crops, and they invariably give a large yield. The grass land produces a yearly average of 2½ tons of hay per acre. From 80 to 100 bushels of corn, 30 bushels of wheat, and 45 bushels of oats are the average of the crops reaped. The soil has been analyzed, and put in the best possible condition, while it is yearly supplied with manures containing every thing taken away in the abundant crops. The analysis is never lost sight of in the regulation of crops and the application of manures. The worthless muck bed was retained, and is made worth one dollar a load to the compost heap, especially as the land requires an increase of organic matter. A new barn has been built large enough to store all of the hay produced on the farm. It has stables, which are tight and warm, and are well ventilated above the cattle. The stock being thus protected from the loss of their heat, give more milk, and make more fat on a less amount of food than they did under the old system. Water is near at hand, and the animals are not obliged to over exercise. The manure is carefully composted, either under a shed constructed for the purpose with a tank and pump, or is thrown into the cellar below, where the hogs mix it with a large amount of muck, which has been carted in after being thoroughly decomposed by the lime and salt mixture.

They are thus protected against all loss, and are prepared for the immediate use of crops. No manures are allowed to lie in the barn-yard, but they are all early removed to the compost heap, where they are preserved by being mixed with carbonaceous matter. In the tool shed, we find deep surface-plows, sub-soil plows, cultivators, horse-hoes, seed-drills, and many other valuable improvements.

This farmer takes one or more agricultural papers, from which he learns many new methods of cultivation, while his knowledge of the reasons of various agricultural effects enables him to discard the injudicious suggestions of mere book farmers and uneducated dreamers.

Here are two specimens of farmers. Neither description is over-drawn. The first is much more careful in his operations than the majority of our rural population. The second is no better than many who may be found in America.

We appeal to the common sense of the reader of this work to know which of the two is the practical farmer—let him imitate either as his judgment shall dictate.

FINIS.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS.

Absorb—to soak in a liquid or a gas.

Abstract—to take from.

Acid—sour; a sour substance.

Agriculture—the art of cultivating the soil.

Alkali—the direct opposite of an acid, with which it has a tendency to unite.

Alumina—the base of clay.

Analysis—separating into its primary parts any compound substance.

Carbonate—a compound, consisting of carbonic acid and an alkali.

Caustic—burning.

Chloride—a compound containing chlorine.

Clevis—that part of a plow by which the drawing power is attached.

Decompose—to separate the constituents of a body from their combinations, forming new kinds of compounds.

Digestion—the decomposition of food in the stomach and intestines of animals (agricultural).

Dew—deposit of the insensible vapor of the atmosphere on cold bodies.

Excrement—the matter given out by the organs of plants and animals, being those parts of their food which they are unable to assimilate.

Fermentation—a kind of decomposition.

Gas—air—aeriform matter.

Gurneyism—see Mulching.

Ingredient—component part.

Inorganic—mineral, or earthy.

Mouldboard—that part of a surface plow which turns the sod.

Mulching—covering the soil with litter, leaves, or other refuse matter. See p. 247.

Neutralize—To overcome the characteristic properties of.

Organic Matter—that kind of matter which at times possesses an organized (or living) form, and at others exists as a gas in the atmosphere.

Oxide—a compound of oxygen with a metal.

Phosphate—a compound of phosphoric acid with an alkali.

Proximate—an organic compound, such as wood, starch, gum, etc.; a product of life.

Pungent—pricking.

Putrefaction—rotting.

Saturate—to fill the pores of any substance, as a sponge with water, or charcoal with ammonia.

Silicate—a compound of silica with an alkali.

Soluble—capable of being dissolved.

Solution—a liquid containing another substance dissolved in it.

Saturated Solution—one which contains as much of the foreign substance as it is capable of holding.

Spongioles—the mouths at the ends of roots.

Sulphate—a compound of sulphuric acid with an alkali.

Vapor—gas.