CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER I. | page |
| Distinction between Organic and Inorganic Substances | [13] |
| —The Ash of Plants—Constitution of the Organic | |
| Parts of Plants—Preparation and Properties of | |
| Carbon, Oxygen, Hydrogen, and Nitrogen— | |
| Meaning of Chemical Combination. | |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| Form in which these different Substances enter into | [25] |
| Plants—Properties of the Carbonic, Humic, and | |
| Ulmic Acids; of Water, of Ammonia, and of Nitric | |
| Acid—Constitution of the Atmosphere. | |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| Structure of Plants—Mode in which their Nourishment | [38] |
| is obtained—Growth and Substance of Plants— | |
| Production of their Substance from the Food they | |
| imbibe—Mutual Transformations of Starch, Sugar, | |
| and Woody Fibre. | |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| Of the Inorganic Constituents of Plants—Their | [49] |
| immediate Source—Their Nature—Quantity of | |
| each in certain common Crops. | |
| CHAPTER V. | |
| Of Soils—Their Organic and Inorganic Portions—Saline | [67] |
| Matter in Soils—Examination and Classification of | |
| Soils—Diversities of Soils and Subsoils. | |
| CHAPTER VI. | |
| Direct Relations of Geology to Agriculture—Origin | [78] |
| of Soils—Causes of their Diversity—Relation to | |
| the Rocks on which they rest—Constancy in the | |
| Relative Position and Character of the Stratified | |
| Rocks—Relation of this Fact to Practical | |
| Agriculture—General Characters of the Soils | |
| upon these Rocks. | |
| CHAPTER VII. | |
| Soils of the Granitic and Trap Rocks—Accumulations | [103] |
| of Transported Sands, Gravels, and Clays—Use | |
| of Geological Maps in reference to Agriculture | |
| —Physical Characters and Chemical Constitution | |
| of Soils—Relation between the Nature of the | |
| Soil and the Kind of Plants that naturally grow | |
| upon it. | |
| CHAPTER VIII. | |
| Of the Improvement of the Soil—Mechanical and Chemical | [133] |
| Methods—Draining—Subsoiling—Ploughing, and | |
| Mixing of Soils—Use of Lime, Marl, and Shell-sand— | |
| Manures—Vegetable, Animal, and Mineral Manures. | |
| CHAPTER IX. | |
| Animal Manures—Their Relative Value and Mode of | [165] |
| Action—Difference between Animal and Vegetable | |
| Manures—Cause of this Difference—Mineral Manures— | |
| Nitrates of Potash and Soda—Sulphate of Soda, | |
| Gypsum, Chalk, and Quicklime—Chemical Action of | |
| these Manures—Artificial Manures—Burning and | |
| Irrigation of the Soil—Planting and Laying Down | |
| to Grass. | |
| CHAPTER X. | |
| The Products of Vegetation—Importance of Chemical | [216] |
| quality as well as quantity of Produce—Influence | |
| of different Manures on the quantity and quality | |
| of the Crop—Influence of the Time of Cutting— | |
| Absolute quantity of Food yielded by different Crops | |
| —Principles on which the Feeding of Animals depends | |
| —Theoretical and Experimental Value of different kinds | |
| of Food for Feeding Stock—Concluding Observations. | |
ELEMENTS
OF
AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY, &c.