Why does it make the soil more retentive of manure?
What is the experiment with the barrels of sand?
1. It makes the soil more retentive of manures.
2. It causes it to appropriate larger quantities of the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere.
3. It gives it greater power to absorb moisture.
4. It renders it warmer.
1. Carbon (or charcoal) makes the soil retentive of manures, because it has in itself a strong power to absorb, and retain[R] fertilizing matters. There is a simple experiment by which this power can be shown.
Ex.—Take two barrels of pure beach sand, and mix with the sand in one barrel a few handfuls of charcoal dust, leaving that in the other pure. Pour the brown liquor of the barn-yard through the pure sand, and it will pass out at the bottom unaltered. Pour the same liquor through the barrel, containing the charcoal, and pure water will be obtained as a result. The reason for this is that the charcoal retains all of the impurities of the liquor, and allows only the water to pass through. Charcoal is often employed to purify water for drinking, or for manufacturing purposes.
Will charcoal purify water?
If a piece of tainted meat, or a fishy duck be buried in a rich garden soil, what takes place?