INDIANA   FARMER.
VOL   II.]   ■
Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, Mechanics and the Useful Arts.
[NO. ».
%X™Z£?i'\™»<>».)     RICHMOND, IND., DEClMBEE \f
(
llollowaf & Co.,
1'UBJ.IMIKRS.
For the Indiana Farmer.
SCIBNTIFIC AQRICUIiTaRB—No. 13.
BV  FR.OFESSOR   B. LAWRENCE.
Inorganic Elements.
Perhaps it would   not be amiss for me to re- '
peat an idea which I have heretofore stated, and '[
more than once alluded to,  in order to prevent
any mistake or confusion on the subject.    It is
this; that all  vegetables arc   made up   of two;
classes   of   substances,   or  elements,   one of:
which is called organic, and the  other inorgan- i
i'c.    The   fofnier   exists  in   much   the greatest;
quantity in all plants; varying in different spe- \
cies, from eighty-eight to ninety-nine per  cent. I
of the  whole,   when   thoroughly   dried.     (All !
plants, while in their growing state, contain an j
abundance of water,  but this  is not included,
when speaking of their constituent   elements.)
The latter, though existing in so small a quantity, (from  one   to twelve per cent,) are yet indispensably necessary, as no plant can come to
maturity  without   them.     No one species of
plants  ever contain all the inorganic elements
which  are found in  the vegetable kingdom at
large, but every species requires two or more of
these elements; and it is not a matter of indifference which these shall be.    Every plant has j
its choice, and it will have these or none ; and !
it will have just as many as it wants, and no i
more. .   j
There is a partial exception to this remark,1
which I will mention. It is this. Plants which !
require much potash, if they cannot obtain all;
they want, will accept of soda to make up the j
deficiency; and those requiring lime, if lime!
be deficient, will make ,up the deficiency in I
magnesia. But they will soon degenerate when !
reduced to such necessities. The reason why;
they will accept of these substances at all, is,
because these earths so strongly resemble, in i
their chemical properties, those for which they ■
are substituted. I
When "plants, or vegetable substances, as
Wood, straw, leaves, &c, are burned, the organic part entirely disappears, being converted
by the heat, into invisible gases and vapor, and
mingles with the atmosphere. But the inorganic part, being incombustible, remains in the
form of ashes. These ashes consist of the several mineral ingredients, which the plant or
plants, producing them, during the process of
their growth obtained from the soil; of course
the soil is that much poorer in fertilizing elements, than it was before these plants grew upon it. But if these ashes are restored to it,
then it is in thc same condition it was before.
It has received again that which it had lost.
When vegetable matter decays in a natural
Way, thc   same  process goes on  as   when it i.-<
burned; the organic part is slowly converted into gases which mingle with the atmosphere,
while the mineral part returns again to the soil-.
The only difference is in the length of time required to complete the process.
Every particjo of inorganic or mineral matter
contained in plants, is derived from the soil. It
is taken up by the rootlets of plants in a state
of solution in water, and conveyed into their
circulation. Of course no part of a soil can
contribute to the growth of vegetation but that
which is in a soluble condition, which IS always a very small per centage of the whole.—
The mineral portion of all soils consists of little else than those very substances which we
call the inorganic elements of plants; and yet
plants are often sickly and half famished, for
the want of those very substances in which
their roots are immerse!, like Tantalus, who
was ready to die of thirst, while standing up to
his chin in water. Much of the secret of successful farming, therefore, consists in rendering
soluble a sufficient quantity of tho mineral in*
gredientsof the soil, to answer amply the demands of the growing crops. Every mineral
substance can be rendered soluble by chemical.
agents; thus silex or flint, which ordinarily is
one of the most insoluble things in nature, by
the aid of certain acids and alkalies, can bo
rendered soluble in water, and thus be taken
up by the rootlets of plants.
Limestone is insoluble in pure Water, but
water charged with carbonic acid, becomes a
solvent. It often happens then that one of the '
uses of vegetable manure is to furnish carbonic
acid to the water which percolates through the
soil, that it may take up the necessary quantity
of lime for the use of plants.
Reader, did you ever think to inquire into the
reason so small a portion of the ingredients of
any soil is ever in a soluble state at any one
time? If not, I will tell you. It is to preserve
them from unnecessary waste. If the whole
were in a soluble stale at the same time, the
rains in a single year, might carry the whole
away; and thus they would be lost forever. In
the natural state, when the vegetable productions of the land are left to decay upon its surface; this decay furnishes a plenty of acids and
! alkalies, to render soluble an ample amount of
the elements of the soil for the future crop.—
I Thus the fertility of lands in their natural state
never diminishes. But it is far different with
: cultivated lands; their annual crops being carried off, stops the process of supplying in a-
natural way, and hence ihe necessity of furnishing this supply in an artificial way.
EST'Thc discovery of, what is true, and the
practice of what is good, are the most important objects in life.