Newspaper Page Text
“WISDOM—JUSTICE—MODERATION.”
vol. in.
ALBANY, BAKER COUNTY, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1847.
no;’4.
THE ALBANY PATRIOT,
,, rQBT.ISI[ED EVERT WEDNESDAY MORHIKO, JIY
NELSON TIFT & SETH N. BOUGHTON,
Editors and Proprietors.
TERMS.
TWO Dollars per annum, if paid in advance, c
Three Dollars at the end of the year.
Advertisements not exceeding twelve lines, will
to inserted at One Dollar for the first insertion, and
Piftv cents for each continuance. Advertisements
not having the number of insertions specified, will
he published until forbid.
Sales of Land and Negroes by Executors, Adminis
trators and Guardians, are reqniiod by law to he
advertised in a public gazette, sixty days previous to
the day of sale.
The sales of Personal Property must bo advertised
in like manner forty days.
Notice to Debtors and Creditors of an estate must
be published forty days.
Notice that application will be made to the Court
■of Odinary for leave to sell Land and Negroes, must
be published weekly for four months.
Monthly Advertisements, One Dollar per square
for each insertion.
JT All Letters on business must lie post paid.
personal appearance
and C1MBACTER OF ALL THE PRESIDENTS
OF THE UNITED STATES.
BY ED Witt WILLIAMS.
VAN BUREN.
The following notice of llte person ami
character of Vttn B'lreti. is from liis life,
by professor Holland : written, of course
will) all llte partiality of friendship?
“In personal appearance, Mr. Van Ba
ron is uhout the middle size; liis form is
erect, (and formerly slender, but now in
clining lo corpulence,) nnd is said lo lie
capable of great endurance. His hair
anil eyes are light, bis features animated
ami expressive, especially the eye which
U indicative of quick apprehension anil
close observation; his forehead exhibits
in its depth and expansion, (he marks of
groat intellectual power. The physiog
nomist would accord to him penetration,
quickness of apprehension and benevo
lence of disposition. The phrenologist
would add unusual reflective faculties,
firmness and million.
The private character of Mr. Van Bn-
ren is above till censure or suspicion. In
the relation of father and son, oflmshand.
brother, and friend, he has also displayed
those excellencies of character and feeling
which adorn human nature. Extending
our view to the larger circle ofhis person
al friends, rarely has any man won a
stronger hold upon the confidence and af
fection of those with whom he has been
connected. The purity of his motives,
liis integrity of character, and the steadi
ness of liis attachment, have always re
filled with ability, and to the satisfaction
of the public, during his presidential term,
had his life been spared. His talents,
although perhaps not of the highest or
der, were very respectable, and united
with an accurate knowledge of mankind,
enabled him to acquit himself well in the
various public stations to which he was
called. He was a bold and eloquent or
ator ; and he has left on record numerous
evidences of his literary acquirements;
besides his correspondence and public pa
pers.
TYLER.
Mb. Tyler is rather tall and thin, with
light complexion, blue eyes and promi
nent features. His manners are plain
and afiiihle, and in private life he is ami
able, hospitable and courteous. His er
rors as a politician are ascribed, by some,
to a want of judgment, to an inordinate
vanity, and the influence of bad advice;
to which tnay be added, extreme obstin
acy in persisting in opinions once formed
without regard to consequences.
There can tie no doubt that Mr. Tyler
mistook his position in attempting to
act with the whig parly, and in accepting
their nomination for nne-of the-highest ol-
fices in the nation, which, by the dispen
sation of Providence, placed him in the
Presidential chair, clothed with the pow
er and patronage of I hat high station.—
That the wliigs also acted without due
reflection, in his nomination, is alike evi- least, not in appreciable quantities : nevertheless,
lent; and from these two causes flowed
the consequences which resulted on the
AH ADDRESS, *
Delivered before the Albany Agricultural Society on
the 13th cf February, 1847, by Dr. Leonidas B.
Mercer.
Mb. Presidekt By the partiality of your
committee, we have been selected to address yon
to-day, on some subject connected with Agriculture.
Unaccustomed to poblic speaking, we shall make
no effort after the graces of elocution, but shall re
strict ourself to an unpretending didactic essay, in
the hope, that we may not altogether fail to instruct,
although we have not the power to amuse. With
out undervalueing the charms of oratory, it requires
more skill than we pretend to, in order to harmon
ize them with the plain details on which we pro
pose to epter, Instead of taking a discursive Yange
over the whole field of Agriculture, we have thought
it would be more profitable to confine our remarks
to a particular subject, and, accordingly, we call
you attention to the consideration of Lime in its re
lations to Agriculture. This is one of the alkaline
earths and, in varied combinations, is abundantly
distributed over the surface of the globe. Silex,
alumina t and lime, in the order in which they are
mentioned, constitute, by far, the most abundant
materials, of which the crust of our planet is made;
and, being the most abundant, it has been wisely
ordered that their admixture, in a like ratio, shall
form the most perfect soil. With regard to the in
organic elements,75 percent of sand, 15 percent
of clay, and 10 per cent of lime, intimately blended,
fjrm as a genera] rule, the most productive matrix
of vegetation. A soil composed wholly of either
one of these elements is barren. Witness the great
sandv deserts that deform the continents of Asia
and Africa, yet these by the addition of clay and
lime, would soon bud and blossotn as the rose.—
In the composition of soil, lime is the least impor
tant of the three earths mentioned; for, good lands
are found every where which do not contain it, at
one side in the embarrassment, difficul
ties and the total loss of popularity of the
President wilh both the great parlies of
the country ; and, on the other side, bitter
disappointment on the part fo the wliigs.
POLK.
President Polk is of middle stature,
with n full angular brow, and a remarka
ble quick and penetrating eye. The ex
pression of his countenance is grave, but
its serious cast is often relieved by a pe
culiar pleasant smile, indicative of the a-
menity of bis disposition. The amiable
character of his private life, which has
ever been upright and pure, secures to
him the esteem and friendship of all wh»i
have had the advantage ofhis acquain-.
lance.
Few public men have pursued a firmer
or more consistent course than Mr. Polk,
in adhering to the democratic party in ev
ery vicissitude. In 1837, when all his
colleagues of the Tennessee delegation,
in the House of Kepreseniatives, deter-
with the rocks, put on another layer of logs, fire;
tnd when the heap is burned down, the greater pan
of the rocks will be found sufficiently calcined
Lime exists most abundantly in nature, in the state
of a carbonate. We find it in this state in marl,
calcurious spar, every variety of marble, in mountain
masses of limestone, and horizontal beds of vast
extent and thickness. Our own formation is com
puted to be, not less than 75 feet thick. In this
state, it is essentially a salt, and is always composed
of 56 parts of lime, in union with 44 parts of car
bonic acid. The object of the burning, is to drive
off the carbonic acid, in order to reduce the lime to
an impalpable powder. For this purpose a full red
heat, maintained for a few hours, is sufficient—
The carbonic acid escapes in a gasious form, and
the residium is pure lime ; or, in the nomenclature
of the chemists, oxyde of calcium, composed of 20
parts of the latter, which is a raeUl, and 8 of the
former, which is a gaa. Oxyde of calcium, or pure
lime is found no w here in nature, and when reduced
to this form, by artificial means, attracts water and
the several acids with great energy. It is usually
found in union with carbonic acid, not because i^
has a greater affinity for it than for others, but be
cause it is more accessible, being universally diffus-
ed through the atmosphere. So far from it, there
experience abundantly proves, that these lands are are of the acids that will not expel the car-
greatly improved by the addition of in proper pro- I bonic and take its place. Even vinegar, which is
portions. This is no new discovery, but, on the con- r impure dilate actic acid, one of the feeblest of them
trary, has been long known and acted upon, espe-' in to affinities, will produce a lively effferves-
cially in Great Britain; and hence the Engluhjcence with powdered limestone. Pure lime, in
maxim, that lime is the basis of all good httsbardry.! slacking, enters into chemical combination with
By means of it, with other adjuvants, tpo lands ofj water, forming dydrate of lime, in which process
that ancient empire, so far from being exhausted, i water is solidified and its caloric of fluidity be-
notwitbstanding they have been in cultivation for in g set free, produces that rise of temperature
we can devote any portion of our time and money 'many of their large landed' proprietors expening
to manuring. The truth can be aapertained, only very large sums in the purchase of it. Asa conse-
bycarerul and judicious experiments. These it is quence, bones are largely imported into Great Brit-
m the power of every one to make, with no expense win. Even the bloody field of Waterloo has been
excepta little labor. Lime may be burnt in well con- rifled of its human bones to make English Turnips,
stracted log-heaps as we know from our own success The utility of bone-manure is by no means confined
The rock should be broken into small fragments, to this crop, but is of general application, as the
none of which should exceed the size of an orange. • phosphate of lime enters largely into the composi-
Lay down three parallel logs, and upon and across tion of many other vegetables,
these, lay a continuous floor of them, break the | The sulphate of lime, more commonly known by
joints with another layer, to increase the fuel and ; the name of plaster of Parts, is esteemed the most
to prevent the rocks, as the heap burns down from | valuable of all the mineral manures. In its purest
falling through upon the ground. Upon and around | state it is a moat beautiful mineral, being in trans-
"^•***» P] ace single logs forming a pen, fill up! parent chryatalaof a pearly-lustre, which are called
mined for him ihe warm affection of ma- . .
ny even among the tanks of his political I l J ,,lie< * lo support Judge White of that
4 State as the successor of Geu. Jackson
opponents,
The ease and frankness ofhis manners,
his felicitous powers of conversation, and
the general amiablcness of his feelings
render him the ornament of the social cir
cle. Uniting in his character, firmness
and forbearance, hahitnal self-respect anil
a delicate regard I7>r the feelings of oth
ers, neither the perplexities of legal prac
tice nor the care of public life, nor the
annoyance of parly strife, has ever been
able to disturb the serenity of his temper,
or lo derange for a moment the equanimi
ty ofhis deportment. He has, with equal
propriety, mingled in the free intercourse
of private life, and susthined the dignity
of official station.
The great event of Mr. Van Buren’s
administration (says a writer in the Dem
ocratic Review)hy which it will hereafter
be known and designated, is the divorce
of banli and stale, in the fiscal affairs of the
federal government, nnd the return, after
half a centiuy of deviation, to the original
design of the ConstilutiQn.
The same writer informs us thnt Mr.
Van Burcn remarked to a friend, previ
ous to writing his message recommending
ihe independent treasury:
“We cannot know how immediate
convulsion may result, hut the people will
at all events, eventually come right, and
posterity will at least do me justice. Be
the present issue for good nr for evil, it is
for posterity that 1 will write this message.*’
for the presidency, he incurred the haz
ard of losing his popularity throughout the
State, by avowing his unalterable purpose
not to seperate from the great body of
the democratic party in the presidential
election. He therefore became identified
with the friends of Mr. Van Buren in Ten
nessee in 1836, where Judge White re
ceiver! the vote of the State by a popu
lar majority of over nine thousand.
Mr. Polk entered upon the stormy ca
reer of politics in 1821, when he was
chosen to represent his county in the Stale
legislature. He was for successive years
a member of that body, where his ability
in debate, and talents for business,
once gave him great distinction. In Au
gust, 182-5, being in his thirtieth year,
Mr. Polk was chosen to represent his dis
trict in Congress, ami look his seat in the
national councils in December following.
In December 1835, he was chosen Spea-
ker^of the House, and again chosen to
that station in 1837. After a service of
thirteen years in Congress he declined a
re-election in 1839. In August of that
year he was elected Governor of Ten
nessee, and served for the constitutional
term of two years. He was twice a can
didate, for re-election, but defeated. On
the 29th of May, 1S44, Mr. Polk received
the nomination of the demncartic national
convention for President of the United
Stales. To this high office he was elected
in the same year.
which is so remarkable. The energy with which
it acts upon water, is another illustration of its
powerful affinities, of which this is the weakest of
them all. Forced wfth reluctance, by a high heat,
into its pure state, it seizes upon water, when it is
brought within its reach, as the best it can do un
der the circumstances. The carbonic acid with
rhich it its usually found united, exiots in the at-
many centuries, are vastly richer, and her crops
more aoundant, than they were an hundred years
- ;o.
The inquiry, by this time, has no doubt arisen in
the minds of many, of what possible use, can & de
putation on lime be, to us whose lands naturally
abound in this earth. Such will be startled by the
announcement that they are mistaken, and that their (
soil is destitute of this important element. . From j mosphere, only in the proportion of one part in_
■peated trials of our own soil and that of others, j hundred ; nevertheless, if freely exposed, it wiil, in
from localities where the presence of lime was not “
doubted, this declaration is believed to be true, of
the whole section embraced within the bounds of
this association. It piay be true, that the soil in
the Southern part of Baker county contains some
of this earth, as we have recently seen it asserted,
that it is abundant in that of Decatur county ; but
we shall be pardoned for doubting it, until we fiave
some better authority, than the declaration of an
anonymous writer. After all, the absence of it is
not to be wondered at, when it is considered, that
the limestone, the foundation rock of the country,
lies usually at depths, varying from 20 to 60 feet
below the surface. Indeed, we should have been
ignorant of this formation, if it had not been denu
ded, in a few places, in the lapse of time, by the ac
tion of our creeks and rivers. Ths Geologist will
tell you, that all soils are formed by the decay of
rocks, and that by reviewing specimens of those
HARRISON.
General Harrison was tall and slen
der. Although he never had the appear
ance of possessing a robust constitution,
yet, such had been the effects of habitual
activity and temperance, that tew men of
liis age enjoyed so much bodily vigor.— 1
He had a fine dark eye, retnarkable for
its keencss, fire and intelligence, and his
face was strongly expressive of the vivac
ity of his mind and the benevolence ot
his character. ‘
The most remarkable traits of Gen.
Harrison's character, and those by-which
he was distinguished throughout his whole
career, were his disinterestedness, his re
tard for the rights and comforts of others
hi» generous disposition, his nuld and for-
baring temper, and his plain easy and
Unostentatious manner.
He had a most intimate knowledge of
the history and foreign and domestic pol
icy of the United States, and from the
moderation of his politico) views and feel
ings as d party man, although fjrm, frank
and consistent, he was well,calculated for
the high station lo which ho was elevated,
and which it is believed he would have
MONEY MATTERS.
The revenue is corning in so freely,
that Mr. Walker already pot his expecta
tions. lor the income of the first year of
trade, at more than thirty millions ol'dnl-
lars. The Sub-Treasury here, and the
Mint at Philadelphia, have now on hand
nhoul four millions of dollars. A million
of specie has been sent from New York
:o Charleston, and half a million to 3a-
vnnnahfor the supply of the Siih-Trens-
ury demand there.' The specie in the
vaults of banks is now two millions less
than on the first' of February. A large
proportion of the specie imported from
Europe so far has been absorlted by the;
new specie plans of the Sub-Treasury.
But the amount now in these places of
deposite is nearly as large as can be de
sirable, and will not, we suppose, be
much increased ; so that the further op
erations must go chiefly to the banks.
Every interest in the country is to a
state of prosperity. The manufacturers
are all doing well, and most of them ac
cumulating large profits.—A r . Y. Journal
of Commerce.
short time, expel the water and take its place,
forming what is colled air-slacked lime. It is now
in the same state as before it was burned—a state
into which it soon runs without the intervention of
water if exposed to the air. In this form, it is com
paratively valueless as an ingredient in^mortar, plas
ter and cement, but it is that in which it is most
useful as a manure. Caustic lime is too voracious
to be used a manure, since it devours indiscrimi
nately almost every thing within its reach, forming
many insoluble compounds. It even attacks the
sand in mortar, forming silicate of lime which con
tinues to harden, and in time, becomes almost as
refractory as a rock. Much of our weak and worth
less plastering, is owing to the use of air-3lacked
Jiroe, because, being already in comparatively a qui
et state, from its union with carbonic acid, it com
bines much more slowly, if at all, with the silex
Some authors do recommend the use of caustic
prevailing in any particular district, he can aeccr-! lime, in compost heaps, and on soils replete with re
tain the constituents of its soil. This is no doubt fractory vegetable fibre; but, it ia with so many
generally, but not invariably true. It is not true of J — 1 *■ 1 '*
this vicinity. If it were, our soil would bo compos
ed of little else than lime, since the calcareous is
our only rock formation, with the oxception of a
partial and fragmentary bed of Burh-stone lying
about it. It is evident that the latter has contribu
ted but little towards its formation; for, although a
siliceous it is not a chrystalino’ rock, and therefore
sand would not be one of the products of its duin-
tregration. Sand is silex chrystalised, and is fur
nished most abundantly by the decay of sand-stone,
granite and other primary rocks. The question re
curs, if our soil was not formed by the destruction
of the prevailing rocks from whenco was it derived?
The opinion is confidently advanced, that the whole
formation above the limestone, with the exception
of the fragments of Burh-stone, was transported
from the higher portions of the continent, and is*
what in technical language, is called drift? or, in
the expressive term of the French, ter ruins de
transport. This drift, not only, does not partake of
the nature of the existing rocks, but it contains
none of the fossils so abundant in them ; while, on
the other hand, water worn fragments of primary
rocks are, in many places, abundant, not upon the
surface only, but distributed through its wholo
thickness. Even our sand is water-worn, by which
the strength of our mortar and plaster is greatly
impaired. From all these considerations, it is
scarcely to be doubted, that our limestone formation
was once the bed of the ocean, and that as the con*
tinent was, perhaps gradually, upheaved, the
streams and floods from the higher parts'covered it
with the debris of the older rocks.
This theory of the formation of our soil being
admitted, we repeat that it is not at all surprising
that it contains no lime. -To such as reject this
theory, and who adhere.to the popular opinion that
our soil is calcareous, indeed, to all who feel inter
ested, (and who does not,) in the improvement of
their land, we recommend an analysis, at least s<r
far as to ascertain the presence or absence of lime.
To do this, introduce a small portion of tho soil to
be tested, into a wine or other transparent glass ves
sel, cover it, say an inch with water, let it stand a
few minutes to settle and to expel all the atmos
pheric air that may be entangled in the specimen,
then add gently a fourth as much of muriatic acid
as yon have of water. If lime be present.it will
effervesce, that iff bubbles of air will escape, If it
does not, it is certain that the soil contains no car
bonate of lime. At the conclusion of tho experi
ment, let tho operator drop some small fragments
of limestone into the mixture, and be will both
know what wc mean by effervescence and be a bet
ter judge of tho proportion of lime in the soil under
analysis.
If it be true then, that our soil contains no lime,
tho importance of the subject which we are inves
tigating, will be conceded; for wo have the means
qualifications and with apparently so much doubt
and hesitation, that we would recommend no one
to venture upon it, in the present state of our knowl
edge, except it may be in the way of a small exper
iment In its mild form of cartonate, as it is found
in chalk, marl or air-slacked lime, it exerts a most
genial influence, if we may give credit to high au
thority ; blowing hot or cold as occasion requires,
rokking light lands stifier and stiff lands lighter,
wet lands dryer and dry lands wetter, and forming
soluble compounds with the humus or organic mat
ter of the soil, which it preserves from evaporation,
and parts with only upon the order of the growing
vegetation. In the preparation of this earth as a
manure, the only object of calcination is, to bring
it into a fine powder. In chalk and marl it is in
such a state of subdivision as to make burning un
necessary, and it is carted upon the fields and incor
porated with tho soil, in the state in which it is
found in nature. Beds of marl are highly prized,
and add much to the value of lands where they are
discovered, from the facility with which they may
be enriched by its use. This manure is pretty ex
tensively used in Maryland and Virginia, and is
growing in ffvor in S. Carolina. It has already
done much towards checking emigration in those
States, by reclaiming and giving fertility to their
poor and exhausted soils. In the hope that this
substance may be discovered in our neighborhood,
as it is said to be abundant in Docatur county, wo
add a few other remarks. Calcareous clay is what
is usually understood by the term marl ; but, a
more comprehensive and useful definition wonld
be, that it is carbonate of lime, either as calcare
ous sand and gravel, or as decayed and comminu
ted shell, desemmated through clay, sand or other
foreign matters. It b readily known, by its effer
vescing freely in dilute muriatic acid. The pro
portion of lime to the foreign matter with which it
is associated, is easily determined; but, a descrip
tion of the process would detain na too long. It
ia more efficient on sandy than clayey land. Clay,
as well as lime, possesses the property of absorbing
and retaining the fntilizing 'gasses, so abundantly
exhaled daring the fermentation of animal and
vegetable matter, and hence, marl is an important
element in the preparation of manure and compost
heaps.
. The phosphate and sulphate of lime are exceed
ingly endurable manures; but, while land is so
cheap and labor so dear it is not probable that we
can use them profitably, on account of their cost;
wo shall therefore dismiss them with only a few ob
servations. The phosphate is obtained principally
from bones, of which it constitutes, nearly half their
weight. By calcination the animal matter is con
sumed or driven 0$ and they are easily reduced to
powder; bnt they act much better, if crushed or
ground without burning. Bone-dust is applied, ei
ther in drills or- broad cast, at the rate of from 20
Selenite. The sulphate in this form, is not abun
dant, but itjs found, in many countries, in beds of
considerable extent and thickness of a granular
texture, opaque, white, grey, or mottled, yeilding
readily to the nail.and is called Gypsum. Depriv
ed, by calcination, of its water of chrystalization, it
forms a white powder which is the Plaster of Paris.
In this state, it has a great affinity for water, with
which it unites with much enegry, evolving heat,
and hardens or sets almost immediately. As a ma
nure, homing is unnecessary, as it is easily reduc
ed to powder by grinding in mills constructed for
the purpose. It is effective in small quantities.—
It is often told of Dr. Franklin, that wishing to in
troduce the use of it as a fertilizer, he wrote, by
sprinkling the powder on a plat of grass in a public
place, this was written with gypsum, and in a short
time every letter, as if by magic, appeared in bold
relief, making the sentence completely legible.—
Effects so new and surprising attracted general at
tention, and the object of the distinguished philos
opher, who was remarkable for his practical com
mon-sense, was accomplished. It is sown broad
cast as a top-dressing to grass or to be ploughed in,
at the rate of from three to six pecks to the acre.—
Two or three ounces to the hill of com has been
known to produce surprising effects. Wetting the
seeds of various plants and rolling them in gypsum,
using only what adheres to them, has also been
practised to great advantage. It is not to be con
cealed, that plaster has failed in many localities to
produce any sensible effects, owing, it is conjec
tured, to some peculiarity of the soil; but, in what
this consists we are yet to learn.
Much speculation has been indulged in, respect
ing the mode of operation of this and die other
compounds of lime, as a manure. The property of
making stiff land more open and pulvuerulent, and
light sandy soils more close and tendcious, we have
already hinted at in passing. By loosening stiff
clayey soil, air and light are admitted, whilst the
roots of plants penetrate it more freely. A light
soil soon exhausts, because it has not the power of
retaining the putresent matter committed to it. It
is a popular opinion that manure sinks on such a
soil. Perhaps it does in part, as the rain water pass
through it as a filter, but much of it is also lost
by evaporation in a gassious form. This defect is
remedied, in a great measure, by the free application
of the carbonate of lime, and more especially where
it is mixed with clay, as in mar). In addition to
these obvious effects, there are others more occult.
It affects the relations of the soil to moisture, and
increases its absorbent power. Sir Humphrey
Davy says: “the soils that sre most efficient in
supplying the plant with water by atmospheric ab
sorption, are Uiose in which there is a duo mixture
mdȣnely divided clay, and carbonate of lime,
with some animal and vegetable matter; and which
loose and light as to be freely permeable to
the atmosphere. With respect to this quality,
carbonate of lime and animal and vegetable matter
are of great use in soils ; they give absorbent pow
er to the soil,”&c.
Some soils are soar, and the acid which they hold
being eratisephtic, preserves the putrescent matters
of the soil, from that perfect decay, which is neces
sary to the nourishment of vegetation. Liine hav
ing a great affinity, as we have shown, for the sever
al acids unbinds the vegetable matter that had been
chained, perhaps for age9, in the soil, and leaves it
free to nourish whatever may be growing upon it.
If, as Mr. Ruffin asserts, the growth of pine is
proof of acidity of the soil, it is another evidence
of the absence of lime in ours, and another argu
ment in favor of its artificial use.
Not the least valuable and remarkable property of
calcareous earth, is that of entering into chemical
combinations with humus, the proximate principle
of vegetable nutrition, forming humate of lime, and
in this state preserving it from waste by evaporation
and otherwise, and yielding it up, only to the de
mands of growing vegetation. Hence by the judi
cious nse of this earth and putrescent manures,
scarcely any limit can be assigned to the fertility
which may be given to the soil, whereas, without the
use of lime to fix them in the soil, they are wasted,
and the land soon relapses to, and then falls below
its former state. Mr. Ruffin says, “why should not
all our woodland be highly enriched, by the hun
dreds, or thousands, of crops of leaves which have
successively fallen and rotted there ? Notwithstand
ing this vegetable manuring, which infinitely ex
ceeds all that the industry and patience of man can
possibly equal, most of our woodlands remain poor
—and this one fact ought to satisfy all of the im
possibility of enriching such soils by putrescent
manures only.” Sir Humphrey Davy says ; “the
soils which contain the most alumina and carbonate
of lime, are those which act with the greatest chem
ical energy in preserving manures. Such merit
the appellation which is commonly given to them of
rich soils, for the vegetable flourishraent is long
preserved in them, unless taken up by the organs of
plants.” And M. Pavjs a distinguished French
writer on agriculture remarks that “lime, according
to the recent discoveries of tho German chemists,
seizes in the soil the soluble humus or huinic acid,
takes it from all other bases, and forms a compound
hot slightly soluble, which appears under this form,
eminently suitable to the wants of the plants.”
Nearly every plant, even such as grow on soils
in which no lime can be detected on the most care
ful analysis, contains more or less of this earth *in
some of its forms of combination. Whence they
obtain this lime is a question which is much debated.
Mr. Ruffin attempts to cut the Gordian knot which
others have failed to untie, by asserting that this
substance is contained, in some hidden combination,
not cognizable to chemical tests, in every soil capa
ble of sustaining vegetation; but this is wholly hy
pothetical and not very plausible. We incline there
fore to the opinion, that where lime exists in veget
ables which grow on a soil in which notie is discov
erable by chemical analysis, it has. been produced
synthetically by vegetable organization.' Besides
! lime, vegetables contain many other saline com
at band, in tho abandonee of this earth, of increas- to 75 bnsbels per acre. It acts much better upon pounds. The ashes of pea vines alette!, according to
ing and giving permanence to its fertility. With light sandy, than upon stiff clayey soils. It has Leibig, contain, in round numbers, of the carbonate
)and, labour and cotton at present prices, it may be been most successfully employed by the English, in of soda and potash 12 per cent, of ct.rbonate.of lime,
doubted, whether, with a view to immediate profit, the growing of tnrnip3, one of their principal crops, 47, phosphate of lime 5, sulphate cf potash 10, chlo
ride of soda 4. ^f these salts exist in the soil ppo»
which the peas grew, and in such quantities as the
foregoing analysis wonld indicate,then certainly rim
science of chemistry is far from the accuracy papal
ly ascribed to it, if it cannot jdetect them. It is not
improbable that vegetable life operates upoti the
primary atoms of matter, in the composition of her
endless variety of products. We know nothing of
the process by which she composes sugar, resin,
gum, starch, &c. These operations nature bus
carefully concealed from our wondering eyes in her
secret laboratory. Mr. Ruffin is too well infonped
to believe, that all these products of vegetable se
cretion are hidden in the soil, and yet, to this ex
tent his theory would lead ns. If true, w© should
expect an aero offend capable of growing a. hogs
head of sngar, to have a taste decidedly sacharine,
and the odour of molasses. It is well known that
plants derive only a small portion of their substance
from the soil in which they grow. Van Helmont
planted a willow weighing five pounds* and at the
end of five years, it weighed One hundred'and sixty-
nino pounds, whilst the earth in which it grew r had
lost only two ounces. The willow, by incineration,
yielded five pounds of earthy residium, which con
sequently was elaborated by the organs of the vege
table, and not extracted from the soil. M. Peyis,
touching upon this point, says, ‘ plants may well
find in the atmosphere the greater part of the vola
tile principles which compose them—the carbon by-
drogen, oxygen and azote. But it is not so easily
seen whence they obtain the fixed principle of which
their ashes ere composed. These products could
not exist ready formed in the soil—for the saline
principles contained in the ashes of a generation of
great trees, which would amount to more than 25,000
weight to the hectare, would have rendered the soil
absolutely barren,” &c. And further on he adds
that “ we ought to conclude then that the saline
substances of plants are formed by the powers of
vegetation, or of the soil.” Mr. Towns, a British
writer, in reviewing Mr. Ruffin’s Essay on Calca
reous Manures, remarks, u All wood ashes, as I have
proved by reiterated experiments, contain carbonate
of lime, and some other neutral alkaline salts, but
whether these alkaline compounds have been fur
nished “by the soil on which the plants grew,” as
Mr. Ruffin supposes, is to me a matter oT some
doubt.” After discussing this point at some length,
he concludes with the remark, “ we need scarcely
doubt the possibility of the conversion of the ele
ments of water alone into all the specific secretions
of plants, through the agency of light and air.”—
The object to which all this argument and specula
tion is directed, is well expressed by M. Pevis when
he says, “ the formation of lime, like that of the sa
line principles necessary to plants, is an operation
which employs all the forces of vegetation—and
these forces, directed to this formation, have no en
ergy left to give a great developemeut to : plants; •
but when the vegetable finds the calcareous princi
ples already formed in the soil, it makes use of them,
and preserves alb its forces to increase its own vig
or and size.” Having now concluded what we had
to say upon the mode of operation of lime as a fer
tilizer, we cannot do better, by way of recapitula
tion, than to adopt the summing up of this same lu
cid writer. “ It would then result,”'says he, M from
all that has been said, that lime modifies the tex
ture of the soil—mokes it more friable—invigor-
rtes it—renders it more permeable—gives it the
power to better'resist moisture as well as dryness—
that it produces in the soil the humate of lime which
encloses a powerful means of fertility—-that lime
increases much the energy of the soil and of plants
to draw from the atmosphere the volatile substan
ces of which plants are composed, oxygen, hydrogen,
carbon and azote—that the liine soil in furnishing
to plants tbe liine which they need, relieves the soil
nod plants from employing their energies to pro
duce it—and finally, that lime promotes the forma
tion of substances, earthy and saline, necessary to
vegetables.”
Soil and climate influence the quantity of lime
which ought to be applied. It may be used with
advantage in much larger doses, on rich than poor
land, and ou new than old. If too much be applied,
the crop will be burnt. Some natural soils contain
an amount of it, which, if applied artificially, would
be ruinous. The best cane-brake lands, of Marengo
county, Alabama, consists of from 10 to 16 per
cent, of carbonate of lime. One per cent., if incor
porated artificially, would be a heavy dressing, tn
the moist climate of England, from 200 to 300 bush
els per acre are commonly used, but seldom more
than 100 bushels in the United States. Iu this
comparatively arid latitude, it would be safest not to
exceed 50 bushels per acre as a first dressing. This
comparatively small dose would enable the planter
to lime a larger surface in a given time, whilst it
would produce at first all the good effects of a more
abundant dressing, the only evil attending it being,
that the lime'mg would acquire to be repeated in a
few years. M. Pavis says, “ the quantities of first
as of second dressings of lime, vary with the consis
tence of soils: they ought to be small on light and
sandy soils—and may without ill consequences, be
heavy on clay soils. The dose ought to vary ac
cording as the soil is well or ill drained by its tex
ture. Small applications to soils from which the
superfluous water does not pass easily are but little
felt; but if the dressing is heavy, and the ploughing
deep, the lime aids the draiuing and adds to the
healthy state of the soil.” Ho estimates the aver
age quantity per acre which ought to be nsed per
annum, at three and two-third bushels. According
to this estimate, 50 bushels would last nearly four
teen years. “But,” he adds,“as neither the soil
nor the plants consume all this quantity of lime, it
is to be believed, that at the end of a greate^or less
length of time, the soil will have received enough
to have no moreneed of it,” &c. Mr. Ruffin, who
is high authority, goes even farther. “Lord Karnes,”
says he, “mentions a fact of the continued beneficial
effect of an application of calcareous manure which
was known to be 120 years old. Every author who,
has treated of manures of this nature, attests their
long duration : but when they say they will last 20
years, or even 120 years, it amounts to the admission
that at some future time, the effects of these.axa-
nures will be lost. This I deny—and froth the na
ture and action of calcareous earth, claim Sue its ef
fects a duration that will hare no end.”
Lime should always be applied to the soil broad
cast. Let the field be ploughed and harrowed, then
laid off in Checks of some convenient size, oh each
of which spread one or more, bushels, according to
the size of the checks and the quantity to bo used/
and then harrow in. In whatever way it is put in,
it 6honld be done superficially, as being an impal
pable powder, there is no danger that it will not
sink into the soil fast enough. We think it would
be a good plan, to sow it upon grassy land in : iho
fall, as the grass would protect it from being blown
away by the wind, and at the same time, it would
