The Elements of Agriculture A Book for Young Farmers, with Questions Prepared for the Use of Schools

As will be seen by referring to the analyses of soils on p. 72, they may be deficient in certain ingredients, which it is the object of mineral manures to supply. These we will...

+---------+-----------+---------+-------- | Wheat. | Wheat | Rye. | Rye | | Straw. | | Straw. ------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+-------- Ashes in 10...

18. It admits fresh quantities of water from rains, etc., which are always more or less imbued with the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere, to be deposited among the absorbent...

The number of organic manures is almost countless. The most common of these have been described in the previous chapters on the excrements of animals. The more prominent of the...

In the foregoing section, we have studied the character of plants and the laws which govern their growth. We learned that one necessary condition for growth is a fertile soil, a...

_Rolling_ the soil with a large roller, arranged to be drawn by a team, is in many instances a good accessory to cultivation. By its means, the following results are obtained:--

We will now examine the ashes left after burning vegetable substances. This we have called inorganic matter, and it is obtained from the soil. Organic matter, although forming s...

By stable manure we mean, usually, that of the horse, and that of horned cattle. The case described in chap. 2 (of this section), was one where the animal was not increasing in...

Atmospheric air is composed of oxygen and nitrogen. Their proportions are, one part of oxygen to four parts of nitrogen. Oxygen is the active agent in the combustion, decay, and...

We have hitherto examined what is called the _ultimate_ division of plants. That is, we have looked at each one of the elements separately, and considered its use in vegetable g...

Before considering farther the subject of animal excrement, it is necessary to examine a class of manures known as _absorbents_. These comprise all matters which have the power...

The loss of manure is a subject which demands most serious attention. Until within a few years, little was known about the true character of manures, and consequently, of the im...

In composting stable manure in the most economical manner, the evaporation of the organic parts and the leaching of the ashy (and other) portions must be avoided, while the cond...

It will be recollected that, in addition to its mineral portions, the soil contains organic matter in varied quantities. It may be fertile with but one and a half per cent. of o...

The _sub-soil plow_ is an implement differing in figure from the surface plow. It does not turn a furrow, but merely runs through the subsoil like a mole--loosening and making i...

It is not common to look on the gases in the atmosphere in the light of manures, but they are decidedly so. Indeed, they are almost the only organic manure ever received by the...

Those parts which constitute the larger proportion of the soil, namely the clay, sand, and limy portions, are useful for purposes which have been named in the first part of this...

The principles to be considered in the use of mineral manures are essentially given in the first two sections of this book. It may be well, however, to repeat them briefly in th...

The advantages of pulverizing the soil, and the _reasons_ why it is necessary, are now too well known to need remark. Few farmers, when they plow, dig, or harrow, are enabled to...

Hydrogen and oxygen compose _water_, which, if analyzed, yields simply these two gases. Plants perform such analysis, and in this way are able to obtain a sufficient supply of t...

We have now learned as much about the plant as is required for our immediate uses, and we will carefully reconsider the various points with a view to fixing them permanently in...

When open drains are used, much water passes into them immediately from the surface, and carries with it fertilizing parts of the soil, while their beds are often compacted by t...

At the present time, when such marked improvements have been, and are still being made, in the practice of agriculture, the farmer cannot be too strongly advised to procure an a...

This is composed of those matters which have been eaten by the animal as food, and have been thrown off as solid or liquid manure. In order that we may know of what they consist...

The stem or trunk of the plant or tree consists almost entirely of _woody fibre_; this also forms a large portion of the other parts except the seeds, and, in some instances, th...

Having examined the materials of which plants are made, it becomes necessary to discover how they are put together in the process of growth. Let us therefore suppose a young whe...

The object of cultivating the soil is to raise from it a crop of _plants_. In order to cultivate with economy, we must _raise the largest possible quantity with the least expens...

SEVERAL IMITATIONS of this celebrated fertilizer having been introduced among the dealers since the introduction of the _Improved Super-Phosphate of Lime_, I beg to state that a...

To understand the science of _manures_ is the most important branch of practical farming. No baker would be called a good practical baker who kept his flour exposed to the sun a...

_Organic_ manures comprise all vegetable and animal matters (except ashes) which are used to fertilize the soil. Vegetable manures supply carbonic acid, and inorganic matter to...

The mechanical character of the soil is well understood from preceding remarks, and the learner knows that there are many offices to be performed by the soil aside from the feed...