. t KfHlllfij lite tt : : ;1
BY S. Ii. ROW.
CLEARFIELD, WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 1856.
NO. 47.
:. VOL, 2.-
For th Raftsman's Journal.
MNKSt KY J.U. CAZIER,
ut council mr, kins tewutort.
Tbe j eharm 1b all ws tuutl :
Tha eotling wtn.i lh waving (riu ;
And the ( dowers look u and smile
Id fragrant welooino as they paaa.
Aod suntaor rloul coma o'er th sky,
An4 mnrmur with the freight tby bear :
vb ! why should skknM com to lunr
Th pleasure of a boint so fair T
,Iow oft wo struggle on and deem
. Tbat juat before v lit the goal.
Where orrow wl'l not eotno to blight
Kacii tioye ouch ufo of the tool
Wkere, fr a chrrUbad time at leaet,
We nay have rest, and quint joj ;
Atnl swt, antwinluc luTt to blew
)ur droam of lifo without alloy
And Cod aoma talisman to turn
Each pain to ioy, while borne along
The currtnl of Life's mighty stream,
With "purpose high, aud spirit strong.''
And a our changing faucy bring
liar treasures !u some othar form,
Lika eolor on a thunder-cloud,
Wo tba bow, but feci tbv ttorui.
Ob. why, alas! should ever thus.
Home poifonad air, aoma brooding ill,
Where'er wa go, in all this world,
Spread lta dark ibadow o'er ua still.
It la, that wa may know bow peace
From thia dark world, by ain, is driven
It la, that wa in a learn to make
Our home our (brine of lore, in htaven !
COLONEL J. C. FKEMONT.
From Sartain,$ Magazine, 9 October 1820.
BT PROFESSOR RH.OADS.
Since tbe mission of Ilini who came into the
world to suffer that mankind, might find re
demption, the three greatest events that hate
occurred, are connected with the rise and pro
grcsa of our own happy country ; the discov
ery of America, the American Revolution, and
the establishment of the American empire on
the coast of the FaciQc Ocean ; the last dstin
ed to be, in its effects, by uo means the least
important of the three.
When the announcement was made to the as
tonished nations of Europe of the existence of
a new world far off over the wild waves of the
western sea, a new principle introduced into
tho general mind a new impulse, which chang
ed entirely tbe industrial relations and habits
ol the people, am produced eflects,even upon
th extentaod permanency of empires,to which
luo.o of the conquests of Macedonia andGreece
were but trifles. The overthrow of tbeRoman
power, by the northern barbarians, sinks into
insignificance, when Us effects are contrasted
with those of the enunciation in the Declara
tion of American Independence, and the prac
tical application in the Constitution of the U
nited States, of the feat truths of the Lroth--rbo3d
and equality cf man. And now, the
discovery of tbe bright scads and rich racks
of California, and the Issue thence of a golden
stream to irrigate tbe nations, is destined to
wield a mightier and far more permanent in
fluecco than the impulse which raised France
to be for a time mistress of Europe. And not
only wer? these event greater in power than
those with which I have compared them, they
were also better in kind. On the one hand t
find a train cf woe and desolation ; on the oth
er, of happiness and prosperity. The great
ness of the old world was the handmaid of ig
norance and tyranny ; that of the new led to
civilization and liberty. Each great event is
personified in a great man of corresponding
character. Alexander led Greece and Mace
don to conquest; Aleric extinguished the flick
ering light of Roman refinement ; with Napo
leon, France "rose, reigned and fell Colum
bus marked a pathway to a new-found world ;
Washington guided and sustained the patriots
who consecrated that world to the advance
ment of human rights and human welfare ;
and Fremont lifted the veil which, since time
first began, had bidden from view the real EI
Dorado. I purpose to introduce to the reader
a short sketch of the life of the latter ; the
others belong to past time, and history has
made up its record of their deeds.
Jomr Charles Fbemoxt was bcrn in South
Carolina in January, 1813, and ia consequent
ly at this time (18-50,) a few months over thirty-seven
years of age. When he was but four
years old he was left an orphan by the death
of his father, who, as the name indicates, was
a native of France. Tho direction of his ed
ucation, therefore, devolved entirely upon his
another, and his career in active life has shown
that she lacked neither inclination or ability
to direct it aright. , Notwithstanding her limi
ted means, she managed to support her son at
.Charlesron College, where he distinguished
himself by his industry and upright deport
ment. He graduated in 1830. About this time
' he became a teacher of Mathematics,- and
bend means, not only for his own support,but
Also to contribute .to that of his mother and
Jjcr latnily. While discharging faithfully the
arduous and responsible duties which were in
cumbent upon him as teacher, he still found
time to attend to those of a student ; and with
that indomitable energy aad pcrscverence
which have marked bis whole career, he devo
ted every leisure moment to perfecting him
aelf in the science of civil engineering. In
this pursuit, be was aided by the natural bent
of his mind and talents peculiarly adapted to
Jibe subject. Having attracted the attention
and secured tho confidence and support of men
.of influence, he obtained the situation of as
sistant to Nicollet in the survey of the coun
ty around the head waters of the Mississippi.
In this work he was engaged about four years,
during tho firs: half of tbe time in the ardu
ous but interesting labors of the field, collect- i
ing information, making surrcys.observatlons,
Sec, and during the last half in digesting and
arranging the matter collected, aud iu prcpar-
iiig an accurate and valuable map of the coun
try. IT j had now added practice to theory,
aud experience to euthuslastn and love of ad
venture. Uo had prepared himself for thoso
great and wonderful expeditions and scientific
researches by which ho has since acquired im
perishable renown.
The flrUof these expeditious ho made in
1813,under tho authority of tho United States,
At the head of a small party of frontiersmen,
he eutcrcd tho wilds west of Missouri and
Iowa, and pursued his course to the Rocky
MounUirs. Tho main object of his expedi
tion was to discover and explore a more prac
ticable route over them than was then known.
In this bo was completely successful and tho
comparative case with which thousands of
pilgrims to the golden ahrine of California
have passed in safety through the mountain
barrier,testifles to the correctness of his judg
ment iu pointing out the South Pass as the
proper place, and to the care and skill with
which he explored and laid down the route.
Upon his return,"ho prepared a report replete
with tho most valuable information, not only
respecting the geography of the country thro'
which he had passed, but also in relation to its
climate, to its geological characteristics, to
the principle points of its military susceptib:i
ities, locations for forts, &c, to its mineral
wealth, to its rich grasses and its beautiful
flowers contributions in short new and valua
ble to almost every department of science.
This report was printed by the Senate of the
United States, and has since been translated
into various foreign languages, attracting at
tention and admiration from the learned in ev
ery quarter of the globe.
With men of Fremont's energy arid enthu
siasm, success acts merely us a stimulant to
further cxerfion. As soon therefore as one
expedition is concluded, we find him planning
another more extensive and more hazardous.
In the spring of 1813, he started upon his
grand expedition, which has gained for him
self the .gratitudo of the votaries .of science
everywhere, and for his country the great
gold-bearing region of the west. Uis orders
directed him to co-operate with the naval ex
ploring expedition under Wilkes, in making a
scientific examination of the basin of the Co
lumbia River, the upper districts being allot
ted to him. and the tide-v.ater regions to
Wilkes. Iu May he left tL frontiers of Mis
souri, and scaling the moatitr.'ns south of the
South Pass, followed the windings of Bear
River, until, in September, be arrived at the
Great Salt Lake. Despite the warnings of the
Indians, who iinsiccd, that as the lake had no
outlet for its waters, a great whirlpool must
exist in the centre, he and bis companions
trusted themselves upon jts waters in a frail
boat of India-rubber cloth, and spent a nijrht
.pfjft'.one of its island,, where, doubtless, foot
tu man bad never trod before. Upon the
shot of this jnhttir sea, the poor deluded
Mormons, driven by violence from their hard
earned possessions in l!linois,estab!ished their
city of refuge, about four years after the visit
of the gallant Fremont. After occupying a
bout a week in making Ktdi partial explora
tion of this strange and interesting region as
the lateness of the season would permit, our
explorers p?irsued their course through Ore
gon, niakiDg tbe observations directed by the
government orders,and inNovember arrived at
Fort Vancouver, the goal of their journey.
The active mind of Fremont could not endure
the thought of returning upon the same track,
lie detcrmiaued to seek new scenes and
discoveries through the vrst region to the
south of him, of which table had told such
wonders, but where civilized man had never
penetrated, and of which tbe only sources of
knowledge heretofore had been the wild and
romantic but often contradictory stories of the
Utah -and his kindred races, and of the hall
blood hunters who frequented Fort Hall.
Our adventurers, twenty-five in number, ac
cordingly plunged without hesitation into the
wilderness. They feared not. The men had
confidence in Fremont, and he, under God,
had confidence in himself- Nothing, perhaps,
shows more clearly the varied powers of his
mind, aud his fertility in resources, than the
success of this expedition, undertaken at the
approach, and executed in the depth of win
ter. Of the sway which be exercised over the
minds of his men, we need no better evidence
than the fact that they bore all the trials, the
sufferings, and the hazards of this winter jour
ney, almost without a murmur. For nine
months the little band and its noble leader
were unheard of by their friends. Many a
heart ached with doubt, and many a lip paled
with apprehension for the fate of a husband, a
brother, or a son, thus daring unknown perils
At length' the news of their safety, and of
their glorious achievements, sent a thrill of
joy through the hearts, not only of their im
mediate relatives, but also of the whole na
tion. Three thousand five hundred miles had
the weary wayfarers travelled. They had cros
sed the mighty, snowy Sierra, they had ex
plored the wonderful valley through which roll
tbe golden floods of tbe Sacramento and tbe
San Joaquin, they bad skirted the great inte
rior basin of California, and examined its pro
minent ieaturcs,and they had returned in safe
ty to their happy homes, proud of themselves,
and proud of their beloved leader. Immedi
ately after his return, Fremont proceeded to
Washington, to submit his report and to pro-
pale it lor publication. When the war broke
out butween tho United States and Mexico, it
foand him again on the shores of the Pacific.
He had entrusted the oversight of the publica
tion of his great report to other hands, and
sought again the country of his many labors,
for the purpose of exploring the western sloje
ot the mountains which lie between the Sacra
mento valley and the Pacific. The limits of
this artlclo will not admit of even a condensed
account of his services during the war. Suf
fice it to say, they wero but ill rewarded.
"He had been cxploier, conqueror, peacema
ker", governor in California; and, the victim
of a quarrel between two commanders, like
Columbus, ho was brought homo a prisoner."
Being condemned by a court-martial, he re
fused indignantly a proffered pardon, and de
termined to continue his explorations with his
own resources, and as a private individual.
He set out to seek a favorable road to San
Francisco. Overtaken by terrible snow-storms
among tho mountains, he lost all his mules,
and many of his men, and arrived at Santa Fe
in tbe most destitute and suffering condition.
Still he did not despair. The assistance of
the honest frontiers-men, enabled him to pur
sue his journey, and after surmounting every
difficulty, he again arrived in the valley of the
Sacramento. He now, for the first time in his
life, began to look well to his own interest,
and in a lew years he has amassed great wealth.
He did not, however, devote himself wholly
to gain, but found time to render valuable nid
in organization of the young noble Pacific
State, which evinced her gratitude and her
confidence by appointing him one of her first
two Senators to the Congress of our country.
We will merely add to the foregoing sketch
that a short term of two years fell to his lot,
and, owing to the delay in the admission of
the State, he sat in the Senate only one short
session. On the expiration of his term the
politic! control of the State had passed into
new hands, of which a striking proof was giv
en in the choice of John B. Weller, a decided
pro-slavery man, as his successor in theSenate.
Mr. Fremont now devoted himself to devel
oping the resources of his California estate,
which had been discovered to be rich in gold ;
but, in addition to the loss of his commission,
as the only reward he had realized for his ser
vices in California, he now found himself
greatly annoyed by claims against him for sup
plies which, during his campaign inCalifornia,
had been furnished to tho United States on
his private credit. During a visit to London
he was arrested on one of these claims, and it
was only aftor great delay that the Govern
ment of the United States was finally induced
to relieve him from further annoyance by the
payment of these debts. In maintaining his
right to tbe Mariposa property, he was also o
bliged to encounter many on the part of the
Government which resisted his claim, but fi
nally, by repeated decisions of the Supreme
Court of the United States he triumphed over
all of them.
Two Urchins Selecting a Profession.
"Joe, when you grow up do you Biean to be a
lawyer or keep a confectionary store V -
"I havn't made up my mind, Tom, but ma
wants me to be a minister."
"Oh, don't be a minister, Joe, for you can't
go to circuses then."
"I know that, Tom, but a minister, ma, says,
is the best profession. You know Mrs. Love
grew adores Mr. Prettyfaee, and wouldn't you
like to be adored, Tom " 7
. "Perhaps I should; but then you can't drive
fast horses." -
"Oh, yes you can ; ministers drive fast hor
ses now-a-days ; and besides that, Tom, when
they have a bilious attack, the worshippers
send them on a foreign tour j then he gets re
membered in wills, and often has nice pre
sents ; and ma says it won't bo long before ev
ery minister has a country scat, and a colle
gian to write . his sermons. Won't that be
high?" . ; - , :,. f .. ;.
Tom acquiesced, and the juveniles indulg
ed in another game of marbles.
Wash foe Scsbcrn. Take 2 drachms of
borax, 1 drachm of Roman alum, 1 drachm of
camphor, half an ounce of sugar candy and a
pound of ox-gall. Mix and stir well for ten
minutes or so, and repeat this, stirrirg three
or four times a-day for a for a fortnight, till it
appears clear and transparent. Strain through
blotting paper, and bottle up for use. -
New York citt sends an average of 1,300
unpaid letters per month to the dead letter of
fice at Washington, not one reaching its desti
nation. Persons writing letters shonld be as
careful to prepay as to address them. -
- "Shure, and it wasn't poverty that drnv me
from the ould counthry," said Miehael the
other day, "for my father had twenty-one
yoke of oxen and a cow, and they gave milk
the year round." ' - - :' "'
- A lad, 13 years old, with an old rusty sword
in his hand, drove a burglar out of a house in
New Castle, Lawrence county, a few days ago.
It is stated that John Van Boren is ahout to
wed the only daughter of the late John C
Calhoun. " x --'.
CLEARFIELD, PA., JULY 9, 185tJ.
.. i . KANSAS.
Extratti from a Letter t to a gentleman in Clear
. field County, dated
Cockcil Citt, Kansas Ter., May 27, '56.
Dear Frikxdi In yesterday's letter I gavo
you a short account of tho affair at Lawrence.
The details you must seek in tbe paper, for I
cannot writo them not in the ''Banner & Ad
vocate," however : you will find no account of
them there! .But yoa may, perhaps, in the
"Tribune." But Grcely, you say, is a Presi
denVmakcr. , Well now, brother, possibly ho
is ; but somehow ho does tell the truth about
Kansas ; for ho. keeps a correspondent here
who represents things just as they are, till the
hearts of the people thrill with gratitude, and
turn to tho Tribune as their truest earthly
friend, which shall yet break the spell of the
sorceress, and cast our shackles off. Don't
think that I mean to chide you, George, for
your opiuion of the Tribune, but believe me,
Grcely is right in respect to slavery. " It is
tho one question, which if lost to us, all else is
lost. Don't think that I mean by the term
slavery, negro slavery alone. The race of the
enslaved is only incidental. We here, who
have been accustomed to so high a degree of
liberty, are in imminent danger of a servitude
more abject and more hateful than Europeau
despotism more abject, because we were so
free, and more hateful because our oppressors
have not even the glitter of royalty but are
bandits and drunkards. The whole Territory
is to be subjected to a complete guerilla sur
veillance, intolerable to bear. Spies are in ev
ery settlement. Many of our best men are in
prison. Our stronghold is sacked not by the
superior strength of our enemy, however, but
by United States authority, which they (the peo
ple) would not resist. Since this occurrence,
a terrible gloom has settled upon all the land.
Tbe enemy is rampant the highways are un
safe murder is abroad, and anarchy reigns.
Beneath all these brooding elements a civil
war is warming into life. The North, per
haps, will think that things are going on pret
ty quietly here, now that our best presses are
destroyed, emigration stopped, and communi
cations generally interrupted. They will not
hear much from us, except the Missouri ver
sion ot matters. And as for ourselves, what
shall we do J Our numbers are by no means
insignificant ; but we are mostly poor-toopoor
to live well much too poor to fight. Yet in
view of all these disadvantages, I believe the
general sentiment is to place our property, our
lives, and our dearest honor by the altar of lib
erty, and resist every encroachment upon those
rights, with which the constitution of these
United States and the God of nature have en
dowed us : and we appeal to every lover of lib
erty throughout the land to render us speedy
assistance, and protection in the use of these
blood-bought and priceless treasures. Shall
we appeal in vain I Mutt me die here unpilicd
and unheard I Or, what is worse, must wo be
shorn or everything which makes life more
than a brutish existence : of everything which
goes to dispel the gloomy cloud that floats be
tween us and eternity I Oh ! Brothers of the
North, wo appeal unto you. Shall it be in
vain 7 But I almost forgot that I am only wri
ting to a few persons. However, you can do
something wake up your neighborhood. We
must have the next President favorable to us,
or we shall be lost. Labor for that. ....
I do not anticipate that there would be much
fighting uot that the Southerners lack war-
like qualities, but they are under no necessity
to fight, but can go whenever they please.
They are contending to enslave us,, while wo
are contending for Freedom and for existence.
But you may think that the President would
send the military to drive off such a force.
Then why don't he send them to drive off or
disperse the Georgians and Alabamians, who
are causing this trouble? Let him do this,
and wc will be satisfied. Our friends could
then settle together, and make themselves
homes in this beautiful country. . . . . . The
President is chief in this wickcdnes., and
holds over ns the terror of U. S. anthority to
enable a reckless banditti to rob and destroy
us with impunity. This is the way in which
wo are to be subdued. This is the way in
which the plots of Douglass, Atchison and
Stringfcllow are to be executed. Must it be
so much longer? . . .' , .
You will think it strange that I should have
so far overcome my repugnance to war, as to
be wishing lor revolvers. ,: Think rather how
great must have been the wrongs which have
driven me to it. Not that all Kansas is actu
ally destroyed, for it would be an absurdity to
talk of fighting if it were. But the eastern
part of tbe Territory has, in many instances,
suffered terribly from the "President's Bandit
ti," and the whole of it is kept in a state of
anxiety and suspense ; which things have a
tendency to harden our hearts. I deplore this,
bnt so it is. Our teams from this place have
not as yet been robbed, brft only stopped and
searohed for arms. Individuals, on this road,
have also had their arms taken from them.
In view of this condition of affairs, I could not
make up my mind to forsake Kansas in the
time of her danger ; neither could I think of
staying here and idly looking on until we are
completely gagged and bound beneath an in
tolerable and hopeless oppression. The only
alternative, theD, which I can see, ig to fight.
It is a sad one indeed, and 1 pray God to for
give me if I be wrong in my conclusion, i
It is with relief that I cast off from my mind
the prospect of strife for a moment, to speak
ot the ready-made, and exuberantly fertile
and beautiful farms with which nature has pro
vided us. Wc have had plenty of rain thro
April and the foro part of May, and the couu
try wears a very luxuriant appearance. We
sowod no rye, but that among the wheat head
ed early in May. The wheat is very promis
ing. Tho prairie grass has long been in head.
On the uplands it is a little shorter than timo
thy, and waving in tho summer breeze, w ith
its sprinkling of superb flowers, it presents a
scene of magnificence of exquisite and thril
ling, yet boundless bcauly together with an
impression of exhaustless fertility, that wins
the mind for a time from its sorrows, and leads
captive all the faculties of the heart. You
may think me extravagant in this description,
but I assure you I am not. I have endeavored
to inform you truly and faithfully respecting
the appearance and prosjects of the country.
I have represented its shadows permit me al
so to reflect its sunlight its promise its joy.
There has been but little sickness this season,
except the remains of last August's ague, from
which we are recovering. 'Then thcro has
been plenty of rain this spring, which has put
everything forward. Besides the insects which
were very numerous last spring, seem to have
been demolished by the cold winter. Crick
ets are scarce, and grasshoppers aro 'nowhere.
Moreover tho thunderstorms have been milder
this season moro like thoso of tho eastern
States and not of such a terrible, tho' mag
Lificcut, character as those we witnessed List
year. In addition to alt these encourage
ments, an impression takes possession of tho
mind, and keeps possession of it, that a very
little labor will produce an abundant living,
together with all the luxuries of life," if we
feel dispofed to . indulge in them. Yon will
cease then to wonder that wc love Kansas too
dearly perhaps for our spiritual welfare far
too dearly lor the danger which menaces her
to drive us from her, I was conversing lately
with the wife of a neighbor, who has been
mourning th?,t they were not back in Pennsyl
vania. Well, she received a letter from a sister-in-law,
who did return last winter, in which
she regrets that she i not again in Kansas, and
this lady here, in view of the danger of being
driven out by the Southerners, says that she
"just begins to love Kansas, aud that she did
not think that she wouhl cling to it as she now
does, and that she could not possibly" l-c con
tented in Pennsylvania again." The fact is
she' has hitherto considered onlv their imme
diate trouble, and the care of a large family ;
but now she begins to awaken to the latent
weaith which surrounds her. ;
Jnne2d. Trouble thickens upon us. Bu
ford's company is an . avowed ha;id of rvl-bcrs.
At all events, we begin to lcel their presence
in that character. Our citizens on the road
ara now ' robbed ol money, -as well as arms.
Spies are scouring the country t' ascertain
where a descent can be profitably made. And
the government sustains the banditti. It docs
not disperse the robbers, but it disperses tho
gatherings ot Fiee State men, by' means of a
few soldiers," which they will not fight, and
then leaves them at the mercy of the enemy.
A Free State man recently expostulated with
the Governor, and entreated him to protect us
against these outrages, telliug him that tlicy
must inevitably end iu eivil war. ''Then tear
it is, by God!" was the reply. Since that he
has been somewhat softened, I understand, by
an apprehension that the free rucn, driven to
desperation, might speak to him in another
manner. In addition to all this, the Missou
rians aro now making another irruption into
tho Territory. ! The immediate pretext is that
the fVec men are committing outrages on the
opposite party. In one cas, some rash free
state men did notify man to leave. He -left
accordingly, and took several other pro-slavery
families with him, telling all sorts of horri
ble stories as they went. Next we heard that
there bad been a fight in another place, and
several killed on both sides. Then wc heard
that the killed were all on one side, the free
men having called tbcm out and shot them in
cold blood, they having previously threatened
to burn these free men at the stake. The fi
nal account, however, is, that they were en
deavoring to hang a free man, and had one end
of the rope round his neck, and the other over
tbe limb of a tree, when the thing happened.
But I cannot write every thing, j 1 am not ex
pecting to fight immediately, if it be possible
to avoid it ; and yet any letter which you may
got from me now, may be the last one.- I can
not tell, but would continually rest upon th
pity of Hira who has hitherto been to me . a
refuge and a shield.- You have my prayers,
brother ; let me also have yours not so much
that God will spare my life, as that he will
keep my soul from evil unto the eud. , .
The survey has been suspended, I am told,
iu con.teqnence of the "lower House's'' ooa
concuirence ia paying for it. . I wish you
would petition it to adhere to its position, and
strike out any provision for paying for it at
the "present from the general appropriation
bill, nelp us every wy you can. Oh! how
I would like to see you. ...
If I had had a deed for my land, early in
the spring, I should have been very apt to
have picked huckleberries on the AUeghenies
tlii sntnmer. But as it is I cannot leave that
is, I do not expect to nnloss I ara driven off.
I cannot think of abandoning the causo of
trecdofa for Kansas, (ill (he last hope is gonei
and when that time comes I can leave my na
tive land forever, with only tho wesaory of
what it has been, to stir in my tOMm one lin
gering regret.- Your own devoted friend.
JOHN.
AN APDREflS,'
Dclircn I by Hon. John . Hoyt, to the Crutre
Conuty .f jr iV nltural Society, Oct. 185i.
coxcxryiojc.-
We vfrif fit the next pface, consider soino of
the inorganic elements, which' enter into th
substance of plants, and arc found in the ashT
And wc will first notice fine, which is very
abundant in nattnc,thcrc being few portions of
the earth wh'cTr will not furnish a sufficient
supply for a'grlcuftnraf purposes." The farmer.
before applying lime to his land, shonld have
it reduced to atoms as fine as possible, which
can be done in no nrore cifetifious, or cheap
er way, than bycxjclling the Carbonic acid
gas by burning. After which, by the applica
tion cf water, ot by exposure to the air, it falls
into a ffnc powder, tri burning, it loses about
llper cent ol its weight. It then has a great
affinity for acids, snch as sulphuric, oxalic,
which are so much in excess in tnany regions
and fields as to render them crrproductive, pro
ducing; Sorrcff and what is commonly called
wild and sour grasses. The sulphuric acid, or
oil of vitriol, is formed in nature, and, is com
posed' of atoms' of oxygen and sulphur, whil
uniting with lime, form's gypsnm or plaster of
Paris and the oxalic acid, composed of oxygen
and carbon forming oxalate of lime, these new
compounds formed by the lime and acids, ar
not unfavorable to vegefafiori.
Where these acids, as well as humic and py
roligneous acid, are too abundant in the soil,
they prevent tho decomposition tT the dead
vegetable matter, and of course are not in a fit
state to be food for tho plants. Hence th
great utility of applying fresh burnt lime, to
take np a ortion of those acids, and the con
sequent decomposition of dead vegetable mat
ter, makiirg it more fertile, not so much from
the arWunt of lime entering into the composi
tion of the vegetable, as from its power in
ncntr.di7.ing the soil. We have seen by the
above table that the ash of the grains, have
bnt a small per centage of lime as in Indian
corn 1-10 of one percent., wheat 29-10 per cent,
rye the same, and 40-10 in oat?, while we ob
serve 8 and 5-10 in wheat straw and in hay
nearly 23 per cent. Hence we m.vy conclude
tht lime is more favorable to the growth of
the stallr and loaves of plants than to the growth
of their seeds. Lime by its acrid quality;
when fresh burned, would have the effect t
destroy tho larvc of insects, and thus by their
decomposition, i urease the amount of ammo
nia and phosphorus in the soil. It would ap
pear, that the application of lime to grass lands
would be most profitable when permitted tn
lie a suftVicnt time, to decompose or promote
the decomposition of the dead vegetable mat
ter, and otherwise neutralize tho soil; and
this method would be still lctf..T, ifwe plough
down the cff'P of grass (as the lime facilitates
its growth making a greater amount 6f manure)
and then sow with wheat or other grain. In
the use of lime in farming, it ia now behoved
best to use smaller quantities to the acre than
formerly and repeat every few years ; say 30
or l bushels to the acre, spread and left near
the surface, f,,r has a constant tendency to
sink lower in the soil.
We will next notice potas,h, which of all sub
stances found in the ash of pfcrnfs, is the most
uniformly a:d equally distributed. By the
above table we aee that Indian corn cottons
23 per cent., the ash of wheat 29 per cenf.,
rye 32, and oats 27 per cent, of potash and
soda, ami potatoes 51 1 percent., turnips 42,
and hay 18. Potash and soda arc nearly allied
to each other, properties- and povrerj tbfjf be
ing alkalies. Potash must be in considerable
quantity in the earth. The farmer will add it
to the soil, when he applies wood ashes, min
eral coal aslies, and' all decayed vegetable sub
stances. Salt pctre is the nitrate f pottsh,
but too expensive to be largely used. Common
salt is a muriate of soda, by applying which to
our fields we have soda; and we have mere,
for the muriatic acid is composed of chlorine
and hydrogen, so by the dccompositrn of the
acid, we have chlorine, which is in the ash of
most pl.uits, though not largely.
There is a fair proporticu" of uftgntsi in
the ash of corn, wheat, &c, but it was former
ly thought unfavorable to vegetation. Th
farmer need not seek to apply it to his field,
for it is abundant ia tbe soil 'in many clays,
and is from 30 to 40 per cent, f som lime
stones, and 50 cr more per cent., in that which
is called hydraulic liuie.
. Phosphoric acid is a very importar-t element
In the grains and grosses and aovi set eJtist
in a free state in nature, but is found united
to potash, soda, lime, ac, forming phosphates
and in these states are taken upas food for
plants, and is absolutely ncccssaiy fcr -heir
healthy growth and perfection.
The farmer can increase this clement, on
his fields by adding decayed vegetable matter,
and decomposed dead animal and insect nat
ter, in which it is most abundant. Some com
posts are made containing a great per cent, of
phosphoric acid, and fixed ammonia, which.
Jifinundtr en Fcurth pogt.