Appletons' annual cyclopedia and register of important events. Embracing political, military, and ecclesiastical affairs; public documents; biography, statistics, commerce, finance, literature, science, agriculture, and mechanical industry
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/i) ^ f*S ijEadSHSk ? Z . .; «» VW^r-^x^ "•awrk- y -■ j>* ;+ r 1_J ■ /-SS^4 rrk* \ ^ <f" mmi HI . -••■ ■ v I Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2019 with funding from Kahle/Austin Foundation https://archive.org/details/appletonsannualc1861unse ' THE AMERICAN ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA AND REGISTER OF IMPORTANT EYENTS OF THE TEAR 18 6 1. EMBRACING POLITICAL, CIVIL, MILITARY, AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS; PUBLIC DOCU¬ MENTS ; BIOGRAPHY, STATISTICS, COMMERCE, FINANCE, LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE AND MECHANICAL INDUSTRY. NEW YORK: D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 443 & 445 BROADWAY. M.DCCC.LXH. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by D. APPLETON & COMPANY, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York. PREFACE. In preparing a Cyclopaedia of wliat came to pass during the year 1861, the political and military events appeared to possess a greater importance than all that had been developed in the different branches of knowledge. The interest which they awakened soon became so strong and engrossing, that the peaceful pursuits of industry were paralyzed, trade and commerce languished, the stu¬ dent of science forsook his quiet seclusion for the tented field, and the inventive genius turned to find more skilful weapons for conflict or terrible engines for destruction. The consequences involved in these events are regarded as des¬ tined to exert a permanent influence on mankind. Whether constitutional lib¬ erty can survive the violence of human passions ; whether institutions organized to preserve and protect the rights of men, and which depend for their existence upon the will and pleasure of those whom they control, can withstand the shocks of military power, are questions in which the welfare of all is at issue. The conflict, therefore, in the United States, — embracing the political principles in¬ volved with the arguments of their respective advocates and opponents ; the movements of the leaders of secession, from their first acts to the close of the year, including the proceedings, step by step, in each of the Southern States until they had resolved themselves out of the Union, and their subsequent efforts ; the organization of the Confederate States ; the principles upon which that organization was founded ; the civil and commercial regulations of the Confederacy ; the movements of its Government to fill its treasury, and organ¬ ize and equip vast armies ; the counteracting movements of the United States ; the organization of its armies, with the details of the weapons for the infantry and artillery, and for the batteries of the ships and gunboats ; together with all the original documents, from the Messages of the respective Presidents ; the in¬ structions of Cabinet officers ; the Messages and proclamations of Governors ; the important acts of the United States and Confederate Congresses ; the acts and resolutions of State Legislatures ; the proclamations and orders of com¬ manding officers ; the contributions of men and money from each State, North and South ; the details of every battle and every skirmish involving a loss of life, — forms an important part of this volume. looked, or valuable document omitted. The efforts of tlie Confederacy to secure the cooperation of foreign powers, and of the United States to prevent it, are summarily presented in the letters and instructions of the respective diplo¬ matic agents. In thus preparing in a narrative form this portion of the events of the year, although the effort has been made to observe strict accuracy and impartiality, some mistakes may have occurred, which ask for the forbearing consideration of the intelligent reader. The developments of science during the year present some interesting par¬ ticulars. The assent of geologists to the Taconic system advocated by the late Prof. Emmons, after so many years of disbelief, is another instance of the tri¬ umph of investigation over preconceived errors. The introduction of the meth¬ od of Solar analysis, which has as yet progressed hardly so far as to receive a name, although Spectrography meets with much approval, may justly be classed among the important events. The conclusions of science, as applied to agriculture, which were reached during the year 1861, will become to the farm¬ er of great practical value. At the same time, they set aside many opinions and processes of labor which have not yielded fruitful results. They will be found fully explained in a very practical essay from the pen of Prof. J. J. Mapes. Geographical explorations were pursued with vigor in various quarters of the globe, and many travellers returned from their perilous journeys of a pre¬ vious year. In all instances the information is highly interesting, and often valuable. Connected with mechanical industry there were many ingenious inven¬ tions during the year, especially relating to implements of war, some of which have been described, while others are reserved, to be accompanied with such illustrations as more ample time will allow. To mechanical industry, so important in this country, an extensive portion of the annual volume of this work will be devoted. The commerce of the whole world was interrupted during the year, and al¬ though sufficient time has not elapsed to gather the statistics of all its changes, yet the details of disaster to many branches have been made up in these pages. The stupendous resources of the United States, hitherto unconsciously possessed, not only in military and naval affairs, but especially in financial, have been brought to light by the present difficulties. The financial measures of the Gov¬ ernment and of the States are explained with the most ample details. The number of distinguished men who closed their career in 1861 was not so large as in many other years. A tribute has been paid to their virtues and their services. Subsequent volumes of this work will be issued about the first of March in each year. THE ANNUAL CYCLOPAEDIA. A ABDUL MEDJID, Khan, late Sultan of Tur¬ key, born May 6, 1822, succeeded to the throne July 1, 1839, died June 25, 1861. Educated in the seclusion of the harem, and coming to the throne at the early age of 17, and possessing naturally a kindly but indolent and almost effeminate nature, it was hardly possible that he should have become an efficient ruler over an empire so extensive, and peopled by races so diverse, even in the most favorable period of its history. But his accession to the throne took place at a time of unusual commotion, and when the strong arm of a wise and vigor¬ ous ruler could hardly have saved the empire from disintegration and ruin. His father had been a man of great energy and iron will, and had initiated reforms which, in the opinion of the more fanatical Moslems, struck at the very foundations of their faith. The ill-concealed hostility of the mass of the Mohammedan peo¬ ple to these reforms would have awed a less resolute ruler than Mahmoud II., and his death leaving his reforms but half accomplished, en¬ couraged the hopes of the reactionary party. Nor were there wanting other causes of anxie¬ ty to harass the mind of the boy sultan. Me- hemet Ali, Pasba of Egypt, his most powerful vassal, had placed himself in an attitude of open rebellion during the lifetime of Mahmoud II., and his son, Ibrahim-Pasha, on the 24th of June, 8 days previous to Abdul Medjid’s acces¬ sion to the throne, had defeated the sultan’s troops in the decisive battle of Nezib. The in¬ terference of the allied powers alone prevented the Turkish empire from dismemberment at this juncture. This danger passed, the young sultan applied himself to the development of his father’s plans of reform. The first step in this direction was the promulgation of the Hatti-Scherif of Gul- Khane, in Nov. 1839. This Hatti-Scherif was a general decree in the nature of a bill of rights, declaring the equality of all his subjects, wheth¬ er Mussulmen or not, before the law. Its in¬ tention was more fully developed in the subse¬ quent measures, now included under the name of the tanzimat , or system of reforms. The 1 most important of these measures were : the re¬ organization of the army in 1843 and 1844, the creation of new ministerial departments of com¬ merce and public works, the reorganization of the provinces, the promulgation of a penal code and of a code of commerce, the establishment of mixed tribunals allowing Christians a share with Mussulmen in the administration of jus¬ tice, the introduction of a new monetary system, the abolition of the Kharadj , or capitation tax, previously levied on all who were not Mussul- men ; the reform of the system of public educa¬ tion, and the introduction of postal service, railroads, telegraphs, the regulation of quaran¬ tines, the establishment of banks, &c. These reforms were at first put in force in the capital, and thence extended gradually to the remoter provinces. Not being in the na¬ ture of absolute decrees, but rather suggestions for reform, whose stringency was to be in¬ creased as the people would bear them, they were at first of little effect, except immediately in the vicinity of the capital. In Sept. 1854, desirous of giving them a wider scope and a more decided efficacy, the sultan called a coun¬ cil of tanzimat , or congress of representatives from all parts of his empire, and laid before them his measures. On the 18th February, 1856, he issued a new Hatti-Humayoum or im¬ perial decree, conforming and enlarging the propositions of the Hatti-Scherif. These meas¬ ures indicated • the progressive disposition of the sultan, and his desire to become an efficient ruler. They were undertaken under circum¬ stances of great difficulty ; from the commence¬ ment of his administration to its close, there was constantly some disturbing element to de¬ lay or thwart his purposes : the Turko-Egypt- ian question at the commencement of his reign, and subsequently the Servian question ; the in¬ surrection in Albania ; the war in Koordistan ; the troubles in Syria, in Bosnia, and Montene¬ gro ; the Turko-Greek and Wallachian revolu¬ tion of 1848-9 ; his noble refusal to surrender the Hungarian and Polish refugees, who had sought protection on his soil, to Austria and Russia in 1850 ; the question of the holy places 2 AGRICULTURE. which led to the Crimean war ; the attempt to assassinate him in 1859 ; and the Syrian mas¬ sacres of 1860, were all so many obstacles to his progress. To these might also be added his natural indolence and love of sensual indul¬ gence, his infirm health and his yielding disposi¬ tion, which made him often the helpless prey of the dissolute ministers and the rapacious harem which controlled him. Ho has been succeeded by his brother, Abdul Aziz Khan. AGRICULTURE is the art of cultivating the earth in order to increase the quantity and im¬ prove the quality of its productions. The practical farmer should be able to raise from a given number of acres, the largest quan¬ tity of the most valuable produce, at the least cost, in the shortest period, and without perma¬ nent injury to the soil ; and therefore the great problem which the present age has to solve, is the discovery of the means of producing on a given area, a larger amount of bread and meat to supply the wants of a continually in¬ creasing population. The object of these remarks will not be to give any history of agriculture, but rather to show the advantages which have arisen from the application of the sciences to its practice, until it may now be truly said, in its present status, to compose a science in itself, embracing the operation of the natural laws in their most extended sense, and covering, as part of its accessories, much of geology, chemistry, etc. We shall aim rather to demonstrate that which experimental theories have culminated during the last few years into exact knowledge, than to give descriptions of the leading and more prominent improvements in agriculture as an art. It is now well understood that all known primaries are to be found in the soil, itself be¬ ing chiefly composed of the debris of rocks, whence have arisen all of the primaries, except those which have existed in more dilate form, as In the atmosphere. For a long time it was supposed by chemists that the analyses of plants and soils would fur¬ nish a sure guide to the farmer in his selection of the amendments requisite to the production of crops. Recent investigations, however, prove that these primaries, as found in the ashes of a plant, differ materially in their functions , from the same primaries existing in the rock or in the soil, unless they have been redeposited in the soil by the decay of organisms ; that each primary, when taken up and appropriated by a plant, and then restored again to the soil by the decay of the plant, possesses functions which are entirely distinct from those belonging to a primary before its entrance into organic life : and thus arable soils are composed in part of inorganic matter which belonged originally to the rocks, then to the soil, then formed a part of organic life, and on being restored to the soil, became ready to act as pabulum to a higher organism ; and that each time a primary so en¬ ters into organic life, it takes new functions and qualities not belonging to its original condition, and not recognizable by analyses or microscopic investigations. Thus we find that the feldspar rock, containing seventeen per cent, of potash, when ground to the finest powder, will not supply potash directly to the higher class of plants — still a rock containing feldspar will furnish potash to those of a lower class, such as the lichens and mosses, etc. ; and on their decay it returns to the soil in a progressed or ad¬ vanced condition, capable of being assimilated by a higher class of plant. It is for this reason that, while ground feld¬ spar fails to prove a valuable amendment to soils, requiring additions of potash, unleached wood ashes so readily furnish plants with this necessary alkali. The same truth is observable with phosphate of lime, so readily assimilated by plants when furnished in the form of animal bones, even after they have been heated to redness, so that the phosphate of lime which they contain is freed from all surrounding matters. This same substance, without any differences which may be recognized by the chemist, is found in large quantities in what is known as the phosphatic rocks, and some of them contain ninety-five per cent, of pure phosphate of lime ; still when this is ground to a powder it will not be assimilated by the roots of plants in contact with it ; and many soils formed in part of the cldor-apatite rock require additions of more progressed phosphate before their cultivation can be rendered profitable. The same may be said of lime, for although primitive limestone when burnt so as to render it caustic, is valuable to the farmer as a means of disintegrating other materials in the soil from its chemical effects, yet lime so furnished will not form direct food for plants, while lime arising from organic decomposition is readily assimilated by them. Two thousand bushels of lime, made by burn¬ ing limestone rock of Westchester Co., H. Y., applied to a single acre, will render the land sterile for many years, itself forming less than two per cent, of the weight of this soil to a depth of fifteen inches. There are many chalk farms, however, in England, containing forty per cent, of carbon¬ ate of lime, (which is the form which the Westchester lime assumes before the farmer uses it ;) but this latter (chalk) has its origin in organic decay, and therefore is readily assimi¬ lated by plants to the extent they require lime to form part of their ash when burned ; and the quantity in excess is not unfriendly to sur¬ rounding vegetable growth. Indeed this principle is true of each and all the primaries in nature ; thus, old soils which have been fairly and properly treated, are more fertile than new ones. As a general principle, therefore, it should be understood that, in the selection of fertilizers, those taken from the refuse of factories, etc., or at least from the highest organic sources, should be preferred. Many of the ingredients in the soil have the AGRICULTURE. 3 power of absorbing and retaining ammonia and other gases consequent upon organic decay, which are brought down with rains and dews from the atmosphere, and these give to water the power of dissolving much larger quantities of inorganic matter than can be taken up by positively pure water. Of the ingredients hav¬ ing such power, the chief are carbon and alu¬ mina : were it not for the presence of which in the surface soils, the decay of organic life would not be retained for the use of forthcoming crops, but would filter downward and render every well and spring a cesspool. So perfect is the action of these materials that one per cent, of either or both, disseminated through a soil to a depth of 12 inches, is quite capable of abstracting from fluids, during their downward course, most of those substances re¬ quired to sustain plant life ; and recent discov¬ eries are quite sufficient to assure the agricul¬ turist that he need not fear the loss of ma¬ nures by downward filtration. A pure gravel or positively pure sand are the only exceptions which are practically to be met with, and these, overtopped by a loam to an ordinary depth, will never receive from the upper soil any solutions which would be valuable to plant life, unless such solutions be added in quantities far be¬ yond what would ever be applied in practice. Were it not for this law, all the progressed and more soluble portions of organic life would have passed towards the earth’s centre, leaving the surface sterile and incapable of sustaining man. The full understanding and appreciation of this fact may be fairly registered as belonging to the year 1861 ; for, although before suggested, it has not been generally admitted and under¬ stood until this time. In the mechanical operations upon the soil, while agriculture was pursued simply as an art, the farmer merely knew that a disturbance of the surface produced increased results — but he now understands the laws on which such in¬ crease depends. Rains and dews may be viewed as the natu¬ ral means of cleansing the atmosphere, taking therefrom all the volatile exudations of organic life and restoring these to the soil for reassimi¬ lation. We find the atmosphere at all times containing certain proportions of these gases, and during droughts the quantity held in at¬ mospheric suspension is materially increased. The first half-pint of rain, falling on the roof of a house, during a shower, will be found so highly charged with ammonia, sulphuretted hydrogen, etc., as to emit a peculiar odor ; con¬ sequently the water from dews and the early parts of showers is more valuable to farmers than that furnished by continuous rains. To fully avail of this effect, the soil should be deeply disintegrated so as to permit the atmos¬ phere permeating the soil to deposit its mois¬ ture upon the surface of the colder particles be¬ neath the surface of the soil. We all know that a glass vessel containing ice or cold water, if placed in the sun’s rays at midday, during droughts even at midsummer, will be speedily covered on its outer surface with drops of wa¬ ter, which of course are condensed from the atmosphere ; for if the soil be dry the atmos¬ phere must contain moisture, however dilate, as there are but two places in which it can exist, viz., the earth and the atmosphere — its quantity at all times must be constant. In the same way, then, the surfaces of particles of soil colder than the atmosphere, are capable of re¬ ceiving a proper degree of humidity, which in turn is capable of absorbing all the gases from the atmosphere requisite to render the moisture a more perfect solvent of the inorganic food re¬ quired to sustain plants : in this state, and in this only, can plants receive it — they cannot take up inorganic matter unless in solution, and no plant can grow without its reception. All these necessary conditions may be secured by Underdraining and Subsoil-ploughing. Underdraining . — This consists in burying be¬ neath the soil, in a proper manner, a series of tubes or pipes, so made as to be capable of re¬ ceiving from the soil any excess or surplus of water it may contain, and leading it to lower points whence it may be discharged and find its way to outlets. For the method of con¬ structing underdrains, we would refer the reader to the recent works of Judge French, Klippart, and others. The best specimen of practical underdraining with which we are ac¬ quainted, may be found at the Central Park, Flew York. Millions of acres of apparently valueless soils have been rendered capable of profitable cul¬ tivation by underdraining. Drains have been made of stones, porous pipe, tile, wooden tubes of various kinds, etc. ; but practice has proved that the ordinary draining tile, made of un¬ glazed burnt clay, forms the safest and most efficient and durable underdrain. It is also ascertained that the tiles laid at a depth of five feet, in soils where underdrains may be so deeply constructed, produce results better than those attainable by drains of less depth. These drains should be at such distance apart as to thoroughly remove all excess of water from the soil, and in so doing, they insure full aera¬ tion. Both ends of each drain should be open to and at the surface, producing a continuous draft of air always passing through them, and as the atmosphere is warmer than the soil, the heat rising during its horizontal travel passes into and through the soil, materially elevating its temperature — it also secures motion to the air in the soil, which, in passing between the particles, supplies the necessary amount of hu¬ midity, and with it those gases which guaran¬ tee all the chemical changes required to furnish the inorganic food to plants. The chief advantages of underdraining may be summed up as follows : “ Underdrained soils never suffer from drought ,” provided that the subsoil be disin¬ tegrated as in the process known as subsoil- ploughing. Less manure will suffice for crops. 4 AGRICULTURE. The after disintegration of the soil is more readily and cheaply performed. Its tempera¬ ture is increased, and therefore a longer season of growth is secured. The best proof of the usefulness of underdraining, however, is to be found in the fact that the English Government, and many chartered companies and individual capitalists, have freely loaned money on mort¬ gage to English farmers for the purpose of un¬ derdraining their soils, and that these mort¬ gages are only active after a valuation — in other words, the mortgages only bear upon the increased value of the soil consequent upon nnderdraining. After the expenditure of mil¬ lions of pounds sterling in this way, scarcely an instance can be found where the income of the farmer has not been increased sufficiently to enable him to pay his underdrainage mortgage, leaving him an increase of profit ever after, while the nation at large is permanently ren¬ dered wealthier by the system. Indeed it is doubtful if England could at this time sustain her population, were it not for the increase of crops consequent upon the underdraining of the land. Subsoil-ploughing. — It is only within a few years that the process of subsoil-ploughing has been rendered practicable, for although known for many years as a needed improvement in the culture of soils, the tools presented for such use were inadequate, until the invention of the lift¬ ing subsoil-plough, by the writer of this article. This implement is known as Mapes’ lifting sub- soil-plough, and is formed of a lozenge-shaped wedge of steel, point forward, like a spear-head laid horizontally, and forming a series of in¬ clined planes, gradually rising from the point to its bridge or highest part, being an elevation of only five-eighths of an inch. This horizontal wedge is sustained to a beam by two curved knives placed vertically, and by these means, as with other plough-beams, the instrument is propelled in the usual manner. In practice, the surface-plough precedes the subsoil-plough, mov¬ ed by a separate team. The subsoil-plough fol¬ lows with its beam in the bottom of the furrow, thus disintegrating to a depth of 12 inches or more, beneath the bottom of the surface fur¬ row, raising the soil five-eighths of an inch, and in so doing, causing the separation of particle from particle, as in the soil over an ordinary mole- track ;, but to a width, at the surface, of twenty inches, and this disintegration is more perfect than between the particles of a soil turned over in a furrow-slice, as with the surface-plough. The subsoil-plough insures to the subsoil full depth for the travel of roots, also permitting the entrance of atmosphere ; the surface loam is consequently gradually deepened to any re¬ quired depth ; for while the loam as a new soil, may have a depth of but 6 inches, and the farmer is constrained to that depth of surface- ploughing; still, by the use of a subsoil-plough, he may disintegrate without elevating the sub¬ soil, which will gradually change by atmos¬ pheric and other influences into a loamy soil, so that, in after ploughings, the depth of the surface furrow may be increased. Grass lands previously underdrained and subsoil-ploughed, never run out , and the full ratio of crops may be main¬ tained for any length of time, by slight top- dressings, of such amendments as have not yet been progressed from the soil itself. Where subsoiling and underdraining are not practised, mowing-lands and pastures are con¬ tinually lessening in their products, so that the farmer is compelled every few years to take his land out of grass, and carry it through a series of rotation of crops, before he can reestablish a grass crop. The foregoing may be considered as an epitome of the greater improvements con¬ nected with the proper mechanical preparation of the soil, together with the necessary rationale for comprehending the causes of the benefits to be derived therefrom ; and all other and after manipulations are but the presentation of the same desirable conditions to the surface soil, in a more minute and extended manner, so as to avail of the same laws more rapidly and effectively. Uo farmer can reasonably expect to avail of the largest amount of profit, who has not prepared his surface and subsoil in the manner we have indicated ; for, be his surface cultivation what it may, and the use of fertil¬ izers ever so liberal, his profit will not be as great as that of his neighbor whose farm is un¬ derdrained and subsoil-ploughed. Fertilizers. — In old times, farmers sometimes suffered their land to remain without crops for the purpose of enabling it. to gain in fertility. This was accomplished by the slow reception from the atmosphere of gases capable of ena¬ bling the moisture in the soil to dissolve new quantities of the inorganic constituents, storing them up until, by their accumulation, the soil was again capable of bearing crops. This was called fallowing. The modern improvements, how¬ ever, of underdraining and subsoil-ploughing, will secure all the advantages of the fallowing system, and in a much shorter time ; for it is now admitted that “ the true rest of the soil is a judicious succession of crops.” This residt is farther accelerated by presenting to the soil the necessary food for plants in a progressed shape, of organic origin, so that the growing crop is fed independently of the soil in place ; therefore permitting it, as in the following pro¬ cess, to augment the quantity of plant food rap¬ idly; for it must be understood that moisture is enabled to dissolve increased quantities of each of the inorganic constituents, when the roots of a growing crop are present. In the use of fertilizers, the farmer should not inquire, 11 with how small a quantity can I create a crop /” but rather, uhow large a quantity may 1 use with increased profit ?” for, with an increased quantity, not only does he increase the amount and quality of a current crop, but he leaves the soil increased in productiveness for the future. Manures of the farm. — These are of the first importance, and require the greatest amount of care for their proper manipulation, admixture, AGRICULTURE. 5 and nse. The value of farm-yard and stable manures consists mainly in the progressed in¬ organic matter they contain, and in the state of division in which that matter exists, and not, as many suppose, in the amount of nitrogen or ammonia they contain ; for the value of am¬ monia consists, not in being a food for plants, but in its ability to give to water the power of dis¬ solving new portions of the soil itself, passing it through the proper chemical changes to fit it for plants. It is doubtful if any plant ever re¬ ceived, through its roots, any of the constitu¬ ents of ammonia ; and it is only to this func¬ tion of ammonia that the farmer need look for any advantage from its use. If his soil be fairly arable, from former use, and be thoroughly underdrained, and subsoil- ploughed, containing a full share of progressed inorganic food for plants, he will find no bene¬ fit from the application of ammonia in any form; for soils so prepared will receive all they require of nitrogenous matters from the atmosphere, as they will be continuously con¬ densing from that source moisture charged with gases. We freely admit that on badly- prepared soils, merely surface-ploughed, and pre¬ senting so slight a depth of soil to atmospheric influences that the necessary quantity of nitro¬ gen cannot be received, it is necessary to in¬ crease the solvent power of the moisture they contain so as to secure the solution of a suffi¬ cient amount of inorganic pabulum to sustain crops ; but the real value of every manure, so far as furnishing the constituents of plants is concerned, is due not only to the amount of in¬ organic food which it contains, but to its condition or state of progression, and not to the amount of nitrogen combined therewith in any form. The best cultivators do not use open barn¬ yards as the receptacle of manures, but the manures of the farm are removed daily to ad¬ jacent manure-sheds, where the compost is placed on and above the surface of the ground, with a drainage cistern at the lower end of the shed, furnished with a pump, so that the fluid drainage of the manure heap may be thrown from the cistern on top of the mass, and by its downward filtration through the compost sup¬ ply moisture and convey the soluble portions to the inert parts, causing continuous ferment¬ ation without excessive heat, preventing fire- fanging, and insuring' entire disintegration, de¬ stroying weed seeds, and breaking up organic forms of all kinds, so that the mass may be¬ come homogeneous without the labor or ex¬ pense of turning by forking, etc. All the fluids of the stables, house, etc., may be carried by gutters to this cistern, the compost heap may be supplied with muck, meadow mud, head¬ lands, weeds, and all waste materials of the farm, and by the continued and repeated infil¬ tration of the soluble portion through all other parts, the admixture will become more perfect than by any other method ; the occasional ad¬ dition of sulphuric acid to this cistern will con¬ vert all the volatile products of decomposition into sulphates which are non-volatile, thus preventing evaporation, malaria, etc. Special fertilizers which are soluble may be thrown into the cistern, and so find their way through the mass, and, with it, to the fields. When the drainage is insufficient to supply the necessary amount of moisture, water may bo passed into the cistern, and when fluid ma¬ nures are called for to be used on the farm, they may be taken from this reservoir, and distrib¬ uted by a sprinkling-cart. With such an arrangement all kinds of farm manures may be thoroughly combined, secur¬ ing such chemical changes as will do away with the disadvantages consequent upon their sepa¬ rate use, such as the unfavorable influence of hog-manure, when used alone upon the brassica tribe of plants, clump-rooting cabbages, giving ambury, or fingers and toes, to turnips, etc. The manure of the hen-house should frequently be added to the compost heap, so as to be more evenly divided through it. The pump with which the cistern is supplied may be moved by a small wind-mill, placed above the shed, causing the changes to be con¬ tinuous by the downward filtration through the mass followed by the atmosphere. The value of manure so prepared, diluted with many times its bulk of waste organic matter, such as muck, leaves from the woods, woods-earth, etc., is greater per cord after fer¬ mentation than that of the pure manure kept in an open barn-yard, while the quantity will be materially greater, no loss by washing or evaporation having occurred. When potash is required by the soil, it may be added in the form of wood-ashes, and other special amend¬ ments, in solution or otherwise. These will not only find their way to the field, but while in the compost heap will furnish chemical ac¬ tion for the decomposition of all other portions, securing at the same time their own dissemina¬ tion throughout the mass. So much for farm¬ yard manures ; but who can produce so large a quantity of such manures (whatever may be the extent of his stables) as may be used on his land with increased profit? We claim that no farmer or stock-breeder can do so, and when, under these circumstances, the farmer has the means of farming more profitably, he must of necessity become the buyer of fertilizers ; there are but few localities where farm and stable manures can be purchased; those manures made upon the farm itself may bo used with profit, but if they are to be carted from a dis¬ tance, the transportation will generally render them more costly than other fertilizers. Fac¬ tory wastes of various kinds frequently may be purchased at less cost near towns and cities. Night-soil, also, may be used with advantage. Peruvian guano contains many of the constitu¬ ents required by crops, and when properly treated before use is an admirable manure ; it should be finely ground and mixed with some divider, such as charcoal dust, woods-earth, or even the ordinary soil of the farm, and should 6 AGRICULTURE. be wetted with dilute sulphuric acid, so as to render its phosphates more soluble and its car¬ bonates less volatile ; or, what is still better, it may form part of a well-made superphosphate of lime. The best of these is the nitrogenized superphosphate of lime, made by the admix¬ ture of 100 pounds of calcined bones, 56 pounds of sulphuric acid, 36 pounds of Peruvian guano, and 20 pounds of sulphate of ammonia, to which may be added an equal weight of dried blood, the whole to be thoroughly ground to¬ gether. Six hundred pounds of this mixture will fully represent twenty-five cords of well- rotted farm and stable manure. Lime. — Lime, as it is generally used, cannot be viewed as an immediate or direct food for plants ; that which is contained in decaying organisms, or as resulting from the ashes of wood and other substances, when applied to the soil, is readily as¬ similated by plants ; but the more crude kinds of lime, such as are made by the burning of the ordinary limestones, have their first action friendly to vegetable growth in their power to decompose all organic matter, and thus cause it to give up its inorganic constituents ; in addition to which, it acts upon the inorganic constitu¬ ents of the soil itself, forming silicate of lime; and by removing portions of the surface of par¬ ticles, presents new surfaces for other chemical action and continued development. Lime, when combined with salt, so as to form chloride- of lime and carbonate of soda, before its use in soils, becomes materially more active and in a condition to be rapidly appropriated. Three bushels of lime, slaked with a solution of one bushel of salt, and then exposed to the atmosphere until the chlorine of the salt com¬ bines with the lime, forming chloride of lime, and setting free the soda, permitting it to com¬ bine with carbonic acid from the atmosphere, becoming carbonate of soda, form an admirable fertilizer. Four bushels of this mixture, suffi¬ ciently old for all the chemical changes to have occurred, if mixed with a cord of any cheap organic matter, such as swamp muck, woods- earth, etc., will decompose it to a powder in a very short space of time. It is therefore a val¬ uable auxiliary to most composts. Sulphate of Lime , (plaster of Paris,) usually known as gypsum, supplies to the soil not only lime, but also sulphuric acid, and previous to undergoing any change, it has the power of ab¬ sorbing and giving off to water large amounts of the gaseous products of the atmosphere, as well as those consequent upon organic decay in the soil ; it is found also to be valuable in de¬ odorizing the effluvia of stables, compost heaps, etc. In soils containing very minute proportions of progressed inorganic materials, plaster is often used to assist in the growth of clover. This in turn throws down its deep roots, gathering from the subsoil large amounts of inorganic matter, elevating them to the surface soil, and on decaying, when ploughed under, enriching the soil, not, as has been frequently asserted, by the decomposition of matters abstracted from the atmosphere alone, but by its power in progress¬ ing the inorganic materials of the soil, and ren¬ dering them fit for future assimilations. Wood-ashes. — These supply to the soil large amounts of potash, with smaller quantities of the other constituents shown in their analysis. Thus leached ashes from which the potash is entirely removed, still exercise, on many soils, a friendly influence, by furnishing plants with the other constituents making up their com¬ position, all of which, once having been in or¬ ganic life, are progressed and fitted for entering a higher class of vegetable growth. Lime, ashes, and other alkaline substances, tend to alter the mechanical conditions of soils; clayey soils are' rendered more free by their use, while sandy soils become more compact, each being improved in degree. 