Elements of agriculture: for the use of primary and secondary schools

Front matter

Class Oi'j^

PUKSKNTIOn BY

A BOOK FOR EVERY BOY

Preface

When it is considered that a very large majority of the millions who are constantly in training at our country schools are to be cultivators of the soil, and that on their general intelligence, with some knowledge of the principles of their own profession, must in a great measure depend, not only the i^rosperity of American agriculture, but the permanence of our free institutions; every lover of his country must reflect with regret on the want of more diffusive and perfect systems of general educalion, and especially on the absence of a plain, intelligible, elementary work on ike principles of agriculture, for the use of our common schools. This want, it is now confidently believed, has been supplied by what is here offered, entitled " Elements of Agriculture for the Use of Common Schools," which has lately appeared in France, under the auspices of the department for public instruction, and been sanctioned, as will be seen, by the strong recommendation of men of the highest distinction and authority for learning and benevolence.

This little work is purely elementary in its character, and so plainly written, that while the principles are brought within the comprehension of children who have attained their twelfth year, it can not fail to be entertaining and auxiliary, if not instructive to their teachers. If in itself it does not make those who study it accomplished agriculturists, it will at least pave the way for their becoming such, by explaining the rudiments of those sciences with which Agriculture is naturally connected.

As will be perceived, by reference to the table of contents, the work is divided into three Parts. The first treats of Natural History, explaining, in a clear and simple manner, the difference between Organic and Inorganic Substances, Animal and Vegetable Life, Vegetable Reproduction, &c. The Second Part treats, in like perspicuous and intelligible style, of Climate, and its effects upon animal and vegetable life. Mineral Manures, more properly called by the French v/riters ameliorators, and Animal and Vegetable Manures, with their management and application, make up the Third Part. FinaUy, *it has been slightly modified, as was needed, to adapt it to the soil and climate of the United States.

Chapter I

General Notions on the Art of Cultivating the Soil, and of the different Objects that exist in Nature.

Lesson I.— Divisions in the Art of Cultivation PAGE 9

Lesson II.— The diflerent Objects existing in Nature H

CHAPTER n.

Vegetable Anatomy and Physiology.

Lesson III— The Organs of Plants 13

Lesson IV.— Tlie Root 14

Lesson V.— The Stem and Leaves — Functions that they fulfil in the Act of Nuti-ition.

Lesson VI.— The Organs of Reproduction 19

Lesson VII.— Fruit.

Lesson VIIL— Gej-mination 21

Moral Reflections • 24

CHAPTER m.

The Reproduction of Vegetables.

Lesson IX.— Reproduction by Generation « , 25

Lesson X.— Reproduction by Propagation — Layering 27

Lesson XI.— Multiplication of Plants by Grafting 28

Lesson XII.— Inoculating 29

PART SECOND. CHAPTER L General Consideration of the Soil

Lesson I.— The Causes that AflFect the Value of the Soil 31

Lesson II.— The Mineral Parts of the SoU 33

Lesson III.— Silex, or Silica 35

8 CONTENTS.

LesBon IV.— Clay page 37

Lesson V.— Carbonate of Lime 39

Lesson VL— Plaster, Marl, Magnesia, Iron ■, 41

Lesson VII.— The Organic Parts of the Soil 43

Lesson VIIL— The Formation of Humus, and its Properties 46

Lesson IX.— The Action of Humus in the Soil 48

CHAPTER II. The Physical Properties of SoU

Lesson X.— Texture and Depth of the Soil 51

Lesson XL— Situation of the Surface 53

Lesson XII. — Subsoil 54

Lesson XIII.— The EflFects of Climate on Vegetation 56

Lesson XIV. — The Effect of Climate upon Cultivation and upon Animal Economy 58

Part Third. Chapter I

Ameliorators.

Lesson I. — General Views of Manures, Ameliorators, and Stimulants.. .. 61

Lesson II. — Limmg Lands, or the Use of Lime as an Ameliorator 63

Lesson III. — Liming Lands (continued) 65

Lesson IV. — Liming Lands (continued) 66

Lesson V. — Marl as an Ameliorator 69

Lesson VI. — Marl as an Ameliorator (continued) 71

Lesson VII. — Clay and Sand as Ameliorators 73

CHAPTER n.

Stimulants.

Lesson VIIL— Ashea 76

Lesson LX.— Plaster 78

Lesson X.— Paring and Buniing 79

CHAPTER m.

Manures.

Lesson XL— Formation, Composition, and Action of Manures 81

Lesson XII.— Manures (continued) 82

Lesson XIII.— Litter, and Liquid Manures 84

Lesson XIV. — Management of Manure 85

Lesson XV. — Varieties of Manure 87

Lesson XVI. — Folding Sheep— Animalizcd Manures 88

Lesson XVII.— Vegetable Manures 90

Part First Chapter I

General Notions on the Art of cultivating the Soilj and of the different Objects that exist in Nature,

LESSON I.

DIVISIONS IN THE ART OF CULTIVATION.

1. The Art of Cultivation. — The object of this art is to obtain from the earth the greatest possible quantity of products ; and it is usually divided into four parts, namely : 1. Agriculture, or the cultivation of fields. 2. Horticulture, or the cultivation of gardens. 3. The cultivation of the grasses. 4. Arboriculture, or the cultivation of trees.

2. Agriculture. — The principal aim of agriculture is to produce those plants that are most generally used as food, by man and domestic animals ; such as wheat, Indian corn, rye, barley, oats, as also potatoes, beets, turnips, clover, lucerne, etc. Among the products of agriculture are also to be classed what are called the industrial plants, such as flax, hemp, cotton, hops, madder, and others that furnish materials for different manufactures, either at home or abroad. Thus we see that agriculture is the chief foundation of a nation's power, as it not only furnishes man with food and clothing, but also with materials for the mechanic arts, and commerce.

3. Horticulture has for its object the cultivation of vegetable gardens, and orchards. It jBourishes most in the vicinity of cities, as there it not only finds a ready market for its products, but an abundant supply of manures. It is by means of horticulture that the greatest quantity possible of products is obtained ; for several crops are usually taken from the same ground, in the same year.

4. Arboriculture treats of the planting, growth, and management of trees. It is a branch of agriculture that will increase in importance with the decrease, now so rapidly going on, in the timber throughout the coimtry.

5. The cultivation of the grasses, for pasturage and hay, is of such well-known importance, that it will be separately treated in this work.

This work is specially devoted to agriculture and rural economy.

6. A knowledge of the principles that it may be necessary to follow in cultivation, is called the theory ; the application of these principles to cultivation, is called practice ; and he who applies them, is called an agriculturist or farmer.

7. In the theory and practice together, consists the art of cultivation. To be a good farmer, it is not only necessary to possess a knowledge of the theory, but also to know how to put it in practice.

QUESTIONS.

1. In what does the art of cultivation consist?

2. How is it divided ?

3. What is the principal object of agriculture ?

4. ^Vhat is theory ?

5. AVhat is practice ?

6. What is a farmer ?

7. Does it require a knowledge of the practice and tlieory both, to make a good farmer ?

LESSON II.

THE DIFFERENT OBJECTS EXISTING IN NATURE.

8. The art of agriculture requires some knowledge of the different objects that exist upon the surface, and in the interior of the earth. It presupposes, consequently, some acquaintance with natural history, and principally with botany, a science that treats of plants and their properties.

9. All bodies that exist upon the surf^rce, or in the inte- ■ rior of the earth, are divided uito three classes, called the kingdoms of nature, namely: 1. The animal kingdom, which mcludes man and all animals. 2. The vegetable kingdom, in which are included all vegetables, from the largest tree to the smallest plant. 3. The mineral kingdom, to which belong all rocks, stones, earths, and metals.

10. Among the beings that exist, some are endowed with life, such as men, animals, vegetables, or plants ; the others are manimate, or without life, as minerals, rocks, earths, etc. The first are called organic bodies; the second, inorganic bodies.

11. The organs are those parts of a body created for the maintenance of life.

12. It is easy to establish the distinction that exists between the bemgs of the three kingdoms. Those that belong to the animal kingdom groAV, live, feel, and are gifted with the faculty of moving themselves, or locomotion. Those of the vegetable kingdom, grow, and live ; a proof of this last property is the faculty that they possess of nourishing and reproducing themselves. Those of the mineral kingdom grow only, and this growth takes place in a manner contrary to that of organized bodies. These last increase ahvays from the interior to the exterior, whereas minerals increase by the addition to their surface of small particles that adhere to them.

13. The life of animals and vegetables exhibits a difference worthy of remark ; it is that vegetables seem to be endowed with the reproductive power in all their parts. Thus, when the limb of a tree is cut off and planted in the earth, it may produce another tree. This is not the case with animals.

14. Minerals, and other brute bodies, united in large masses in the bosom of the earth, form rocks that are in a continual state of decomposition. The particles derived from this decomposition constitute, by their mixture with organic remains, the different species of soil that are cultivated. In other words, soils are composed of cf mixture of organic and inorganic reinains.

QUESTIONS.

1. The art of agriculture presupposes a knowledge of what ?

2. What is botany ?

3. Into how many kingdoms is nature divided ?

4. What are organic and inorganic bodies ?

5. What are organs ?

6. How do we distinguish between the beings of the three kingdoms?

7. How do inorganic bodies increase ?

8. What remaik can be made upon animal and vegetable life!

CHAPTER 11.

Vegetable Anatomijfknd Physiology.

LESSON III.

THE ORGANS OF PLANTS.

15. To enable the farmer to obtain the greatest possible yield from his land, it is necessary that he should know the different plants that can be cultivated to the best advantage, according to the circumstances in which he finds himself placed. It is equally useful to know how to distinguish the hurtful plants, or weeds, that flourish in his soil. To this end, some notions of botany are necessary ; for it is this science (see No. 8) that teaches us the nature and properties of plants. It is particularly when we wish to study the nature of a soil, or introduce a new plant into cultivation, that we feel the importance of a knowledge of botany. Soils, as they may be calcareous, clayey, or sandy, are more favorable to the growth of one plant than another ; and it is by an examination of the spontaneous growth, that we are enabled to recognise, almost to a certainty, whether such a grain, or such a plant, will thrive in our soil.

16. Botany is divided into several parts ; but those that it is the most important to examine here, are the anatomy and physiology of plants.

17. Vegetable anatomy treats of the division of the organs of plants, and of their respective positions. Vegetable physiology treats of the functions of these organs, and teaches how plants are nourished and reproduced.

18. All the organs do not fulfil the same functions : some serve for nutrition— that is to say, they procure for the plant the food that it requires; the others serve for their reproduction.

19. The root, the stem, and the leaves, are the organs of nutrition. Those of reproduction are the flowers, the fruits, and the seeds. There are, liowever, as we shall see, when we come to stu|^ each one of these organs separately, several that serve, at the same time, for nutrition and reproduction.

1. WTiy is some acquaintance ■nith botany necessary to the farmer?

2. Wliat does vegetable anatomy treat of?

3. Wliat is the objoct of ve:ietablo physiolopry ?

4. Do all the organs fiiltil the siimc functions ?

5. Which are tlie organs of nutrition ?

6. Which are tlie organs of reproduction ?

LESSON IV.

THE EOOT.

20. The root is that part of a plant that generally introduces itself into the soil, and there sucks up a portion of the substances necessary to the nutrition of the plant. By penetrating into the earth, it serves at the same time to support the plant in position.

21. The whole surface of the root docs not concur equally in the function of nourishing the plant. Its extremity is endowed with a greater power of suction than the other parts. The mouth that is supposed to exist at the extremity of roots, is called spongiole.

22. There are vegetables, the roots of which do not penetrate the earth, but grow upon other plants. These vegetables are called parasites. The mistletoe, that we see upon so many trees, is a plant of this kind.

23. That part of a plant immediately between the root and the stem, is called the collar, or neck. Beneath the neck, branch off the small roots, or rootlets, that penetrate the soil in every direction, in search of the organic or inorganic substances that serve as food to the plant.

24. With regard to their duration, roots may be divided into two classes: 1. Annual -roots, those that perish after having borne seeds, such as corn, carrots, beets, etc. 2. Perennial roots, those that live an indefinite number of years, as lucerne, for instance. An annual plant may often be rendered perennial by preventing its ripening its seeds, for it is in forming and maturing the seed that a plant exhausts itself, and perishes.

25. Roots, as regards their shape, may be arranged in four principal classes, namely : The tuberous, like potatoes ; the fibrous, formed of small threads that spread at short distances into the soil, like those of wheat; the bulbous, resembling the onion in shape ; and the tap-rooted, the most of which are fusiform, such as the beet, carrot, parsnip, etc. From these four kinds, all other varieties seem to be derived.

26. Those plants that are cultivated for their roots are of vast utility, not only as food for man, but also for domestic animals. The cultivation of the potato, the beet, and the turnip, on a large scale, has been of incalculable value to the crowded population of Europe, and has more than once saved them from the horrors of famine. Indeed, the flourishing condition of the ^riculture of England is based almost entirely upon their growth. It is to be desired that the American farmer should give them more attention ; independent of their value in themselves, their cultivation is the best preparation that land can receive for any other succeeding crop. Roots are drilled, worked with a hoe, the weeds are destroyed, and the land is left clean.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is the root ?

2. Does the whole surface of the root contribute to the nourishmeut of the plant 1

3. What is the spongiole ?

4. What are parasitical plants

5. What is the collar, or neck ■*

6. What is an annual root 1

7. What is a perennial root ?

8. How may an annual be sometiones made perennial ?

9. How may roots be classed 1

10. Why is it advisable to cultivate roots ]

LESSON V.

THE STEM AND LEATES — FUNCTIONS THAT THEY FULFIL IN THE ACT OF NUTRITION.

27. That part of the plant which, starting from the collar, springs erect above the surface of the ground, in search of light and air, is called the stem.

28. Stems are divided into several kinds, depending upon form and substance. Those resembling the stems of trees, bear the name of trunks ; and those that are hollow and jointed, are called stubble, as the stems of wheat, and other cereal plants. There are plants without any stems.

29. AVhen a stem has the consistency of wood, it is called ligneous; when it is tender, like grass, it is called herbaceous. #

30. The parts composing the stems are much more difficult to distinguish in some plants than in others. Thus, in herbaceous plants, they are not easily detected ; whereas in trees, we may almost always distinguish the different parts composing the stem.

31. The trunk, or stem, is divided into the following parts: 1. A dry, leathery, tough membrane, the cuticle. 2. A cellular layer, adhering to the cuticle, and called the

ELEMENTS OF AGKICULTURE.

li cellular integument. 3. A vascular layer. 4. A whitish layer, apparently of a fibrous texture, the inner bark, which is of a more complicated structure than the other layers. Then the imperfectly formed wood, called alburnum ; the wood itself ; and finally the pith.

3^. The leaves are those parts of the plant attached to the stem, or branches, and from which they generally become detached every year. Some are united to the vegetable by means of a stem, called footstalk ; and others are attached immediately to the plant, without any intervening link. Many naturalists suppose that it is through the under sides of their leaves that plants absorb the gases that aid in their nutrition.

33. Vegetables procure the elements of their subsistence not only through their roots, but also through their stems and leaves, which in this case play a very important part. They absorb, through their pores,* the nutritious gases contained in the atmosphere. The quantity, more or less, of these principles absorbed, depends upon the organization of the plant, the manner of its cultivation, and the state of the atmosphere.

34. It is principally hydrogen and azote, combined in the shape of ammonia and carbonic acid,t that is absorbed

* The minute particles that compose a body are called molecules, and the .'interstices, or open spaces between these molecules, are called pores. All bodies have pores, and are on that account called poroiis.

t Air is composed of two principal bodies, oxygen and azote. The result of a combination of oxygen with a simple body, is called an acid. Acids are easily recognised by a sour taste, and the property which they possess of tummg vegetable blues to red. Their names differ as the quantity of oxygen entering into their composition is greater or less. Thus, when it exists in the greatest proportion possible, we terminate the name of the simple body in ic : but if the quantity of oxygen is not so great, the name of the simple body is terminated in ous — e. g., sulphuric acid, sulphurous acid : nitric acid, nitrous acid. When we bum a match, we obtain sulphurous acid, and sulphuric acid is the liquid substance usually called oU of vitriol. If the body formed by the combination of oxygen with another simple body does not possess the properties indicated above, it is called an oxyde.- Among the by plants, either through their roots, stems, or leaves. This last gas, that never enters into the composition of the air in a greater degree than a hundredth part, performs an important part in the act of vegetable nutrition, on account of the carbon that it contains. This body is found, in large quantities, in plants submitted to decomposition or combustion.

35. Carbonic acid, formed of carbon and oxygen, is decomposed, according to some naturalists, in the inner bark ; the carbon becomes fixed in the plants, and the oxygen escapes. This decomposition, however, cannot take place unless the plant is submitted to the influence of light ; in the contrary case, the carbonic acid is expelled by the stems and the leaves, just as they received it.

36. Thus we are taught that it would be highly imprudent to sleep in an apartment containing many plants. The air, vitiated by the great quantity of carbonic acid discharged by the plants, might become exceedingly dangerous to the sleeper.

oxydes, there are some that restore the blue color that has been reddened by the action of acids. Their names difier, according to then- degree of oxygenation ; thus we say, protoxyde, deutoxyde, peroxyde of iron, agi-eeably to the degree of oxygenation of the metal.

Salts are formed by the union of acids and oxydes ; and they derive their names from their constituent parts. If the termination of the acid is in ic, it is changed into ate — if in ous, into ite. The name of the acid thus modified is followed by the name of the simple body that enters the oxyde to form that of the salt ; thus we will say, carbonate of lime, or carbonate of iron, agreeably as the carbonic acid shall have united itself with lime or iron to constitute the salt — sulphate of lime, or sulphite of lime, as we may have employed sulphuric or sulphurous acid to form the combination.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is the stem ?

2. What is the trunk ?

3. What is stubble ?

4. What is a ligneous stem ?

5. What is an herbaceous stem 1

6. Of what parts ia the stem fonned ?

7. What are the leaves ?

8. What is the footstalk ?

9. By what means do plants supply themselves with nourishment?

10. Why does carbonic acid play a great part in the act of nutrition ?

11. Where is it decomposed ?

12. That this decomposition shall take place, what is necessary ?

13. Why should we avoid sleeping in an apartment filled with plants ?

LESSON VI.

THE ORGANS OF REPRODUCTION.

37. Those are called organs of reproduction, by which a plant reproduces others of its kind. The most essential are the stamens, or male organs ; and the pistils, or female organs.

38. The pistil, which is usually found in the centre of the flower, is fecundated by a species of dust, called pollen, which escapes from the stamens at the moment of blooming. These essential organs of reproduction are detected in almost any flower ; the pistils are in the middle, surrounded by the stamens. When these last alone exist in a plant, it never produces seeds ; and so the result would be, were we to suppress the upper part of the pistil, which is destined to receive the fecundating powder.

39. The lower part of the pistil is called ovule, or germ. It is the germ which, in consequence of fecundation, yields the fruit. This last is nothing more in botany than a fecundated germ, or ovule, arrived at maturity.

40. There are some plants whose flowers contain both the pistil and the stamens ; these are called hermaphrodites. In other plants the pistil is found on one flower, and the stamens on another, but upon diff'erent stems. This occurs sometimes, however, upon the same stem. Thus with the oak : flowers with the pistil grow upon one branch, and those with stamens on another; but with hemp, for instance, these reproductive organs are upon different stalks. When the two organs are found upon the same stalk, though in different flowers, they are called mGncecia (one-housed plants) ; when upon separate and distinct stalks, dioecia (two-housed plants).

41. When plants of the same family are cultivated in the vicinity of each other, it frequently happens that their produce differs from the parent plant, because it partakes of the nature of both. This is particularly the case with the cabbage family. We then say that hybridation has taken place. Hybrid plants, in the vegetable kingdom, are what mules are in the animal kingdom.

QUESTIONS.

1. What is meant by organs of reproduction ?

2. Which are the most essential 1

3. What is a pistil ?

4. Where are the stamens ?

5. What is the pollen ?

6. What is the germ, or ovule ?

7. What is the fruit ?

8. What plants are called hermaphrodites ?

9. What monoecia 1 ^

10. Plants called dioecia, what are they ?

11. What is the meaning of hybridation ?

LESSON VII.

FRUIT.

42. A FRUIT is divided into two parts: 1. The pericarp. 2. The seed.

43. The pericarp is that part which, in a pear or an apple, is destined to be eaten. In the interior of the pericarp exists a cavity, lined with a thin membrane. It is in this cavity that the seeds are found, which in the fruits above mentioned are called pips.

44. If we examine the seed well, we will find that it is composed of a pellicle enclosing another part, called the almond. It is within this almond that we find the .embryo, containing the germ of the new plant.

45. When the seed is placed in circumstances favorable to its development, it germinates, and gives birth to the radicle, that plunges into the earth to form the root, and the plumicle, that grows upward to form the stem.

46. The first leaves that appear, after germination, are called cotyledons ; and if a plant has but one of these leaves, it is called a monocotyledon : if it has several, it is called a dicotyledon. Plants that spring up without leaves, are called acotyledons.

QUESTIONS.

1. Into how many parts is the fruit divided?

2. What is the pericarp 1

3. Where is the seed found 1

4. What is the seed composed of?

5. What is the embryo 1

6. What is the radicle ?

7. What is the plumicle ?

8. What are cotyledons ?

9. What a monocotyledon I

10. What a dicotyledon ?

11. What are acotyledons 1

LESSON VIII.

GERMINATION.

47. When a seed is put in the ground, the moisture causes it to swell ; the pellicle that surrounds it is weakened, and the embryo bursts through. Vegetation then proceeds in two opposite directions, forming the radicle below, and the plumicle above.

48. Germination, then, is the act by which a seed, placed in the soil under favorable circumstances, develops itself, in order to give birth to a plant of the same kind as that whence it sprang.

49. That a seed may develop itself, and form a vegetable, it is not only necessary that it should be placed in the soil, and that the soil should contain the humus and mineral substances* required for the nutrition of the plant, but there must also be a concurrence of certain atmospheric influences, that perform an important part in the phenomena of vegetation. These atmospheric influences, or agents, are heat, moisture, air, and light.

50. The success of germination and vegetation depends upon a union of heat and moisture. Those spots always exhibit the finest vegetation in which we find these two agents united. If, on the contrary, one of them should preponderate for a sufficient time, the plant would suffer, and finally perish. It is to establish the relation between heat and moisture, that we water plants in dry seasons. It is a common practice to soak seeds before sowing or planting them, to hasten their germination ; but the utility of this practice is more than doubtful ; for at the moment of sowing one thing or the other occurs — either the soil is sufficiently moist, or it is too dry. In the first case, steeping the seed would be useless ; in the other, vegetation would suffer, after germination, for the want of moisture.

51. Air is also indispensable to germination, on account of the combination of the oxygen which it contains with the superabundant carbon enclosed in the seed. It is

* When vegetables or animals die, tlioy arc dcromposed, and their forms changed. The product of this decomposition is called humus. Thus, all manures put in the eoil become humus.

equally useful to plants ; for without it they could not grow. Air, however, is not always favorable to vegetation ; if stagnant, it is fatal ; if too brisk (as is sometimes the case on high hills), it is injurious, as it causes the plant to transpire too freely, without yielding it anything in return. Air, by its weight, acts as well upon vegetable as upon animal economy. By its pressure upon the pores, it prevents the escape of the sap and blood from the vessels in ■v\#ich they are enclosed. Plants perspire most during the continued prevalence of dry winds. On the approach of a storm or gust, the air is particularly favorable to the development of plants ; for then it is warm, and holds suspended a vast quantity of vapors. The vicinity of cities, and generally of those places where much gas is generated by the decomposition of organic bodies, is stimulating to vegetation.

52. Without light, germination can take place, but vegetation can not ; or at most it will be very feeble, and the plant will soon perish. The flavor and color of fruits are due to the influence of light upon the plants producing them. A plant deprived of light Avill be pale and of little consistence. So, when we heap earth upon celery-plants, the object is to deprive them of light, that they may bleach. The outside leaves of a drumhead cabbage are green ; but the inner leaves, that are deprived of light, are white.

QUESTIONS.

1. How does germination take place ?

2. Wliat is germination ?

3. Is the soil alone all that is necessary to the germination of plants ?

4. What is humus ?

5. Besides the soil, what other agents are necessary to the development of plants ?