NJDEP - NJGS - First Annual Report of the Geological Survey of the ...

84On "examination and comparison of the results of these'twoanalyses, several considerations present themselves. In thefirst place_ the presence of soluble salts of lime is an unexpectedresult. It is unfortunate that time has n6t yet alloweddeterminations to be made of the quantit!es of these solublesalts which are present, but their pretence at all in appreciablefluautity is of much practical importance. It is in the form ofsoluble salts only, that lime can act directly ms an aliment ofplants, that is, in this form only can it be takhn up by. theirrootlets. ]i'arthcr investigation will probably indicate practicablemeans of increasing the production of these solublesalts, and of thus greatly'augmenting the vah_e of such marlsas fertilizers.. Lime, however, is not the only ingredient -of importanceindicated by the analyses. Nearly every other substancefound to be present has more or less influence. 'The magnesia,oxide of iron, phosphate of lime, and amorphous silica arc allabsolutely necessary constituents of all fertile soils_ while theorganic acids, and other products of vcgctab_b decay, whichappear to be preseflt in quite important quantity (six or sevenper cent.), also contribute ihdirectly their influence. T!lc organicacids i esp6cia]Iy_ undoubtedly: act by forming compoundsWith lime, and other bases present, which are soluble ill theliquids of the soil, thus ncccssitating thcirintroduetion into thecirculation of plants by the cndosmotie absorption of the roots ;and if the now mooted question, wMeh will p_'obably receivesome discussion in ftlturc reports, whether the nitrogen ofvegetable tissues be derived from ammonia or hot_ admits of anaffirmative dccision_ the organic acids must also act indircetly_though powerfully, by retaining the ammoniaproduced duringthe dcc_y of the animal matter of the shells, in a highly solubleform, and also by absorbing atmospheric.ammonia, or even,as indicated by" Muldcr,* through the development of .ammoniaby the cgmbination of the nitrogen o:f the air with thehydrogen produced by their own deeomp0sigon. It will be* As quoted in Loewig's "Chemic der Organischon Vorbindungen," i,, 474;NEW JERSEY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY