No. 112.J 867 



half, to the product of many crops. Gypsum, in a prepared state, 

 is sold by the local mills and importers, at about $8 the ton. 



We have seen, that the county contains mineral fertilizers, in 

 inexhaustible quantities, analogous in character, and scarcely in- 

 ferior in efficacy to the gypsum of the West. 



Charcoal. — Enormous masses of the dust, or detritus of the char- 

 coal, accumulate about the iron works of the county, and create 

 incumbrances and deformities. It has been annually spread in 

 vast quantities, along the highways, constituting an admirable 

 material for roads. An incalculable amount has been cast into 

 the streams. The attention of men of observation and sagacity, 

 has Seen, within a few years, drawn to the use of this ingredient, 

 as a fertilizer. Experience has established its exceeding utility. 

 In the midst of the disastrous drouth of the last summer, while 

 crossing a field in Moriah, occupied by Mr. Richmond, in pursuit 

 of some Durham cattle I wished to examine, I observed a lot, 

 with its surface deeply and singularly blackened. Upon inspec- 

 tion, I found it thickly strewn with pulverized charcoal. The 

 field presented a rich verdure, strongly constrasting with the 

 parched and blighted aspect of the adjacent country. Tlie fol- 

 lowina; detail of this experiment, supplied at my request, attests 

 the value ot this material, as a fertilizing principle : ^^ The soil 

 Is loamy ; the charcoal was applied on four acres of dry land, and 

 one acre of moist soil, by top dressing. The amount used, was 

 about one thousand bushels to the acre, spread over so as to make 

 the surface look black, but not to incumber or obstruct vegeta- 

 tion. It was applied, in September and October, 1850, at an ex- 

 pense, by contract, of forty dollars. It was procured at a furnace, 

 from a mass of pulverized cliarcoal, left as useless, and was drawn 

 one mile and a half. The effect was immediate. The grass fresh- 

 ened, and continued green and luxuriant, after the surrounding 

 fields were blackened by the early frosts. Altliough the last 

 seas<^'n has been so unfavorable for vegetation, Mr. Richmond re- 

 alized one-third more tlian the ordinary yield of hay, and suffi- 

 cient to rejiay the whole outlay. He thinks that he cut nearly 

 double the quantity of grass, on this lot, than upon any similar 



