Mr. Pierce on the Alluvial District of New-Jersey. 239 
character and value and of modes of examination, had pass- 
ed rich beds without regard; mar] is nowextensiveiy used 
and highly esteemed. bea; | 
The | district extends from the hills of Nevesink ad- 
jacent to the ocean, to the Delaware, and is in width about 
twelve miles. Marl has been discovered in numerous pla- 
- ees ofthis tract. It is often noticed on the banks of streams 
‘ and breaking out of hills of which it forms the nulceus, way- 
ing with the surface, and thus rendering accesseasy. =~ 
‘These beds, apparently inexhaustible, are in some places 
elevated near one hundred feet above the level of the sea. 
This marl is composed of sand, clay and calcareous earth, 
blended. with shells and other marine organic remains, in 
different stages of decay. The shells, more or less entire, 
are not mineralized. Exposed on the surface they gradual- 
ly decay, furnishing fresh manure for ee 
visited several beds of marl and found them of a pretty 
uniform character. The color is generally grey or greyish 
white, and good in proportion to its whiteness, which indi- 
cates the quantity of caleareous earth it contains. From 
thirty to eighty loads of marl, according to its strength, are 
spread upon an acre. Itis believed that a good dressing 
will last from twelve to twenty years. The lands of Mon- 
county are said to be enhanced in value more than 
halfa million of dollars by the discovery and use of marl. 
A respectable farmer of Middletown mentioned to me, 
that five years since he contemplated abandoning his large 
farm for land of other districts, as his own was unproductive. 
arning the discovery of marl, he made himself acquainted 
with the modes of examining, and found good beds of this 
manure in almost every field, and liberally applied dressings 
to the soil. In walking over his grounds I observed rich 
white marl breaking out of banks and hillocks, and the 
streams paved with decaying marine shells. For more than 
a century this land had .been regarded by the proprietors 
as useless. Se 3 
The farm in its improved state exhibited a gratifying 
sight; the hills where ierensty thorns, thistles and mullens 
disputed the dominion, now supported luxuriant corn. Ex- 
tensive verdant meadows were clothed with a rank second 
crop of grass; numerous stacks of grain and well-filled 
barns evinced the productiveness of these fields, which are 
nOw estimated at three times the former value. 
