179*' ■ LITERARY IVTELLIGENCEft. 347^ 



eight inches deep, with a Itrong three-horfe Dutch plough : 

 Laft Agi-H,. It was well harrovs'ed, and crofs-ploughed, four 

 inches deep, vath a light two-horfe plough, leaving the fod 

 •It the bottom. The held was fowed with fpring bailey ; at 

 liarveft, the difference of the crop was aflonifliirigly gieat 

 in favour of the part where the gypfum had been put, two 

 years before. This ground is novv under wheat and winter-' 

 barley, which have a promiiing appearance : -T'he retted lod 

 being turned up and mixed with the foil, affords a flrong 

 ilourilhment to the prefent crop^ 



" 5. I put a quantity of gypium, tliree years, ago, on feve- 

 ral fmall patches of rough lod j it prodr.ced a diiYereiice 

 in the ftrengtli of the \egetation, which is ftill obferv-' 

 able." _ _ . / " ■ 



Whait follows of this paper contains na eXperimeiits,, but 

 fome reafoning on the nature of' this fubllance, which Wo 

 think unneceli'ary liere to traiifcribe. ^Several other experi - 

 ments follow, that have fo much the fame iefult with the. 

 preceding, that it is thought uuneceffary to tranfcribe them. 

 Tliere are, however, foiiie circumltances of varialion. vi 

 the following, that deic-rve notice. 



PrXNSYLVAN'IA, JunC 1; I'J'jZ. 



" •! wrote to you fonie time ago, refpecling our manuring 

 with the plafter of Paris : I have now experienced it up- 

 wards of three years ; others have ufed it upwards of fifteen : 

 It exceeds any thing ever known. Pray jifevail on forae 

 perfon to'fow a fmall quantity of red clover on a dry foil ; 

 a few days will e\ ince its power. Six bufliels to the acre I 

 ufe, and it is preferable to fifty loads of the bed durtg. This 

 von muft think extravagant ; it is fo, and yet true. I have 



, contrafted it for three years with dung in that proportion, 

 iand the refult is my affertion : I have upwards of one hun- 

 dred acres now under plafter, applied in various ways-, and 

 on different foils ; it has in lio infiance failed", the lafl I 



' made, I fnall relate as follows : - 



" In April 1789, I ploughed the end of a poor fnnd iiill, 



which by l^ng and bad culture had been totally exhaufted ; 



h contained no grafs, but was covered v.ith' wild onioni ; 



the next day after ploughing, I fowed It w'i;h oat^, clove- 



Vol. I. ^ r ^ 



