14 On the New Jersey Marls. 



by the Hollanders as a manure,* is a substance which, if 

 blended with sand and clay, would form a compound 

 almost essentially the same as the ferruginous marl of 

 New Jersey. This pyritous residue will be a sub-sul- 

 phate of iron. Exposed to the atmosphere, it rapidly de- 

 composes air and water until it is saturated with oxygen, 

 and becomes copperas. 



To the above observations on marl, I subjoin the fol- 

 lowing analysis of the soil of a field in Monmouth county, 

 remarkable for its fertility and the spontaneous production 

 of red clover. 



480 grains submitted to experiment, yielded of 

 Vegetable matter, - 30 grs. 



Argil, - - . 40 *« 



Iron and salt, soluble in aqua fortis, 60 " 

 Insoluble iron and coarse sand, 350 " 



480 



Such is the analysis of a soil which, after being crop- 

 ped almost annually for sixty years, still retains, without 

 the least assistance from stable manure, its remarkable 

 fertility. A single dressing of plaister is sufficient to cover 

 it without seed, with a most luxuriant burden of clover. 



A soil very similar to the above, embracing in its ex- 

 tent several thousands of acres, is common to a tract of 

 land in New Jersey, extending from the sea in Mon- 

 mouth county to the Delaware in Burlington county. 

 Notwithstanding the very small quantity of clay it con- 

 tains, its retention of humidity is so f;reat as to cause the 

 roads through it to be almost impassable in rainy springs. 



* See the account of the preparation and use of this substance, 

 for manure, in the Domestic Encyclopaedia, article Manure, 



