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On plaster of Paris. By William Darlington^ M* D, 



West Chester, Penn. June I2th, 1824. 

 Dear Sir, 



Your letter dated May 4th, requesting some infor- 

 mation respecting the use of Plaster of Paris^ in this 

 neighbourhood, I had the honour to receive on the 11th 

 of last month ; and have thus long delayed my answer, 

 with a view to collect what information I could from some 

 of our most intelligent and successful practical farmers. 

 I have occasionally, within a few years past, heard some 

 of our farmers remark, that they thought the plaster had 

 failed to produce its usual good effect ; and that they 

 had, consequently, been induced to omit the use of it. 

 An excellent farmer assured me, the other day, that on 

 a farm which he purchased four or five years since, (and 

 on the greater portion of which plaster had previously 

 been used) he commenced by a free use of the plaster, 

 leaving strips of the fields unsown, in order to test it; 

 but that he could not perceive the slightest benefit from 

 it. The following year he applied about half the quan- 

 tity, with the same result. This discouraged him so 

 much that he abandoned it. However, he added that 

 last year he had applied the plaster on a field which had 

 been kept as an apple orchard for a number of years, and 

 on which no plaster had been previously used. Having 

 cut off the trees, and, by our usual rotation of crops, 

 (Indian corn, barley, and wheat in succession,) got the 

 field in with clover, he found that the plaster produced 



