116 



Lime, <§'C. 



Vol. IV. 



Frank. — Aetonishing! we have here, at 

 one view, the mighty power of that over- 

 whelming agent ! It is enough to overwhelm 

 us with awe and wonder ! 



Father. — By this view, too, vre are enabled 

 to understand how it is that although " All the 

 rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full," 

 (Ecclesiastes, Chap, i., v. 7) as well as that, 

 " unto the place from whence the rivers come" 

 (the sea) " thither they return again ;" for, 

 how can fresh water rtvers come from the sea 

 — the waters of which are confessedly salt — 

 unless they have been first deprived of their 

 salt by some process, either in the atmosphere 

 or in the bowels of the earth ] And is it 

 possible that this can have been effected by 

 any means, but by evaporation? It appears 

 then, that the water which is evaporated 

 by these internal fires, as well as that which 

 is drawn up by the heat of the atmosphere, 

 returns to the sea, to be again evaporated, 

 so that nothing is lost ; and that this process 

 has been going regularly on, since the day of 

 creation ! 



O Lord! liovv manifold are Thy works ! 

 In wisdom hast Tliou made them all. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Hoiiey Brooli, Cliester Co. Limej &c« 



Mr. Editor, — In looking over your Cabi- 

 net, and seeing correspondents from different 

 parts of the country, except from my own 

 neighborhood, and thinking that we, as a com- 

 munity, were called upon to contribute our 

 quota towards the cause of agriculture, I shall 

 endeavor to give you the opinions of some of 

 our farmers, — confining my remarks to Ho- 

 ney Brook Township, Chester County. 



I shall first give an account of the quality 

 of the land, for the benefit of those who have 

 never traveled through it. In general, the 

 soil is of the best OjUality; in some places 

 clayey, in others gravelly, and of a sandy na- 

 ture, and in others, a deep rich loam, well 

 calculated for raising grain of all sorts, partic- 

 ularly wheat and corn, and in fact all kinds 

 of grain and grass, for all of them at present 

 engage the attention of the farmer, and the 

 only diversity of opinion is, which is the ea- 

 siest manner of keeping the land in order. — 

 Some say, lime is the only thing ; and lime of 

 an excellent quality can be had from ten to 

 fifteen cents per bushel. Otiiers say, that 

 without manure lime is comparatively useless, 

 as it will not have that effect that it vvouki, 

 if there was a sufficient proportion of manure 

 along with it. 



There is also a difference of opinion as to 

 the quantity. Some say forty, and some an 

 hundred bushels to the acre. But tliis, 1 

 think, depends on the nature of the soil ; for 

 on clayey ground, eiglity bushels will not be 



found too much, while sandy or gravelly soils, 

 experience has convinced me, wdl not require 

 as much; for my father has used lime between 

 thirty and forty years past, (he built for his 

 own use, it is supposed, the first lime-kiln in 

 Berks County, the land of which is of a sandy 

 nature) and he never applied more than fitly 

 bushels per acre. Since he removed to this 

 place he has applied on the land as high as one 

 hundred and ten bushels to the acre, and it has 

 not recovered from the effects of it yet, and that 

 is four years since. There is also a diversity of 

 opinion as to the best mode of its application. 

 Some say, put it on the sod which you intend 

 to plough down for corn ; others think it best 

 to spread it on grass, two years before it is 

 intended to be put in corn, and I am inclined 

 to the latter operation ; but from experience I 

 cannot say, for I have only used it in the form- 

 er of these two ways. Some think that marl 

 might be used as a substitute for lime, for in 

 some parts we have marl in abundance, by 

 digging from two to five feet ; but its value as 

 a manure has never been tested. I will now 

 endeavor to describe its properties as well as 

 I can, for I am no chemist ; but I wish some 

 competent person would inform us of its pro- 

 perties. It is found from two to forty feet 

 under the surface of the ground, and gene- 

 rally of a white color, with red streaks throus^h 

 it ; but it is of different colors, sometimes 

 green, brown, and of a slaty color, and when 

 dissolved in water, a greasy scum rises on it, 

 which prevents the water from washing, to 

 counteract v/hich some use soda, but others 

 are making rain-water cisterns, and on that 

 account we are engaged at this time in con- 

 structing one. When the water has this scum 

 on it, it is called limestone water, from its 

 havinga disagreeable taste, like water impreg- 

 nated with lime. And there are also " sinks," 

 as they are called, similar to the sinks in lime- 

 stone districts, wliich can be accounted for in 

 no other way but by supposing that water has 

 washed av^ay the ujarl (for it is of a very 

 dissolving nature) and has found some outlet, 

 and tlio surface has sunk down. Some of 

 these sinks are of thirty yards in diameter, 

 find twenty feet deep. 



Some are in favor of feeding tlieir own 

 produce to cattle, and making manure, and 

 thereby improving their land, independent of 

 lime; wliile others think that marshy or bog 

 land is the best, as they are always collecting 

 from tlie higii land ; but they must be drained 

 — and they inquire how land that is level is 

 to be drained ; and that, under such circum- 

 stances, appears a difficult matter, and if any 

 of your subscribers could devise some way, 

 they would confer a benefit on a great many 

 in this part of the country. 



We iiave also some nuisances, that perhaps 

 some of your numerous correspondents could 



