164 



The Good Work ^dvnncinsr. 



Vol. IV. 



the trouble of tillage in drills is usually far 

 more than made up by the increased quantity 

 of the product, and surely the after tillage of 

 the crop is of no great trouble, provided the 

 cultivator is used. These are not wholesome 

 examples : abundant manure and careful til- 

 lage are to be commended. James T. Cau- 

 PENTER exhibited a variety of garden vege- 

 tables which not only excited great attention, 

 but were deemed by the committee the best 

 presented, " Dr. James S. Naudain exhibited 

 Rohan potatoes, some weighing two pounds 

 each ;" and Samuel Higgins a fine sample of 

 the same. Mr. H. raised one bushel and a 

 half from a single tuber. 



There were many samples of grain pre- 

 sented. The wheat was good, generally, and 

 heavy for the locality. Mr. John M. Smith's 

 crop of three hundred and forty-four bushels 

 of the white bearded, averaged sixty-one 

 and a half pounds to the bushel. The wheat 

 raised on the Peninsula, this season, is, we 

 learn, of a very superior quality. Samples of 

 white corn, from the Messrs. Townsend, 

 produced " forty bushels to the acre the field 

 over." William Bennett's specimens of 

 Irish oats produced one hundred and sixty- 

 two bushels from three sown, weighing fortv 

 and a half pounds to the bushel. The display 

 of butter and miscellaneous articles, is re- 

 ferred to m terms of high commendation. — 

 The report of the committee on II^issct/'s 

 Reaping Machine, which will be given in 

 our next, is highly satisfactory. The follow- 

 ing report of the Committee on Marl, we 

 give entire. 



marl. 



The rommittee appointed to investijate thn artinn 

 of marl upon crops as far as it has boeii applied nncl 

 to report the result of their labors to the Society at ils 

 annual meeting, have to report, that in consequence 

 of the crops of corn not having been gatlierod they 

 regret that they cannot give a satisfactory report upon 

 the precise results obtained from the application of 

 marl. St. George's Hundred abounds with marl both 

 of the calcareous and green marl or gunpowder- the 

 active or fertilizing principle of the two latter bein" 

 potash, and of the former, lime is the basis of fertility"' 

 The committee are pleased to notice that the farmers 

 in the vicinity of the marl have not failed 10 avail 

 themselves of their resources, and that generally so far 

 as their experience extendn, their expectation's have 

 not been disappointed, as tho.^e who have used it most 

 extensively are convinced of its good effects ; and as an 

 evidence of this fact still continue to raise the marl of 

 both kinds and apply it to their lands— so far it has 

 been applied chiefly upon corn and grass land.^ llie corn 

 and clover are both much improved by it ; the gre.-n 



marl has been found to answer well as a manure for 

 buckwheat, but the committee, not being furnished 

 with proper statistics, can make no correct estimate 

 of the increase in any one crop caused bv the marl — 

 The committee, however, feel warranted in saving that 

 in their opinion the marl of St. Georges and Appoqiii- 

 nimink Hundreds will compare with that of any in the 

 United States, for its fertilizing powers, and that it is 

 calculated in an eminent degree to enrich our farms 

 and elevate our husbandry bv greatly increasing tlie 

 profits derived from a given number of acres. They 

 would therefore, earnestly enjoin those who have not 

 yet applied this manure to their crops, to lose no time 

 in doing so. and if a fair debit and credit is kept, the 

 result will show a decided balance on the credit side of 

 tlie account. Respectfully submitted, 



Wm. Polk, 

 C. Vandegrift, 

 J. S. Naudaik. 



The annual meeting of the Agricultural 

 Society of Kent County, Delaware, was 

 held at Dover on the third of October. We 

 have not, as yet, received the report, but have 

 learned incidentally that the meeting was 

 much better attended, than any one previously 

 held, and that a large number of premiums were 

 awarded. We learn also tliat the stock exhib- 

 ited was remarkably fine and in the best condi- 

 tion, and that there was an evident improve- 

 ment in the grain and root crops. The best 

 spirit prevailed, and the meeting separated with 

 a determination on the part of the individuals 

 composing it, to persevere in the good cause. 

 Success say we to the Peninsula, and espe- 

 cially to those who are engaged in bringing 

 her up from her present depressed state to her 

 proper standing among the very best agricul- 

 tural sections of our country. 



We learn from the last number of the Hun- 

 terdon (N. J.) Democrat, (to which paper and 

 not the Gazette, as wrongly quoted, credit 

 should have been given for the article in our 

 November number, signed "Agricola,") that 

 an Agricultural Exhibition took place at 

 Bloomnburij, Warren County, New Jersey, 

 on the 21st of November. Premiums were 

 awarded to a number of gentlemen for the 

 fine stock presented on the occasion, as well 

 as for samples of grain and roots. It appears 

 from the account that Mr. Samuel Shieij)s 

 exhibited samples of oats — yield sixty-four 

 and a third bushels to tlie acre; 0? flaxseed, 

 from Benj. IIulshizer, fourteen bushels to 

 the acre; of sugar-beets, from Robert S. 

 Kennedy, Esq., who harvested one hundred 

 and twenty-three bushels from the eighth of 



