

FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 9 



QUERCITRON BAKK. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



In the Septeniber nunilier of the 'Farmers' Re- 

 gister," ther*" i? iiii exinict from the 'Journal ofihe 

 Aniericiin Institute,' on the u?e unfl value of" the 

 quercitron hark. The notice would have been 

 complete, if any direction had heen <riven to dis- 

 tinguish the quercitron from other species, which 

 founder the general name of WacA: or red oaks. 

 In common parlance, there are three species con- 

 founded together, under this vague denomination : 

 namely, the red oak, (gvercus rubra) j the turkey 

 oak, {'Q. falcata) j and the quercitron, ( Q. tincto- 

 ria.) A practised eye may readily discern the 

 ditierence ; but as every jarmer is not a botanist, 

 so it is not to be supposed that he can, with cer- 

 tainty, pronounce u|)on the species in question. 

 The bark is generally reo-arded as the best crite- 

 rion for judging of the kind, but the leaf offers a 

 much saler one. The quercitron has the largest 

 leaf" of any of the tribe : it is oblong, slightly lob- 

 ed, and covered with down on the under side. 

 The red oak has a glossy leaf, of a strong texture, 

 deeply lobed and attached by a long leaf-stalk. 

 The leaf of the turkey oak resembles the track of 

 a turkey, and from thence, in all [irobability, ac- 

 quired the name. These three species a!:)Ound in 

 our fiirests, though the two former precfominate ; 

 and they are, I believe, used without distinction, 

 for tan hark. The quercitron, however, is of very 

 little value lor tanning, while for dyeuig, and pre- 

 pared in the mode described in the extract alluded 

 to, it commands a good price, and is always in de- 

 mand for ex[)ortation. Previous to the present 

 embarrassments, it was worth ^40 per ton. The 

 price is now something less ; but still it is in re- 

 quest in the northern cities, as it answers the pur- 

 !)06e of making remittances to England. These 

 acts I had from a dealer in the article, whom I 

 lately met with in Maryland. It is matter of re- 

 gret, that our tanners do not separate this from 

 the other kinds in their purchases, and prepare it 

 for market in the manner recommended. As 

 things are managed in Virginia, a (Treat difference 

 is made in value, between the Spanish oak and 

 red oak barks. This is not properly owing to any 

 inferiority in the latter, but rather to its mixture 

 with the black oak^ which is almost worthless as 

 &n agent in tanning. The quercitron, when pre- 

 pared for dyeing, yields a handsome profit ; and I 

 em informed, that this process is a retrular branch 

 of business, at most of the large tanneries, to the 

 north of the Potomac. As well as I recollect, it 

 takes about three cords, after being chipped and 

 ground, to make a ton. The profit, therefore, 

 would be something like a hundred per cent. ; for 

 the price per cord never exceeds ^4 delivered, and 

 \» often less. P, 



Goochland^ Oct. 9. 



from the British Farmer's Magazine. 



APINIONS OP GYPSUM, AKD ITS EKFECTS AS 

 A MAKURB IIV ENGLAND. 



Sir— The subject of gypsum as a top-dressinsr 

 for clover, appears to have sustained a revival, if 

 I mny he allowed the expression, in some of our 

 n^pieultura! districtB, particularly the East jfng- 

 jWn; from whence there haa lately issued, I will 



pot say a deputation, but a visitation to some of 

 the counties where it is now in use, and, if report 

 speaks true, in deservedl}^ high repute. One Gen- 

 tleman, a neiiihbor of mine, brought with him 

 finm Hants, a small quaiuity, which, on his re- 

 turn, he applied to a clover layer; soil, light and 

 dry; and the effect was soon very apparent in the 

 darker green exhibited hy the part so dressed. I 

 perfectly well remeniber the sufiject of gypsum 

 being brought forward at the Holkham sheep- 

 shearing, in 1818. liy the late Mr. Benjamin Hol- 

 dich, (afierwards editor of the 'Farmer's Journal') 

 who detailed many interesting particulars of the 

 use of it in America, twenty years previous to 

 that period. The following letter was addressed 

 to him by a friend of his in the United States. 



"I do not recollect" says the writer, "what was 

 the state of agriculture when you lel"t the United 

 States; whether plaster of paris" (gypsum) "was 

 in general use or not. Certain it is, that article has 

 changed the whole face of the country since our 

 first landing in 1793. All the eastern, or maritime, 

 part of this state was in a great measure exhaust- 

 ed, and worth comparatively little. About twelve 

 years ago, the best lands in Chester and Mont- 

 gomery counties could be bought from £10 to 

 £12 per acre; but such has been the effect of 

 this stone, where pulverized and sown, that the 

 same lands have been sold at £60, £60, and 

 £70 per acre, by the firm, with the buildings 

 thereon. During the late war, this article could 

 not be brought from Canada, which set our own 

 people of the west to explore the country about 

 the smaller lakes in the New York state. Tho- 

 mas Cooper our countryman, formerly Councellor, 

 but now Judrre Cooper, from Manchester, about 

 seven years ago visited the Falls of Niagara, and 

 being skilled in mineralogy, he carefully examin- 

 ed the countries about the great lakes, and pro- 

 nounced that he had discoved genuine plaster, or 

 gvpsum, and exhibited specimens on his return. 

 When the country, by the war, was deprived of 

 this article from the usual source, the account of 

 Mr. Cooper was remembered, and in a short time 

 they discovered immense beds of it about the 

 small lakes of New York, particularly the Cayu- 

 ga and Seneca lakes, not for from the head waters 

 of the east branch of the Susquehannah. Thou- 

 sands of tons were quickly transported down that 

 great river, and distributed, by means of its tribu- 

 tary streams and its communication with the 

 Chesapeake, to the whole eastern parts of Penn- 

 sylvania, and to all Delaware and Maryland, and 

 bv the Potomac to Washington and Virginia. 

 The advantages are incalculable ; enriching and 

 fertilizing the whole country in an astonishing 

 manner — millions of acres, which never could 

 have had the benefit of this plaster from Canada, 

 on account of the expense, will now be restored 

 to better condition than when originally cleared, 

 which would otherwise have been good for al- 

 most nothing." — Lebanon, May 1, 1817. 



In 1819 the first trial of it took place at Holk- 

 ham, under the direction of Mr. Blaikie and Mr. 

 Holdich, on part of a field of sainfoin, from which 

 it was thought full one third more had been mown 

 than on the part undressed. The powder was ap- 

 plied by the drill, and its effects might be seen to 

 an inch, even at a great distance. Mr, Coke used 

 six bushels an acre. He procured the gypsum 

 from Derbyshire, delivered at Wells, (the adjoin- 



