1837] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



611 



18. Does your experience or observation serve to 

 confirm or contradict any of the important theoretical 

 doctrines in regard to, or any statement of practical 

 effects of marl presented in the 'Essay on Calcareous 

 Manures' — and in either case, in what respect ? 



19. Which and whose was the the earliest experi- 

 ment of marling, and also regular use of this manure, 

 in county ? 



20 As nearly as you can learn by inquiry of, or 

 concerning the various individuals, how many acres 

 of land are supposed to have been already marled in 

 county ? 



21. State any other facts, within your knowledge, 

 {not embraced under the foregoing queries) which 

 may serve to throw important light on the first intro- 

 duction and subsequent use of marl in your county, 

 and on its value as manure ? 



ADDITIOIVArj QUERIES, ADDRESSED TO PER- 

 SONS WHO HAVE USED " GREEN SANd" 

 EARTH, NOT CALCAREOUS, OR NOT EFFER- 

 VESCENT WITH ACIDS. 



22. In what quantities, per acre, have you used the 

 earth called "green sand" as manure ? 



23. On what extent of surface, and for what length 

 of time ? 



24. On what kind of soil — and especially, as to 

 whether naturally rich or poor, and whether marled or 

 not — has this manure been operative, or of no eftect ? 



25. What crops is it beneficial to, and on what has it 

 little or no effect ? 



26. Is its beneficial effect durable or transient — and 

 to what known extent ? 



EFFECTS OF MARL, AND OF GREEN SAND. 



fValnut Hill, Charles City Co. Va. ? 

 October, \ltli, 1827. 5 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



The promise I made you, to crive the result 

 of some experiments I had been mak%ig in the use 

 of marl and green sand, would have been com- 

 plied whh long since, had I not been so much en- 

 gaged during my recent visit to Virginia, in mak- 

 ing preparation lor my speedy return; and now, 

 whilst on a visit to a friend and neighbor, who is 

 absent on a visit to myself, and whose return I 

 await, I have resolved to relieve mysellj during 

 the short interval, of my experience on this sub- 

 ject; and should my communication fail in inter- 

 est to you, or your readers, let the occupation 

 which I have chosen in another state, in exchange 

 for the most independent, honorable, and virtuous 

 calling in the world, be my apology. 



The period at which I commenced transporting 

 marl, horn Coggin's Point, (as stated in the Fai-^ 

 mers' Register, vol. i. p. 567) I thinl? was in 

 April, 1833. In the fall of ihat year, at the so- 

 licitation of one of my tenants, a lot of land con- 

 taining about 5 acres, was covered with marl 

 in the proportion of two hundred and fifty bushels 

 per acre, sown in wheat, and in the spring toliow- 

 ing sown in clover. This land received^a slight 

 top-dressing of barn-yard manure, which I did not 

 conceive worth the hauling that distance, and, as 



I had suspected, not the smallest appearance of 

 benefit li-om it to the growing crop of wheat could 

 be observed. t did answer, however, as a cov- 

 ering lor the clover seed, and prevented them 

 Irom being washed into the water furrows, by se- 

 vere heavy rains, that lell soon alter they were 

 sown. The crop of clover was not an abundant 

 one, by any means, and was permitted to lidl on 

 the land. In 183G, the same land was planted in 

 corn; and the season was a very favorable one, 

 as you know. In my opinion the crop was about 

 •5 barrels to the acre; and I hazard nothing in say- 

 ing tliat the same lot of land has never yielded 

 me, since 1820. in any one year, more than five bar- 

 rells of good corn [or one barrel to the acre]. By 

 all my neighbors, the piece of land had been 

 observed, and the last product, was by them es- 

 timated higher than I have done. There was 

 land adjoining, on which 1 had used the same 

 quantity of marl, which I had obtained from Surry 

 county. This land had been marled immediately 

 before it was put in corn; and although the im- 

 provement was very great, compared to the crop 

 of the same land, when before in corn, yet I could 

 not say that increase was more than enough to 

 pay the expense incurred. 



In an adjoining field, I had used fifty bushels of 

 green sand, in addition to the 250 bushels of marl 

 on a single acre; and on examination, made a ^evf 

 days since, I discovered not so much difierence in 

 the clover as I had hoped for; but still was ena- 

 bled to trace the boundary of the acre, on which 

 the green sand was scattered, by a slight diff'er- 

 lerence in the appearance of the clover on the 

 land adjoining. 



The greater part of the marl which I obtained 

 from Coggin's Point, was used in a field which is 

 now in corn, the second crop since the application; 

 and although the drought has injured, very materi- 

 ally, tlie whole corn crops of the neighborhood, the 

 crop on this field is a very good one; and ii-om 

 my summer residence, on the hill overlooking 

 the field, a distance of half a mile, the bounda- 

 ry line of marl is very plain to be seen, and the 

 difference would at once be pronounced, on ex- 

 amination, to be at least 200 per cent, on the crop 

 across the line, cultivated in the same manner. 



I rejoice to learn that marl has been found very 

 abundant on the middle ridge ot our county, lying 

 between the rivers James and Chickahomony, 

 and that the inhabitants are ti'eely using it; some 

 are hauling a distance of one mile, and I hope, soon 

 to know that the energies of our people, in Old 

 Virginia, generally, are being roused on this sub- 

 ject, as I feel confident, that by its use, the very 

 poorest land in the state may be made rich, by 

 the combined use of naarl, clover, and plaster, in 

 small quantities. 



I am still engaged in the transportation of marl 

 from the county of Surry, almost seventeen miles 

 by water; and shall continue it until the whole of 

 iny land, now open, shall be covered with at least 

 250 bushels per acre. 



C. H. MiNGE, 



EXTRACTS OF PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. 



Hampshire county, Virginia, Oct. 26, 1837. 



Sir: 



I herewith enclose you five dollars, the subscrip- 

 tion price of your Farmers' Register for one year. 



