1888] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



69S> 



will he ernployed id meet the exijienry of ihe case. 

 TliP absence ol' a plane and of parallelism in the 

 rails, is the principal, if not the only cause of la- 

 teral pressure, which could do no injiny to Mr. 

 Parkin's road, uidess it either removed out of its 

 place one-half of the mass of concrete in which 

 the bearers, wi'h upriixhts a foot long at every 

 yard, are buried — made a breach in the continu- 

 ous hne of bearers — lorced the siron<r iron screws, 

 by which the bars are secured to tiie bearers, fKmi 

 their hold, or burst tlie bars themselves asunder. 

 As these bars are only half an inch wide, and are 

 thus .secured to continuous bearers, they present 

 no leveratje for the flanch of the wheel to act on, 

 when any lateral pressure takes place; whereas in 

 ordinary railways, the leveracre is considerable 

 (the wheels being eleveted the height of the rail, 

 which is four or five inches above the point of sup- 

 port,) and produces a corresponding tendency to 

 force the blocks out of a straight hne. Upon such 

 an unyielding pi ine as Mr. Parkin's railway pre- 

 sents, less tractive power, as professor Barlow has 

 ably demonstrated, is necessary than on rails which 

 deflect between the points of support, while the 

 wear and tear of carriaires and engines, and the 

 necessity for hmiting their weight, are materially 

 lessened. 



A locomotive engine weighs from ten to twelve 

 tons, and subjects the rails to the process of a spe- 

 cies of rolling, when they split, and become only 

 of the value of old iron. To such an extent was 

 this the case on the Manchester line, that after five 

 or six years it became necessary to have new ones. 

 The less the vibration and concussion, the less 

 liable are the rails to receive this injury, especially 

 when supported on the softer substances of flilt and 

 wood. Moreover, as JMr. Parkin's bars only 

 weigh ten pounds per yard, instead of sixty or 

 seventy, the loss li-om such injury will be propor- 

 tionably less. Mr. Parkin's plan may be execut- 

 ed cheaper, even where stone blocks cost little, 

 than any other, and with astonishing rapidity. In 

 most parts the saving, by its adoption, will be ful- 

 ly one half. It may be apniied to collieries and 

 and private works, esj^ecially in Wales, on very 

 advantageous terms. We understand the plan 

 has been recommended by Mr. Brunnel for adop- 

 tion by the directors of the Great Western rail- 

 way. 



MARL OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



To Ihe Editor^of^tlie Farmers' Register. 



fVashingion City, } 

 Jan. 2Alh, 1838. ] 



Dear Sir — I take a moment, in the House, to 

 drop you a line on a subject on which we convers- 

 ed somewhat when I hail the pleasure to meet you 

 here, to wit, the marl loniiations or deposites in 

 South Carolina. 



There is a region commencins about forty miles 

 below Columbia, and running parallel to the coast, 

 in which is embedded much of a material which 

 I have always believed to be marl. A friend has 

 sent me a small parcel of it to this place, of which 

 I inclose a small specimen in this letter, and shall 

 send a larijerone by some other conveyance. 



This specimen. Is taken, I think, from the banks 

 of the Congaree, or rather the Santee, about 



seventy miles below Colimibia. For li.)rty or fifty 

 miles, the banks of the Waleree abound with this 

 materia!. It is burned into lime, and used tor all 

 the purposes of laying bricks, pointing and plas- 

 tering. It has not yet been at)[i|ied, ihat I can 

 learn, to airricultural purposes. 



If you will do me the fiivor to let me know 

 what is the qualify of this marl, and what soils it 

 should he apniied to, and in what quantities, I will 

 be greatly oltliged to vou. 



Your obdt. servant, 



F. n. E.MVTORK, 



Of South Carolina, 



[We have had not inoro leisure than would suffice for 

 a very slight and incomplete ch^micai examination of 

 the earth sent in the letter above; but that examina- 

 tion was enough to prove that it is a very rich marl. 

 A more accurate analysis will be made, aiid the result 

 reported in the next number. But we can undertake 

 now 1o say, that this extensive deposite, as means of 

 improving the lands of South Carolina, will be of in- 

 calculable value. 



AVe had not entertained a doubt but that the same 

 calcareous formation which lies under the tide water 

 region of Maryland, Virginia and IS'orth Carolina, ex- 

 tended also under the same region in South Carolina. 

 This might be safely inferred from the similar geolo- 

 gical features, in other respects, of the whole of this 

 great region. But we had never heard, until lately, of 

 the acti cil position, or even existence there, of any 

 marl visible or accessible; and we believe that it is 

 certain that not the least use has yet been made of cal- 

 careous manures in South Carohna — though it is as 

 much wanting there, and would yield as great profits, 

 as any where else. 



It is a matter of additional gratification to us, per- 

 sonally, that our inquiries and suggfstions on this sub- 

 ject have not been without effect, in inducing our cor- 

 respondent to direct his mind to this subject. His na- 

 tive state possesses in these beds of calcareous manure, 

 an unwrought mine of wealth that will yet be far more 

 productive, and a thousand fold more valuable, than all 

 the gold mines in our whole country. 



And yet our rejoicing in the knowledge of these 

 facts, and the anticipation of their future results, are 

 accompanied by some bitter feeling of mortification. 

 We have been laboring, for many j'ears, in practical 

 agriculture, and by writing and publishing, to induce 

 our countrymen to use this most cheap and efficient of 

 all manures; and though we have had many subscri- 

 bers and readers among the intelligent planters of 

 South Carolina, to this day, all our urgent advice and 

 instruction have not served to induce a single cultivator 

 to marl even so much as an acre of land. Truly, we 

 have but small encouragement to persevere in offering 

 to them advice and instruction. — Ed. Far. Reg.] ^ 



From the Mechanics' Magazine, 

 CONSUMPTION OF COAL IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



The quantity of iron annually produced in 

 Great Britain may be taken at 700,000 tons; and 

 the quantity of coal required, at an averajre, to 

 produce each ton of iron, including that used by 

 engines, &c. may be estimated at 6^ tons; giving 



