FARMERS' REGISTER— GYPSUM. 



61 



market. By growing a large quantity of oats, 

 many planters might buy corn, iJ" sold at a cheap 

 rate, and thus lor a lew years rest, could restore 

 their land. 



Tsle of Wight, Va. 23d May, 1834. 

 # * # # I now congratulate you on the 

 success and high character, of that j)ublication. 

 And I trust, it will greatly contribute to accelerate 

 the hitherto slow, and almost imperceptible pro- 

 gress of agricultural improvcineni in Virginia. I 

 anj not one of those, however, Avho imagine that 

 the exhausted lertility of the lands of our state, 

 can be restored in any short period of time. The 

 impoverishment and devastation, which it requir- 

 ed more than two centuries to produce, can only 

 be repaired by the succes^sivc efforts of several 

 succeeding generations. Nor do I think that im- 

 provement in agriculture, necessarily or even es- 

 sentially depends on any particular system or man- 

 ner of husbandly. There is only one thing, and 

 that is manuring in some, way or other, essential 

 to kcej) up tertility in land that is cultivated, or to 

 import it in a short time to that which has been 

 exhausted. ]My own opinion is, that expectations 

 far too sanguine, are indulged by young farmers, 

 as to the lacility of improving land; and these are 

 unreasonably encouraged by most of our writers 

 on the subject. And the disappointment of these 

 unreasonable expectations, has perhajis as great a 

 tendency to drive respectable emigrants to the 

 west; as any other cause. 



THE FENCK LAW. 



3fay 24th, 1834. 

 I have seen several communications in the 

 Farmers' Register on the subject of enclosing. 

 Since, I have spoken to a dozen or more of my 

 acquaintances on the propriety of our legislature, 

 passing a law prohibiting cattle, hogs and sheep, 

 from running at large, and thereby enabling us to 

 do witiiout fences — andeveiy one of whom highly 

 approved of the plan. I have no doubt but that 

 the farming interest would derive more benefit from 

 the passing such a law, than from any other legis- 

 lative aid it could I'eceive. 



I entirely concur with the \news of your corres- 

 pondent on that subject in No. 12 of the Farmers' 

 Register, under the signature of "Anti-fence. " 

 Before seeing that communication, I had been 

 thinking myself of getting up a petition and cir- 

 culating it in this county, praying the passage of 

 such a law as that Anti-fence speaks of. R is my 

 opinion it would receive the signatures of a decid- 

 ed majority of the voters of the county. But as 

 was sugo-ested by Anti-fence, for the sake of uni- 

 formity, I thiidv it would be better that a petition 

 come through the Farmers' Refjister. 



ERRONEOrS VIEWS RESPECTIIVG GYPSUJI. 



For the Fainicis' Register. 



The last Genesee Farmer, (of INIay 10th,) con- 

 tains a communication professing to answer some 

 earlier inquiries respecting g}iisum, which may 

 be considered as a curiosity, on account of the 

 number and magnitude of the errors which the 

 Avriter has contrived to pack into so narrow a space. 

 I will quote the whole piece, and in its regular 

 order, but with my own remarks attached, or in- 



terlined, so as to require but few words to serve 

 my purpose. 



"Mr. L. Tucker — I think your correspondent 

 "T. S. P. may be assured that gypsum ground 

 "fine, and laid for a long time exposed to the at- 

 "mosphere, will lose muchof its fertilizing quality. 

 "Gypsum and limestone, when reduced to powder, 

 "have a strong afbnity for carbonic acid." [Neither 

 of them has the slightest affinity for carbonic acid 

 — for limestone is already fijrnished with as much 

 as its proportion of earth (lime) can combine with 

 — and gj-psum is equally saturated with a stronger 

 acid (the sulj^huric) which effectually prevents any 

 affinity for, or any effect being produced by car- 

 bonic acid.] "and in as far as they are satu- 



"i-ated with this principle, they love their attraction 

 "for it." [This taken alone is true, and would 

 have ser\'ed to have overturned the preceding part 

 of the same sentence, if the writer had known 

 that one of the substances, limestone, is already 

 and always saturated with this principle, and that 

 the other, gypsum, cannot possibly take u^ the 

 least particle of it.] "If cither be reduced to pow- 

 "der, and spread thin on a plate, and the plate be 

 ''set in [over] a fermenting tub of beer, they will 

 "soon be converted to carbonate of lime, or chalk." 

 [That is, would be converted to what the lime- 

 stone is already, and what neither this, nor any 

 exposure, can possibly make of gypsum. If quick 

 lime, instead of limestone and gypsum, was the 

 substance so treated, then such a conversion to 

 carbonate of lime would take place.] "The same 

 "will occur partially if left exposed to atmospheric 

 "air, and in as far as they imbibe this principle, 

 "they lose their fertilizing qualities. Such are my 

 "ideas on this subject, and remain yours, R. M. 

 "W." As such effects cannot take place at all, 

 for the reasons before stated, under any circum- 

 stances, it is not worth showing that this inference 

 is as much mistaken, as the theory upon which it 

 rests: nor is there any need of more words to show, 

 that if gypsum loses its power by standing expos- 

 ed to the air, (which cannot be inferred from its 

 chemical composition or qualities,) we must search 

 for other, and very difl'crent causes, than those 

 presented by R. M. W. It is not however my 

 intention to discuss that question, but simply to 

 expose the eiTors which by being presented so 

 confidently, and in so respectable a journal as the 

 Genesee Farmer, might possibly be imposed on 

 some readers for truth, and knowledge. j. b. 



OIV THE NECESSITY AND BIEANS FOR LEGIS- 

 LATIVE AID TO AGRICULTURE— NO. 2. 



[Continued from page 690, Vol. 1.] 



For tliu Farmers' Register. 



According to the intention expressed in a for- 

 mer communication, I proceed to consider the 

 means by which government may promote the 

 improvement of agriculture ; and shall direct my 

 observations more particularly to those institutions 

 and plans, which have been least discussed by my 

 fellow laborers in this cause. I shtdl now consider 

 ^Experimental and Pattern Inarms. 



Among the establishments for the improvement 

 of agricultural science and skill, v/hich have been 

 recommended at different times, a "model or pat- 

 tern farm" has held a conspicuous place. If I 

 have rightly understood what this establishment 

 was to be, from the words of its advocates, the 



