848 



FARMERS' REGISTER— CALCAREOUS DEPOSITES. 



thrasliing 50 bushels) — being an average of 128| 

 bushels — 89 bushels the least clay's work, 204 

 bushels the greatest day's work — 866 bushels being 

 of tolerably good bearded — and 611 bushels of 

 very fine purple straw wheat, which yielded 11 

 for 1 — leaving little or no grain in the straw. The 

 machine averaged 108 bushels ot the bearded, and 

 153 of the purple straw wheat, proving incontes- 

 tably the superiority of the one over the other for 

 machines, and showing the necessity of indicating 

 the kind of wheat when we refer to the work of 

 wheat machines. 



In 1833, it thrashed 1052 bushels in 14 days- 

 say 12| daj-9, (1 day being lost by breaking of the 

 machine, and finishing early on the last day, hav- 

 ing tlirashed only 49 busliels) — being an average 

 of 156 bushels daily — 98 bushels being the first and 

 least day's work (except the day it broke, which 

 was 80 bushels) and 172 the greatest day's Avork 

 — 162 bushels being of early wheat, 440 bushels 

 of bearded, and 1350 of purjjle straw wheat — the 

 product small and of indifferent quality — the quan- 

 tity of straw very large. 



In 1834, it thrashed' 2300 bushels in 17 days- 

 say 15^ days, (1^ being lost by the breaking of the 

 machine — being an average of 14S| bushels per 

 day — 114 bushels being the first and least day's 

 work (except the two days it broke when it thrash- 

 ed only 34 and 68 bushels,) and 185 bushels the 

 greatest day's work — 700 being of early wheat 

 much mixed with purple straw — 63^ bushels gold- 

 en chaff \vheat from four sown — and the balance 

 purple straw wheat — all of good quality. 



My machine cost ^170, exclusive of the shafts 

 and main beam, and was put up by my own car- 

 penters under the direction of Mr. Clark. It has 

 cost me no more in three years, than a liitle hoop 

 iron to line the bars of the concave. I think the 

 machine a good one; but there are two objections to 

 it — first, it is not portable — and secondly, the bars 

 of the concave are liable to be broken by any hard 

 Bubslance which the wheat may carry in with it; 

 but this objection might, I think, be removed by 

 Bupporting the concave with strong springs which 

 would yield to any thing less pliant than wheat 

 straw. The draught is not too great. 



There are various portable machines in use in 

 this county. The best which I have seen, is a 

 machine made by Wright of Frederick. It is, 

 however, too costly, too heavy, and the draught is 

 too great for our light mules. The same gentleman 

 who owns "Wright's machine," has a machine 

 made by Cockrane of Hanover, which I am dis- 

 posed to prefer to all others, from the description 

 given me; and I should be glad to see a detailed 

 account of such machines. There are two ma- 

 chines made in Fredericksburg — the only diffci'- 

 ence, I believe, between them is, that the beaters 

 and concaves of Davis's are cast — those of Ames's 

 (Bayliss) arc of wrought iron — both work with a 

 band — the horse-power is nearly similar in both, 

 and seems to me to be excellent — they do good 

 work — but their durability has not yet been tested. 



I hope that some of your correspondents will be 

 induced to communicate to you the results of their 

 experience in wheat machines. I have, perhaps, 

 been unnecessarily minute in the account of mine. 



E. T. T, 



King George County, 5th Sept., 1834. 

 P. S. The wheat was measured ailer being 

 fanned once, and the bushels heaped. 



CALCAREOUS DEPOSITES ON PIAKKITANK RI- 

 VER. 



To t!ie Editor of the Fanners' Register. 



Upon the south side of Piankitank River in the 

 upper part of JNIathews County, upon my little 

 farm, I have discovered oyster shells (or what we 

 call marl) located in the bank of the river, which 

 is very high, say fifty or sixty feet nearly perpen- 

 dicular, and extends along the river on my land 

 about half a mile long; the river at this place is 

 tolerably salt and abounds with good fish and oys- 

 ters. Intermixed with these shells, is a large quan- 

 tity of a bluish or dark green colored mud or earth, 

 arranged in the following order, a laj^er of sheila 

 running pai-allel with the bank about "three or four 

 feet through, while the mud takes its course in the 

 same parallel direction, immediately below them, 

 and claims possession of the very bottom of the 

 bank, or surface of the river, l^his mud is the 

 most unaccountable thing with me, for I know not 

 what name properly to give to it, nor as yet can I 

 estimate its value. Having moved here verj- re- 

 cently, I have made no trial of it, but have a high 

 opinion of it as a manure; and I am confirmed in 

 this, from the fact of its having been partially tried 

 this spring upon clover, by my fnend and neigh- 

 bor Mr. Jones. He applied the blue earth to 

 parts of a clover lot, and marl to other portions of 

 the same lot and at the same time, by way of as- 

 certaining the different effects it might have, if 

 any, and decides greatly in favor of the mud. He 

 has also applied it to his field lands in small por- 

 tions, and there the good effects are clearly seen. 

 If I were to enter into a full description of this 

 earth, I should not be able to give a perfect one. 

 I would, however, here remark, that when taken 

 from the bank and exposed to the air and it becomes 

 dry, a ivhite powder appears upon the lump; (in- 

 deed this sometimes appears upon the river shore 

 where these deposites are found in very dry wea- 

 ther:) in breaking the lumps apart I discover nu- 

 merous particles of transparent substances dis- 

 persed about the whole lumj), which will dazzle the 

 eye as it were in the hot sun. It approaches nearer 

 what is called crystalized gypsum as it is described, 

 than any thing else I know of. My friend Mr. 

 Jones has a plenty of it, and we intend sending 

 specimens to William and Mary for analysis, as I 

 discover in No. 3, Vol. II, it will be gladly received 

 there, and attended to by Mr. Rogers, who pro- 

 mises to give the relative value of all specimens 

 submitted to his care. I think it necessary only 

 to send specimens of the mud, as we know the 

 shells above it are manure, and very fine, for they 

 are nearly entirely decomposed, and apparently by 

 some hidden mineral in the bank, for both shells 

 and gj^psum, if I may so call it, are over-spread 

 with a sort of iron rust which is constantly oozing 

 out of the bank. Nevertheless, as clear, cool and 

 as well tasted water as I wish to use, proceeds 

 fi'om the bank both above and below these de- 

 posites. 



If from the very imperfect and lame description, 

 I must confess, Avhich I have attempted here to 

 give of these deposites, j'ou or your many corres- 

 pondents can give any hints of the probable bene- 

 fits of it, it will be gladly received. 



A. BILLUPS. 



Mathews County, Sept. 12, 1834. 



