FARMERS' REGISTER- IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL BY LEAVES. 419 



correspondent: and they have been repeatedly brought 

 forward in former numbers of the Farmers' Register, 

 and will again be advocated whenever the occasion re- 

 quires it. Perhaps we have said enough — unless the 

 positions which have been assumed in this journal, 

 either are assailed by opposition, or are promised 

 some effective aid from our legislators, or from those 

 who appoint and direct legislators. It will be seen, 

 during the approaching session of the General Assem- 

 bly, whether any effect has yet been produced. If the 

 Committee of Jlgriculture and Manufactures (which has 

 had a useless existence for some years,) should be pro- 

 perly filled with members who know the proper and 

 important use of such a committee, and have the zeal 

 and ability so to direct its investigations, there might 

 be commenced a reformation of the economical policy 

 of Virginia, which would conduce more to the pros- 

 perity of the commonwealth, than all that the legisla- 

 ture has done in the last forty years. If the noble 

 object of promoting the improvement of agriculture 

 was really aimed at by the legislature, the first neces- 

 sary step would be to ascertain its present state, as 

 affected by political causes — the obstacles to its ad- 

 vancement — and the aids which the law might most 

 readily and effectually bestow to promote its welfare. 

 If the desire was heartily felt by the legislature, it 

 would be all that would be required to lead ultimately 

 to the most beneficial results for the interests of agri- 

 culture and of the commonwealth — which, fortunately, 

 are in Virginia identical. Agricultural societies and 

 schools, geological surveys and other means might be 

 used to promote this end — but which do not at this time 

 require more full consideration than has already been 

 given — nor will they, until there is some prospect of 

 such means being brought into operation.] 



From the Alabama Intelligencer and Expositor. 

 IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL BY LEAVES. 



If an enquiring mind will go into the woods, 

 where the soil is what we term rich land, and 

 view nature at \vork, in nature's own way, he will 

 discover readily, that lor a considerable depth, this 

 rich soil IS a composition of vegetable matter prin- 

 cipally, more or less decomposed, — in common 

 language well rotted. He will discover, tliat what 

 he applies the name ofsoil to, is composed, almost 

 entirely, of the decayed leaves of the trees with 

 weeds and grass, and rotten wood — perhaps the 

 production of centuries. But on a nice examina- 

 tion of this ricli soil, he will be compelled to con- 

 clude, Irom evidence before his senses, incontrovert- 

 ible, that decayed leaves, Ibrm the principal part. 

 If he wishes for conclusive corroborating testimo- 

 ny, he will heap up a mass of them in a pen, sprink- 

 ling the mass with lime, and he will find after the 

 process oi" fermentation, and decomposition has 

 done its office, that the product will, onap})lication 

 to poor soil, produce the finest vegetation, and 

 prove to his senses that it contains the pabulum, 

 or food of plants, in a high degree. By stilt going 

 on with his experiment, he will find ultimately, 

 that leaves when decomposed, with the aid of de- 

 composing agents, produce an admirable assistant 

 to vegetation, and by forming a mass of leaves, 

 sprinkling the leaves as he forms the mass, with 



lime, and adding a small portion of rich moist 

 earth amongst the vegetable matter, he will find, 

 on applying it to the earth tor the purpose of aid- 

 in tJ- vegetation, that he has got a pile of manure. 



l^^rom this evidence before liim he wall readily 

 conclude, if capable of the operation of common 

 sense, that for the purpose of littering animals, 

 and as an assistant, in Ibrming a compost manure, 

 leaves, especially if gathered while charged with 

 their whole elementary principles, must be an ad- 

 mirable auxiliaiy, in the procluction of the dung- 

 stead, and worthy of being most assiduously col- 

 lected for that purpose. 



Amongst weeds, or green vegetable substances, 

 experiment has amply decided, that those which 

 produced the most putrid and nauseous efliuvia. 

 during fermentation, were found producing tlie 

 most active effect, on the growing crop. This fact 

 seems to settle, by positive prootj the correctness 

 of the theory, of many plants feeding rapidly on 

 gases, evolved during the process of fermentation. 

 Through the medium of their leaves. As it would 

 be highly desirable, previous to laying down any 

 plan lor making manure, in the form of compost, 

 to have some idea of the relative value of diflerent 

 ingredients, which present for that purpose, it may 

 be proper to have some fiicts j)laced before us. 

 Leaves pded up in a pen, with alternate thin strata 

 of swamp mud, when partially decom[)osed are 

 found a superior preparation lor the Irish potato 

 crop. Put around the roots of fruit trees, this 

 compost has been found to produce a healthy and 

 vigorous growth. Its operation has been much 

 increased in its efficacy, by the addition of hme to 

 the mass. The finest Irish potatoes that I have 

 seen produced in a southern climate, were pro- 

 duced by the addition of this compost. 



A pen was made with small rails, a stratum of 

 leaves, trampled down to twelve inches in depth, 

 a sprinkling of lime added; ufier sprinkling tiie 

 leaves well with muddy water three or four inches 

 of swamp mud was then added, and this course 

 continued, until the pen was six feet in height. 

 This compost was made up in the fall, on the first 

 falling of the leaves, and applied to the potato 

 crop in the spring. The effect on the following 

 crop of corn, was all that could be desired. A se- 

 cond pile was constructed with a stratum of leaves, 

 two feet thick, sprinkled well with lime, previous- 

 ly, with muddy water — two carts came up, the 

 one loaded with swamp mud, and the other with 

 dung — from opposite sides the throwing on com- 

 menced, at equal pace, so as to mingle the last 

 two well: on the layer of mud, and manure, being 

 completed, say about four inches thick, another 

 layer of leaves was added sprinkled with water 

 tr-om a pond, then lime, mud and manure, and 

 continued, until the i)ile was about six feet in height 

 — a little earth was thrown on the top. I am satis- 

 fied the same volume of dung, spread over the 

 same surface, would not have exceeded in produc- 

 tion, either in the potato or corn crop, that followed, 

 and to which the composition was applied, on 

 planting. — In both cases the manure was applied 

 in the drill, but plentifully. The following crop on 

 both grounds was cotton — it was superior—the 

 seed was drilled in the old corn, and potato rows, 

 opened with a Scooter plough. The following 

 year, the seed that came from the cotton, the year 

 previous, was a]ii)lied to a second corn croji, which 

 much surpassed the first, indeed was amongst the 



