693 



FARMERS' REGISTER— FILBERTS— CLOVER— STONE FENCES. 



of the first part of the plan, your committee beg 

 leave, respectfully, to report the accompanying 

 bill. 



AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE A GEOI.OGICAL, RE- 

 CONNOISSANCE OF THE STATE, WITH A 

 VIEW TO THE CHEIVIICAL COMPOSITION OF 

 ITS SOIL,S, MINERALS, AND MINERAL WA- 

 TERS. 



[As amended from the bill reported by the committee, and pass- 

 ed by the General Assembly of Virginia.] 



J3e it enacted by the General y^ssembly, That as 

 soon after the passage of this act as it may be 

 convenient, it shall be the duty of the board of 

 public works to appoint a suitable person to make 

 a geological reconnoissancc of the state, with a 

 view to the general geological features of our ter- 

 ritory, and to the chemical composition of its 

 soils, minerals and mineral waters, and to report 

 to the next General Assembly a plan for the pro- 

 eecution of a geological survey of the state, to- 

 gether with such facts as may have come to his 

 knowledge during the progress of said reconnois- 

 sancc, illustrative of any advantages likely to ac- 

 crue irom a more complete examination. 



Be it further enacted, That the said board of 

 public works shall have authority to allow to the 

 geologist who may be employed under the provi- 

 sions of this act, such compensation as thej' may 

 deem reasonable to be paid out of any unexpend- 

 ed moneys in the treasury: Provided, that such 

 compensation shall not exceed the sum of fifteen 

 hundred dollars. 



This act shall commence and be in force from 

 the passing thereof 



From the New York Farmer. 

 AMERICAN FILBERTS. 



We have laying before us some as fine filberts 

 as we ever saw, raised at Lansingburgh, in this 

 etate, by Mr. Walsh. Mr. W. says, the season 

 was not favorable, and that these are smaller in 

 size than some he raised belbre; but, they are 

 nevertheless excellent in quality, and, even as to 

 size, larger than the average of tlae imported 

 nuts. 



The above is copied from the New- York 

 American. Large quantities of these nuts are 

 imported. Mr. W. is fully of the opinion that 

 our climate will ensure their fruitful growth. He 

 has cultivated them for several years. 



From the New F.ngland Cultivator. 

 CLOVER. 



Clover will grow on pretty much all soils that 

 have been laid dry by good drains. It is the basis 

 of good farming, on all lands susceptible of alter- 

 nate husbandry. Its benefits are three-fold: it breaks, 

 pulverizes and ameliorates the soil by its tap roots, 

 and it furnishes a cheap food for plants as well as 

 animals. A good clover lay is worth to a crop, 

 by the food which it afibrds, as much as five tons 

 of manure to the acre. To ensure a good lay, at 

 least ten pounds of seed should be sown to the 

 acre, and the ground well rolled. Its value, as 

 food for plants, depends more upon the quantity 

 of roots than upon the luxuriance of the stems, 

 though Ihe abundance of the latter mil depend in 



a great measure upon the number of the former. 

 To obtain the full value of this plant, we must cul- 

 tivate it as a food for our crops, as well as our cat- 

 tle; and in this case we should use it as such the 

 first or second year, before it has run out. There 

 is economy in always sowing clover with small 

 grains, though it is to be ploughed in the same or 

 the next season. Ten pounds of seed costs upon 

 an average one dollar — the labor of sowing is 

 comparafively nothing. Its value to the next 

 crop cannot be less than quadruple that sum, to 

 say nothing of the feed it may afford, or its me- 

 chanical amelioration of the soil. 



STONE FEXCES ASHES AND GYPSU3I — LIME. 



To the Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Frederick County, Feb. 23, 1835. 



At the request of a Querist in the last No. of 

 your Register, I take the liberty of sending you 

 for publication, the following remarks. 



Round stones being indifferent materials for 

 making stone fences, they should be worked with 

 care and attention in building the fence — they 

 should be disposed of in the fence as cannon shot 

 arc usually stacked uj), so as to be made to press as 

 much as possible to the centre. The base and 

 sides of the fence should form nearly an equilate- 

 ral triangle, so that a transverse section of it 

 would represent such a triangle. The length of 

 the base line Avill of course depend on the height 

 of the fence, which should not be too great, other- 

 wise it may slip down; nor would any height pre- 

 vent some kinds of stock from running over its in- 

 clined sides. This kind of stone fence is best 

 adapted to underpin stab, post and rail, or plank 

 fences — to which it is admirably suited — and may 

 be of any height that such fences may require, 

 giving it always the angle above mentioned. It 

 is not necessary to dig a foundation in the earth for 

 it, which may prove injurious, by forming a re- 

 ceptacle for tiie water, which would otherwise run 

 off, instead of settling in the fence, and sapping its 

 foundation. 



A mixture of drawn ashes with plaster when 

 sown, renders the operation less distressing to the 

 laborers, whose eyes are apt to be incommoded by 

 the flying of it. 'It also enables them to strevy it 

 more equally, regardless of the wind, which often 

 interrupts the operation, when sown alone. The 

 quantity used will depend mostly on the quantity 

 at command; for persons having more than will 

 afford an equal portion for the plaster, it is usual 

 to mix half and half, and to sow about a bushel of 

 the compound to the acre, or more, as the farmer 

 may choose, depending on the situation of his 

 land, whether it has been plastered before, or not, 

 &c. With the plaster and ashes may also be mix- 

 ed clover, or other grass seeds, in any proportion 

 desired, when the whole operation can be per- 

 formed at the same time. 



The beneficial effect of lime as a manure is 

 so generally admitted, that, to deny its operation 

 in any instance, is hazarding the charge of skep- 

 ticism; nevertheless, there are cases in which the 

 zealous firmer is sadly disappointed in the resuh. 

 Whether it be owing to the soil in a limestone region 

 of country, being already saturated with lime, so 

 as to effervesce strongly with acids, or to Pome 

 deleterious quality of it, as magnesia, &c., the re- 



