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F A R M i: R S ' R 10 G I S T E R . 



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friable. In this case, a very abundant, application 

 would be required ; and at the present prices ol' 

 hnie and ot' land, would l)e an experiment not 

 likely to be undertaken by nniny ofour Tanners. 



The second object is to all'ord immediate aid to 

 veiirelation. In this case, if we had means of re- 

 diicintr iLe limestone to a line powder without cal- 

 cination, it miiiht at once be advantageously ap- 

 plied, and with permanent benefit. This has 

 lieen done by an intelliiient observer in West 

 Stockbridge. lie has obtained the ground stone 

 in the form of a fine powder from the mills and 

 shops for sawing and planinsx marble. The usual 

 form in wliich hme is to be applied among us, is in 

 a calcined state, and with a view to its immediate 

 effects. In order to apply it advantageously, it 

 must be either air-slaked, or slaked with water. 

 It may be slaked with water in the field, and dis- 

 tributed immediately while warm ; or mixed with 

 mould, in the proportion of one bushel of lime to 

 five of mould, and spread in that form; in which 

 latter form it is, perhaps, more likely to be equally 

 diffused. It may be mixed with peat earth; but 

 in this case it should be allowed a considerable 

 time for fermentation, in order to render the vege- 

 table matter of peat soluble, and to extract from it 

 the proper food of plants. But it must not be 

 mixed with animal or putrescent manure. Its ef- 

 fects in such case are to destroy the animal matter, 

 and leave only the woody fibre. 



The efiijcts of lime, whether applied in a caus- 

 tic or an etfete siate, either air-slaked or water- 

 slaked, are not very ditt'erent. The heat impart- 

 ed to the soil by its application when warm, would 

 undoubtedly be to a degree beneficial. It should 

 be applied on the surface of the soil, and merely 

 harrowed in. It has a constant tendency to sink 

 into the soil : and its operation is wanted in the 

 vegetable mould, which is at the surface. In re- 

 gard to the quantities to be applied, there are great 

 diversities of practice, [n England, upon soils 

 comparatively destitute of calcareous matter, from 

 100 to 600 bushels have been applied; the last 

 quantity, however, with injury to the land for some 

 time. The English consider that 300 bushels are 

 ordinarily a proper dressing for an acre, and this 

 is applied at once; very much larger quantities 

 have been applied, but the advantages of such 

 copious liming are not always a compensation for 

 the expense. 



The French, and the Germans, of late espe- 

 cially, have been highly successful in the applica- 

 tion of lime. The practice of the former differs 

 from that of English agriculture; but its advan- 

 tages have been fully tested. They recommend the 

 application of about 12 bushels per year, annually, 

 for three years in succession, or 40 bushels applied 

 at a time once in five years. This is deemed 

 ample. In this case is probably intended 12 

 bushels of unslaked lime, the bulk of which in the 

 form of a hydrate, or slaked with water, is more 

 than doubled. The plants on an acre will not 

 take up a sixth of this quantity; but much of it is 

 lost by gradually sinking into the soil, or goes to 

 its permanent improvement. The French method 

 rests upon the highest authority of science and ac- 

 tual experiment; and may be commended to our 

 farmers. 



Marls, which contain a good proportion of lime, 

 are of great value in ameliorating soils; and ope- 

 rate in improving soils and supplying calcareous 



matter, though not in the active and immediate 

 manner in which lime operates. Their applica- 

 tion, however, is considered by many as preli'.ra- 

 ble to lime. On this subject we want more expe- 

 rience. The IJerkshiie shell-marls, wbiih liave 

 been recenlly <lisciivered, contain from 80 to 90 

 per cent, of lime. The o|)eration of shell-marl, or 

 marl containing a large amount of shells in a slate 

 of decomposition, is much slower than that of 

 quick lime ; but its effect? are quite lasting. When 

 applied to heavy soils and soils naturally cold, it 

 enriches vegetation, but docs not forward it. 



iPo/as^, or vegetable alkali, is slated to be of 

 more value than lime in producing the humin 

 which is deemed the essential food of plants. 

 Some value it at a much higher rate, li has been 

 applied at the rate of fiom 50 to 100 lbs. to an 

 acre; and, as stated, with great success ; but 1 

 have no knowledge of any such decisive experi- 

 ments as would justify me in speaking with confi- 

 dence of its effects, or the mode of its ap[)lication. 

 Mr. Williams's great crops of wheat have been 

 assisted by filly bushels of wood ashes spread to 

 an acre; and a good crop of wheat seldom ftiils to 

 be obtained on newly cleared and burnt land. 

 The potash is here present in large quantities. 



Leeched ashes and soapboilers' waste are es-_ 

 teemed a most valuable manure. -A good deal of 

 lime is ordinarily ndxed with them ; and they 

 abound in vegetable alkaline matter, which is 

 highly favorable to the crop. They should be 

 spread on the surface, and harrowed in. From 

 fifty to one hundred bushels can be saft'ly applied 

 to the land, though ^ew farmers will Icel that they 

 can afford the application at the prices at which, 

 they are at present held. I have used them with 

 great advantage ; and one great advantage from 

 I he use of bone manure and ashes is, that they 

 do not introduce weeds into the soil. The far- 

 mers on Long Island often import leeched ashes 

 from New England for their wheat lands ; and, as 

 they say, with much advantage. They must not 

 be too often repeated on the same land. 



Bone Manure, in the form of dust, or small 

 pieces and dust intermixed is a most valuable ma- 

 nure. It contains a large proportion of the phos- 

 [ihate of lime, which has alwa.ys proved a most ef- 

 ficient aid to vegetation. Forty bushels of crush- 

 ed bones, or twenty-five bushels of bone dust, to 

 an acre, have beeri found as efficient as a much 

 larger quantity ; and no advantage whatever has 

 come from doubling this amount. Bone dust mix- 

 ed with ashes has been hif^hly efficacious. The 

 best mode of application is to mix them with 

 mould, or barn-yard compost; and if lor grain 

 crops spread andharrow them in lightly; but it is 

 essentia! that they should undergo a degree offer- 

 mentation before "they are applied to the land ; and 

 that the land to which they are applied should be 

 dry. The lands on which bone manure has been 

 found efficacious have been light, dry, and sandy 

 soils :— upon clayey or heavy soils it has not been 

 useful. Iffor immediate effect, the bone dust is 

 to be preferred; if lor permanent improvement, 

 the crushed bone. At the only mill known in 

 Massachusetts, which is at Roxbury, the manu- 

 factured article contains a good deal of the dust in- 

 termixed with the crushed bones. It is sold here, 

 we understand, at 35 cents per bushel, and large 

 quantities are on hand to be supplied. 



The application of lime, too, should never be 



