1838] 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



407 



My principal object in niakintr you tl)is= comnni- 

 nicalion, is to onJeavor to elicit Mr. Uiillln out 

 upon ihii? siihject, whose experience, observation, 

 and reas;oiiiii<r are iiir more satisliidory and uselul 

 tlian auy iJii;ig I luive ever met vvilh. 



Agrestis. 



From the American Fanner of Feb. 27, 1824. 

 ANSWER TO THE FOREGOING. 



Prince George, March \2th, 1824. 



Havm<T been some lime from home, I did not 

 fantil to-day, see the call on me in the American 

 Farmer ol' February 27th, and the private note 

 (rom you on the same subject. I leel hiprhly gra- 

 tified, that your correspondent, "Agrestis," hasex- 

 5)erience of the correctness of my opinions con- 

 cerning the action and value of marl; and 1 am 

 not only willing, but consider it my duty, lo fur- 

 •jiish any inlbruiation in my power lo give, which 

 may be required on account of the imperfections 

 of my former statement. I do not wish, however, 

 to fatigue your readers, by repeating what has al- 

 ready been stated; and as the request of Agrestis 

 (or information, is general, I shall confine my re- 

 marks to the particular subjects suggested by his 

 account, of the effects of marl noticed by him in 

 ■Maryland. 



Since my fornaer communication on this sub- 

 ject, ((oanlained in your 3d vol.) I have marled 

 s'uore than 250 acres, or about 400 in all — and my 

 longer experience has more strongly confirmed 

 iTiy opinion of the value of this manure, as well 

 as the truth of the theory of its action. But I 

 have never obtained any results eo profitable as 

 those mentioned by Agrestis, "that old worn out 

 clay soils, that were literally good for nothing, 

 have been regenerated by marl alone, and present 

 the appearance of our best and natively good 

 lands." I still believe that the use of calcareous 

 manures, will not be iound very profitable, except 

 on lands not grazed, or which are in some other 

 way furnished with vegetable matter. On acid 

 .soils, (not grazed,) I expect a dres.sing of 500 

 bushels of marl to the acre, to increase the first 

 crop from 50 to 100 per cent. ; and under peculiar 

 circumstances, have attained nearly 200 per cent, 

 increase; but as all such land was very poor, even 

 this great improvement leaves it much inferior to 

 natural rich soils. Neither have 1 found that "a 

 second marling is followed by results proportiona- 

 te to the first," nor will its mode of operation ']iis- 

 lify such expectations. In every thing else stated 

 by Agrestis. his experience of the effects of marl, 

 agrees entirely with mine. The im[)rovement is 

 evidently progressive, and I beiieve, will continue 

 to increase, until the soil is brought to its maxi- 

 mum of productiveness, or until the new accumu- 

 lation of vegetable matter, and of acidity, cause a 

 necessity lor a second dressing of marl, which 

 then will operate in the same way, and vvilh as 

 much profit, as the first application. 



The cleansing effect of marl is also evident. 

 The plants which are most abundant on acid soils, 

 will thrive on no other kind; and therefore, are 

 •destroyed at once, when the soil is made calca- 

 ^reous. But your correspondent will not find this 

 .clean state of marled land to be permanent. One 



set of pests has been removed, only lo allow ano- 

 ther to succeed. IVire-grnss* is more benefited 

 by marl, than any other plain that I know of; and 

 the iiM>rease of this troublesome and indestructible 

 grass, is the only injurious efU-ct of marling, that 

 I have yet ex[)erienced. Perhaps blue-grass may 

 be considered in the same waj', as I find it now on 

 many parts of my land, where it never had been 

 seen until within the last two years. This grass 

 is scarcely ever seen in this [lart of the country, 

 and there is not any where enough to be trouble- 

 some, except on the best neutral soils, which I 

 suppose to have been originally marled by natural 

 means. 



Your's, &c. 



Edm. Kuffin. 



[The two ibreg;oing letters were published more 

 than 14 years ago; and we had lorgolten their exis- 

 tence until they were lately met with accidentally. 

 Marling (or, properly, the application of fossil shells,), 

 was then a novel mode of improvement in this coun- 

 try, and which had then been tried by but very few 

 persons. It is, sometimes, both interesting and useful 

 to revert to early opinions and practices, after the 

 lapse of time may have served to test their value. It 

 will be seen from the answer, above, that the writer 

 even then, as since, and up to the present time, tried 

 to abate the too exalted opinions of the enriching ope- 

 ration and general beneficial action of calcareous ma- 

 nure, no less than to establish its true aetion and va- 

 lue, and direct attention to its proper mode of appli- 

 cation. The writer has now had practical experience 

 of the effect of marl of more than thrice the length of 

 time which had been gained beibre the foregoing an- 

 swer; and yet there is but one opinion there expressed 

 which he would now qualify, or limit, or deem it ne- 

 cessary to explain, to pi'event its leading to error and 

 loss. In speaking of the benefit expected of 500 

 bushels of marl, it should then have been stated, as 

 meant, of the very moderate strength of the beds he 

 had mostly used, which generally varied between 30 

 to 40 per cent, of carbonate of lime — generally about 

 38 per cent. Also— he had not then ascertained, that 

 even of this poor marl, 500 bushels was too heavy an 

 application for poor and worn land, and that much less 

 marl to the acre is safer, cheaper, and much more pro- 

 ductive of net profit. The summer of 1824 first 

 showed the evil of the too heavy previous dressings; 

 and the facts, and the corrected views of the writer, 

 on this head, have been since published at length. — 

 Ed. Far. Reg.] 



GREASE FOR WHEEL-AXLES. 



"What is the best grease for wheels'?" said one 

 whip to another the other day. " Tar,'''' said the 

 other. '■'■ Tar I I despise tar, and grease wonU 

 stay there. Now had they put the question to our 

 grave selves, we could have told them of a valua- 



* The "wire-grass" of lower Virginia, is the 

 "couch" or "twitch-grass" of England. — Ed. Far. 

 Registpr. 



