486 



F A k M E il S li E G I S r E fl . 



ment, until the discovery and use of its now great 

 means lur iniproveiiieni, shell marl.* 



Shell marl is visible on some low part of almost 

 every hirm in this region, and on all the iribuiary 

 streams ol' Powell's creek. Yet all the hmd sur- 

 ronndino; anci drained by the next larse tide-water 

 creek below (Ward's creek) is believed to be des- 

 titute ofmarl. The same ab.-ence ol'marl is in the 

 basin of the Appomattox river, wliich is the next 

 tributary of James river above Bailey's creek. 

 Again, on the several streams which rise in this 

 county south of the creek spoken olj and which 

 flow to Blackwater river, and thence to the waters 

 of North Carolinii, marl has recenily been found 

 in abundance, tliough not known to exist there, 

 near the surliice, or wiiere accessible, until within 

 the few last years. From the different character 

 of the surface of the land on these waters, the 

 greater extent ol' poor ridge, and of level and yet 

 unexhausted, tliough naturally poor land, this re- 

 gion is greatly more fitted to be improved by marl 

 than the district which is the particular suliject of 

 consideration here. It is very certain, that the 

 originally poor and acid ridge land is more im- 

 proved by marling, and yields more profit from 

 that improvement, than the "free light land," or 

 slopes of much better original rate of productive- 

 ness. 



When I first became a proprietor and cultivator 

 in this neighborhood, (where also I had been 

 born and reared,) nearly all the slopes liad been 

 cleared, and worn down to a product sometimes of 

 ten bushels of corn per acre, or three or fou.- of 

 wheat, and more generally of five bushels of corn, 

 and no wheat. 1 speak ol land still kept in culti- 

 vation ; for much had been turned out, as siill 

 more worthless, to grow up again in pines. The 

 little better land oflf the river consisted of a small 

 quantity of manured tobacco lots around the houses, 

 perhaps rather more of the narrow low irrounds or 

 small streams, and annual clearings of new ground, 

 of slope land, as long as any such wood-land 

 was left to be cut down. The level ridge land 

 was counted as worthless, and was not cleared 

 except where there was no belter. A very high 

 comparative estimate of value was placed on these 

 narrow low-grounds, because they were almost the 

 only rich natural land. I remember to have heard 

 the Bonaccord liirm spoken ol'I'requently in Ibrmer 

 liiTies as one of the best inland tracts a the coun- 

 ty, because " it had such beautiful low-grounds." 

 Tlie farm, of more than 400 acres of arable land, 

 then had, as part ofit, about 50 acres ofthe Birchen 

 swamp, of the general quality before described, 

 rich, but sandy, subject to oveillow by eveiy heavy 

 rain, and altogether badly drained and cultivated, 

 and very uncerlain in product. Still, this small 

 proportion of belter soil gave character and repu- 

 tation to the whole farm, and compensated, in 

 common opinion, lor the great poverty of 500 to 

 GOO acres of high-land. Now, and for some years 

 back, the high-land is generally marled; and so supe- 

 rior is its value to the Ibrrnerly highly prized low- 

 grounds, that the proprietors would gladly have 

 the low-grounds substituted by as much of the 

 poorest ridffe land, if convenient (o be marled. 



* The peculiarities of the " free light land" of the 

 slopes, as well as of the level summit " ridges," have 

 been also treated of by the writer, at pages 11 and 54 

 of the ' Essay on Calcareous Manures,' and at page 

 16.8 of this volume of Farmers' Register. 



Yet the low-grounds are better drained and better 

 tilled than f-^^merly, and, therefore, doubtless of 

 greater prou'^'Vive value. 



Such, for the greater part, were all the farms of 

 this neighborhood. Those on the river had more 

 or less of the richer river banks, both the broken 

 and the high. Some, both on and ofl the river, 

 had more or iess of the narrow low-grounds for- 

 merly raled so high, and which now are almost 

 deemed an objection to any pro[iertj\ But the 

 greater pari, and sometimes nearly the whole of 

 every farm, was of the mean and worn high-land 

 above described. 



Jt was under these very disadvantageous cir- 

 cumstances, that in January 1818 tlie use ofmarl 

 was first commenced successfully by myself, and 

 thereafter continued regularly, on Coggins' Point 

 farm, my then residence and sole properly. At 

 first, general doubt, or incredulity, as to the value 

 of the efl'ects, caused other persons lo be slow and 

 hesitating in fjllowing my example ; and, even 

 when they became eufliciently confident, ignorance 

 of the mode of operation of the manure, and the 

 consequent want of judgment in its use, caused 

 the practice to be but, little beneficial. Hence, 

 nearly all the early practice was more or less 

 wrong, and, in part, either unproductive, or injurious; 

 and it is in the labors of the late beginners, (late 

 because either not before possessing the land, or not 

 having discovered marl earlier thereon,) that the 

 most rapid progress and best of early results are 

 to be seen. Still, every one's practice is defective ; 

 and not one, (and I except not myself,) has pur- 

 sued fully the proper course to gain the best pro- 

 fits from marling. Hence, the evidence now to 

 be drawn, and such as will be presented, from the 

 earliest practice, and that which only can show the 

 durable efiiects of iTiarl, is by no means so strong aa 

 will hereafter be the experience of persons who 

 have more recently begun the use, and in a more 

 judicious manner, became better informed as to 

 the benefits, and warned, by the errors and losses 

 of the early operators, against following their bad 

 example. 



But the general injudicious procedure of the 

 early marlers is not to be wondered at. In truth, 

 there was not, and is not yet, a single good farmer 

 in the whole district. There are, indeed, a large 

 proportion of the proprietors who, since they be- 

 gan lo marl, have greatly unproved their land, and 

 greatly increased iheir income and properly. But 

 still there is seen every where, without exception, 

 want of economy, of skill and management in 

 practice, and want of general knowledge of, or 

 regard to, the true principles of agriculture. 



Such was the land, and such are the proprietora 

 whose practice and results in regard to marling 

 are set forth in the answers to the queries which 

 will follow. And this general statement will per- 

 haps suffice to show clearly, even to those who 

 have no personal acquaintance with the land and 

 its circumstances, that the true estimate of the va- . 

 lue of marl as manure, and of the intrinsic value 

 of land lo which marl can be easily applied, are 

 not to be measured or limiied by the amount of 

 effects produced and now remaining in thisdisirict, 

 or by the profits actually secured by the cultiva- 

 tors ; great as are the actual improvements, and 

 profits thence derived. 



Good and bad land, or fertility and worthlees- 

 ness of soils, are comparative terms ; and lo uii- 



