682 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



oRen confounded in common parlance and under- 

 standing, and as the substances also are intermix- 

 ed in all the calcareous murls of the upper ticie- 

 vvalers of the Pamunlcey, I shall add to the 

 answers obtained on marling such accurate re- 

 ports on tlie eft'ects of irreen-sand alone as I may 

 be able to obtain. Mr. Williams Carter's, at Broad 

 Neck, in Hanover, is the only very considerable 

 and continued praciice known — and which is con- 

 tinued, as I lear, on the mistaken grounds of the 

 supposed pernianpncy of the early efl'ecls. The 

 usual and unlucky connexion of the two properly 

 distinct subjects, of green-sand and calcareous 

 marl, and the erroneous deductions tlience made, 

 will serve as my excuse lor tlie seeming digressive 

 course of the preceding remarks, which were de- 

 signed merely as preliilory to the answers on the 

 Pamunkey marlinir. 



The greater effect of the green sand marl on 

 the clover (as seen in the fiist week of November,) 

 over thatot" any merely calcareous marl, has been 

 already stated. Another interesting evidence of 

 the same is the stronger ^xmg of tiiis grass, or 

 making it as if natural to the soil. Dr. Braxton 

 thinks (and acts upon the opinion) that after his 

 marled land has been once well set in clover, the 

 crops will continue to seed the land under his ro- 

 tation, and that no subsequent sowing will ever 

 be required. He finds, however, when clover 

 seed is sown on this sandy soil, unless early in 

 winter, that it is essential to its success to cover 

 the seed by light harrowing — which he does regu- 

 larly. My own Ibrnier practice of sowing imme- 

 diately after the passage of a harrow on wheat 

 land, in the early part of spring, he thinks would 

 not answer instead. He finds that the trampling 

 of live stock is also necessary, to prevent the too 

 great looseness and pufHness of the soil otherwise. 

 He grazes one year in his rotation, (recently of 

 five, and now about to be six fields,) on the clover 

 to be fallowed the same autumn for wheat; not 

 so closely however as not to leave a large remnant 

 of the clover and other vegetable matter on the 

 field. 



Mr. Wm. F. Wickham's farm (South Wales) 

 presents the oldest and most extensive, and there- 

 fore the most profitable marhng practice on the 

 Pamunkey. The great improvement made on 

 his land generally, is the more remarkable, be- 

 cause he has long pursued the very severe four- 

 shift relation, of three grain crops in lour years. 

 Biat though Mr. Wickham has so long pursued 

 this course, and has so much improved his land 

 under it, (or notwithstanding its scourging cha- 

 racter,) he objects much to its severity, and would 

 prefer to add another field and another meliorating 

 crop to his rotation. He has IbunJ, contrary to 

 the established results as to our calcareous marls, 

 (hat his marling is most improving on his origi- 

 nally good soils ; and his limited experience of the 

 green-sand marl on acid soil he thinks has not been 

 very encouraging. Further, notwithstanding the 

 happy mixture of calcareous matter and green- 

 eand in all of his marl, he does not place so high 

 an appreciation on the latter ingredient as he 

 would on an equal addition to the Ibrmer. He 

 does not fear any injury to the land or crop from 

 excess of quantity of his marl — and would not ob- 

 ject to have a cover of six inches thick, but lor the 

 cost of applying. This opinion, alone, shows a 

 ffimarkabie dili'erence oi' auction between the mere- 



ly calcareous and the green-sand marls. No 

 where else did I hear of any injury produced by 

 this green-sand marl, though no where else had 

 there been applied such heavy dressings as Mr. 

 Wickham's. 



The transportation of marl by water is consider- 

 ed by most persons as so expensive an operation, 

 that few farmers have yet undertaken it; and 

 those who have engaged a supply Irom lighter- 

 men, have been made to pay exorbitantly, and 

 olien for a commodity of very suspicous charac- 

 ter, if not certainly of bad quality. This much 

 dreaded operation is shown by Dr. Braxton'd 

 praciice to be a mere trifle, at least on the shelter- 

 ed and calm navigation of the Pamunkey. Dr. 

 Braxton has both the green-sand upper stratum 

 (as general throughout) and the green-sand marl 

 beneath, on his own land ; but as the latter, which 

 only he values or cares to use, dips there below 

 the level of the tide, he prefers to dis similar marl 

 eight miles higher up the river, and bring it by a 

 lighter to his landing. At my request he furnish- 

 ed a statement and eslimaie of the cost of this 

 labor, which will be annexed, and which I hope 

 will be valuable both as instruction and induce- 

 ment to many farmers who cannot be supplied 

 with marl, except by water-carriage. 



The answers and remarks of Mr. William F. 

 Wickham, which will stand first, as in the order 

 of priority of practice and experience, were not 

 received until after the foregoing introductory ob- 

 servations were written, and in type. This will 

 account for some passages which may now appear 

 superfluous; and, also, lor the omitting to reli^r to 

 other subjects mentioned by Mr. Wickham. It ia 

 proper also to state that, in consequence of delay 

 or miscarriage of the specimens selected for me, the 

 marls of Dr. Braxton and of Mr. Carter Braxton 

 were not received and analyzed until after the 

 foregoing general remarks thereon were in type. 



In the Ibllowing statements of the constituent 

 pans of marls, given in the notes to the answers, 

 the proportion of carbonate ol lime (or pure calca- 

 reous earth) was ascertained very exactly by 

 means of Davy's pneumatic apparatus. The 

 proportions of the remainder, of sand and of clay, 

 (or finely divided earth,) when mentioned sepa- 

 rately, were separated by agitation in water and 

 difference of specific gravity; and of course this 

 mechanical mode of separation is not very exact. 

 The green-sand (said to be a chemical compound 

 of silex, iron, and a little pot-ash,) being insoluble 

 in, and not affected by the muriatic acid, and being 

 in grains, and of very nearly of equal specific gra- 

 vity with silicious sand, it remains with the latter; 

 and the proportion of green-sand was then guessed, 

 by carefully observing the mixture of the two 

 through a magnifying glass. I'his mode of de- 

 termining proportions, by sight and by guess, is al- 

 together too rough and inaccurate to be relied on 

 lor exactness, and therefore it is proper thus to ex- 

 plain the mode of examination, and to confess its 

 iauliiness. However, as the grains of green-sand 

 are black and opaque, (when seen in grains) and 

 the silicious sand is white and crystalline, the dis- 

 tinction and contrast are eo marked, tliat it is not 

 difficult to approach to something like the relative 

 proportions even by the eye. 



As thus examined, the contents of green-sand, 

 in every case, fell below previous reputation ; and 

 the calcareous matter in a still more remarkable 



