THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



41 



Shells lies under the whole extern, and generally 

 much nearer the surlace. Much ol this land ap- 

 peared to me very poor, and I think would be as 

 much improved by lime as' any ol ours. 



You ask, " to what crops, or in what mode, is 

 lime most advantageously appl.ed ?" My Ibssil 

 shells produce the most immediate effect when laid 

 on the sod belbre ploughing, and corn, or some 

 other horse-hoed crop, is first raised, to mix the 

 manure well with the soil. But when convenient, 

 I prefer laying it on alier ploughing, as it is belter 

 intermixed in the course of cultivation, and the 

 danger of its being buried too deep is avoided. 

 Caustic lime is usually applied to the surface ol 

 ploughed land, and slightly covered by repeated 

 harrowings ; and it is evident that this mode ol 

 covering must convert the quick to mild lime, 

 before its solvent powers can reach the more 

 deeply buried vegetable matter. 



Until I began on cotton this year, I have made 

 no field crops except corn and wheat, to which 

 calcareous manures are equally beneficial. Clover 

 is much more in>proved than either by lime, and 

 without it, (applied by nature or art,) it is in vain 

 to attempt raising clover to any extent, in this part 

 of the state. Several years ago, 1 tbrmed the 

 opinion, that on land made calcareous, gypsum 

 would act, though of no effect before ; and though 

 not confirmed, the opinion has gained strength (rom 

 my experiments and observations, and however 

 opposed some (acts are, the greater weight of 

 evidence is decidedly in its favor. The acidity ol 

 our soils, I think, will serve to account for the 

 general want of effect from gypsum, and the 

 supposed change of results after first applying 

 lime ; but it would be premature to ofi'er the 

 explanation of a lact which, however important it 

 may be, is yet of doubtful existence. You are 

 aware that gypsum has seldom any effect below 

 the falls, and that most of the opposite results are 

 on the rich river lands, of all, the_;most exposed to 

 the " salt exhalations," which have idly been 

 supposed to cause this remarkable and general 

 defect in our lands. You state the general 

 objection to liming in Frederick to be, first, the 

 belief that your soils are already sufficiently 

 calcareous, and secondly, the cost of fuel. I have 

 belbre ofifered you reasons for my belief that your 

 soils generally are not even slightly calcareous, 

 and on the most accurate examination, 1 do not 

 think you will find a twentieth part of even your 

 limestone soils to contain the smallest proportion 

 of calcareous earth. The expense of burning I 

 cannot estimate even on the practice of neighbor- 

 ing farmers, of whom I have in vain made 

 inquiries. But even if your fuel should be rather 

 more dear than on James river, you would obtain 

 the material lor lime at far less cost. Oyster shells, 

 taken from vessels off" the landing places, cost 62/. 

 cents per hogshead, (yielding 14 bushels of lime,) 

 while you would quarry the rock on the farm, or 

 perhaps the field, where the lime was to be spread. 

 But 1 doubt whether burning will be necessary in 

 every case where you may manure with lime ; as 

 its solvent power is seldom used or wanted, it will 

 serve as well mild as causiic, if it can be broken 

 down fine enough without heat. Limestone 

 gravel is used to great profit in Ireland, and 

 perhaps may be found in our limestone country ; 

 and from my own limited observation, I know that 

 Eubstitutes (or it may be obtained in various places, 

 if they should be found to suit as well in their ^ 

 Vol.. X.— 6 



! quantity, as in their richness. With a view to 

 I answering your inquiries, I paid attention to the 

 j subject during my late visit to the mountams, and 

 j would have examined many supposed materiala 

 for manure, but fbr the want of the necessary 

 I tests j as it was, 1 brought home, and have ana- 

 I lyzed, eight or ten specimens of rock, which from 

 I .heir softness and supposed abundance, seemed to 

 promise calcareous manure of some value, with- 

 out the cost of burning. Of these, one, frequently 

 seen in the roads, is like limestone in color, but 

 more like slate in soilness, and easily broken into 

 thin layers, and what is exposed to the eye migbt 

 be pounded to gravel without much labor. A 

 specimen of this, taken about midway between 

 Waynesborough and Staunton, contained 46.100 

 of calcareous earth j another, taken near Lexing- 

 ton, on the road to the Natural Bridge, contained 

 80.100. The stone which covers a considerable 

 portion of the Arsenal lot has 84.100, and though 

 much harder than, the others, is so soft as to be 

 considered of no value for common purposes, and 

 can be quarried and broken down with a pickaxe. 

 A stone which is very abundant about the Salt 

 Sulphur Springs, is so hard, in the earth, as to 

 yield onfy to the force of gunpowder, yet crum- 

 bles to small gravel after a lew weeks' exposure to 

 'he air. This contains only 17.100, and is too 

 poor to pay the expense of blasting, but would be 

 worth using, if already exposed to the air. These 

 specimens were selected almost by chance, and 

 even if some judgment had been exercised, it 

 would require many more examinations to prove 

 the strength or worth of any large bodies of such 

 substances ; and they are mentioned only to show 

 that such manures may be found, and are worth 

 your seeking. Another calcareous rock is /bund 

 in limestone streams, which is richer than my best 

 shell-marl, and nearly as soil : I mean that depo- 

 siie of limestone water, to which the name ohnarl 

 is as incorrectly applied in the upper country, as 

 here to our Ibssil shells. This is nearly pure 

 calcareous earth, and so far as its quantity will go 

 it must be a very cheap as well as rich manure. 

 In these rocks I should expect to find resources 

 lor the improvement of land ; but at the same 

 time that I offer them to your notice, I am sensi- 

 ble that the very descriptions given most proba- 

 bly show how little I am acquainted with the 

 substances recommended. 



It may be objected that calcareous manures, the 

 particles of which being as coarse as gravel and 

 not very soil, would not be reduced in the soil, and 

 v,?ould consequently remain nearly worthless. Cer- 

 tainly the most minute division is best, and there- 

 Ibre 100 bushels of burnt lime, may be expected to 

 exert as much power on the first crop, as 200 bush- 

 els iu a coarser state ; and it may be admitted fur- 

 ther, that particles of limestone, or shells, would 

 lor many years defy the decomposing powers of 

 air, moisture and frost, which are commonly sup- 

 posed the only agents for producing this effect. 

 But however hard and insoluble these small frag- 

 ments majrseem, I believe a soil that requires 

 lime, will completely dissolve all of moderate size 

 in a few years. Such at least, is the invariable 

 effect found, when a once acid soil is ploughed up 

 for the second rotation, after applying the foisil 

 shells, unless they were of the largest or hardest 

 kinds, or the dressing unnecessarily heavy. Ano- 

 ther fact will prove that this solvent action ia pecu- 

 liar to such soils as 1 have called acid. On our 



