152 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



of adding to it all in my power lioni town ; and 

 ihis I atii sure was no mistake. 



Tlie reader is now in possession of llie cliiel 

 material by wliicii I have brouylil niy I'arm lo its 

 present I'erlility. Tlic quaniiiy used al^tirst was 

 about 50 carl loads of 25 bushels each lo llie acre. 

 This materially iniprovetl the land, as the crops 

 clearly indicated. But I cuukl plainly perceive 

 that there was an evident lalliri<r oil' in liie second, 

 and especially in ihe third and Jijurlh crojjs. This 

 made a eecond manuring necessary ; and I am 

 now convinced, that excessively poor lands, such 

 aa mine were, cannot be made permanenily rich 

 under three disiinc( manurings. These several 

 applications ought to I'ollow one another al inter- 

 vals of about three years. 1 (ind that land man- 

 aged in this way will regularly lurnish a crop 

 every year, and at the end ol nine years, have so 

 much lertihty as greatly to aid itselli by tlie rich 

 luxuriant vegetation with which it is clothed. 

 Subsequent cropping will make additional ma- 

 nuring necessary, but then hall' the original ipian- 

 tity will be sutlicient. Our small (arms, brought 

 to this lertility, and regularly treated in this man- 

 ner, will furnish a crop, according to the season, 

 every year, and so lar Irom deteriorating, will con- 

 stantly improve ; and this 1 call the " ne plus 

 ultra''' of good (iirming. 



But there is another article, which I have used 

 to a considerable extent, and with most decided 

 advantage in enriching my larm ; and that is 

 the coal ashes. It was observation, and observa- 

 tion alone, which induced me at first to resort to 

 this substance for the above purpose. I had 

 never seen nor heard of its being used for any 

 other object than that of stopping a ravine or 

 of making a foot path to cro.-s the muddy streets 

 of a city. But I had remarked the Jamestown 

 weed and other rich vegetation growing in the 

 most luxuriant manner, around the edges of heaps 

 of this article deposited in gullies and oilier very 

 poor places. Doctor Tazewell, also, from whom 

 I made my first purchase, in sending for wuod 

 from his lot, had been in the habit of carrying 

 out coal ashes and depositing them on the poor 

 places. There also 1 had the most striking evi- 

 dence of their fertilizing properties ; for all around 

 the edges of these little mounds the green-sward 

 had formed a strong and close lurf. With this 

 evidence before my eyes, I could not resist the 

 conviction, that this despised and neglected thing 

 was a valuable manure. It also occurred to me, 

 that my white livery lands were the very place 

 to apply if. Accordingly after grubbing and 

 otherwise preparing these low places, in which I 

 had a deal of labor, I began to cart on the coal 

 ashes. And here it is ludicrous lo tell what a 

 subject of ridicule I speedily became among my 

 sapient neighbors. JNJy carls were sometimes 

 stopped, and the question seriously asked, " Can 

 your master be in his senses, in carrying out that 

 useless thing T' 1 however persevered, and the 

 very next season I reaped as luxuriant a crop of 

 grass, from this poor cold livery land, as I ever 

 saw grow on the rich botionis in the upper coun- 

 try. The tables are now completely turned, lor 

 I frequently detect my neighbors in comaiiiling 

 the same folly, lor which ihey heaped on me such 

 a load of ridicule. 



There is also another circumstance which 

 highly recommends the coal a.vhc.= as a manure, 



and that is, lliat ihey are not only speedy, but per- 

 7nancnl in their ellects. How long they will last, 

 and siill manifest their eliioacy, I cannot tell. 1 

 can point lo places on my larm which were 

 enriched by them ten years ago, and these places 

 are rich still, livery time 1 plough 1 bring up 

 |)oriions of these ashes, and they appear as Iresh 

 as they were when first apjjlied. Whether ihey 

 have ihe (iiculty of fixing other manures in the 

 soil, I cannot tell ; bul this I know, that ihey have 

 the woiideiful liiculiy of fixing themselves. From 

 ihe fact of liieir exceedingly slow decomposition, 

 one would suppose thai ihey had but iillle, if any, 

 eliicacy. But when 1 see those places on which 

 Ihey have been deposited, closely covered with a 

 strong lurl, I must conclude that there is a povver- 

 liil influence at work, though I cannot understand 

 the mode of its operation. 



Encouraged by my success on the cold livery 

 lands, I determined to test the value of this article 

 on the higher and lighter lands. And here the 

 experiment was equally satisliactory. On a part ol 

 a field which I cultivated in corn I applied putres- 

 cent manures ; on another pari, lying along the 

 side of it, 1 applied coal ashes. 'J'he season, espe- 

 cially the latter part of it, was rather a bad one lor 

 corn. About the lime of earing, it was attacked 

 with a drought, Iroin which the croj) suffered se- 

 verely. But I could but notice the striking differ- 

 ence in the two portions of tlie field. Where the 

 manure was applied the blades fired, and the pro- 

 duct was indifferent ; whereas, where the ashes 

 was put, the corn maintained a vigorous green 

 even lo the lowest blade, and the crop was a 

 heavy one. 



Bul the chief value of Ihis article is as a lop- 

 dressing on the grasses. Here its unilbrra action 

 is as a charm. Last spring I had the pleasure of 

 a visit from a iiighly valued Iriend from the upper 

 country. This visit, as he said, was to the larm 

 as well as to me. Alter passing over several 

 fields, I conducted him to one which had been co- 

 vered with ashes the preceding winter. And here 

 he expressed his utter astonishment, declaring 

 that he had never seen any thing to equal it, ex- 

 cept under ihe strong influence of gypsum. I 

 ought to observe, that this field had been seeded 

 to timothy and herds-grass, but there was a consi- 

 derable sprinkling of volunteer clover among it. 



There is, however, one great drawback to the 

 value of this article, and that is its great weight. 

 When sobbed by the rains of winter, (and most 

 of it is in this condition,) -12 bushels is a good load 

 for an ordinary team. Indeed ray mules often 

 suffer very nmch under iheir task of three loads 

 per day to the distance of about three miles. 

 Upon the whole, I am so thoroughly convinced of 

 the enriching qualities of coal ashes, that could 1 

 find a bed of them on my farm, I should feel my- 

 self anq)ly compensated lor the want of the 

 richest marl. 



But ihe editor has thought projjer to read me a 

 short homily on my neglect of lime. On this I 

 have a word or two to say. And, first, I thank 

 him tor his remarks. 1 receive ihem in the spirit 

 of kindness, fur this 1 know is the spirit in which 

 they were made. But let us inquire wherein con- 

 sists the great value of lime as a manure ? And 

 here perhaps 1 may advance some things which 

 will deprive me of ihe good opinion which it 

 scciui thai Dr Dupuy and others have formed of 



