288 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



show that on many fields no trace of euch im- 

 provement could Ite discovered. These facts may 

 not be inexplicable ; but they appear to me at 

 present, quite suffit^ient to hang a doubt on. 



I am aware that we have siatemenis in regard 

 to ihe use of plaster, of the most confliciing kinds, 

 so that with some few exceptions what one denies, 

 another affirms ; but would ih.s be so W it acls 

 solely in the manner deecril)ed by Prolessor Lie- 

 big'? A simple cause migtit be expected to pro- 

 duce a uniform effect. For instance : poudrette is 

 a simple cause ; and as Car as I tiave understood, 

 it operates wiih unilbrm effect, whether on clover, 

 wheat or cabbages. 



On some soils, indeed, plaster is uniformly in- 

 efficient— not ilie trace of any effect is percepti- 

 ble. This inertness has been more frequently 

 observed in tlie iertiary formation near the sea 

 coast; and therelore it was ascribed lo the sah 

 vapors. Plaster, however, succeeds well in ma- 

 ny places on the coast, and I'ails in others far 

 beyond the sea breeze, so that ih^ cause seems 

 to reside in the soil, and not in the air. 



There are several substances that decompose 

 plaster, besides the cabonate of ammonia. Car- 

 bonates of potash and soda have the same pow- 

 er. In the hands of the chemist, plaster and 

 common salt readily change into sulphate of so- 

 da, and chloride of lime ; and Judge Peters said, 

 " I ruined a bushel of plaster by a handful of 

 salt — it was unfit for either cement or manure." 

 Some of the oxalates also effect its decomposition. 



When this happens, the plaster no longer ex- 

 ists : and most of these results are not known to 

 be of much value as manures. Such failures, 

 however, rarely occur on calcareous soils, or on 

 such as contain a due proportion of lime. There 

 plaster generally proves beneficial ; and even in 

 England it has succeeded on such lands. Many 

 years ago, in the south-eastern part of Penn- 

 sylvania, some farmers thought it would super- 

 sede the use of lime ; but it gradually lost its 

 effect ; retraining it, however, when the land was 

 limed. Wherever plaster proves of no use, there- 

 fore, try liming. On a small scale, it may be 

 done at a trifling expense ; and may lead to the 

 most beneficial results. 



And remember that plaster must be dissolved 

 helbre it can do any good. Sometimes there is 

 not rain enough for this purpose in summer, and 

 therefore, there is always a risk to sow it late in 

 the spring. Let it be done early. 



I have now arrived at my last paragraph. 

 From bogs or deep swamps manure may be 

 manufactured to a great extent. Three parts 

 of peat and one of stable dung are mixed toge- 

 ther, and fermented through the summer. It was 

 used in England* many years ago ; and has 

 been found in New England, equal to the same 

 bulk of stable manure, and more permanent in its 

 effects, t 



CASKS FOR PRESERVING GRAIN. 



From the Farmers' Cabinet. 



AJr. Editor — On a late visit to a branch of the 



* Davy's Agricultural Chemistry. 



t Jackson's Geological Report on Rhode Island. 



Cooper family. New Jersey, I observed that the 

 granary, or place lor slowing away grain of differ- 

 ent descriptions, was fined up with bins in the 

 shape of very large and strong iron-bound casks of 

 the usual sliape ; and in these, the wheat, &c., was 

 preserved lor any period, no matter how long, 

 without /ear ol weevil, grain-worm, or any other 

 species of vermin, or damp and mouldiness ; the 

 grain being introduced by means of a funnel 

 through the bung-hole, which, when the cask is 

 full, is very carefully closed and made air-tight, 

 the hoops being driven occasionally to cause them 

 to become so. Now by this very simple arrange- 

 ment, the whole crop ol grain on a larm may be 

 preserved lor years, as perfectly free from damp- 

 ness or disease of any kind, as though it had been 

 kiln-dried ; ihe convenience of stowage being as 

 great as in open bins ; the casks standing dn low 

 tressels or sleepers, admitting a bushel measure 

 under, they can be rolled on to the bung ; or the 

 grain might be drawn off' by a large tap made for 

 the purpose. 



HISTORY OF THE CANE. 



From tlie South Western Farmer. 



We promised in a late number a history of the 

 seeding and growth of the cane, which a few 

 years ago was lound in such abundance in nearly 

 every part of this country. 



At the first settlement of our state all the richer 

 lands were lound covered with a growth of this 

 singular plant, so dense that travelling throygh it 

 ten miles a day, with severe labor, was quite as 

 much as could be done, and the only way to get 

 an extension of vision lurther round than ten 

 or twelve paces, was to mount a iree or some 

 other eminence higher than the tops of the cane. 

 The size and height of the cane varied with the 

 quality of the land. On thin land it was lound not 

 thicker than one's little finger, and not higher than 

 4 or 5 leet. Increasing in size as the land was 

 better, it was occasionally seen from two to three 

 inches in diameter, and atiaininff the height of 30 

 or 40 feet. Until the year 1830 a considerable 

 portion of the present corporation of Vicksburg 

 was one of the thickest and heaviest kind of cane 

 brakes, and all the uncultivated pans of that most 

 fertile region of the world perhaps — the hills which 

 strike the Mississippi just above Vicksburg at old 

 Fort McHenry, and continue to skirt its shores as 

 far as our boundary line extends, were clothed 

 throughout with the perennial verdure of the 

 cane's most graceful foliage. Duting that year 

 nearly all the cane of this range of hills, and we 

 believe of the interior on this side the Mississippi, 

 blossomed, seeded and perished. The seeding did 

 not extend to Louisiana, unless in a i'ew small 

 spots, nor did it extend to much of the river bot- 

 tom on either side ; and there were occasional 

 clumps which did not seed until the fbllowingyear, 

 together with some that did not seed at all ; 

 ihough such were soon destroyed by stock. 



TIk' lipening of the vast quantities ol'seed dur- 

 ing the bummer of that year (1830) presented in 

 those parts ol the country where the cane was 

 abundant, scenes of overflowing plenty, une- 

 qualK d in any other land than one of fable. The 

 grain was about the size of a graiu ol rye, and he- 



