THE FARMER'S REGISTER. 



445 



land to cultivate. My attention having been 

 drawn, in past time, to this subject, I this year 

 (1842) appropriated a piece oCirround for the pur- 

 pose ofsovving in broadcast (so called) a quantity 

 of Indian corn. Relying on the prevalent sac- 

 charine matter, thought to be therein conOined, I 

 took what is commonly called sweet corn. It 

 came up well, though its growth vvas not compa- 

 rable with that planied in the hill. At the first' 

 appearance of the spindle [tassel] a portion of 

 the lot of average appearance was cut, and two 

 careful persons were my assistants in weighing 

 the product (August 22.) 



The production was as follows: 272 1-2 square 

 feet or one rod, gave at the rate of 13 tons 1225 

 pounds to the acre. It may be well here to ob- 

 serve, that afier spindling, at several subsequent 

 periods, there was a decrease of weight. 



My next experiment was made with Southern 

 flat corn. This vvas scattered in rows. The 

 growth was rapid, favored by the season. This 

 too was taken as the spindle began to appear, and 

 the production was calculated in like manner as in 

 the preceding case, and was a Utile over 21 tons 

 to the acre (Sept. 2d.) 



In both cases these crops were fed out in aid of 

 the pasture. 



The result in both these experiments would 

 seem to give great force to the system of soiling, 

 well thought of and recommended by so many 

 agriculturists. John Welles. 



Natick, Sept. 6, 1842. 



NEW JERSEY MAKL BEDS. 



From the Farmers' Cabinet. 



We have rarely passed a day more pleasantly, 

 in any little excursion, than we did the 2d and 

 3d insts., in company with our highly valued 

 friend, Edmund RufRn, editor of the "Farmers' 

 Register." He was desirous of viewing some of 

 the marl beds of New Jersey, and we made a 

 flying visit to a few of them in Gloucester county, 

 about five miles south-east of Woodbury. There 

 has already been a good deal said and written 

 upon these remarkable deposites ; as well as upon 

 the almost incredible effects that have resulted 

 from their application to the soil ; but much more 

 information is requisite, before their value will be 

 thoroughy appreciated, or their character distinctly 

 understood, especially by those who have not seen 

 them. It is not our intention to make even the 

 attempt to throw any new light upon this ex- 

 ceedingly interesting subject ; but merely to name 

 the places we visited — a few of the results men- 

 tioned as having grown out of the use of marl, 

 and to draw if possible the further notice of others, 

 to these abundant sources ol" wealth, to our native 

 state. 



It is well known the marl region of New Jersey 

 etretches through the interior of the state, from 

 Monmouth, across the entire breadth of Burling- 

 ton and Gloucester counties, and penetrates, also, 

 the upper parts of Salem. The beds lie at va- 

 rious distances from the surface, and of course 

 offer every difference of facility in excavating 

 thera, and are overlaid by a great variety of ma- 

 terial. Our friends, Benjamin Whitall and Wil- 

 liam R, Tatum, accompanied us in our ride, and 



from their fiamiliarity with every location in their 

 neighborhood, were enabled to make many inte- 

 restina statements, with respect to the change- 

 which the use of marl has made in the lace of 

 the country. We visited the marl bed of James 

 Davis, which lies a mile and a half east of Wood- 

 bury, and two or three miles to the west of the 

 western limits of the district which includes the 

 green-sand marl. It lies in the bottom of a valley, 

 covering a few acres, and is overlaid with bog iron 

 ore, of so much richness, as to have been purchased 

 some fifteen or twenty years ago, by a person of 

 the name of Richards, and transported, principally 

 by water, to his iron works on Egg-harbour river. 

 This marl appears to be intermixed with sand and 

 clay, as well as some ferruginous matter, and is 

 apparently destitute of any calcareous substance. 

 The owner has used it recently to great advan- 

 tage ; and William R. Tatum showed on some of 

 his own higher ground, a lightish sandy loam, 

 evidences of great beneficial results from its appli- 

 cation to grass. We next called upon our friend, 

 JohnLt. Cooper, of Good Intent, near Blackwood- 

 town, who showed two beds at different elevations, 

 in the hill on the north-west margin of his mill- 

 pond. This is a hard, reddish colored substance, 

 with a good many decomposed shells, and smelling 

 considerably of sulphur. It was used to some ex- 

 tent and to some advantage, thirty years ago, but 

 is now neglected. A mile further on, a little be- 

 yond Blackwoodtown, and on the same stream, — 

 the head of Timber creek, — is David E. Mar- 

 shall's genuine green-sand marl ; apparently the 

 pure substance. This lies in the hill, on either 

 side ol the stream, is ten or fifteen feet in thickness, 

 and is overlaid by four, five, or six, or eight feet 

 of sand and gravel, and also by a hard material of 

 a few inches thickness, resembling iron stone. 

 This marl is much used, and to great purpose. It 

 is hauled ten or twelve miles, and with the other 

 marls of the neighborhood, is generally spread 

 as a top dressing upon grass, in the spring, at the 

 rate of ten to fifteen tons per acre. On inquiring 

 at the pit, of a person who was digging and haul- 

 ing it away, whether the owner, D. E. Marshall, 

 had himselfused the material to much extent, and 

 to great advantage ; he replied m the affirmative, 

 with a look of astonishment that such questions 

 should be asked, and an earnestness of manner, 

 that vvas a strong pledge ol his sincerity. In look- 

 ing for proofs of its useliilness on D. E. Marshall's 

 farm, he said we could hardly go amiss. We, 

 however, did not walk over the farm — we had not 

 time to do so ; but the fiict, that its fertility had 

 been vastly increased, by the application of this 

 marl, was familiar to three of us. We next pass- 

 ed on to the extensive excavations of Josiah 

 Heritage, on the head waters of Mantua creek, 

 and two or three miles south-west of D. E. Mar- 

 shall's. This also is green sand, or as it is also 

 often called, gun-powder marl, of the first quality. 

 It is carted ten or a dozen miles, and applied with 

 an effect that is really astonishing. Among the 

 green-sand, which is from ten to twenty feet in 

 thickness, no organic remains are to be discovered. 

 It lies on either side of the creek. The present 

 operations are on the north side. It is covered with 

 sand and gravel to the depth of six or eight, or 

 ten feet, as well as by a marl of a reddish brown 

 appearance, that is of considerable value, though 

 far inferior to the green-sand marl. In some 



