452 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



100,000 acres of Delaware marshes, a larije ex- 

 lent oi land, which if il were brought under cul- 

 tivation, would prove to be the richest land in the 

 state. Its depih and richness ol' soil, and the 

 ready means of resloriny il when exhausied, are 

 ample prools ol the apseriion, but it may be rea- 

 sonably doubled whether so great an undertakini; 

 as reclaiming this land at the present lime would 

 meei wiih an adequate return, ivhen we conr^ide^ 

 its expense, ihe comparaiive paucity o( popula- 

 ^lion, and ihe imperlec.i sysipm ol agnculiure pur- 

 eued ut ihe stale. The succesblul e:^cGulioii ul' a 

 small portion ol' ihe task in liie upper county is 

 ample evidence that the work is practicable, and 

 the experience, which Holland has attained on 

 this subject during ages, could be wielded in 

 Delaware. But since jt is no! at all likely to be 

 brought mio execution lor a long period oC lime, 

 why ruriy we not derive some benrfit Irom these 

 lands at the present lime 1 Independently of the 

 embankment ol' small tracts along the shore, and 

 without reference to ihe grazing of cattle on these 

 natural grass lands, ihe soil of the marshes may, 

 and should be applied extensively as a manure on 

 the upland. The embankment of ditches where 

 they are not otherwise required, may be employ- 

 ed ; or the marsh may be dug expressly wiih the 

 view of employing the soil as a lertiliser, and it is 

 such a vegetable mould which is chiefly required 

 in Delaware to render it more fertile. The 

 marshy deposite lo which allusion was made, 

 is variously composed, or more properly speaking, 

 il is in difi'erent states of decomposition ; being 

 sometimes a black, uncluous maiier, both vegeta- 

 ble and mineral, containing no traces ol vegetable 

 fibre, again a similar soil with fibre, and laeily a 

 formation consisting chiefly ol fibre or Ihe undecay- 

 ed roots and leaves of plynis. The first of these 

 is the most valuable, and may sometimes be di- 

 rectly applied to land wiiiiout adnuxiure, but il is 

 advisable to adopi a unilorm meihod of using ii, 

 which may be done in two ways, by raingliiiir it 

 with lime, better alter exposure lo the air lor some 

 time, or by drawing it into ihe barn-yard to bring 

 it into an Incipient lermeniaiion by contact wiih 

 stable manure. lu eiiher case it will more than 

 repay its expense, and if lime be employed on ihe 

 land at the same time a more povverlul and dura- 

 ble influence will be derived Irom it. There is one 

 kind of maierial bearing some connection with ihe 

 preceding, a species ol sea-weed, observed along 

 the shore of the bay, but more remarkably consii- 

 luted on the beach a liew miles below Lewes, 

 which will prove of great excellence, when 

 brought loan incipient lermeniation, as it contains 

 much blue mud, and is [)eneiraied, and inhabited 

 by numberless shell-fish. It vv'ould become more 

 uselui ildrawn into the barn-yard, and suflered lo 

 ferment in a slight degree, for the decomposing 

 animal mat'er will bring ihe weed rapidly into a 

 similar state. 



There remains yet one other substance, 

 which is easily obtained, and will repay the ex- 

 pense of its applicaiion to the soil. It is Ihe 

 " blue mud," which is constantly depositing from 

 the river and bay, on the marsh lands under the 

 circumstances pointed out in the paragraph refer- 

 red to. The lertility of those lands of which ii 

 forms ihe upper surlace, and ils beneficial effects 

 m the few instances in which ii has been employed 

 on the upland are a warrant of its fertilising pow- 



ers, but it is a matter of some doubt to what sub- 

 stances its eflrcisare mainly lo be aiiribuied. lis 

 basis is a lat clay, both lead-colored and yellow- 

 ish, with a quaniiiy of organic mailer, which ap- 

 pears lo be chiefly in the slate of crenic and 

 flpocrenic acids combined with the oxide of iron. 

 There is no doubi ihai it would be advantageous 

 if applied directly to the soil, but ils tenacity is an 

 objection tfl such a mode of usinir it, and hence it 

 is more advisable eiiher to draw il into ihe barn- 

 yard, whjjre it will be broken down and mingled 

 wiih manure, <tr lo mix ii with lime, and expose it 

 for some lime to the air, adding at the same time 

 ihe black marsh soil, which is generally to be ob- 

 tained in ils vicinity. 



In the present section our aliention has been 

 devoteil to a lerlilising inuredient of a high order, 

 which we have denominated '' Marslnj Soil," in 

 order 10 embrace ihe several varieties under one 

 head ; in agricultural works it might be termed a 

 peaty soil, but the term would not include all those 

 which have been described, for the " blue mud" 

 is wholly unlike a peaty soil, but being deposited 

 on Ihe river-marshes, ii soon becomes a marshy 

 soil, and many of the cieck and western marsh 

 deiioeites are far from beins peaty, although they 

 contain much organic, matter. From a careful 

 peiusal of the section, it will be observed that this 

 source offerliliiy is every where abundant, and in 

 the two lower counties may be said to lie within 

 ihe grasp of every farmer : let it not, therefore, as 

 is too ollen ihe case, be disregarded or underva- 

 lued, lor its abundance and convenience, but ap- 

 plied judiciously, fre:]uenlly, and profusely. Its 

 value rests not on a mere theoretic assertion, but it 

 has received the lest and sanction of experience, 

 and such experience, boih in Delaware and else- 

 where, as may not be contradicted. As it would be 

 a matter of nicely to discriminate between such 

 varieties as are not sufficient ly decomposed, and 

 require some preparaiion prior to iheir application, 

 and these which might be direcily employed ; it 

 would be better to adopt a general rule relative to 

 ihe mode of using it, viz., either to draw it mto 

 the barn-yard, or lo form a compost with lime, or 

 with ashes. In either case it will Ibrm an excel- 

 lent manure, and with lime or ashes a durable 

 one. It is indeed a Ibrtunate circumstance that 

 ihis valuable material is diffused in such abun- 

 dance over the state, and not less gralilying that 

 il is more widely distributed in Sussex and Kent 

 courilies, where the soil chiefly requires the addi- 

 tion of organic matter lo restore it to its former 

 fertility or even lo excel it, and where it is of such 

 a peculiarly light character as to require the use of 

 precisely such a substance to render it more com- 

 pact and tenacious, and more capable of repaying 

 the ex|)endilure of time, labor and materials, 

 liberally bestowed upon il by the hand ol industry 

 and enterprise. 



BONES. 



It is said that in 1839, there were upwards of 

 30,000 tons of bones imported from foreign coun- 

 tries into Hull ; and thai in 1837, the value of the 

 article imported iino England, was nearly a mil- 

 lion and a quarter of dollars. We remember to 

 have seen a notice some months ago, of an ex- 

 portation of bones from our own port, to Liver 



