CALCAREOUS MANURES— PRACTICE. 135 



poor as not to be worth carrying out, and was not used except when the 

 distance was very short. Its strength was less than 20 per cent. The bed 

 at first was exposed on the surface, near the bottom of a steep hill-side; but 

 as a large quantity had been taken out, and several successive cuts made 

 into the face of the hill some years before, the covering earth was increased 

 on the space now to be cleared, so as to vary between eight and sixteen 

 feet, and I think averaged between eleven and twelve. The situation of 

 the marl and road required that a clear cart-way should be made as low as 

 the intended digging; and therefore nearly all of the earth was to be 

 moved by a scraper, and was thrown into the narrow bottom at the foot of 

 the hill. This earth served thus to form an excellent causeway across the 

 valley, which made part of the road in the next undertaking. All this marl 

 runs horizontally, and the layers of different qualities are very uniform in 

 their thickness. The greater part of the covering earth is a hard clay, or 

 impure fuller's earth, which was difficult to dig, and still more so for the 

 scraper to take up and remove. Part was thrown off by shovels, and 

 served to increase a mound made by former operations, within the circle 

 around which the scraper was drawn. 



Ijcihor used in digging and removing earth. 



4 days' labor of 9 men, at 31^ cents each, ^ . . . 



4 6 women, } , ,-., . 



A OK ? at 1 / 4 cents, . . - - 



4 2 boys, ^ •* ' 



4 1 young girl at 15, and 1 old man at 25, 



4 8 oxen, (the scraper being drawn by 4 half the 



day, which then rested and grazed while the others worked 



the other half of the day,) at 15 cents each, . - - - 



Add 80 cents for wear of scraper, hoes, and shovels, - 



Total, . - • - 



The price allowed for the oxen is much too high for the common work, 

 and so much rest allowed ; but they work so seldom at the scraper, that 

 both the men and the oxen are awkward, and the labor is very heavy, and 

 even injurious to the team. 



Labor of digging and carrying out the marl. 



Three tumbrels were kept at work on this job and the next, a good mule 

 being added to the regular carting force— and no time was lost from April 

 20th to May 3 1st, except when carts broke down, (which was very often, 

 owing to careless driving, and worse carpentry,) or when bad weather 

 compelled this labor to stop. One man dug the marl and assisted to load ; 

 another man loaded, and led the cart out of the pit, until he met another 

 driver returning from the field, to whom he delivered the loaded cart and 

 returned to the pit with the empty one. Of the two other drivers, one was 

 a boy of sixteen, and the other twelve years old— the youngest only was 

 permitted to ride back, when returning empty. The distance to the nearest 

 part of the work (measured by the chain) was nine hundred and two 

 yards, and to the farthest one thousand and forty-five ; adding two-thirds of 

 the difference to the nearest for the average distance, makes nine hundred 

 and ninety-seven yards. The ascent from the pit, by a road formerly cut 



