CALCAREOUS MANURES— PRACTICE. 139 



two carts at work — and from the 5th of August to the 27th of September, 

 with a much stronger force. I kept a very minute journal of all these ope- 

 rations, showing the amount of labor employed, and of loads carried out 

 during the whole time. It would be entirely unnecessary to state here any 

 thing more than the general amounts of labor and its expense, after the 

 two particular statements just submitted. At Shellbanks, the difficulties of 

 opening pits were generally less, the average distance shorter, and the re- 

 duced state of the soil, and the strength of the marl, made heavy dressings 

 dangerous. These circumstances all served to diminish the expense to the 

 acre. The difficulties, however, at some of the pits, were very great, 

 owing to the quantity of water continually running in, through the loose 

 fragments of the shells ; and almost every load was carried up some high 

 hill. Taking every thing into consideration, I should suppose that the labor 

 and cost of this large job of marling will be equal to, if not greater than 

 the average of all that may be undertaken, and judiciously executed, on 

 farms having plenty of this means for improvement, at convenient distances. 

 The whole cost of this large job was as follows : 

 Preparatory work, including uncovering marl, cutting and re- 

 pairing the necessary roads, and bringing corn (from another 

 farm) for the teams — digging, carrying out, and spreading 

 6892 loads of marl, (4^ heaped bushels only, because of the 

 steep hills, and sometimes wet marl,) on 120 J acres, - $258 38 



At the average rate of 57^ loads, or 259 bushels per acre, the 



average expense was, to the acre, 2 08 



To the load, .... 3 cents and 63-1 OOths, 

 And to the bushel, - - - 8 3-1 OOths. 



When the preceding edition of this essay was published, (in 1835,) the 

 transportation of marl by water had been but recently commenced. Since, 

 the business has been greatly increased. But still it is badly conducted in 

 general, and therefore is much more costly than it would be under better 

 and proper direction. Farmers are averse to being engaged in the manage- 

 ment of vessels, or any other business away from their farms, and therefore 

 they have always preferred to buy the marl from vessels, even at higher 

 prices, rather than to have it dug by their own laborers and transported in 

 their own vessels. And this division of labor would be right in all respects 

 if the owners of the river lighters were better managers of their business, 

 and their hands were industrious and sober. For rich marl thus obtained 

 and transported, the prices at the purchasers' landings have usually been 

 from 4 to 5 cents the heaped bushel. And at these high prices, the lazy 

 and worthless and illy provided navigators have rarely realized any pro- 

 fit. The highest price charged for marl, in beds on the river banks, is a 

 half cent the bushel. Under existing circumstances, the cheapest and best 

 mode of obtaining water-borne marl is for the farmer to also carry on the 

 digging and the navigating. And if the several operations were properly 

 conducted, the entire expense of water-borne marl, say 10 to 30 miles, will 

 rarely exceed three cents the bushel when landed, and under favorable cir- 

 cumstances may fall short of two cents. Collier H. Minge, Esq., of Charles 

 City, and Dr. Corbin Braxton, of liing William county, who have carried on 

 this business extensively, and for years in succession, for inarling their own 

 farms, have furnished me with careful and detailed estimates of their expenses, 

 which have been published at length in the Farmers' Register, (p. 567 vol. i. 

 and p. 691, vol. viii.) According to the estimate of Mr. Minge, the entire cost 

 of thus procuring marl, carried 15 miles on the broad water of James river, 

 amounted to less than two cents the heaped bushel, when landed. And 



