79 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 2 



and also to salt, gypsum, &■"., which may be con- 

 ■sidered in the light of stimuli, intended to increase 

 Vii'e, as th-ey do galvanic action in our piles and bat- 

 teries. When a student in France, and as a lecturer, 

 I adopted the French idea of marl, which was this, 

 that any rock, or earthy substance, vvhich by ex- 

 posure to the air lost its cohesion, and crumbled 

 into earth, which may be subdivided into calcare- 

 ous and argillaceous, as either clay or lime predo- 



Among the important and interesting deposites 

 of earthy lime-stone to the south, is Shell Bluff', on 

 the Savannah river, about twenty five miles below 

 Augusta. This bluff rises fifty or more feet above 

 the river, consisting of alternations of carbonates 

 of lime of various degrees of impurity, with beds 

 of clay and of sand. The upper bed is about six 

 feet thick, containing abundance of the gigantic os- 

 trea, which were collected and burnt for lime. 



minated. 



The first bed below the oysters we shall call No. 2, this consists of carbonate of lime, 

 And fine parts ferruginous clay. 



The next below, each being in the descending order, No. 3, of carbonate lime. 

 Fine quartz sand and a little whitish clay, 

 No, 4. 83.2 carb. lime, and 16.8 of coarse quartz sand, and very tenaceous yellow clay. 



77.6 

 22.4- 



-100. 



60. 

 40. 



—100. 



7.6 yellowish argil, no sand. 

 35.6 white glassy quartz sand, with whitish clay in small quantity. 

 45.6 yellowish glassy quartz sand, being stained with iron. 

 14.8 glassy sand and yellowish earth. 

 52.8 glassy sand and yellowish clay and ochre. 

 62.8 light olive colored clay, fine and coarse. 

 26.8 coarse glassy sand, with a little yellowish clay. 

 37.6 coarse glassy sand, with a little yellowish clay. 

 26.S sand and clay, the former coarse, the latter in small quantity. 

 52.8 sand and clay. 

 28.4 light yellow clay, very adhesive. 



The earthy lime-stone on Mr. Darby's planta- 

 tion, in Saint Matthew's Parish, S. C, of which 

 I then noticed two kinds, gave by analysis, the first, 

 92.2 carbonate of lime, and 5.8 clay and iron, the 

 former not very tenaceous or adhesive, the second, 

 90.4 carbonate lime, 9.6 clay. 



The same kind, but at some distance in Orange- 

 burg district, belonging to Dr. Jameson, presented 

 by analysis, 91.6 carbonate of lime, and 8.4 clay, 



dark colored and plastic ; the color was owing to 

 animal matter in great part. This earthy lime- 

 stone was quarried and burnt for lime. 



The object in all these analysis was the quanti- 

 ty of lime ; the other information, at the time, be- 

 ing of no manner of use, nor will be, excepting 

 for speculative geology, and at a remote day. 

 Lardn£r Vanuxem. 



SUGGESTIONS FOR EXTENDING THE USE OF 

 XIME AS MANURE IN VIRGINIA, THE COAL 

 TRADE. 



To the Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. 



The ability vvith which the subject of using 

 aime is treated by the various practical farmers, 

 who contribute to your valuable periodical, pre- 

 cludes the idea that I should be able to say any 

 thing in its favor, which would induce those who 

 do not use it now, in future to commence; but 1 

 do not despair of giving such information that if 

 followed, will furnish lime to upper A'irginia, at 

 •least on much better terms than Ibrmeriy, and in- 

 crease the amount with those who now use it. 

 Until our stores of lime-stone in the upper regions 

 of the state are unlocked, we must look abroad 

 for the present and future supply, as heretofore ; 

 and it is to the reduction of rates Irom this quarter 

 only, thai my plan is to operate upon. The usu- 

 al or minimum price of lime, per cask, is about 

 ^1 75, sometimes it reaches $2 50, and expenses 

 to be added, which deters many li-omils use, while 

 if at ^1 per cask, the same or more money might 

 be laid out, and double results might be expected. 



Lime is usually brought out as ballast; and the 

 reason isobvious, for a vessel coming to Richmond, 

 can always find a load of coal lor some port, and 

 thus, if only half freiglit for lime can certainly be 

 obtained, it" would come most freely. 



Plan. — Let each farmer calculate how many 

 tierces he intends consuming, and write to some 

 one who is not too much burdened with business 

 to attend to it, enclosing the money to buy, say 

 50 casks, when it can be bought, at 81 to $1^. 

 Wc will suppose 1000 persons to join, and the or- 



der will reach 50,000 casks. Each to have a por- 

 tion sent to him from every cargo. Let it once be 

 understood that the farmer's price would be cer- 

 tain to be $1 for every cask brought here, and, 

 my word for it, we should be well and constant- 

 ly supplied ; the advantage would be, that the 

 storage and all second-hand charges would be 

 thus avoided ; liar the summer, when little is doing 

 in freights, would be the time to carry up and re- 

 ceive the lime. Our rail-roads have most liberal- 

 ly put down the rates of every improver of the 

 soil to the bare cost of carriage ; and I do not 

 hesitate to advance the opinion, that when our 

 packet line of boats to Lynchburg, (the capital of 

 which is $20,000, and mostly taken) gets ftilly 

 into operation, arrangements of the same kind 

 will be cheerfully entered into; for every cask of 

 lime thus carried, would add at least four or more 

 casks or barrels of produce to be returned in the 

 same boats at a future period. 



While I have pen in hand, suffer me to digress 

 from the service of lime, so far as to make a re- 

 mark upon the value of cur coal trade to the state. 



Owners and shippers of produce in New Or- 

 leans, very frequently ask the captains, or in other 

 words, give them the choice of New York, Phila- 

 delphia, Baltimore or Richmond ; and in many, 

 very many cases, the latter is chosen for the rea- 

 son, that much of the carriage is done by Egg- 

 harbor and other northern vessels, and going 

 south, they take out their various "notions," and 

 wishing to go home, prefer Richmond ; for here 

 they can always get a home fi-eight of coal, and 

 in any other port, they most probably would have 

 to go in ballast. It is to this cause, mainly, that 

 Richmond can now compete succesefully with 



