494 



FARMERS' R E G I S 1' E R 



[No. 8 



have appeared west of the Mississippi. A few 

 years since it committed learCui ravages in Ohio. 

 iSo accurate description of ihis depredator appears 

 to have been published; and (or the jjurposeoi'aid- 

 ing in calling attention to the insect in question, 

 we should be much gratified if some of our sub- 

 scribers in those districts where it is, or has been 

 most abundant, would furnish us an account of 

 the worm, its a|)pearance, ravages, the miller or 

 moth that produces it, if known, or any other par- 

 ticulars that may be inleresiing in elucidating its 

 character and history. The only method of checU- 

 ing the march of this insect yet discovered, is to 

 plougii a deep farrow across tlie line of progress, 

 or around the field to be preserved from them, keep- 

 ing the sides smooth with the hoe, and the worm 

 falling into this furrow, is unable to escape, and 

 perishes. The numbers so destroyed in a single 

 trench, is almost intredibie. 



AG U I C U LT L R AT. G EO LOGY. 

 From Prof. Jackson's Tliird Report on the Geology of Maine- 



As I have formerly stated, it is evident liom an 

 exammation of the mineral ingredients of soils, that 

 they all originated from the decomposition and dis- 

 integration of rocks which for ages have been acted 

 ■upon by air and water; those agents having, by 

 their mechanical and chemical powers, shivered 

 and crLunbled the solid ledges into those pulveru- 

 lent matters which Ibrm tiie basis of all soils — to 

 which, subscfiaently small quantities of vegetable 

 humus are added by the decay of plants. 



Ancient soils. Tliere have been various epochs 

 in the earth's history, when soils were thus form- 

 ed, and after bearing their luxuriant vegetation, 

 were reconverted by aqueous and igneous cau- 

 ses, into rocks, the structure, and fossil contents 

 of which, denote ther origin to have been from 

 sedimentary matter,hardened by pressure and heat. 

 Thus, when we look back to the epoch of the 

 transition formations, we find the rocks comi)osing 

 that series to be composed of agglomerated sand 

 and pebbles, cemented by clay, which presents it- 

 self in an indurated form, the result of igneous 

 action. Marine shells, contained in the grau- 

 wacke rocks just described, evince that this deposit 

 was chiefly formed beneath the waters of the sea, 

 while some portions of it were deposited in fresh 

 water, as proved by the presence of certaiti plants, 

 peculiar to bogs and lakes. The slates of this 

 formation contain prints and casts of numerous 

 plants — such as ferns, equisetacea^, lepido.!;^ndra^ 

 and stigmarica?; while beds of anthracite coal show- 

 ing by their structure and composition their veg- 

 etable origin, are also included between the strata. 



Now it is evident, that the above mentioned 

 plants could not have grown without a soil, and 

 the rocks in whch they are imbedded bear every 

 ])roof that ihey were once in that condition. 



Secondary soils. We come next to the secon- 

 dary epoch, and here again we are astonished to 

 find proofs of a numerous succession of alterna- 

 ting beds of soil, each having, (or long periods of 

 time borne their perennial verdure of intertropical 

 plants, allied to those above noticed, but more com- 

 plicated and perfect in their structure. The sand- 

 stones and shales of this formation arc vast herbaria 

 of ancient vegetation, and their strata contain, well 



preserved between their sheets, perfect impres- 

 sions of numerous genera of plants, the species 

 of which are now extinct. Laige trunks of trees 

 are also ex|)osed by opening coal mines and quar- 

 ries of sandstone, while the numerous and reite- 

 rated strata of coal itself also bear ample proofs 

 of their vegetable origin. 



Here, then, we have another epoch, at which 

 soils existed, produced their abundant vegetation, 

 storeil the earth with fuel, and then were recon- 

 verted into solid rocks, to be again subjected to the 

 wear and tear of elemental strife. 



The tertiary epoch was of a milder character 

 and but little disturbance of the solid rocks appears 

 to have been effected during those submersions, 

 when 'he plastic cla}', calcareous marls and strata 

 of perfectly preserved marine shells, were depo- 

 sited. These sedimentary matters appear to have 

 resulted fiom a slowand gradual deposition of clay 

 and other fine sedimentary matter, which beneath 

 the sea, became soon inhabited by num>'rous shell 

 fish, and were imbedded in succession as we now 

 find them, since the elevation of tlie land above 

 the encroachments of the sea. 



When we consider the several periods which I 

 have briefly mentioned, it will at once reveal to any 

 reflecting persons, that the woild has been during 

 the lapse of inconceivable ages, subject to great 

 revolutions in its geological org.-mization. At one 

 time, the rocks are worn down into soils, and 

 fjear their vegetation — then continents were sunk 

 in the ocean's depths, and subsequently were 

 raised again, ihe soils having in the mean time 

 been converted into rocks. By such conside- 

 ration, we soon learn to respect the antiquity of 

 the world; and knowing that such records are le- 

 gibly written on the tablets of stone, we feel a nat- 

 ural desire lo read and understand their meaning. 



yJncient alluvial soils, or diluvium. Subsequent; 

 to the epochs of which [ have spoken, we find 

 that another scene of violence disturbed the tran- 

 quillity of the great deep, and the northern ocean 

 was hurled, with its seas of ice, over the land, 

 swee[>ing the loose materials from the very moun- 

 tain tops, and depositing them far south of their 

 former resting places — while the grooves, scratches 

 and water marks upon the surliice of the fixed 

 ledges, show the direction in which the current 

 passed. Ey such a flood, (proofs of which are 

 nearly universal in Maine, as elsewhere,) the soils 

 were transported and commingled, so that we 

 rarely find a soil similar to the rocks beneath it, 

 but identical with that derived from other rocks 

 which occur to the north and northwest. Having 

 already cited so many localities in proof of this 

 position, I shall not here recapitulate, and the in- 

 telligent observer u'ill find so many illustrations in 

 Maine, to satisfy ids rational curiosity on the sub- 

 ject, that he need not long remain in doubt as to 

 the facts. 



Modern alluvial soils. The present causes which 

 act upon the solid rocks, are both chemical and me- 

 ca.'iical. Oxigen,from the atmosphere and from wa- 

 ter,is constantly affecting some portions of the work, 

 especially where the rocks contain pyrites. Rivers, 

 torrents, brooks, and even rain, are gradually 

 sweeping away the solid rocks, by their continued 

 action ; but more powerful than all others, is the 

 action of ii-eezing water, which, by an almost irre- 

 sistibly expansive force, rends all rocks into which 

 water can find a passage; and crumbles down those 



