1839] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



68-5 



tained, 1 think the difference inconsiderable ; while 

 the beet is much heavier in proportion to its bullc 

 than the mangold, and probably contains more 

 saccharine matter, it is also more easily preserved 

 through the winter ; and on the whole I incline to 

 give it the preference. 



A good drill-barrow would have saved me much 

 laborln planting; and if the seed had been steeped 

 longer they would have vegetated better. A friend, 

 on whom I entirely rely, informed me that he 

 steeped a lew seed, and kept them moist in a bag 

 covered with earth till they sprouted before plant- 

 ing, and scarely one of them failed to grow well. 

 If this communication shall encourage others to 

 try the root culture, it will not have been made in 

 vain. John Y. Hoi,laday. 



THE aiARL, BEDS NEAR NEWBERN. 



both upon the feet of the laborers and horses- 

 Back oi" these lands, there are oak and pine lands, 

 in which there does not appear to be any lime, nor 

 are any of the effects of it discovered. These 

 lands afford a large supply of both vegetable mat- 

 ter and swamp and marsh mud, which also con- 

 tains a large quantity ol' vegetable matter. 1 will 

 however, reserve a more particular description of 

 the limestone formations of the Neuse, &c., and 

 the character of our lands, for a future letter, and' 

 proceed to trespass upon the ready willingness 

 which you have always evinced to afford the de- 

 sired information, to your many querists. 1 should 

 be glad to know what per cent, of lime the va- 

 rious specimens of marl which I have sent you 

 will afford, and which you consider best to be ap- 

 applied to such lands as I have described above. I 

 forgot also to mention that the low grounds of the 

 Neuse are overflowed every year, and on the sub- 

 sidence of the waters, there is left a rich alluvion, 

 which, combined with the leaves which have fiil- 

 len for successive years, forms an undecayed com- 

 bination of mud and leaves, that I have thouffht 



To the Editor of tlie Farmers' Register. 



JVeiobern, N. C. Axig. 30th, 1839. 



Dear Sir — Accompanying this letter, I have 1 might be made a very rich manure, with the ac- 



transmitted to you three specimens of marl, or tion of lime upon it. Will a combination of either 



calcareous matter, found on my fiirm on Neuse of the specimens of marl which I have sent you 



River, about twenty-two miles up the same, fi^om 

 this place. The specimen marked. No. 1, is very 

 abundant, and seems to run in veins through that 

 portion of my field nearest the river. I tapped a 

 vein of it on the side of a hill which terminated 

 very abruptly in a meadow, and pursuing the same, 

 found that it run through a large field at various 

 depths ; and in several places it appeared above 

 the soil, in the field. This section of Craven 

 county, bordering on the Neuse River, is inclined 

 to be of a limestone formation, and in many places, 

 both on the banks of the river, and in the interior, 

 there are large masses of the rotten limestone to be 

 found, which as yet have never been applied to 

 any useful purpose. As you ascend the river, its 

 banks disclose different formations of limestone; 

 there are fine specimens in some places of what 

 is termed the shell rock, from which " hand-mill 

 stones " are manufactured, and are extensively 

 used in the country to grind corn into meal, and 

 hominy. There are, aho, good specimens of the 

 more solid rock, with now and then very cxten- 

 ■ sive formations of the shell marl, such as the spe- 

 cimen No. 1, and combinations of the oyster shells 

 with other calcareous matter. The other speci- 

 mens, No. 2 and 3, are Ibunil in extensive fbrnia- 

 tions on my farm, but are more or less combined 

 with a hard limestone rock, which make them 

 more difficult of access, and require more labor to 

 diij them from the soil or earth. With all the ad- 

 vantages which the Neuse River presents, of its 

 extensive beds of marl. 1 believe that not one of 

 our planters have as yet derived any benefit from 

 them, or applied the inarl to their lands with any 

 good practical benefit ; this has arisen not so 

 much from a want of knowledge of its good ef- 

 fects, but in a great measure from our ignorance 

 in its application, and also from fear that we might 

 rather produce an injury than a good to our lands. 

 There are portions of our lands in the vicinity of 

 these limestone formations, constituting a sort of 

 ridge, running parallel with the river, which are 

 strongly impregnated with lime, as is obvious by 

 the rocks peering above the ground in some places 

 Jn the fields, and the effect produced by the same, 



with this undecayed matter, make a valuable ma- 

 nure for our lands'? If so, in what way and in 

 what proportions should it be prepared? How 

 would our swamp mud mixed with either of the 

 specimens of marl answer for manure, and what 

 would be its probable effects on our lands the first 

 year, and how should that be prepared? Can we 

 convert our extensive beds of rotten limestone to 

 any good practical agricultural purposes 1 fn fine, 

 I do not consider that there is any merit in saying 

 to you that 1 have no practical knowledge in rela- 

 tion to the use and application of marl, and that I 

 am a novice and sciolist in agricultural matters, 

 and as " misery is said to love company," I find 

 that my neighbors are all in the aame predicament, 

 ami that I can derive no information from them on 

 the subject — this must be my apology fiir trespass- 

 ing on your valuable time, and likewise for seek- 

 ing answers to queries which I have no doubt you 

 will deem very trite and common, and rather 

 schoolboyish, for a farmer. Would the application 

 of either of the specimens of marl sent, to such 

 lands as I have described, unaided by any other 

 matter, be productive of much benefit? As a 

 large district of country is interested in obtaining 

 inlbrmation in relation to the marl I send you, 

 your views in general in relation to it, would be 

 very acceptable indeed. 



Very respectfully yours, 



James W. Bryan. 



The three specimens of marl which accompa- 

 nied the above letter, have been carefully ana- 

 lyzed, so far as it regarded their calcareous ingre- 

 dient^ or proportion of carbonate of lime. 



No. 1, consisting principally of loose small 

 shells, and fragments of shells, yielding 66 per 

 cent, of carbonate of lime. 



No. 2, apparently of firai texture, or hard marl 

 — 62 per cent. 



No. 3, still harder— 75 per cent. 



As the best, mode of answerins: tlie other in- 



