WStm^Pf-U tOLJi I'ViPWMMHB 



^[)t Jarmcr's illoutl)li) bisitor. 



75 



cost liiiii nmcli money— even more tlinii the cost 

 nt Baltiiiiore niurUct uml liriiiging tliein llieiico 

 by t-tu-je or wngons over Imd roads. But lie Imil 

 Ills celery iiiul liis melons fresli, nnd this piiid 

 hirn imrlially for the sacrifice. The idea then 

 was iliiit iiotliiii}? could he done in gnrdeninj,' or 

 afiriciilture on that dry sterile soil without the ar- 

 tificial means of waierint' every (Vuillul tree and 

 plant. 



A lew years more, and I\Ir. Brown found 

 means to purchase the then poor i)rrmises which 

 have since heen enlarged to the grand dimen- 

 sions and splendid accommodalions of the pres- 

 ent Indian Queen. Still later than this purchase, 

 hut hefore the erection of the first of Gadsliy's, 

 Mr. Brown had the ofler frotn some of his rich 

 Quaker friemls of money on a loan of live per 

 cent, annual interest to extend the Indian Queen. 

 This was done hy adding unotlier story to the 

 main huilding, converting a portion of the lower 

 front into stores, which now afl'ord the hest rents 

 of nnv luiihiiiigs of the kind perhaps in the Union. 

 Still later, after his ncighhor Gadshy lia<l eclips 

 ed all with huilding the then largest hotel in the 

 Union tiear hy, Mv. Brown extended the Indian 

 Queen hy the erection of a large hrick building 

 in the rear for a commodious dining hall and 

 other purposes. 



In all this husines.s Mr. Brown had heen [iros- 

 pered while he live<l. He ahandoned his garden 

 on the government land fronting Pennsylvania 

 Avenue — purchased a worn-out tract of land 

 from one to two miles north of the Indian Queen, 

 which he soon converted into a most hcautiful 

 farm with all the conveniences and accotninoda- 

 tions for man or animal that might he desired. — 

 This farm not only furnished ahundance of veg- 

 etables for his hotel, but milk in profusion and 

 even eggs, poultry, pigs and other meals as they 

 might be wanted. To this elegant situation — 

 (and others of the kind about Washington have 

 grown up mider his example) — the good old 

 landlonl of the Indian Queen personally retired 

 n few years since, leaving the management of the 

 hotel to his children, who, dauglilers, sons or 

 sous-in-law have become well-iustrucled in their 

 business. Some two years ago Mr. Brown, then 

 grown old, while coining inio the ciiy alone in 

 his wagon-gig, was rim down hy a careless negro 

 driving furious horses, and so badly hurt that 

 then his life was despaired of. Probably his life 

 and usefulness were shortened by this untoward 

 event. We had been exfiecling his death before 

 it took place. 



As the keeper of a popular and excellent hotel 

 his name will be long leinenihered ; hut more 

 should his recollection be cheiislied as the suc- 

 cessful pioneer of agricultural and horlicidtiiral 

 improvemenis, deinonslrating the truth that there 

 is no soil loo poor to be brought into profitable 

 tise in furnishing sustenance for both man and 

 beast. 



liirae as a lUannre. 



The use of lime has increased to an almost in- 

 credible extent in ihe Siale of Maiyland wiihina 

 few years. In Fehrnaiy, 1640, Mr. I'-. J. Cooper 

 of Baltimore comnieiict'd burning il for agricul- 

 tural purposes, and so small was the demand, 

 that months elapsed before a bushel of it was ta- 

 ken off his hands, and it was feared by many, 

 that his enler()rise would be a (iiilnre — during 

 the first year, however, he disposed of fifly thou- 

 sand bushels, and the demand has since been 

 steadily on the increase, and his ealcnialion is, 

 that during the present year, his .sales will a- 

 niouiil to one million of bushels — and the sales of 

 the other dealers will probably increase the 

 amount used /»///" miVh'od more! Mr. Cooper 

 is l!ie pioneer in this business, and deserves the 



thanks of the farming interest, lor his lauiluble 

 efibrl.") in their behalf. When he first coMiinenc- 

 ed burning, the cost of ifjc article to the fin iiier 

 was I2i cenis per bushel ; as soon as the busi- 

 ness would allow it, a reduction was maile by 

 him in the price, ahliough he had no competition 

 — the increased duinand and the fiicilities now 

 enjoyed, has enabh-d him !o put the cost of the 

 article, delivered on board of vessels, at his es- 

 labbshineut, at six cenis, thus placing it within 

 the reach of every farmer to lest its great value. 

 Mr. Cooper inl<>rms us, that those who were the 

 least able to purchase, or less prompt in their 

 paymcnis, when he first conunenced, are now 

 among the most able and punctual of his eiictom- 

 ers. — ,'lmeiican Fanner. 



Lime not being procured in New Ilainpsliire 

 any better or cheaper than from ("amden or 

 Tbomastoii, costs us too much to be extensively 

 used for manure. There are extensive beds of 

 lime rock in Haverhill, N. H. and perhaiis at oth- 

 er pliices along the line a few miles east of Con- 

 ireeticut river. When the Montreal railroad shall 

 be completed, there is no reason why lime should 

 not come here wiih the price of" transport (say 

 three or four cents a bushel) as i-heap as it can 

 be produced in any part of the IJnite<l States. 



Lime on some land has a nnich greater ettect 

 than on other land. We know not exactly why 

 this is so; but we have great reason to believe 

 iliat either the carbonate or sulphate of lime (the 

 one applying well where the other will not) is 

 good on all lands more or less, and that where 

 either of them do not have an immediate good 

 effect, sooner or later the whole benefits will be 

 felt, except perhaps in lands always quite wet 

 and bi^avy. The ipianlily of lime used in Dela- 

 ware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey as manure 

 increases annually. There the carbonate (quick 

 lime) air or wuvsr slacked, is drawn upon the 

 grouiKl, laid out in piles and spread over ihe sur- 

 fiice: this may be done at no very great expense 

 where tJje slacked article can be procured at 

 eight, ten or twelve cents per bushel including 

 liie cost of carriage from llie quarry. 



In the interior of New England we cannot 

 think of getting strong slacked lime short of 

 twenty lo twenty-five cents the bushel. Perhaps 

 the New England soil may not lie benefitted by 

 the use of lime as nnich as the lands at the south, 

 where it is more used. We have used lime as a 

 manure when il cost as high as forty and fifty 

 cents per bushel, half the amount being the price 

 of transport from the seaboard. We have be- 

 lieveil it would be belter to pay a higher price 

 than this for small quanlilies rather than nol 

 have it. Our use of it has been entirely in mik- 

 ing the compost hea|). This is done liy first lay- 

 ing down a layer of peat mud— overlaying that 

 and slacking two or more cask* of lime, !i«-eord- 

 ing to the size of the bed — covering the lime 

 wilh another layer of peat n]ud^overlaying ihat 

 with a thicker layer of straw and other manure 

 from the slables and barnyard — laying over lliat 

 more peat mud — then anoilie;' layer of lime — 

 then again |)eat mud — Ihcn the yard manure, &c. 

 The pile, laid out flat may be made as high and 

 large as your materials will give you a chance to 

 make it. The stable or yard maiMire should not 

 in the fii St instance come in contact with the 

 lime in its caustic state — it will burn loo much. 

 Two large I'lle.-;, the one of yard manure and ihe 

 other of turf with 150 bushels of unlcaclicil ash- 

 es, is all the manure we this year apply to sixteen 

 acres.of subsoiled land for corn and potatoes: in 

 these two piles about thirty casks of Thomaston 

 lime were used. Late in the fall over each pile 

 was spread lifiy bushels of refuse Liverpool sail. 

 The decomposition of turls, straw, &c. was per- 



fect. The salt prevented the freezing of th» 

 heaps during ihe winter. Wiihout other move- 

 ment the compost is broken through fiom bot- 

 tom lo top, carried to the field and spread at the 

 rate of about twenty-five full ox-cart loads to the 

 acre. Thus we have at least four hundred load» 

 of the compost for the one hundred loads taken 

 from the yard and stables. 



05^ Half way between the cities of Baltimoro 

 and Washington there has grown up within a few 

 years a manufacturing village wilh a single fac- 

 tory building of stone: it is upon the waters of 

 the Pnluxeiil, at no very great distance from the 

 railroad. As might be supposeil, the business 

 of the factory within a few years, employing sev- 

 eral hundred persons, male and female, has been 

 very prosperous. Col. Capron, the owner, has 

 been the right kind of man to manage such aiv 

 eslablishmeni, generous and liberal in proportion 

 to the means which have opportunely come tr> 

 his hand. The operatives there, as in the north- 

 ern factory villages, are persons of respectabili- 

 ty, both females and males. On several occa- 

 sions balls have been given there in winter, at 

 which ladies and gentlemen of the adjacent cilic* 

 have attended. Persons passing over the road 

 will have observed the improved state of thK 

 ground in sight between the road and the 

 village. The farm of Col. Capron, as might 

 be supposed, Is large : at the time of his loca- 

 tion anil purchase much land all around him 

 miKht be had at a low price. The worn out 

 lands generally between the cities were of little 

 value to any body. Tobacco cuUivalion seemed 

 to have starved out the owners wilh their fiimi- 

 lies of negroes: the washed side hills and gullies 

 had the worst appearance that can be iniagined 

 — their open barrenness, interspersed with a 

 Clacked cxieiior between the color of red and 

 yellow ochre, presented a more forbidding as- 

 pect of sterility than any thing we have ever 

 seen. 'Around the owners' dilapidated houses, 

 were the negro huts, still more dilapidated, witb 

 ihe lesser and grown up negroes, their nakednesa 

 partly covered wiih rags, standing and ranging 

 idly about because there seemed to be nothing 

 upon the land worth working for. Such was the 

 state of things for much of the distance «m the 

 old stage road and turnpike between WnshMigtoii 

 and Baltimore. Of late a great change has beet* 

 brought about in much of the dislaiice j and it 

 has been ilone, more from the mode of cul- 

 tivation, than from the amount of manures aj)- 

 plied. The land in reality is not as l)ad there as 

 it has appeared to be : Col. Capron has proved 

 this in a .single year, as will appear from the fol- 

 lowing statement. But it is corning to be well un- 

 derstood that the worn-out laud in ils worst as- 

 pect may be reclaimed nilhomau expensive out- 

 lay such as that made by Col, Capron. Plaster 

 and clover will wiih the due series of rolatioi* 

 of crojis restore the original fertility lo ihis land. 

 Thousands of acres both on the Virginia and 

 MaryUiiid sides of the Potomac have already Itei* 

 reclaiu:ed, paying in the first two or three crops 

 more than the expenses, and leaving the land 

 worlh double and fi-equenlly four-fold ils valuo 

 when the operatimi commenced. — iV, /". .1/. lis- 

 ilor. 

 Col. Capron on the Ueuoviition of Worn-Ont 



I^nnd. 

 To the Editor of Ihe American Farmer : 



Lahkel Factorv, March aiHh, 1847. 



Dear Sir— I have fiequcnt letlers from difli.M- 



eul pans f)f this Stale and Virginia, asking my 



experience as to the effects of ditt'erent manures 



—particularly guano— ami of my success in ven- 



