1835.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



37 



consisting principally of carbonate of lime, and alumi- 

 nous particles, is no doubt adniirab'y fitted to impart to 

 it the physical and chemical properties requisite to con- 

 stitute a good soil. 



"At. Greensborough, the marl forms the substratum 

 of the soil upon which the village is built. It breaks 

 out on the west bank of the river, a few feet above tide. 

 At low tide, it becomes very accessible, and from the 

 nature of its constituents, as exhibited in the appended 

 table, showing the result of the chemical analysis of 

 the marls from the several localities in Caroline county, 

 and the condition of the superincumbent soil, it will 

 be perceived, that it must furnish a material of great 

 value lor the improvement of the latter. Reference 

 must be made for the analysis of this marl, to No. 1. of 

 the table. 



"At Denton, or rather in its vicinity, several locali- 

 ties of marl were discovered, principally on the head 

 streams of Watt's branch. They are generally, of ex- 

 cellent quality, and well adapted to use on the spots 

 and in the vicinity of where they occur. See Nos. 2 

 and 3 of the table. 



"Three miles below Denton, on the east side of the 

 Choptank, there occurs a considerable deposite of fos- 

 sil oysters, forming the mass of the banks of the river, 

 from fifteen to twenty feet above tide. The neighbor- 

 ingcountry would derive great advantage from the gen- 

 eral use of this material, and every consideration oi 

 individual interest and public usefulness, was accord- 

 ingly presented to the proprietor of these valuable 

 banks to induce him to employ their contents on his 

 own lands, or dispose of a portion of them to neighbors 

 willing to purchase. It is to be believed, that an in- 

 telligent citizen cannot long resist any proper appeal 

 made to him, when conducive both to private interest 

 and to public good." pp. 14 to 17. 



This appears to be saying indirectly that the 

 "intelligent citizen" had to that time not only re- 

 fused to use manure from this inexhaustible body, 

 but to permit it to be used by his "neighbors wil- 

 ling to purchase" — and it is only "believed" that 

 "he cannot long resist any proper appeal made to 

 him when conducive both to private interest and 

 public good." If this is the meaning of the pas- 

 sage, the compliment to the marl bank and its 

 owner is equivalent to a strong expression of de- 

 served contempt for the latter. 



"Another much more extensive, and more decidedly 

 marly deposite, occurs on the estate of General Pot- 

 ter, at Potter's landing on the Choptank, between Ko- 

 kias creek and Watt's branch. It affords several vari- 

 eties of marl, (Nos. 4 and 5.) It is covered by a blue 

 earth, which on analysis yielded the following constit- 

 uents: alumine 10; carbonate of lime 9; silica 70, &c. 

 This article might also be advantageously employed as 

 an amendment to the soil by which it is overlaid; it is, in 

 fact, a sandy marl. The enlightened and patriotic 

 proprietor of this estate, has expressed his willingness 

 to supply his neighbors with such quantities of these 

 materials, as would afford them the means of satisfying 

 themselves as to their efficacy." p. 17. 



The owner of marl has as good right to sell it 

 as any other commodity — though in some other 

 places it is a thing unheard of for any man hav- 

 ing an inexhaustible supply, not to give it. freely 

 to his neighbors. But it is a strange waste of en- 

 comium to speak thus in commendation of this 

 "enlightened and patriotic proprietor" merely for 

 having "expressed his willingness to supply his 

 neighbors with such quantities as would afford 

 them the means of satisfying themselves as to the 

 efficacy" of his marl — that is, to let them test its 

 value for his own future benefit. 



"In the neighborhood of Hillsborough, marl of 

 very good quality has, likewise been discovered. 



"Queen .Jnn's County. — An important and valuable 

 deposite occurs at the head of south-east creek, in the 

 vicinity of Church Hill. It is found on a farm be- 

 longing to Judge Earle;at present, the residence of 

 Walter J. Clayton, Esq. by whom it was made known. 

 Its analysis is given at No. 6 of the table. Similar de- 

 posites may be expected to make their appearance at 

 the heads of the several creeks, having a common es- 

 tuary with the one just mentioned; namely, Hamilton 

 creek and Island creek. Accordingly, an analogous 

 deposite has been traced in the direction of the head of 

 these creeks, to the north-east side of Corsica creek, 

 reaching into that section of Queen Ann's county, 

 known as Spaniard's neck. 



"On the south-west side of Corsica creek, extend- 

 ing to the head of the branch south of Centreville, the 

 marl is abundantly diffused. Nos. 7,8, 9, 10, 11, 12 

 and 13 indicate the constituents of the various kinds 

 found in this region, the samples of which, have been 

 furnished by the gentlemen whose names are given in 

 the marginal column of the table. 



"Continuing in the same direction, being in a line 

 north-east and south-west, to the head of Reed's creek, 

 marl of superior quality (No. 14,) is found on the 

 estate designated, as belonging to Maxwell's heirs. It 

 is composed principally, of that variety of fossil shells, 

 known in popular language, as pearl shells (Perna 

 Maxilla.) These broad, thick shells, closely compact- 

 ed together in the deposites, exfoliate, and crumble into 

 almost an impalpable powder, by the least exposure to 

 the air. They thus yield readily and abundantly, 

 their calcareous particles to the soil. 



Finally on Back Wye, where abundance, goodness 

 of quality, and a judicious application on the part of 

 those who are so fortunate as to possess the material, 

 have co-operated, the most extensive benefits have al- 

 ready been realized. Nos. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 of 

 the table, indicate the chemical analyses; fossil consti- 

 tuents and localities of the marl in this section of the 

 country. Nos. 21 and 22 indicate the constituents of 

 two samples of shell-marl from Chew's island, taken 

 from the estate of William Paca, Esq. 



"Talbot County. — Nearly the whole of this county 

 is underlaid by marl; but it presents itself under a va- 

 riety of circumstances of unequal facilities for extrac- 

 tion, and is, as elsewhere, of very variable qualities. 



"On the Talbot side of the Tuckahoe branch of the 

 Choptank, it occurs in the high banks of the river from 

 six to ten feet below the surface; but is exposed to 

 view in the ravines that make down to the river. As 

 every where else, it is undulating on the surface, oc- 

 curring in a distinct stratum, from three to five feet in 

 thickness, the inferior level of which, is six feet above 

 high water mark; it is frequently covered by a crust of 

 indurated marl mixed with sand, evidently caused by 

 the action of the waters, which filtering through the 

 loose soil above, on reaching the marl bed, have facili- 

 tated its decomposition, removing a portion of its cal- 

 careous constituents and depositing in their stead, sili- 

 cious particles. The most remarkable deposite of this 

 kind, is about three miles south of Hillsborough, on the 

 farm of Thomas O. Martin, Esq.; a more interesting 

 one, in every respect, can scarcely be pointed out in 

 any other part of the county. In this place, the banks 

 are elevated from thirty to forty feet above the river, 

 and the deep ravines that descend to it, greatly facili- 

 tate the extraction of the material at all seasons of the 

 year. This place may be mentioned as the only spot 

 at which the bottom of the marl deposite is known to 

 have been reached; unfortunately, the excavation was 

 not sufficiently extensive to allow a satisfactory exami- 

 nation of its substratum; it appeared to consist in a stiff 

 blue clay. The analysis of the marl from this locality, 

 is given at No. 23 of the table. 



"Descending the Tuckahoe into the Choptank, a 

 little below Kingston, we reach the mouth of King's 



