696 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 11 



earth carted upon the surface, has induced the 

 cultivators to apply marl very heavily. It was at 

 first laid on fifteen to eighteen linos thick over 

 the whole surface, a quantity equal to that of the 

 earth which had been usually applied. This 

 dressing was at first reduced by a third, and after- 

 wards, by a half— the balance being still an enor- 

 mous quantity applied, since, in that country, 

 where the ploughing is not more than three inches 

 deep, such a marling forms a fourth, or perhaps a 

 third of the tilled surface-soil. The. cultivators, 

 neighbors of Saone and Loire, have imitated 

 these marlings, but without adopting the 

 They do not give to similar soils but a quarter of 

 this quantity, of a marl which does not often con- 

 tain more than thirty per cent, of carbonate of 

 lime; and the marlings are less durable, doubtless, 

 but are as productive as those of Aim 



Heavy dressings of marl have done harm in 

 gome places. In very clayey land, the tenacity of 

 the soil has been increased, and the labor of its 

 tillage; buckwheat and potatoes have, thereby been 

 less productive: light soils, and sands, without be- 

 ing much improved in their consistence, have been 

 rendered too hot, and the growth of wild poppies 

 and rhinanthuses was increased. 



We find in Sologne a striking lesson in the im- 

 provement of light and sandy soils by marl. The 

 dressing, of a marl similar in its composition, and 

 in every appearance to that of Ain, is from 240 

 to 300 cubic feet to the hectare, and this coverino-, 

 of two-fifths of a line in thickness, suffices to fer- 

 tilize the soil for ten years. 



[To be Continued.] 



EXTRACTS FROM THE THIRD REPORT (OCT. 

 1835) OF PROFESSOR G. TROOST, OiV THE 

 GEOLOGICAL SURV E V OFTE X X ESS E E— M A D E 

 BY ORDER OF THE LEGISLATURE OF THAT 

 STATE. 



On the marl of Tennessee. 



In regard to the second object of my inves- 

 tigation, of ihe extent and qualities of marl, I beg 

 leave to state that I have not as yet been able to 

 ascertain the exact limits and extent of this valu- 

 able mineral; I have, nevertheless, ascertained 

 that it exists in inexhaustible quantities. I found 

 it in some places near the western boundary of 

 Hardin county; it shows itself above ground in 

 several hills near Coffee. It pervades the whole 

 of M'Nairy county; and there seems to be no 

 doubt that it forms the subsoil of Hardeman, 

 Fayette and Shelby counties; as to the latter coun- 

 ty 1 am not certain, it is, as yet, merely conjecture; 

 nor am I able to fix its northern boundary, I know 

 it extends to the north of Lexington and Jackson 

 in Madison and Henderson counties, and I con- 

 jecture that it extends beyond Paris, Henry coun- 

 ty. 



" In the southern part of the western district it 

 lies pretty near the surface of the ground, and 

 crops out at several places, which may always be 

 recognized by the whiteness 'and barrenness of 

 the ground, and the large shells, resembling some- 

 what the oyster shells, which characterize this 

 kind of marl, and which are scattered over the 

 surface. 



The depth of the stratum is not yet ascertained, 

 but I found some of the inhabitants who told me 



the)?' had dug eighty feet for water and went not 

 through the marl, and from these diggings, it ap- 

 pears that there exist two kinds of marl one 

 white, more or less grayish, and the other blackish 

 gray. 



Marl, in the present, fertile state of our country, 

 may perhaps be considered as of no importance; 

 but this state of things cannot last long; the as- 

 tonishing increase of population in the west will 

 soon bring our state on a level with our sister 

 states in the east, and if we are not prudent in the 

 husbanding of our soil, we will pay dearly for it. 

 The farmers of Pennsylvania have been long 

 aware of this, and they get, at a great expense, 

 laro-e quantities of similar and some much inferior 

 marl from New Jersey. It is the same with those 

 yiand. The legislature of that state, con- 

 of iii'.- importance of" the rise of marl, have, 

 in imitation of your honorable body, also appoint- 

 or, Dr. Julius Ducatel and his instruc- 

 tions, according to his last report, seem principal- 

 ly directed to ascertain the localities where this 

 valuable substance may be found. It. is therefore 

 of importance that the attention of our farmers 

 should be drawn towards that subject, that they 

 should be made acquainted with the substance, 

 with the places where it can be obtained, with 

 the mode of applying it, and with its effects. 

 # # # # # 



The quantity of the most excellent marl which 

 Tennessee possesses is inexhaustible. There 

 seems to be no doubt that it is to be found in the 

 greatest part of the western district. M'Nairy coun- ' 

 ly, so remarkable, for its sterility, abounds in marl, 

 which, in several places, Ibrms the surface of the 

 country: I have traced it, as I have already ob- 

 I, from the southern limit of the western dis- 

 trict to the north of Lexington, and I have not yet 

 ascertained its northen limit. It approaches the 

 Tennessee, river at some, places, but in Perry 

 county and farther north, it commences about 10 

 est of that river. I have not ascertained 

 whether it reaches every where the Mississippi 

 river. It forms, in some places, the surface of the 

 ground, which, in such cases, is destitute of ve- " 

 n, and known under the name of glade, on 

 which the characterizing shells, (oysters and gry- 

 phe;e) may always be found. 



Three kinds of marl are enumerated bynatu-, 

 ralists, all of which are used lor improving the 

 soil, and some for building stone; they are called 

 argillaceous marl, calcareous marl and silicious 

 marl. Some naturalists raid; among them a fourth 

 species under the name of bdummous marl or 

 marlite. Marl is also known under different tri- 

 vial denominations. Treating this subject in a 

 practical way it. may be divided into shell marl and 

 carihy marl,' What English agriculturists call shell 

 marl, is similar to the marl that is found in the 

 state of Tennessee; the earthy marl is a different 

 mineral substance. The color of the latter is 

 various — white, black, blue, red — and its hardness 

 is as various as its color, being sometimes soft and 

 ductile like clay, sometimes hard and solid like 

 stone. Shell marl is easily distinguished by the 

 shells which always appear in it. 



Shell marl is very different in its nature from 

 clayey and stone marls, and from its effects upon 

 the soil, is commonly classed by agriculturists 

 among the animal manures. It is generally con- 

 sidered by them as containing an oily matter which 





