708 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



[No. 12 



But tills average dressing, [giving 3 per cent, 

 of carbonate of lime to the soil,] ought still to vary 

 in many cases. If the marl is argillaceous, or on 

 argillaceous soil, the dose ought To be diminished. 

 "When a soil of this kind, marled heavily with ar- 

 gillaceous marl, is worked after rain, it is made in- 

 to a sort of mortar, which hardens, and becomes 

 like brick, in drying, and which does not afterwards 

 crumble but with ruin.* 



Still more ought the dose of marl to be dimin- 

 ished in proportion to the lightness of the soil, and 

 we think that it ought to be lowered almost to that 

 of Sologne (250 cubic feet to the hectare,) a quan- 

 tity which we regard as reasonable, and as di- 

 rected by experience ,as much as by economy, on 

 very light soils. On the contrary, the proportion 

 ought to increase with the humidity of the soil. 

 In a very moist, soil, a small dressing might, not 

 Buffice: but nevertheless, it is necessary to guard 

 against making the soil too argillaceous. 



Precautions necessary to be taken in marling. 



The first requisite for the success of mailing, is 

 that, the soil should be well drained, and be able to 

 rid itself of the surface water. Marl doubtless 

 may effect much; but it is not sufficient of itself, to 

 put in good condition [assainer] a marshy soil. 

 Like lime, it cannot exercise its action, but" when 

 the soil, by its natural texture or position, or by 

 means of labor applied to it, can free itself from 

 superabundant water. 



The carting of marl ought to be done, in good 

 weather, in order that the ground may not be 

 poached and kneaded under the feet of the teams 

 and the men, and the wheels of the carts. It 

 should be either in a dry season, or when the earth 

 is frozen. However, if the roads are good, we 

 may profit by every leisure time of the teams, in 

 hawing marl upon a corner of the piece to be 

 marled, to be put over the ground afterwards by 



our use, and with the more proper quantity of one per 

 cent, of carbonate of lime, as the proportion to be ad- 

 ded. The land measure is the English acre, and for 

 the marl, the Winchester bushel, both being used in Vir- 

 ginia. Though the measure here is of course the even 

 bushel, (of 2150 three-fifths cubic inches,) and marl. 

 in practice, is measured heaping, in truth the two mea- 

 sures do not vary much, as the measure loosely heaped 

 when filled, would not be more than even, when settled 

 by standing, or by being jolted in the journey of the cart. 



A glance at this table will direct what number of bush- 

 els of marl, of any degree of strength between ten per 

 cent, and one hundred, will give one per cent, of car- 

 bonate of lime to any depth of tilled soil, from three 

 to eight inches. For example, of marl of thirty per 

 cent, mixed with six inches depth of soil, five hundred 

 and eighty-three bushels would be required for the acre; 

 ind of marl of eighty per cent, in a soil ploughed only 

 .our inches, one hundred and forty-five bushels would 

 give the same proportion. 



* This effect is a proof of the dose of marl being im- 

 properly heavy, independent of the particular facts 

 named. If no more carbonate of lime is applied than 

 is serviceable, its action is almost wholly chemical — and 

 one part of that action is to make clay soils lighter, and 

 sandy soils more stiff and adhesive — and so strong is 

 this chemical action, that it over-balances the mechan- 

 ical action of the sand or clay, which form the larger 

 part of the marl. Thus, a marl though very sandy, 



t The fractional parts of bushels are hundrcths. 



will still stiffen a sandy soil — and one though argilla- 

 cious, will lighten a compact and close clay soil. But 

 if these marls are applied in thrice the quantities re- 

 quired for chemical action, then two thirds of the 

 quantity are in excess — and exert mechanical power 

 only. Then, if sandy, this excess of marl increases 

 the lightness of soil, and if argillacious, makes the 

 soil more so than before, and it may be, to a very hurt- 

 ful extent. 



