NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



371 



farther lessen the difficulty. The dark points in 

 the engraving stand out before the teeth, to pro 

 tect them and untangle the matted grass. The 

 teeth are the white points, like saw teeth. They 

 are moved back and forth by the action of the 

 wheels with great rapidity. The machine weighs 

 about five hundred pounds, and is easily drawn by 

 two horses. 



For the New England Farmer. 



IS ASPARAGUS A MARINE PLANT? 



BY CHARLES SIEDI10F. 



Asparagus is generally believed to be a marine 

 plant. I luive very often inquired of such as as 

 serted this, on what shore it was found growing 

 wild ; I could not, however, obtain any definite an- 

 swer, the general result of my inquiries being this 

 that it was thought so, and that the boohs said so 

 It is incredible, how much there is believed on 

 mere authority ; but human authority, however 

 great, is alwayB injurious to truth, which never 

 will or can be impaired by a thorough, but of 

 course sincere, investigation. Truth will defend 

 itself. There is no difference. in the absolute value 

 of single truths, because their contrary is error ; 

 still there is a great difference as to their practi- 

 cal importance. 



Being unable to settle the question in regard to 

 asparagus by literary means, I cannot but resort 

 to what I have seen and experienced myself. Some 

 ten years ago I travelled on foot nearly all along 

 the sea s'lore from Holland to Denmark for scien- 

 tific purposes, especially for the preparation of a 

 work on ornithology which was published in 1845. 

 I spent weeks and months on islands in the North 

 Sea, visited the shores of the Baltic and of the 

 Mediterranean. I have been engaged for years in 

 collecting the marine plants of northern Germany 

 for a friend who intended to publish a special flo- 

 ra of them. But/ have never met with a single 

 asparagus plant near the seashore in northern Ger- 

 many. 



There is a ridge of hills to the South of the Ilarz 

 mountains, running parallel with them, and called 

 "Die Ilainleite." I was born in a little village 

 among those bills, and recollect very well, that not 

 very far from it, but nearer to the town of Fran 

 kenhausen, there was such an abundance of aspar- 

 agus plants in the woods, that children used to cut 

 them there and sell them in the towns adjacent. 

 I have cut them myself many a time, when a boy, 

 and upon inquiry whether asparagus had always 

 grown on those hills, I was informed they had 

 been there from time immemorial. The soil where 

 they grow there, is calcareous. 



In making asparagus beds in Germany, we dig 

 them five feet deep, fill them with the richesi 

 possible soil, but which must be free from unde- 

 cayed manure. This soil is previously mixed with 

 some air-slacked lime and brick-dust. A friend of 

 mine in northern Germany, who was desirous of 

 having an asparagus bed, but who could not pro- 

 cure the necessary manure, followed the hint he 

 took from my relating him, 'that I had seen the 

 asparagus growing in the woods, and filled his bed 

 with brushwood and friable, very sandy soil from 

 his garden. His asparagus were the finest I have 

 seen. I have already prepared a bed here for the 

 same experiment, it being worth trying. 



Lancaster, April 16, 1852. 



For the New England Farmer. 



FELDSPAR. 



Editors N. E. Farmer : — I wish to inquire of 

 you, what are the qualities and properties of feld- 

 spar that promote the growth of vegetable matter, 

 such as is usually raised on farms in Massachu- 

 setts. Also, what are the component parts of 

 feldspar. In New Braintree, and the towns 

 around there, there are large quantities of decom- 

 posed feldspar, and many of the fanners think, 

 that it supplies the waste caused by the growth of 

 vegetable matter. Please explain, and answer 

 these inquiries, and oblige your friend, Philo. 



North Brookficld, June 8, 1852. 



Remarks. — Feldspar is of two kinds, viz., potash 

 feldspar, in which potash is the alkali : this is the 

 common kind : soda feldspar, in which soda is the 

 alkali. There are other varieties mentioned, but 

 their composition is not peculiar. The composi- 

 tion of feldspar is silica, 65.21 — alumina, 18.13 — 

 potash, 10.06. A crystalized specimen, analyzed 

 by Vauquelin, gave silica, 64 — alumina, 20 — pot- 

 ash, 14, and lime 2. All these are good ; the pot- 

 ash is valuable on all soils, because it enters, more 

 or less, into all plants. See the article on alumina 

 n a late number. The decomposed feldspar will 

 undoubtedly be a valuable dressing on any of our 

 soils. 



DISCOVERY OF A NEW GUANO ISLAND 

 IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC. 



A new and extensive guano deposit has recently 

 been discovered upon an island in the Snuth Paci- 

 fic Ocean, and is causing considerable speculation 

 in the commercial circles of London, as we learn 

 from the Shipping Gazette. It appears that sev- 

 eral months ago, the fact of the existence of guano 

 in this new locality was communicated by an old 

 whaling captain to his owner, who determined that 

 the knowledge should be kept a secret until more 

 fully substantiated, and if found correct, then to 

 place the discovery before the shipping interest. 

 With this view, he gave instructions to the cap- 

 tain of a vessel he was dispatching upon a voyage 

 round the Horn, to search for the island in the 

 latitude and longitude furnished him, and to report 

 to him all the particulars from the first port he 

 could make. So faithfully and successfully have 

 these orders been fulfilled, that the owner has had 

 the original statement fully confirmed, and received 

 samples of the guano taken from the spot by Ids 

 own captain. These samples have been analyzed 

 by an eminent London chemist, with the following 

 results : 



7i parts salts of ammonia. 



8.V " animal organic matter. 



2\ " sulphate of muriate of potash and sod i. 

 5l" " phosphate of lime and phosphite of magnesia. 

 18 " sand. 

 1W " moisture. 



By comparison of this analysis with that of the 

 best Peruvian guano, now selling at £9 5s. per 

 ton, the value of the new article was found to be 

 about £5 10s. to £6 per ton. The quantity de- 

 posited is said to be so considerable that no suppo- 

 sition can be safely ventured upon, and the island, 

 from not being near any coast, is quite free from 



