180 



^l)e JTanncr's iHontl)In llisitor. 



his upIiiMtls were rovcicd willi sterile ?niid, and 

 his bfcit meadows now were tlien a fruilless nest 

 hoi;. Mr. H. refiieniheied «lifn n boy liow his 

 father portil over Diiv\'s Chemistry ns the most 

 interesting work on ayricnitnre. He pnrehased 

 the |)eat hoj; at tjie price of eight or ten dollars 

 the acre. 'J'his he first cnliivnted iis any man 

 woidd who ilid not /iilly nnderstand its natme. 



Jn snoces.-ive years of cultivation, he made 

 sitccessive new discoveries. There were rocks 

 . as a siibs<iil to this peat boj; : he tound these rocks 

 lioney-combed, hecanse the acid matter in tliis 

 wet f;roniid decomposed the rock sooner than the 

 acid upon hifjher and drier ground. He found 

 micacions loam spiead over the peat gave a 

 great impelns to the growing crop.x. The lin- 

 produclive peat bog in its crude estate was made 

 to produce two and a half lo three tons of excel- 

 lent English hay to ihe acre. 



Reailing Dr. Jackson's geological report on the 

 State of INIaiue, he (Judge Hayes) Ihnnd the clays 

 of that part of the Stale where he lived had been 

 formed under the sea, and thai ihey contained 

 fossil shells. This knowledge had saved the pur- 

 chase of lime as a iniMure in the manuliicture of 

 conjpost, as the fossil marl was liinnd to contain 

 from five to ten per cent, of lime, rendering the 

 pm-chase of foreign lime entirely unnecessary. 



So in the town of Saco, Dr. J. examined a 

 crop of corn upon the ground which gaew Inxii- 

 rlantly at first — but afterwards gradually failed. 

 Here copperas v\as the prevailing ag"nt ; and 

 gvpsnui was usceitaiiied lo be an antidote for the 

 e'vil. 



lUr. Hayes, who is a lawyer and clerk of the 

 U. S. court at Poitsmonth and constantly en- 

 gaged in his profession, described hisown.cir- 

 cumsciibed cidtivation at the place of his resi- 

 dence. The free ground left him is oidy a lot 

 60 by 75 leet. Being not siifli<'ipnt for a kitchen 

 garden for his flunily, he had made pre|iaraliou 

 tiiragaiilen of flowers. The soil was low and 

 danjp. His first effo't was to dig a drain filled 

 with rocks underneath, and over it to make a 

 walk. He had in this way constructed four wa- 

 ter courses in this small spot, and covered the 

 snrliice with oyster shells and bl.icksuiitli's cin- 

 ders. Standing water he considered to be injuri- 

 ous to vegetation : .It considerable depth below 

 the surlace, it opeiates by capillary attraction. 

 He had selected u soil derived Irom decomposed 

 trap rock, having the means of obiuluing jnst 

 such .soil as he wanted. Night soil laid so deep 

 under ground as not to operate until the piant 

 had nearly obiained its matuj ity he li)und lo he 

 best lor use: this should be iieniralized by gyp- 

 sum before it is brought in contact wiili ihe plants. 

 He had yet to learn the jesnhs of his first year's 

 operations; IkU be did not doubt his complete 

 success. Little experience had taught him that 

 knowledge is power to the farmer: without 

 knowledge he may not e^.'pel■t success. 



Mr. Hill observed that lime had become of 

 very extensive use spread over the soil, in Penn- 

 sylviuiia, Maryland aiul Virgiiua: it had there 

 been so long in use that there was no more doubt 

 of its benefit than there could be of the best 

 Btable mainu'e. He wished to know of the Slate 

 Geologist whether our New England soils could 

 be equally benefitted by the use of lime. 



Dr. Jackson at once answered that in New 

 England, upon ahnost every kind of soil, he con- 

 sidered lime in some Ibrni to be a most valuable 

 ingredient of manure. 



Doct. Cowan, of Dover, by request, stated lo 

 the meniiug that he had very snccessfidly used 

 the subsoil plough on land lliat had not been be- 

 fore stirred to a greater depth than four inches. 

 His subsoil plough following another plough stir- 

 red the ground still ten inches deeper. Tlie laiul 

 was so lightened up as to completely fill a fiir- 

 row deepened fom inches by the first jdough. 

 The land thus subsoiled suffered not from drought 

 in one of the driest seasons. The crop on this 

 ■ ground was over three hundred bushels of pota- 

 toes lo tlie acre : the same land before had been 

 lessened to a inoduction of only inuety bushels 

 with common manuring of ten or twelve loads 

 of maiuue to the acre. Flis manming on the 

 subsoiled land was sixteen similar loads to the 

 acre. He had no doubt his futme crops on the 

 same ground wojdd be slill greater. His plough 

 cost him fifteen dollars; and bis first crop on less 

 than two acrts had more than paid its fidl cost. 



Hon, Mr. Coon of the Senate said he had 



found swamp mud applied in its crude state to 

 be injurious to vegetaliou in the light sandy soil 

 ahoni the town of Keeiie. 



Mr. C. said he had once raised ov«r fifty bush- 

 els of the Brown corn upon a single half acre. 

 The groimd was well p-epared by ploughing and 

 mamning both fall and spring": this soih was 

 sandy loam. 



He said he obtained this seed i.orn fiom Mr. 

 Brown who gave it the name and had raised over 

 one hundred bushels to the acre, uptni one of the 

 Wimtipisseogee lake islands. He had in one sea- 

 son transported over one hundred miles across 

 the country io Keeiie, tbrtj-five bushels of the 

 Brown seed corn— all fllr. Brown could spare:— 

 he bought for $1 .50, ami sold for $5 per bushel. 

 The good latmers of Cheshire were so shaipset 

 for this kind of corn, that he not only sold all he 

 hail at the high price, htit niight havcsold much 

 more. 



His large crop was plani«d two and a half feet 

 each way, and there vi ere three stalks left in each 

 hill. 



Mr. C. described the Brown corn as highly 

 esteemeil at first, in his vicinity — more valued at 

 first because it was earlier when first receiveil. 

 It then malnred in tunety days fr(nii phmtiiig; 

 Jiiit subsequent crops took loiiger time to ripen. 

 The corn was still esteemed; and he hail an or- 

 der to procure more of it fiom the foimtain source 

 if it could he obtained. 



Professor Haduuck of Dartinoinh College, in 

 an eloquent aiul beanliliil complimeiit to the oc- 

 cupation of the fanner, in which he cxpres.sed 

 his delight at the investigations had upon this 

 subject, and declared his mortification that he 

 liad lived so long and learned so little— itioved 

 that when the present meeting adjourned it he to 

 meet at the same place on Thursday evening 

 next at half past six o'clock. 



Gen. Colby, of New London, addressed the 

 meeting: he expressed the high gratification 

 which he felt at hearing the scieinific address ol 

 Dr. Jackson this evening. He was proud lo have 

 been born a farmer; tuid although he had been 

 calleil (lir u term of active lilij, into other occu- 

 pations, he was glad lo return to it again. He 

 would now educate and bring up his children in 

 the fanner's proliission as the best and the most 

 honmable calling. 



On moiion, Hon. Mr. Cooke of the Senate,Mr. 

 Chandler, member fiom Bosciiweu, and Mr. Hill 

 senior ol Coru'ord w<>re appoijited a comniitlee 

 to select subjects lor fiiture meetings. 



Mr. Cooke afterwards annotmced that the sub- 

 ject for the next meeting would be croiis gener- 

 ally. 



Near the close of the meeting several st;«<'- 

 ntents of facts were made ill relation to diseased 

 potatoes, and various and conflicliug opiuimis 

 were Ihe result— leaving the whole matter in un- 

 certainty. iMr. Uahtlett ol Warner, S. A. Kim- 

 ball, Esq., of Concord, Gov. Steele, Gen, Col- 

 by, Air. Cooke of Keeiie, Mr. Fifield of Ply- 

 mouib, ami Kichard Bradley, E>q. of Concord, 

 spoke upon this subject. Doct. Jackso.n said he 

 batl been informed that the disease had been 

 remedied at the West by the use of lime. It was 

 (bund that the healthy potatoes were always con- 

 nected with green and healthy stems— diseased 

 stems produced di.seased potatoes exclusively. 



Mr. Bradli;y of Concord said he mixed lime 

 and plaster and used it last year on his [lolatoes 

 with good effect ; he had done the same this 

 year with equal success. He did not believe the 

 manure at all affected the potatoes with rot. He 

 had used plaster on the .Merrimack intervale in 

 Concord for many years. His father, the late 

 Hon. John Bradley with one of his neighbors, 

 first used plaster as a manure in the year 1801 in 

 Concord. 



The meeting at ten o'clock adjourned to Thurs- 

 day evening, Dec. 19. 



Vse of Id^e. 

 in the State of Pennsylvania, lime is exten- 

 .sively used as manure : the effects of it have been 

 felt in the greatly increased pioduciion. Doct, 

 William Darlington, Ibrmerly a member of Con- 

 gres.s, is well known both as a practical and sci- 

 eiitific farmer. Those who doubt the efiicacy of 

 lime, may have their doubts dispelled hv "the 

 liillowing extracts from Dr. Darlington's late ad- 

 dress before the agricultural association of his 

 county : — 



" The farmer, then, must go earnestly lo work,' 

 lo perform iIm? iluiies of his department. The 

 first step is to enrich his land : and this, as 1 have 

 intimated, is best accomplished by ploughing iio 

 more ground than he can thoroughly manure. 

 To accumulate uiannre must, therefore, be a lead- 

 ing object. The chief element of manure being 

 vegeiable matter, the production of that material, 

 on exhausted soils, is nece.«sarily slow and tedi- 

 ous; but we have Ibimd a powerful and valuable 

 auxiliary, in that proc-es.s, in the ap)dication of 

 time. 'I'his mineral, judiciously applied, is known 

 to be highly favorable to the growth of the nat- 

 ural iiimily of grasses, and especially of the more 

 valuable species of that family. Byaninciea.se 

 of those grasse.'i, we are enabled to keep a more 

 numerous stock, and thereby to angment the 

 quantity of barn-yard manure enhances the ben- 

 eficial iuflnence of the lime; for lime has ever 

 the best effects in conjnnciion wiili manure, — 

 and ihe dose of that mineral maybe gradually 

 heavier, as the soil becomes richer. Tims these 

 important a^reius may be made to co-operate with 

 augmented efficacy, as the work of improvement 

 advances. The calcareous diessings promote the 

 increa.«e, their agency is rendered still more ef- 

 fective and salnlary; so that what the Kmnail 

 poet says of the progress of rumor, or tame, 

 may be literally applied lo the use of lime, in 

 agriculture — 



"rires acguirit eundo." 



The application of lime for the improvement 

 of land is, ] erhaps, more universal — and its ad- 

 vaula;.'es heller appreciated among the farmers 

 of Chester county than in any other district of 

 our country. The practice there, for innuy years, 

 has been to apply quick lime — slacked .so as to 

 reduce it to a powder — on the grounds which 

 have been prepared fur Indian corn. This was 

 long supposed to be the most appropriate lime 

 for applj ing it — ami it is still generally observed ; 

 but evperieni'e has demonstrated, that the .-ipili- 

 catioii Jifi'er comes amiss — that it is beneficial at 

 all fimes ; a\^i\ the maxim now h, lo be sure and 

 ptd it on, some lime in the year. Of latter yeai.=, 

 soiue of (iiir best firmers have adopted the prac- 

 tice of using lime as a top dresjing, on iheir 

 meadows and pasture grounds — ibr every field, 

 in its turn, becomes a meadow, after the wheat 

 cro|i: — and 1 am strongly inclined to the opinion 

 that this will be Unnid the most advanlageous 

 mode of applying il. It mingles directly wilh 

 the dead vegetable matter on the snrliice, ami 

 thus, as I suppose, improves the quality of that 

 refiise herbage, as a manure. It moreover exerts 

 a salutary influence upon the turf, or sod, in stiff 

 cl.iy soils, by mellowing it — and otherwise im- 

 proving its condition. Another advantage at- 

 teiidiug lop dressings of lime on grass lands, is, 

 that they can be applied at the seiisons td" great- 

 est leisure and convenience to the farmer. On 

 the whole, therefore, I believe this method en- 

 titled to the preference; or, al leasi, is worthy of 

 the consi<leralion of practical agriculturists. In- 

 deed, there is reason to believe that top dressing 

 — even of the driest ami lightest iiianure.'', or of 

 straw, itself, nroduces a more signal effect upon 

 the growth of ihe valu.-ible grasses, than results 

 from the same materials wjien buried by the 

 plough; and the subject deserves further investi- 

 gation. 



T\w quatdity of lime employed in agriculture, 

 on a given surhice, should be I'egnlated by the 

 gvalilij of tfie soil. On sterile or exhausted lauds, 

 wheie the vegetation is scant, the dressing shmild 

 at first be light, yet gradually increased, as the 

 soil improves. Thirty Inishels lo the acre, equal- 

 ly distributed, may he siiftjcieiit at the coin- 

 mencemeni: but, as vegetable matter accunin- 

 lates, the quantity of lime may he enlarged, by 

 degree.s to sixty or eighty bushels to the acre. 

 Some of the best Chester county farms will bear 

 one hundred bushels jier acre, with advantage; 

 and il is remarkable, that the very soil which 

 overlies the limestone rock, will bear the heaviest 

 dreasings of that mineral. 



It' I niight here venture at a Cliester connli/ pre- 

 seri/dioii Ibr llie treatment of an exhausted lariii, 

 I would say to its (iccujiant, make your fields 

 small, w at least, jjlough only so iniicli as you 

 can manure well, when it comes to be laid riown 

 ill wheat, timothy and clover; give yonrliulian 

 corn-field a moderate dressing of lime, prepara- 

 tory to planting. The- intermediate crop, be- 



