60 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



manures to his singular region, that many of his 

 countrymen might make more profit at home, by 

 retaining, or even increasing, the early fertility ol 

 their lands, then by destroying their productive- 

 ness, and then seeking new lands in Texas. 



All of the soft calcareous rock, to which our 

 corresi)ondent re/ers, and which forms the subsoil, 

 and sometimes the upper soil, of the greater part 

 of the lands of several counties in Alabam.a, is 

 very rich, judging from the specimens which we 

 have analyzed — probably, seldom less than 70 

 parts in 100 of pure carbanate of lime. That de- 

 gree would be enough to make good lime (by 

 burning) for cement, or for manure — and better 

 for both, of course, if richer, as doubtless it is of- 

 ten. But, if it crumbles by exposure, or can be 

 coarsely pounded, more cheaply than to calcine it, 

 no burning is needed to prepare it for manure. 



The practical use of calcareous earth, as ma- 

 nure, would, of course, be very difl'erent, in gene- 

 ral, in Alabama, when it is so often in excess, from 

 lower Virginia, where it is almost universally de- 

 ficient. But the knowledge of the theory of its 

 action is not, therefore, the less important to be 

 known, and kept constantly in view by the cultiva- 

 tor. It will teach how to guard against the evils of 

 an exclusively calcareous soil, as well as those 

 of acid soils ; and to the cultivators of rich virgin 

 and excefisivcly calcareous soils, in South Alabama, 

 Arkansas, and even in Texas, the Paradise of 

 land-ihieves and land-killers, it offers the choice 

 ol' retaining, or even increasing the virgin fertility, 

 or of finally reducing the lands to the present 

 sterile condition of Judea, or of the high lands of 

 •Egypi, both of which are highly calcareous, and 

 formerly also highly fertile. 



Our correspondent is right in supposing that llie 

 carbonate of magnesia, if present in the soft rock, 

 would show similar efferversence. But a prac- 

 tised eye would detect a difference, (if there was 

 much magnesia, compared to the lime,) by the 

 slower effervescence of magnesia. But there is 

 little ground to fear the hurtful presence of magne- 

 sia. We have never known of its presence, (in 

 any quantity worth notice, if at all,) in any marl, 

 or rock, of shelly origin. The marls of South 

 Carolina, which Dr. Joseph Johnson analyzed, 

 and reported as containing a large proportion of 

 magnesia, seemed a remarkable contradiction of 

 this our long entertained opinion, as well as a 

 very interesting fact in itself. But, we learned 

 from that gentleman, in a recent personal inter- 

 view, that he had been mistaken in his supposi- 

 tion of the presence of magnesia in those marls, 

 as he had subsequently ascertained by subjecting 

 his process to a more rigorous test. 



Though calcareous matter may be generally 

 excessive on the " bald prairies" or " rotten lime- 

 stone" lands of Alabama, still many localities of 

 "sandy-lands," are interlocked with the calca- 

 reous, need much to be marled, and could be very 

 cheaply covered. Indeed, as we have heard the 

 relative positions and qualities of these different 

 kinds of land described, (for we have never seen 

 them, except in specimens for analyzing,) each 

 of these soils would be the best manure for the 

 other; and a cart in making trips of (sometimes) 

 not 100 yards in length, could take loads both 

 ways ; putting calcareous earth on the sandy and 

 acid soil, and sandy soil to lesson the excess of 

 calcareous matter in the other. — Ed. F. R. 



REMARKS ON THE SUPPOSED DISCOVERY OF 

 THE HESSIAN FLY. 



From the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Discovery believed to have been made in relation to 

 the Hessian fly. Complied for the Farmers' Cabi- 

 net, by Benjamin H. Coates, M. D. 



A paper presented to the American Philo- 

 sophical Society by Miss Margaretta H. Morris, 

 of G^mantown, and relating to the above-men- 

 tioned subject, was subsequently ordered by that 

 body to be published in their Transactions. As, 

 however, some time will elapse before the appear- 

 ance of the number of the Transactions which 

 will contain her paper, we have thought that we 

 could better serve the agricultural readers of the 

 Cabinet by extracting the information given in a 

 journal recently authorized by the Society to be 

 published by its Secretaries, in an abridged form 

 and of earlier appearance. In the " Proceedings" 

 just printed lisr November and December, 1840, 

 we find the subject mentioned, in some paragraphs 

 of which we here subjoin a copy. 



"The committee, consisting of Mr. Nutlall, 

 Mr. Lea, and Dr, Coates, to whom was referred 

 a communication by Miss Margaretta H. Morris, 

 on the cecidomyia destructor or Hessian ffy, report- 

 ed in favor of publication, which was ordered ac- 

 cordingly. 



"The committee express the opinion, that 

 should the observations of Miss Morris be ulti- 

 mately proved correct, they will eventuate in con- 

 siderable benefit to the agricultural community, 

 and, through it, to the public. Miss Morris be- 

 lieves she has established, that the ovum of this 

 destructive insect is deposited by the parent in the 

 seed of the wheat, and not, as previously suppos- 

 ed, in the stalk or culm. She has watched the 

 progress of the animal since June, 1836, and has 

 satisfied herself that she has frequently seen the 

 larva within the seed. She has also detected the 

 larva, at various stages of its progress, from the 

 seed to between the body of the stalk and the 

 sheath of the leaves. In the latter situation it 

 passes into the pupa or ' flax-seed state.' Accord- 

 ing to the observations of Miss Morris, the 

 recently hatched larva penetrates to the centre 

 of the straw, where it may be found of a pale 

 greenish-white semi-transparent appearance, in 



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