86 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



The profits upon mule stock, (as I have quitted 

 that business,) will cease alter the present year; 

 but they will be fully supplied by llie increased 

 nunnberof hojrs and sheep which 1 shall be able 

 to keep, and by the crop of wheat which I shall 

 raise every second year. Sixty acres of clover 

 will liiriiish ffreat facilities for increasing the num- 

 ber of my hogs, and besides the corn consumed by 

 my mule slock, will now go to my hugs; and a 

 furiher improvement of my land will result from 

 adopting ifie clover in my rotation. 



Inteiest on the capital invested at the 

 rate of 12 per cent, per annum, - 93840 



Net profit as above, - - - - 3.720 



Profit 12 per cent. less, - - - §120 

 Do not the facts herein detailed, show that es- 

 timating land at $5 ) per acre, farming is a most 

 profitable business'? And do they not show the 

 additional fact, that the raising of hemp is more 

 profitable than the culture of cotton or grazing of 

 cattle. Yours, truly and sincerelj', 



Thos. B. Stevenson, esq., Frankfort, Ky. 



HULE FOR ASCERTAINING THE WEIGHT OF 

 CATTLE, SHEEP AND HOGS. 



In the " Cattle Keeper's Guide" there is a short 

 and easy method given to find the weight of live 

 stock, which will be of considerable utility to 

 breeders. Let the animal stand square, put a 

 string just behind the shoulder blade ; then put 

 the string on the tail so as to form a plumb line 

 with the hinder part of the shoulder blade ; take 

 the dimensions on the rule as before, which is the 

 length, and work the figures in thefblloiving man- 

 ner: girth 6 It. 4 inches, length 5 ft. 3 inches, 

 wfiich muhiplied together make 33^ square su- 

 perficial feet, that again multiplied by 23 (the 

 number of pounds allowed to each superficial loot, 

 for an animal measuring not less than five nor 

 over eight feet in girth,) makes 766 lbs. Where 

 the animal measures less than 6 and over 8 feet 

 in girth, 31 is the number of pounds to each 

 superficial toot. Again, suppose a pig or any 

 small beast should measure 2 feet in girth, and 

 two feet along the back, which multiplied to- 

 gether make 4 square feet ; that muhiplied by 11, 

 the number or pounds allowed lor each square 

 foot, when measurement is less than three liset in 

 girth, makes 44 lbs. Suppose again a calf; sheep 

 or hog should measure 4 ft. 6 inches in girth, and 

 3 ft. 9 inches in length, whicli multiplied together 

 make 16| feet, that multiplied by 16, the number 

 of pounds allowed to animals measuring less 

 than five feet and more than three in girth, makes 

 268 lbs. The weight of cattle, sheep and hogs 

 may be as exactly taken this way, as is at all ne- 

 cessary lor any computation of valuation of stock, 

 and will answer exactly to the (bur quarters sink- 

 ing the offal ; which every man if he knows a 

 few of the first rules of arithmetic and can get a 

 bit of chalk and a string can readily perform. A 

 reduction must be made for a half fatted beast, of 

 one pound in twenty, more than from a fat one ; 

 and from a cow that has had calves and is only 

 half lat, two pounds in twenty must be deducted. 



For ttie Farmers' Register. 

 GREEN-S.^ND IN GEORGIA. 



Mount Zion, Hancock Co., Georgia, 

 January 23rd, 1841. 

 Dear Sir. — Nothing but a wish to improve our 

 practices in agriculiure, and to develope the natu- 

 ral resources already provided liar us, has caused 

 me, a siriinuer, to intrutle this communication on 

 j'our attention, and I beg of" you to dispose of it as 

 the above reasons may direct your betier judg- 

 ment. It is on the subject of what you call green- 

 sand or gypseous earth. During last year J. R. 

 Colling, our slate geologist, made an examination 

 of this section, and found immense beds of what 

 he pronounces to be this earth, commencing at 

 what he considers the wesiern limit of" the oceanic 

 region, and exiending through a parallel region of 

 some 30 or 40 miles. It appears to be by no 

 means continuous or of uniform qualify; and we 

 are anxious to make a proper use of it, though 

 not to be duped by quackery or an inordinate zeal; 

 and I know of no oiher means of diffusing useful 

 information on that subject than through the 

 Farmers' Register. 



I have had a specimen from my /arm analyzed 

 by Mr. Colling, and he says he has done it with 

 all possible care and accuracy, and reports 100 

 grains dried to contain 



Water of absorption, - - - 6 grs. 

 Fine silicious sand, - - 9 " 



Sulphate ol'iime, _ _ _ 9.75 » 



Carbonate of lime, - - - 5.46" 



Protoxide of iron, - - - 4 <« 



Carbonate of magnesia, - - - 3 " 



Potassa, 12.37" 



Silicia, - - . . 36 " 



Alomiue, - - - - - 6 " 

 Loss, - . - . 8.42" 



100 

 JMy residence is about 10 miles above the oce- 

 anic region, in latitude 33.26, longitude 83.2, and 

 about 700 feet elevation above the ocean, on a 

 small water course making into the ocean. The 

 virgin soil was remarkably fertile, particularly 

 lor tobacco and grain; and isso now wJien the forest 

 is taken ofl', though by neglect it is easily gullied 

 and galled Irom the soil being soft. 



We generally find the green-sand in the gullied 

 bluHs near the creek bottoms — I believe in every 

 case under what is called aferro-argitlaceous sub- 

 edil of a deep red color, though the strata of rocks 

 beneaih this subsoil, and in the neighborhood of 

 the green-sand, varies exceedingly. I believe 

 what is called feldspatic gneiss is most common, 

 but you will frequently find in the same gully horn- 

 blende, hornblende slate, pyrites or sulphuret of 

 iron, mica slate, and some blocks of-granile. JVlr. 

 Colling found in different places what he con- 

 ceived a full gold formation, quartz, &c. In an- 

 alyzing [the green-sand] from the neighborhood 

 from the ridires, he found from 4 to 5 per cent, of 

 carbonate of lime, though no sulphate of lime; 

 from the creek deposites he found less carbonate of 

 lime, but about 3 percent, of sulphate of lime. 

 How deep the deposites of green-sand are we can- 

 not tell ; we penetrated one bed about 10 feet, and 

 it appeared to get better. It is generally of a blu- 

 ish-green wiih white streaks, and cfianging from 

 that to a yellow and chocolate color, alternating 



