122 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



XXJ. "1827. Five buphels of ffypeeous parifi 

 povvefi broadcapt on 40 yards eqiinre of Pewter 

 Level nerv'-frronnfl, which i"in(i he'ore been mnried 

 al ilie rate, of 700 bufbels [of blue marl] lo the 

 ncTP. Snjl, whiiish day, very c\ci?e and intracla- 

 I le, and vrry pf'or. In rorn, and aaain in 182S. 

 and wheal in 1S29. Not ilio least rflcri of the 

 0}'pseoijs earlli on eitlier." Tiiis land i^ ol" the 

 remaikabie pnil. described in chap. x. of ' E^say 

 on Calcareous Maiinrep,' and which I believed to 

 ron'ain suiphurir. acid before lieinir marled. Of 

 fill ihe (rials of n-ypppous eanh made on difFerent 

 parts of this kind of land, whether b^fl^re ntarlinjr 

 or after marlinj.'', not the Rlightest effect was pro- 

 duced on any crop ; yet, after marline, and with- 

 out gyp.«!iim or green-sand, the next eucceedincr 

 rrop of clover was wonderfully lu.xuriant, though 

 the land was still poor ; and no subsequent crop 

 ofclover has ever equalled ihe first (after marling,) 

 pven when the land had been made much richer. 

 I( sulphuric acid (or sulphate of iron) be pre- 

 sent, a? I suppose, in (his miserable natural 

 Foi', (hen it will account for the first state of ste- 

 rility, and also the great growth of clover after 

 marlinir, and the non-effect of gppsum then as 

 heff>ri>. For tije sulphuric acid is taken up by the 

 lime, and (he union Ibrms jrypsum, and in such 

 great quantity, that no additional quantity can do 

 any 20od. This however does not account for the 

 inefRcacy of the creen-sand ; unle?s in this re- 

 spect, as it seems to me in al! others, the acMon 

 end effects of the green-sand and gypsum are 

 precisely alike. 



XXII. The Farm Journal for 1S29 refers to 

 the several experiments stated here as made in 



operating cause, marling, has produced on my 

 ijrain crops [by excessively iieavy dressings.] It 

 opens a valuable prospect of improvement from 

 my plaster beds, which have only lately been 

 used to any extent, and which I deemed almost 

 useless, ('or my ?nils) for years after I liad disco- 

 vered the existence and value of this manure, in 

 this neisrliboihood. ^^^sl of my mowing was 

 where gypseoua marl bad been used, (i'om 4 lo 8 

 years airo ; and but Utile nihcr clover, nn marl 

 from other pits, teas worth mowivg. This sea- 

 son, however, has been remarkably favorable to 

 liie growth of clover." 



This relijrence to gypseous mftrU and its pecu- 

 liar Vcdue to clover, refjuires an explanation which 

 will serve (o 'hrow additional liizht on the subject 

 of green-sand. What I called gypseous marl 

 here, and also in the ' Essay,' is the only eocene 

 marl on my farm, and is (he overlying stratum of 

 the bed of ureen-sand, and which was, undoubted- 

 ly, from'every appearance, originally the same cal- 

 careous marl. This kind of marl contains, besides 

 its calcareous ingredient, a small proportion of 

 gypsum, and also some green-sand. This is (he 

 bed lying undr-r the extremity of (he promontory 

 of Cogirins Point, and which has been used by 

 Collier Minir(>, fl:ll Carter, and some o(her firm- 

 ers across the river. The peculiar benefit produ- 

 ced to clover, in every case, by this kind of marl, 

 was to me one of (he s(rongest proofs ol the value 

 of gypsum, when accompanied by marl — and the 

 value which 1 thus ascribed (o gypsum perhapg 

 as n)uch belonged (o the contained green-sand, of 

 ihf presence of which I then knew no(hing. 



XX i ! F. " Gypseous earth and clover on marl- 

 burnt land. 182S. Febv. 28th. about 6 or 7 



1828, and adds — " ncnerally (here was not (he, r t^- ■ ■, c , ^ u- , ^ r ■ i 



eliah(est benefit Ibunddurit.g last vear from anvap-j^".^t°' btnmes field, whtch (after rest.nnr and 

 plication [of £rreeen.sand earth] made in ([^e "otf.e,n0;^srazed for 2 years) had been ploughed 

 ' "'■ -' - 'well m December last 



spring of 1828; (housh some of (hem show 



mostly 7 inches deep. 



rema.kabledifTerence this year." [From (he use "°^^ T'V '" "^'^',-^' '" ^.V 'wice well harrow 

 of (he word " some" it may be inferred that (he '"^'- ^"^^f '"7'- ^^ed sown,_3 quarts to the acre. 



greater number of applications were altoirether 

 inoperative, even the second year.] "No bene- 

 fit has been (bund from the gppsum [trreen-sand 

 ear h] put on (he new land of Cour(-Housp field, 

 which was ridge pine and whortleberry acid land, 

 [the subject of first 4 experiments stated in ' FJ^- 

 eay on Calcareous Tvlanures" and I. and XV., here] 

 whether on corn, wheat, or clover, (fjir that ro- 

 tation,) though tried very thick as well as thin, 

 nnd after, as we'l as before marling. However, 

 there were some spo's of remarkably rank volun- 

 teer clover, last year, where clover had been sown 

 and gypsed without benefit, 4 to 6 3'ears before." 

 On this land, green-sand earth, containing a con- 

 siderable proportion of gypsum, was afterwards 

 put on clover, at the rate of 20 bushels to (he 

 acre. The efT'ecl wag very unequal ; but a part 

 of it made as heavy a growth of clover as I ever 

 eaw. 



To show (he iiiyh expectations! entertaine<l of 

 (he improvement by means of gypseous earth, or 

 green-sand, induced by the remarkable effects in 

 eome cases on clover, I will copy an entry from my 

 Journal made June 12ih. 1828. After statins 

 that 42 acres of erood clover had been mowed, 

 it is added — "This crop of clover, (he like of 

 which has never before been made on hish-land 

 in the tide- water district, is highly gratifying, and 

 goes (ar to console me for the evils which (he 



Before the harrowing, gypseous earth spread, 

 20 heaped bushels (o the acre ; 20 feet width of 

 (he whole lenc'h left without the cyp'um. This 

 piece of land includes part of the marling first, 

 cultivated on in 1820, wliich in 1824 caused great 

 injury to the crop by its excess. [Subiect of ex- 

 periment 10 in ' Fpsay on Calcareous Manures,] 

 but principally is of the part marled as heavily in 

 1824, and which therefore might be expected to 

 show as much injury th's year, if cul(iva(pd in 

 corn. "Soil sandy and part gravelly, and very 

 poor before bping marled, which had greatly 

 improved (he first crops. 



" Result. The oats were bad, owing probably 

 to (he bad preparation. The clover was too thin — 

 and not the least effect seen from the jrypsum." 



" 1829. A great change by May 1st ; and by 

 June, the effect of (he gypsum was eviden( where- 

 ver applied ; and a most striking inferiority in 

 the strip of 20 feet width. Upon the sites of the 

 former heaps, where careless spreading had left 

 (he crypseous earMi much (bicker, the clover is 

 much (he best ; and in this manner the position 

 of most of the heaps (which werea heaped bush- 

 el each) may be known. The crop of clover 

 was too thin to be worth mnwinj? scarcely, and, 

 if otherwise, it would have been left to improve 

 the ground which so much needs it. Bu( some 

 of the best spots of clover, produced as I (houfflit 

 by the heavier dressings, were so rank as to lodge, 



