264 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



" We have said nothina: here, of the commu- 

 nication o[ odors to woods, by impresnations of 

 ihis kind, becaLi>e this is an application easily 

 comprehended without Explanation ; and also be- 

 cause it is too strictly limited to the demands of 

 hjxury to be placed in the same scale of impor- 

 tance with the valuable results which we have 

 above enumerated. 



" It is evident, (i-om the bare announcement of 

 all these results, that they have not been, and 

 never could be, the result of accidental discovery. 

 The author has deduced them from simple ideas; 

 and they are the fruit of iont; continued aud 

 laborious studies and experiments. 



The commission closed their labors with a 

 recommendation that a copy of their report be 

 transmitted to the ministers of ajjricullure and 

 commerce, of the public works and the marine, 

 of finances and of war, which recommendation 

 was adopted by the Academy- 



At a subsequent sittins of the Academy, that 

 body received notice (rom the ministers of war and 

 of finance, that they had recommended the me- 

 thod of Dr. Boucherie to the special attention of 

 fhe commissioners of engineers, the artillery, and 

 the woods and forests. This shows the importance 

 that is attached to the discovery, by public func- 

 tionaries, and by the first seieniific men of this, 

 or any age, residing upon the spot where its results 

 have been witnessed and investigated. 



R. W. Haskixs. 



Buffalo, March 22, 1841. 



ANSWERS TO THE GENERAL qUERIES ON THE 

 EFFECTS OF BIARt, (INSERTED AT PAGE 24 

 VOL IX, AND ELSEWHERE,) IN REGARD 

 TO SOME FARMS IN JAMES CITY AND 

 SURRY COUNTIES. 



[We leel the more indebted to the gentlemen 

 who have contributed to furnish this article, be- 

 cause of the fewness of their number ; and there- 

 fore, especially, we owe thanks to the only farm- 

 er who has answered from James City, the 

 county where mai:Iing, as a regular business, was 

 commenced earlier than in any other part of 

 Virginia, and in which the improvements there- 

 by made have been among the most extensive 

 and valuable, and notable, for great benefit to 

 public interests, as well as to private and indivi- 

 dual interests. We have several times presented 

 general statements of our own, founded upon 

 our own general and superficial observation, of 

 the valuable and remarkable results of marling 

 in James City county, and the adjoining part of 

 Yoi k, which lies next to Williamsburg ;* and, 

 besides the general invitation — and request, ad- 

 dressed to all, we have made particular and urgent 

 efforts to obtain a full report from this, the most 

 interesting marling region of Virginia. But hav- 



* See at p. 108, vol. 1, and p. 415, vol. 8, Farmers' 

 Register, the more extended remarks on this subject 

 and locality. — Ed. F. R. 



ing failed entirely in obtaining any response or 

 aid, except in the single case which will be here 

 presented, we can add nothing more to the general 

 description and statements of our own which were 

 offered on former occasions. 



The county of Surry stretches along side oj 

 James City, lor soriie 20 miles, separated only 

 by the width of James river. But, considering 

 the close neighborhood of Surry, and its nume- 

 rous and easily accessible marl beds, and the pe- 

 culiar fitness of the lands to derive benefit from 

 tnarling, it was remarkable that the practice was 

 commenced, l^le and carried on slowly, compared 

 to James City, Prince George, and to other coun- 

 ties of Virginia, though the progress has been slow 

 every where. Yet there is no part of the country 

 where the effects of marl have been more bene- 

 ficial, or where they are more wanting, or more 

 cheeply obtained, than in Surry. But lew and 

 slow as have been the operations, compared to 

 the facilities and inducements to marl, there 

 are yet in that county much older and much 

 more extensive labors than those of the farmers 

 to whom we are obliged for the following an- 

 swers. 



The land of Surry is generally level, very san- 

 dy, and light, and naturally poor. Such, we in- 

 fer, \fasf he character of all the three farms in re- 

 gard to which answers will be given. The same 

 general description would suit for most of the 

 marl lands of James City county, (omitting the 

 river farms,) excepting that they are more un- 

 dulating, and not quite so sandy and light as the 

 Surry lands.— Ed. F. R. 



Answers of H. B. M. Bichardson, in regard to 

 his farm in James Citrj county, Virginia. 



1.2.— From the best information I can obtain, 

 the use of marl was commenced about the 

 year 1776. Quantity then marled about one acre 

 and a half or perhaps two acres. About 1798 

 another acre or perhaps less was marled. In 

 1829, I began to marl, since which time (1829) 

 the farm has been under my personal manage- 

 ment and direction. 



3. — The quantity of cleared land in 1829, was 

 about 85 acres of arable land. 



4. — 15 or 20 acres have been since added by 

 clearings, which, at the time the cultivation ol 

 said land was discontinued, must have been 

 poorer than the adjoining which was reserved 

 for tillage. 



5, — The rate of extending the marling, was from 

 6 acres, to 15 acres per annum. About 100 

 acres are now marled. 



6. — None of the marl has been analyzed, but I 

 think the greater part of what I have used was 

 of the best quality. 



7. — Part of the marl used, was what is called 

 sandy marl, and contained a considerable quan- 

 tity of " green-sand," but whether the quantity 



