246 



Green-Sand and Shell-MarL 



Vol. VI. 



they are situated, and should have been hap- 

 py to have vipited, with you, some of these 

 pits, book in hand, and spent a d;iy in read- 

 inpr, comparing and notingf some striking pe- 

 culiarities which, while on the spot, would 

 be found to add greatly to the interest of cer- 

 tainly one of the most important subjects 

 treated of in Mr. Booth's book. But as I 

 have been deprived of the pleasure of your 

 company in the personal examination of these 

 interesting spots, I must be permitted to no- 

 tice a circumstance relating to them which 

 I cannot reconcile with their real appearance. 

 In Mr. B.'s book we are given to understand 

 that the green-sand, although not exliibiting 

 a trace of lime in its composition, is still ex- 

 tremely rich and valuable, in consequence of 

 the silicate of potash which it shows on ana- 

 lysis. Now what I wished waS, to visit with 

 you these green-sand pits — Rogers's, Polk's, 

 and Wheeler's, and compare the spontaneous 

 growth of the herbage around tliem, with 

 that of Biddle's, Roybold's, Higgins's, and 

 Hurlick's pits of shell-marl, for I know not a 

 better criterion by which to judge of the 

 fructify mg influence of these remarkable sub- 

 stances, so different in their appearance and 

 in their properties ; for whenever I visit these 

 last mentioned pits, I am struck with the rich- 

 ness and variety of the native verdure which 

 completely covers all the earth about — not 

 only white clover, but green grass and red 

 clover of immense growth, which, although 

 some persons consider to have sprung from 

 the seeds of hay with which the horses and 

 oxen have been fed while the wagons were 

 loading, I am satisfied is of spontaneous 

 growth, the effects of the marl. At Mr. Hur- 

 lick's marl-bed, on the Delaware canal, the 

 effect of the marl is in this particular very 

 apparent, for the road from the pit, which 

 leads through a field not yet improved, is co- 

 vered like a carpet with the finest grasses, 

 white clover predominating, brought up by 

 the marl which had dropped from the wagons 

 while passing; and, more remarkable still, 

 the pathway formed by the treading of the 

 drivers of the teams, on the right-hand side 

 cf the road coming from the pit, is most ex- 

 actly marked with a beautiful covering of the 

 same, the effect of the marl brought from the 

 pit on their shoes, to which it adhered while 

 loading their wagons, and is left on the 

 ground while walking by the side of their 

 teams. But nothing of this spontaneous 

 growth of herbage is to be seen on the banks 

 of the green-sand pits, although they too must 

 have often been covered witii the droppings 

 from wagons, &c. Now I would ask, while 

 reasoning from this perceptible difference, is 

 it necessary that the green-sand, although 

 containing silicate of potash in abundance, 

 should receive a dose of lime before it can be 



made to operate as the shell-marl does in its 

 natural state ] if so, there must be a consi- 

 derable difference in its value as a manure 

 when compared with the shel!-n)arl, for be- 

 sides the cost of the lime, there is the time 

 lost before it commences operations, as well 

 as the labour of mixing the two together. 

 And agam, does not the shell-marl operate, 

 secondly, by adding to the staple of the soil ■? 

 a consideration of great importance, acting 

 mechanically and chemically at the same 

 time. Now, from what 1 have said, it must 

 not be supposed that 1 wish to detract from 

 the value of the green-sand — by no means — 

 but the comparison which might be instituted 

 will, I conceive, show that there is a marked 

 and very peculiar difference in the mode of 

 operation between the two, the advantage 

 being much in favour of the shell-marl, which 

 contains as well the means of permanently 

 renovating the soil, as invigorating and sti- 

 mulating tiie present growtli of crops, a cir- 

 cumstance of very great moment, and war- 

 ranting, perhaps, the expectation that, while 

 in some seasons and under peculiar circum- 

 stances a very heavy dressing of green-sand 

 might prove injurious as an overdose, the ap- 

 plication of shell-marl in «»?/ quantity will be 

 beneficial, particularly if we were to do, as I 

 am convinced we ought to do, allow our marl 

 to lie and ferment and sweeten after taking 

 it out of the pit, and before spreading it ; and 

 if the whole mass were to be turned over 

 and pulverized during that time, there is 

 every reason to expect that the beneficial re- 

 sult would pay amply the expense of the la- 

 bour bestowed. We have often observed, 

 that on exposure to the atmosphere, a kind of 

 efflorescence takes place on the marl, whicli, 

 no doubt, is highly conducive to the immedi- 

 ate action which we have sometimes noticed 

 to take place on spreading such marl on 

 young clovers as a top-dressing. In our marl 

 beds we have a mine of gold, but I fear we 

 as yet but little understand the process of re- 

 fining, and practise less; but the difference 

 between the two articles is just this — while 

 gold is the " root of all evil," marl is the root 

 of all good ; and while the one, even in So- 

 lomon's time and since, has ever been the 

 precious metal — meaning, I presume, that it 

 costs about ^3 in labour to make !fri in value, 

 marl has bestowed wealth in abundance upon 

 all who have been engaged in mining and 

 disseminating it. T. B. 



Near MiiUllftown, Del. 



Mr. A. Palmer, of Goshen, Connecticut, 

 gives the foliowirig as the crop taken from 

 5 acres of land in 1840: viz. 600 bushels corn 

 in the ear, 118 cart loads of pumpkins, 300 

 bushels turnips, and 240 bushels potatoes. 



