216 



FARMEllS' REGISTER. 



[No. 4 



made in the marsh have commenced its draining, 

 the resuhs obtained and a sulRciently great slope, 

 promise, as we shall see hereafter, success to the 

 undertaking. Vegetation in this valley is active, 

 the trees are fine, and if the magnesian principle, 

 as is probable, occurs there, it does not seem to 

 injure vegetation; in this inundated soil, some prin- 

 ciples probably exist which neutralize the destruc- 

 tive enect of the magnesia. * * * 



RE3IARKS. 



It Seems a singular and illegitimate conclusion of 

 the author, that the sterility of the soil of "the plain" 

 is caused by the small quantily of carbonate of magne- 

 sia contained. It would have been much more plausi- 

 ble, if the very large proportion of carbonate of lime 

 contained had been considered as the true evil. The 

 soils giving the analyses 1 and 2, are stated to be spe- 

 cimens of the whole calcareous and magnesian plain — 

 and No. 4 shows the sub-soil common to both, and to 

 the whole plain. In these two varieties of the same 

 rreneral kind of soil^ the proportion of carbonate of 

 lime is 38 per cent, in the first, and in the second, 69 

 percent. — and the sub-soil of both, (No. 4,) has 74 

 per cent. Surely these large proportions of carbonate 

 of lime, are sufficient to account for sterility, after the 

 continuance of exhausting and bad tillage for time im- 

 memorial, without looking for that cause in the presence 

 of carbonate of magnesia, which these same three 

 specimens contain respectively in the very small 

 proportions of 23, 47, and 41 thousandths — or less than 

 the half of 1 percent. We do not believe that this 

 earth (in much larger proportions,) is injurious to soils 



but infer the reverse, from the great similarity of its 

 chemical qualities to those of carbonate of lime — ami 

 from some of the richest soils in the world containing 

 carbonate of magnesia. Thus M. Puvis himself states 

 that it is in the soil of the rich valley of the Nile — and 

 we have found it in the celebrated alluvial soil of the 

 Red River. The authorities brought to sustain the 

 position that the magnesian ingredient is injurious to 

 fertility, if examined, are worth as little as the reason- 

 ing. Tennant, it is true, attributes injurious elfects to 

 the magnesia contained in certain limestones; but it is 

 to magnesia brought to its caustic slate, by the burning 

 of the limestone, and so applied to the soil. This may 

 well be the case, and all the injurious effects of such 

 manure, referred to by our author, may be true, and 

 yet the mild carbonate of magnesia, as it exists natu- 

 rally in soil, may be either harmless or beneficial. 

 Still less does Davy's view su.stain this opinion of M. 

 Puvis. That great agricultural chemist quotes Ten- 

 nant's discovery and statement, but without seeming to 

 concur entirely in the asserted ill effects of even caustic 

 magnesia — and he certainly contradicts the notion 

 that a natural and small proportion of the carbonate is 

 injurious, by referring to the valuable qualities of the 

 Lizard Downs, which have that rare ingredient. 



But putting aside M. Puvis' deductions, the facts as 

 to the presence of magnesia, and the prodigious amount 

 of calcareous earth in this poor plain, are sufficiently 

 worth attention. We cannot, however, presume to 

 reason with regard to facts which arc so concisely and 



imperfectly presented, or to explain away difficulties 

 which oppose any general and uniform deduction. 

 But we will venture to hint our opinion, that these 

 highly calcareous plains of France, were at some far 

 remote period immensely rich /;ra?rics like those of Ala- 

 bama and Arkansas: and that the latter, if e.vposed to a 

 similar long course of exhausting tillage, will hereafter 

 be as poor, and as difficult to be improved, as these 

 calcareous plains of France, or the chalk downs of En- 

 land. 



From llic Arc.ma of .Science. 



PniCKLY COMFREY A IVEW SPECIES OF FOOD 



FOR CATTTE 



Symphytum Aspcrrimum, a hardy perennial of 

 gigantic growth, introduced fiom Caucasus, as 

 an ornamental plant in 1801, by Alc.^srs. Lo('- 

 digcs, of tlockney, as specdied in Curtis's Ba- 

 ianical Magazine, where it is figured, No. 929. 

 Horses, cows, sheep, pigs, and geese may he led 

 with it; and as it is of wonderful growth, and, may 

 be cut successively from April to October, it may 

 be cultivated to great advantage. For horses, to 

 Jse put in the racks, spread on pastures, or the 

 green stalks to be cut witli chaff, it will be linrnd 

 most usefuh Two out of three will lake it at once, 

 the others will soon follow, and when once the 

 taste is acquired, they will never leave it. Coii s 

 do not take it at first so freely as the horse, but 

 soon take it, and are eager lor it. For sheep or 

 lambs it is very good; they will take it freely, the 

 latter before they are a month old. it is a very 

 early plant, and immediately lollows the turnips. 

 The first crop of leaves to he fed off before the 

 flowering stalks rise, care being taken not to feed 

 too hard, so as to damage the crowns of the f)Iants. 

 Spread on pastures, put in racks or folds on lallows, 

 it will be found of great service. For nigs it is 

 very uselul; they eat it fVeel}- and do well. Geese 

 will eat it, as soon as hatched. It will grow in all 

 soils and situations, superior to any oiher plant, 

 and may be jdanted by the sides of ditches, in any 

 waste corner, fields, orchards, gardens, &c., where 

 only useless rubbish grows. The only expense 

 is, the purchase of a tew in the first instance, as it 

 may be increased to any quantity, and, once es- 

 tablished, will last lor ever. I know some that 

 have stood more than twenty years, and are as full 

 of vigor as they have ever been. It is now rea- 

 dy for cutting (J\iarch 31st). I have cut it when 

 more than seven loot high, and as thick as it could 

 stand on the ground. I once cut and weighed one 

 square rood; the average was seventeen tons, three 

 cwt. per acre. I have no doubt hut that in the 

 course of /he year the produce would have been 

 thirty tons. 1 cannot say what effect continual 

 cutting may have on this plant, or on the land, l()r 

 many years together; but as far as 1 have experi- 

 enced, it does not weaken the plant. I have cut 

 it three times in one year, and liiund it equally 

 stroniT the lollowing spring. The proper distance 

 for planting it is li'oin two to five feet square, ac- 

 cording to the quality of the land. It may bo 

 planted at any time of the year, but, like other her- 

 baceous plants, is best Avhen in a growing state. 

 — See a letter to Lord Farnborough, signed Dr. 

 Grant, in the Nnrthompton Herald and General 

 Advertiser, Saturday, October 10, 1835. 



