236 



A Farm CuUivaled hy the Insane. 



Vol. IX. 



on each of these four experiment acres was 

 the same, viz., $8 per acre. A marked dif- 

 ference is visible at this time in favour of 

 that which was dressed with g-iiano and 

 plaster, and it all looks much better than 

 that which was left without manure. The 

 guano was obtained of Samuel R. George, 

 of Baltimore, at $3 per 1(K) lbs. I mixed it 

 vs^ith plaster, to remove a part of its acrid 

 quality that might injure the young germ, 

 and also to condense the volatile portions, 

 and render the sowing of it less unpleasant. 

 It costs me 30 cents per 100 lbs. to get the 

 gnano hauled from Baltimore, 28mil.es. The 

 poudrette got of J. Ta turn, costs i^l 50 per bar- 

 rel in Philadelphia, and 50 cents a barrel to 

 get it here by way of the DivStrict of Colum- 

 bia. At mj' farm the bone stands me in 50 

 cents a bushel, guano $3 30 per 100 lbs.; 

 poudrette '^2 per barrel, and plaster $1 30 

 per barrel. The benefit of plaster, as far as 

 I have tried it, is very small indeed, if any. 

 My land is, however, very poor, mostly a 

 stiff clay, full of white flint stones. Yet it 

 eeems very susceptible of improvement, and 

 I am m hopes that when I shall .get it a little 

 more improved, the effects of plaster will be 

 more manifest. I have made no experiment 

 till the present fall, to determine the com- 

 parative values of bone and guano. My im- 

 pression is, however, th^t while the effects 

 of guano may be more striking in the first 

 crop, bone w-ill be more lasting. The ex- 

 periments with guano and bone, as given in 

 several agricultural publications, are by no 

 means satisfactory to me, because they give 

 a statement of the fwoduce of only the first 

 crop after the application of the manures, 

 where guano, from bfin^j in a stale more 

 ready to be immediately-assimilated in the 

 , growing vegetable, would possess a decided 

 advantiige over bone, wh'ch is in a coarse 

 state prmcipally. The difierent crops from 

 the time the manures are applied till the 

 ground is broken up again, and the condition 

 and quality of the ground when then broken 

 up, should all be taken into account in mak- 

 ing up the estimate of the comparative value 

 of different manures. It is to this end that 

 I am instituting my experiments. I may 

 state, in conclusion, that i have no doubt the 

 effects of bone du.-t and guano, are much 

 more striking upon old worn out lands, such 

 as these to which 1 have applied them, than 

 they would be to those that arc richer. In- 

 deed it is reasonable that la-'ids wliich have 

 been long cropped, without having had any- 

 thing returned to thi-m, must eventually be- 

 come deprived of phosphate of lime and other 

 inorganic materials, which, exi>t'ng in but 

 email quantities in soils, are yet in<lifpensa- 

 bly necessary to the growth of grains and 



nutritious vegetables. And although such 

 soils may contain every other ingredient ne- 

 cessary to vegetable growth, yet wanting 

 the phosphate of lime, grains, clover, &c., 

 which contain this, could not grow till it is 

 applied in bone dust or sometiiing of the 

 kind. So of other inorganic elements which 

 enter into the vegetable economy. 



It would give me great pleasure indeed 

 to have an opportunity of shoioing thee my 

 experiments, and of going with thee to see 

 my cousin and neighbour Roger Brooke, to 

 whom I read thy letter last evening, and 

 who expressed an earnest wish that thou 

 might find time to carry out thy intention 

 as therein expressed. 



Thy sincere friend, 



Benjamin Hallowell. 



John SL Skinne.k. 



A Farm Cultivated by the Insane. 



In our former notices of the systems em- 

 ployed in France for the amelioration and 

 cure of insanity, we pointed out tliat the 

 occupation of the patients in various useful 

 employments, was amongst the most suc- 

 cessful modes of treatment. When the in- 

 crease of patients in the two asylums, the 

 liicetre awd the Salpetriere, at Paris, de- 

 manded further accwnmodation, the tmfor- 

 tunate inmates were employed to assist in 

 the new buildings, and with results ex- 

 tremely favourable to themselves. When 

 these works were finished, the medical di- 

 rectors of the hospital dreaded the effects of 

 a relapse into inactivity on their patients, 

 ;ind employed them in the fields and grounds 

 adjoining the two edifices. So active were 

 the labourers, and so delighted with their 

 work, that they did everything which could 

 be done in a very short time, and want of 

 work was again threatened. To avert it 

 altogether, M Ferrus, one of the physicians 

 of the Bicetre, conceived the idea of obtain- 

 ing a farm for the permanent employment 

 of" his willing labourers. With this view- 

 he applied to the government; but as there 

 were no funds at the disposal of the minis- 

 try which could be applied to the commence- 

 ment of such an undertaking, and as every 

 acre of cultivated ground near Paris was, 

 of course, occupied, h;s scheme seemed at 

 first hopeless. Still ihe benevolent projector 

 was not to be daunted, and as he could not 

 find a cultivated spot of ground fit for his 

 purpose, he looked out for a barren one. 



After many inquiries and surveys, M. Fer- 

 rtis fixed upon on estate situated about two 

 miles from the Bicetre, near the barriere de 

 la Sanle. It was the most wretched piece 

 of ground imaginable. So entirely was it 



