108 



FARMERS' REGISTER— SHIRLEY FARM. 



James City Soils, and Resources for their Iia- 

 provement. 



December 7th, 1832. The highest land lying 

 betv/ecn York river on one side, and James river 

 and Chickahominy on the other, is generally a 

 poor sandy soil of" very worthless qualities, except 

 for abounding with beds of fossil shells, (or marl 

 as it is miscalled,) of the richest kind. This ma- 

 nure is now generally used, and though in such a 

 manner as not to yield half its value, still it has 

 done much for this part of the country, and pre- 

 sents a remarkable contrast with all otiier parts of 

 the usual farming practice. Contrary to what is 

 found higher up the country, the beds of marl here 

 arc plenty only under the highest (or ridge) land, 

 where it is exposed in most of the ravines — and 

 they appear but in very few places near either of 

 the neighboring borders of the three rivers. Al- 

 most every person who has marl, uses it to some 

 extent — and it is accessible to almost all. The 

 uncommon richness of most of the marl that I saw, 

 makes its use as cheap at a mile from the pit, as 

 at less than half that distance, under common cir- 

 cumstances. Judging from my limited observa- 

 tions, the beds of marl contain less of calcareous 

 earth as we proceed from the sea coast to the falls 

 of the rivers ; though there arc many and frequent 

 exceptions to this general rule. Fortunately for 

 those who here led the way in this improvement, 

 their early progress was so slow, that they had full 

 opportunity to observe the damage produced by 

 marling too heavily, before any man had more than 

 a few acres so injured; and as accident h.ad also 

 shown that manure from the farm-yard, &c. was 

 an effectual remedy, they were enabled soon to 

 correct the evil. Thin dressings of marl, and using 

 their putrescent manures always after marl, have 

 prevented any late or considerable loss from using 

 the latter manure. The usual rotation here among 

 the best farrtiers, is the old " three field" course-^ 

 or 1. corn — 2. Avheat or oats — 3. close grazing on 

 the natural grass and weeds tliat succeed such til- 

 lage. The marl commonly raises the product of 

 corn to double, or more than double the previous 

 crop — say from one, or one and a half barrels, to 

 three barrels the acre. But no subsequent or great- 

 er increase is usually obtained, (which the severe 

 tillage sufiiciently accounts for,) and the soil re- 

 mains of inferior quality, notwithstanding its great 

 advance towards fertility. Whatever putrescent 

 manures are applied, are found to be much more 

 permanent than before marling, which aids in sus- 

 taining the soil under so exhausting a rotation. — 

 Some do not even allow as much rest to the land 

 as the three shift course requires. The only farm 

 seen that had no dividing fences, and therefore 

 could not be grazed, was under a grain crop every 

 year, viz: 1. corn — 2. wheat, or oats, according 

 to the power of the soil. Wheat under such ge- 

 neral management, and on so sandy a soil, is ne- 

 cessarily a poor crop : but Mr. Archer Hankins 

 usually obtains ten bushels from one of seed, and 

 (as he supposes,) not much less than that quantity 

 from the acre. Most of the facts here stated res- 

 pecting this neighborhood were learned from Mr. 

 Hankins, who first commenced marling in this 

 part of the country, and indeed wasthe first, I be- 

 lieve, who succeeded in all Virginia. How long 

 ago was his first experiment he does not know ; 

 but certainly before 181G. Yet the public re- 



mained ignorant of this improvement, and it is 

 only within the last twelve years that the use 

 of marl has slowly extended. My own practice 

 began in 1818 — and at that time, and for two years 

 after, I had not hoard of this improvement in 

 James City or elsewhere. This is one of the many 

 proofs of how much valuable information is lost, 

 and how much the improvement of agriculture is 

 retarded, by the want of means for communica- 

 tion among farmers. Even after this mode of im- 

 provement was commenced by perhaps twenty iso- 

 lated individuals, each remained ignorant of the 

 success or errors of his fellows, and had to grope 

 alone and unaided through all the difficulties and 

 losses that every experunenter must undergo. 



The price of land here is very low — from ^1.50 

 to .^5 the acre; the highest price being for farms 

 already marled in part, or having good buildings. 

 A large body of land, nearer to Williamsburg, 

 very poor, but having marl-beds, sold a few years 

 ago at only seventy-five cents. The land gene- 

 rally, without marling, I should consider worth- 

 less : but with the great means for improvement 

 which are offered by nature, it seems to me that a 

 purchaser might obtain here more agricultural pro- 

 fit, than from any land within my previous obser- 

 vation. The land that has been brought by marl 

 to three barrels of corn, would by mild culture 

 and not grazing, rise to five barrels per acre. — 

 Clover has scarcely been tried. JMr. H. long ago 

 sowed in clover a part of his marled land, which 

 produced well; but the succeeding corn crop was so 

 bad, that he abandoned clover on that account. — 

 The land had been broken late, (say in February, 

 as is usual here,) and by single horse ploughs. 

 Not one man in his neighborhood uses a two horse 

 plough. The introduction and judicious use of 

 clover as an auxiliary means for improvement, 

 would add as much additional value and profit to 

 these lands, as the owners have already derived 

 from marl alone. 



This marl region takes in parts of both York 

 and James City counties above AVilliamsburg. — 

 The surface is generally waving, and often hilly : 

 but I have never seen poor and broken land so lit- 

 tle subject to be Avashed and gullied by heavy 

 rains. I infer that the very sandy and open tex- 

 ture of both soil and subsoil serves to soak up the 

 rain as fiist as it falls, so that the water seldom 

 flows over the surfat«e. 



Near this part of York river the land becomes 

 more stiff, and more hilly. No marl known, or 

 considered accessible. Heard of it only on one 

 place on Chickahominy, (near Edloe's ferry,) in 

 James City, and no where on that side of James 

 river, from Chickahominy to some miles below 

 Jamestown island, where (at Martii>'s Hundred) 

 it is again found, and in great abundance. This 

 stretch along James river in which no marl is 

 seen, is generally level land, and not high. On 

 York river from below Queen's creek to York- 

 town there is much and rich marl, but not all the 

 way. Wherever it is found below the mouth of 

 Chickahominy, v.ith very few exceptions, the 

 marl is as rich and as abundant as could be de- 

 sired. The bank from which most of Mr. Han- 

 kins' land had been marled appeai-ed to vary be- 

 tween 60 and 80 per cent, of carbonate of lime, 

 and was opened more than fifteen feet perpendicu- 

 lar, without reaching the bottom. 



