214 FARMERS' RECilSTER— CALCAREOUS SOIL, &c.— tELLOW LOCUST. 



For the Farmers' Register. 



Effects of calcaukous soil on health, 

 uiskased trkes. potatoes. 



The 2cl No. of* the Farmers' Reijister contains 

 the ' Supplementary Chapter' to the Essay on Cal- 

 careous Manures. I was hiijhly dcli<i"hte(l with the 

 views which were taken of tlie probable efiect of 

 marl in purifyinp: the a'mosplicre, and renderinp: 

 those situations which would l:e otherwise unheal- 

 thy, fit habitations for man. To the short ken of 

 human reason it has always appeared mysterious, 

 that some of the most fertile (lortions of our 2:lo1 e, 

 with every other natural advantatre save that of 

 salubrity, should still deny to man a residence, and 

 onlv seemed suited for the abode of beasts of prey. 

 But how i^leasinp; the reflection, (if the views taken 

 be correct,) that the " noisome pestilence" shall be 

 restrained, and the desert made subservient to tlie 

 use and enjoyment of man. 



In the 3d No. of the Reo-ister, a writer, under 

 the signature of " M," has told us, that since the 

 tOAvn of Mobile was paved with shells, it has be- 

 come much more healthy. This is strong: probable 

 testimony in favor of the principles advanced. A 

 few days ago, and before 'I saw the third No. of the 

 Register, 1 saw a near connection, who has just 

 returned from a settlemeat which he has made on 

 the Black Warrior, aboul 50 miles below Tusca 

 loosa. He spoke of the fact that Mobile had be- 

 come much more healthy within a few years, with- 

 out, however, assigning any cause. He also repre- 

 sented a very large portion of that country, be- 

 tween Tuscaloosa and Moliile, as calcareous, and 

 abounding in shell marl. He says, the country, if 

 not more healthy, is certainly not more sickly than 

 this part of Virginia, and that it appears to be gene- 

 rally understood there, that the marl preserves it 

 from disease. As one evidence of the fact, that the 

 country owed its healthiness to the marl, he stated 

 that the more northern parts of the State, where 

 that deposite was not found, the country was more 

 sickly. 



As every thing on the subject may be interest- 

 ing, and draw out facts still more illustrative, 1 

 have thus, in a brief way, made the above state- 

 ments. 



I shall be very glad, another season, to put in 

 practice the plan proposed in the third No. of the 

 Register, for destro)'ing the insects which are so 

 injurious to our stone-fruit. I am a great lover of 

 fruit, and have been at considerable trouble, and 

 some expense, to procure many of the plumb, 

 peach, &c.; but, owing to the curculios and other 

 insects, I can scarcely enjoy a perfectly sound and 

 matured fruit. It has long been a great desidera- 

 tum to find out something which would preserve 

 from the ravages of insects the delicious fruits of 

 summer ; and should the plan proposed prove effec- 

 tual, the inventor will deserve the thanks of all the 

 lovers of such delicacies. But I wish the writer 

 had told us whether the application of the remedy 

 will be necessary every year. The plan proposed 

 reminds me of a practice which I adopted, a few 

 years ago, with an ill-thriven locust which stands 

 in my yard. It had been planted out three or four 

 years, and in that time had not grown the 16th of 

 an inch. It seemed to be the utmost effort of its 

 vegetative process to unfold the leaves, and yet, as 

 far as could be perceived, it was not subject to any 

 particular disease. I, however, determined to try 



the efiect of a dose of calomel, (which, you know, 

 the doctors arc too apt to think the ' sine qua non,') 

 which I administered in a dose of about 150 grains, 

 by boring holes with a giml>let a few inches from 

 the ground, and filling them with the medicine. 

 The next season it began to thrive, and has giown 

 most rapidly ever since. Let others try the expe- 

 riment, and see whether trees do not as often require 

 medicine, and are as often benefitted by it, as men. 



( am just gathering my Irish potatoes, before 

 the fall rains set in to make them watery ; and the 

 experience of ten years confirn)S me in the belief 

 that my mode of cultivation possesses advantages 

 over every other. And these are : first, that it re- 

 quires very little labor, and secondly, that the pro- 

 duct is infinitely greater than I have ever known 

 from any other plan ; and thirdly, that the increase 

 is not in proportion to the fortility of the soil, that 

 is, a moderately fertile soil will produce about as 

 well as a rich one, and in the process of cultivation, 

 the soil is necessarily made rich. In February I 

 spade up the land well, and lay off rows, by stretch- 

 ing a line and marking with a stick or handle of a 

 hoe, 18 ini hes apart. In these rows I plant the 

 potatoes 10 or 12 inches from eath other, just deep 

 enough to cover them well, that they may vegetate 

 and f.ike root, say from one to two inches. Any 

 time before the sprouts come out of the ground, I 

 have them (overed with straw, or pine leaves, to 

 the depth of eight, or even tAvelve inches. I find 

 it well to throw a few corn stalks or bushes thinly 

 over to keep the covering from blowing off. My 

 experience has proved that the crop is incompara- 

 bly superior when the plantings are whole, and of 

 pretty good size. Indeed it is better, every two or 

 three years, to start with a fre.sh slock. Gathering 

 will be found very convenient, as it is only neces- 

 sary to remove the covering with the hand, and the 

 potatoes will be exposed to vieAV in groups, like 

 eggs in a nest, on, or near the surface, when the 

 largest can be plucked. I have never made a mea- 

 surement of the quantity produced, and would not, 

 Ihercfore, hazard a guess, lest it might be thought 

 by some extravagant; but I am sure that no one 

 who shall try the plan two or three years, will ever 

 abandon it for another. w. i. d. 



Nottoway, Aug. 22d, 1833. 



YELLOW LOCUST. 



To tlic Editor of the Farmers' Register. 



Being desirous to aid, if I can, in improving the 

 state of agricidture, I have ventured some sugges- 

 tions for the consideration of those of more know- 

 ledge and experience than myself, on rearing the 

 yellow locust, for several purposes. It strikes me, 

 that the yellow locust v/ould be more durable than 

 white oak for the sills for rail-roads. I am not able 

 to say how long they would last, but I think more 

 than twice as long as white oak sills. The growth 

 of the yellow locust, on good soil, is very rapid. 

 In fifteen years from the time of planting, in a fer- 

 tile soil, the trees would be large enough to make 

 sills for the rails for a rail-road, and those sills 

 would last twice as long as those made of white 

 oak. They might be rearetl on lands along the 

 route of a rail-road, so convenient as to save all the 

 trouble and expense of transportation for any con- 

 siderable distance. In the last No. of the Register, 

 Mr. Grigsby has shewn the advantages of raising 



