FARMERS' REGISTER— LONG ISLAND FARMING, &c. 



271 



even although their proprietors sliould spend the 

 greater part of their time in seeking tliose politi- 

 cal distinctions and notoriety for which nature ne- 

 ver intended them. The truth is, that far too ma- 

 ny in the Ancient Dominion— too many certain- 

 ly, for that agricultural improvement of which 

 the good old state stands so much in need, are, and 

 I fear, will remain for years to come, in the situa- 

 tion of Beau Clincher in the " Trip to the Jubilee," 

 who, upon being asked what was the matter with 

 him, replied most laconically, — " politics and bran- 

 dy." These, Mr. Editor, are the two diseases 

 which obstruct tlie progress of good husbandry 

 among us more than all other causes put together; 

 and until you, or some other doctor, can cure or 

 greatly mitigate their virulence, will retard, most 

 lamentably, the good which your very instructive 

 and useful paper is calculated to effect. That we 

 may both live to witness this good widely diffused 

 over our poverty-stricken fields, is the sincere 

 and constant wish of 



Your old friend, 



CORNPLAXTER. 



ANSWERS TO THE FOREGOING QUERIES. 



We will endeavor to answer the queries of our high- 

 ly esteemed correspondent as well as the space will ad- 

 mit, within which it is projier to confine our editorial re- 

 marks: and even this cannot be done without our be- 

 ing guilty of the indecorum of referring, for reasons 

 and details, to the volume of which Cornplanter 

 speaks in such kind terms. The answers will neces- 

 sarily be defective and incomplete, as here presented. 



Answer to [st Q,uery. The beneficial effects ot calca- 

 reous manures are permanent; and will continue for- 

 ever to be at least equal, if not sujijerior, to those first 

 experienced, provided the soil is kept under meliorating 

 culture. But still, a second dose of marl (or other cal- 

 careous manure) may be beneficially applied, to secure 

 an increase of profit, whenever so much vegetable or 

 putrescent matter has been added to the soil (by ma- 

 nuring or by rest) as to need more of the calcareous to 

 combine with, and retain it. [Essay on Calcareous Ma- 

 nures, chap. 15.] 



2nd. It is impossible to answer this satisfactorily, as 

 so many and various circumstances might operate to af- 

 fect the expense and profit. Bat it may be stated in ge- 

 neral terms, that marl containing 60-100 of carbonate of 

 lime, would be profitably carted from one to two miles, 

 to a suitable soil — and the most suitable is either the 

 most acid, or that having the most abundant supply of 

 vegetable matter, whether furnished by nature, or by 

 manuring. [Chap. 16.] 



3rd. There is no advantage in exposing marl to the 

 winter frosts, unless it has lumps, which freezing will 

 pulverize : and there is a disadvantage, if it remains in 

 heaps, as they are less easy to spread after becoming 

 compact. 



4th. It is best that the marl should be mixed as 

 equally as possible with the whole of the tilled soil. 

 Either as a top dressing, or tvn-ned in deeply and com- 

 pletely by a single ploughing, it will produce but little 

 benefit, until mixed with the soil by after tillage. [Chap- 

 ter 14.] 



5th. Marl is most beneficial to clover, and (it is be- 

 lieved) to all plants of the clover or pea tribe. Wheat 



probably receives more aid from this manure than corn, 

 on light soils, by their being rendered more close and 

 firm; but there is not much difference in the rate 

 of improvement made on any ot the grain crops. — 

 Cot'On i-eceives an additional aid, by being made to ri- 

 pen earlier, and thereby to perfect pods which would 

 otherwise be damaged by frost. The effect of marl on 

 tobacco is not known. 



Gth. Except on peas, no considerable effects have 

 been observed on garden vegetables and fruits ; nor 

 have any experiments been made to obtain such facts, 

 because the great quantity of putrescent manure used 

 in our gardens, would serve to conceal the effect of marl. 

 Nevertheless, if the theory of the action of calcareous 

 marnires is not mistaken, the benefit from marl must be 

 far greater on a garden, than elsewhere — not so much 

 Ijy aiding the growth of plants directly, as by preserv- 

 ing the moisture and the putrescent manures received 

 by the soil. The difference would be precisely the same 

 as between gardening on one of the best natural soils, 

 and on one of those " born poor," in like seasons, and 

 with equal supj^lies of putrescent manure. [Chap. 8.] 



7lh. It is not as beneficial to apply marl to most low- 

 land as to most upland, merely because the former kind 

 is generally of better natural fertility : but acid low- 

 land, or such as will produce sorrel freely, would be 

 more benefitted, than vipland of the best quality. 



For the Farmers' Register. 



LONG ISLAND FARMING COST OF »IANURE, 



AND VALUE OF LAND .lERSEY MARL, OR 



GYPSEOUS EARTH. 



Long fsland, (Bath House,') } 

 jJugust 30, 1833. 5 

 In getting to this place, I have passed through 

 the finest country I have ever seen. One from our 

 part of Virginia would suppose that he was passing 

 a village nearly the whole way, so thick are the 

 settlements on the road. I have learned, since my 

 arrival, something of their mode of tillage — and 

 great as is the expense of manuring, (which they 

 all agree to be absolutely necessary once in five 

 years,) to use their own langu;ige, " it pays well." 

 Yesterday I had an opportunity of forming an idea 

 of this expense. At high water, I saw a schooner 

 Hearing the shore, heavily laden. Her cargo proved 

 to be manure irom the streets of New-York, which 

 cost the fanner, on board, in the dock, 30 cents per 

 load of 14 bushels. The freight was 21 cents per 

 load; and not having a landing of his own, he was 

 charged 100 cents for the privilege of "dumping" 

 (as they call it) on the land of a neighbor. The 

 cargo was 100 loads of 14 bushels, equal to 50 

 wagon loads of 28 bushels, which would cover two 

 acres of land, as the owner informed me. As soon 

 as the vessel grounded, (which was very near the 

 beach,) and the. tide had fallen a little, the farmer 

 himself, with one wagon, and a colored man (hired 

 at S 8 per month) with another, commenced to 

 " ride it" (as they termed it) from the vessel to 

 the dump, a distance of one hundred yards perhaps. 

 The sand on the beach was very deep — but this 

 they hardened immediately by putting straw along 

 the track, which in a few moments aflbrded a very 

 good road. The tide receded so much as to leave 

 the vessel bare, and before it came in again, so as 



