272 



FAHMERS' REGISTER— LONG ISLAND FARMING, &c. 



to interfere Avith them, the whole of the manure 

 was taken out by these two wagons, with the as- 

 sistance of one more for tliree or four loads. Tliis 

 they mi!2:ht have dispensed with, and have finished 

 before the tide would have prevented work. There 

 were four men on deck to load the wafjon, three of 

 them belonging to the vessel, and one furnished by 

 the farmer. This manure was now to be hauled 

 one mile farther to put on the land for wheat, which 

 crop they calculate generally wi 1 pay for the ma- 

 nure. The land will be seeded in clover and 

 timothy, and cut three years in succession — then 

 one year in corn, one in oats, after which comes th.e 

 manuring, with wheat again. The first thing that 

 suggested itself to my mind, was the great advan- 

 tage which might Ise derived from the use of marl, 

 or lime. I asked if it was ever used, and was told 

 very promptly tliat it would not answer here, be- 

 cause of the influence of sea air. I asked how this 

 was ascertained: the answer was, that plaster of 

 Paris had been tried, without success, and had been 

 abandoned on the island. I was told that a neigh- 

 bor had tried marl from the Jersey shore this last 

 spring, for corn ; but no benefit had been seen on 

 the crop. This I will endeavor to account to you 

 for, and must see the proprietor of that farm — I 

 will, for a moment then, stop my communication, 

 and see him. 



Well! I have returned from a visit to this gen- 

 tleman, and have a specimen of two kinds of the 

 marl (as he called it) tor you. On my reaching 

 home, I thought I would try a little vinegar on 

 them. I doubted them on sight to be marl, recog- 

 nizing in the best, as lie considered it, gypseous 

 earth, that abounds at Coggins' Point. There was 

 no effervescence perceivable with vinegar, which 

 of course satisfied me that there was no calcareous 

 matter. Now I am able to account to you some- 

 what for the unwillingness to try marl on Long 

 Island. The people here, like all others in the 

 world, are disposed to pursue the steps of their 

 fathers, and any innovation seems to be treated as 

 something unwise, and ruinous to the lands, here. 

 This gentleman, v» horn I hiive visited, I found to 

 be an nitelligent Scotchman, anxious to do all he 

 can for the improvement of the soil, but discoura- 

 ged by all around him,liecause he does not pursue 

 The same plan w ith themselves. He procured these 

 two parcels of marl (I say gypseous earth) at great 

 expense: he had sown a little clover in his yard, 

 and in one corner of it, he had thrown about one 

 quart of this earth on about three yards square : he 

 took me with him to see if any good had been pro- 

 duced, and we saw the effect at once. The clover 

 on all the rest of the yard seemed nearly gone, 

 whilst this was thickly set. He is anxious to sell 

 out, and a few days ago offered his fiirm at public 

 auction. 11 contains 35 acres, has a dwelling house 

 and barn on it, and some few outhouses. One bid 

 of i^ 7,250 was made, and the ov.ner bid it in, at an 

 advance of ^ 250. This would make our Virginia 

 farmers stare — indeed, few will give credit to it, I 

 am afraid. I therefore wish you to know that it is 

 within 9 miles of the city of New -York. Twenty- 

 four acres adjoining has been sold, by the gentle- 

 man with whom I am now boarding, at ^ 3000 : and 

 he tells me it cannot now be bought for S 4000. 

 This has no house on it at all. 



I forgot to mention, in the proper j)lace, that the 

 common crop of hay on this land, after the ma- 

 nuring, for three years, was about three loads of 



one ton each, making 6000 weight, and the average 

 price 75 cents per hundred. Tiie next crops are 

 corn and oats, which, I suppose, pay nearly as 

 well. 



I have written this in much haste : if there is any 

 thing worth your notice, you can extract it, or do 

 with it as you like. 



Your's, £ic. c. h. m. 



The foregoing communication furnishes information 

 well deserving attention, and Avhich causes us to regret 

 that our friend did not extend his remarks farther, on 

 facts, which so judicious an observer knows well how 

 to estimate. Independent of the particular facts here 

 detailed, the comnuuiication is valuable as an example 

 to om- many patrons who travel for health or for busi- 

 ness, and wlio could find so many good and interesting 

 subjects for communications to the Farmers' Register. 

 We hope that we shall be indebted to C. H. M. as well 

 as to others, for more aid, obtained in this manner. The 

 frtcts presented in the foregoing letter, well deserve a 

 much longer comment than we shall now offer. 



The cost of the manure to the Long Island farmer was 

 as follows: 



100 loads (of 14 bushels) bought at 30 cents, $ 30 

 Freight, at 21 cents the load, - - - 21 

 Rent of landing place, .... 1 



This, for two acres, makes the cost, m money, $ 26 the 

 acre, for a single manuring, to be renewed every five 

 years. The labor of unloading the vessel, aiid of after- 

 wards drawing the manure a mile, form additional ex- 

 penses, which we will leave for others to estimate : but 

 ihis labor alone is as great as the whole average expense 

 of using marl on the farms wliere it is found, throughout 

 lower Virginia. This land, which is manured at such 

 enormous expense, yet gives so much profit on its cul- 

 tivation, as to sell at prices varying from 1 25 to 220 dol- 

 lars the acre. We are not acquainted with the land of 

 Long Island, except from the observation and accounts 

 of others: but these afford enough indirect proof that 

 the soil is very far from being naturally well constituted, 

 or being the most siutable to be benefitted by putrescent 

 manures. The great value there found in wood ashes 

 as manure, and the high prices paid for them, and the 

 inefficacy of gypsum, indicate that the soils of Long 

 Island belong to the acid class — and, as our friend in- 

 fers, are just such as would receive most benefit from 

 marl, or calcareous manures in any other form : And at 

 this time, they could receive greater (because durable) 

 improvement from marl from the waters of the Chesa- 

 peake, at much less cost than that of the customary ma- 

 nui'ing. 



Perhaps some reader may ask, " Of what possible use 

 to us can be the examples of fanners who are so differ- 

 ently situated, that they can afford to pay as much for 

 manuring one acre, as we can buy the fee simple of ten 

 for ?" Such examples are certainly not for us to follow 

 to the full extent — but they teach most impressively this 

 truth, of universal application— that the amount of ex- 

 pense in manuring is unimportant, provided the crops 

 derived therefrom repay that expense with sufficient 

 profit. 



