298 



FARMERS' REGISTER- ORGANIC REMAINS IN MARL. 



grass ; and after it liad remained in this state three 

 years, tlic jjround was fallowed and sowed in ry^, 

 which yielded thirty bushels per acre. 



I do not consider the fodder afforded by the tall 

 meadow oats, alone, to be equal to that of tiniolhy, 

 nor is it so great in quantity ; but as Ihcy are adapted 

 to different soils, their relative claims to regard can- 

 not be fully brought into view. l"he chief merit 

 of the oat grass is the early and late herbage it I'ur- 

 nishes ; its excellence for mixing with otiier grasses 

 on lands intended for the hoof, the pressure of which 

 it will bear for any length of time ; and with clover 

 particularly when designed for hay. It will, more- 

 over, flourish well on land where clover and orchard 

 grass will not take; and that there is much of this 

 quality, I fear is lamentably the case, even amongst 

 the readers of the Farmer. Though it fails in its 

 luxuriance in the summer months, it springs up in 

 the fall with freshness and vigor, and remains ver- 

 dant till the end of the year. On the whole, I con- 

 sider it exceedingly valuable and i-ichly deserving 

 a more extensive cultivation. 



I would add, that as the seed are shed with great 

 facility as soon as they become ripe, some attention 

 is necessary to watch the proper moment to save 

 them. One or two days may make an important 

 difference in the crop. They ripen v/ilh me early 

 in June. 



Respectfully, t. s. p. 



ORGANIC REMAINS FOUND IN THE MARL PITS 

 OF LUCAS BENNERS, ESQ. IN CRAVEN COUN- 

 TY, N. c. By H. B. Croom, Esq. 



It has long been known to the public that large 

 deposits of sea shells exist in different parts of the 

 alluvial country of the southern slates. They have 

 been observed on or near the Tar River, a fisw 

 miles above Tarborough; on Neuse River in the 

 Counties of Wayne, Lenoir, and Craven ; on Cape 

 Fear River in the County of Bladen ; on the Sa- 

 vannah River a few miles below Augusta; on the 

 Oakmulgee River, at Hartford; and finally I have 

 observed them on the Appalachicola River, in 

 Florida, on the summit of a ridge not less than 150 

 feet above the bed of the river. Of these deposits 

 I have seen, and superficially examined two on the 

 Neuse River, the one at Hartford, and that on the 

 Appalachicola. They appear to be coeval. Oys- 

 ters, Pectens, and Areas, of the same species, pre- 

 dominate in each, mingled with the teeth of sharks, 

 and a variety of other univalve and bivalve shells. 

 The catastrophic by which these remains were bu- 

 ried, appears to have been sudden, and not gradual, 

 as has been remarked by Professor M itchell. This 

 is evidenced by the fact that many, both of the 

 largest, and of the smallest and most delicate bi- 

 valve shells are found w ith their two valves closed 

 and arranged as in a living state, as though they 

 had been suddenly covered up while living. 



Of all tlicse deposits however, not one has lieen 

 extensively explored except that on the estate of 

 Mr. Benners, occupying the north bank of Neuse 

 River, 16 miles below Newbern. Several years 

 ago Mr. B. commenced digging the marl which 

 accompanies these deposits, [and which has result- 

 ed from them by the mingling of the decomposed 

 shells with the contiguous earth] and spreading it 

 on his fields, which have been much benefitted by 

 the application. In the course of his operations, 



several pits have been dug, some of them to the 

 depth of 25 feet below the surface of the earth, 

 and ten feet below the present surface of the river. 

 In the course of these excavations a great variety 

 of interesting organic remains have been found, 

 consisting of sea shells, bones and teeth of fishes, 

 and the bones of land animals of prodigious size. 

 Mr. B. informs me that the following is the order 

 in which these remains have been found : — 1st. 

 Sharks' teeth, and the fragments of bones of ma- 

 rine fishes mingled with sea-shells. 2d. Teeth, 

 horns, hoofs, ribs, vertebra, &c. ofquadrupcds that 

 inhabited the land, mingled with sea-shells of great 

 variety. These remains of land animals are found 

 at the depth of from 20 to 25 feet below the sur- 

 face of the earth. Among them are recognized 

 with certainty the teeth of the great mastodon 

 [Mastodon giganteum of Cuvier,] the hoofs, horns, 

 and vertebraj of an elk of great size, and the teeth 

 of an animal supposed to be the hyena. 



I will now subjoin a more minute account of 

 some of these remarkable remains : 



I. SHELLS. 



1. Pholas costata. Length If inches. Breadth 3^ 

 inches. 



2. Clam shells [Venus] one of these in my pos- 

 session measures 5 inches in length and 7 inches 

 in breadth. One which Mr. B. gave to Mr. Nut- 

 tall is a third larger than this. 



3. The grooved Conch [Strombus.] Length 

 5^ inches. A species supposed lo be extinct. 



4. Murex. Abundant and of differant sizes. 



5. Cardium. [Cockle.] Not common. 



6. Solen. [razor shell.] Length^ inch, breadth 4|^. 



7. Area. " 2^ " " 2J. 



8. Pecten. [Scallop.] " 4| " " 4^. 

 Ostrea. [Oyster.] An extinct species.' 

 Patella fornicate. Length 1^ inch, breadth ^ 



9. 

 10. 

 11. 

 12. 

 13. 

 14. 

 15. 

 16. 

 17. 



Pectunculus. 



Conus. [Key shell.] 



Buccinum. 



Mya [valves gajung] 



Donax 1 



Nerita. 



Madrepora porites. 



II. BONES AND TEETH OF FISHES. 



1. Tooth of a Shark. Length 5J inches ; breadth 

 at base within the socket 6j inches. Many others 

 of smaller size. 



2. Vertebrae of fishes about one inch in length, 

 and nearly the same in diameter. 



III. BONES AND TEETH OF LAND ANIMALS. 



1. Fragments of the Horns of a fossil Elk.'' 



2. Hoof of a fossil Elk.' 9 inches in length.* 



3. Teeth of the Elk.', breadth 3 inches, depth 

 4^7 inches. 



4. A vertebra 8 inches in diameter. [Presented 

 toTh: Nutlall, Esq.] 



5. A vertebra 3.t inches in diameter; 4^ inches 

 in length. [In my possession.] 



6. A vertebra 1 inch in diameter ; 2 inches in 

 length. 



*The animal to which the hoof and teeth above-men- 

 tioned belonged, must have been much larger than a 

 horse. The space between the extremities of tlie horns 

 of the fossil Elk of Ireland is said to have been eleven 

 feet. The bones of the American fo.ssil Elk have hith- 

 erto been discovered only in the morass near the falls of 

 the Ohio, called Big-bone Lick, in company with the 

 bones of the Mastodon, &c. [Harlan's Fauna, p. 247.] 



