630 



FARMERS' REGISTER— PRIVATE CORRESPONDENCE. 



rapid evaporation after much rain. The salt was 

 mixetl \vi(h something; which produced bitterness; 

 I suppose tlie sulpliate of magnesia. Stock were, 

 however, fond of it. I have but littleopinion of salt 

 alone, as manure; in combination with other mat- 

 ters, as in sea ashes, it may be valuable. This 

 gully is now nearly tilled, but salt may still be 

 found in suitable weather, not only whitening the 

 ground, but crystalizing on the grass, and killing 

 it. There is a horizontal layer of very black 

 mud a little below the surface of its present bot- 

 tom, without the taste of salt, but of a disagreea- 

 ble smell. There is little doubt, but that this is 

 produced by the chemiciil agency of salt and some 

 other matter with which it meets; for I invaria- 

 bly find it accompanying the salt in various parts 

 of the plantation. Would this and the saline mud 

 about it make manure .' 



WM. S. 3I0RT01V. 



COAL ASHES AS MANURE. 



To the Editor of the Fanners' Uesrister. 



Powhatan, Feb. 2d, 1834. 



Our friend handed me a few sheets of 



the Farmers' Register which you had the good- 

 ness to address to me, in which the value of refused 

 coal is set forth as a manure. I have for some 

 years been thorougldy convinced of the beneficial 

 effects of coal ashes when applied to land, and I 

 have used them very advantageoi;sly in that way. 

 In October last, when seeding my crop of wheat, I 

 hauled out a parcel of the above desci'iption, and 

 top dressed, (the way, by the bye, in which 1 use 

 all my manure.) a very poor hillside. TlieetTects 

 previous to Saturday's liea vy fall of snow were most 

 astonishing — distinguishable at the distance of half 

 a mile, for its superior growth, although surround- 

 ed by very good wheat, heavily top dressed at the 

 same time, with farm pen manure. 



I consider coal ashes as decidedly superior to 

 any thing I have ever yet seen for lightening stiff 

 soils. Our coal pits, and cities where coal is used, 

 would furnish large quantifies of this valuable 

 manure. 



KXTRACTS OF PRIVATE CORRESPONDEXCE. 



Sussex, 17th January, 1834. 

 * * * As the Gama Grass seems to excite some 

 attention and inquiry through the Farmers' Regis- 

 ter, I also enclose you a few of the seed which I 

 have found on grass growing on my farm, on the 

 Nottoway river, in the county of Sussex, and have 

 but little doubt it is the same kind of grass spoken 

 of by some of your correspondents under the above 

 title: I have never seen any other grass known to 

 be the gama grass ; but the seed and seneral de- 

 scription, correspond in so many particulars, that I 

 am satisfied it is the same grass which I find on 

 my farm. I have observed the very luxuriant 

 growth of it for the last eight or ten years, but set 

 no value on it, as it appeared to be a single, 

 (though large) bunch of coarse grass, growing by 

 the side of an old fence, just at that point where 

 the alluvial black sandy soil comes in contact with 

 the yellow sandy highlands. Of its origin I know 

 nothing ; but as it was discovered in a single 

 bunch about one quarter of a mile from the river, 

 and as the surface on one side of the spot where it 

 grows was formerly covered (during winter) with 



water, I am inclined to suppose the seed might 

 have been deposited by some wild fowl; but be 

 this as it may, the fact of its flourishing finely, is 

 conclusive evidence of the capacity of the soil and 

 climate to mature it to great perfection. As it will 

 be enclosed in the field I cultivate this year, I will 

 pay some attention to it, so as to ascertain how of- 

 ten it can lie cut, and what number of pounds are 

 obtained from each cutting. 



Halifax County, N. C 

 There are ridges running through our second 

 low grounds (of Roanoke) not covered with fresh- 

 ets, the soil of which is light and porous, and 

 when manured, will not hold it long. Will marl 

 or plaster of Paris, make it more close and reten- 

 tive.^ I have tried the plaster of Paris by rubbing 

 my cotton seed with it: in dry years the benefit 

 is very perceptible ; but in wet seasons, there is 

 none. There is a bed of shell marl on the river 

 about fifteen or twenty miles Vielow my plantation. 

 W^!;at can I afford to give per bushel for it and boat 

 or flat it to my farm that lies immediately on the ri- 

 ver.' Would it make the light land aV)Ove named 

 more firm, or looser.' Some years past I cleared a 

 pond in the w infer, and hauled the wood along one of 

 those ridges : to my surprize, the row of corn im- 

 mediately in the cartway, and one on each side, 

 had the appearance of being highly manured. If 

 this was produced from the earth being made more 

 solid, and 1 cannot account for it in any other way, 

 might not a machine be fixed without much cost, 

 to ram such land, and in that way improve its tex- 

 ture .' 



[The accidental experiment above mentioned tells 

 plainly of the great want of closeness in the soil. Marl 

 certainly will in some measure remedy that defect, even 

 though the manure may be principally composed of 

 sand. Information as to the cost of transporting marl is 

 furnished in an article published in No. 9 ; and of the 

 benefit to be expected, some satisfactory statements may 

 be found in a letter of Wm. B. Harrison, Esq. in No. 7, 

 on marl, and in other articles on lime.] 



Northumberland, Va. Jan. 24th, 1834. 

 It would be pleasing to me if I could give you a 

 favorable account of our agriculture. A stranger, 

 if passing through some parts of our county, would 

 say it was abandoned and given up, or that it 

 had been visited by either " war, pestilence or fa- 

 mine." The fact is, we are indolent, and want 

 energy to direct and carry on farming as our east- 

 ern and western friends do. From our local situa- 

 tion, we ought to improve. Many are engaged in 

 the wood business, and lands on the waters are va- 

 luable, as they will afford from thirty to fifty cords 

 per acre, which when well seasoned, sells from ^1 

 25 to $1 50 the cord. I think the wood business 

 here, much retards the farming interest. On the 

 waters we have many facilities for manuring — say 

 Indian banks, oyster shells, bay or river grass, 

 which is abundant in some places ; also, fish is an 

 excellent manure. 



Halifax Co. Va. Dec. 13/A, 1833. 

 I have just received the No. for this month, and 

 do heartily thank you for the entertainment and in- 

 struction I have received from it. I live in a to- 

 bacco making regionj and of course, many of your 



