654 



FARMERS' REGISTER— GYPSUM OR PLASTER. 



GYrSUIM OR PLASTER. 



Frunilhc [KImlciiiook] Cfjlumliia Scnti.iel. 



If we turn to the 9tli volume of the Airricul- 

 lunil Muti'azine, we shall sec tlial comparative tri- 

 als were made between this and other manures, on 

 a stoney clay, mixed witii a little loam, to ascer- 

 tain the best manure for wheat. "A five acre field 

 was divided into five equal parts, exactly an acre 

 in each. They were ecjually well i)loui:hed and 

 laid down to wheat, after bein<i; manured as ibl- 

 lows: 



On No. 1 was sown Gk bushels of gypsum. 



On No. 2 was put a compost manure, consisting 

 of lime, rich earth and dung". 



No. 3 was manured by yarding cattle on it. 



On No. 4 stable dung was thinly spread. 



On No. 5 lime prepared from oyster shells was 

 sown. 



The product was from 

 No. 1, ff)rty bushels. 

 No. 2, thiity-six bushels. 

 No. 3, thirty-five bushels. 

 No. 4, thirty-three bushels. 

 No. 5, thirty-bushels. 

 The seed wheat was of the best Sicily kind, and 

 weighed 62 lbs. per bushel — the product weighed 

 63 lbs per bushel." 



Next follow eight different experiments of the 

 effects of gypsum on the different grasses, except- 

 ing clover. In all cases the quantity of land was 

 the same, and the soil as n)uch alike as possible. 

 The results uniformly proved that the j)rofits were 

 from 5^ to 4 greater than where none had been used. 

 On clover the benefits were still more marked. 

 The gypsumed yielded per acre a product of 



hay equal to 15 



The ungyj)sumed only equal to 5 



The gypsumed yielded in seed per acre, a 



product equal to 80 



The ungypsumed yielded in seed, do. only 5~ 



The experimenter adds — "The invariable re- 

 sults of the several experiments, wliich are fiiith- 

 fully, and he trusts correctly stated, he thinks iti- 

 contestibly prove that there is a most powerful and 

 subtle prnicijde in this tasteless stone ; but by what 

 peculiar agency or combination it is capable of 

 forcing vegetation in such instantaneous and aston- 

 ishing manner, time reserves ibr others to unfold." 



From the above experiments, it is distinctl}' as- 

 certained that gypsum produces its greatest effects 

 on clover. Time and experience have confirmed 

 this fact, and it is now generally understood that 

 as a manure it is not so beneficial to the narrow- 

 leaved as it is to the broad leaved })lants, such as 

 clover and corn. Besides the above experiments, 

 the general observation of farmers is conclusive on 

 this point, and we could quote abundance of au- 

 thority in proof of this position. I have seen one 

 half of a field which had clover growing in it sown 

 with plaster, and the other part remaining unsown. 

 The eye could distinctly trace the part sown from 

 the part unsown. First from the increased size of 

 the one, and next from the sickly and yellow ap- 

 pearance of the other. The line of demarkation 

 was so observable, that the cause of it was a fre- 

 quent source of inquiry. But this is only one 

 among many similar instances. My own experi- 

 ence and that of my neighl)ors fidly bears me out 

 in the opinion, likewise, tlrat clover, to come up 

 well and do well, must be aided by having the 

 ground sprinkled with plaster as soon after it is 



.sown as praticable. This is an experiment which 

 I have frequently made, and have long since look- 

 etl upon as a settled principle in farming. 



Previous to the use of plaster and clover as a ma- 

 nure, (for they ought to go together,) what is now 

 called the best of land in this vicinity might have 

 been purchased for less than .^3 per acre; and I 

 have heard of several purchases being made at less 

 than one dollar. Now this land is made to yield 

 tiie interest of !§100 dollars per acre, free of ex- 

 pense, — is constantly improving, and there are no 

 farmers who are more lavish in the application 

 of these two manures. I verily believe, deprive 

 them of the use of clover and plaster, and their 

 farms will degenerate, if not as low as formerly, 

 still so much as to make their cultivation very un- 

 profitable. Plaster does not do its maximum of 

 good without it is sown on clover ; and clover will 

 not grow luxuriantly unless it is sprinkled with 

 plaster — they mutually aid each otiier, and when 

 both are freely used, they are a mine of wealth to 

 the farmer. It is not because he has large crops of 

 clover for hay, but this clover being turned under 

 by the plough, is the best possible coating of ma- 

 nure that his fields can liave to bring him heavy 

 ciops of wheat, corn and oats: not rye — his 

 land is too good for it — it is too cheap a produce 

 when wheat, which is more jjrofitalde, may as ea- 

 sily be raised. It is princi})ally indirectl}' there- 

 fore that gypsum is so valuable as a manure. We 

 are perfectly willing to concede that its good effects 

 are not so distinctly remarked as formerly; the 

 poverty of the soil made it then so peculiarly 

 gralefid to it, that it at once yielded a hundred fold. 

 Now the quality of the soil having materially im- 

 proved by its frequent a|)plication, they are not, of 

 course, so observable. It ought to be enough for 

 us that crops are growing more and more abund- 

 ant. It is the proof that something is at work, in 

 farther fertilizing the soil. 



The sowing of gypsum has produced another 

 and great revolution in farming, and materially 

 lessened the laljors of the fiirmer. It is by making 

 it unnecessary for fields to lay a season to fallow, 

 by which not only the use of the land is lost for the 

 season, but you have the labor of ploughing two, 

 and often three times for a subsequent crop of 

 wheat. How much simpler and more profitable 

 the process now. One year you sow your fields 

 witli oats, barley, &c. in the spring, at the same 

 time you put on your clover seed and plaster. The 

 subsequent year you have a fine field of clover, 

 enough to cover the gi'oundcom])!etely, and afford- 

 ing abundance of food fi^r your stock for grazing 

 You fiitten them at the same time that you fatten 

 your .soil. The coming autumn the remains of the 

 clover are turned under with a single ploughing — 

 you sow on your wheat — apply your drag, and 

 your work is done. The chance is, you will have 

 a much better crop than by the old method of fre- 

 quent ploughing and fallowing, even if you have 

 added to your fallow land a thin covering of stable 

 manure. When clover can be made to grow so 

 thrifty as to crowd out all other plants, which is 

 fi-equently the case, it is the best preparation that 

 our soil in the present state of farming can possibly 

 have. But it must have only one ploughing. The 

 clover lay well turned over, must be permitted to 

 remain there according to modern experience, and 

 a heavy crop of wheat or corn is almost the inva- 

 riable result. 



