1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



113 



IMk^srs. T'imtoks : — TIkto is one point in agricultural books 

 and poriodirals, wliicli, lo my niiml. has never been treated 

 satisfactorily ; I mean the theory and usefulness of turning 

 in crops for manure. If, as is said even by Prof. Joiinston 

 liims(df. in some of iiis writings, tlie philosophy of the ope- 

 ration ronsisis in llio nl)HorptioM of organic and inorganic 

 elements from ihc subsoil by the roots lo be plowed in, and 

 so enriciiing the surface, there would be at all events in the 

 long run. no aildition (jf fertility, uidess all plants intended 

 for green-manuring hail roots able lo jienetrale deeper than 

 IhosG of the cereals, niul other |)lants to follow, which does 

 nol appear lo mo to lie ihe case. The w hole advantage, 

 ihen, might con.sist in the mellowing oflho soil, which a 

 naked fallow might do as well. 



If the absorption of gases from the atmosphere, by the 

 leaves of the plants, constitutes the etn-iching addition, then 

 let it be more conlidently staled, and let some discrimination 

 bo made, having in view that position beiween the plants 

 intended for that use. I'",ither of the above suppositions be- 

 ing established, is the result found in practice to warrant the 

 outlay, considering the price of labor and of produce in 

 America? 



Some words of comment on the above, will oblige 



A Subscriber. 

 Our correspondent alludes to points of the highest practi- 

 cal importance. We rejoice to see so many readers of this 

 journal waking up and pushing iheir investigations beyond 

 the mere surface of things and theories. The ascent and 

 descent of the soluble elements of crops, both organic and 

 mineral, through the soil and around the roots of plants, is 

 an interesting study. Not less cin-ious and instructive is the 

 increase and decrease of vegetable mould in cultivated land. 

 Wo have two liumlred closely written pages of manuscript 

 on the " .Study of Soils," and more than eight hundred on 

 " Agricultural Geology,'" embodyingall that the books have 

 to show, in the way oi facts, on these subjects. But we are 

 all small school-children in this matter, and after three win- 

 ters of hard labor at Albany, and two winters and one sum- 

 mer at Washington, the writer is constrained to say that, 

 unless the farmers instruct their public servants to lend a 

 little aid to Agricultural Science, it can never begin to make 

 progress in this country. 



ANALYSIS OP MARL, AND ITS VALUE AS A 

 MANURE. 



Analyticat, Laroratory, Yai.k College, > 

 New Haven, Conn., April, 1851. ) 



Eds. Genesee Farmer : — During a visit to your 

 part of the State uf New York, in the months of Sep- 

 tember and October last, I was greatly impressed by 

 the remarkable amount of mineral and vegetable 

 wealth that lies locked up in your swamps and hol- 

 lows, in the form of Muck and Marl. These inval- 

 uable deposits were so frequent, so abundant in the 

 quantity of their fertilizing materials, and withal, so 

 little valued, as to awaken my astonishment. I am 

 aware that this lack of appreciation of these riches, 

 is not for want of means of information, for your val- 

 uable paper has frequently endeavored to arouse the 

 farmers upon this very subject. I have thought, 

 however, that a few words from a stranger might 

 possibly produce some effect ; and that the analysis 

 of one of your own marls, which has been made in 

 my laboratory during the past winter, might possess 

 a degree of interest to the practical farmer, beyond 

 that of any mere abstract argument. 



The marl alluded to, was from a drained swamp 

 that I visited in the town of Clyde, Wayne county. 

 The field belonged to Mr. Jos. Watson, then Presi- 

 dent of the County Agricultural Society, an active, 

 intelligent and enterprising farmer, one who is labor- 

 ing, both by example and by precept, to elevate the 

 character of Agriculture in Wayne county. 



The analysis of this marl was carefully performed 



by one my students, Mr. Jo.\. B. Bunce, of Hartford, 



Ct,, and his results are given in the following table : 



Comiwsilion of 100 llis. of Marl. 



<-^lyJe. Peterboro, N. y. 



Sand, 090 9.r)7 



I'lme, 50.5U5 45.02 



Carbonic Acid,.. 38.519 35.00 



Magnesia, 072 0.66 



Iron and Alumnia, with some 



Phosphoric Acid, 061 2.69 



Common Salt, trace 



Sulphuric Acid, trace 



Organic Matter, 10.693 7.06 



100.000 100.00 



This marl, according to the above statement, is 

 one of an uncommonly fine character. Adding to- 

 gether the lime and carbonic acid, we find that in 

 100 lbs. of the dry marl, there is 89.084 lbs. of car- 

 bonate of lime, or nearly nine-tenths of the whole. 

 Indeed, if we leave out the organic matter, this marl 

 is almost an absolutely pure carbonate of lime. The 

 small quantity of carbonate of magnesia adds some- 

 what to its value, and the phosphoric acid, although 

 in an extremely minute proportion, is of much impor- 

 tance. If there is but one pound in a thousand, it will 

 amount to sometiiing worth mentioning when we add 

 a number of tons of the marl per acre. The mere 

 traces of sulphuric acid, and of salt, are also, in this 

 vein, of considerable importance. 



By way of comparison, I add the analysis of a marl 

 from Peterboro, N. Y., also made in my laboratory. 

 This is a marl of good quality, but does not equal the 

 first sample, which is one of the purest that I have 

 ever seen. 



^ Any person who has studied even the rudiments of 

 Scientific Agriculture, must say at once, on looking 

 at these analyses, that the substances named are such 

 as enter into the composition of plants, and are, m 

 fact, indispensable to their growth. The experience 

 of all European, and many American practical far- 

 mers, confirms, by actual results, this theoretical 

 view. Why then is it that your farmers, as a class, 

 do not make any use of that species of manure which 

 has thus been deposited for their benefit at their very 

 doors ? It is not because their land is fertile enough 

 already, for a journey through even your most thriv- 

 ing districts, will prove amply that this is not the 

 case. There are hundreds of fields in your richest 

 counties, gardens as these naturally are in soil and 

 climate, that look unmistakably poverty stricken, that 

 cry out, as plainly as man could do, for food. 



If the present generation of farmers do not make 

 use of the treasures which nature has so abundantly 

 provided, the next will be obliged to do so, for they 

 will find the land exhausted, and will be forced to 

 study the best means of bringing it up again. But 

 if the farmer can be induced to take the right course 

 now, to employ every variety of fertilizers wherever 

 the produce of the soil begins to fail, they will never 

 have to go through with the long experience and 

 toilsome process of restoration. Once run down, it 

 is hard to bring land up ; but a fertile soil may be 

 kept so, and even be made to improve, with a com- 

 paratively small amount of labor. 



You have farms and farmers in your section of the 

 state that are alike creditable to American agriculture; 

 such need little urging. But there are others who 

 have scarcely made any advance ; and others still, who 

 are even retrograding. To each of these latter class- 

 es, I should say that a dose of marl and muck would 

 be of essential service. Joun P. Norton. 





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