1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



279 



means of support more difficult and laborious Wliile, 

 however, I would not deny the possibility of the truth 

 of the supposition, (for the support of which, some 

 consiieriiticns might be adduced,) it does not seem 

 cr.nsis(ent with our ideas of the destiny of the world, 

 and of the human race, — progres^^ and improvement. 



4th. A change from the use of the potato lo soinc- 

 Hiing better. When the potato was first introduced 

 into Europe, a very stronj^ prejudice existed apraiust 

 it for many years ; nor were its virtues acknowled.ued 

 and its g-oneral cultivation and use introduced until a 

 general scarcity approaching' to famine prepared t-iie 

 way. Since that time it has been of incalculable 

 advantage, especially to the poorer classes of all na.- 

 tioiis. Have the times, has the condition of the 

 world, or the state of society, so changed, as to re- 

 quire a cliange in the pabulum of life ? Is there any 

 product of the vegetable kingdom that promises to be 

 a substitute for the potato ? The subject may be 

 worthy of consideration. 



In conclusion of the matter, however, I return to 

 my fir:>t position, viz : that the potato blight will have 

 its day, and eventually .pass away. It may-disap- 

 pear soon, or it may yet be several years before it 

 shall be " among the things of the past." It may 

 be driven away by the light of science, i. e,, by an 

 application of the knowledge and industry of men, or 

 it may disappear of its own accord. In the mean- 

 time it is highly desirable that investigations be dili- 

 gently prosecuted. Important results may follow. 

 H. — Doun East, Oct., 1851. 



AMERICAII PHOSPHATE OF LIME IN ENGLAND 



The Secretary having been directed by the Council 

 to make special inquiries on the subject of the occur- 

 rence of mineral Phosphate of Lime found in the Uni- 

 tevl States, and in reference to the specimen of that 

 substance which Dr. Daubeny liad forwarded to the 

 Duke of Richmond, replies were received from his 

 Excellency the American Minister, Dr. Dauheivt, 

 Sir R. I. MuRCinsoN, Sir ChAS. Ltell, Capt. W. 

 II. Smyth, Dr. Shawe, Prof. Johnston, of Durham, 

 Mr. Johnson, Secretary of the New York State Ag- 

 ricultural Society, Dr. Cooke, Professor of Mineral- 

 ogy in Ilarwood University, and laid before the 

 Coimcil on the 25th of June last. ■ The following 

 results may be deduced from this correspondence : 



1. The Mineral Phosphate of Lime has been found 

 in the American States of New Jersey and New 

 York ; and there is a great probability that it will be 

 discovered in other States of that Union, as well as 

 in Canada ; it is also not improbable, from analogi- 

 cal considerations, that this crystalline substance may 

 be found to exist among the mctamorphic masses of 

 the Highlands of Scotland and elsewhere. 



2. The specimen from New Jersey, forwarded by 

 Dr. Dabeny to the Duke of Richmond, had the ap- 

 pearance of a remarkable variety of crystaline rock ; 

 but the formation in which it occurred was not stated. 

 It was found by Prof. Maskelyne to contain 95 per 

 cent, of the phosphates of lime, iron, and alumina. 

 Its importation was made by Messrs. Jevons, of 

 Stamford Place, Liverpool. One vein alone, discov- 

 ered in New Jersey, would supply the English mar- 

 ket for many years. 



3. In the State of New York a great mass of tlie 

 mineral had been discovered, and a shaft had already 

 been sunk to the depth of thirty feet. This vein oc- 

 curred at Crown Point, near Lake Champlain, in 



Essex county, and the abundance of the mineral was 

 fO great as to lead to the conclusion that this mine 

 contained an inexhaustible supply ; the locality vv&,3 

 also favorable for facility of transport and ready ship- 

 ment. This vein consisted of grains and crystals ; 

 and on analysis, in America, has been found to con- 

 tain a much larger proportion than the Jersey mineral, 

 of which some specimens yielded only about forty 

 per cent, of the phosphate of lime, while the Crown 

 Point mineral gives eighty per cent, of tliat subt-tance, - 

 free from chalk, containing only a small amount of 

 quartz in grains, and of the fluoride and chloride of 

 lime. It is very soft, and pulverizes easily, and is 

 more readily dissolved than the Jersey variety. It 

 can be delivered in London, in the rough state, or 

 powdered ready for use, as may be thought most de- 

 sirable. By single-horse power two tons a day may 

 easily be ground. 



4. The price at which the Jersey phosphate was 

 first offered was five guineas per ton ; but its inter- 

 est immediately ceased, in a commercial point of 

 view, when the importers, on fallacious grounds of 

 supply and demand, injudiciously raised the price to 

 £7, forgetting that tliere were already other forms of 

 phosphate of lime in this country available to the 

 English farmer. It is now fully believed by mode- 

 rate and intelligent Americans, that the Uuited States 

 phosphate can be aftbrded in the English market at 

 such a price as will render it a cheap fertilizer ; and, 

 as it can easily be reduced to powder, its value can- 

 not be doubted, provided it be treated with sulphuric 

 acid, and thus rendered suitable as a manure for those 

 crops for which phosphate of lime has been found by 

 experience to be advantageous. 



5. Professor Johnston, of Durham, to whose per- 

 sonal visit to the United States we probably owe the 

 attention thus paid to this iivneral, occurring so 

 abundantly in that part of the ■.•'•'•■'•U, remarks : — 

 "American farm.ers in general have '•.'£ the know- 

 ledge to appreciate the value of sucn s nianuring 

 substance as this, nor the ability to purchase; 't when 

 manufactured into super-phosphate of lime ; tuc ;^'5- 

 covery, therefore, will be a boon, for the present, lo 

 both countries. It will make more abundant and 

 cheap the means of fertility which our eoils require ; 

 while, by supplying a new article of traffic only sale- 

 able in Great Britain, it will form a nov/ bond of con- 

 nexion between our kindred nations." 



Hawk Catching. — A singular but effectual meth- 

 od for destroying hawks, that greatest terror to all 

 poultry yards, has recently been communicated to 

 me. My informant says he took no less than seven 

 the first day. They had previously been so fright- 

 ened with powder and ball, that he could no longer 

 reach them with his rifle. The world will not be 

 much the wiser, or fowls generally more safe, on ac- 

 count of his discovery, unless it be published ; and, 

 should you deem it worth publishing, you may gi-.e 

 it to your readers. 



It is simply to erect, in an open field near by, a 

 post a few inches in diameter made square at the 

 top, and say five or six feet above ground. Place 

 on this, a smart steel trap, fastened with a short 

 chain. The intruder will be sure to take his stand 

 there, it being a capital spot to make his observa- 

 tions ; he sets foot on treacherous ground, is easily 

 captured, and should be removed soon so as not to 

 alEirm others. J. M. C. — Lansing, Mich,, 1851. 



