THE GENESEE FARMER. 



25 



ON THE XTSE OF BURNT CLAY AS MANTJEE. 



About four years ago, I had my attention 

 ailed to the use of burnt clay as manure, by an 

 Englishman, who used the ashes of burnt clay on 

 lis potatoes and garden vegetables. The good re- 

 ults obtained by him induced me to try the plan, 

 accordingly I burnt ten bushels of ashes from 

 ;ood clay sods, and applied them to one-tenth of 

 ,n acre of meadow land. I sowed them broad- 

 ast, about the last August. The effect was quite 

 •erceptible during the fall, and the next season the 

 rop of hay was at least one-third heavier than it 

 ras on a meadow adjoining, where there had been 

 io manure of any kind ajiplied. 

 I was induced by my success on meadow land, 

 D continue the use of burnt clay. I burned two 

 undred bushels during the fall of 1856, and 

 Dwed broadcast one hundred and fifty bushels on 

 ne and a half acres of meadow land; and the 

 ext spring I applied fifty bushels to half an acre 

 f potato ground. The results of the burnt clay 

 1 the meadow land was quite as satisfactory as 

 as my first trial of them, and the results of the 

 arnt clay on the crop of potatoes was equal to an 

 crease of one-third over half an acre adjoining, 

 1 which no manure of any kind was applied, 

 )th pieces receiving the same amount of cultiva- 

 on, and were of the same variety of potatoes. 

 Being well satisfied with past experiments in 

 le use of burnt clay, I burned four hundred 

 ashels, in the fall of 1857, and during the past 

 ason have used them on meadow land, on potato 

 ound, and on spring wheat. The results on 

 'ass and on potatoes were equal to the results 

 eviously obtained ; but on spring wheat, the 

 Fects were not at all perceptible. 

 I think its effects on grass and potatoes have 



en equal to the effects of plaster, if not more so. 



shall apply some of it on spring wheat, next 

 ason, and I anticipate better results than I ob- 

 ined last season. I shall also continue its use 

 1 meadows and potatoes, and shall try it on car- 

 its, oats, and other crops, and watch the results 

 ith interest. bee. 



Hickory Bluff, Erie Co., K. T., Nov., 1858. 



THE VALUE OF LIME AS A MANURE. 



To what soUs and crops most beneficial — the quantity per 

 re, and the best time and method of application." 



The extensive and increasing use of lime for 

 ;ricultural purposos, indicates the opinion of far- 

 ers in regard to its usefulness, although there is 

 •eat diversity of opinion on its application, so as 



derive the greatest advantage in promoting the 

 le g;rowth of plants. Experience has taught me 

 at the best and most profitable mode for its ap- 

 ication, is on grass land. If the grass seed is 

 wn in the fall, with the wheat and rye, which is 

 e common practice with us in New Jersey, as 

 on as the harvest comes ofi" the next year we 

 »ply the lime, with the least delay, and while 

 esh slaked and in a dry, mealy state. Tt can be 

 read more evenly on the ground, and is in a state 



be more readily taken up by the fine roots of 

 e plants, than if allowed to get wet and clammy. 



is found most beneficial to keep it as near the 

 rface of the ground as practicable, as the specific 



gravity or weight of this mineral manure is so 

 great, that we soon find it too deep in the ground 

 for the fibrous roots of plants to derive the greatest 

 possible benefit from its use. 



With this method of application are connected 

 several advantages. The lime can be hauled in 

 the fall after the busy season is over, and when 

 spread on the sod in this way, comes in more im- 

 mediate contact with the grass and grass roots than 

 when the land is first plowed. 



In fields that have been hmed in part in this man- 

 ner, and then plowed, and lime applied to the re- 

 mainder at the time of plantingwith com, I always 

 observe a great difference in the corn crop ; and in 

 plowing up the stubble the next season, the part 

 limed on the sod is much mellower than that limed 

 after the sod was broken, presenting a rich vege- 

 table mold not observed in the other part of the 

 field. 



This discussion respecting the application of lime 

 as a manure, reminds me of the old man's advice 

 to his son: "Put your lime," he said, "if pos- 

 sible, on your new made sod ; if you cannot put it 

 on before it is plowed, put it on as soon after as 

 possible ; and if you cannot put it on after it is 

 plowed, put it on the best way you can." Though 

 I would not apply it to plowed land on which there 

 was no vegetable coating, unless I supplied the 

 deficiency by a full dressing of long manure. 



EwnUrdon Co., N. J. JOHN. T. SERGEANT. 



THE BENEFITS AND THE BEST MODE OF APBLYING 

 SHELL AND OTHER MARLS.* 



Marl has been used as a manure from the earli- 

 est ages. " When I marched an army," says Vareo, 

 "to the Rhine, I passed through some countries 

 where I saw the fields manured white fossil clay." 

 AU parts of England are dotted over with old marl 

 pits from which marl has been drawn out on the 

 land as manure. This marl consists principally of 

 clay combined with carbonate of lime and more or 

 less phosphoric acid. It will eflFervesce on the ap- 

 plication of strong vinegar, which sets free the car- 

 bonic acid of the lime. The phosphoric acid, of 

 course, is of great value ; and the lime, as it slowly 

 becomes available, is also beneficial. There are 

 also many other valuable constituents of plants in 

 the marl. But since the advent of artificial ma- 

 nures, the use of marl in England is far less com- 

 mon than formerly. The extensive cultivation of 

 the turnip, which delights in light land, has also 

 helped to render marl less needed. The turnips are 

 consumed on the land, by sheep, and their pointed 

 hoofs consolidate the soil ; and this I regard as one 

 of the principal effects of the old-fashioned prac- 

 tice of marling. 



The usual amount of marl applied to the sandy 

 lands of Norfolk, is from forty to seventy loads per 

 acre — a load being about forty bushels. It is 

 drawn out in autumn and winter, and spread upon 

 the land, so that the frosts can pulverize it. Its 

 effect is slow but very permanent, and invariably 

 beneficial. Lands worth only $1.25 per acre (rent) 



* The committee, though awarding the aboTe essay the prize 

 would state that it is not as full or as practical as the importance 

 of the subject requires. They hope those who have had experi- 

 ence in the use of marl, will favor the readers of the Farmer with 

 their views. 



