EFFECTS OF CALXINQ ON HEALTH. 275 



But it will be considered that the most important inquiry remains 

 to be answered, to wit : Has the application of calcareous manures 

 been found in practice decidedly beneficial to the health of the 

 residents on the land ? I answer, that long experience, and the 

 collection and comparison of numerous facts derived from various 

 sources, will be required to remove all doubts from this question ; 

 and it would be presumptuous in any individual to offer as sufficient 

 proof, the experience of only ten or twelve years on any one farm. 

 But while admitting the insufficiency of such testimony, I assert 

 that, so far [to 1833], my experience decidedly supports my posi- 

 tion. My principal farm [Coggins], until within some four or five 

 years, was subject in a remarkable degree to the common mild 

 autumnal diseases of our low country. Whether it is owing to 

 marling, or other unknown causes, these bilious diseases have since 

 become comparatively very rare. Neither does my opinion in this 

 respect, nor the facts that have occurred on my farm, stand alone. 

 Many other persons are equally convinced of this change on other 

 land as well as on mine. But in most cases where I have made 

 inquiries as to such results, nothing decisive had then been ob- 

 served. The hope that other persons may be induced to observe 

 and report facts bearing on this important point, has in part caused 

 the first appearance of these crude and perhaps premature views. 



Even if my opinions and reasonings should appear sound, I am 

 aware that the practical application is not to be looked for soon ; 

 and that the scheme of using marl in towns is more likely to be 

 met by ridicule, than to receive a serious and attentive examina- 

 tion. Notwithstanding this anticipation, and however hopeless of 

 making converts, either of individuals or of corporate bodies, I will 

 offer a few concluding remarks on the most obvious objections to, 

 and benefits of the plan. The objections will all be resolved into 

 one namely, the expense to be encountered. The expense certainly 

 would be considerable ; but it would be amply compensated by the 

 gains and benefits. In the first place, the general use of marl as 

 proposed, for towns, would serve to insure cleanliness, and purity 

 of the air, more than all the labours of their boards of health and 

 their scavengers, even when acting under the dread of approaching 

 pestilence. Secondly, the putrescent manures produced in towns, 

 by being merely preserved from waste, would be increased ten-fold 

 in quantity and value. Thirdly, all existing nuisances and abomi- 

 nations of filth would be at an end ; and the beautiful city of 

 Richmond (for example) would not give offence to our nostrils, 

 almost as often as it offers gratification to our eyes. Lastly, the 

 marl (or mild lime), after being used until saturated with putres- 

 cent matter, would retain all its first value as calcareous earth, 

 and be well worth purchasing and removing to the adjacent farms, 

 independent of tne enriching manure with which it would be> 



