314 DISTANT TRANSPORTATION OF MARL. 



to his land in possession.* But this would be merely declining one 

 considerable profit, for the purpose of taking another much greater. 

 Whenever the value of marl shall be properly understood, and 

 our lands are priced according to their improvement, or their capa- 

 bility of being improved from that source, as must be the case here- 

 after, then this choice of advantages will no longer be offered. 

 Then rich marl will be profitably carted eight or more miles from the 

 pits, and perhaps conveyed by water as far as it may be needed. A 

 bushel of such marl as the bed on James river, described jbage 144, 

 containing 62 per cent, of carbonate of lime, is as rich in calca- 

 reous earth alone, as a bushel of slaked lime, will be after it 

 becomes carbonated; and the greater weight of the first is a less dis- 

 advantage for water carriage, than the price of the latter. Many 

 marls, in other places, are much richer than this, and also dry, and 

 easy to work. Farmers on James river, who have used lime as 

 manure to great extent and advantage, might more cheaply have 

 moved rich marl forty miles by water, as it would cost nothing but 

 the labour of digging and transportation. (1832.) 



Within the short time that has elapsed since the first publica- 

 tion of the foregoing passages in the previous edition of this essay, 

 the transportation of marl by water carriage has been commenced 

 on James river, and has been carried on with more facility and at 

 less expense than was anticipated. The farmers who may profit by 

 this new mode of using marl will be indebted to the enterprise of 

 C. H. Minge, Esq., of Charles City, for having made the first full 

 and satisfactory experiment of the business on a large scale. 

 (1835.) I induced this gentleman to undertake this operation, for 

 improving his farm in Charles City county (now known as Sher- 

 wood Forest, and the property and residence of President Tyler), 

 not only by advice, but by offering to him the gratuitous use of my 

 marl on Coggins Point. His operations were continued through 

 two years. His example was subsequently followed by some other 

 farmers to less extent, and at much greater cost, as they hired the 

 freighting, though obtaining the marl from me, in the bed, without 



* This statement of prices, though correct when first published (in 1832), 

 is no longer so. Some little land may yet be so low ; but, in general, the 

 prices of lands having marl have already advanced from 50 to 100 per cent, 

 within fifteen years (1842). The lowest of the above-named prices was much 

 above the former minimum rate. The various tracts of land in James City 

 county, belonging to Mrs. Paradise's large estate, when sold some 12 or 14 

 years ago, brought prices that averaged only about $1.25 the acre. Most 

 of the lands were poor, but easily improvable, and all having plenty of rich 

 marl. One of the tracts of that description, of 800 acres, was bought at 

 75 cents the acre ; and after being held for three or four years, without 

 being in any respect improved, was re-sold by the purchaser for $2.50 the 

 acre. Where marl has been actually applied, the increased intrinsic or 

 productive value of the land always considerably exceeds the increased 

 market price, even though the latter may be already doubled or tripled. 



