PLASTER. 



PLASTER. 



269 



We hope more experiments will be made in New 

 England on the use of this article. We are well aware 

 there are lands on which it seems to have no beneficial 

 effect; but we have soils on which it has a wonderful 

 operation ; and, where we have such, this is the cheapest 

 manure or stimulant that can be applied. 



Last week we were informed, by a gentleman of 

 South Andover, of an experiment made with it by Mr. 

 Asa E. Abbott, of that place, on his corn-field. Mr. 

 Abbott put plaster on the hills of many alternate rows 

 of corn, leaving half of them without it. The plas- 

 tered corn looked much best through the summer, and, 

 on harvesting his corn, he weighed the ears of all the 

 rows. The corn on the plastered rows weighed fifty- 

 two pounds, while the corn on the rows not plastered 

 weighed less than half that number of pounds. 



Mr. Abbott's soil was not what would be called 

 clayey. It was rather gravelly, — not a light soil, — it 

 was not sandy. The plaster was put on greensward, 

 ploughed in the spring. 



A neighbor of Mr. Abbott tried an equally accurate 

 experiment on old ground that had been planted the 

 year before. He found, on weighing his corn, he had 

 one third more where he had used plaster than where 

 he had used none. 



We are not certain that plaster operates more power- 

 fully, in general, on greensward than elsewhere, though 

 we know that wood-ashes are worth twice as much 

 when so applied, they contributing to its decomposition. 

 Still, plaster may sometimes do us more essential ser- 

 vice on greensward. We will suppose a case where 

 the land was poor, and now a good coat of manure is 

 spread on equally over the field. Here,, in a proper 

 soil, plaster in the hill will prove very efficacious ; for 

 it gives the corn an early start to take advantage of 



