The Lancaster Farmer. 



Dr. S. S. RA^HVON, Editor. 



LANCASTER, PA., SEPTEMBER, 1881 



Vol. ZIII. No. 9. 



Editorial. 



JERSEY MARL.. 

 Since the i)ubli(;atioii of our remarks on 

 "Marl" in the Augnstnumber of The Farm- 

 er, we have had calls from two or three of 

 our progressive farniers,who have entertained 

 intentions of making a trial of it, but would 

 like to have something more specific on the 

 subject— especially in relation to its analyssis 

 and the ingredients of which it is composed. 

 As our remarks were mainly of a general 

 character, with only a single specific reference 

 to its application to tobiicco in the suburbs of 

 Lancaster, we shall offer such further infor- 

 mation as is accessible to us in regard to its 

 details. 



Although it is pretty well known by analy- 

 sis, what marl is, as to its chemical composi- 

 tion, yet there are various theories among 

 men as to its origin; but if the farmer knows 

 just what he is administering to his soil it is 

 of very little importance to him how it origi- 

 nated, onu/wre it comes fi-ora, except so far as 

 the marl from one locality may be better than 

 that of another. According to what is deem- 

 ed a competent authority before us, " marl is 

 a natural fertilizer dug from the earth, and is 

 found at various points along the Atlantic 

 coast, extending from Navesiuk Highlands 

 in New Jersey, to the delta of the Mississippi, 

 in Louisiana. The most acceptable theory is 

 that which ascribes the character of the de- 

 posit as being similar to the material taken 

 from the bottom of the Gulf Stream by Prof. 

 Maury in his "Deep Sea Soundings," and 

 leads to the belief that at some remote period 

 the present line of the Fossil Marl-beds were 

 once in the track of that remarkable ocean 

 current. 



The deposit or strata of marl consists of 

 tiie upper, middle and lower beds; and in the 

 middle bed, containing a fossiliferous marl, 

 sea-green in color, there are found vertebral 

 remains of an extinct race of animals; bones 

 of reptiles, the walrus and whale, antlers of 

 the reindeer, gigantic saurians, huge turtles, 

 immense birds' leg bones, bills and claws, 

 sharks' teeth, and many others, as though 

 this vast trough had been one common grave- 

 yard, not only for residents of the Arctic zone, 

 but also those of tlie tropics, which may have 

 died and drifted into its mighty embrace. 



However naturalists may differ in their 

 theories as to the cause of this singular forma- 

 tion, it seems to bo a well assured fact, that, 

 like the coal-beds of Pennsylvania, it is a 

 great reservoir of untold value to the world; 

 and that in the discovery of Marl as a fertil- 

 izer, as of coal as a fuel, or coil-oil as an illu- 

 minator, nature seems to furnish a product at 

 once the cheapest, the most accessible, and 

 the most effectnal. 



Marl contains ingredients which are not 

 only essential to the life and growth of plants, 

 but also holds enough bone and animal matter 

 in perfect solution as to permanently enrich 

 the soil wherever it is applied. It readily dis- 1 



solves aind incorporates itself thoroughly with 

 all surface soils. 



In New Jersey marl was fust discovered in 

 the county of Monnioulh, in 1708, by a farm- 

 er who was digging a well, and when the 

 marl was dumped on an adjacent field, its ef- 

 fects, according to a geological history of the 

 State, are plainly visible even at the present 

 day. Johnson, in his "standard work on Ag- 

 riculture" states as a positive fact, that a 

 larger surface of the cropped lands of Enroi)e 

 have been improved with marl, than by the 

 aid of burnt lime and barnyard manure put 

 together. It has also been tested in Kurope, as 

 well as in this country, that the transfer of 

 marl found in one section, is producitive of 

 better results than when used nearer home; 

 hence the marls of New Jersey have recently 

 been used with far better effect on the soils of 

 Maryland and Pennsylvania, tlian upon the 

 soils of its native State. A fair and impar- 

 tial trial of its merits has amply justified the 

 wisdom of the Pennsylvania legislature in ex- 

 empting the marls alone, of all the manures 

 not found within its borders, from the pro- 

 visions and penalties provided in relation to 

 commercial fertilizers manufactured and sold 

 within the State. 



Of course, there are different kinds of marl, 

 if none are decidedly bad, some are at least 

 indifferent, and would not pay the exjienses 

 of transportation to a distant locality, al- 

 though they might be passable nearer home. 



The (jreen marl, however, that which con- 

 tains most organic remains, and is rich in 

 phosphates, silicates, nitrates and chalybeates 

 —that for instance, which is handled by 

 Iloopes & Co., and of which M. D. Bitner is 

 the local agent, cannot be included in the 

 category of indifferent, but must be classed 

 with the 6es(. 



Our readers can judge from the following 

 analysis, as to its chemical composition and 

 what crops would be benefited by it: of 



Phosphoric cioid it contaius 56 lbs. per ton. 



Silieioaeid 990 " " do 



Potash 1« " " do 



Lime 50 '■ " do 



Masniesia 66 " " do 



Aliimina 178 " " do 



Pratoxide of Iron W4 " " do 



Moislure 170 " " do 



Total 2000 



all of which elements are beneficial to the soil, 

 and the specific effects of which have long had 

 a more or less intelligent acknowledgment. 



For instance it has been demonstrated be- 

 yond a perad venture thut phosphoric acid ia 

 any fertilizer is beneficial to a greater extent 

 than any other when applied to "corn" crops, 

 and when we say cor7i we mean cereals gen- 

 erally. 



It is also as well known that silicic acid, or 

 soluble silica, performs an important function 

 in furnishing the glazing and stiffening mate- 

 rial which enters into the composition of tlie 

 straw or stems of plants, and also how essen- 

 tial this is to the proper maturing and gather- 

 ing of the wheat crop. As to pote/i, it has 

 long been considered an essential ingredient 



in nearly all crops. 850 pounds of marl con- 

 stituted as the foregoing analysis, contains as 

 much potash as 2240 pounds of wood ashes, 

 and we have had experimental evidence of 

 the good'effects of this element in promoting 

 the growth and fertility of the potato crop. 



Lime, Magnesia and Alumina, although not 

 leading ingredients in the Ijest of marls, are 

 still present in sufficient quantity to constitute 

 a healthy condiment' or seasoning to other 

 elements that are present in larger quantities. 

 Vrctoxidc of iron is a chemical substance of 

 which most soils are deficient, and yet, expe- 

 rience hits abundantly demon.strated that it is 

 a great promoter of the growth of vegetation 

 generally, and especially the various kinds of 

 fruit trees. 



There are throe elements, however, tliat are 

 usually absent in marl, namely : carbon, nitro- 

 gen and ammonia, and these added to the kind 

 of marl we have under review, will produce a 

 fertiUzer that cannot be excelled, even if it 

 can be equaled. The intelligent farmer, how- 

 ever, need not be in a "pother" about the ab- 

 sence of these elements in a manure that he 

 can obtain so cheaply as he can marl, for if 

 he is a judicious and economical farmer, ho 

 will have an abundant and never failing reser- 

 voir of these, in the manure pile of his barn- 

 yard. 



Farmers are more cunning (kslieid) now 

 than they were when roe were a boy, some 

 fifty years ago or more, and attach more im- 

 portance than they did then to liquid manure. 

 Through a qitasi feeling of humanity for their 

 stock, barnyards were so located that all the 

 surplus liquid was carried away from the yard, 

 out into the road perchance, even making a 

 gutter to facilitate the draining of the manure 

 pile. Sometimes these drains would continue 

 for a quarter or a half mile along the road- 

 side, and great "stalwart" weeds would grow 

 up to a height of five or six feet, whilst just 

 over the fence, in the field, the same species 

 of weeds would hardly attain to five or six 

 inches in height. But now they rea.son apriori 

 — "what's good for the goose is good for the 

 gander"— and act accordingly. A compost 

 of marl and barnyard manure, liquid, solid, or 

 both, in alternate layers, always ending with 

 the marl on top, to confine the volatile ele- 

 ments to the pile, makes a desirable and pro- 

 lific pabulum for the soil, without incurring 

 any expense, except the labor and the cost of 

 the marl. As a matter of course, if the 

 farmer has no stable manure, (des mus ein 

 ferteiveled bowerei sein wo kcin mLsht is) 

 then he will have to purcha.se carl)on, nitro- 

 gen and ammonia at the shops, and his fertil- 

 izer will cost him just .so much more ; but 

 even then, it may not be as high in price as 

 an artificial fertilizer that is worth having at 

 all. 



It would require more time and space than 

 we are able to devote to the subject, were wc to 

 attempt to make a record of the different 

 kinds of marl, their chemical composition, 

 their mode of application, and the benefits 



