On Plaister of Paris. 27 



ter than the first, The third year it was not plaistered, 

 but continued good. It was ploughed in the fall of that 

 year, which was very tough ploughing, but done by 

 two horses. The next spring I planted it with Indian 

 corn, and put half a bushel plaister per acre on, which 

 yielded upwards of fifty bushels per acre. The year 

 following I sowed the same field with barley, having 

 manured a part of it with barn yard manure the fall before 

 I sowed the barley, I then intended to have sown the field 

 with wheat, but the clover (without any seed being 

 sown) coming up and Jiiaking so beautiful an appearance, 

 determined me to let it stand for a crop, which now looks 

 to be the best crop I ever had of grass, being a mixture 

 of red and white clover, with some blue grass. I sowed 

 one bushel more plaister last spring per acre. I could 

 mention several other experiments which I made, that are 

 similar, on land of the same quality; as this field and two 

 more which I had, were in pretty good heart before I be- 

 gan to use the plaister. 



In the spring of the year 1792, I fenced oiF a piece 

 of about four acres, being a part of a large field that 

 was much reduced, washed into deep gullies in many 

 parts, and had been totally neglected for many years. 

 The appearance was so disagreeable that I put no value 

 on it when I purchased the place, though the field con- 

 tained near fifty acres. The above said piece of four 

 acres I folded my cattle on at nights, which were be- 

 tween thirty and forty in number, for near three months, 

 and sowed it with wheat. The spring following, I sowed 

 it with clover seed and one bushel of plaister per acre ; 

 soon after the seed came up, the clover grew strong that 

 season. I applied one bushel more plaister per acre the 



