48 On Plaister of Paris. 



a very extraordinary effect, but has not been repeat* 

 ed on distant fields that never have been dunged, its 

 effects were wonderful, considering the state they were 

 in ; one of the fields was sown with clover on the wheat 

 and not exceeding two and an half bushels of plaister 

 per acre, in March, 1794, on which I had upwards of 

 forty cattle upwards of two weeks in the beginning of 

 last May; then inclosed it for mowing, and mowed it in 

 the latter end of June and the beginning of July last, 

 from which I had upwards of one tun per acre. This 

 field without the plaister or clover seed, would not have 

 produced pasture worth inclosing. It has been under 

 cultivation in turn near or quite one hundred years.* 



Here suffer me to express my utter astonishment 

 and inability to account in what manner so small a quan- 

 tity of matter of any kind should have so wonderful a 

 power of promoting vegetation as appears in the above 

 cases. Thy English author speaks of virgin earth being 

 the most agreeable to plaister, it is likely it may. Land 

 over poor appears most certain of being improved by it. 

 It may be observed, that all my land, and indeed all in 

 the state, was in a virgin state as to that kind of manure. 



* Here is a strong instance of plaister on old cleared fields, 

 without dung. Mr. Sellers's is one of the oldest setdements 

 in the state. I very much doubt the theoiy of this English au- 

 thor ; especially as it respects virgin earth. No doubt it will 

 operate wonderfully on new land (which does not require it) 

 because of the vegetable matter in it, but it is on this matter^ 

 and not the earthy that it w;orks. But see at the end, an in- 

 stance where plaister had no effect on new land. 



R. P. 



September, 1810. 



