CHAP. iv. APPLICATION OF MARL. 1027 



frost. The quantity varies according to the nature of the soil. For 

 light sandy lands the argillaceous marl is preferable, as it renders them 

 more firm and tenacious ; the stone and shell-marls are, on the other 

 hand, best adapted to stiff, clayey, and loamy soils. The average 

 allowance for sandy ground is about fifty or sixty cubic yards per acre, 

 although in some parts of Cheshire as much as 128 cubic yards are 

 applied ; on loose wet loams (which are greatly benefited and rendered 

 more friable by the use of marl) it should be spread at the rate of 100 

 cubic yards. Much attention, however, is requisite in this respect ; 

 for should too large a proportion be spread at one time, there will be a 

 difficulty in removing it ; whereas, whenever too little appears to have 

 been used, the deficiency may be easily remedied by resorting to 

 frequent light dressings. 



This mode of manuring is best suited to land which has been laid 

 down with clover, rye-grass, and trefoil, in the spring, twelve months 

 before the application of the marl, and which will remain under these 

 crops six months afterwards. The marl will then have time to sink 

 gradually into the soil before the latter is ploughed up, and will become 

 in some measure incorporated with it. Great care should be taken to 

 break all the lumps, and get the material fine b} r repeated harrowings 

 and rollings, and to have all the stones gathered and carried away, in 

 order that the grass may shoot up as soon as possible, and stock be 

 grazing upon it. The long exposure of marl to the influence of the 

 atmosphere is a circumstance of very considerable importance ; and 

 this is, perhaps, best effected by laying it on the surface of the land 

 when in grass. So permanent are the fertilising properties of marl, 

 that, if properly spread, its effects will be visible on arable land for 

 twelve or fourteen years, and on pasture during a much longer period. 



In the old times, when labour was very cheap and the returns from 

 farming were much greater than they are now, artificial marl was 

 sometimes made where there were no marl pits near enough to allow 

 of the natural article being used. A compost of lime and clay was 

 made, and exposed to the frosts of winter ; or, for heavy land, sand 

 was used in the place of clay. The practice, however, is now quite out 

 of date, and, considering the enormous amount of labour which it 

 involved, we doubt whether it was ever remunerative. 



The ASHES OF CLAY, after it has been burned, ameliorate wet, 

 cold, and sandy soils, and stiff clayey lands. This kind of dressing 

 has been used in the North Biding of Yorkshire, where the ground is 

 so sandy as to yield, with the application of other manures, only rye ; 

 whilst, with burnt clay, such land produces abundant and luxuriant 

 crops of wheat. The quantity applied per acre varies from ten to 

 twelve loads, and sometimes as many as thirty are used. The result is 

 said to be so lasting as to render a repetition of claying unnecessary 

 for many years. The heavy land of Suffolk, and the flats of Essex, 

 have likewise been benefited by clay-burning ; it has been found to 

 answer in Hampshire, and Mr. Pusey tried it with success on stiff clay 

 land in Oxfordshire. It has been extensively used in the North of 



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