46 



1846, 7, 8, by two or three liberal dressings of plaster and ashes. 

 No such result has occurred, to our knowledge, in this vicinity. 

 In parts of England it is the practice of farmers to apply 150 to 

 200 weight of plaster per acre to their grass lands every year. 

 On dry, open land, in a wet season, or on other land, at a greater 

 distance from the sea shore than our county reaches, it may be 

 found advantageous. It is sometimes thought to increase the ac- 

 tivity of barn-yard manure, by being mixed with it when turned 

 over. 



The curious reader ayHI find in the second volume of the Massa- 

 chusetts Agricultural Repository for the year 1805, an Essay 

 upon the Nature and Uses of Plaster, in which it is highly extolled. 

 The writer says, " It seems to comprise in itself more virtues as a 

 manure than almost any other manure of equal bulk, or even of 

 equal weight, which is known in common practice. It will restore 

 to good heart the old farms to which it is suited, with little ex- 

 pense and in a short time. It begins by turning into manure 

 various useless substances found upon the ground, and thus pre- 

 pares the way for an increase of stock. The grass obtained 

 through plaster is peculiarly acceptable to cattle, who always 

 single it out from other grass. It is, indeed, distinguishable to 

 the eye and touch, and the hay from it is perhaps ahke valuable. 

 Plaster likewise appears to have a direct power in stimulating the 

 sprouting of seeds and the growth of plants." 



After a great deal more laudatory than this and more indefi- 

 nite, the author adds, "It is commonly supposed to be useless 

 near the sea." 



It is gratifying to notice, in every part of the county, the in- 

 creased attention given to reclaiming of meadows. The instances 

 are too numerous to be specified, in which wet, boggy, bushy 

 meadows, that yielded nothing whatever of value to man or beast, 

 have been converted into excellent mowing fields, by draining, by 

 gravel and manure. Farmers have found such meadows to be the 

 best land they owned ; that is, yielding the largest returns in pro- 

 portion to the money expended upon them. Instead of poor hay, 

 nearly worthless, and which animals will eat only to keep from 

 starving, the reclaimed meadow furnishes from two to three tons 

 per acre of the best hay, and hay brings milk, butter and meat. 



