542 [Assembly 



o the unexhausted lands of the west. Pray, sir, and for what 1 

 Has our office become that of the locust ? Must we commit 

 devastation on our eastern lands, and then carry our earth 

 butchery to the west? Prairies are not inexhaustible. Let an 

 emigration from the east "develope their resources" for 100 

 years, and then we shall find a reduction of fertility which would 

 astonish many of our believers in eternal fertility. My doctrine, 

 sir, is to cultivate carefully and thoroughly one acre of our land 

 before we commence with the second. Let us recollect our old 

 principles of making two blades of grass grow where but one 

 grew before, rather than reduce our productions from the larger 

 to the smaller number. 



Prof. Mapes answered Dr. Waterbury's objections to analysis in 

 a most able manner. He said that the fact of the value of analy- 

 sis was too well established to admit of doubt, and he defied any 

 man to bring an instance of its failure, when its teachings had 

 been followed. G. Washington Park Custis, of Arlington, and 

 John Jones, of Delaware, were cited as men whose practice 

 would support his assertion. They both acknowledged frankly 

 that they owed their success almost entirely to the assistance of 

 the chemist. 



Mr. Lodge advocated, in connection with the use of the proper 

 measures, the thorough cultivation of the soil to great depth. 

 Crops are often deficient because their roots are not allowed to 

 penetrate the soil. The food is often there, but is kept out of 

 reach. The best crop cif corn I ever raised, was made by deep 

 plowing on a soil previously almost worthless. Prof. Mapes said 

 that a deepening of one inch in the surface plowing of our whole 

 country, would add more to its wealth than has the gold of Cali- 

 fornia, or the importation of guano from the Lobos Islands, 



Mr. Coleman, of Brooklyn, was pleased to have Mr. Pell's ideas 

 and experience on drainage, of the high importance of which he 

 was fully convinced some time ago. 



Mr. Cummings, the younger, has superintended the construc- 

 tion of sewers in this city for several years past, and was of opin- 

 ion that, from their vertical elliptic figure, and the smooth stone 



