Vol. a— No. x 



NEW EjNGLANI) PAitiVlElt. 



19 



warm fertilp, an.l riithcr dry soil, which is not (lis 

 tiirbed by the plough or spade, would turnish an 

 iippropritite ?ii</u.5 for the ogg. 



ON JIARL. 



Marl, like lime, ni;iy be viewed as a stiinulant, 

 forcing the soil to produce crops of corn and 

 Trass.'which otherwise would not have been ob- 

 Taincd. Marl has been long known to the hus- 

 bandman of Great Britain ; and, if we give credit 

 10 riiny, this article was used prior to the Roman 

 invasion. Several kinds are enumerated by the 

 ancient Latin writers, and all of them declare that 

 that the soil was greatly enriched by the applica- 

 tion of marl. 



In many parts of this island the value of land 

 has been much augmented by the application of 

 marl. Treatins; of this article in a practical way, 

 U may be divided into shell-marl and earth-marl 

 Shell-marl is composed of animal-shells dissolved ; 

 carth-murl is a fossil. Tlie color of the latter is 

 various ; white, black, blue, red, and its hardness 

 is as various as its color ; being sometimes soft 

 and ductile like clay, sometimes hard and solid, 

 like stone, and sometimes e.xtended into thin beds, 

 like slate. Shell-marl is easily distinguished by 

 the shells which always appear in it ; but the 

 similarity betwi.xt earth-marl and many other fos- 

 sil substances renders it difficult to distinguish 

 Ihem. 



Shell-marl is very different in its nature from 

 clayey and stone-marl^, and, from its effects upon 

 the soil, is commonly classed among the animal 

 manures. The Rev. Jlr. Dickson states, "That 

 it does not dissolve with water as the other marls 

 Jo. It sucks it np, and swells like a sponge. It is 

 a much stronger attracter of acids than they." 

 Dr. Home says, that it takes si.'; times more of 

 acids to saturate it than any of the other marls 

 which he had met with. But the greatest differ- 

 ence betwixt the shell-marl and the other marls 

 consists in this, the shell mar! contains oils. It is 

 uncertain if the other marls contain any oils; but 

 this kind it is said, contains them in great plenty. 

 This marl, it would seem, from the qualities 

 which it possesses, promotes vegetation in all the 

 different ways. It increases the food of plants ; it 

 communicates to the soil a power of attracting this 

 food from the air ; it enlarges the pasture of 

 plants ; and it prepares the vegetable food for en- 

 tering their roots. 



The shelly sand, often found deposited in beds 

 in the crevices'and level parts of the sea-coasts, is 

 another substance capable of being employed both 

 as a manure and stimulant ; not only on account 

 of its containing calcareous matter in greater or 

 less proportions, but also from the mixture of ani- 

 mal and vegetable substances that are found in it. 

 The portion of calcareous matter which it contains 

 must vary according to circumstances ; but, when 

 the quantity is any way large, and in a reduced or 

 attenuated state, the quality is so much the more 

 valuable. On that account, the quantity which 

 ought to be applied to the soil must be regulated 

 entirely by the extent of calcareous matter sup- 

 posed, or found, upon trial, to be contained in the 

 article, which, as already said, is very van ible. 



The clayey and stone marls are distinguished by 

 their colors ; viz. white, black, bine, and red. The 

 white, being of a soft crumbly nature, is consider- 

 ed to be the best for pasture land ; and the blue, 

 which is more compact and firm, for corn land. 

 Id the districts where tnarl is much used, these 



•listiuctions of management are attended to, 

 though either of the kinds may be employed with 

 advantage if the following rules are adhered to. 



If marl is of the blue kind, or of any kind that is 

 compact and firm, lay it upon the land early in the 

 season, so as the weather may mellow it down be- 

 fore the last plough ; and, if on pasture land, lot 

 it also be early laid on, and spread very thin, 

 bicaking any lumps afterwards which are not j 

 completely separated by the first spreading. If 

 marl is of the white, or any of the loose or crumb- 

 ling sorts, it need not bo laid on so early, because 

 these varieties break and dissolve almost as soon 

 as exposed to the weather. 



There are many kinds of impure and mixed 

 marls, such as sandy, clayey, loamy, and stony 

 marls, according as these varieties of soil are in- 

 corporated or mixed with the principal substance. 

 These sorts, of course, are inferior to the pure 

 marls ; but the stoney kind is considered to bo the 

 best, because its efficacy is more lasting, though 

 the fat and crumbling kinds enrich or operate 

 more speedily. The hard marls, however, in every 

 case, operate for the greatest length of time, and 

 are often followed with bad consequences to the 

 soil unless good management, with regard to crop- 

 ping, is exercised during the period of their oper- 

 ation. After being long excessively fruitful and 

 productive, the soil will gradually become so ster- 

 ile and barren as scarcely to be worth cultivating ; 

 in which case, the greatest exertion can hardly 

 procure a return of fertility. In this respect, the 

 effect of over-cropping land that has been marled, 

 is precisely the same as takes place with lime. 

 An uncommon exertion is made, occasioning a 

 proportionate debility ; though, were good hus- 

 bandry studiously practised, the exertion would 

 neither be bo excessive, in the first instance, nor 

 the after-consequences so mischievous. In num- 

 erous instances, land has been reduced so much as 

 to be thought little better than useless, by the ef- 

 fects of lime and marl. Both, however, are excel- 

 lent agents in forwarding agriculture, though of- 

 ten their agency has been misapplied, and used for 

 mischievous purposes. Under a correct rotation 

 of cropping, and with a suitable supply of dung, 

 neither the lime nor marl is injurious. Reverse 

 these circumstances, and the contrary effect must 

 necessarily be produced. — Brown's Trtatise on 

 .IgricuUure and Rural J}ffairs. 



HARVKSTING. 



When crops are suffered to stand on the ground 

 until they have fully ripened, they exhaust the soil 

 considerably more, than if taken off in a green 

 state. The same is the case in regard to weeds 

 of every description. Perhaps the remark is not 

 so fully applicable to crops of roots. 



It may therefore be said that lands are nega- 

 tively improved, in a saving of their usual exhaust- 

 ion, by taking such crops off the ground as soon 

 as they have attained a sufficient degree of ma- 

 turity. This is a matter that is worthy of consid- 

 eration, especially when it is remembered that 

 several kinds of crops may be severed from the 

 ground, without injury, in some cases with a sav- 

 ing, before they have fully ripened. 



'Ihus, Indian corn may be cut up while the 

 stal.ks are still greenish, and set up in shocks for 

 the ears to harden ; and in this way much good 

 fodder will be saved; the ground is less exhausted, 

 and the grain is said to be as good. By harvest- 

 ing oats while the stalks are somewhat green 



they will be the better for fodder, and the grain 

 will receive no injury thereby. The same may be 

 observed, to a certain extent, in regard to crops 

 of wheat and rye. 



Flax pulled when just out of blossom is consid- 

 cd by some the best. 'I'he pea-pod is injured by 

 standing too long ; as in that case the hull be- 

 comes of little value. In short, no crops of grain 

 derive any benefit from standing until the stalks 

 are completely dead, except when the grain is to 

 be used for seed. 



The period at which wheat, and in short, all the 

 other sorts of white crops should be cut, is when 

 the straw begins to shrink, and becomes white a- 

 bout half an inch below the ear ; the circulation 

 is then cut otT and all fujther benefit from its 

 standing is at an end ; the grain has, in fact, tak- 

 en every thing that is requisite to perfect it from 

 the ground. 



By cutting early it will yield more and whiter 

 flour ; will waste less by slielling ; the harvesting 

 will be expedited, so as to prevent the waste of 

 shelling, by having the last cuttings become too 

 ripe ; and as far as the value of the straw, wheth- 

 er for fodder or other purposes, is concerned, an 

 advantage is gained by cutting it while the circu- 

 lation is going on, and by that means preserving 

 a part of the natural juices ; the value of straw, 

 like tliat of hay, depending upon the proportion of 

 natural juices it contains, and the pains which 

 have been taken to preserve them. 



Some farmers determine when grain is fit to cut, 

 by the following signs : when the straw is all 

 turned, excepting at the joints ; when the kernel 

 becomes so hard that it cannot be mashed between 

 the thumb and finger ; or when the straw below 

 the ear becomes so dry, that no juice can be forc- 

 ed out by twisting it. If the weather is fine, it 

 lean be bound, and put into the shock immediately 

 after cutting ; but if the stalk is stout, and the 

 ear full and heavy, it should .lay till the after part 

 of the day ; it can then be bound, shocked, stack- 

 ed, or carted with safety, provided it is housed 

 where it can have free air, or the mows do not he- 

 come loo large. Sheaves should generally not be 

 larger than can be bound with a single length of 

 the straw. Grain should be caited when the air 

 I has a small degree of dampness, to prevent scat- 

 ; tering. 



I When a severe blight or rust has struck rye or 

 ' wheat, it should be cut immediately, eve.n if the 

 grain be in the milky state : and it should lie on 

 the ground, but not so close as to injure the heads, 

 until such time as the stalks have become dry 

 and the grain somewhat hardened. 



It is mostly advised that such grain as is much 

 infested with weeds, should be cut three or four 

 days earlier than is usual, that the weeds may 

 wither before the grain become too ripe. A sin- 

 gle shower, or even a day's gent'e rain, while it 

 lies in swath will not injure it. It is a most essen- 

 tial object, to cut the crop very low, to prevent 

 both the waste of grain, and the los.s of straw, the 

 unavoidable consequences of hijjh putting. 



When grain is stacked, a light floor of boards 

 should be mounted on four blocks, set in the 

 ground, and so high as to prevent the entering qf 

 , vermin. In building a stack, care should be taken 

 to keep the seed ends of the sheaves in the middle, 

 and a little higher than the outer ends Far.Gui. 



Hon. William Jarvis, of Weathersfield, is nomi^ 

 n5t-= ' 0-- a candidate for Governor of Vermont. 



