AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER. 



Boston, Wednesday, September 18, 1839. 



THIRD GEOLOGICAL REPORT OF MAINE— BY 



C. T. JACKSON, M. D. 



Agreeably to our promise, we revert again to this re- 

 port; and respectfully slate our coiiviclioiis tliat the 

 learned geidogist has not made out his case hy any evi- 

 dence which he has adduced. 



We understand him to stale distinctly, that the exis- 

 tence of lime in the soil in the form of a carbonate, is 

 indispensable to the production of wheat ; that when 

 this is found, even in very small proportions, as one per 

 cent, of the cultivated soil, there the crop of wheat is 

 sure. (Of course, though he states his proposition thus 

 strongly and universally, we do not understand him to 

 refer to any security from blight occasioned by atmos- 

 pheric influences or destruction by insects of every kind.) 

 And in the third place, we think it only a matter of fair 

 inference from the opinions expressed in this report, and 

 others given by him in various forms to the public, thai 

 he regards the capacity of a soil to. produce wheat as 

 bearing (within certain limits,) a direct relation to the 

 degree in which lime in the lorm of a-carbonate is pres- 

 ent. Perhaps we do him an injustice by this irjference, 

 which we should much regret ; but this is certainly the 

 popular conclusion generally made from his expressed 

 opinions. Let us now examine some of the cases which 

 he has adduced ; and we beg leave strongly to repeat in 

 this matter, that we protest against any imputation of a 

 captious or controversial spirit in the case, for we feel 

 nothing of it, and entertain no sentiment but that of the 

 most sincere respect for the author of this report ; that 

 we have ourselves no theory whatever to establish; and 

 that our only desire is to reach the truth in a subject 

 where sound conclusions are of so much practical im- 

 portance ; and as far as truth, in a matter so mysterious 

 as the hidden processes of vegetation, can by human sa- 

 gacity be arrived at. 



The report presents numerons analyses of various 



' soils. It is understood in all cases, that 100 pans of the 



soil are taken; and we shall, for tlie sake of brevity, 



quote only the amounts of soluble vegetable matter and 



carbonate of lime. 



1. One of the first soils referred to is in page 45, on 

 the Moose River settlement. " The soil is said in this 

 place to be rich and well adapted to cultivation : fifty 

 acres produce twentyone bushels of wheat to the acre. 

 This farm is on the highlands, dividing Canada from 

 the United States. The sides of these mountains are 

 argillaceous slate, [always favorable to wheat, h.c] 

 while granite rocks probably form their central mass." 

 The Dr. reports no lime, which he would have been 

 sure to have done, we think, rould lie have found any. 



2. Anson (p. 53,) is the next town referred to. This 

 town produced more wheat than any other town in the 

 State. The analysis of the soil on the farm of B. Bry- 

 ant gave geine, (vegetable matter) 5.0; carbonate of 

 lime 4.6— and the product of his fields has been 40 bush- 

 els of wheat to the acre. This is very remarkable; but 

 there are two other facts to be taken with it. The av- 

 erage yield of wheat through the town was only 16 1-2 

 bushels to the acre ; and this field of B.Bryant had 

 been cultivated for years, and barn yard manure had 

 been used for dressing. 



3. Norridgewock, (p. 54.) The farm of Dr Bates 

 produced 17 bushels of wheat to the acre. " This wheat 

 had suffered materially from the fly and weavel." We 

 presume it was not manured. Under these circumstan- 



ces the crop must be considered large. Vegetable mat- 

 ter in the soil 10.2; carbonate of lime 0.9. 



4. Dresden, (p. 53.) Soil a clay loam ; average crop 

 of wheat 15 bushels to the acre; vegetable matter 7.6; 

 carbonate of lime 2.5. 



5. Thomaston, (p. .58.) Dr. Jackson iiere found 

 " one of the most luxuriant fields of wheat which he 

 had examined.'' Yield, however, is not given. Vejj'e- 

 table matter in the soil 8.0 ; carbonate of lime 2 0. It 

 is to be observed, however, that the farmer had dressed 

 the soil with muscle mud and about twelve loads of sta- 

 ble manure to the acre. 



6. Orrinston and Brewer, (p. 70.) Luxuriant fields 

 of wheat. Orrington — vegetable matter 4.9; carbonate 

 of limo 0.3. Brewer— vegetable matter 7.9 ; carbonate 

 of lime l.O. 



The Dr. does not give the amount of crops. He says 

 one of the fanners had limed his fields to some extent ; 

 but he gives no information to what extent or how ap- 

 plied. We know very well how to estimate such inde- 

 finite statements of farmers, and in geneial consider 

 them as worth just nothing. The soil it seems is com- 

 posed of " argillaceous slate rocks, with valleys filled 

 here and there with tertiary clay deposits." This we 

 know is exactly the soil for wheat. The Dr. adds that 

 " tertiary clay itself contains from five to ten jier cent, of 

 lime, and hence its fertility in crops of wheat." How 

 does it happen that the analysis of the soil shows noth- 

 ing of this .' 



7. Foxcrofi, (p. 72 ) " Soil of excellent quality, 

 bearing heavy crops of wheat." Geological aspect — 

 " huge blocks of granite resting upon argillaceous slate." 

 Vegetable matter 11.1 ; carbonate of litne 0.8. 



8. Dover, (p. 80.) Two bushels of wheat sown gave 

 30 bushels. In another case, one and three-quarters of 

 an acre of wheat gave forty bushels. The Dr. adds, 

 " the soil of Dover is luxuriant and capable of produc- 

 ing heavy crops of grain. It is evident that the occur- 

 rence of carbonate of lime as one of its components, is 

 the cause of its reinarkable fertility." Qj' Please now 

 to observe the analysis of this very soil — vegetable mat- 

 ter 11.1 ; carbonate of lime 0.8. 



9. Guilfoid, (p. 60.) " Five acres of wheat produced 

 100 bushels. But for the Hessian fly and weave!, the 

 crop would have been much larger," Analysis of this 

 soil gives, vegetable matter 11.4 ; carbonate of lime 3. 



The Dr. adds in this case a remarkable note — " His 

 field on the opposite side ofthe road, was last year treat- 

 ed with plaster of Paris as a top dressing; and on half 

 an acre ofthe land he planted one bushel of wheat, the 

 produce of which was thirty bushels. From this fact it 

 will appear that gypsum exerts a beneficial influence on 

 soils containing a very little lime distributed in clay 

 loam." This seems rather a hasty general conclusion 

 from a single fact. Three-tenths of one per cent, of car- 

 bonate of lime is a *' very little" ; and the gvpsum was 

 put on the previous year as a top dressing. The amount 

 applied is not given. There is another fact in the case 

 which deserves notice — " The rocks of Guilford are ar- 

 gillaceous slate." 



10. Dexter, (p. 85.) B.Green raised of wheat last 

 year 40 bushels to the acre. Sup[)Oses he shall get the 

 current year (1838,) 25 bushels per acre. Vegetable 

 matter 10.2; carbonate of lime 1.0. The land by the by 

 was dressed with barn yard manure. 



11. Wilton, (p. 106.) Fortyeight bushels of wheat 

 have been produced per acre. " A small quantity of 

 lime is found disseminated in the soil, and hence it is 

 productive of good crops of wheat. The analysis gives 

 of phosphate of lime 1.5, but mark, of soluble vegetable 

 matter 12.0 ; insoluble 5.5. Are we to understand that 

 this great crop was raised without manure, and why has 



he not favored us in so important a case with a fuller 

 notice ? Ko carbonate of lime is found in this soil. 



12. Union, (p. 150.) This soil is said to have pro- I 

 duced forty bushels of wheat to the acre. In table, p. 

 173, its product is leported as corn ; we therefore pass it 

 over as doubtful. 



13. Warren, (p. 160.) A good crop of wheat. Veg- 

 etable matter 6.6 ; carbonate oflime 0.8. 



14. Sebec village, (p. 101.) A good crop of wheat. 

 Vegetable matter 10.10; carbonate oflime 0.9. 



15. Foxcroft, (p. 101.) Good crop of wheat. Soil 

 granite. Vegetable matter 13.9 ; carbonate of lime 1.0. 



16. Minot. " Wheat said to be good." Vegetable 

 matter 4.9 ; carbonate oflime 0.5. 



17. Livermore, (p. 171.) Wheat 30 bushels to the 

 acre. Vegetable matter 8.0 ; carbonate of lime 0.3. 



18. Glenburn, (p 164.) Wheat good. Vegetable 

 matter 6.3. ; carbonate of lime 0.7. 



The foregoing, we believe, embrace all the examples 

 of the analysis of soils presented in this learned report of 

 the geological surveyor. We shall leave them mainly 

 to speak for themselves. He has not, in our humble 

 opinion, made out his case that the carbonate oflime in 

 the soils is indispensable to the production of wheat ; that 

 its deficiency is a sure cause of the failure ofthe crop; 

 or that the productiveness of a soil in wheat bears any 

 direct relation or correspondence to the amount of lime 

 ill the form of a carbonate, which is to be found in every 

 soil. 



We stated in our last number that the soil of Mr Ad- 

 ams, in Chelmsford, Mass., which had yielded a crop of 

 wheat nineteen years in twenty, averaging thirty bush- 

 els to the acre, contained by the analysis of Dr Dana, no 

 trace ofthe carbonate oflime. It seems by Dr Jackson's 

 own showing, that the most productive soil in Maine, 

 No. 11, Wilton, which yielded fortyeight bushels of 

 wheat to the acre, [in page 173 it is put down 45 bush- 

 els,] contained no lime excepting in a very inconsidera- 

 ble quantity of 1.5 ofthe phosphate oflime. These are 

 cerlaiuly remarkable facts. 



There Is another inference to be made from these ca- 

 ses, which will not, we think, have escaped the intelli- 

 gent reader; which is, that although the productiveness 

 of a soil in wheat does not always correspond to the de- 

 gree in which tlie carbonate of lime is present, it does 

 bear a very obvious relation to the amount of vegetable 

 matter contained in any soil and to the application of ma- 

 nure. We can hardly, therefore, accede to the position 

 of Dr Jackson, so emphatically stated in page 153, that 

 it is "proved decisively that lime is the best fertilizer 

 ofthe soil." We have much question whether in any 

 proper sense it is to be called a fertilizer of the soil at 

 all. To have established his case, it was necessary not 

 to show merely that the carbonate of lime is present in 

 soils where wheat is successfully raised, but that where 

 this form oflime is not found that wheat cannot be rais- 

 ed ; and further, he should have shown some corres- 

 pondence between the crop produced and the amount of 

 this matter present. But where, as in the case of An- 

 son, No. 2, the crop of wheat is 40 bushels, (upon land 

 manured for several years,) though the average crop 

 through the town is only 16 1-2 bushels to the acr« ; and 

 this soil gives an analysis of carbonate of lime 4.6; and 

 then in Wilton, No. 11, the crop is 48 bushels of wheat 

 to the Acre, and no carbonate of lime is founds and of 

 phosphate of lime only 1.5, itbeeomes rather difficult to 

 arrive at the conclusion that the presence of the carbon- 

 ate of lime in the soil is the great desideratum for the 

 productiveness and security of a crop of wheat. 



We shall make a farther claim upon the candor of our 

 readers hereafter in the discussion of this subject. 



H.C. 



