No. 129.] 347 



fine varieties from this country, though I have little faith in their 

 success in the United States, though they are natives of Mount 

 Lebanon. I notice a farm of 120 acres in Westchester county, 

 advertised by A. & J. Sargeant, 1 5 Wall-street, and several in 

 New Jersey and on Long Island. 



Pardon me the trouble I give, and believe me, dear sir, very 

 truly yours, J. H. S. 



Hon. Eeverdy Johnson's Experiment in Agricultural Chem- 

 istry. — In the last report of the Farmer's Club, this distinguish- 

 ed experiment was mentioned, and fully acknowledged by Mr. 

 Johnson as exactly correct. 



About thirteen months ago Mr. Johnson acquired the farm on 

 which the experiment was made ; 300 acres about two and a half 

 miles from Baltimore, (west ;) 200 acres cleared, originally good, 

 but utterly impoverished by a long course of bad husbandry. 

 The soil contains a very large proportion of iron. So complete 

 was its exhaustion, that when I first saw it, all the vegetable 

 matter growing upon the two hundred acres of cleared land, fin- 

 eluding the briars, sassafras, and other bushes,) carefully collec- 

 ted, would have been insufficient for the manufacture of one 

 farm-house load of barn-yard manure. The field selected for 

 the experiment contains ten acres, embracing the slope of two 

 hills, and a small valley intersecting it diagonally. It was at 

 that time in corn, and did not produce one peck of corn to the 

 acre, although it had been cultivated in the usual manner and with 

 ordinary care, and the season had not been below the average of 

 seven years. 



I procured the services of Doctor David Stewart, of Baltimore,^ 

 so justly distinguished for his scientific attainments. He visited 

 the farm, selected samples of the soil, and minutely and carefully 

 analyzed them. He found nothing wanting but phosphoric acid, 

 . which there was not a trace of. He prescribed a composition, 

 which was made up by those skilful gentlemen, Messrs. Kettle- 

 well & Davison, of Baltimore. The corn was then cut up at the 

 ground and removed. The field was ploughed, harrowed, and 

 laid off into sixteen and a half foot lands. The preparation was 



