170 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



They are to be tested only by facts, and we re- 

 spectfully invite our correspondents to furnish 

 us with circumstances coming within their ob- 

 servation that have a tendency to shed any 

 light upon the subject. 



Will common observation or chemical analy- 

 sis detect the want of silica in the straw of 

 wheat that falls or rusts ? Will not somebody 

 institute a set of experiments to ascertain whe- 

 ther ashes afford protection from rust ? 



If rust proceeds from a deficiency of soluble 

 silica in the soil, the thicker and more luxuriant 

 the growth, the greater should be the liability 

 to rust : is this so ? On the contrary, we know 

 one farmer at least, and a good one too, that 

 thinks high cultivation and heavy manuring a 

 perfect preventive of all the ills that wheat is 

 heir to. He thinks, that the thinner his wheat, 

 and the poorer his ground, the more likely he is to 

 suffer from rust; because, he considers, that 

 animal and vegetable manures thicken and 

 strengthen the stem so as to enable it to resist the 

 additional strain arising from the increased flow 

 of the sap during a rusty spell. 



We were discussing this theory a few days 

 since with an intelligent and scientific farmer 

 from the county of Louisa, who seemed much 

 struck with its plausibility ; he mentioned a cir- 

 cumstance that certainly has a tendency, as far 

 as it goes, to confirm the doctrine. There is a 

 portion of the Green Spring country he says 

 that is notoriously and proverbially invulnerable 

 to rust, and he well remembers, that during a 

 visit to the neighborhood, a few summers since, 

 Professor Rogers analyzed the soil of this sec- 

 tion and pronounced it, amongst other things, 

 remarkable for the potash it contained. 



To the consideration of this question we in- 

 vite the inquiring mind of Professor Rogers. — 

 There is no field of investigation more worthy 

 his scientific abilities. If by his patient research 

 and penetrating acumen he can discover the 

 cause, and provide a remedy for this sore evil 

 under which our husbandmen are groaning, he 

 will win for his brows a wreath more honorable 

 than ever adorned the temples of a military hero. 



For the Southern Planter. 



WHEAT, PLASTER, POTATOES. 



Mr. Bo!ts, — Having seen it recommended to 

 sow old wheat instead of new, as a preventive 

 against the ravages of the Hessian fly, in the 

 fall of 1841, I reserved' two and a half bushels 



of good seed wheat, and in October, 1842, sowed 

 in a belt through my field, sowing on either side, 

 and putting in, similarly, wheat of the same 

 kind, though the growth of 1842. I have seen 

 no difference up to this time in the appearance 

 of the crop. I have now a few bushels of seed 

 wheat, the growth of 1842, and will repeat the 

 experiment this fall, as a different result may 

 follow in another season. 



Whilst writing, I will state that in the spring 

 of 1842, I made five different experiments on 

 the application of plaster to corn, upon as many 

 varieties of soil, to test its relative value and 

 efficacy, intending to gather accurately and re- 

 port the result. I was prevented from doing 

 this by the severe storm and fresh we had in 

 September, which flooded some of the corn, and 

 blew down and intermixed the rest, so as to ren- 

 der impossible an accurate admeasurement. I 

 can only state the general facts, and appearance 

 of the crop during the season. The first expe- 

 riment was upon a gray gravelly soil — the se- 

 cond, upon red land, intermixed with fine cho- 

 colate gravel — both high land. The third, was 

 a poor sandy soil ; fourth, rich sandy loam ; fifth, 

 rich, moist, black stiff land, such as we find 

 upon most of our flats, where they approach 

 the hills. The three last, flat land. The corn 

 was simply rolled in plaster as long as any 

 would stick. In each experiment six rows were 

 taken, leaving three rows un plastered alternating 

 with the plastered corn. The greatest improve- 

 ment from the plaster manifested itself in the 

 third experiment upon the poor sandy land. — 

 The contrast here was so great that a sensible 

 neighbor of mine could scarcely credit that 

 plaster alone had been applied. The next great- 

 est improvement was to be seen in the fourth 

 experiment upon the sandy loam. Then came 

 the first and second experiments, in which there 

 seemed but little difference as to their relative 

 improvement, but manifest superiority over the 

 alternating rows of unplastered corn. In the 

 fifth experiment, some time after the corn came 

 up and whilst the weather was dry, I could per- 

 ceive a superiority of the plastered over the un- 

 plastered rows. The weather then set in wet, 

 and by the time the corn was in tassel I could 

 perceive no difference, nor do I believe the yield 

 varied. The season was a dripping one and 

 unpropitious to the fullest exhibit of the appli- 

 cation of plaster, which shows more distinctly 

 in dry seasons — nevertheless, the plastered corn 

 in the four experiments maintained its superiori- 

 ty over the parallel rows of unplastered corn 

 through the season. 



I will state the result of an experiment made 

 by a friend of mine, Col. R. Taylor, of Orange, 

 upon light, red, mountain land. He left four 

 rows of corn unplastered. They ran around a 

 hill near its base, upon land evidently better 

 tha^ that over which four rows above their? 



