THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



119 



But this year 1 applied about two hundred 

 bushels more to land that had had an applica- 

 tion of an hundred and fifty bushels of this 

 earth. My corn is decidedly better than it 

 ever was on this field before, and the peas 

 as luxuriant as if they had been heavily ma- 

 nured ; but where this earth was applied this 

 year the peas were much better than the peas 

 on the land which had had an application of 

 this earth three years ago. 



It is true, for several years I have been 

 remarling my lands, also with marked benefit ; 

 i>ut it is only with the marl I remove to gel 

 access to the blue clay, as I consider I get more 

 benefit from the latter than the former. This 

 opinion is not peculiar to myself* Dr. A. Bry- 

 ant, a farmer of Prince George, informs me 

 that he has discovered greater benefit from 

 ihe use of his marl than is manifested by that 

 of his neighbors, and he attributes the superior 

 benefit to the fact that he is in the habit of 

 mixing about four feet of this clay, which he 

 finds at the bottom of his marl pits, with his 

 marl. So far as my experience goes, I have 

 never used this blue clay to lands that had not 

 been marled or limed. I carried some a dis- 

 tance of four miles, and applied it to land that 

 had been limed — a close, stiff, tenacious soil ; 

 and apphed it to clover with marked benefit. 



This earth act? promptly. On one occasion, 

 the clouds indicated rain; I ordered a boy to 

 haul several loads and scatter it on clover, 

 and in a very few days the benefit from its 

 use was very apparent in the increased vigor 

 and greenness of the clover. This earth is 

 soluble in water. Soon after a rain, if one 

 rides or walks in a field on which this earth has 

 been spread, a strong sulphureous odour is 

 'manifest and rather unpleasant; the. same may 

 be discovered at the pits. This is much more 

 evident after a rain than at any other time- 

 Again, another fact connected with the sol- 

 vent powers of rain is, that vegetation is consid- 

 erably increased in the direction of the descent 

 of water where this earth has been applied on 

 the sides of hiile. 



It is beneficial to lands that have not been 

 limed or marled, to our knowledge. 



Mr. W. Gee, of Prince George, who lives 

 twenty miles south of James River, has used 

 this earth, and also what is called olive earih, 

 with decided improvement upon lands that had 

 had no lime or marl ; but this land may be nat- 

 urally calcareous. This blue clay is found at 

 the bottom of his marl pits; he applies about 

 three hundred bushels to the acre. A por- 

 tion of his land was remarkably poor and 

 light; he observed it has been in succession of 

 crops under the regular rotation, for a great 

 number of years, and was unproductive, pro- 

 ducing only about one and a half bushels of 

 corn to ihe acre. After the application of this 

 earth, Without any additional manure, the same 

 iand produced about lour barrels; wheat and 

 clover also grew successfully. 



Another fact connected with this garth is of 

 a very important character. The sheep sorrel, 



a plant common with us and remarkable for the 

 acidity of its leaves, generally disappears after 

 land has been marled or limed ; but it reappears 

 after the use of this blue clay and grows more 

 abundantly and luxuriantly, and this is the moat 

 serious objection to the use of this clay. Now this 

 fact presents a stubborn reality against some of 

 the fashionable theories of the day. Hen peaa 

 are increased in quantity and are more produc- 

 tive; the eastern shore bean becomes more 

 abundant, and the clover increased in growth 

 and improved in color ; corn and wheat increas- 

 ed by the application of an earth that causes the 

 sheep sorrel to reappear on land from which it 

 had disappeared by the use of marl and lime. 

 From this and other considerations, I should 

 infer that acidity is not opposed to fertility. 



This earth also possesses the power of 

 counteracting the injurious consequences result- 

 ing from an over application of the carbonate 

 of lime, or what is popularly called marl- 

 burnt land. The bisulphuret of iron being 

 placed in justaposition with carbonate of lime, 

 chemical affinities may produce new combina- 

 tions. Sulphuret of lime may result, and pro- 

 ductiveness the ultimate consequence, or the 

 caustic properties of the lime may be neutra- 

 lized. On my farm an example may be seen of 

 a piece of land in which all vegetation waa 

 destroyed, mould, &c, gone, and the land 

 presented the appearance of worthless sand, 

 which has been restored to comparative produc- 

 tiveness by no other manure than this blue 

 clay. This clay is usually hauled upon the 

 land after it is broken up, suffered to remain 

 until it breaks up into flakes or becomes 

 somewhat pulverized, when it is scattered. 

 Here we occasionally find round balls about 

 the size of large marbles, presenting a dirty 

 i p pea ranee on the exterior, but internally these 

 bulls are crystaline. To what principle, to 

 which ingredient in its constitution are we 

 indebted for its fertilizing property ? Is it 

 because its metallic oxide forms a base with 

 which humic acid unites, and this combination 

 is subsequently easily dissolved by rain water, 

 and i3 thus assimilated by the growing crops — 

 or may not this oxide form other combinations 

 with lime or other inorganic substances — or may 

 it not more properly be a positive manure, 

 independent of chemical affinities or atmos- 

 pheric combinations? 



We are thrown upon the ocean of conjecture; 

 theory may be piled upon theory, and one 

 hypothesis upon another without affording 

 satisfaction to the man of science, or without 

 materially benefitting the agriculturist. 



Professors Hare and Rogers inform us 

 that alumina abounds in this earth. Who knows 

 the effects of whale oil, fish oil, &c, uniting 

 with this earth ? It is impervious to water in 

 i(s present condition in the pits. It may in this 

 form retain other organic animal matter. But 

 it is not my object to discuss a theory or advo- 

 cate a system, but to invite the attention of 

 farmers to the use of this invaluable fertilizer. 



The effects of this earth on the appearance 



