THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
21 
a superficial, negligent and teazing cultivation, 
yieluing comparatively nothing, hopv much bet- 
ter would it be to cultivate one half or one third 
of the space we now do, to concentrate upon 
that all our resources of labor and improvement, 
an 1 to leave the rest to recruit itself % the heal- 
ing process of nature.. Liebig has explained in 
a verv ingenious and philosophical manner the 
process by which lands laid down to grass are 
constantly renewing and iniprov'ing themselves, 
an i has thus confirme 1 the deductions of our 
own observation by the demonstrations of sci- 
ence. Should any one doubt whether we .should 
derive from the reduced surface, better cultivat- 
ed, a jiroduct equal to that of the whole under 
adequate culture, let him recollect the instructive 
story told by old Coliimelia, in his Dere ru.stica, 
of a iloman vine-dresser, who had a vine-yard 
and two daughters; when his eldest daughter 
w.;S married, he gave her a thud of the vine- 
yard for a portion, and yet he had the same 
quaBtity of fruit as before; when his second 
dauuhtar was married, he gave her the half of 
what remained, and still the produce of his vine- 
yard was imdiminishcd. 
RUST IN. ^V^IE.\.T. 
The following extracts from a correspondence 
between Mr. Ple.vsants, editor of the Farmers’ 
Register, and Mr. Peytox, on this important 
subject, are highly interesting and deserve the 
most profound consideration of planters. 
The following letter is publi.shed at the in- 
stance of the gentleman to whom it was addres.s- 
ed, the more willingly in consideration of his re- 
ply, and because the correspondence may lead 
to some further discussion of the important sub- 
ject to which it relates. The rust is, beyond 
doubt, by far the most formidable drawback up- 
on tiie wheat crop with which the farmer has to 
contend. At the moment wlien his hopes are 
highest, it .spreads as a cloud over his fields, and 
disappoints him of the reward of his labors. — 
We would request our correspondents to exam- 
ine into the causes of this di.sea.se, and if they 
know of any remedy or preventative, to commu- 
nicate it for the general good. If our own views 
are correct, we should expect that the use of 
marl has had a happy effect in guarding against 
its ravages. Will some of our readers inform 
us on this point. — Fanners’ Register. 
Chesterfield Cou.vty, Xov. "23, 18i2. 
WiLLi.AM M. Peytox — Respected Friend — 
* * * By the way, while I have the pen in 
hand, is not Roanoke a limestone country'? I 
should suppo.se 3mur soils were destitute of cal- 
careous matter, from tlie fact that you are equal- 
ly subject to the rust in wheat as rve are in low- 
er Virginia. I infer at least that such is the 
fact, from thy letters in the Southern Planter. — 
A.S far as my ob.servation extends, lime is an 
efi'ectual preventive of the ru.st. Putrescent ma- 
nures and clover lays, on the contrary, almost 
always induce it if the season be at all unfavo- 
rable at the critical period of ripening. The 
reason I take to be this: putrescent matter, by 
furnishing more food than the plant can elabo- 
rate, produces a state of plethora, which results 
in the extravasation of the sap at the season of 
greatest vigor. This indeed I understand to be 
thy theoiy. The tendenc}' of lime is to check 
this redundancy of growth, bv providing in some 
wa}^ the .specific food of the plant. Whether 
this be done by enabling it to decompose carbo- 
nic acid with greater activitv, or bv furnishing 
it with silicate ot lime, or bj'' contributing to the 
developement and formation of the grain, rather 
than to an exuberant vegetation, cannot perhaps 
be determined. When 1 was in the great wheat 
growing district of western New York, some- 
years ago, I saw fields of wheat that I Avas told 
Avould yield 25 or 30 bushels to the acre, AA'hich I 
could not have supposed, from any preAnons ob- 
servation, would haA'e produced more than ten. 
The soils of that region being of a diluvial for- 
mation, are so rich in calcareous matter, from 
the former attrition of the lime-rocks scattered 
over the country, that the}’ frequently effervesce 
Avitii acid.s. The stem had so little blade that it 
I appeared almost naketi Piaster of Paris.Avliich 
' has been recommended as a protection again.sl 
the rust, though it be lime in another lonn, does 
not contribute much to the formation of grain. 
Its tendency is eminently to increase the bulk of 
A'egetable groAvth, and therefore, AA hen it acts 
on Avheat, to induce rust and mildew. T o guard 
again.-t the rust then, such apiplication to the soil 
appears nece.s.sary as Avould allbrd .specific nour- 
ishment to the .seed. In eA'ery anah’sis of Avheat 
there is found a portion of lime. There are also 
I some manures that furnish tlie .specific ingredi- 
ents, but those only I belieA’e AA’hich are concen- 
1 trated in their energ}". 1 have read nothing late- 
I 1}' Avhich sheds more light on the distinction I 
' liaA'e attempted to draAv, between manuring for 
I the grain and manuring for the straAv, than the 
; detail of some exper'iinerrts Avith guano by J. E. 
! Te.schemacher, of Boston, and contained irr his 
' address to the Horticrthural Society. Some 
j plants treated with guano, the bals'arn for in- 
1 stance, produced very rnferior flowers; but not a 
; flOAver missed bearing its seed vessel, and every 
1 seed vessel Avas filled Avith perfect seed; Avhile 
■ other plants of the same species, and growing 
I under the same circumstairces, Arith the excep- 
tion of the guano, had orrlv a portion of the 
1 seeds perfect in each pod, though .the floAA’ers 
j Avere a’cit fine. 
i There is a neighborhood in Maryland AA'hich 
■ I occa.sionally visit, the inhabitants Av.hereof 
^ form a little commanit}^ of intelligent and in- 
dustrioirs farmers, Ardro' rno-stl}' belong to the 
•same society of Avhich I arn a member, rramelv, 
that of the Friends or Q.rrakers. They do theii’ 
own work; and when one Avorks Avith hi.s oAvn 
hands, he is more likely to make both ends meet. 
They find it to their interest to haul lime from 
six to ten miles to apply to a soil by no means 
rraturally fertile. The crops of Avheat on their 
j lined lands are invariably good, and but little 
alfiected by rust, 
A fcAv years ago, a friend of mine, in an ad- 
joining county, planted an acre or twi of ground 
in pirmpkin.s. The vines Ai'ere so much infest- 
ed Avith brigs that he sprinkled caustic lime o\'er 
the leaves for the purpose of destroying them. — 
In the fall the lot Avas seeded to AA’heat, and at the 
ensuing haiwest the locality of every hill was 
conspicuously visible. In each spot Avhere the 
lime had been applied, the siraAV Avas bright and 
of a golden color, Avithont the least appearance j 
of rust; Avhile in eA'ery other part the Avheat Avas ' 
completely ruined, if it is not too late in the : 
season, I AA'orrld .suggest the trial of a small 1 
piece of ground Avith lime or ashes, if it aa'hs no j 
more than a feA\" yards square. Ashes Avould be j 
as beneficial as lime, for they afford potash. ] 
With great respect, j 
T. S. Ple.asax’ts. j 
Big Lick, Roax’koe, Noal 27, 1842. j 
* * * I turn noAv to the main body of yorrr 
letter, Avhich contains srrggestions of the utmost 
interest, and Avhich, if coiTect, solves a long dis- 
puted problem, while it opens the prospect of in- 
calculable benefits to the farmer. As there is 
irothing connected Avith the Avheat crop Avhich 
eftects its successfirl culture so seriorrsl}' as its 
liability to rust, I haA'e felt disposed to throAV in- 
to the common stock rny mite of obser\mtion and 
experience, in the hope that others would pursue 
the same coiu'se, and that in the end some use- 
ful result might be attained by a comparison of 
the different A'ieAvs. M}' oav-u notions, as dcAm- 
loped in the different publications alluded to by j 
yon, have been that it results from a plethora, | 
induced by exces.?i’/e vegetation. That Avliilst I 
some modes of cultivation, and especially the 
habit of applying the strong, stimulating ma- j 
nures of the stable and farm pen, AAmuld aug- j 
ment the tendency to rust, and other modes 
AA'onld partially Avard it off, no skill could av^ert ! 
it entirely in some seasons. In ray essay of July, 1 
in the Southern Planter, I say that rust never j 
appears until the Avheat has attained its full 
j groAvth, and Avhen there is nothing left for the 
I leaA’es and stem to perform but the elaboration 
I of the juices for periectiug the seed. Yv'hen 
plants. haA’e reached this point, everv phy.siolo- 
gist knows that they requii e no fuither extrane- 
' ous aid in the formation of the .seed. The ova- 
i ry has performed its ofiice, fructification has ta- 
‘ ken place; and the gradual concentration of the 
juices of the leaA’es, stem ana roots in the seed, 
, producing the death of the Ibrmer, is all that is 
. required. Before attaining this state, excessive 
‘ A^egetation only produces excessive growth; but 
; AA’hen the plant is full}' deA'eloped, and nothing 
more required for the maturation of the seed but 
' a sloAv, graaual and regular supply of duly ela- 
‘ borated sap, if there .should then happen aAvarm, 
. damp spell of Aveather, a succession of sunshine 
; and showes, an inordinate fioAV of sap is at once 
! produced, Avhich destroys the consistency Avhich 
■ is then so necessaiy to the gi’ain, and you di.-:tend 
[ the A'essels to" such a degree, that ihe}^ buist of 
' their repletion, and exude upon the surface.— 
I Should this occtm vrhen the Avdieat is in the milk 
j state, it is destructiA’e of the grain, Avhich per- 
; i.shes for the Avant of proper nourishment. 
: In these and other views ol the same essay, 
iheA'ery sensible editor of the American Farmer 
; concei's, so far as the nature and causes of rust 
! are concerned but dissents (jualijiedly from the 
i conclusion to AA’hich “my premises and reason- 
i ing Avould lead.” In this you and he seem to 
I agree, though you reach the same point by con- 
tra qv roads. 
I I'hc editor of the Farmer, after wisely sub.sti- 
i luting bland A’egetable manures lor the strong 
putrescent manures of the barn-yard, suggests 
the application of g}'psum, as an auxiliary agent 
in preA^entiegthetoo rapid decay of the vegetable 
: matter. He is led to this suggestion by the pre- 
! sent received explanation ot the action of this 
■ mineral. Liebig says, as quoted by liim, “that 
j the action of gypsum really consists in its giA'- 
! ing a fixed condition to the nitrogen or awnionia^ 
; (food of plants) Avhich is brought into the soil, 
j and Avhich is indispensable for the nutrition of 
! plants.” He adds further, that the decomposi- 
I lion of gypsum by carbonate of ammonia does 
i not take place instantaneously ; onthecontrarv, 
i it proceeds A'ery graduall}', and this explains 
■ Avliy the action of gypsum lasts lor seA'eral years. 
I From these quotations, the editor thinks it fair- 
' ly inierable that the plaster Avould act as a re- 
: tarding principle, and thus enable them to re- 
j gulate the supply of nutriment to the crop. — 
I Myletter, Avhich was published in 
' the NoA’ember number of the Southern Plan- 
ter, Avas intended to gitm some experiments in 
opposition to the editor’s theory. Without pre- 
suming to question the soundness of Liebeg’s 
vicAvs, but on the contrary adopting them un- 
qualifiedly, I thought they might by reconciled 
Avith my OAvn in this aa ay. Gypsum requires to 
dissoh'e it from 3(J0 to 500 parts of Avater. and 
Avhen dissolA'ed, it decomposes A'ery sloAvly un- 
der the action of carbonate oi ammonia ; of 
course this slow ami gradual process is calcula- 
ted to fix the ammonia in the soil. BuMhen,on 
the other hand, plaster attracts a vast amount of 
floating nitrogen or ammonia from the atmos- 
phere, thus increasing the agent of decomposi- 
tion (carbonate of ammonia) greatl}’. A large 
portion of the peculiar food of plants AA'onldthus 
be disengaged, so that under the action of plas- 
ter you Avouid haA’e a larger amount of ammonia 
fixed in the soil, and a larger amount appropria- 
ted b}' the plant, than you Avonld ha\'e if it 
Avere not emplo}’ed. This explanation ac- 
cords Avith our experience of the influence of 
this manure, the “tendency of AA'hich” as you 
say, “is eminently to increase the bulk ot vegeta- 
ble groAvtb, and therefore, Avhen applied, to in- 
duce rust and mildcAv.” 
Concurring with me as you do thus far, you 
here fallback upon the position of the American 
Farmer, and suggest lime as an effectual pre- 
venth’e of the disease. To ansAver this great 
end, you suggest that the remedy .should be such 
a one as Avould allbrd specific nourishment to 
the seed, EA'ery analysis of Avheat exhibits lime 
