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THE SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
The fermentation was discontinued September 
2S, when the lieaps were opened for exhibition. 
The committee examined them on the Sth of Oc- 
lo'ner, au,i are quite satisfied that the result is a 
satib'lactoiy one. The heap formed of IdOU lbs. 
dry sira-w was found to contain by measurement 
solid feet, or one cord and three quarters, e.s- 
timated to weigh 4,000 Ib.s. The material fur- 
nished must prove a valuable manure; and the 
more so, as it employs many articles now worth- 
less or deleterious. In all matters of thi.s nature, 
experience is of course worth more than mere 
theory; but it will be a matter of great disap- 
pointment if a proce.ss combining, as this does, 
ail application of the most correct chemical 
principles, with the employjnent of the most ef- 
ficient agents, does not in due. time become a fa- 
vorite with the farmer. 
T. R. Beck, Ch’n. 
Mr. Bommer states in his prospectus that the 
merit of his method essentially consists in the 
four follown'ng important points: 
1. In being able to reduce in a .short time all 
kinds of straw and ligneous weeds to a ricli, 
unctions and durable manure, such as wheat 
straw, barley, rye, buckwheat and other black 
grains; stalks of Indian com, rice and other 
planes; dried or green potatoe top.s, leaves, stalks 
and roots of all kinds ol plants; green or dried 
reeds, green rushes, sea v.'eeds, sea rushes, hea- 
ther broom stubble, in fact every thing belonging 
to the vegetable kingdom, and a great many oth- 
er things lying about farms Avhich are often al- 
lowed to go to Avaste. Even the ground itself 
may be converted into the best manure or com- 
post. 
2. In the combination or alliance nf fecunda- 
ting .suirstances, the cise of whie]) A^'lien .separat- 
ed Avculd not and could not produ-'r ilie desired 
eflect. 
3. In the production of a veiV considerable 
(juantity of factitious water, Avliich when com- 
bined with other ingredients, forming lees, fur- 
nishes the farmer Avith a fertilizing liquid, the 
commixture of Avhich in either vegetable or min- 
eral substances, gives a manure oi' the richest 
kind. 
4. In the production of a quantity of nitrate 
of lime and cau.stic potash; of ammonia and 
saltpetre — four substances Avhich modern chem- 
istry has found to contain the most fecundating 
properties possible. — Cultivator. 
VALUE OF PLASTER. 
Tlie subjoined extract from a communica- 
tion, Avhich appeared in the last Massachu.setts 
Ploughman, speaks in ju.st terms of the Amlue of 
Plaster as a manure, and as the experience of 
the Avriter accords in results Avith our own, aa'c 
give it insertion . — Aincrican Farmer. 
“In passing through Pennsylvania, AA'hich I 
frequently did, I lieard mucli said of the bene- 
fits of Plaster of Paris; a great many of the 
farmers, I was told, Avould come hfty miles to 
Philadelphia, in the time of la.st Avar, andgiA’^e 
twenty dollars per ton for Plaster, and let their 
manure go doAAUi stream rather than to be at the 
trouble to cart it on their lands. I do not .speak 
of this as approving of it, for I tliink CATiy far- 
mer ouglit to make as much manure as possible. 
I Avas told the Avay the Dutch farmers used it 
tliere Avas to soav clover and put one or tAvo bush- 
els of plaster to the acre and plough in the crop 
and .sow AA’heat. I Avas infonned in Baltimore, 
that a great deal of land on the ea.stern shore of 
MarAdand, which had been Avorn out by raising 
tobacco and corn, had been reclaimed by the u % 
of plaster. Having got my ideas so rai.sed, the 
first thing I did after I got a piece of land Avms to 
try it, and in three Aveeks after I applied it. On 
examination I thought as the Oueen of Sheba 
did Avhen she visited King Solomon, “the half 
had not been told me;” it was applied to a piece 
of loamy soil wdiichhad recently been laid doAA'n 
and one crop of hay ctit from it, say half a ton 
to the acre. On tlie first examination after the 
pla.ster Avas applied, there Avas three times as 
much as when there Avas none. A part of this 
piece of land ha.s been kept for a pasture ever 
since and ncA^er lias been ploughed, and I think 
I can safely .say there is not another piece of land 
in .town tliat produces more iced. It has fre- 
quently been pla.stered .since, and occasionally 
ashes liaAU* been applied a.s a top-dressing. The 
manure the cattle have chopped has every year 
been gathered up and put into the manure heap, 
so that it has no other dressing but plaster and 
a.shes except the urine from the cattle. 
Well, being so aatU pleased with the result of 
this small experiment, 1 tried it on a larger .scale 
on my farm Avith as favorable results. On many 
places three bushels ofpla.ster Avouldmake mote 
gra.ss groAv than tAventy loads of manure. I 
lenced oft’ nine acres that had been fed very 
close by sheep for a number of years; tliis was 
the highest part where the sheep had generally 
lain through the nights; this Avas plastered at the 
rate of three bushels to the acre; the next season 
it pastured from May to September tweh'e coavs, 
at the rate of three-fourths of an acre to a coav, 
and they had as much feed as they could eat, 
and on a great part of it eve could haA'e moAved 
a good crop in hay time. 
From this time people began to use plaster 
considerably, and found aA’^ery great benefit from 
it; many of the old pastures AAdiich Avere coA'er- 
ed over Avith moss, Avere converted into Ijeautiful 
fields of clover; but strange to tell, just on the 
eve Avhen our pastures began to be clothed Avith 
a beautiful Amrdue, and ourfaiansbid fair to pro- 
duce double Avhat they Avere Avont to do, there 
Avas a stoiy got up by some gossip, Avhich spread 
like AAuld-ftre, that this plaster Avhich had pro- 
duced, such Avonderful efi’ects Avas not Avhat it 
Avas cracked up to be; that it AVOuld ruin the 
land if Ave continued to u.se it; if it did not hap- 
pen in our day it aa'ouIcI in our children’s; that it 
Avould run our land all out and our children 
Avould become beggars. Noav as this .story, like 
other bugbears, has had its day, I find they are 
beginning very moderately to use it again. I 
hope that no farmer Acdll rest satisfied until he 
has glA'en it a fair tr ial; the expense is A'ery tri- 
fling; at presejit I believe it can be bought for 
tAvo dollars per ton; that it Avon’t cost more than 
twenty-five cents per bushel, three bushels per 
acre, Avhicli is a great plenty; that the expen.se 
of maiutring an acre is seA'enty-five cents, Avhich 
Avill pay but a small part of the expense of cart- 
ing on any other kind ol' manure if yoir had it 
given to you. Wherever the plaster Avill do any 
good it ought to be applied; and the only AA-a}^ I 
ImoAv of is to try it. On some land it Avill do no 
good I am confident. I had a large piece of plain 
on my faim, on Avhich I coAild not see the least 
benefit from it; this Avas a deep black loam and 
rather moist; as soon as I Avent from this plain, 
OA"er till tlie hills it Avorked AA^onders. 
Yours, Avith re.spect, 
Benj. Wheeler. 
Farmingham, January 2, 1843. 
DEEP AKD SHALLOW PLOUGHING. 
Ho question in agriculture, perliaps, has af- 
forded a source for more conflicting opinions 
amongst planters and farmers than the necessary 
depth of ploughing. This fact itself presumes 
that the qae.stion is connected Avith things that 
are mysterious; or that general principles haA'e 
been formed by some, under peculiar circum- 
stances; and by others, under different circum- 
stances; Avithout respect to depth of soil or qual- 
ities of soil and .subsoil, the preparation by the 
plough for cultivation, or its use in the act of 
cultiA'ation. The object therefore of this article 
is to arriA'C at those general principles which Avill 
apply to cases under all circumstances, so that 
rules may be varied accordingly. The science 
of agriculture in this respect is like the science 
of medicine. That physician who undertakes 
to cure all disea.'^es Avifh one medicine may be 
set doAvn as a quack; and he that does not use 
means according to the circumstances of the 
case in agriculture, is no le.ss deficient in that 
.science. 
In order to investigate the subject fully, let us 
suppose different cases under their difi'erent cir- 
cumstances, familiar to all intelligent planters, 
and from those facts deduce our arguments. 
Lst. EA'erj" planter A\ho has an)' experience 
must know, that to a free soil, easy of cultiva- 
tion, and to give fiee cultivation to the roots of 
mo.st plants cultivated, there must be a suitable 
composition of s-and and clay, in order that the 
soil may be sulficienlly porous, and yet not too 
much so. If, therefoie, the imliA'C .soil is too 
sandy, and a clay subsoil is in reach of the ploAv. 
the advantage of deep ploughing to effect a mix- 
ture Avill be seen at once, so far as that object F 
concerned. Another fact knoAA n by agricultural 
chemists, that aa bile silex is an e-ssential food for 
most plants, potash is also equally essential as a 
food for all corn or grain plants cultiAmted. Pro- 
fessor Liebig has proA'en that all clays contain 
more or less potash, and all knoAv that sand is 
chiefly silex.* Hence the ririxture must iircrea.se 
its fertility, as Avell as effect a more perfect con- 
sistency. 
A 2tl case. Let us suppose a soil of proper 
consistency and of .sufheient depth to afford the 
moisture and play for the roots of the plants to 
be cultivated. 'I'o plough up extraneous matter 
not so rich in alkaline or earthy manures, and 
destitute of v'egetable matter, must necessaril}' 
impede the growth of its plants. Out of the lat- 
ter case Ave Avill suppose a 
3d. That this Aurgin surface soil, (say 3 or 4 
inches deep,) has been cultivated until exhaust- 
ed of its potash, magnesia or other earthy ma- 
nures, or either of them, as Avell as its A'egeta- 
ble matter. We may fairly reason, that if the 
subsoil furnished the earthy manures to the sur- 
face, there remains further supplies, and by add- 
ing A'egetable or animal manures, and turning 
up the subsoil to the snoAVs and freezes, as Aveli 
as to the .sun, to prepare it for action upon the 
roots of plant.s, restoration must be completed. 
And if the subsoil contained the neeessaiy pro- 
perties of alkaline or earthy manures, it is much 
easier to supply the defect by the plough, than 
the purchase of lime, plaster, or to harrl from 
marl beds, except very near at hand. And upon 
this principle may be accounted hoAv lands, ori- 
giirally rich, Avil'l regain their fertility by rest.— 
They promote a groAvth, the roots of Avhich de- 
scend and gather from the subsoil its alkaline o' 
earthy manures, the leaves and stalks collect 
carbon and ammonia from the atmosphere, and 
all returned to the surface restores a ncAv soil.. — 
If this can be efiecled by the plough and a na- 
tiA'e or cnltivated growth in a few years, or by 
the addition of vegetable or anirrral manures 
mingled with the subsoil, why leaAT it (to the 2d- 
generation) to restore itself! 
A 4th case. Suppose a soil six inches deep, 
has never been ploughed more than three inches 
in depth, and that those three inches are noAV ex- 
hausted. It is evident that it is only necessai)' 
to turn up the loAA'er coat and give it tirrre for the 
action of the atmosphere, in order to restore it to 
the fonner production. It may be said, (if the 
land is rolling,) that this advantage is precluded 
by the rains wa.shing off the first three inches. — 
In flat and level lands, hoAveA'er, this is not the 
case. Out of this arises another question or 
case. 
The 5th. Suppose a soil six or cA’en tAvelvc 
inches deep, in its fresh state. Should it be 
ploughed as deep as the soil extends! AnsAver— 
Experienced planters knoAv that the roots of corn 
and cotton, if not small grain, will run a foot 
deep, if the lands are broken up that depth, e.s- 
pecially if ploughed once as deep after planting. 
It is also known that .'•oil, hoAvcA'er fertile, thai 
has remained excluded from the atmosphere tof> 
deep, Avill not bring its nutritimts qualities to 
bear on mo.st plants ctiltivated. It therefore fol- 
loAvs — that if the roots of plants haA'e twelve 
inches of soil to feed and branch in, they riiusi 
haA'e more food, more room, and more moisture, 
and therefore a proportional increase in produc- 
tion. 
A 6th case. Suppose a Spanish oak ridge, 
Avith a groAvth of green brier and shrubs, indica- 
tive of poA'ert}', Avith not OA'er an inch of A'egeta- 
ble soil upon it. What depth should it he ploAA - 
ed! To plough such a thin skirt of soil six to 
eight inches under, the plants would perish be 
