FOREIGN' AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 
227 
Value of Sea Sand or Marl to Light Sandy Soils. — In 
a tour through Normandy, in France, Mr. Lorimer 
remarks in the Journal of Agriculture, that th^ Nor¬ 
mans are not behind the peasantry on our own coasts 
in availing themselves of the auxiliaries supplied by 
the sea. This sea marl is usually applied as a com¬ 
post with farm-yard manure. I was surprised at find¬ 
ing it more generally used in sandy than in stiff clay 
districts, conceiving, from the state of agricultural 
science there, that the property for which it was most 
likely to be prized was that of pulverizing the soil, 
and not of supplying any chemical ingredients neces¬ 
sary for the growth of crops. On inquiry, however, 
I found that the peasantry attributed to it quite a dif¬ 
ferent virtue from any I had dreamt of. The reason, 
they said, why it was chiefly applied to a sandy soil 
was, that such soil was hot, and required the cool sand 
to refresh it, whereas stiff clays were cold and requir¬ 
ed lime to warm them. This explanation, however 
far from scientific, showed that they had conceived a 
most distinct and tangible idea of the cause, and had 
not rested satisfied, as many sets of peasantry would 
have done, with the mere fact of a real or seeming 
benefit to their crops from such an application. 
The following is the analysis of the above marl, 
furnished by Professor Johnston: 
Organic matter,.5’06 
Carbonate of lime, .... 43-50 
Gypsum, common salt, and oxide of Iron, 3 43 
Insoluble siliceous matter, ... 47-69 
99-68 
It consists almost entirely of fragments of minute 
crustations, and of the bodies and skeletons of infu¬ 
sorial animals. It is from the latter that silica is de¬ 
rived, siliceous sand being almost entirely absent. 
Death of Mrs. Gilbert —The deceased lady, actuated 
by an earnest desire to improve the condition of the 
laboring classes, has for several yeqrs devoted her 
energies to agricultural affairs, and was a zealous sup¬ 
porter of the allotment system, which she carried into 
practical operation to a large extent on her estate in 
this parish and the neighborhood. The benefits re¬ 
sulting from her benevolent proceedings, we believe, 
have fully realized the expectations which the sup¬ 
porters of this system anticipated Self-supporting 
industrial schools have also been instituted by her, 
and the plan appears worthy of imitation. We fear 
her loss will be severely felt in this place.— Sussex 
Express. 
Steeping Seeds. —Mr. St. George, of Caub, on Rhine, 
has discovered that chloride of lime accelerates vege¬ 
tation in an astonishing degree ; he has communicated 
the discovery to a scientific body in Germany, who 
are causing experiments to be made. He showed me 
French beans that had been steeped for four hours in 
water, in which a quarter of an ounce of chloride of 
lime to cne gallon of water had been mixed; the 
beans were up with two rough leaves, when other 
beans which had not been steeped, and planted by the 
steeped ones, were not above ground, and only sprout¬ 
ed a little. The same effect was produced on lettu¬ 
ces, and a little of the chloride, in powder, was put in 
the pot, in which was a hardy shrub which would 
never blossom, and in a short time it blossomed out of 
the hard wood.— Gar. Chron. 
Manures at Home. —It is a remarkable thing, that all 
the investigations of chemists and the experiments of 
practical farmers, and some of them have been truly 
ingenious, would seem to point at home as the source 
of the most valuable manures. A great variety of 
substances have been tried as fertilizers ; but the best 
amongst them are found to be those that may be said 
to be ready at hand amongst our household stuff. 
Thus, you have rape-dust as home produce; you have | 
common salt in continual use ; you have salts of am¬ 
monia, of potash, and of soda,, as well as phosphates 
of lime and magnesia in the urinary and other excre¬ 
tions, and in a form, too, best fitted for vegetation. 
Sulphate and muriate of ammonia (sal ammoniac) 
are found in the soot from coal fires; while potash or 
its salts are found in the ashes of wood fires, as well 
as in the water ejected after purifying the body, or its 
covering, by washing with soap, or other detergents. 
You have abundance of phosphate of lime (bone-ash), 
&c., in the hair, flesh, and bones of animals. Nitre 
(or saltpetre) forms spontaneously around you, in the 
soil, its grand element, nitrogen, being derived from 
the atmosphere, or from the transformation of the am¬ 
monia of decaying bodies; which element, nitrogen, 
is so essential to vegetable life, that it has been termed 
the “ moving agent,” which, acting under the living 
principle of the plant, moulds into shape the other ele¬ 
ments ; nay more, you have a substance that contains 
al l these things, a complete type of guano, in the dung 
of your domestic fowls.— Nowell's Man. of Field Gard. 
Urine and Guano. —Fourteen to sixteen cwt. of hu¬ 
man urine are equal to one cwt. of guano. 
Liquid Manure. —The greatest care should be taken 
to mike the most of this valuable article. The chan¬ 
nel which is behind the cows, in every well made cow 
house, may be filled daily, or morning and evening, 
with bog mould, if it can be had, which will absorb 
the fluid and be thereby converted into excellent ma¬ 
nure ; or a tank, either a hogshead or a cistern, built of 
brick, and coated with Roman cement, may be placed 
where the steepage from the cattle and horses can be 
conducted to it by drains; the tank should be covered, 
and have a pump in it, by means of which the fluid 
can be raised into the liquid manure. Cart and spread 
over the surface of grass land, or pour over compost 
heaps, which is perhaps the best method of disposing 
of it. To this tank, the urine and suds from the 
house, water in which vegetables are boiled, &c., 
should be conveyed. This is a branch of economy 
seldom attended to by farmers in this country, and the 
consequence is—as much valuable manure is wasted 
about most farm houses as would, if properly disposed 
of, increase the produce of the farm to a very great 
amount. According to Liebig, 100 parts of human 
urine are equal to 300 parts of the fresh dung of 
horses, and to 600 parts of that of cows ; and we learn 
from the same high authority, that the liquid and solid 
excrement of an individual contains nitrogen neces¬ 
sary for 800 lbs. of wheat, rye, or oats, or 900 lbs. of 
barley; we are hereby enabled to appreciate the indus¬ 
try of the Chinese, in preventing the loss of this valu¬ 
able species of manure. The chemical composition 
of urine is as follows: In every 1000 parts there are 
933 of water, 30 of urea, J 7 lactic acid, lactate of ammo¬ 
nia and animal matter, nearly 4 of sulphate of potash, 
39 sulphate of soda, 3 of phosphate of soda, and \\ of 
chloride of sodium.— New Farmers' Journal. 
Forcing Violets. —By attending to the following sim¬ 
ple directions, a bunch of these sweet little flowers 
may be had daily, from November to March. About 
the middle of May, prepare a piece of ground by dig¬ 
ging into it a quantity of leaf-mould; plant this with 
strong runners one foot apart each way; water in dry 
weather, and keep them clear of weeds throughout 
the summer; in October take them up with balls, pot 
them, and place them near the glass in a cold frame ; 
the pots should be plunged in coal asnes or old tan; 
they will soon begin to bloom, and continue blooming 
through the winter; in severe weather they may be 
removed to the green house, conservatory, or drawing¬ 
room, &c. To meet a great demand a few pots of the 
Russian may occasionally be placed in a stove, but 
neither the Neapolitan nor double purple like stove 
heat— United Gardeners' Journal. 
