MISCELLANEOUS. 
31 I 
SMITH’S CORN SHELTER. 
There being a considerable demand for my shel- 
lers this fall, I have thought it advisable to write 
you a few words in regard to their use. The teeth 
are the only part that need renewing, and these 
should not be suffered to wear down, so as to ex¬ 
pose the covering of the cylinder. New teeth can 
be added by setting new rows of them between the 
old ones, to occupy their places, as these would 
continue to protect the covering of the cylinder and 
could do no harm. I think it would be advisable 
for you to keep a quantity of such teeth to meet 
demands, as they are certain to wear down, and the 
covering of the cylinder as certain to fail unless the 
teeth are renewed and kept at about their present 
height. Purchasers should keep the cylinder 
coated with durable paint, as it would not only pro¬ 
tect it against rust and decay, but against friction 
also. This could be accomplished by having two 
machines, so that while one was at work, the other 
could be repaired and painted. 
F. N. Smith. 
Valatia, Sept. 22 d, 1845. 
A cut and complete description of the above 
may be seen on page 343 of our third volume. It 
is capable of shelling 300 bushels of ears in an 
hour, but 150 bushels may be considered as a fair 
average. It is much liked on the larger planta¬ 
tions of the south. The price is $50, and they 
may be seen at our agricultural warehouse, 187 
W ater street. 
HUDSON RIVER MARL. 
I send you herewith a specimen of marl found in 
a pit on my farm. Upon examination you will find 
it composed of shells decomposed into lirne, decayed 
leaves, wood, and other substances, which cannot be 
perceived except by chemical analysis. This pit 
covers about one-third of an acre, and seems inex¬ 
haustible. The surface is composed of pulverized 
muck, from one to three feet deep, then commences 
the marl. The first layer is reddish brown, the next 
a greenish color, intermixed with quantities of small 
shells, then comes a limestone rock. The marl in 
different parts of the pit is of various colors. One 
specimen I send is composed of white marl, which 
will effervesce in vinegar. This, I suppose, has a 
iarge per cent of lime. 
I am now getting it out, and haul seventeen cart 
loads in a day, employing two men with the team. 
I have used it on my farm with great success, mix¬ 
ing it with barn-yard manure, about one-third of the 
latter with two-thirds of marl and muck, which I 
consider the best mode of using it. I sometimes put 
it in heaps in the fall, the frost pulverizing it finely 
like ashes by spring, when it is easily spread on the 
land. 
In the fall of 1841 I got out about 300 loads; some 
I mixed with barn-yard manure, and some was used 
in the pure state. That mixed with manure I could 
perceive the benefit of immediately; that in a pure 
state was put near a wood, and consequently was 
much shaded; notwithstanding this the grass came 
in well, and was better than ever before. I plowed 
the field last spring for corn, and found a quantity 
of marl still in the ground, which shows plainly that 
it is a lasting manure. Every plowing pulverizes 
and prepares it as food for plants. That which was 
mixed with manure could not be seen last spring. 
The probability is, that the manure decomposed it 
and prepared it sooner for the plants. I also send a 
specimen of that which has been in the ground since 
1841. I should like, if convenient, for you to send 
a specimen of this marl to the Farmer’s Club. 
John Van Wyck. 
New Hamburg, Dutchess Co., Aug. 15, 1845. 
We sent specimens of the above marl to the Farm¬ 
ers’ Club. It abounds in valleys on both sides of the 
Hudson river, from the Highlands up to the Catskills. 
It is usually overlaid with the richest kind of muck, 
to a greater or less depth. The marl varies greatly 
in value; from 5 to 80 per cent, of lime has been 
found in it. 
AN EASY METHOD OF INCREASING MEM¬ 
BERS OF AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES. 
Whilst the various agricultural societies are mak¬ 
ing their efforts to increase the number of their mem¬ 
bers, and to collect the necessary funds for their ope¬ 
rations, it may be well to suggest a plan mentioned to 
me yesterday by a gentleman from Chatham, Canada 
West, and which the society of that neighborhood has 
found particularly successful. Instead of soliciting 
contributions for which the payer receives only the 
privilege of exhibiting and of membership, the agent 
of the society asks a subscription to an agricultural 
periodical, which is equal ordinarily to the amount 
asked by them for membership, but which the pub¬ 
lisher sells to the society for about half price, on ac¬ 
count of the large quantity taken, and with a benevo¬ 
lent regard to the agricultural improvement. Many 
thus contribute who have nothing to exhibit, and 
would otherwise refuse to do so—the paper becomes 
widely circulated—a taste for agricultural excellence 
is formed, and every farmer subscribing receives in ac¬ 
tual value at least five times the amount he pays, to 
say nothing of the entertainment and intelligence 
which are derived both by himself and family. 
We like our correspondent’s suggestion, and will 
say to agricultural societies, that they will find us 
ready to make a very liberal deduction on all volumes 
of this periodical ordered by them. 
FERMENTED FOOD FOR CATTLE. 
I am desirous of preparing food which has been 
ground, to feed milch cows the coming winter, and 
believing that souring it is equally valuable as boiling, 
and much the most economical, I wish to inquire if 
the editor or any of the numerous readers of the 
Agriculturist can inform me how I can produce fer¬ 
mentation in a barn during the winter months, with¬ 
out endangering the premises with fire. I propose 
making a tight-boarded room to keep the vats, in 
which the food is to be mixed, but this will not keep 
the mixture at a sufficiently high temperature to en¬ 
sure fermentation. I can effect the object by using 
scalding water, as with a little of the old mixture 
fermentation would be produced, and carried forward 
to a sufficient extent, before the temperature in the 
vat would be sufficiently lowered, to arrest it. But 
how can I use fire to heat my water without endan¬ 
gering the burning of the barn ? It has occurred to 
