342 
FARM OF HUGH MAXWELL, ESQ. 
supplied with salt by the winds which are con¬ 
stantly sweeping over them ? Johnson remarks 
that this is the case, and if this is so, would not 
the application of this sea-mud be too strong? al¬ 
though I am inclined to believe that by drying the 
mud, much of the virtue of the salt would neces¬ 
sarily be destroyed, and as sea-water contains, as 
Leibig states, many very fertilizing qualities, this 
mud which perhaps has been accumulating for 
ages, must have imbibed a large quantity of all 
those properties, of which sea-water is composed. 
By answering these questions you will greatly 
oblige one of your subscribers. 
R. B. C. 
For an answer to the above see page 322. 
The foliowing communication was read before 
the New York Farmers’ Club by the Hon. Henry 
Meigs at its meeting August 29, and is obligingly 
furnished us for publication. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
FARM OF HUGH MAXWELL, Esq. 
Good Effects of Marl.— In a conversation 
with Hugh Maxwell, Esq., some short time since, 
he stated some facts in relation to the fertilising 
power of a red marl abundantly existing at Nyack, 
which induced me to visit the spot. I found Mr. 
Maxwell’s farm of 110 acres bounded by the Hud¬ 
son, well worth a visit. The whole was in ex¬ 
cellent fence, made of the loose stones found on 
the land, neatly piled about feet high, forming 
fields of from 4 to 8 acres. The formation of these 
fences has used nearly all the stones which were 
on the surface of the lands. And in this it would 
seem as if Divine Providence had caused the rocks 
to be distributed of the proper size for fencing. 
Had the pieces been much larger or smaller they 
would not have answered the purpose so well as 
they now do. If they had been planted two feet 
under ground, or had been piled in larger masses, 
the labor of fencing would have been very greatly 
increased. 
This farm, as well as all those about Nyack, 
lies on the singular mass of sandstone included by 
a front of about five miles on the river. All the 
surrounding rocks are of other materials. This 
sandstone, when quarried, exhibits strata of a kind 
of red marl of many feet in thickness, lying be¬ 
tween strata of the sandstone. The quarry-men 
throw it out of their way, and millions of loads 
are lying near the water’s edge, so that in many 
places vessels can lie alongside a bed of it, and 
slide it on board. On Mr. Maxwell’s farm, the 
former proprietor, desirous of making extensive 
hard walks through his garden, caused this marl 
to be put. upon them about one foot deep. Soon 
after this was finished, the walks began to produce 
clover; the white in such profusion and persevering 
succession, that all prospect of using the paths in 
that condition was abandoned : they could not be 
kept in order by the hoe. Mr. Maxwell being 
strongly impressed by this occurrence, determined 
on applying it to the surface of his farm. I saw 
a field of corn of several acres which had been 
top-dressed this year with the red marl, now 
bearing not less than 80 bushels of shelled corn to 
the acre—as grea>t a product as is obtained from 
the best city manure, costing at Nyack nearly 37 
cents per load. I saw an upland field of wheat, 
on which, as an experiment, Mr. Maxwell had 
top-dressed with this marl a space of three rods 
by two, from which I pulled an average, bunch of 
straw-stubble, that is more than double the size 
and weight of any like parcel of stubble, to be 
found in the whole field of several acres. Unfor¬ 
tunately the husbandman had cradled all the 
wheat indiscriminately, which prevented Mr. 
Maxwell from examining the separate product of 
the wheat. I should not hesitate to pronounce it 
a double product. Mr. M. top-dressed a field of 
oats with this marl, and the yield was 70 bushels 
per acre. He top-dressed a field of clover with it 
the third year from the seeding, and the product 
is heavier than the crop of the second year. This 
field was dressed with ten loads of marl per 
acre. The corn is large 12-row yellow, and the 
stalks are about 10 feet high. The corn-blades 
never curled during the late drought, while other 
fields all curled. The corn was worked with 
the hand-harrow once, with the cultivator twice, 
and was hoed twice. No plowing between the 
hills. Mr. M. thinks that in dry weather it is 
very injurious to run the plow through, for it cuts 
the smaller roots of the corn. He has tried 
25 bushels of hickory ashes, against 25 of anthra¬ 
cite coal ashes, and found no perceptible difference 
in the result. 
The general effect of this red marl is perceptible 
in almost every plant and tree in that vicinity. 
Fruit-trees are especially vigorous and free from 
disease. Flowering shrubs, roses particularly, 
seem not to have been touched by any insect. I 
pulled up a mullein stalk growing on a naked 
mound of this marl, which measures nine feet in 
height, and the flower stem, which is covered with 
buds, is four feet in extent. The trees, excepting 
peach alone, are more thriving than those I have 
anywhere seen. The peach-trees have the yel¬ 
lows. Moss roses growing in rich grass are re¬ 
markably strong; Mr. M. finds that they do better 
closely surrounded by grass than in clear ground. 
He has ten kinds of healthy cherry-trees, including 
the red and white ox-heart, and the bull’s eye. 
He has freely given, and wishes to distribute buds 
and grafts to all those who ask for them. Mr. M. 
has very healthy apricots, which have yielded fine 
fruit. He smoked the blossoms with sulphur and 
pitch, and all the fruit was perfect. This smoking 
was done in the evening. 
Some of the fields had never been but par¬ 
tially cultivated, on account of being so swamped 
that cattle mired in them. He made in one four- 
acre field a drain ten rods long, and three feet 
deep, filled in with coarse stone. This drain form¬ 
ed a perpetual spring for his cattle , and this bar¬ 
ren field has now buckwheat of at least thirty 
bushels per acre. One and a half bushels of seed 
was sowed per acre. No manure needed. This 
drain cost $1.75. Twelve acres were drained in 
the same style at a cost of $150; this field is now 
fine, and asks for no manure from New York, or 
Nyack marl. He prefers the same amount of 
