70 
MARL.—CULTURE OF ASPARAGUS. 
teen in all. This we then bountifully limed, and 
the next spring as bountifully manured and plant¬ 
ed it with roots, and the following autumn obtain¬ 
ed over 1,100 bushels of sugar-beet to the acre 
from it, and other crops in proportion. 
Subsoil plows may now be had in this city, of 
excellent pattern and strongly constructed, from 
$10 to $15 each, which will stir the earth from 
12 to 18 inches deep, requiring from two to five 
yoke of cattle to move them, according to the na¬ 
ture of the soil, and the depth required to plow. 
MARL. 
We occasionally hear of the ill-success of apply¬ 
ing marl to land, and have recently read an ac¬ 
count of quite a noted instance of this kind in 
South Carolina. Now marls vary greatly in their 
composition, and must be judiciously used, or they 
will do injury rather than good. To a sandy soil, 
clay marl is the best; and to a clay soil, such as 
abounds most with sand should be applied. Some¬ 
times the land has already lime enough in it; un¬ 
der such circumstances, marl abounding largely 
with lime may be a misapplication; again, the 
soil to be fertilized may be greatly deficient in 
lime, and the marl which is applied to it equally 
so; it would be preposterous to expect, then, that 
the marl would prove of any benefit unless it con¬ 
tained other fertilizing substances. Any one can 
easily tell from the appearance of marl whether 
it abounds most with clay or sand, and if they dis¬ 
cover a considerable quantity of shells in it, those 
of course are nearly all lime. When the lime is 
so finely mixed in the marl as to be imperceptible 
to the eye, its presence can be ascertained by put¬ 
ting a small quantity of it into a tumbler or wine¬ 
glass, and pouring a little muriatic acid, spirit of 
salt, or vinegar upon it, then if there be any boil¬ 
ing up, or rising of bubbles of gas, it contains lime. 
So small a quantity as ten per cent, of lime in the 
marl can be thus detected, especially with muri¬ 
atic acid. Previous to applying marls, however, 
they ought to be carefully analysed by a good 
chemist. We have known persons expend $50 
worth of labor in misapplying marl, when an 
analysis of it would have only cost them $5, and 
they might thus have saved $45. Where marls 
abound, and their certain effects are not already 
known, and no person is in the neighborhood ca¬ 
pable of giving an opinion upon their merits, it 
would be well for the farmer to make an applica¬ 
tion of them at first on a few square rods only of 
land, where different crops are growing. He 
must not, however, be in a hurry to decide upon 
the merits of the marls thus applied, as their full 
effects frequently do not show themselves till the 
second and third years. 
If our farmers would form themselves into clubs 
or associations, each contributing the small sum 
of one dollar a year, they might not only have the 
benefit of analysis of soils, but many other things. 
Political clubs are forming all over the land, and 
the people going half crazy with the idea of who 
shall be our next President. This to be sure is an 
important matter, especially when vital principles 
of government are concerned in the election ; but 
is not the advancement of agricultural knowledge 
equally so ? May we live to see that day, when 
the great mass of the farmers of the United States 
will feel the necessity of informing themselves by 
books as well as by practice of all that regards 
their vocation. 
CULTURE OF ASPARAGUS. 
Since the Spanish method of cultivating aspara¬ 
gus by the seashore has become known in Eng¬ 
land, a complete change has taken place in the 
manner of growing it there, salt being added now 
in moderate quantities to the manure used to en¬ 
rich the beds; it is also spread broadcast upon 
them, at the rate of 1 to 3 lbs. per square yard, 
after forking them over in the spring. This makes 
it much more palatable and tender. The month 
of April in this climate, or soon after the frost is 
well out of the ground, is the best time to apply 
the salt dressing to the beds. A compost of horse 
manure, mixed with leaves and vegetable mould 
from the woods, together with a little charcoal, is 
one of the best manures we ever made use of for 
enriching the asparagus bed. 
Visiting Dr. King’s fine farm at Perth Amboy, 
last summer, we were walking with him one 
morning along its boundaries on the bay, when 
within a few yards of the water on a slight ridge 
of sand, which was subject to be wet by the salt 
spray, and inundated by a high tide, Dr. King 
pointed out to us a natural asparagus bed ; and 
although it was late in the season for this vege¬ 
table, and most of this before us too much grown 
for good cuttings, upon our mentioning to him the 
Spanish method of cultivating it, he directed some 
of this to be cut and cooked for dinner. To our 
surprise, notwithstanding it was so old, it proved 
very delicate and palatable, and completely satis¬ 
fied us that its superior taste was owing to the 
salt dressing it received from the sea-water. 
Gardeners, in the interior of the country, will do 
well to try the experiment here recommended 
