m 
ALABAMA MARL. 
Side View of Reaping-Machine.—Fig. 
toward the standing wheat, and very neatly when 
understood. 
Shove back the wheat upon the platform afrer 
bringing off the sheaf (or more) so as to prevent a 
trail, in heavy wheat the raker and rider usually 
change places. At times, in short or in tangled 
grain, it may be found necessary to move it slight¬ 
ly upon the platform with the rake, before draw¬ 
ing it off, as a relief to the cutting. Horses should 
be kept close to the wheat. 
C. H. McCormick. 
ALABAMA MARL. 
We have received from Alexander McDonald, 
Esq., of Euf'ala, Alabama, a sample of blue marl for 
analysis. To do this minutely would cost $5, we 
have therefore handed it over to Dr. Gardner for a 
general opinion of its merits, which will be found 
below. Dr. G. pronounces it a substance of con¬ 
siderable value, especially on clayey soils. Mr. 
McD. writes, “I have this year hauled up 400 
bushels and spread it over my garden, mixed with 
compost manure, and I have never seen a more 
rapid growth of vegetation in my life.” 
We also received-by the same conveyance, a 
sample of Mr. McD.’s premium cotton grown upon 
his firm last year, and spoken of page 221 of our 
last No. The lot from which this sample was 
taken, we are informed by Messrs. Cahoone, Kin¬ 
ney, &: Co., cotton-brokers in this city, sold for at 
least one half cent per pound more than any other 
of a similar quality brought to New York last sea¬ 
son. It was considered very superior. 
Mr. McDonald writes us that, crops are promis¬ 
ing fairly in Alabama, though the stand of cotton 
and com is rather small for the season ; and that ! 
formidable enemy of cotton, the louse, has been j 
somewhat destructive. He regrets that planters ] 
in that region confine themselves so exclusively 
to corn and cotton, and do not cultivate, as at the 
north, a more general rotation of crops. 
We need not say that we shall be happy to hear 
from Mr. McDonald in his agricultural tour to 
Tennessee. We observe by the Southern Shield, 
that the Barbour County Agricultural Society had 
a spirited meeting at Glennville on the 29th May 
last. At the close of the proceedings Mr. McD. 
proposed the formation of two Farmers’ Clubs, one 
at Glennville, and another at Eufala. We can not 
but hope that his proposition will be carried into 
effect, for such clubs have a beneficial influence 
wherever formed. 
New York , July 9th , 1844. 
Dear Sir : I have examined the specimen of 
marl from Mr. McDonald of Alabama, in the man¬ 
ner you suggested. It contains from 5 to 10 per 
cent, of lime ; but the quantity may be greater in 
different specimens, for it depends upon, and is ac¬ 
cording to the number of shells in it, so that 
wherever the marl has the whitest appearance 
the quantity of lime will be greatest. The speci¬ 
men is remarkable for the large quantity of silicate 
of potash it contains, perhaps as much as 10 to 15 
per cent. 
I have not examined it in other points of view. 
The basis is a fine sand, and the whole evidently 
of the tertiary geological formation. There is no 
question that it will prove a good fertilizer, es¬ 
pecially on stiff lands of clayey basis ; it will also 
be applicable to calcareous soils from the silicate 
of potash it contains. Wheat, oats, rye, com, and 
grasses will be particularly benefited by it. The 
