be dissolved in diluted muriatic acid. Let a little ex¬ 
cess of acid be added, that no portion may remain un¬ 
dissolved, owing to the deficiency of the solvent. Dilute 
with distilled water; let the insoluble part, if any, sub¬ 
side, and the clear liquor be decanted. Wash the se¬ 
diment with farther portions of water, and pour it up¬ 
on a filter, previously weighed. Dry the filter, and as¬ 
certain its increase of weight, which will indicate how 
much insoluble matter the quantity of lime submitted 
to experiment contained. It is easy to judge, by the 
external qualities of the insoluble portion, whether ar¬ 
gillaceous earth abounds in the composition,” 
The diluted muriatic acid dissolves the lime. The 
insoluble residuum is clay or sand. 
To detect magnesia in limestone, which, accord¬ 
ing to Tennant, renders the lime, when applied in 
large doses, prejudicial to lands, Orfila directs as fol¬ 
lows : 
“ Procure a Florence flask, [a common half pint olive 
oil flask,] clean it well from oil, by a little soap-lees or 
salt of tartar and quick-lime mixed, and break it off 
about the middle of the body, by setting fire to a string 
tied round it, and moistened with oil [spirits] of tur¬ 
pentine. Into the bottom part of the flask, put 100 
grains of the lime, or lime-stone, and pour on it, by de¬ 
grees, half an ounce of strong sulphuric acid. On each 
effusion of acid, a violent effervescence will ensue; 
When this ceases, stir the acid and lime together, with 
a small glass tube or rod, and place the flask in an iron 
pan filled with sand. Set it over the fire, and continue 
the heat till the mass is quite dry. Scrape oft’ the dry 
mass, weigh it, and put into a wine glass, which may be 
filled up with water. Stir the mixture, and when it has 
stood half an hour, pour the whole on a filtering paper, 
placed on a funnel and previously weighed. Wash the 
insoluble part with water, as it lies on the filter, and 
add the washings to the filtered liquor. To this solu¬ 
tion add half an ounce of salt of tartar in water, when, 
if magnesia be present, a very copious white sediment 
will ensue; if lime only, merely a slight milkiness. In 
the former case, heat the liquor by setting it in a tea¬ 
cup near the fire; let the sediment subside; pour oft’ 
the clear liquor, which may be thrown away, and wash 
the white powder repeatedly with warm water. Then 
pour it on a filter of paper, the weght of which is 
known, dry it and weigh. The result, if the lime stone 
has been submitted to experiment, shows how much 
carbonate of magnesia was contained in the original 
stone; or, deducting 60 per cent, how much pure mag¬ 
nesia 100 parts of the lime contained. If the burnt 
lime has been used, deduct from the weight of the pre¬ 
cipitate 60 per cent, and the remainder will give the 
weight of the magnesia in each of the 100 grains of 
burnt lime.” 
The sulphuric acid dissolves the lime and magne¬ 
sia, which pass through the first filter with the liquid. 
The salt of tartar precipitates the magnesia, leaving 
the lime in the liquid. The magnesia is the residuum 
upon the second filter. 
We add some relevant facts in regard to lime, from 
the Domestic Encyclopaedia. 
In burning lime, a ton ought to be reduced in the 
kiln to 1100 weight; otherwise it is not sufficiently 
burnt. It will regain two-thirds of the lost weight, 
by exposure to air for a week or ten days—100 parts 
of lime absorb [and solidify] about 28 parts of water; 
and to regain its full proportion of air from the at¬ 
mosphere, it requires a year or more, if not purpose¬ 
ly spread out. All limestone of primitive formation, 
contains magnesia; all white marbles contain about 
ten per cent of magnesia. Put less of the magnesian 
lime upon your land, by about one-third, than of com¬ 
mon lime. 
The lands most benefited by lime, are, 1. Rich black 
or brown friable crumbling loams, which abound with 
vegetable matter. 2. Low, rich drained meadows, 
that have formerly been bogs, and the black soil of 
which abounds in vegetable fibre. 3. Old pastures 
and commons, which have been under grass for time 
immemorial, and are first to be converted into arable 
land; but upon these, lime should not be repeated. 
4. On moory, boggy, mountainous land, and on black 
peat earth. 5. On all other waste soils that have 
been overrun with fern, briars, bushes or wood, and 
which, though richly stored with vegetable food, have 
contracted an acidity, in consequence of their long 
rest, and the spontaneous growth of roots. 
Mild lime, carbonate of lime, and marl, improve the 
texture of clays and sands, rendering the first less 
stiff and adhesive, and the latter more compact and 
retentive of moisture ; and they improve all soils, not 
already charged with calcareous matter, by fitting 
them better to hold manures, and constituting, a ne¬ 
cessary constituent of most plants. 
The soils which are not benefiUed by quick-lime, are 
those which are poor, light and thin; those destitute 
of inert vegetable matter ; strong stony lands ; wet 
cold loams, and all lands which have not been suffi¬ 
ciently drained ; and on stiff clays that are tenacious 
of moisture. Lime is only a manure of stimulus-— 
not of nutriment. 
Humus, Ulmin and Geine, are only different terms 
applied by philosophers to organic—to decomposed 
animal and vegetable matters, which constitute the 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
fertility of soils, and the food of plants. In common 
language, they are manure under some of its modifi¬ 
cations. _ 
The Forty-fold Potato, 
Derives it name, we believe, from its reputed pro¬ 
lific property. Lt is an esteemed variety for the table, 
and of recent introduction. An objection to its cul¬ 
ture has been made, on account of the small size of 
the tubers, though they are not lacking in numbers ; 
and this circumstance has induced us almost to dis¬ 
card them. A communication of Mr. Burns, in the 
May number of the Magazine of Horticulture, ex¬ 
plains a common error in the culture of this variety, 
and suggests a remedy for the evil complained of.— 
This potato has many eyes, each of which produces 
a stalk; and where two or three tubers are planted 
in a hill, they give too many stalks, and too many po¬ 
tatoes for the ground they occupy. The consequence 
is, that the stalks are feeble and the roots small. The 
remedy is, to plant only one tuber of a medium size 
in a hill, the seed end of which, abounding in eyes, is 
first to be cut off and thrown away, when the residue 
may be divided into three parts, and planted in a hill. 
By'this mode of management, the stalks will be few, 
have abundant pasture to feed upon, the tubers large, 
and the crop good. Such are Mr. Burns’ directions ; 
and to us they appear plausible, from the fact, that in 
the culture of the Rohan potato, a set with one or 
two eyes is found to be sufficient for a hill. We have 
counted forty-seven eyes in one Rohan; and we can 
readily believe, that this number of stalks in a hill 
could not produce many large potatoes. These hints 
may be useful in improving the product of other va¬ 
rieties of this valuable root. 
Striped Bug and Turnip Flea. 
At this season, our melons, cucumbers and other 
vines, are liable to be destroyed by the striped bug, 
in a few hours, and our young cabbages, radishes, 
turnips, &c. are liable to a similar fate from a small 
black flea. On visiting our garden a few days since, 
after several wet and cloudy days, we found many of 
our young vines, then in the first leaf, almost literally 
covered with the yellow bug, and our young cabbages 
also in the first leaf, in a fair way of being lost, in a 
few hours, by the black flea. We immediately 
sprinkled lime upon the vines and plants, and on the 
former took pains to put it on the under side of the 
leaves, and thereby saved our plants. Mr. Gordon, 
in the Tennessee Farmer, gives the assurance, found¬ 
ed on repeated experiments, that the sowing of two 
or three bushels of wheat bran, upon an acre of young 
turnips, will effectually secure the crop, as the fly 
prefers the bran to the turnip. 
Iu the German and. French Schools, 
Are taught geography, histoi'y, chemistry, and se¬ 
veral branches of natural science, drawing and mu¬ 
sic. These are taught in the common schools to the 
sons of farmers and mechanics. Upon these semina¬ 
ries, well remarks Lord Brougham, “ far more reli¬ 
ance is to be placed, [for the prevention of crime,] 
than upon all the provisions of the penal code, amend 
it as you may, and execute its amendments with 
whatever firmness and discretion you can bring to the 
administration af criminal justice,” We pride our¬ 
selves as freemen —as being of a higher order than 
the subjects of the German and French monarchies, 
and yet we fall far behind them in what most enno¬ 
bles our nature, and fits us for the greatest useful¬ 
ness— in the improvement of the mind. Lord Brougham 
is right. Nothing tends more to prevent vice than 
habits of industry ; and nothing serves to wed us to 
these habits—to give us pleasure and delight in them 
—so strongly, as a taste for, and advancement in, 
useful knowledge. 
Axiom in Husbandry. 
Plants, in general, will be found to deteriorate the 
soil, in proportion to their natural facilities of esta¬ 
blishing a new progeny, [by stollens, suckers, or wing¬ 
ed seeds,] at a distance from the deteriorated soil; 
consequently, such facilities, or the want of them, 
furnish good indications to the cultivator, of the ex¬ 
tent or rapidity of the deterioration caused by parti¬ 
cular species.”— Edin. Q. J. of Ag. 
As evidence of the correctness of the above, it is 
said, that young trees seldom send up succors till the 
soil has become exhausted of their peculiar food ; but 
that when the soil becomes deteriorated, this is found 
to take place with the plum, pear, &c.—that the rose, 
to be kept in pristine health, should be removed to 
new earth at least every third year; that the removal 
of the raspberry is necessary every fourth year to pre¬ 
serve its vigor and fruitfulness, notwithstanding its pro¬ 
pensity to send up succors; that the impatience of 
the strawberry to shift its location by runners, is de- 
: monstrative evidence of its deteriorating influence up¬ 
on the soil. The necessity of alternating crops is fur¬ 
ther illustrated by the failure of the potato and the red 
clover, when returned too often to the same field. 
91 
The practical instructions suggested by these data, 
urge to the alternation of farm crops; to the change 
in pasture, or soil, of perennials which are found 
materially to deteriorate on the same site, as the 
strawberry, raspberry, currant, gooseberry, rose, &c. 
They teach, that the finer flowers of the florist, as 
tulips, hyacinths, &c. should be planted in fresh un¬ 
deteriorated soil, at least every second year; that 
the soil should be rich and light, that their roots may 
extend themselves into fresh pasture, and that they 
should not be planted close, lest they rob each other 
of essential food. The deterioration of the potato 
in Ireland, a fact which the writer affirms, is ascrib¬ 
ed to the repetition of the crop, on the circumscribed 
limits allowed to the peasant; and the diseases of the 
potato in Scotland, which, in some seasons, have 
been serious and alarming, are ascribed to over crop¬ 
ping. 
Blasting Rocks. 
We are not sure we are not retailing “John 
Thompson’s news,” by inserting the following - , from 
the Domestic Encyclopaadia. It will nevertheless be 
new to some. 
“Quick lime is of great utility in rending rocks 
and stones, when mixed with gun-powder, in the pro¬ 
portion of one pound of the former, well dried and 
pulverized, to two pounds of the latter. This singu¬ 
lar property of lime was discovered, and is related, 
by H. D. Griffith, Esq. in the 8th vol. of the Bath 
and West of England Society, where he states, that 
the mixture above specified, caused an explosion with 
a force equal to three pounds of gun-powder; hence 
in those operations, one-third of the expense may be 
saved.” 
Agricultural Libraries. 
W. H. Richardson, Esq. has sent us from Rich¬ 
mond, a printed list of about 100 vols. of agricultural 
and horticultural works, belongingto the State Libra¬ 
ry in that city, and asked us to give a catalogue of 
such others as in our opinion ought to be added. A 
State Library should contain all the standard works 
which appertain to rural affairs, especially if husband¬ 
ry is the great business of that state. But as this 
description of books might comprise too large a cata¬ 
logue, we will confine our recommendation to a limit¬ 
ed number, with which, with the exception of the 
three last we shall name, we have a personal know¬ 
ledge ; and the characters of the latter stand so high, 
that we have no hesitation in recommending the en¬ 
tire list. And we prefer giving our answer through 
this channel, that others who wish, may avail them¬ 
selves of the information which it contains. 
We recommend, as suitable for a state or agricul¬ 
tural library, besides the books now in the Stale Libra- 
ry of Virginia, Chaptal’s Chemistry, 1 vol.; Loudon’s 
Encyclopaedia of Plants, do.; Farmers’ Series of Li¬ 
brary of Useful Knowledge, not completed; Michaux’s 
American Sylva, 3 vols.; Quarterly Journal of Agri¬ 
culture, (Edinburgh,) 40 numbers received ; Farmers’ 
Magazine, (London,) 8 vols. published ; Low’s Ele¬ 
ments of Practical Agriculture, 1 vol.; Domestic En¬ 
cyclopaedia, Cooper’s revision, 3 vols.; Kenrick’s Or- 
chardist, 1 vol.; Manning’s Book of Fruits, 1 vol.; 
Lorrain’s Husbandry, 1 vol.; Memoirs of the N. Y. 
Board of Agriculture, if they can be had, 3 vols.; 
Transactions of the Society for the promotion of Ag¬ 
riculture and the Arts, 4 vols.; Massachusetts Agri¬ 
cultural Journal and Repository, 7 or 8 vols.; Foster’s 
Atmospheric Phenomena, 1 vol.; LindJey’s Guide to 
the Orchard and Kitchen Garden, 1 vol.; Entomolo¬ 
gy, by Kirby & Spence, 2 or more vols.; Ronalds on 
the Apple, 1 vol. 4to.; Williams’ (or some other,) 
Agricultural Mechanism, 1 vol.; the agricultural 
works of Yon Thaer, and of Sprengel (German) and 
Dick’s, on the Veterinary Art. The Bath papers, 
British Agricultural Surveys, and the Georgical Essays 
might be added. They contain much that is useful, 
but more that is either irrelevant to our practice, or 
that has been rendered valueless by modern discove¬ 
ry and improvement. 
M. Jauffret’s discovery of a new mode of making 
manure, noticed in our last, turns out to be a hum¬ 
bug. The Farmers’ Magazine for March, states, 
that after having for two years duped dozens of may¬ 
ors, prefects, and other functionaries, and taken the 
cash of hundreds of subscribers, the patentee died 
one day, and it was. then discovered, that manure cost 
twice as much by the new as it did by the old pro¬ 
cess. 
Harvest beverage.—Vwt a tea-cup full of fresh oat¬ 
meal into a gallon of cool water—stir it previous to 
drinking, and renew the water when it is exhausted. 
It will keep the bowels and the skin in order, pre¬ 
serve a due temperament of animal spirits, and nou¬ 
rish and invigorate the Whole system. It is both food 
and drink. Try itrfiN. B. Kiln-dried Indian com 
meal may be substituted for oat meal. 
