74 
^nstD^rs t0 inqtiiries, ^c. 
USE OF SALT—RECLAIMING SALT MARSH. 
“Messrs. Editors —I should be pleased to learn 
where salt has been used as a renovator of the soil, the 
quantity applied, and the nature of the land. I should 
also be pleased to learn the quickest and most effectual 
way to reclaim salt marsh from the tides overflowing; 
and if you are acquainted with any sufficiently reclaimed 
to produce crops other than grass, as those which may 
be seen on the Delaware below Philadelphia. 
D. G. Weems.” 
Salt, however valuable as a manure, can hardly be call¬ 
ed a renovator of the soil, as its use adds little if any thing 
to the matters constituting the^actual food of plants; the 
best conducted experiments would show that it acts by 
preparing food for plants, and stimulating, or aiding them 
in the appropriation. Little use as yet has been made of 
salt in this country; in England it has acquired some fa¬ 
vor, and its use we believe is increasing. The experi¬ 
ments reported by Prof. Johnston, are certainly much in 
its favor. It is the most effective on light or gravelly 
soils; and the experiments indicated that the proper 
quantity was from 5 to 15 bushels per acre. Where 40 
bushels was used, vegetation was destroyed. It succeed¬ 
ed well when sown on the land in November, after the 
wheat was sown, but the method most recommended, is 
to mix lime and salt in the proportions of two of the 
former to one of the latter, letting the mass remain co¬ 
vered for one or two months, and then used by sowing 
the mixture at the rate of 30 or 35 bushels per acre. 
As to reclaiming salt marsh, the most efficient method, 
and one derived from actual experience, may be found 
at page 52 of the Cultivator for 1841. We refer Mr. W. 
to this with the more confidence, as it agrees with the 
successful experiments made in reclaiming marsh, by A. 
Dey, Esq. of New-York, a number of years since. 
We have no knowledge of any marsh so reclaimed, as 
to be capable of a course of crops, or a rotation of roots, 
grains, and grasses; and the experiments recorded by 
Mr. Welles and others, would indicate that such results 
are rarely if ever attained. When reclaimed by em¬ 
banking and draining, there is little difficulty of covering 
the land with the best grasses, such as herds grass and ti¬ 
mothy, but there is not often solidity enough for other 
cultivation, so far at least as experiments at reclamation 
on our coast are recorded. In England, considerable 
tracts are reclaimed, and used for all purposes of cultiva¬ 
tion, but it has been at expenses which would not be ad¬ 
missible in this country. In some few instances, in the 
reclaimed marshes below Philadelphia, crops of potatoes 
have been grown, and oats, but unless we are misinform¬ 
ed, the results were not such as to invite repetition. If 
any of our friends are acquainted with lands so reclaimed, 
as to be capable of a course of cropping, we shall be 
pleased to receive accounts of the process. 
THE MOLE. 
At page 187, of the last vol. of the Cultivator, may be 
found a reply to some inquiries respecting the mole, made 
by Mr. Carr of St. Louis. From the account then gi¬ 
ven of the animal, we were led to suppose it might be 
the common meadow mole of the Atlantic states; but we 
have received another communication from Mr. C., in 
which he says the animal that gives him and others so 
much trouble in that region, “ is furnished with a small 
pointed proboscis, by means of which, aided by two 
broad, round sort of web fore feet, with sharp claws in 
each, they bore a sort of furrow just under the surface of 
the earth, along which they pass with great speed, ren¬ 
dering their track visible by the earth thrown up. The 
hind feet and legs are more like those of the mouse. The 
fur is fine and of a deep lead color. Last year they 
they obliged me to replant three or four times, large por¬ 
tions of my corn and other crops; besides either wholly 
or in part destroying in my garden and yard, a great ma¬ 
ny of my most rare and costly flower plants, shrubbery 
and vegetables.” 
The description here given determines the character 
of the animal; which is the Shrew mole, Scalops aqua¬ 
tions of the naturalist. It is frequently met with in the 
Atlantic states, but rarely produces much mischief. Its 
natui’al food is the common earth-worm, grubs, larvseof 
ants, &c., and Dr. De Kay supposes the good it does in 
destroying these, will compensate for the injury done to 
roots and germinating seeds. Where they are nume¬ 
rous, however, they are the pest of the gardener, defac¬ 
ing the beds, and uprooting the young plants. Dr. De 
Kay says that it is asserted they never frequent gardens 
in which the castor oil plant, Palma christi, is growing; 
but adds, he should place little dependence on this pre¬ 
ventive. 
In Europe, when the mole' becomes troublesome, he 
is destroyed by professional mole catchers, or by poison¬ 
ing, or by traps. It is found that if fine shreds of fresh 
lean beef are placed in their furrows, the moles will eat 
them, if found soon after deposit, and if poison, arsenic 
or strychnine, is placed on these shreds, they are fre¬ 
quently killed. The trap most recommended is one con¬ 
structed on the principle of the one, a figure of which is 
given in the April Cultivator. Dr. Godman has given a 
very interesting account of the mole, and its habits; but 
wherever it shows itself in numbers, it is a pest of no 
small magnitude. For accurate descriptions, with draw¬ 
ings, of the various animals known under the names of 
moles, or mice, the reader is referred to the 1st volume 
of the Natural History of the State of New-York. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
DOG CHURN. 
“ Messrs. Editors —Will any of your correspondents 
inform me through your valuable paper, of the best and 
cheapest modes of manufacturing a dog churn to churn 
the milk or cream from nine cows. I have not seen in 
the Cultivator as yet, any thing to answer the purpose of 
this inquiry. D. Bidwell.” 
Ghmt, N. Y. 1843. 
We should be gratified to receive from some experi¬ 
enced correspondent such directions as Mr. B. desires; 
and will add the request that they may be accompanied 
with a drawing, which may be engraved for the Culti¬ 
vator. 
STEEN KROUT. 
“Editors of the Cultivator —^Will you be so kind 
as to give some directions, so that I may know the weed 
Steen krout; as I do not know it, nor can I find any one 
who can inform me. A. B.” 
Fairfield, Ct., 1843. 
The following from “Eaton’s Botany,” will give the 
description desired: — “ Lithospermum arvense, (steen 
krout, stone seed, wheat thief,) stem erect, branched; 
leaves lance linear, rather acute, (lower ones obtuse,) 
veinless, hairy; calix nearly as long as the corol; seg¬ 
ments spreading; seed rugose; height from eight to fif¬ 
teen inches.” 
The farmer will, however, perhaps better know it by 
this description. Boot long, tapering, and deep red, 
from whence one of its names, red root. A great num¬ 
ber of branches or stems spring from each root, bearing 
leaves long and pointed, and downy or hairy. On the 
stems are clusters of blue blossoms, distinct, but not large 
or conspicuous. Its height in the wheat crop, varies 
with the soil, but is commonly from 12 to 20 inches. It 
is a pest to the grain grower, and it will be well, if A. 
B. has no more acquaintance with it, than may be de¬ 
rived from books. 
CATTLE FOR THE SOUTH. 
“Messrs, Editors —I should bepleasedto learn through 
the Cultivator, your opinion of the relative merits of the 
Devon and Aj'rshire breed of cattle, as best suited to the 
South. The Durhams will not suit this latitude. (Char¬ 
lotte, North Carolina, and a light soil.) The object is 
principally butter and beef, and sometimes for the yoke. 
A.” 
We wish to answer the question of our correspondent, 
in part, by asking another. Has ‘^A.” ever tried the 
Durhams, and satisfied himself they will not do in that 
latitude? The Durhams require good feed it is true, and 
no breed will do well without it. Devons and Ayrshires 
must have feed, or they will make neither beef or butter. 
The soil may be light, but if made rich it is precisely the 
soil for corn and lucerne, and if a little marl or clay 
should be added, clover would doubtless succeed admira¬ 
bly, and with these, Durhams we imagine would do well 
in any latitude. 
If experiments properly made, have proved that the 
Durhams will not succeed, then for a?? the purposes men¬ 
tioned by our correspondent, we should prefer the De¬ 
vons. For beef and for the yoke, there are few if any 
breeds superior to the Devons, and if not in general equal 
to the Short Horns or Ayrshires for milk, still we have 
known some excellent milkers among them. The De¬ 
vons are hardy, walk quick and livel}^ in the yoke, and 
when fed make beef of excellent quality. For milk or 
butter alone, the Ayrshires would doubtless be superior 
to the Devons, and are indeed equalled by few breeds in 
this, or any other country; but where the beef, and apti¬ 
tude to labor are to be taken into account, we think the 
Devons must have the preference. 
USE OF CHARCOAL. 
“ Messrs. Editors —In your last No. there is an arti¬ 
cle on the use of charcoal as a manure, by a Virginian. 
A neighbor of mine, a few years since, nearly destroyed 
a piece of land by putting a quantity of coal upon it. The 
coal was taken from the kiln where it was burnt, using 
such only as was too small for the blacksmith. The 
quantity used was probably too great; or is it necessary 
that the coal should be pulverized. There is a good deal 
of coal burned here, and sometimes it is burned in the 
fields, and I know these spots are rendered unproductive. 
I hope we shall receive more information in the Cultiva¬ 
tor on the use of charcoal as a manure. 
Madison Johnston.” 
Boligee, Ala., March 20, 1843. 
In the case alluded to by Mr. J., the quantity was 
doubtless too great, and it was applied in too coarse a 
state. All the experiments recorded by Liebig and oth¬ 
ers, of the vegetation of plants in pure charcoal, was in 
that finely ;iulverized. We cannot conceive that any 
moderate quantity of fine coal could destroy land, but the 
more intimate the union between that and the soil, the 
better the efifect. We are aware that coal beds undis¬ 
turbed, are at first barren, but we have observed that in 
a few years such spots always have a luxuriant vegeta¬ 
tion. Time seems to be necessary, where no means are 
used, to combine the charcoal, burnt clay, &c. with the 
soil, to render it fit for vegetation; but where such spots 
are subjected to the plow at once, and the coal, burnt 
earth, soils, ashes, &c. fully united, they are fertile from 
the first. Art acquaintance of ours, a blacksmith, always 
burned his coal in his garden, and by moving the spot, 
considered the process a most effectual means of keeping 
it rich and productive. The first crop after the burning 
and plowing, with him was onions, and he never failed 
of the finest kind. It must be added, however, that he 
left nothing but the finest coal, dust, &(*. on the ground; 
all else was removed. 
SUBSTITUTE FOR LINEN. 
Gentlemen —I invite your attention to the description 
of a kind of native grass, said to possess in a great de¬ 
gree, all the valuable qualities of silk and linen, to be 
found in Silliman’s Journal of Science, vol. 27, page 179. 
With a view of its being brought into use, and more 
generally known and manufactured, I have otFered through 
the medium of the Society for promoting Native Indus¬ 
try, &c. &c. ten dollars as my part of a premium for the 
BEST growing plant (save flax,) and manufactured arti¬ 
cle —together with the mode of growing the plant—sav¬ 
ing the flax, (if I may so express it,) produced from that 
grass, and exhibited at the next American N. Y. Fair, to 
be held in this city. Hoping that through your valuable 
periodical, this may receive a general circulation, 
I remain yours, &c. A Friend.” 
New-York, March, 1843. 
We have turned to Silliman’s Journal, and find the pa¬ 
per alluded to by our correspondent, to be a communica¬ 
tion from a gentleman in Salem, Mass., setting forth in 
glowing colors the importance of the discovery made, but 
without naming the plant, or the material, and adding 
that the discovery has been patented, &c. 
Unless we are much mistaken, the plant alluded to has 
been found to be the silk grass of our fields, or as some 
call it, milk weed, (Asclepias syriaca,) and the expecta¬ 
tions excited at the time of its usefulness, have vanished. 
We give a place, however, to the note of our correspon¬ 
dent, as we may mistake as to the plant; and because the 
subject is one of considerable importance to the public. 
If some of the visitors to Oregon, via the Rocky moun¬ 
tains, would secure some of the s»eeds of the perennial 
flax described by Parker and by Farnham, we should 
hope to find a plant introduced, which would come much 
nearer the expectations of our friend than the Salem 
grass. 
SOILS. 
“ Messrs. Editors —I perceive that you make a dif¬ 
ference between the mechanical or physical nature of 
soils, and their chemical one, so far as plants are con¬ 
cerned. Will you be kind enough to state more fully 
what is intended by these terms, and also furnish some 
instances, if they are known to exist, in which these re¬ 
spective natures have been changed, or successfully modi¬ 
fied. A Young Farmer.” 
The mechanical or physical character of soils, depends 
on their original constituents, which are usually disinte¬ 
grated rocks of some kind, and composed of sand, clay, 
lime, and a few other matters, in smaller and varying 
proportions. Any of these original elements are unfit for 
vegetation in themselves, and the value of soils, or their 
capability of being made fertile, is in a great degree de¬ 
pending on the proportion which these several parts bear 
to each other, and their greater or less intimate union 
from fineness and mixture. 
The chemical character of a soil depends on the salts it 
contains, and its power of changing such matters as may 
be combined with it, or added to it, into food for plants. 
Thus vegetable matter, the several gases, the mineral and 
vegetable alkalies, &c. &c. all go to change or modify 
the chemical condition of a soil. We are unable as yet 
to designate that condition of soil, and its various mix¬ 
tures, most favorable for perfect chemical action; but 
every farmer who takes note of the etfect of his various 
operations on the different soils he cultivates, is contri¬ 
buting his aid to the final adjustment of this most impor¬ 
tant question. 
In answering our correspondent’s query, as to instances 
in which soils have been changed or modified mechani¬ 
cally, or chemically, we have only to refer to a multi¬ 
tude of cases which have occurred within a few years, or 
since a more rational view of soils and their cultivation 
has obtained. The first is the stinking one of Holkham, 
by Mr. Coke. In the language of Mr. Pusey, “ we much 
doubt if that lamented nobleman, with all his enterprise, 
could have fed oxen where rabbits had previously brows¬ 
ed, as was his just boast, unless those sandy commons had 
first been made solid with marl.’’ Here the application of 
marl effected a mechanical, and we think probably a che¬ 
mical effect also. They gave firmness to the sands; this 
was mechanical: the lime contained in the marl rendered 
what vegetable matter the soil contained soluble; this was 
chemical. Mr. Rham informs us that the Flemings have 
converted their sandy desert into one of the most fertile 
districts of Europe, by bringing up year after year, two 
inches of subsoil from trenches shifted every year, until 
they have reached a depth of two feet. This subsoil is a 
stiff yellow clay, containing little or no lime. Placed on 
the surface of their drifting sands, the clay gave solidity, 
and the power of retaining moisture for the use of plants. 
In this case, the effect, it is clear, is mostly mechanical. 
One of the greatest improvements in English agriculture, 
has been the application of clay to the large tracts of 
peat and peaty sand in Lincolnshire. Part of this clay is 
a marl, but much of it is ordinary clay, and can only act 
mechanically on the peat. There are many instances in 
which a load of clay is worth more on a soil than a load 
of dung. Mr. Pusey gives a case, in which the soil was 
of coarse gravel and sand, so porous that dung and bones 
