MOORE’S RURAL NEW-YORKER: AN AGRICULTURAL AND EAMILY JOURNAL. 
) 
i ^rof. lD^MtDIl’0 IwtDWS, 
> On tbe General Relations of Science to 
> PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE 
) _ 
; LECTURE SECOND. 
) - 
' The Relations of Geology and Mineralogy to 
] Practical Agriculture. 
> {Conclusion of Lecture ^d.) 
> I DO not know that time will permit me 
I to go into this branch of the subject farther. 
I I proceed, therefore, to draw your attention 
’ to the unstratified rocks. In England there 
I are very few trap rocks—there is very little 
: in NeAv-York, but in Scotland there is a 
; large extent of it. These trap rocks are 
I the old lava, thrown up by volcanic agen¬ 
cies. These rocks crumble down and form 
a very good soil. It is a remarkable cir¬ 
cumstance, that Avherever these trap rocks 
are met with, in all parts of the Avorld, they, 
crumbling down readily, make soils of great 
fertility, capable of fertilizing other fields in 
their vicinity. Prof. J. here stated an inci¬ 
dent illustrative of this fact. He was visit¬ 
ing the farm of a farmer in Scotland, Avho 
was actually taking off twelve inches of the 
surface of one field, consisting of this soil 
formed of trap, and spreading it over other 
fields. This expensive operation he found 
yielding a good return on the outlay. 
Prof. J, here pointed to the north-eastern 
part of New-York, where the gi-anlte oc¬ 
curs. Granite yields a poor soil, which is 
sandy and hungry, consisting chiefly of 
gravel and sand, Avhich does not present 
great attractions to the farmer, and in the 
old country is left to be improved and set¬ 
tled when there is no other to cultivate. 
Here, said Prof J., let me take an illus¬ 
tration from your own country. You know 
that a wheat country consists of a soil form¬ 
ed of rocks, represented on the maps by a 
particular color, chiefly of limestone. Pie 
. then pointed to another strata, representing 
a hungry sandstone, then to another, repre¬ 
senting the Helderberg limestone. Of all 
the rocks, this foi’ms the most fertile soil ; 
it is a strong soil, not difficult to Avork, and 
retains the water Avhich falls upon it Pie 
then pointed to a clay series of rocks, Avhich 
do not produce a fertile soil, but when min¬ 
gled with the sandstones they form a pretty 
good soil. The limestone, which is in itself 
a good soil, mixed with clay, forms a great 
Indian corn growing country. 
One point I desire to bring under your 
notice. I have told you that if a series of 
rocks be represented by my four fingers, 
they always occur in a certain order, one 
above another—here is a sandstone and 
there a clay; this order is never inverted.^ 
This is a matter of very great importance, 
with reference to the floAving of the water 
from one end to the other of these strata, 
because it is obvious that by this means, 
wliat is a sandstone at one end may become 
a clay rock at the other. The Helderberg 
series consists of clay and sandstone. To¬ 
wards the Avest it is clayey, and toAvards the 
east it is silicious; hence the soil is differ¬ 
ent as you proceed from west to east, so 
that the geologist not only requires to knoAv 
the relative position of one rock to another, 
but Avhether the rock is hable to these 
changes in its composition. Hence it is 
often difficult to determine absolutely, from 
an inspection of the geological map, the 
precise quality of the soil in different posi¬ 
tions. 
One or tAvo other illustrations Avhich the 
United States present. If you go south 
into Alabama, and pass from the rich allu¬ 
vial soil of the sea-islands, over this Avhole 
extent of country, from south to north, you 
find nothing more convincing, from the dif¬ 
ferent qualities of soil and their capabilities 
of producing different kinds of crops, of th6 
fact, that the geological structure of the 
country, determines its agricultural pro¬ 
ducts. I must draAV your attention, in this 
connection, to France, which presents anoth¬ 
er remarkable instance of the relations of 
Geology to the general fertility of a coun¬ 
try. M. Sullin in liis “Voyages Agrono- 
miques,” has divided France into eight re¬ 
gions, according to their fertility and agri¬ 
cultural productions. Climate, in so exten¬ 
sive a country, has no doubt something to 
do with the fact, that the vine and Indian 
corn do not flourish in the first of these dis¬ 
tricts, that of the north; and Avith the other 
fact, that the region of the south is also 
called that of olives. But it is nevertheless 
remarkable, that this country divides itself 
naturally into as many geological regions, 
almost coincident Avith the agricultural re¬ 
gions of M. Sullin, and thus geology and 
practical observation are coiircident in their 
results. 
Another point Avill admit of considerable 
illustration, but I can only spend a moment 
or tAA’o on this head. I have spoken of the 
composition of soils and the great differen¬ 
ces which exist betAveen them ; I have spo¬ 
ken of clay as forming one great group of 
soils. But here is a remarkable distinction. 
The same kind of material may under dif¬ 
ferent circumsfiinces, present different vari- : 
eties of soil. If I take this piece of clay, 
and go into the market, offering a farm ' 
for sale, and saying, I have a farm of this 
kind of clay, the answer Avould be, Ave want • 
nothing to do Avith yoiu- fiu-m ; but if I tell 
a farmer, here is another farm, of this soil, ■ 
holding a piece of dry clay, he Avill at once 
say, I will go and see it Thus the simple 
inspection of these two kinds of soil, Avill 
tell any practical man, that they are more 
or less suited to cultivation. In Scotland, 
we produce magnificent crops on these clay 
soils. These clay lands, being drained are 
thus rendered capable of culture, and this 
depends, not on any new chemical combina¬ 
tion, or change, but on the state in Avhich 
the material exists. It so happens in all 
parts of the Avorld, that there occur rocks 
of the same material, which are sometimes 
harder and sometimes .softer; then again 
there are rocks which are called metamor- 
phic, which have been analysed and found 
to contain the same elements, and yet are 
so different in their physical character, that 
Avhen in one form, tliey are capable of groAv- 
ing green crops—in the other fitted for 
Avheat. This is an importaut point and has 
an intimate connection Avith the deductions 
drawn from an inspection of a geological 
map. I should have liked here to have 
drawn your attention to the modifications 
which the action of Avater has produced on 
the character of the soil. I shoAved you in 
my previous lecture that there were cur¬ 
rents ill the sea, and hoAV they affected the 
atmosphere, and the agricidtural capabili¬ 
ties of various large sections of the globe. 
But I did not then speak of the transport¬ 
ing action of these currents. They carry 
along with them icebergs on their surface, 
and gravel and sand at the bottom, deposit¬ 
ing them in various places on their route. 
And Avhen I remind you that this part of 
the Avorld (pointing to the northern part of 
America,) was once beloAv the level of the 
sea, and that the Arctic current swept over 
it, with all the rocks and substances with 
which it was charged, spreading them 
wherever it Avent, you may well expect that 
traces of this current may be found on the 
surface of the globe. This is the case, we 
find in the Genesee Valley, not only the 
materials which now form the bottom of 
Lake Ontario, but Ave find that these mate¬ 
rials essentially modify the soils of this part 
of the countiy. It is an interesting and 
curious fact in the Geology of your State, 
this Arctic current SAvept through that val¬ 
ley, and carried the materials Avhich it 
brought Avith it over a large surface of 
country. All this is a matter of interest, 
because it shoAYs you that a knowledge of 
these drifts, and of the loose materials 
Avhich they bring with them is of as much 
consequence as a knoAvledge of the rocks 
themselves. I shall have occasion to revert 
again to this subject, I pass over it noAV; I 
could present, if time permitted, many illus¬ 
trations of the effects of this current on the 
agricultural character of other districts. 
I have shoAvn you the general application 
and relations of Geology, to Agriculture, 
and hoAV the kind of rock determines the 
quality of the soil, but there occur in these 
rocks mineral substances of various kinds. 
Noav a knowledge of these substances, is 
an essential branch of geological study; if 
you find in any one rock, that there occui-s 
a certain mineral substance, you have ac¬ 
quired a knowledge of the composition of/ 
that rock in every other countr}'-. If you 
find in any one country, in England for in¬ 
stance, Avhat is valuable as an ingredient of the 
soil, you may well infer that the same thing 
exists in other countries, in rocks of similar 
character. One word of explanation; if I 
light a match, an ordinary lucifer match, a 
white smoke will be observed; at the end 
of this match, there is a little phosphorus, 
that white smoke is the smoke of the phos¬ 
phorus, and the substance produced, is 
phosphoric acid, it is a white solid substance. 
This phosphoric acid, combines with lime, 
and forms phosphate of lime. If I take a 
piece of bone and burn it, it Avill blaze for 
a Avhile, and bye-and-bye it Avill cease to 
burn, but the part of the bone that is left, 
is bone-ash, and is white. This bone-ash, 
as you all know, is phosphate of lime. This 
phosphate of lime exists in all bones; it is 
also found in the earth; there ai-e certain 
geological formations m which it has been 
lately discovered in considerable quantities. 
In my subsequent lectures, I shall shoAv you 
that this is an important material in the 
hands 'of the practical fiu'mer. In the east¬ 
ern corner of England, there is a rock called 
Crag, consisting of sand and sliells, among 
Avhich were found lumps, which Avhen ex¬ 
amined, were found to consist of this phos¬ 
phate of lime. All knoAv that bones are 
employed as manure; they contain phos¬ 
phate of lime; noAV if that be the case, it 
is obvious that if you can get it in the form 
of a mineral, and apply it to the land, it 
Avould be valuable to you. Some farmers 
are in the habit of employing guano; but 
this phosphate of lime has been found by 
experiment, to be equally good; and Avhen 
I tell you that this phosphate of lime, thus 
dug out of this formation, had been knoAvn 
to practical manufacturers for years, Avho 
had all the machinery for getting it out, 
and grinding it doAvn, and that they are 
kept fully employed in preparing it Avith 
sulphuric acid, in the form of super-phos¬ 
phate of lime, you Avill see that it must be 
an important material to the farmers.— 
When you learn that the manufacturers are 
making money by selling this substance to 
the farmers, who in England, do not throAv 
aAvay their money in experiments, you may 
be sure, that there is something in it. Noav, 
Avherever that rock occurs, it is very proba¬ 
ble that that substance is found in it. Prof. 
J., here pointed to a green sand soil, Avhich 
he said was found in the southern part of 
England, and was remarkably productive of 
wheat. All have heard of the marl pits, 
Avhich exist in this neighborhood, and the 
materials of which, for hundreds of years, 
have been dug out to fertilize the land. In 
this marl are found little nodules, that con¬ 
sist almost altogether of this phosphate of 
lime; here also, are found bodies of marl, 
five and six feet thick, containing six per 
cent, phosphate of lime; knoAving this, you 
have a clue to the fertile character of the 
soils in this region. 
Professor J. here related an anecdote, il¬ 
lustrative of the great fertility of the hop 
lands of Surrey, of the great value of the 
hop crop, all of Avhich Avas the result of the 
application of this fertilizing substance, or 
of its existence naturally in the soil. This 
phosphate of lime, he continued, explains 
this productiveness. Wherever this gi-een 
sand comes to the surface, there you may 
look for these same phosphates, and there 
you may look for good crops. This green 
sand occurs in France and Germany, and 
other European countries. In New Jersey, 
in this country, you have a green sand, 
Avhich belongs to the same class as ours in 
England. 
Now, gentlemen, you see how important 
the indications of Geology are, in shoAving 
Avhere to make selections of lands for farm¬ 
ing purposes. If, among your tertiary rocks, 
you find anything analogous to this sand, 
you know that you have found a valuable 
fertilizing material. Then there is another 
mode in which this pho.sphate occurs.— 
Limestone occurs in all countries; its qual¬ 
ities are various; some contain animal re¬ 
mains ; the bones of animals contain phos¬ 
phate ; therefore it is a matter of great im¬ 
portance to know which of tAvo limestones 
contains the most phosphate. I shall show 
you in a subsequent lecture, the decrease of 
crops from the absence of this phosphate in 
the soil, and how, by restoring this ingredi¬ 
ent, the land may be restored to fertility. — 
In Scotland there is some limestone that has 
been found, by experience, to be better than 
others; and it turns out, by experiment, 
that it is in consequence of the presence of 
more of this phosphate in one than in the 
other. I have alluded to the existence of 
green sands in your country. I learn from 
Professor Emmons and from Professor Hall, 
and Professor Logan, of Canada, that there 
are great quantities of this phosphate in 
different parts of the country; that it exists 
at Rossie, and that the iron ore of Clinton 
county contains this phosphate of lime. If 
it. be true that it has been foimd profitable 
to buy this phosphate at six and ten poimds 
sterling per ton, it cannot be unprofitable to 
inquire whether, in your country, the mate¬ 
rial cannot be found in quantity enough to 
bring it within the reach of farmers; and I 
am happy to find that there are many in¬ 
quirers in this State Avho are eager to ex¬ 
plore and find out this material which has 
been found so essential to agricultural im¬ 
provement. You see, said he, hoAV wide a 
field this subject opens— you see that the 
application of physical Geography tells on 
the pockets of the farmer, and teaches him 
hoAv he may grow lai-ger crops. This, after 
all, is the test of the value of science, when 
applied to the practical affairs of life. Un¬ 
less you can show the practical farmer—I 
speak of the farmers of England—that this 
will tell on his pocket, you Avill scarcely pre¬ 
vail on him to give it his attention; but 
when he convinces himself that such and 
such a process of tillage or manuring will 
actually enrich him, then he is ready enough 
to foUoAv your suggestions. I believe that 
before Ave get through, you Avill find that 
this subject touches very nearly, the pocket 
of the farmer. 
Hortifnltoral leimrtnimt. 
KITES.—A HINT FOR BOYS. 
Thesb being days of high winds and 
liigh kites, Ave suggest to our young friends 
the idea of trying their artistic skill in ma¬ 
king their kites into the forms of liAung things. 
It is rather too bad that our boys sfo)uld be 
aAvay behind the Heathenish Chinese in 
this respect; but tliey are nevertheless.— 
A missionary in that country says: “ The 
sky is in a universal flutter of kites. I coun¬ 
ted this afternoon from my AvindoAv ninety- 
three, Avhich Avere floAvn at various heights 
Avith great skill. Some represented hawks, 
and admirably imitated their manceuvres in 
the air, poising themselves, and sailing and 
darting; gaudy butterflies floated around; 
and dragons formed of a long succession of 
circular kites, Avith a fierce head, fleAv about 
the sky. The majority were of merely fan¬ 
ciful shape. Loud noises, like a Avind insti-u- 
ment, could be heard from them. The 
most amusing form Avas that of a huge fish, 
as it SAA’am through the blue above, moving 
its tail and fins Avith a ludicrously natural 
effect. Those like animals are also floAvn in 
pairs and made to fight.” Noav, boys, tiy 
your Yankee ingenuity, and let the Celes¬ 
tials knoAv that you are up to the age Avith 
something in the Avind worth looking at. 
Buy not, sell not, Avhere self-respect is 
bartered, for that once lost, the mainspring 
of lionor is rusted and decayed. 
GRAPES. 
Now is the time to procure cuttings.— 
Any one Avho has vines, Avill furnish slips 
enough to set out a townsliip for the asking, 
and there is no excuse for any one, Avho is 
fond of this delicious and healthy fruit, who 
has six feet of earth, for not having them, 
(even if,_ he lives on leased premises for one 
year) for the benefit of those who shall 
come after him. The angel of beneA’olence 
Avill not hold him guiltless, who fails to stick 
a simple twig in the gTound, Avhich shall, 
Avithout further trouble, in tAvo or three 
years yield bushels of heaven’s blessings in 
the good thing's of life. 
Choose a vine of the last year’s groAvth, 
with the shortest joints to be had; cut up 
into slips having three joints or buds, and 
lay them in a trench four inches deep, about 
four inches apart, at an angle of 4 - 5 , and 
cover firmly all but the upper bud. They 
rarely fail to strike. The second year trans¬ 
plant Avhere you Avish them to stand. 
They may be grafted on Avell established 
native stocks, by the usual process of cleft 
grafting, or by boring a hole in the stock 
and sticking in the scion like a peg. In 
both cases it must be done beloAv the sur¬ 
face, and covered over Avith earth all but 
the upper bud. 
The Isabella is almost the only good, 
hardy variety that ripens freely in this cli¬ 
mate. The CataAvba, with good southern 
Avail exposure, ripens well, and is a most de¬ 
licious grape, but rarely succeeds on open 
trellises. 
All the foreign kinds are a total failure. 
The fruit mildews and the vines require pro¬ 
tection in the Avinter. There are some new 
seedling varieties well spoken of, but require 
further trial and comparison, before it is 
worth while to adopt them. 
THE FRUIT GARDEN. 
The Horticultural Society of the Valley 
of the Genesee offers a premium of $25, to 
be awarded in 1850, “for the most complete 
and best managed Fruit Garden of one- 
eighth to one-fourth of an acre in extent, 
and cultivated by the proprietor or his fami¬ 
ly”—that is, without the assistance of a pro¬ 
fessional gardener. The points which tlie 
Fruit Committee will take into considera¬ 
tion in their examination and comparisons 
Avill be— 
1st The laying out of the garden and 
distribution of the trees. 
2d. The merits of the varieties forming 
the plantation. 
3d. The form, vigor and general condi¬ 
tion of the trees. 
It is expected that there will be many ap¬ 
plicants for this premium, both in this city 
and the surrounding country—and they are 
all requested to send in their names as early 
in the season as possible, to the Chairman 
of the Fruit Committee, (P. Barry,) -in or¬ 
der that their gardens may be examined at 
proper periods during the season. 
It is hoped that pei-sons having a fiiir 
chance for the premium, will not be deterred 
from applying because others have gardens 
Avhich may he better. The Committee do 
not expect to find even the best, any more 
than an approach to Avhat might be called a 
first-rate Fruit Garden. The object of the 
premium is to stimulate improvements. * 
Culture of the Plum. —“An old Dig¬ 
ger,” in the Horticulturist, says:—“Plum 
trees like a moist soil. I have found that 
covering the ground four inches deep with 
old spent tan bark, is a good way of preserv¬ 
ing the moisture, and keeping the trees in 
health. I scatter fresh lime thickly over 
the surface of the tan evei'y year, as soon 
as the green fruit begins to fall. This kills 
evei-y curculio that attempts to enter the 
ground. The tan prevents the weeds from 
groAving, keeps the roots cool, and insures 
me a good crop of plums. I spread it as 
far as the roots extend, and it Avants reneAV- 
ing or addingto, once in three or four years.” 
To Destroy Moles.—T he Michigan Far¬ 
mer gives in substance the folloAving, aaIucIi 
must go for AV'hat it is Avorth:— A lady 
farmer said the meadoAv moles liad an¬ 
noyed them greatly, and had destroyed tAvo 
fine pear trees. She tried an expedient for 
them Avith triumpluint success. Their sub¬ 
terranean pjissage Avas uncovered, and two 
coAv’s horns, Avith the large ends from each 
other, placed in it, so that the moles, com¬ 
ing either Avay may enter the horns. Such 
is the “natui’ of the crittur,” that it never 
backs out of a scrape, pereevering ahead till 
it makes its Avay or dies in the attempt. The 
latter it does in the present insUmce. 
GRAFTING. 
This is a very essential but neglected part 
of farming, especially apple trees. Farmers 
generally think that it is rather out of their 
line of business, or perhaps the season for 
grafting comes in rather too, busy a time for 
them to attend to it themselves; hence they 
I depend upon hired help to do Avhat they 
j ought to do, and the consequence is they 
j have their trees grafted Avith Avorthless fruit, 
i and often times three or four kinds on a 
tree. I Avould say to the fiirmer that if he 
Avould have a good servant he must sen'e 
himself, especially in this case. In case bus¬ 
iness is rather urgent it Avill pay Avell for 
you to hire an extra hand by the day while 
you attend to grafting your trees. I’he 
scions may be cut Avhen you cannot do much 
of any thing else, and stowed away in a cool 
damp place. It often happens that some 
trees have been partially grafted; in order 
to hav'e apples alike on such trees it Avill be 
Avell to cut your scions from that part of tlie 
tree already grafted. By attending to this 
matter in this Avay you save some expense 
and it is done as it should be, or as a'ou 
A vould have it. 
For those Avho do not possess a receipt 
for making AA'ax, I offer the foUoAving: —1 
pint of linseed oil, 6 lbs. rosin, 1 lb. bees¬ 
wax. This makes a better and cheaper AA'ax 
than any I have ever used made from rosin, 
talloAv and bees-Avax. The oil Avill admit of 
a much greater proportion of rosin than 
the talloAv. This Avax Avill g-iA^e entire sat¬ 
isfaction to those Avho use it. The receipt 
is recommended by one of the best Horti¬ 
culturists in this county. o. av. m. 
Wayne Countij, April, 1850. 
iDiBEstic (Ifonnraij. 
A BATCH OF GENUINE RECIPES, 
A MOST notable housewife has kindly fur¬ 
nished the following valuable Recipes for 
publication in the Rural : — 
Ginger Snaps. —1 cup of butter, 1 of 
molasses; 1 teaspoon saleratus, 2 teaspoons 
ginger, 1 of cloves. Flour sufficient to roll 
out, very thin. Bake quick and hard. 
Cream Gingerbread. — 1 tumbler of sour 
cream, 1 of molasses, 2 eggs; 1 teaspoon 
saleratus, 1 of ginger, teaspoon of salt — 
Flour to make as stiff as pound cake. 
Plain Fruit Cake. —4 cups sugar, of 
butter, 6 ^ of flour, 2 of SAveet milk, 6 eggs, 
1 nutmeg, 2 teaspoons saleratus, 1 fo. ston¬ 
ed raisins. 
Almond Cake.—I lb. sugar, f If), but¬ 
ter, ^ lb. almond meats, f lb. flour, and the 
Avhites of 16 eggs. The almonds should 
be cut in small pieces or pounded fine, after 
being blanched. 
Cream-Tartar Almond Cake. — 1 cup of 
butter, 2 of sugar, 3 of flour, ^ cup of SAveet 
milk, and the Avhites of 8 eggs beaten to a 
light froth. Flavor Avith thirty bitter al¬ 
mond meats, (pounded very fine,) lb. of 
sweet almonds cut in small pieces; 1 e\'er. 
teaspoonful of soda, 2 do. cream-tartar. 
Plain Cream-Tartar Cake .— 1 pint of 
flour, 1 cup of SAveet milk, 1 cup sugar, 1 
egg, 2 -^ tablespoons melted butter, 1 tea¬ 
spoon eA'en full of soda, 2 of cream-tartai'. 
Lemon Pie. —1 lemon, 1 cup sugar, 1 
cup AAvater, 1 egg, 1 tablespoonful flour.— 
Grate the peel of the lemon, and cut tlie 
pulp fine. 
Batter Pudding. —1 quart of milk, 5 
eggs, 1 cofteecup of flour. Beat the c-gg-s 
Avith the flour, then add the milk and a lit¬ 
tle salt. Bake one hour. Sauce, drc. 
Marlborough Pudding. —1 quart of milk, 
3 eggs, 1 tablespoonful melted butter; s'a- 
gar and essence of lemon to your taste.— 
Stir in stewed apple (strained through a 
cullender) till not quite so thick as pancakes. 
Bake Avith an undercrust, in a deep dish. 
Boiled Plum Pudding without Egg .-.— 
j Put to 1 (piart of milk 12 pounded crack¬ 
ers, ^ lb. melted butter or suet, 1 lb. ciu'- 
rauts, I- lb. raisins, 1 tea cup mokisses and a 
little salt. Steam or boil it 3 hours and 
half. Sauce to suit the taste. 
Pudding Sauce. —1 cup broAvn sugar, 
cup butter, Avith a little flotu'. Put on the 
fire, stirring in, after it boils, half a cup of 
Avine or brandy and a little nutmeg. 
Vegetable Oysters. —To 1 cup of the A^e- 
getable boiled and mashed fine, add 3 eggs, 
1 large tablespoonful of flom*, and a small 
piece of codfish, minced fine. Season Avith 
pepper and salt, and fry till a light browr., 
in lard with a very little butter. Parsnips 
are nice cooked in this Avay. 
