1850. 
279 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
prove dear. The No. 9 was soft and strong, and I 
have no doubt will meet expectation. 
Instead of the Three-thorned Acacia, as I last 
wrote you, I have been advised by a gentleman from 
Long Island to set Red Cedar, by the side of my 
wire for a hedge. He recommends to set them, say 
4 feet apart, and when they get 4 or 5 feet high, 
cut them half off and bend them down, when the 
sprouts will grow upwards and downwards and on¬ 
wards until a complete mat of hedge is formed, so 
that, to use his own language, <J the devils can’t get 
through it.” I told him if it was so, I would be 
under great obligations to him, for we have quite a 
number of that kind about here, and that it wasjust 
the fence we wanted. It of course must be pruned 
upon the sides and on top like other hedges. I 
would like to inquire, through the Cultivator, if you 
please, about red cedar hedge. I wish it to turn 
such characters as above alluded to, rather than for 
beauty or ornament. George Mansfield. Lowell, 
Mass., June 26th, 1850. 
Morgan Horses. 
Eds. Cultivator-— As I am frequently called upon 
by letter to give the pedigree of the original Morgan 
horse and of his immediate descendants, I now ask 
leave, through your columns, to refer those who may 
not be aware where the information may be found, to 
the volume of the Cultivator for 1846, in the number 
for January, page 19, and in that for April, page 106. 
The very extensive and well-deserved reputation 
which the Morgan horses have obtained, has furnished 
quite a strong inducement for the unscrupulous to pass 
off as such, upon the public, horses of different breeds 
and inferior qualities ; as well as to overstate the pedi¬ 
gree of those which really have a small part of the genu¬ 
ine blood. 
Those who become the subjects of these impositions, 
will of course, be greatly disappointed in their expec¬ 
tations of raising valuable horses. And it is evident 
that but little reliance can be placed on the results, 
where the blood of the parents is strained down so low 
as an eighth or a sixteenth. 
From what I have learnt, I am convinced beyond 
doubt, that these frauds have already been practiced to 
a considerable extent, not only in your own, but also in 
other states, and that further acts of the same kind are 
in contemplation. Indeed I know of several instances 
where horses are advertised as being of the Sherman, 
Bulrush, Woodbury, and Gifford stock, which have not 
a particle of the blood of either running in their veins. 
The number of breeding mares possessing a high 
strain of Morgan blood, whose descent can be satisfac¬ 
torily traced, is at this time, and for many years past 
has been, very limited indeed; and there are but few 
eases where pedigree, on the side of the mare, can be 
fairly established by convincing evidence. 
It is apparent therefore that such persons as desire 
to obtain Morgan horses of the true blood, must scru¬ 
tinize, with particular care, the statements of those 
who offer them either for purposes of breeding or for 
sale,—and that a neglect of this necessary precaution 
will not only defeat their own hopes and wishes, but 
also tend to bring undeserved discredit upon the race 
itself. Frederick A. Wier. Walpole, N. H., July 
16, 1850. __ 
Maryland Agriculture. 
Mr. John R. Howard, who lately spent some 
time in Virginia and Maryland, furnishes the fol¬ 
lowing from his notes on the condition and re¬ 
sources of agriculture in those sections. --Eds. 
R. N. Milburn, Esq., of Baltimore, who owns a 
farm near the mouth of St. Mary’s river, and has 
lived at that place many years, says, although 
there have been no surveys with a view to ascertain 
the location and quantity of marl, it is certain the 
beds are very numerous. They are three, six, and 
sometimes ten or fifteen feet thick, and of an un¬ 
known extent. Wherever the marl has been used, 
it has produced increased crops to an astonishing 
degree. It sometimes lies near the surface, and 
sometimes six or eight feet below. Most of the 
beds that have been discovered are in ravines, 
where the water has washed off the surface and ex¬ 
posed to view the pearly substance. In that part of 
the country there are many beds of oyster shells, 
but slightly decomposed. A question arose, how 
could they have been deposited there? He says by 
the Indians. They are one to six feet thick, and 
lie considerably above tide water. Bones of racoons 
and other animals are found there also. These beds 
(some of them at least) are found to exist within 3 
or 4 miles of where there has been Indian towns. 
These shells are burnt, converted into lime and 
used as manure, and large crops of clover, &c., are 
made to grow where little or none grew before. 
Then follow crops of corn, wheat, &c., that are 
large in proportion. 
Sheep Husbandry. —Mr. M. says he bought, in 
the fall of 1848, of Mr. Reybold, of Delaware, three 
ewe lambs of the Cotswold breed, for which he paid 
$80. Since then, he has raised from them three 
others, and lost one. He could now sell the six for 
$160. His flock of native sheep usually consists 
of about 60 head. He reserves his clover fields till 
the clover is in bloom; then puts in the sheep, and 
some of the crop remains till winter, affording suffi¬ 
cient sustenance for the sheep through the winter, 
except when there is snow on the ground, at which 
times he gives them corn fodder. 
He says sheep are his most profitable stock, and 
his land, treated in this way, becomes very highly 
improved; much more so than by plowing in the 
clover, or leaving it on the ground. He has made 
experiments in these three different methods. He 
says beans are more valuable than corn for feeding 
to sheep-—they keep the sheep healthy and promote 
the growth of the wool, more than any other food. 
Peat as Manure. 
In the Report of the York County (New Brunswick) 
Agricultural Society, we find some useful obsevations 
on the value of peat as manure, by Prof. Robb, of 
Fredericton, a gentleman of high standing as a geologist 
and chemist. He gives three modes by which this sub¬ 
stance may be advantageously used for the improve¬ 
ment of soil, as follows: 
1st. It may be carted to the barn-yard and spread 
all around, so as to absorb all the liquid manure, which 
it will do like a sponge; not only will it thus soak 
up and fix liquid and gaseous matters, which would 
otherwise be lost, but it will thereby take on a state of 
fermentation itself, which will result in its becoming 
soluble and proper for the food of crops. When one layer 
is soaked and fermented, more or less, it must be re¬ 
newed, or replaced by fresh stuff from the bog, which 
will thus become a permanent benefit to the farm. 
2d. The peaty substance may be very advantage¬ 
ously composted and brought to a soluble form thereby. 
If three loads of half-dried peat earth be mixed with 
one of stable manure (green,) there will be formed 
four loads of manure equal in value to cow dung itself, 
for the ordinary root and grain crops. A layer of dry 
peat should form the base of the compost heap, then a 
layer of green manure then alternate layers of peat 
