1853 . 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
803 
The Hon. J. S. Whallon has made the most decisive 
and valuable experiments on this subject. His opera¬ 
tions were extended through several seasons, and were 
observed with great intelligence and discrimination. 
The result amply sustains the conclusions derived from 
the preceding experiment I may add that a similar 
application has been made under Mr. Whallon’s su- 
pervison, upon another tract in Elizabethtown on a soil 
of lighter texture and with entire success. In this in¬ 
stance the charcoal was applied chiefly to a crop of 
oats. The action of this substance seems to be effected 
by its physical combinations and its chemical affinities. 
It attracts the rays of the sun and unites with the fer¬ 
tilizing gasses of the atmosphere; it absorbs moisture, 
and combines as a new constituent in the formation of 
the soil. Almost imperishable, it must remain indefi¬ 
nitely, with no exhaustion of its properties, a perpetual 
invigorating agent in the earth. 
The succeeding extract from a communication of Mr. 
Whallon, elucidates his experiments and views on 
this very important subject: “I began the use of it 
in the year 1846, and first employed it as atop-dressing 
on a strong clay soil, which was plowed in the fall of 
1845. I spread on about fifteen wagon loads of the 
dust to the acre, after the wheat had been sowed and 
harrowed one way. I was surprised to find my crop a 
heavy one, compared with my neighbor’s, raised on the 
same kind of land. The wheat was of better quality 
and yielded four or five bushels extra to the acre. I 
have since used it on similar land, sometimes mixed 
with barn-yard manure, and sometimes alone, but al¬ 
ways as a top-dressing, usually on land seeded for mea¬ 
dow. The results were always the most favorable. I 
find my land, thus seeded, produces more than an ave¬ 
rage crop of hay and always of the finest quality. 
“I have also used the dust on loamy and interval land, 
with tho potato crop. During the series of years in 
which the rot almost ruined the potato crop, I scarcely 
lost any potatoes from that cause, and supposed it was 
owing to the coal dust I used. My manner has been 
to drop the seed and cover it with a small shovel-full of 
the dust, and then cover with earth. In this way I 
have used all the coal dust I have been able to save 
from the coal consumed in a forge of five fires, and - 
which amounts to about 250 loads per year.” 
In the colder regions of the Adriondacs, charcoal 
dust has been used with great advantage. The note 
of Mr. Ralph presents the experiment in the following 
language : “As a top-dressing for meadows, charcoal 
dust and the accumulation of ashes and burnt earth 
left on old charcoal pit bottoms have been used here 
with remarkable results, and I judge from the trials 
which have been made, that this application has added 
at least one-third to the hay crop, where it has been 
used. It was remarked during the past very dry sea¬ 
son, when vegetation was almost burnt up by the long 
continued drouth, that those fields which had been 
dressed with this substance were easily distinguished 
by the rich green color of their herbage.” 
Time to Sow Plaster. 
The question was asked in the May or June number 
of The Cultivator, what is the best time in the year 
to sow plaster ? It is an important question, because 
thousands of dollars are expended annually for plaster, 
and if not used at the best time much is of course lost. 
I like the suggestion of A. K. Barrett, in the July 
number, but would like to hear more, and from others. I 
have had some experience in the use of it, and have seen 
great benefit derived from using it on clover meadows, 
immediately .after haying. It starts the clover up, so 
that the ground, roots and all, does dot get parched, or 
scorched I may say, which injures both land and grass. 
Our dry and scorching weather nearly always comes 
during the month of August. I have tried plaster on 
corn when it first came up this year for the first; then 
another light coating after the last hoeing, and I think 
it will pay well. I have formerly used it only after the 
last hoeing, but I believe corn requires a stimulus 
while young. 
The question has been asked, (but not answered to 
the satisfaction of all,) Is plaster a stimulus only? I 
would ask it again, for the purpose of getting more in¬ 
formation. Some farmers around here sow plaster while 
the dew is on, or after a shower, so that it will stick to 
the grass ; but that does not suit my fancy. They con¬ 
tend that the sole use of plaster is to retain moisture, 
which is gradually absorbed by the plants, but that is 
not the case. Plaster is the sulphate of lime, which 
has a strong affinity for ammonia., one of the principal 
ingredients of plants, and which is infused largely in the 
atmosphere. This the rain, de w and snow brings to the 
earth, but it is dispelled again by the sun unless retain¬ 
ed by some chemical agent. The earth absorbs some, 
and plants some, but the largest proportion is lost. Now 
plaster is that agent which absorbs large quantities of 
ammonia, and gives it off to the plants through the day, 
then receives another quantity at night. This, I con¬ 
tend, is the true object of plaster. 
I would like to ask through the Cultivator, how new¬ 
ly seeded meadows can be kept from drying up the first 
summer after seeding ? My land is a light loam ; the 
seed comes up well, but does not get rooted sufficiently 
before the dry weather comes and kills it. I usually 
seed with oats as early as it will do to plow in the spring, 
and put on eight quarts of timothy and six pounds of 
clover to the acre. My land will produce good rye. 
Will it do to seed early in the fall? I would like an 
answer soon. W. Oswego , July 22, 1853. 
To Prevent Injury from. Ground Mice. 
Messrs. Editors —In your Cultivator for this month 
the inquiry is made for a method of destroying ground 
mice. The only method I can suggest is to pull their 
teeth out. But to prevent them from destroying hedg¬ 
es, I have found by trenching the rows, and throwing 
the dirt up to the trees, say six or eight inches high, in 
the fall, is, or has been, a perfect protection; and fur¬ 
thermore, 1 have found that the operation promoted 
the growth of the hedge. In the same operation with 
fruit trees, the same results may be realised. Henry 
White. Utica , July, 1853. 
P. S.—I have practiced the above prescription for 
some two or three years, on my farm in Whitestown, 
where I am rearing a pear orchard of some four * 
dred trees, surrounded with a hawthorn hedge, 
promising. 
