74 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
warded to us for examination. Most of them are found to he very rich 
in carbonate of lime, the property which gives them value as a ferti¬ 
lizing material for our lands. We have reason to believe, that this 
valuable earth abounds, in some of its modifications, in almost every 
district of our country, and that its localities are providentially fixed 
in the neighborhood of soil most susceptible of being benefited by its 
application. The contemplated Geological Survey, if properly directed 
to this subject, cannot but be of incalculable advantage to the agricul¬ 
ture of the state. 
The quantity of marl which is most advantageously applied, depends, 
first, upon the quantity of carbonate of lime, if any, already existing in 
the soil; second, upon the richness of the marl in this carbonate; and, 
third, upon the depth to which the soil is to be cultivated. M. Puvis 
has given us a table showing the quantity to be applied under differ¬ 
ent circumstances, graduated upon giving to the tilth, or cultivated 
stratum, three per cent of calcareous earth. Mr. Ruffin, the able edi¬ 
tor of the Farmers 7 Register, the best authority, we think, which we 
can quote in these matters, is of opinion that three per cent is too much 
for safe and profitable dressings; and that for a general average, after 
making due allowance for causes for exception to the general rule, one 
per cent is abundantly high for the average dressing. He has drawn 
up a table upon the scale, which we here transcribe,-omitting the frac¬ 
tions of bushels, calculated greatly to assist the farmer in graduating 
the marling process. The ordinary cart or wagon load will contain 
from 20 to 35 bushels. 
Number of bushels of marl necessary to give one per 
cent of carbonate of lime to an acre, for a ploughed 
depth of soil of 
When th 
tains, c 
of lime 
3 inches. 
4 inches. 
5 inches. 
6 inches. 
7 inches. 
8 inches. 
10 
875 1 
1166 
1458 ! 
, 1750 
2041 
2833 
20 
437 
583 
729 
875 
1020 
1166 
30 
291 
388 
486 
1 583 
680 
777 
40 
218 
281 
364 
437 
510 
583 
50 
175 
233 
291 
350 
409 
466 
60 
145 
1§4 
242 
291 
340 
388 
70 
125 
180 
208 
250 
291 
333 
80 
109 
145 
182 
218 
255 
291 
90 
97 
129 
162 
194 
226 
259 
100 
87 
116 
145 
| 175 
204 
233 
Let it be remembered, that marl is not a substitute for dung ; but it 
greatly enchances its benefits, by rendering the soil to which it is ap¬ 
plied more retentive of moisture and vegetable food, and fitting it to 
exert a better influence in the growth of plants. 
The following is the analysis furnished us by Dr. Eights. 
“ Marl from Cortland Co. —100 parts contains 65 of carbonate of lime 
—the remainder consists of about equal parts of aluminous earth and 
vegetable matter. 
“ Schenectady marl —Lime 66—the remainder principally vegetable 
matter. 
“ The Montgomery sample proves, upon investigation, to be the agaric 
mineral of authors; in some few instances, however, it may be seen 
passing gradually into the purer varieties of calcareous tufa. It is 
nearly a pure carbonate of lime. The specimen I examined, very 
readily yielded eighty per cent of that earthy salt, the residue consisting 
of very small portions of silex, alumine and vegetable decompostion, 
irregularly combined. 
“ Bennington marl —Lime 70—the remainder silex, and vegetable 
matter. 
“ Greenbush marl— Lime 30—the remainder a fine grained quartzose 
sand (silex.) If it exists in some considerable quantities, this is pro¬ 
bably not a fair specimen. It is found on the cantonment farm, owned 
by Mr. H. M’Culloch. It also contains, in great profusion, the follow¬ 
ing fresh water shells— Cyclas similis, Planortis bicarenata, and Plan- 
ortis trivalvis, of Thomas Say. 
“ On the farm of Henry Martin, situate in the town of Bethlehem, 
immediately at the base of the Helderbergh hills, exists an extensive bed 
of this marl, of an extremely white appearance, and also abounding 
with fresh water shells.’' 
HAY MAKING. 
We make the following extracts from Prof. Low's Elements of Prac¬ 
tical Agriculture, to strengthen the recommendation we have frequent¬ 
ly made, of making hay in the cock. This mode we consider entitled to 
preference, for the substantial reasons, that the hay thus made re¬ 
quires less labor, is less liable to injury from rain and dew, is less ex¬ 
posed to the wasting effects of a hot sun, retains more of its juices, 
and is more sweet, fragrant, and of better colour, than when cured in 
the ordinary way, 
“The swaths lie for a short time to wither; and are then turned 
gently over by a fork, or the handle of the hay rake, in such a manner 
that they shall not be broken or spread abroad. In 24 hours or more 
afterwards, they may be put into small heaps or cocks, on every third 
or fifth ridge, according to the bulk of the crop, the ground being at 
the same time carefully raked. 
“It is a good practice to put up the hay green in these first cocks, 
and then to enlarge them by putting two together. If at this early 
stage they undergo a degree of incipient fermentation, it is no matter. 
It is in the latter stages of the process that heating or fermentation be¬ 
comes hurtful. 
“ In the making of hay, the great end to be aimed at is, to prepare 
it as quickly as possible, and with as little exposure to the weather, and 
as little waste of the natural juices, as circumstances will allow. 
When we are enabled to do this, the hay will be sweet, fragrant, and 
of a greenish colour. 
GRAIN WORM. 
We regret extremely to learn, that not only has the wheat crop, 
wherever, in this neighborhood, the farmer has ventured to sow it, 
been seriously injured by the grain worm, and in many cases destroy¬ 
ed, but that this new enemy has entered the barley fields, and in some 
cases destroyed the entire crop. Whether this evil is to be temporary 
or permanent, remains to be seen; but it is evident that its effects are 
at present seriously alarming. Our two last legislatures have been 
admonished of the threatened danger, and asked to do something to 
endeavor to avert it; but, for want of time, or want of disposition, or 
because the magnitude of the evil was not appreciated, nothing was 
done, nor was the subject reported upon. A million of dollars would 
be a cheap purchase for an efficient preventive ; and if none should be 
discovered, the treasury would not have suffered in the payment of 
premiums.' Should the grain worm become as destructive in the west¬ 
ern, as it now is in this section of the state, and we at present see no 
reason why it should not soon become so, it will diminish the canal 
revenue at least a hundred thousand dollars the first year, to say no¬ 
thing of the millions of loss which it will cause to the cultivators of 
the wheat and barley crops. 
Providence seems wisely to have encompassed 1 us with evils, as if to 
keep in constant and healthful exercise our higher faculties, to avert 
or remedy them. We are endowed with a capacity to search into, 
and understand, and render subservient to our wants, many important 
principles of natural science; we are admonished, in a thousand ways, 
to cultivate and improve this noble talent, and we seldom fail of realiz¬ 
ing the reward of obedience, or of suffering the penalty for neglect: 
for the gratification of the mere animal appetites, are but mean debas¬ 
ing objects for man to fix upon as the goal of his ambition, and the 
limit of his desires. The labors of the statesman, the patriot, and the 
philanthropist should be circumscribed only by the limits of the state, 
or the welfare of the human family. A timely exercise of legislative 
prudence might have done much good, and could not have done any 
injury. 
Female Education. —Our correspondent F. has admonished us, that 
we are neglecting a promised duty to our female readers. We hasten 
to make amends, and insert, to-day, a valuable extract from Combe's 
“Principles of Physiology, applied to the Preservation of Health,” a 
work of very high repute. We insert it in the Young Men’s Depart¬ 
ment, for the reason, that young men are especially interested in what¬ 
ever promotes the welfare of the lovelier sex. Two prominent quali¬ 
ties which govern young men, or which should govern them, in matri¬ 
monial concerns, are, to select partners who possess good health, and 
a knowledge of domestic duties; and without the first, they can be hut 
illy qualified to execute the latter. No one covets an effeminate or dis¬ 
eased offspring; and it is a received axiom, that children are liable to 
partake of the physical as well as intellectual qualities of their parents. 
Nature has formed our females in her fairest mould ; and it is feared, 
that all attempts to improve her work, by artificial enlargement or 
compression, and all avoidance of her parental injunctions, by neglect¬ 
ing the muscular exercise, which can alone secure health, is but marring 
her beneficent designs. Naturalists insist, that the works of the Crea¬ 
tor are always perfect, and peculiarly adapted to the purposes they are 
intended to subserve. Art can add nothing to the beauty or fragrance 
of the rose. It is a subject of common remark, that our females be¬ 
come pallid, enervated and sickly, in proportion as they indulge in the 
giddy caprice of fashion. Whether this be owing to the refined living, 
the want of muscular exercise, or to the ill-judged discipline of the 
boarding-school, to one or all of them, it is not our province to decide; 
but it is evident, that since the spinning-wheel has been superseded by 
the woollen and cotton mills, and our ability to indulge in indolence and 
the luxuries'of life have increased, it requires more good sense, more for¬ 
titude and self-denial, in our females to resist, the debilitating, and we 
