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THE CULTIVATOR. 
In the earliest stages of improvement in the Norfolk husbandry’ 
some farmers, from experiencing the evils of a want of firmness in 
their poor sands, marled at the rate of 120 to 150 cubical yards per 
acre; the consequence of which was what they call setting; the 
firmness was produced,'but at the expense of the friability of the 
soil, which was thus rendered too tenacious, so that it is at present 
found preferable to give a moderate dose at first, and to repeat it at 
a future period. This prejudicial effect, arising from marl, is very 
remarkable; for the clay, sand, and lime of which it is composed 
would not, if thrown promiscuously over a field, produce the same 
effects; and when laid upon the land they indicate no improper pro¬ 
portions, nor any which are not found in very rich soils. It may, there¬ 
fore, contain other ingredients which have not yet been detected by 
chemists ; and, as has been imagined—perhaps not unjustly—by 
Arthur Young, ‘it arises from the addition not being so well assi¬ 
milated with the sand, as in soils of a natural texture it is rather a 
mixture than an incorporation.’* There is, indeed, reason to sup¬ 
pose that marl derives much of its beneficial qualities, as a manure, 
rather from the complete amalgamation of the various substances of 
which it is composed, than from any other cause. 
Mr. Marshall, in his Rural Economy of Norfolk, enters into a 
chemical investigation of the nature of the marls, which, though too 
long for insertion here, is well worthy of attention; in which he 
describes that of the white, or rather yellow kind, as one of the best 
and most lasting species of fossil manures. Twelve cart-loads—ac¬ 
cording to his account—change the nature of the land in the second 
year after it is laid on; and most of the exhausting weeds which 
impoverish the soil, and choke the corn in its infancy, being effectu¬ 
ally destroyed, it consequently has a great tendency to keep the 
land clean; also bracing the pores of the earth, and increasing its 
fertility to a surprising degree. Its benefits, he says, are felt through¬ 
out full thirty years; when a second marling of about half the ori¬ 
ginal quantity may with propriety be used; but it has been found, 
by experience, that it does better the second time, if applied as a 
compost with earth of a sort different from that of the soil on which 
it is laid ; or with mud, and more especially with dung. To this it 
may also be observed, that lime is not unfrequently added; though, 
as lime and marl both partake of the same properties, the mixture 
of the former only has the effect of strengthening the compound. 
It thus appears that not only do the species of marl vary in seve¬ 
ral parts of the kingdom, but in some parts there are kinds which, 
though seemingly quite distinct from each other, have yet been 
found, on trial, to possess precisely similar qualities; for we learn 
that experiments on a considerable scale have been tried in the New 
Forest, in Hampshire, on three different sorts, dug out of the same 
pit, namely,—yellow, at about four feet below the surface, blue in 
the middle, and shelly-marl underneath; and yet, although from all 
the accounts which have been received of the latter, its properties 
are superior to those of the two former, still, in these instances, 
no other differences was observable in the crops during many 
years, except that the shell-marl rendered the land rather the most 
friable.f 
That marl materially benefits land on which it is judiciously used, 
admits of no kind of doubt. Much difference of opinion is, howev¬ 
er entertained respecting the manner in which it operates,—most 
farmers conceiving that its only value consists in the calcareous mat¬ 
ter with which it is combined ; others, that its principal advantage 
arises from the bulk and consistency which it imparts to the ground; 
and some, that the improvement which it occasions is chiefly owing 
to its mechanical action on the texture of the soil. Upon an atten¬ 
tive consideration of the subject, it will, however, appear, that a 
certain portion of its utility as a manure is derived from each of the 
three sources which have been assigned. With regard to the cal¬ 
careous earth of which it is partly composed, it clearly possesses, in 
extent equal to the proportion which it contains of that substance, 
the same power that would be produced by the direct application of 
a similar quantity of lime. It is however, apparent that some des¬ 
criptions of marl, though advantageously employed on most soils, do 
not contain any, or only a very small portion of the carbonate of 
lime; its efficacy therefore cannot be solely attributable to that 
cause,j and it must possess some other property from which its in¬ 
* Papers of the Bath Agricultural Society, vol. x. p. 108. 
f Communications to the Board of Agriculture, vol. vi. art. 3. 
f Out of twelve specimens of marl submitted to the inspection of Sir Hum¬ 
phrey Davy, eleven were found to contain calcareous earth in various propor- 
fluence upon the land is partly derived. This may consist either in 
the change which its application produces in the texture of the 
ground through the mere increase of its bulk, which, by its dense 
and unctuous quality, also adds to the consistence and value of all 
light soils; or, by the more perfect combination of the particles of 
which it is formed, hy which its powers are brought into full action, 
and lime, sand, and clay are each made to bear against each other, 
and thus aid its mechanical operation on the land. All marl, except 
those species which are combined with large portions of iron, sul¬ 
phur, or deleterious mineral substances, also of itself affords nour¬ 
ishment to corn and vegetables; it must, therefore, be con¬ 
sidered as a soil, and when laid upon the land, this addition must 
necessarily yield a more abundant support to succeeding crops. 
If this view of the subject be correct, it may be assumed, that all 
kinds of marl which abound in calcareous matter may be considered 
applicable to every soil to which lime is beneficial; subject, how¬ 
ever, to the effect which may be also produced by the other portions 
of their substance when applied to land of a peculiar nature.— 
Thus—as we have already more fully stated in the preceding part 
of our observations—on light, sandy, and gravelly soils, an advan¬ 
tage is gained by the large quantity of clay which the marl appro¬ 
priate to such land usually contains, by rendering them more stiff 
and impervious to the rain, and therefore stronger: on wet and 
heavy lands, on the contrary, as it renders the sod more retentive, 
unless very great care be bestowed on their drainage, it may occa¬ 
sion permanent injury; but shell and stone-marl occasion it tu be¬ 
come loose and friable. Attention should therefore be paid, not on¬ 
ly to the nature of the marl, but to that also of the soil to which it 
is to be applied; and when a choice of marl can be procured, its 
earthy portion should differ as widely as possible from that of the 
ground upon which it is intended to be laid. 
In fine, marl may be considered as an improver of the soil under 
so many different circumstances, that it can hardly be recommend¬ 
ed in too strong terms; for if it be used with judgment, it adds sta¬ 
ple to the soil, improves its quality, and renders the application of 
putrescent manui e more effectual. The use which some farmers make 
of it, however, deserves the highest censure,—‘ many of them taking 
repeated crops of oats in the interval of one summer-fallow tor 
wheat, by way of cleansing the land; after which, barley and oats 
again, as long as the land will produce anything, until it is at last 
laid down with weeds and couch-grass. Such is the view taken of 
their conduct by the surveyor of Lancashire, where it is very exten¬ 
sively employed, and in which opinion he is by no means singular. 
The rotation which he recommends—with reference, of course, to 
land that is not too strong—is to take one crop of oats the spring 
subsequent to marling ; plough the stubble immediately, in order to 
expose the marl again to the influence of the frost; fallow, with ma¬ 
nure, for turnips—a crop which, under this management, is never 
known to fail; then barley, clover, wheat, turneps fed off* with sheep, 
and barley again, with well-dressed hay seeds, and white clover and 
trefoil for a perennial ley, or at least for some years. Under which 
management, poor land may, when properly tilled and duly supplied 
with putrescent manure, be rendered highly exuberant without boing 
in the least degree harrassed.— Farmer's Series. 
From, the United States Gazette. 
BEET SUGAR. 
To J. R. Chandler, Esq. — Sir —Perceiving by the many appli¬ 
cations made to me for information respecting Beet Sugar, that not 
only a very general interest prevails on the subject, but also some 
very erroneous views, I take leave, through your wide circulating 
paper, to publish a few of my views thereon, being the conclusions 
I have come to, after numerous experiments, as well as from in¬ 
formation I have obtained from the most scientific French authori¬ 
ties. 
1. An establishment will not clear its expense unless it be calcu¬ 
lated Jo manufacture at least from two to five hundred pounds of 
sugar per day, so that the idea of individuals in this country manu¬ 
facturing profitably for private consumption is preposterous; their 
sugar would stand them, including labor, a dollar per pound. 
2. The greatest advantage will be derived from steam power, 
tions ; but the result of many other trials of marls, procured from different 
parts of the country, and found by farmers to produce an ameliorating effect 
upon the land, yet proves them to be in many instances, wholly deficient 
in that substance. See the section on ‘ Marl,’ in Holland’s Survey of Che¬ 
shire. 
