State Convention—The Soil of Wisconsin. 
361 
Mr. Benton: That will depend wholly on the trade. Probably it 
can be sold in every corner of Wisconsin cheaper than the Michi¬ 
gan plaster, and be worth from $1 to $1.50 more per ton on ac¬ 
count of their being no foreign materials in it. 
Mr. Boyce: F would like to ask the gentleman whether he knows 
in has been used in this State. 
Mr. Benton: I have seen several persons who had used plaster 
from both sections. They claim the plaster from Fort Dodge was 
purer and also more finely ground. 
Mr. Boyce: I have used Michigan plaster. It was not pure. I 
was raised near plaster-beds, in New York. It was much better 
than the Michigan article. The Michigan plaster appeared to have 
a kind of fine, sharp substance, like flinty rock, ground up in it. 
Mr. Benton: I have seen the Michigan plaster-beds. The gen¬ 
tlemen wdio owns them states there is an adulteration of this plas¬ 
ter by nature. The best of it is ground up for stucco-work—cal¬ 
cined plaster. In Fort Dodge there is none but that kind in the 
bed. In Fort Dodge in requires less labor to get it. There is but 
little soil above it. 
Professor Daniells: Every man can test the plaster for him¬ 
self. Plaster is soluble in 450 parts of water. Take a small quan¬ 
tity, and if it will dissolve, no flinty particles are in it. Give it an 
opportunity to dissolve with a large quantity of water. If it is 
sulphate of lime, it will all of it dissolve. Before taking Fort 
Dodge or Michigan plaster, you had better ask the Michigan 
man’s opinion of the Fort Dodge plaster, and then compare 
them. I have seen the Michigan plaster-beds. They don’t require 
any stripping at all. I don’t know anything about the purity or 
impurity of the two. .Remember, it is not soluble, except by a large 
quantity of water. It does not dissolve very fast. The time of 
dissolving depends upon the rapidity with which you shake it. It 
dissolves a little more rapidly in hot water than in cold. 
Question: Will it take several days to dissolve? 
Professor Daniells: If you shake it, or heat it, it will dissolve 
faster. It does not dissolve rapidly like sugar or any thing of that 
kind. 
Question: Would it have to be put into rain or soft water? 
Professor Daniells: Kind of water will make no difference. If 
