Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

? VOLU31K VI ?wz~^M0*?rmmw^mmr^wrw?g- ?r^w, Dy H. ?3A LEAA. Tkrmq:?Piibli- >?d weekly ut three dollars a rear: will: m addition. "'leu not oaid within three months, of t\\? i?ly p^r cent per annum. Two new subscribers may take the paper at five dollars in advance; and ten at twenty. Four subscribers, not receiving their papers in town, may pay a year's subscription with ten 1 dollars, in advance. A year's subscription always due in advance. Papers uot discontinued to solvent subscribers ( in arrears. Advertisements not exceeding 16 lines inserted or one dollar the first time, and fify cents each ; ubseqncnl tune. For insertions at interval* of, two weeks 75 cents after the first, and a dollar if the intervals are longer. Payment duo in udvance for advertiscm nts. When the number of insertions is not marked on the copy, the | advertisement will be inserted, and charged till l ?rdcred out. | 11 r The postage must lie paid on letters to the editor on the business of the office. _ j PRTZK ESSAY. [To the following was awarded the prize offered by the publisher of the 44American Farmer'''' for I lie best Essay on the subject on which it treats?!he prize consists of a comjdrfe set of the American Farmer (1~> vols.) the five vol ^ vines of the Farmer and Gardener, and tiro volumes of ilic American Farmer new ^ ... ( g'.rics?the subscription price of which is ?100. essay. Oy the Renovation or the Soil. deTaaiOHATED H a' I.HPitO/IDEY r CULTL'RE. Hi/Dr. \Viiiiatn !*. IF >r'o/t, OfWoodlov.,. te ar \'?i -g ! ) ?, h.jiTumj Cn. Mel Agriculture whi! : it is one of the most healthy oceupai:.; is, is at lie same time one of the most respectable an J independent. No >itua on in life can he con-i ceivelmore hanp\ than that of the edu. I cated farmer, who owns the soil he c.titivates, who is out of debt, and who lias the means of imuro> ing his lands and keeping his estate in g? ?>d order. The pleasure experienced by the farmer in seeing the trees and plants of his , ear'- flourish, ?s not to be known nor de- 1 scribed to those who are inexperienced i:i rural economy. K ich object possessing vegetable life, that has 1> -en nurtured and reared l>v his attention, seems alnost like a part of his family. If the inani- , mate part of Creadon can afford him so y much pleasure, how much greater must be ; his delight in witnessing the contented countenances of his bleating flocks and lowing herds! The intelligent and prudent husband- . man does not permit the soil he owns and i ] t.' . x L _ 1 . ! . _ 1 I... i , cumvares 10 ne ncienonucu uy ovit ero,?- ; ; ping: bul by a judicious rotation of crops ' and renovating applications, so manages ' bis land, that it is always kept in a pro. j grcssive state of improvement until it ar. ; rives at a m ti :;num, or such a state of for- j tiiity that there is no need oi further me. lioration. On the other hand, the ignorant and C> j 4 reckless farmer, bv exhausting crops, by t ?kiag al! from, and returning nothing to ' the soil, soon finds it so much exhausted that it becomes inadequate to his support; and in despair he abadons it bv turning ii oui for "old fi ! i. million^ of acres of which may V- ??.? ! ! r un .Maryland to j Georgia. both ' rsivc. lie is then driven to one of two a'ter i.?t:v:?s; either to sel! his miserahi*' wo.-ma: acres and migrate ; westward, or c! vir up a new farm on his } own domain; to do either is generally inconvenient and unpleasant. For a man advanced in years, ?o be tin ler the necos- , sity of experiencing the toils and hardships incident to clearing up a new farm, at a time when he should be enjoying the otium cum dignilatc, appears to be reversing . the established order of nature. Equally u ipleasant. nay, revolting must it be to j the sensitive mind, to be driven from the home of his childhood, from the place of his nativity and early associations, from friends and connections, into that which 7 | is little batter than banishment?the western wilderness?where he is compelle ! to associate with the most vulgar and uncongenial spirits; the outcasts, in many i instances, of European jails and work j houses. It ic trk nini/l anrh n rntMstronho that %v U.V.M ? ^ we arc called upon to exercise our skill and industry, in renovating the lost powers, ! and resuscitating the dormant energies of the exhausted soil. The subject would afford a wide scope for amplification, for j * ful speculation and fine-spun theo- ; * ) :al reasoning: but we propose to treat ! >t a a plain practical'mamier, rather in a concise than dffuse style, addressed to the ! common sense and practical experience of the agricultultural community, rather than to the vivid and erring fancy of visionary theorists. As this essay may he read in different parts of the United States, it may not be ; improper h,-ro io observe, that its practical details will be more particularly adapted to the middle States. Without any learned or artificial divis- j ion of the subject we propose to treat it / under several distinct h< ads, which will i he noticed as we progress in our labour; I nnd that which appears to us to claim pri01 itv is? Oj the aruficud division of the Farm. Every farm, whether large or small, I whether the soil be of good or bad utility, should be divided into at least six fields,} for the arable land; in addition to which, " i f there be any land fit for a permanent I < 'nrrri?? ? ?? ? _u ? m m m mm m \ CHI meadow it may form a seventh field; an< ii would be well to have three lots o about one acre each, near the barn 01 dwelling house. There should generally be kept, two in grass for calf pasture, ?the other to be tilled, in rotation, in po tatoes and other roots and vines. But as we anticipate objections to this divider on account of the quantity of fencing re quired, it is proper that we say something Of the materials for fencing. Chesnut and cedar, for rails, answer the best purpose, and will commonly lasi about one hundred years, if they be kep; from the ground, and if the bushes anc briars be not permitted to grow up b) their side. That winch is commorm called worm fence is thought to answei the best purpose for outside fences; foi division there are several choices. Pos and rail, the posts made of locust, cedai or chesnut, answers a good purpose.? Stone fence may do when distant from th: buildings; hut it always serves as a har hour for rats and other predatory animals yet when the materials are at hand it is r good way ot using them on aecoun of their durability. The foiiiidalioi: should be laid below frost. Hedge fence, when constructed of thorn is too slow of growth: that on the Orangt o r farm, n 'ar Baltimore, has, to the know ledgi of the writer, been planted more than twenty-five years; and it cannot a this time !>. considered as a perf < t'y salt harrier against hogs and cattle. Tin D o proprietor has erected a* I as' two nen fences by its side for its protection in thai time; th writer thinks three. Am >w> the several substitutes th.it have beet mentioned for thorn there is none that ap pears to us so appropriate as the M,rn.< Mtdtiraa is. It is quick of growth, tena eious of life, may be propagated to at unlimited extent by layers; and may hi so wattled and interwoven as to form ur inmpcrable barrier, in a few years, to al ordinary animals. Besides, silk-worm? may be fe l on its foliage, a citcumdancf of 110 small importance; sleep and catth will browse on its straggling branches a id thus obviate the us-- of shears to k cf irl MMifit. \s to ih.t ohieeti?>n of i'? t *" ~ J being too tc ul r to wilhstan J the effect? of frost,-it is ??1! i ka!; lor we have left a nursery of these trees o;il luring th3 past winter, a:i i scarcely a bad has pciisiiad. Tiioy are to be plan led in a hedge 111 i spring, and it is intended to plant these trees by the side of a!! our division fences, that by tiie time the fences are decayed we may have a tiring fence, which shall answer the three-fold purpose above-mentioned. From the knowledge the writer has of this tree he is of opinion that n s'ood fence may be made of it in four or live years. ()/ Man arcs. M anures are of three kinds, vegetable, animal and mineral. As litis is the most important part of our subject we shal oiva it a full and fair consideration; hm we shall be very careful how we advance any thing which has not come within our own observation and exp rietice. 1st. Y'.gdubb: Manures?These arc numerous; but probably the greatest source of supply is the barn-yard and >tuble. Sviverai plans have been propose* for the construct >n of a ham-yard; tin Itest of which is, to let i: ho a little di>hh)*\ ?say from two to three feet, according tosize. If the soil bo 1.#osj or sandy it should be lined with city to prevent the 1 * ' . J..1.1 (OSS 01 II ill)'J till 1 lll J .>uIuuil* |iai i ui mv manure, This yurt! is to be well supplied everv fall with vegetable matter of souk kind for the two-fold purpose of ailonling the cattle comfortable beds, and to ret tin the liijuid parts of the manure from es caping. Leaves from the adjoining forest? answer an excellent purpose; cornstalk* and weeds, and for want of something better, bark that has been used by tanner; will answer; sea ware, sea weed, or sea grass is excellent for manure. It will ol course be proper to prevent the watei from the adjoining lands or buildings iron running through the barn-yard, as il would carrv otf much of the valuable pari of the manure. In favor of leaves as a manure may be mentioned the fact that they are the principal supply, afFordci by nature to the soil of forests, for their support, and that notwithstanding tin immense growth of wood and timber sucli lands produce and sustain, they are 1>\ this small annual supply not only kep from impoverishment, but in most case: they are in a progressive state of improve ment. What a lesson is to be dorivei hence by the reflecting fanner! Protec tion from heat and drying winds, with t J ~ small annual return to the soil, arc all tha are requisite to produce large crops with out impoverishment to the soil. The prudent husbandman will provide racks, if not shelter, for his cattle, Iron which they may cat their hay, straw &e That which they drop or leave may serva to increase the dtmg-beap. Husks of llis Yicini Bean, from whic! oil has been expressed, may he put, a hand ful in each hill of corn to great advantage ColUm ScC'l, braised, will answer lh< same purpose. The refuse hfi on llir Imirlhs of con pits, when spread pretty thi'k, has beci found to act beneficially in two or thre< ways. First, as a slinmius and prima nent manure by the ashes i? contains, tii decomposition being slow, and thus a I fording to the sod a supply of carbon, th great food of plants. Secondly, by ???%) i? ? m ? ? i w i ? ? mi w > ? ? n J? ili AW, SOUTH-t.AKOLIJN ! mechanical action, on clayey soils, ir opening them and making them repviout r to moisture. Thirdly, in such soils as arc of a cold nature, by the color given tc .' them, they receive and retain more solai j heat. i! 2. Animal Manures, arc such as arc i i composed of substances purely animal . | among which are Fish. On the Chesar! pcakc and Potomac, on Long Island, and j in olher places herrings and other fisli ; have been used to some considerable exI i tent as a m m ire. The best way to apply I ! them is to plough them under as soon as I ! they arc; spread, that the soil may absorl r | the volatile parts which would otherwise ! l)e dissipated in the air. In this way the\ r | will cause al)out two good crops, wher r their substance will be chiefly spent.? / j The practice of catching fish with the oh. r' j :ct of using them for manure is rcprchcn. j si!)lc, while there are so many beings in ?| the world who would be glad to get their . ' as food; but we have never known their ; | caught for this express purpose.* The) i j are mostly offal from large fishing cstab t | lishments that are used for manure, i Vickie which is left from curing fish ) mixed with ashes or liine, makes an ex , ' cellont manure. ; j RIjoI and Garbage, from butchers . shops. Near citie s these may bo obtain, eJ in larg '?juanti ies, an 1 are well worth) t the alien ion of the husbandman w!k ; wislies to improve his soil and raise large i crops. r ! *S'craftings of currying shops and tai 1 j yards, cannot oficn bo obtained in larg( r | <j notifies but are worthy of notice. I ! Ground boms?Mills have been erectec . i for the purpos of reducing bones to pow ? J Jcr: and in tit s way they arc u*ed to j . ; great extent for manure; but they are noi i lasting in their effects; a few bushels t( j tiie acre arc sai l to produce one largt i crop. Lastly, under this head, we men I , tion 5 j The refuse from failoic chandlers, some ! lim.s called greaves. This is similar it : j its c-ifectS to that obluined from the butch . j ers, ami may lu useu auvaniageousiy in ). I 1m* hill for corn. i\ From what wc have said on vegctabh ; fin.I annual manures, tiie inference wil t J he drawn t!ia( thev are not lasting in theii : [ effects; and that to derive benefit from I them long tliev must he applied often.? : \V..? are then to seek further and look foi ! | som. tiling more desirable in its naturt I that shall, by proper culture, impart tc | the soil permanent fertility, j ?. Mineral Manures?These are sucl ! as are taken directly from earth, and are j either calcareous or saline; and at the ; head of them stands that invaluable, thai j efficient and precious article, LIME. Of all the blessings bestowed j | on the husbandman by the beneficed , hand of an all-wise Creator, next to pun I water, p rhaps should be placed Lime.? I It has been well observed that those sub. i i stances most essential to the life of man j have by the goodness of divine provi i deuce been distributed in the greatest abundance, and over the greatest c\ten i ~ * ' of the globe. This is certainly the casi [ , with water, which covers a great portior I of if, an 1 without which man could no I lon<r exist. So with lime, which form* " n . 1 whole chains of mountains, isn component r part of all soils, is a constituent part o :110s! grain, and enters essentially into the formation of man, as well as the lowei > grade of animals. So far as cheinica ; j science has developed the resources ol I . nature, i'rnc is believed to he the only ar : tide that can give permanent fertility ti soils; and from the most accurate cxperi i mentsthat have been made, on very lerfile soils, they have been found to contain , at least one-tenth part of lime. In a soi ; containing the other essential ingredient: > of si!e\, aluniine and vegetable matter ir i | due proportion, with one-tenth lime, a.? L .above staled, mailing can be easier, 01 f the part of the good husbandman, than t( keep it in a state of fertility any giver i , length of lime. ; ! This is the only substance that can b< i obtained by agriculturists, generally, ii L such quantities and at such prices as wil t admit of its use as a manure, for a re 1 j storation of the soil. It may be appliec , in various ways; but that which has beer j j found best is to spread it on a grass sod i soon after it is slacked, and wiiilo in ? ; ; state offine poir.lrr. This part of the pro t cess is more essential than at a first view ^: may occur to casual observers. If tin . j lime be permitted to got so wet, after beinj J j slacked, as to form lumps, it will do bu . i little good, as will aipcar more plain fron i j what we shall say presently. The lim< t j shouM, as a general rule, be spread in tin . ! fill that it may lay through the winter t( ' be dissolved by the cold rains; lime pos > . sessing the singular property, perhaps dif ,i fer nt iroin any other substance, of beinj . j dissolved more readily in cold than ii 3 , warm water. | It requires, I think, about 000 pound j j of cold water to dissolve one pound c . , lime ; hence the impropriety of puttin, , a large quantity on the soil at once, as B | considerable portion would in that caseb j absorbing carbonic acid from the atinoi 7 [ phere, become what it was before it w;i n ' burnt?lime stone, or a carbonate of Iiinc 3 [ Tbc quantity proper for different soi j. must of course vary from 30 to 130 or eve e " * An exception may he mentioned in the 1 irj fl it sea-fish called skate, which is unfit for foo ? they have heen caught expressly for manure c the East.ru fchore of Marvlund. i iw iiBwrnrnwii ??-% ;a, Wednesday, april i *200 bushe!s; but I -would recommend ( c ) the application of but 50 bushels at once, J t ? which quantity may be repeated until the J i ) requiste ferti.ity is obtained. Let it be J c - observed that I speak of utisl ached lime, j i when I mention these quantities. It would not be proper to attempt to ( 1 lime more than one Held a year, and but s few can accomplish that, if the field be J p large; in this way the profits, derivable j \ from liming, will, after the first year, i v nearly cover the expenses ; or at any rate '1 they will greatly assist in the operation. I; Let no one however be too sanguine f - . O # J ofgreat and immediate profits; they will i t come somewhat slow, but sure. In some ! p instances the afy intages of liming have r been made in such an almost impercepti- i blc manner that farmers have been dis- ! t couraged. Generally, however, those who i have used lime are pleased, and regret 1 that they have not the means of doing it t more extensively. j t Lime, like all other alkaline manures, j t r should be kept some time on the surface, ( for the purpose above mentioned,?that i it may be dissolved, and that the soil may , become saturated with the ley. It should . < . not be wet and lumpy when spread, or it 1 < will not be dissolved ; but become a car- (j * bonate, and do but little good. It never 1 < . loses any thing bv evaporation, and in ' < r that respect it is unlike the two former j I > kinds of manure, which we have noticed. ; Some eight or ten years ago, a Mr. < Nelson, of ihis couuty, commenced lim- ? i ing his land atari expense of twenty dol. i lars per acre. He was one of the first, < perhaps the very first, and his neighbors 1 thought he was crazy. They found, i - however, in a few years, when a field of < i twenty acres produced four hundred j t barrels of corn?that is 2,000 bushels of i i shelled corn?that there was " method in : i his madness." As it regards the price at which a farm- j cr can afford to use lime as a manure, it must he regulated by the price of wheat. According to my estimate, a bushel of i wheat should pay for five or six bushels of lime delivered on the fartn. It may be expected that we should offer our views as to the modus operandi of lime ; this part of the subject we approach with some diffidence, and without any pretension to freedom from error ; but as we have embarked on the troublesome ocean of philosophical speculation, we may, as well as our compeers, hazard a conjecture, leaving it to our readers to judge of its accuracy. Lime cannot long remain in the soil as a clax, calcium, or quick lime ; but by its attraction of carbonic acid from the atmosphere, it becomes a carbonate. In this | primary action of absorbing carbonic acid' ! a portion is at the same time taken up by I the plant. IIui why, it may be asked, is ; ; lime so durable iu its effects upon the soil ? . i Thai lim?> bus lb? effect of looseninff a J ' ---- --- - . CT ; heavy, clayey soil is a point conceded by ! , : ail w ho liavc used it on such soils. I do j | not believe, with professor Ducat el and 1 11 .some other chemists, that the oxalic, or ! j any other\fr<x acid exists to any con.si<fci'; able extent in any soil; lime then is ;to/ i i necessary to neutralize an acid in the I J soil. Calcium, or quick Jime is more I i readily dissolved than the carbonate ; and t as almost all plants, and particularly' i 1 wheat and oats, contain a portion ol'liine ^ i they may receive it as a part of their nc- J r cessary food in this way. Carbonate of 1 lime, or lime stone, requires a much larger ' I quantity of water to dissolve it, ncverthe less it is while in the soil always undergo- ' i ) ing a slow decomposition, and is thus taken 1 up by the plant. j It is admitted by all who have used j i lime on such soils, that it renders clayey : I ones lighter and sandy soils more compact. | * The experiments of the writer Have been > on a soil of the first description?argil lac- ;; < eons?and before he used lime he had 1 ? great trouble in pulverising it. Land that I ) was limed five or six years ago is at this ' i time quite sufficiently pulverulent and fri- j able. i How docs lime produce this effect? Is; i it merely such a mechanical division as is 1 effected on c!ay with sand, or is it some- j - thing different ? 1 Certain bodies, although they may not ! i enter into chemical union, attract each J , other?repulsion is a property of other ; i bodies. Let us take quicksilver for in- ; - stance. The ultimate particles of this j / . linvo nn nil ro<* linn forenrh Oilier. : ^ as may be observed w hen v iolence is used j I toseperatc them, they form into innume* j t rable sphcrieles, or globules. Willi some J i .substances it will enter into chemical un- i - ion?with others it will form no such i 3 compound. We never see, nor hear of, a ! 0 carbonult of quicksilver. It will mix with - some metals as an amalgam. Tin, lead, silver, gold, are ( f this class ; but it will ? not mix with iron. There is such a pow1 orful repulsion existing b. twecn turpentine and this metal, that the more you attempt s to unite them the more the metal Hies in- j ?f to a million parts and utterly refuses an j g admixture until it is reduced to an iinpal- ! a pable powder or oxide. Iloney of the y same consistence will not have any such > effect. is Lime has a mctalic base?calcium? ! and Orfelia says that clay or argil has also Is ?aliuminum?others deny this to clay ; n but it does not destroy our hypothesis j which is this ;?that lime and clay are ! two distinct heterogenous bodies; and that so far from having a chemical affinity, or attraction for each other, they are de rtir, mm* Pn?iq???r* *hj i ^h? 7, 1811. :ided!y repellent, and that in attemptir^ a o mix them they not only refuse to come o n contact, but fly asunder like the balls I if an electrometer?or the dust from setting wax excited by electricity. n If it be said that the division is median- 11 cal, and such as would be effected by \ and, wo deny the assertion, and can f rove to the contrary in two ways. 1st. f iVe say that the same quantity of sand fi vill not have the same effect on clay. 2d. t rhat a solution of lime will cause clay to t lecome friable. Then besidj the natural bod which lime affords to plants it loosens ii be stifl'clayey soils, and renders them ? lertneable to their roots in search of their a lecessary aliment. t If it be true, as is asserted by many, 11 hat lime renders sandy soils m >re cohes- c ve, it follows as a corollary of what has o >ccn said concerning lime and clay, that c he other two are more neurogenous in i heir nature ; that a kind of adhesive at- I: raction exists betweeen them, thus ren- ? Icrinjj such soils more retentive of inois- i ;ure. i These arc merely speculative opinions 3t the writer which may not be new to \ others; they are so however to him. He a Attaches no great importance to them; t ^et thinks them quite as reasonable as c 5.,me others that have been propagated on t ligher authority. ( We shall probably elucidate the action \ jf lime more fully when we come to ( >peak of gypsum or sulphate of lime. I Ashes after I hey have been used by the < snap boilers, commonly called spent ashes- 1 Although ashes, strictly, area vegetable manure, yet on account of the simiiiariiy s of principle and mode of action we have i thought proper to arrange them with the mineral manures. The essential salt of , I ashes is well known in commerce under < the name of potash. It is the vegetable i alkali, and bears in its properties, a strong resemblance to the mineral alkali or soda. Like lime, this manure losses nothing by evaporation ; but its tendency is to sink. One hundred bushels of these to the acre, serve as an excellent dressing for wheat, and will last five or six years. Ashes arc prompt in their action, and are therefore by some preferred to lime. It is probable that more advantage is to be derived from using the two together than o o from using either separately. For corn a compound of three parts ashes and one part plaster, a handful put in each hill, is found to answer an excellent purpose. Barbilla is a nnme applied to a very impure carbonate of soda, imported, from the East Indies, and used by the soap boilers. To get it freed from the quantity of carbonic acid it contains they are obliged to mix with it about one-third of lime. The compound, after the alkali is extracted, is sold uuder the name of Barbilla ashes. They arc sold about two cents a bushels less than the aiach ashes, Out are not worth half as much. They have been used to some exteut as manure. Nil rate of Soda is said to exist in large quantities in Atacama in Peru, South j America, whence it is imported. It may i be obtained for about three dollars a hundrid pounds, and probaoly could he oh- , taiileo for less in large quantities, as it is < said to be vtv abundant in the earth over | a large district. Its effects on grass, a bout one hundred pounds to the acre, a c ? said to be good. From the appearand i and nature of the arti - e I am inclined to the o| iniori that it may be used to some , extent as a renovator of worn out soils. . Sulphate, of lime gypsum, sclcniic or . plaster of parls?Next to lime th s is the , most important article among mineral ma- { nurcs. This salt is found in large beds or lasers in different parts of the globe aid ( particularly at Montmartrc, near Paris, and at Nova Scotia, on this continent, i That which is used as manure is net by , any means a pure sulphate of lime, for it | contains a large quantity of carbonic acid; | it is therefore u mixture of calcareous sul- | phate and calcareous carbonate. The col- , oring matter is cither from vegetables or | iron. The properties of this salt are but , little understood and not properly estima- . ted. That so small a quantity as one j bushel, or a little overone hundred pounds , by weight, should when strewed over an acre of clover produce such surprising | effects as to increase the crop two-fold , is beyond common comprehension. Hut its effects are not confined to clover, al- ( though its use is nearly so. It has been tried in various species of vegetables with equally good eMeets.?The great error in using it is by putting on too small quantities. Another error is in putting it invariably on the surface instead of in the hill. The writer, last year, tried it on potatoes in the hill, with surprising advantage. The crop, with the exception of two rows was planted in the usual way, with a lib- rul supply of manure in the hill. Those two rows had no manure applied, hut were planted by strew ing plaster or gypsum on them pretty freely before they were covered with earth. They received the same kind of culture, and when they were dug in the fall were fully equal in size, weight and flavor to those planted with manure. These were Irish potatoes ; but there is J not a doubt that gypsum would be found ' equally beneficial on sweet potatoes. On corn and most garden vegetables it has been used in the saine way with decided and unequivocal benefit. The corn crop of the writer was last year dressed on the hill, soon after it was planted with lime NUMBER 21. nd plaster?three parts of the former to ii#of the latter?with very good effects. Jo will, this year, put it in the hill. The quantity used to each hill was not r?ore- than half a gill?perhaps a little nor# would answer a hotter purpose, Ve have been informed by an intelligent ariner in an adjoining county, that he a ew years ago, strewed gypsum over hi* iold of corn, broadcast, about one bushel o the acre, with surprising advantage to he crop. In Lancaster and York counties, Penn., t is a very common practice to strew ;ypsum over the wheat in the spring, say ,bout the 1st April. We have never tried his, but intend to do so in a few days, U nay he a proper, however, to mention an ibjection which has some wpight. A ;reat deal of wheat in this seeiion of :ountry is injured, while it is soft and in a nilky state, by rut/. Gypsum is said to lave the effect of keeping the wheat rrcen, and thus of retarding its ripening n due time. The later the harvest the nore danger of rust as it is thought. t * When we ex amine into the cause of vhat is ca'led rust, wo are compelled to admit that there is some considerable orce in the argument. Rust in wheat kxuis only in very wet seasons, with verv varm close weather and fogs. The disease is occasioned by a bursting of the sap vessels, from repletion of moisture. This the sap) exudes and dries on the stalk in form of a scale ; ind .e i the straw is cover* jd with a powder in some degree resembling the rusl of iron hence the panys Hie consequenc j is. that the supply of . /t t* il . i : 1 _ ' it. ?ip is cur on rroni me grain wuue iu ujv milk, and it perishes. ]>ut whether the premises from which these conclusions are drawn be not erroneous admits of investigation ; and as thrs t;an he best made bv actual experiment., we 3hall make it the present season. Our farm is very small and may be considered as an experimental one : but small as it is we find we can make nrore char than, our neighbours who possess large farm* of poor half cultivated fields. We havetwo lots of wheat of the same kind, whkebearded winter wheat. (friiicum turgidurrh conicum album arisfiferum) of aboqt the same size and quality ; we shall sow both with clover, and on on# we will str^w one bushel of gypsum to the acre; the result may be communicated hereafter to the public for * hose good our labors hav<? been principally directed, as well in husbandry us professionally, all our life. All seed grain should be washed or soaked before being sown or planted. The great advantage of washing seed wheatcan oniy be known to those who have tried it. A large quantity of light wheat, chess, trarlic and other filth rnav thus be removed. o .r ? - No (armor should sow impure seed ; he had better pay double price for (hat which is clean. Seed corn, and indeed nearly ill seeds would he the better for being soaked and rolled in plaster before being sown or planted. Lime would answer nearly the same purpose, but it might he injurious to the I..a :ds. Brine, of pickle, moderalely strong, should he used for washing wheat; as it is more buoyant and causes a greater number of worthies* grains to swim on its surface. The bene-, fit of rolling seed grain in gypsum will bo apparent by the healthy and vigorous shoot which will be sent forth iu the gen initiating process. As we have ventured to advance our opinions on the modus operandi of lime, so we will again expose ourself to the shafts of criticism by offering our views an the action of gypsum. It is, at the most superficial glance,evident that some agents are concerned in the product, occasioned by the application of this salt to if>?rnt?hlos. hesido the material itself. n 7 One bushel of gypsum applied to an acre af clover sinII make a difference in tiie product eijual to ten liipesfhe weight of the material applied. Whence coincs this additional Wright ? /* it from the soil or atmosphere, or hoth ? It is admitted by chemists that this sa*t undergoes verv little alteration bv the action of air, indthal it is hssolvcd by about 500 times its weight of wa er. \\e have before jbs rve.l that ti e plaster used for agricu). tural p irpts s is not a pure sulphate of lime, but tlia' it is a mixture, &c. Now as this mixture is perfectly paid and bland, insipidand inodorous, and can never he dissolved in less than 500 times its wright of water, it forms an application wonderfully adapted to the growth of plants, and we may very readily conceive hq\v an exr tiaordinary increase of growth may be .vr-vlimeil ivit'inu? snnnnsinu a (lecomoosi I', -yrr o - tt. 1 tion and new combinations necessary. That pulverised gypsum has the power of absorbing moisture from the atmosphere has been proved by actual experiment.?: A certain quantity by weight, having beca exposed a few days, shortly after having been ground, has been found by absorption to have increased to some extent; but not sufficiently to account for the phenomena noticed in its productive powers.. The mild solution of gypsum is a peculiar, ly fit food for plants; as by its stimulant property it enables the plant piore fully to dcvelope itself, and draw such other supports to its aid as may he prcseul in the soil or atmosphere. From observing the surprising effects of gypsum in promoting the growth of vege. tahlos, philosophers have racked their brains to account for it in a rational ip*ner. That its principal act?^" ^ .-via