The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1841-08-10
AGRICULTURAL.

AMERICAN DOL PRoDUCT.-Io those who
have paid the subject but little attention the a
mount of money invested in the production of
wool within the United States will seem sur
prising. 1t is very gener lily believed that this is
a quite secondary branch of our general interest,
instead OF one of the most fruitful sources of our
wealth, and best deserving The cherishing pro-
teclion OF our Government. As shown by the
returns of tie late census we have in this coun-
try, exclusive of North Carolina, Michigan and
Kentucky, 19,005, 962 sheep aud taking len
dollars as the average value of land necessary 20
sustain a sheep and make a fair ilowance for the
price OF he animals themselves, for the labor
necessary for their proper superintendent with
that required 10 prepare their product ioi its first
marker, which are as much part of the invest
menI as the land which sustained hem, the ag-
gregate amount of capital invested in this branch
of industry will be a tleast two hundred millions
Of dollars. This is certainly an immense sum,
and well deserves the attention Of the General
Government. AT present England supplies Us
annually with some ten millions Worth of broad
cloths, and after all chooses to import her wool
from the Continent to the entire exclusion of
our own. In 1899 her entire import of this att
Gle was 1885 ga pounds, and while we had
som 100000 rounds of WOO remaining at
home, nearly two-ilths of the vhole wooden
manufactures Of Great Britain came to the U.
States. Ard yet we have only $4,000 600 in
yes ed in wOolrh manufactures. Of the aggre-
g7te amount of wool grown in the United States
in 1888. New York produced 1912. IA pounds !;
Ohio 3,G50.970; Vermont 2,257, 795, which, in
proportion 10 her population, is much the
largest am"unt qrown in any Stale; Pc n1syl-
vania 3,076 7S3; Virginia 2,672.0i4; Maine l.
465, 551: New Hampshire 1,26O.9SS =; Indiana
1902, 209 Massachusetts, 1,055 SOL Ten
nessee 1,029,5l6; and the other States various
amounts between the 500 CTS pounds of Connec-
ticut and the 1924 o. Louisiana.-.N. 7. Til
bEne.
AGRICULTURAL GEoLoGY.-Ten simple min
erals. sometimes called the Geological Alpha
bet form the elements of our globe. These
minerals, variouSly combined, constitute from
twenty-five 10 thirty varieties of rocks, piled
into mountains. also appearing in Lodges and
boulders OF loose fragments. scattered over the
Garth. Upon the character ofthe rocks depend
the surface Of country, soil, mineral wealth, and
other facilities and resources for productive
industry, and for physical, intellectual and NOR
al philosophy.
The ten elementary minerals are quartz, Eel
spar, mica, hornblend, lime. slate, gypsum,
serpentine, tale and ch'orite. By various conf
b~inations, the rocks formed from them may be
classed into five or six families. Tie Gran
1ietGnliIy consists of three members, VIZ gran
lie, gneiss and mica slate, all composed of
quartz, feispar, and mica, in different proper
tons and arrangements.
The HOrblend family consists of three or four
members, VIZ: greensboro, or traprocks, horn.
blend rock. hornblend slate, and sieuitp, masses
OF which are scattered extensively over the
world, broken from mountain RANGES of urea,
extent in various countries.
The calcareous, or Lime fami7y of rocks.
consists of members more numerous. and more
various IN character, and not less interesting
10 farmers than either of the others mentioned.
In this fanny are common limestone. mos, or
all the marbles, chalk, (all carbonates of lime !
gypsum, or plaster of Paris, which is the sui.
phate of lime.
The MGgncSiaa family of rocks embraces
serpentlne ridges. noted in Agriculture only
for their barrenness, but rich in ores which
produce some of our most beautiful paints, es.
pecIally chrome yellow. Soapstone is also a
maSneSlan rock, composed principally of tale.
Inc C~onglomerate family is composed CT
fragments, or scattered remains of the rocks
just named, again collected and cemented into
large masses, and even mountain r,nGos
They ave pudding stone, sand stone and gr,r
wack, each appearing under q great variety q
forms.
To the farmer, all the simple minerals, tn,
various rocks and the families, or classes undo
which they may be arranged, are of much in
terest. Several Of them, as they determine tn
character and constitute the elements of soils
may be considered almost fundamental. bot
IN the science and art of Agriculture. Thos
OF special, and ever paramount importance 10
quartz, which is of the character of sand, an
felsper' forming. when pulverized, varieties O
clay and lime, which though not essential t.
good soil give the highest degree of fertility.
Stiff soils, light soils, loamy, calcareous, an,
al other soils, depend much upon the propor
l'ons IN which these three simple minerals. AM
especially the two first, are combined. Quartz
or Slick prcdomina;es in all soils, even stiff O