The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1866-10-18
AnotAsr Le,ter Prom Prof. nIIsard.

your columns, not long since, ! adgorted 70
the feasibility Of retaining for profitable
culture most of the uplanda now considered
worn ont 10 this State. by simple process
n iudicions enbsoiling pfpvi ed always
that the syil wa ~ good native fertility ]
called attention 10 The fact, however. that
subsoiling nf an Improvement does not con
fisi merely IN tuning up the subsoil which
by itssif often aots rather ininrionsly than
otherwise bnt that measures must be taken
10 "siimulaie" The comparatively inert un'
derlay. and to supply II with vegetable
matter whereby the snbsoiled land will 10
many eases he found improved even be.
You'd ia original protlnciiyenena
This is not mere supposition on my part,
founded ON analyses Of the soils In question
but the result Of great number Of Observe
lions made In the field. corroborated aud
explained by my subsequent examination Of
the soils. II the fact IL not generally known
among our agrIcnlturisis tilling the prairies
and loan uplands," IL Is simply because up
30 a late period before the war, the improve
nont Of an exhausted soil entered into the
calculations Of but very few the biggest
crops and the greatest number Of bales 10
the hand being the goal Of the vast majority
But in the course of systematic inquiry de
volying upon me "a duty, have fqretcd
ont the experience Of those who did care TO
improve their soil and few indeed were the
exceptions 30 the rule that in the numerous
class Of lands above referred 10, subsoiling
property prdciioed redeemed the soil FROM
sterility
Many indeed, upon inquiry, complained
that 80 far from having experienced good
effects from tho operation Of subsoiling, II
seemed to have definitely ruined their lands
But upon investigation, IL has almost inyR
riably turned out that the fault lay in the
unreasonable expectation of seeing a crop
flourish in raw, yellow or red undcrclay
just ready for the clay mill and brick kiln
II is ~ though one should expect to make
leather by simply putting the raw ox-hide
into tan vat
| The stimulation" required for SUBSIDIZED
lands may be produced in variety Of ways
The one requiring the least actual outlay is
tho fallow hut naidcd II is slow process,
and where time is money, can hardly be af.
forded The turning under Of green crops
as we'll az frequent tillage, are among the
most ready means, not only Of accelerating
the fallow, but also Of supplying to the soil
the vegetable matter of which IL stands in
need The most powerful stimulant, how
ever, which is READILY applicable in practice
on the largo scale, is Lime
Quicklime, or the Same freshly slaked, IL
most energetic IN its action air-slaked lime
less 40, and still less, unbnfnt limestone or
the soft, purely limy mars sometimes occur
ring Even these, however greatly promote
the progress The fallow, and an abundant
| supply Of such is always counted among the
most important natural auxilaries of the
ugrculturist But the marls of Mississippi
ARE mostly Of different character, which, in
connection with the unlimited supply and
extensive area Of occurrence Gas demonstra-
ted by the Geological and Agricultural Sur
vey), render them of an Importance scarcely
TO be ovcrrated TO the future development
of q commonwealth destined always TO be
chiefly an agricultural one,
Greca-sand, tho mineral which has resusci.
tated the worn ont fields of New
jersey, and is extensively exported even to
distant portions of Pennsylvania and New
York. is abundanty difIuscd through the
mari beds of Mississippi some of which
contain over twenty per cent of this val
liable fertilizer together with an amount of
lime which, even IN the absence Of other
valuable ingredients, would cause the ma
tcrial 10 be much esteemed
Apart from New Jersey, no State of the |
Union, 30 far as known, Ia a. highly fn-
vored in this respect as Mississippi. And |
however lightly this gift of Providence may
have been heretofore esteemed by our rest.
less cotton planters, ever ready to ''sel out"
so soon as by improvident culture they had
reduced their land below the the half bale
per acre" the permanent and conservative
population which is even now rapidly re-
placing that fast race, will aud must soon
fall back upon these native guan0-beds, rs
the only means through which, while re-
tanning their homosteads and improvements,
they can still successfully compete with
those engaged in dospoiling virgin soils.
Such as they are, these marls will of
course be useful not in subsoiled fields
alone, but in an those whose producing
power has hcen impaired by cultivation.
And while they will by no means Justify the
farmer in negccting the manure pile, they
will enable him 20 render it much more
by their action as compost mate
rails
In view Of the probability that my re-
port of 1860, containing all the detail rela-
ting to the marl-hods and their uses, win I
soon be placed in the hands of the people
Iwill not now uoroach upon your space by,
Am enumeration of the counties or parts of
counties underlaid by them. Suffice to say 1,
that the Mobile aud Ohio, the New Orleans
aud jackson, aud the southern Railroad /,
have their road-be,ls ON these marls, during /.
no small portion Of their course while the /;
Central traverses az Walden, a
bed of green-sand undistinguishahle from /,
that Of New Jersey, Nothing can he more
certain than that a proper appreciation of ,
the diugy material will, at no distant time, /,
add materially to the Importance of these