Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-10-02
GREEN SAND MARLS.
How Lands in the Timbered Region
OF East Texas Can be Made
Productive.
A Permanent Fertilizer Often Found in Large
Quantities Adjacent to these Sandy
or Worn ont Lands.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, INsUR-
ANCE, STATISTICS AND HISTORY.
AUSTIN, TEX. Sept. % $50.

AeAas IdESs proportion Ol the sOlIs VI .
of q sandy character, and II OF any use
at all as farming lands soon wear out.
These are in part the pine lands of that
region. Any method of restoring their
fertility which combines certainty OF
such increase with very little outlay must
be of interest to the owners of such lands
and TO those who till them.
The reports of the geological survey
contain much of the information desired;
but as the edition of those reports is nee
essarily limited, they are not accessible
TO the great majority of those to be beu-
Gifted by them. / therefore take this
method of giving greater publicity to one
Of the important facts developed by the
survey, and hope the publishers of Texas
newspapers Will assist in disseminating
the information.
Analyses of the representative soils
develop the fact that they are lacking in
the phosphorc acid and potash which
are absolutely essential to fertility, and
in some instances the lime is also deh-
cient.
In some soils either the potash or the
phosphoric acid is present In large guam
titles, but when this Is so the other is
generally wanting. Such soils are more
fertile than others of their class; but
still not as much so as they would be
were all the ingredients present in
proper proportion. The absence OF lime
is not by any means as general, but in
some localities the amount contained in
the soil is less than is needed 10 perform
its part in producing good crops. In all
other respects many of these soils are all
that they should be, and contain every
other element of fertility, in addition to
being very easily cultivated.
In very many localities throughout
this district there occur, on or near the
surface, beds of what Is known as green
sand mari, some of them being of great
thickness, twenty feet or more, and eX-
tending over large areas. This mari is
mixture of sand and clay with green
sand, and often contains quantities of
shells. Green sand, or gelconite, as it Is
often called, ls a mineral of green color
composed of silica (sand) in chemical
combination with iron and potash, and
usually contains variable quantities of
other substances. This mari also con-
tains more or less phosphoric acid, and
the shells furnish all the necessary lime.
Where 1t occurs IN its original and unal-
tered condition it is of q mora or less
pronounced green color, due to the color
of the green sand in it. Where it has
been subjected to chemical action the
green sand is gradually decomposed and
the iron unites with water and forms hy-
drous oxide of iron, or iron rust. This
alteration gives rise to a great variety of
color i'll the different beds of the mate
rial. When it is fully altered in this
- &C.,
stone so much used in this district.
Numerous analyses have been made of
these marls, both in their original and
altered conditions. They contain, in all
the samples tested, at least, lime, patash
and phosphorlc acid, just the elements
that are required to feTtiliZe the sandy
soils, and to renew and increase the
fertility of those that have been worn
out. These elements occur in the mari
in variable amounts, and generally less
in the altered than in the unaltered
material. In nearly every instance,
however, the amounts were sufficient to
be of great agricultural value to every
field within hauling distance of such a
deposit. 1t often happens, too, that
these beds of mari lie in closest proximity
to the very soils on which they are most
needed and all the farmer has to do to
secure the desired results is to apply it as
fertilizer.
If any proof is wanted of the adapti-
bility of these marls and of their great
value on just this character of soil 1t is
shown in New Jersey, where exactly SINH
lar conditions exist. In that state there
were large areas of pine land soils, which
were, like ours, of little agricultural
value, because of the small amounts of
potash, phosphoric acid and lime con-
tanned in them. There were, however,
large deposits of green-saud mari ada
cent to them, and iGs use has been of the
highest benefit. This is fully attested
both by the agricultural and geological
reports of the state. The late state geol-
ogist, Professor Geo. H. Cook, said of
them: ''It gives lasting fertility to the
soils. l have never seen a field which
has once been married that is now poor.
One instance was found where poor and
sandy land was married more than thirty
years ago, and has ever since been titled
without manure, and not well managed
which is still in good condition.
Fruit trees and vines make a remarka-
BILE growth and produce fruit of high
flavor when literally dressed with this
marl.' - This is testimony that cannot
be doubted, and although the green sand
marls of East Texas are not as rich as
those of New Jersey they are neverthe-
less rich enough to be of the same use to
our lands. Nearly 200, 900 tons of green
sand marls are used yearly in New Jer-
sey.
The first requisite to the best results is
that the mari should be powdered as
finely as possible before spreading it on
the land. The green sand decomposes
and is dissolved very slowly, and the
finer it Is powdered the more rapid will
be its action. II should also be spread
evenly and uniformly over the ground.
1t is, ordinarily, wet when first dug, but
after a certain amout of drying it can be
easily pulverized, or It can be dried more
rapidly and rendered more friable by the
mixture of q small amout of quicklIme
with il. 1t could also be improved by
composing it with barnyard manure or
guauo. Owing to the difficulty with
which the green sand is dissolved, the
not ALWAYS so apparent the
first year; but il is a lasting fertilizer, as
is shown by the quotations given above.
The amount required will of course
vary with the COM position of the soil and