agriculture prize essay on tin of worn out land 1!v edwakp stabler ni sandy spring montgomery county maryland continued ] . i ; of the american farmer having offered ffiloo for lhe three best essays on the above subject v j z 850 for the bret 30 for the second md 20 for the third the committee appointed for the pur sting of dr j w.thompson of delaware i b imbers messrs c i calvert a bow davis a i n b worthington.of maryland,unani irded the following the first prize some nine or ten years since i determined reclaim an adjoining field at whatever cost r was told long previous by one of my neigh i or 5 who sold his farm and removed to the v .• in order lo settle on better land that lhe attempt would be fulile ; or if it was made it would cost a great deal more than the land was worth the prospect was forbid jj n „ ( tj v the larger portion was as much re duced as could be by shallow tillage no ma nure no grass-seed sown and constant wash a pier to gullies and producing little else than running briars it was broken up in the fall and winter to a much greater depth lhan it was ever ['!' oghed before ; sixty bushels of quick lime to the acre were applied in the spring th ground well harrowed and planted in corn such portions as required it having heen well under drained — some two to three acr s — and which were about lhe amount that produced anything of a crop or that more than paid the expense of ploughing a crop of oats and grass seed followed ; as it was not consid ered worth tbe trouble and expense to put in a crop of wheat on two thirds of lhe field af ter siii or seven years the same field again corning in course exactly the same plan was pursued as to ploughing and lime ; but rather increasing the depth than otherwise the crop of corn though injured by ihe bud worm was good — enabling me to do what i bad rarely or never done before sell from one quarter to one-third of lhe crop oats followed on about two thirds of the field with some five or six bu^heu of bones to the acre and wheat on the balance with guano : both heavy crops and lodging over the greater part of the field then followed a wheat crop on the whole ma nured as much as possible from the barn yard ; and on the balance a light dressing of guano of some eighty lo one hundred pounds to the acre the average yield of the field was over thir ty-three bushels lo the acre these results are attained with certainly ; fur every field and lot are accurately surveyed and the contents noted on he plat of the farm and lhe product of this field was kept separate threshed and measured by itself the great er portion suffered from the drought early last year and the harvesting was badly done ow ing to lhe fallen and tangled slate ol the grain from a storm about lhe time of ripening ; but i have no doubt several contiguous acres might have been selected on the lowest ground the portion tinder drained on which the yield was over forty hushels to the acre this season the same field yielded the heaviest crop of grass i eve harvested ; and even on what was orig inally the poorest part there is now a luxuriant crop of second growth clover and intended for seed that is lodging over the whole extent — we will estimate the profit and loss by figures : to 70 bushels of lime cost at the kiln li cents 9 go to seven years interest though it paid in pasture in less lime ) 1 02 to 60 bushels of lime cost at the kiln 12 \ ci nts ' 50 to three years interest 1 35 tell bushels ground hones al ill cents m 01 to 100 pounds guano african 2 00 j 7 48 conth \. lb 33 bushels of wheat average price sold al si 31 43 23 1 - late increase id corn crop at leasl i barrels at 2 and entirely owing to the lime v2 00 estimate increase of oat crop 20 bushels at 10 cents 8 00 estimate increase of hay crop 1 ion 10 00 estimate value of clover seed for there would have been none without the lime 1 j bushel at 4 6 00 71 23 sol 75 waking in round numbers 50 per acre in favor of " renovating ;" nor is the estimate a i need one the actual increase of the crops is greater than the amounts assumed ; and if a fair average was made of the wheat in the i|olnt crop of oats and wheat lhe aggregate re could be increased some 5 lo g p er acie there should perhaps in the view of some be a charge for draining and for hauling and spreading ihe lime : also for the manure for 4e crop ot wheat : and for the expense of i harvesting the increased crops the two former are amply paid for in the in leased pasture and the manure was no more k»n the actual yield of the land itself after the flune c which are charged in the ac j*"ult andat more than the cost and it is be ; ev ed the increased product in straw and fod kf fully repays the expense of harvesting — lo y nothing of the present state of the laud as spared to what it was originally it is now i 1 "' u.i.y and permanently improved hen lime lias been freely used plaster will frally if not always act promptly and effi ; > 1 and thus in this very small expense aid in perpetuating the improvement ev ous to its application in this case plaster " liberally used but with no visible effect i with the horse-rake and by the d was left n the land to pro ■ a volunteer crop of wheat with the grass ated bj manj who saw it as well worth harvest the carolina watchman bruner & james ( / " kr.y.r a check ipox all voir editors isr proprietors ) rri.er.s ( new series do this and liberty is safe < geul hamsou ( volume v number 52 salisbury n c thur&day may 3 1849 whatever ; now its action is as marked on the . same land as i have ever seen any where wherever lime can be obtained at a reason able piiee — say from twelve to twenty cents per bushel in a caustic state or at half price if air-slacked with even five to ten miles haul ing — it may be used to advantage on most if not all stiff clay soils in some sections these prices are paid and it is hauled fifteen to twenty miles ; and by a classofmen unsurpassed for industry and thiift the writer has known no instance where its use was persevered in under whatever disad vantage it trii^ht be in which success to a greater or less extent did not crown the effort ; and many who borrowed money lo procure it in the first instance have mainly by its use be come independent and money leaders them selves linncs — composed principally of phosphate of lime and gelatinous animal matter — when crushed or ground form one of the richest ma nures it acts well either alone or with other manures and is particularly valuable to aid the growth of clover : for this reason i class it de cidedly before guano al an equal expenditure of money for renovating worn-out lands — although not so prompt in acting it is far more durable and more likely to produce a good crop ' of clover to turn under clover being almost the only green crop that i have found much advantage from turning in i prefer its use following lhe lime and on the oat crop ; at the rate of from six to ten bush els or as much more as the renovator may please for an increased quantiiy will do no in j jury on the wheat succeeding the oats my practice is to apply a light dressing of guano j — say 80 to 100 pounds lo the acre io mature ; and perfect lhe grain ; and only on such por lions of ihe field as ihe manure from the barn yard will not extend to hy the time lhe clo ver requires the aid of the bone it will have j become sufficiently disintegrated and incorpor i ated wilh the soil to give the clover a vigorous start ; and its effect on the grass crops is gen { erally more durable than the vegetable ma j nures the supply of ground hones is a limited one ; | but when to be had at a reasonable price usu j ally selling at 40 to 50 cents the bushel it i may be used to advantage on all crops and on all soils ; but with decidedly less advantage j after passing through the alembick of the glue | manufacturer as i have proved at least lo my j satisfaction ; thus depriving it of much of its j fertilizing property it is usually harrowed in with lhe seed as it loses less by exposure to the atmosphere than most kinds of present ma nures guano — this is one of the most active of all manures and if the price would justify the application in sufficient quantities it might aid very materially in renovating worn-out lands but considering the evanescent nature of its most active principle ammonia and the present high market price viz : peruvian at 60 to \ s70 and lhe more inferior kinds at 845 to 55 for the ton of j 000 pounds il is much doubted whether the ultimate advantage calculated on by many will be realized if the peruvian could be obtained at about half this price — j and it is believed such would be the case with • a fair competition in the peruvian market — the case might be different the writer has made liberal use of guano and generally lo profit as to the immediate re turn ; but in no case has much benefit been derived beyond the first crop and rarely was any material effect perceived after the second year this opinion so different from that enter ■ tained by some others is not lightly formed nor without several years careful observation ; and also testing the matter by numerous ex periments and on a scale sufficiently extended to prove the truth or fallacy of the doctrine held by some that il is only a stimulant re ference to one experiment may suffice as they all tend to the same result and nearly to the same degree in a field of some ten acres one acre was selected near the middle and extended through the field so as to embrace any difference of soil should there be any on this acre two hundred pounds of peruvian guano at a cost of j about 5 were sown with the wheat ad joining the guano on one side was manure from lhe bam yard at the rate of twenty five cart loads to the acre : and on the opposite side separated by an open drain the whole dis tance ground bones were applied on lhe bal ance of the field at a cost of 6 to the acre ; the field equally limed two years preceding — there was no material difference in the time or manner of seeding except that the manure was lightly cross-ploughed in and the guano and bones harrowed in with the wheat the yield on the guanoed acre was thirty five bushels ; the acre with bone as near as could be estimated by dozens compared with the guano was about twenty seven bushels and the manured about twenty-four bushels the seasun was unusualy drv : and the manured portion suffered more from ihis cause than ei ther ol the others : the land considerably more elevated and a south exposure the field has since been mowed three times ; he crop ol grass was evidently in favor of the boned part the second and third were fully two to one over the guano and also yielding much heavier crops of clover seed on a pari of the land eighteen bushels to lhe acre of lhe finest of the bone were used ; the wheat was as heavy as on the guanoed and the grass generally lodges before harvest as it also does on much of the adjoining land wilh twelve bush els of bone the action and durability of guano probably vary on different soils ; and although il may generally be used to advantage in aid of a sin gle crop i have as yet no satisfactory evidence that its fertilizing properties are very du rable unless applied in such quantities as may in the end cost more than it comes to guano should not be used with caustic lime or ashes nor very soon succeeding their appli cation it may with decided advantage be mixed with plaster to fix and retain the ammo nia ; and for nearly if not all crops it is best to sow ii broadcast andplough in immediately twelve days later fko.ti europe arrival of the steamship europa highly important news rather belter prospect of peace in europe • — decisive battles — sardinia conejner ed by the auslrians — abdication of the king — his valor in the field — all italy now in the power of radelzky — tuscet ny to be re-revolutionized — the pope to ' be restored — the danish e/uarrel con linuiug — 77ie sicilians again in anns ' — the king of prussia elected empe ror of germany — france declines to interfere in italian affairs — m prouel lion and his set convicted or flying the j country — british forces triumphant in ' india — cotton eiboul the same — grain market down — provisions firm correspondence of the express st john n b wednesday 5 a m the steamer europa capt lott with twelve days later from all parts of eu rope arrived at halifax at half ten yes terday a m the news its effects on traelc spc i under the influence of more favorable advices from india and the existing lull in the excitement of continental politics trade in nearly every department is be ! ginning to assume a more cheerful aspect there is still an uneasy feeling respect ing the threatened hostilities in the north of europe but since the abrupt and de cisive termination of the conflict between sardinia and austria the complete pros tration of charles albert one of the most ! serious obstacles to a satisfactory adjust ment of continental difficulties seems to have been overcome and could the dan ish quarrel be disposed of which unfor tunately there is no present prospect of \ nothing material would stand in the way of permanent prosperity in commercial affairs the funds stocks markets dj-c the english funds are again on the advance and consuls have risen 1-8 per cent during the last two weeks having fluctuated from 93 1-2 on the 2nd to 92 \ and 92 1-8 on the 5th at which they clos ed for money and account money though still abundant has slight ly increased in value the lowest bank rate is still 3 per cent but with private banks the best bills are done at about 2 per cent the bank of england returns show ; that the bullion in the vaults amounts to ! about 15,000,000 so that any drain which may arise from the united states in correcting the present inequality of the exchanges will be met without the least difficulty or fear of renewing the scenes of 1847 the weekly accounts of the bank of france show a progressive improvement ; of the trade of paris the french funds ' since the total defeat of charles albert have been well maintained the last closing prices were : three per cents 50 80 ; five per cents 89.80 the importations of breadstuff's into great britain continue upon a gigantic scale and the same may be said of all kinds of provisions no change can be ' noted in the grain trade although a ra ther more firm feeling was manifested during the last few days previous to the sailing of the europa there is an im proved tendency apparent in the cotton market the commercial monetary and war like intelligence brought by the last over land mail is regarded in englattd_as very satisfactory england parliament adjourned for the easter recess and met again on the 6th instant the two main objects which have divided its attention have been the navigation bill and the rate in aid bill for ireland which latter has branched out into a gen eral debate on the policy to be pursued to ward that country it will be seen that some fmportant modifications have been made in the navigation bill tbe revenue returns for the financial year and quarter ending on the 5th inst show a continuous though not a very great improvement in the customs reve nue there is an increase of £ 1,1 09 351 as compared with the previous year in the excise department there is an increase of 569.032 in all other branches of the ordinary revenue there is a decrease the most considerable item being one of 719.581 upon stamps the excess of increase over decrease of the total reve nue of the year is 867,289 the navigation bill the navigation bill before parliament has undergone a very material chang the principal of retaliating upon those nations which should not concede those advantages to england which she freely accorded to them has been disapproved of by mr gladstone who thought this reserved right would involve the govern ment in perpetual disputes with foreign nations he has accordingly brought for ward a new scheme by which he proposes to divide the law into two branches lhe one to apply to the foreign trade and the otber to embrace the colonial and coast ing trade and to make the bargain with foreign countries conditional upon their granting equivalent advantages to great britain mr lahouchere under the plea that the difficulties respecting carrying duty paid tobacco c coastwise lor instance would be found insuperable in practice has withdrawn the whole of the clauses having reference to the coasting trade and the navigation bill stands in much the same position as it did last year as re lects its actual provisions but with as re \. d majority in its favor in the house of commons the bill went through the committee previous to the adjournment and the third reading was fixed for an early day after the easter recess canadian affairs the struggle in canada respecting the proposed indemnity for rebellion losses has only been incidentally alluded to in par liament and all parties connected with the north american provinces seem dis posed to await the issue before they har rassthe colonial minister with complaints upon a subject for which he is scarcely responsible out of doors attention is anxiously di rected towards canada and the reported neutrality of the new executive of the united states upon a false rumor of dis turbances gave great satisfaction continental news at the sailing of the niagara it will be remembered that war was impending in the north of italy and it was anticipated that either the austrians or the piedmon tese would immediately cross the ticino boundary three decisive battles in a brief fortnight charles albert has fought and has been conquered and is now an abdicated king and exile in ma drid or lisbon the austrians passed the ticino simul taneously with the piedmontese and spee dily fell back three successive battles ensued in the two latter on the plains of vercelli the austrians were complete ly victorious the last battle on the 24th ultimo the main army of the austrians some 50,000 strong encountered charles albert at olango near navara defeat of the piedmontese the piedmontese appear to have been of more than equal force tbe battle was fought with terrible obstinacy and although we hear from many quarters that the italians shrunk from the contest certain it is that charles albert behaved with the most distinguished bravery — finding the day going against him he seems to have sought every opportunity to meet his death on the battle field and whaveter may be the verdict of history as to his past conduct certain it is that noth ing graced his public life so much as the last act and his quitting it abdication of charles albert the austrians having completely rout ed the piedmontese and driven them to the mountains charles albert abdicated the throne in favor of bis son victor e manuel and a flag of truce being sent to the austrian tent marshal radetsky at once acceded to an armistice the new king pledges himself to conclude a treaty of peace and to disband ten military com panies of hungarians poles and lom bards who are received tbe austrians who had turin open to them magnani mously refused to take advantages which might have provoked the susceptibility of france consequences of this battle the conseqences of this important-bat tle are scarcely yet developed in the dif ferent parts of italy modena tuscany and rome will probably change their views now that all hopes from piedmont are at an end it is generally beiieved that the pope will be able to return to rome the sicilians tbe sicilians hold out the french and english admirals have failed to make up matters and at the last dates were a bout to depart mr temple and m re queval who had gone personally in com pany with the admirals to make a last effort to accomplish a conciliatory ar rangement bad returned to naples on the 28th efforts having been alto gether fruitless previous to this last effort the admirals had sent a steamer to make a circuit of the island touching at all the principal ports and roadsteads with the mediation of france and england the answer given was one unanimous cry of " war from the whole populatton the parliament at palermo voted unanimous ly that they would not condescend to en ter into any further negotiations : but that on thursday the 23th at noon hos tilities should be recommenced the en thusiasm of the population at palermo is described as exceeding all bounds the members of the highest noblesse of both sexes are working in tbe trenches most people think tbe sicilians have bad fair terms offered them and eventually they must accept them the hungarian war of the hungarian war very little au thentic is known except lhat it rages fiercely bern having gained some ad vantages over a body of russians bat soon found himself overwhelmed with their numbers and the emperor will glad ly seize upon any pretext to interfere fur ; ther we shall not be at till surprised to hear that the emperor of russia upon the solicitation of the austrians brings down a large force to crush the hungari ans at present there seems no probable termination of this deadly struggle car ried on by both parties in the most bar barous matin i r the new german ccesar the frankfort parliament has finally elected tbe king of prussia emperor of germany and tbe powerful deputation had proceeded to berlin to tender the crown at charlurague at first no one believed that the king would be so mad '■ as to accept the proffered honor ; but now it is believed he will with certain condi tions so as to avoid giving otfence to the other potentates of germany should he do so it is generally believed that it will most certainly involve prussia in a war with austria and russia the latter pow er seems now resolved to put down the revolutionary spirit in europe and only wants the opportunitv to " let slip the dogs of war france no intervention willi some exceptional disturbances in ; the distant provinces france continues ; tranquil and louis napolean is proceed 1 ing in the surest path to maintain his po sition by instantly suppressing domestic disorder and by steadily avoiding inter ference bj force of arms in the affairs of 1 the co-terminous nations notwithstanding 1 the excitement attempted to be created bv : the red republicans upon the question of piedmont louis napoleon and his min ; istry set their faces against an armed in tervention for the purpose of preventing that which nobody contemplated — tbe dis memberment of sardinia so that men of | all parties in england consider that a great ! step has been made towards the pacifica - tion of the south of europe as the ex emplary moderation of austria gives a further guarantee that hostilities will not ; be resumed upon the questions of the . lombard provinces progress of tbe election the proceedings of lhe national assem j bly continue but of subordinate interest ! the different parties are now engaged in their respective electioneering proceed ' ings and the mob orators of the socialists seize the occasion to excite the people by the most violent language but we find ' that a vast majority of the french people will support the cause of order and that a very small number of socialists will bf elected to the new chamber at any rate the chiefs are got rid of for some time to come the socialist leaders convicted r banished m proudhon has been condemned by a jury for libeling the president of the republic but unfortunately has escaped from justice and the country m duch esne has shared the same fate as to con viction and is to suffer one years imprison ment it is very satisfactory to state that barbes blanqui floc<m sobrier llaspail and quint in have been convicted at bour ges and barbes and albert are sentenced transportation for life blanqui and others to ten years imprisonment each general soulier degne bourne thomas sailain and larges have been acquitted and set at liberty causi.leere louis blanc hon oure lavison napoleon chancel and zigneuref.not hiving appeared have been condemned parcontumace and have been sentenced to transportation the remo val of these pests of society will we hope tend to consolidate public tranquility — the great body of the french people is undoubtedly sound in principle and the prudent course pursued by louis napo leon tends to improve the condition of the country in almost every branch m proudhon's journal has been again seized this paper seems to set all gov ernment at defiance spain spain fnrnish.es but little fresh news the provincial war continues portugal is quiet turkey the sublime porte has issued a mani festo declaring that he does not consider the state ol europe such as to require her ' to increase her forces in the baltic advices from hamburgh of the 3d in stant state that there is no chance now of the differences between schleswig holstein and denmark being amicably settled and no doubt hostilities will com mence to day or to-morrow troops prin cipally prussians are passing continually to the seat of war the port of keil is blockaded there doi s not appear to be the least hope that denmark will yield lhe duchies and as russia will unquestiona bly support her pretensions it is to be hoped lhat the germans will be wise enough to yield the position in dispute rather than run the hazard of a disastrous conflict india triumph of the british forces dates from bombay to the 4th march , state lhat another battle had been fought near guzeraf between the british and sikh forces in which the latter were de feated but the details had not been re ceived from the 6th lo th 12th of feb various skirmishes took place but without any serious encounter on the 18th lhe sikhs retreated oward the chetiab which th<-y were prevented from crossing by the bi mbay division un der gen which oa the following day the british divisions having efft : ed a junction lord gough succeeded in twing ing the enemy lo battle i tbe open field near the citj of guggerat in which the sikhs were com letely routed leaving a creat portion of their guns and nmmuni tion ns well as lie standing camp in the possession of their co the atmosphere the atmosphere ri es ah re us w ' h its cathedral dome are ng i ards the hea ven of which :'. is the n st familiar sv nonvme and symhi . it iloats around us like that grand o eel which the apostle john saw in his vision a sea of glass like unto crystal so massive is it that when it begins to stir it tos<r about great sh:p like playthings and sweeps cities and forests like snow-flakes to destruction before it and vet it is so mobile that we have lived years in it before e can be persuaded it exists at all and the great bulk of mankind never realize the truth that they are bathed in an ocean of air its weight is so enormous that iron shiv ers before it like lass yet a soap ball sails through it with impunity and the tiniest insect waves it with its wings it ministers lavishly to all the senses we touch it not but it touches us : its warm south wind brings back color to the pale face of the invalid ; its cool west winds refresh the fevered brow and make the blood mantle in our cheek even its north 1 blasts brace into new vigor the hardened children of our rugged clime the eye is indebted to it for all the magnificence of sunrise lhe brightness of mid-day the chastened radiance of the gleaming and the clouds that cradle near the setting sun but for it the rainbow would want its triumphal arch and the winds would not send their fleecy messengers on er rands round the heavens the cold ether would not shed its snow feathers on tbe earth nor would drops of dew gather on the flowers the kindly rain would nev er fall — hail storm nor fog diversify the face of the sky our naked globe would turn its tanned unshadowed forehead lo the sun and one dreary monotonous blaze of light and heat dazzle and burn up all things were there no atmosphere the evening sun would in a moment set and without warning plunge the earth in darkness but lhe air keeps in her hand a sheaf of his rays and lets them slip slow ly through her lingers so that lhe shad lows of evening gather by degrees and the flowers have time to bow their heads and each creature space to lind a place of rest and ties le to npose in the morn ing the garish sun would at one bound buist from the bosom of night and blaze above the horizon ; bin the air watches for his coming and sends at but one little ray to announce his approach and then another and by-and-hy a handful and so gently draws aside ti e curtain < night and slowly lets lhe light fall on the face of the sleeping earth lid hit eye-lids open and like man she goeth forth again to her labor until the evening — quarter ly rt i < ./-. hot springs of arkansas the hot springs of arkansas are just ly ranked among the wonders of creation they are worth a travel of many hundred miles merely to look at they are locat ed in hot spring count fifty miles west of little rock on a creek that empties into the washita river six miles distant in latitude 31 deg the creek which rises in the mountains some four miles above winds its way between two hill running north and south with a valley between which is in some places fifty and in others a hundred yards wide on the side of one of the bills which is very pre cipitous and rises to the height of four hundred feet — lhe springs break out in various positions from the margin of the creek to the summit of the bill tbe number of springs is said to be about seventy live or eighty within a space of fi\c hundred yards bul the number is not uniform as new springs break out and old ones fill up there are numerous cold water springs within a few yards of the hot ones the heat of the water is sufficient to scald a hog to boil egg or wash clothes without the aid of lire the creek is so much heated by lhe springs that horses and cattle will not drink of i a mile below it is though these springs arc destined to attract a great deal of attention for their valuable healing propertii s as well a for their curiosity accommodations for invalids are greatly improved within the present year in the same vicinity is the magnetic cave a large bed of magnetic rock and the crystal mountain where beautiful crystals of various forms are found in several of the mountains are found the best quarries of whetstone in the united states the turpentim trees — wry much to our regret we hear from various quarters of this section of the state that the in sect whi'h was last yenr so deslrcctive to the turpentine tret 9 i rnenced jrs ravages on them i j ' rntm :;^ uere susp ' v inter and hopes w.re en rtaim vere frosts would put ■■:>. end to l m v ious race but tb • ' 1 pes have ; roved futile it si ' ms at d an • \ > iicl > f profitable labor wi ■■■" - c ' verely — wilmington ( hi ■ ■•