Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, August 11, 1841, Image 1
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VOLUME VI. * CHER AW, SOUTH-CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1841. NUMBER 39.
By Iff. Iff AC LEA*.
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editor on the business of the office.
From the Western Farmer & Gardener.
BORGUK HONEY?MANAGEMENT OF BEES.
For many years hv past, Borgne has
been famed for producing fine honey?
perhaps the finest in Scotland. It is of a
transparent sea-green hue, and possesses
an exquisite richness of flavor which is
"keenly relished by connoisseurs. AVhat
gives it the beautiful color, has hitherto
baffled the investigations of naturalists ;
% but it is certain that it is clear until the
beginning of July. Many of the pasture
fields in Borgue abound with white clover,
mnd in fine dry weather in July, thousands
of the industrious insects may be
heard buzzing, and seen gathering sweets
from the time that the dew rises until late
in the afternoon. Extreme dry and
warm weather is unfavorable for producing
good honey, for the flowers either
never arrive at perfection, or the scorching
rays of the sun hum them up. Extremely
wet weather is also unfavorable
?'for however numerous the flowers of
different kinds are, the plashing rains
wash out what the bees so ingeniously
mix in their laboratory, while they are re.
luctantly confined in their cells. In
cood seasons, as much as one hundred
and fifty pints* of sixteen imperial gills
each, have been produced in Boryue,
though for some years past, the quantity
has been considerably less; and bee husbandry
is bv no means so generally cultivated
as in former times, when the
seasons were more propitious. The
ammo* of 1839, was highly unfavorable,
and the produce in the parish of
Borgue was hut little more than forty
pints; while that of 1840, which was
awmethmg better, yielded somewhat more
thaw eighty. The summer of 1826, was
the warmest that any living person remembered,
and the most unfavorable for
producing honey, not only in quantity,
bat in quality; for in that season it was
*s dark in the color as whnt comes from
the Moors, and wholly devoid of the rich
flavor that it commonly has. In the winter
of 1838, and also that of 1639, many
hives died of starvation, though at killing
time each season, numbers of weak ones
w were taken with the view of preserving
the lives of the stronger ones in the evening
spring; and hence the small number
of hives that are to be found in the parish
of Borgue. (n former times, almost every
married laborer, as well as e;ich joiner,
mason, cooper, /dacksmith, &o. had a
winter.stool; and in the month of the following
October, the gains of each would
amount to from ? 1. 5. to ? 2f besides a
Mnall quantity for family use, and an old
hive to breed, and throw oflTswarms next
summer. Some of the more extensive
cultivators of bee husbandry, used to have
from six to ten winter-stools, and their
gains were iifc proportion. For some
years past, few persons in Borgue have
f/Mtr hivpa fhqf survivpd
imu nunc iiimi ivui ui>w ...... wv..
the winter; and in tolerably good seasons
they throw off on an average, two swarms
each. There are sometimes one, or even
tiro more ; but they are commonly weak,
and the produce would have been greater
and finer in quality had they remained
in the parent stock. In very good sea.
sons, the top or first swarm throws off
one hive, and the produce of it is called
virgin honey, which is of a truly beautiful
hue, and always commands the highest
price in the market. A virgin hive seldom
produces more than two, though in
particularly good seasons, three, or even
four pints. In fine summers, the honey
is always much superior in quality, to
what it is in unfavorable ones. In gener
al, there are but few young swarms Delore
Whitsunday; and the greater number are
thrown off from the 1st to the 21st of
June. Sometimes there are a few as late
as the last week in July; but unless the
season is highly propitious, they do not
gather as much as will preserve them
through the winter, and are smoked in
September. In good seasons the average
quantity from each swarm is probably
three pints, though the top one occasionally
yields from six to seven. If the top
awarm is very strong, it is customary to
put one, two, or even three eket>\ to hinder
it from casting; and in extraordinary fine
seasons, from six to eight pints have been
produced. In bad seasons, the drones*are
sometimes killed before the first swarm is
thrown of}', which materially injures the
parent stock; but in good seasons, the
* The Scotch pint is cqnal to our half-gallon.
f From $6 to ^10,
| Additions.
drones are not destroyed until the hiving <
is past. Owing to the darkness of the i
color and the difference in the flavor, 1
Moor honey rates from two to three t
shillings per pint lower than the finest (
produced in the low countries?at least t
in Borgue. Honey gathered off* heather, y
and also ofF the leaves of oak, fir and svcamore
trees, is always of a dark color, .
and consequently less marketable. It is .
allowed on all hands, that white clover is j 1
, 1 |
peculiarly rich with materials for producing
fine honey; but it is a mistaken 8
notion that bees also gather from red clo- 1
vcr. The wild, or bumble bee very fre- v
njiontlv extracts food from red clover; t
^ J
but the tame one, owing to the shortness r
of its proboscis, cannot penetrate. The
latter, however, are very fond of goose- e
berry and current trees, cherry, apple and f
pear tree blossoms, wild and garden mus- c
tard, nape, kale, &c. They are also very t
partial to the flowers of german greens, i
yellow clover, and many other wild flow- 1
ers, which callous persons pass by with 1
indifference. In some apairies the wri- 1
ter of these remarks has seen the. ground \
in their immediate vicinity delved in the a
spring, and sown with rape or mustard r
seed. In Borgue, old swarms or winter e
stools, are not removed to the moors, but t
are kept in their summer stations. In )
summer, bees are often found at a consid- v
erable distance from anny dwelling house t
though how far they fly in search of food (
cannot be accurately calculated. A long I:
time ago, some hives were kept from ten s>
to fifteen years ; but of late they are sel- e
dom allowed to stand for more than two h
or three years. A hive that weighs 30 r
lbs. including the skrp, will keep during a
the winter, and if it is heavier, will most a
likely throw off swarms earlier in the I
ensuing summer; hut for several seasons I
past, some weighing 20 lbs., have with a a
liltlc spring feeding with honey, or mel- s
ted sugar, been preserved, though the pro- t
duce is commonly scanty. I bad seasons v
the killing of hives usually commences
nkmit lot S<?ntomhpr nr>d in.wood f
ai'VSUi HIV 101 Wl a^v|/?viiiwvt 1 ? ^ ones,
about two weeks afterwards. In a
Borgue, the way of getting the honey is r
by digging a round hole in the garden or a
ajiiary, putting two pieces of wood hori- c
zontallv over the mouth ; placing two
brimstone candles in the bottom ; then f
placing the skcp right over them, and tl
, covering it over with a sheet. In a short p
time the bees are suffocated ; and lest on tl
the following day the rays of the sun v
should revive them, they are covered over t!
with earth ; and thus are they not only d
unscrupulously robbed of their store, hut ii
cruelly put to death. Fine honey usually h
weighs from 7 to 7 1-2 lbs. per imperial | f
pint; and in proportion to the quantity h
produced, or to. the demand, it brings i
from six to twelve shillings. Inordinary (
seasons, it brings about nine shillings,? t
though in very very bad ones, it has been r
as high as fifteen shillings per pint. The v
latter price is very rare indeed. In the t
beginning of October, persons desirous of h
having a ne v stock, repair to the moors, n
' ? 1 ' !- . ? l.lnno at ffAm fif'_ ri
ana purcu.isu mvra m ? ..?-j ..
teen to twenty-one shillings each.? \ t!
Though all the moor honey is of a dark I s<
f - ' ???* !
coror, it is principally consumed during p
winter and spring ; and the new honey is, p
commonly of as tine a quality as if the p
{parent stock had been bred in the low I;
country. Oid hives are sometimes de- c
stroved hy the white moth, or miller, p
though its ravages in proportion to the u
number of hives kept, are by no meansso s
great as they appear to be in some parts n
of America. c
SAM'L. HOUSTON'. n
Borgue, near Kirkcudbright, ) v
April 1st, 1841. $ p
(The preceding communication was y
received from a correspondent in Scotland t
in answer to our enquiries on the subject, r
We were anxious to know if Borgue hon- q
cy was still as beautiful in appearance, i;
as delicious in flavor, and as highly s
prized as when wc were wont to ramble i1
in our boyish days owcr the muir amang f
the heather. We wished to learn, too, v
if the secret of its peculiar excellence had
yet been discovered. d
We are much indebted to Mr. Houston i
and will be pleased to hear from him I
again, on such jike topics.) s
?: ? h
I From the Western Farmer and Gardener, t
MEDIUM SIZZD, VERSUS LARGE HOGS. i
Mr. Editor;?You are aware that I f
am now, and have been ever since 1820, [
extensively engaged in pork-packing in c
this city; and I feel that I may without s
presumption, lay claim to uot a little ex- 1
perience in the business. It is fully as }
much to my interest, and that of every
one else engaged in curing pork for mar- >
ket, as to the interest of the farmer, that (
the very best breeds of hogs should be
J O
scattered over the country. * t
When I first entered into it, the pork
brought to us, was produced from the <
same miserable race yet to be found s
through much the greater of the West. ,
It yielded us little lard, and the sides were i
unfit for mess or clear pork?too thin and s
only fit for bacon. The first improve- I
inent we had was the little chunky China <
hog?a perfect mass of lard?hams light i
ind too fat?though the waste of off,
vas trifling. The next we had was th
arge Warren county hog, requiring yeai
;o mature, and then coming to us of a
jnormous weight?great waste of offalhe
hams too large and badly shaped, a
rvas also the shoulder?and the sides, net
srtheless of their great size, were fhi
n proportion. They were still a grea
mprovement. The crosses of those an
he Russian and Byfield, in the hands t
omeof the more judicious breeders, pro
luced a verv excellent hoc?-and we wh
" O
vere the purchasers, were anxious fornn
mprovement on the unprofitable wood
logs usually raised.
Though as [ nave remarked, so lor
ingaged in the business of packing, I ha
>aid but little attention to the breed'.n
if hogs, though always keeping a few c
he best I could find on my farm, an
mproving them to the best of ability
t wag not until some of the part.hre
Yorkshires were brought to us from Bui
er and Warren counties, that I was struc
vith the great improvement they were o
tny I had j et seen. The perfect mar
ler in which they were fattened?thei
jxtraordinary length of bod)-, and th
hickness of the side met?their sma
et thick, fleshy shoulder?the grea
veight and handsome form of their ham
he great yield of lard, and little waste c
>ffal, either of inside waste, or head an
lone, proved'to me that they were
omething entirely different and altogeth
>r superior to any other breed within m
mowledge. On making further enquir
especting them, I found them equal!
idvantageous to the farmer and drove!
is to the pork packer. Prolific and easi
y kept; maturing early and fattenin
lindlv to as great weights as were de
irable; stamping iheir own charactc
tronglyon any other breed with whic
hey might be crossed ; and travellin;
veil to any reasonably distant market.
I had before this been breeding hog
or sale, and seeing at a glance, the gre.i
idvantage it was going to be to me i
ny packing business, to have such a ho
s the Berkshire in general use, I at one
ngaged in it largely.
True it is that I cannot give up m
arm, and my attention and capital, I
he breeding of fins stock, without
rospect of meney-making bv it; hi
hat was the secondary object I bad i
iew?my pork-packing business was c
he first importance to me. I saw an
rcaded the efibrts that were made t
nlroduce an extremelv large hog int
Kentucky, for I had about this time tran?
erred my pork business to that state, an
tad gone tovery*great expense in erecl
ng an extensive establishment back c
Jovington, and intended making iny en
ire purchases in the state. We cn
nake no us? in this market, of animal
weighing from 400 to 600 lbs., eve
hough they may be well fattened, i
tog of the proper form and quali y c
neat, that matures at ten or twelv
nonths old, so as to fatten properly, an
hen weighs from *200 to 300 lbs., is th
ort for which we will give the higlies
rice, because it yields us the greates
rofit. And most assuredly it will als
ay the farmer best. We have no popu
ition to supply, that will consume large
oarse, indifferently cured meat. Ou
rincipal demand is for city and famil
se, both here and in the cities of th
outh and east. The ham is with us th
lost valuable part of the hog, and th
elebrity of those cured in Cincinnati i
iow great. This part must he hcav
iihnnt hninnr lanre?round, thick an
r? o
lump; the flesh, though principally lea
et niarhled with fat. Next to the liar
he lard and side meat yield the greates
eturn?the former must he abundant i
[unntity, and tine grained ; which neve
h the case with any hog until he ha
omewhat matnred?the latter must carr
ts thickness throughout, having no thi
lanky parts ; and must be f.it?and la.'
re rank the shoulder and the jowl!
Many of the Boston and Richmon
lealers, and those from the other citie
n the East and South, come hero annual
y to have meat packed?they all prefe
ucha heg as I have described, and wi
my no other if they can help it. Hoi
he drovers, who are represented as driv
ng to Richmond and Charleston, and a
ireferring the largest sized hogs, ca
>ossibly dispose of such animals there,
rannot understand. Nor how meat of
lize that I know from experience, cannc
>e cured, even with the aid of cool collar
>/? /?- mn hn kpnt thorp. surnriscs me
Think of a pair of hams, Mr. Edito
veighing 149 lbs. in tho climate r
Hharlpston or Richmond or Baltimore
They would indeed require to be cut i
wo; and then what a sightly object!
Still some regions of country may re
jiiire a larger hog than others; and t
supply those who may think so, Mr. A. I
\lleu, now on his way to England, wi
mportfor me some of a size sufficient I
suit any taste For my own part, an
for my use for packing, I want neither a
ixtravagantly large hog, no. yet a ver
small one. A hog that has to be fed tw
il winters, never will pay first cost; if he
e can be had of sufficient sizo without win s
teringat all, so much the more profit?a
n spring pig killed in the fall at 200 lbs.
- nett, will evidently pay better than if the
is i same hog had been kept over winter, and
r- reached the second fall 500 lbs. nett.
n I have been speaking now as a porktt
packer, not as a breeder; and what I
d have 9aid, I say in all sincerity. I have
>f no desire to injure the business of any
> other breeder of improved hogs, nor to
o prevent their continuing their improve.
y ments to as high a point as they please.
Is But I do regret to see gentlemen of scij
ence and experience going back to a large
g coarse hog. such as the Woburn, Irish
d grazier, or Liecestor, when they can prog
cure a breed so infinitely superior; the
?f improved Berkshire.
d JOHN MAHARD, Jr.
Cincinnati, July 5, 1841.
d
From the Southern Planter,
k corn cons,
n Mr. Editor,-A. am happy to see you
i. and correspondents pressing the value of
r the corn cob upon our wasteful and ex
e travagant community. I! farmers would
II only attend a little more to this and some
it other points of rural economy, they
s , might easily save enough to justify a sys>f
item of improvement which they admit
d to he desirable, but from which they are
a frequently deterred by the want of funds,
i- I am fully satisfied that there are but few
v farmers in our community who do not
y waste more than enough to supply them
y with the means of effecting improver,
ments, that in their turn would double
i- j their means of making others equally as
g ! profitable. ?
j Go upon a large farm m Virginia, ob;r
J serve the niggardliness in providing fenh
j ces, houses, and fixtures, and the corres?
I pondent waste in food, l?-\bor, and destruction
of implements. Compare the manfs
ngement with that of a manufacturing or
it mercantile establishment, and you see at
n once, why agriculture is not profitable,
g Such system, or rather such a want of it,
e j would break ddwn any other business in
the world.
v But I have been dr wn off* from the
o main object of this communication, which
a was simply to confirm the value of corn
it cobs, by relating to you a circumstance
? that came within my own knowledge. In
>f the winter of 1810 corn was very higii,
ff and Peter Bedlock, of Dinwiddie, who is
0 now an independent farmer, was a very
0 poor man, but an excelh nt manager.?
Afraid that his corn would not last, he
determined to try, and did, winter iiis
I* horses upon corn cobs alone, pounded in
>f a common hominy mortar with his own
' hands. They received no other susten
nance except long forage, as hay and
's fodder. Upon this they did their win.
n tcr's work, and no man ever saw Peter
^ Bedlock drive a poor horse.
To this fact I ani ready to testify and
c you are welcome to give my name to any
d person w o may feel sufficiently interesn
....i u
" i iku in u iu narw iui
? Yours, J. II.
It' ' ; 'if,
o From the Southern Planter.
i. bekkshires.
i, Mr. Robinson, who is not loss remarkair
ble for his practical common sense thnn
y for the forcible quaintness of his style,
e g.ves the following excellent advice to the
e breeders of Berkshire* :
e oExperiencc is an excellent teacher?
s as I have been taught a little I will impart
y it to others engaged in breeding pigs,
d Great care is necessary with this breed
n to guard against the temptation to use
n them too young. They are so large and
?t fine at eight or ten months, that many
n j suppose they are plenty big enough to
^r j breed. It is a great mistake. The boar
s j should scarcely be used until twelve
* ' ?i? ??:i
y months old, and then out sparingly unm
n eighteen. A sow should never be allowed
it to have pigs until a year old, and then
only in warm weather?and it would be
d better that they were sixteen months old
:s ?nature cannot be forced with impuni.
I- ty. The period of gestation in a sow is
r exactly sixteen weeks. NowofmyexpeII
rience?I had two sows last fall on the
v passage from Albany, got with pig at
f- about four months old. On the first day
s of January, one of the coldest season, one
n drapped seven afid the other two, and as
I the sows had little or no milk, and were
- .11 .1.^,1
a too young to mind meir pigs, nu mcu ><
)t spite of all that human care could do.
s "Yesterday, another sow, just one year
old, dropped eight pigs. Siio is one of
r, the kindest most careful, and sensible
>f hogs I ever saw; and as the weather is
! warm, are all as live.y as could be wishn
ed. It is characteristic oi Berkshircs,
that they are great breeders, and fine
milkers but do not be tempted to use them
o too young. But above all things, do not
J. be tempted to do without them.
II j SOLON ROBINSON,
'o! Lake C. H., la., April 2."
d T
n SUCCESSFUL FEEDING OF SILK WORMS.
y We are gratified to learn that Mr. R
0 Sinclair, sr. of Clairmont Nursery, near
2
1
this city, has been most successful in his h
attempt at feeding Silk Worms the present c
season. He fed half a million of worms, r
nearly all of which have completed their t
interesting labor of winding their cocoons, n
No mortality whatever occured during the ji
whole season, and but very few of them d
died. Nor are we less gratified to learn, e
that he has realized to the full, the calcu. b
lations of profit contained in Roberts' Silk a
Manual, because we are aware that the t
statements made by the author of that
work, were so made under a conscientio js r
belief in their truth. s
In announcing the pleasing result of a
the labors of our old friend Sinclair, we u
seize.the occasion to congratulate our ag- <]
ricultural readers upon the prospect thus c
afforded of adding another rind a most lu- a
crative branch of husbandry to the coun- (
try??a branch whose h'essings and, bene- p
fits we sincerely hope and believe, will, *
in a few years, he not only felt but ac- f
knowledged throughout our wide-spread c
land, notwithstanding the drawback it (
j 0
received by the speculating mania in the f
trees.^-A/ner. Farmer.
From the Southern Agriculturist. c
ox the use of lime as m vnere.
Mr. Editor:?It is unfortunately a f
trait in the character of the Southern f
Planter that he regards all novelties with *
j suspicion. Any departure from the prac- 1
j lice of his fathers, or his neighborhood, 1
he considers dangerous, and the generali- \
ty will deride as vain theory, the efforts of 1
the man who will have the courage to I
j
make an innovation upon established pre- 1
' cedents, or to violate a rule dictated by <
one of the partriarchs of a neighborhood. '
This causious spirit if united to a liber- 1
al enterprise, is highly commendable ; he s
who possesses it will incur no rash risks. '
while he will avail himself of all the lights '
of modern research ; but unfortunately '
we too generally find the caution without 1
the enterprise.?They sneer of the prac- '
tical man withers the energy of the en- '
thusiastic speculator, and the old routine
of practice continues to he popular because
nothing short of absolute demonj
sfration will convince the man of practice
that the theorist is not madman,
i In your editorial career you have suffer- '
i ed from this prevailing spirit. The pracI
tical man will not write because, he has
; nothing new to communicate. His prac1
tiro is the same now as it was yesterday,
j and as he thinks it will be to-morrow,
! and is known to all engaged in the same
i pursuit. The speculator dare not write,
b ecause he knows that the first question
which will be asked when his essay shall
have been read, will be?What sort of a
1 planter is he ? How \!<>es his practice
square with his theory If the answer
to this question he not satisfactory, he
will he condemned as one who prcsump- 1
tuously pretends to teach, while he ought
j yet to be sitting at the feet of Gamaliel.
" He writes better than he plants." Ifa (
more damnatory specimen of faint praise
were ever uttered, I have not had the 1
i misfortune to hear it. My imagination
- -.u: "?
' can conceive 01 noumijr m<>ic nuun^. i
I
! I am surprised that the Planters of low.
I er Caroline have as yet derived no bene- .
: fit from the publication of one of the most
: valuable and practical essays of tho age. 11
i (I mean Mr. Uufli.Ts essay on Calcareous I
j Manures.) Several years havo elapsed i
since its first publication, and notwithstan- j
ding the knowledge that it ha9 revolution- i
ised agriculture in lower Virginia, I be- ;
j lieve that hifhero nr?t one planter in ;1
( South Carolina has used lime but as a j
pretty and useless experiment. j(
The book came out too, at a period 1'
when South-Carolina was suffering sev. 1
j erely from the emigration of her citizens, j!
*1 1 ? - 1 '-'J- 1 ??? IO.xa linijj nf I I
lixnausieu neius, > *oig u?ci mi^g nv.uo </ |
lime were deserted, in some instances j '
they were literally abandoned, and at best
they were sold as lands hopelessly worn 11
' out and their proprietors went to the great 1'
Western Valley to seek richer lands, a j'
main feature in the constitution of which j 1
was the presence of lime. Notwithstan- J *
: ding the known character of .Mr. Ruffin, j
i for intelligence and probity ; notwithstan- j '
| ding the labored details of experiments j <
which teach the readar that he has got a- <
mong stubborn facts, and not idle thcor- <
ies : notwithstanding that it is a historvof J
what has been affected in lower Virginia, ,J
a territory differing but little in character 'J
! and climate from our own, yet the books 15
! which unfolds irs beneficial agency is with j '
' us almost unknown ; the lime remains in 1
| its natural bed undisturbed; its very ex- j
istcnce is by many questioned, and the I
fields lying but a few feet above it, aod I
which with its application can be put in a 1'
state of progressive improvement, are un- 1
, dergoing yearly, a progressive deteriora- (
. tion. ' J
! The extent of the lime-stone region in
j South-Carolina is as yet unknown. There *
i is every reason to believe that it com- j
! mences immediately below the falls of the '
j great rivers, and continues to the sea. 1
I The stratum varies considerably in thick- 1
- 1
ness. I apprehend that its maximum
thickness is at or near its termination in
the uplands, and that its minimum is at or
near the seacuast. It is certainly much
thicker at the Eutaw than in the known
localities twenty miles below.
The position of tho lime is various.
At the Eutaw Springs and in its vicinity,
in the neighborhood of McCord'.s Ferry I
and near Monk's Corner, on Cooper river,
it frequently rises to the surface and a
I little above it. On the elevated lands j
ordering on the various swamps and
reeks which form the head of the latter
iver, it has been found as low as from ten
o twenty feet below the surface?On the
nargins of creeks, and near the point of
unction of upland and swamp land, its
epth below the surface is but a few inchs,
and generally except the land rises airuplly
to a considerab'e elevation, it may
lways be found at the depth of from four
0 eight fe it.
If I might presume to propose a general
ule from mv limited observation, I would
uggest the following as the indication of
1 bed of lime, viz :?whenever the Upland
idjacent to a stream of water produces &
?...iu L:?I j ? i. J i i?.
jrow in ui iin-rvwiy, i?-u uatv, uugwuuu) m>
:ust or walnut, lime may he dug for with
i certainty of success ; when on the conrary,
the upla^s produce only long leaf
lines and scruh-oak, the search for lime
vill he unavailing. The streams of the
brmer class ahound in muscle shells and
raw.fish, and the uplands in snails; none
if them, certiinlymt t ie muscle, will be
ound in the pine land streams.
The appearance of the lime varies in
hflbrent localities, but the fragments
vhich have been subjected to analysis,
ixhibits generally nbrut twenty per cent
>f alkaline earth.?how large a portion of
his is magnesia, is a question not yet set.
led bv the chemists. In some places
irar Santee river, below the Eutaw, and
it Godfrey's ferrv onthePcedee, the lime
s found in a bed of loose shells partially
pulverised, and may be carried immediate*
y from the pit to the field, without furtb*r
preparation-?It is generally a hard
ock full of fossilshells; frequently thp
ock is so hard that whe? smartly
itruck with a hammar scintillation will
Follow. This of course will require either
ire or the hammer to render ft fit for the
field. If a quantity of this hard stone is
thrown up in t ie fall, and ex >osed through*
put the winter months, it H idergoes disintegration.
I have no correct data for ascertaining
the amount of labor necesairry for oh.
taining lime. Mr. Rufiin, who has been ,
in the habit of spreading from three hundred
to two hunJred and thirty bushels of
calcareous earth to the acre, [equal to
from one hundred two hundred
and thirty bushels of Carolina
lime, (states that a single man,
employed throughout the year, will dig
enough to manure sixty acres of land.
Two years ago. six men in three weeks
dug for me eighteen hundred bushels?this
was equivalent to the labor of one man tor
- ? e\r fifW.fn T lnVfl. With this
II I lie VI Clftl VI IIIII-.V rn .
nmount of lime I mam red eighteen acre*
of land. I believe that my hurfdred bushels
of lime are fully equally in value to
Mr. Rufiin's three hundred bushels of calcareous
earth. Now as. it required the
labor of three days to manure one acre, if
we take an.nverage number of two Irendred
and seventy days as the number of
working days in the year, then the labor
of one man would at that rite of manuring
furnish enough lime to cover ninety
acres of land. Ifthe relative values of the
Caroline and Virginia manures have been ,
justly stated, we m; y presume that'-fhe
value of the products of lahnr will be
greater in Carolina than in Virginia, ^because
it is to be supposed that when the
liming is pursued as a systematic part of
the operations of foe farm, the means employed
in procuring it must he more convpnient
than nnv ( could command, when
C
only engaged in n crude experiment.
Following the practice universally ad.
opted in Carolina, viz -to devote our
attention to the market crops almost exclusively,
considering every other as a
secondary object, my experiments with
lime have been made only on cotton. I
have made two experiments; the first in
1839,'a year remarkable for drvne * and
threat productiveness; the second in 1840,
3 year as remarkable for humidity and
comparative failure. In each year the
result was most gratifying| the most decidedly
marked success wa9 in the dry
vear. After one year's cultivation the
land was suffered to rest. The field limid
in 1839 produced a les* abundant
crop of poverty grass than the circumjacent
hands not limed?and a more luxuriant
growth of crab and joint grass 8 desirable
object. That is a gross that is
>aid to delight in a calcareous soil, it might
spread more rapidly on such, than on lands
free from calcareous earth. Every one
tvho owns an old plantation, is aware that
pint grass is no stranger, even to the
* '""'I" rf limo fh#>n r^flllv a
juuresi inuuj. 11 ^ _
fertilizing agent, let us not object to it bemuse
it does not prove a panacea for all
the evils with which our ignorance, or our
areslessness, or the behests of a wi?e
Providence hove strewn our path.
Mr. Ruflin observes, that they who wish
to use calcareous manures must mafce the
ligging of it a branch of the regular farm*
ng operations. Any system ofmanuring,
In Ka ?ffipipnl. (lapoftla a
If C l\UUTT IUUO?| ?V WW wwww^ ? w ?
iart of the habitual operations of the planation.
Trusting to the chance of oto.'
aining lime during the season between
loeingand harvesting. I made no other
provision for it last year, but classed
vith the rest of that miscellaneous jobbing
iperation called fall work. But jn the
fall the water had taken possession of my
Dits, and I had land to clear, md other
n.nuanto/l mo from nktn !.
jttiipca j?n5fv?iivu M?v ??v?u uuiaimuj^ A,
bushel of lime. The opening of a small
jotljr of land, together with the rains of
Vugustand September, havQ fitopp?J fy