Farmers' gazette, and Cheraw advertiser. (Cheraw, S.C.) 1839-1843, March 30, 1842, Image 1
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VOLUME VI. CHhR AW. SOUTH-CAROLINA, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30,1842 NUMBER
^MM??By
n. XIAC LEAX.
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?|^7?^TThe following remarks read by
the Editor of this paper to the Pee Dee
Agricultural Society, at its late anniversary,
were hastily thrown together, just
r. before the meeting of the Society, under
* constant interruptions. The Society having
requested their publication, the writer
consents, not because he considers
them, as an address, fit to be published ;
but because he ha* always urged the publication
of whatever is written for the
Society, and he cannot exempt himself
( from a rule which he applies to others.]
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS *
BRAD BEFORE THK FKK DKK AGRICUL''
TUKAL SOCIETY, FEBRUARY 22df 1842.
SfcS L '
Land of common quality yields com
mon profit. Or to state the principle
more distinctly : Land of average fertility,
compared with the entire body of lands
1 J.. ?*? ?ml* aaikiI unmno.
wnoso prouutu CIIICI !??/ VVJ'MI VUII||>W- i
titioo with its own, will, in the long run,
with average management, yield an aver,
age, or barely remunerating return for
all expenses incident to its cultivation.?
This proposition is as true as it is, that ac.v.
cording to a natural and well understood
law of trade, prices will ultimately find
v - their proper level. It is, in fact, only a
different statement of the same truth. It
follows, of course, that lands of less than
average fertility cannot, commonly be
cultivated without loss; and also, that
lands of more than average fertility, prop,
erly managed, yield an income over and
above an adequate or usual, that is, an
average return for the labor of cultiva.
lion. Thete is no principle at the foundation
of agricultural finance, which it is
more important for Carolina planters to
understand and bear constantly in mind
Js; ' than this, it is the influence of it that
has, for the last quarter of a century,
been draining our wealth and population
p&ji into the valley of the Mississippi* And,
- ' as surely as Water seeks its level, it must
- . continue to do so?in currents, it may nc,
sometimes more sluggish, sometimes mere
rapid,?hut the flow must continue, till
kthe supply shall he exhausted, except per.
haps the feculent dr -gsor till we shall
change our system of management, if
system it can bccnlled that is no system
at all. As well might we expect a balance
beam to maintain its level with a
nrf?rwin<!f*ranee of weight on one end, as
the cultivators of poor soil to maintain J
their ground in competition with an equal
or greater number who cultivate a rich
soil producing the same staple. It is iin*
possible in the very nature of things that
the cultivation of poor soils with labor
the price of which is regulated by the
c productiveness of rich {-oils, can belong
continued without ruinous loss. Whilst
r the consumption of cotton continued to
extend in something like the same propor.
tion with the production, the cultivation
of common lands in that staple yielded a
large profit, and the cultivation of rich
' ' lands an inordinate profit. But this time
is passing away. The supply gains rapidly
on the demand, and must ere long
equal, and, perhaps for a time, exceed it.
When the great extension in the cuitiva
tion of cotton which is yet to take place
in the prraent forests of the South West,
" 1 -e tut.Knna rtf itili lr?n.
nnu (l| 1 CAfln, BIIU VI - ,
hail have reduced the price to a bare remuneration
for cultivating lands of average
quality, what will then be the reward
for cultivating our lands? It will be just
at much below a fair remuneration as the
fertility of our lands is below the average
fertility of the entire body of cotton
lands.
What is our remedy ? We must look
out for some other staple which shall do
|jf as well in our poor lands as cotton does
in richer lands, or, if we cannot find such
staple, then our only alternatives are,
hopeless poverty, or a change in our mode
of management by which our poor lands |
shall be fertilized. Other expedients inav
retard our downward tendency but cannot
arrest it.
It is most remarkable how loose and
*' t: - ' *l ? -f >rwwt nl j ntf>r.
inaisunci are ine notions ? ??? ,
in regard to tiie comparative advantages i
and disadvantages of cultivating rich and
poor soils. They have some vague im?
presaion that a rich noil is beat because
they have seen heavy crops grow on such
aoiU; and they have seen those who cultivate
them grow wealthy. But in what
degree it is best, or to what extent a culUvalor
is remunerated for making hie poos
I soils rich, they rarely trouble themselves: I
to inquire. I
Let us make some estimates bearing on [ |
this point. Suppose the quality of a tract 1
of land in cultivation to be such that un-1 {
der proper management the gross proceeds J t
amount to $150 per hand, and that this 1
sum is just equal to the common wages of r
such hands, rent of land, and all other ex- I
penses, superintendanco included; it is t
plain that the business is remunerating t
and may be advantageously continued, i
Suppose now the productiveness of the 1
land to be fifty per cent, more, making t
the gross proceeds $225. instead of 150. t
< :_l
Inasmuch as the JADor or cultivating rim |
soil is not greater than that of cultivating v
poor soil of the same texture, the entire li
increase of production is clear profit over f
and above a remunerating return for the f
capital invested. Or if any expense has r
been incurcd in improving the land, then n
the 50 per cent, or $75 per hand, is the J
return or profit from that expense. And 1
if the improvement has been properly 8
made, and the subsequent mnnagemont
of the land is properly conducted, it may 1
be considered more than a biennial profit h
upor* the cost of improvement; because *
land may be cultivated oftener than every e
second year without deterioration. b
If we suppose the fertility of the soil to '
be increased 100 per cent instead of 50, 1
making the gross proceeds $300 per hand. ^
then half this amount, or $150 per hand,
is the return from the expense of improve- ''
ment. It follows that a man who doubles ^
the permanent productiveness of the land c
he cultivutes, doubles at the same time, 1
and by Ihe same operation, the value not j a
only of the land, but also of the labor of *
cultivation subsequently bestowed upon v
it. He doubles the value of both his c
plantation and his hands. A man who 1
works, at a fair profit, ten hands worth 0
$6001), on a plantation worth $4030, if ?
he can double the permanent productive- a
ncss of that part of his land in cultivation, v
docs what is equivalent to adding $10,. 1
000 to his productive capital; or what is ''
equivalent to laying out $10,000 in the j d
purchase of lands and negroes;?and in- i P
deed a great deal more, because whilst c
doubling his grass income, he incurs no n
additional expense for the purchase or sup- ?
port of horses, the sup.^rt of hands, phy- e
sicians, bills, or implements of husband'y
{j
Whether or not the cost of doubling 1
the productiveness of good land in the *
Pee Doe country, sufficient in quantity to *
give permanent employment, without de- P
terioration, to 10 hands, would equal 1
$10,000, or 1000 for the quantity to be c
cultivated by each hand, is a question for a
the practicnl agriculturist to determine c
by experiment. If the improvement of I
the land costs less than the purchase of n
both land and laborers, as I have ho doubt f
every planter will admi^, then, as plainly 0
as 2 and 8 make 5, is it a better invest- h
inent for a Carolina planter to lay out his r
money in the improvement of his land s
than in the purchase of more, with slaves h
tocu tivute it. If this is true when it is J
necessary to procure both land and labor- a
ers, how much more is it true when a b
planter already owns more land than he 1
can cultivate, and it is necessary, under t
the common mode of proceeding, to pur- a
chase only laborers. a
These estimates, it may be said, nre p
based on mere abstractions. They nre ti
not, however, abstractions in metaphysics p
or politics, but in arithmetic which never w
lies ; and the infallible test of experimen- h
tal demonstration is easily applied by any 4
planter. But let us come to the actual d
state of things as they exist in the Pee 1
Dee country, and make that the basis of k
some estimates. n
The average yield of cotton, our staple, f
and almost, our only marketable product, 1
does not exceed four bales to the hand, f
with a provision crop. But to give the e
advantage in our estimates to the land, 'J
let us suppose it to be four and a half h
bales. The gross product of these four e
and a half bales, at present prices, will h
not exceed $115. Deduct the common h
wages of average field hands, say $30, Jf
and we have left $55. When from this j a
sum we deduct the cost of clothing, salt, r
iron, blacksmith's work, woodwork, over- n
seeing, medical attendance, rent of land, f
use of horses, with allowance, for bad sea- t
sons and other contingencies, how much c
is left for profit? Some amount, and c
that not inconsiderable, of the quality to I
which the algebraist prefixes his sign mi- s
nus?, the English of which is, So much a
less than Dothing. The profits come up i
worse than did the fanner's hogs, which t
only came up missing. It is true a plan- \
ter inay make less than four and a half t
bales, or less than four bales to the hand, c
he may make less than common wages 11
for his laborers, and yet be adding some- i
what to his capital. So ho may, with- I
out reducing his capital, work his whole t
life time, with all his hands, upon his (
neighbor's plantation, for no other com. i
pensation than his and their current ex. <
penses. But the proper question is, Does
> he add to his copital as mueh as the cap. I
ital and his labor of superintendence j
ought to bring in to him ? What kind ,
of economy is it to buy land and spend j
your life in making hands cultivate it for |
.mere food and clothing, or for these with
an addition of 15, 20 or 25 dollars each,
per annum, when you may hire them out
for more than double this sum, with food
aud clothing iu the bargain ? It is wowe
:han taking upon yourself all the labor and
luzards of trading with your money, at a
jrofit of only 3 per cent, when you might,
>y putting it out at interest, realize 7
)er cent, without labor or risque. When
i planter's land is of such quality, that
le cannot clear, by cultivating it, as much
is the umount for which he can hire out
lis laborers, added to the value of his own
ime and labor of superintending them,
le is a bad economist if ha cultivates it
n that state. It is as clear as that *?? and
i make less than 5, that it would be beter
to give away the land, and hire out
he laborers.
If planters, especially those who cultiate
poor soils, would take pains to calculate
the expenses and profits of their Hif.
erent operations, they would be saved
rom many blunders which they often,
lot to say constantly, corrmit, and from
nuch Ions which they sustain, year after
car, throughout their lives. To illustrate
he effects of this want of calculation 1
hall state an instance.
A merchant in one of the upper counies
of North Carolina applied to two of
lis neighbors accustomed to wagoning,
o haul cotton for him to Cheraw. One
ngaged to do so, and the other declined,
iecausc he had corn of his own raising to
laul, foi which he needed and must have
he money. The two neighbors came
iown together, the one who hauled the
oau of cotton bringing with him an order
or payment from the owner to his factor,
t so happened that the factor bought the
orn and paid both wagoners at the same
ime. The hauling amounted to $26
nd the com to $24. The raiser and
eller of the corn proceeded as he and
ery many others do in most operations
onnccted with their farms and planta*
? ? ?? _r .u_ i
ions, wunoui any calculation ui uic ivaa
r gain. He did not seem to discover his
rror till he saw the difference in the
mounts paid to himself and his neighbor,
rhuo glancing alternately at the two lit.
Ic parcel* of bills, he remarked, w ith no
ttle mortification: " I have lost two
oliars if I had stole the corn." Many
lantern, who little suspect it, would, upon
alculation, find this anecdote, in its fi.
anciol aspect, an apt illustration of some
f their own operations, if not of their
ntire course of management. ,
But to return to our estimates: A),
hough cotton is tho staple product of the
*ee Dee country, indian corn is a neces.
ary adjunct ; and its cultivation forms
n important part of the labor on every
lantation. Let us inquire what profit
he planter derives from this part of his
rop. Ten bushels to the acre is quite
s much as the average production of
orn in the districts lying on the Pec
)ee. It requires four hands and three
orses to cultivate 100 acres of corn.?
Vom 1000 bushels, the estimated yield
f this 100 acres, one fourth, or 250
ushels should be deducted for the use or
ent of the land. The horses will con*
ume, at a very moderate allowance, 40
ushels each, or the three, 120 bushels,
^he hands will consume 10 bushels each.
Mowing them pens and potatoes, or 40
In nil 'I'h.v u/ill ulan rnnmimp
IjnilUlO III CUM A MV^ ?? * ?
50 lb.-of bacon e;rr:h, being 600 lb. for
he four, or other meat equivalent; which
t the moderate price of 7 oents, will
mount to $42. If we put down the exense
of ploughs, clothing, medical at.
endance, &c. at the very low sum of $10
cr hand?<;iot more probably than half
hat they would coat?we have 40 dolus
for the four hands ; which added to
2 dollars, the cost of meat, makes 82
ollars. To procure this sum will require
64 bu.sheU of corn, supposing the inarct
price to be 50 cents, though it is not
iow so much. We have, then, to deduct
mm the whole product of the 100 acres,
50 bushels for rent, 120 bushels for horse
eed, 40 for bread, 184 for meat and other
xpenses, making in all 574 bushels.
Phis deducted from 1000, leaves 426
tushels as the product remaining at the
nd of the year from the labor of four
lands and three horses ; being 106 1-2
us'nels to the hand. This quantity, at
>0 cents per bushel, is worth 53 dollars
ihd 25 cts., from laborers which might
tave been hired out at 60 dollars. So,
iccording to our estimates, a man who
dants corn in land which yields only 10
>ushels to the acre, the full average proluct
of the Pee Dec country, loses 6
lollars and 75 cents per hand, besides the
n M\ f Oil nt An/1? mm a nir a n T k a korl
auui wi on pel i1 IIV IIHW
tole his horses; for in our estimates no
illowance was made for raising or buyng
any. It will be remembered too,
h.at, in our estimates, we gave the advantage
greatly to the Kind; a thing
vhich no wise planter of poor soil will
lo, when he intends to make his estimates
he basis of future operations. A planter
n settling accounts with his poor neigh>ors,
ought to let the advantage, when
here is any, be on their side. But in accounts
current with his poor land, he
lecds it himself, and may take it without
compunction.
It has often been remarked that a re>
- 1 ? ??U#? r\l mntf ab m Ant AM AOOUC fill
iirUU llici tuaiii inarv^.i nitj ini/ai ouv/ulo?iv*
farmer or planter. The chief reason,
jouhtless is, that he has acquired the habit
of calculating the profits and losses
upon his investments. No man with the
calculating habits of a merchant would
refuse to haul a load for another at 826,
only to haul to market, over the same
read, a load of his own produce, to be ?ol<J
for $21. Nor would he continue to plant
corn, for 50 cents per bushel, in land
which yields only 10 bushels per acre;
nor to plant cotton at an income of 20 or
30 dollars for laborers whom he could
hire out at 60 dollars or more. None
but a fool will continue an operation, as a
mere business, at which he sees he is losing,
and must continue toloso money.
But What,asks the planter, can we do7
Do! Why act like rational men and
not like men demented. Quit planting ;
or go in search ofbetter land; or improve
the land you have. But, it is replied, We
cannot quit. There are too many of us
to find an opening in better business;
and as to breaking up an 1 going into the
region of rich lands, even if we were sure
of bettering our condition, it would involve
the sacrifice of too many advantages
and too many enjoyments more prized
than money, or any luxuries which
money could purchase. Here we can
make food and clothing, if we cannot accumulate
wealth; and here we are determined
to remain. WoP, it is pleasant
to the lovers of their native land among
us to hear such determination expressed.
Many have corne to a different determination,
and had cause to repent it. The
door is now closed against every alternative
but penury or the improvement of
your land. But, it is again replied, We
have no time for improving our land.
No time! That's like the loafjr who
spent an hour in gathering and hulling
chinquepini for dinner, because he had
no time to walk 15 minutes for a better
? ? - - . * 1
dinner. Have those who object to me
expense of time and money in the irnprovement
of their land, calculated 1?
Have they put down in figures, so far as
it can be done, what would be their con.
dition, one, two, five or ten years hence,
with and without a system of efficient
manuring ? Not one cf them ever nt.
temptod it. They seldom take pains to
supply themselves with the data from
which to make such calculations. If they
do a little manuring, they calculate neither
the expense noMhe profit. They may
plead want of time as an excuse; but the
truth is, it is not want of time, but want
of spirit that prevents. It is only want
of energy and enterprizc?absolute lazi.
ness?that prevents enlightened tillers of
poor soils from making them rich and
productive. From an ignorant man
nothing better ought to be expected.?
Nothing produces nothing. But that the
great body of educated planters of Caroli.
na have done so little towards increasing
the productiveness of their lands is a
burning reproach to them. It is a re.
proach however, which there now begins
to lie some glimmering of a prospect they
may in time; wipe away. More labor is
now expended than formerly in improving
our lands ; and experience is constant,
ly deepening and extending the convic
lL-? U,?o Knatnwml is nrofit.
lion (Jim me Kiwui lima |
ably laid out. One result is, that there
is now less emigration than formerly, and
the price of land is rising amongst ns,
whilst at the South West it is declining.
In instances, not a few, too, the ptirchasers
of lands from those who, ten or fifteen
years ago, were emigrating to the
western Elderado, are more prosperous
than the former owners of these
lands in their new homes. Only a beginning.
however, has yet been made. But
this beginning ensures a continuance.?
He must he a very drone, who, having
once experienced the benefits of the fertilizing
process, will not persevere in the
use of it. The very aim of our planters
is, however, yet short of the true mark.
Their accomplishment must, of course,
come short of it. If they can bring an
upland plantation to produce six or eight
hundred pounds of seed cotton to the acre
they think they are doing wonderfully.
So they are, according to their standard.
But the standard is wrong. If at this
' ? 4 Avrionaa Kn IT In y
point OI improvement i>ic
to yield a remunerating return, then it is
a point beyond which all improvement
yields inordinate profit**; though the
planter's conscience need not restrain him
from pushing such profits to the utmost
extent. By inordinate profits in this
connection, I mean profits exceeding an
adequate remuneration for the labor bestowed.
Ail that a planter can make his
land yield beyond a remunerating return
is clear gain to him ; as much so as the
merchant's per cent, over a fair profit, or
his savings by false measures and false
balances, are clear gain to him. But the
planter's gain is fairly and honestly obtainnd.
In the direct ratio of the excess
of nroduct over the expense incident to
1
cultivation, in the planter's clear gain.?
This explain* why it is that men who
cultivate rich lands get rich .so rapidly,
even with bad management. The principle
point* to men of efficiency and some
capital, who have a taste for agriculture,
understand something of the process of
fertilizing, are of a calculating turn of
mind, and who are willing to wait a few
years for the fruits of their labor, a more
sure way than any other, of adding rapidly
to their capital, with ease of mind and
ease of conscience. The speculator or as
he ig sometimes called, from the character
and hazards of his business, the gambier
in cotton, may sometimes, With less
solid capital, and less labor, owing to
some fortunate change in prices, make
more money in shorter time. But the
next throw of the dice may sweep it ail
away. The regular dealer in merchandize
may make profits proportionate to the
amount of his purchases and sales; that
is, proportionate to his capital and labor.
The manufacturer may do the same, but
the planter who improves his soil tifi the
product is worth double, tripple or quadruple
the labor bestowed upon it, thence,
forth makes a profit in double, tripple or
quadruple proportion to his invested capital
and labor. And the lower the state of
agricultural improvement in a country,
the less labor does it require to raise land
beyond an average, or to an inordinate
productiveness. Less expense is required
in the United States than in England and
other highly improved countries, to raise
land of given quality to a state of im.
provement at which it will yield the culti.
vator an income exceeding an adequate
return for his labor; because, here the
average productiveness is less, or, in other
words, there is less competition in this
species of productive labor. But here
more inventive enterprize is necessary;
because it is more difficult to lead than to
follow in a course of improvement.
It is certainly a good and sufficient
reason for persisting in the improvement
of soils after they are brought to a state of
average or remunerating fertility, that the
profits of cultivation are so much enhanced
by improvement carried beyond this
point. But there is also another reason
for it. The same quantity of fertilizing
ingredients adds more to a crop grown on
rich than to a crop grown on poor soils ;
for this plain reason, that most fertilizers
operate not only by furnishing food to the
plants, but also, as tonics, so to speak, or
as stimulants which cause the plants to
take up nutriment already in the soil nnd
digest or assimilate it. The richer the
soil, therefore, before the fertilizer is ap.
plied the greater will be the actual increase
of product from its application. Or,
at least, this is the case till the soil ap
proaches the greatest degree of fertility
which the crop to be grown on it requires,
or will bear.
A few words now as to the mode offer,
tilizing. This is the most important, if
not the only important part of our subject,
and would itself afford ample scope for
many successive addresses. Bjt time
now will allow rne only to throw out one
or two hints. The common mode of
manuring practiced among us is to haul
into our stables and lots leaves and pinestraw
from the woods, and m:ld from the
swamps. These are, in time, mixed and
piled up: and then, after, sometimes more,
and sometimes less decomposition, they
are hauled out into fields and spread, either
broadbast, or in the hills and drills.
This mode is copied, with a little modifi.
cation, from the piactice of older coun.
tries, where land is scarce in proportion to
labor, and cannot, on that account, he
suffered to lie idle, or without a yearly
crop for immediate use. In such coun
tries it is necessary and it is alsoeconom.
ical; because the price of labor is low and
the Drice of land high. Laborious and
expensive as it is, it is also found to be
profitable here. But it does not seem to
mc to bo the one best adapted to our circumstances.
It is not the one pointed out
by nature who works on a large scale; nor
the most economical, wh?re the quantity of
land bears so great a proportion as it does
here to the number of laborers; and where
of course, it can be allowed frequent
respite from provision and market crops,
for the purpose of producing, on its own
surface, mateiials for its improvement. !
could state a number of instances, some
coming under my own observation, of
manifestly great improvement in land at
little cost, by turning in green crops; but
as such statements are unsatisfactory unless
accompanied by accurate statistics
exhibiting with some definiteness the expense,
and in some tangible form, also, the
degree of impiovernent, I shall confine
myself to a single instance, ft is an experiment
made a few years since, by a
member of this society, and published in
the Southern Agriculturist. > Cowpeas
were sown broadcast in a field exhausted
; - - J?--* :? :.
I?y previous injuoicinus cropping, ucn>re n
passed into the hands of tho experimenter,
and of a soil adapted to that plant. For
tho purpose of testing the value of the operation,
part of the field was left entirely
fallow, and not plowed. In the fail,
wheat was sown in the land, and turned
in with the crop of green peas, and where
the peas had not been sown, with the na.
tural growth. The wheat which grew on
the different portions of the field was accurately
measured when harvested, and
it was found that the land manured by
turning in the pea crop, yielded 15 hush,
els to the acre ; whilst that on which noth.
ing hut the natural growth of weeds and
grass had been turned in with the feed,
yielded only one bushel. Here was a gain
of 14 bushels of wheat to the ? ere, worth
probably 18 or 20 dollars, from an outlay
of a bushel or a bushel arid, a half of j>cas,
in all not worth, on a plantation, more
thart from a dollar to a dollar and a half.
What merchant, or speculator in stocks,
p ^
j on his outlay ? Here was a judicious e/-:.>*
i periment, conducted by a man whoun- -J
derstood what he was about* Account g
was kept of the outlay and income, and? :J|||
data were procured to be a gnido in futurtf
operations. If the experiment had bectf:;' /^j||
repeated the next year on the same lawdjj] v*
the profit would doubtless have been stilly |g
greater; because the growth of the pen^
crop, which was the fertilizing substance^s
would have been much more luxuriant! ' ,
upon the richer soil.
Let the planter who uses as fertilizorsjj .
only compost heaps, accumulated froin^
the woods, his tots and his stables, cafe
late at what expense he can, by Ais prdj^,^ilP
cess, raise the production of whea( oiKdidF
hausted land, from 1 to 15 bustH?? per
acre, and then chose between, fnj t.Wo'^
modes. An important ad vaj^jgfl of
etable over animal manur^ in additioo
to their greater economy-Sp that the fef?0
tility which they impartjjU more durable, . '
(t is chiefly by decayed vegetable matter; ^
that the otherwise hgrren saad and ctay^ "
which cothrfirfttte snjafge a proportion o$.. \
the earth's auflacej have been converted ;
into productive ami. Whence else is ;?
chiefly derived thefcrfhaostles*fertility of^ v
the Ked'River aim Mississippi bottoms,/1 ,;
and the fertility ? all our river and creel* ||
I w o.aid not be understood as advising^ ;
the plunter to diScard hi* compost heap#'"
Par, very far from it. As long as it is
found profitable lot it be resorted to. But ,
tvhnf ( ivniitil diiafll i* that a wall pad. i;-?.*n3r:'4Z
nidorod system of greeo crop manuring be \ - :M
combined with thews of it. In this jvay J ^
the planter would sqbn be taught by expo- *: ^
rionce, under what cfecurnstance* and to ;
what extent, either shcfefd bo prefered to " ' p
In green crop manunng natare is made
to do the greater part ofroiA work. She
collects from the atmosphere, and duly
prepares the fertilizing materials, leaving '
them evenly spread to the plantg&'s hand ;
and requiring him only to lurnlthfluiajJi . ^
The quantity of vegetable matter:-wr^Kg^^M
may thus be acecumuicted, by a pmpegffi^fHgjg
adaptation of the plant to the toil, alrnn^t^
exceeds credibility; especially after it tie?
Und has been much improved; in whirls^ ^
state manuring pays best. More ih^t IS
200,000 lb. of green corn has been cut?
from a single acre in one season. ..
There is another source of fertilization |
accessible to the planters on and near, the.1l . ^
Pee Dee, which I can now only name, r
I mean the limestone and marl which are
found in quantities inexhaustible oh tHo~7 *
very hanks of the river. The subject fs sM'~,
almost new to many of us, and ohe.in ^
which we are deeply interested. If time *
allowed I would dwell at some length upon I
it. Those who wish information in regard
to it are referred to the Farmers* Regiiujc
ter, and the valuable treatise on Calcareous
Manures by the able editor of that jeg?
cellent periodical; a work which ought to ;
be in the hands of every member of tkta^
CJ .? m m I .uA.if |J. nl.a An - yvE&&
OUCiciV) auu c?wij |nau?vi wu iu? '*'t,j
Before closing I shall state in expert^
ment made last season with the Pee Due '%
marl, by a Mr. Cunningham of Maridn, f
on whose land a bed of it is found. It ^
was spread at the rate of 200 bushels to Jgj
the acre* on part of an old-field of sandy ^
soil, which had once heeo exhausted, arid |
then suffered to lie out till it became cor. t
ered with ? growth of young pines. The |
marl was applied the second year.after**
the land hud been re-cleared, ahd?the J T
I crop planted * was indian corn. Upon J measuring
the crop after it was gathered^^| ;
the yield was found to be exactly doubltfj
that of adjoining land of the same qualify
ty, planted at the same time and eultiva^j
ted in the same way. This information?*5* ^
I received from a gentleman of intelli- ' ' M
gonce and respectability who sawjlth* '4
crop growing and saw the corn roeasuVerfl fS
when it was gathered. Not knowing -|?
that I should use the information in thi* 4|
way,,it did not occur to me to inquire whal&||j
was the yield to the acre;'hut my in- - -fg
formant stated that'the growth was very^"
luxuriant, that the number of stalks to ttver^l
hill was two: that the corn succored frewly,
and that on some hills he counted a* ::r
! many as seven good earn, some uf tlwia -jSj" "
Lime can be.delivered on the bank?
! the river, not far from Marr'a BIwfT, at .
one dollar per barrel; and at a less pi,ice- M
if the purchasers furnish boxes in which
to receive it. Marl can be shoveled frfmt
the hank into flats or boats lying in the
river; and according to the best info
tion which I have been nble to collect,,
it may be delivered on the river bank at , M
this place, at a price not exceeding 5 cant* $6
per bushel. Now supposing 200 bushel* 'AJg
of marl, per acre, to, doublo the planter's Jj
crop, wiliiout increasing his labor of cot- 1
ti vat ion, whether, in that case, it would .
be a profitable operation for him to purchase
it at that price, haul it to his plantation
and spread it out, is a matter of calculation,
which one may make for
fertility imparted to toil by lirae i# more
doable than that imparted by jwhapr
anv other manure.' ^The effect.- it?
application to landsin-Wginia 50 jifid
years ago are yet manifwt, by the sonority
of the crops produced hv the** ^
lands, compared with those produced by ^ \
adjoining lands. Lime seem * to eft ? t *