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I VOLUME VII. CHERAW, SOUTH-CAROLINA TUESDAY, MAY ST, 1813. NUMBER 88
By n. MAC LEAH.
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W 1
IROX HOOPS FOR COTTON 1IALES.
A considerable degree of attention begins
to be bestowed upon this subject.?
The following encouraging view of the
operation of the plan is taken from the
Yazoo city paper. It is from the pen of .
Vincent Galloway. Esq., now a cotton
factor in the city of New Orleans, but ^
^ formerly a resident of this State :
^ 441 hasten to reply to yours of ti e 20th
inst., relative to the use of iron hoops in
place of rope on cotton bales.
44 As to a deduction of a dollar a hale j
on Cotton put up in hoops, it h by no
means general in this city. A respecta- ! *
Lie firm here informs me that they have j
received fifty cents a hale addition, on j
account of the iron hoops, because the ' .
cotton did not require repressing. A
I vessel left here the other day with a great- !
? ? > n J j
er number of pounds of cotton in iron j
hoops than she had ever taken of repress- j
ed bales hound in rope; because iron!
bound bales keep their shape and size, |
and may he packed perfectly close. The
mate of a ship, on being asked the other , '
day which he preferred, said he would ra- j j
ther load two vessels of the same size with j .
cotton in hoops than one in rope, 4 because |
the iron bound hales keep their shape, are
easier handled and jacked home."
I 441 agree with you that hoops will come ^
into general use. All the pUntci hon .? !
do to accomplish this is to use presses ol ,
sufficient power to make hales of 400 lbs. :
weight, 22 by 21 or 24 by 24 inches and 1 t
four fm?t S r*r 7 inches '""g? This will ; ^
lire in the quantity of bagging and hands
ten inches in the breadth of the bale and ,
six or so in length, and 4 Inst hut not | .
. * r i "
least,' seventy ^jivr. cen<* a uwc jur /c-^ ojo I ,
ing. The direct and imiT.t 'iate saving ^
in expenses by using iro ? hwips will be ^
about one dollar and ticenty-Jice cents a
bale /
c
TATE or AGRICULTURE IX ftORXAXDY. n
It is interesting to the farmer to know : f
how the tiller of the soil in other pnrts t
of the world conducts his opeiations,
what his course of crops and modes ot
^ culture are, what his implements and ani- :
mals, nnd what his domestic and social . E
condition is. With the intention of grati- | j
fying this laudable feeling, we shall give {
a few extracts on the agriculture of Nor. i (
niandv, a province of France, from a pa- j
per in the Quarterly Journal of Agricul- , |
tare for Juno, 1841. j <
Normandy is n province of France, i
divided into five Departments, and con- j
taining almut 2 700,000 inhabitants. It (
differs from most of tbe southern arid eas.
tern parts of France in many important ,
particulars. "Instead of extensive tracts j
of tillage, without any visible subdivisions ;
to make out the different ownerships, and j
without trees, except the formally trimmed |
ones on the road side, Normandy is a i i
continued series of well timbered farms :,
and fine forests of surpassing beauty, in- j i
stakes at erpial distances, and five judges j
appointed, sixteen ploughs came upon the ;
ground: of these, fourteen had a pair oft
horses eaeh, one a pair of oxen, and one a j
single horse. Nine of these plows were i
of the Norman form. After having
plowed a field which had no particular
difficulties, tho teams wero removed to
another full of heath and broom, and the
competitors wero allowed tho me of an
additional horse or bullock. Out of the
sixteen which had plowed in the free and
open field, only appeared on the sec.
end tnaf. In thu unbroken und tough
terspersed with corn fields of small extent, j
orchard* and meadow o< grazing land." ; i
The soil in Normandy i* considered j
the richest in France, in innny places |
highly calcareous, and in general well I
adapted to cultiva't< n. The farms uver-|
age about sixteen acres each in extent, : j
and are held under leases of the usual
term of nine years. But about one half
of the farms are held by the proprietors ; |
*nd these proprietors are in a majority of ;
instances farmer* of the lowest class, or
those who take thoir own produce to mar- ; <
ket, and at home live as poor us it is pos- !
aible to imagine- The following extract j
will show what the living of the French
peasant is:
4 Many of this class, (the small farm- -j
ers) like common laborers, dine upon a
few apples or pears, and a hit of bread,
without the formality of sitting down at
table, and aro content with a drink of;
their own hoine-made miserable cider.?
]t is not easy for an Englishman (or an
American) to conceive how a man can
i work hard upon the washy diet so gene- j
[ ml in France. We have seen men cutting
up wood for fuel, (which is hard i
L work ) from morning till night, und in
the acverest winter season, without more j
[ mitritous food than indifferent fruit, and a j
1 J - luLun tiorhiitw. fnr
OrUBU f IIIC WIUJI mnvji) |?v. ?, ....
*?pper nt home, or for early breakfast, is,
if possible, worse as a means of support, |
for it consists merely of cabbage and hot
water, with a litle tfrea?w or kitchen stuff; i
it distends the stomach with wind, and
I therefore is total'v ununited to a working !
i iuan, m he should hme solid not liouid !
diet." 1
Much cannot he said in favor of the : 1
Vorinan sheep husbrandy, as there is (:
little or no free range for them, and they I '
ire kept in small lots of three, four, or i
lalf a dozen, and usually tied by the legs j
together, even when they have lambs, a i
:oun-e incompatible with thrift, "and al- ; <
tOi?e:her a worse description of sheep j i
irannot be imagined. Attempts are <
[linking to improve them by the introduction
of the Leicester and South Down. j
In the management of their cows and j i
lairi s the Normans Jo rather better, j
ind the quality ot their cream and butter 1
cannot be surpassed. The cream alone is '
churned (not the milk as in son.e of the I
Dutch dairies,) and this operation is per. i
formed twice a week, so that the cream I
<tands only a short time. A sweet green i
jasture in summer, and sainfoin hay ip
the winter is considered the best for but- I
fer. Beets are sometimes given pretty i
freely in winter, but though this food increases
the milk, it does not improve the <
hotter, and with limited exceptions, nei
iher beets, potatoes, or turnips are given I
to the cows that yield the best butter. It i
s found by experience that "the applica- ! i
ion of dung imparts in spring time valua- i
ile qualities to dairy pasturage, but the j |
trasses in summer give, on dunged land, u 1J
ank flavor to butter." { '
The Nor man daiiymen insist that dai- J
y ho ises should have a northern aspect I
it all times, as a south wind is prejudicial *i
o milk ; that cream should not be left in I
7 |
he milk room, as they mutually exert a
>ernicious effect on each other ; that the '
loor should be flagged and washed in
OO |
.umrner, to preserve coolness; that in ,
he winter the milk should be strained ,
nto pans as soon as possible after milking, i
vhile in the summer the cooler it can be 1
na !e, the better it is for the cream. Pans
>1 common earthenware, are preferred to 1
my others, having been found superior |
;?cn hi puicuuiiii.
"The cream i *. skimmed twice a day (
fencrallv, sometimes three times, and (
;are is taken alwnys not to leave it too i
ong on the milk. Twenty-four hours, I
sometimes forty-eight.) in summer elapse 1
?ef>re the fi st creaming, and the cream 1
s allowed to lie as short a time as possible '
>efore churning. By day the cows are j
urned out, and at night kept Toimmrcs- i
in i s i|)f?icil with sainfoin hav, which is J
idinirab'e for dairy purposes." 1
The breed of cows most common and (
I e most esteemed in Normandy, resem- _
lie th Alderney, nnd as this province is (
djacent to Alderney. Jersey and (iuerne ,
ey, as well as Brittany, there is little ,,
loubt of the identity of the Aid- rney and i
Gorman breeds. The Agricultural Asso- '
iation of Normandy have imported from
^njiland some fine short horn bulls and
1
ows, with the intention of improving the
took of cattle. There is an Normandy a
oa-se hairy breed of cattle which are
nuch used lor the plow and cart, "and
our or live of these bullocks or oxen, with
wo or three horses, make the teams w hich I
ire extensively used in Normandy."
In the dairy districts the he'fer calves
ire usually reared, while the bull calves
ire fattened for the market. In some
)lac :s they are fattened on sk in milk,
ind in others on new milk ; and in some [
Jistricts bread, converted intoakindof
pap, is added to the milk to facilitate the |
process. The Norman hog is of the
worst possible description as to form ; but
wh n fattened the flavor of the pork partic
Jarly the bncon and hams, is good,
in 1 the meat flrm.
Centuries ago, Normandy was the
rointrv from which the flower of Europoan
chivalry derived their best horses.?
The breed was then large, active arid
powerful; but although still active and
hardy, it has degenerated in size so much,
that the Norman horse is now one of the
imallest of European breeds. Of this
we have sufficient proof in the small size
ind hardy character of the French Cananal.
They rarely attain fifteen hands
in height, are short necked, have good fore
legs, hut frequently imperfect hind ones,
hut as a breed will go faster and do more
work than their anm aranre would at first
II
indicate. Attempts are making to im.
prove the Norman horse by crosses with
the best English blood, for the purpose of
furnishing horses for the cavalry service ;
and one of the Government Ilaras, or
stations for stallions provided by the Gov.
eminent, is located at St. Lo. At I)e
Pin, are kept 500 horses and marcs, and
at St. l,o. about 120 stallions.
The French government do for the
provinces, what associations or individuals
among us do for agriculture; it furnishes
funds for agricultural societies, plowing
matches, 6cc. and the latter are held bv
authority of the state. Not long since
one was held in the communo of Augerv
ilie, for which 1,000 francs were appropriuted
by government, and the proceedings
were as follows:
"The ground being marked out by
field many failures were soon apparent;
some stopped short before they-had well
turned a furrow, seeing that the work was
above the power of their cattle or thcM1
plows ; others stood out longer but made
very bad work, nnd two plows only overcame
the difficulties under which the others
failed. One of these was a new plough
called the Orange plow, and the other
the Dombasle plow, and to these two, and
the one horse plows, the three prizes were
awarded."
The Grange plow is described as having
these advantages:?
441st. It works of itself, not requiring
the hand of a plowman either to enter
the sock into the land, or to keep it in its
true direction ; a driver only is necessary.
V
2d. It can be set nt any depth, and
turns over the furrow slices at equal and
regular depth.
3d. It moves as easily even on very
doping land as on a flat.
These effects are produced by a simple
kind of mechanism, which can be applied
at the expense of about twelve francs, to
any common plow."
But the improved Dombasle plow is the
general favorite among the best French fannits.
It is modelled from the Scotch plow of
Small, but with the defects of that corrected,
and is furnished with wheels, as is also the
Grange plow.
There is in the paper alluded to a sketch of
the system of farming adopted by ftJ. du
Moncel, near Cherbourg, on his farm of about
-fK) acres. M. M. makes uotatoes the base
of his system of culture, using the drill p!ow
and horse hoe. lie has tried turnips and
carots, but has rejected these for the potatoe,
' since though the first roots are the most
productive, the potatoe is twice as nutritive,
(comparing equal bulks) besides its increased
value as an article of human sustenance."
* * * " After various experiments M. Monc.'l
has determined on a course of eight years,
divided into equal periods; in the first four
years, he has successively potatoes, barley,
clover, and wheat; in the second, buckwheat,
colza, wheat, and oats." Of the artificial
grasses he gives a preference to lucerne,
though he has also vetches and red clover.?
His potatoes are a large yel ow, early variety,
i red, And a large white for swine. He has
tried some twenty kinds, but experience
proved these to be the best.
A small stream passes through tho yard of
M. JMoncel. which is m ide to work machinery
roi miuji.u.j, i ,i?,,|jliu r,rain ; griuding
bis barley, wheat, and buckwheat; convert
ng his straw into chaff; and slicing pu.aiuv.,
:arrot?, &c. Thus without leaving the yard,
:he gram is reduced to flour and bran from
he sheaf, and the straw cut for cattle. Froin
this u.-e of power, our farmers might take a
jseful h.tit, and in addition to the above ope*
a ions, the same power might be made to
saw the wood of a family, and crush the corn
A'ith the cob for the stocic.
From the American Farmer.
Improvkmknt ok poor Land ?Accumulation
and application of maniruD
vnni
W \shixoton, Ff.b. 11th, 1842.
Mr. Editor,?In my communication I
promised to give you some of my notions
concerning the improvement of poor land,
and shall now endeavor to fullfill my
promise. The first great consideration,
then, is the accumulation of manure; the
next and the greater, the proper application
of it. There is no farmer who pretends
at all to the advancement of his interests,
hut can raise a good pile of manure
l>y the opening of spring. To this end
he must not sell, or carry off any thing
that will contribute to the general store.He
should have a commodious stable
yard, the centre of which should be at
least 2 feet deeper than the out edges, his
cattle should be kept during the winter in
this Yard, which should have proper sheds
for their protection. Let all his rye,
wheat, and out straw be fed to them here,
and his corn stalks, buck-wheat straw,
wood's earth, leaves and every thing, that
can he converted into manure, be thrown
over to he trodden upon by the cattle;
and at the end of every month, the whole
should he thrown together in a pile; scat,
tering a few bushels of lime over the manlire,
before throwing it up, will be of great
service to it. If he attends carefully to
* - 1 ' ? ? l i *.| _C
these points, lie win noi oe asnamcu ?n
his manure pile ukan the proper time arrives
for hauling it out. One great preventive
nrnong most farmers, to the accumulation
of manure, is, that they keep
too much stock; a farmer should keep
barely enough to convert his rough material
into manure: it is a great mistake to
keep cattle enough to eat up all the straw,
<Sco. on the farm; a ton of straw placed
under cattle will produce three times as
much manure as if it passed through
and he quite as valuable;?bed your stock
well then you will do a great service to
them, and increase your manure threefold.
Now comes the most important point
connected with our subject, and that is,
the proper application of manure?I really
1 1 'L - ? .1? . _? -Itnnimn
oeiievc inai mu warn 01 prupci quvhimm.
to this matter, furnishes moroimpediments
to the improvement of our poor land than
any other course that can be imagined.M
a no re, like every thing else, i;i porishable,
and proportion as we |>ostpone the
benefits to be derived from itjust in that
proportion do we lose thern forever. The
great object then, is, to seiro hold of their,
benefits i-mmediafely upon its application.
In order to effect this, plough np
the land, you proprose to improve, in the
fall, and harrow it down?or if it ia corn
land, it is alroady prepared. About the
1st of April; manure it broadcast, not
very heavily fur the great advantage in
this mode consists in bringing in the greatest
quantity of land with the least amount
| of manure; sow immediately upon the
' manure, about a bushel and a peck of good
oats to the acre; plough all in together
with a shovel plough, or light barshare;
run a broad heavy brush over it, and
sow immediately about a gallon ot long
clover seed to the acre. The benefits de.
rived from this mode are these?you get
about 30 bushels of oats to the acre, equal
to ten of wheat, (which we very rarely get
from poor land, even if highly manured)
your ycung clover becomes immediately
shaded by the luxuriant growth of the
oats, and your land and manure from that
moment receives protection, which is the
great secret of improving land. By the
k i ? a. ' i. ( iL . 1
above plan, you aiso gci ria 01 mai great
mistake among most farmers, of ploughing
in their manure too deep?instead of
loasing any of the benefit* of this manure,
you bring its whole power to bear. It is
not exposed to the winter frosts, rains,
and your oats and clover derivs immediate
benefit from it* It is a singular fact,
that most fanners orefer manuring their
corn land to any other; now the least reflection
would or ought to convince them
of the fallacy of such a course, or else
thoy must deny, that manure losses any
of its good qualities by exposure to the
sun and atmosphere; for certainly in ten*
ding the crop of corn, he must necessarily
turn up more than once the manure
and expose it to evaporation. And although
this is the lust crop upon wh.ch
manure should he used, yet putting it
upon ground in the fall is almost equally
erroneous; for it is ns little henefic.al to
manure to expose it to the frost and rains
of winter, as to the summer. Some prefer
putting all their manuro on their potato
crop, hut this, though profitable, perhaps
in one sense, is a poor way to improve
land,, for potatoes is a crop that requires
a very heavy manuring, if planted
on poor land, (which we must take for
granted, as we are now treating of the particular
kind of land) and I would here
repeat, that all land which is intended
for improvement, should not he pastured,
for by so doing, you exactlv undo what
you shuuld do, that is, deprive the land ol
that shade, which is the great means ol
improving it. How often do we see the
same peice of land receive repeated man.
umi??, uiiu uc 111 mo euu as wiien
you first undertook to improve; this is oc.
casionod by taking otT what you should
leave on. Land, then, under a course ol
improvement, should not be pastured.?
Never manure land but once, is my max.
im; that is. while you own any that is too
poor for cultivation without it. If vou
have brough in all your poor land so produce
clover, then you can begin a second
manuring, and so on ad infinitum. To
recapitulate then, my practice is to take a
1 poor peice of land, plough it up in the fall,
I plant it in corn as directed by my former
I communication, (which if nttended to,
j will pay well for the trouble.) then in the
follow spring, spread a thin coat of manure
on it, sow abont a bnshel and a peck of
oats to the acre, and plough all in together,
about 2 1 2 or 3 inches deep, and after
brushing the ground level, sow about
a gallon of clover seed to the acre. If
th s method was adhered to, we should
soon have very little poor innd in MaryJ
land. In my next I shall say a word or
i two on planting potatoes, &c.
THG FARM AND FARMING OF THK KEV, J. H.
TL'KNKR?NO II.
From the Farmers' Register.
In a former communication, when
treating of a sound economy, that most
indispensable appendage to good management,
in the hurry of writting, I omitted
an illustration which I will now supply.
I intended to state, that I keep no overseer.
I once had one, but he, though a
very honest and respectable man, gave
me moro trouble than all the negroes put
together. 1 constantly had to do the
very things which I paid him to do. It
is a very rare thing that the hired men
has any eyes except for his own interest.
! Accordingly, I had to see every thing,
|and tell the overseer about it, and direct
him to do it; and this gave mo more trouble
than to do it myself.
These overseers, besides, are generally
very expensive things.- In addition tr
their wages, their families, if they hove
, any, must he supported. An extra horse
j must be furnished for the man to ride,
and an extra cook for the ladv, and ar
extra cow for the family; nnd when these,
together with the multitude of other nameless
extras, are taken into the ncc? u ?t
thenggregate becomes very formidable in
the catalogue of expenses. Accordingly,
it is no uncommon thing for the overseei
J to become rich much faster than the em!
ployer. Instead I have several times
I i??.. ? him nrntiire a hr.ndsoma for
I rsuunu mill 1
| tune, when the employer lost one. One
> large estates, it may be necessary in some
instances to have an overseer, hut in or
dinary cases, I do think it would be bettei
to repose the necessary confidence in c
| faithful servant, and thus invest hinr
i with the authority and responsihil ty o
| a heid man. On small farms there is n<
; doubt on this subject.
tin* I u/ill. with th<
ouiiiiumuu mm mm, a ,
risk of * bringing an old house over 013
head," say, that the farmers' wife ough
in ordinary cases to dispense with he
housekeeper. Whilst her husband is In
c* n n^iidgcr in hii proper d*p??tinent
she ought to make bor influence felt in (
all the departments of her proper sphere. e
Instead therefore of paying another wo- s
man to carry her keys, to lock and unlock I
the meat house, to visit the kitchen or a
dairy, or to superintend the poultry estab- a
lishment, she ought to do these things f]
herself. Nor let any active healthy wo- v
/ _j .1 *.L_ r
| man ^ann iriese ore ine very women u>? f
! farmes' wives) feel that in undertaking n
{ these things she will encumber herself v
j with over much serving. It is true that a
these duties, if faithfully performed, will e
make it necessary for her to stay pretty n
much at home; but then industry, connec- H
ted with early rising, and especially a tart d
for business, will npako thj whole com.
; para lively easy. v [
I -? *" " * t _ J _ __
1 once Knew a woman wno nnu a ro- | e
I markably kind and affectionate husband,' p
but he was an easy * good for nothing" I
sort of a creature?would sit in the house s
all day, kiss his wife and caress his chil- e
dren, but would do almost nothing in the t
way of business. This good man's affairs, r
as may ho supposed, regularly became I
more and more disordered. His estate. |;
which was at first an ample one, got into f
ruin, and a heavy debt added greatly to a
their difficulties. In this state of things, |(
| this good man, but bad manager, died, p
The affectionate widow, was almost over- v
whelmed with sorrow. Here she was f
family dependent upon her for a support. ^
and with a large debt for which she s
had to provide, and all this in f
the very midst of affliction and
I had health. At length, when her |
! grief had exhausted itself, she rallied her f
| energies, and showed what she really was. j
j A combination of circumstances now cal- ,
; led her true character into action. She t
; mounted her hoise, and rode over her ,
I farm; the broken down fences w< re re- |
! paired, order was called out of confusion {
j and with the aid of a head man alone, |
; the csfale was in a few years, completely ,
relieved from its oppressive debt. This j
! good lady, though now far advanced in, ,
(I life, enjoys better health and spirits thq? ,
I she did in her more youthful days, and all ,
, is to be ascribed to her enterprise, and
j industry. Should these remarks ineet (
* ' - ?- J 1 I I- J-- T 1 ?l,a
the eve 01 in is gooa oiu mu y, i uopo sue
*j will excuse them. I submit th u?, *? * **? 1
i j render hor conspicuous, hut simply to ,
| show what industry a ad good manage- (
i j menr, even in a delicate female, can ,
- effeet.
I As another matter of rcmomy, I will
fi mention, that in the various appendages '
and fixtures of my farm f made it a point,
that whatever I got should be of the very
' best order, and that without regard to tho t
i original cast. As an instance of this. I
will state, (hat the cheapest cow I ever ,
owned, cost me when delivcied 895. And
i in purchasing my fine hogs some time ,
ago, I got some as low as 830, hilt among ,
, them, here was one for which ( paid at ,
least $120, and this is decidedly my ,
cheapest hog. ,
And here I will take the liberty to re. ]
i mark, that farmors very often commit a j
capital blunder in this im >ortant thing, j
They often suppose that the cheipest ,
things are those which cost the least mo- |
ney; whereas tho cheapest are those ,
u/ttir?h viol.-l tha frr?ntnat nrnfit on the
J "? ? ,,,v fa ?? ?*"* r t? i
amount expended, and at the same time ,
contribute most to our convenience and j
gratification. Perhaps there is no in? ,
stance in which this mistake is more frequently
and strikingly displayed than in ,
the purchase of land. In this important ,
matter, fanners aeem often to lose the fac- (
ulty oflooking ahead, and fix their eye |
l only on the present expenditure. The ,
; essential points, fertility, faculties for im- (
i provement, and convenience to a good ^
i and steady market, together with other (
; things which make land really valuable, ,
j are all lost sight of, or are all merged in ,
the sole consideration of a cheap purchase* ,
A little good land in the neighborhood of ]
a good market is worth more, in my opin- ,
ion. than all the lands of the moon and of
| the seven stars put together. (
j My predecessor, as I have been inform- ,
, ed, liveo on my present farm as long as
' he could. ^My old friend, John Carter, ,
has several times told me that his.last
crop of corn consisted of stalks not larger ,
than his fingers, and he verily believes
that it did-not yield a peck to the acre. ,
1 And as I have had occasion several times
1 to make public mention of this gentlcma 1,
! i If will tell the reader who and what he is.
J Mr. Carter is a plain man, without edui
! cation, and has sense enough to make no
i I pretensions to it, as a man of close, con
stant and accurate observation, always
j experimenting, and would certainly long
i [since have ruined himself, but that he
deals in this dangerous article in a small
' way. In this way be has stored his mind j
with an exhaust less variety of facts, which
i his great kindness prompts him to com?
l inunicate for the information of all. His
> j sole fault is, timt ho is too prone to draw
)! general conclusions from particular c< a s.
font to return from this digression. My
r ; predecessor being thus starved eut here,
l ' followed the great multitude to the vr ,st,
i ! where I doubt not he found better land,
f. but I do doubt if he found more subslan)
tin I means of improving his condition.
j 'J'his land b?ing thus abandoned, re3:
matned for a long time (a small part exr
i copied) in what is called the old field
t state. Some of it, is true, had strength
r i enough to put up a sweothrier, a peratwon,
a | a young pine, or a coder hush; but large
, portions of it were eo destitute of cover,
1
hat the straggling cattle, in their wanderings,
merely passed over it, without
topping to take more than a bite or two.
n t ie mean time, I was busily looking
ut in the neighborhood of Richmond for
small farm, with the view of making ia
nv own. I saw many, but for reason*
rhich it 19 not necessary to detail, I could
tot or did not obtain them. At length
ny eye rested on this forlorn spot. It
wis in market, and notwithstanding the
I most hopelessness of its aspect, I resole*
d on n purchase. In the midst of the
rainy discouragements with which it vu
urroiinded, there were however some reeerning
circumstances which went a
;reat ways towards reconciling me to it.
ts position, for instance, was in that dir* j
ction from the city in which improve.
n *ni WttM fHitIV111^ liic lll'JWl inpiu |iiu|^icaa>
t was situated on a good and level rot<l,
i that access to it would at all timet be
asy. Its surface was neither so hilly m
0 subject it to wash ng, nor ao level at to
etain large quantities of stagnant waters,
iesides, when I came to examine the
and itself, it was not so desperate as its
irst appearance indicated. It is true that
1 considerable portion was low, lying
ung both sides of three branches which
uissed through i\ nearly the whole of
vhich was a col I, tc acious pipe clay.
Jut the remainder, which was far the
greater proportion, was a light siltcious
oil, firmly imbedded on a strong red clay
bundation.
These then are the materials on which
[ commenced my operations. In the He.
ails, I have perhaps been too particular
>.it 1 thought it necessary to be thus
ninute, that the reader might have a dieinct
view of the whole subject. And i
io v the absorbing question with me was, ~M
i iw 1 could most speedily, and at the
iame time economically, bring thee? deao. yate
Ian Is into a state of profitable cilHi*
nation. To plant or sow them in their
present state was a folly . of which wen
i tyro would not be guilty. In thin em-,
crgency, 1 Imd almost no assistance except
my own reflections, aided by the lit*
ll<. avruirioBCfl I l?ld A/>nilip^d ill fTI V ffff
lie CAJAiMV?MVV MMV? ? ? / +.
parly youth. At that time (15 yearn a#")
Liebig had not wnttcfl his " Or^tsis
Chemistry,' in which he sets forth the
great value of ammon'n. I had never
even heard or thought of huntus, nor guano,
nor poudrette, nor urate, nor bone
dust, nor any other of the multum ??
parco" manures of which the locks tr at
at the present day. If the editor's inv !
uable 4 Essay on Calcareous Manures'
wasthea in existence, I had not s <en it.
But in the midst of my want of information
as to other and better means of iin.
proving lands, I was satisfied of the great
and certain efficacy of rich putrescent
manures. Tuis was then my resource,
and I availed myself of it with all the
means in my power. In the beginning,
as might naturally be supposed, I made
many mistakes in the use of (his artiolo.
For instance, I used it in the drill, when
[ ought to have applied it broadcast, and
[ immediately covered it with the plough,
wln nas I am now convinced that I ought
lo have left it on the surface, Hut amidst
my blunders, 1 conceived the idea of
n??l?!nn all flia maniiro I nmi Id t( hoffln.
! 11 u r\ i i ? n?i ?mv * ? # v ?- -f
snd then of adding to it ail in my power
from town ; and thia I am sure vu no
mistake.
The reader is now in possession of the
;hief material by which 1 have brought
my farm to it* present fertility. The
quantity used at first was about 50 cert
loads of 25 bushels each to the acre. Thit
materially improved the land, as the crops
clearly indicated. But | could plainly
perceive that there was an evident falling
iff in the second, and especially in the
third, and fourth crops. This made a
second manuring necessary; and I anv
now convinced, that excessively poor
lauds, such a9 mine were, cannot be made
permanently rich under fhree distinct manuring*.
These several applications
uuglit to follow one an- th*r at interval#
of about three yours. 1 find that land
managed in this way will regularly fur
- k ? * !/*? ? ttaus c */! a# tho mii^I
mail U Crop CfCl y jrcai, auu ut >nu uxu u|
nine years, have so much fertility a?
greatly to aid itself, by the rch luxuriant
vegetation with which it is clothed. Sub..
sequent cropping will make addil o al i
manuring necessary, hut then half the
origins' quantity will be sufficient. Oar
small farms, brought to th s fertility, and
regularly treated in this manner, will fur.
nish a crop, according to the season, every
yeart and so far from deteriorating, will
constantly improve; and this I call the.
44 nr. plus ultra1 of good farming.
But there is another article, which I
have used to a considerable extent, and ,
with most decided advantage in enriching
my farm; and that is the coal ashes. It'
was observation, and observation alone*,
which induced me at first to resort to thine
sjbstance for the above purpose. I had t*
never seen nor heard of its being used for
aiy other object than that of stopping % ..
ravine or of making a footpath to cross,
the muddy streets ef a city. But I had
remarked the Jamestown weed and other
rich vepeiauoo grwwiii| ? ?no ?*?? umm uriant
manner, around the edges of heap*.
of this article deposited in gullies and oth..
er very poor place* Doctor Tazewell,
also from whom I made my first purchase,.
in sending for wood from his lot, had
been in the habit of carrying out coa?i
ashes and debiting them oo the poor
places. There alto I had the most strife