THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 

mmn to agriculture, horticulture, auK the ^ouscncilj girts. 

I Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts 
I of the State.— Sullv. 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the 
Arts . — Xenophon . 



FRANK: G. RUFFIN, Editor. 



P. D. BERNARD, Proprietor. 



vol.xh. 



RICHMOND, SEPTEMBER, 1852. 



No. 9. 



From the Soil of the South. 
STRAWBERRY CULTURE. 

We have learned our strawberry culture 
from long experience, and to our experi- 
ments we considered the climate and the 
nature of the plant. We found a mam- 
moth, fruit, and our object was to dwarf 
the vine without affecting the size or qua- 
lity of fruit, for we had learned that all 
plants require different kinds of food in 
perfecting their stems, stalks and fruit.— 
We give the strawberry all it wants to 
perfect its fruit, and retain the luxuriant 
habit of the vine, by a cold and simple diet, 
thus enabling it to brave the heat of our 
summer suns, and to help the fruit stalks, 
instead of putting all its capital on its back 
in the way of clothing. We will not pre- 
tend to say that all strawberry plants can 
be cultivated in this way; we believe they 
must go through a thorough acclimation, 
and be gradually disciplined to their hum- 
ble fare. All fruit cultivators are aware 
that an over luxuriant tree seldom produces 
much fruit; hence root pruning has been 
resorted to. to check the too rapid growth 
of wood, and it invariably forms fruit where 
none or little grew before. It is upon this 
principle that we cultivate the strawberry. 
The soil that seems best suited to the 
growth of the fruit is a sandy loam. The 
natural location of the bed ha3 much to do 
with its productiveness; as moisture is one 
of the greatest elements in perfecting the 
fruit, the bed should be as near a 6tream 
of water as possible. New land is pre- 
ferable to old— we care not how rich the 
old may be, or how poor the new may be. 
Before planting it should be mellowed 
deeply. The vines may be planted any 
time from September to April, (we have 
moved them in full fruit.) We plant six 
or eight rows of Hovey's Seedling, which 
is a pistillate to one of the Large Early 
Scarlet, which is a staminate or herma- 
phrodite, both bloom and fruit together; 
the rows two feet apart and the vines some' 
eighteen inches apart in the rows. 
Vol. XII.-9. 



Strawberry vines will live planted almost 
any way, but if fruit be en object the first 
season, the roots should be put in the 
ground just as they were taken from it. 
1 he vines will make from runners the first 
season, enough to stock the ground. In 
the fall, go over the ground with the hoe, 
and thin out to some ten or or twelve inches 
leaving the vines to decay where cut up- 
after this is done, cover the whole ground 
with decomposing leaves, scrapings of fo- 
rest earth, fine mud from ditches, and any 
vegetable matter that will compose soon 
Before the plants bloom, top-dress them 
with ashes, leached or unleached. Keep 
the whole surface of the ground covered 
with leaves, which shades and cools the 
ground, and keeps the fruit clean. As the 
Iruit stalks appear, should the weather 
prove dry, give them water; as soon as 
the fruit sets, should the weather prove 
u 7 ' give them water; as the fruit ripens, 
should the weather prove dry, give them 
water. By this treatment, another fruit 
stalk will have started, befbre the first is 
done, and so on through the season. The 
vines will make few or no runners durino- 
the fruiting season. Keep down the p-rass 
and weeds with a hoe. We have "tried 
the plough, but it let in too much sunlight 
Better keep the grass smothered with 
leaves. Let those who wish strawberries 
Jive weeks in the year, trench in two feet 
of stable manure; but those who like them 
six or eight months, exclude all manures 
but Nature, and turn green leaves into nice 
and luscious fruit. 

This can be done. This we do, and our 
readers that choose can do the same We 
doubt not there is plenty of land throuo-h 
the country as poor as ours. When cJur 
old friend of the New York Plough walked 
through our beds last March, he exclaimed, 
"well, well, this is the first strawberry fruit 
I ever saw without vines!" And it was 
literally true; the ground was covered with 
fruit with scarcely yet an appearance of 
leaf. 



v. 






258 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



4 



* 



For the Southern Planter. 

COMMUNICATION TO THE VIRGINIA 
STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

BY EDMUND RDFFIN. 

Some of t/ie Results of the Improvements of Land 
by Calcareous Manures on Public Interests in 
Virginia, in the Increase of Production, Popu- 
lation, General Wealth, and Revenue to the 
Treasury. 

The statistics of a country, especially in re- 
gard to its production, population and wealth, 
and the comparison of these values at differ- 
ent intervals of time, and under different in- 
fluences, constituie the most important mate- 
rials to aid the investigations of the political 
economist, and the action of the siatesman in 
direcffng the public policy. Without these 
aids, no deductions, as to the economy, the pro- 
fit, or the loss, of the most trivial as well as 
the most important measures of state, can be 
known with certainty in advance; and no- 
thing, but the lapse of long lime, and conse- 
quences so ruinous that their sources cannot 
be mistaken, will serve to show clearly the 
errors of action or omission, in the policy of 
government. 

The Legislature of Virginia has done no- 
thing for the direct object of aiding the know- 
ledge of statistics, and thereby giving general 
light and aid to legislation. But without such 
intention, there has been prepared, and is scat- 
tered through the legislative journals and do- 
cuments, a great mass of valuable statistics, 
or materials for statistics, which might be 
made very far more accessible and useful, if 
properly digested and published in a concise 
and clear form. From this mass of materials 
were principally prepared the various tables 
furnished from the Auditor's Office to the late 
State Convention, upon special calls and reso- 
lutions of that body. These tables are far 
from being well digested, or even in good shape 
for examination. Yet they furnish almost the 
only accessible information on the general sta- 
tistics of Virginia. Though not touching agri- 
cullure directly, nor designed to touch it at all, 
still these reports of population, assessments 
of lands, and taxation, will serve indirectly 
yet conclusively to prove most important re- 
sults, and to indicate, to those inquirers who 
may labor through the examination, the causes 
of agricultural decline and resuscitation.— 
Surely the more full investigation and clear 
proof of these important results, thus com- 
menced without design, would be well worth 
the attention and furtherance of the legisla- 
ture of this almost exclusively agricultural 
country! 

The Governor of the Commonwealth, in 
in his message of January. 1852 to the legis- 
lature now in session, adverted to some of 
these statistical fads in the following words: 
"The increased value of the lands lying in 
the tide-water district, as exhibited by the re- 



turns of the recent assessment, vindicates the 
science [of agriculture] and appeals strongly 
to you for aid and encouragement in its behalf. 
In 1819 the lands in this district were valued 
in the aggregate at the sum of ©71,496,997, and 
in 1838at ©60,704,053 2Qi,exhibitinga<feere<we 
in value, during the nineteen years that inter- 
vened, to the enormous amount of $10,792,943 
79£. And yet those same lands were recently 
assessed at the sum of ©77,964,574 52, show- 
ing an increase in their value during the last 
twelve years of ©17,260,521 31£. 

" This remarkable and gratifying change in 
the value of these lands cannot be attributed, 
to any great extent, to benefits resulting from 
works of internal improvement; for thus far 
these improvements have been chiefly confined 
lo other sections of the State. And in vain 
will we look for a solution of this problem, 
unless we remember that for several years 
past, the enterprising citizens of this section 
of the State have been devoting themselves 
with a commendable zeal to the subject of 
agricultural improvement; and by a proper 
application of compost, marl and other ma- 
nures, and the use of other means which a 
knowledge of this branch of education has 
placed at their command, they have redeemed 
and made productive and valuable, lands 
heretofore worn out by an improper mode of 
cultivation, and consequently abandoned by., 
the farmer as worthless and unfit for agricul- 
tural purposes." 

Then, according to the government assess- 
ments, the lands of the whole tide-water dis- 
trict of Virginia, in nineteen years, (from 1819 
to 1838,) decreased in general value nearly 
eleven millions of dollars. In the next twelve 
years, (from 1838 to 1850,) the lands of the 
same district were increased in value more 
than seventeen and a quarter millions of dol- 
lars, as shown in the last assessment. 

But great as is this late increase, and the more 
remarkable because taking the place of pre- 
vious continued and great decline of values of 
lands — and on every ground deserving legis- 
lative inquiry and thorough investigation — 
these stated amounts of former decline and 
recent increase of values, are both much shoit 
of the true amounts. This position I will en- 
deavor to establish; and further, that all the 
true clear increase of value, founded, as it 
justly is, on increased production and fertility, 
and much more than any apparent amount, is 
the result of one particular agricultural irr- 
provemnet only, viz: the use of calcareous 
manures. For great as have been the values 
of many other improved agricultural processes 
or applications — and great as have certainly 
been their benefits, all such improvements, if 
without the addition of marling or liming, 
have not been sufficient to arrest the before 
downward progress of agricultural production, 
much less to recover the lost elevation. The.r 6 ? 



other many and greatimprovements have been 
introduced generally, and have been increasing 
in use for forty years— and more extensively 



It 

A:.. 



* 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



259 



and beneficially in the middle than in the 
lower country. Yet the before declining coun- 
ties have continued to decline, unless they 
used calcareous earth as manure, or otherwise 
possessed a soil or sub-soil which, however 
exhausted by abuse, contained, naturally, lime 
in some one or other form of combination, and 
in quantity sufficient to reinstate the wasted 
fertility. Even in the counties the most im- 
proved as yet by marl or lime, there are still 
very large spaces which have continued to 
decline in production; and adjacent counties 
which have not used marl or lime, are still 
wholly in the former general state of decline, 
.therefore, the actual agricultural improve- 
ments, of all kinds, have not only produced 
the increased value of seventeen and a quarter 
millions, but they have first paid for the heavy 
losses caused by more general and continued 
exhaustion of lands, before exhibiting this or 
any net gain of fertility. And, inasmuch as 
where calcareous manures have not been used' 
either in the tidewater district, or the first and 
second ranges of counties next above, all other 
improvements have not served to maintain the 
former production, surely, where production 
has been increased, by aid of marl and lime 
to these causes alone ought all the actual net 
increase to be ascribed. This inference and 
conclusion would now be sustained by the 
concurrent opinions of all experienced im- 
provers of land in lower Virginia, and, upon 
the ground of common report, bv most other 
well informed persons. It is further sustained 
by the statistics of production, assessments 
population, and revenue. If, in addition we 
had the agricultural statistics of the amount 
and localities of marling and liming done and 
oi the usual rates of production before' and 
since, the proofs would be as clear and the 
accordance of caase and effect as manifest 
as the instruction thereby to be afforded would 
be important to stimulate further efforts else- 
where for as gainful improvements. These 
agricultural statistics could be very easily ob- 
tained, and without cost to the treasury. The 
Legislature has been repeatedly urged to ren- 
der this service to agricultural knowledge— 
and has either contemptuously disregarded or 
rejected all these applications for this small 
and costless boon to agricultural instruction. 
VVithout this aid, by far the most important 
ol all, and using only other existing public 
statistics, and known and unquestionable °-en- 
eral facts, I will endeavor to prove thai at 
east as much as all the actual increase of va- 
lue of lands in the tidewater region, whatever 
may be the true amount, has been produced 
by marling and liming— and all the other ac- 
companying benefits, to private and public in- 
terests, of course must rest on the same foun- 
dation; and further, that the actual improve- 
ments so made, are much more considerable 
and valuable than as estimated in the Go- 
vernors message to the Legislature. 

In one of the reports to the former Board of 
Agriculture, communicated to the General As- 



sembly, and published in the documents of 
1&41-2, the following passage appeared- 

r^,-A° U]d ^l a most im P°«ant statistical 
fact if it could be ascertained how much land 
in Virginia has already been marled The 
quantity however, is very great; and all the 

S, m , a -r? d H S beeD lhereb y Creased in net 
product, [i. e after paying all expenses of cul- 
tivation, &c] on a general average, fully ei«ht 
bushels of corn, or oats, or four' of wheTt 
following cornj-and the land increased in in- 
trinsic value fully two hundred per cent, on its 
previous value or market price. Where the 
marling has been judiciously conducted these 
ratesof increase have been more thando'ubled 
From these data might be calculated some- 
3, 1,ke , the already prodigiously increased 
values and products due solely to marling fand 
Inning], and which will still be increasing l>o«n 
year to year. If not already reached, the result 
ml soon be reached./ new value tothea'noZ 
of millions of dollars having been thus created » 
it the suggestion above slated, and which 
was more formally afterwards recommended 
by the Board of Agriculture, to collect "the 
statistics of marling and liming," had been 

,/£' ed u Upon b ^ the Legislature, there 
would have been added (by the force of the in! 
formation thereby diffused and instruction so 
aided) a three or four-fold amount tothe&17 2G0 
aueriy annually paid into the treasury from 
the increased assessed value of the lands so 
improved. And if thus enabled to know the 
actual extent and effect of these still recent 
ana slightly known improvements in each 
county there is little doubt that it would be 
found that the change from a decreasing to an 
increasing population, of declining to rising 
values of lands, and of declining to increasing 
receipts of revenue, as well as the increased 
products and profits of land, would be all 
found asnecessary consequences of, and strictl v 
in proportion to, the extent of the judicious 
use of calcareous manures. 

If the above quoted assumption, or predic- 
tion, which was uttered in 1842, had then at- 
tracted any remark or notice, (which it did 
not,) it would have been deemed by most per- 
sons as the mere illusion of a visionary en- 
thusiast But the utmost extent of the claim 
and prediction, then made, did not equal the 
hen actual results-and which, a few years 
later, were sustained, though indirectly, by the 
official documents of the governments of Vir- 

fnTJu f lhe United States - U P°i these 
and other facts presented by these documents 
I will now proceed to remark-to enforce what 
they exhibit, incidentally and accidentally of 
agricultural progress-and to expose some pal- 
pable short-comings of parts of these reports 
and the deductions thence made 

The assessment of lands next preceding that 
of 1819, was ,n 1781. Vacant or uncleared 
land was then so plenty, and the supply so far 
exceeding the demand, that prices were neces- 
sarily low in proportion. Therefore, a com- 
parison of the values of lands as assessed ua- 



260 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER^ 



■ 



« 



der authority of the act of 1781 with those of 
fnvlaYer assessment, would afford no true .in- , 
dic Y a fon of the changes of productive value, 
or of the measure of exhaustion or improve- 
ment in the interval of time But the earliest ! 
s^aTed assessed values, of 1781, will serve for 
fatrcompfrisoa with each other for the time 
when thev were affixed. 

IUs alio a truth, which I readily admit m 
advance of any claim, that the = ^ 
lands in 1819 were put too high generally-u^ 
Sees of lands being then nominally and ap- 
parently enhanced by what was truly bu the 
depreciation of the then redund an. .and me- 
deemable paper currency. But it is not less 
true that at the next assessment, in 1838, both 
he .none v and productive values of all marled 
ands had then risen much higher than they 
had been ten years before-whichearher time 
f^bout 18-28) was the true zero of the general 
decline of fertility and production, and also 
of market prices of all lands since improved 
?J the tide-water district. Whoever remem- 
ber he general impoverished condition ^ of 
ands and their low prices, about 1828 and 
he anxiety of the numerous desponding or 
£sne?ate oroprietors to sell out and to emi- 
X the west, will sustain my position 
fha values were then lower by more than one- 
fifth pa rt at least, than in 1S38; and would 
Save'bee'n ut so much lower if a.tateas- 
Ipssment had been made in 1828. It 1 were 
to clafm the extent of reduced value shown in 
Sl'Sal sales made about tbnrttme ^wo- 
filths less than the later prices ot 1833 would 
Jot be loo much abatement. But even at one- 
fifth less than the actual later assessment, 
which certainly would have been the least es- 1 
til bate X true lowest value would have been 
K> 49 millions of dollars only in 1828; 
which West value was increased to the ac- 
Wally assessed 61 millions by 1838, and to 78 
millions by 1850. Therefore, instead of he 
nc ease of value being 17* millions, in twelve 
war* it be-an to increase ten years earlier 
Fom a much lower mark, and amounted to 
n ? -l-i7i=) 29imiHionsin twenty-twoyears— 
makinV a much greater aggregate increase, 
but atl somewhafsmaller rate of average an- 

nU A smairp e art of this growing value had 
befn created by the earlier mailings, from 
1316 to 18-28. But however important was 
the benefits on the few farms, the whole amount 
was too small to equal the continued depre- 
cia ion on the great majority of lands in the 
same counties-and of course no evidence of 
such increased value appeared in the genera 
aggregate returns for each county. Thus it 
was that Prince George county, taken toge- 
ther' continued to exhibit a general progress- 
ive depreciation, after some dozen farms had 
been marled, and these doubled in product 

Bu^eithertheofficialstatementof increased 
value of lands, amounting to seventeen and a 
nuarte? millions of dollars, beginning from 
S nor my estimate of twenty-rune and a 



quarter millions increase, from 1823, v-illprt- 
sent any approach to the true value derived 
from maVng and liming even then effect^ 
This opinion rests on grounds which will now 

be i S st al With the actual increased productive- 
ness and higher assessment of lands on a gen- 
eral average of the tide-water district, there 
! has also be D en either produced or famed an 
' increase of population, (which had been gen 
eraW decreasing before, and for along time-> 
and al o gained", or invested, a proportional 
increase of moveable farming capita and 
much greater accumulations of wealth, me 
fruits o! the increased production of the land. 
' Besdes all these gains, both to individuals 
and to the State, there is to the treasury the 
I "crease of revenue on not only the actual m- 
crease of assessed value of lands, but ot ait 
Ue other subjects of taxation, above referred 
to, increased in proportion to and because of 
the improved production ot land. 

Id The true and full increased value of 
lands then existing, did not appear from the 
assessment of 1850 It is a truth known to 
a 1 who have observed, that all state and other 
assessments or valuations of lands, by official 
assessors or appraisers are made with much 
regard to the last preceding assessment of like 
kind, and to the general average ratesof market 
JricesintheparUcularlocalityforsome.ength 

of time preceding the then valuation There- 
fore, when either intrinsic values (founded on 
the rate of production,) or selling prices of 
ands or both, are declining, and have recently 
declined greatly or rapidly,, the state M 
(like each individual proprietor,} wiling rti ate 
any farm as low as an actual sale of it would 
show to be the then true market value. And 
on the other hand, when true intrinsic. values 
are rising, market prices, indicated by actual 
sales never keep pace with the advance of 
rue value; and a" state assessment then made 
would be 'still (more than m general) below 
market prices, and much more below tne true 
values. F Such were the cireumstancesexis m| 
as to the improved lands in 1350; and though 
*<£ assessments were raised greatly above 
hose of 183S, (making more than seventeen 
Son increase of valuation ) still it is no- 
toriously true, that the new and advanced ya- 
°uations y of these improved lands are , muc .too 
low For the reasons here given, these lands 
are 'valued lower, in proportion to true value, 
than other neighboring and unimproved lands 
of which the Assessments have renamed ag 
the previous rate, or have been put owe As 
examples of these different results, >N 
the preceding and latest assessments of tv to 
ebntfguous tracts of land, belong.ng to the 
same proprietor. One, before being at a 1 im- 
proved Xd in a then course of long continued 
exhaustion, waslassesseQ in 1S38 at seyenteer. 
Hollars the acre This rate was fixed upon 
because of *he former higher value of the 
fract and was certainly higher than the land 
3d then have brought at fair sale and price 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



261 



Before 1350 this land had been mostly marled, 
and more than doubled in production. The 
new assessment of that year was twenty-five 
dollars — full high compared to other lands in 
general under iike circumstances, but in fact 
as much too low compared to a fair selling 
price, as the previous lower assessment had 
been too high. The other adjacent tract g! 
poor and much exhausted land, had been as- 
sessed at ten dollars in 1S19, at five dollars in 
1838, and was continued at the same rate in 
1S50. Yet about the same recent time it was 
bought, at private sale, for a little less than 
five dollars the acre — which proves that the 
assessment was something above the then; 
highest market price, and greatly above the 
ordinary assessed rales, which are generally 
much below market prices. These are fair I 
examples of. the general facts, and of my posi- 
tion that lands recently increased in true value 
are always assessed too low, and those de- 
creased ia true value, too high, compared to I 
each other, and also to the general rates of; 
the same assessment. 

3d. In addition to all these new and great 
increased values, the results of improvement 
of lands, (which though certainly existing, do 
not appear in the public documents as effects 
of such causes, if appearing at all, and which 
new benefits, therefore, cannot be clearly and 
fully traced, as they should be, to marling or 
Hming,) there is the general omission of all 
the first ten or more years of these first begin- 
ning and growing values, previous to the as- 
sessment of 1838. I have before shown, as to 
lands, that the true beginning of increased 
production and value, of enough amount to 
be felt in the wealth and finances of the State, 
was from about 1828, and from a much greater 
depression of values than existed in 1838, the 
lowest point shown by any public assessment 
of lands. But all the other moveable agri- 
cultural capital and general wealth, and sub- 
jects of taxation, which were the necessary 
results of increased production of lands, had 
also been increasing with, and in proportion 
to, the growing improvement and value of 
lands. All this newly created value, in per- 
sonal or moveable property, which had been 
commenced still earlier than 1828, and had 
been growing fast after that time to 1838, was 
unknown as the result of the true cause; and 
even now, the amount is not indicated by any 
thing precise in the public documents. 

Upon all these grounds, I maintain that the 
true amount of new values which had already 
accrued to the Commonwealth in consequence 
of the agricultural improvement of the tide- 
water district — and which was all due to marl- 
ing and liming — would exceed by a very large 
amount the highest estimate of values before 
made, and founded on the increased rate of 
assessment of lands in 1850. 

Further. Not one-twentieth part of all the 
lands below the falls of the rivers has yet 
been marled or limed. Therefore, the im- 
provement of this very small proportion (say 



one-twentieth) has produced all the great in- 
crease of values, ascertained and unascer- 
tained, and of which the ascertained part, in 
the general summing up of the last assessed 
values of lands, is spread over and allowed 
for the whole tide-water district. It is true 
that the improvement of some farms by these 
means, say to double value, operates to in- 
crease the appreciation (and perhaps the as- 
sessment) of neighboring lands possessing like 
facilities for being so improved. But such is 
not usually the case, as to the state assess- 
ments. Moreover, there are large spaces near 
to, or intermingled with, the most extensive 
marlings, and also entire counties more re- 
mote, which either have no such facilities, or 
have totally neglected their use. In these 
cases, the assessed or otherwise estimated va- 
lues have either not increased at all, or have 
continued to decrease. All these cases, by far 
the more numerous, serve to keep down the 
general average assessment, and to detract, in 
the aggregate amount, from the apparent mea- 
sure of increased value and actual assessment 
of the smaller space of improved land. 

All these claims for the improved value of 
the tidewater district may, perhaps, be ad- 
mitted, and yet it may be denied that the use 
of calcareous manures was either the only 
(sufficient) or even the main cause. To meet 
such objections, I will add to the foregoing 
general reasons, other reasons and facts more 
in detail. Even without the deficient and 
needed statistics of marling and liming, and 
their particular effects on production, the ex- 
isting evidence is ample. But it is mostly in- 
direct, and the entirely satisfactory proof of 
the proposition will be reached by a course of 
circuitous reasoning which may be tedious. 

The older settled counties, including all 
those which have been most resuscitated in 
latter times, had all been long declining in 
production and population. Some of the oldest 
counties had declined in population from the 
time of the earliest census, (in 1790,) and per- 
haps still earlier, when there was no such evi- 
dence of the fact as the census reports have 
since exhibited. From these unquestionable 
facts of long declining population, continued 
impoverishment of lands, and general average 
decline of production, might be safely inferred. 
But there is abundant and direct evidence of 
this, though not such as can be conveniently 
cited and quoted. 

All recollection of men now past middle 
age will go to affirm the former general 
course of impoverishing culture, and general 
average decline of production. Every one of 
the few who wrote in these early times on 
agriculture spoke of the general impoverish- 
ment of lower Virginia, and its then continu- 
ing progress, as notorious and unquestionable 
facts. 

To come to more particular authorities — 
Strickland, an English farmer and a writer ot 
judgment and character, personally examined 
the agricultural condition and prospects t 



262 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



'.;• 



this country, and published his opinions in 
1801. Probably his unfavorable views were 
heightened by the strong contrast of our poor 
lands and their then exhausting and ruinous 
cultivation, with the good farming and rich 
lands of England. But, making this allow- 
ance, his remarks seemed to be honest and 
truthful. Among his scattered remarks are 
these (quoted in "Arator"): 

"Land in America affords little pleasure or 
profit, and appears in a progress of continually 
affording less." — "Virginia is in a rapid de- 
cline." — "Little profit can be found in the pre- 
sent mode of agriculture of this country, and 
I apprehend it to be a fact that it affords a 
bare subsistence."— "Virginia is the southern 
limit of my inquiries, because agriculture had 
there already arrived to its lowest state of 
degradation." — " The land-owners in this State 
are, with a few exceptions, in low circum- 
stances; the inferior rank of them wretched 
in the extreme." — "Decline has pervaded all 
the States."* 

The first effectual exposer of the exhausted 
lands and exhausting culture of Virginia, was 
our great countryman and first agricultural 
teacher, John Taylor of Caroline. His "Ara- 
tor," the earliest notable agricultural work pro- 
duced in Virginia, throughout offers the fullest 
testimony of that general impoverishment and 
ruinous progress which I have asserted. It 
may be said to be throughout one trumpet- 
tongued exposure of the existence and evils 
of this general condition; and it was the first 
warning heeded by our people. But though 
this work awakened general and proper alarm, 
and stimulated to great efforts for remedy and 
relief, these efforts served barely to stay some- 
thing of the progress of general impoverish- 
ment, but could not change it to even the be- 
ginning of general resuscitation. 

Enough has been said, I presume, to estab- 
lish the general facts of great and progressive 
exhaustion of lands, and the failure of any 
measures used for remedy, sufficient to affect 
general interests, before the commencement 
of marling, about 1818, or even its considera- 
ble extension, about 1828. 

To those not acquainted with the details of 
our exhausting system it may not be super- 
fluous to explain why the worst effects should 
have been produced so slowly — and indeed 
•were not so desperate even when Taylor ut- 
tered his solemn warnings, as at a later time. 
The universal former practice was to cut down 
the forest growth and bring new land under 
culture every year, to supply the place of the 
oldest and most exhausted land, then or later 
turned out of cultivation. So long as good 
land remained to be cleared, there might be 
little or no diminution of the annual crops of 
a farm, or perhaps there might be even an in- 
crease of the agricultural products of the 
State in general, no matter what destruction 

* Strickland's observations were republished in 
full in the Farmer's Register. 



was made of the land before cultivated. Such 
was the case for a century or more in the oldest 
settled counties — and such is still the case in 
the latest settled counties of lower and middle 
Virginia. But, in the older counties, when all 
the good land had been cleared and worn out, 
and the still remaining wide extent of forest 
land would not pay for the clearing and ex- 
hausting, then the full fruition of the previous 
system was realized. Then the production ol 
each entire farm (as it reached this position) 
began to decrease, and the many such parti- 
cular results to become apparent even in the 
government statistics, and in the diminished 
receipts of taxation. The subsequent con- 
tinued decline of population, and more latterly 
that also of agricultural productions, are shown 
in the returns of the census; and the decline 
of value of lands by the state assessments, 
whether the correctness of my comments there- 
upon be admitted or denied. 

After beginning to use marl or lime exten- 
sively, some of the oldest settled and most 
exhausted counties, as James City, Prince 
George and Charles City, began to recover, 
and have continued to increase in production, 
in assessed value of lands, in productive po- 
pulation, and in revenue to the treasury. Other 
neighboring counties, not using these manures, 
or to but small extent, as Sussex, Southamp- 
ton and Greensville, in the tide-water region, 
and Dinwiddie, Amelia and Nottoway, nex: 
adjacent, and above the falls, have all con- 
tinued to decline, in the general, in all these 
respects. These facts will appear fully and 
clearly in the statistical tables which will fol- 
low, and of which the materials are furnished 
in different public documents, in the Auditor's 
Office, and the census reports of population 
and agricultural production. Nothing can be 
more striking than the present contrast thus 
exhibited, between the three counties formerly 
so exhausted and recently so improved, and 
the other six. If there exists any sufficient 
cause for the marked difference of results, ex- 
cept the use of calcareous manures by the 
now thriving counties, and the omission by 
the declining, it is unknown and unsuspected. 

It is true that sundry other counties, which 
have marled to considerable extent, do not 
show near such good results as the three se- 
lected for comparison. I am not well or per- 
sonally acquainted with these cases. Such 
exceptions, real or apparent, probably could 
be explained, if all the circumstances were 
known. In some counties, the census was 
taken so imperfectly, that a truly growing po- 
pulation is made to appear as decreasing, in 
other counties, the last assessment of lands 
was much lower than even the too low general 
standard. In other counties, moral causes, 
and habits of society, have served to render of 
but little benefit theirfacilities formarling. In 
other counties, gross ignorance of the action 
of marl, and of agriculture generally, and in- 
judicious practice in marling, in great mea- 
sure have counteracted the due effects of the 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



263 



applications actually made. For these rea- 
sons, as well as to avoid all uncertain grouDd — 
also because of the great labor and difficulty 
of the investigation to a private individual, 
while the government statistics of agriculture 
are deficient in the most important particu- 
lars—it was necessary to limit my compara- 
tive view to the few counties which suited best 
for fair comparison, by their similarity in 
some points, and their difference in others. 

The nine counties I have named were se- 
lected as all beiug together in a connected 
group — and as under circumstances as nearly 
alike as could be found with the differences 
of position, &c. required for comparison. No 
space so large, and also embracing these re- 
quired differences, can be found more alike 
in all other respects, and in general. It was 
necessary, for the very object sought, to take 
some counties abundantly supplied with marl 
and others without. Also it was necessary to 
select counties which had used marl or lime 
longest and the most extensively. Prince 
George, James City and Charles City are sup- 
posed to occupy this position. On parts of 
all, either marl or lime has been used longer 
and over more space, in proportion to their 
extent, than in any other counties. But even 
of these, not one-third of the arable, or one- 
eighth of the whole surface has been yet 
marled or limed, whether sufficiently or insuf- 
ficiently, properly or injuriously. 

These three counties, all lyin^' along James 
River, have each a narrow river margin of 
originally fertile and very valuable land. As 
on these very strips of river margin were made 
the earliest settlements in Virginia, they were 
greatly exhausted long before the first census. 
Nearly all the very much larger interior por- 
tions of these river counties were poor na- 
turally — and all that had been long cleared 
and cultivated were also made much poorer 
by exhausting tillage. 

The other three counties of the tide-water 
region, (but neither touching any tide-water,) 
Sussex, Southampton and Greensville, were 
naturally as fertile as the preceding three had 
been, except as to the lands of the latter im- 
mediately on James River. The soils of Sus- 
sex and Southampton are generally more san- 
dy, and, therefore, less fit for wheat, but better 
for corn and some other products than the 
James River counties. Sussex has used very 
little marl, and most of that but recently — 
Southampton much less, and Greensville al- 
most none. From forty to thirty years ago, I 
knew Sussex well. The people of that county 
were then noted, and deservedly esteemed, as 
being very generally industrious, provident and 
frugal; and were as thrifty as the poverty of 
their land permitted. There were no very 
rich proprietors — and the poorest were inde- 
pendent upon the fruits of their labor. In re- 
gard to industry, good management, and thrift, 
the people of Sussex were admitted by all to 
stand much higher than the people of the ad- 
joining county of Prince George. The re- 



markable change in their relative positions, 
as now existing, and which will be exhibited 
presently, can only have been caused by the 
extensive use of marl in the one county and 
the general neglect of it in the other. If any 
other causes of such effects exist, in this or in. 
other cases, let those who know them state 
what they are. 

Din widdie adjoins Sussex and Prince George 
on one side, and Amelia and Nottoway on the 
other. These are the nearest three counties 
above the falls. Marl or lime has been used 
on a few farms only of Dinwiddie; but not at 
all in either Amelia or Nottoway — or at least 
to any notable extent or effect. Dinwiddie 
was naturally of as good land, and Amelia 
and Nottoway much better, in the general, 
than the three marling counties — excepting 
perhaps the originally fertile strips of river mar- 
gin of the. latter. Probably, the low grounds, 
or alluvial fiats bordering the streams in A me- 
lia and Nottoway were equal in value and ex- 
tent to the river margins of the lower counties. 
Moreover these rich alluvial flats were not 
brought under culture until after the river 
margins had been under exhaustion for a cen- 
tury or more; and the former even now re- 
tain much of their original fertility. Taking 
the counties throughout, the lands of Amelia 
and Nottoway were belter than those of the 
three marling counties — and also the former 
were much less advanced in the general pro- 
gress to impoverishment, than the latter, when 
the comparison of them will be begun, and 
for long after. 

In selecting these counties for comparison 
and contrast, there were other conditions ne- 
cessary to be observed besides those of con- 
tiguity and nearly similar natural circum- 
stances. As was required for comparison, 
none of these counties have had their bounda- 
ries changed since the earliest time embraced. 
None contain towns, (included in the state- 
ments,) or growing villages, or have any other 
than an agricultural population, or agricultural 
interests. James City, only, is somewhat af- 
fected, and injuriously for my argument, by 
including part of the old and long stationary 
village of Williamsburg. Also, none of the 
marling counties have had any recent aid or 
new impulse to their prosperity from the ex- 
istence of any railway or other facilities for 
transportation, whereas all of the other coun- 
ties have had important aids of this kind af- 
forded to agricultural interests, and which 
must have added much to their profits, or im- 
proved their condition as to income and wealth. 
The Petersburg and Roanoke railway, (now 
nearly twenty years in operation,) passes 
through parts of Dinwiddie, Sussex, and 
Greensville, and is of much benefit to the 
two latter counties especially. Another, the 
Greensville railway, a branch of the former, 
and nearly as long in operation, also passes 
through Greensville county, and still more to 
its advantage. The Southside railway passes 
through Dinwiddie and Nottoway. Amelia 



264 



THE SOUTHERN PLATER. 



4 



has ihe benefit of the navigation of the upper 
Appomattox, created by art, and which came 
into use since the time when my comparative 
view of agricultural progress will begin. — 
The Richmond and Danville railway passes 
through the middle of Amelia, and offers an- 
other route to market for Nottoway also. Both 
the last named railways are new constructions. 
But they both were either authorized by law, 
or in rapid progress of construction, before the 
last assessment of lands. And their expected 
benefits must have advanced the estimated 
values of lands in anticipalion of the use of 
the new facilities for transportation. The Sea- 
board railway passes through Southampton, 
giving easy access to Norfolk. 

The City Point railway is indeed almost 
•wholly in Prince George county. But it is 
used almost entirely for travel and commerce, 
and is of such little length, (nine miles only,) 
that scarcely any crops or agricultural pro- 
ducts are conveyed to market on it. Neither 
does this road, nor the proximity of the town 
of Petersburg, afford any balance of advan- 
tage over the disadvantages caused by both to 
the agricultural interests of Prince George. 

The report of the agricultural productions 
of any purely agricultural country, continued 
for many years, with the rates of increase or 
decrease, would offer a true measure of the 
prosperity or decline of the residents — unless 
they were tributary to some other community, 
or separate interest. The returns of agricul- 
tural productions, in the census, of 1840 and 
1850, (for the preceding years 1839 and 1849,) 
are all that exist to be referred to for this im- 
portant information. These returns were no- 
toriously loose and imperfect. The numerous 
errors of individual reports, not being made 
by design, may perhaps serve in some degree 
to balance each other, and thus to show some- 
thing like a fair general average of agricul- 
tural production for each county, but only for 
1840 and 1850. If these reports had included 
1830 also, in the ten years following there 
would have been seen a still earlier increasing 
production in the older marling counties, rising 
from a still lower state of impoverishment of 
the land. But even in the short and later 
time embraced in the returns, there will be 
seen, in the following table, very remarkable 
results, both in regard to the increase and de- 
crease of production, and in full accordance 
with the alleged causes in the use or neglect 
of calcareous manures. Unfortunately, the 
general facts as to these alleged causes are 
all that 1 can adduce. If the Legislature had 
authorized the collection of these particular 
facts, (asked for formerly by the Board of 
Agriculture, and again denied very lately to 
a petitioner in a very far more humble posi- 
tion,) then all the conclusions would be known, 
and clear, on this subject, which now I can 
only reach through this long discussion. 

The increase or decrease of population, for 
a particular or short interval of time, is not 
always a true exponent of either the agricul- 



tural, or the public and general prosperity of 
a country. An idle, improvident, drunken, 
thievish, or mendicant class, is an injury to 
any community; and the loss of such mem- 
bers, by emigration, banishment, or death, 
though so much diminution of general popu- 
lation, would be a positive benefit to the coun- 
try, and to its industry and production. Thus, 
the number and increase of the class of free 
negroes, instead of aiding prosperity, are 
causes of weakness and loss to any commu- 
nity. Whites, who may be in their habits no 
better than free negroes, are generally as de- 
trimental, for the time, to the industry and 
prosperity of the community. So are all sur- 
plus, and, therefore, unproductive slaves — 
while the increase of effective laboring slaves, 
if replacing lazy, drunken, or otherwise un- 
productive free men, make a far greater finan- 
cial and public benefit, than merely maintaining 
the amount of population. But notwithstand- 
ing all exceptional cases, as a general rule, 
the population of a country being stationary 
or declining, for a long lime, is sufficient evi- 
dence that neither production nor any other 
good thing is improving— or is likely to im- 
prove, without new causes of prosperity being 
introduced and put in operation. Hence, I 
infer of the counties in which population has 
long been generally declining, that the land 
also not only was, but still is in the course of 
being impoverished, and production being les- 
sened. The numbers, increase and decrease 
of slaves above twelve years old, (collected 
from reports of the Auditor's Office,) which 
will be stated for each of the counties named, 
for 1830, '40 and '50, will furnish much better 
indications of the changes of productive labor, 
than either the total population, or any one 
separate and entire class thereof. The num- 
ber of horses and mules, also, where, as with 
us, these make almost the entire force of teams 
for tillage-labor, perhaps offer still better in- 
dications of the amount and changes of agri- 
cultural labor. From the general improve- 
ments made in ploughing and harrowing, the 
increased hauling of manures, and of crops, 
more horses are required than formerly in 
proportion to the extent of land cultivated, and 
to the hands employed. If, then, the amount 
of team force remains stationary , or, slill more, 
if decreasing, the condition of agriculture 
must be also declining. It is true that the 
horses kept merely for pleasure, or show, and 
still more racing horses, like the free negroes, 
and other human idlers, are so much detrac- 
tion from the production and wealth of a 
country. But the numbers of useless horses 
probably do not vary greatly in proportion to 
all others, in these different counties, and so 
do not much affect the correctness of the indi- 
cations furnished by the whole number. 

All the counties named will now be presented 
in the following tables, for comparison and 
contrast in regard to extent of cultivation and 
amount of production — in values of lands — 
and in the amounts of revenue. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



265 











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268 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



in. 

ASSESSED VALUES OF LANDS AND BUILDINGS. 



Counties. 



Dinwiddie, 
Amelia, - 
Nottoway, 



Sussex, 

Southampton, 

Greensville, 



Prince George, 
Charles City, 
James City, 



Acres of 
land. 



322,215 
221,215 
197,518 



295,330 
365,498 
184,085 



180,100 

111,142 

91.083 



Assessed value per acre 
(averaged) in 



Assessed aggregate 
value of buildings in 



1781. 



SI 57 
1 36 
1 45 



1 65 
1 67 
1 56 



1 50 
1 50 

1 57 



1819. 



$7 15 

7 98 

8 20 



5 19 
4 75 

6 13 



6 31 
8 90 
4 01 



1838. 



$3 76 
6 92 
6 09 



4 08 
4 15 
4 69 



5 57 
7 10 
4 74 



1850. 



S3 80 
6 05 
3 61 



3 06 
2 96 

2 82 



7 50 
7 75 
6 20 



1840. 



$305,332 
297 650 
289,956 



263,905 
376,559 
204,212 



209,732 
152,035 

88.078 



1850. 

$310,451 

248,775 
296,397 



243,004 
327,607 
1 17,430 

252,877 
169,688 
109,690 



IV. 

INCREASE OR DECREASE OF LAND TAX, AT THE SAME RATE, AND OF AG- 
GREGATE TAXES, AS INCREASED IN SUBJECTS AND RATES, TO 1850. 



Counties. 



Dinwiddie, 
Amelia, - 
Nottoway, 



Increase or decrease 
of tax on lands and 
buildings, from 1840 
to 1850. 



Aggregate 
taxes, paya- 
ble in 1840. 



Increase. Decrease. 



Sussex, 

Southampton, - 
Greensville, 



Prince George, - 
Charles City, - 
James City, 



237 

67 

137 



$206 
91 



273 
376 
339 



$3,105 
3,573 

2,855 



3,257 
3 706 
2,501 



2,426 
1,521 
1,002 



taxes, paya- 
ble in 1850. 



$3,596 
3,651 
3,236 



3.224 
4,993 
2,949 



3,508 
2,169 
1,335 



Increase or decrease of 
taxes from 1840 to 1S50. 



Aggregate 
Inc. 



$580 

77 

381 



1,287* 



Dec. 



$32 
551 



1,082 
647 
333 



Per cent. 
Inc. Dec. 



19 
2 
13± 



34i* 



44i 
42i 
33 



$1 
22 



* This astonishing increase of tax paid by Southampton (S12SG 91) was nearly embraced in the 
single item of Sl,216°03 tax in 1850 on the collateral succession to a large estate. No other case of 
this rare tax appears for either of the other counties, and of course this has no relation to comparative 
existing values of property. Deducting this one payment (as it ought to be in this estimate,) and 
Southampton will show only the small increase of S70 8G of aggregate taxation. 



• 



I 



A careful and thorough examination of the 
foregoing tables will make manifest the truth 
of the positions I have assumed. It is only 
necessary for this proof, to admit as premises 
the notorious facts that three of the counties 
have marled or limed extensively, and some 
of the other six very little, and the others not 
at all. But as such thorough examination of 
numbers and figures would be laborious and 
wearisome to most persons, I will call atten- 
tion, concisely, to some of the most important 
evidences in these tables. 



Table I. — Agricultural Productions of 1840 
and 1850. 

The first named six (or non-marling) coun- 
ties contain of cleared land (or "improved" 
as named in the census reports,) 631,007 
acres— and the other three (or marling and 
liming) counties, 1 14,985 acres— the proportion 
of space being as 1 of the latter to very nearly 
5| of the former. 

Grain (of all kinds taken together) makes the 
largest product of each of all the 9 counties. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



269 



Tobacco is a subject of large culture in all the 
six — but not in either of the three within the 
time embraced in the reports — and is the most 
important culture, except grain, in Dinwiddie, 
Amelia, and especially in Nottoway. Cotton 
has been a large culture in Sussex, South- 
ampton and Greensville, and still is so, though 
muck reduced in amount of production. 

Peas make a subject of large culiure in 
Southampton — and approaching to large in 
Susses and Greensville. But as this crop was 
not named in the eensus report for 1840, there 
is nothing for comparison with the reported 
products of peas for 1850, so as to show in- 
crease or decrease. In the other counties this 
is a small, but now increasing culture. 

Potatoes, of both kinds, are crops of small 
culture in all the 9 counties, except in South- 
ampton and Sussex, where the culture is much 
more important — and the extent of both cul- 
tures has been increasing in all. 

Orchards, formarketproducts, were subjects 
of large culture and production in Sussex and 
Southampton, and of importance in all others 
of the six counties — but only in Charles City 
of the three. All these products were reduced 
almost to nothing by 1850, by abandonment of 
the culture, and substitution of others. The de- 
crease is very important in diminishing the 
general products of Sussex and Southampton 
only. 

Dairy products belong to verv small culture 
in all the 9 counties. They were entered in 
different manner in the reports of 1840 and '50, 
so as not to be compared; and in both cases 
apparently so loosely and inaccurately, that 
nothing can be learned from them. Therefore 
they are omiited here. 

Of the six (aon-marling) counties, from 1840 
to 1850, each has decreased in the total pro- 
duction of grain, except Dinwiddie; and the 
increase of grain for Dinwiddie is of far less 
amount than the decrease of tobacco, cotton 
and orchard products. In total production of 
crops, all the six have decreased. 

Of the Uiree (marling) counties, each has 
increased, and largely, in total products, and 
especially in grain. The only decrease of 
products shown is of subjects of small cul- 
ture, abandoned partially or entirely, since 
1810, for more profitable objects. 

The six counties have all decreased, and 
largely, in the production of tobacco and cot- 
ton — one or the other of which was a subject 
of large culture in all these — but in neither of 
the three (marling) counties. 

Gardening for market had place only in 
Dinwiddie (§5753) and Prince George ($3336,) 
and was stated for 1850 only, in the census 
report. 

Table II. — Population and Laboring Force. 

Of the 9 counties, 7 had less total population 
in 1850 than at the earliest separate enumera- 
tion, which was in 1800 for Dinwiddie and 
Nottoway, and in 1790 for the other 5. The 
•ecly 2 exceptions of increase since 1790, are 



Amelia and Southampton. Amelia increased 
from 1800 to 1850 by 323 only. Southampton, 
from 1790 has decreased in whites and in slaves; 
but the free negroes have more than tripled, 
so as to make a small numerical increase in 
the total population. Each of the six (non- 
marling) counties has also decreased in total 
population from 1840 to 1850— thus indicating 
a still progressive decrease. 

Of the three (marling) counties, each also 
has declined in total population from 1790 to 
1850. But contrary to the other six, each of 
these three has gained, and considerably, in the 
latter time, from 1840 to 1850— indicating a 
now growing population. This is a certain, 
but not an immediate nor always a very early 
consequence of increased agricultural produc- 
tion and general wealth. 

There is a difference worth notice in the 
manner and progress of these different coun- 
ties arriving at the general result of total po- 
pulation being less in 1850 than at the earliest 
census, either 50 or 60 years before. The 
three marling counties, on the average, and 
with some fluctuations, and notwithstanding 
recent increase, have each decreased from 
1790. This would show that they were impo- 
verished even before 1790, and had then reach- 
ed nearly as low a condition of production as 
30 or 40 years later. But the other six coun- 
ties, being more lately settled, were less ex- 
hausted and impoverished, and therefore in- 
creased in population to a later time. The 
maximum population of each, as shovvn by 
the census reports, (and in Table II,) was eiiher 
in 1820 or 1830; after which the decline began 
and has continued. 
Table III.— Assessments of Lands and Buildings 

In the earliest stated assessment, (1781) the 
three counties Prince George, Charles City 
and James City, even then were valued much 
lower than Sussex, Souihampton and Greens- 
ville, taking each three together. This shows 
that even then the lands of the latter must have 
been far less exhausted, and much more pro- 
ductive. For, if even then equal in produc- 
tion, there were obvious grounds of preference 
for the counties on James river, which would 
have caused them to be rated higher than the 
other three. Again — Amelia and Nottoway, 
of unquestionably greater natural fertility, and 
then but little exhausted, were then rated lower 
than any one of the lower-lying counties — thus 
indicating the then comparatively recent set- 
tlement of the upper counties, and therefore 
less appreciation, and for that reason only. 

From 1819 to 1838, all the six (unmarled) 
counties decreased in values of lands; and 
also from 1838 to 1850, except Dinwiddie, of 
which the last assessment of lands was higher 
by 5 cents the acre only. From 1840 to '50, 
the latest assessments of buildings, in these 
six counties the values had decreased, except 
Nottoway, of which the value of buildings 
had slightly increased. 

The three (marling) counties had also de- 



270 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



creased in value of lands from 1819 to 1838, 
except James City, ot which the assessment 
was increased, and which was doubtless the 
result of the then already extended marling. 
If the assessment had been made from 1820 
to 1828, instead of so late as 1838, a much 
lower rate of value would have been assessed 
for all these three counties, and, from this 
lower depression, a much higher advance af- 
terwards to the actual assessment of 1850. As 
it was, from the actually much advanced va- 
lues of 1838, there was still a much higher ad- 
vance of each of these three counties to the 
assessment of 1850. The value of buildings 
in all the three increased largely from 1840 
to 1850. 

Table IV. — Increase or Decrease of Public 
Revenue. 

As proportioned to the assessments, the 
taxes on lands and buildings, at the same 
rate, for the six counties have all decreased 
from 1840 to '50, except in Dinwiddie — for 
which these taxes have increased S'8 only for 
the whole county. Deduciing this from the 
decrease on the other five ($1285) leaves the 
net decrease of these taxes, for the six coun- 
ties, $1277. The same taxes on the three 
counties have increased in proportion to their 
assessments, making $441, on these two sub- 
jects. Now if the six counties had made equal 
increase of their taxation on lands and build- 
ings in proportion to their greater extent of 
arable or cleared land, their joint increase 
would have been ($441 X5l=)$2425, instead 
of the actual decrease of $1277. The differ- 
ence to the treasury between losing the amount 
of decrease, and gaining the increase, annu- 
ally, is equal to these two amounts added to- 
gether, or $3702, on lands and buildings only, 
and at the same rate of taxation. 

But these two taxes have latterly been in- 
creased in rate, and many othersuhjects added 
previous to 1850, and of which the products 
are shown in the aggregate taxes of that year. 
This actual and aggregate taxation will show 
a still stronger contrast. In aggregate taxes, 
the total increase from 1840 to 1850, of Din- 
widdie, Amelia and Nottoway amounted 
to $1038 

Sussex, Southampton, (omitting the one 
tax of $1216 on the rare and sin- 
gle case of the collateral inheritance 
of a large estate) and Greensville, ta- 
ken together, decreased in amount of 
payments of aggregate taxes, by the 
joint sum of $512 — which deduct, 512 



Showing a net increase of 



$526 



LI' 



marling counties amounted to $20G2. If the 
six counties paid equal increase in proportion 
to their greater extent of cleared lands, their 
increase would be ($2062X5i=) $11,341 paid 
of increase of aggregate taxes, or more than 
2U times as much as the actual increase of 
$526. And this is the balance of gain to the 



56 


97 


96 


124 


07 


117 


39 


33 


73 


150 


33 


41 


14 


21 


15 


28 


89 


108 



treasury alone, and from these six counties 
only, which would now accrue if these counties 
had been improved as much as the three marl- 
ing counties. As Prince George shows more 
increase of aggregate taxes than Charles City, 
and much more than James City, if the com- 
parison was made with Prince George only, it 
would exhibit a still stronger contrast of that 
county with the six non-marling counties, than 
when the three marling counties, as above, are 
averaged and estimated in conjunction. 

The suits instituted in the Superior Courts 
of Law and Chancery, in each of these coun- 
ties, for the last two years for which full re- 
ports were made to the late State Convention, 
were as follows: 

Year ending Aug. 30, 1847. Do. 1848. 
Dinwiddie, 
Amelia, 
Nottoway, 
Sussex, 
Southampton, 
Greensville, 
Prince George, 
Charles City, 
James City & Williamsburg, 

There being one court and clerk's office for 
James City and all Williamsburg, of which 
about one-half is in York county, the suits for 
both are (improperly) included in the above 
numbers, as reported to the convention. 

As general results, these tables of statistics 
exhibit, in all the counties named, the like 
long continued and general decline— and also, 
recently, that, while the extensively marling 
and liming counties have begun to recover as 
soon as they used these means for improve- 
ment, the other counties have continued to 
decline to the latest time — and most of them 
with accelerated downward progress. The 
accordance of decline in all, for the first long 
time, and the remarkable difference and con- 
trast of some, in their more recent growing 
prosperity, cannot be ascribed, with any color 
of probability, but to one known and suffi- 
ciently operating cause — the extensive use of 
calcareous manures in these prosperous coun- 
ties and the new productive power thus noto- 
riously created, and the either very general or 
entire neglect of the use of such means in the 
other counties. The long continuance and 
the extent of decline, and which would have 
been universal but for these means of remedy 
as yet but partially used, will appear, as here 
displayed, more impressive and more alarm- 
ing to the observer, than had been noticed be- 
fore thus separating and contrasting the coun- 
ties the most different in latter times, though 
the most alike in former, in downward career. 

These facts and deductions suggest a sub- 
ject of consideration of the most momentous 
importance to the public welfare. The lapse 
and experience of sixty years have shown no 
change, nor hope for change, in the regular 
decline of fertility caused by the ordinary ex- 
hausting cultivation of much the larger por- 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



271 



tioQ of lower Virginia. At last, one sure safe- 
guard against the impending ruin, and, so far, 
one only, has been adopted ; and though used 
bat partially, insufficiently, often injudicious- 
ly, and sometimes injuriously, this defence 
has been found adequate, not only to stay the 
injury to the soil and its production, but to in- 
duce immediate reaction, and rapid improve- 
ment, soon reaching and surpassing the high- 
est original state of productiveness, and fol- 
lowed by the certain consequences of propor- 
tional increase of general wealth, population, 
and public revenue. Can any subject be more 
worthy the consideration of a wise govern- 
ment, or of securing Us aid to arrest the con- 
tinuing evils, and promote the effects of the 
means for benefit to the best interests of agri- 
culture, and of the commonwealth'? 

The legislature of Virginia, representing 
an almost exclusively agricultural people, has 
never direeted the expenditure of a dollar to 
forward these great benefits to public interests 
already achieved by means of agricultural 
improvement; or to invite, by collecting and 
diffusing information, the hastening of the in- 
calculably greater benefits of like kind to be 
secured by proper action. The legislature has 
refused any aid to the obtaining of information 
for this great object, even when to be at no 
cost to the treasury. Yet the treasury now 
receives annually more than St'17,000 in the 
increase of land tax alone (independent of any 
increase of the iate of that tax,) upon the in- 
creased assessed value of the marled and 
limed farms of lower Virginia. Thus, while 
denied all substantial aid, and even cost- 
less instruction, the farmers who, struggling 
against all the difficulties of their want oi 
knowledge, have created this new value to 
their country, are made to pay as a penalty 
for that service, the annual fine of more than 
S'i7,000 to the treasury. By the despotic go- 
vernment of the semi-barbarous people of 
Russia it has been deemed wise policy to ex- 
empt new and important agricultural improve- 
ments from all taxation for a long term of 
years. But the government of Virginia, while 
refjsing all aid to agricultural progress, taxes 
to full extent all newly created values arising 
from agricultural improvements, as soon as 
their existence can be ascertained by assess- 
ments. If merely the new supply of such re- 
venue, derived from the newly created values 
of marled and limed lands alone, were given 
to aid general agricultural instruction and im- 
provement, it would serve not only to promote 
both private and public interests beyond esti- 
mation, but would also return to the treasury 
itself all the amount thence derived, with 
more than ten-fold increase. 



The Dahlia was discovered in Mexico, 
by Humboldt, in 1798, and sent by him to 
Mad rid. where it received its name in honor 
of the Swedish naturalist, DahL 



For the Southern Planter. 

JOINT WORM. 

Mr. Editor, — In a forniercommunication 
written for your journal, the publication of 
which I subsequently countermanded, I 
described the four-winged insect which 
emerged this spring from the galls pro- 
duced by the "joint worm" on the sheath 
of the wheat stalk of last year's growth. 
In every instance, and I examined more 
than a hundred, the insect proved to be a 
hymenopter of the family Cynipida, or 
gall flies. One section of this family, em- 
bracing the genus Diplolepis, to which the 
gall fly of the common oak apple growing 
on the leaves of the red oak belongs, con- 
sists of vegetable feeders living on the 
tissue of the gall created by their punctures. 
A second section consists of carniverous 
parasites which deposit their eggs in the 
galls raised by the action of the Diplolepis, 
or other insects of similar habits, so that 
their larvce may subsist on the latter. To 
my surprise the new wheat fly had the ex- 
ternal characteristics of a genus belonging 
to the section of carniverous Cynipida?, and 
yet as this fly alone was discovered, it 
seemed extremely improbable that the real 
author of the mischief was a different in- 
sect, and that in every instance the true 
culprit had been destroyed by a parasite. 
Accordingly, I had no hesitation in ascrib- 
ing to this fly the habits of a Diplolepis, 
although it possessed the artificial charac- 
ters of a carniverous Cynips. Adopting 
the nomenclature of Lamarch, who had 
united into one several of the genera of 
Latreille. 1 referred this insect to the ge- 
nus Cynips, and applied provisionally the 
specific name Vagina Tritici,ss indicating 
its apparent predilection for the sheath of 
the wheat stalk. A few days later I met 
with a copy of Dr. T. W. Harris' "Report 
on Insects injurious to vegetation in Mas- 
sachusetts," in which is described a disease 
of barley apparently very similar to that 
which has been recently so destructive to 
the wheat. In this case, too, all the per- 
fect insects which emerged from the dis- 
eased barley were Cynipidje. which Dr. 
Harris referred to the genus Eurytoma, 
(Latreille) one of the genera which La- 
march reduced to bis Cynips, as being dis- 
tinguished by differences too trivial to jus- 
tify a generic distinction. It now appears 
that our new wheat fly is identical with 
Dr. Harris' Eurytoma of the barley, and 
accordingly should receive the appellation 
which he lirst gave to it, Eurytoma Hordei. 



272 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



« 



The point of greatest interest is, how- 
ever, yet undetermined. Is this Euryloma, 
contrary to the general opinion of ento- 
mologists, capable of subsisting on vege- 
table matter, which must be the case if it 
be the original and true culprit, or is it a 
parasite, and if so what insect produces 
the galls, and is then devoured by the 
Eurytoma? It being known that several 
species of Eurytoma destroy the Hessian 
fly, Dr. Harris thought it probable that the 
insect which produced the new disease 
was a new species of Cecidomyia, which 
afterwards fell a prey to the carniverous 
Eurytoma. This opinion is also adopted 
by Dr. Fitch, of New York, who had some- 
what doubtfullyidentified the "joint worm" 
as the larva of a Cecidomyia. Repeated 
observations made atshort intervalsduring 
the spring and down to the present time 
on the wheat of this year's growth have 
gone far to confirm my first impressions, 
that the mischief is produced exclusively 
by the Cynipidse, and that no Cecidomyia, 
or other Dipterous insect, has had any 
agency in the matter. I find at least two 
kinds of worm in thediseased excrescences. 
One, found in a very large majority of the ! 
cells, is yellowish, smooth and very slug- 
gish. The other white, hairy, and very 
active in its movements. This last is a 
parasite. In several instances it was found 
in the same cell with an individual of the 
first kind, and feeding upon it, but it was 
found at all times in an exceedingly small 
proportion of cases, say one in twenty or 
thirty. In the structure of the head and i 
mouth they resembledoneanother,and both j 
were identical in this respect with the un-j 
equivocal larvaj of the four-winged gall 
flies of the oak. In view of this fact, taken 
in connexion with the statements already 
naade, that in every instance in which a 
perfect insect has been observed to emerge 
from the diseased wheat, it was found to be 
a four-winged Hymenopter. I must hold, 
at least until another fly is produced, that 
entomologists have made a premature 
generalization in ascribing exclusively 
carniverous habits to the group of insects 
to which the Eurytoma belongs. 

Dr. Harris, in a recent letter to you, 
suggests that a portion of the larvae may 
undergo transformation during the first 
summer, unaffected by the parasite, while 
the other portion, infested with parasites, 
may remain unchanged till the following 
spring, and then give issue only to the pa- 
rasitical Eurytoma. In the progress of 
my recent observations I have met with 



three or four instances of complete trans- 
formation this summer, but in every case 
the insect was a Eurytoma, of which, in 
addition to the Eurytoma Hordei, I found 
two new species, one of which was con- 
spicuously characterized by bright red 
eyes. In many more instances I found the 
insect in the pupa stage, and exhibiting 
that form of a pupa which is characteristic 
of the Hymenoptera. 

By pursuing these observations a few 
weeks, or, at most, a few months longer, 
the question will, doubtless, be finally set- 
tled. I had intended to defer the publica- 
tion of my conjectures until such complete 
investigation should have tested their va- 
lue, but for your suggestion that their 
present publication would serve to direct 
the attention of otherobservers to a subject, 
of much interest to the wheat growers, and 
thus increase the chances of obtaining a 
valuable result. 

J. L. Cabell. 
University of Virginia, July 26, 1852. 



A New Mode of Fence Building. — 
Beingdesiroustoadd mymiteforthe benefit 
of my brother farmers, I describe my mode 
offence building. In the first place I set a 
good post, seven feet four inches in length, 
two feet four inches into the ground, leav- 
ing five feet above ground. I then drive 
a stake beside the post, at sufficient dis- 
tance to admit a rail, then lay in two rails. 
I now twist a wire firmly around the post 
and stake, then put in two more rails, ihen 
another wire, completing the fence with 
two additional rails, making six in all. I 
take the precaution to sharpen my posts 
as they take their places more readily when 
thrown by the frost. I have had this fence 
standing on my farm for four years, and it 
proves to be cheap and substantial. My 
neighbors have also tried it, and found it 
in all respects satisfactory. — Albany Cult. 



Recipe for Whooping Cough. — Dis- 
solve thirty grains of salts of tartar in a 
gill of water, add to it ten grains of Cochi- 
neal finely powdered, sweeten this with 
fine sugar. Give an infant a table-spoonful 
four times a day. To a child two or three 
years old, two tea-spoonfuls; from four 
years and upwards a table-spoonful or 
more may be taken. The relief is said to 
be immediate and in general within five- 
or six days. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



273 




THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 
RICHMOND, SEPTEMBER, 1852. 

TERMS. 

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annum, which may be discharged by ihe pay- 
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sent free of postage within six months from 
the date of subscription. Six copies for Five 
Dollars; thirteen copies for Ten Dollars, 
to be paid invariably in advance. 

Q" Subscriptions may begin with any No. 

fjrNo paper will be discontinued, until all 
arrearages are paid, except at the option of 
the Publisher. 

O" Office on Twelfth, between Main and 
Cary Streets. 



I^Communicationsforthe Southern Plan- 
ter, upon other than business matters, may be ad- 
dressed to the Editor, Frank: G. Ruffin, Esq. 
at Shadwell, Albemarle Co., Va., which will in- 
sure their being more speedily attended to. 

Business letters will be directed as here- 
tofore to "The Southern Planter," Richmond, 
Va. 

13= Postage prepaid in all cases. 



TIMELY WARNING. 

All subscribers who do not order a discon- 
tinuance before the commencement of the new 
year or volume, will be considered as desiring 
a continuance of their papers, and charged 
accordingly. 



POSTAGE ON THE PLANTER. 

The following are the rates of postage on 
the Planter, per quarter, for the distances an- 
nexed—to be paid quarterly in advance: 

Not over 50 miles, 1} cents. 
Over 50 and not over 300 miles, 2| cents. 
Over 'JOO and not over 1000 miles, 3| cents. 
Over 1000 and not over 2000 miles, 5 cents. 
Over 2000 and not over 4000 miles, Gfr cents. 
Over 4000 miles, 7i cents. 



SMUT IN WHEAT. 

We have learned from various sources that 
this disease of wheat has done great damage 
in several portions of the State, in some cases 
ruining the whole crop, and in others injuring 
it very seriously. We have been requested 
to write an article on the subject by a good 
many of our friends, and a correspondent from 
Campbell, I. H. W., propounds the following 
queries, which, as covering the whole ground, 
we shall make the basis of this article: 

1. What is the natureof smut, and its cause 1 ? 

2. Is there any preventive of it? 

3. Can it be propagated from crops that have 
it to crops that have not, by threshing the latter 
with the same machine with which the former 
was threshed? 

4. Is it peculiar to parlicular varieties of 
wheat, and if so, to which? 

Premising that we have no experience in 
the matter, having never discovered but two 
heads of smutted wheat in all that we have 
made, we will answer the above queries with- 
out regard to the order of interrogation. 

Smut is nothing more or less than a micros- 
copic, parasitical fungus, or mushroom, of the 
same species with those which grow in the 
fields and other situations where they are 
commonly observed. It was for a long time 
questioned whether this order of plants, of 
which there are 2,400 species, belonged to the 
family of vegetables or animals, but it has 
now been demonstrated to be a vegetable, 
though of a sort which, like the sponges, links 
the animal and vegetable races. The species 
which constitutes the smut in wheat,— perhaps 
others also, — is composed, to a very consider- 
able extent, of a substance precisely like pu- 
trid gluten; and gluten is the characteristic 
ingredient of wheat, and chemically, though 
not in form, the same substance with animal 
gluten, or, as it is more commonly called, al- 
bumen. Hence the liability of wheat to be 
attacked by this fungus, and hence also the 
dispute as to the appropriate kingdom of the 
fungus. 

Upon shaking or striking with the hand a 
smutted head of wheat, a quantity of dust 
will be observed. This dust is composed of 
the microscopic seed of the fungus, uredo sege- 
turn, as it is called, and there are millions of 
them in each head of smut. The same thing 



274 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



may be observed upon bursting the common 
mushroom, or puff balls, of our fields; the 
purplish dust which rises is the seed of the 
plant. 

Numerous experiments have clearly ascer- 
tained two modes by which these seed may 
infect the wheat— by absorption from the soil, 
in which ease the seeds ascend along with 
water taken up by the roots of the plant— and 
by infection from seeds of wheat that have by 
some means got into contact with this powder, 
which adheres to it. The last is the most fre- 
quent cause. In either case the plant is poi- 
soned, not only in the head, but in the straw 
also, which is reduced in product some eigh- 
teen per cent. It is, in fact, an organic dis- 
ease which attacks and injures the whole plant, 
though the greatest damage is done to the 
grain. Of this it does not seriously affect ihe 
saline or inorganic constituents, but it prevents 
the formation of starch, as is known from the 
facts that none is ever found in smut heads, 
and that the fecula is never affected by the 
dust when treated with it independently; and 
it decomposes the remaining organic or vege- 
table particles, which consist mainly of gluten. 
It requires the nicest chemical examination 
to decide whether it putrifies the gluten, or 
consumes and appropriates it, since there is 
but a shade of difference between its substance 
and putrified gluten. 

The countless millions of its seeds existing 
in the shape of finest dust, wafted about by 
every breeze, and not easily destroyed by the 
agency of the seasons, are scattered over the 
land ready to poison, by absorption, the crops 
which from some cause maybe predisposed 
to the malady, and having once got hold on 
the grain, it is rapidly propagated by conta- 
gion. That these seed do always exist in the 
soil is not probable, though the fact of their 
presence or absence is not ascertained. Those 
of the rust, which is a plant of the same fa- 
mily, certainly do; but the intermittent and 
less universal attacks of the smut would seem 
to warrant the opinion that it is neither so 
hardy, prolific, or pervasive. What may be 
the exciting cause of its attack is not known. 
There are numerous opinions on the subject; 
but its prevalence in various seasons, over 
large districts containing every kind of soil, 
exhibiting great diversities of culture, and 
presenting many varieties of wheat which it 



seems to fasten upon indifferently, seems to 
forbid the ascription of it to the usually as- 
signed causes, and would appear to require 
more accurate and continuous observation 
than has heretofore been given to it. 

The specific remedy for infected seed wheat 
is somewhat troublesome, but very simple, 
and certain in its operation. It consists in 
steeping the wheat just previous to sowing in 
certain solutions which destroy the vitality if 
not the structure of the smut seed. Mr. Bevan, 
an Englishman, has made several accurate 
experiments with various steeps. It is not ne- 
cessary to state those experiments in detail: 
it is sufficient to mention that specimens of 
smutted wheat steeped in solutions of common 
salt, soot, lime saturated, muriatic acid, and 
sulphuric acid, each produced crops free from 
smut. Of these, salt, as being cheapest, most 
common, and most easily handled, is altogether 
the best. It is used in this way: the wheat is 
first washed in pure water which is to be 
poured off along with all the floating grains. 
Then it should be soaked twelve hours in 
brine made strong enough to float a hen's egg. 
It should be then taken out and rolled in slaked 
lime until the grains becoming coated with it 
cease to adhere and can be easily scattered 
by hand. The lime steep is made by mixing 
one pound of fresh lime with three gallons of 
boiling water, and in that proportion for any 
quantity that may be wanted, pouring off the 
clear liquor and usiDg it immediately. The 
seed to be rolled in lime as above. In both 
the above cases the wheat ought to be fre- 
quently stirred that the surface of each seed 
may be well washed. 

We have seen in one of our exchanges a 
statement made by a gentleman in South Ca- 
rolina of an effective steep made of bluestone. 
We have written to that gentleman requesting 
his recipe and his practice, and shall publish 
it if we get it. 

Repeated washings in pure water are also 
said to be effective, but as the water must be 
changed at each washing the process is a very 
troublesome one. 

We have heard that some gentlemen in 
Prince George who have used these solutions 
not as steeps, but as a mere wash, have had 
the smut very much curtailed, but have failed 
to have a good stand of wheat in consequence 
of the swelling and drying which prevents 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



275 






the germination of a good many of the grains 
of wheat. To a certain extent this is to be 
expected. But we should apprehend less harm 
of this sort from a thorough soaking than 
from a superficial wetting, because the grain 
would dry much sooner in the latter case. It 
is within the observation of every wheat- 
grower that if a slight shower occurs during 
seeding, barely wetting the surface of the 
ground, but not stopping the work, that the 
wheat which was dampened by the same rain, 
or by being immediately enveloped in the 
moistened surface, vegetates very feebly if a 
drying sun follows and evaporates the mois- 
ture, because the incipient germination has 
been checked. Would this have happened if 
the grain had been thoroughly wetted so as 
not to dry out so easily"? We think not. Nor 
would it, in our opinion, occur in ordinary 
seasons unless continued dry weather should 
supervene, such as injures the stand of wheat 
at all times. But if we are mistaken in this 
opinion, which ought rather to be called a 
suggestion, there are still two conditions which 
may, to a great degree, if not °ntirely, obviate 
the risk — ploughing the wheat in pretty deep, 
say about three inches, so as to place it be- 
yond the influence of ordinary droughts, and 
adding seed enough to compensate the calcu- 
lated deficiency, a safe approximation to which 
may be easily obtained by first steeping a 
given number of seeds the required time, then 
sowing them in the way the crop is to be 
sowed, and counting those that come up. But 
however all this may be, the smut must be got 
lid of, and we know no other mode of doing 
it. 

Particular care should be taken after the 
wheat is removed from the steep not to spread 
it upon a floor which has been previously oc- 1 
cupied by smutted wheat until it has been j 
thoroughly scoured first with pure water, and 
then with brine as strong as tbe steep itself, 
as otherwise it would be liable to infection 
from the powder which might remain on the 
floor. The walls ought to be washed in the 
same way, or, preferably, whitewashed. 

As preventives we would advise that wheat 
should not be sowed on the stubble of a pre- 
ceding smutted crop, that the crop should not 
be manured with the straw of a smutted crop, 
and that the machine should be thoroughly 
cleansed before threshing, as the dust of the 



preceding crop may, and probably will, convey 
the infection. 

This is all we can gather on the subject 
that we deem it necessary to communicate. 
The processes may seem tedious, but we be- 
lieve them necessary to cleanse a crop tho- 
roughly, and we think time will be well spent 
if it accomplish that object, as smut is the 
vilest pest that can infect the wheat crop. 
Having no personal experience, we can of 
course say nothing with absolute certainty. 
But the confidence with which we would re- 
commend these remedies and preventives, ga- 
thered from such books as we have access to, 
is strengthened by the assurance of a neighbor 
that his crop was completely purged of smut 
some few years ago by brining and liming as 
above. If others shall succeed in consequence 
of what we have written, as we are very sure 
they will, we request as a favor that they will 
communicate the source of their good fortune 
to that thick headed and prejudiced class, the 
anti-book farmers, who act as if they thought 
every truth became a lie as soon as published 
in an agricultural newspaper. 

I. H. W. (whose compliments, by the way, 
are duly appreciated, only we wish he had 
backed them by a handsome list of subscri- 
bers — we like pudding better than praise,) 
informs us that one of his neighbors did 
not mean to thresh his wheat, but would 
feed the whole of it to his hogs. We would 
thank him to note the result carefully and 
communicate it to us. It is by no means cer- 
tain that it will be a very good food for them. 
Most of the fungi family are poisonous, and 
it is known that horses, and even people, fed 
on spurred rye, or rye infested with ergot, 
which is another fungus of the same family, 
have been killed by it. If the wheat was 
threshed and then brined we should not anti- 
cipate any danger; nor do we know that there 
is any at all. We merely suggest it as a pos- 
sibility. 

Another of our correspondents inquires for 
a good smut machine. The Rev. Walker 
Timberlake, to whom we applied on this head, 
says that Messrs. Wilson & Funk of Win- 
chester, manufacture a machine, which he 
considers effectual. "It costs one hundred 
and fifty dollars, makes eight hundred revolu- 
tions in a minute; has been running six years, 
and has never been repaired." He advised a 



276 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



friend to get one of a much smaller size, cost- 
ing, he thinks, half as much, and he informed 
him afterwards that he had no further use for 
any other machine to clean his wheat. 

And this is "all the information we can get 
on this subject." We hope it may prove sa- 
tisfactory to our friends. 



ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

It is very desirable that gentlemen asking 
information should furnish their names. Some- 
times it is unnecessary to publish replies, and 
yet we are forced to do so because we cannot 
write a private letter from ignorance of the 
querist's name. Sometimes, too, we desire 
to communicate further with our unknown 
friends. Whenever it is necessary to publish 
the letters that we may get information which 
we do not happen to possess, we can suppress 
the name whenever it is desired. 

"A James River Farmer" desires to know 
how guano will operate on very salt reclaimed 
marsh land — land that has been reclaimed for 
ten years, and now brings very fine herdsgrass. 
Whether the land is too wet for grain is not 
stated, and yet that is a very important con- 
dition. If it is, we should think it hardly 
worth while to sow guano on the grass, as the 
moisture and vegetable matter in the land seem 
now sufficient to produce a maximum crop of 
grass. If it is dry enough for wheat or corn, 
and rich land, we would think it useless to 
apply guano, as on very rich land it rarely 
pays well. The saltness of the land we would 
not regard at all. It is recommended some- 
times to sprinkle salt and water over manure 
for the purpose of retaining the ammonia, 
which, it is said, becomes changed thereby 
from a volatile to a fixed salt — from the car- 
bonate to the muriate of ammonia. We do 
not know if this is so, but we should apprehend 
no danger from the presence of salt. 

But we beg that our opinion in the above 
shall not be relied on, but that accurate expe- 
riments shall be instituted to test the matter. 
We may be mistaken; for instance, in the 
opinion that guano pays badly on rich land. 
There are facts on the other side that we oc- 
casionally hear of, such as this: we learn that 
Mr. Richard Sampson, of Goochland, applied 
guano on some of his best low grounds, and 



thought it a failure. He put on no more for a 
year or two, until having a small portion left 
over one fall, he sowed it again on the low 
grounds and made greatly superior wheat on 
the land. 

I. H. W. of Campbell county, and others, 
will find their inquiries on smut answered in 
the leader of this number. They would have 
been answered in the August number, but we 
had neither time nor space. They are an- 
swered now in good time. 



CHINA FOWLS. 



Our thanks are due to Mr. Chas. Sampson 
of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, for the very 
acceptable present of a pair of these fowls. 
They came safely to hand per steamer Roan- 
oke. Judging from these, and from some very 
flue specimens shown us some time ago by 
our friend, Mr. Butters, (at Nash & Wood- 
house's bookstore,) we believe this to be a 
very superior stock, certainly the largest and 
finest we have ever seen — and we think poul- 
try-raisers would do well to supply themselves 
with some of this breed. See Mr. Sampson's 
advertisement in another page. 

p. D. B. 



GREAT SALE OF SHORT HORN CATTLE. 

We call the attention of our readers and 
particularly those who are improving their 
breed of cattle, to the advertisement of Mr. 
George Vail, in another column. The high 
reputation of his herd renders any remarks 
from us in reference to it unnecessary. Cata- 
logues of the sale can be had on application 
in person, or by letter, at the office of the 
Southern Planter. 



Oat Straw. — A writer in a June num- 
ber of the Farm Journal, gives his expe- 
rience of the injury of oat-straw, when fed 
to milch cows. He states that in the early 
part of June his cows ate of the oat straw 
litter, and, although fresh, their milk im- 
mediately failed, and was not restored un- 
til the cattle were entirely excluded from 
the straw. This, we believe, accords with 
the universal opinion among farmers, of 
the deleterious effects of this straw upon 
cows in milk; but it is well enough to 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



277 



mention the fact, in order that, through 
in uteniion, others may not suffer from ne- 
g igently allowing their cattle to feed upon 
it.— Germantown Telegraph. 



For the Southern Planter. 

GUENON'S THEORY OF THE MILCH 
COW. 

All mankind, and farmers more especi- 
ally, are prodigiously afraid of the monster, 
humbug. Nor is this surprising, consider- 
ing the constant vigilance necessary to 
guard us against his insinuating machina- 
tions in the countless shapes in which he 
appears, in the moral, political and agri- 
cultural world, 

Prudence (always commendable) will 
nevertheless dictate the importance of in- 
vestigating the claims of what professes 
to be a new discovery or invention, before 
the stigma of humbug is fixed upon it. It 
has been the fate of most of the grand 
discoveries, to which the world owes its 
present state of civilization, in their early 
history, to be pronounced humbugs, and 
so it will continue to be to the end of time. 

A few years since a work was issued 
from the press, called "A Treatise on Milch 
Cows, whereby the quantity and quality 
of milk which any cow will give, may be 
accurately ascertained by observing natu- 
ral marks or external indications alone; 
the length of time she will continue to 
give milk, &c. By ML Francis Guenon, 
of Libourne. France, and translated for 
the Farmers' Library, by N. P. Trist, Esq. 
late United States Consul at Havana." 
This work on its first appearance attracted 
the attention of a few individuals who took 
the pains to study it; but to the community 
at large it seemed difficult and inexplicable, 
and therefore was set down as a humbug. 
The author of this work has consumed 
about twenty years in perfecting and sys- 
tematizing his discovery, which has been 
subjected to the best tests by the distin- 
guished agricultural societies of France, 
who have awarded him gold medals, as 
may be seen by reference to the work. 
A discovery that will teach us to choose 
between cows that will yield six gallons of 
milk and those that give one quart per 
diem — to distinguish those that give milk 
during the whole time of pregnancy from 
such its go dry as soon as impregnated — by 
external marks, is surely one of the great- 
est of the age. 



But does any one believe it? I must 
confess that, after two years' investigation 
and practice, I see very 1 i t tie to shake my 
faith in the accuracy of the science, and 
that where I have been at fault in pronounc- 
ing upon a cow, it has invariably grown 
out of my own inattention or ignorance of 
the subject. 

According to Guenon, cows are divided 
into eight classes, each having a general 
and distinguishing mark. These are again 
subdivided into eight grades of each class, 
with a mark which fixes the rank of the 
cow in her class. Cows are also divided 
into three classes, according to size, viz: 
high, medium and low. 

He has given a name to each class, 
which is altogether arbitrary, but most 
generally suggested by a resemblance of 
what he calls "the escutcheon" to the thing 
whose name it bears. 

There occur in all grades of every class 
what he calls " bastard" cows, who go dry 
immediatelyon being impregnated. These 
have likewise their distinguishing mark. 
The marks exist on a calf as soon as it is 
born, and may be defined at two months 
old, both on male and female. We may, 
therefore, always know whether to retain 
any calves l'or breeders or turn them out 
for beef. 

The book contains plates exhibiting the 
marks of every grade, of every class, and 
tables showing the quantity of milk, and 
the length of time each will give milk after 
being impregnated. 

A considerable degree of practice is ne- 
nessary to acquire a perfect knowledge of 
the subject and to retain a distinct recol- 
lection of all the marks. 

Some persons show a great fondness 
for, and facility in, learning the marks, and 
are much astonished at their accuracy. 
There must be a perfect combination of 
all the marks, before the character of a cow 
can be known, and the rates for milk are 
based on the supposition of perfect health, 
maturity of age, and abundance of food. 
Under these circumstances, his standard 
will often be found too low. 

Let the learner take the book and first 
make himself familiar with the distinguish- 
ing mark of each class. He can then 
learn the marks which fix the grade in 
each class. He must then learn the bas- 
tard marks, and the task is done. 

The improved English breeds have a 
much larger proportion of well marked 
milkers than the common stock, which is 
a strong evidence of the truth of the theory. 



27S 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



To persons desirous of conducting the 
dairy business, is this discovery of para- 
mount importance, for upon the proper se- 
lection of cows depends the whole question 
of profit or loss. The difference between 
a cow which yields eight hundred gallons 
and one which yields fifty gallons of milk 
per annum, is enormous, and yet such a 
difference exists, and can be pointed out 
by one familiar wiih Guenon's Theory. I 
will conclude by earnestly recommending 
this work to the patient study of all the 
readers of the Planter, and shall think "I 
have done the State some service" if I can 
rescue from oblivion one of the most va- 
luable discoveries of modern times. 

The book can be had in Richmond for 
less than one dollar. 

A Subscriber. 



For the Southern Planter. 
SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 

BY PROFESSOR GILHAM. 

NUMBER II. 

(Continued from page 223.) 

OP THE NUMBER AND DIVERSITY OP BODIES IN 
PLANTS. 

The substances produced by plants in their 
growth are very numerous, and are remarkable 
for the great diversity in their properties. — 
Almost every plant produces some substance 
peculiar to itself. Thus one tree produces 
turpentine; another gum; another India rub- 
ber; another camphor, &c. Some plants pro- 
duce flowers that are fragrant; others produce 
flowers which exhale most offensive odors; 
some plants yield deadly poisons, while others 
yield substances which are remarkable for 
their medicinal virtues; some are cultivated 
for their leaves; others for their bark; others 
again for their stems; and others still for their 
roots. By a careful separation of the differ- 
ent parts of a plant, we find that there is 
scarce a single one which will not yield some 
fifteen or twenty different bodies, and many 
plants produce twice that number. But the 
substances which make up the great bulk of 
plants are few in number, and are common to 
nearly all. Those which give particular pro- 
perties, such as taste, color, odor, &c. to par- 
ticular plants, generally form but a small part 
of the whole mass, and too small to require 
the expenditure of much of the vital force of 
the plant in their production. 

WOODY FIBRE, STARCH, SUGAR AND GUM. 

The while insoluble mass which is left after 
boiling a piece of the stem of an herb, or a 



piece of the trunk of a tree, is named woody 
fibre. It has neither taste nor smell, is per- 
fectly insoluble in water, and is nearly iden- 
tical in composition, whether obtained from 
the fibres of common flax, hemp or cotton, or 
from any of the different kinds of trees. It 
| is by far the most abundant product of vege- 
I tation. It is composed of the three elemen- 
I tary bodies, carbon, oxygen and hydrogen; or to 
express its composition more accurately by 
numbers, it consists of twelve atoms of carbon, 
I eight of oxygen, and eight of hydrogen. Now 
water is composed of one atom of hydrogen 
and one atom of oxygen, and since the num- 
ber of atoms of oxygen and hydrogen are 
equal in woody fibre, it follows that its com- 
position may be expressed by saying that it is 
composed of carbon and Vie elements of a certain 
number of atoms of water. 

If woody fibre is burned in the open air ihe 
oxygen of the air, and of the fibre itself, enter 
into combination with the carbon and hydro- 
gen of the fibre, forming carbonic acid with 
the one, and water with the other. It, how- 
ever, it is subjected to high heat in a close 
vessel, or one which will not admit a free ac- 
cess of air, the fibre undergoes what is called 
destructive distillation, and is decomposed; a 
portion of the hydrogen unites with oxygen, 
forming water; the other portion unites with 
carbon forming compounds known as the car- 
burets of hydrogen; and that portion of the 
oxygen of the fibre which does not form water 
by its union with hydrogen, unites with carbon, 
forming carbonic oxide, and carbonic acid. 
But since there is a greater number of atoms 
of carbon than oxygen or hydrogen in the 
fibre, it follows that a portion of the carbon 
will remain in the form of charcoal, after the 
others have been driven off. 

Starch is the next most abundant vegetable 
product. It possesses great value from its 
being one of the principal articles of food for 
man and animals, and from its occurring in 
large quantities in the grains and roots of cul- 
tivated plants. It may be gotten from a va- 
riety of sources, only two of which we shall 
mention in this place. 

When the flour of wheat or rye is made 
into a dough and washed with water, and the 
milky liquid which passes from it is set aside 
and allowed to settle, a white powder is gra- 
dually deposited in the bottom of the vessel, 
which is starch. When the potato is grated 
upon an ordinary grater, or on graters ar- 
ranged for the purpose, and the pulp thus pro- 
duced is washed as before, the liquid gradually 
deposits potato starch. 

Starch is a white granular powder, insoluble 
in cold water, but readily forming a ropy or 
pasty liquid, when thrown into boiling water. 
It is composed of twelve atoms of carbon, ten 
of hydrogen, and ten of oxygen; or like woody 
fibre, it may be regarded as carbon and the ele- 
ments of water. 

There are two kinds of sugar, cane sugar 
and grape sugar. Cane sugar is found in 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



279 



great abundance in the juice of the sugar cane, 
the sugar maple, in the stalks of Indian corn, 
and in the juices of many plants and roots. 
Grape sugar exists in the juice of the grape, 
the gooseberry, currant, and many other fruiis. 
Sugar is distinguished by its sweet taste and 
solubility in water. Grape sugar is not so 
sweetening in its properties, or so soluble, as 
cane sugar. The latter consists of tvxlve atoms 
of carbon, toi.of oxygeD,and ten of hydrogen; 
or its composition, like woody fibre and starch, 
may be expressed by carbon and the elements of 
v:aler. 

Grape sus-ar is composed of twelve atoms of 
carbon, twelve of oxygen, and twelve of hydro- 
gen. This shows its composition to be some- 
what different from that of cane sugar, but 
since the equality between the number of atoms 
of oxygen and hydrogen is kept up, it may 
likewise be said to be composed of carbon and 
the elements of ivaler. 

Gum is another very commonly occurring 
vegetable product. It exudes from the stems 
and twigs of trees, and is found in many seeds. 
When treated with hot water these plants and 
seeds yield mucillaginous solutions. There 
are many varieties of gum, but they are all 
characterized by their dissolving or softening 
in water, forming very adhesive bodies which 
may be used as paste. The different varieties 
of gum are all found to have the same com- 
position, namely, twelve atoms of carbon, ten 
of oxygen, and ten of hydrogen; therefore, it 
too may be said to consist of carbon and the 
elements of woter. 

OF THE MUTUAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF WOODY 
FIBRE, STARCH, GUM AND SUGAR. 

Woody fibre, starch, sugar and gum make 
up the great bulk of the vegetation of the 
globe; they are nearly identical in composi- 
tion, but endowed with widely different pro- 
perties. This identity of composition renders 
their mutual transformation even in the hands 
of the chemist, a comparatively easy matter, 
but in the processes of vegeiation they are 
constantly going on, and appear to be as ne- 
cessary to secure the maturity of a plant, as 
heat, air and light. 

If wood be reduced to fine saw-dust, and 
heated a number ol times in an oven, it will 
become hard and crisp, and may be ground in 
a mill. The powder or meal so obtained is a 
light yellow, and has a taste and smell not 
unlike wheat flour; it ferments when made 
into dough with yeast, and when baked yields 
a nutritious bread. In this process the woody 
fibre, or at least a portion of it, has lost its 
insolubility, and acquired the properties of 
starch. 

By digesting fine saw-dust, or fragments of 
old linen (woody fibre,) in sulphuric acid, the 
fibre will gradually be converted into starch, 
gum or grape sugar; the particular substance 
produced depending upon the relative quanti- 
ties of the fibre and acid used, and the time 
during which they are in contact. 



When flour or potato starch is introduced 
into an oven and gradually heated to three 
hundred degrees, it slowly changes, acquires 
a yellow or brownish tint, and becomes solu- 
ble in cold water, because the starch has been 
changed into gum. This gum is now largely 
manufactured, and used by calico printers as 
a substitute for gum arable. 

If starch, sulphuric acid and water be taken 
in certain proportions, the acid and water 
mixed, heated to the boiling point, and the 
starch after mixing with a little water, poured 
into the dilute acid, the starch is first converted 
into soluble starch, or dextrine, as it is called, 
and by longer boiling into grape sugar. After 
the transformation is complete, the acid may 
be removed from the solution by the addition 
of chalk, which throws down the insoluble 
sulphate of lime. After settling, the clear so- 
lution of sugar may be poured off, and the 
sugar obtained from it by evaporation. This 
sugar is manufactured largely for the adulte- 
ration of cane sugar, and for conversion into 
spirits. 

Sulphuric acid will by similar processes 
transform gum into grape sugar, and cane into 
grape sugar. 

In vegetation we have like transformations 
continually taking place, but not always in 
the above order. Thus the sugar cane, Indian 
corn, and many other plants contain a large 
amount of sugar in their juices, just as they 
are going to flower; but after flowering, the 
sugar decreases, and we find it replaced by 
woody fibre, starch, &c. In biennial roots, 
such as the beet or carrot, there is stored up a 
certain amount of sugar, with a little starch, 
both of which rapidly disappear when vege- 
tation is resumed in the spring, in the forma- 
tion of the leaves, stem and seed. Trees too 
have stored up during winter supplies of su- 
gar, starch, or gum, products of the preceding 
year's growth, which are in early spring very 
rapidly consumed and converted into the woody 
and cellular fibre of the young leaves. 

GLUTEN, VEGETABLE FIBRINE, VEGETABLE 
ALBUMEN, AND LEGUMIN. 

Thus far, we have spoken of such substances 
only as contain carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, 
but there are certain vegetable products which 
contain nitrogen in addition to the three above 
mentioned, and which, although small ill quan- 
tity, are of very great importance. 

When wheat flour is made into dough, and 
the dough washed with water to remove the 
starch, there remains in the sieve after the 
washing away of the starch, a soft, adherent, 
tenacious mass, which has little color, taste, 
or smell. This is gluten of wheat. Other 
kinds of flour yield it when treated in the 
same way, but in less quantity. It is this sub- 
stance which makes the dough from wheat 
flour so adhesive, and by its tenacity gives the 
dough the property of rising after yeast has 
been added. 

When gluten is digested in. alcohol, an 



230 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



insoluble white substance is left, which, from 
its close resemblance to the fibre of lean beef 
or mutton, has been called vegetable fibrin. 

From the clear liquid which remains above 
the starch after standing, a substance may be 
obtained, which, from its resemblance in com- 
position and properties to white of egg, is 
called vegetable albumen. 

Peas and beans contain a substance called 
kgumin, which, from its close resemblance to 
the curd of cheese, is called vegetable casein. 

Gluten, vegetable fibrine, vegetable albumen, 
and legumin, appear to be as closely related 
as sugar, starch, gum, and woody fibre are to 
each other. They consist of the fourelements, 
carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen, united 
together in the same proportions, and are ca- 
pable, to a certain extent, of mutual transfor- 
mations. When exposed to air and moisture, 
they undergo decomposition; they ferment, 
emit an offensive odor, and, among other pro- 
ducts, produce ammonia, from the union of the 
nitrogen with a portion of the hydrogen of 
the fermenting body. 

When barley which is newly malted and 
crushed is digested in water for a short time, 
it dissolves out a substance called diastase. 
This substance does not exist in the grain be- 
fore malting, therefore it is formed in Vie process. 
No diastase can be found in wheat, rye, or po- 
tatoes, but if they are made to germinate, or 
sprout, and afterwards treated with water, 
diastase will be formed, showing that it is pro- 
duced during germination. It is found to con- 
tain nitrogen, and must be formed from the 
gluten of the grain. 

Diastase, like sulphuric acid, has the power 
of converting starch into dextrine, (soluble 
starch) and afterwards into grape sugar. It 
is to this properly that the value of malt is 
due. When barley or other grain is malted, 
the gluten is the first substance to undergo 
change, forming diastase; the diastase coming 
in contact with the starch in the grain, renders 
a portion of it soluble by conversion into dex- 
trine and grape sugar, and when the malt is 
made into meal and digested in hot water for the 
manufacture of beer, the whole of the starch is 
transformed to sugar, which is afterwards fer- 
mented. In making whiskey too, a certain 
portion of malt meal is added to a large quan- 
tity of corn or rye meal, and boiling water 
added ; the diastase in the malt effects the con- 
version of all the starch of the meal into su- 
gar, after which yeast is added, and in fermen- 
tation the sugar is transformed to alcohol. 

In germination, it is the same as in the 
making of malt; the gluten under the influence 
of warmth and moisture, commences change, 
and forms diastase; this acting upon thestarch 
converts it gradually into sugar, which being 
soluble is readily carried with the diastase to 
all parts of the embryo, supplying it with every 
thins; necessary for the formation of cells, 
woody fibres &c. until its organs are sufficiently 
matured to permit it to derive its food from 
ether sources. 



The other vegetable products are all found 
to be composed of two or more of the four 
elementary bodies mentioned above. These 
substances, namely, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon 
and nitrogen, are called the organic elements of 
plants; so called because they are the elements 
concerned in building up, as it were, all or- 
ganized structures, that is those structures 
which cannot be produced without the aid of 
the vital or living principle. 

In the combustion of organic bodies, the 
organic elements form gaseous compounds, 
and escape into the atmosphere; it is found, 
however, that the entire body is not consumed, 
that there is always left behind a small residue, 
constituting what is known as the ash. The 
ash of a plant seldom exceeds five per cent, of 
its whole mass; it is composed of a variety of 
substances, which are called the inorganic con- 
stituents of plants— of these we shall speak 
in our next number; for the present, we will 
confine ourselves to a consideration of the 
sources from which the organic elements of 
plants are derived. 

SOURCES OP THE CARBON OF PLANTS. 

A statement of a few well known facts will 
show that the air is the principal source of the 
carbon of plants. 

1. Seeds sown in a soil perfectly destitute 
of substances containing carbon, will, if well 
watered, germinate and produce plants which 
contain several times more carbon than the 
original seed. 

2. Some plants grow and increase in size 
when suspended in the atmosphere and with- 
out being in contact with the soil. 

3. Every farmer of any observation knows 
that the soil of wood land becomes richer 
every year in carbonaceous matter, from the 
decay of the annual crop of leaves, and that 
while this is going on the trees are continuing 
to increase in size. The same is true in lands 
that are in grass. The longer the grass stands 
upon the land the richer does it become in ve- 
getable matter, and when broken up, lands 
that before were almost destitute of organic 
matter, often present a rich black mould. 

The use of clover, buckwheat, peas, &c. for 
ploughing in, results from the property these 
plants possess of drawing much of their car- 
boa from the atmosphere. If they derived 
their carbon from the soil alone, a crop of 
either of these plants ploughed under, would 
only return matter that had originally been 
contained in the soil, hence the organic mat- 
ter iu it could not increase; but we all know 
that every green crop ploughed under gives a 
positive increase to the organic matter of the 
soil, and that by persisting in ploughing them in, 
land that is almost destitute of organic matter 
may be improved in that particular to any 
desired degree. 

4. The formation of peat bogs and swamp 
muck furnishes perhaps the most striking proof 
of the atmospheric origin of most of the car- 
bon of plants. A tree falls across a small 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



2S1 



stream, and produces a marshy spot, plants 
spring op, die and fall down; on these, new 
races spring up; year after year this continues, 
vegetable matter increases, and in time we 
have a bed of peat. Plants spring up from year 
to year in swamps, they grow, die, fall down 
and are succeeded by others; the vegetable 
matter increases rapidly, and soon the mud 
becomes black from the accumulation of car- 
bonaceous matter resulting from decaying 
vegetation. 

All these facts show thai plants derive car- 
bon from the air, and that they may be made 
to grow without deriving any supply from the 
soil. It does not follow from this, however, 
that the air is the only source of the carbon of 
plants. There are a number of facts which 
tend to show, that while the atmosphere is the 
principal source, the soil also supplies a 
portion. 

Thus, while plants can be made to grow in 
a soil perfectly destitute of organic matter, 
they are not generally perfected in such a soil. 

If the crop be carried off a field, the soil 
■will be found in most cases to contain less or- 
ganic matter than before it began to grow; 
and if the cropping is continued, without the 
addition of manures, the organic matter will 
gradually disappear. The mere ploughing 
the land without cropping, would by continu- 
ally exposing the soil to the action of the air, 
gradually lessen the amount of organic matter 
in it; but two years' constant stirring the land 
■will not rob it of as much vegetable matter, 
as one crop of wheat. 

All soils are found to be more fertile for con- 
taining a certain amount of organic matter; 
but it does not necessarily follow from this, 
that the increased fertility is due to the orga- 
nic matter supplying carbon to plants. For, 
as we shall see when we come to speak of 
soils, the presence of organic matter is of 
great importance to a soil, independently of 
any carbon it may supply. 

Let us now see what compounds of carbon 
there are in the air, and in the soil, which are 
sufficiently abundant to supply growing vege- 
tation with the necessary quantities of this ele- 
ment. We have seen that in the air there is 
but one, and that is carbonic acid; we must, 
therefore, look to this to supply all the carbonic 
acid derived from the atmosphere. Carbonic 
acid it will be remembered is absorbed in 
small quantity by water, hence the rain in 
descending will carry down more or less in 
solution, and by the absorption of water by 
the roots, a certain amount of the gas will go 
into circulation of plants. But the amount 
taken up in this way, must be very small as 
compared with the quantity required; therefore, 
we must look to some other means by which 
it can be supplied to vegetation. It will be re- 
membered that leaves, and particularly their 
tinder surfaces, are covered with stomata, or 
breathing pores. Now, the leaves, through 
these pores, absorb carbonic acid with great 
avidity, select it, as it were, from the other 



gases of the atmosphere, carry it into the inte- 
rior of the leaf where it is decomposed, the 
carbon appropriated to the wants of the plant, 
and an equal volume of pure oxygen returned 
to the atmosphere. This may be proved very 
readily by placing a growing branch full of 
leaves in an inverted glass vessel lull of water 
which is known to contain carbonic acid in 
solution, and exposing it to sunlight. Very 
soon little bubbles of gas make their appear- 
ance upon the surface of the leaf, they enlarge, 
run together, and finally collect in the top of 
the vessel. If, now, after bubbles cease to 
rise, the gas collected is examined, it will be 
found to be pure oxygen; and if an examina- 
tion of the water be made, it will be found to 
be destitute of carbonic acid. 

The per centage of carbonic acid in the at- 
mosphere appears to be too small to supply all 
the vegetation of the globe with carbon, but a 
simple calculation will show that there is at 
all times more of this gas in the air than would 
be produced by the combustion of all the ve- 
getation now on the earth. But if we look at 
growing vegetation as one of the agents by 
which nature keeps up her balance, there can 
be no difficulty in admitting that the air is - 
abundantly supplied at all times with carbonic 
acid. In all cases where the decomposition of 
organic matter takes place, whether by natu- 
ral decay, combustion, or otherwise, oxygen is 
consumed from the air, and an equal volume 
of carbonic acid given off; hence, in the de- 
struction of organic matter, we have a constant 
source of supply of this gas, which, in time, 
would accumulate to such a degree as to unfit 
the earth as the abode of animals, but for the 
fact that growing vegetation by absorbing it, 
keeps a check upon its increase. 

The absorption of carbonic acid fakes place 
during the light of day only; the rapidity with 
which it takes place depends upon the number 
of pores, and the extent of surface of the 
leaves; those plants which grow with great ra- 
pidity, either have a great number of leaves, 
or their leaves are very large. The rapid ve- 
getation which takes place in the short sum- 
mers of high northern latitudes, results from 
the days being so much longer, by which the 
uninterrupted absorption of carbonic acid goes 
on so many more hours, than in places near 
the equator. 

Plants are said by many experimenters to 
give off carbonic acid at night and absorb ox- 
ygen, while others deny it; one thing is very 
certain, the carbonic acid given off at night 
is very small as compared with that absorbed 
during daylight. 

The carbon derived from the soil by plants 
is also taken inio the circulation as carbonic 
acid, at least the greater part of it; the soil 
admitting a free access of air, the organic 
matter undergoes gradual decay, by which 
there is a constant evolution of carbonic acid ; 
this gas coming in contact with the water in 
the soil, is absorbed, and by that taken into 
the roots. In the decay of organic matter in. 



282 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



| • 



the soil, there are other soluble compounds of 
carbon found in small quantity, more or less 
of which are taken into plants through their 
roots, but the quantity of carbon received in 
this way is necessarily small. 

SOURCE OP THE OXYGEN AND HYDROGEN OF 
PLANTS. 

There is little difficulty in determining the 
origin of the oxygen and hydrogen of plants. 
Water we know, from its solvent powers, is the 
medium by which food is taken to all parts of j 
the plant, and in that way it is of very great j 
importance to vegetation. But it plays another 
part of equal importance; it supplies plants 
with all the oxygen and hydrogen they require. 
Water is composed of one atom of oxygen 
and one atom of hydrogen; and woody fibre, 
starch, sugar and gum, the substances which 
make up the greater pait of the vegetable, 
consist of carbon and the elements of a certain 
number of atoms of water. The carbon re- 
quired is supplied by carbonic acid, and there 
being a supply of moisture always present, all 
that is required for the formation of all these 
substances is, for a new arrangement of the 
elements of water to take place, and a union 
of them with the carbon derived from the de- 
composed carbonic acid. There are some 
cases in which the changes are more compli- 
cated, such as where substances are produced 
which contain more hydrogen than oxygen, or 
the reverse case when the oxygen predominates 
over the hydrogen; but even in these cases, 
the same principle which enables the plant to 
decompose carbonic acid, appropriate the 
carbon, and give off the oxygen, will more 
readily enable it to decompose water, appro- 
priate either element and give off the oiher, 
and for the reason that the elements of water 
separate from each other so much more rea- 
dily than those of carbonic acid, affording 
hydrogen here, oxygen there, to the necessities 
of the plant. 

SOURCES OF THE NITROGEN OF PLANTS. 

The existence of a large amount of nitrogen 
in the atmosphere would naturally lead to the 
inference that the leaves of plants absorb this 
gas directly from the air as they do carbonic 
acid, but this is found not to be the case. 
Leaves have a very marked power of selection, 
and it is found that while they absorb carbonic 
acid with great avidity, very little if any ni- 
trogen rinds its way to the plant through them. 
Neither do they absorb free nitrogen by their 
roots to any extent, for it is found that sub- 
stances enter the roots of plants only in a liquid 
state, or in solution in water, and the solvent 
power of water on nitrogen is too small to ad- 
mit of the assumption that any appreciable 
amount of the gas can enter the plant in this 
way. 

Since free nitrogen does not enter plants by 
their leaves or roots, it follows that some one 
or more of its compounds must; of these com- 
pounds there are two which appear to be the 



chief sources of supply — ammonia and nitric 
acid. Ammonia is absorbed in large quantity 
by water, and- almost all of its compounds are 
very soluble, hence there is no difficulty in 
seeing how abundant supplies of it in solution 
may be taken up by the roots of plants, pro- 
vided it exists in sufficient quantity in the 
soil. 

Ammonia and its carbonate, both very vo- 
latile, are given off from decaying vegetable 
matter containing nitrogen, from decaying 
animal matter, and from fermenting manure. 
Decaying vegetation gives off little compara- 
tively, while it is evolved in large quantity 
from decaying animal matter and from fer- 
menting manure, and it is to these two sources 
that the farmer must always look, to keep up 
the necessary supplies in his soil. 

Nitric acid is found to supply plants with 
nitrogen as readily as ammonia. It, as well 
as all of its compounds, is very soluble, and 
enters the roots of plants with as much ease 
as ammonia, so, that, in so far as the nutrition 
of plants is concerned, it appears to serve the 
purpose just as well as ammonia itself. Am- 
monia, however, is more generally diffused 
than nitric acid, and is a constant product of 
the decay of all organic bodies containing ni- 
trogen, while nitric acid is found only under 
very favorable circumstances. Therefore, we 
must look to ammonia as the prime source of 
the nitrogen of plants. 

We thus see that carbonic acid, water and 
ammonia are the sources of the organic food 
of plants, and these are the very same sub- 
stances that are formed in the decay of organic 
matter; hence, we see, that by a beautiful 
provision of nature, the destruction of one 
race of organic beings becomes the source of 
life to succeeding races. 



For the Southern Planter. 

THE HESSIAN FLY— THE BLACK FLY 
AND THE JOINT WORM. 

Mr. Editor, — The detail of a few facts, and 
a brief dissertation upon the above destructive 
foes to growing wheat, may not be uninterest- 
ing to you, or your readers, at this time. In 
the northern part of Culpeper county, (the lo- 
cation is given to show the gradual progress 
of the joint worm northward, and to indicate 
its present position,) the crops have teen af- 
fected, more or less, by all three, or shall I say, 
by both of these insects, since the month of 
March. 

The Hessian fly is so old and familiar an 
acquaintance, that it is not deemed necessary 
to say much about it; but in its relation to, 
and contrast with the others, the following 
points in its history may be appropriately in- 
troduced. The fly is describee! as being about 
one-tenth of an inch long, black in the head 
and thorax, and tawny in the hind-body, which 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



2S3 



is covered with fine grayish hairs. Its wings 
are blackish, tinged with yellow, and are 
fringed with short hairs; they expand one- 
quarter of an inch, or more. This fly has 
been seen distinctly depositing its eggs, like 
urinate reddish specks, along the upper surface 
of the leaves of young wheat. These eggs 
have been watched until reddish worms have 
been hatched from them, in from four to fifteen 
days, which crawl down the leaves and con- 
ceal themselves between the sheath and the 
stalk— remaining there, head downwards, un- 
til they go through all their transformations. 
They neither eat the stalk, nor penetrate within 
it, but seem to live upon the sap, by suction, 
a.nd continue to grow for five or six weeks, 
when they attain their full size of three-twen- 
tieths of an inch in length. The skin harden- 
ing now and changing color from a white to a 
chesnut brown, the insects are said to be in 
the flaxseed state. This fly has its insect 
enemy, or Ichneumon, which preys upon it 
while in the condition of a worm. And here, 
it might be well to define what an Ichneumon 
or parasite is: It is an insect which lives by 
preying upon and consuming another insect, 
in its immature state. There are many of 
them, and they serve to repress the immode- 
rate increase of our noxious enemies. " They 
all oviposit in living insects, chiefly while in 
the larva state, sometimes while pupffi, and at 
others, while in the egg state. The eggs thus 
deposited, soon hatch into grubs, which imme- 
diately attack their victim, and in the end in- 
sure its destruction." 

The preceding, compiled by way of premise 
to the following, and much more very interest- 
ing matter, may be found in Johnson's Far- 
mers Encyclopssdia and Kirby & Spence's 
Entomology. 

The wheat in this neighborhood came out 
of the late severe winter looking badly, in the 
month of February. By the middle of March 
it had improved not a little, and promised 
fairly; but towards April it was observed to 
have an unfavorable appearance in small por- 
tions of some fields, in the half of others, and 
in the whole of others — at first it seemed to 
cease growing and to remain stationary, then 
to retrograde, and finally to disappear, as it 
were, from the surface of the ground; at the same 
time were seen tufts or bunches of strong, 
healthy wheat in the midst of the puny growth 
around, such as the land might be expected to 
bear when unaffected; and such as really 
jjrew in unaffected portions of the same field. 
These bunches, accompanied by the gradual 
disappearance of the wheat around, was the 
most prominent and striking characteristic of 
the disease. They were observed by every 
body, and attributed by every body, almost in- 
variably, to rich spots, caused by droppings 
of cattle, or cowpens, or more extended manur- 
ing— for of such diversity was their sizes and 
shapes. Another remarkable characteristic 
was this: the lateral stalks, the tillering, 
seemed to hug the ground, instead of rising 



straight up, as in health, and presented a grass- 
like appearance. One of my neighbors, an 
extensive wheat-grower, at once pronounced 
the presence of the "joint worm," from hav- 
ing read an account of it; and 1 coincided 
with him, having also read the same account — 
though, unfortunately, 1 am unable to lay my 
hand upon it now. When the diseased condi- 
tion became more apparent, others assigned 
different causes for it— some the severity of 
the winter — some, the want of due prepara- 
tion of the ground — and some the Hessian 
fly — and all were incredulous as to the joint 
worm, supposing it could only be recognized 
by the bent joints. When the wheat was head- 
ing, upon examination — I was about to say 
close examination, but no great nicety was re- 
quired, — a small worm, about a quarter of an 
inch long, white, or slightly marked with green- 
ish lines, could be found in the cavity of the 
wheat stalk, just above the roots — not in the 
first joint from the head, but in one of the first 
from the root; and a lacerated wound in the 
leaf or leaves, covering the stalk, could also 
be seen. That this was altogether a different 
insect from the Hessian fly, u as obvious, from 
the fact that the latter was present at the 
same lime, its worm being found in a quies- 
cent state between the leaf and the stalk, 
while the former was a stirring, active worm, 
found within the stalk itself. Its principal 
ravages seemed to extend throughout April 
and early May; and it showed itself in differ- 
ent fields at different limes, as well as remem- 
bered. And let it be remarked, that it seemed 
to favor or attach itself to the later wheats 
first, and then to the tenderer of the earlier 
sorts, viz: it manifested itself first and chiefly 
in Zimmerman and Poland, then in Early- 
Purple Straw, and lastly in Mediteranean, if 
it attacked that at all. Let it be remarked also, 
that when people were told they had the joint 
worm in their wheat, they replied, not so — 
that only showed itself when it was heading; 
but that theirs had the "go-back," a term, 
Mr. Editor, familiar to us for several years. 

About the middle of May, while trimming 
a young orchard, (before breakfast,) I noticed 
vast multitudes of a peculiar and unusual fly 
upon the small trees, especially those nearest 
the wheat field — when the trees were shaken, 
they fell to the ground, as if indisposed to fly, 
and from their numbers and color, they re- 
minded me of swarms (in miniature,) of young 
bees. Not expecting at that time to write 
about them, they were passed by with less ob- 
servation than they merited. They may be 
described, however, familiarly and from me- 
mory, as being black flies, about a half an 
inch long, with whitish, mouldy-looking wings 
extending to the ends of their bodies— stout in 
the thorax and head, but slimmer in the abdo- 
men. Imagine a fly between a black ant and 
a young honey bee in size, and you may re- 
cognize these when seen. In a day or two 
they all disappeared for parts unknown, whe- 
ther by death or migration, was not observed. 



284 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



The attention of another neighbor, also a very 
extensive wheat-grower, was called to the last 
one noticed. He had never seen such a fly. 
Now, that this is the fly of the worm that had 
done such great injury to the wheat, is very 
probable, from the circumstance that it com- 
menced improving a short time before its ap- 
pearance, say when the worm had ceased to 
feed upon it, and continued to improve after- 
wards. And that it is, is almost, if not absolutely 
certain, from the fact, that upon hearing the 
worm had been found changed to a fly, I ex- 
amined for it, and found a fly, head upwards, 
not quite so matured, but identical in appear- 
ance, just cutting its way through the stalk and 
leaf. It was so plain, I searched no farther. 
Let it be remarked, here, that from the material 
improvemenlin the wheat about this time, most 
persons remained incredulous as to the pres- 
ence of the dreaded enemy, and even the gen- 
tleman who first announced it, began to waver. 
But the conclusive evidence was near at hand 
that the joint worm was in our midst. The 
wheat began to grow in height and to head, and 
now was seen, in the latter part of May, head 
after head bent down, from the disease in the 
joint. A few joints are bent as much as to 
forty-five degrees, others, and by far the larger 
portion, are bent to an angle of ninety degrees, 
and some few to about one hundred and twenty 
degrees. 

We might pause here, Mr. Editor, to inquire 
whether this is another stage of the same dis- 
ease, or a separate and independent malady, 
caused by a different and distinct fly — that of 
the joint worm proper. I was of the former 
opinion until informed by you that you had 
repeatedly hatched the insects from the galls 
on the straw, and that accurately measured 
they were only thirteen-hundredths of an inch 
long. This would seem to be conclusive; and, 
yet, it may not be. There is supposed to be a 
close resemblance between the joint worm and 
a worm that was very destructive to barley in 
Massachusetts in 1829 and '30. Dr. Harris 
hatched out many insects from the maggots 
in the swellings in the straw, and much to his 
surprise, they proved to be minute, four-winged 
Ichneumon flies. He had hoped to have ob- 
tained the true culprits, the cause of the dis- 
ease, but these little insects, while in the larva 
state, had destroyed them all. Of these insects, 
the female was thirteen-hundredths of an inch 
long — the male rather smaller; and may not 
your fly, of the same length, be a similar Ich- 
neumon, the parasitical fly of the true joint 
worml Be this as it may, you must allow me 
to consider the black fly and the joint worm 
either as the same disease, or as concomitants, 
and then I can proceed with the facts — and the 
theory. 

This stage of the disease, this symptom, is 
by most persons dreaded more than all that's 
gone before; but, to me, it appears a mere in- 
cident, a minor injury, as compared to the pre- 
ceding great destruction. However, this opi- 
nion may be exaggerated, from the fact that 



the Hessian fly was committing its ravages in 
my fields in conjunction with the worm; and, 
yet, the highest estimate I have heard ot these 
bent joints is as one to twelve, though in my 
wheat there is not probably one in fifty; and 
it was supposed by good judges, that the crop 
must be cut short at least one-half. Now, 
what is one-twelfth even, and that too of the 

j remaining standing crop, to one-half, or more, 
of the original growth of wheat? But these 
two losses do not include all the probable loss; 
for the wheat, attacked by the worm and the 

j Hessian fly, was in so green a state at so late 
a period, that it was seriously threatened by 

'another serious evil— the rust — and this 

I green state was directly attributable to the 
worm, from its having cut off and destroyed 

I the main, original stalk, and probably the 
early tillers, and left only tillers, or the later 
tillers, as the case may be, to come to maturity, 
except the bunches and patches before spoken 
of. The season has been so unusually favora- 

j ble, that very little rust has been seen; but 

I the late green wheat was dried up, while 
standing, without becoming completely ripe. 

| Another source of most serious loss, is the 
condition of the leaves and stalks, not yet 

[ spoken of, to be mentioned presently. 

As to these bent or broken joints, where are 

; they situated, how are they produced, and 
what is the cause of them? On June 1st, I 

I gathered twenty-nine stalks indiscriminately; 
and as they were bent in different situations, 

| they were counted out separately. There 
were nineteen bent at the first joint below the 
head, seven at the second, and three at the 

[third; one was afterwards seen bent at two 
joints. The situation is nearly accidental, but 
the above may be a fair proportion. The bend 
is produced by a diseased state of the sheath, 
and not of the stalk. The sheath is thickened, 
hardened, corrugated and inclined to one side, 
and the tender young stalk has to bend also, 
and accommodate itself to its envelope. In 
almost every instance, the stalk is healthy and 
uninjured, except that by the pressure of the 
unyielding sheath it is compressed and hard- 
ened, and even has its cavity more or less obli- 
terated. This can be observed by any one, by 
cutting through the stalk and joint, longitudi- 
Daily; but, in fact, the stalk was also observed i 
to be bent and injured in a few instances be- 
low the diseased joint. This may havei 
been accidental, from the binding of the lower 
leaf, as you see sometimes in young corn, or 
the stalk may have been injured by the ma- 
tured fly when depositing its eggs. If it does i 
deposit them, as will be suggested under the 
quere, what is the cause of the bent or broken 
joints'? It has been already stated that the I 
wurm was found in the stalk, near the root, 
and that when changed to a fly, it was seen, 
cutting its way out, and numerous, very nume 
rous stalks were afterwards observed lying 
about the fields, in the midst of the wheat, cut 
off near the root. Now the bent stalks give 
no indication of cutting or injury near tin 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



285 



roots; they are simply bent at the first, second 
or third joint below the head. The seat of the 
disease is thus changed, not only from the bot- 
tom to the top of the stalk, but to different 
stalks. At the bent joints, in the thickened 
substance of the sheath, there are a number 
of nodes or nodules, some three, four or five, 
of a whitish hue and of different sizes. Upon 
examining- these carefully, either a beautiful 
nidus for an egg is found; or when more ma- 
ture, the worm itself, of various sizes, from a 
very minute object to its full development, (as 
a worm,) about a quarter of an inch in length; 
and while yet young it is similarin appearance, 
and active and stirring as was the original 
worm near the root. It may be added, that 
small worms, similar to the others, were at 
times found between the leaf and the stalk, at 
the joint, which had probably escaped from 
the sheath without being observed. Does not 
all this indicate that after the fly matures, 
comes out of the stalk and becomes impreg- 
nated, it seeks a proper nidus for its eggs and 
young, and that it alights upon a suitable stalk 
of wheat, either near or re-mote, and inserts its 
eggs into the tender succulent sheath near a 
joint, first, second or third, according to its 
stage of growth, or the condition of the leaf. 
As confirmatory of this, it may be mentioned 
that, although nothing of the ravages or the 
existence of the primary worm was observed 
in the Mediteranean wheat this spring, yet 
bent joints were found in that wheat on one 
side of a farm road, where Poland wheat 
(which was affected with it) grew upon the 
other side; and the same was searched for in 
other places, but not found. It is the enlarge- 
ment of the sheaths, and the formation of an 
unnatural secretion, (on the side where the eggs 
are deposited,) to accommodate these eggs and 
the young worms that causes the angle at the 
joints. 

The account of this disease and its devastat- 
ing effects is not yet finished. There is a dwarf- 
ish, stunted condition of portions of the wheat, 
not noticed until after the 1st of June. It 
showed itself to a far greater extent in my 
crop than did the bend at the joints, but not by 
any means to so great a degree as in other 
crops farther south. From them, I would in- 
fer that this is the most destructive part of the 
malady; quite as destructive, perhaps, as the 
first stage of it in the spring. This is identical 
in cause and character with the bent joints, 
viz: the deposit of the eggs along the sheath 
of the last leaf, or the one next to the last. 
These are deposited around the leaf for the 
distance of two or three inches above the joint, 
and being so arranged, the leaf continues 
straight from the equal enlargement upon all 
sides. Where the joint is bent the stalk in 
many or most instances goes on to heading, 
if not to maturing the grain, because of a 
slighter pressure or stricture upon it; but in 
the oiher case, from the pressure all around 
and for such a distance, the stalk is almost 
obliterated, and no head is formed at all. 



However, in this the difference of the injury 
does not consist, but in the great, the immense 
disproportion of the stalks affected in either 
way. By the latter, large patches, or even 
whole fields may be rendered barren, and in 
this, Mr. Editor, I presume, consists the great 
devastation usually attributed to the joint 
worm, and the great terror caused by it; and 
when it proceeds to this extent, it is truly not 
only a destruction of the farmer's crop, but a 
blasting of the hope that may have revived in 
his breast, after the first great injury in the 
spring. Upon examining one of these indu- 
rated leaves, you will find whitish, longitudi- 
nal swellings for two or three inches, and in 
attempting to bend it, it will break short off, 
like a pipe-stem, exhibiting at the fracture 
cavities broken across, containing each a 
worm, similar in all respects to those at the 
joints. Searching farther, the head is found 
immature and blasted, or at times consumed 
in part by a worm not unlike the others; and 
the stalk is found at limes small and thread- 
like; again, wilted; and yet, again, eaten by a 
worm similar to the others. 

Now, in regard to all this secondary crop of 
worms, i. e. in the galls, at the joints and along 
the leaves, but not those seen consuming 
the head and the stalk, and between the sheath 
it was noticed that at first and until half grown, 
they continued slim and active, like those of 
the first crop; but after that, they became 
swollen and maggoty-like, sluggish and torpid. 
Can it be that in the former state they are the 
larvse of the black fly, as yet well and healthy, 
and that in the latter they are the same, tu- 
mid and decaying under the influence of the 
Ichneumon worm developing within them, and 
consuming their vitals'? If such be the case, 
these parasitical worms may well be regarded 
as friends of mankind; and when they are suffi- 
ciently numerous to consume and destroy most 
or all of the larvse of the black fly, it will ac- 
count for the non-appearance sometimes of the 
joint worm in places where it had been the 
year before. 

The future progress, development and habi- 
tation of these worms, must be left to others. 
The writer of this will have no opportunity 
again, for two years or more, to make obser- 
vations. Should the facts that have been de- 
tailed assist entomologists in their inquiries, 
and enable farmers to recognize their enemy 
in its different stages, it will be sufficient for 
him. And here, perhaps, this communication, 
from its length, should come to a close; and 
yet, it may be interesting to inquire as to how 
long this foe has been among us unrecognized, 
until attention was directed to it by the'intelli- 
gent farmers of Albemarle; and also, what 
precautions may be taken against it. 

That it has existed in this region for several, 
if not for many years, appears more than pro- 
bable, from the following facts. The same 
appearances, as seen this year, in April, were 
observed by my predecessor in a field of Zim- 
merman wheat two years ago on this farm. 



• 



286 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



The same bent joints, also, were noticed by 
him in wheat on the same field, four years 
ago— and, if I am not mistaken, I heard com- 
plaints of broken-jointed wheat between 1822 
and 1830, in this county, when the ravages 
of the fly were also much complained of. Of 
this, though, I am not certain. I feel convinced 
though that at that time, although quite a 
youth, I noticed wheat very similar in appear- 
ance to that described as dwarfish, stunted 
wheat above. Again this spring, people un- 
able to account for its condition, said the 
wheat had the "go-back" — an expression fa- 
miliar to us for a long time, as mentioned 
before. It was remarked to me too, this year, 
in June, that my wheat had the black fly, in a 
tone to indicate it was no new disease. It 
would seem, then, that this is an old enemy, 
appearing at intervals among us. What re- 
medy have we for it, if snyl It appeared to 
attack, this spring, such wheat as was tender 
at a late, and even, perhaps, at an early pe- 
riod, i. e. the latter part of March, whether 
caused by ihe long and severe winter, or the 
late character of the wheat itself. If such be 
the fact generally, the remedy would seem to 
be plain, viz: to adopt either a very early 
wheat, or one that, although late, may have a 
hard, coarse stalk, calculated to resist the 
puncture or admission of the insect, or its 
egg; for you will remember a laceration of 
the leaf was observed over the stalk contain- 
ing the worm. Can it be that the worms ex- 
isting at this time, and unaffected by their pa- 
rasite, will become dormant and continue so 
during the winter, either in the straw or the 
earth, and on being matured into flies by the 
first warm weather in spring, will deposit their 
eggs in the young wheat, if suitable, or fail to 
do so, if beyond their reach, and thus allow ii 
to escape 1 ? In respect to early sowing we are 
met by the dangers of the Hessian fly in the 
fall; and by late sowing we incur the dangers 
of the joint worm and Hessian fly in the 
spring, and the rust in the summer— being thus 
placed between Scylla and Charybdis. A pro- 
per medium as to kind of wheat and time of 
sowing must be obtained, if possible; and the 
Mediterranean seems to admit of earliest sow- 
ing, and to be safest from both the fly and the 
worm, though generally of moderate yield. 
Does any one know of a more prolific early 
wheat, i. e. of early growth in spring, whether 
white or red, and of a hardy, coarse style of 
stalk 1 

The relative injury upon poor, rich, and 
guanoed land was noticed. The former was 
unable to rally under even a moderate attack, 
whereas the two latter, by tillering and a rapid 
second growth, made a fair, and in some 
places a considerable yield. Another precau- 
tion then would be to sow only on land in 
good heart, or guanoed, and in good condition, 
so as not only to give out tillers, when the 
main stalk is cut off, which poor land cannot 
do, to any extent, but also to push them ra- 
pidly forward between the time of the worm 



ceasing to feed upon it, and the time the ma- 
lure fly is ready to deposit her eggs upon it. 

The writer of this will probably sow one- 
half of his crop this fall in Mediterranean, as 
soon after the first of September as possible, 
and the other half in Poland wheat, giving to 
each as large a dose of guano as he may con- 
sider he is able. 

The facts in this communication may be 
relied upon as far as a tolerably accurate me- 
mory will serve, but the theory, though plausi- 
ble may be erroneous, and yet it will serve to 
link the facts together until the truth is dis- 
covered. 

Anon. 

July, 1852. 



PAYMENTS TO THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 

From July 23d, to August 23d, 1852. 

Hillery Moseley, to June, 1853, 
Jesse Jarratt, to July, 1853, 
Maj. D. H. Robertson, to Jan. 1853, 
Prof. C. B. Stuart, to July, 1853, 
Freeman Eppes, to January, 1854, 
Dr. M. M. Harrison, to July, 1853, 
J. G. Powell, to July, 1853, 
A. H. Reams, to July, 1853, 
Thomas P. Bland, to July, 1853, 
Dr. H. E. Shore, to July, 1853, 
Thomas Branch, to July, 1853, 
Dr. W. J. Dupuy, to July, 1853, 
Rev. T. W. Sydnor, to January, 1853, 
H. M. Dickinson, to July, 1853, 
John T. Bland, to January, 1854, 
Peter A. Wilkins, to July, 1853, 
J. R. Motley, to July, 1853, 
John B. Odom, to January, 1853, 
John Goode, to January, 1853, 
John A, Herring, to Julv, 1853, 
S. S. Griffin, to January, 1853, 
J. F. Lilly, to July, 1853, 
A. W. Gray, to July, 1853, 
Henry Thompson, to June, 1853, 
David T. Lanier, to January, 1853, 
James L. Kge, to Mav, 1853, 
Allen A. Burwell, to July, 1853, 
Cassius Foley, to May, 1853, 
H. E. Weston, to January, 1854, 
Joseph Harris, to July, 1853, 
Dr. K. Nelson, to July, 1853, 
A. M'Daniel. to January, 1854, 
W. F. Hobbs, to July, 1853, 
Dr. T. Jones, to January, 1853, 
Anderson Hughes, to January, 1853, 
William Hughes, to July, 1853, 
J. H. Burgess, to September, 1853, 
D. R. Fielder, to July, 1853, 
Philip Thomas, to July, 1853, 
Albert Kennedy, to July, 1853, 
Dr. Joel Watkins, to January, 1853, 
Dr. E. L. Nelson, to August, 1853, 
Richard Reins, to January, 1854, 
H. Carpenter, to January, 1853, 
T. N. Gee, to January, 1853, 
Col. R. R. Brown, to July, 1853, 



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77 


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4 


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I 


00 


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THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



287 



\Vm. Catterton, to January, 1853, 

George M. Terrell, to September, 1852, 

M. L. AndersoD, to September, 1853, 

W. H.Jones, to July, 1853, 

Alfred Carpenter, to January, 1853, 

B. T. Brown, to July, 1853, 

G. W. Coleman, to July, 1853, 

N. Burnley, to July, 1853, 

Dr. James B. Rogers, to January, 1850, 

J. H. Lewis, to January, 1852, 

Lewis M'Gehee, to Julv, 1853, 

J. A. Earley, to September, 1853, 

Dr. G. B. Stevens, to Julv, 1853, 

P. H. Goodloe, to July, 1852, 

Colin Catterton, to July, 1853, 

R. H. Carr, to July, 1853, 

N. W. Elson, to July, 1853, 

Isaac Medlev, to January. 1853, 

W. B. Stana'rd, to July, 1853, 

D. Horace Hardaway, to July, 1852, 

Edward Johnston, to Januarv, 1855, 

John F. Greenla, to June, 1853, 

N. G. Norfleet, Jr. to July, 1853, 

R. G. Haden, to September, 1853, 

James R. Fleet, to January, 1S54, 

John Haw, to January, 1853, 

William H. Sizer, to July, 1853, 

B. Bridgforth, to January, 1853, 

W. R. Mason, to Januarv, 1853, 

R. B. Haxall, to September, 1852, 

W. H. Haxall, to Julv, 1852, 

W. T. Samuel, to July, 1853, 

James Barbour, to July, 1853, 

Josiab M. Burton, to September, 1852, 



PEJfNOCK'S DRILLS. 

I HAVE a stock of Pennock's Improved 
Wheat Drills of different sizes for sale. 
The increased product of fifty acres of drilled 
over broadcast seeding will pay for a Drill. 
H.M.SMITH, 
sep— 2t Corner Main and 19th st. 



©1 00 


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1 CO 


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4 75 



GREAT SALE OF SUPERIOR THO- 
ROUGH BRED SHORT-HORNED 
CATTUE — The subscriber will offer for sale, 
his entire herd of choice short horns, compris- 
ing 50 head, young and old at public Auction, 
on Wednesday, the 13th of October, 1852, at 
1 o'clock, P. M. at his Farm 2£ miles from the 
City of Troy; reserving to himself one bid on 
5 Cows and Heifers, and 1 Bull, say G head in 
all, and these to be pointed out previous to the 
commencement of the sale; this bid will be 
made public when the six animals are brought 
to the stand for sale. Should any gentleman 
advance on the single bid made by the proprie- 
tor, the highest bidder will be entitled to the 
animal. It is proper to say, the severe drought 
in this vicinity reducing the hay crop one half, 
has decided the proprietor to make this sale at 
the time named, instead of next June, which 
he had purposed to do. 

The well established reputation of this herd 
in this Union, and in Canada, and the splendid 
herd it has measurably sprung from, viz: the 



famed herd of that eminent English breeder, 
the late Thomas Bates, Esq. renders it hardly 
necessary to comment upon its superior merits. 
It may not, however, be unappropriate to re- 
mark, that the establishment of this herd was 
commenced in 1838, and that the most careful 
attention has since been paid to its breeding, 
and that it now contains mostly all the re- 
served stock of two former public sales. 
Since 1840 the proprietor has imported from 
the late Mr. Bates, and his friends and late ten- 
ants, the Messrs. Bell's, 7 herd of Short-Horns. 
And besides these, he has now on the passage 
across the Atlantic, shipped 21st of June, on. 
board the Packet Ship Kossuth, Capt. Jas. B. 
Bell, a superior yearling roan Bull, having 
many crosses of the famed Duchess Bulls of 
Mr. Bates. Including this latter animal and 
the two beautiful red roan 3 year old Heifers, 
which came out from England last September, 
"Yarm Lass" and "Yorkshire Countess" and 
the beautiful Heiter Calf of the latter animal, 
got in England by the Duchess Bull 5th Duke 
of York, there will be 14 head of this import- 
ed stock, and its immediate descendants. 
There has been sold from this herd but three 
Heifers from these importations, and these 
Heifers were sold at ©300 each. All the young 
Bulls bred from these Cows, except these now 
offered for sale, have been also sold at private 
sale, at ©300 each, most of them while quite 
young. 

Besides these 14 head of high bred animals, 
the noble premium Cow Esterville 3d, bred by 
E. P. Prentice, Esq. of Albany, and her equal- 
ly fine 2 year old, red and white Heifer bred 
by me, got by the Bates Bull Meteor, and 3 
of the famed milking Willey tribe, the same 
tribe of Cows as the Heifer Ruby, sold by me 
to Mr. S. P. Chapman of Madison Co. and 
which Cow was awarded the first premium by 
the New York State Agricultural Society, for 
producing the largest quantity of butter in 10 
days in June, and 10 days in August, on grass 
pasture only, being a fraction over 40 lbs. in 
those 20 days. There are other valuable tribes 
in the herd, as the printed Catalogue -will 
show. 

The Catalogue will be ready for distribution 
about the 1st of August, and will exhibit rich- 
ness of pedigrees rarely to be met with, show- 
ing the descent of the most of the animals 
from the best animals on record in the English 
Herd Book. Having received an invitation 
from H. Strafford last winter, to forward a 
list of the pedigrees of my herd to be inserted 
in the forthcoming volumes of the English 
Herd Book, of which Mr. Strafford is now the 
Editor, several pedigrees were sent to him of 
the animals here offered for sale, and will ap- 
pear in said book. 

A credit of 9 months will be given on all 
sums up to ©300, and 9 and 18 months on all 
sums over ©300, for approved paper, with inte- 
rest, payable at some Bank in this State. 

GEORGE VAIL. 
Troy, N. Y. Sept. 1852— 2t 



28S 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



CONTEXTS OF NUMBER IX. 



Strawberry Culture 257; 

Communication to the Virginia State Agri- 
cultural Society from Ed. Ruffin, Esq.. .258 j 

Joint Worm 271 | 

A New Mode of Fence Building 272 ] 

Recipe for Whooping Cough 272 I 

Smut in Wheat 273 | 

Answers to Correspondents 276 

China Fowls 276 

Great Sale of Short-Horn Cattle 276 

Oat Straw 276 

Guenon's Theory of the Milch Cow 277 

Scientific Agriculture 278 

The Hessian Fly— the Black Fly and the 

Joint Worm 282 

Payments to the Southern Planter 286 



DeBow's Industrial Resources 

AND PROGRESS OF THE SOUTH- 
ERN AND WESTERN STATES, in 
three large and closely printed volumes, small 
type, double columns; handsome print, paper 
and binding,— being a digest and abridgement 
of the 12 volumes of DeBow's Review. Price 
$10, or $'3 33 per volume. 

Desirous of supplying the large and conti- 
nually increasing demand for the complete series 
of the lieeiew, in 12 volumes, now exhausted, 
and which it would require a very large outlay 
to reprint, the editor has been induced to make 
a selection of all the important and valuable 
papers contained in them from the beginning, 
condensing, re-arranging and completing to 
date, and throwing the subjects after the mar 
ner of the encyclopaedias, into alphabetical 
order. In this manner everything of interest 
and importance will be preserved in a conve- 
nient form for reference; and the volumes will 
constitute the only repository for the shelves 
of the library, of such information, which by 
means of the monthly numbers hereafter will 
always be brought down to date. 

The Volumes will embrace the gist of every- 
thing that has appeared in the Review relating 
to the Southern and Western Stales. (An im- 
perfect index of which will be found at the 
opening of the 10th volume.) 

To wit: Their History, Population, 'Ge- 
ography, Statistics; Agricultural Pro- 
ducts, of Cotton, Sugar, Tobacco, Hemp, 
Grains, Naval Stores, etc. etc. — Manufac- 
tures; detailed accounts, statistics and his- 
tory of all branches,— Internal Improvements; 
complete statistics of Rail Roads, results pro- 
fits, expenses, costs, advantages, miles in pro- 
jection, construction, completed, etc.; Plank 
Roads, Canals, Navigation, etc.— Statistics of 
Health and Diseases, wealth and progress; rela- 
tive condition, whiles and blacks; Slave Laws 
and Statistics, management and amelioration 
of slavery,— origin, history and defences of slavery 
and slave institutions; the valuable treatises of 



Harper, Hammond, Dew, on slaver)', etc.; 
Commerce of the South and West in all of 
its minute particulars, etc. together with an 
historical and statistical sketch of each of the 
stales and cities, — the domestic and foreign trade, 
resources, manufactures, etc. of the United, Slates; 
the Census Returns from 1790, with the com- 
plete statistics of the census of 1S50. 

The volumes will be issued in September, 
October and November, 1852, and orders are 
solicited in advance, payable on delivery to 
Merchants, or to the parlies themselves. 

DeBow's Review, of which this is a con- 
densation, is published monthly in New Or- 
leans, and other southern and western cities, 
112 to 140 pages, small print, fine paper and 
engravings, and treats of all the great indus- 
trial matters relating to the Southern and 
Western States, and incidentally of the North 
and the Union. Terms ©5 per annum. 

The volumes hereafter will be uniform with 
the condensed series. 

A few sets of the complete work may be had 
at the office, in 12 large and handsomely bound 
volumes. Price $42. Single numbers sup- 
plied to make up sets, and binding furnished 
on reasonable terms. 

ir|=Orders on Commission Merchants in ci- 
ties or towns, payable on sale of crops, re- 
ceived as cash. 

J. D. B. DeBOW, 
Ed. DeBoiu's Review, Merchant's Exchange. 
New Orleans, July, 1852— 6t 

HUNT'S PATENT WHEAT DRILL. 

THE subscriber invites the attention of far- 
mers to this improved Drill, as a machine, 
durable, simple in construction, and effectual 
in its operation. 

At the last Baltimore Fair, it was pro- 
nounced to be the best Drill that was exhibited. 
Price $65. 

Those in want of a superior Wheat Drill 
are requested to give this a trial, and send in 
their orders early, as a small number only 
will be made, and warranted to perlbrm equal 
to any other. H. BALDWIN, 

sep— It 148, Main Street, Richmond. 



COCHIN CHINA AND SHANGHAE FOWLS. 

THE Subscriber has for sale, choice Fowls 
of the above variety, pure blooded from 
stock imported direct from China, warranted 
true to theirname, and not surpassed for beau- 
ty, size and good qualities, by any other breed. 
Reference given in regard to them if de- 
sired — Address 

CHARLES SAMPSON, 
West Roxburry, Mass. or W. A. Butters, at 
Nash & Woodhouse's, Richmond, where a 
pair of each can be seen, 
sep — tf 



BOOK AND- JOB PRINTING executed 
at this Office with neatness and dispatch. 
Office South Twelfth Street.