THE 



r 



1 / 



Sebotei! to sericulture, £govt(cultur?, au& the jgouseliol'o Ens. 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts.- 
Xcnophon. 



Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the 
State. — Sully. 



FRANK: G. RUFFIN. Editor and Proprietor. 



P. D. BERNARD, Publisher 



Vol. XV. 



RICHMOND, FEBRUARY, 1855. 



No. 2. 



From Hum's Merchant's Magazine; 
THE PROFITS AND WASTES OF AGRICULTURE. 

We are indebted to Hon. Geo. S. Boutwell, 
late Governor of Massachusetts, for the manu- 
script copy of his address, -which -was lately 
delivered before the Housatonic Agricultural 
Society, on the " Profits and Wastes of Agri- 
culture." It is an able, carefully prepared 
article, and will be read with interest : 

I invite you to notice with me some common- 
place facts and practical suggestions touching 
the profits and wastes of agriculture in Massa 



alize a return sufficient to meet all his expen- 
ditures, and then have a balance in hand equal 
to the interest on his investment. That is to 
say, he demonstrates that the profession is a 
paying one, and shows at the same time the 
process by which it is made so. Such a man 
is to be numbered among the benefactors of 
his race. In his hands, the business is an in- 
terest; for the majority of farmers desire to 
so manage their affairs as to realize an ade- 
quate support for their families; and, as a 
whole, this branch of industry ought to show 
a better result. But, beyond this, there is a 



chusetts. I do this confidently, under the im- i public expectation concerning agriculture which 



presslon that I have the fortune, distinguished 
though common in this country and rare in 
most other lands, to address an assembly of 
practical men. Everything in agriculture that 
is not practical, is pernicious, or at least use- 
less. There are no good theories whose value 
cannot be demonstrated by experiments. The 
farmer whose return is less than his expendi- 
tures, whether the deficit shows itself in dimi- 
nished crops or in exhausted lands, is not a 
practical man, and does not deserve the pro- 
fessional name lie bears. 

On the other hand, he who improves his 
land, but at such an expense as to cause a de- 
mand upon his other resources, if he is a man 
of wealth, or to burden him with a debt if he 
is not, is of little benefit to the pursuit he has 
chosen. It is easy in every branch of industry 
to demonstrate that unusual things may be 
done, but it cannot be said that such experi- 
ments are worthy of imitation until the ques- 
tion of profit is favorably settled. So in agri- 
culture. 

AmateTtrS have their place and real value. 
They demonstrate the feasibility of 



new pro 
jecte, and practical men may sometinjes take lorn* fortune thus far; i 
up these experiments and demonstrate their : fortune of any American 



economy. But the useful, practical farmer, is 
he who so manages his affairs as to improve 
Iris fa iip, increase his products each year, rc- 
Vc:. xv.— 2. 



cannot be realized unless the business is pro- 
fitable. If agriculture is indeed hopeless in 
this respect, then one result awaits it — extinc- 
tion as a leading pursuit of the people. The 
profits of agriculture are taken to be small, 
and so they are ; but it is likewise true that 
the profits of all other branches of business 
are small also. 

Massachusetts is more than two hundred 
years old; in all her history she has" been 
blessed by an enterprising, industrious popula- 
tion ; yet the aggregate accumulation of these 
two centuries of labor and economy is only six 
hundred dollars for each person. Three years 
of non-production would make her poorer than 
she was the day the May Flower first gave her- 
self to the icy gales of our coast. 

There was even then great wealth in Massa- 
chusetts, according to the standard of civiliza- 
tion, in unbroken forests and a soil compara- 
tively fertile. This wealth we and our fathers 
have consumed or so appropriated, that it ap- 
pears in the valuation of the State. But how- 
ever this now may be regarded, it is plain that 
rapid accumulation, as a whole, has not been 

has it been the 
State, if from the 



aggregate valuation proper deductions are mado 
for the original wealth which civilization has 
appropriated to its own uses. Moreover, as 



36 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



new and stronger evidence that the life of a I eighty. The same observation is true of every 



farmer hi Massachusetts is without hope. 

A State is not advancing when the propor- 
tion of native freehold farmers is diminishing. 
To be sure there may be an appearance of pros- 
perity, but there is always danger that its foun- 
dations are unstable. In 1800, 6? per cent, 
of the laborers of England were employed upon 
the land; now the proportion is only 27 per 
cent. In Massachusetts there was a relative 
loss from 1840 to 1850 of about 15 per cent. 
We are then presented with two remarkable, 
and in some aspects inconsistent facts. First, 
fanning is not in Massachusetts a profitable 
pursuit ; and secondly, our farmers possess the 
share of property to which, upon a basis of 
numbers, they are entitled. The first fact is 
generally admitted, and the second is to be ex- 
plained by the consideration that our agricul- 
turists are more economical than any other part 
of our population. But if the depression of 
which we have spoken is unavoidable and per- 
manent, then this interest is without hope in 
New England, and we must await the conclu- 
sion of a process fraught with ruin, not only 
to agriculture, but to other branches of indus- 
try. It is possible, however, that the errors of 
the past are evidence of a better future; and 



product of the land. The agriculture of Mas- 
sachusetts from 1840 to 1850 was a process of 
deterioration and exhaustion. It was altoge- 
ther a retrograde movement, and the lessening 
crop per acre, year by year, was- so serious as 
to threaten the existence of the interest. It 
is hoped that the present decennial period will 
show a better result. In the year 1850 we 
cultivated 2,133,436 acres, and allowing one 
acre for twenty bushels of wheat, for fifteen 
bushels of rye, for sixty of corn, for forty of 
oats, for one hundred and fifty of potatoes, for 
thirty of barley, for one and a half tons of 
hay, for one hundred dollars' worth of orchard 
products, for two hundred dollars' worth of 
garden products, and seven acres for the pas- 
turage of every horse, five acres for every ox, 
four for every cow, two acres each for young 
cattle, one acre each for sheep, and allowing 
liberally for other crops and uses, the product 
of that year ought to have been obtained from 
1,772,56 
360,855 

the land in cultivation. This loss is obtained 
upon the aforegoing ^calculation of crops, but 
as I shall have occasion to say hereafter, the 
loss will appear much greater if compared with 



1 acres, showing a loss of the use of 
icres, equal to about 17 per cent, of 



it is now my purpose to present some facts cal- the returns of 1840, when the actual results 



culated to show, if they do not prove, that the 
wastes of agriculture are equal to a fair income 
upon the one hundred and twenty millions of 
dollars invested. These facts are drawn from 
the experience of Massachusetts, but I have 
no doubt that the experience of all the old 
States of the Union can furnish similar ones. 
Yet it is not possible to present every loss re- 
sulting from bad management, or indolence, or 
ignorance, and I hope, therefore, only to make 
it doubtful whether agriculture is necessarily 
the most unprofitable of professions, trusting 
that you may follow the suggestions of the 
hour, if in your judgment they are worthy of 
it, with such theories and processes as shall 
determine the question. 

I. Farmers cultivate too much Land. — 
This observation is old, for it is so true, and its 
truth is so apparent, that it must needs be old. 
For the reason that the manufacturer economizes 
his power of water or steam, or the trader his 
capital by diminishing his credits, or the mer- 
chant his voyages by increasing the speed of 
his vessels, the farmer should limit the amount 
of land in cultivation as far as practicable. It 
is true to an extent much beyond the common 
opinion that the cost of a crop per ton or per 
bushel is diminished as the aggregate per acre 
is increased. That is to say, a bushel of corn 
at twenty per acre costs more than a bushel at 



exceeded the estimate I have now made. 

The first waste to be pointed out is the use of 
this large quantity of land, which, if allowed 
to run to wood merely, would yield an annual 
average of one cord per acre, or 300,000 cords 
per annum. If this wood be estimated at one 
dollar and fifty cents per cord, you have an an- 
nual loss or waste of $540,000. In the next 
place this great quantity of land would be much 
benefited lay allowing it to lie idle, for it is a 
general rule that nature yields a growth and 
improves the land at the same time, while what . 
often passes for husbandry leaves the land 
poorer than it finds it. Now then, let this area 
of land rest for forty years untouched by the 
hand of man, and it will yield an aggregate of 
twenty millions of dollars, while its productive 
power for the future will be greatly increased. 

II. As a consequence of this system, the 
farmers of Massachusetts fence, plough, sow, 
and mow six acres, when they ought to fence, 
plough, sow, and mow but five; and in fine-, 
they extend all their agricultural operations 
over 17 per cent, more land than is necessary 
to the result they attain. Here is a manifest 
loss of labor — a waste where there ought to be 
the strictest economy. It may not be easy to 
estimate this waste accurately, but it is plain 
that it materially diminishes the profits of this 
branch of industry. We have already esti- 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



£>/ 



mated the entire cost of our agricultural labor 
at sixteen and a half millions of dollars. It 
is moderate to say that one-eighth of this is 
-wasted in the cultivation of 1 7 per cent.' more 
land than is necessary to the crop ; but to avoid 
any unreasonable calculations, it may be well 
to put the loss at one-sixteenth, or one million 
of dollars. Be it remembered that the gross 
proceeds of agriculture do not exceed twenty 
millions of dollars, and of this at least one 
million is wasted in the misapplication of labor. 
Nor is this all. We shall have occasion to say 
that this misapplication of labor is followed by 
a more serious loss in the exhaustion of the 
land. But what would be said of a manufac- 
turer who should be guilty of wasting one- 
twentieth of his whole product in the applica- 
tion of his labor? If his labors finally re- 
sulted in bankruptcy, would he be entitled to 
public sympathy? Or would judicious men 
condemn the business because it failed in such 
hands ? It is a duty to economize labor. La- 
bor is the scarcest and dearest commodity in 
the market, and so it is likely to continue. 

III. This waste of labor is followed by a 
waste of land. When we cultivate more land 
than we ought for the crop we get, the process 
of cultivation is necessarily defective and bad. 
This was the character of our fanning through 
the whole of the last decennial period. As the 
land under bad cultivation loses heart and 
strength, more and more is required to meet 
the demand we make - . So then,- from 1840 to 
1850, we not only cultivated more land than 
we ought, but we actually consumed it at the 
rate of many thousand acres a year. The pro- 
duce of 1840 was much greater than that of 
1850, yet we had 2,133,436 acres in cultiva- 
tion at the latter period, and only 1,875,211 
acres at the former. The product of 1840, at 
the rates before named would have required 
2,317,696 acres, while they were really pro- 
duced from 1,875,211 acres, showing that my 
estimate of the capacity of our soil under ^or- 
dinary care was too low. If you take the ex- 
cess of the crop of 1840 over that of 1850, 
and according to the rates before named, find 
the quantity of land necessary to produce that 
excess, and add that quantity to the acres in 
cultivation in 1850, and you have 2,507,353 
acres, or 632,142 acres more than were culti- 
vated in 1840. These statistics demonstrate 
two facts — one absolutely and the other ap- 
proximately. First, that during the last de- 
cennial period our lands continually depreciated 
ii productive power; and secondly, that that 
lepreciation was equivalent to the annihilation 
of 63,000 acres of land a year, or nearly 3 
per cent, of the value of the farms of the State, 
• xclusive of buildings and woodland. 



In fine, it appears that in 1850 we were cul- 
tivating 632,142 acres more than we should 
have been if the production of 1840 had been 
sustained ; 360,855 acres more than would have 
been necessary at the rates before assumed; 
and also that the impoverishing culture from 
1840 to 1850 was equal to an annual waste of 
63,214 acres, which was apparent in the dimi- 
nished total product, and in the increased quan- 
tity of land in use. This waste may be esti- 
mated with considerable accuracy. The farms 
of the State were valued at $109,076,377. 
Two and nine-tenths of 1 per cent., the exact 
proportion which the annual waste bore to the 
quantity in cultivation, is $3,163,145. But if 
you allow that one-half of the total value of 
our farms is in woodland and buildings, the 
depreciation was $1,581,572 per annum. But 
whatever may have been the exact depreciation, 
it is plain that our culture from 1840 to 1850 
was an exhausting one — -the acres continually 
increasing and the production diminishing. 
These facts demonstrate what it is unpleasant 
to believe, and yet more uupleasaut to say, that 
the farmers of Massachusetts, of that period, 
could not as a class be called good farmers. 
Good culture benefits land — bad culture ex- 
hausts it. 

During the ten years to which our statistics 
refer, the culture of the State was bad. Land 
reclaimed from the water and the forest was 
not used to increase production, but its native 
fertility was required to supply those crops 
which our exhausted and abused fields refused 
to furnish. The process of our agriculture 
was that of a corporation which uses its capital 
in dividends, or of a merchant who lives be- 
yond his means, and it tended to the same re- 
sult — bankruptcy. The idea that cropping land 
necessarily exhausts it is an erroneous one, and 
it is, moreover, a reflection upon the Creator, 
who has provided for the support of his child- 
ren, and not for then.' extinction by the exhaus- 
tion of the powers of nature. 

The good farmer will so manage his acres 
that their productive power will yearly increase, 
and this he should do even though his acres ia 
cultivation diminished. 

I beg, in concluding this part of my address, 
to present an aggregate of the wastes to which 
I have already called your attention : 
1st. The annual income from the growth 
of wood on 360,855 acres of land 
more than was necessary to the crop 

of 1850 . , $540,000 

2d. Loss of labor in cultivating this excess 

of land 1,000,000 

3d. Loss of land per year by exhausting &>.-■-*% 

culture '. 1,581,572 

Total $3,121,572 



38 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



This waste is equal to two and nine-tenths of 
1 per cent, on the value of the farms, and if it 
had been saved and added to the actual income, 
that income would have amounted to 5 per cent. 
a year. Admit that the calculations I have pre- 
sented are true, and admit, also, what I am sure 
is not true, that all the wastes have been stated, 
and all the profits of farming enumerated, and 
even then the result to which we come is not an 
unsatisfactory one, for we are to consider that 
an investment in land which pays for the labor 
and other expenses bestowed upon it^ and yields 
an annual income of 5 per cent, besides, is as 
good an investment as can be made. Here is 
no risk of frauds and bankruptcy, as when you 
purchase stocks or lend money. It is to be con- 
sidered that this result has been attained without 
reference to an improved cultivation, which is 
to follow the dissemination of scientific and prac- 
tical knowledge among farmers. The view- 
taken contemplates only that amount of skill 
which the farmers of Massachusetts are known 
to possess, and it is my desire further to show 
that its proper exercise will place them above 
the evil of low profits. 

In farming, three things are necessary: skill, 
labor, and implements. Proceeding upon the 
basis that the skill of our farmers is sufficient for 
the present inquiry. I have next to say that there 
is as much labor employed upon the farms of 
Massachusetts as there ought to be when we 
consider the claims of other branches of indus- 
try. The great practical question is to so eco- 
nomize it as to produce the best results. 

The skilful farmer makes a judicious selection 
of his implements, and keeps them in good or- 
der. We can no more afford to work with poor 
tools than the manufacturer can afford to use 
worn or antiquated machinery. 

Among the agencies, if not among the imple- 
ments employed in agriculture in this region, 
we are certainly to reckon manures. They are 
to the farm what water or steam is to the mill. 
As the want of these, or their excessive cost, 
ruins the manufacturer, so the want of manure, 
or its great cost, hurries the farmer to the same 
end. 

The advance made in agricultural knowledge 
in the last five years, has changed public senti- 
ment on this point, yet it is feared that the re- 
medy has been found in the purchase of expen- 
sive manures from abroad, rather than in the 
prudent husbandry of the resources we have at 
home. And the conclusion of this address will 
be devoted to an inquiry into the amount of 
waste in this respect in Massachusetts. 

If it is profitable farming to purchase guano, 
phosphates, and animal manures from abroad, 
there is certainly no excuse for neglecting the 
means which every farmer can command at a 
small expense. He who neglects his harvest is 
hardly distinguished from the criminal, yet it is 
common to neglect the preparation on which 
the harvest depends. 

A waste of manure is a waste of the elements, 
and renders it impossible lor us to add to our crops, 
or to ijaprove our land. The first thing, then, 



to be done, is to economize the manure we have 
at home, and there may then be hope of general 
and permanent improvement. It maybe better 
to import manures than to be without them, but 
of all importations it is the least creditable to 
the country while the present customs remain. 
By the census of 1S50, it appeared that there 
were 75,000 barns in the Stale, and the Secre- 
tary of the Board of Agriculture estimates the 
quantity of manure at five cords each, worth three 
dollars per cord, making a total of $1,125,000. 
If we assume, what appears liberal, that one- 
fourth of the barns have cellars, it follows that 
three-fourths of this manure is exposed to at- 
mospheric and other deteriorating influences. 
Many competent persons estimate the loss from 
this cause at one-half, but if it is only one-third, 
we show a waste from the exposure of manure 
of $2S1,250 per annum. Nor is this all. With- 
out a barn-cellar it is impossible to secure the 
stale, which is nearly equal in value to the solid 
manure. Stockhardt estimates that of the ma- 
nure of neat cattle 53 per cent, is solid, and 
47 per cent, is stale. Farmers who neglect the 
latter ought not to be purchasers of foreign 
manures. 

If the calculation of the Secretary is accurate, 
this waste is three-fourths of 47 per cent, of 
$1,125,000, which is $748,230. Here is then an 
aggregate waste in the State in the matter of 
manures of $1,029,480, which might and ought 
to be saved. It may be mentioned, incidentally, 
as the observation of a practical farmer, and its 
truth has been established by experiments, that 
gravel, or subsoil, is a much better absorbent 
lhan soil which has been cultivated. 

There are. other losses of manures which 
amount to as much as that which has been men- 
tioned. It is stated that there are three hun- 
dred thousand domestic fowls in the State, and 
their manure is superior to any except guano, 
and indeed is hardly inferior to that. Satisfac- 
tory experiments, made by competent persons 
in the counties of Worcester and Middlesex, 
show that this manure is sufficient for ten thou- 
sand acres of corn, and though it may be saved 
and prepared at very little cost, it is for the most 
part wasted. A few farmers have built reser- 
voirs for the waste water of their houses, yet 
much the larger part neglect this means of 
wealth altogether. 1 think it safe to say that 
the farmers of Massachusetts neglect and waste 
more manure than they use, and the loss of a 
million of dollars in manure is followed by a 
loss of much labor, and many millions in the 
crop. 

It is also practicable and economical for many 
farmers to avail themselves of manures or fer- 
tilizers from the shops and mills of the manu- 
facturers. The dirt and waste of woollen lac- 
tones is found to be a superior manure for po- 
tatoes. The liquor and deposit of the rag 
bleacheries are of inestimable value. They con- 
tain lime, soda, and whatever may be extracted 
from the rags. The value of this composition 
is apparent, and must be great in most sections 
of New England. An intelligent manufacturer 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



39 



and i'armer, who has had many years' expe- 
rience with this fertilizer, writes that when used 
upon land in the immediate vicinity of the 
bleachery, ifs value is equal to the cost of the 
lime and soda. There are also many other 
manufactories, from whose ordinary operations 
wealth, or the means of wealth, may be derived. 
I have dwelt thus upon the wastes of agricul- 
ture for the purpose of showing that its profits 
may be materially increased, without the aid of 
that additional skill which we hope soon to ac- 
quire. We have not spoken of what may be 
done when agricultural science is better devel- 
oped and more generally understood, but only 
of what can now be done by those changes in 
practice which, in the judgment of all good far- 
mers, ought at once to be made. But we should 
not fix our minds so exclusively upon the profiis 
of agriculture as to neglect the improvement of 
the landscape and scenery of Massachusetts. 
When we cultivate only so much land as we 
can cultivate well, and allow the rest to run to 
wood, our barren knolls, exhausted plains, and 
without pasture, will disappear, and the luxu- 
riant meadows, and lawjis, and fields, rich with 
the promise of the harvest, or burdened by its 
weight, will add to the beauties of hill and 
mountain, green with the freshness of spring, 
or variegated by the frosts of autumn. And, 
gentlemen, indulge me further while I say, that 
it is not wise nor safe to accept the idea, some- 
times suggested, that Massachusetts had better 
abandon her agriculture as a business, and trust 
to commerce and manufactures. This we ought 
never to do. These latter branches are impor- 
tant, even essential, but they should not be the 
sole pursuits of any people. True prosperity 
does not rest upon any one branch of industry, 
and though commerce and manufactures have 
brought great wealth to Massachusetts, they 
have not advanced her in those qualities which 
constitute her true renown more than has agri- 
culture alone. Agriculture, gentlemen, can be 
made profitable even in Massachusetts. It is 
so in a limited number of instances, and it can 
be generally so if the farmers but will it. Let 
them seize upon the ingenuity and enterprise 
which distinguish our mechanics and merchants, 
and they will secure for the leading pursuit of 
the people the position to which it is entitled. 
The existence of agriculture in Massachusetts 
as the support of a large class of people is a 
question of profit, and it is for the farmers to so 
determine it, that our youth shall,have courage 
to engage in a profession which promises a 
larger share of physical, moral, and intellectual 
health, than any of the other avocations of men. 



me, as I had always been rather skeptical. Four 
turkeys were confined in a pen, and fed on meal, 
boiled potatoes and oats. Four others of the same 
brood, were also at the same time confined in an- 
other pen. arid fed daily on the same articles, but 
with one pint of very finely pulverized charcoal 
mixed with their meal and potatoes. They had 
also a plentiful supply of broken charcoal in their 
pen. The eight were killed on the same day, and 
there w r as a difference of one and a half pounds 
each in favor of the fowls which had been supplied 
with the charcoal, they being much the fattest, and 
the meat greatly superior in point of tenderness 
and flavor. — Gerraontown Telegraph. 



FATTENING TURKEYS, &c. 

Mucn has been published of late in our agricul- 
tural journals in relation to the alimentary proper- 
ties of charcoal. It has been repeatedly asserted, 
that domestic fowls may be fattened on it without 
any other food, and that, too, in a shorter time than 
on the most nutritive strains. I have recently made 

experiment, and must say the result surprised 



For the Southern Planter. 

MANAGEMENT OF TOBACCO. 

Mr. Editor, — In looking over the November 
number of the Southern Planter, my attention 
was particularly called to an "Essay on the 
Culture of Tobacco," over the signature of Wm. 
H. Jones, of Mecklenburg. Being a planter 
myself, I read it carefully, and tiling it a good 
production. By writing this, or saying what I 
shall, I do not mean or intend to controvert any 
thing said by him; but as we differ in our ma- 
nagement in several particulars, I thought it 
would not be amiss to give to the readers of 
the Southern Planter, as a suggestion only, my 
plan of management upon a few of the impor- 
tant points in the management of a crop of to- 
bacco, in which we differ. He says after the 
tobacco is cut, "as soon as it can be handled 
without breaking, it is placed in small parcels, 
say enough for six or eight sticks, and hung on 
sticks." My plan is to stack it in round stacks, 
by setting it up upon the tails, as straight up as 
I can to make it stand and press it close together, 
else it will fall about and coddle; but if put up 
right it will never coddle. I put as much in a 
stack as is convenient, paying no regard to the 
particular quantity. In this condition, it may, 
if you choose, remain for days, if the weather 
is suitable. My practice, however, is (if I do 
not want it to yellow some in the stacks) to haul 
it immediately off' to the barn upon an ox cart, 
placing planks upon the bottom of the wood 
body, made fast, with all the wood standards 
out; put a little dry straw or hay upon the 
planks to make the load *Iip off' when the body 
is tilted, which will place the load in a pile just 
where you want it without damage, and as it 
was put upon the cart. When the cart body 
is tilted, the oxen are made to draw the cart 
from under the load. The load i3 placed on 
the cart by lapping the tails together, with 
the stalks out. Secondly, When the tobacco is 
sufficiently cured for stripping, and it is put in 
a bulk for that purpose, he says: "Whenever 
the weather is unfit for out-door work, the to- 
bacco is stripped." I am aware that the progress 
of the general business upon a farm may be ad- 
vanced by this course; but whether the interest 
of the planter is promoted by it, is a matter of 
some doubt with me, for the following reasons: 
1st. It is a difficult matter to keep a bulk in good 



40 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



condition for stripping in harsh winter weather, 
unless covered with damp oak leaves from the 
woods; and even then, we are apt to let. it lie 
in bulk too long. If it is too soft, we let it funk, 
and if not, it is liable to get too dry and waste 
much in stripping. My practice is, whenever I 
put tobacco in a bulk for stripping, to strip it 
forthwith, straighten and bulk down by lapping 
the tails, weight heavily, and invariably re-hang 
in from four to six days, after bulking: if I re-hang 
at all. 2dly. If I purpose not prizing until spring 
or summer, as it is re-hung it is crowded high 
up in the house and then let it remain until I 
wish to order it for the hogshead. When, on a 
soft time, to prevent its shattering, it is opened 
for ordering. My conviction is from experience 
that good tobacco of any class will be reduced 
in its original value two dollars per hundred by 
bulking itand letting it remain in bulktosweeten, 
then re-hang it to order for prizing. Conse- 
quently, tobacco should not under any circum- 
stances, I think, be permitted to lie in bulk but 
a few days out of prizing order. Hence it is, I 
think, that the tobacco merchants mostly advise 
the planter against re-hanging. It is clear to 
my mind that if tobacco is permitted to sweeten 
in the bulk and thqp re-hung, the finer proper- 
ties and the more delicious qualities of it escape 
in drying in the atmosphere, and can never be 
regained; whereas, if it does not sweeten until 
in prizing order, it has all of its originality in 
it, and is undoubtedly better, and is worth more 
money. 3dly. In stripping we make two sorls 
only — good and lugs. When it is struck off" of 
the sticks in prizing order, we then class the dif- 
ferent qualities and sizes, and pack and prize 
separately. 

Very respectfully, 

Your most obedient servant, 

Ed. J. THOMrsoN. 
Albemarle, Nov. 25, 1854. 



For the Southern Planter. 

REMARKABLE SCARCITY OP INSECTIVOROUS 
BIRDS, REPTILES AND INSECTS, LAST YEAR. 

Mr. Editor, — This is an age of discovery and 
progress. How long it may be before the me- 
teoric aeronaut, as he whizzes through the air, 
to explore the "incognita terra" of the poles, 
shall laugh to scorn the snail pace of the rail 
car and the steamboat, no man can tell. And 
whether it may not be a provision in the vast, 
but incomprehensible plans of an all-wise and 
almighty Providence, ultimately to set his crea- 
ture men to visiting each other in all the worlds 
of his apparently trackless and boundless uni- 
verse, no man knoweth. But to descend, per- 
haps, from "the sublime to the ridiculous," there 
are mysteries in nature so seriously affecting 
the happiness and interest of man, and yet so. 
infinitesimally small, as to demand all his pow- 
ers of observation and ratiocination, to explore, 
to understand and to correct. We know that 
there are myriads of invisible (to the naked eye) 
animalcule that inhabit the earth, sea and air; 



and that we eat them in our food, swallow them 
in our water, and inhale them in our respiration. 
How far they may serve to produce disease and 
death among men, in unknown circumstances, 
or, in the organization and mysterious arrange- 
ment of our animal economy, to promote health 
and sustain life, it is perhaps vain, if not impious, 
to assume to ascertain or to comprehend. The 
great plans of Providence are heyond the reach 
of human scrutiny, and it is perhaps enough 

''To know but this, Tl\at thou art good, 
And that myself am blind." 

Yet in this idea I am venturing upon no untrod- 
den ground; for learned medical authors have 
long since advanced 1 the opinion and sustained 
it with very plausible and cogent reasons, that 
urticaria, or nettle rash, and some other cuta- 
neous diseases, are nothing but swarms and set- 
tlements of these invisible animalcule; and as 
the patient always suffers most at night after 
retiring to rest, they say his torment is produced 
by the animation and motion imparted to this 
horde of undiscoverable persecutors by the 
warmth ef his coverlet, and the consequently 
confined effluvia of his body. But however true 
or false this theory may be, as pertaining to the 
healing art, it seems to me quite a reasonable 
supposition that most, if not all, of the usual 
diseases of our vegetable and grain crops, apart 
from bad cultivation, poor land and unpropitious 
seasons are produced by the sucking or punc- 
turing operation of worms or insects, many ot 
which may be wholly invisible to the eye of 
man. If these myriads of unseen and unknown 
insects are per se, beyond the reach of human 
power, their progenitors of larger size, in the 
ascending line of gradation, may not be thus 
exempt from the arts and devices of cunning 
and destroying man; and a single fly that ge- 
nerates them, and thus becomes the parent of 
their succession in the descending line, being 
destroyed, the whole of every successive brood 
of its progeny is thereby likewise destroyed by 
(it may be) a single fillip of the finger. But 
while little or nothing may be done directly in 
this way, much, nay all, may be accomplished 
by the discovery of the original parentage of 
the Hessian fly, the chinch bug, the joint worm, 
&c. The ancestors or progenitors being once 
known, their natural destroyers will be known 
likewise, (for every living creature in this world 
has his destroyer,) and these latter must be used 
as the cherished agency of man for the destruc- 
tion of the former. If their original stock, how- 
ever, be beyond discovery, their destroyers in 
some of their gradations may not be, and these 
should be fostered and allowed to multiply. 
For instance, the bird, reptile, or insect that 
feeds upon the tobacco fly or the chinch bug, is 
the real friend of the planter and the farmer, 
and should be cherished and protected as such, 
for every tobacco fly he kills he relieves the 
planter from the labor of destroying hundreds 
of worms which else had riddled his crop. But I 
find myself unwittingly going beyond the design 
that prompted me to address you this commu- 



THE SOUTHERN PLANT I i 



41 



ideation, and commending these hints, cur rente 
calamo, to the intelligent farmer and the learned 
naturalist, to whom the abstruse subject appro- 
priately belongs. I proceed to give you some 
observations I have made during the year 1S54, 
which, with its events pregnant, it may be, even 
with the fate of empires in the old world, termi- 
nated last night as your brazen bell, with its 
iron tongue, announced the midnight hour. I 
think I may say, nemine contradicente, that in 
this vicinity there were more tobacco worms and 
chinch bugs than we have had for many years, 
if ever, before. We had also a fearful scatter- 
ing of joint worm, which our farmers will be 
pleased to learn was not the vanguard of an 
approaching army, destined to forage upon their 
crops of the present year. Then,- as possibly 
the work of the horde of invisible insects, be- 
fore alluded to, we had a great deal of smut, 
rust and open shuck, in the wheat, reducing by 
i: the joint effect and full result of all" the most 
promising crops, in May, I ever saw. to a ge- 
neral yield of about one-half of what was then 
universally expected. Now, ihe observation I 
made, and which, with deference and diffidence, 
I submit to the inquisitive and reflecting portion 
of the community, is, that we had scarcel}' any 
hornets or yellow jackets— very few martins, or 
bats, or woodpeckers, or sapsuckers, and no 
swallows, and almost a total absence of snakes. 
I shall not venture to draw any inference or 
state any conclusion from the extraordinary ab- 
sence of these birds, reptiles and stinging flies, 
but as they are all known io subsist mainly on 
insects and worms, I desire to know whether 
the multitude of tobacco worms, chinch bugs 
and joint worms, I" have mentioned, may not 
have owed their existence, in some degree, to 
tbe absence of these enemies of themselves or 
their progenitors? I presume not to give, but 
hope to receive, information upon this interest- 
ing subject. 

Very cordially yours. Alpha. 

Powhatan, Jan. 1, 1355. 

P. S. — 1 might have added another uncommon 
fact to the list — that we had scarcely any swarms 
of honey bees, and a remarkable paucity of 
humble bees. A very worthy gentleman, more 
than seventy yeans old. a- large bee raiser all 
his life, told me he had no swarm at all ; another 
had one; another, one, and a second attempt to 
swarm, but they returned to the hive. These 
were all the swarms 1 could hear of. . When I 
was a boy I was fond of fighting the hornets, 
the yellow jackets, and 'the humble bees, and 
was often vanquished by them; and retaining 
ray invincible spirit of hostility to them, I have 
been quite observant o^ their habitations ever 
since. Never a year passed before, that I did 
not see them, more or less. But during the 
year 1S54, 1 saw not a hornet's, a yellow jacket's, 
or an humble bee's nest. This was so remark- 
able as to attract my observation, and upon 
speaking of it, I found others concurred with me. 

Take it all for what it is worth, and believe 
rne to be, my dear sir, 

Very truly your friend, A. 



For the Southern Planter. 

PERUVIAN GUANO FOR TOBACCO PLANT BEDS. 

On the first of last April, fearing from the 
very unpromising appearance of the beds 1 had 
sown, that there would be a deficiency of plants, 
I determined on using guano in preparing other 
beds, hoping thereby to raise plant? for a stand 
in due season. On reflecting as to the best 
mode of applying it, serious difficulties presented 
themselves. I had learned, through communi- 
cations in the agricultural journals, that guano- 
produced little benefit on treds burnt in the usual 
way, save as a top dressing to the plants when 
well up, and was even then hazardous; 1 there- 
fore resolved on a plan which 1 had not seen 
advised. The subject of the first experiment 
was a piece of gray land on a hillside extending 
to the edge of a branch, and having a south- 
eastern exposure. This land had produced one 
crop of corn and one of oats since cleared, and 
had been broken, for corn in February.' The 
size of the land was fourteen yards by eight, to 
which Peruvian guano was applied at the rate 
of 500 lbs. to the acre and immediately turned 
in to the depth of five inches with a one-horse 
plough. The surface was chopped and raked 
unnfperfectly fine. The bed was now covered 
to the depth of twenty inches with dry corn- 
stalks, which- were fired on every side at the 
same time — the object being to have a hot fire 
of short duration. My motive for burning with 
corn-stalks was to destroy the grass seed near 
the surface, but not to heat the earth to a depth 
sufficient to impair the activity of the guano. 
The stubble of the stalks was picked oii' after 
the fire had subsided, and much care taken not 
to disturb the surface of the bed. When suffi- 
ciently cool, the seed were sown, trod and co- 
vered in the usual way. The plants were up 
plentifully in a few days, (the weather being 
favorable,) grew off vigorously, and by the 22d 
of May eight thousand plants wore set out and 
lived well. During the same month about eight 
thousand more were drawn, and in the, last of 
the first week in June I gave a neighbor ten 
thousand out of the same bed, of full size — 
making some twenty-six thousand plants that 
were drawn from a bed ten yards long by eight 
wide, having purposely omitted to bum four 
yards of the fourteen, that I might observe the 
difference. The portion of the bed not burnt 
produced no plants worth drawing; they started 
well but were overrun by grass and -weeds. 
Two other beds on rich alluvial bottom, treated 
as above, save as to burning, though promising 
well at first, were soon smothered with weeds, 
and utterly worthless. They might have been 
hand weeded, but finding my beds prepared in 
the usual way much better than was anticipated, 
and having no use l'or them, I gave them up. 
It may not be out of place to mention that a 
four foot bed in a patch prepared in February, 
which had been neglected to be sown, was thinfy 
covered with guano, say about 6(0 lbs. to the 
acre, and sown the first of May. The plants 
were of good size to set by the 15th of June. 



42 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



The ashes op the bed had, no doubt, been so 
much leached by rains as 10 destroy their caus- 
ticity, and hence did not act unfavorably on the. 
guano. 

Ii' the results obtained in the iirst experiment 
herein detailed can be secured with anything 
like uniformity a great amount of labor may be 
saved in the preparation of plant beds, and 
though it may, for the present, be most prudent 
to pursue, the usual course of hard burning, yet 
in the event of a failure of the beds thus pre- 
pared, the planter may, by adopting the above 
suggestions, not fiiul his misfortune (always a 
serious one) without remedy. The labor re- 
quired is perfectly insignificant, and the expense 
of guano so small, in comparison with the pro- 
mised benefit, as to be unworthy of considera- 
tion. It may be asked, can confidence be placed 
in the results of a single experiment? This 
question can be answered only after a more en- 
larged experience. It is my intention to prepare 
several beds, as in the first experiment, the suc- 
cess of which 1 will communicate to the Planter. 
Perhaps I have not laid stress enough on having 
the beds well prepared before burning, and on 
not disturbing the surface in the least ailer the 
fire has gone down. Sow the seed on the corn- 
stalk ashes and tread in and cover with brush. 

With best wishes for the successof the Planter, 
I am yours, respectfully, 

Wm. T. Maclin. 

Hicksford, Greensville, Jan. 21, 1S55. 



For the Southern Planter. 

McCORMICK'S REAPING AND MOWING 
MACHINE. 

The above reaping machine has been used 
in different parts of Virginia for the past twelve 
years, but for the last two or three years they 
have mostly been laid aside. Mr. McCormick, 
as well as all to whom he sold patent rights in 
this State, made them entirely too slight and 
flimsy to be used by black laborers, especially 
while such a prejudice existed against them 
amongst all the laboring classes. McCormick 
introduced his machine into the North-western 
States about ten years ago, and he has now in 
successful operation amongst the farmers of that 
great wheat country seven thousand machines. 
But experience and his ingenuity together has 
enabled him to place in the hands of the farmer, 
at a comparatively moderate cost, the most du- 
rable and reliable reaper yet offered tothe public. 
The raker and driver now ride upon the ma- 
chine, which is everyway enlarged and strength- 
ened. And it is so arranged as to cut any kind 
of grain, grass or clover, as close to the ground, 
or as far above it as desired. In short, it can 
be used whenever a cradle or mowing scythe 
can be. The sickle-cutting principle is the only 
one that can be relied on when there is any 
dampness about the roots of the wheat or grass, 
and if there should be any clover or grass in 
the wheat, all other principles I have seen used 
will gum up along the edges until it requires 



the horses to trot or gallop to enable it to cut 5 
in fact, they generally have to trot to cut well; 
and when we have as hot and dry a harvest as 
the last was, many have to cease cutting or lose 
their horses. Some did lose horses last harvest, 
and others were afraid to work them. But with 
the sickle-cutting principle, the horses may move 
a,s slowly as you please, and the work will be 
as well done as any one can desire it; and at 
the gait of an ordinary plough team, it is war- 
ranted to cut one acre and a half per hour, of 
wheat, or one acre of grass, or no sale. There 
are many farmers in Virginia, and especially 
in the lower part of the Valley, where heavy 
crops are grown that pay from $150 to $200 for 
harvesting their wheat, in addition to the regu- 
lar force, when a McCormick reaper and mower 
at $160, as now constructed, would cut, harvest 
after harvest, more wheat than five of the best 
of cradlers; and when tangled or lodged, as 
much as ten, or perhaps more, could; and will 
save it much cleaner and nicer every way than 
any instrument whatever. There are several 
other reapers that are quite valuable, and do 
very nice work, when all things are every way 
favorable for them. I expect in the future to cut 
all wheat, rye, oats and grass or clover that I 
may grow, with one reaper and one cradle to 
open the way and cut over rocks, brakes, &c. 
My crop consists of two hundred acres of small 
grain, besides oats and grass. I think it is as 
much to our interest, now labor is so high, to 
use the reaper and mower generally, as it is to 
the farmers in those States before mentioned. 
With such a machine the farmer has the entire, 
management of his harvest in his own hands, 
and is very much relieved of his painful reliance_ 
on inferior harvest hirelings. He can drive if 
he chooses and see every binder as he passes 
round and round, which is a simple and easy 
task, if the stones have been piled or taken off', 
and in the month of March a stake five feet in 
height, tightly driven in the ground by the side 
of every stump, both small and large, and by 
all tight rocks projecting over five inches above 
the surface. 

A Valley Subscriber. 
January 15, 1S55. 



THE HOP TRADE IN WISCONSIN. 

The cultivation of hops for home consumption 
and Eastern market is becoming, or rather has be- 
come, an extensive and important branch of agri- 
tural industry in this portion of the State. It is 
an article easily grown, exhausts the soil far less 
than many other crops, commands good prices and 
a ready sale. Last Tuesday no fewer than fifty 
bales of closely packed hops passed through this 
city on their way to Mihvaukie, to he sent to New 
York City. Joseph E. Spaulding raised 4000 lbs. 
of this quantity on two acres of ground, in the 
town of Oak Grove, Dodge county. Last year he 
informs us he raised 1849 lbs. on one single acre. 
The remainder of the lot spoken of above, was 
raised by Messrs. Powers & Fletcher, of Maysville, 
in the same county. They had 3000 lbs. and took 
them all from an acre and a half of land. At the 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



43 



figures at which this lot of over four tons is sold, 
producing hops must be a very profitable business, 
holding out strong inducements to engage in their 
cultivation. They require comparatively but little 
time or labor, and will be found a safe, paying and 
reliable crop, as well as a valuable addition to our 
domestic exports. — Watertmon Democrat. 



From the Working' Farmer. 
LIME. 



In our former articles on this subject, we 
thought we had exhausted it, but the following 
remarks by Professor Way, delivered before 
the Royal Society of England, are novel and 
evidently true : 

"A weekly Council was then held, when 
Professor Way delivered before the members 
a lecture on the results of a nine months' in- 
vestigation into the conditions under which lime 
affects the absorptive power of soils in reference 
to ammonia. These results were numerically 
represented in a small table, containing only 
four vertical columns, intersected by as many 
horizontal spaces; but would prove, as Prof. 
Way remarked, of permanent value, worth all 
the time and labor bestowed upon their pro- 
duction, if they should be found to lead to the 
establishment of any new principle in agricul- 
ture. His lecture was chiefly occupied in the 
discussion of these results, and of the clue they 
might possibly give to the explanations of the 
mode in which lime acted upon soils as a ma- 
nure. The two principal facts ascertained by 
these experiments appeared to be the following : 

"1. That all clay soils, more or less, even 
beyond the depth of twenty feet, are found to 
possess a certain quantity of ammonia, derived, 
as Professor Way supposes, from the fishy and 
vegetable matter of beds of lakes or rivers, no 
bed of clay whatever, he thought, being entirely 
free from ammonia. 

•■2. That the addition of lime to a soil set 
free one-half the ammonia it contained; thus 
acting, in the first instance, as a 'stimulant' 
to vegetation, but as an exhauster of the stock 
of ammonia already in the soil or to be slowly 
derived from the atmosphere, if applied in large 
quantities. The two principal recommenda- 
tions were : 

"1. That liming should take place periodi- 
cally at short intervals; not more than eight 
to ten bushels per acre being used every year, 
or every two years; lime would, under such 
circumstances, he thought, be found to be one 
of the most useful adjuncts of the farm. 

" 2. That lime when slaked and mixed with 
water, forming what was known as ' milk of 
lime,' should be added to tank-water, and dis 
tributed by means of piping, aa in the case of 



Mr. Meehi's operations at Tiptree, or Mi-. Ken- 
nedy's at Myre Milt. Professor Way, in the 
course of this lecture, entered into most inter- 
esting details connected with the chemical ma- 
chinery of the double silicates in the soil, by 
which the action of lime was regulated ; and 
with the experiment he had instituted for show- 
ing in strong comparative contrasts, the results 
he had obtained. He also pointed out the 
great importance of giving to land, by means 
of suitable cultivation, that condition under 
which it would best act as an absorbent of am- 
monia from the atmosphere. He has drawn 
up a complete statement of these details, which 
will be submitted in due course to the mem- 
bers, in the pages of the Society's Journal. 
Colonel Challoner, Mr. Woodward, Dr. Calvert, 
Sir John Johnstone, Mr. Beale Brown, Lord 
Berners, Mr. Fisher Hobbs, Mr. Payne, and 
Sir Matthew" Ridley, favored the Council with 
results of their own experience in the use of 
lime of different kinds, and on various soils. 
These results depended much on the nature of 
the lime itself, on the mode and time of its 
application, and the condition of the land to 
which it was applied. The Chairman remarked 
that the great value of discussions on questions 
of that kind was the production of evidence 
indicating results diametrically opposite to each 
other, obtained under the same management, 
and the great value it proved of the establish- 
ment of sound general principles in agricultural 
practice, by means of which exactly the same 
results might be expected to recur when repeated 
under exactly the same circumstances." 



GUAXO AND SUPERPHOSPHATE FOP. CORN. 

The American Agriculturist publishes, from 
an anonymous correspondent, the results of an 
experiment with artificial fertilizers on corn. 
The soil was a gravelly loam, sward, and 
ploughed about the 20th of May. The quan- 
tity of land allotted to each experiment is not 
stated. This is to be regretted. The fertilizers 
and crop are calculated to the acre. 

The unmanured plot yielded 28 bushels per 
acre ; that dressed with 1 6 loads stable manure, 
35J bushels; 500 lbs. superphosphate of lime, 
46"bushels; 690 lbs. guano, 50$ bushels; 300 
lbs. of superphosphate of lime and 640 lbs. 
guano, 58 bushels; 320 lbs. of guano and 640 
lbs. of dissolved bones, (bones decomposed by 
sulphuric acid,) 51 bushels; 1010 lbs. guano 
and 400 lbs. of superphosphate, 74^ bushels; 
16 tons stable manure and 640 lbs. of super- 
phosphate, 49 \ bushels. 

The effect of an application of a good super- 
phosphate of lime on Indian corn, is what we 



44 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



have long desired to see, as much for scientific 
as for practical reasons. 

The above experiments lead us to hope that 
superphosphate, at a reasonable price, would 
prove a profitable fertilizer for corn in the New 
England States, where it generally sells for at 
least one dollar per bushel. Thus the retail 
price of a first class superphosphate in England 
is $30 per ton. Five hundred pounds of su- 
perphosphate in the above experiment give an 
increase of 18 bushels. We should get, there- 
fore, an extra bushel of corn for 42 cents. We 
must not, however, allow ourselves to deduce 
too much from the result of a single experi- 
ment. The cost of the superphosphate here, 
however, is $50 per ton. and the IS extra bushels 
cost $12 50, or 70 cents per bushel. The 690 
lbs. of guano give an increase of 22-1- bushels. 
At $50 per ton, therefore, 77 cents' worth of 
guano gives an extra bushel of corn. The ex- 
perimenter thinks that this will pay. Of course 
it depends on the price of corn. 

Assuming that the experiments are correct 
it becomes an interesting inquiry as to what 
particular ingredients of the manures the in- 
crease of corn is due. The superphosphate of 
lime used contained say two per cent, of am- 
monia and eighteen per cent, soluble phosphate 
of lime. The guano, if a good article, con- 
tained 1G per cent, of ammonia and 25 per 
cent, of phosphate of lime, a considerable por- 
tion of which would be soluble. Now in the 
above' experiment the superphosphate gives as 
much increase as the guano, or, in other words, 
two per cent, of ammonia and a certain quan- 
tity of phosphate of lime give as much increase 
as sixteen per cent, of ammonia and a certain 
quantity of phosphate of lime. It follows, 
therefore, that the increase must be attributed 
principally to the phosphate of lime. Oh, for 
accurate experiments to determine whether this 
is so or not. Why cannot some friend of sci- 
entific agriculture apply sulphate of ammonia 
on one acre of corn, and pure superphosphate 
of lime on another, sulphate of lime on another, 
and a, mixture of the three in definite propor- 
tion,- on others, and determine the matter':' — 
Rural ?\rr- Yorlcer. 



A EIAUD CEMENT FOR SEAMS. 

A very excfillenl cemenl for seams in the 
roofs of houses, or for any other exposed places, 
is ma 'Jo with white lead, dry white sand, and 
; rfmciroi] as will' make it into the .consistency 
of putty, This cement gets as hard as any 
stoneiii the com e of a few weeks. The lead 
i- i ens ;! kind of flux with the sand; it is ex- 
> : for filling up cracks in exposed parts of 



brick buildings; 
pointing up the 
project through 
We have made 
speak about it 
have no knowled^ 
scribed before. — 



it is also a good cement for 
base of chimneys, where they 

the roofs of shingled houses. 

this cement and tried it, and 
from experience only, for we 
gc of its ever having been de- 

Germantoicn Telegraph. 



From the Rural New Yorker. 

COBS Oil NO COBS, THAT IS THE QUESTION. 

That corn cobs contain a considerable amount 
of nutritive matter cannot be doubted. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Salisbury, 1000 lbs. of ears of 
corn contain about 200 lbs. of cobs, and these 
200 lbs. of cobs contain of woody fibre 127| 
lbs.; of matter separated from the woody fibre 
by a weak solution of potash, 45 £ lbs.; of su- 
gar and extract, 13£ lbs.; of protein compounds, 
9i- lbs.; of gum, resin, &c. 4 lbs. The sugar 
and extracts and protein compounds are the 
principal substances of value. Animals would 
probably be able to digest and assimilate the 
greater portion of the fibre soluble in potash 
water. The large amount of insoluble woody 
fibre is doubtless of no nutritive value. On 
the whole, we should judge on theoretical 
grounds, that corn cobs are capable of afford- 
ing to the animal about as much nutritive 
matter as the same amount of good loheal 
straw. 

We do not know whether scientific or prac- 
tical men first suggested the use of corn cobs 
as food. We suspect, however, as in most other 
eases, practice took the initiative, and science 
afterwards shouted " all right, go-a-head." Be 
this as it may, cobs at the present day are cpaite 
extensively used as food, the method of pre- 
paring them being simply to grind corn and 
cob together in the car. This saves the labor 
and expense of shelling the corn, and avoids 
all waste. Some of the best farmers of our 
acquaintance — men who fatten from fifty to 
one hundred beeves every year — are in the 
habit of feeding out all their corn in this way, 
feeling quite satisfied 'that this is much more 
economical than using clear corn meal. On 
the other hand, there are as equally good and 
experienced farmers who think the nourishment 
in the cobs is not worth the money it costs to 
grind them. 

Let us make an estimate. In this city the 
charge for grinding a bushel of corn ears is 
four" cents; for a bushel of shelled corn, five 
cent ! . Two bushels of cars, weighing, sav 80 
pounds, are equal to a bushel of shelled com, 
weighing 60 lbs., and 20 lbs. of cobs. Say, 
too, that it costs one cent to shell a bushel of 
corn. We pay, therefore, for shelling and 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER . 



45 



grinding 60 lbs. of corn, six cents, and for 
grinding 60 lbs. of corn and 20 lbs. of cobs, 
eight cents; or, in other words, we pay two 
cents for grinding 20 lbs. of cobs. We get a 

Go o 

ton of ground corn cobs, therefore, for tico dol- 
lars. Some will object to our estimate of one 
cent a bushel for shelling. Leaving the cost 
of shelling- altogether out of the question we 
still get a ton of ground cobs for three dollars. 
This year, with hay, straw and all cattle foods 
exceedingly scarce and high, it will certainly, 
we think, be more profitable to grind corn in 
the ear than to shell it before grinding. We 
should be glad of the experience of our cor- 
respondents on tbis subject. 



From the Albany Cultivator. 

HOW TO BUILD A GOOD FENCE. 

3Iy farm consists of 130 acres. I bought 
it three years ago, from one of our old Cana- 
dian farmers. It was a model farm, under his 
management, for burrs, Canada thistles, June 
grass, foxtail, and all other matters and things 
of this sort, as well as for bad fences — there 
were not good rails enough on the whole place, 
to make fifty rods of good fence. The old man 
and his neighbors' cattle had many a contest, 
to know which should hold possession. 

After coming into possession, my first effort 
was to get a good outside fence. This I soon 
accomplished by building something over a 
mile of common board fence. This was con- 
structed in the usual way. But next, I needed 
cross fences, for the farm was all in one field, 
and I designed laying it out in eight acre lots. 
I found, on a short calculation, that in accom- 
plishing this, I had to build over three miles 
of fence; and to get a good fence at the least 
cost, was what I wished. My neighbors could 
not learn me much in reference to the matter, 
either by example or precept, so I had to figure 
it out. 

My first operation was to purchase three 
hundred saw logs in the woods. These were 
drawn to a saw-mill with my own teams in the 
winter. Next I bought about one thousand 
cedar posts, and cut and drew home nearly an- 
other thousand. The lumber was partly drawn 
by my own teams, and partly by others. As 
as the spring opened I commenced opera- 
. This I did by squaring off my intended 
fields, and putting in stakes on the lines of the 
fence-:. This done, my ploughman commenced 
part, by throwing three furrows to each 
hand, leaving as large a space in finishing, or 
between them, as convenient. He then altered 
hi.=j clevis, and went down with another furrow 
as deep as he could run the plough — Returning 



in the same furrow to throw up the loose earth. 
I found that he got down full fifteen inches. 
Two men now commenced sinking holes eight 
feet apart and one foot deep in this furrow, or- 
ditch. In soft clay or loam, they dug eighty- 
six holes iu about three-fourths of a day. As 
soon as the holes were dug we commenced put- 
ting in the posts. This is a simple operation, 
but it is best done, I think, by first setting 
every tenth or twelfth post in line, and then, 
using two good strong cords stretched from 
these to guide the man m setting the rest. 

I do not' think that it is of any use to pack 
the earth hard round the posts. In fact I be- 
lieve it does harm. As soon as the posts are 
set, we strike a line on the posts, two feet three 
inches above the natural level of the ground ; 
the bottom board, about twelve inches wide, is 
now nailed on, its upper edge even with the 
line. The plough is again called into requisi- 
tion, using, however, only one horse. The earth 
that had been thrown from the line of the fence, 
is now turned back. This is done by throwing 
in three furrows on each side, and throwing 
these up again. Two more boards, six inches 
wide, are now nailed on — the first with an open- 
ing of six inches, and the second eight inches. 
The nails used thus far, are common two and 
a half inch cuts, but in nailing on the battens, 
which I do on each post, we use four inch nails, 
putting one through each fence board. 

The next operation and last, as far as the 
fence is concerned, is to set two men to finish- 
ing the banking. This is a quick and simple 
operation— one goes ahead and' throw's up the 
loose earth out of the ditch ; the second clears 
out the ditch, and finishes the bank. Timothy 
seed is at once sown on very thick, and the 
bank is slightly lamp'd down with the back of 
the shovel. Two men will easily finish the 
banking of forty rods in a day. 

Such a fence when finished, will cost here 
less than forty-five cents per rod. It will be 
five feet high from bottom of ditch — it cannot 
be jumped by any common animal — it occupies 
with me five feet of land — it is easily built, a 
large share of this digging and banking being 
done by horses, and all the rest is performed 
by common farm laborers — it is quickly built — 
the posts never heave, even in softish or wcttish 
soils — the water cannot freeze round them, and 
they will Inst longer than posts set in the cfons 
mon way. 



Worth Kxpyrmfi, — Boil three or four onions iu 
a pint of water; then with a gilding brush do over 
your glasses and frames, and the flics will not light 
on the articles washed. This may be used witliouf- 
apprehension, as .it will uotdpthe lea^t injury ta 
the frames. 



46 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



WIRE FENCES. 

We have Received the following article in 
regard to a kind of wire fence manufactured 
at Lowell. We have heard it highly recom- 
mended by several persons who have tried it, 
among whom we may mention R. S. Fay, Esq. 
of "Lynn. We shall probably furnish, before 
long, a cut, with a description and prices of 
the various kinds. — Boston Cultivator. 

" Some months since, a remarkable machine 
was invented by John Nesmith, Esq. of Lowell, 
for the purpose of weaving wire fences. This 
invention has been patented ; and much of this 
novel, durable, cheap and beautiful fencing has 
actually been manufactured and sold by the 
Lowell Wire Fence Company. This invention 
is particularly opportune. The cost of our 
fences is a grievous tax upon our labor; Burnap 
estimates it at twenty times the aggregate of all 
our specie. The common materials for fencing- 
are daily becoming less and less available. Our 
forests are steadily receding before the tide of 
civilization, like the red men who were once 
their inhabitants. In Texas, as we are informed 
by an extensive 'lumber-king,' rough cypress 
boards are seventy dollars per thousand; and 
in many States, as well as in Texas, the cost of 
properly fencing a farm is two or three times 
as great as the first cost of the farm . itself. 
Nor can the place of wood, as a material for 
fencing, be supplied by stone; for in many of 
our States there is uo stone at all. Nor can 
live fences, or hedges, succeed wood and stone 
in America, as it has done in some parts of 
Europe. Our soil, our climate, our physical 
geography, all preclude this. Hedges have been 
found to be wholly impracticable for farm fenc- 
ing. A distinguished agricultural writer once 
remarked to the writer of this article, that in 
all his travels, east, west, south and north, he 
had seen but one good live fence, and that was 
protected on one side by a board fence, and on 
the other by a rail fence. 

"The agricultural mind of the country has 
long been conscious that a complete revolution 
in our mode of fences must eventually super- 
vene; and the agricultural and mechanical jour- 
nals, the orators of our State and County Fairs, 
and especially the New York Society of Agri- 
cultural Debates, have given decided and re- 
peated expression to this consciousness, and to 
the conviction that some invention would be 
made by which ivirc could be rendered availa- 
ble for strong, elegant, economic fencing. This 
is that invention, so long the great desideratum 
of agriculturists. 

" Different machines, constructed on the same 
principle, have been made, adapted for the ma- 



nufacture of this wire-netting, of all sizes of 
wire, of all widths, and of various sizes of mesh ; 
so that netting of all descriptions, from window- 
netting to farm-feuce-netting, may be produced 
with equal perfection and facility. The fencing- 
is furnished in neat and portable rolls, at from 
seventy-five cents to two dollars per rod, and 
can be procured and put up by any ordinary far- 
mer. No rails whatever are necessary, though 
a top rail' has in one or two instances been in- 
troduced. The fencing is fastened by nails, 
brads, iron or wire staples, to posts, set ten, 
twelve or fifteen feet apart; the upper edge of 
the fencing being kept on a level from point to 
point, without regard to the evenne.ts of the 
land. In some instances galvanized wire is 
used, for greater security against rust ; in others, 
the fencing has been painted; but generally 
asphaltum varnish has been applied, giving to 
the fencing a beautiful black color, and pre- 
serving it from decay. 

"The strength of this fencing is such that 
no ox can pass it, while its closeness renders it 
an admirable barrier to hens and chickens. 
Those who have tried it as a cattle-fence, as a 
sheep-fence, and as a chicken or hen-coop-fence, 
all pronounce it the best, in point of strength, 
durability, closeness, beauty and economy, in 
the world: It has also been successfully intro- 
duced in lieu of bed-corcls in bedsteads, and for 
trellisses for, vines. Requiring little and un- 
frequent repair, it is calculated to last a cen- 
tury or more. Offering no resistance to the 
wind, it can ' live' through the most furious hur- 
ricanes, while hedges, stone-fences and wooden 
fences are destroyed around it. Other fences « 
occupy from two to four feet throughout their 
extent ; this covers not a single inch. Others 
shut out the genial rays of the sun; this does 
not. No wire fence has yet been produced, 
which was not injuriously affected, i. e. alter- 
nately expanded and contracted by changes in 
the temperature of the atmosphere; this, by 
being loosely attached to the posts, and more 
especially by the peculiar manner in which it 
is knit together, admits of these changes of 
temperature, without being injured thereby. 
Adapted thus admirably for cattle-fences, sheep- 
fences, chicken-fences, garden-fences, ornamen- 
tal-fences, road-fences, for trellises, and the rest, 
this netting will, of course; occasion a great 
revolution in the agricultural world — a revolu- 
tion not second to any witnessed during the 
last half century. 

" The agricultural and scientific press have 
applauded it; men of theory have attested its 
praise ; practical men have tried it, and set to 
it the seal of their unanimous approbation; 
nor can any man question its ultimate success." 



\ 



THE SOUTHEEN PLANTEE. 



47 



From DeBow's Review. 
CONGRESSIONAL LEGISLATION UPON GUANO. 

Since the discovery of this valuable fertilizer 
the farming! and planting interests have been 
anxiously awaiting some change in the manner 
of supply, that would be the means of lowering 
the price and bringing the article within reach 
of every class of consumers. Memorials have 
been sent to Congress from the most respecta- 
ble conventions, asking for special negotiation 
with the government of Peru, which holds and 
enjoys this monopoly of the article. Reports 
and resolutions have been introduced into that 
body upon the subject, and investigations have 
been set on foot to find other depositories of 
the article among the islands of the Gulf, or 
the Pacific coast. Invention has been tasked 
to manufacture substitutes possessing like qua- 
lities, and of more economical application. All, 
however, has been vain, and Peruvian guano 
continues to appreciate rather than decline in 
price, whilst its consumption is largely increas- 
ing. It is an important question for the agri- 
cultural interests, if this state of things must 
continue. 

At the last session of Congress the following- 
bill was introduced, which laid over for the 
want of time: 

"A BILL regulating, in part, the trade between the United 
Stales. and the Republic of Peru. 

■-B; it t '■ : t ' ' . Senate and House of Repre- 
se, ; iics.oj :'.: Ura.ii. ' Slates, of America in Congress 
assembled, That from and after the first day of July, 
Anno Domini eighteen hundred and fifty-five, the 
Peruvian (Chincha Island) guano shall be exempt 
from duty when the market price in the ports of 
the Unite 1 State-.-; into -winch it is imported shall 
not exceed forty dollars per ton of two thousand 
two hirrj Ire 1 and forty pound's, 

■ \ -. Arid he it fWrtker enaded, That from and 
after the same period there shall be levied, collected 
and paid, on the said guano imported into the United 
States, duties a: the following rates, ad valorem, 
that is to say : four per cent, when the market price 
is more than forty and less than forty-seven dollars 
per ton ; ten per cent, when more than forty-seven 
and less than fifty dollars per ton ; and sixty per 
cent, when the price is equal to or exceeds fifty dol- 
lars per ton. And that the Secretary of the Trea- 
sury be required to adopt such rules and regula- 
tions as may be negessai*y to carry out the provi- 
. ■•:' this act." 

Although the principles of the bill are some- 
what at variance with our revenue policy, the 
mode of discrimination which it introduces can- 
not be considered improper in view of the im- 
mense interests which are affected; or unjust, 
when it is remembered that Peru, by her mo- 
nopoly, exacts a rate of compensation in the 
way of a tax^hich is equal to thirty per cent, 
of the cost of the article. The only question 
is, will the policy avail in reducing this tax, or 
will it only tend to increase the cost of guano 



by adding to it an import duty ? Certain it is 
that Peru would be unwilling to yield at first, 
and, thereupon, that embarrassment would be 
caused to the agricultural interests, as well as 
to that country, in the diminished demand for 
the article. In such a contest the victory would 
belong to whoever should be able to hold out 
the most pertinaciously. C onsideriug, however, 
the partial substitutes that may be adopted, 
and the present feeling existing among farmers, 
and, at the same time, taking into view the fact 
that governments everywhere find use very 
nearly for all of the means that they can com- 
maucl, and are not disposed to forego with pa- 
tience the enjoyment of any portion of these 
means, it is not improbable that Peru will be 
willing to admit of more favorable terms than 
at present. At least the experiment is worth 
the trial. 

We have been furnished a pamphlet prepared 
at the Peruvian legation in Washington in an- 
swer to the action of Congress, containing an 
elaborate expose of the subject, with corrobo- 
rative documents. 

We think it fair to give a few extracts from 
this pamphlet and will refer again to the subject : 

'• It is an error to suppose that this price of $17 
realized by the Peruvian government on each ton 
would enable the farmer in the United States to 
obtain it at a less price than $50, which he now 
pays, if the exportation for this country was made 
on private account, as will be very briefly shown. 
But, meanwhile, this price of $50 per ton is not 
equal to the intrinsic value of the ammonia, phos- 
phate of lime, and other substances which enter 
into the composition of natural guano, which would 
cost more than $Q0 per ton to the manufacturer of 
artificial guano, without taking into account the 
labor of manipulation, and other expenses which 
enter into the manufacture of artificial guano. It 
therefore results, that the country producing the 
article, possessing the advantage of having no com- 
petitor, that may increase its price to a point at 
which it can meet no competition from the pro- 
ducers of other fertilizing agents or manufacturers 
of artificial manures, renounces this advantage in 
favor of the consumer, establishing throughout the 
world a price relatively equal and proportioned to 
the consumer by its actual system of supply, and 
guaranty of the purity of the article, well worthy 
of consideration, and which could not be obtained 
under a system of free traffic and without the in- 
tervention of well-accredited and responsible con- 
signees." 

"In regard to the first error, the current prices 
in the London market give a more favorable result 
than the guano market in this country, being almost 
constantly above $50 per ton, and this fact leads 
to the conclusion that the American market is re- 
ally the most privileged, when we take into consi- 
deration that during the last few months freights 
have been taken at higher prices in many cases 
than what is paid on cargoes destined for England ; 
and on that account the Peruvian government has 
derived less profit on the balance of importations 
into this country." 



48' 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



" We will confine ourselves solely to a statement 
of what lias been the conduct of the government 
since a market was first established in this country 
by the efforts of those agents, combined with the 
intrinsic advantages offered by this fertilizer. The 
price which had been fixed since 1851, was $46 per 
ton of 2240 pounds. There were sold in 1852, 
25,300 tons ; that, at $46, amounted to the sum of 
$1,162,800. We will now see what proportion of 
this sum contributed to the advantage of the peo- 
ple of the United States, what was received by the 
government of Peru, and what by the agents : 
The freights were on an average $17 per ton $430,100 
Extra compensation paid to captains of gua- 
no ships for unloading, average 20 cents . . . 5,000 
Three hundred and eighty thousand bags, 

at 16 cents 60,800 

Inspection and weighing, at 40 cents per ton . 10,120 

billing and sewing up 380,000 bags 3,800 

Storage on an average of four months 00,800 

Insurance against fire for same period 2,325 

Laborage, drayage and delivery 9,500 

Proportions of general average paid on va- 
rious vessels 27,960 

Interest for 6 months on freight, at 6 per cent. 12,903 
Interest on expenses 8 months, at 6 per cent. . .7,214 

Total of disbursements in favor of the 
United States $630,582 

To the consignees for commissions, guaran- 
tee and compensation for advances 75,582 

Total amount received bv the government 

of Peru ,. 450,636 

Total product of the sales $1,162,800 



'S:,wr Minister, — The commissioners appointed 
by the supreme government to estimate the amount 
of guano on the Chincha Islands, have performed 
that duty, and have now the honor of submitting 
an account of their labors. 

'•Having organized at those islands the commis- 
sioners divided themselves into two sections; the 
first, directed by Senor Faraguet, was occupied 
with the Northern islands, and his investigations 
gave for result the quantity of 4,189,477 Peruvian 
tons, according to the statement made by that gen- 
tleman of his operations. The second were jointly 
occupied with the other islands. The middle island 
was found to contain the estimated ouantity of 
2,505,948 tons. 

" The Southern island, the only one remaining 
nnworked, after the most minute investigations, 
was found to contain 5,680,075 tons. 

"Adding together the contents of guano on the 
three islands, makes the sum total of 12,370,100 
Peruvian tons. 

" We hasten to lay before you this result, accom- 
panied with drawings of the said islands, for your 
information; and it only remains for us to render 
a detailed report of our proceedings in the matter, 
which will be shortly done, evincing the zeal with 
which we have performed the delicate trust con- 
fided to us. We have also to report that we know 
of the existence of large deposits of guano in the 
Bay of Independence, on the continent; and al- 
though we have not ma.de a survey thereof, yet it 
may be estimated, taken in connection with the 
deposits of Ancon, Lobos, and others, that this va- 
luable product may be regarded as inexhaustible 
for a great number of years." 



PRATT'S DITCH DIGGER. 

Mr. R. C. Pratt, of Canandaigua, New York, 
patented in July, 1853, a machine for digging 
ditches, which proved one of the best things 
exhibited at the late State Fair. By its aid 
one man and two horses have frequently dug 
150 rods of ditch three feet deep in one day, 
and from 50 to 150 (according to the nature 
of the soil) is considered a day's work. The 
machine consists substantially of a scoop and 
revolving wheel — the scoop scraping and the 
wheel carrying up the dirt until at a sufficient 
height it is tumbled out upon the sides, at a 
little distance from the ditch. Several repeti- 
tions of the operation are required before the 
ditch is sunk to sufficient depth. 

The specimen exhibited at the kte Fail- was 
all wrought iron, and weighed between 700 and 
800 pounds. The diameter of the main wheel 
was five feet, and the breadth of the diggers or 
lifters fixed thereon, and that of the scoop or 
curved channel in which they rise, is about nine 
inches. Although the lifting apparatus is thus 
narrow, it is practicable, and indeed desirable, 
to make the small ploughs or cutters which 
pare the side cuts somewhat wider, so that a 
ditch of any width, from nine to fifteen inches, 
may be excavated by the same machine. 

The weight of the dirt which is being lifted, 
the curved channel, and in .fact of the whole 
machine, rests on the diggers, which, like the 
floats of a paddle-wheel, project from the peri- 
phery of the main wheel. As the machine is 
drawn forward by the horses, the diggers are 
successively forced into the earth, and compel 
the wheel to rotate — thus carrying up and dis- 
charging from the top all the earth caught by 
the scoop, which is in immediate contact be- 
hind. On the extreme rear of the whole is 
adjusted two cutters or small ploughs, which 
pare the sides and tear the earth to a suitable 
distance below, ready for the next passage of 
the machine, so that after the first passage the 
diggers are always pressed down into the ground 
already loosened, to a depth of from two to 
ten inches, which loosening may be supposed 
to regulate the depth to which they will be 
likely to sink. The wheel and its accompani- 
ments being of considerable weight, great mus- 
cular exertion would be required of the at- 
tendant to prevent its falling on one side, but 
for a simple and very effectual provision for its 
support. The stout iron shaft on which the 
main wheel freely revolves, is prolonged some 
two or three feet on each side and provided 
with a light carrying wheel mounted loose, as in 
a common carriage axle, to run upon the ground. 
These wheels are to maintain the upright posi- 
tion of the machine; but the weight must, at 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



49 



all times, when in operation, be allowed to rest 
on the diggers. In short, the main wheel and 
the whole machine must be allowed to sink 
down into a ditch or rise to the surface, while 
the carrying wheels simply run lightly on the 
surface at the sides. This end is accomplished 
by bendiDg the axle into the form of a large 
crank at each side and releasing it from all 
connection with the machine, except that of 
passing loosely through the centre. A catch 
is provided by which the attendant (who is sup- 
posed to be grasping a pair of handles in the 
rear) may make the connection a fixed one at 
pleasure, and when desiring to leave the field 
and travel the road the weight may, by this 
means, be thrown entirely upon the carrying 
wheels. — New York Tribune. 



AGENTS FOR THE SOUTHERN PLAOTBR. 

Francis N. Watkins, of Farmville, is the S6> at 
for the Southern Planter for Prince Edward. 

John E. Seward, of Lancaster, is agent for Mid- 
dlesex. Essex, King & Queen, Richmond, West- 
moreland, Northumberland and Lancaster. 

B. W. Tali.ey is agent for the county of Hanover. 

We earnestly beg all subscribers within the re- 
spective bounds of these agents to pay up at once. 




THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 

RICHMOND, FEBRUARY, 1855. 



TERMS. 

One Dollar and Twenty-five Cents per annum, 
which may be discharged by the payment of One Dollar 
only, if paid in office or 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. 

S2P*"No subscription received for a less time than one 
year. 

"Subscriptions may begin with any number. 

'No paper will be discontinued until all arrearages 
are paid, except at the option of the Editor. 

'Office corner Main and Twelfth steels. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 

A limited number will be inserted at the following rates : 
For each square of ten lines, first insertion, One Dollar ; 
each continuance, Seventy-five Cents. Advertisements 
out of the City mu3t be accompanied with the money, to 
insure their insertion. 



' It is indispensably necessary that subscribers or- 
dering a change should say from what to what post office 
tbey wish the alteration made. It will save time to us and 
lose none to them. 

NOTICE. 

%^ff" If subscribers do not order a discontinuance of the 
Planter before the commencement of a new year, or volume, 
it will be considered as a renewal of their subscriptions, 
and they will be charged accordingly. 



'Postage on the Southern Planter, (when paid in 
advance,) to any part of the United States one cent and a 
half per quarter, or six cents per annum. 



NEWLY INVENTED WHEAT REAPER AND 
MOWER. 

Wc are happy to be able to add another Virginian 
to the list of inventors, in the person of R. J. Mor- 
rison. Esq. of Richmond, who is connected with 
the department of Natural Science in the Southern 
Female Institute of this city. 

Whether Mr. Morrison's invention is to prove 
superior to all others, we, with our limited know- 
ledge of mechanical principles and decided defi- 
ciency in mechanical skill, cannot tell. All we say- 
is that we have seen the working model of it sub- 
mitted to several practical persons, one maker of 
reapers, and several practical farmers who have 
used reapers, and. they were all satisfied that it 
would work well. 

A still more substantial testification to its ex- 
cellence is to be found in the fact, that Mr. Mor- 
rison has been offered, we learn, ten thousand dol- 
lars for his patent right. 

We expect to be enabled to present our readers 
with a cut of this machine in our next number. 
For the present, therefore, we must content our- 
selves with the following outline description of its 
construction and mode of operation : 

1. The power is applied directly in the line of 
resistance. There is less machinery through which 
velocity is imparted to the cutting system than in 
any reaper in use. There are but two cog-wheels 
in it, and in case of accident from use or abuse, an 
ordinary farm blacksmith can repair the injury. 
The machine has been constructed with an especial 
reference to this advantage. 

2. On the axle of the crank there is a fly-wheel, 
which by regulating the action of the machinery 
virtually dispenses with the necessity for any sur- 
plus power. 

3. The driver in his seat can raise the knives two 
feet from the ground, and thus readily pass over 
water furrows. He can by this means, also, cut the 
wheat at any distance from the ground he pleases. 

4. The blades arc fixed, and put in separately. 
A light sheath of iron with dull teeth plays to and 
fro over these, and by their motion causes the grain 
to be cut by the fixed blades. The wear of the 
machinery is greatly reduced by this arrangement. 



50 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



•3. When the blade is made to vibrate the stalks 
of wheat impinging against the knives before they 
pass the stationary fingers are found to dull them 
unnecessarily. Ly vibrating the fingers across sta- 
tionary knives their edges are protected, because 
the stalks do not reach them until they are in the 
proper position to be cut. 

6. The discharger, invented by Dr. E. A. Morri- 
son of Brunswick, Virginia, consists of a wide band, 
which by means of a well arranged lateral door 
delivers the wheat in bundles. 

Any other or lengthier description than the above 
would now be out of place, and would not conduce 
near so well to a full understanding of the details 
of the machine as the engraving, which, as we 
have before said, we hope to have ready for the 
next number, and which has been delayed in pre- 
paration until the patent could be secured, as it 
now is. 

Meanwhile the model of the machine has been 
deposited at the office of the Virginia State Agri- 
cultural Society, where it may be inspected by the 
curious, and will well repay the trouble. 

We ought to mention, in justice to Mr. Morrison's 
ingenuity and perseverance, that he had previously 
invented another reaper, the blades operating on 
the principle of a circular saw, and had had a mo- 
del prepared for exhibition at the late Fair of the 
Society, when he found, on making application at 
the Patent Office, that previously such an imple- 
ment, similar, even in the minutest details, had 
been invented and patented in England in July last. 
Nothing daunted by this disappointment he imme- 
diately set to work, and thinks he has now a better 
implement than his first invention would have been. 

We know Mr. Morrison well, much better than 
we ever shall know his machine, and can say this 
for him, that whatever he says about his reaper or 
any thing else, he believes to be true, and that all 
persons inclined to make inquiries of him may rely 
on his candor and sincerity. 



DE BOWS REVIEW FOR JANUARY 

Is before us, and we make three selections from its 
editorial head in this number of the Planter. Now, 
that Mr. De Bow has enlarged his paper and adde d to 
it an agricultural department — of which the present 
number contains a very favorable specimen — there 
is less reason than ever for farmers refusing to sus- 
tain it. Statistics are as important to them as to 
the merchant, the politician, and the professional 
man, and such a statistical work as this should re- 
ceive encouragement from that quarter to which it 
is devoted. From our extended limits, diverse pur- 
suits and sparse population, there is less acquaint- 
ance among the people of different States of the 
South than at the North, and of course less sympa- 



thy, less knowledge of one another's views and in- 
terests and wishes, and less chance of concert than 
in the hireling States. But for this we think there 
would have been, long ago, sufficient unanimity 
among us on the slavery question to have insured 
the extinguishment of that torch, and sufficient 
combination among us to have resisted the pillage 
to which we have been subjected by the legislation 
of Congress from its first session to the present 
time. The great merit of this review is that it 
aims to bring about that better acquaintance by de- 
veloping and displaying the resources of each State. 



ORANGE WATER MELON SEED. 

We have to acknowledge the receipt of a small 
package of the above seed from Chas. A. Peabody, 
Esq. of Columbus, Georgia, Horticultural Editor 
of Tlie Soil of the South. "When ripe," says Mr. 
Peabody, " the skin peels as readily from the pulp 
as does the skin from an orange. It is not only a 
great curiosity, but the most luscious melon I have 
ever met with." 

It will doubtless be remembered by many of our 
readers that Mr. Peabody is the gentleman who 
has brought the cranberry culture to such perfec- 
tion that he has the fruit in perfection nearly every 
month in the year, and that in other ways he has 
contributed greatly to the horticulture of the South. 
With the assistance of Mr. Chambers, the Agricul- 
tural Editor, he has made " The Soil of the South" 
one of the most valuable agricultural journals of 
its section. 



SEEDS FROM THE PATENT OFFICE. 

We are much obliged to Mr. Mason, the Commis- 
sioner of Patents, for numerous specimens of gar- 
den and field crop seeds, most of which we have 
distributed. We-have a very few left still on hand, 
which will be freely distributed among early ap- 
plicants. 



FRUIT TREES AND FRUIT CULTURE. 

After an article from our friend, Mr. Jones, which 
we found in another paper, had been put in press, 
we received the following communication from him. 
As the subject is one of great interest, and proper 
to be treated just now, we give place to his com- 
munication, and commend it to our readers as that 
of a man who has studied his subject in books as 
well as in the field, and knows what he is writing 
about. 

In addition to the nurserymen he has named we 
would mention, in no spirit of detraction from his 
list, however, the name of E. G. Eggeling of Rich- 
mond, who adds to his profession of nurseryman 



THE SOUTHERN PLASTER, 



51 



that of a^landscape gardener and florist. He may I 
be remembered in this latter capacity by the splen- | 
did floral ornament which he presented at the first 
Fair of the Virginia State Agricultural Society. 
Our friends Guest and Morton, too, should not be 
omitted from the list. And we can say, in reference 
to all of them, that their commodities are decidedly I 
cheaper than similar articles at the North. 

Brownsburg, Jan. 22, 1855. 
F. G. Rcffin, Esq. 

Dear Sir,— 1 You will find enclosed my annual : 
contribution to the Southern Planter, which pa-' 
per has been a welcome visitor at my house for 
the past fourteen years, and it affords me plea- j 
sure to add, no year has closed finding me in- 
debted to its editor. 

The article in the January number signed R. 
T. H. reminds me of my promise, made in your 
office in Richmond in November last, on fruit; 
and fruit culture. I regret that your correspond- ; 
ent did not give us his signature in full. I think 
there is a false delicacy with many persons on j 
this subject. One who writes for the press 
should never be ashamed to let the world know ! 
where he hails from. 

I differ with your correspondent when he ; 
says our orchard products are inconsiderable., 
I admit that the sales from our orchards do»nof 
compare favorably with the States of Illinois, ' 
Indiana. Ohio, Maine. New Hampshire, Ver- ' 
mont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylva-! 
nia and New York. Most of our fruit is con- ! 
sumed at home, and not marketed. It is said' 
the Yankees eat what they cannot sell, but the 
Virginians sell what they cannot eat. Now my ! 
dear sir, there is in this instance, again, a false 
pride with the people of our good Old Dorni- ■ 
nion, and with the people generally of the South. \ 
Too many of us think it is a small business to I 
sell fruit, fowls, eggs, &c. This is all wrong. 
There is no discredit in selling any thing that 
a man makes or acquires honestly. Take care 
of the little things, the large ones will take care j 
of themselves. I know that many of us live 
fast, and too many beyond their incomes; but] 
the end will come, and the result will sooner or 
later be shown. 

The prudent manager will so order his affairs 
as always to meet his engagements promptly. 
The lust of money-making should not be al- 
lowed to swallow up all the finer feelings of the 
heart and cut off all the amenities, of society. 
Yet true wisdom teaches that we should always 
eo circumscribe our wants as to live within our 
income. Gentlemen of wealth have it in their 
power to do much good, and I love the liberal 
soul, who blessed with a profusiou of this world's 
goods, can scatter with a profuse hand any sur- 
plus which it may have pleased an all bounti- 
ful Creator to place under his stewardship. 
Churches may be built, school-houses erected, 
public roads improved, canals dug, rail roads 
projected, the poor fed and clothed, the whole 
public benefited. This is indeed true riches. 
And blessed is that community where such men 



dwell. But I am wandering from my subject. 
I sat down to write about fruit and fruit culture 
In the first place I will remark that there is 
scarcely a plantation that has not more or less 
fruit trees on it. Much of it poor, with occa- 
sionally some good seedling varieties, of the 
first quality. Within the last twenty years many 
persons have set out select fruit trees from the 
nurseries near Richmond, owned by Drum- 
w right, Joseph Sinton & Sons, Joseph Rennie 
and James Via, and of late years an extensive 
nursery near Fredericksburg, by Henry R. Ro- 
bey, and in Rockbridge, near Fairfield, and at 
Staunton, near the rail road, by Mr. Davis. 
There are also nurseries near Lynchburg. At 
all these places trees of select 1'ruit may be had, 
and the gentlemen owning the trees may be re- 
lied on. Those gentlemen have all printed ca- 
talogues, embracing hundreds of varieties of 
apples, pears, plums, peaches, cherries, apricots, 
figs, nectarines, almonds, grapes, gooseberries, 
currants, raspberries, &c. Messrs. Jos. Rennie 
and Henry R. Robey have select greenhouse 
plants, hardy evergreens, ornamental trees and 
shrubs, vines and creepers, roses, &c. &c. Ca- 
talogues will be forwarded by each proprietor 
of the nurseries, from which selections can be 
made. The prices of trees are fair, and cheaper 
than they can be bought North, and the fruit is 
better adapted to our climate and soil. I have 
near fifty varieties of apples now growing in 
my orchard, mostly from the nursery of Joseph 
Sinton & Sons. Thirty-three varieties of this 
fruit I exhibited in Richmond at our last State 
Agricultural Fair, which fruit took the premium. 
Much of this fruit was very fine, with some little 
that was poor. This orchard was planted in 
1834 and 1835, and is now in its prime. Some 
of the trees are one foot in diameter, and where 
the ground is rich the trees nearly meet. They 
are planted thirty-three i'eet apart each way. 
The holes were dug four feet square and eigh- 
teen inches deep — the subsoil thrown away — 
the hole was then half filled with virgin soil 
or well rotted chip manure — the trees set in a 
very little deeper than they stood in the nursery — 
each tree well secured to a stake, and the or- 
chard regularly worked and manured for ten 
years. Since that time it is occasionally worked, 
and I usually fatten twenty-five or thirty hogs 
in it. They root about the trees and destroy 
the worms; and when I have a full crop of ap- 
ples it takes much less corn to fatten my pork, 
which is always nice. I never keep my porkers 
over one winter; the average is 160 to 200 lbs. 
In selecting fruit for marketing purposes, the 
late varieties are best, unless you live near large 
market towns, and it is best not to have too 
many varieties. Take from the catalogue three 
or four varieties ripening in succession, say July, 
August and September, and if you plant one 
hundred trees let the balance not exceed six or 
eight kinds. For early sorts 3 Summer Rose, 3 
Juneating, 3 Maiden's Blush, 3 Summer Cheese, 
3 Summer Queen, 3 Fall Cheese, 1 Rolls Jan- 
nets, 10 Winesap, 10 Northern S^uiO" Belle 
Flower, 10 Cooper's Spitzenbu/gj II) Newtown 
Pippin, 10 Albemarle Pippin, 1C 

5 LIBRARY 



o-Z 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



Apple. There are many other fine varieties of 
apples, some of which I will name: the Seek- 
no-Further, Rambo, (very fine fall apple,) Win- 
ter Cheese, Nonpareil, Royal Russett, Limber 
Twigs, (will keep a year.) Gloucester Permain, 
Father Abraham, Gravenstein, flange Apple, 
(fine cooking variety,) Swarr Apple, Male Curie, 
Sweet Paradise, Dutch Megnone and Big Hill. 

My trees commenced bearing the third year 
after being set out. I trimmed them every 
spring, kept the head well balanced, and cut off 
all limbs that would cross and rub each other. 
In setting your young trees let the earth be a 
little lower at the tree than around it, so as to 
hold the water from running off! 

I will name a i'exv varieties of choice peach 
fruit: Lemon, (soft and cling,) Heath, Pompone 
Peach, Royal George. Lagrange, Crawford's 
Late Malacotan, Large Washington, Malta, 
White Imperial, Early York. Large White, 
(clingstone.) 

I could extend this article, but it is already 
too long. Curtail, correct, or do with it what 
you think best. 

Yours, in haste. 

Henry B. Jones. 



REMEDY FOR GRAPE VINES CASTING THEIR 
FRUIT. 

The following communication was written by a 
very particular friend of ours, at our request, in 
reply to some questions as to grape culture, pro- 
posed by Major Charles Yancey, of Buckingham. 
Thinking that it might be useful to others, also, as 
containing the practice of a very successful vine 
grower, we have concluded to give it to the public 
without, our friend's sanction, and, therefore, hut 
for that reason only, suppress his name. 

Albemarle, Jan. 10, 1S55. 
F. G. Rupfim, Esa. 

Dear Sir, — Yours of the 6th would have re- 
ceived (as requested) a mors prompt reply, but 
I was unable, until to day, to find the number of 
the Planter (August, 1853,) containing Major 
Yancey's communication. In looking over it I 
find I was mistaken in the information wanted, 
and that it was much more difficult to give than 
I expected. I must have had some other piece 
in my mind when conversing with you upon the 
subject. 

. Casting the fruit, is a common disease of the 
viae, universal, I believe, wherever it. is culti- 
vated, and produced by so many different causes, 
that without an intimate knowledge of all the 
conditions and circumstances attending it, it is 
exceedingly difficult to suggest a preventive. 

Some of the most usual causes r.re, a reten- 
tive subsoil; an over rich soil inducing too rapid 
and vigorous growth; and also improper or un- 
skilful pruning. These can be overcome by pro- 
per management. There are other causes, that 
•no management, however skilful, can obviate, 
such a.s too much rain or excessive drought. 



In the case under consideration, it having oc- 
curred several years in succession, I would sug- 
gest a thorough working in the fall or early 
winter with the coulter, the subsequent cultiva- 
tion during the spring and summer to be with 
a light, one-horse cultivator, continued until the 
middle of July or first of August, as often as 
there was any show of grass or weeds, working 
between the vines with the hoe. and making no 
hill around the vine, but on the contrary, keep- 
ing the ground perfectly level. 

The pruning of the native varieties should 
not be too close, and should be done in Novem- 
ber, or during some warm, open spell in Febru- 
ary. It should not be put off until the sap be- 
gins to flow freely. On vines several years old 
I would leave from eight to ten buds on each 
branch turned out. for fruit, taking care to turn 
out buds enough to give bearing wood for the 
next year's fruit. The Catawba, the variety I 
am best acquainted with, is much disposed to 
run to vine. My practice to prevent that i3 to 
sucker freely, particularly in the early part of 
the season. This should never be done after 
the first of June. The same object may be ac- 
complished by rubbing off the buds, but it is 
more labor, as there are three germs to each 
bud and the work has to be repeated. 

Woodpile or very well rotted farm-pen ma- 
nure is the best dressing I have ever tried. It 
should be applied broadcast after the coultering 
and mingled with the soil during the subsequent 
cultivation. 

With the best management there will be the 
most mortifying failures. Those engaged in the 
cultivation of the grape for the purpose of wine 
making consider themselves fortunate if they 
get a good crop once in three or four years. 

I believe I have given you the most important 
points in my own management Hoping it may 
be of some service to your friend Major Yancey. 
I ant very truly yours. &c. 

Beta. 



We do not know that we can account for the 
facts to which our friend and correspondent calls 
attention below; but we observe one difference that 
may help to explain, in part; the superiority of the 
land ploughed with the ' Hillside plough. That 
plough, Mr. Thompson states; mostly edged the land 
or furrow slices. In so doing, of course, it exposed 
it more to freezing and thawing, and thereby got it 
in better order than if turned flat: Besides that, 
the bottom of the furrow was more exposed to the 
weather, and its soil thereby got into better tilth, 
from the same cause, as stated above, than the 
bottom of the flat, turned furrow. 

So far as the imperfectly turned lip hill furrows 
that Mr. Thompson .speaks of arc concerned, if there 
was any difl'erenco, we can only attribute it to the- 
same cause, which explains the first case stated — a 
fact which, along with many more like it, goes to 
prove that, in some circumstances and for some 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



53 



crops, thorough disintegration may be better than 
deep ploughing. Though it does not follow that 
the two are at all incompatible. 

PLOUGHING. 

OBSERVED DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A HILLSIDE AND A 
--IVINGSTON PLOUGH ON THE SAME LAND. 

Mr. Editor, — There has been a desire in my 
mind for some time to know the reason or the 
cause lor the production of a piece of land fal- 
lowed and cultivated in corn by me in 1S52. 
which inquiry I will make of you or any of the 
readers of the Southern Planter. I have a piece 
of mountain side of about six acres, which I di- 
vided in half, as near as 1 could with my eye, 
and ploughed one-half with a two-horse Living- 
ston plough, and dragged back; and the other 
half with Rodes' Two-Horse Hillside plough, 
which broke the land thoroughly, but edged it 
mostly. The Livingston turned effectually, and 
did, I thought, as good work as I could wish. 1 
laid the ground of both ploughs' work off with 
the said Hillside plough and two horses, and 
planted all in corn alike and cultivated it alike. 
The crop upon the Hillside ploughing grew off 
the best and continued the best, and the yield 
of corn was very decidedly best — the land being 
similar. I sowed all in rye in the fall, and the 
crop upon the Hillside plough's work was so 
much better than that upon the Livingston's all 
the time, that any one could see the difference 
in passing through it. Now, what is the reason 
for this? And why is it that'a hillside ploughed 
around with a good running plough will bring a 
better crop upon the land turned up hill, if well 
broken? 

Yours, most respectfully, 

Ed. J. Thompson. 

Albemarle, Nov. 10. 1S54. 



XTRACT FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 

fADE AND SUPERFICIAL MANURING. 

Roanoke Bridge, Jan. 23, 1S55. 
•I observed in my rides that many are clear- 
ing old field piny land which, with manure (home 
and foreign combined) make the finest tobacco. 
I re.;o!lcct when many of these fields were in 
corr. : not producing a barrel to the acre. They 
have beer: resuscitated by a thick cover of pine, 
shading and mellowing the soil, together with 
the annual Call of tlie (paves. 1 am persuaded, 
from long observation, that land is more perma- 
nently improved by shade than any other means 
iprovement. Rely upon it, the surface is 
the place to apply and keep the manure, guard- 
ing again?! putting it so deep, as often "not to 
benefit the present crop. Cow-pens should al- 
ways be ploughed with coulters, so as not to 
:p the manure. All experience attests 
thi fact, that the product is greatly reduced by 
cover! jg deep the manure where the cattle have 
been penned. 

Yours, truly. 

Samuel D. Morton." 



If our correspondent had said that cow-pens 
should never be ploughed at all for a year or two, 
we think he would have come nearer the mark. If 
they can be permitted to remain a year or more 
thev will be all the better for it. — Ed. So. Pl. 



From the North British Agriculturist. 

ORNAMENTAL PLANTING. 

The term ornamental planting will be em- 
ployed as a generic distinction, comprehending 
the forming of avenues, drives or walks, com- 
bining the ornamental of natural and external 



scenery. 

Our observations 



will have reference to 



grounds surrounding the dwelling-house of the 
proprietor of an extensive estate. As a rule, 
the site of the mansion should be the centre 
from which all ornamentation should radiate, 
having reference to the front of the house. 
The nature of -the ground may not always ad- 
mit of this, but it should be kept in view as 
far as practicable. No trees should shade the 
house, and none should stand nearer the front 
of the mansion than one hundred yards, al 
ways excepting fine grown trees of great beauty 
and above medium size. These are generally 
regarded as relics of the past, and always pos- 
sess more or less interest even to a stranger. 
A free circulation of air, with the admission 
of a full breadth of light, is always desirable. 
The ground around, and especially in front of 
the house, may be laid out either as a smooth 
lawn with walks, or as a flower garden. Those 
who have seen the garden in front of the Tuil- 
leries, and the garden at* the Luxembourg in 
Paris, can judge of the fine effect which is pro- 
duced from the combining of shrubs and flowers 
with well arranged walks. Several seats in 
Scotland have also this design of a. flower gar- 
den in front and partially around the house. 
In forming such, however, considerable judg- 
ment and taste are required, especially in avoid- 
ing geometric forms, and the mad attempt to 
convert shrubs by clipping and training to re- 
semble animate objects. Uniformity and va- 
riety should rule the minutest parts, as well as 
the whole combined. Harmony of parts, with 
beauties single and combined, should be, there- 
fore, the object kept in view in forming flower 
gardens. 

In all operations connected with ornamenta- 
tion, plans should first be made, and these sub- 
jected to a seA"ere scrutiny upon the ground. 
This is more especially necessary, where dis- 
turbing the surface is proposed. If the inten- 
tion is to open up to view a distant object of 
beauty, or by planting, to conceal an object 
which is offensive, the plan should always un 



54 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



dergo the ordeal of careful examination, and 
without this, nothing should be attempted. 
Where trees are to be introduced either for 
effect, or to exclude the sight, of any object, 
poles of certain heights, corresponding in part 
to the supposed height of the trees, should be 
placed, so as to judge of the probable effect. 
On the other hand, in cutting down trees to 
exhibit some object which has hitherto been 
concealed, the removing of the trees should 
proceed with extreme caution. If these im- 
portant rules were kept always in view, the 
purpose intended would be of much easier and 
of more certain attainment, and failures would 
very rarely follow such alterations. 

"Water is always an important element in ru- 
ral scenery, and where its presence can be taken 
advantage of, it seldom fails in improving the 
natural characteristic beauties of the locality. 
But there is no more frequent or greater mis- 
take made than in the forming of ponds and 
artificial lakes, where the supply of water, such 
as a running s'tream, does not admit of the 
whole being kept in a state of purity. Stag- 
nant waters are offensive to the sense of smell, 
and injurious to the health of animal life, and 
health is, or ought to be, more important than 
ornamentation. But even in the absence of 
the sanitary view of the question, the intro- 
ducing of water where nature forbids it, has 
hitherto been the most common mistake in an- 
cient and modern ornamentation. When water 
is present or can be produced, it should be so 
arranged as to appear to occupy a hollow. 
Studying nature in this, as in every other de- 
tail, will produce harmeny. Violence to nature 
can only provoke aversion in the minds of those 
of cultivated tastes. Where water with suffi- 
cient fall exists for forming a jet d/caa, such 
can be placed with advantage on the lawn front- 
ing the house, and this falling into a pond sur- 
rounded with flowering shrubs has a fine effect- 
Where water is introduced into the house, a, jet 
(Teem can generally be obtained, at least when 
the supply is abundant. We will, however, 
take occasion in a future article, to allude more 
particularly to the introduction of the jet cVeatt 
into ornamental grounds. 

The planting of trees on the banks of a pond, 
lake, canal, or river, should be so arranged as 
to give the appearance of a greater breadth 
and extent of water than what exists; and the 
trees should be so selected as to harmonize in 
part with the locality. Various willows and 
plane trees can be so arranged as to add to and 
heighten the effect by their coloring and the 
variety of their forms. It is only in certain 
situations that water-falls can be formed ; where 
these exist naturally, their effect can often be 



considerably heightened by planting. The na- 
ture of the soil and the amount of shading re- 
quisite, must determine in part the character 
of the trees. Those having pendulous branches 
generally harmonize well with and heighten the 
effect of water descending from a height. The 
mountain ash, the birch, the hazle, most of the 
pines, with the beech, the oak and the lime tree, 
where the soil admits of their growth, are well 
adapted for the top of the fall; the willows, 
the birch, and the hazle for the bottom. If 
the study is to allow the fall to be seen from a 
distance, trees must be introduced very spar- 
ingly, particularly below. The attempts to 
create or heighten the effect of water-falls by 
any other means than planting are almost inva- 
riably failures, calculated only to excite the risi- 
bility of those who are familiar with nature. 
Where a view of the sea, a lake or a river, 
however distant, can be obtained, such should 
always be taken advantage of; no object in 
nature is more sublime than the ocean. Those 
who in their youth have been accustomed to 
the sight of large bodies of water, feel an in- 
expressible pleasure in looking upon them. 

Avenues are often so formed as to make a 
long circuit before reaching the house. This 
practice. is becoming somewhat obsolete. The 
road should be, as far as possible, neither a 
straight line, nor a circuitous one. In every 
case it should be subservient to the nature of 
the ground, and should so approach the house 
as not to expose the offices and out buildings. 
Where water exists, advantage should be taken 
to bring it partially into view, by running 
the line of road so as to present a glimpse at 
more than one point. If a large lake exists, 
this can be easily obtained. If a river passes 
through the grounds, this can also be easily 
accomplished, by forming the road for a part 
of the way along its banks ; when the banks 
are shaded with trees, this is productive of a fine 
effect. Keeping the avenue as near a level 
with the public road and the situation of the 
house as is convenient is always deserving of 
study; not but that a little variation in the 
level is very desirable, but utility should never 
be sacrificed to effect. There is a general de- 
sire to have in the avenue many of the charac- 
teristics of antiquity, and with this view, ave- 
nues are frequently formed by cutting a way 
through plantations which have already attained 
a considerable growth. In this manner, some 
of the finest approaches have been formed. 
Such avenues should be made to wind in a gra- 
dual curve, care being taken to spare the finest 
specimens of trees not directly in the proposed 
line. The avenue should rather be narrow than 
wide. Passing underneath large trees has a ; 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



55 



fine effect. The edge of the avenue should be 
the natural turf. No attempt should be made 
to introduce evergreens or shrubs. The shad- 
ing of the trees invariably spoils the free growth 
of such, and their stunted and unearthly ap- 
pearance mars the general effect. 

Where avenues are planted, evergreens of 
various orders and shrubs can be introduced 
into the foreground with excellent effect, the 
nature of the ground regulating, in part, the 
character of both tree find shrubs. In form- 
ing avenues, combining shade with magnificence 
of form, the rows of trees on each side may be 
all of one species ; or two or more species may 
alternate with one another. The former, from 
exhibiting more of majestic uniformity, has 
advantages, especially where the trees attain 
full size; while the latter, from combining, in 
part, uniformity with variety, secures diversified 
beauty in form, magnitude and coloring. The 
oak, the Spanish chestnut, the lime-tree, the 
horse chestnut, the beech, the plane-tree, native 
and American, the acacia, the English and 
wyeh elm, with several of the pines, &c, are 
all suitable. Of these, the oak, the lime, Spa- 
nish chestnut, and the beech, form the most 
beautiful avenues, especially if they are of suf- 
ficient width to correspond in part with the 
height of the trees. For effect, the width of 
the avenue should exceed the height of the 
trees. Where shrubs are to be introduced into 
the foreground, this width should be still fur- 
ther increased. Of all plants introduced into 
such avenues, none exceed in beauty and effect 
the rhododendrons and azaleas; but they re- 
quire a soft, moist soil, approaching somewhat 
to peat. Next to these, but of higher growth, 
are the holly, laurel and lauristinus. Next, 
for the effect, especially in summer, are the 
thorn and brier. Near the house, the cedar, 
the oak, the Spanish chestnut, and the lime- 
tree, should be introduced, if the soil is deep, 
fresh and somewhat rich : if gravelly, the beech ; 
and, if rocky, the sycamore, the birch and the 
ash. 

Where the vista is intended for a drive or 
walk, and shade is required, the Spanish chest- 
nut, the sycamore, and lime-tree are very suit- 
able. In forming such roads, variety of trees 
should be introduced. This variety imparts 
additional charms to the drive or walk. Drives 
through plantations should be without any at- 
tempts to introduce other than the trees which 
go to form the whole. Where the whin and 
broom will take, these may be introduced spar- 
ingly. Both are objects of great beauty when 
in flower. 

The avenues, alleys and vistas, diverging 
from the house should point to objects of beauty 



beyond their termination, and where these stop 
short for producing the full effect, planting in 
stripes should be extended in the direction. 
Single or scattered trees will frequently produce 
the desired effect. Design should be always 
apparent, but should be so subdued as not to 
obtrude upon the attention of the observer. 

Where the nature of the soil and situation 
do not admit of the introduction of the oak, 
chestnut, &c, the beech, the Scotch pine, the 
larch, the mountain-ash, and birch may take 
then* place. To produce a healthy growth, 
freeing the ground of water, and in the first 
stages of growth, keep them free from weeds, 
and protecting them from injury from game, 
will generally prove sufficient. Where econo- 
mizing expense is less an object than to form 
a beautiful place, besides the above precautions, 
rich earth, or even manure, may be employed 
to jilace at the roots of the young trees. Some 
trees, such as the chestnut, in a deep calcareous 
soil. Several other trees also thrive where lime 
is in abundance — the lime-tree, all the poplars, 
the beech, &c. 

Different avenues, clumps, and more minute 
parts, should be formed of different species, 
and some of the rarer or more beautiful trees 
placed in the foreground. Among the dwarf 
trees, for effect, none exceed the alburnum. 
This should always be introduced into the skirts 
of clumps or masses. Where trees of consi- 
derable magnitude stand unconnected, no other 
trees of medium height should be introduced 
close to them. Nothing can be finer in effect 
than to see full grown trees standing alone, 
dotting a greensward, which undulates with 
the nature of the ground. In forming such 
parks, trees of different forms of growth as to 
magnitude, form of head, branches, whether 
upright or drooping, and shade of color', should 
be introduced. If water is present, the weep- 
ing willow produces a pleasing contrast to the 
oak, sycamore, &c. The thorn, from its fra- 
grance when in blossom, and also from its' pe- 
culiarity of growing, should be always present. 
Where the land is intended to be cultivated, 
few trees should be introduced, and, when in- 
troduced, should be in clumps rather than as 
standing apart. Where a road, public or pri- 
vate, passes through the grounds, a single or 
double row of trees planted on each side of it 
generally produces a fine effect, particularly 
when the road passes at or near to a right angle. 
The trees, by partly concealing what is passing, 
heighten the interest. Where the view of a line 
of railway can be obtained, concealment is now 
not generally desirable. The rapidity with 
which the trains move does not admit of the 
eye being satiated before they are lost to sight. 



56 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



Some proprietors have, however, rather hostile 
feelings towards the innovations caused by the 
line of railway, and to such, these are objects 
of annoyance. The banks can be planted, or 
trees can be otherwise introduced to partially 
or wholly exclude the sight of the passing trains. 
This prejudice, however, is rapidly giving way, 
and the economic advantages resulting from 
the contiguity of such a means of transit will 
dissipate the remnant feeling. 



From the Plough, the Loom and the Anvil. 

FARMING IN VIRGINIA. 

Rockbridge county is situated in the Valley 
of Virginia, near the centre of the State. As 
you are no doubt aware, the .Valley, from near 
the Tennessee line to Harper's Ferry, boasts 
of as fine lands as are to be found in the State. 
Much of this land is in a high state of culti- 
vation, producing heavy crops of corn, wheat, 
rye, oats and buckwheat, with almost every 
culinary vegetable. There are also many fine 
grazing farms, on which are raised fine cattle, 
substantial and some fine horses, Cotewold, 
Southdown, Saxony, Merino, and other sheep, 
with fine hogs of the different breeds. Much 
of our stock is driven to the Richmond, Balti- 
more, Philadelphia and New York markets. 

There has also been a good deal of attention 
paid to fruit culture in late years, and we will 
soon have abundant supplies of apples, pears, 
peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, prunes, 
damsons, strawberries, gooseberries, &c. Ap- 
ples grow well every where, but some of the 
other varieties do not succeed so well on stiff 
elay soils. The county of Rockbridge, and 
other counties lying further south, produce all 
the above varieties in perfection, when properly 
cultivated. 

So far as my knowledge extends, there are 
not many dairy farms in the Valley. There 
are, however, some, which I learn pay well. 
Butter of fine quality, and in considerable 
quantities, is made, which finds a ready market 
in Richmond, Virginia. 

The Central Rail Road, now almost com- 
pleted from Richmond to Staunton, 120 miles, 
will, in a month, give us ready access to market. 
This road is pushing west to the Ohio River, 
and it is said will be completed in the next 
three or four years. It will pass by Coving- 
ton, where it will meet the James River Canal. 
These two improvements will open up unbounded 
stores of mineral wealth in our western moun- 
tains; and when once completed, will throw an 
immense trade into Richmond, in connection 
with the Tennessee and South Side Rail Roads ; 



a new era will dawn on the cities of Richmond,' 
Norfolk and Petersburg. 

There is now in progress a canal from the i 
James River to Lexington, our county seat, a 
distance of about twenty miles on the water j 
line. About one-half of this canal will be in j 
operation this spring, and it will probably be j 
completed in the next year, 1855, and it is i 
thought it will pay well. The North River, 
on the line of this canal, and above, affords 
very fine water-power. Indeed, our county 
boasts of almost unlimited water-power, being 
watered on the south by the James River, Buf- 
falo, Collier's Creek; the North River, near 
the centre of the county; Hay's, Walker's and 
Moflett's Creeks, and the South River running 
along the base of the Blue Ridge, with other 
smaller streams, offer sites to small capitalists, 
for every branch of mechanical labor. 

Our lands vary in quality from the finest 
bottoms, worth $100 per acre, to mountain 
lands at 10 cents. There are no arable lands 
worth having that can be purchased for less 
than $5. From this price up; $10, $15, $20, 
$30 and $50, for our best up-lands, well adapted 
to corn, wheat and rye. As you approach the 
James River, some tobacco is cultivated, but 
it is not one of our staples. There are many 
good flouring mills in the county, and much of 
the wheat raised here is of very superior qua- 
lity, weighing often 66 lbs. per bushel; rarely 
falling below 60 lbs. per bushel. The flour 
manufactured in our Valley is generally of su- 
perior quality; the yield being twenty barrels 
per hundred for Mediterranean wheat, to twen- 
ty-two and twenty-three barrels for fine white 
wheats, per hundred bushels. Our best wheat 
lands, under fine cultivation, yield forty bushels 
per acre. Good farmers get an average of 
twenty to twenty-five bushels, and poor farmers 
fall as low as five bushels per acre. Of corn 
the same may be said; all depends on proper 
cultivation and quality of land ; from ten bushels 
up to one hundred bushels per acre have been 
raised. 

Before closing this communication, I will say 
a word about our servants, as many persons at 
the North labor under mistaken views on this 
subject. The servants of the landed proprie- 
tors in the Valley of Virginia are as well fed, 
housed, and clothed, as the laboring classes of 
any other community. If it were not our duty, 
it is our interest, to see that they are properly 
cared for. Almost every family of servants 
have their house, beds and bedding. They are 
regularly worked, and called to their meals, 
where there is always plenty, morning, noon 
and night; and during the harvest months, 
many farmers send out an evening-piece, be- 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



57 



tween 4 and 5 P. M. They very often work 
with their masters, and fare as well. If sick, 
medical aid is always afforded, and they are 
carefully nursed. They are rarely compelled 
to work in bad weather; and always have a 
patch to work for themselves, if they wish it. 
Many of them spend their nights, till bedtime, 
in making baskets, mats and brooms, &c, for 
their own benefit. All who wish it, are allowed 
to attend the preacher of their own choice, on 
every Sabbath; and in communion seasons 
have Saturday to attend church. 

I have no hesitation in saying that they are 
infinitely better off than the free negroes amongst 
us. and as a mass are better fed, housed and 
clothed than many of the poor white families 
in our community. They are generally much 
attached to the families in which they live, and 
;ood servants always take an interest in the 
prosperity of their owners. When servants 
become old, and unfit to work, the master is 
bound by the laws of the State to tal^e care of 
them as long as they live. 

There are some exceptions to this general 
rule, and you will sometimes find hard masters, 
even when they have white servants. 
Your obedient servant. 

HENitY B. Joxes. 

B cnsburg, Rockbridge. Va.. Feb. 4. 1854. 



From the Ohio Farmer. 
:IIE FARMER'S MODE OF LIVING. 

There is no error more pernicious, or more 
prevalent than the idea that the chief end of 
existence is to toil and garner up riches. Men 
will not. in so many words, acknowledge their 
belief in a doctrine so abominable, but the ac- 
tions of by far the greater part of mankind 
demonstrate that, to all practical intents and 
purposes they do belong to that household of 
faith. The world of men and women, if called 
upon to-day to define by their acts and modes 
of life, their idea of the paramount objects of 
existence, would verify the seemingly sweeping 
assertion that we have made. 

And yet, each soul has institutions teaching 
better things. Labor, in itself, is far from 
being attractive. A given amount of physical 
effort may be conducive to health and happi- 
ness ; but even then labor is not the end — hap- 
pinfe"; i.s the end, and labor the means of se- 
curing it. Just as it is, as regards the increase 
or accumulation of wealth. A mass of wealth, 
hoarded up, as the avails of toil, or the specu- 
lation — or what is worse — of reckless ambition, 
or grasping avarice — can impart to the mind 
nothing that deserves the name of joy. It of- 
tener causes a train of evils, infinitely worse 



than the ordinary concomitants of poverty — 
worse, because avarice itself is a curse, to say 
nothing of the numberless discomforts always 
attending it. 

This is, after all, a fair and beautiful world — 
a place fitted with infinite skill, for the tempo- 
rary dwelling place of man. It hath not en- 
tered into the heart of man to conceive how 
the great Architect could have done better by 
us. The broad fields are before and around 
us, variegated as models of taste, and every 
where inviting us to adorn the garden planted 
by his Master's hand, and to enjoy the munifi- 
cent benefactions of his providence ; while over 
our heads are spread out the glorious heavens, 
as the eloquent exponents of unchanging and 
incomprehensible goodness. And yet, the mul- 
titude of those who " live, move, and have their 
being," in the very atmosphere of an all-com- 
prehending benevolence, which demands of all • 
that they shall be happy, and joyful all the 
day long, turn away their faces from beholding 
the brightness of the Creator's face, and make 
it the great object of existence, not to enjoy 
but to accumulate. 

Now, it may be earnestly insisted upon, that 
a mode of life, to such a perversion of the 
grand elementary principles of social existence, 
to say nothing of the eternal fitness of things, 
can never be otherwise than debasing and un- 
profitable. Especially is this true of those 
who, as the cultivators of the soil, are in the 
very midst of objects calculated to enlarge and 
quicken into healthful activity, the finer capa- 
cities for enjoyment, and who stands intimately 
related to the Creator by a practical familiarity 
with the laws of the universe. Those who can 
cause the earth to become clothed in living 
green, and who call "the cattle upon a thou- 
sand hills' 1 their own, ought, assuredly, to be 
able to extract from the unperverted volume 
of nature the most useful and delightful in- 
struction, and to live in a way to render their 
days a beautiful commentary, not upon the 
goodness of God merely, but upon the capacity 
for enjoyment which that goodness has bestowed 
upon us. 

If we are right in this, it follows that those 
whose chosen lot is to cultivate the earth, should 
fix upon a mode of life best adapted to the end 
of promoting their own happiness, and that of 
those who share the labors of their vocation. 
They ought not to live upon the refuse of their 
crops, nor in any way to cut themselves off 
from the indulgences, or refinements of life. 
Who, better than the laborer, is entitled to the 
choice dainties produced by his industry ? Why 
should he select from his larder or his granary, 
from his orchard or his garden, the best parts 



58 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



for the drones of the social hive, and feed him- 
self and family on what is left ? Or why should 
he banish comfort from his own fireside, for the 
sake of making money for his heirs to quarrel 
about ? 

Not only should the farmer's home be the 
abode of cheerfulness, peace and contentment, 
but it should be distinguished by the adorn- 
ments of taste, and the embellishments of an 
advanced and progressive civilization. Increas- 
ing facilities of production should be attended 
by increased endeavors to render abundance 
subservient to the higher and nobler ends of 
existence. The accustomed hours of labor 
should be followed by evenings of peace and 
iunocent hilarity, the cares of the day should 
be sanctified to the good of the farmer's house- 
hold, by the hallowing influence of sympathy; 
and from the domestic altar should go up, to 
the ear of complacent Heaven, the offering of 
sincere and heartfelt gratitude. And this will 
be found no fancy sketch when the real interest 
of the industrial classes shall come to be pro- 
perly understood and duly appreciated. And 
were such a thing practicable, our agricultural 
societies would do well to offer a liberal pre- 
mium for the best regulated home; and a di- 
ploma for the largest amount of domestic en- 
joyment. Till they do so, we will offer, on indi- 
vidual account, a volume of the Ohio Farmer 
for the best mode of life, adapted to the rural 
districts and the wants of our fellow-laborers 
in the cause of industrial improvement. 



From the Maine Fanner. 

DOES FREEZING DESTROY VEGETABLES? 

It is the prevailing idea that freezing destroys 
or renders almost useless, potatoes, apples, the 
various kinds of garden vegetables, house plants 
and roots. 

For the benefit of all who may regard it, I 
send you the result of my experiments in this 
department of useful knowledge. 

In the month of November, before the ground 
froze, I dug a trench in my garden about twenty 
feet long, varying in depth from twelve to two 
inches. In the trench at the depth of two, four, 
six, eight, ten and twelve inches, I placed pota- 
toes, apples, beets, carrots, onions and turnips, 
and carefully covered them with the earth 
therefrom. 

In the spring I opened the trench and found 
that those covered only two inches were mostly 
decayed, and all those of four inches and up- 
wards in a perfect state of preservation. 

I also put eight or ten barrels of apples in 
a cold chamber, carefully surrounding and co- 



vering the apples with saw-dust and replacing 
the heads in the barrels. 

When the weather became cold, I examined 
and found them frozen. I took a quantity in 
a box surrounded by saw-dust, another lot in 
a tight box without saw-dust, placed them in 
the cellar. In a few days when the frost was 
out, they were as perfect as before freezing; 
also those in the barrels in the cold chamber 
so far as they were covered from the effect/of 
air and light. 

I also left the head out of one barrel in the 
cold chamber, the apples being covered three 
or four inches with saw-dust. When the frost 
was out, those near the top were not so perfect 
as those which had been covered in the tight 
box above mentioned without saw-dust. From 
a variety of experiments on the same subject, 
there exists little doubt that light, air and elec- 
tricity are important agents in the destruction 
of vegetable life in certain conditions, as well 
as aids in the mysterious process of vegetation 
and fructification. 

The manner of thawing and not of freezing 
destroys vegetables, plants, vines, &c. Sand 
is preferable to saw-dust, being less porous. 
Garden vegetables, left out by accident, will be 
safe if covered with earth. 

Upon the subject of vines and plants, it may 
be sufficient to state that I had in my garden, 
a very tender white grape vine, which had been 
killed by frost for several years' in succession 
from neglect of the former occupant. 

I left it uncovered until the first cold weather 
came, and with it six or eight inches of snow. 
The vine was so thoroughly frozen that with 
difficulty it could be removed from the frame. 
I bared the ground, coiled it in a small space, 
and covered it with straw, chips and earth, 
about six inches deep. My neighbors who knew 
the vine, shook their heads, adding, " your next 
year's crop will all be leaves." The vine was 
uninjured, and the next year bore grapes abun- 
dantly. 

M. R. Fletcher. 

Portland, Maine, Dec. 7, 1854. 



From De Bow's Review. 

WOOL. 

The high prices which have governed wool, 
says the " United States Economist," in the 
last two years, have undoubtedly stimulated 
production to an extent which must tell on 
prices in face of the depression which the war 
fears of Europe cast over the production of 
cloth as well here as in England and Germany. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



59 



Australia has for a long time been the chief 
source ef supply to England, and when the 
gold fever broke out in that region the liveliest 
fears were entertained in England in relation 
to supply, and prices in consequence of those 



fears ran high. The fact of high prices seems 
to have obviated the evil dreaded, since the 
supply has been vastly larger than ever before. 
The following return of the British Board of 
Trade gives the supply: 



DirORT OF WOOL INTO ENGLAND. 



1S49. 
Ids. 

Spain 127,579 

Germanv. viz: Mecklenburg. Hanover, 

Oldenburg and Hanse Towns 12,750,011 

Other countries of Europe 11.132,354 

tSritish Possessions in South Africa. 5,377,595 
British Possessions in East Indies. . . 4,182,853 

British Settlements in Australia 35,81:9.171 

South America 6.011.525 

. countries 1,001,679 



1350. 

lbs. 

440,751 

9,166,731 

8,703,252 
5,709,529 
3,473,152 
39,018,221 
5.296,648 
2,518,394 



1851. 
Us. 

383,150 

8,219,236 
14,263,156 
5.816,591 
4,549,520 
41,810,117 
4,S50,048 
3.420,157 



185-2. 
lbs. 
223,413 

12,765,253 
13,782,040 
6,338,796 
7,880,784 
43,197.301 
6,552,689 
3,661,082 



1853. 

lbs. 

151,117 

11,581,800 

28,861,166 

7,221,448 

12,400,869 

47,075,812 

9,740,032 

4,358,172 



Total 76.768.647 



74,326,778 83,311.975 93,761,458 119.396.445 



The increase here is 26,000,000 lbs. for the 
year, of which 6,000,000 is from Australia, 
from which country the increase has been an- 
nually greater instead of falling off. With 
such large supplies of wool up to the close of 
the year which ended amidst the depression of 
war fears, prices in England have fallen fifteen 
to twenty per cent, inclusively, English as well 
as imported. On the continent, not a dissimilar 
state of things is manifest. This decline in the 
raw material, together with the diminished con- 
sumption of cloths, points to lower prices, justly 
checking any disposition on the part of Ameri- 
can manufacturers to buy more than supplies 
daily wants. Those of them who use imported 
wools like the heavy 10 lb. fleeces of South 
America, are opposed to the competition of 
foreign goods. Thus manufacturers of worsted 
yarns buy wools of South America. They pay 
for 100 lbs. thirty per cent, duty; out of that 
they make 85 lbs. of worsted yarn, on which 
is paid' twenty five per cent. duty. Thus there 
is a difference of five per cent, bounty on im- 
porting the yarns which are produced abroad 
at lower rates. These manufacturers buy very 
cautiously, and the consumers of American 
wool do likewise. The absurdity of the duty 
is very manifest. In the face of this disposi- 
tion, accompanied by a tight money market, a 
clip will soon come forward of considerable 
magnitude, being produced under favorable cir- 
cumstances, stimulated by high prices. The 
declining state of woollens, and the backward- 
ness of the spring business, will in all proba- 
bility react upon the wool-growers. 



Cattle and hogs should be fattened rapidly 
now. both having dry and warm beds, and fed 
liberally. 



From the Genesee Parmer. 

NOTES ON THE CULTIVATION OP THE CHERRY 
UPON THE MAHALEB STOCK. 

Owing to the greatly increased attention 
which horticultural pursuits have commanded 
within the past few years, many trials and ex- 
periments have been made by zealous cultiva- 
tors with the different varieties of fruits, and 
testing the various kinds of stocks, by subject- 
ing them to different influences, and applying 
the same to the wants of the public and to the 
various sections of the country. 

It is folly to presume that one variety of 
fruit, or a tree grown upon a particular kind 
of stock, or in a certain form, will succeed 
equally well in the many sections of our land, 
which embraces so great an expanse of terri- 
tory, such a diversity of climates, and an al- 
most endless variety of soils. To make the 
proper classification or assignment for fruits, so 
that one to a certainty can say that this will 
succeed admirably in this locality and fail in 
that, will require much labor and patient study 
for years. The results of some are already 
known, and it is this fact which has given hor- 
ticulture such an astonishing impetus, unexam- 
pled in any age. 

Cultivating the pear upon the quince in the 
dwarf, pyramidal and half-standard form, is 
extensively practiced ; also the apple and cherry, 
though not so largely; and in some degree the 
peach and plum. 

Dwarf and pyramidal cherries, which are 
produced by grafting or budding the different 
varieties of this fruit upon the mahaleb stock, 
promise to be invaluable, more particularly to 
the south-west and west. Standard cherries, 
which are grown upon the mazard stock, in our 
naturally over-riah western soils, produce such 



60 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



a great amount of wood as to bear little or no 
fruit; and owing most probably to the very 
imperfect ripening of the wood, the trunk of 
the tree splits upon the approach of winter and 
soon perishes. The hot and long-continued dry 
weather during the summer months, in the 
southern parts of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, 
prevailing at about the time of the ripening of 
the fruit, is a serious drawback. 

Those cultivated upon the Mahaleb stock, as 
experience proves, are much less affected by 
the extremes of wet and dry weather, thereby 
insuring a good crop of fruit; the wood, too, 
is better ripened, so as to withstand most suc- 
cessively the winters. The habit of the tree 
resumes naturally a pyramidal shape. The 
lower brandies commence to form near the 
ground, and the future limbs shoot out at re- 
gular distances, as the leader of the plant rises. 
The tree being low, is well adapted to withstand 
the high winds that prevail upon the prairies, 
and more or less in all level countries ; and the 
trunk or body of the plant is well protected 
from the destructive influence of the sun. Its 
most peculiar and promising characteristics are 
its great productiveness, and the early stage at 
which it bears fruit. Frequently mere bushes, 
only two or three years old from bud, are lite- 
rally laden with the choicest cherries'. Upon 
clayey or very dry, poor chalkey soils, it thrives 
iinely, where the mazaird would not flourish. 

Cherries of the Duke and Morello classes 
would attain the height of ten or twelve feet, 
if desired. With a little pruning once or twice 
a year, principally cutting back the extremities 
of the shoots, they can be made to assume a 
pyramidal shape or bush form, which, while it 
detracts nothing from their fruitfulness, well 
adapts them for gardens and places affording 
but little room. 

The more free and rapid growing sorts, com- 
prised in the Heart and Bigarrcau classes, 
would grow from fourteen to sixteen feet, but 
they ought to be kept within less bounds by 
pruning. They are well adapted for gardens 
and orchards in rather sterile localities, where 
a little more space should be allotted them than 
is required for the Dukes and MoreNos. 



sour given them, as that prevents their fatten- 
ing. Give them clean water or milk from rice 
to drink. By this method the flesh will have 
a clear whiteness. 



TO PATTEN FOWLS. 

Fowls may be fattened in four or five days 
by the following process: Set some rice over 
the fire with skimmed milk, as much only as 
will serve one day ; let it boil till the rice is 
swelled out ; add a tea -spoonful of sugar. Feed 
I he fowls four or five times a day in pans, and 
give them as much each time as will fill them. 
Great care must be taken that they have nothing 



From the London Times, December 25. 

A NEW GUANO DEPOSIT DISCOVERED BY 
AMERICANS. 

Advices from St. Thomas by the last West 
India mail give some particulars of the guano 
discovery lately made in that vicinity at a spot 
called x\ves, or Bird Island, stated to belong 
to the Dutch government. The deposit was 
found by the master of an American ship, called 
the Kentucky, and the quantity is said to be 
equal to 300,000 or 400,000 tons, while its 
quality approaches that of the Chincha Islands. 

Two American vessels, the Kentucky and 
the Comery, were already taking cargoes from 
it, and they are said to have landed 50 men to 
occupy the place, and to drive off intruders, 
with two pieces of cannon. If the estimates 
of quantity and quality should be realized, the 
value of the island will be very great, but the 
locality scarcely warrants an expectation of the 
deposits being nearly equal to the Peruvian. 
Aves Island is one of the leeward group of the 
West Indies, and lies between the 15th and 
16th degrees of north latitude, and 63d and 
64th degrees of West longitude. 

The island here referred to, according to 
the New York Evening Post, lies east of St. 
Thomas, towards Barbadoes, and has been fre- 
quented more or less many years past by bird's- 
egg-hunters. The island forms a sort of basin, 
with a rock-bound rim toward the sea, and is 
frequented daily during certain seasons of the 
year by myriads of sea-birds to lay their eggs. 
The egg-hunters from the ' neighboring -islands 
go there with small sloops, and upon their ar- 
rival proceed to break all the eggs that they 
find, and then retire. On the following day 
they return, and load their vessels with eggs 
that have been laid over night. In the. course 
of thirty hours they will sometimes take up 
between one hundred and fifty and two hundred 
thousand eggs. The reason they break the 
eggs lying on the ground when they arrive, is 
to be sure that they carry away none but fresh 
ones. 



CORN. 

The most valuable crop in the United States 
is that of Indian corn, estimated in 1850 at 
two hundred and ninety-six millions of dollars 
and being nearly three times as valuable as 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



61 



eotton. Six times as many acres of land are 
devoted to Indian corn as are given to cotton. 
and three times a? much to wheat. 



from ihe New England Farmer. 
CHEAP AND EXCELLENT CANDLES. 

The following recipe I copied from a news- 
paper, some twelve months since. I have tried 
it twice, and find it all that it is cracked up to 
be. I have no doubt that it would have been 
worth more than twenty dollars to me if I had 
known it twenty years ago. Most farmers have 
a surplus of stale fat and dirty grease, which 
can be made into good, candles, at a trifling 
expense. 

I kept both tallow and lard candles through 
the last summer, the lard candles standing the 
heat best, and burning quite as well, and giving 
as good a light as the tallow ones. I have 
never seen it in the New England Farmer: 
perhaps it has been published there, notwith- 
standing. 

I submit the following directions for making 
good candles from lard: For 12 lbs. of lard, 
take 1 lb. of saltpetre and-1 lb. of alum; mix 
them and pulverize them; dissolve the saltpetre 
and alum with a gill of boiling water ; pour the 
compound into the lard before it is quite all 
melted; stir the whole until it boils; skim off 
what rises ; let it simmer until the water is all 
boiled out, or till it ceases to throw off steam; 
pour off the lard as soon as it is done, and 
clean the boiler while it is hot. If the can- 
dles are to be run, you may commence imme- 
diately; if to be dipped, let the lard cool first 
to a cake, and then treat it as you would tallow. 
Respectfully yours", 

Alansos Parmelek. 



DOMESTIC RECIPES. 
[Selected from various sources.] 

Pot-au-Feu. — This is by far the most whole- 
some of all soups. Take three pounds of good 
ramp of beef, or any part free from bone and 
not too fat ; put it in an earthen fire-proof pot, 
with three quarts of water, one large carrot, 
two turnips, two leeks, a head of celery, and 
one burnt onion; season, and let the soup boil 
slowly, skimming it from time to time, for at 
least five hours; then strain it through a fine 
sieve, and pour it over thin slices of bread to 
serve. The meat and vegetables make a dish 
which ig afterwards served. Thus cooked, the 
beef becomes tender and juicv. and is excellent 
cold. 



Cabbages.' — There are more ways to cook a 
fine cabbage than to boil it with a bacon side, 
and yet few seem to comprehend that there can 
be any loss in cooking it, even in this simple 
way. Two-thirds of the cooks place cabbage 
in cold water and start it to boiling; this ex- 
tracts all the best juices, and makes the pot 
liquor a soup. The cabbage head, after having 
been washed and quartered should be dropped 
into boiling water, with no more meat than will 
just season it. Cabbage may be cooked to equal 
broccoli or cauliflower. Take a firm, sweet head, 
cut it into shreds, lay it in salt and water for 
six hours. Now place it in boiling water until 
it becomes tender — turn the water off, and add 
sweet milk when thoroughly done; take it up 
in a colander, and drain. Now seaspn with 
butter and pepper, with a little nutmeg grated 
over, and you will have a dish little resembling 
what are generally called greens. — Soil of the 
South. 

To Improve Tea. — Mr. Soyer recommends 
housekeepers to jilace the tea-pot upon the hob 
for a little while before making. This plan 
certainly improves both strength and flavor. 
Rain-water, when pure, is the best for making 
all infusions, including tea, of course; since 
the solvent powers of water are great in pro- 
portion to its freedom from earthy salts. 



WATER-PROOF COMPOSITION. 

Take one pint of boiling linseed oil, 2 oz. of 
beeswax, 3 oz. spirits of turpentine, and 2 oh. 
Burgundy pitch. With this mixture, iicav boots 
and shoes are to be rubbed in the sun or a little 
distance from the fire, with a sponge or brush. 
This operation should be repeated without wear- 
ing them, as often as they become dry, until 
they are fully saturated; which will require 
four or five times brushing. By this, the lea- 
ther becomes impervious to water. The boot 
or shoe thus prepared, lasts much longer than 
common leather ; it acquires such pliability and 
softness that it will never shrivel, nor grow 
hard, and in that state, is the most effectual 
preventive against colds, &c. It is necessary 
to remark that shoes and boots thus prepared, 
ought to be worn until they become perfectly 
dry and clastic; as in the contrary case, the 
leather will become too soft, and wear out mu( 
sooner than it otherwise would. 



FINE HOGS. 



Last year, George M. Lawson, manager hi:: 
Mr. Charles Bruce, at Stony Point plantation ; 
Charlotte, killed 71 hogs, which averaged 210 J, 
lbs. net. 



62 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



PAYMENTS TO THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 

To the 2S/A of January, 1855. 

All persons who have made payments early enough to 
be entered, and whose names do not appear in the following 
receipt list, are requested to give immediate notice of the 
omission, in order that the correction may be made in the 
next issue : 



P. C. Carrington to January 1856 

A. Pointer to January 1856 

0. P. Gray to January 1855 

Col. T. M. Burwell to January 1856 

G. H. Brown to July 1855 

John England to January 1856 

Dr. J. M. Garnett to January 1856 

A. M. Garnett to January 1856 
Cor. Bea to November 1855 

B. J. Worsham to January 1856 
John H. Walker to January 1856 
W. B. Randolph to January 1856 

Col. W. H. Daingerrield to January 1856 
R. H. Turnbull to July 1855 
J. S. Woodson to January 1855 
Edmund Henshaw to July 1855 

C. W. Friend to January 1856 ■ 
Thomas Friend to January 1856 
G. B. Trant to January 1856 
Thomas Robinson to. July 1855 
Dr. W. G. Pollard to January 1850 
Robert B. Buvruss to January 1856 
Robert Meredith to October 1855 
Dr. B. Fleet to July 1855 

W. E. Preston to September 1857 

0. H. P. Terrill to January 1856 

W. C. Graves to July 1855 

0. P. Graves to September 1855 

Ro. Y. Henley to January 1856 

J. W. Bradley to November 1855 

H. T. D'rewry to January 1856 

N. Horseley to. January 1857 

Rev. P. Cleveland to January 1856 

Professor'Puryear to January 1856 

C. T. Chaplain to July 1858 

J. Morton to January 1856 

Major G. W. Yancey to January 1855 

S. 0. Duval to January 1856 

Charles B. Claiborne to November 1855 

Col. R. Rowzee to January 1856 

Thomas A Micbie to Januray 1855 

Joel Williams to January 1855 

Thomas Bailey to January 1857 

James R. Kent to October 1855 

A. P. Hutchinson to January 1856 

W. 0. Eubank to January 1856 

8. A. M. Leland to January 1856 

Dr. A. T. Green to January 1856 

John W. Paxton to January 1856 

H. C. Watkius to January 1856 

W. M. Marshall to January 1856 

James Arnold to January 1856 

L. H. Blair to January 1856 

J. B. Sinclair to January 1856 

George H. Burwell to January 1S56 

G. Tarry to January 1856 

W. R- Bland to Janwaiy 1856 

Andrew Edwards' to January 1856 

G. W. ClaikeH'o January 1856 

Rev. B. Delaney to March 1856 

George G. Carter to January 1856 

Joseph C. Boxley to January 1856 

John Hart to January 1856 



$1 00 
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1 00 



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Thomas Wood to January 1856 

W. A. Warren to January 1856 

P. Trotter to January 1856 

S. S. Woodhouse to January 1856 

Col. J. Trotter to January 1856 

Col. W. Y. Mason to January 1856 

Capt. Edward Haskins to January 1856 

Dr. Aaron B. Haskins to January 1856 

Duke J. Palmer to October 1855 

Win. Thomas, Jr., to January 1856 

Joseph Jones to January 1856 

B. W. Hiner to January 1855 

W. McCoy to January 1856 

John J. London to January 1856 

A. G. Green to January 1856 

W. P. Woodward to January 1855 
J. AY. Morriss to January 1856 
J. Michaux to January 1856 
James B. Brockwell to January 1856 
H. A. Winfree to January 1862 
M. Harrison to January 1856 
Barksdale & Read to January 1856 
John Sanders to January 1856 "~l 

Adam Sanders to January 1856 
Dr. B. T. Sanders to January 1856 [ 
S. D. Sanders to January 1856 f 

Dr. R. W. Sanders to January 1856 | 
Robert Jackson to January 1856 J 
Colin Clarke to January 1856 
T. Arvin to January 1856 
J. Higgins to January 1856 
W. H. Clarke to January 1856 
G. T. Barnes to January 1856 
W. N. Barker to January 1856 
Dr. P. Trent to January 1856 
N. P. Howard to January 1856 
Ben. Burton to January 1856 
Dr. W. J. Dupuy to January 1856 
Edmund Ruffin, Jr., to January 1856 
T. Parramore to January 1856 
Thomas P. Copes to January 1856 
William Fulton to July 1855 
Major B. Craig to September 1855 
Jefferson Spindle to January 1856 
T. T. Dillard to January 1856 
S. P. Haygood to January 1856 
Thomas T. Pettus to January 1856 
William Henderson to January 1856 
H. B. Hunter to July 1855 

B. W. Brockenbrough to January 1856 
Dr. J. L. Woodviile to January 1856 
A. T.'Maxey to January 1856 

T. W. Morton to December 1855 
S. B. Sherman to April 1855 
W. H. Simmons to September 1855 
James P. White to January 1856 
J. Hobbs to January 1855 
Joseph Godfrey to January 1855 
A. Garrett to January 1850 
Joseph C. Cabeil to January 1856 
R. 0. Morriss to January 1856 
Dr. W. Gwathmey to January 1856 
Col. W. R. Tate to January 1856 
Joshua Miller to July 1855 
Robert Brooks to January 1855 
D. J. Payne to January 1856 
James L. Hoot to Januarv 1856 
S. T. Rvland to January 1856 
Dr. J. H. Ellerson to January 1856 
George W. Matthews to January 1856 
W. Holladay to January 1856 
A. M. Hobson to January 1856 
John D. Hobson to January 1856 



$1 00 
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THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



James B. Shelton to January 1856 ; 

Caleb Lee to January 1856 

W. P. Taylor to January 1856 

Capt. Thomas Nelson to January 1856 

S. B. Cross to January 1856 

Joseph S. Spangler to January 1856 

J. Brumley to January 1856 

James L. Harris to January 1856 

John H. Knight to January 1856 

Nathaniel King to January 1856 

R. V. Tifley to December 1855 

Dr. A. B. Hooe to January 1855 

3. H. Foote to July 1855" 

Dr. W. M. Woodson to November 1855 

W. D. Ranson to January 1856 

J. A. Grosclose to April 1856 

Hart & Hays to January 1856 

William Smith to January 1S56 

F. G. Murphy to January 1856 

D. S. Delaplane to January 1856 
R. P. Atkinson to January 1856 
M. Willis to January 1856 

Dr. R. R. Puryear to February 1856 
James Hig2ins to January 1855 
W. B. Wiltshire to July 1855 
L. M. Coleman to January 1856 
Col. John Thorn to January 1856 
W. H. Cutcbem to January 1856 
A. T. Mills to July 1856 

E. G. Bagley to January 1856 
R. Stringfellow to January 1856 
W. C. Jeffress to January 1855 
L. N. Dayis to January 1856 

A. B. Balfour to January 1856 
William D. Cabell to February 1856 

D. E. Gardner to January 1856 
H. C. France to January 1856 
Dr. Minor to January 1856 
Rich. D. Carter to January 1856 

Dr. A. Brockenbrouarh to January 1856 

E. P. H. Campbell to January 1856 
B. Perry to January 1856 

D. C. Anderson to January 1856 
R. D. Carter to January 1856 

C. C. Carter to January 1856 
Chs. D. Pettus to January 1856 
John C. Thorn to January 1856 
S. B. Fisher to January 1856 
Ro. S. Lucke to April 1855 

F. W. Connor to January 1856 
W. C. Stribling to January 1856 
W. A. Reese to September 1855 

Dr. T. J. Wooldridge to September 1855 

James C. Hobbs to January 1856 

Ro. S. Bell to January 1856 

P. D. Lowry to January 1856 

Post Master at Beaufort, X. C, to Jan. 1856 

James Newbold to January 1856 

Col. S. McD. Reid to January 1856 

E. 0. Robinson to January 1856 

B. W. Talley to July 1855 
H. B. Jones to January 1856 
P. A. Taylor to January 1856 " 
E. R. Cook to January*1856 
J. T. Marston to January 1856 
W. p. Browne to January 1856 \ 
N. Piggott to January 1856 | 
H. L. Taylor to January 1856 J 

'.. B. Killebrew to January 1856 
Samuel D. Morton to January 1856 
R. C. Harveya to January 1856 

Nichols (dec'd) to January 1855 
W. Thorahill to January 1856 



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1 75 
1 00 



W. H. Harrison to January 1855 

H. W. Lattane to January 1S56 

J. H. Earnest to November 1S55 

J. T. J. Mason to January 1856 

Jos. W. Mason (dec"d) to January 1855 

John Edmonds to November 1855 

Major J. S. Harris to October 1857 

John Ball to March 1855 

John Glenn to January 1856 

W. H. Overstreet to January 1856 

Capt. Benj. Allen to December 1855 

John Jeter to January 1856 

Dr. Geo. C. Scott to January 1856 

Alex. Kerr to January 1856 

Jos. H. Skelton to January 1856 

Ludv Cauthorn to January 1856 

J. T" Mills to January 1856 

R. T. Hubard to January 1856 

J. F. Bradley to January 1856 

N. Mantply to November 1855 

0. S. JeweU to January 1856 

W. T. Walters to January 1856 

C. T. Hightower to January 1856 

Col. J. M. Waller to January 1856 

James L. Mills to January 1856 



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READ, CONSIDER AND ACT WISELY. 

IMPORTANT TO FARMERS! 




It is only by the use of vamaoie improvements that we 
can reasonably expect to keep up with the age in which 
we live, and public opinion everywhere has placed M. D. 
Wells' Improved Patent Seed Sower in the first class of 
agricultural implements. The above drawing exhibits it 
in use, and any ordinary mind must at once be impressed 
with the certain conviction that it is an indispensable im- 
plement of husbandry, and that every good farmer should 
have it. By its use you save time, which is money and 
labor which costs money, and experience in. using it proves 
you will not be driven from the field unless by very rough 
weather, and the almost mathematical precision with which 
the seed is distributed, compared with hand sowing, renders 
it self-evident in the opinion of the best farmers that a sav- 
ing or gain of two dollars per acre is made in two crops of 
grass and the succeeding crop of wheat, one year's inte- 
rest on an acre of land at §33J, and sowing three acres 
pays for a machine with lid at §6. 

The first premium was recommended for this machine 
at the late Virginia State Pair, and four of the committee 
(all having use for it) engaged one each ; and we think if 
governed by your interest you will do likewise. 

MOTT, LEWIS & WILLSON, 
Sole agents for Richmond — Agricultural Implement 

fe—tf Store, No. 36, Main Street. 



OAMUEL S. COTTRELL, SADDLE AND HARNESS 
O MANUFACTURER, Wholesale and Retail, No. 118 
Main Street, Richmond, Virginia, having received the first 
premium at the Fair of the Virginia Mechanics Institute, 
feels confident he can please all persons in want of any ar- 
ticle in his line. f e iy 



64 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



CONTENTS OF NUMBER II. 

PAOE 

The Profits and Wastes of Agriculture 33 

Fattening Turkeys, &e. 39 

Management of Tobacco 39 

Remarkable Scarcity of Insectivorous Birds, Reptiles and 

Insects, lastjyear 40 

Peruvian Guano for Tobacco Plant Beds 41 

McCormick's Reaping and Mowing Machine 42 

The Hop Trade in Wisconsin 43 

Lime 



43 

Guano and Superphosphate for Corn 43 

A Hard Cement for Seams 44 

Cobs or no Cobs, that is the Question ,. . . . 44 

How to Build a Good Fence 45 

Worth Knowing 45 

Wire Fences 4y 

Pratt's Ditch Digger 48 

Agents for the Southern Planter 49 

Newly Invented Wheat Reaper and Mower 49 

Do Bow's Review for January 50 

Orange Water Melon Seed 50 

Seeds from the Patent Office 50 

Fruit Trees and Fruit Culture 50 

Remedy for Grape Vines Casting their Fruit 52 

Ploughing — Observed Difference between a Hillside and 

a Livingston PlSugh on the Same Land 53 

Shade and Superficial Manuring 53 

Ornamental Planting 53 

Farming in Virginia 56 

The Farmer's Mode of Living 57 

Does Free?jng Destroy Vegetables? 58 

Wool 58 



Notes on the Cultivation of the Cherry on the Mahaleb 

Stock • 

To Fatten Fowls 

A New Guano Deposit Discovered by Americans ■ 

Cheap and Excellent Candles 

Domestic Recipes 

Water-Proof Composition 

Payments to the Southern Planter 



McLANE'S VERMIFUGE. 

[t^gf No remedy ever invented has been so successful as 
the great worm medicine of Dr. McLane. All who have 
used it have been equally astonished and delighted at its 
wonderful energy and efficacy. To publish all the testimo- 
nials in its favor would fill volumes; we must, therefore, 
content ourselves with a brief abstract of a few of them : 

Japhet C. Allen, of Amboy, gave a dose to a child six 
years old, and it brought away 83 worms. He soon after 
gave another dose to the same child, which brought away 
50 more, making 133 worms in about twelve hours. 

And. Downing, of Cranbury township, Venango county, 
gave his child one tea-spoonful, and she passed 177 worms. 
Next morning, on repetition of the dose, she passed 113 
more. 

Jonathan Houghman, of West Union, Park county, In- 
diana, writes that he is unable to supply the demand, as the 
people in his neighborhood say, after a trial of the others, 
that none is equal to Dr. McLane's Vermifuge. 

Messrs. D.'& J. W. Colton, of Winchester, Indiana, hap- 
pened last spring to get some of this Vermifuge. After 
selling a few bottles, the demand became so great for it that 
their stock was soon exhausted. They state that it has 
produced the best effect wherever used, and is very popular 
among the people. 

|3r Purchasers will be careful to ask for "Dr. McLane's 
Celebrated Vermifuge," ttnd take none else. All other ver- 
mifuges, in comparison, are worthless. Dr. McLane's genu- 
ine Vermifuge, also his celebrated Liver Pills, can now be 
had at all respectable Drug Stores in the United States and 
Canada. 

IST DERANGEMENT OF THE LIVER 
Is oriC of the most common, as well as the most formidable 
of diseases known to American physicians. It had for 
yerr? attracted the closest attention of the medical faculty 



in all parts of the United States, and yet up to the time of 
the discovery of Dr. McLane's great Specific, it was almos: 
beyond the reach of medical skill. Thousands had perishec 
without even a hope of relief, and although thousands may 
yet be destined to feel the direful effects of this most com- 
plicated disease, it is now, thanks to the research of Dr. 
McLane, most completely brought within the scope of me- 
dical control. The proprietors of the Liver Pills feel confi- 
dent that they offer a remedy which has been fully tested 
by time, and which has never failed of success when fairly 
tried. 

S3y Purchasers will be careful to ask for Dr. McLane's 
Celebrated Liver Pills, and take none else. There are other 
Pills, purporting to be Liver Pills, now before the public. 
Dr. McLane's Liver Pills, also his Celebrated Vermifuge. 
can now be had at all respectable Drug Stores in the United 
States and Canada. 

For sale by . PURCELL, LADD & CO. 

felt Corner Main and 14th streets, Richmond. 



FIELD, GARDEN AND FLOWER SEEDS, AGRI- 
CULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL IMPLE- 
MENTS, &c. — The subscribers have established, in con- 
nection with their extensive Agricultural and Horticultural 
Implement Establishment in Philadelphia, a Seed Farm, for 
growing all kinds of seeds for Farm and Garden, which 
they are now able to supply, fresh and genuine, in every 
variety. Merchants and Dealers supplied at a liberal dis- 
count. A choice selection of rare Flower Seeds — 20 fine 
varieties, neatly put up in fancy boxes, for one dollar. 

They are also prepared to supply, either by wholesale or 
retail, every description of Agricultural and Horticultural 
Implements, with all the recent improvements, being sole 
agents in Philadelphia for many of the best ones now in 
the market, for which they received over seventy premiums 
at the last Pennsylvania State Fair. 

They have also for sale Red and White Clover, Timothy, 
Herd's Grass, Kentucky Blue Grass, Rye Grass, Orchard 
Grass, Alsike Clover, Lucerne, Sainfoin, Sweet Scented 
Vernal, Foxtail, Fescues, and other Foreign Grasses. 

Implement, Seed and Nursery Catalogues furnished to 
all post-paid applications. 

PASCHALL MORRIS & CO., 
Agricultural Warehouse and Seed Store, 

fe3t N. E. corner 7th and Market, Philadelphia. 



]l /J ERINO SHEEP.— Having increased my flock of Me- 
iVjL rino Sheep on my farm, in Orange county, to over 
800 I am now prepared to sell a few choice yearling Bucki 
and Ewes. To all who have any acquaintance with Col. 
Henry S. Randall of New York, and the reputation of his 
flock, it is only necessary to say that the yearlings I pro- 
pose selling are the product of ewes purchased of him when 
he sold out last year, and selected by him personally as the 
best in his flock. I have his letters, saying that he was 
offered the same price for his ewes by his neighbors, but 
that in starting the growth of fine wool in Virginia it was 
very important to have good sheep, and as he knew these 
were superior, he preferred selling them to go there. I 
shall sell no bucks excep' such as show marks of supe- 
riority. All who want to raise their flocks to a high stand- 
ard at once will do well to apply early, as I have but .1 
limited number for sale. Address by mail, or apply to 
WM. G. CRENSHAW, or 
CRENSHAW & CO., 
June — tf North side of the Basin, Richmond, Va. 



PERUVIAN GUANO.— Having on hand, and engaged 
to arrive, a large supply of Guano, we solicit orders 
All who buy of us may rely on getting it genuine, as we 
sell none except what conies direct from the Peruvian agents. 
CRENSHAW & CO, 
June — tf North side of the Basin, Richmond. Va. 



M'CONNELU & BURTON, 
DENTISTS, 

Main Street, between 9th and 10th Streets, Riclimer.d, Va.. 
JOHN M'CONNELL. W. LEIGH BUHTON. 

ap— tf