% 



ft 



VOL. XIX. 



[MARCH.] 



3L 

No 3. g£* 



Published Monthly. August & Willlvms, Proprietors. &j 



i 



J. E. WILLIAMS, Editor 



TH E 




DEVOTED TO 



AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, 



AND THE 



HOUSEHOLD ARTS. 




PRINTED AT RICHMOND, Va., 
BY MACFARLANE & FERGUSSON 
1859. 




SOUTHERN PLANTER.— ADVERTISING SHEET. 



- 



CONTENTS. 

Tobncco the Banc of Virginia Husbandry, 120 
Guano Coniro\ ersy, - - • 133 

Farm-Yard Manure. - - - 134 

A Hint to Fnroiers, . - • 145 

Tobacco — the Life and Soul of Virginia 

Husbandry, .... 146 

When is the Proper Time for Preparing To- 
bacco Land? Information Wanted on 
the Cultivation of Apple Trees. The 
Cultivation of Pears Recommended, - 148 
Cuban Tobacco Seed, ... 148 

Applying Guano to Corn and Tobacco, - 149 
Culture of Sweet Potatoes, - - 149 

Osage Orange Hedging, - - - 150 

Body and Brain, .... 154 
heterology — Interesting Fact, - - 155 

Golden Eagle. Salutations among Differ- 
ent Nations, .... 156 
Walking as an Exercise, - - - 157 
The Ice Trade, - - - - 158 
Underdraining — " It will Pay I" - - 159 
Beef, Mutton and Bread, - - - 159 
Lakes. Champagne Wine — Some Curious 

Facts about it, - - - - 165 

Printer's Devil, - - 168 

Wanted — A Young Man of Industry, Integ- 
rity, &c. Leaks Simply Stopped. Palpi- 
tation of the Heart. - - - 169 
Gypsum— Who Introduced It? - - 170 
The Native Merchants of India and China, 171 
The Wool Trade. Cotton Trade of Enpland, 172 
Cotton Manufactures of Great B.itain, - 173 
To Correspondents. Explanatory, - 174 
Fine Stock, Cattle, &e. Peabody Corn. Fine 

Horses. Mr. Kettlevvell, - - 175 

Oats. Kossutln - - • • 176 

Valk's New American Style of Architec- 
ture. Our Agents. Earth and its Herbs, 177 

The Horse, 180 

Peabody Corn, - - - - 183 

Fish as Manure for Corn. Board of Agri- 
culture — Evening Chat, - - 184 
A Short Account of Short-Horned Cattle, - 187 
Cord- Wood Houses, - ' - - 190 
The Trade, etc., of Havana in 1858, - 191 
A Psalm of Life. Wishes. Give, - 192 



AYER'S 

SAESAPAR1LLA, 



fy 



PORTABLE STEAM ENGINES. 



PORTABLE SAW MILLS. 

McCOKD'S and oilier Horse Powers, ami machi- 
nerv of all kind* for plantation use. For descriptive ^ n j ^ y a u D rU cr<ri s t$ 
circular, address D. B. LOGAN, ' *» 

Feb l8Sy-3tnd 17 Piatt St., New York. I Feb. 18o9.— 6m 



A compound remedy, in which we have 
labored lo produce the most effectual 
alterative that can he made. It is a 
ontvntrated extract of Paru Sa rsa pa- 
ri U a so continued with other substances 
of still greater alterative power no lo afford an effect ive 
nntidote for the diseases Sarsapurilla is repined 10 
cure. It is helieved that such a reined v is wanted by 
tlm-e who suffer from Strumous complaints, and that 
one which will accomplish their cure must prove of 
immense ser\i.-e to this huge class of our afflicted fel- 
low-ciiizens. How completely this compound will do 
it has been pri.veu by experiment on mauv of the 
worst cases to he found of the following complaints : 

Scrofula and Scrofulous Complaints, Eruption* und 
Eruptive Diseases, Ulcers. Pimples, Blotches, Tumor?, 
Salt Kheuii', Scald Head, Syphilis and Syphilit'u Af- 
fections, Mercurial Disease, Dropsy, Neuralgia or Tic 
Douloureux, Debility, Dyspepsia and Indigestion, Erv« 
sipelas, Rose or St. Anthony's Fire, and indeed the 
whole class of complaints arising from Impurity of 
the Hlood. 

This compound will be found a greater promoter of 
health, when taken in the spring, to expel the foul 
humors which fester in the blood at that season of the 
year. By the timely expulsion of them manv rank- 
ling disorders are nipped in the bud. Multitudes can, 
by aid of this remedy, spare themselves from the en- 
durance of foul eruptions and ulcerous sores, through 
which the system will strive to rid itself of corruptions, 
if not assisted lo do this through the natural channels 
of the body by an alterative medicine. Cleanse out 
the vitiated blood whenever yen find its humilities 
bursting through the skin in pimples, eruptions, or 
sores; cleanse it when you find it is obstructed and 
sluggish in the veins ; clease it whenever it i* foul, and 
your feelings will tell you when. Even where 
no particular disorder is felt, people enjoy bet- 
ter health, and live longer, for cleansing the blood. 
Keep the blood heult iv, and all is well ; but with 
this pallidum of life disordered, there can be no last- 
ing health Sooner or later something must go wrong, 
and the great machinery of life is disordered or over- 
thrown. 

During late years the public have been misled by 
large bottles, pretending to give a quart of Extract of 
Sursaptnillu for one dollar. Most of these have been 
frauds upon the sick, for they not only contain little, 
if any, Sarsaparilla, but often no curative properties 
whatever. Hence, hitter and painful disappointment 
has followed the use of the various extracts of Sar- 
saparilla which flood the market, until the name itself 
is justly despised, and has become synonymous with 
imposition and cheat- Slid we call this compound 
Sarsaparilla, and intend to supply such a remedy as 
shall rescue the name from the load of obloquy which 
rests upon it. And we think we have ground for be- 
lieving it has virtues which are irresistible by the or- 
dinary run of the diseases it is intended to cure. In 
order to secure their- complete eradication from the 
system, the remedy should he judiciously taken ac- 
cording to directions on the bottle. 

PREPAKED BY 

DR. J. C. AYER & CO., 

LOWELL, MASS. 

Price, $1 per Bottle. Six Bottles for $5. 
All our Remedies are for sale by 

PURCELL, LADD & CO., Richmond. 



TH E 




Devoted to Agriculture, Horticulture, and the Household Arts. 

Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. I Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of 

[Xenopiion. I the State. — Sully. 



J. E. WILLIAMS, Editor. 



AUGUST & WILLIAMS, Prop'rs. 



Vol. XIX. 



RICHMOND, VA., MARCH, 1859. 



No. 3. 



For the Planter. 

Ttl )0 the Bane of Virginia Husbandry. 

no. 2. 

I . my first number the process of tobacco- 
■ig was brought through to the burning, 
g, covering, and enclosing the plant 
es for the new crop; while the old 
was in the houses, where it had been 
ured, struck down, "in case," and 
packed away in bulk, thickly covered with 
straw, to keep it in order for stripping — an 
in-door work always ready to be performed 
in the bad weather of winter, — and is exult- 
ingly claimed by tobacco makers as a signal 
advantage in its culture, an advantage 
which will be seen to be more than counter- 
balanced by other usages incidental to the 
year's operations ; but in any event, the old 
crop must be gotten out of the way before 
the new crop is ready to come into the 
houses. Here we left both crops on hand 
at the same time, a conjunction of double 
trouble, incident to no other crop but tobac- 
co, for the reason that it requires a year and 
a half for its completion, while all other 
crops require only a year. But here, as 
already said, we left both crops on hand at 
the same time — the young plants to be 
watched, nursed and pushed forward in the 
plant-patches and the old crop of cured to- 
9 



bacco in the houses to be sorted, stripped, 
and packed down for prizing or to be sold 
loose as the case may be. 

Formerly, all tobacco was prized into 
hogsheads, and carried to a public ware- 
house, there to be inspected by legally ap- 
pointed officers before it was offered for sale ; 
but now it is often bought up and taken at 
the tobacco houses as soon as it is stripped, 
and carried by the purchaser to his neighbor- 
ing factory whence the manufactured article 
is sent through the length and breadth of 
the land. 

For the present, the chief supply for 
foreign markets is manufactured at the 
great tobacco marts — Richmond and Lynch- 
burg, and a few other towns j but the smaller 
factories which are springing up in and con- 
ven!ent*to the few remaining fresh and unex- 
hausted districts of virgin soil of the State, 
which alone produces the finest tobaccoes, will 
intercept the abundant supplies which have 
of late years erected tobacco 
the metropolis of Virginia, 
nitude and exceeding in' numbers the adja- 
cent cotton factories of Manchester, and 
falling but little behind our unrivalled flour 
mills in commercial importance. Never- 
theless, from the working of the smaller 
factories and the elements of instability and 
destructiveness inherent in this product of 



buildings in 
rivaling in mag- 



130 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



Virginia agriculture great changes are in- 
evitable, and at no distant day, as will be 
more fully shown in the sequel. 

But before we return to the new crop in the 
plant-patches, remembering the dangers of 
the fly and retarding influence of dry spells, 
to be watched and prevented by the means 
already detailed in the preceding number, 
we must here dismiss the details of man- 
aging the crop already in the houses, and 
take up the operations which demand atten- 
tion for the new crop. 

In the tobacco-making parts of Virginia 
(for there is far less than a moiety of the 
State now engaged in cultivating this ruin- 
ous crop) — " tobacco land," is as familiar as 
any household word ; meaning rich land — it 
being well understood that none other than 
rich land, pays for cultivation in tobacco.* 

Thus, the best land, as a matter of course, 
is selected for tobacco, and whether this is 
new forest land to be cleared, or. old land to 
be manured (for no old land is ever put in 
tobacco without manure or some other im- 
provement) the very best is usually selected. 
The plows are first started in the old land 
intended for tobacco — this is deeply plowed 
and left to the ameliorating influences of 
the winter's frost. The new ground being 
grubbed and cleared, is thoroughly broken 
up with the new-ground coulters, raked and 
the torn-up roots of the forest growth and 
brush burnt off, is ready for hilling. This 
hilling process is performed by hand-work, 
with hilling hoes — an implement made for 
the purpose, differing from the common weed- 
ing hoe, and leaves the earth in perfect 
tilth to receive the young plants when ready 
to be set out. 

While the two crops are thus both on 
hand, the one being handled as already de- 
scribed in the houses, while the other is 
being pushed forward for planting, with the 
supremacy with which tobacco exacts atten- 
tion above all other matters, it would be regar- 
ded as next to insanity to think of anything 
else, until the operations above described 
have been provided for and performed be- 

Note. — In illustration of this truth as well as 
the more melanchly fact, of the exhausted state 
of the old tobacco districts, there may sometimes 
be seen along the margin of a public road for the 
distance of half a mile or more, a string of to- 
bacco 3 or 4 rows wide, occupying the lately 
vacated space of a wrom-fence which had pro- 
tected the narrow slip from the ruin of the to- 
hacco system. 



fore any thing else. A practical mind will j 
see at a glance how this monopoly of labour ] 
and manure must starve all the other de- 
partments on a tobacco plantation. 

This double pressure of two tobacco 
crops upon hand the first six months of the 
year, leaves so little time for the corn crop 
and oats, as necessarily leads to haste and 
neglect in providing for them, and whatever 
" is hastily done, will be badly done." 
And here especially at this juncture, may 
be seen how the tobacco starves the others 
by its pressing demands, to which all other 
demands give place for all the labour of the 
plantation to do the important work of 
hilling — and thus oats sowing and corn 
planting is hurried out of the way to give 
place to hilling for tobacco. The hilling of 
old ground is never done until plowed a 
second time after the winter plowing — and 
before this second plowing, the manure 
is hauled and spread, in order to be 
thoroughly mixed with the soil by the 
double operation of plowing and hilling — 
all which will serve to show there is nothing 
known in field culture, more elaborately done 
than the preparation for a crop of tobacco 
by a regular trained skilful tobacco maker 
in Virginia. It is no wonder then, that a 
crop requiring so much labour, and by uni- 
versal usage having precedence over all 
other crops on hand, should starve the 
others; and itself being neither meat, 
drink, or clothing for man, or provender for 
stock, should also starve, (or stint at least) 
both man and beast. To prove the alledged 
charge against tobacco as the bane of Vir- 
ginia husbandry, it is only necessary here 
to show up some of its prominent features, 
which will be readily recognized by all ac- 
quainted with the system. Good husband- 
ry, as applied to agriculture, is such a 
course of tillage, as affords .the largest 
share of profit and comfort from the pro- 
ducts of the soil, and furthermore affords 
a reasonable prospect of maintaining if not 
increasing the productive powers of the 
earth for an indefinite time. To admit a 
regular diminution in productiveness, leads 
to ultimate sterility, and impugns the be- 
neficence of Divine Providence in creating 
the earth with properties destined ultimate- 
ly to entail starvation upon them. 

A proper farming system embraces the lar- 
gest practical range of the productions of the 
earth, tobacco-planting being confined to one, 
is therefore the very antagonism of farming, 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



131 



and where it is the chief crop, little else ex- 
cept Indian corn is cultivated. 

A few of the results as applicable to Vir- 
ginia practice arc as follow : 

Farmers produce their own meat and 
bread, with some to spare for supplying the 
nearest market town. 

Tobacco planters buy a large portion of 
their meat from our western drovers, and 
often not a small part of their bread, from 
such of their neighbours as are getting 
wise enough to make a surplus of corn — a 
plenty of which makes every thing plenty, 
and a scarcity of which makes every thing 
scarce, upon a Virginia plantation. 

Farmers can afford to spare manure to 
keep a grass lot or an acre or two of meadow, 
which give all the rich comforts of a dairy, 
besides the healthful supplies of the garden 
and truck patch — what is over going to the 
eorn and wheat crops. 

Tobacco planters will hardly spare a 
bushel of manure from the insaliable to- 
bacco crop, to help to make a square in the 
garden rich enough for Irish potatoes. 

Examples may be cited from that class of 
our tobacco-makers (from 2 to 10 Hhd. men) 
of the whole nett proceeds of their tobacco 
crops being paid for the bread-corn for the 
year's use of their families. This, doubt- 
less, is an extreme case — but an approxima- 
tion to it is common. Thus the most labo- 
rious crop known to agriculture, the most 
exhausting of the soil, and requiring the most 
manure is voluntarily undertaken for a full 
year and a half to make bread and meat 
for the producers family one year, while 
every Tyro in agriculture sees at a glance, that 
the same amount of labour and manure in 
one year's application would give more than 
amply sufficient bread and grain to raise the 
meat for the year's supply of the plantation, 
and save the 6 months of surplus labor on the 
tobacco crop. Verily this looks like infatu- 
ation entailed upon our suffering country by 
this deleterious staple. But to proceed with 
the farther details of the tobacco crop. Be- 
fore the hilling process is over, the plant- 
patches must be uncovered, hand-weeded 
and topped-dressed — and if necessary, wa- 
tered from time to time that all may be 
ready as earl)- as possible for " planting 
out." And here a few minor troubles may 
be mentioned. The spring seasons are move 
unpropitious by reason of droughts than 
formerly — consequently it is not uncommon 
to water each plant in the hill, or after a 



light season, to cover each plant with a clod 
of the soil, which has to be watered, and 
taken off in time, lest remaining too long 
the young plant becomes coddled. This is 
one of the extra troubles incident to a bad 
planting season — but another of the same 
sort may be mentioned here, as the morality 
of the culture is intended to be adverted to 
in the sequel. From time immemorial in 
the history of tobacco, it has been the prac- 
tice, when a moderate rain falls on a Satur- 
day night, to plant on Sunday morning 
rather than run the risk of losing the 
season, at a critical period of the year. As 
soon as the plants are fairly rooted in the 
hills, the process of ridging down by the 
hand-hoes, which scrapes the soil down and 
leaves the plant clear of grass, is soon fol- 
lowed by ploughing between the rows, 
throwing the soil back again to be fol- 
lowed before the grass has time to spring- 
by second hilling to the plants. In the 
meantime, such a preparatory and nursing- 
process has pushed the crop into a rapid 
growth, and a portion will require priming 
taking off the bottom dwarf leaves, and 
topping, leaving the regular number of 
leaves to each plant (which may be assumed 
at 8.) This work of topping is performed 
I by particular hands trained for the purpose, 
j and is executed with astonishing adroitness. 
j Tobacco plantation-hands who cannot count 
50 will acquire a sort of instinct which enables 
them to top tobacco with invariable correct- 
ness almost as fast as they can walk along 
; the row. After topping, a new trouble be- 
| gins — at the foot-stalk of each leaf there are 
\ three embryo buds, which as soon as the as- 
' cending sap to the top is arrested by topping, 
spring into rapid growth, forming the suck- 
ers, which must be taken off, as soon as possi- 
ble after they grow of size sufficient to be laid 
hold upon, as these three crops of suckers 
show themselves in succession, they require 
constant vigilance to keep them down the 
greater part of the growing season of the 
crop, nor is this the only or most formidable 
j trouble of the growing crop. The tobacco- 
worm, though not always equally destructive 
I is always sufficiently so to require a thorough 
examination of every plant once in a week 
or ten days, and here begins a system of 
vigilant police, to keep down the suckers 
■ and destroy the tobacco-worms, which is 
unparalleled in the history of any other 
crop, requiring the examination of the 
whole of every superficial inch of the sur- 



132 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



face of every leaf in the crop to destroy the 
eggs and young worms once in every week 
or ten days, for an egg will hatch and the 
young worm spoil a leaf in that time. 

Soon after topping comes the second 
plowing, to be followed by the third hill- 
ing up. These are the regular operations 
when seasons are good and run in regular 
order, but when untoward, as in extraordi- 
nary floods or droughts these are provided 
for by extraordinary operations, such as 
deep coulterings to long droughts, or an ad- 
ditional plowing when the earth has been 
settled together by heavy rains and baking 
weather. 

And now follows the cutting operation. 
The sticks being prepared and the scaffolds 
ready, it is only the plantation veterans who 
are sufficient judges of the ripeness of the 
plants to be trusted with the cutting. 

It is a peculiarity of the tobacco, which 
increases the labour and trouble of saving 
it more than any other crop, that it does 
not ripen all at once like grain and grass, 
but in succession, requiring to be saved 
through a protracted period sometimes of 
several weeks. Here again is additional 
trouble not incident to other crops. 

The plants when cut fully ripe, are so 
brittle that the leaves break off like glass 
until they are in some degree wilted by the 
sun, and must therefore be carefully han- 
dled ; but furthermore, when the weather is 
hot and the earth dry, must be covered with 
green bushes to guard against sun-burning 
which once taking place, the leaf as far as 
it extends is ruined by it ; this sun-burning 
is another evil in the tobacco-making which 
requires no little additional labour to guard 
against, by providing the green bushes and 
herbage to shade the fresh cut plants, both 
in the field and on the scaffold. 

And now the housing commences, after 
&xe plants have hung a few days upon the 
.out-door scaffolds, but here it must be 
watehed also, for here it is liable also to be 
sun-burnt, and therefore must be protected 
by bush arbours until thoroughly wilted for 
convenient handling in the next operation 
of hoisting and placed upon the tiers in the 
houses, usually 20 feet square, made of 
sound logs and carried high enough to 
afford 4 tiers below joists (inclusive,) to 
fire under, with close, tight roofs. The 
out-door scaffolds are made of sapling poles 
from 20 to 40 feet long, resting upon strong 
forks let into the ground, so as to support 



the poles 4 or 5 feet above the surface, 
and in parallel lines ten feet apart, so that 
a fence rail eleven feet long will span the 
interval between the poles, and a foot over 
to lap upon them — these rails are placed 4 
feet apart to suit the length of the rived 
sticks upon which the tobacco plants are 
hung, in number from 8 to 12, and these 
sticks, with their quota of plants placed 
with their ends resting on the fence rails, 
at intervals of a foot from each other ; this 
affords data upon which may be calculated 
the amount of sticks and scaffolding neces- 
sary to provide for a crop of any given 
size. 

From these outside scaffolds after being 
duly wilted, the tobacco is taken, stick by 
stick, and hoisted to the tiers prepared to 
receive it inside the houses, when the firing 
process forthwith commences. This can 
only be done in the most approved way, 
with the best fuel, hickory or oak, cut, 
hauled to the houses the preceding winter, 
it being found to be best to be half- 
seasoned. This firing process being critical 
and dangerous, is intrusted only to the most 
steady and careful hands, and with all pos- 
sible diligence, results in the burning of 
many tobacco-houses yearly. 

The fuel is laid in lines of logs across the 
tobacco-house floor under the tails of the 
suspended tobacco upon the tiers above, and 
after closing every crevice of the house, and 
a tight door, is simultaneously set on fire by 
a number of hands and very soon heats 
the house to a very high degree. This, 
after some hours, dries the tobacco to a 
crisp state, and in this state is liable by a 
sudden blast of wind blowing up a spark, 
or the falling of a stick to set fire to the in- 
flamable mass above, which explodes like a 
powder magazine. This risk of firing has 
to be run at least two or three times in 
every house during the curing season before 
it is thoroughly prepared to be struck down 
and put away in bulk for stripping. This 
brings up the new crop to the stage where 
we left the old one, which, in the mean- 
time, must be handled, prized, and sent to 
market to give room for the new crop, when 
ready to be struck down and bulked for 
stripping. 

We shall conclude this number at this 
stage of the process of tobacco-making. 
Nothing doubting, that if the foregoing ac- 
count does not fully satisfy every partial 
agriculturist that it is the most laborious 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



133 



and troublesome of all crops, by the time 
we have reached the end of our next num- 
ber, all doubts may be removed. 

JOHN H. COCKE. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Guano Controversy. 

January Yjth, 1859. 

Mr. Editor, — In the January No. of the 
Planter, your correspondent, " B.," while he 
expresses his entire approbation of my views 
in regard to the nutritive and fertilizing 
properties of guano, takes exception to some 
of my positions in vegetable physiology. 
As this is a side issue, and not much practi- 
cal knowledge is likely to grow out of its 
discussion, we might very well leave it for 
the further research and investigation of 
vegetable physiologists. But, for the sake 
of a clearer understanding of what I did 
write, and setting myself right in the prem- 
ises, I will briefly notice one or two of his 
objections. 

Ini primis. " B" obj ects to my conclusion 
that plants are not susceptible to the action 
of mere stimulants, because I do not " ap- 



Now, it is very obvious, as he says, that 
plants have vitality j and that this vitality 
can be exalted and quickened. If it were 
not so, it would be useless to attempt to 
nourish them or cause them to grow by the 
application of manures and all other agents 
that tend to their development. But it is 
one thing to increase the functions of organ- 
ic life; causing growth, and development, 
and another thing to stimulate an action that 
is unattended with nutrition, growth, or de- 
velopment. Both of these efforts can be 
produced upon animal life, only the former 
upon vegetable life, and if " B" will look 
over my article again, he will find that I 
illustrated this by the effects of nutritious 
food and the diffusible and transient excite- 
ment of brandy, opium, musk, camphor, et 
id omne genus; agents that are powerful 
when applied to a system of nerves : but in- 
noxious to plants. So a difference must be 
made in stimulants that exalt the functions 
of organic life and those that act merely 
upon the nervous system. 

Again : " B" objects to my physiology. 
In maintaining that sensation and locomotion 
are as cause and effect. I confess tnat I 



prehend" the modus operandi, and says, "if have no authority for such a position; but, 
the fact be a fact, that plants are thus acted ■ still believe it to be true enough, for all the 

purposes of my argument. I did not use 
the term locomotion in its literal sense ; that 



upon, there certainly is a mode, whether I 

apprehend it or not." If the fact, be not a 

fact, how then, "Mr. B. V May I not be is, meaning a change of place; but merely 

excused for not "apprehending" how it i motion. So far as the calls of nature which 

could be a fact, without the knowledge of; we call sensation are concerned, you will 

the existence of such an organism as we ; find motion to be commensurate with them. 

know to exist in the animal creation where j For whence the necessity of a sensation 

we do " apprehend" the " mode ?" I con 

tend, that the existence of a nervous system 

is essential to the development of such an 



' without the power to respond to it, or whence 
the necessity of a power, without the sensa- 



tion to call it into action. But, says the 
effect, because, all the positive phenomena of! gentleman, that some vegetables are so like 
such action, are found in connection with j animals, and some animals are so like vege- 
such a known system. If " B" then, will ! tables, that it is impossible to tell where the 
prove that plants possess such organs, I will one kingdom stops and the other begins, 
admit that they are susceptible to the action And asks me for the " stand point." I 
of mere stimulants ; or, if he will prove that know of no stand points in nature. It is 
they are capable of being thus acted upon, thus in all the departments of nature. One 



I will admit the existence of such a system 
pervading their organization. So to con- 
clude with this objection, I neither " appre- 
hend" the mode of such action, nor know of 
the existence of any fact tending to estab- 
lish a belief that any such effect can be pro- 
duced. 

In the next place : "B." quotes my defi- 
nition of a stimulant in its broad and exten- 
ded sense, to be an " agent that exalts and 
quickens the vital manifestations or forces." 



species losing its identity by insensible de- 
grees, and another assuming an identity by 
equally insensible degrees. Do we not ob- 
serve all the phenomena of a nervous system 
grow less and less perceptible as the charac- 
teristics of animal life diminish ? And on 
the contrary in the highest order of vegeta- 
ble existancc, do we not discern many of 
the peculiarities of the animal kingdom and 
two of the most striking of these are sen- 
sation and voluntary motion, whenever dis- 



134 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



oernable ; they are evidences of animal life 
whenever absent; we are on the confines of 
the vegetable kingdom. 

Again : " B." in support of his doctrine 
that vegetables possess excitability; (inde- 
pendant of that which is common to all 
things possessing vitality;) calls our atten- 
tion to the action of the sun upon the sun- 
flower. I hope I am not so stubborn an un- 
believer as Bishop Berkly, who could not 
convince himself of the reality of a carriage 
in the street, until it had run over him. But 
with respect to many of the popular opin- 
ions of the day, I claim the privilege of 
withholding my assent. So far as my ob- 
servation goes, I have seen as many sunflow- 
ers with their disks turned from the sun as 
towards it; and am inclined to the opinion 
that its relative position is owing more to the 
way in which the winds have reached it 
than the sun. But, should it be a fact, and 
if " B" has any great regard for the ancient 
faith that is within him, I will not dispute 
it. Is it necessary to endow this plant with 
such a piece of exquisite machinery as a 
nervous system, to keep its face turned both 
to the rising and the setting sun. If this be 
the case, it is not remarkable that it, and his 
other little pet, the sensitive plant, should 
be singled out from the whole of the vege- 
table creation, as most worthy of the special 
admiration of poets and romance writers. 
Nor can I help suspecting u B." of having 
something of this feeling, when he descants 
about the " leafless tree and torpid toad be- 
ing awakened to life by the stimulating in- j 
fluence of a vernal sun." How like Virgil 
and Thompson ! " B." has certainly felt 
the influence of the "gift divine/' and will | 
not like his little divinities to be stripped of 
their godlike attributes. But, as I have 
never yet felt the stirrings of such an influ- 
ence, I am compelled to seek my causes for 
such phenomena, in some of the greater 
forces of nature ; though it be laying the j 
ruthless hand of a mere truth searcher upon ' 
some of the most beautiful creations of po- 
etry. 

All the changes and motions in nature are 
the result of the operations of a few great 
forces, and none of these are of more po- ! 
tency than heat; and as the sun is the great-: 
est of all natural sources of heat, why may 
it not be able to produce these insignificant j 
effects upon the sunflower, and the so called 
sensitive plant, without this special arrange- 
ment of a nervous system. It is the great 



power of destruction and construction. It 
upheaves mountains and overthrows them 
again ; causing them to belch forth fire and 
smoke. It melts down mountains of ice, 
and causes them to flow like rivers of water; it 
dissipates rivers of water into thin air, and 
bears it on the wings of the wind to the ut- 
termost parts of the earth, and yet it cannot 
bow the stiff neck of the sunflower, or cause 
a delicate plant to shrink, without the inter- 
vention of the machinery of a nervous sys- 
tem. 

In conclusion, I thank " B." for the com- 
plimentary manner in which he was pleased 
to speak of my communication, and would 
like very much to know something more of 
his " personel" than I can find out from the 
simple soubriquet of " B." I hope his mod- 
esty will not prevent, when he communicates 
again upon any subject, giving us the bene- 
fit of his name. I can see no reason why it 
should, as he writes both well and sensibly. 
But should it again prove too much for him, 
I will be satisfied to receive his autograph 
to the address of Wm. A. Bradford. 

Millwood, Clarh Co. 7 Va. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Farm- Yard Manure. 

Mr. Editor: 

Recent numbers of the Journal of the 
Royal Agricultural Society of England con- 
tains a long and very valuable essay, by 
Prof. Yoelcker of the Royal Agricultural 
College of England, upon the composition 
of farm-yard manure in every stage of its 
decomposition. The essay is encumbered 
by many analytical details, and other mat- 
ters not interesting to the general reader, or 
necessary to the practical man, making it 
too long for republication in our agricultu- 
ral journals. As he establishes some im- 
portant truths in relation to farm-yard ma- 
nure, I take the liberty of presenting its 
main features to the readers of the Planter, 
with the hope that it may prove of practical 
advantage to some, and of more or less in- 
terest to all. 

The manure experimented upon, was com- 
posed of the mixed droppings of horses, 
cattle and hogs, mixed with the straw that 
had been used as litter, and very thoroughly 
worked over, so as to ensure a manure of 
uniform composition. 

The first analyses were of the fresh ma- 
nure, when it was only some two weeks old; 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



135 



the manure in this condition gave the fol- 
lowing general results : 

In nat'l state. Call'd dry. 

Water 66.17 

♦Soluble organic matter. . . 2.48 7.33 

-Soluble inorganic matter.. 1.54 4.55 

■{"Insoluble organic matter. 25. 76 76.19 

Insoluble inorganic matter. 4.05 11.97 

100.00 100.00 

In it at. st. Dry. 

•Containing nitrogen 149 .11 

Equal to ammonia 181 .53 

■{"Containing nitrogen 494 1.46 

Equal to ammonia 599 1.77 

Total percentage of nitrogen 643 1.90 

Equal to ammonia. 780 2.30 

A delicate reddened litmus paper held 
over the fresh mixed dung was not affected 
at first, but after the lapse of a couple of 
hours it was slightly changed to blue, thus 
showing that this fresh dung contained but 
a very small quantity of free, or properly 
speaking, volatile carbonate of ammonia, 
for it is in the state of carbonate that am- 
monia is generally given off from putrifying 
substances. 

On subjecting the fresh manure to analy- 
sis for ammonia, the percentage of free am- 
monia was found to be : 

In natural state. Calculated dry. 

.034 .10 

Ammonia in the state of salts: 
In natural state. Calculated dry. 

.088 .26 

The amount of volatile ammonia, as well 
as ready formed ammonia, existing in the 
form of ammoniacal salts in fresh manure, 
thus appears to be very trifling. 

Since there exists no complete, trust-wor- 
thy analysis of the ash of fresh farm-yard 
manure, I thought it advisable to analyse 
separately the soluble and insoluble portion 
of the inorganic matters present in fresh 
farm -yard manure. 

One hundred parts of the soluble and in- 
soluble inorganic matters in fresh farm-yard 
manure were found to have the subjoined 
composition : 

Soluble in Water — 27.55 per cent. 

Soluble silica 4.25 

Phosphate of lime 5.35 

Lime 1.10 

Magnesia, 0.20 

Potassa 10.26 

Soda 0.92 

Chloride of sodium 0.5-1 

Sulphuric acid 0.22 

Carbonic acid and loss 4.71 

Carried forward 27.55 



Brought f o r war d 27.55 

Insoluble in Water — 72.45 per cent. 

Soluble silica 17.34 

Iii.-oluble ulicioua matter (sand) 10.04 

Phosphate of lime 

Oxide of iron and alumina with phos- 
phates 8.47 

Containing phosph. acid (3.18) 

Equal to bone earth "... (6.88) 

Lime 20.21 

Magnesia 2.56 

Potassa ... 1.78 

Soda 0.38 

Sulphuric acid 1.27 

Carbonic acid and loss 10.40 

100.00 
The following table represents the detail- 
ed composition of fresh farm-yard manure : 

Water 66.17 

*Soluble organic matter 2.48 

Soluble inorganic matter (ash). . . . 

Soluble silica 237 

Phosphate of lime 299 

Lime 066 

Magnesia .011 

Potash 573 

Soda 051 

Chloride of sodium 030 

Sulphuric acid 055 

Carbonic acid and loss 218 

1.54 

"{"Insoluble organic matter 25.76 

Insoluble inorganic matter (ash). . 

Soluble silica .967 

Insoluble silica 561 

Oxide of iron, alumina, with phos- 
phates 596 

Containing phosphoric acid. (.178) 

Equal to bone earth (.386) 

Lime 1.120 

Magnesia 143 

Potash 099 

Soda ' 019 

Sulphuric acid 061 

Carbonic acid and loss 484 

4.05 

100.00 

•Containing nitrogen 149 

Equal to ammonia 181 

Containing nitrogen 494 

"{"Equal to ammonia 599 

Whole manure contains ammonia 

in free state 034 

Ammonia in the form of salts 088 

Fresh farm-yard manure being composed 
of the droppings of horses, cattle and hogs, 
and the straw used for litter, according to 
the above determination, in round numbers, 
consists of two-thirds water, and one-third 
of dry matter. Since this fresh manure was 
not more than two weeks old, and no rain 
had fallen during the time it had lain in the 
dung pit, all the water is due to the urine 
and the moisture of the droppings and litter. 



136 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



The quantity of straw employed as litter 
must necessarily affect the general composi- 
tion of fresh dung, and more especially the 
amount of moisture which it contains; but 
I believe we are not far Avrong by saying that 
fresh mixed dung, in the production of which 
litter has been liberally supplied to the ani- 
mals, when free from rain, consists of one- 
third dry matters and two-thirds of moisture. 
An inspection of the analytical results just 
mentioned will further bring to view several 
interesting particulars : 

1. In fresh dung the proportion of solu- 
ble organic and mineral matters is small. — 
This circumstance fully explains the slow 
action of fresh dung when compared with 
the effect which well rotted manure is capa- 
ble of producing. 

2. The proportion of insoluble matters, 
more especially of insoluble organic matters, 
in fresh dung, on the contrary is very large. 
By far the larger proportion of the insolu- 
ble organic matters consists of straw chang- 
ed but little in physical character and chemi- 
cal composition. 

In the simple manure analysed, the amount 
of insoluble organic matters is ten times as 
great as that of soluble organic matters, and 
the proportion of soluble mineral substances 
nearly three times as large as the amount of 
soluble mineral matters. 

3. Fresh dung contains a mere trace of 
ammonia in a volatile state of combination, 
and but a trifling quantity of ammonia in 
the form of ammoniacal salts. 

4. The total amount of nitrogen contain- 
ed in the soluble portion of fresh manure 
likewise inconsiderable; most of the nitrogen 
which, as we shall see by and by, is gradu- 
ally liberated as the fermentation of the 
dung progresses, is contained in the portion 
of manure which is insoluble in water. In 
other words, comparatively speaking, little 
nitrogen exists in fresh dung in a state in 
which it can be assimilated by the growing 
plants. Thus in the sample analysed, the 
readily available amount of nitrogen in 100 
lbs. of fresh dung is only .149 of a lb., 
whilst about four times as much nitrogen, or, 
in exact numbers, .494 lb., occurs in the in- 
soluble portion of 100 lbs. of fresh dung. 

5. A comparison of the composition of 
the organic soluble matters with the compo- 
sition of the organic insoluble matters of 
fresh dung, however, shows that the former 
are far more valuable than the latter, inas- 
much as the soluble organic matters contain 



a very large percentage of nitrogen, and in 
a state of combination in which nitrogen is 
available to the immediate use of plants. 

This will appear from the following num- 
bers : 

100 parts of soluble matters in fresh dung, 
contain 6.04 of nitrogen. 100 parts of in- 
soluble matters in the same dung contain 
1.92 of nitrogen. In the same weight of 
each there is thus more than three times as 
much nitrogen in the soluble organic mat- 
ters as in the insoluble. 

6. With respect to the inorganic or mine- 
ral constituents of fresh dung, it will be seen 
that it contains all those mineral matters 
which are found in the ashes of our cultiva- 
ted plants. 

7. Comparing the composition of the so- 
luble inorganic matters with that presented 
by the insoluble, no essential difference qual- 
itatively is perceived between them, for the 
same constituents which occur in the soluble 
are found also in the insoluble ash. But 
there exists a striking difference in the quan- 
titative composition of the soluble and inso- 
luble mineral matters of fresh dung. 

8. The principal constituent of the solu- 
ble ash of fresh dung, so far as quantity is 
concerned is potash; 100 parts of soluble 
ash, it will be seen, contain no less than 
37.26 parts of real potash, or a quantity 
which is equivalent to 54.7 of pure carbon- 
ate of potash. The analysis of the soluble 
portion of the ash gave only 14 per cent, of 
carbonic acid, including the loss in analysis; 
and as 37.26 of potash take up 17.5 of car- 
bonic acid in becoming carbonate of potash, 
and moreover much of the soluble lime ex- 
isted in the solution as bi-carbonatc of lime, 
it is evident that a considerable quantity of 
potash is united with silica in the soluble 
ash. The large percentage of soluble silica 
confirms this view ; fresh farm-yard manure 
thus contains much soluble silicate of potash. 

9. The large amount of soluble silica, 
both in the soluble and insoluble ash, are 
deserving of notice. In the soluble ash this 
silica is united principally with potash, and 
probably also with some soda ; in the inso- 
luble ash it is combined chiefly with lime, 
or exists in a finely divided state, in which 
it is readily soluble in dilute caustic potash. 

10. The most prominent constituent of the 
soluble ash of fresh dung is silicate of pot- 
assa. 

1 1 . The most prominent constituent of the 
insoluble ash is lime. 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



137 



12. It is particularly worthy of notice that 
the soluble ash of even perfectly fresh dung 
contains a wrj high percentage ofphotpkate 

of lime. 

The proportion of phosphate of lime in 
the soluble portion of ash was in fact found 
to amount to no less than 19 \ per cent of the 
whole soluble ash, whilst the percentage of 
phosphate of lime in the insoluble ash was 
found to be only 9 J. 

13. Chemically considered farm-yard ma- 
nure must he regarded as a perfect and uni- 
versal manure. It is a universal manure, 
because it contains all the constituents which 
our cultivated crops require to bring them to 
perfection, and is suited to almost every de- 
scription of agricultural produce. 

As far as the inorganic fertilizing substan- 
ces are concerned, we find in farm-yard ma- 
nure, potash, soda, lime, magnesia, oxide of 
iron, silica, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, 
chlorine and carbonic acid — in short, all the 
minerals, not one excepted, that are found 
in the ashes of cultivated crops. 

Of organic fertilizing matters, we find in 
farm-yard manure some wMch are readily 
soluble in water, and contain a large propor- 
tion of nitrogen, and others insoluble in wa- 
ter and containing, comparatively speaking, 
a small proportion of nitrogen. The former 
readily yield ammonia, the latter principally 
give rise to the formation of humic acids 
and similar organic compounds. These or- 
ganic acids constitute the most of the brown 
vegetable substance, or rather mixture of 
substances, which practically speaking, pass 
under the name of humus. 

Farm-yard manure is a perfect manure, 
because experience as well as chemical an- 
alysis shows that the fertilizing constituents 
are present in dung in states of combination 
which appear to be especially favorable to 
the luxuriant growth of our crops. Since 
the number of the various chemical com- 
pounds in farm-yard manure is exceedingly 
great, and many no doubt exist in a differ- 
ent state of combination from that in which 
they are obtained on analysing farm-yard 
manure, in our present state of knowledge 
it is impossible artificially to produce a con- 
centrated, universal, and perfect manure, 
which might entirely supersede home-made 
dung. 

ROTTEN FARM-YARD DUNG. 

With a view of ascertaining the changes 
which farm-yard manure undergoes in keep- 



ing, I submitted to analysis a well mixed 
sample of rotten dung produced under the 
same circumstances under which the fresh 
manure was obtained. The rotten probably 
WM at least six months old, possessed a dark 
brown, almost black, color, and appeared to 
be well fermented, short dung. 

The general composition of this dung is 
presented in the subjoined table : 

In naVl state. CaWd dry. 

Water 75.42 

•Soluble organic matter. . . 3.71 15.09 

Soluble inorganic matter . . 1.47 5.98 

■[Insoluble organic matter. . 12.82 52.15 

Insoluble inorganic matter. 6.58 26.78 

100.00 100.00 

•Containing nitrogen 297 1.21 

Equal to ammonia 360 1.47 

■[Containing nitrogen 309 1.26 

Equal to ammonia 375 1.53 

Total nitrogen 606 2.47 

Equal to ammonia 735 3.00 

I have determined in this manner like- 
wise the proportion of ammonia present in 
a volatile form, as well as the ammonia in the 
form of salts, and have obtained the follow- 
ing results : 

In naVl state. Calt'd dry. 

Free ammonia 046 .189 

Ammonia in the form of 

salts 057 .232 

The proportion of free ammonia in well- 
rotted dung thus appears not much larger 
than in fresh dung produced under the 
same circumstances; and the amount of 
ammonia present in rotten dung in the form 
of salts, which are readily decomposed by 
quicklime, to be almost identical with that 
contained in the fresh manure. 

The detailed analyses of the soluble and 
insoluble ash of this manure, together 
with the composition of the whole manure 
in its natural state we must omit. 

A comparison of these analytical results 
with the numbers obtained in the analy- 
sis of fresh manure, exhibits several strik- 
ing differences. 

1. The well-rotted dung contains nearly 
10 per cent, more water than the fresh. 
The larger percentage of water, it is true, 
may be purely accidental ; but, considering 
the tendency of the liquid excrements to 
sink to the lower part of the manure pit in 
which the rotten dung accumulates, I be- 
lieve rotten dung will always be found more 
moist than fresh dung upon which no rain 
has fallen. 



138 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



[March 



2. Notwithstanding the much larger per- 
centage of moisture in the well-rotten dung, 
it contains in its natural state, with 75 £ per 
cent, of water, almost as much nitrogen as 
the fresh dung, with only 66 per cent, of 
moisture. Supposing both to be equally 
moist, there would thus be considerably 
more nitrogen in rotten dung than in an 
equal weight of fresh. This is clearly ob- 
served by comparing the total amount of 
nitrogen in the perfectly dry fresh and rot- 
ten dung. In the former it amounts to 
1.90 per cent, of nitrogen, in the latter to 
2.47. As far as this most invaluable ele- 
ment is concerned, farm-yard manure be- 
comes much richer, weight for weight, in 
becoming changed from fresh into rotten 
dung. 

,3. During the fermentation of the dung 
the proportion of insoluble organic matters 
greatly diminishes ; thus the dry fresh ma- 
nure contained 76 per cent, of insoluble 
organic matters, whilst there were only 52 
per cent, in the dry rotten dung. 

4. It is especially worthy of observation 
that, whilst the insoluble organic matter is 
much reduced in quantity during the fer- 
mentation, the insoluble organic matter 
which remains behind in rotten dung is 
richer in nitrogen than an equal quantity 
of insoluble organic matter from fresh dung. 
Thus 76 per cent, of insoluble organic mat- 
ter of fresh dung contain 1.46 per cent., 
whilst 52 per cent, of it from rotten dung 
very nearly contain the same quantity, viz : 
1.26. Or : 

100 parts of insoluble organic ~\ 
matter from fresh dung con- V 
tains of nitrogen, j 1.92 

100 parts of insoluble organic ") 
matter from rotten dung y 
contain of nitrogen, J 2.41 

5. On the other hand, the relative pro- 
portion of insoluble inorganic matters in- 
creases much during the fermentation of 
the dung, since dry fresh dung contains 
about 12 per cent, of insoluble mineral mat- 
ters, and dry well-rotten dung 26.8 per 
cent., or more than double the amount 
which is found in fresh dung. 

6. But perhaps the most striking differ- 
ence in the composition of fresh and rotten 
dung is exhibited in the relative proportions 
of soluble organic matter. Well-rotted 
dung, it will be observed, contains rather 
more than twice as much soluble organic 



matters as the fresh ; with this increase the 
amount of nitrogen present in the soluble 
state rises from .44 to 1.21 per cent. 

7. Not only does the absolute amount of 
soluble nitrogenized matters increase during 
the fermentation of dung, but the soluble 
organic matters relatively get richer in ni- 
trogen also. Thus : 

100 parts of dry organic solu- ^ 

ble matter from fresh dung > 

contain of nitrogen, ) 6.14 

100 parts of dry organic mat- ^ 

ter from rotten dung con- > 

tain of nitrogen, J 8.02 

8. Lastly, it will be seen that the pro- 
portion of soluble minerals matters in rotten 
dung is more considerable than in fresh. 

9. On the whole, weight for weight, well- 
rotted farm-yard manure is richer in solu- 
ble fertilizing constituents than fresh dung, 
and contains especially more readily availa- 
ble nitrogen, and therefore produces a more 
immediate and powerful effect on vegeta- 
tion. 

Bearing in mind the differences observa- 
ble in the composition of fresh and rotten 
dung, we can in a general manner trace the 
changes which take place in the fermenta- 
tion of dung. Farm-yard manure, like 
most organic matters or mixtures in which 
the latter enter largely, is subject to the 
process of spontaneous decomposition, which 
generally is called fermentation, but more 
appropriately putrefaction. The nature of 
this process consists in the gradual altera- 
tion of the original organic matters, and in 
the formation of new chemical compounds. 
All organic matters, separated from the liv- 
ing organism, are affected by putrefaction, 
— some more readily, others more slowly. 
Those organic substances which, like straw, 
contain but little nitrogen, on exposure to 
air and moisture at a somewhat elevated 
temperature decompose spontaneously and 
slowly, without disengaging any noxious 
smell. On the other hand, the droppings 
of animals, and especially their urine, which 
is rich in nitrogenous compounds, rapidly 
enter into decomposition, producing disa- 
greeable smelling gases. In a mixture of 
nitrogenous substances and organic matters 
free from nitrogen, the former are always 
first affected by putrefaction ; the putrefy- 
ing nitrogenized matters then act as a fer- 
ment on the other organic substances, which 
by themselves would resist the process of 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



139 



spontaneous decomposition much longer. 
Without air, moisture, and a certain amount 
of heat, organic matters cannot enter into 
putrefaction. These conditions exist in the 
droppings of cattle and the litter of the 
stables, hence putrefaction soon affects fresh 
dung. Like many chemical processes, pu- 
trefaction is accompanied with evolution of 
heat. Air and water exercise an important 
influence on the manner in which the de- 
composition of organic matters proceeds. 
Both are absolutely requisite in order that 
putrefaction may take place, while per- 
fectly dry organic substances remain unal- 
tered for an indefinite period. But too 
large an amount of water, again, retards 
their spontaneous decomposition, as it ex- 
cludes the access of air and prevents the 
elevation of temperature, both of which 
conditions greatly increase the rapidity 
with which organic matters are decomposed. 
Although air is an essential element in the 
putrefaction of organic matters, yet its 
unlimited access is unfavourable to this 
process of spontaneous decomposition, and 
is productive of new changes. In farm- 
yard manure the unlimited access of air is 
prevented by the compact nature of dung- 
heaps, (consequently only a limited quantity 
of air can find its way into the interior of 
the mass.) During the fermentation of 
fresh dung disagreeable gases are going off. 
These arise principally from the sulphur 
and from the phosphorus of the nitrogen- 
ized compounds present in dung. A con- 
siderable portion of this sulphur and the 
phosphorus combine with the hydrogen, and 
form sulphuretted and phosphoretted hydro- 
gen — two extremely nauseous gases, which 
both escape from fermenting dung heaps. 
Another portion of the sulphur and the 
phosphorous unites with atmospheric oxy- 
gen, and in the presence of porous sub-! 
stances, becomes changed into sulphuric and , 
phosphoric acid, two non-volatile compounds, 
which are left behind. 

We have seen the relative proportion of, 
inorganic matters in well-rotted dung is 
much greater than in fresh. This increase 
in mineral matters can only have been pro- 1 
duced at the expense of organic substances, 
the quantity of which during the process of 
fermentation must decrease in a correspond- 
ing relative degree. Thus the total amount 
of organic and inorganic matters in fresh 
dung, dried at 212° Fahr., is : 



Organic matters. . 
Inorganic matters. 



83.48 
16.52 



100.00 
Whilst in rotten dung there are in 100 
parts : 

Organic substances 68.24 

Mineral substances 31.76 



100.00 
It is clear, therefore, that, during the 
fermentation of dung much of the organic 
matter must become changed into com- 
pounds which are either readily soluble in 
water, and easily washed out by heavy 
rains, or into gaseous products, which are 
readily volatilized. In point of fact, both 
volatile gases and readily soluble organic 
compounds are formed. Amongst the for- 
mer, carbonic acid and ammonia deserve 
especial mention ; amongst the latter, solu- 
ble humates and ulmates may be named. 
These ulmates and humates are dark brown 
coloured compounds of humic and ulmic 
acids, with the alkalies, potash, soda, and am- 
monia. Ulmic and humic acids in a free 
state are scarcely soluble in water, and for 
this reason colour it only light brown. 
These organic acids have a very powerful 
affinity for ammonia, in consequence of 
which they lay hold of any free ammonia 
which is generated in the fermentation of 
dung, and fix it perfectly, as long as no 
other compound is present or produced in 
fermenting dung, which at an elevated tem- 
perature again destroys the union of ammo- 
nia with humic, ulmic, and similarly con- 
stituted acids. Now, ammonia is generated 
during the putrefaction of the nitr'ogenized 
constituents of dung in large quantities, and 
would be dissipated into the air much more 
rapidly than is the case in reality, if there 
were not formed in the dung itself a group 
of organic compounds, which act as most 
excellent fixers of ammonia. I refer to the 
humus substances which are gradually pro- 
duced from the non-nitrogenized constitu- 
ents of dung. In other words, the straw 
employed as litter during the putrefaction of 
dung is to a great extent converted into 
humic and ulmic acids, which fix to a cer- 
tain extent the ammonia produced from the 
more nitrogenous excrementitious matters. 
The pungent smell of fermenting dung, 
however, shows that the volatile ammonia 
cannot be fixed entirely by these means. 
In the causes of this inquiry, I shall point 
out the reason of this, and content myself 



140 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



in this place by saying, that the proportion 
of ammonia which passes into the atmos- 
phere from fermenting dung-heaps, and the 
loss which hereby is occasioned is much 
less considerable than it is generally as- 
sumed to be. In fermenting dung-heaps 
the carbonaceous constituents at first are 
changed into humus substances, but these 
arc rapidly oxidized by atmospheric oxygen, 
and partly changed into carbonic acid, a 
gaseous substance which in conjunction 
w T ith carbonic oxide and carburetted hydro- 
gen, is given off abundantly from all putre- 
fying organic matters. 

I have endeavoured to describe briefly 
the principal changes which take place in 
the fermentation of farm-yard manure. It 
has been shown : — 

1. That during the fermentation of dung 
the proportion of both soluble organic and 
soluble mineral matters rapidly increases. 

2. That peculiar organic acids, not ex- 
isting — at least, not in considerable quanti- 
ties — are generated during the ripening of 
dung from the litter and other non-nitro- 
genized organic constituents of manure. 

3. That these acids (humic, ulmic, &c.) 
form, with potash, soda, and ammonia, 
dark-coloured, very soluble compounds. 
Hence the dark colour of the drainings of 
dung-heaps. 

4. That ammonia is produced from the 
nitrogenous constituents of dung, and that 
this ammonia is fixed, for the greater part, 
by the humus substances produced at the 
same time. 

5. That the proportion of the sulphur 
and phosphorus of the excrementitious 
matters of dung is dissipated, in the form 
of sulphuretted and phosphoretted hydro- 
gen. 

6. That volatile ammoniacal compounds, 
apparently in inconsiderable quantities, es- 
cape into the air. 

7. That the proportion of organic sub- 
stances in fresh dung rapidly decreases dur- 
ing the fermentation of dung, whilst the 
mineral substances increase in a correspond- 
ing degree. 

8. That this loss of organic substances 
in accounted for by the formation of car- 
bonic acid, carbonic oxide, and light carbu- 
retted hydrogen, or marsh gas. 

9. That the proportion of nitrogen is 
larger in rotten than in fresh dung. 

The practical result of these changes is, 
that fresh manure, in ripening, becomes 



concentrated, more easily available to plants, 
and consequently more energetic and bene- 
ficial in its action. It may be questioned, 
with much propriety, — Is this apparently 
desirable result attained without any appre- 
ciable loss ? or is it realized at too great 
an expense ? In other words, is the fo- 
mentation of dung, or is it not, attended 
with considerable loss of really valuable fer- 
tilizing substances ? 

In putting this question, we have to bear 
in mind that the loss in valuable mineral 
matters, under proper management, prac- 
tically speaking, can be avoided, since they I 
are non-volatile, and, therefore, must re- 
main incorporated with dung, if care be 
taken to prevent their being washed away 
by heavy falls of rain. We have likewise 
to bear in mind that, in an agricultural 
point of view, the carbonaceous, non-nitro- 
genized manure-constituents do not possess 
a very high intrinsic value ; and that we 
therefore need not trouble ourselves about 
their diminution, if it can be shown that 
it is accompanied with other beneficial 
changes. The only other constituents 
which can come into consideration are the 
nitrogenized matters. The question may 
therefore be thus simplified : Is the fer- 
mentation of farm-yard manure necessarily at- 
tended with any appreciable loss in nitrogen ? 

Any one may ascertain that fermenting 
dung gives off ammonia by holding over a 
dung-heap, in active fermentation, a mois- 
tened reddened litmus-paper. The change 
of this red colour into blue sufficiently 
shows that there is an escape of ammonia. 
However, this experiment does not prove as 
much as is sometimes believed; for inas- 
much as the most minute traces of ammo- 
nia produce this change of colour, the es- 
cape of this volatile fertilizing matter may 
be so small that it is practically altogether 
insignificant. The comparison of fresh 
with rotten dung, we have seen already, 
does not decide whether or not fresh farm- 
yard manure sustains a loss in nitrogen in 
becoming cfianged into rotten manure. Ap- 
parently there is a gain in nitrogen, for we 
have seen that rotten dung contains more 
nitrogen than fresh. This gain in nitrogen, 
however, is explained by the simultaneous 
disappearance of a much larger relative 
quantity of carbonaceous organic matter. 
Still the accumulation of nitrogen in rotten 
dung is important, and hardly to be expect- 
ed ; for, since a considerable portion of the 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



141 



nitrogenized 



organic matters is changed I 
into ammonia during fermentation, a loss,' 
instead of a gain, in nitrogen naturally 
might be expected. A much greater loss 
in nitrogen than is actually experienced 
would, indeed, take place during fermenta- 
tion of dung, if this process were not at- 
tended with the simultaneous formation 
within the manure-heap of excellent fixers 
of ammonia. 

FARM-YARD MANURE IN ITS DIFFERENT 
STAGES OF DECOMPOSITION. 

In order to decide the question as to the 
loss of ammonia during the fermentation of 
farm-yard manure, a series of analyses in 
conjunction with direct weighings of dung 
in various stages of decomposition became 
necessary. To this end a quantity of the 
same well-mixed sample of fresh farm-yard 
manure, the analysis of which is given in 
the preceding pages, was carefully weighed. 
The entire crude loss which this experi- 
mental heap sustained in the course of 
time was ascertained by periodical weigh- 
ing on the weigh-bridge. Simultaneously 
with these weighings the manure was sub- 
mitted to analysis, and thus I was en- 
abled not only to determine from time to 
time the loss in weight which the experi- 
mental heap sustained in keeping, but also 
to ascertain which constituents were affect- 
ed by this loss, and in what relative pro- 
portions. 

This manure after exposure from the 
1st of November to the middle of Febru- 
ary, three months and a half, had the fol- 
lowing general composition : 

Water 69.83 

•Soluble organic matter 3.86 

Soluble inorganic matter (ash) 2.97 

f Insoluble organic matter 18.44 

Insoluble inorganic matter (ash) 4.90 



'Containing nitrogen. 
Equal to ammonia. . . 
fContaining nitrogen. 
Equal u> ammonia. . 



.91 
1.10 
1.58 
1.88 



A comparison of these results with the 
analysis which was uiade of the fresh ma- 
nure, will show : 

1 . That there is more water in the ma- 
nure than at first. 

2. That notwithstanding the larger pro- 
portion of water, the soluble organic and 
mineral matters have become more abun- 
dant, whilst the insoluble organic matters 
have become diminished in quantity. 

Thus, on the first analysis, the manure 
contained 2.48 per cent, of soluble organic 
matter, and 1.54 mineral substances; and on 
the second 3.86 per cent, organic and 2.97 
mineral substances ; whilst the proportion of 
insoluble organic matters in the first analy- 
sis amounts to 25.76 per cent., and in the 
second to only 18.44 per cent. 

These differences are still more striking 
if we make the comparison with perfectly 
dry manure. It will then be found that 
the manure contained : 

1st analy. 2nd analy. 

7.33 12.79 

4.55 9.84 

76.15 61.12 

11.97 16.25 

100.00 100.00 



Soluble organic matters. . 
Soluble mineral matters.. . 
Insoluble organic* matter 
Insoluble mineral matters 



3. The total percentage of organic sub- 
whilst that of mineral 
Thus the fresh manure 



stances decreases, 
matters increases, 
contained : 



•Containing nitrogen 

Equal to ammonia 

■^Containing nitrogen 

Equal to ammonia 

Whole manure contains ammo- 
nia in free state 

Whole manure contains ammo- 
nia in the form of salts. .... 
Estimated Dry. 

•Soluble organic matter 

Soluble inorganic matter (ash) . 

tlnsoluble organic matter 

Insoluble inorganic matter 



100.00 

.27 
.32 
.47 
.57 

.019 
.064 



12.79 

9.84 

61.12 

16.25 

100.00 



Organic matters. 
Mineral matters. 



1st analy. 
. 28.24 
5.59 



2nd analy. 

22.30 

7.87 



And the perfectly dry manure : 

Organic matters 83.48 73.91 

Mineral matters 16.52 26.07 

4. That the percentage of nitrogen in 
the second analysis is slightly greater than 
in the first. 

5. That there is about the same incon- 
siderable amount of free ammonia, and am- 
monia in the form of readily decomposable 
salts, in the manure on the second analysis 
that was found at first. 

In the subjoined table is stated the actual 
weight of the experimental heap at differ- 
ent periods, and the loss which is sustained 
in these period^: 



142 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 





<v 
















5* 


zi . 






3 


■fttS 


i-n 




S M 




o 






o -5 


o 




■3 5 

- o 


• Sfr 


bfi 
a 




— c 






• 


bfi 

•2838 


o ^ 

hi 


Oh 


Put vip on the 3d of November.. 
Weighed on the 30th of April, af- 












ter a lapse of 6 months 


2026 


812 


28.6 


Weighed on the 23d of August, 








after a lapse of 9 months and 








20 days 


1094 


844 


29.7 


Weighed on the 15th of Novem- 








ber, after a lapse of 12 months 










1974 


864 


30.4 





We shall see presently in what this enor- 
mous loss consisted. 

In the table below will be found the com- 
position of the manure at various epochs, 
and for comparison, calculated dry : 











CO C5 








o 


CMOOO-^r-CMCMOOO 




1—1 


CO CM CO t^ 


o 


t>oooocMiOT-HOT-Hqq 




_J 


O MM O 


o 


r-i CM CM CO CO t> 




o 


r-i "tf CO 


q 






fc 










CO 






rH ^ 






^ r^ i> CO 


o 


r^COCMCOOeOTfvO^GS 




w 


O O I> tH 


o 


i> cs o co co c>i q th go t-j 




3 


OOOOO 


o 


r-l CM CM CO HQO 




fcX) 


T-t -^ CO 


o 










rH 






<! 










© 






CO G5 




TfSCJOO 


o 


00 CO O CM CO 00 CM Tf CO I> 






O CO T}< o 


o 


oooi N HeHO!MOo 




•_i 


CM 00 O CM 


o 


ri h CM CM CO CSi O 




o- 


r-l O CM 


o 






< 














CM CM 






C5 tJ< CM O 


o 


HOOCCC030HHO 




1—1 


C^ 00 rH CM 


o 


QHOoo^oowoq 




r>' 


CICi H(D 


o 


HHHOici CO CO 






r-i CO t- 


o 






ps, 




1—1 




^_, 




















0* 


CO 


co uo o r- 


o 


■H/ CO CO "O O O C CO 00 CM 




CO «0 i— ' Crt 


o 


T?vnTtMSC0HC!^vO 


£ 




I> -tf CO i-H 


o 


HHrlW CO CO 


O 


t- H 


o 


00 r-i 


_-; 








5- 
































. • B 
























• . o 
























. . o 
























. 'H C 
























• ft ca 
































































































g g a 




















/j g oi 






atters. 
latters 
matter 








0} 




<w rH 








b : i 




oft 

o 


ate 
rm 
gan 
inei 






o.2'S i 




be cC t 

p •- c 


2 £<„ 5 ® oj^c 






e organi 
inorgan 
jle orga 




,*i o *; o o o c r=; o o 






) 


ning 
o am 
ning 
o am 
moun 
o am 
lia in 
na in 
moun 
moun 






3i=^ 


) 


c;~ci~cs~oo cCre 






Solub 
tinso 


5 


c * c 5 k 2 £ s 7. S 
7 K 4^-K H W «4 < H H 



A comparison of these different analyses 
point out clearly the changes which fresh 
farm-yard manure undergoes on keeping in 
a heap, exposed to the weather. 

1. It will be perceived that the proportion 
of organic matter steadily diminishes from 
month to month, until the original percent- 
age of organic matter in the dry manure, 
amounting to 83.48 per cent, became re- 
duced to 53 per cent. 

2. On the other hand, the total percent- 
age of mineral matters rises as steadily as 
that of the organic matter falls. 

3. It will be seen that the loss in organic 
matters affects the percentage of insoluble 
organic matters more than the percentage of 
soluble organic substances. 

4. With respect to the total percentage of 
nitrogen in the manure examined at differ- 
ent periods of the year, it will be seen that 
the February manure contains about one- 
half per cent, more nitrogen than the ma- 
nure in a perfectly fresh state. 

On the 30th of April the percentage of 
nitrogen again slightly increased ; in Au- 
gust it remained stationary, and had sunk 
but very little when last examined in No- 
vember. 

This series of analyses thus shows that 
fresh farm-yard manure rapidly becomes 
more soluble in water, but this desirable 
change) is realized at the expense of 
a large proportion of organic matter. — 
It likewise proves in an unmistakable 
manner that there is no advantage in keep- 
ing farm-yard manure too long; for after 
three and a half months neither the percen- 
tage of soluble organic, nor that of soluble 
mineral matters has become greater. 

Weight for weight, the manure in Febru- 
ary was equal to that of April or August, 
and slightly superior to the same manure in 
November. The direct weighings, however, 
of the whole heap have shown* us already 
that a considerable loss in weight is expe- 
rienced in the different periods during which 
the manure was kept. As the fresh manure 
did not improve after February, it is clear 
that the loss of weight is not due to the 
mere evaporation of water, or the dissipa- 
tion of other useless ingredients, but is a 
real loss in valuable fertilizing constituents. 

That this is really the case appears still 

Imore decidedly if we consult the direct 

weighings of the experimental heap, and 

the composition of the manure at the time 

at which the weighings were made. 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



143 



In the following table the composition 
which the whole experimental heap exhibit- 
ed at different periods of the year, has been 
calculated from the data already gives. — 
The actual weight of the manure heap is 
again stated in the first horizontal column ; 
in the second, the actual amount of water in 



the whole heap is stated ; and in the third, 
the total amount of dry matter. The next 
year (bracketed together) show the compo- 
sition of the dry matters. All numbers in 
the table express pounds or fractions of 
pounds. 



When put 
up. 

Nov'r 3rd. 



April 30. 



August 23. 



Nov'r 15. 



Weight of manure in pounds. 



2838 



202G 



1094 



Amount of water in the manure 

Amount of dry matter in the manure. 

Consisting of: 

♦Soluble organic matter 

Soluble mineral matter 

"{"Insoluble organic matters 

Insoluble mineral matters 



1877.9 
960.1 



1336.1 
689.9 



1505.3 

488.7 



70 38 

43.71 

731.07 

114.94 



86.51 

57.88 

389.74 

155.77 



58.83 

39.16 

243.22 

147.49 



•Containing nitrogen 
Equal to ammonia. . 
Containing nitrogen. 
Equal to ammonia. . 



960.10 

4.22 

5.14 

14.01 

17.02 



689.9 

6.07 

7.37 

12.07 

14.65 



488.7 

3.76 

4.56 

9.38 

11.40 



Total amount of nitrogen in manure, 
Equal to ammonia 



18.23 
22.14 



18.14 
22.02 



13.14 
15.96 



The manure contains ammonia in free state.. 
The manure contains ammonia in the form of 

salts. 

Total amount of organic matters 

Total amount of mineral matters 



.96 

2.49 
801.45 
158.15 



.15 

1.71 
476.25 
213.65 



.20 

.75 
302.05 
186.65 



1974 



1466.5 

507.5 



54.04 

36.89 

214.92 

201,65 



507.5 

3.65 

4.36 

9.38 

11-39 



13.03 
15.75 



.11 

.80 
268.96 
238.54 



A careful study of the table will convince 
the reader that the real loss in valuable fer- 
tilizing matters which farm-yard manure 
sustains in keeping is very much greater 
than that indicated by the direct weighings 
of the experimental heap. The total amount 
of dry matter in the fresh experimental heap 
amounted to 960.10 pounds, but after hav- 
ing been exposed to the influence of the 
weather for a period of nine months, only 
488.7 pounds of dry substance was left be- 
hind. The direct weighing of the heap in- 
dicates a loss of 29.77 per cent., whereas in 
reality a loss of very nearly 50 per cent, in 
the solid constituents of the manure has been 
incurred. This enormous waste in manur- 
ing matters, it will appear likewise from a 
careful perusal of the table, may be prevent- 
ed, at least to a very great extent, by apply- 
ing the manure in a fresh state to the land, 
or, if this inadmissible, by keeping it no 
longer than is absolutely necessary. 

It will be remarked that in the first ex- 



perimental period the fermentation of the 
dung, as might have been expected, pro- 
ceeded most rapidly, but that, notwithstand- 
ing, very little nitrogen was dissipated in the 
form of ammonia, and that on the whole the 
loss which the manure sustained was incon- 
siderable when compared with the enormous 
waste to which it was subject in the subse- 
quent warmer and more rainy seasons of the 
year. Thus we find at the end of April 
very nearly the same amount of nitrogen 
which is contained in the fresh ; whereas, at 
the end of August, 27.9 per cent, of the to- 
tal amount of nitrogen, or nearly one-third 
of the nitrogen of the manure, has been 
wasted in one way or another. 

It is worthy of observation that, during a 
well regulated fermentation of dung, the 
loss in intrinsically valuable constituents is 
inconsiderable, and that by such a preparato- 
ry process the efficacy of the manure becomes 
greatly enhanced. For certain purposes 
fresh dung can never take the place of well- 



144 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



rotted dung. The farmer will, therefore, al- 
ways be compelled to submit a portion of 
home-made dung to fermentation, and will 
find satisfaction in knowing that this pro- 
dan, when well regulated, is not attended 
with any serious 'depreciation in the value of 
the manure. In the foregoing analyses he 
will find direct proof that, as long as heavy 
showers of rain are excluded from manure 
heaps, or the manure is kept in water-proof 
pits, the most valuable fertilizing matters 
are preserved. But let us now see how 
matters stand when manure heaps, the com- 
ponent parts of which have become much 
more soluble than they were originally, are 
exposed to heavy showers of rain. 

In the first experimental period little rain 
fell, and this never in large quantities at a 
time, whilst rn the interval of April and 
August rain was more abundant, and fell 
several times in continual heavy showers. — 
In consequence of this the soluble matters 
in the heap have been washed out, and with 
them a considerable portion of available ni- 
trogen, and the more valuable mineral con- 
stituents of dung have been wasted. 

The above analytical data, if I am not 
mistaken, afford likewise a proof that even 
in active fermentation of dung little nitro- 
gen escapes in the form of volatile ammo- 
nia, but that this most valuable of all ferti- 
lizing materials, along with others of much 
agricultural importance, is washed out in 
considerable quantities by the rain which 
falls on the heaps, and is wasted chiefly in 
the draining of the dung heaps. 

A single fact, it has been truly said, is 
worth more than a dozen vague speculations. 
We hear frequently people talk of the loss 
in ammonia which farm-yard manure under- 
goes in keeping, and this loss is referred by 
them to the volatilization of the ammonia 
which is produced in the putrefaction of the 
nitrogenized constituents of dung. I have, 
however, already mentioned that simultane- 
ously with the ammonia, ulmic, humic, and 
other organic acids are generated from ttie 
non-nitrogenized constituents of manure, 
and that these acids possess the power of 
fixing the ammonia in an excellent manner. 
If this were not the case it would be diffi- 
cult, if not impossible, to explain the cir- 
cumstance that the proportion of soluble ni- 
trogenized matter increased considerably in 
the manure on keeping for a period of six 
mouths, and that during this period the to- 
tal amount of nitrogen scarcely suffered any 



diminution. In April the amount of nitro- 
gen in the soluble matters of the entire heap 
is 6.07 pounds, and by the 23d of August 
it is reduced to 3.76 pounds. Why, it may 
be asked, is it not likely that most of this 
nitrogen has passed into the air in the form 
of volatile ammoniacal compounds ? In re- 
ply to this question I would answer that a 
loss taking place in this way would be felt 
much more sensibly in the period of active 
fermentation, in which, however, we have 
seen that scarcely any nitrogen is dissipated. 
In the August and November analyses, more- 
over, it will be observed that not only the 
amount of soluble organic matter, and with 
it that of the nitrogen, decreases, but that 
the soluble mineral matters, which in April 
amount to 57.88 pounds in the entire heap, 
became reduced to 39.16 pounds by the 23d 
of August. Now, this decrease in soluble 
mineral substances can only be ascribed to 
the rain which fell in this period, and it is 
plain that the deteriorating influence of 
heavy showers of rain must equally affect 
the soluble nitrogenized constituents of 
dung. 

In conclusion, it may not be amiss to state 
briefly the more prominent and practically 
interesting points which have been develop- 
ed in the course of this investigation. 

1. Perfectly fresh farm-yard manure con- 
tains but a small proportion of free ammo- 
nia. 

2. The nitrogen in fresh dung exists prin- 
cipally in the state of insoluble nitrogenized 
matters. 

3. The soluble organic and mineral con- 
stituents of dung are much more valuable 
fertilizers than the insoluble. Particular 
care, therefore, should be bestowed upon the 
preservation of the liquid excrements of an- 
imals, and for the same reason the manure 
should be kept in water-proof pits. 

4. Farm-yard manure, even in quite a 
fresh state, contains phosphate of lime, which 
is much more soluble than has hitherto been 
suspected. 

5. The urine of the horse, cow and hog, 
does not contain any appreciable quantity of 
phosphate of lime, whilst the drainings of 
dung heaps contain considerable quantities 
of this valuable fertilizer. The drainings of 
dung heaps, partly for this reason, are more 
valuable than the urine of our domestic an- 
imals, and therefore ought to be prevented 
by all available means from running to waste. 

6. The most effectual means of prevent- 



1859.] 



THE S0UTIIE11N PLANT K II. 



145 



ing loss in fertilizing matters, is to cast the 
manure directly on the field whenever cir- 
cumstances allow this to be done. 

7. On all soils with a moderate proportion 
of clay no fear need be entertained of valuable 
fertilizing substances becoming wasted if 
the manure cannot be plowed in at once. 
Fresh and even well-rotted dung contains 
very little free ammonia ; and since active 
fermentation, and with it the further evolu- 
tion of free ammonia, is stopped by spread- 
ing out the manure on the field, valuable 
volatile manuring matters cannot escape in- 
to the air by adopting this plan. 

As soils with a moderate proportion of 
clay possess in a remarkable degree the pow- 
er of absorbing and retaining manuring 
matters, none of the saline and soluble or- 
ganic constituents are wasted even by a hea- 
vy fall of rain. 

I am much inclined to recommend as a 
general rule : cart the manure on the field, 
spread it at once, and wait a favorable op- 
portunity to plow it in. In the case of clay 
soils, I have no hesitation in saying that the 
manure may be spread even six months be- 
fore it is plowed in, without losing any ap- 
preciable quantity of manuring matters. 

8. Well rotted dung contains likewise 
little free ammonia, but a very much larger 
proportion of soluble organic and saline min- 
eral matters than fresh manure. 

9. Rotten dung is richer in nitrogen than 
fresh. 

10. Weight for weight, rotten dung is 
more valuable than fresh. 

11. In the fermentation of dung a very 
considerable proportion of the organic mat- 
ters in fresh manure, is dissipated into the 
air in the form of carbonic acid and other 



12. Properly regulated, however, the fer- 
mentation of dung is not attended with any 
great loss of nitrogen, nor of saline mineral 
matters. 

13. During the fermentation of dung, 
ulmic, humic, and other organic acids are 
formed, as well as gypsum, which fix the 
ammonia generated in the decomposition of 
the nitrogenized constituents of dang. 

14. During the fermentation of dung the 
phosphate of lime which it contains is ren- 
dered more soluble than in fresh manure. 

15. In the interior and heated portions of 
manure heaps ammonia is given off; but, 
on passing into the external and cold layers 

10 



of dung-heaps the free ammonia is retained 
in the heap. 

10. Ammonia is not given off from the 
surface of well compressed dung-heaps, but 
on turning manure heaps, it is wasted in ap- 
preciable quantities. Dung-heans for this 
reason should not be turned more frequently 
than absolutely necessary. 

17. No advantage appears to result from 
carrying on the fermentation of dung too far, 
but every disadvantage. 

18. Farm-yard manure becomes deterior- 
ated in value, when kept in heaps exposed to 
the weather; the more the longer it is kept. 

19. The loss in manuring matters, which 
is incurred in keeping manure-heaps .expo- 
sed to the weather, is not so much due to 
the volatilization of ammonia, as to the re- 
moval of ammoniacal salts, soluble nitrogen- 
ized organic matters, and valuable mineral 
matters, by the rain which falls in the period 
during which the manure is kept. 

20. If rain is excluded from dung-heaps, 
or little rain falls at a time, the loss in am- 
monia is trifling, and no saline matters, of 
course, are removed ; but, if much rain 
falls, especially if it descends in heavy show- 
ers upon the dung-heap, a serious loss in 
ammonia, soluble organic matters, phosphate 
of lime, and salts of potash is incurred, and 
the manure becomes rapidly deteriorated in 
value, whilst at the same time it is diminish- 
ed in weight. 

21. Well rotted dung is more readily af- 
fected by the deteriorating influence of rain 
than fresh manure. 

William Giliiam. 
V. M. L, February 6th, 1859. 



For the Southern Planter. 

A Hint to Farmers. 
Mr. Editor — I hope your expectations 
have been realized in relation to the success 
and spread of the Planter. It is at all times 
to me an acceptable and interesting paper, 
but whenever I get through with a number, 
I can but regret that out of the number of 
intelligent and really practical farmers we 
have in the good old State, that so few will 
take pen in hand and commit to paper their 
experience in growing various crops — their 
success in the use of fertilizers — such as 
guano, phosphates, salt, plaster, lime. Those 
who have used, or wish to use, lime on the 
clay lands of the Valley would, I know, from 
my own wishes, be delighted to hear from 
those that are ahead of them. How much 



146 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



satisfaction would be given if every farmer 
in Virginia, who has subsoilcd his lands 
would state how many years he had used a 
subsoil plow, and whose patent he used — 
how deep he averaged with a surface and 
subsoil plow, and also whether or not he had 
found wheat and clover lo withstand the 
frost of winter better where the land had 
been subsoiled a year or two previous. 

I think it would be well for the State So- 
ciety to offer a $50 or $100 premium for the 
greatest number of acres plowed and sub- 
soiled to an average depth of 15 or 18 inches 
in one season for a corn crop. Also $25 if 
it can be satisfactorily shown that 10 or 20 
barrels more corn can be raised on 10 acres 
of land plowed and subsoiled, plowed 15 or 
18 inches deep — than similarly cultivated 
without being subsoiled. Such offers would 
stimulate farmers, cause them to reflect, to 
read, and to experiment for their own satis- 
faction for a succession of seasons. 

A word about Reaping Machines and Fam- 
ily Sewing Machines. There are nearly 100 
different kinds of reaping and mowing ma- 
chines offered for sale in the United States, 
and half that number of family sewing ma- 
chines, and each one proves by legal authori- 
ty that it is better than all the rest. 

In 1843 I purchased a McCormick Reap- 
er at $100. Since then I have become fa- 
miliar with many different patents, and with 
the experience I have had, I prefer W. A. 
Woods' make of Manny's Reaper and Mow- 
er, because I have found it simple and du- 
rable, and better adapted to the wants of the 
farmer than any of the others. I have fre- 
quently within the past three years examin- 
ed the different sewing machines in the Pa- 
tent Office — also those in use in Washing- 
ton. I have also consulted some of the 
knowing ones in the patent agency business : 
the result was, I became satisfied that Whee- 
ler & Wilson, No. 343 Broadway, New York, 
made the most reliable family sewing ma- 
chine, because its work will not rip, has few- 
,er changes than any other, and operates with 
little or no friction, consequently has proven 
more durable than others that give satisfac- 
tion in most reppects. I purchased one, and 
am perfectly satisfied. If every farmer who 
purchases such things would communicate 
his success through the Planter, how much 
vexation and money would be saved to the 
State. Yours, very respectfully, 

Isaac Irvine Hite. 

February Sth, 1859. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Tobacco— the Life and Soul of Virginia 

Husbandry — as is demonstrated by the 
present rapid improvement of the lands 
in the Tobacco-growing regions of the 
State, and the prosperous condition of the 
planters themselves. 

I was surprised to see, in a late No. of 
the " Southern Planter," an attack upon 
this venerable weed, in honor of which I 
presume, Mr. Editor, the name of your 
paper was given. It is true, we often see in 
Northern Agricultural journals, and occa- 
sionally in essays of those across the waters, 
the gullied hill-sides, and the barren fields 
of our once fertile State, paraded as the 
legitimate results of the Tobacco culture; 
but we as often see the same allusions made 
to prove the baneful influence of slave labor. 
I suppose that these barren fields were once 
rich — but when? I am now muster-free, 
but my earliest recollections reach not back 
to that period. Even now, in many sections 
of our State, we are still mowing the origi- 
nal forest, and but little of it, comparatively, 
can be called really fertile ; I mean, of the 
lands in the proper Tobacco region. But, 
sir, if we wish to raise an exuberant crop of 
anything, wheat, corn, oats, or grass; nay, 
if we wish to prepare a piece of land for an 
orchard or a garden, what is the best of pre- 
paratory courses? I will venture to affirm, 
that no man who ever tried it will deny that 
the proper culture of Tobacco on the land 
is that course. Remember that the proper 
culture implies, and therefore necessarily 
embraces, proper manuring. It stands the 
high-pressure system of manuring better 
than any other crop, and upon that system 
pays better. Bad husbandry in general, 
indeed a total want of husbandry, has been 
the bane of Old Virginia, and there is vast 
room for improvement in that respect still. 
But wherever the spirit of improvement is 
infusing itself now, the value of the To- 
bacco crop, as an aid to this great and good 
work, is beginning to be duly appreciated. 
A barren old field (if of at all favorable 
texture of soil) may be taken up and pre- 
pared for Tobacco by spreading a coat of 
leaves and plowing them in, in the Fall, and 
by an addition of 3001bs. of guano to the 
acre, and 150 of plaster in the Spring, and 
a further dressing of lOOlbs. of guano and 
50 of plaster in the course of cultivation. 
Here is an average cost of $16 00 to the 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



147 



acre in foreign manures. Two acres and a 
half to the hand, or 10,000 hills, is a mode- 
rate crop when the wheat does not exceed 
five acres to the hand. So the cost of 
manures would be $10 00 for Tobacco, to 
each hand, if we rely on guano. Now for 
the product. With such manuring and 
ordinary seasons, we may fairly calculate on 
each five plants yielding a pound nett, or 
2,000Ibs. of Tobacco from the 10,000 hills. 
This, at the present rates for such a crop, 
would yield $240 00, a sum that would pay 
for the hire of the hand $150 00, his board 
and clothing $50 00, and the improvement 
of 2\ acres of barren land $40 00. You 
ask, is this all that Tobacco culture can do? j 
Just to clear expenses? I reply by asking: 
Where is the corn, and the wheat, and the j 
oats, and the numerous other things culti- ' 
vated by the farm hand — all together occu- 
pying more than twice the amount of time 
employed in raising and fitting for market 
these 2,000tbs. of Tobacco? Deducting 
from the whole of this only the cost of 
cooperage, transportation and sales, and also 
the feeding of a horse and rent of the land, 
all the balance is nett proceeds of the slave's 
labor. 

I will ask your attention to the other 
crops. We will suppose that the wheat, oat, 
and corn land on the farm is no better than 
that taken up for Tobacco — a gloomy pros- 
pect for a man that seeks to make his bread, 
more especially if he delights in a sleek 
horse or a fat hog, or milk and butter. One 



hand in such land, with 2£ acres of To- 
bacco, may cultivate 5 of corn, 5 of wheat, 
and 5 of oats. One horse, 2 head of cattle, 
4 of sheep, and 4 of swine, would be ample 
stock to the hand — much more than enough 
if the owner and family, white and black, 



are not 
suming n 



living on 

labor 



Without con- 



th e land 
than it is worth, this 
head of stock could barely give 5 acres of 
land a light dressing of manure. Let that 
be applied to the corn, and it might secure 
4 barrels to the acre, or $80 00 worth of 
corn. Now we will allow for the wheat the 
same expenditure that was given per acre 
for the Tobacco, and I presume it will be 
admitted that the average of 20 bushels 
yield to the acre is a liberal allowance — 
which pays only 100 bushels on the 5 acres, 
or $140 00 gross. If I mistake not, the 
cost of transportation of an equal value of 
wheat is about double that of Tobacco — not 
to mention the extra hires in the harvest- 



field and the cost of machining. It is hardly 
necessary to make any estimate of the oat 
crop, for it is confessedly less remunerating 
than any crop we cultivate. I neglected to 
deduct the cost of manures purchased for 
the wheat, $10 00 per acre, or $80 00 on 
the 5 acres, which at one dash takes off 
more than half the gross yield, and leaves 
us only $60 00 from 5 acres in wheat, 
against $200 00 from 2} acres in Tobacco. 
I allow 20 bushels to the acre of wheat on 
the same land on which I allow only 800Ibs. 
of Tobacco to the acre. I allow $1 40 a 
bushel for the wheat, and $12 00 a hundred 
weight for Tobacco. 

Now, in what condition do the two crops 
leave the land? After wheat, it is gene- 
rally ^conceded that no cultivated crop suc- 
ceeds well; but clover and other grasses 
may follow, and doubtless, in this case, would 
with great luxuriance, and we might regard 
the land as improved. How stands the case 
with the Tobacco land? It is ready for 
anything. Without a particle of manure, 
it will yield 15 bushels of wheat to the acre, 
followed by a luxuriant crop of clover. Or 
if the process of the previous year be re- 
peated, it will yield 2,5001bs. instead of 
2,000ft>s. of Tobacco. It will yield from 20 
to 25 or 30 bushels of corn to the acre. In 
a word, it is left in the finest heart and tilth, 
to be. used in any way that suits the planter. 

One word as to the rationale of all this. 
Tobacco is the broadest of broad-leaved pod 
plants, and therefore feeds more from the 
atmosphere than any plant we cultivate. It 
draws from the soil less of the phosphates 
even when it is allowed to seed. See Lie- 
big's Analysis. We take from the land 
nothing but the leaf j the stalk and the root 
are both kept on the "land, and not more 
than one plant in five thousand is ever al- 
lowed to go to seed. It is an exhauster of 
potash, but of nothing else. Long hence 
may the time be when Old Virginia shall 
cease to grow Tobacco. If the views pre- 
sented be correct, and I think they are, how 
else can we afford to improve our exhausted 
lands but by the culture of Tobacco, which 
not only leaves the land in the best con- 
dition of any cultivated, but at the same 
time yields incomparatively the largest reve- 
nue for purchasing the manures necessary 
for extending our improvement. Some 
speaks of the valuable timber wasted in 
burning plant patches and firing the To- 
bacco. Why, sir, Spring before last, which 



148 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



was a most difficult season, I raised an ex- 
cellent patch on pine old field, burnt with 
old field pine ; and this present year I have 
fired exclusively with coal made of old field 
pine, except one day's drying in one barn. 
The time occupied in managing the crop is 
spoken of. Very good, the results show 
that all of it is time very well and profitably 
occupied. 

Nicot. 



For the Southern Planter. 

When is the Proper Time for Preparing 
Tobacco Land ? 

Mr. Editor — Having but little knowledge 
of the cultivation of the Tobacco crop, some 
experienced farmer will do me a favor by 
informing me, through the columns of the 
Planter, what is the most proper time for 
preparing land that is in clover for Tobacco, 
in order the more effectually to guard against 
the cut-worm. An opinion is prevalent 
among some old Tobacco makers in this 
vicinity, that it amounts almost to an im- 
possibility to make a full crop upon land 
that has been well set in clover. Some have 
advised me to plow my land in August, 
some in October, and so on. They say that 
the cut-worm is killed by exposure to a 
winter's frosts. It seems to me, however, 
that by plowing up young clover late in 
the Spring, it would furnish food for the 
worm, and that it would let the Tobacco 
alone. Yours, &c, 

C. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Information Wanted, on the Cultivation 
of Apple Trees. 

February 3rd., 1858. 

Mr. Editor — As I am a regular subscri- 
ber to " The Southern Planter," (though 
not entitled to the premium you offered in 
your last to delinquent subscribers,) I make 
it a rule always to look over its pages when 
it comes, and am gratified when any subject 
is treated of in a way within the range of 
my comprehension. 

Being particularly interested at this time 
in an apple orchard, I turned, with much 
hope, to the piece, "Profitable Treatment of 
an Apple Orchard," from Mr. A. A. Camp- 
bell ; but I find it does not meet my neces- 
sities at all. In the multitude of the other 



products discussed, the apple trees are lost 
sight of! Will Mr. Campbell be so kind 
as to say what was the yield of apples, as 
well as of corn, peas, turnips, and wheat? 
And how he protected his trees from the 
depredations of his cattle, when he used his 
orchard as "grazing ground"? This last 
information I desire more for the benefit of 
some of my friends, who do not believe in 
fences as I do, and whose fruit trees suffer 
from cattle. I have lately been at the ex- 
pense and trouble of putting a good en- 
closure around my orchard, which I have 
entire confidence in. I have been advised 
never to put corn or any grain crop in 
an orchard; but to cultivate exclusively in 
it peas, sweet potatoes, and such other things 
as come under the term " trucks" 

By us Hanoverians. 



For the Southern Planter. 

The Cultivation of Pears Recommended. 

King and Queen C. H., ) 
Jan. 17th, 1859. } 
Dear Sir — You will receive herewith a 
few Winter Nelis pears. They are not as 
good as usual, being a little astringent — 
owing, perhaps, to being gathered rather early. 
Let me advise you to plant some pear trees, 
if you have not done it already. The 
Seckle, Bartlett, White Doyenne, or Virga- 
lieu, and Sheldon, for Summer ; and Winter 
Nelis and Lawrence, for Winter, have suc- 
ceeded very well with me. About eight 
years ago I purchased some pear trees on 
Quince and some Standard. Those on 
Quince have borne but few pears. The 
Standards have borne very full for the last 
three years. Yours truly, 

R. P. Jr. 

We return our thanks to our friend P. for the 
delicious pears, which reached us safely. 

We give his letter an insertion in the Planter, 
tliat it may reach the eye of those who are about 
setting out orchards. We hope they will all fol- 
low the good example he has set, and send us a 
box of fruit as good as. his. Such presents are 
always acceptable and welcome. 



Cuban Tobacco Seed. 

We are indebted to our friend, D. H. London, 
Esq., for a paper of the above seed, which we 
have distributed agreeably to his suggestion. 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



149 



We beg his acceptance of our thanks foj the 
seed, and his forgiveness for the liberty we have 
taken in publishing his interesting letter, which 
was not written for that purpose. — [EDITOR. 

Havana, Jan'y 4th, 1858. 

My Dear /Sir — I put under cover some 
tobacco seed, from the very best quality of 
the Vuelta de Abajo, the district in which 
the finest kinds are raised — a range <ff 
mountains, on the Southern exposure of 
which this district lies, runs Westward from 
Havana to the termination of the Island, 
and faces the Caribean sea from these 
mountains, called the Sierra de los Orgahos. 
There are, going into the sea, many small 
rivers, and from this diversified soil is grown 
the various qualities of the tobacco used in 
making cigars. The receipt, made out in 
both Spanish and English, for raising the 
plant, varies but little from our own method, 
except in priming, which the Cubans dispense 
with. My impressions are, that it may be 
raised in Virginia and North Carolina to ad- 
vantage by a little care. I am certain that 
Mr. Carter, who owns and works the place 
formerly worked by Mr. Curtis Carter, could 
raise the plant to perfection, judging from 
some I saw at his place year before last. A 
very few seed will be enough for several to 
try them; and I put under cover enough for 
you to hand to several in the county of 
Henrico. No time should be lost, as this 
is the season for burning the beds, or soon 
will be. 

With my regards and good wishes, 
I am, your friend and ob't serv't, 
Dl. H. London. 

Mode of Sowing Tobacco Seed. — It is 
sown in a plant-bed consisting of vegetable 
soil— or such soil as you find in newly cleared 
land, — which soil is passed through a sieve 
in order to bring it to a proper degree of 
fineness. (In other words, the soil is to be 
thoroughly pulverized.) The transplanting 
is done, placing the plants half a vara (17 
to 18 inches, English,) apart. Afterwards, 
when they have reached the height of half 
a vara, (about 17 inches, English,) you pinch 
off the top of the central spire, and this 
operation is repeated every 15 days, in order 
that the strength of the plant may be ex- 
pended upon the leaves below— (literally, 
in order that the leaves may become well 
tufted.) 



For the Southern Planter. 

Applying Guano to Corn and Tobacco. 
Near Mount Airy, N. C, ) 
Jan. 24th, 1859. } 
Mr. Editor — Will you, or some of your 
correspondents, through the columns of the 
" Planter/' favor me with sonic information 
in regard to the cheapest and most effectual 
way of applying guano to corn and tobacco? 
I say " cheapest and most effectual," be- 
cause here we have to pay from $90 to 
to $100 per ton, and experience has de- 
monstrated that at that price it will not 
prove remunerative sown broad-cast. Would 
rolling corn in guano give it an earlier start 
and preserve it from the ravages of vermin ? 
I am, respectfully yours, 

James C. Norman. 

Remarks. — We have been assured by two 
gentlemen, who tried the experiment of rolling 
corn in guano before planting, that as soon as the 
grain began to germinate, the sprout was killed? 
and the field had to be replanted. We have seen 
tobacco made by applying a small quantity of 
guano in the hill ; but we have never used 
guano on tobacco. We shall be glad to hear 
from any of our subscribers in response to the 
queries of Mr. N. 

We have, in our own immediate neighbor- 
hood, so inexhaustible a supply of chinch bugs, 
that we are afraid to apply guano to corn — hav- 
ing already suffered severely from their ravages. 
We made very little corn, and had to pay for 
guano applied to it, in the Summer of 1856. 
We believe that guano is much improved, as a 
fertilizer for corn, by mixing an equal bulk of 
plaster with it. The only way we have ever 
used it, was to sow at the time of "throwing 
dirt 1 ' to it, along the sides of the stalks, and then 
lapping the furrows over it. — [Editor 



For the Southern Planter. 

Culture of Sweet Potatoes. 

Henrico, Feb'y 15th, 1859. 
Ed. Southern Planter: 

Dear Sir — I have delayed much longer 
than I intended, to fulfil the promise made 
some weeks ago. 

I know a farmer who was successful in 
raising fine sweet potatoes, on the same piece 
of ground till his death, by liberally manur- 
ing and deep plowing; and remember well 
having seen some potatoes raised by him, a 
year or two before his death, which were 
the largest I ever saw. 



150 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



Light sandy, loamy lands, rich, or well 
tilled with vegetable matter, are best adapted 
to the growth of this favorite esculent. 
Deep plowing, and perfect pulverization, are 
essential to success 

Cover the ground with leaves or tags; 
scatter lime broad-ctst, (30 bushels to the 
acre,) and turn them in. This must be 
done in February or March. A week be- 
fore setting out plants the ground should be 
dragged, repeatedly, till it is pulverized ; 
lay off rows three feet apart, the distance 
giving ample room to work the potatoes; 
strew mould in the trenches, which should 
be deep enough fov depositing that fertili- 
zer; cover the mould with earth, — th» hills 
should be from 1 to 1J feet high. I have 
no doubt that Mr. G. G. M. will bring his 
lands to the potato-bearing state again by 
adopting the method above mentioned. 

As to preserving sweet potatoes: Col. 



thorough mihI reliable information as to their 
culture, &o. 

Osage Orange Hedging.— No 1 
William B. Lynch : 

With thy permission I propose occupy- 
ing a space in the columns of the Wash- 
ingtonian, in reviewing a book on hedg- 
ing by Dr. John A. Warder, of Cincin- 
nati, and published by A. 0. Moore, Agri- 
cultural book publisher, 140 Fulton Street, 
New York. The book contains 291 pages, 
with 219 pages of it devoted to hedging, 
and the remainder of it to evergreens, their 
propagation, transplanting and culture in 
the United States. The work«is eminently 
practical, Dr. Warder having been engaged 
in hedging his farm at North Bend, Ohio, 
for a number of years, without having any- 
thing to do in the sale of plants. He has 
called to his aid the practice and experi- 
ence of other persons largely engaged in 



Davis' mode is an excellent one, though not the use of hedges, and thus presented a 
cheap. Mine is cheap and simple. It is large amount of practical experience in 
fixed as follows : Make a pit in the ground, making a good and durable enclosure for 



3 feet below the surface, 12 feet long and 7 
wide : place refuse planks on the bottom 
and walls ; then build a structure over the 
pit, something like an ice house; cover it 
with straw and earth, expressly to prevent 
the admission of cold air. A fire should be 
made in the pit, previous to placing the 
planks on the bottom, till everything therein 
is thoroughly dry. Now spread dry tags on 
the floor; pour in potatoes, which should 
be dried in the sun a day or two before, and 
cover them with dnj tags. An opening 
may be made in the Southern side, large 
enough to afford access to the potatoes. 
Never open this except in good weather. 
Such is our mode of wintering roots. 
Respectfully, 

X. Y. Z. 



Osage Orange. 

We have received from our friend, Yardley 
Taylor, several articles on the Osage Orange, 
published in the Washingtonian. He will please 
accept our thanks for them, along with the assu- 
rance that, we are always glad to hear from him. 

We have lately had some inquiries made 
about the Osage Orange. We would (tall atten- 
tion to the advertisement of Gen. Richardson 
(in our advertising sheet). He is the only gen- 
tleman in our vicinity who has had them for 
(80 far as we know) and is competent 
from experience with the plant, to furnish 



farm purposes. 

The different varieties of plants used for 
hedging, are treated of, and their adapta- 
bility to our soil and climate considered, 
and the conclusion is generally admitted, 
that the Osage Orange is the hedge plant 
for this country. It being a native and 
hardy growth South of Lake Erie, with its 
strong and sharp thorns, and leaves that no 
stock will eat, its tendency to branch abun- 
dantly when cut down, gives it advantages 
that no other known plant so eminently 
possesses. The botanical name of the plant 
is Madura aurentiaca, called Bois d'Acre 
French, now Bodark, and Bow Wood by 
the Indians. It takes its name of Osage 
Orange from the form of its fruit, being the 
Orange, but rough on the 
bitter, 
radiating 



/.e of a large 



tough, 



surface, and filled with a 
stringy mass filled with seeds, 
from the center, and larger than apple 
seeds. The business of hedging in the 
west, is now so systematically conducted, 
that persons go to Arkansas and Texas and 
collect thousands of bushels of seeds annu- 
ally for use and sale. The lessening of the 
timber lands of Ohio, and the very exten- 
sive prairie farther west calls for a large 
amount for hedge purposes, and since it has 
been proven practically that it may be made 
to answer a good purpose, it seems likely 
that the demand will continue for a long 
time to come. 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



151 



The failure of hedges is treated of .it 
length, and the reasons given, the laws of 
vegetable physiology are stated, and a sys- 
tem based upon those laws is advocated and 
shown by experience to be correct. This' 



system must be adhered to, if we wish to be 



successful, and as success has always at 
tended where these principles hate been 
adhered to, they are insisted upon with con- 
fidence. 

The whole Operation, from the procure- 
ment of the seed, to the full grown hedge is 
treated of and explained, so that any person 
with ordinary judgment may succeed by 
following the directions given. The best 
way for us, in this section to procure seed, 
is to send to some reliable dealer in the ar- 
ticle and obtain them. We have been in 
the practice of sending to Cincinnati, to J. 
F. Dair & Co., 40 and 42 Market Street, 
agricultural seed dealers, and have obtained 
good seed ; cost, there, about $4 per peck, 
and then $1 per express to Harper's Ferry. 
One peck last spring, produced us this fall, 
upwards of 16,000 plants. Persons de- 
signing to go largely into planting, might 
prefer to raise their own ; but generally, for 
small quantities, would be better to give $o 
per thousand than to plant themselves. 
After the seed is procured, it must be pre- 
pared for sprouting, as it has a hard shell on, 
by pouring boiling water upon it, which 
should be drained off, and the seed is then 
to be kept covered snugly, until it is ready 
to sprout, this will require about a week, 
more or less, according to the temperature. 
If the seed is in a large mass, it should be 
frequently stirred to prevent fermentation. 
In the mean time prepare the ground by 
deep ploughing and harrowing; the soil 
should be good, and if somewhat sandy so 
much the better, it will not bake so hard as 
clay soil, which is of importance with 
plants ot so large seed leaves as this. 
When the ground is made mellow about the 
1st to 15th of 5th month, (May,) according 
to the season and the sprouting of the seed, 
proceed to plant, remember the ground must 
be warm to ensure good success. Stretch 
a line across the plots and make shallow 
furrows as if to plant peas or beans, then 
drop the seed in these rows about an inch 
apart, and cover with the earth drawn over 
them in a ridge, cover them two or three 
inches deep, according to the weather, 
shallower if threatened with rain, but 
deep if dry weather is probable. The 



rows arc recommended to be eighteen or 
twenty-fan inches apart) so as to use the 

horse tillage during summer; but we use a 
<rrd drill, and hand garden plow, which we 
prefer. By having a ridge over the seed. 
and going along with a small rake and 
drawing the top of it down, just before, the 
plants make their appearance above ground, 
we destroy the first crop of weeds in re- 
moving the crust and greatly facilitate their 
appearance particularly if the soil is of a 
clayey texture. Summer cultivation will 
consist in keeping the ground stirred and 
free from weeds; for this purpose drill 
planting is much preferable. The plants, 
if too thick, may be thinned out, and good 
cultivation is very desirable, as yearling 
plants are much preferable for planting. 
The plants may stand in the ground until 
spring without injury; but it is recommend- 
ed to take them up after frost, and bury 
them in a dry cellar after cutting their 
tops off, or they may be buried in the 
ground like potatoes. The advantage of 
this is, there may be rainy weather when we 
want to plant in the spring and prevent us 
doing so at the proper time, while the 
plants in the ground will start to grow and 
may be injured by so doing, while if we 
have plants cut we can prevent this without 
any injury to the plant. Other recommen- 
dations are made not necessary to recapitu- 
late here, as I presume any persons wishing 
to go into the hedging business would pro- 
cure the book at once, which may be done 
by enclosing one dollar to the publisher and 
the book will be returned postage paid by 
mail. 

To plant the hedge, first prepare the 
ground thoroughly by deep ploughing and 
subsoiling, and have the bed at least six 
feet wide. This should be done sometime 
before planting, and at the proper time for 
planting, have the surface well pulverized, 
and all clods, stones, &c, thrown off the 
middle, where the planting is to be done. 
Stretch a line where the plants are to be 
set, and be sure to have them straight. 
Sme prefer planting with a dibble, others 
with a trowel ; but Dr. Warder prefers the 
spade, thus by inserting the spade down by 
the line, a foot deep, at an angle of forty- 
five degrees and slightly raising it, the 
plant may bo thrust down under it, and 
held till the spade is withdrawn, and then 
tread down with the foot. The plants 
should be set about two inches deeper 



152 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



than they stood in the seed-bed. Spring 
planting is on the whole preferred. The 
distance oi' the plants apart in the row is 
important, and in this there is a difference 
of opinion among hedge-growers. Some re- 
commending planting in two rows G inches 
apart, witli one foot apart in the row so as 
to equal 6 inches apart in the two rows; 
other! seven and one-fifth inches apart in 
one row, or five to a yard ; others eight to 
ten inches apart in one row. After giving 
those opinions of writers, some of whom 
rank very high as experienced hedgers, Dr. 
Warder goes on to say, " Yet I cannot coin- 
cide with them, while my observation of 
facts and my reasoning or deductions there- 
from teach me to anticipate serious evils 
from crowding, as intimated on a previous 
page." He recommends twelve, eighteen 
or twenty-four inches as near enough in the 
row, and thinks that with proper cutting 
down and encouraging lateral branches, it 
will make a more healthy and better hedge, 
than if crowded so close. Five inches apart 
will take thirty- three to a rod, seven inches 
twenty-eight, eight inches twenty-four and 
a half, ten inches will take twenty plants, 
while one foot would take sixteen and a 
half, one and a half apart would take 
eleven, and two feet apart eight plants to a 
rod ; thus the different distances would re- 
quire considerable difference in the first cost 
of the plants I presume that the differ- 
ence in the soil would require a different 
distance apart, for on a strong soil that 
would induce a strong growth, by proper 
trimming the lateral branches would readily 
fill a larger space than they would in a 
poorer soil, and this may possibly account 
for some difference of opinion. Dr. War- 
der's soil at North Bend, is a strong soil. 
In my next I propose treating of the man- 
ner of trimming hedges. 

Yardley Taylor. 



(No. 2.) 

In the first number the manner of pro- 
ceeding for a hedge as far as planting the 
sets was treated of. The most important 
part, however, is its future treatment by 
trimming; on this the whole success de- 
pends, if we wish a perfect hedge, and one 
that will last a long time, and no other 
should be attempted. On this point no dif- 
ference of opinion exists among practical 
hedge growers; they all advocate, and that 



in strong terms, close and frequent trim" 
mings for four years. The first year, how- 
ever, they prefer letting the plants grow, to 
give a strength of roots before commencing 
close cutting, and this year the ground 
should be well cultivated, and no grass or 
weeds suffered to grow to the injury of the 
young plants. Then the second year before 
the buds swell, cut the plants clean off at 
the surface of the ground, this will cause 
several shoots to put forth from the plant; 
the object being to get a thick base for the 
hedge at first start. Should the soil be good, 
the season favorable and the growth strong, 
cut down again about midsummer to within 
two or three inches of the first cut; but if 
the growth is moderate, the cutting may be 
deferred till spring. It must then, however, 
be cut both spring and summer still three 
or four inches above (he last cutting, for the 
next two years. These cuttings should be 
horizontal and only made upon the upright 
shoots, the side, or lateral ones, must be pre- 
served by all means. The philosophy of this 
mode of cutting is this : all plants have a 
tendency to grow upright and expend the 
greater part of their strength in the higher 
branches; but in a hedge we want the lower 
branches strong and numerous, and to ob- 
tain this, we must retard this upward ten- 
dency, and force the growth into the side 
branches. By cutting the strong and vigo- 
rous growing shoots back frequently, we 
spread the face of the plants over a much 
larger space, and as a consequence, there is 
much less disposition to rampant upright 
growth, and the growth will be much more 
regularly spread over the whole of the plant. 
The ground on each side of the hedge should 
be well cultivated, and nothing suffered to 
interfere with the growth of the lateral 
shoots. In three years we then have a base 
one foot high and probably three feet broad. 
Now we may commence to trim in a trian- 
gular form, say five or six inches high in the 
centre each time, and straight down to a base 
of three feet wide, and the subsequent trim- 
mings to be in this way until the hedge is 
five feet high and three, or four leet broad at 
the ground. It will thus be a good hedge, 
and a sufficient protection for any enclosure, 
and then all subsequent trimmings must be 
as close to former trimmings as possible, so 
as to keep it at the proper height, and not • 
to allow the upper branches to overgrow the 
lower ones, lest they be starved out and final- 
ly die off, to the great injury of the lower 



[859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



153 



)art of the hedge. This must be particu- 
arly attended bo, if we want to succeed. Th j 
ide should never, by any means, be allowed 

assume a perpendicular form; but should 
>e kept to that of a triangle, or it may as- 
nine something of the form of a gothic 
ireh. In these directions, there is no dif- 
ference of opinion among hedge growers in 
he West, they all, without exception, insist 
ipon close and severe pruning on the above 
>rinciples; they argue, and with reason, that 
t is useless to attempt to make a hedge with- 
nit strictly following these rules, and the 
luccess that has attended where they have 
>een followed, is good evidence of their cor- 
•ectness. 

James McGrew, of Dayton, Ohio, who 
nrepared a prize essay on hedging for the 
)hio State Board of Agriculture, says in re- 
ation to the business : " It is not to be sup- 
losed that an individual without any practi- 
:al knowledge could successfully cultivate 
md properly form a hedge. It is really no 
mall matter. It is a work that is to last for 
generations. Those who attempt to grow a 
ledge should spare neither care no expense 
n having it right. If well done, it is an 
nvaluabie improvement upon any farm — if 
lot well done, it is an entire waste of time, 
oom and money. The business can only be 
earned as other things are learned, by care- 
ul study and practical experience. It is not 
i matter to be intrusted to novices, tenants 
md gardners." 

Dr. J. A. Kennicott, of Illinois, says : — 

1 One fact is certain, thick or thin planting, 
here will never be reliable fence without 
levere cutting." 

The editor of the Illinois Farmer says: 
( I would strongly recommend, however, that 
t be cut back far more severely than usual, 
n order to give it a thick bottom, for on this 
ts main excellence depends." 

The book under review gives the reasons 
)f the general failure of hedging in this 
;ountry — one is the unsuitableness of some 
plants for the purpose; but the greatest 
jause of failure has been, want of proper 
nanagement, in not cutting the plants down 
mfficiently to insure a thick growth at bot- 
»m, and thus encouraging bottom growth, 
for if let alone to grow as it pleases, the up- 
per branches will spread and enlarge, and 
thus rob the lower ones of their share of 
aourishment, in accordance with the known 
laws of vegetable physiology. These lower 
branches thus robbed, put on a feeble growth 



and finally die, leaving the plant in form of 
an inverted eoiie, a form directly the oppo- 
site of what it should be. Attempts liave 
been made to remedy this by splashing or 
bending down, but with indifferent success. 
But by using ihe Osage Orange, and cutting 
back faithfully as recommended, the asser- 
tion is fearlessly made, that a good, efficient 
and very durable hedge may be made, and 
one that will be an ornament, and of service, 
no one can say how long. 

This plant has the valuable property of 
standing drought remarkably. We planted 
a few rods of it in the spring of 1850, and 
though they grew but little that dry summer, 
there was very few of the plants that died, 
and they grew off well next year, though 
they were on a dry piece of soil of poor 
quality. 

The expense of making a hedge, is esti- 
mated by those who have them in the West 
and made in the best manner, at from fifty 
to seventy-five cents per rod, when the labor 
has been estimated as hired, being mostly 
done by their own hands. There are per- 
sons who profess to be practical hedge grow- 
ers, and will contract to plant and trim and 
do all the cultivation for four years, or until 
the hedge is sufficient to turn out for a fence, 
and give warrantee for its being done well. 
I see no difficulty in the way of making a 
hedge here, if undertaken earnestly, and with 
a determination to follow the rules laid down 
in JDr. Warder's book. Of course every 
person who desires to do so should purchase 
the book and study its contents thoroughly, 
and then carry them out to the letter. These 
rules are certainly in accordance with the 
laws of vegetable growth, and as far as my 
experience goes, and I have had some expe- 
rience in hedging on the old plan with the 
Washington thorn, they are certainly well 
calculated to ensure success, and such a suc- 
cess would be very desirable, as fencing ma- 
terials with many are becoming scarce. 

Yardley Taylor. 



(No. 3.) 

The inquiry that naturally will present 
itself to the mind of every farmer is, will it 
be of advantage to me to commence making 

j Osage Orange hedge Those who have stone 
for fencing, will hardly deem it advisable, 
and those who have mountain land for tim- 

,ber, may not consider it economy to com- 
mence to much extent. But those whose 



154 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



[March 






land now in timber is tillable land, may well 
conclude that good economy would advise 
the clearing more of it, and bringing it un- 
der cultivation. In this way large additions 
may be made to our agricultural products, 
and of course to our profits. From the con- 
fidence asserted by the hedge growers of the 
West, in the plan recommended by them, 
and looking at the philosophy of the pro- 
scribed mode, there is strong ground for be- 
lieving that it will succeed here, though in 
many places it may take rather longer time 
to make a sufficient hedge. Our own expe- 
rience satisfies us, that it will grow here in 
almost any soil not too wet. Some may ob- 
ject on account of the protection needed 
when young; but the prudent farmer may 
so arrange his crops, that he may have his 
young hedge in fields under cultivation 
where stock is not allowed. For instance : 
suppose a hedge was planted between two 
fields, one of which was to put in corn the 
same spring, then move the fence on to the 
other side and leave it in that field, then put 
the corn land in wheat that fall, or leave it 
for corn the second year, in either case put 
it in wheat for the third year, then move the 
fence over the hedge on to the other side, 
and commence a like cultivation of the ap- 
posite field, that would give it a protection 
of four or five years, sufficient to give it a 
height and strength that would make it se- 
cure from stock, and that, too, without any 
additional fencing or expense, except mov- 
ing the fence over the hedge, which would 
be a small matter. After the hedge is con- 
sidered complete, it will require regular at- 
tention to keep it in proper bounds and not 
allow it to grow too high ; this, however, 
will be much less labor, than that now em- 
ployed to keep our fences in repair. Where 
the hedge has been properly attended to, 
and the growth diffused over a large space, 
there is much less liability of any snoots 
making a rampant growth, and are easier 
kept in bounds. A man with a suitable in- 
strument, it is asserted, can trim from half 
a mile to a mile of such hedge a day. And 
this being all the labor necessary to keep 
them in condition, is certainly a great saving 
of labor over present practice, to say noth- 
ing of the capital necessary in keeping up 
timbered lands. There could be nothing 
introduced on a farm, that wonld add more 
beauty to it, than to have all the divisions of 
it bounded by good hedges. And the cer- 
tainty with which we may expect to obtain 



coal for fuel, and its cheapness, will prevent 
the necessity of keeping much land in tim- 
ber for that purpose. 

Yardley Taylor. 
«•»->» 

Body and Brain. 

When a Mohammedan wishes to pass a 
very high eulogy upon a deceased friend, hej 
tells you that he " had a good liver," which j 
means that the said friend was always goodi 
and pleasant in body and mind. This is a 
most expressive sentence, especially in clim-j 
jates where the liver is easily affected, and it 
shows that the sons of Islam are well ac-i 
quainted with the fact which we wish to en-i 
force, namely, that the healthy action andj 
clear conception of the brain depends more 
than is generally Lelieved upon a sound andj 
healthy physical organization. 

No argument is required to convince every 
person that, at the present time, they must 
think, would they succeed in life, and that 
mere plodding is scarcely required, the de- 
mand being for educated labor ; and this re-l 
mark applies not only to one trade, but all 
trades — not to one profession, but all profes- 
sions — artist and artificer, printer and 
preacher, all alike. This beinggranted, it will 
be seen of what vast national and individual 
importance it is that the seat of reason 
should be undefiled, and that the channels oi 
thought should be ever clear and free. A 
professional humbug who would advertise a! 
quack medicine to overcome that brain! 
fatigue which sleep does not seem to conquer,| 
and to give renewed activity to the worn-out 
mind, would make a fortune shortly, for the 
complaint is a common one. Bodiry disease, 
the disregard of the grand physical laws of 
cleanliness and exercise, inherited sickness 
and personal intemperance, are the great 
barriers to true progress which have yet to 
be vanquished and pulled down. 

Let us take the two first, and see how they 
affect the mainspring of action — the brain.| 
Take the illustration of a watch. The main-i 
spring may be perfectly good and sound, but 
some little wheel in the train of motion being 
displaced, it will not tell true time. A springj 
may be clear when it bubbles forth from the! 
virgin soil, but an impurity in the wateii 
course will taint the whole stream. A statue 
may be graceful in form and elegant in pro- 
portion, but when seen in an uneven mirroi 
it becomes distorted and out of shape. The 
mind may be active, clear, and perceptive : 
but if some little pinion, some small disease, 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



155 



ocal or general, be in the body, it cannot act 
ipon the outer world with force and origin- 
ility, because the medium through which it 
,cts is tainted and unhealthy. Again, if the 
;ar be out of order, the brain can obtain no 
rue notion of sound; if the eye be diseased, 
i perfect sight is never taken, and the same 
s true of feeling, smelling and tasting, 
^ow, suppose that instead of any one sense 
>eing considerably affected, all are partially 
o, how then is the brain going to derive ini- 
>ressions correctly, on which to base future 
hough ts and resulting actions, if the courses 
hrough which those impressions flow from 
he object observed to it are tainted, impure 
•r diseased. Thus we see that the mind 
.nd body are so intimately connected that 
ve cannot separate the two, and the one 
;annot be diseased without affecting consid- 
erably the tone of the other. For a mind 
liseased, or one that may become so — in 
act, for every one of us — there is nothing 
ike plenty of fresh air and simple food, a de- 
ient modicum of exercise, the encourage- 
aent of cleanliness by ablution with cold 
rater, as much of the light of heaven and 
is little of the light of oil, spirits or gas as 
>ossible. If we can but as a people begin 
o believe this, we shall quickly perceive the 
ruth of the prescription by the happy re- 
ults which will follow. Let us all, for once, 
earn something from the children of the 
?rophet, and strive to earn that eulogy so 
ull of peaceful meaning and pleasant 
noughts of contented health : " He had a 
jood liver." Scientific American. 



Meterology— Interesting Fact. 

Without warm breezes and frequent rains, 
10 country is fit for the abode of man. The 
•ains clothe the fields with verdure ; their 
ibsence makes the land a barren wilderness. 
3n the western portion of our country lying 
m the Pacific Ocean, a belt of rains accom- 
)any the sun in his annual course north and 
louth, and produce the rainy seasons of Cali- 
fornia and Oregon, without which these 
jountries would be unfit for agriculture. On 
;he eastern side of the mountain ranges of 
:he Pacific, the case is very different ; but 
ittle rain falls upon the elevations or the 
ralleys, hence there is a wide expanse which 
lever can be inhabited, as it is only a barren 
flraste, and must ever so remain, as all the 
jcience and skill of man cannot make the 
•ains, nor change the course of the winds. 



Two great ranges of mountains run north 
and south through our continent, namely, 
the Rocky Mountains on the west, and the 
Appalachian chain near the Atlantic on the 
cast. There is a great broad interval be- 
tween these, which is called the " Mississippi 
valley." This depression runs north to the 
Arctic Ocean, and south to the Gulf of Mex- 
ico. The western mountains gradually de- 
crease in elevation towards the north, and as 
there is no northern range, the nortli and 
north-west winds have a free sweep down the 
Mississippi valley ; consequently, when these 
prevail in winter, the cold is very severe on 
our western prairies ; this also affords a rea- 
son why it is sometimes colder as far south 
as St. Louis than it ever is in New York. 
The Gulf of Mexico is a huge steam caul- 
dron ; it evaporates an immense amount of 
moisture ; this is carried up by south winds 
through the valley of the Mississippi and 
by south-west winds along the whole eastern 
coast This moisture as it proceeds onward 
is condensed, and falls down in grateful 
showers to refresh the soil, and enable it "to 
bring forth seed for the sower, and bread for 
the eater." 

As a great amount of electricity is devel- 
oped by the evaporation of water, the Gulf 
of Mexico is the principal source of that 
which is observed during thunder storms; 
hence the reason why almost all such storms 
come from the Gulf. The moisture which 
flows up the great Mississippi valley does not 
reach far west ; seldom beyond the 98th 
meridian. East of this the soil is fertile, 
because it is amply refreshed with rains ; 
west of it, up to the Rocky Mountains, de- 
nominated the " great American plains," all 
is a barren wilderness ; there is not an ob- 
ject of delight to the eye to be seen. On 
the Pacific coast, with the exception of a 
belt along the ocean, barrenness also prevails, 
owing to the absence of fertilizing showers. 
Were it not for artificial irrigation, the val- 
ley of Salt Lake could not afford sustenance 
for man or beast. In traversing this great 
barren track, whole days are passed without 
meeting with a single spring or rivulet to 
slake the thirst of the weary traveler. Over 
the greater portion of Sonora and New Mex- 
ico sterility reigns supreme ; and at Fort De- 
fiance, a range of fifty square miles is ne- 
cessary for grazing, and procuring hay for 
the animals of the garrison. 

If the map of the United States is exam- 
ined, it will be observed that the 98th de- 



156 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



gree of west longitude divides it into two 
nearly equal parts. As all the western por- 
tion (until the belt on the Pacific is reached) 
is a barren wilderness, this fact must dissi- 
pate some of the waking dreams in which 
many persons have indulged regarding the 
future agricultural greatness of the far wes- 
tern portion of our country. The eastern 
portion of the Mississippi valley, by the laws 
of nature, must forever remain the granery 
of the United States. Scientific American. 



From the New England Farmer. 

Golden Eagle. 

AQUILA CHRYSAEOTOS. 

The most hilly and mountainous parts of 
the country are chosen by this bird for his 
residence, particularly where there are over- 
hanging precipices; there in the dizzy 
height, on some bold rock, he takes his 
stand, motionless and erect, with his stern, 
penetrating eye glancing over the boundless 
expanse of forests and fields; upon such 
high precipices, or on some blighted tree of 
the wooded-mountain, a pair of these birds 
will sit for hours, and not unfrequently the 
whole day, especially when they have gorged 
themselves with food. After such times of 
inactivity, they will launch into the air, and 
rise in a spiral flight above these stupendous 
heights, until they appear like mere specks, 
or are wholly lost to sight; having attained to 
the desired height, they sail in an obliquely 
downward course with the velocity of the 
wind, until within one or two hundred feet 
of the earth, when they again change their 
mode of flight and sweep in circles over 
hills and valleys in search of food. 

These eagles usually hunt in pairs. There 
is a peculiarity in their mode of hunting 
which is not resorted to by other birds of 
prey. Like the lion, who lies in ambush 
for his coming victim, so he hovers over the 
form of the hare, or the bed of other ani- 
mals, waiting for their appearance. I once 
saw a pair hunting in company, and while 
sailing over a hill, one of them, on discover- 
ing a burrow of the common grey rabbit, 
immediately suspended himself in the air 
without the least perceivable motion of his 
body or vibration of his wings, which he 
kept widely extended, and on which he 
floated with the same ease that he would 
rest upon his perch ; in this position he re- 
mained a great length of time unt'il the an- 
imal, unconscious of any harm, ventured from 



his cover; at first, but a part of him appeared ; 
the eagle, still poised, would sfcretch down 
his claws, then draw them up again, still 
floating silently ; the animal now hopped 
quite out of his hole, stood upon his hind 
legs, scanning every object with his large 
eyes, and moving in every direction his large 
ears, to detect an enemy if one was around 
him; at last, feeling assured, none lurked 
about him, he hopped again which brought 
him to full view, and farther from his bur- 
row. Hark ! Whush-ush-ush, down from his 
height, like the whizzing sound of a rocket, 
shot the eagle upon the unwary victim, press- 
ing him down with his strong feet and dri- 
ving his talons deep in his quivering flesh. 
The scream of despair, as the blood oozed 
through his soft fur, was soon drowned by the 
eagle's scream of success which was answered, 
by his mate; then rising with him, still strug- 
gling in his grasp, he carried him to some; 
convenient place, where both he and his 
mate might devour him at their leisure. 

A. Fowler. 
Danvers, Mass., Dec, 1, 1858. 



Salutations among Different Nations. 

Translated from the French. 

The expressions used as salutations among! 
different nations, have under their aspect 
something characteristic and interesting 
even for the most casual observer. 

In the East, some of the expressions savor,' 
in a greater or less degree, of the Scriptures,' 
and the serene and patriarchial sentiment of 
the inhabitants. One recognizes the immo- 
bility of these pastoral and warlike people,) 
standing aloof from all human progress. — 
Nearly all have a foundation in religious 
sentiments, and express peace to those 
whom they are addressed. The salutation 
used by the Arab, " Salem/' or " Shalum,'" 
means peace, and it is found in the words 
Jerusalem. The Arab salutes his friend 
thus : " May you have a happy morning ;' 
" May God grant you his favors;" "If Godj 
wills it, you are well." This last expression 
plainly betrays their fanaticism. 

The Turks have a formula which can only: 
be used in a sunny clime; "May your shad- 
ow never be less." An Englishman wouldn' 
think of wishing his friend a fine shadow. 

The climate of Egypt is feverish, and per- 
spiration is necessary to health, hence the 
Egyptian meeting you, asks, " How do you 
perspire ?" 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



157 



"Have you eaten?" "Is your stomach in 
good order?" asks the Chinaman, a touch- 
ing solicitude, which can only be apprecia- 
ted by a nation of gourmands. 

"Good cheer," saysfhe modern ({reek, in 
nearly the same language that the ancients 
were wont to greet their friends. A charm- 
ing salutation, which could only have origi- 
nated among the happy, careless (J reeks. 

The Romans, who were heretofore robust, 
indefatigable and laborious, had energetic 
salutations, expressing force and action. — 
"Salve," "be strong," "be healthy," and 
"Quid facias," "what do you?" or "what 
make you?" . 

The Genoese of modern times say, " Health 
and wealth," which is very appropriate for 
an active and commercial people. 

The Neapolitan devoutly says, " Grow in 
sanctity," and the Piedmontese, " I am your 
servant," The " How stand you?" of almost 
all Italy, forcibly indicates the nonchalence 
of the sunny lan«L 

The Spaniard, grave, hauty and indiffer- 
ent, wishes you "Good morning," to which 
we respond, " at your service, sir." Another 
salutation which the Spaniard uses, " God be 
with you, sign or," shows a melange of re- 
spect for one's self religious sentiment. 

The ordinary salutation of the German is 
"Wie gehts?" "How goes it?" and has a 
vagueness partaking somewhat of the dreamy 
character of the German. To bid one adieu, 
he says, "Leben sie wohl," "Live quiet and 
happy." This last plainly exhibits his 
peaceful nature and love for the simple joys 
of life. » 

The travelling Hollander asks, "Hoe 
waart's go?" "How do you go?" The 
thoughtful, active Swede demands, "Of what 
do you think?" whilst the Dane, more placid, 
uses the German expression, "Live well — 
Live well." But the greeting of the Pole 
is best of all: "Are you happy?" 

The English have the " Good Bye," a cor- 
ruption of the word " God be with you," and 
some others; but that which exhibits best 
the character of the English is, " How do 
you do ?" as the activity of this people is 
shown in this demand where the do is spo- 
ken twice. Nothing is more characteristic, 
more likely, or more stirring than this. 

The "comment vouz portes vous?" of the 
French is equally characteristic. The 
Frenchman is more active than laborious — 
more ardent, more passionate, than thought- 
ful; hence the principle with him is not to 



do, but to go, to be lively, to show himself. 
There is something in the expression, "com- 
ment vouz portes vous?" "How do yon car- 
ry yourself?" which bespeaks at once his 
frank manner and pleasant face. 



Walking as an Exercise. 

It is well understood that the general 
health of cities is due to the custom of con- 
stant walking, which prevails among the 
residents of crowded towns. This compen- 
sates for the want of fresh and free air. It 
is certain that city ladies walk much more 
than their country friends. The latter, when 
they can command a horse, think a mile's walk 
a great undertaking. Ladies in the country 
hesitate about venturing abroad on foot; and 
they remain within doors, or in quiet inac- 
tion, while the city dames, who are presumed 
to be " delicate," and unable to endure fa- 
tigue, walk miles over the pavements, with- 
out thinking of the exertion. Visitors to 
the city from the country are worn out 
by a day's "shopping," while their city 
guides are apparently as fresh at the close 
as in the beginning of the day's work. 

Walking is the most natural, useful and 
thorough exercise that can' be taken. In- 
fantry, in an army, can outmarch the moun- 
ted men. A proof of the superiority of 
the biped over the quadruped, is given in 
the result of a recent wager. A man under- 
took to walk from New York to Cincinnati 
in eighteen days, and accomplish the task, 
with nine hours to spare. The person with 
whom the bet was made accompanied him 
in a carriage, and the pedestrian, at the end 
of the journey, was in better condition than 
the horse or his driver. This accords with 
all experience. The human frame becomes 
insured to wholesome and proper exertion, 
and the biped gains strength under it, in a 
greater degree than any quadruped. We 
have no objection to dumb bells and other 
paraphernalia of the gymnasium. But none 
of these contrivances are half so beneficial 
as the use of our natural means of locomo- 
tion. 

The people of this republic have the 
largest continent in the world to travel over, 
and arc, as a nation, the greatest travellers. 
But while the rail, the river and the horse 
carriage are all used to the utmost, we walk 
less than any civilized people under the sun. 
A man, no matter how much his leisure, or 
how great his need of economy, would be 



158 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[MarciI 



thought very poor, or next to insane, who 
should use his feet for a journey. He 
would, at the very least, be set down as ec- 
centric or a humorist. Where time is val- 
uable, or strength is to be husbanded for 
active employment, it is well to take advan- 
tage of public conveyances. But if Amer- 
icans would prescribe to themselves what 
John Bull calls his " constitutional walk," 
we should gain in strength of muscle, and 
banish or diminish the common complaint, 
dyspepsia. Athletic games are well in their 
way, but one cannot always get up a cricket 
or rowing match. The consent of others is 
required, whereas, to walk briskly and ha- 
bitually, it needs only that we overcome our 
own inertia, and disabuse ourselves of the 
notion that a horse's legs are better than a 
man's. 

No motion calls more of the muscles into 
healthy play than walking — not gliding like 
a ghost, with arms motionless, but pushing 
along, with a hearty, springy swing. Noth- 
ing more exhilarates the whole man than a 
current of air created by his own brisk 
movements. If this exercise, so conducive 
to health, and so readily taken, were more in 
fashion and in favor, we might meet the 
doctors with an independent air ; and as to 
the nostrum-mongers, starve them into taking 
up a more useful avocation. — Philadelphia 
Gazette. 



The Ice Trade. 

One half, at least, of the business and 
wealth of the United States, has been crea- 
ted by the ingenuity of the American peo- 
ple. What would the production of cotton 
be worth, an article now our heaviest export 
in value, but for the invention of Whitney's 
cotton gin, and the late improvements on 
it. The articles of cut nails, of the screw 
auger, of the spiral gimblet, of the solid 
headed pin, and fifty other things, the value 
of which we do not realize because we are 
so familiar with their use, are all American 
inventions, and have given a spur to busi- 
ness of inconceivable force. 

The Ice export is a trade which has grown 
up within the last few years, and is a remark- 
able illustration of the business-creating 
faculty of the Americans. Ice has now be- 
come a staple article of commerce, employ- 
ing in the coasting trade two hundred and 
fifty-eight ships, brigs and schooners, and 
for foreign export ninety-five vessels, princi- 
pally of a large class. Total 353 vessels. 



The following taken from the late Amer 
ican Almanac furnishes some interesting 
statistics on the subject: 

" The first cargo over taken from th 
United States, was shipped from Boston, ii 
1805, by Frederick Tudor, a gentleman wh 
had previously dispatched an agent to th 
West Indies for information touching the cm 
terprise. The cargo went to Martinique an< 
proved a loss of $4,500, but the projecto 
of the enterprise stuck to it with a continu 
al loss, until the embargo and war put ar 
end to foreign trade. After the war, ii 
1815, he recommenced the trade by ship 
ments to Havana under a contract with th 
government of Cuba, which yielded a profit; 
In the meantime he opened the trade witl ! 
Charleston, Savannah and New Orleans 

" Up to 1832, the business was confined 
to the enterprise of this one individual. A 
that period others embarked extensively ii 
it, and in 1833, Tudor extended his opera 
tions to Calcutta, Medras and Bombay. Tin 
shipments of ice from Boston in the yea 
1847, coastwise, amounted to 51,887 tuns) d 
making 258 cargoes; shipped to foreign porti 
22,591, making 95 cargoes. The freight, 
storage and other expenses on the w r hol 
amounted to $335,151- In the same year 
29 cargoes of provisions, fruits and vegeta 
bles, valued at $75,500 cost, were shipped {i 
in ice from the United States, to ports when! 
such articles could not otherwise be sent. 

"Eight of the ice houses in Massachu 
setts, erected purposely for the trade, an 
capable of containing 141,332 tuns. Th< 
consumption of ice in Boston alone, ii 
1847, was 27,000 tuns, employing 66 wagon 
in the delivery. In Havana, ice sells fo 
6 \ cents per pound, in Calcutta at 2£ cents 
in Boston at 13 £ cents per hundred pounds 
on the average. The entire statistics of the 
ice trade, are highly interesting, not only ai 
evidence of the magnitude it has assumed a- 
an item of commerce, but as showing the 
indefatigable enterprise of the man-yankee 
There is scarcely a nook or corner of the ci 
vilized world, where ice has not become ar 
essential if not common article of irade. Th* 
city of New York consumes an immense 
quantity, giving employment to a great num 
ber of persons, and involving a large amouni 
of capital/' — Scientific American 

an 
Friendship. — A friend is a person wit! W 
whom I may be sincere. Before him I ma\ k 
think aloud. — Emerson, 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



159 



From the New England Farmer. 

Underdrawing— "It Will Pay !" 

Mr. Editor : — Last fall I wrote you 
under the title, " Undcrdraining — will it 
pay ?" — that I intended to underdrain a 
piece of wet, cold, unproductive land, and 
asked your advice in the matter. It was 
kindly given, for which I would return 
many thanks. « 

At that time I had a presentiment that 
it would not be a paying operation, but as 
the land was nearly worthless, as it was, I 
resolved to underdrain it; which I did with 
stone, sinking the ditches about three and one- 
half feet deep. The bottom of the drains 
was constructed like an ordinary culvert, 
then filled with cobble stones to one foot 
of the surface ; upon these stones, shavings 
or evergreen boughs were placed, to prevent 
the dirt from filling the interstices, then cov- 
ered with dirt, reserving the sod for the barn- 
yard. 

The result, I will briefly state. The piece 
drained contained a little less than four 
acres. Last year it was mowed, and produced 
but two loads of poor, sour hay and brakes, 
hardly worth cutting, but it was an average 
crop for the land. This spring the land 
was dry, and we were enabled to work it 
early in the season. We plowed under about 
twenty-five ox-cart loads of barn-yard ma- 
nure to the acre, and planted with corn the 
\ 15th day of May. The ground was dry and 
in good condition for receiving the seed 
while many pieces considered " dry land" 
were much too wet. The corn was planted 
three and a half feet apart each way, hoed 
twice, and received a top-dressing of plaster 
and ashes. It was cut up the 10th and 11th 
of September, when it was found ripe and 
sound. We husked from the piece 440 
bushels of ears, all merchantable corn. 

My neighbors concur with me in opinion 
that this crop is worth more than the aggre- 
gate crops that the land has produced for 
the last fifteen years. It is now in a condi- 
tion to produce abundantly for a series 
of years without any extra outlay. This 
crop has paid me the whole expense of un- 
derdrawing, and I am so well pleased with 
the experiment, that I have had a number 
of ditches dug upon another piece adjoining, 
and intend to use drain tile instead of stone. 
The tile drain is cheaper, and from what in- 
formation I can obtain, I think it much 
more durable. 



Drain tile of a superior quality are now 
manufactured by Lucius G. Spencer, of this 
town, and soldat Albany prices. The farms of 
Windsor county are waking up on the sub- 
ject. I am informed of one man who in- 
tends to lay four hundred rods from the first 
kiln. Jamks R. Walker. 

Springfield, Yt., Nov. 5, 1858. 



From Dickens- Household Words. 

Beef, Mutton and Bread. 

A council composed of noble and gentle 
amateurs; a sprinkling of real fanners; a 
library of books on agriculture whicli few 
read ; models of implements which few ex- 
amine; and samples of seeds for which few 
inquire — these are the components of the 
Royal Agricultural Society as it exists in 
the dingy mansion of Hanover Square, 
London. For eleven months of the year 
its only sign of life is an occasional discus- 
sion, from which reporters for the public 
press are inflexibly excluded ; but, on the 
twelfth there follows, thanks to railroads, 
a July fortnight of real agricultural work. 
Then the whole agricultural element of the 
district chosen for the annual show is set 
fermenting by the presence of the most ag- 
ricultural members of the society, and a 
general invitation to all England to come 
forward and compete for prizes with their 
agricultural implements and live stock. 
This year the great agricultural holiday was 
held at Lincoln ; — once the nucleus of 
Roman roads ; now in the centre of one of 
the finest farming districts in the country, 
and connected by railways with every coun- 
ty between Plymouth and Aberdeen. 

Eighty-four years ago, Arthur Young, 
one of the most far-seeing and graphic 
writers on English agriculture, made the 
journey from Peterborough to Lincoln on 
horseback, occupying twice as many days 
as a railway train takes hours ; following 
ancient ways; partly of Roman construc- 
tion, and passing over causeways through 
seas of fresh water, which now, thanks to 
the Cornish steam-engines, have been drain- 
ed into fat pastures, where, on every acre, 
an ox or cow, bred far north, can be fatten- 
ed for the London market. 

As I approached Lincoln to be present 
at the fourteen days' show, the evidences of 
the Past and Present met me on either 
hand. Of the present, in the shape of 
solemn but amiable-looking bulls, carefully 



160 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



clothed in slices of Brussels carpet hemmed 
and edged with tape ; heifers of equally 
pure blood, and Leicester and South Down 
sheep, all riding comfortably in railway 
trucks. A real monument of the Past rose 
on Dunston Heath : — Dunston Tower, erect- 

. ed in the last century as a light-house to 
guide travellers across the black moor be- 
tween Spilsby and Lincoln, — a waste then, 
but now the centre of farming as fine as 
any in Europe : at least so I was told by a 
tall, rosy, wiry, pleasant-faced farmer, in a 
fall suit of shepherd's plaid. And here I 
must note that the real John Bull farmer, 
whom artists of a waning school depict in 
top-boots, seated before a foaming jug of 
nut-brown ale, and beside the portrait of a 
prize ox, seems to have been improved 
out of the country. My closet researches 
at Lincoln did not discover a single speci- 

"men. 

There was no mistake about the charac- 
ter of the meeting ; it did not require top- 
boots to indicate that it was not scientific, 
nor antiquarian, nor literary, nor military, 
nor commercial; but, that it was simply 
and solely agricultural. The whole multi- 
tude of strangers who crowded the street, 
— studying the Latin motto of " Floreat 
Lindum" inscribed in red letters upon 
white calico, on the arch of evergreens, or 
holding conversations round the steps of 
the hotels — had a breezy, out-of-door, 
healthy, tally hoish appearance. Black, bay 
and gray horses, of huge proportions, gaily 
adorned with ribbons (the unmistakable 
sires of London dray-horses,) were led care- 
fully along towards the show-ground by the 
only top-boots extant. Roan Short-horns, 
red Devons, and white-faced Hereford 
bulls ; cows with interesting calves ; and 
plump heifers, paced along with a delibera- 
tion and placidity worthy of their high 
breeding. It is only young Highland ky- 
loes and Scotch runts that played wild 
tricks, and scampered, as Leigh Hunt said 
of certain pigs, down all manner of streets. 
Anon came a select pen of ewes, or a ram, 
conducted with a sort of care we can im- 
agine the sultan's guard to bestow on an 
importation Of plump Circassian beauties. 

Guided out of sight of the bovine and 
ovine procession by the shrill squeal of dis- 
contented Yorkshire pigs nearly as large 
as, and much heavier than, Alderney cows ; 
across the bridge over that Withani stream 
through which Romans, and Danes, and' 



Saxons, and Normans, successively rowed 
on their way to Peterborough ; along a gay 
and dusty road, where stood those wonder 
ful works of art dear to my childhood's 
dreams ; — Wombwellian wild beasts painted; 
on acres of canvass, in the most exciting 
situations ; at length I reached the show- 
yard. The parallelogram of some four 
acres contained an epitome of the materials 
and tools which make modern British ag- 
riculture what it is. There were instru- 
ments for cultivating all sorts of soils ; and 
live stock which' can be sent to the butch- 
er's in one-fourth the time that our ances- 
tors found indispensable for producing fat 
meat. In natural course the implements 
come before the stock which they have 
helped to bring to perfection. 

The first operation for bringing our food 
into a condition fit for the butcher or the 
baker is to turn over the soil ; for which 
the best implement that has yet been in- 
vented is a plow. In the Lincoln yard 
there were not less than thirty-nine sorts oil 
iron plows, for every degree of work, fromi 
scratching the turf to turning up the earth 
twenty inches deep. Those who have seen 
the rude plow still in use in the South of 
France and Italy (where the team is often 
composed of a dwarf milch cow, a donkey 
and a wife ; the husband holding the onei 
stilt) will be surprised to learn that in! 
seventeen hundred and thirty a plow was 
made at Rotherham which was better than 
those even now in use in the worst-cultivat- 
ed counties of England and Wales ; and 
that, so far back as sixteen hundred and! 
seventy-seven, subsoiling or loosening the 
earth very deep so as to let water fallj 
through and fibres of roots to penetrate — 
one of the most valuable improvements oi! 
modern agriculture, which we now owe to 
Smith of Deanston — was practised by a 
young man of Kent. But in agriculture, 
above all other useful arts, improvements 
and indentions not only travel slowly, but 
are often despised during the lifetime of 
the inventor; and, after him, are forgotten. 

The frame of the most approved plowsi 
is made of wrought, the share of cast iron, 
case hardened ; the coulter, or cutting- 
knife, being of iron and steel. They are 
provided with wheels. It requires three 
or four ploughs of different construction to 
do the work of a single farm thoroughly. 

After the ground has been plowed, it 
requires to be broken into as fine a condi- 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



161 



tion as possible, to receive seed. For this 
purpose, on the continent and in Australia, 
a thick bush is often used, such as Gervase 
Markham, writing in sixteen hundred and 
eighty-eight, recommends in his Farewell 
to Husbandry. " Get," saith he, " a pret- 
ty big white-thorn tree, and make sure it 
be wonderful thick, bushy, and rough 
grown." The bushy tree was thrown aside 
for a harrow of wooden spikes ; which has 
since been superseded by instruments of 

i iron, such as harrows and scufflers, or scar- 
ifiers, by which the soil is cleaned, stirred, 
and broken up to a due degree of fineness. 

i Of these several sorts of earth-tortures there 
were thirty-five oxhibitors at Lincoln. With 
such a choice there is no difficulty in se- 
lecting implements which, whatever the 

| quality of the soil, will pulverize the clods 
left by the plow, clear away the weeds and 
roots, and cover with earth the seeds sown 
over the surface. 

Next in order come a set of machines 
invented in consequence of the introduc- 
tion of such portable manures as guanos, 
nitrate of soda, soot, salt, superphosphate, 
&c, which it may be advisable to distribute 
broad-cast in a liquid state. A few years 
ago the farmer was entirely dependent on 
farm-yard manure ; which, still valuable, 
is bulky, expensive to move, and even 
when dug in, not sufficiently stimulating 
for certain crops. It is advantageous, for 
instance, to force forward turnips with great 
rapidity, in order to place them beyond the 
ravages of the fly. To this end chemistry 
is always at work to find or to compound 
new manures. Bones were a great discov- 
ery in their day ; but now, fossil bones of 
antediluvian beasts are, with sulphuric acid, 
made useful for growing roots to feed 
Christmas bullocks. Bones were the ear- 
liest portable manure used for turnips, — 
first nearly whole ; then crushed ; next, on 
the suggestion of a great chemist, dissolved 
in sulphuric acid; and now distributed over 
the land in a water-drill. Portable manures 
are expensive, and machine distribution is 
more regular and economical than hand- 
casting. At Lincoln, mechanical inven- 
tion was found keeping pace with chemical 
discoveries. Ten sorts of machines were 
there for distributing portable manures in 
a dry state, the last and best being the in- 
vention of a young Norfolk farmer, and 
constructed by a village blacksmith. 

The ground manured, is ready for seed. 
11 



In certain cases both are put in at the same 
time. The ancient sower — whose race is 
not wholly extinct — fastened the seed 
round his waist and shoulder with a sheet, 
and dextrously cast the grain right and left 
as he traversed the field ; but, in seventeen, 
hundred and thirty-three Jethro Tull, who 
nearly touched without actually grasping, 
some of the greatest improvements in agri- 
culture, invented a corn and turnip-drill 
and a horse-hoe for ridging up and clearing 
weeds away ; an operation only to be done 
by hand-labour after broad-cast sowing. 
But in this he was before his time. Yet 
his contrivance has since been adopted and 
improved upon sufficiently to yield samples 
at Lincoln, from thirty exhibitors. Among 
them were three liquid manure or water 
drills, which were invented about ten years 
ago, and pushed into notice within three. 
These are now making rapid way among 
the turnip-sowers, in light, level, dry dis- 
tricts. 

The horse-hoe naturally follows the drill, 
whether to scuffle up weeds or to embank 
earth along the sides of roots. Formerly 
the great obstacle to the use of implements 
which enable farm work to be done by 
mechanism, was a state of society and a 
system of poor-laws which gave the farmer 
no choice between paying popr-rates or 
wages for labourers he was better without ; 
but farmers in eighteen hundred and fifty- 
four have no fear of surplus labour or of 
overwhelming poor-rates ; consequently, spe- 
cimens of twenty horse-hoes of every de- 
gree of ingenuity were scrutinized at Lin- 
coln, and largely purchased. The latest 
invention was a rotatory hoe, invented last 
year by a Norfolk farmer, which thins out 
turnips with marvellous swiftness and ex- 
actness ; thus promising to supersede the 
de 
of boys and girls 

After crops are fairly sown, hoed, and 
weeded, the next operation is gathering ; 
this brings us to carts and wagons ; the 
wheels of which are made by machinery, at 
some of the large implement factories, at 
the rate of thousands per annum. Twenty- 
one horse carts were shown ; and it is to be 
hoped that by degrees the lumbering, ill- 
balanced vehicles seen in too many English 
and Irish counties will be superseded by 
the light Scotch cart. 

But before carting comes mowing, and 
reaping, and hay-making. In grass-mow- 



ra*ding hand-labour of the Norfolk gangs 



162 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



ing no machine has yet superseded the 
scythe. But every year spreads more 
widely the use of the hay-making machine, 
a revolving cylinder with prongs, which, 
driven by a horse, lightly tosses the grass, 
and saves half the work of the hay-maker. 
Four such machines by different makers 
were shown ; the best were ordered in 
greater number than the makers could exe- 
cute. This machine, like the horse-rake 
(of which a dozen were displayed in 
the Lincoln yard,) is one of the simple 
implements that every farmer short of his 
usual supply of Irish labourers (now better 
employed in tilling the backwoods of Amer- 
ica) should use ; for it can be kept in 
order without the help of a skilled ma- 
chanic. 

The history of the reaping-machine, from 
the days of Pliny to the contrivance of the 
Scotch minister, Bell, is too large and in- 
teresting to be dismissed in a paragraph. 
It must for the present be enough to say, 
that in the field-trials at Lincoln there was 
nothing more exciting or comical than the 
straggling competition between the machine 
reapers, when they charged into the stand- 
ing corn, and cut and laid it down ready 
for the binders at the rate of at least two 
acres per hour. But some other time the 
story of the reaper — a real romance — must 
be told. 

Passing now from the field to the rick- 
yard, the rick-stand must not be overlooked. 
It is a pillar and mushroom cap of stone or 
iron, to lift the rick from the ground ; and 
to cheat — as we learnt at the late Durham 
Assizes — rats and mice of no less than 
forty per cent, of the grain per annum ; yet 
hundreds of farmers will not spend a shil- 
ling on rick-stands. 

. From the rick the next step is to the 
barn machinery ; and what a step ! — from 
the clay thrashing floor, and the flail stupi- 
fying the thrasher and wasting the corn; 
and the rude winnowing machine depend- 
ent on a breezy day, to the beautiful steam- 
driven thrashing-machine, by which corn is 
thrashed, winnowed, sacked and weighed, 
while the straw is hoisted to the straw-loft, 
to be there, if needful, by the same steam 
power, and by one operation, cut into chaff 
for cattle. At Lincoln there were upwards of 
twenty-five thrashing nlachines exhibited, 
the greater number of which would thrash 
corn at about ninepence a quart, or less than 
half the cost of hand-labour. Yet it is 



only within the last five years that this ma- 
chine driven by steam-power has invaded 
some of the best corn-growing counties in 
England. 

Last in the list comes steam-engines ; 
which steam food, cut chaff, pulp roots, 
thrash grain, raise loads, pump water, and 
drive liquid manure through pipes, at an 
insignificant expense ; permitting a farmer 
to be always ready to send his crops to mar- 
ket at short notice. Without pretending to 
examine those bewildering conjunctions of 
cranks and wheels, the mere fact of five- 
and-twenty steam-engines entered for agri- 
cultural use, at prices beginning at one 
hundred pounds, shows the road the Brit- 
ish farmer is now marching. Ten years 
ago, half a dozen agricultural steam-en- 
gines, consuming double the quantity of 
fuel now required, were gazed upon — in 
England, though not in Scotland — as curi- 
osities. Now it pays twenty-five makers to 
send these weighty specimens as showcards 
to farmers whenever and wherever the 
Royal Agricultural Society holds its meet- 
ings- 

The criticism of the practical men who 
travelled from all parts of the kingdom to 
review the implement show at Lincoln, 
proved that a large number of farmers had 
fully discovered the value of coal and iron 
— that coal and iron are as effectual in pro- 
ducing motive power for agricultural ope- 
rations, as for driving spinning jennies, and 
propelling steam vessels. There is still at 
least one hundred years of darkness and 
prejudice between the districts where such 
sentiments are held, and where the wooden 
wheelless plow, the clumsy harrow, broad- 
cast sowing, hand-hoeing, flail-thrashing, un- 
drained land, and ill-housed stock, are the 
rule. Not that any number of implements, 
or the study of any number of books, will 
make a farmer. Science, to be useful, must 
be sown on a practical and fruitful soil. 
The keenest steel axe must be wielded by a 
practised hand. 

Having raised our crops by a good use 
of the implements in the Lincoln yard, we 
must now turn to the live stock. 

The short-horns — arranged in order, 
bulls, cows with calves, and heifers, in the 
rich variety of colour peculiar to the aris- 
tocracy of the ox tribe — come first in view. 
Some strawberry roan, some red and whit#, 
some milk-white; but all so much alike in 
form and face, that to the uninitiated, the 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



163 



roan bulls might be all brothers, and the 
white cows all sisters. Short legs, vast 
round carcases, flat backs ; not an angle nor 
a point, except at the muzzle and the horns 
— are the characteristics of the descendents 
of Collings' Durhams. A little farther on, 
the bulls, quite as large, arc the Herefords, 
red, with white faces, and here and there 
white bellies ; the cows smaller, with less of 
a dairy look than the shorfc-horns. Third 
in order appear the Devons, in colour one 
deep red, with deer-like heads ; plump but 
delicate and small in stature. These three 
breeds, of which a hundred and seventy- 
one specimens were sent, represent the best 
beef that England, after about a hundred 
years of pains and experiments, can raise. 
All English herds of cattle maintained on 
first-rate farms are one of those three breeds 
— short-horns, Herefords, or Devons. Scot- 
land has breeds of its own. The Argyle 
ox, in his improved shape, is one of the 
legacies of Duke Archibald, Jeannie Dean's 
friend, bred on the hills and vales of the 
Highlands, and which, fattened in the pri- 
vate yards of London, Norfolk, and Bedford, 
produces beef second to none. The Ayr- 
shire cow is unrivalled for dairy use. But, 
as these are not bred in England, they do 
not come into competition in a show of 
English breeding stock. 

The sheep shown for prizes are subject to 
as few divisions as the cattle. There are 
pure Leicesters (once called the New Lei- 
cesters ; but the old have all died out ;) the 
long-wools, not being Leicesters, of which 
the prime victors are all Cotswolds; and 
the short-wools, or South Downs, a class un- 
der which rivals from Wiltshire and Nor- 
folk compete with Sussex, the cradle of 
the improved breed. As for pigs, they are 
divided into large and small only, although 
known by many names. 

Considering how much of our domestic 
happiness and public prosperity is depen- 
dent on a supply of prime beef in steaks, 
sirloins, and rounds j on chops, legs, and 
saddles of mutton ; on streaky rashers, and 
Yorkshire and Cumberland hams, it will 
not be be time wasted to explain how it 
comes to pass that in every county of the 
kingdom there are to be found not only 
wealthy amateurs, but practical farmers, 
who devote their whole time to produce 
prime animals of pure blood, not always at 
a profit; and how the country gains from 
stock so plump, cubical, and unpicturesque ; 



for it is not to be gainsaid that the wild 
cattle of the Roman Campagna or the An- 
dalusian pastures are more suited to figure 
as models for the painter than under the 
knife of the carver. A Yorkshire farmer 
remarked when shown the Toro Farnese, 
that " there could'nt be many prime cuts 
sliced out of him." 

By the exertions of only a few zealous 
agriculturists, during the last hundred 
years, good meat has been placed within the 
reach of the people at large. The roast 
beef of Old England, which some fancy to 
have been the ordinary fare of our ances- 
tors in the days of Queen Bess, was really 
and truly the tough and tasteless produce of 
lean, black, worn-out draught oxen, or 
leathery old cows, and that only procurable 
fresh for four months in the year. Those 
who have travelled in the South of Europe 
or on the Rhine, have seen the greyhound- 
like pigs, the lean, gaunt sheep, the angu- 
lar and active cows unincumbered with sir- 
loins and almost destitute of lungs, which 
pick up a miserable existence on the road- 
sides. A hundred years ago, with a few 
rare exceptions, the ordinary breeds of live 
stock in Great Britain were just as lean, ill- 
shaped, and slow-growing. And to those 
who inquire what we have gained by the 
enthusiasm with which noblemen and gen- 
tlemen have followed cattle-breeding, it can 
be answered, that the ox, which used to he 
with difficulty fattened at six years old, is 
now presentable in superlative condition 
upon the Christmas board at three years old. 
The sheep which formerly fed in summer 
and starved in winter, until five years old, 
are now fit for the butcher in twenty 
months, with a better and more even fleece. 
And the pig which formerly ran races un- 
til two years had passed, is now fit for the 
knife after eating and sleeping comfortably 
and cleanly as a gentleman should, for 
nine months only. 

This change has been brought about 
partly by the improvement of our agricul- 
ture, a closer study of the habits of ani- 
mals, and an increased supply of food placed 
within our reach by extended commerce, 
and a rational system of customs duties ; 
and partly by discoveries in the art of breed- 
ing. Formerly our cattle and sheep were 
entirely dependent on natural herbage for 
their food. In summer they grew fat, in 
winter they starved and grew thin ; having 
nothing to depend on but such hay as could 



164 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



be saved. The first great step, therefore, 
towards the improvement of cattle was the 
employment of the turnip and other roots 
which could be stored in winter. An ex- 
perienced farmer calculates that with roots, 
oxen improve nearly one-fourth more than 
those fed on hay alone. The use of tur- 
nips enabled sheep to be fed where nothing 
but gorse or rushes grew before. Neal, the 
mechanic, stepped in with a chaff-cutter, 
prepared hay and straw to mix with roots, 
and, with a turnip-cutter, saved six months 
in getting sheep ready for the kitchen. 

The use of a dry, palatable, nutritious 
food, called oil-cake, which could be car- 
ried into the field to sheep to help out a 
short crop, followed; and further studies 
proved the use of peas, and beans, and 
foreign pulse in giving lambs bone and 
muscle. It was found, too, by experiment, 
that warm feeding yards saved food ; that, 
in short, the best way of getting stock into 
prime condition was to feed them well, to 
attend to their health, and never, from 
their earliest days, to allow them to get 
thin. 

But before these dicoveries had been 
made, the breeds of English live-stock were 
in regular course of improvement. No kind 
of food can make an ill-bred, ill-shaped 
beast fat in time to be profitable. Just as 
some men are more inclined to get fat than 
others, so are some animals ; and by select- 
ing individuals of proper shape with this 
tendency, certain breeds have been stereo- 
typed into a never-faiUng type : that type 
in an ox and sheep is one which presents 
the largest extent of prime meat and least 
amount of offal ; or, as a South Down 
breeder expressed it— 7" a perfect sheep 
should be, as nearly as possible, all legs 
and loins of mutton." 

To make this improvement, required a 
certain talent, enthusiasm, and years of 
patience. Breeders of pure stock, like 
mechanical inventors, do not, on an aver- 
age, make money. On the contrary, for 
the pleasure of the pursuit and the hope 
of success, they expend large fortunes; 
while a few win great prizes. But the 
country gains enormously in result; fori 
now, 



turn to the soil highly concentrated and 
productive manure. 

The first man who made stock-breeding 
a fashionable pursuit — and that is a great 
thing in a country where fashion rules too 
much — was Robert Bakewell, of Dishley, 
in Leicestershire, the son and grandson of 
farmers ; but, if we mistake not, himself a bar- 
rister. With horned cattle he aimed at the 
cardinal improvements which are now uni- 
versally established and admitted in this 
country where the growth of meat — less 
than the dairy, as in Holland and Switzer- 
land — is the principal object. He tried to 
produce a large cylindrical body, small 
head, small neck, small extremities, and 
small bone. He said that all was useless 
that was not beef; and sought, by choosing 
and pairing the best specimens, to make the 
shoulders comparatively small, and the hind 
quarters large, which is exactly the reverse 
of animals allowed to breed freely, and to 
gallop at liberty over wide pastures. Even 
the cattle of Australia bred from pure spe- 
cimens, after running wild for a few gene- 
rations, begin to lose the fine sirloins of 
their English ancestors, growing tough and 
stringy for the spit in proportion as they 
become active. 

In sheep, Mr. Bakewell declared that his 
object was mutton, not wool; and, disre- 
garding mere size which is a vulgar test of 
merit, he chose animals which had that ex- 
ternal form which is a sign of producing 
the most muscle and fat, and the least bone; 
and, by careful selection and breeding, he 
stamped a form on the Leicester sheep 
which it retains to this day. 

The South Downs, doubtless an indige- 
nous breed, feed on the bare pasture of the 
Southern coast, produce a fine 'quality of 
meat, and a close, short wool. It was the 
turnip that rendered feeding the South 
Down while young possible. The great im- 
provement began with John Ellman of 
Grlynde, near Lewes, in the year seventeen 
hundred and eighty. He preserved the 
form of the original breed, but corrected 
the too great height of the fore quarters, 
widened the chest, made the back broader, 
the ribs more curved, and the trunk more 



, the same space of ground will feed j symmetrical and compact. The ancestors 
more than twice the quantity of beef and 1 of the present race were rarely killed until 
mutton that it would fifty years ago. The I the third or fourth year. They are now 
animals not only come to maturity in half sent to execution at two years, and some- 
the time ; but, fed partly in yards or stalls, times even at fifteen months old. They 
they spoil less ground by treading, and re-! have since spread far; superseding the 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



165 



breeds of Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, 
crossing and altering the Shropshire, ex- 
tending into Dorsetshire, Surry, Norfolk, 
Devonshire, Herefordshire, Wales, and even 
towards Westmoreland and Cumberland, 
and have improved all the breeds of black- 
faced heath sheep. 

The crowning events in the history of 
beef and mutton bring us back to agricul- 
tural shows, which were established by 
James Duke of Bedford at Woburn, and 
by Mr. Coke, afterwards Earl of Leicester, 
at Holkham. At these " sheepshearings" 
the great houses were thrown open to ag- 
riculturists of all countries and counties. 
Stock were displayed, implements were 
tried, prizes were distributed, and gentle- 
men of rank and fortune, of all opinions 
and politics, threw themselves with enthu- 
siasm into agricultural discussions, and en- 
joyed the excitement of hospitality, com- 
petition, and applause. For instance, in 
seventeen hundred and ninety-nine, we 
find in the Gentleman's Magazine, in an 
account of a Woburn sheepshearing, held 
on the twenty-first of June, names since 
become classical in connection with pure 
breeds: Coke of Norfolk ; Quartley, from 
Devonshire ; Parsons from Somersetshire ; 
Ellman, from Sussex; worthy successors, 
in the cattle-breeding art, of Bakewell, 
the brothers Collings, Tompkins, Lord 
Somerville, and several others. " From 
one hundred to a hundred and ninety sat 
down to dinner for five days successively. 
Premiums for cattle, sheep, and plowing 
were distributed, and his Grace let about 
seventy South Down and new Leicester 
rams for one thousand pounds. The con- 
versation was entirely agricultural, and the 
question was discussed whether the new 
Leicester or the South Down were the bet- 
ter breed of sheep." 



Lakes 

Are insoluble compounds, formed by pre- 
cipitating coloring matter with an earth or 
oxyd. The chief lakes are carmine, obtain- 
ed from cochineal by precipitation with Ro- 
man alum; Florence lake, prepared by the 
same process from the sediment of cochi- 
neal, by precipitation with solution of tin ) 
and madder lake, prepared from Dutch crop 
madder by precipitation with alum. 

Scientific American. 



Champagne Wine— Some Curious Facts 
about it. 

Where one line has been written in Amer- 
ica about champagne, an hundred baskets 
have been drank. It is, par excellence, the 
fashionable and the favorite wine of the 
Americans. It is always on our dinner ta- 
bles — we call for it from the frescoed ceiling 
of our New-York-hotel diningrooms, till we 
reach the outskirts of our Western wilder- 
nesses. We Call for it in the cabin of the 
steamship, no matter on what ocean she is 
floating — we drink it at the head-waters of 
the Missouri, at the cataracts of the Nile, at 
the sources of the Amazon, on the vales of the 
La Plata, and at the falls of the Ganges. If 
there be a good genius in wine (and a thousand 
inspired odes to Bacchus have said there was) 
that good genius lurks under the champagne 
cork. It is a wine better suited to our cli^ 
mate than any other, for it has the inimita- 
ble gift of creating an impromptu inspiration ; 
and even when used with a hardly justifia- 
ble freedom, the mists which it scatters over 
the memory are more readily dispersed by a 
few hours of balmy slumber, and the invig- 
orating breath that comes with the pure air 
of the rising sun. 

And yet we have taken very little pains, 
and had very little curiosity, to learn the 
origin and history of this unrivalled accom- 
paniment, to the scenes of joyousness and 
luxury that brighten and embellish our so- 
cial life. We will furnish such a brief his- 
tory of champagne wine, as the fruit of our 
observations in the champagne districts of 
France, where all the champagne of the 
world that is genuine is made, can give. 
Champagne is an artificial wine. Perhaps 
it would be better to say a compound wine ; 
for in no instance is it the simple juice of 
the grape, corked up after fermentation. It 
may, when well made, be quite as pure ; but 
certain elements are combined in the manu- 
facture of a fine champagne, for which we 
depend solely upon art. Therefore the qual- 
ity and flavor, and the value of champagne, 
always depend upon the flavor of the ingre- 
dients used in the manufacture, the pro- 
cesses by which it is carried on, and the 
skill with which it is perfected. 

There is no champagne of reputation that 
is made without being composed of a mix- 
ture of the wines of various vintages, or 
vineyards. 

All the champagne wine worth speaking 



166 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



[March 



of in the world comes from the Champagne 
district, which is about thirty miles long 
and from one and a half to three miles 
broad. The river Marne flows through the 
whole district, augmented by the numerous 
tribute streams that come rippling down 
from the circumjacent hills. This is the 
only district of France where grapes are 
grown which produce a juice specially adap- 
ted to a champagne wine. There is ; in- 
deed, the sparkling hock of Germany, and 
the vino a? Asti of Italy, both of which 
have, in a natural state, some of the quali- 
ties, especially the effervescing ones, of 
champagne. But, in no part of the world 
have soil, science, labor, or capital, combin- 
ed with success to produce real champagne 
except in the beautiful valley of the Marne. 
There are the favorite spots for growing the 
champagne grape — as famous as the vine- 
yards on the south side of the island of Ma- 
deira, which from the period of the Ro- 



thoroughly done in the Fall. This is true 
of all grapes which produce their fruit from 
the new growth of the stock exclusively, 
and why all the pruners should cut every- 
thing down to near the surface, leaving only 
the eyes, from which the germs of the next 
spring will burst. 

Our American readers must. not fancy the 
Champagne district to be one of the warm, 
blushing valleys of the south of Italy. This 
district is the latitude of Canada, and they 
have cold winters there. So when the pro- 
cess of pruning the grape in the Fall is fin- 
ished, the remaining stock is protected some- 
times, and all the grapes that are to be grown 
next year, must come from the new shoots. 
When thus cared for, the grape vine takes 
to growing in the root, and these roots elon- 
gate themselves sometimes for enormous dis- 
tances. In Italy, and in some other portions 
of Europe, we have seen grape vines run 
immense distances, with branches lopping 



mans, has been known as the chief seat of down and rooting again, and still growing 
that delicious grape which makes Madeira. ' with the utmost luxuriance, when the parent 
So, too, along all the southern slopes of stock itself had rotted off above the ground 
Spain and Italy, and through the extent of: from which it grew. Thus it is no uncom- 
the Mediterranean, between the bases and | mon thing in Italy to find grape vines that 
the summits of the hills, where neither the 
moisture of the valleys nor the chills of the 



mountains interfere with the genial and del 
icate process of maturing the luxurious 
grape. 

It is well known that the flavor of all 
wine, in a natural state, depends upon the 
chemical qualities of the soil, the dryness or 
the moisture, the heat or the cold of the at- 
mosphere, and other natural causes, which 
in the invisible and beautiful operations of 
chemistry, produce these results. The odor 
of the flower depends not alone upon the 
species, or even the family to which the plant 
belongs. Some species, by being transplant- 
ed, change their perfume ; and some have 
been known to lose it altogether. It is one 
of the nicest and most delicate and difficult 
problems in agricultural chemistry, to ascer- 
tain how the highest flavor or ordor can be 
infused into the plant, or the flower. 

In the Champagne district, as well as in 
many other vineyard regions of France, and 
other wine countries, the grape is cut down, 
within from two to twelve inches of the 
ground, every year after the vintage is gath- 
ered, and the sap has retired to the root. 
Our vine-dressers in America may learn a 
lesson from this. If we would cultivate these 
varieties of grapes, this pruning should be 



1 have been in the soil, probably for ages, pro- 
ducing from the original root or branches 
that sprung from it, without transplanting, 
for a period of 500 years. This fact is so 
well known to students of Oriental history, 
that it grew into a proverb at least four thou- 
sand years ago, when in "the good time 
coming" of the prophets of Judea, it was 
declared that every man should sit under 
his own vine and fig tree, having none to 
molest or make him afraid. • 

Some grapes attain their perfection in 
four, five, or six years. This is the case 
generally with the champagne grape. 

The champagne grape produces from one, 
to half a dozen bunches on every stock, ex- 
cept in poor years, as they have recently ex- 
perienced several in France. But there is 
no relaxation in setting out new plants, or 
forcing the yield, whether it be a good or 
bad year. Neither science nor experience 
has yet been able clearly to ascertain the 
causes of failure of the grape crop. 

The champagne grape matures later than 
many other varieties, chiefly because it has 
greater acidity. The champagne vintage 
begins about the 20th of September, and 
ends by the 15th of October. This period 
there, resembles the season of cotton pick- 
when the whole force of 



ing in the South, 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



167 



the district is called into requisition, and 
they work on night and day. In both cases, 
the labor must be done quick, for a heavy 
storm, or a long period of damp weather, 
would produce ruinous consequences, leav- 
ing the grapes so wet, that even if ripe, they 
would become mouldy and musty, and the 
exquisite aroma be utterly destroyed. 

Great pains is taken in the process of get- 
ting the juice out after the grapes are gath- 
ered. They are brought in baskets, and on 
being delivered, are carefully looked over by 
the hands in the establishment, when the 
best clusters are placed in large tubs, con- 
taining one or two hundred pounds each. 
These grapes are purchased by the buyers of 
large establishments, who are always on the 
spot, with their orders or money. When a 
sufficient quantity is collected, they are car- 
ried to some place in the neighborhood, 
where they are pressed ; and thus a fair ex- 
periment is made, and the result known. 
The juice is then sold to the larger dealers. 
But recently the more common mode has 
been for the large manufacturers of cham- 
pagne to send their agents out through the 
grape districts, to purchase the grapes them- 
selves, and do their own pressing. They 
thus find that they can produce a greater 
uniformity of quality, and assimilate their 
different wines into a more perfect com- 
pound. The present manner of pressing 
grapes does not differ essentially from what 
we call, in New England, the old fashion 
cider press. On a platform of from four to 
twelve feet square, the grapes are thrown 
into what cider-makers will understand as a 
cheese ; and through the orifices in the bot- 
tom and in the sides of the press, grapes 
will, by their own weight, exude the juice, 
which is of course the purest and the best, 
not being mixed with any impurities that 
come with the clusters when impregnated 
with any of the bitter or obnoxious flavor of 
skins or stems. In any vintage the juice 
gained by the first process is the finest. But 
the juice of the grape has to be produced 
by artificial pressure, which forces it out, and 
although sometimes differing in color — the 
coloring matter being chiefly in the skin of 
the grape, since the juice of nearly all grapes 
is very much alike in appearance — it is per- 
fect. 

Very little of the champagne that we use is 
made from the first quality of juice. It never 
could be manufactured and sold for the 
prices of a sham article. It is dealt in only 



by houses of the first reputation. Most of 
the champagne drunk in America comes 
from suspicious quarters, and we may be 
very thankful when we get the fruit of the 
grape : for, except in rare cases, we are sure 
to be deceived. 

The juice of the grape being thus collec- 
ted into a thousand or ten thousand pipes, 
the fermentation must first take place. This 
is completed in a few days, when the taster 
of the establishment (no mean personage) 
goes through, and ascertains the amount of 
acidity on the one side, and saccharine mat- 
ter on the other, in every cask. Whichever 
quality is lacking is supplied at once by ad- 
ding sugar in the one case, and wines of a 
different quality in the other. 

It is a nice process to determine and reg- 
ulate the flavor, the bouquet, and the body 
of the champagne wines. It is well known 
that manufacturers of the greatest experi- 
ence and reputation, have had more faith in 
learning to discriminate in the natural qual- 
ities of different vintages of the champagne 
wine, than they have had in the application 
of chemical ingredients of an artificial de- 
scription. Thus the wines of different fields, 
or even different vintages, are successfully 
combined by skillful tasters, who thus pro- 
duce a result finer, perhaps, than could be 
reached by the production of any one vin- 
tage whatever. The taster is the man upon 
whose judgment the process depends. 

Thus, when the mixtures are complete, 
the wine is put into large vats, containing 
from a thousand to five thousand bottles, 
where it remains until it is drawn off. By 
this time it has perfected itself as far as it 
can, when it is put into bottles and deposi- 
ted in the coldest cellars that can be made. 
When the spring comes on, the second fer- 
mentation of the wine takes place, and this 
is often attended with a heavy loss by the 
breakage of bottles. But those which stand 
the racket are then carefully wired for a 
year or two, and laid down flat, when a sed- 
iment gathers on the lower side of the bot- 
tle. The bottles are afterwards turned to 
stand perpendicular, and shaken every day, 
until the sediment which forms eomes to the 
top, leaving the wine clear. After this pe- 
riod the bottle is not disturbed until the final 
process is reached, when this sediment must 
be got rid of, and it is to be done by a very 
rapid and skillful movement. 

The string is cut and the cork goes off 
with a pop, and with it all the sediment that 



168 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



had been collected. Then a small percen- 
tage of the finest crystallized sugar, with 
from one to three per cent, of the best bran- 
dy in the world, is added to supply the vacu- 
um made by that small portion of wine 
which escaped. The bottle is instantly cork- 
ed firmly, and the wine is ready for expor- 
tation. 

The reason for putting some sugar in, is 
to overcome the asperity, roughness, or even 
bitterness, which might be detected in the 
best vintage by a fine palate ; and this infi- 
nitessimal quantity of brandy is added as a 
corrective, to produce a chemical whole, 
combining and blending all the elements to- 
gether. A powerful machine drives the 
cork home, and thus from five hundred to 
ten thousand bottles a day, pass through a 
great establishment. The government of 
France reported last year something like 
sixteen millions of bottles exported. The 
German States consume five millions, while 
England takes only about six hundred thous- 
and ; France, Belgium, and Spain, consume 
but two millions ; other smaller nations in 
the aggregate use but two, and the balance 
comes to the United States. 

It will thus be seen that we drink more 
champagne in America than all the rest of 
the world put together. Every quality of it 
is sent here, and almost any quantity with- 
out labels, that each dealer will put on what 
label will best suit his customers, varying 
the price as he can make it, for it is abso- 
lutely within our own knowledge that we 
have drank champagne of all prices and all 
brands, at the same table, when there was 
but one quality of champagne under all the 
brands, and that of the most infamous de- 
scription. 

The most popular, and the most reliable 
champagne wine known in America, has for 
more than a generation been the Heidsieck 
champagne. More bottles of that brand 
have been sold in America than of any 
other; and our readers being more familiar 
with it, we will add one word of history in 
regard to the name. The facts we are about 
to state, we give with some confidence, for 
we get them from Rheims, the head-quarters 
of champagne. 

There are three houses in Rheims that 
make use of the name Heidsieck on their 
corks. The first member of the Heidsieck 
family that established himself at Rheims, 
was a Mr. Florent Heidseick, the great un- 
cle of the gentleman now known through- 



out the world as the proprietor of the 
Charles Heidsieck champagne. They have 
merited the confidence of the commercial 
wf)rld — they have always had an agency in 
New. York, and only one agency at a time. 
That agency is now at 100 Pearl street, with 
the firm of T. W. Bayaud & Co. This is 
the only place in America to go to, to have 
the genuine Charles Heidseick champagne. 
Democratic Age. 



Printer's Devil. 

We have so frequently been asked by 
friends and others, why the boy in the print- 
ing office is called the " devil," that we con- 
clude to give what little we know upon the 
subject. 

The first persons who carried on printing 
to any extent, (if they were not the actual 
inventors of the art, as asserted,) were John 
Gruttenburgh, John Faust, (or Faustus,) and 
Peter Shaeffer. Germany was the place the 
art was invented and first carried on. The 
following story is told of the first introduc- 
tion of printing in France : 

"In 1592, Faust carried a number of 
Bibles into Paris, which he and his partner 
(Shasffer) had printed, and disposed of as 
manuscripts ; at this time the discovery of 
the art was not known in France. At first 
he sold them at the high price of five or six 
hundred crowns, the sum usually obtained 
by the scribes. He afterwards lowered the 
price to sixty, which created universal aston- 
ishment; but when he produced them accord- 
ing to the demand, and even reduced it to 
thirty, all Paris became agitated. 

" The uniformity of the copies increased 
their wonder, the Parisians considering it a 
task beyond human invention; informations 
were given to the police against him, as a 
magician; his lodgings were searched, a great 
number of Bibles were found and seized ; 
the red ink with which there were embel- 
lished was said to be his blood. It was seri- 
ously adjudged that he was in league with 
the devil; whereupon he was cast into 
prison, and would most probably have shared 
the fate of such whom ignorant and super- 
stitious Judges condemned in those days of 
witchcraft. He now found it necessary, in 
order to gain his liberty, to make known his 
discovery of the art. This affair gave rise 
to the tradition of 'the Devil and Dr. 
Faustus/ which is handed down to the pre- 
sent time." 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



169 



The ignorance and superstition that con- 
sidered printing an invention of the Evil 
One, would also very naturally suppose the 
men engaged in it as being the servants of 
Satan, if not actual fiends in human shape. 
It is universally considered that the above 
story gave rise to the practice of calling the 
office boy by the name of "Devil." — "Prin- 
ters News' Letters'' 



Wanted— A Young Man of Industry, In- 
tegrity, &c. 

This meets one's eyes daily in the col- 
umns of "Wants," and it is true as the 
Pentateuch. Wanted ! Of course they are 
— always wanted. The market can never 
be overstocked ; they will be called for, and 
never quoted " dull" or " no sale." Wanted 
for thinkers, wanted for workers; on the 
main, in the field, and in the vast forests. 

Tools are lying idle for want of young 
men, a pen is waiting to be wielded, a tree 
to be felled, a plough to be guided, a village 
to be founded, a school to be instructed. 

They talk about staples and great staples. 
Honest, industrious, able young men are the 
staple in this world of ours. Young man; 
you are wanted ; but not for a doctor. No, 
nor a lawyer. There are enough of them 
for this generation, and one or two to spare. 
Don't study a " profession," unless it is the 
profession of bricklaying or farming, or some 
other of the manual professions. Don't 
use tape if you can help it. It is honorable 
and honest, and all that ; but then, perhaps 
you can do better. Of all things, don't rob 
the women. It is their prerogative to han- 
dle silks and laces, tape and thread. Put 
on a hat like a man, don an apron, and go 
out of doors. Get a glow on your cheeks, 
the jewelry of toil on your brow, and a good 
set of well developed muscles. We would 
go, if we could; but then we were young 
longer ago than we like to think, and you 
know when one's " old he can't." 

Besides, if you become a doctor, you'll 
have to wait. " Because you haven't expe- 
rience," says an old practitioner; " because 
you are too young," says all the women. If 
you are a lawyer, and likely to rise, they will 
put a weight on your head, a la Swiss, to 
keep you under ; or if you make a good 
argument, some old opponent, as grey as a 
rat, will kick it all over by some taunt or 
other, because you were not born in the 
year one. And so it will go, until you grow 
tired and soured, and wish you had been 



born a tinker, perhaps an immortal one, or 
anything but what you are. 

Be a farmer, and your troubles are over, 
or rather they never begin. You own what 
you stand on, from the centre of the earth 
up to the skies, as they used to say ; you are 
as independent as possible all day, and tired, 
not weary, at night, for there is a great dif- 
ference between the two words, if one stops 
to think about it. The more neighbors you 
have, and the better farmers they are, the 
more and better for you. 

There is one thing, young man. You are 
wanted. A young woman wants you. — 
Don't forget her. No matter if you are 
poor, with proper economy you will soon be 
rich and happy. Don't wait to be rich. You 
need a companion while you live, and not 
after you have done living. Effort is life, 
and cessation therefrom a grand and gloomy 
"has been." So do not wait till it is all in 
the yesterdays ; if you do, ten to one if you 
are fit to be married. Marry while you are 
young, and struggle up together, lest in 
years to come somebody shall advertise 
" Young Men Wanted," and there's none to 
be had.—B. F. Taylor. 

Leaks Simply Stopped. 

The Lynn News says : — " Some years ago 
I had a leaking <L.'* Every northeast 
storm drove its waters in. I made a compo- 
sition of four pounds of resin, one pint lin- 
seed oil and one ounce red lead, applied it 
hot with a brush to the part where the '1/ 
was joined to the main house. It has never 
leaked since. I then recommended the 
composition to my neighbor, who had a dor- 
mer window which leaked badly. He ap- 
plied it, and the leak stopped. I made my 
water-cask tight by this composition, and 
have recommended it for chimneys, etc., 
and it has always proved a cure for a leak." 

* The valleys of an L shaped house. 

For the Southern Planter. 

Palpitation of the Heart. 

Mr. Editor — The remedy for this uncom- 
fortable affection which you mention in your 
February number as recently recommended, 
viz. " deep inspirations and subsequent hold- 
ing of the breath," I accidentally discover- 
ed thirty years ago, and have since always 
used when necessary. 

I mention it not in derogation of itis ori- 
ginality, but in confirmation ef its efficacy. 

February 1859. Subscriber. 



170 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



Gypsum— Who Introduced It? 

The Editor of the Southern Planter will find 
herewith an article on the first introduction 
of gypsum, which was elicited by enquiries 
which I was induced to make of some 
friends in Pennsylvania. It was sent to me 
in manuscript for the Planter, but was soon 
after published in the American Republi- 
can and Chester County Democrat. Ches- 
ter County is one of the finest farming dis- 
tricts I have seen, and this account of the 
introduction of gypsum is most satisfactory, 
and will be useful I hope in reviving its 
reputation, lately overshadowed by guano. 
My own firm conviction is, that the more 
guano is used the more plaster should be. 
In proof of the strength of my convictions, 
I remark that I use from 10 to 20 tons of 
guano, and from 40 to 60 tons of plaster. 
A farmer may profitably use a bushel of 
plaster every year for each acre of land he 
has in grass or under cultivation ; and it is 
undeniably the cheapest of all fertilizers. 
Use others as far as prudence may justify — 
but do not fail to use this freely. 

Thos. W. Meriweather. 

[From the American Republican.'] 

In view of the important results which 
the use of Plaster of Paris as a fertilizer 
has produced in our agriculture, the inter- 
esting question presents itself, "Who first 
introduced it to the notice of the farmers of 
this country." 

To Franklin, among others, has this merit 
been ascribed. It has been reported of 
him that, whilst residing in France as our 
Minister, having observed the importance of 
plaster to the agriculturists, upon his return 
he determined to present it to his country- 
men by an ingenious devise. He is said to 
have strewed plaster upon a public lot, so as 
to form this sentence, " This is Plaster of 
Paris;" the increased luxuriance of the 
grass where the plaster was placed, attract- 
ing the notice of farmers, induced them to 
adopt its use in their agriculture. This an- 
ecdote is so like Franklin that it seems to 
have obtained extensive credence ; investi- 
gation, however, disproves its correctness. 
But as Pennsylvanians, we have reason to 
congratulate ourselves that the merit is 
due to our late distinguished fellow-citizen, 
Judge Peters. The following letter from 
N. B. Worthington, Esq., assistant Editor 
of "The American Farmer/' to Doctor 
Thompson, of Washington, many years 



President of the Delaware State Agricul 
tural Society, places this matter in a clear 
point of view : 

Office of American Farmer, \ 
Baltimore, March 8th, 1858. J 

Dr. James W. Thompson : 

Dear Sir : — Mr. Sands has handed me 
your letter addressed to him, and making 
inquiry as to the introduction of the use of 
gypsum into this country. Having had 
occasion recently, in preparing an article on 
the subject of gypsum for the Farmer, to 
look into the matter, it gives me pleasure to 
be able to give you the desired information. 

I do not find in the first place, either in 
the memoirs of the Philadelphia Agricultu- 
ral Society nor in the old series of the 
American Farmer, that the credit of its in- 
troduction is anywhere given to Dr. Frank- 
lin. On the contrary, in both of these 
works, but especially the former, there is 
abundant evidence that the credit is justly 
due to Judge Peters, of being the first to 
test its value, and in the most industrious 
and persevering manner, to bring its valua- 
ble qualities to the notice and knowledge of 
the agricultural community. 

His own experiments with it, commenced 
about the year 1772, and his own observa- 
tions, through many years, and* the results 
of a most laborious correspondence are em- 
bodied in his "Agricultural inquiries on 
Plaster of Paris" published first in 1797 
and reprinted and bound up with the 2d 
volume of the memoirs af the Philadelphia 
Agricultural Society in 1810. 

Of the circumstance of the first intro- 
duction of gypsum, Judge Peters gives the 
following account in a paper read before 
the Philadelphia Society in 1807, and 
which will be found in volume 2d, page 161 
of the memoirs. 

" The first time I saw the agricultural 
effects of the gypsum was several years be- 
fore the commencement of the Revolutiona- 
ry war, on a .city lot, belonging to, or occu- 
pied by Mr. Jacob Barge, on the commons 
of Philadelphia. He was the first person 
who applied gypsum to Agricultural purpo- 
ses in America ; but on a small scale. He 
showed me a letter in German, from one 
who had gone over from Pennsylvania to 
Germany for redemptioners as was cus- 
tomary at that time. The writer sent over 
a specimen of the gypsum, and desired Mr. 
Barge to seek for land in this, then province, 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



171 



in which it could be found. He wrote Mr. 
Barge word that the discovery was then of 
no long standing in Germany, and that it 
had been accidently made by a laborer em- 
ployed at mixing stucco mortar at a large 
building — the path along which he passed 
to his home, threw up on each side a luxu- 
riant growth of clover, which he attributed 
to the dust from his clothes, and made ex- 
periments which resulted in the discovery." 
" Burr millstone makers, and stucco plaster- 
ers," continues the judge, " were the only 
persons acquainted with any of its uses in 
this country. From one of the former I 
procured a bushel ; which enabled me to 
begin my agricultural experiments ; and I 
faithfully pursued and extended them as I 
obtained more means. A quantity impor- 
ted as ballast, (I believe 20 tons) and 
thrown on a Philadelphia wharf, without a 
knowledge of its value, was the first impor- 
tant foundation on which the extensive im- 
provement of our husbandry was estab- 
lished. When I had convinced myself of 
its efficiency, I disseminated the knowledge 
I had acquired, through many parts of 
Pennsylvania ; and sent samples to Jersey ; 
New York, and I think Delaware, (then 
called the lower countries) and Maryland. 
In the same paper the Judge makes mention 
of an English turist, Strickland, and calls 
his statement with reference to the intro- 
duction of plaster, an item in the catalogue 
of his mistakes. 

" He attributes the introduction of plas- 
ter into this country, to the Germans of 
Lancaster County, in this State. But this 
assertion is entirely unfounded. When I 
first sent samples of gypsum into that 
county, very soon after I was acquainted 
with it, I perceived the Germans there to 
be totally ignorant of its existence, and of 
course of its agricultural uses. More than 
ten or twelve years elapsed before they 
could be prevailed on to use it freely." 

In the 7th volume of the American 
Farmer, first series page 20, is an extract 
from an address of Rolfert Vaux, before 
the Philadelphia Society, which fully con- 
firms Judge Peter's account of the matter ; 
nor can I learn that it was ever questioned 
by any one professing a knowledge of the 
circumstance. 

Nor did the Judge confine himself to 
making known the value of this fertilizer. 
He set on foot inquiries and investigations 
which led to the discovery of gypsum in 



great abundance on this continent — by which 
means it is furnished us now at so low a rate 
as to bring it within the means of the most 
poverty-stricken. 

In the range of new things, and perhaps 
in some measure on account of its very 
cheapness, gypsum is comparatively out of 
fashion. The article on the subject in the 
last Farmer, was written for the purpose of 
directing attention to its great value. Such 
a paper as you propose would, no doubt, aid 
that design, and we shall be very happy to 
receive it, or any thing else with which 
you may favor us. 

Yours dear sir, very respectfully, 

N. B. WORTHINGTON. 



The Native Merchants of India and China. 

The statements of intelligent voyagers 
and travelers all concur in the opinion that 
the greatly increased commerce between 
these Eastern nations and England, and the 
United States, with the high prices which 
have been paid for the products of those 
densely populated regions of the Asiatic 
continent, have given enormous wealth to 
the shrewdest of the native merchants, and 
that the profits realized by them are vast 
and beyond calculation. So strong have 
they become that they make their own 
prices, and have altogether the upper hand 
of the European traders, except the Greek 
merchants, who from long experience and 
assimilating to a great extent with the 
natives, have become in reality merchant 
princes. The immense commerce of Cal- 
cutta is, to a great extent, controlled by two 
or three Greek houses. 

In China, many of the native merchants 
are exceedingly wealthy and transact exten- 
sive business. It was stated a short time 
since, that in the English island of Hong 
Kong, on the coast of China, near Canton, 
of one hundred square-rigged vessels in the 
harbour, eighty were either owned or char- 
tered by the Chinese merchants. The great 
proportion of house servants, store porters, 
clerks, mechanics and laborers, in Hong 
Kong, are Chinese; while the petty shop 
keepers, cattle drivers, boatmen, etc., are 
mostly Malays. Many of the Asiatic nations 
are largely represented at Hong Kong. 
There are also many Greeks and some Arabs. 
Of the Chinese population, estimated at 70,- 
000, only about 300 are women. — JV. O. 
Bulletin. 



172 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



[Marci 



The Wool Trade. 

The comparative table of imports of wool at Boston, as per George Wni.,Bond & Co.' 
Circular, as follows : 





1854. 


1855. 1856. 


1857. 


England 


1,031,879 


325,529 41,375 3,126,883 


Buenos Ayres . 


3,973,936 


970,810 1,883,125 2,260,011 


Turkey 


4,315,380 


3,195,367 2,505,590 5,241,082 


France . 


388,396 


204,785 33,691 507,236 


Cape of Good Hope 


450,487 


117,680 570,740 2,506,716 


Brazil 


5,606 




32,958 5,496 


Peru and Chili 


2,533,609 


2,402,601 3,211,467 3,045,440 


British Provinces 


473 


1,063 4,619 24,191 


Dutch West Indies 


3,170 








Malta 


491,154 




142,722 


293,023 


Scotland 


73,855 




. . 


. , , 


Tuscany, &c. 


32,163 








East Indies 


12,974 




. . 4 


281,026 


Austria 


176,733 






107,771 


Spain 








74,451 


Russia 


. . 




• • • 


356,034 


Sandwich Islands 


, , 






2,440 


Northern Africa . 








131,281 


Sundries . 


1,948 


24,9* 


30 





rorab 1 

nttoE 

limit 

1858. rf 

1,162,89* T 
1,643,85^ P 
2,001,795 ¥ 

22,05? 
1,984,372 I 

3,578,446 f 



13,252 



58,500 
64,213 ,M1 ! 



w 

10 
[en 
till 



ecei 



9,8051 
1,751 L. 



13,398,503 7,245,996 



8,425,807 17,941,081 10,550,849 
U. S. Economist. 



Cotton Trade of England. 

The returns of the British trade for eleven months, to the close of November, show 
some very singular results, as compared with the previous year. The imports of raw ma- 
terial in Great Britain have been as follows : 

1857. 1858. Decrease- 
Cotton cwts. 7,667,051 8,050,914 

Flax cwts. 1,776,023 1,172,204 603,819 

Hemp cwts. 702,783 740,174 

Silk, Raw ft. 9,605,493 5,686,423 3,919,070 

Silk, Thrown ft. 607,890 340,667 267,223 

Wool ft. 110,995,577 107,519,851 3,475,726 

" Alpaca ft. 2,200,177 1,998,531 201,646 

The increase in cotton is altogether from the United States, the decline being nearly 
one-half from India. The decline in the receipts of materials from India and China is 
as follows: 

1857. 1858. Decline. 

Cotton ft. 223,677,300 121,552,700 102,124,600 

Silk ft. 8,918,680 5.130,477 3,788,203 

Wool ft. 16,922,118 14,662,804 2,259,314 

This gives a decline of over $35,000,000 in the value of produce received from Asia. 
On the other hand the value of cotton alone sent in that direction has been as follows: 

1857. 1858. 1857. 1858. 

Yards. Yards. Value. Value. 

China 110,760,781 123,134,830 £1,421,030 £1,614,408 

East India 422,295.299 723,962,287 5,147,372 8,497,189 

Yarn 17,080,349 33,188,226 994,890 1,763,125 

Total £7,565,292 11,874,772 

There has been a value of $15,000,000 less cotton received from India, and a larger 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



173 



ralue by $22,000,000 exported thither, making, in that article alone a balance more fa- 
vorable to England than last year. The result is not very encouraging for a supply of 
30tton from that country. The same result must necessarily attend any movement in new 
30untries for the planting of cotton. The demand for clothing will always far outrun the 
ibility to raise the materials, but the material and the demand may both grow so as to 
Employ British machinery in that new field of enterprise. There can never, however, be 
lerived a larger supply applicable to the wants of present cotton users. The aggregate 
exports of cotton goods from Great Britain for the 11 months, has been as follows : 



1857. 
Yards. 

ro United States 169.985,234 

Slsewhere 1,678,390,741 



1858. 
Yards. 
124,535,675 
1,984,756,386 



1857. 

Value. 

£2,933,432 

23,943,190 



1858. 
Value. 

£2,102,554 
26,903,177 



Total 1,848,375,975 2,109,292,061 26,876,622 29,005,731 

This is an unusual development of the cotton trade. The export of weight in goods 
s 107,000,000 lb greater, and the import weight of raw material 44,000,000 lb greater. 
Sence, a larger amount of cotton in the aggregate has been exported than imported, 
virile to the United States alone the reverse is the case, there having been more cotton 
•eceived there and less goods sent. The result shows a remarkable health in the cotton 
Tade, as well as in the general state of business. — lb. 



Cotton Manufactures of Great Britain. 

The documents of the State Department contain the following comparative figures of 
he cotton factories in the United Kingdom : 



England. 

Factories 2,016 

Spindles 25,818,516 

Looms 275,670 

Males 148,354 

Females 192,816 

The number of spindles, it appears, in- 
reased 40 per cent., and the number of 
x>ms 20 per cent., but the number of 
lale hands employed only increased 11 per 
ent., and of females 15 per cent. This fact 
hows how much more cloth was produced 

1856 without manual labor than in 1850. 
f the looms produced only about the same 
umber of yards each, then 20 per cent, 
lore cloth was produced in the aggregate, 
ith only 10 per cent, increase in the hands, 
ut the number of yards resulting was much 
reater. The official reports give the num- 
er of lb of yarn spun in 1850 at 526,125, 
00 lb, or 24| lb per spindle. In 1856, 
ae weight spun was 819,375,000 lb, or 291 

per spindle, showing an average increase 
P production of 4J lb per spindle. The 
umber of yards produced in 1850 was 
188,544,000 yards, or 4,750 yards each 
•om. In 1856, the product was 1,934,265, 
00 yards, or an average of 6,447 yards 
er loom, being an apparent increase of 35 
er cent, in the make of each loom. Such 
as been the apparent increase in the im- 
rovement of machinery, by which itsproduc- 



Scotland. 
152 

2,041,629 

21,624 

7,609 

27,889 


Ireland. 
12 

150,512 
1,633 
1,223 
2,122 


Total. 
2,210 
28,010,217 
298,847 
157,186 
222,027 


1,932 

20,977,017 

249,627 

141,501 

189,423 



tive power has swelled the number of yards, 
that the same number of hands can turn 
out. The same result has manifested itself 
in this country with greater force. Annu- 
ally, the number of people required to pro- 
duce a certain number of yards is diminished, 
and with the diminution the cost of produc- 
tion. When machinery comes in so marked 
a manner to supply the labor of hands, that 
difference which was formerly supposed to 
exist between the cost of labour, and these 
become equalized, since machinery will work 
as cheaply here as there, and to this circum- 
stance no doubt is due the rapidity with 
which American goods supplant the impor- 
ted ones of late years, and the increasing 
weight which the same duty has upon a par- 
ticular class of goods. This applies to cot- 
ton and dress goods which come more direct- 
ly into competition with the imported arti- 
cles. There is no reason why all that pertains 
to skill, design and machinery should not 
take that lead in this country, if the supply 
of mere labor is less. The main difficulty 
is, however, that the labor here is not suffi- 
ciently divided. In woolens, particularly, 



174 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[Marci 



the branches of the business should be sep- 
arate and conducted each by responsible 
heads, as yarn workers, weavers, dyers, fin- 
wishers, &c, as is the custom abroad. The 
acquired skill and economies of each depart- 
ment make a mach cheaper aggregate in 
the finished cloth than when all these de- 
partments are conducted by a corpora- 
tion, which employs persons not directly in- 
terested in or responsible for the economy 
and perfection of the details. There is here 
great room for reform. — lb. 




RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. 



Articles intended for publication in our paper 
should be marked, " For the Southern Planter." 

Do not write on both sides of the paper. If 
this rule is not regarded, mistakes are very apt 
to occur in printing. 



benefit, by eliciting a lively and more constan 
interchange of opinions and agricultural exper 
ences, among all who are interested in agricul 
ture and its associate branches. The chief ben 
efit, we think, would result from the good exam 
pie set the diffident, who would perhaps follow 
when they would not lead. In this manner wc 
should have a greater variety of subjects intro 
duced through the Journals, with of course 
fuller description of them, and more light, am 
more interest added to every department of sci 
ence in which farmers should have an especia 
desire to make safe and sure progress. 



Letters containing money, or pertaining to bu- 
siness connected with this paper, should be di- 
rected to August & Williams, or to the Southern 
Planter, and not io the Editor individually. This 
last request we make because we do not attend 
to the keeping of our books, and do not always 
see the letters as soon as they come to the office. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

"We are always grateful to gentlemen who fur 
nish us with well written articles for our col-i 
umns ; but they would lay us under additional i 
obligation, if they would leave their names withi 
us, when they are too modest to append them to ' 
their communications. Frequently we wish to 
write to them and to ask for further favors from; 
them in the epistolary line — but cannot do so, in> 
consequence of not knowing to whom we shall! 
address our letters. If each correspondent (of 
every Agricultural Journal) would give with his 
communication, his name and address, we be- 
lieve it would be the means of producing much 



Explanatory. 

The " Devil'" of our Printer's establishment 
has lately played us a prank, which proves very 
troublesome to us in its consequences, ffywitl) L 
the spirit of mischief ripe in him — altered out 
card offering (when more than half the year had t 
transpired) the Southern Planter for 1858, atone 
dollar and a half per annum, so as to make it 
appear that we charged only this sum for the 
present volume. 

We knew nothinp of this misprint until an 
old subscriber called at our office, and directed 
our attention to this change, of our notice, too 
late for correction in the February number, most 
of our subscribers, having had the paper mailed 
to their address. It is almost useless to say 
therefore, that this card was entirely unauthorized 
by us. It has caused us a great deal of vexa 
tion, besides much loss of time in explanatory 
correspondence. 

We would be very glad to have it in our pow- 
er to furnish the Southern Planter to every body 
at a less price than we are compelled to ask for 
it now — but unfortunately we cannot afford to 
print it, at any price less than $2 per annum. 
We suppose that the fact is well known to the I 
public, that many accounts standing on the books 
of all subscription papers, area dead loss to Ed- 
itors. We are no more exempt from such loss, 
than the rest of our brethren, and can only do 
the best we can under all circumstances, to fur- 
nish the Planter at $2 a year as long as it will 
pay its own expenses. 

If, therefore, any subscribers who (in conse- 
quence of the printer's mistake in dates) have 
sent us one dollar and fifty cents to pay for the 
present volume, think they cannot, or will not 
take the paper at our established price, we will 
render them all the amends in our power by re- 
funding them their money, upon application. 

Our offer to furnish the Planter for 1858 at 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



175 



fil $1 50, was made late in the year, in order that. 

I we might get rid of a large supply of "back 
numbers," which we had on hand at that time. 

We are very sure that we shall not incur the 
censure of a single generous man, in conse- 
quence of the mistake referred to — while we 
very greatly regret its occurrence. 



Fine Stock, Cattle, &c. 

We will be obliged to those of our subscribers, 
who own fine stock of any sort, if they will fur- 
nish us with descriptions of them. 

We want to know where they may be found 
that we may have it in our power to furnish in- 
formation on this point to those of our friends 
who make inquiries on this head, at our office. 

We will readily forgive them, if they brag a 
little sometimes, as we think a man very excu- 
sable for pride of ownership, when he has a 
beautiful animal, which by his skill, energy, and 
care has been rendered attractive in appearance, 
or valuable for good qualities. 

Mr. S. W. Ficklin of Albemarle county, has 
kindly sent us Alexander's catalogue and history 
of the Short Horn or Durham cattle. We return 
our thanks for it, and give in our present num- 
ber an extract from it, which we think will be 
interesting to our readers. 

Mr. Ficklin is himself a successful and libe- 
ral breeder of fine stock, and we take the liber- 
ty of making the following extract from his let- 
ter to us. Speaking of Short HornS, he says : 

"I have a four year old bull,. — three cows, &c. 
Heifers in calf, and a five months bull calf. Al- 
so some twenty odd nearly thoroughbred cows, 
and heifers in calf to my bull. 

U I have, by way of contrast, a fine Devon 
cow, and an Alderney bull calf. But Short 
Horns are the cattle for all who will give them 
a good share of grass, and rational winter keep. 
Thay will mature at three and a half years — are 
better for beef — as good as Devons as milkers, 
but not equal to them as work oxen.' 1 



Peabody Corn. 

We have received a letter from one of our 
subscribers, in which this corn i$ highly praised. 
This is the first word of commendation, we be- 
lieve, ever sent us of this high priced article. 
We notice in the Southern Farmer a communica- 
tion from one of its correspondents, who has had 
a very different experience from our friend. We 
have never tried it, and never will, as long as it 
is sold at so high a figure. 

Last year we planted some corn raised by Dr. 
John R. Woods, of Albemarle, Va., and some of 



the "Hicks' Prolific." We were much pleased 
with both varieties, as we made a good crop, in 
spite of an unfavorable season. We paid for the 
" Hicks' Prolific," $2 a bushel. A neighbour of 
ours, who planted it in the spring of 1857, told 
us he made on a piece of meadow land rather 
more than ten barrels to the acre. 

We append an extract from one of our ex- 
changes. 

"I have no allusion now to patent churns, pa- 
tent washers, patent coffee-pots, or even to pa- 
tent medicines, but I allude to a certain kind of 
remarkably prolific corn, originated, puffed and 
sold, at a great profit, by Mr. Peabody, of Geor- 
gia. I was fortunate enough not to get caught 
in this trap myself; but I have no doubt many 
did, and, like Franklin, found, when too late, 
that they had 'paid too much for their whistle.' 

"I was presented by a friend with a handful 
of this Prolific corn, planted it in good ground, 
at a good distance from all other corn, and culti- 
vated it with care, and the result was, that not 
one-fourth of the stalks had even two ears on 
them, and all of a very diminutive size. If any 
others have had better success, Messrs. Editors, 
I should like to hear from them. J. R. B. 



Fine Horses. 

Our advertising sheet contains the pedigree, 
&c. of "Trojan," a thoroughbred Premium Stal- 
lion, and a fine specimen of this class of horses. 
Also the description and pedigree of "Scriving- 
ton," a very fine imported Cleveland Bay Stal- 
lion. 

We hope every public spirited owner of a 
good Stallion, will be amply repaid for his efforts 
to improve the breeds of our horses, and that 
the time is not far distant when the " Old Do- 
minion" may with truth and pride, assert her 
claim to the possession of the finest specimens, 
of every class of horses. 

The Stallions now advertised in the Planter, 
are well worthy of the support and patronage of 
breeders. 



Mr. Kettlewell. 

See the advertisement of Mr. Kettlewell, 
which is of sufficient interest (apart from its ad- 
vertising intent) to make it worthy of perusal 
for the sake of entertainment. Mr. Kettlewell 
thinks that the present laws of Russia relating 
to the importation of Tobacco, to that country, 
will soon be so altered as to create a larger de- 
mand in that market for this crop. We hope 
this may be so, as we shall have a largely in- 
creased quantity of it for sale, in consequence 
of so many farmers turning their attention to it, 
who have hitherto, not attempted its production. 



176 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



Oats. 

The time for sowing having arrived, we de- 
vote a short space to the consideration of this 
crop. By many farmers, oats are considered 
greatly exhausting to land — much more so than 
any other article raised for provender. We do 
not agree with those entertaining such an opin- 
ion, hut believe them less exhausting to land 
than wheat or corn — while as an article of food 
for stock, we believe they have no equal. They 
are easily digested, and hence cause no over- 
weight and distention of the stomach. This is 
an important item in their favor, as food for 
horses of quick draft — rendering them less lia- 
ble to founder, and loss of spirit, while on the 
road.. Every good horse master knows, that his 
horse cannot travel well, with his belly filled up 
to its utmost capacity, with heavy food of any 
sort. His diet, when he is called on to go a live- 
ly gait, should be so regulated, as not to task the 
muscles of digestion and locomotion at the same 
time. Oats are considered best for securing this 
condition, by many horsemen. We believe they 
are. We have seen the opinion expressed — we 
do not now recollect where — that a good crop of 
oats on a farm, amounted to an insurance of the 
lives of the stock to be fed upon them, since they 
were thus rendered comparatively free from at- 
tacks of those diseases generated by disorders of 
the stomach and bowels — worms included. 

Every farmer, therefore, should raise as many 
as he can, without over-cropping himself. Most 
persons, we think, would make better crops of 
them, if they would sow them thinner. It is no 
unusual thing to see from two to two and a half 
bushels sown to the acre in this vicinity. We 
have been told by an old. and unusually success- 
ful farmer, that "a bushel and a half of oats' is 
enough to sow on any acre of land. 1 ' In our 
own experience, we have observed that our 
crops, sowed thickly, promised well at first, and 
yielded badly at harvest. Oat blades branch a 
great deal, and require room for so doing. Thick- 
ly sowed crops, rarely branch at all — besides, 
the lower leaves almost invariably turn red. and 
the straw is short enough to cause much waste 
in harvesting. 

We think it best to sow them as early in March, 
as may be practicable. We would say in Feb- 
ruary, if the weather and condition of the ground 
suited for plowing and seeding. We once tried 
the experiment of sowing a lot in February, and 
made a better crop from the piece of ground, 



than we received from the same quantity seeded 
in March. 

A gentleman who formerly resided in this 
county, and who owned a poor farm, was fa- 
mous for his good crops of oats. Upon being 
asked the secret of his success, replied, "I sow 
in February, and you in March." Oats are not as 
easily killed, as is generally supposed, by cold 
weather, if they are covered with a single plow, 
which is my method of putting them in. 



Kossuth. 

We call attention to the advertising sheet of 
the Planter, in which will be found Mi. H. J. 
Smith's card and challenge. We are glad that 
this fine stallion will stand the present season at 
his old stable. There is yet a sufficient demand 
for his services in the immediate vicinity of Rich- 
mond, to make it certain that he can be kept at 
home with profit to his owner. 



We return our thanks to our friend Dr. Eustace 
for his information about the " Sweet Potato." 
In a future number we will give the analysis, 
which may be found in White's "Gardening for 
the South." 



The Farmer and Planter — published at Colum- 
bia, South Carolina — R. M. Stokes, Editor. Price 
$1 a year, in advance. 

This paper comes to us in a handsome new 
dress. Its contents are interesting to the friends 
of Agriculture, giving as it does a variety of able 
and valuable articles on husbandry. We hope 
Mr. Stokes will meet with success in his Edito- 
rial efforts, and by them find his position as Edi- 
tor made both profitable and pleasant. 

The former Editor in his retirement from the 
post which he has so long adorned, has our best 
wishes for the happiness which he has so well 
earned as a faithful servant of the agricultural 
public. 



The Rural Annual and Horticultural Directo- 
ry, for 1850. Published at Rochester, New York, 
by Joseph Harris.. Price 25 cents. 

We return our thanks to the publisher for a 
copy of this neat and valuable annual — illustra- 
ted with seventy-five engravings, and replete 
with instruction on Orchards, Gardens, Cattle, 
&c, &c. 

We heartily commend it to the public. 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



177 



Valk's New American Style of Architec- 
ture. 

We return our thanks to L. B. Valk, Esq.. Ar- 
chitect, (5:27 Broadway, New York, for a hand- 
somely executed design of a cottage residence, 
which is neat, economical and finely finished. 
The design does credit to Mr. Valk's taste and 
skill in hi^ profession. We shall be glad to wit- 
ness an increasing attention to ornamenting and 
beautifying the country homes of our own State 
— especially, since we can procure for them, 
beauty without any sacrifice of comfort and 
proper economy. 

The cost of Mr. V.'s design, is $2,200 com- 
plete. 



Our Agents. 

The following gentlemen have kindly con- 
sented to act as our agents, and are authorized 
to give receipts in our names for payments due 
the "Southern Planter," by either old or new 
subscribers : 

Jno. W. Burke, Alexandria, Va. 

Major P. Williams, Washington City, D. C. 

Wm. F. Catlett, Guiney's Depot, Va. 

Turner & Acree, Walkerton, K. & Q., Va. 

John T. Childrey, Henrico. 

James N. Goldsborough, Easton, Md. 

Geo. C. Reid, Norfolk. 

Benj. F. Gresham. Newtown. K. & Q., Va. 

F. N. Watkins, (at the Farmers' Bank,) 

Farmville, Va. 
Samuel Sands, Esq., Baltimore, Maryland. 



For the So. Planter. 

February 8th, 1859. 
Mr. Editor— Will you please inform me 
through the Southern Planter how Copper- 
as should be applied on land as a manure, 
and if any of your contributors, or yourself, 
know to what it can be most advantageously 
applied, and very much oblige, 

Yours, very respectfully, 

A Subscriber. 

We have never used copperas in any other 
way, (as a manure) than by sprinkling a strong 
solution of it over manure heaps, for the pur- 
pose of : iixing ! * the ammonia contained in them. 
It is very beneficial also as a deodorizer or dis- 
infectant, when applied in the same manner, 
over the lloors of stables, privy vaults, hog pens, 
&c. 

12 



For the Southern Planter. 

Earth and its Herbs. 

\ The spontaneous products of the earth con- 
sidered in connection with the peculiar character 
and condition .of the soils upon which they 
grow.] 

While endeavoring, in that small way to 
which the unlearned are restricted, to make 
some examinations into Agricultural Geology, 
I have, again and again, had my attention 
called to the long recognized fact of the connec- 
tion between a soil and its flora. 

We are assured by the great masters of sci- 
ence, that, from a view of the physiognomy of 
a district, — that is, from a view of its natural 
scenery, together with its vegetation, the skil- 
ful geologist is often prepared to arrive at a 
surprisingly accurate determination of its ge- 
ology. Indeed, there can be but little doubt of 
the intimate connection between a soil and its 
vegetable productions, — the dependence, that 
is to say, of the latter, not only for vigor, but 
specific character, upon the former. But, when 
we ask if this relationship, — this dependence is 
of such a nature as to afford hopes that a clo- 
ser investigation of its laws may lead to useful 
results? — we have a question before us invol- 
ved in innumerable difficulties and obscurities. 
Here and there, bearing upon it, are facts so 
palpable as to impress us with the belief that 
they must be but single features of some great 
system of truths, that we have, in so far, got- 
ten hold of :.yet, when we enquire further, we 
meet with disappointments, perplexities, and 
seeming incongruities. May not these, how- 
ever, arise chiefly from our want of knowledge? 
want of correct observation ? want of sufli- 
ciently close scrutiny and examination ? Other 
subjects appear to have been involved in as 
great, or even greater obscurity and confusion, 
which have, nevertheless, been brought within 
the cognizance of science, and found to be sub- 
ject to, and under the influence of determinate 
laws. Indeed, we know that the whole uni- 
verse is governed by such laws : a system of 
government, by the way, especially adapted to 
the condition of fallen intellectual creatures. 
Man is obliged to examine into, and avail him- 
self of these laws for his temporal happiness 
and well-being. 

As to the vegetable world, many of its laws 
are known : and some of them relating to the 
subject we are considering, are constantly 
made use of, although they are but very im- 
perfectly and vaguely comprehended. Every 
experienced farmer, lbr^ instance, upon an ex- 
amination of a field, readily forms an opinion, 
— and generally a substantially correct opin- 
ion, — of its character and adaptability to par- 
ticular crops. Some time since, I met with 
my father's manager, upon a piece of ground 
which he was beginning to have fallowed for 
oats, and asked his opinion of it. He was 



178 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



[March 



■wholly unacquainted with the field, having 
never seen it in cultivation. Crushing a new- 
ly made furrow with his foot, and casting his 
eye over the hill, — for this field lies upon a 
hill-side,— -he pronounced it to be "good land, 
very good ; coarse, but light and free : a good 
soil for oats and corn, and probably for tobacco, 
if manured." Now, I know that this opinion 
is correct. This hill presents a tolerably fair 
specimen of the lands of the Guinea region, — 
(a» district somewhat noted for its enduring 
fertility.) The hill is made up of porphyrinic 
granite ; that is, granite with distinct crystals 
of feldspar. Its principal mineral ingredient 
is glassy feldspar. The soil is grey, coarse, 
light and free. There are a few loose frag- 
ments of hornblende, scattered over the sum- 
mit of the hill, with crystals on their surfaces 
brilliant and distinct, the accompanying min- 
eral, probably feldspar, having mouldered 
away. This field has not been in cultivation 
for a number of years, and its principal growth, 
especially abundant on the side of the hill, is 
mullein, crab-grass, running briers, cowhage 
and broom-straw, with some green-sward, this 
last no more plentiful than other plants not 
mentioned. I allude to this case, merely be- 
cause it has recently come under my own ob- 
servation, as an instance in which an experi 
enced eye, by an examination of a soil and its 
vegetable products, was able to take in enough 
to give a correct idea of its value. But in- 
stances are not needed ; for the farmer con- 
stantly recognizes this fact in his practice. 
With an observant eye, he marks the vegeta- 
ble products of a field, and from the quantity 
and quality of these, makes an estimate of its 
fertility, and of its adaptability to particular 
crops. 

Now, where the whole presents a truth, the 
parts must contain the elements of that truth. 
Where a broad view can thus lead to general 
deductions, which are substantially reliable, it 
is surely reasonable to entertain hopes that a 
closer scrutiny may lead to particular results ; 
that a more intimate acquaintance with the 
facts from which these general deductions are 
drawn, may afford information of importance, 
both as to its character and extent ; and that, 
especially in connection with the valuable, but 
somewhat vague and not sufficiently reliable 
hints afforded by geology and chemistry, a 
more comprehensive and definite knowledge of 
the indications given by the vegetable produc- 
tions of a soil, as to its character and condi- 
tion, may prove of great service. 

But how is such knowledge, except on a very 
contracted scale, to be acquired? How are 
the various facts known to separate individu- 
als, to be so concentrated and arranged, that 
the observations and experiences of one per- 
son, may be of profit to another ? It is in re- 
gard to this question, and with the hope of 
calling attention to this highly interesting sub- 
ject, that these remarks are made, and with no 



thought of conveying information; for, as to 
myself, I am not a farmer, and my observa- 
tions have been confined to a narrow range, 
and are very limited ; and this subject is one 
so broad in its reaches, and so environed with 
difficulties, that no single individual, whatever 
his opportunities for observation, could hope 
to compass it. One method, which seems to 
be possibly practicable, presents itself. If 
those who are interested in these enquiries 
will set themselves to gather up such facts, as 
may fall within their observation, and will 
make plain and circumstantial minutes of such 
facts, and communicate them to the Editor of 
the Southern Planter, (who is ex-officio, guar- 
dian to some extent of the agricultural inter- 
ests of the State;) or to the distinguished 
Chairman of the Executive Committee of the 
Agricultural Society, (if that " noble and great- 
minded" man can be led to undertake the in- 
vestigation :) such a ground-work may be laid 
out, — such a nucleus of well digested facts 
formed, as will ultimately lead to as full and 
perfect a development and arrangement as the 
subject will admit of. 

We know that there are laws governing the 
vegetable world, upon which plants depend for 
their existence and vigor; we see that some of 
the more obvious of these have been observed; 
have been taken hold of and brought into ser- 
vice: but we have reason to believe that only 
the most obvious, and but few of these, and 
these only to a partial extent, have been as yet 
apprehended, and that a wide and as yet un- 
explored field, in connection with this subject, 
lies open before us ; for I am not aware that it 
has ever, anywhere, met with due examination. 
In the first volume of the Farmer's Register, 
(page 702,) is an extract from the Revue En- 
cyclopedique on the " nature of earths with ref- 
erence to the growth of plants," which is as fol- 
lows: 

" The report of M. M. Thenard and Sylves- 
ter, in a memoir upon this subject, by*M. J. 
St. Hiilaire, is to the following purport. The 
author remarks that most persons who have 
analyzed arable earths, [soils,] have' taken ex- 
clusively such as had been cultivated, and in 
which the original constitution had been more 
or less altered. He believes that the various 
kinds of earths, in their first state, have pecu- 
liar powers of nourishing particular plants ; 
and thinks that the exact knowledge of these 
peculiarities would enable cultivators to put 
those seed in the ground which are most suited 
to it. From various analyses, he draws the 
following inferences: 1st. That all earths are 
composed of silica, alumina, lime, magnesia, 
&c, in different proportions, together with a 
vegeto-animal matter, which is more abundant 
as the earth is more fitted for the nourishment 
of plants. 2ndly. That plants placed in earths 
of which the constituent parts have an analo- 
gy with the particular nature of the plants, do 
not exhaust the soil. 3dly. That a series of 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



170 



observations on the different species, genera 
and families, which grow naturally and in great 
numbers, perpetuating themselves on certain 
soils, with the analyses of these soils, would 
be of great utility in agriculture. The report- 
ers think that agriculture would draw from 
such labors general inductions, rather than 
positive directions, but still that these would 
possess great interest." 

There are portions of this extract which ap- 
pear to bear upon this subject. I presume that 
only primitive fresh lands, such lands as have 
never been cultivated, are included under what 
this author denominates "the first state." But 
whatever he may mean by this expression, I 
think it no less certain that the " peculiar pow- 
ers of nourishing particular plants, which he 
attributes to this state, may with equal propri- 
ety, be attributed to the second, third, or any 
other state of soils : and further, that to every ( 
state of the soil, as well as to every kind of I 
soil, there is a corresponding grade of vegeta-i 
tion. There are certain plants which will i 
flourish and prevail during certain stages of a 
soil's fertility, which will not be found upon it 
during other stages: while there are some, 
which, owing to its peculiar chemical consti- 
tution, will never flourish upon it, unless this 
be changed. Of the inconceivable myriads of 
seeds which the weeds and grasses annually 
bear, and which, being in various ways scatter- 
ed abroad, spring up all over the face of the 
earth, it is manifest that those only will be 
able to push their way among their competitors 
and grow luxuriantly, which find something in 
the soil upon which they are cast adapted to 
their particular requirements. Should a plant 
requiring for its healthy growth and condition, 
a plentiful supply of lime, for example, spring 
up in a soil where there is little or no lime, it 
would of necessity have to yield to such of its 
competitors as do not depend on a supply of 
this earth for their perfect development. There 
are certain plants which are never found ex- 
cept in particular localities. I have never seen 
hoarhound, catnip, or wormseed, [chenopodium 
a nih el mind cum,) growing far from the haunts 
of man and his dependents : and I \hink that 
melilot-clover, (melolofus alba, or white meli- 
lot,) only grows with any remarkable degree 
of luxuriance upon, or near the sites of old 
buildings ; while many of our wild grasses and 
weeds are never, or rarely found in such local- 
ities. Broom-straw and hen-nest grass, for in- 
stance, are seldom, if ever seen disputing the 
ground with the four plants just mentioned. 

But vegetables not only require the exist- 
ence, or non-existence of certain chemical ele- 
ments in a soil, but also demand certain condi- 
tions of the soil, for their healthy production ; 
so that two soils may yield precisely similar 
analyses, whose natural productions would, 
nevertheless, be markedly different; in which 
cases, if we understood their peculiarities, the 
vegetable productions of soils would certainly 



afford the best means of ascertaining their ca- 
pabilities and adaptabilities in reference to par- 
ticular crops. A certain degree of porosity, 
lightness, ^or mellowness of the earth, is requi- 
site to the healthful development of various 
plants. Thus, should a plant delighting in a 
loose, friable soil, germinate in earth very 
close and compact, it would certainly be sur- 
passed, and would probably be quickly smoth- 
ered by others to whose nature and wants such 
a soil is better adapted. Throughout this im- 
mediate region, and I know not to how great 
an extent of country this remark may apply ; 
an autumn fallow, by which the soil is exposed 
to the mellowing influences of winter, is inva- 
riably followed by a heavy growth of ragwort 
upon all lands of a tolerable degree of fertili- 
ty ; while a spring fallow of the same lands 
will produce a much smaller cross of this weed. 
When the soil has become more close and com- 
pact, the ragwort is succeeded by a like heavy 
growth of stickwort. These circumstances 
point out the fact that such lands contain plen- 
tifully the chemical ingredients fitted for the 
support of both these weeds, and that the prev- 
alence of either depends upon mere mechani- 
cal conditions ; the same land, in one condi- 
tion, abounding in one weed, which, in ano- 
ther condition, abounds in the other. 

The fact that a parcel of ground is " drown- 
ed," that is, injured by too much moisture, is 
instantly apparent to anyone, upon an inspec- 
tion of its vegetation. And this is indicated 
by the presence of aquatic plants, or such as 
delight in and require much moisture ; or by 
the unhealthy Condition of other plants ; of by 
both these means. There are certain varieties 
of grasses and weeds as well as shrubs, almost 
sure to be found on moist, spiingy lands, in 
which they flourish luxuriantly and vigorously, 
the sight of which, were all other objects ex- 
cluded from the eye, would infallibly convey 
the impression of the propinquity of the wa- 
ter. Of these, again, there are some such as 
bulrushes, flags, etc., which not only require a 
considerable degree of moisture, but also seem 
to demand, though of this I do not speak posi- 
tively, that the water should be in a measure 
stagnant. On the other hand, experience leads 
us to expect that spots peculiarly dry and de- 
void of moisture, will be clothed with a pecu- 
liar vegetation ; certainly none of the aquatic 
plants will be found to flourish in such situa- 
tions. Modern inquiry has led to much curi- 
ous speculation in reference to the habits both 
of animals and plants, and the general truth 
has been arrived at, that these may be chan- 
ged only to a certain extent ; their powers of 
accommodating themselves to other circum- 
stances and habits than those in which nature 
has fixed them, being limited. Plants, when 
considered only in reference to their connec- 
tion with soils, climatal influences being pass- 
ed by, possess these powers in very different 
degrees ; some of them spreading themselves 



180 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



over a variety of soils ; always, however, with 
some variableness as to vigor, perhaps, and 
subject to, and in dependence upon, certain 
creditors. An inquiry into the conditions upon 
which some of our more common weeds and 
grasses depend for their existence and vigorous 
growth, would prove very interesting. 

In some regions, as the more mountainous, 
exposure exerts a very powerful influence 
upon the character of vegetation. Some plants 
delight in the shadows of a northern exposure. 
I have never met with monkshood, growing 
wild, save on steep northern hill-sides. My 
observations, however, have been confined to 
this particular region, the general inclination 
of which is to the north-east, and where the 
bluffs and escarpments, or sudden terminations 
of hills and the steeper declivities, for the 
most part, look to the north ; and were, indeed, 
except upon such occasional bluffs, etc, too 
steep for cultivation, exposure appears but 
slightly to affect general vegetation, either as 
to character or vigor; for nothing is more 
common than to see our ordinary field-crops 
growing as luxuriantly upon northern expo- 
sures, as elsewhere. 

The texture, that is the coarseness or fine- 
ness of a soil, depends upon its exposure or 
position and upon its geology, that is, upon the 
kind of rocks from which it is derived. It is 
noticeable as a general fact, that coarse soils 
are best adapted to coarse herbage. 

Upon the whole, we may safely set down 
this fact, which our experienced farmer, while 
examining a field, as first above stated, has not 
failed to consider, though he may "never have 
had it distinctly expressed before his mind, in 
so many words, viz. : That the vegetable pro- 
ductions of a soil truly indicate, not only its 
degree of fertility, but its chemical qualities 
and capabilities, and its mechanical conditions 
and peculiarities. What we need is skill 
rightly to interpret their indications. 

A difficulty which, in the consideration of 
this subject, presents itself at the outset to our 
enquiries, arises from the effect of climatal in- 
fluences; that is, from the apparent confusion 
and interminglement of the botanical provin- 
ces of various kinds of plants. But as a gen- 
eral fact it may be assumed, that the absence 
of one plant in any locality, may be supplied 
by another, or others, depending upon like 
causes and serving the same purposes. 

Other difficulties spring from what appear to 
be anomalous freaks in the vegetable kingdom. 
Certain weeds, like the army worm, or the 
locusts of the East, occasionally overrun our 
lands for a time, then disappear and scarcely 
leave a representative behind. To what cause 
is their temporary prevalence to be attributed, 
and their sudden cessation? There is a parcel 
of sandy Appomattox flat land ; the sand deep, 
and siliceous, but fine and lamellar; which, 
about eight years ago, was turned up with the 
double plough. A crop of corn was cultivated, 



and after the corn a crop of oats. "With the oats 
appeared many thistles of the common variety, 
and during the ensuing season, and for several 
successive seasons, the land was literally cov- 
ered with this weed. It has since been culti- 
vated again in corn and oats ;>nd plowed as 
before, though not with the same results ; for 
now, after two years of rest, except that it has 
been grazed closely, only a few thistles are left. 
Other w r eeds, the same which prevailed there 
before the first deep plowing, have again ta- 
ken possession, the most noticeable of which 



Among the difficulties which meet us in 
such enquiries, are those which arise from the 
interference of stock, of insects, severe win- 
ters, and the diseases of plants by which they 
are sometimes exterminated. These causes, 
one or more, may and constantly do promote 
the increase of one class of plants at the ex- 
pense of others. Another difficulty comes from 
the different degrees of hardihood of various 
plants. A soil for example, may be suited to 
three different plants, but in different degrees : 
thus it may be better adapted to the first than 
to the second, and again better suited to the 
second than to the third ; yet the second may 
be hardier than the first, and the third more 
hardy still, and this to such an extent as to en- 
able it to contend successfully with the others. 
And to this cause, united with the depreda- 
tions of animals, who alway prefer the tender 
and more delicate kinds, is to be attributed the 
fact that many of our lands abound almost ex- 
clusively with the hardier and more unsavory 
herbs, which are in reality better adapted to 
the growth of otheis. Another trouble, one 
common to all human enquiries, is found to 
proceed from our proneness to be misled by 
our peculiar notions into false conclusions ; to 
have facts distorted, however earnest and hon- 
est we may be in our desire to arrive at the 
truth by some idiocratical vagary. But with all 
the difficulties which beset us, is it not highly 
probable, as was before suggested, — nay, is it 
not certain, that by a combination of effort — 
by a careful comparison and systematic ar- 
rangement of the observations of different in- 
dividuals in this interesting field of enquiry, 
very much useful information might be acqui- 
red, and many highly valuable facts collected 
and brought into use? M. 



For the Southern Planter. 

The Horse. 

The seasons for breeding this noble animal 
is at hand, which makes a few remarks on 
that subject pertinent. Since the extensive 
breeding of mules has commenced in the 
West, and the price of grain has ranged so 
high in the East, the price of horses and 
mules has gone up to an almost ruinous rate, 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



181 



especially when they are subjected to the 
abuse of negroes and overseers, who regard 
the killing of a mule and the crippling of a 
horse as small events, which a forgiving mas- 
ter ought not to talk about; all of which is 
so much money lost to the owner, — and more 
than that, their places must be supplied. If 
we go to raising mules, every mare we put ex- 
clusive to the rearing of that animal, is as re- 
spects any other breeding purposes, as if she 
were gelded ; and the stock ceases, in as much 
as the hybrid progeny are incapable of repro- 
duction, and with them, therefore, ends the 
race. 

That something must be done to increase 
the stock of horses is evident. In this sec- 
tion of Virginia, it is next to impossible to 
purchase a good horse raised among us. Not 
because we cannot raise fine horses, but be- 
cause the few raised are for private use alone, 
and when good, cannot be bought unless we 
pay a very large price ; and in some cases, 
even the offer of a large price often fails to 
get the horse. Consequently the Richmond 
horse and mule traders grow rich by selling 
us their stock, which we are obliged to have. 

As a remedy for the evil, each farmer must 
keep one or more good mares, and breed his 
own stock, of this as of other kinds of ani- 
mals. When the mares become old, or get in- 
jured, then breed mules from them ; but al- 
ways allow the mare to breed a few horse colts 
first, so as to keep up the stock. 

Mules are only necessary for the most rough 
and injurious work ; horses and oxen suit best 
for other kinds. In fact, a well-appointed 
farm requires horses, mules, and oxen. A 
farmer who purchased all his oxen, would be 
thought a bad manager ; so ought a man who 
has to purchase his horses. Mules may be 
bought, but where farmers are so circumstanc- 
ed as to raise them advantageously, they 
should do so. The introduction of the mule 
and ox into an essay on the horse, is una- 
voidable. They are naturally related, and all 
co-labourers and essentials in plantation ser- 
vice, and are thus necessarily brought in. 

To return to rhe horse. Which are the best 
stocks to breed from, and what the best modes 
of raising ? On these two points, many and 
various are the opinions entertained and ex- 
pressed. For the section from which I write, 
the blood-horse stands first. For all elegant 
and ornamental purposes he is pre-eminent, 
and us a farm animal, in good hands, is equal 
to a mule. The blood-horse is almost nnni- 
versally bred in this entire section. So long 
have they been considered the animal for u 
that the stock, in many instances, is becoming 
too delicate, and has, indeed, already grown 
so. They have not neck and shoulder 
sufficient for heavy work. This defect may 
be overcome by breeding on the Morgan and 
coach-horse stocks, so as to grow animals with 
more fore-hand, as the blood-horse is apt to 



be "light in front." For myself, I esteem 
the coach-horse as the best cross. lie has 
more crest, more barrel, than the Morgan, 
which has a pony tendency, and in age falls 
down ; as is evident from the want of with- 
ers. The neck of the Morgan rises, as it 
were, from his back. Moreover, he is of a 
Northern race of animals, and his coat of hair 
and his blood are too thick, his barrel too 
round, and his ribs too short. He does not 
" blow out" long enough. Also he has too 
much crest, which, in hot weather and in 
rapid action, would produce vertigo. Yet a 
judicious crossing of this stock on our 
"nags," or native stock, gives a "smart 
horse." The few opportunities offered us for 
crossing on the Cleveland Bay, have been suc- 
cessful, — and some fine horses of that stock 
crossed with the thoroughbred are to be seen 
amongst us. The n»mber as yet, however, is 
quite limited. In the " Piedmont" section, 
they are becoming quite numerous. 

Our most popular stocks just now, are the 
descendants of Boston, Imported Trustee, 
and the Boulware Arabian (shaheen.) These 
are crossed on the descendants of Diomede, 
Ratler, Gohanna, Tom Taugh, &c, and are 
used alike for the saddle, the carriage and the 
plow. The legs and the loins are the requi- 
sites for our soft soil. Where they are right 
in these particulars the horse is apt to be a 
good one, though, as mentioned above, the 
shoulder is deficient and the neck too small. 

Gentlerfien would do well in breeding, not 
to keep more brood mares than they can keep 
well, and never to breed horses from one de- 
fective in the eyes or feet ; (such should breed 
mules.) A stock of horses that is remarkable 
for gentleness is best, provided this gentle- 
ness does not arise from indifference. Al- 
though any animals taken in time and pro- 
perly handled, will work, — which means, 
when they are weaned, have them haltered 
and gentled, and every winter of their lives 
(when they are obliged to be sheltered) have 
this process of handling and gentling kept up, 
so that when mature the colt is broken^— or, 
in other words, his education is complete. 

The ordinary mode of colt-breaking, is 
breaking in earnest. A strong, healthy, vig- 
orous colt is put into the hands of a large 
negro to break. He and a sand-bag, and af- 
terwards a road-wagon, are the implements 
of torture; having gone through which he 
is generally injured, dulled for life, and con- 
sidered a thoroughly broken animal. 

After the breaking, comes the shoeing, one 
of which methods is, to cut off as much of the 
frog as possible, trim out the sole of the foot, 
drive the nails as high as possible, then gash 
in and rasp down the hoof, until a "neat 
job" is " turned off," and the horse sent 
home as being " well shod." All of which I 
dissent from. If the frog was of no use, na- 
ture would not have put it under the foot of 



182 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



^hc horse. If the sole should be thin, nature 
would not have made it thick, and as the lower 
part of the hoof is thick and the upper parti 
thin, the lower part is the one for the nails to! 
bo driven through and clinched on, not in, | 
as is the case when the hoof is gashed by the 
rasp. 

The best mode of shoeing is, never to touch 
the frog with shoe or knife. Put on a wide 
shoe, fitted smoothly to the outer rim of the 
foot, leaving the sole untouched. Then drive 
through the nails, so that they come out three 
quarters of an inch from the ground, clinch 
them down on the smooth hoof, then brush 
the rasp over parallel with the hoof; and, 
finally, rasp around the extreme lower edge 
of the hoof, so as to make all even with the 
shoe. In doing this, as little of the rim of 
the hoof should be pared as possible. The 
shoe should not remain on more than from six 
weeks to two months, — and a few days inter- 
val should be allowed between that and the re- 
shoeing. 

During the winter and spring, horses should 
go without shoes as much as possible. The 
earth is then wet, and the hoof toughens. 
The summer is unfavourable ; the earth is 
dry, and the numerous flies and insects occa- 
sion a great deal of stamping, which breaks 
the hoof. 

Horses which are shod as above indicated, 
are not apt to have either narrow heels or 
corns, or any of the numerous diseases the 
horse is subject to from bad shoeing. Most 
blacksmiths will tell you they " won't turn 
their backs on any one when a horse is to be 
shod." Still they will lame your horse. 
Some are very much offended at your presum- 
ing to have your own horse shod except as 
they choose. Never mind that ; they expect 
you to pay as they choose. Well, if you do 
that, have the work done as you choose — 
which is nothing but fair. 

The bearing-rein is a source of injury also. 
I do not advocate an entire abolition of the 
bearing-rein, except on very elegant fore- 
handed horses, but do advocate a very gentle 
use of it; just enough to keep the animal 
from lounging his head about, and from 
browsing. Many who have animals with 
light thin necks, and small heads, which 
would of themselves carry heads up enough — 
run them up until the plane of their fall is al- 
most horizontal, and the sun shines perpen- 
dicularly on their brain. This they consider 
stylish, and pronounce an animal whose tail 
is cut off and turned up, foretop cut out, and 
head thrown back, until he is tlje reverse of 
nuture, a " showy, commanding" animal. 
Whenever I see a horse with his tail off, I feel 
assured he was an ungainly animal thus " put 
up" to got a sale. The only use for the knife 
with a horse is to geld, which is best from one 
to two years old, though, it may be done until 
almost any age, with care. Two gives more 



cost than one ; at three sometimes they become 
spiteful, though it is a safe age. 

When the colt is thoroughly mature, he 
will render much service if raised and broken 
with care and judgment. There is scarcely 
any work that, in skilful hands, he will not 
perform. The most fretful should be kept for 
light, quick work ; and most patient for that 
which is heavy and tedious. To have good, 
easy rnnning wagons and carts, and not allow 
them to be overloaded, which is a gain for a 
few hours or days, and then the animals can- 
not do as much as was natural, and frequent- 
ly none at all, being permanently injured. 
By working them to easy running vehicles, 
with good harness and a sensible driver, one's 
riding horse may be worked without injury, 
and sometimes with decided benefit. 

All negroes will rein up horses to an absurd 
height, merely because they admire what is 
ridiculous, and prefer what is wrong. The 
master, therefore, should keep an eye to these 
things, so as to correct all such improprieties 
as the one above referred to, the excessive 
use of the whip, bad fitting collars, short 
backhands, traces so short that the swingle 
tree bruises the hocks, &c. When the horse 
comes in from use, have a small lot for him 
to be turned in, to wallow and rub for a few 
moments, when he will return to the stable 
of himself. This will keep him from rubbing 
when under the saddle or in harness, and 
from laying down when tied out. A roomy, 
clean stall and good bed of straw, add much 
to his comfort. These may appear small mat- 
ters to write about, but in reality are of mo- 
ment. Some good farmers say, they have not 
the "horse bump." Weill considering the 
bimips we give the horse, it is well to have 
such a talent. Farmers who have no talent 
for horses, and overseers who have none, 
should make a study of them, as of any other 
branch of agriculture. In fact, I will keep 
no man in my employment who can't keep a 
fat team. You had as well employ a man 
who could not cultivate ) r our crop, as one 
who cannot keep the means of cultivating it 
in a condition to work. 

The bit is another thing requiring atten- 
tion. For the bridle to be worked so short as to 
draw the mouth up, or the check-rein to be so 
drawn as to saw the mouth, and cut it back 
or sidewards larger than the natural size, is 
a thing no horse ever recovers from. The sa- 
liva is always oozing out; he can't drink with 
ease ; his lips hang, — and altogether, the 
horse is a deformity. I have seen careful, at- 
tentive farmers, with horses over twenty 
years old, which they raised themselves, that 
were still efficient animals. 

The attempt of farmers to raise race horses, 
unless they are men of wealth, is injudicious ; 
but I certainly hold the raising of the horse 
as essential as that of any other domestic an- 
imal, and recommend all farmers to attend to 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



181 



them. Where the matter is understood, the 
raising of horses is not as expensive as is be- 
lieved. The cost and trouble are inconsidera- 
ble, in comparison to their benefit. What we 
are paid in dollars and cents is not half of 
the profit of this animal. In all the phases of 
life we sec the horse the help and companion 
of man. " In peace and in war, he is first in 
the hearts of his countrymen. " In pleasure 
and in pain we wont him ; in wealth and in 
poverty we use him. The first thing which 
strikes our boyish fancy, before our hearts are 
attuned to love, is the horse. When in love, 
our first want is, like " Lord Marmion," to be 
mounred on a " prancing roan ;" and after 
death the horse pulls us to our grave — or, in 
other words, " when some proud son of man 
returns to earth/' the neighing of steeds and 
tramp of men always are among the requiem 
for the dead. And, indeed, if " Stern" is to 
be believed, before our births, horses are some- 
times in demand. So, raise the horse. 

Tide-water Farmer. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Peabody Corn. 

Isle of Wight County, \ 
Jan. 24th, 1859. J 
Editors So. Planter : 

Gentlemen. — For a month or two past, I have 
been on the eve of writing you, to give you 
the particulars, culture, and yield of a small 
ear of Peabody's Prolific Corn, presented to 
me by one of you last winter in your office, 
from a stalk of corn sent to you by Charles A. 
Peabody, Esq., of Georgia. 

After receiving that ear from you, I became 
anxious to obtain a little more of it; so I 
wrote on immediately to Mr. Peabody, enclos- 
ing him two dollars, and soon received by mail 
about three gils of his, the same variety of 
corn. 

At the proper time, say about the 25th of 
April, in an off field, which had been in culti- 
vation yearly for many years, I had a small 
plat of land, sufficient to plant this corn, fal- 
lowed up with a single-turn plow, then streak- 
ed off four and a half feet, and ridged up , 
crossed deep four feet across the ridges ; One 
table-spoonful of Peruvian Guano applied to 
each hill, a little dirt thrown over the Guano, 
and one grain of corn dropped in the check 
over the Guano, and covered lightly, (lTOtX 
hills in all.) 

It came up finely, but the Guano being too 
near the grain pf corn in the hill, I suppose, 
caused several hills to wither and dry up. 
The birds and moles, too, camo in for their 
share, and finally, I only had 130G bearing or 
standing hills. I replanted the missing bills 
afterwards, first in peanuts, then in black 
peas. 



In good time I had this corn plowed and 
hoed ; and in time, again, I had it plowed, 
(growing finely;) and I intended to have 
plowed and hilled up early, but, alas ! alas ! ! 
the drought, such as I never before have seen 
since I have been*farming these twenty-eight 
years, came upon us, and for some "time I 
waited and waited, until I finally concluded 
it would make nothing as it was, and it could 
do no more if I worked it and the drought 
should continue. I therefore had it plowed 
and hilled up. I did not go in it for some 
time, thinking I should get nothing from this 
trial, as crops of corn were considered cut 
short nearly one half. 

Well, about gathering corn time, as I was 
about to leave home for the day, I thought of 
this corn, so I directed one of my men to go 
over to the field, pull it down, take a cart and 
haul it home, — observing to him that I reck- 
oned he could bring it in the cart at one load. 
On reaching home at night, I asked my man, 
"What success T* and he stated that he had 
hauled up four good loads of this corn, in- 
stead of one, as I thought. 

Next morning it was nicely shucked out, 
and I made some litthe^ over four barrels of 
good nice white corn. 

Now, Messrs. Editors, in consideration of 
the excessive drought, and only common cul- 
ture, and about eighty pounds of Guano in 
the whole plat of land, and the pea hills re- 
ceiving 403 epoonfuls of Guano out of the 
eighty pounds, I do regard this as an excel- 
lent yield, indeed. The product of corn in a 
very dry season indeed, on common land, 
being five bushels for each 325 hills ! 

This corn resembles our common variety of 
white corn in looks, but in growing, soon after 
being up, shoots out suckers, or tillers, near 
or at the ground, as many as three, I have 
seen, to the stalk, each of which grows up 
luxuriantly with the parent stalk, and all are 
very prolific in their bearing, the ears are of 
a medium size and of the usual lengths, from 
twelve to sixteen rows ; and I speak within 
bounds when I say it will yield fifty per cent, 
more corn to the hill than our common varie- 
ty Will { aiiu it is iiuu of ujo Bifccii. ItU'iei) oi 
corn either. 

So well pleased am I with it, that I shall 
plant several acres in this corn the present 
year, — away from any other corn, that it may 
not mix with my other common corn. 

I am in hopes (seasons suiting) to let you 
hear a good account of my better success next 
fall ; for I do think I can raise fifteen or eigh- 
teen barrels of this corn per acre, from im- 
proved lands as well as Mr. Peabody, whose 
crop per acre was ninety-two and one-fourth 
bushels of shelled corn, and twenty-five acres 
in cultivation, as will be seen in his circular. 
My lands are poor, but there is nothing like 
trying. 



184 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



[March 



Excuse me for this lengthy note, as I had 
not designed being so lengthy when I set 
down to write. Probably you may be able to 
find a corner in your paper where you can 
dispose of this without much inconvenience. 
Yours truly, 

A. G. Moody. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Fish as Manure for Corn. 

Wicomico Church Va., ) 
February 19th, 1859. j 

In answer to the request that some subscriber ] 
who has had experience in using fish as a ma- 
nure would give his mode of using them, I 
will say, that in this part of the cyunty of 
Northumberland we have used fish for several 
years, and by some of the farmers living im- 
mediately on the water, very extensively. 
Our usual plan when caught in the fall, is to 
run off a furrow, and drop the fish (alewife is 
the kind we use, which is about the size of 
herring,) about one foot apart, and lap the 
land over them by throwing two furrows; and 
let it remain until spring for corn. 

When we use them fur wheat, w T e drop and 
cover in the same way, only have the rows 
about two feet apart. The oil from the fish 
•will extend entirely over that surface. When 
we use them in spring for corn, we drop in a 
furrow about a foot from the corn, sometimes 
in the middle of the row ; in this way the 
corn receives no benefit until it gets large. 
We never catch them until our corn is 
planted. 

Had I the fish now as Mr. Graves has, and 
could keep the dogs from pulling up the corn, 
I would drop and bed on them as in the fall. 
Very respectfully, 

E. Brown. 



From the Maine Farmer. 

Board of Agriculture. 

EVENING CHAT. 

Tuesday, January 26th. 

The subject for consideration was "Slock of 
all kinds." 

Dr. True, of Oxford, said, I wish to occupy 
but a few moments; but I wish to put in a 
plea for our "natives." I think justice has 
not been done their merits by our breeders of 
fancy stock. I stand here to challenge all the 
growers of improved breeds to produce any- 
thing equal to our good old natives for milk. 
Where is any of your improved foreign stock, 
among which are found cows that will give 
milk the year round? Can you produce a 
cow that will give from thirty-five to forty-two 
pounds of milk per day? If you can I would 
like to see her. 

And then, in regard to oxen — what is there 



equal to our old natives? You may get larger 
animals ; but are they capable of doing the 
amount of work that our natives are? Are 
they as powerful for their inches, as hard and 
tough, and as capable of endurance? Most 
splendid stock is produced from our natives, 
by those who take good care of their animals. 
I would like to have our fancy breeders pro- 
duce stock equal to some of those I have seen. 
I would submit whether the introduction of 
improved stock has not been a curse to this 
country, instead of a blessing. 

Mr. Flint, of West Somerset, said, I have 
seen a full display of our native stock before 
to-day, and I must say, I do not think the in- 
troduction of improved stock has been a curse 
to this country, notwithstanding the wretched 
manner of breeding. Look at the facts. It is 
within my recollection that it was hard work 
to get a yoke of oxen that would girt six feet 
and four inches — harder than it is now to get 
those which will girt eight feet and six inches. 
Look at the stock exhibited at our shows, and 
what a change has been effected ! Two years 
old stock, formerly, was not so large as our 
calves now are. 

I have lately seen an exhibition of the genu- 
ine old native stock. Some speculators from 
my neighborhood went to Canada this fall and 
bought a drove of genuine natives, and the 
herd looked more like a herd of goats than 
neat stock. And the oxen ought to have been 
seen by my friend from Oxford, to have ample 
justice done them. 

Thursday, January 27th. 

The subject for discussion was the renewal 
of the debate on " stock of all kinds," which 
was broken off on Tuesday evening to give 
place to the business of the Maine State So- 
ciety. 

Mr. Flint, of West Somerset said, I do not 
propose to discuss stock of all kinds. I am 
sometimes called " sheepish," as my friend 
here at my left is called " piggish." Not that 
we are particularly distinguished for the quali- 
ties these terms are sometimes used to indicate, 
but on account of the attention w r e give to 
these kinds of stock. It is true, I am particu- 
larly interested in sheep. They are my favor- 
ite stock. But I cannot do so much in this 
line as I would like, for the want of more pas- 
ture. 

I am a little disposed to find fault with the 
action of the State Society in relation to this 
kind of stock. The premiums offered on stock 
is altogether disproportionate to the relative 
value of each. One hundred and forty-odd 
dollars are offered on premiums in Ayrshires 
alone, and only forty dollars on sheep of all 
kinds. This does not seem to be equal. As 
for Ayreshires, I never saw one in my life, 
and know nothing as to their value, relative or 
otherwise ; but the value of s'jeep I do under- 
stand something about, and I regard these as 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



the most profitable stock we can raise. I 
think sheep husbandry needs and deserves to 
be encouraged. 

The fact is, as every one knows who is at all 
conversant with the subject, we do not raise 
wool enough to supply our home demand. We 
produce only about one-third of what we con- 
sume. There has been a decline in produc- 
tion in New England, for a series of years, till 
within a few years. We are now gaining, and 
this branch of husbandry needs to be en- 
couraged, on account of the discouragements 
to which it is subjected. It is subject to more 
sudden depressions and fluctuations than any 
other description of stock, and hence fanners 
are more disposed to abandon it, as so many 
have done. But with all its fluctuations, I 
think, take a series of years together, no de- 
scription of stock is so profitable as sheep, and 
no branch of farming so profitable as sheep- 
husbandry. 

Perhaps I am not so good a judge in this 
matter as some others ; .for my experience has 
not been so varied. I was not bred a farmer 
from a boy, as some others have been. I en- 
tered into it, after attaining my majority, 
from choice. Farming is my chosen profession, 
and I chose sheep-husbandry as my leading 
business, and have always stuck to it, so that 
my experience ic other departments is very 
limited, and my judgment is made up mostly 
from a complication of my neighbors and my 
own results. 

To enable you to form a judgment as to the 

Frofitableness of this branch of this farming, 
will give a statement from my books, of my 
last year's operations. The following are the 
facts and" results : 

Jan. 1, 1857. Dr. 

To 250 sheep, $4 per head, §1000 

To 45 tuns of hay, $8 per ton, 360 

To 40 bushels of provender, 15 

To use of pastures, 25 

To shearing, twine, salt, &c., 30 



$1430 



Sheep.— Jan. 1, 1858. (same time,) Cr. 

By wool sold, 1000 pounds, .$470 

By lambs sold, 90 

By store sheep to Brown and Morse, 73 

By grade French buck sold, 120 

By Spanish bucks sold, 375 

By use of buck on hire, 50 

By mutton, sheep and pelts, 14 



Flock now worth, 



.'1192 
1000 



2192 



Nett profit, $762 

Now I would like to see the farmer who can 
produce any other stock that pays as well as 
this. The fleeces brought almost two dollars 
a head. But this is not only a profitable busi- 
ness for the farmer, but it is an important in- 



terest to the country. Still I would not make 
sheep-husbandry an exclusive interest ; but I 
think men having farms adapted to this 
branch of business, would find their interests 
promoted by making it a leading thing and 
all else subordinate. In most cases 1 think it 
best to grow different kinds of stock. But 
horses I dislike. I dislike them so rnuoh that 
I can almost any time go out of my way to 
kick a horse. They are only a bill of expense. 
There is no profit in raising them, They are 
of too little real value, to be esteemed as high- 
ly as they are. Too many are kept and too 
many are raised. They eat themselves up 
three or four times before they are old enough 
to be of any service. I think the most of 
them had better be knocked in the head, and 
the hay they would eat fed to sheep, when it 
will pay. 

I know there is a great deal of fluctuation 
in the price of wool ; but experience fully 
demonstrates that depression below the remu- 
nerative profit does not continue longer than 
from two to four years. Wool does not lose 
in value from age, and of course, when the 
price is down there is no necessity for selling. 
Four years is the longest it has ever had to be 
kept, before prices become remunerative. Usu- 
ally it has to be kept only one or two years. 
I have never sold at a loss. When the price is 
down, I pack my clip in sacks and pack it 
away in a suitable place, and there let it re- 
main until prices comes up to the remunera- 
tive point. 

I feed my sheep in racks prepared for them. 
I give them but little provender — only w r aste 
beans, peas and oats. This I think better 
than corn. I let them have free access to 
good shelter and a plenty of water. I lose 
only about four per cent, of my flock in a year 
from all causes. More of these I lose in the 
summer than in the winter. A part of this is 
in the disappearance occasionally, from my 
pasture, of a good fat sheep, that goes, one 
can hardly say how or where. 

I use my sheep manure in the spring. I 
usually plough up about five acres every fall, 
of grass land. I aim to turn up an inch of 
the subsoil that has never before been dis- 
turbed by the plough. In the spring I spread 
on from eight to ten cart loads of sheep manure 
to the acre, before the snow goes off. After 
the snow goes off I knock the lumps in pieces 
and scatter them over thegn und. When the 
frost is out, I plough it in with a small plough 
or work it in with an ox cultivator, without 
disturbing the turf. I then manure in the 
hill with a ^ompost, and cover it with a hoe. In 
this way I get the best crop of corn. 

Mr. tucker, of Waldo, said, the gentleman 
last up seems to think that the building of 
railroads has reduced the price of horses, and 
mad* them almost worthless. The directly 
reverse of this is the fact, as I believe. Prices 
have never ruled so high, as since the con- 



186 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



■truotioD of linos of railroads. On every line 
of railroad in New England, more horses are 
OWned and raised, than in old stage times. In 
even? little village is a livery stable containing 
more horses than the stage line which sup- 
plied it with the mails, and when such a thing 
as such a stable was never dreamed of. Be- 
side there are quite as many horses owned 
among its citizens as before the construction of 
the railroad. It is true that a better class of 
horses is demanded, and those who breed 
miserable animals realize miserable profit, if 
they do not find it impossible to sell at any 
price. I confess I like a good horse, and my 
experience is, that a good profit can be and is 
realized on raising good horses. 

Dr. Dill, of Franklin, said, I have no knowl- 
edge of the breeding of sheep and horses; but 
I have had some experience in raising neat 
stock. I know neat stock can be raised at a 
profit, even at present prices. I will give some 
figures to illustrate this, from my own experi- 
ence. 

In the fall of 1856, I took a pair of two 
year old steers on a poor debt, at fifty dollars. 
My account stands in this wise : — 

Cost of steers- $50 00 

Keeping one year I paid . . : 16 00 

Cost of steers the next fall, $66 00 

Could have sold them for $90 00, but pre- 
ferred to keep them another year. Had I 
sold them they would have afforded me a 
profit of twenty-four dollars for the year's 
risk and interest, which is a pretty fair per 
centage on the investment. A business of 
this character is better than money invested 
in stocks or merchandize. And this is only 
one of many instances in my experience, that 
I might name: for I have tried it on stock 
of different ages — calves, yearlings, two and 
three year olds, all with the same general re- 
sults. 

There was a widow in my neighborhood who 
had a farm worth $550. This was the price 
for which it would sell. She was offered this 
sum for it, but I advised her not to sell ; but 
to lease it for one-half the products, and occu- 
rs +u« k~"o« u~~o C if <au c fVJcv.'cd the advice. 
and the result was as follows, for her share of 
the produce : 

8 tons of hay, $6 $48 00 

20 bush. corn,$l, 20 00 

20 " oats and peas, 50c, 10 00 

30 " potatoes. 33-£c. ? 10 00 

Sold apples to the amount of. 10 00 

Received for pasturing stock. 16 00 

Miscellaneous receipts, 20 00 

Whole income, $134 00 

This is an income of 2G per cent., beside 
which she had the benefit of pasturing ^br a 
cow, the income of a small garden, poultry, 
bees and other small items. 



These facts demonstrate, that both stock 
raising and general farming can be made 
profitable. How much better was it for this 
woman to keep her farm and cultivate it with 
other hands, than to have sold it and invested 
the money at interest. 

Mr. Thissell, of Penobscot. I would ask if 
any one can attend exclusively to sheep rais- 
ing, raising of horses, or any one kind of 
stock or crops, with the highest pecuniary re- 
sults. My opinion is, that the better way is, 
for each farmer to attend to all the varieties of 
farming and stock raising. Then, if one fails, 
another may be successful, and thus compen- 
sate him for his losses. I think the true 
policy is to encourage every species of farming 
and every kind of improved stock. In this 
way we may be able to determine ultimately 
what description is best adapted to different 
localities. 

Mr. Martin, of Androscoggin, said, I have 
listened with great pleasure to the remarks 
that have been made on the subject of stock 
raising, and particularly of sheep husbandry, 
which I conceive to be a great and growing 
interest. But there is one interest that has 
not been attended to, to which I wish to call 
attention. I mean of pork. I wish to do 
this, because it may be said by men who listen 
to what is here said or who may read this re- 
port of our sayings or doings : " Oh, this is 
all very well for men who have capital. If 
we only had the money to begin with, we 
could do something at farming ; but as we are 
poor we cannot succeed." 

I know something of the embarrassments 
which the poor man feels ; the many and rest- 
less hours of the night-watches he spends in 
looking his embarrassments in the face, and 
devising how he may better his condition. I 
know 'there is many a man, honest but poor, 
in the present depression of business, who 
asks himself in agony and tears, what shall I 
set myself about, not to obtain riches, but to 
obtain a livelihood for myself and little ones? 

My deep sympathy for such men, leads me 
to desire to suggest something and to do some- 
thing for their encouragement and help. I 
began as a farmer, with a wife and child, and 
involved in debt in consequence of engaging 
in the lumbering business and lending my 
name as security for others. I have succeeded! 
by my farming, in paying my debts, and at 
the same time have enjoyed farming and se- 
cured its delights and its rewards. My own 
experience makes me wish that every poor! 
man could be encouraged to engage in and 
faithfully follow this pursuit, for it is the 
surest pay of any employment in which man 
can engage. 

My plan of operations to start a poor man 
in business, is* this : I would furnish him a 
capital of sixty-dollars. If he has need of 
such aid, let his friends and neighbors loan 
him that amount. Having obtained the funds, 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



187 



let them be invested in eight pigs, and the 
balance in corn. Let him put his pigs in a 
yard with a roof of poles, scantlings or other 
cheap material over it, and thatch it, to keep 
it dry. Let him spread over the yard a coat- 
ing of a few inches in depth, of muck, loam, 
scrapings from the road or the chip-yard, and 
let an additional supply be added every week. 
Here let the pigs be fed with meal from his 
corn, till it is all consumed. Let him then 
kill one of the pigs, and with it purchase 
more corn with which to feed the remaining 
seven, till it is consumed, when he shall kill 
another pig and put it into corn ; and so on till 
but four shall remain, which, if they have 
done at all well, will make, after eating up the 
fourth one, one thousand pounds of pork, and 
manure sufficient to manure one acre of corn 
in the best manner. This pork will pay for 
for his capital, and the interest and expenses, 
and leave him a small margin in cash, beside 
his manure which will amply compensate him 
for all his trouble. This manure will give him 
corn enough to commence the same business 
another year ; and he can go on, increasing 
his profits and adding to his means. This ex- 
periment I have tried, and so have others, and 
all have been successful. 

Mr. Leadbetter, of Somerset, said that he 
was a friend of the horse, and he thought that 
too many horses of poor quality were kept. 
What we most need, since men will keep and 
love horses, is, that they be good horses. In 
answer to a question, he said that generally it 
takes about three colts to get one good horse, 
according to his observation, although his 
)wn personal experience was more favorable, 
having come early into a good breed of horses. 

Mr. Anderson of Cumberland, thought that 
iake the pastures in the State as they are, and 
:he short summer the Devons were the best. 
He allowed to Durham short horn cattle supe- 
rior size and early maturity, but they are soft 
hoofed, loosely made, silky but thin haired 
jompared with many other breeds ; in fact, he j 
relieved them to be as tender as any breed 
except the Jerseys. To the Hereford he al- j 
owed superior size and perfect integrity of i 
iction. 

If we can find a breed of cows of fair quali- 1 
;ies, which will impart these to their offspring, I 
fve do the best. The Devons do this more uni- j 
ibrmly than others. The Herefords require a j 
ligher growth of feed than the Devons, and 
ire not so good milkers. 

The introduction of the Durham breed into 
Maine he could not regard favorably. They 
were large and occasionally good milkers, but 
;hey cannot be relied: upon for their integrity 
n imparting good milking qualities to their 
offspring. There is a great want of uniformi- 
:y in this respect. Every farmer must adapt 
lis breed to the condition of his locality. 

An axiom of breeding is received in Eng- 
land, and prevails among the more intelligent 



breeders in the United States, that in stocking 
a farm with neat stock, regard should be had 
to the breed of cfflJUe which had been native 
to the place; for if this principle was not re- 
garded, the stock, if too large, would inevita- 
bly come back to that size, and on the other 
hand, those too small would increase in size 
until they came up to the size of the natives, 
and there is this advantage accruing to those 
which are too small that they increase, par- 
ticularly in muscle, while those too large de- 
crease in muscle and retain their large bones, 
and after this decrease their ungainly, dispro- 
portioned joints. 

Mr. Goodale of Saco, spoke of the various 
breeds which he had noticed in his visits to 
New Brunswick and various parts of the 
State. There is everywhere an increased at- 
tention to this subject of the breed of cattle, 
and a great improvement is going on. 

He referred to one matter which may by 
and by come, to be of great importance when 
we send to market much larger number of cat- 
tle than we have been doing in the past, and 
that is the fact, suggested by chemistry, that 
in producing a pound ot fat meat, there is less 
exhaustion to the soil than in producing a 
pound of lean meat. Fat meat does not draw 
the phosphates from the soil in the same pro- 
portion as lean meat, and yet lean meat sells 
for less than fat meat. 

He called the attention of the Board to 
the importance of veterinary science. In 
Scotland the death by diseases in cattle had 
diminished one half since the introduc- 
tion of this science into that country. — Maine 
Farmer. 



A Short Account of Short-Horned Cattle. 

As it may prove interesting to some of 
those into whose hands this catalogue may 
fall, and can scarcely be out of place, I will 
venture to give a short account of Short- 
Horned Cattle, confining myself to those 
authorities who are considered most reliable, 
treating: the subject in as short a space as 
possible. 

Youatt, who quotes from the Rev. H. 
Berry, is the chief author usually referred 
to on the subject of this far-famed breed of 
cattle, which some are disposed to divide 
into two varieties, on account of their dif- 
ferent properties — the one more profitable 
for the dairy, yielding a large quantity of 
milk and butter ; the other, which they call 
" the improved Short-Horns/' peculiarly 
adapted to grazing and feeding. The York- 
shire cow, so popular with all dairy-men, 
both in the north of England and London, 
may be said to represent one variety ; the 



188 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 



animals carrying off all the prizes at the 
great agricultural shows represent the other. 
I low far the two varieties may differ from 
one another, I have not space here fully to 
discuss. I am disposed, however, to helieve 
that the transition from the one to the other 
variety may be made by following a proper 
system of crossing and treatment, or that 
the produce of the Yorkshire cow, might, 
by a few judicious crosses and proper 
management, be brought to represent the 
improved Short-Horn, and that the latter, 
with no better treatment than is usually 
given to the Yorkshire cow, and due atten- 
tion to the milking properties, might, after 
a few generations, be readily taken for her 
more humble relative. 

Yorkshire and Durhamare, without doubt, 
the native counties of the Short-Horns — 
the country along the banks of the Tees 
(which river divides these two counties) 
being at a very early period, noted for its 
cattle. 

Whether the stock throughout that dis- 
trict was, in the first instance, improved by 
attention to the native breed of animals, by 
crossing the be^t cows with the best bulls, 
or by crossing with other stock, is a ques-l 
tion which has not been settled beyond a| 
doubt; it seems, however, to be the opinion j 
of those best acquainted with the subject, that j 
an improvement was brought about by the | 
introduction of some animals from Holland 
by Sir William St. Quintain, of Scampston, 
Yorkshire, which w r ere crossed with the 
native breed, causing the first great hri- 
provement, prior to that made by Mr. C.| 
Colling, who brought Short Horn to a very I 
high state of improvement, if not to per-' 
fee tion, as some would have us believe. 

Proceeding on the principle that perfect 
symmetry is most rarely found in large ani- 
mals, and that this was a great object to be i 
obtained by a breeder, since in it you have 
one of the best proofs of thrift, early ma- 
turity, and fattening qualities, Mr. Charles 
Colling seems to have determined upon re-, 
ducing somewhat the size of his animals, 
giving special attention, at the same time,! 
to shape and quality; with this view he is 1 
said to have used the bull Hubback, calved 
in the year 1777 ; also, to have tried a cross; 
with a Galloway cow. Hubback, though 
only used for a short time, seems to have 
been of much service. How far the cross 
with the Galloway advanced his object, is 
not so easy to say. The grand-dam of 



Bolingbroke being one-quarter Galloway, 
is the only bull of this blood known to 
have been used. By crossing him upon his 
old cow, Phoenix, Mr. Colling had Lady; 
which, from the prices realized at his sale, 
must have been, herself, a fine animal as 
well as a good breeder. It must be remem- 
bered, however, that Phoenix was the dam 
of Favourite, as well as Lady, and the ex- 
cellence of the blood on that side being un- 
doubted. Mr. Youatt says, " as the grand- 
son of Bolingbroke is not known to have 
been the sire of any other fine animals, it is 
most probable that the unquestionable merits 
of Lady and her descendants are to be at- 
tributed more to her dam than to her sire/ 
The value put upon Mr. C. Colling's iin 
provement by the breeders of his own time, 
may be estimated from the statement (given 
in Youatt's book) of his sale in 1810, 
where we find that 



17 cows sold for £2802 9. av ; age, £164 17 

11 bulls sold for £2361 9. av'age, £214 13 6 

7 heifers sold for£ 942 18. av'age, £134 8 3 

5 heifer calves 

sold for £ 321 6. av"aae, £ 64 



lit 

H 
tl 

i9 

5 2 es 
i 



h 



47 produced £7115 17.av.pr.hd.,£l51 8 

Which, reduced to U. S. currency, will 
equal about $732 75 per head. 

Though Mr. Charles Colling has more 
reputation than any other breeder of Short 
Horns, his brother, Robert Colling, Messrs. 
Charge, Coats, Mason, Maynard, and many 
others, were at the same time breeding with 1 
success, as a statement of the prices obtain- 
ed at some of their sales might prove ; for, 
though not so high as those obtained at 
Mr. C. Colling's sale, it must be borne in* 
mind that the first took place when every 
thing was high, the last during times of 
depression. At Mr. R. Colling's sale, in* 
1818: 

34 cows sold for £4348 3. «v'ge,£l27 17 8 

17 heifers sold for 1351 7. av'ge, 79 9 9 

6 bulls sold foi 1410 3. av ; ge, 235 6 

'4 bullcalvessoldfor 748 13. av'ge, 187 3 3 



61 head sold for 



£7894 4. av"g. 

per head £129 10 10 

Which will make abou^ $613 per head. 

The value of Mr. C. Colling's improve- 
ment being made public by the eagerness 
with which other breeders sought to ob- 
tain some of his stock, tended to diffuse his 
blood throughout all the cattle breeding 
districts, and though, during times of de- 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



189 



pression amongst those engaged in agricul- 
tural pursuits, this stock, like everything 
else, was much neglected, there were, for- 
tunately, always men of spirit and means 
sufficiently interested in them to keep them 
up in their purity. Amongst these may be 
mentioned some of the immediate succes- 
sors of Air. C. Colling — such as Lord Al- 
throp, (the late Earl Spencer,) Messrs. Bates, 
Booth, Maynard, YVhitakcr, and many 
Dthers — and there can be no doubt but that 
the stock handed down to us by these emi- 
nent breeders is fully equal to any which 
preceded them. As there is no better way 
of judging of the value put upon anything 
by the public than by ascertaining what 
they will give for it at public sale, I will 
only say, that at the sale of the late Earl 
Spencer, the average of the whole herd, 
little and big, male and female, was about 
£68, equal to about $330 per head. At 
ihe sale of the stock of the late Mr. Bates, 
which took place 9th May, 1850, the aver- 
age was somewhat less. Mr. Bates had six 
lifferent families of cows — 1st, the Duch- 
esses; 2d, the Oxfords; 3d, the Water- 
loos ; 4th, the Cambridge Roses ; 5th, the 
Wild Eyes; 6th, the Foggathorpes. 

Duch's av.. m.&f.,£ll6 5 pr hd eq ab $562 50 

3xf'ds, " * 68 16 4 t: " 333 00 

Wat'ls, " " 59 10 " " 288 00 

. R'fl., " " 49 " " 237 25 

W.Ey's, « " 48 2 1\ " " 233 00 

Fog<>*s, " ;: 46 19 < ; " 227 25 

jen. av. - - - - 67 7, eq ? l to ab't 324 50 

I have taken notice of these sales for the 
purpose of showing the estimation in which 
Short Horns continue to be held ; with this 
new, I shall notice that of the late Lord 
Ducie, which took place on the 24th Au- 
gust, 1853, and a few others. 

At Lord Ducie's sale, there was sold : 

t9 co's.he'fs&ca's.fv £6.867 Oe. to $33,236 25 
I3bu*s&bu.ca'vs, for 2,494 16 H 12,07100 



I head in all, - - 
A.verage, per head, 



9,361 16 
- 150 19 



45,307 25 
730 55 

It will be seen that the average price ob- 
;ained at this sale is within a few shillings 
)f the average obtained at Mr. C. Colling's 
3ale, which considering the number of well 
bred Short Horns throughout Great Britain 
a,t the time, was somewhat astonishing. 
Lord Ducie had indeed taken much pains to 
elect his stock, and was never prevented by 
the cost from having what he wished; never- 
theless, the prices realized were extraordi- 



nary, and could not have been obtained but 
for the strong competition for Bate's Duch- 
ess tribe of animals, (at present most high- 
ly esteemed,) carried on, in a great degree, 
by gentlemen from America, who seemed 
determined to out-bid the English breeders, 
as well as one another. One cow brought 
700 guineas, equal to $3,500 ; another 
brought 600 guineas, equal to $8,000; and 
others, something less, though all went at 
high prices. 

The next sale, in point of time, is that of 
Mr. Tanqueray, of Hendon, a gentleman 
who, though he did not continue long to 
breed, engaged in it with the utmost spirit, 
and generally obtained the best stock tha,t 
could be had, with little regard to price. 

This sale came off on 24th April, 1855, 
when there were sold, 

77 cows, heifers, and heifer calves 

for £5915 14 

24 bulls, and bull calves, 1928 17 



7844 11 



Average per head. 77 13 4£ 

Equal to about $376 Q0. 

The next sale in order was that of Sir 
Charles Knightly, of Falseley Park, which 
came off in April, 1856. Sir Charles had 
been breeding with the strictest attention to 
the purity of the blood of his herd, for thir- 
ty-five years, during which time I believe 
he had never sold a female fit for breeding 
from it. 

There were sold 48 cows, heifers, and heifer 
calves for £3979 10 0, equal to $18,950. 

There were sold 29 bulls, 

and bull calves for £2184 0, equal 

to $10,400 



Total 77hds. fr. £6163 10 0. equal to $29,350 
Average of females, £S2 18 ^, equal to (39,479 
Average of males, 75 6 2^, equal to 358,62 

Average of whole, 80 1 , equal to 381,16 

I have, hitherto, omitted to give any ac- 
count of the high prices given in America, 
for Short Horns, as well as those paid by 
purchasers at private sale, of which I may 
here make some mention. At the " Sciota 
Valley Importing Company's" sale in Ohio, 
in 1852, there were sold nine bulls for 813, 
460 ; highest price $2,510 ; lowest $450— 
average per head, $1,495 55. There were 
sold seven cows for $8,315; highest price, 
$1,230; lowest $900— average^ per head, 
$1,187,85. Sixteen head sold for $21,775 
— making an average of $1,361 per head. 



190 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



March 



In the following year, 1853, at the sale of 
the stock of the Northern Importing Com- 
pany there were sold 

10 bulls for $-28,081 ; highest price, $0,001 ; 

lowest, $1,000— average, $2,808 10. 

15 cows and heifers, $ 10,025, highest price 

$3,050; lowest ,$535— average, $1,208,33. 

25 head of bulls and cows brought $47,700 — 
making the average price per head $1908,24. 

This sale is, without doubt, the highest 
ever made j but a bull, " Master Butterfly," 
has been recently sold in England, at pri- 
vate sale, to get to Australia, for about the 
same price that Diamond, highest priced 
tmil brought at this sale ; and though no re- 
cent private sale has reached the high fig- 
ure of $3,500, for which one of the Duch- 
ess tribe sold at Lord Ducie's, or $3,050 paid 
for Mazurks, at the Northern Kentucky 
Importing Company's sale above mentioned, 
500 guineas or $2,500 was confidently look- 
ed for, as the selling price of the first prize 
cow at the Royal English Agricultural So- 
ciety shows this year, nor would it be sur- 
prising that the price was obtained. 

It will thus be seen that since the atten- 
tion of the public was first called to this 
breed of cattle, they have been constantly 
advancing in favour, and though, in times 
of feverish excitement, the prices given for 
them may, in some instances, have been 
higher than can be obtained just now, it 
may be said, that never since their origin 
have they been more popular than at the 
present moment. Recommended by their 
intrinsic merits, the Short Horns have over- 
come all prejudices, whether of a local or 
national character. 

They have been introduced not only on 
the continent of Europe, but as we all 
know, have long since crossed the Atlantic, 
to this country and Canada, and more re- 
cently have been successfully tried in Aus- 
tralia. This, of itself, is sufficient proof of 
their great merits ; but it may be added, 
that wherever they have been introduced, 
a decided improvement has been uniformly 
observed, and it can scarcely be deemed too 
great praise of this remarkable breed of 
cattle, to say, that whether for the purpose 
of crossing other stock, or, (being bred 
pure,) for the purpose of grazing or feeding, 
or for the dairy, no known breed can be 
found to equal them. 

R. Aitcheson Alexander. 



has been sug- 



Cord-Wood Houses. 
. A new method of building 
gested, but we are not aware that it has ever 
been " put in the papers." It is claimed to 
be equally as good, if not better than the 
old plan of building frames, while, in all 
wooden regions, it has the merit of being 
very economical. Any one possessing tim- 
ber, or living where it is cheap, can, by this 
new method of house-building, erect them a 
neat and comfortable house, with the outlay 
of very little means. The principal cost is 
the outlay of labor, which any one with skill 
enough to build an ordinary board fence is 
capable of performing. 

How to Build. — First saw and split your 
wood, the same as for the stove, of the same 
length as you desire your walls to be in thick- 
ness. If you want your walls one foot thick, 
cut your wood twelve inches long; or if eight 
inches is to be the thickness of the walls, 
then cut your wood only eight inches long, 
varying the length of your wood to any de- 
sired thickness you wish your walls. After 
laying your foundation wall in stone or con- 
crete, as for frame dwellings, erect two planks 
on edge, at the distance apart of the thick- 
ness of your wall, and secure them by cross 
ties. Now proceed to lay in your cord (or 
stove) wood, putting in a layer of mortar 
between each layer of wood, so that all the 
chinks and crevices may be perfectly filled. 
The mortar will fill all irregularities at the 
end of the wood, and leave the face of your 
wall perfectly even and smooth. When you 
have filled in your wood and mortar to the 
height of the plank, you can loosen the ties 
and raise the plank, or slide them along the 
wall, preparatory to another layer or exten- 
sion of the wall. At the corners of your 
building, you will lay every other tier of 
wood at right angles, the same as you would 
cord up the end of a pile of wood. When 
you get your wall to the desired height for 
the first story, lay across your joist or floor 
timbers, being careful to get them all level, 
and proceed' as before until you reach the 
desired height of your house, when proceed 
to level off" your wall, and place planks there- 
on for the rafters to rest, tying them at the 
corners. After erecting the end rafters and 
staying them, you can proceed to lay up the 
gable the same as your main walls. The 
door and window-frames of heavy plank can 
be put in their places as the erection of the 
wall proceeds. The inside walls can be 
erected at the same time as the outside, or 



1859.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



191 



afterwards, at the option of the builder. 
The floors, roofs, etc., will be like unto other 
houses. Thus erected, the inside walls of 
the house will be smooth enough to paper, 
or a coat of plaster will readily adhere to 



, if the owner desires. The outside, 
a neat and economical cottage residence, 



etc. 



of Havana in 1858. 

table in a late 



ghly interesting table in a 
the Diane de la Marina, the 



a 
them 
for 

need only be whitewashed with a water- 
proof whitewash, the same as that used on 
the back part of the President's mansion. 
If the owner desire it, he can readily clap- 
board, or put on a hard finish, as may ac- 
cord with his taste. 

Double Walk. — The foregoing is a cheap 
way of building a good house; but a still 
better way is to make the walls double, with 
a dead-air space between. Cut your wood 
for a double wall, say, six inches long. Lay 
up two tiers, or walls, side by side, with a 
hollow space between. To make the walls 
firm, occasionally tie them together by sticks 
long enough to reach through this dead-air 
space by only carrying up cross partitions of 
wood,, the distance apart you desire your 
chimney, and thoroughly plastered on the 
inside. 

Comfort and Economy. — That such a 
house should be warm in winter, and cool in 
the summer, no one can doubt who has paid 
attention to the manner of its construction. 
But is it economical ? It is capable of be 
ing constructed, so far as the walls are con- 
cerned, by any^kilful common laborer. This 
is an advantage over the common method of 
building, as on that skilled mechanics have 
to be employed, at high wages. The amount 
of wood required is much less than would at 
first appear, as any one who makes an esti- 
mate will find. Thus, for a small cottage 
size, sixteen by twenty feet, and one and a 
half, stories high, it will take less than seven 
cords of four-foot wood. It is considerable 
labor to cut the wood, but in many cases the 
labor will not be felt, as it could be done at 
odd hours, and on rainy days when little 
else would be done. All expense in the 



The Trade, 
From a hi 
number of 

Savannah Republican translates thcfollowing 
items, which will be read with interest by 
our business men generally: 

"There arrived in the port of Havana, 
for the year 185$, 132 American merchant 
steamers, against 107 in 1857. Sailed in same 
time 130, against 165 in 1857. 

" The number of passengers arrived from 
the United States in 1858 was 4,887. The 
total number of passengers from all points 
was 81,555. 

" The number of vessels touching at the 
port of Havana in 1858 was 958, of 392,572 
tons, against 909 vessels, of 40(5,873 tons, 
in 1857. Vessels from all points during the 
year 1849, of 679,815 tons, against 1,953, 
of 096,306 tons, in 1857. 

" The total exports of Sugar from Havana 
and Matanzas for the year 1858 was 1,268,- 
150 boxes, against 1,116,696 boxes in 1857; 
of which to the United States 349,135 boxes, 
against 302,112 boxes in 1857. 

" Total exports of Coffee from Havana in 
1858, 20,483 arrobas, (25ihs.,) against 19,- 
609 arrobas in 1857; of which to the United 
States 7,734 arrobas, against 31 arrobas in 
1857. 

u Total exports of Molasses from Havana 
in 1858, 21,545 hhcls., against 30,161 hhds. 
in 1857; of which 18,765 to the United 
States, against 23,804 in 1857. 

"Total exports of Rum for the year 18,- 
415 pipes, against 14,058 in 1857; of which 
to the United States 919 pipes, against 250 
pipes in 1857. 

"Total exports of Cigars 106,231,000, 
against 146,720 in 1857. Of unmanufactured 
Tobacco 
lbs., 1857 

"Total exports of Honey 1,679 tierces, 
against 1,640 in 1857; of which to the 



5,046,896 fibs., 



against 3,590,135 



body of the house for nails, laths, etc., would j United States 234 tierces, against 264 tierces 
be done away with, and there would be a in 1857. 

slight additional expense for mortar, it taking "Total exports of Wax 37,016 arrobas, 
more than by the old method. j against 49,732 arrobas in 1857; of which 

In conclusion, we would say, this method j to the United States 373 arrobas, against 80 
of building is capable of being applied to : arrobas in 1857. 

out-houses, and the double wall-plan will) "Total imports of Rice for the year — 
make excellent ice-houses, or above-ground ! from the United States 76,877 quintals, 
cellars, on account of the non-conducting ^100 lbs.); from Spain 72,486 quintals, and 
power of the walls. — Philadelphia Dollar from India 115,273 quintals." — New Or- 
Newspaper. | leans Commercial Bulletin. 



192 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March 




A Psalm of Life. 

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, 
" Life is but an empty dream !" 

For the soul is dead that slumbers, 
And things are not what they seem. 

Life is real ! Life is earnest ! 

And the grave is not its goal ; 
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest," 

Was not spoken of the soul. 

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow, 

Is our destined end or way ; 
But to act, that each to-morrow 

Find us farther than to-day. 

Art is long, and Time is fleeting, 

And our hearts, though stout and brave, 

Still, like muffled drums, are beating 
Funeral marches to the grave. 

In the world's broad field of battle, 

In the bivouac of Life, 
Be not like dumb, driven cattle! 

Be a hero in the strife! 

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant! 

Let the dead Past bury its dead ! 
Act, — act in the living Present! 

Heart within, and God o'erhead ! 

Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 

And, departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time ; 

Footprints, that perhaps another, 
Sailing o'er life's solemn main, 

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother, 
Seeing, shall take heart again. 

Let us, then, be up and doing, 

With a heart for any fate; 
Still achieving, still pursuing, 

Learn to labor and to wait. 

Longfellow. 



Wishes. 

All the fluttering wishes 

Caged within thy heart 
Beat their wings against it, 

Longing to depart, 
Till they shake their prison 

With their wounded cry; 
Open then thy heart to-day, 

And let the captives fly. 



Let them first fly upwards 

Through the starry air, 
Till you almost lose them, 

For their home is there; 
Then with outspread pinions, 

Circling round and round, 
Wing their way wherever 

Want and woe are found. 

Where the weary stitcher 

Toils for daily bread;" 
Where the lonely watcher 

Watches by her dead ; 
Where with thin weak fingers, 

Toiling at the loom, 
Stand the little children, 

Blighted ere they bloom. 

Where by darkness blinded, 

Groping for the light, 
With distorted countenance 

Men do wrong for right ; 
Where in the cold shadow, 

By smooth pleasure thrown, 
Human hearts by hundreds 

Harden into stone. 
Where on dusty highways, 

With faint heart and slow, 
Cursing the glad sunlight, 

Hungry outcasts go : 
Where all mirth is silenced, 

And the hearth is chill, 
For one place is empty, 

And one voice is still. 
Some hearts will be lighter 

While your captives roam 
For their tender singing, 

Then lead them home; 
When the sunny hours 

Into night depart, fc 
Softly they will nestle 

In a quiet heart. 

« - m m > 

Give. 

See the rivers flowing 

Downward to the sea, 
Pouring all their treasures 

Bountiful and free — 
Yet to help their giving 

Hidden springs arise; 
Or, if need be, showers 

Feed them from the skies ! 
Watch the princely flowers 

Their rich fragrance spread, 
Load the air with perfumes, 

From their beauty shed — 
Yet their lavish spending, 

Leaves them not in dearth, 
With fresh life replenished 

By their mother earth ! 
Give thy heart's best treasures ! 

From fair Nature learn ; 
Give thy love, — and ask not, 

Wait not a return ; 
And the more thou spendest 

From the little store, 
With a double bounty, 

God will give thee more. 



SOUTHERN PLANTER.— ADVERTISING SHEET 



4 Silver Medals— 3 Diplomas— 68 First Premiums! 

J. MONTGOMERY & BRO. 

155 North High Street, 

BALTIMORE, Md. 

INVENTORS AND MANUFACTURERS 

OP THEIR 

DOUBLE SCREENED 

ROCKAWAY GRAIN FAN, 

Celebrated for their efficiency, durability and ease in 

working. 

We would Plato for the information of Farmers nnd the 
trade, that our Fan is of ihe largest size — with 7 large 

nnd screens, made of ihe best hr iff lit wire, on good strong frames. It is made especially for tue Sou- 
market, where all implements ought to be of the best and strongest make. We do not hesitate lor a 
nt to say, that our Fan (considering the make, the number and quality of sieves, and the amount and 
v of work it will rlo in a ghen time.) is from $10 to $15 cheaper than any in the market. We have 
I a BRANCH SHOP, at LYNCHBURG. VA. tor the accommodation of those located in that section 
intrv. Our Fan is so universally known that it is unnecessary for us to say more than that it has not 
ieaten in a trial any ti ne during the last eight vears, and cannot be heal. 

price of our Fans' in Baltimore is $34— and ill Lynchburg $3G. Orders addressed to us at either 
will receive prompt attention. A liberal discount *o the trade. For $40 we make our Fan so that it 
» boxed in 20 cubic feet, and put together again by any Farmer who has the. least idea of a Fan. This 

npoitance to all at a distance who desire to save freight, as by boxing iu such a small compass the 

on 3 Fans, would not cost more than one in its usual form. 

respectfully refer to S Sands, Esq., ex editor of the "American Farmer," Baltimore, as to the charac- 
mir Fan. Also to Messrs. Win. Palmer, Son &c Co., Richmond, Va, 

1859— ly J. MONTGOMERY & BRO., Baltimore, Md. 




k CO-PARTNERSHIP NOTICE. 

I have this dny admitted as a partner. Mr. JOHN N. JENNINGS. The busine-s will 
re he conducted at 'my old stand, No. 118 Main Street, under the firm and style of SAMUEL S. COT- 

,L & CO., where we have on hand a fine assortment of Saddles, Bridles, Whips, Carriage, Cart and 

i Harness, of every description and quality, and will continue to manufacture to order and for sale, 

class of goods in our line. 

here was awarded me at the United States Fair last Fall, three silver Medals for SUPERIOR SPECI- 
OK WORKMANSHIP; since which time our facilities have greatlv increased, and we now flutter 

ves that we can furnish eveiy article in our line, not to be surpassed iu quality, and at as low price* 
other establishment in this country. 

beg leave to return my sincere thanks to my old friends and the public generally for the liberal patron- 
retol'ore bestowed upon me, and respectfully solicit a continuance of the same to the new concern, 
o" ourselves to use our utmost endeavors to please out friends and patrons. 
1859- 1 v SAMUEL S. COTTKELL. 



TO FARMERS AND GAEDNERS! 

he subscribers offer lor sale 60,000 bushels of their new and improved 

I=»OXJI>njH5T7a?E5, 

Of the LODI MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 

ictnred from ihe night-soil of Ne v York city, in lots to suit purchasers. This crticle ("greatly im- 
within the last three years) has been in the market for eighteen years, and still defies competition, as 
ire lor Corn and Garden Vegetables, being cheaper, more powerful, than any other, and at the same 
•e from disagreeable odor. Two barrels ($3 worthy will manure an acre of com in the hill, will save 
rds in labor, will cause it to come up quicker, to grow faster, to ripen earlier, and will bring a larger 
l poor ground than any other fertilizer, and is also a preventive of the cut worm ; also it does not in- 
s seed to be put iu contact with it 

e L. M. Co. point to their lo- g standing reputation, nnd the larsre capital ($100,000) invested in their 
s. as a guarantee that the article thev make shall always be of such quality as to command a ready 
Price $1,50 per barrel for any quantity over six barrels. 

p 3 A pamphlet, containing every information, will be sent (free) to aiv one applying for the same. 
.)ur address is GRIPPING, BROTHERS & CO., 

b 18)9— 3t Agricultural Warehouse, 6!) Cortlandt Street, New York. 



Full Blood Silesian and Spanish Merino SHEEP, 



ed, nnd for sale by 
.3-tf 



S. S. BRADFORD. 

Culpeper, Va. 



SOUTHERN PL ANTE t— ADVERTISING SHEET. 



Corner of Grace and Fous iee Streets, RICHMOND, VA. 

The next Session of this Institution will >pen on the FIRST DAY OF OCTOBER, IS 
and close on the First Day of July, 185D. 

TERMS FOR THE SCHOLASTIC YEAR, 



For Board, - - - i?2< 

For Washing, - - 1 

For Lights, - - 6 

For English Tuition, - -40 

For Modern Languages, (each,) - 10 

For French, when studied exclusively of 

the English branches, - - 40 

For Latin, - - - 10 

For Music on Piano, Harp, Guitar, Or- 
gan or Singing: 

For one lesson (of an hour) a week, 40 , 

REFERENCES 

The Patrons of the School. — Right Rev. Bi hop Meade, Right Rev. Bishop Johns, Right R 
Bishop Elliott of Georgia, Right Rev. Bish >p Cobbs of Alabama, Rev. Moses I). Hoge, 
D., Rev. Charles II. Read, D. D., Rev. T. V. Moore, D. D., Rev. B. Gildersleve. The Clei 
of the Episcopal Church in Virginia. 

3PAG CTX.TX. 
HUBERT P. LEFE1 VRE, A. M., Principal. 



For two lessons (of an hour) a week, 
For three lessons (of an hour) a week, 
For four lessons (of an hour) a week, 

For the use of Piano, 

For Drawing, from Models, 

For Drawing, from Nature, 

For Painting in Water Colors, 

For Oil Painting, 

Primary Department — for Children un- 
der 11 years of age, 



John A. C vlyo, i Miss E. Bartlett, 

C. W. Thiiow, Mrs. M. Taylor, 

W. F. Gra iau, Mad'me M. Estvan, 

Mrs. A. E. J. Gibson, Mad'elle Lacy, 

Miss Mary Gordon, Charles II. Roseen, 
MAD'ELLE L. VILLI MET, French Governess. 

All letters to be directed to Hubert P. Le ebvre, Richmond, Va. [July '58 — h 



Rev. H. S. Keppler, 
"William G. Willi ams, a. m 
John P. Little, M. D. 
R. A. Lewis, M. D. 
Eliodoro Camps, 



FV^IjSTTS. POINTS. P^IISTTS. 

PURCELL, LADD & CO., 

DRUGGHSTS, 

* No. 122 Main Street, corner 13th, RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, 

Offer at low price?, a large und well assorted stock o ' articles in their line — embracing 

PAINTS, COLORS, VARNISHES, OILS, &C. 

LEWIS' WHITE LEAD, MACHINE OIL. 

NEW J. WHITE ZINC, Horse. bead brand, PARIS GREEN, 

C H RO ,\l E G R E E iN , C H ROM EYE LLO W, 

VERDIGRIS. TURKEY UMLJKE, 

TERRA DI SIENNA, LAMP OILS, 

LINSEED OIL, SPTS. TURPENTINE. 

All Colors for Painters, Coach Makers, and oilier.", Dry and in Oil, Paint Brushes, Sand Paper, and u r| 

large st ick of best 

WINDOW GLASS, 

omprisinc nearly every size made. We are also pi spared to take orders for Imported 

Polished Plate, Sky Light and Ornamental Glass. 

f^p 3 Particular attention to packing and forwarding all goods — and the quality wnrrnnted. 

PCRCELL, LADD & CO, Dm agists, 

June 1858. 132 M«in Street. Pi'UmonJ