THE 



SOUTHERN PLANTER 

£ DEVOTED TO 

Agriculture, Horticulture, aud the Household Arts. 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. — Xenophon. 
Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the State. — Sully. 



J. E. WILLIAMS. M. D., > _, f AUGUST & WILLIAMS, 

Prof. WILLIAM GILHAM. \ ^ DIT0BS - 1 Proprietors. 



Vol. XXI. KICHMOND, VA., APKIL, 1861. No. 4. 

For the Southern Planter. 

A Premium Essay on the Practical, Economical and Profitable Management 
of a Farm of 300 Acres, devoted to the Cultivation of Corn and Wheat 
as Staple Crops. 

BY EDMUND TAYLOR. 

[Concluded from March Number.] 

"When the fodder is ripe, it should be pulled and tied in such a manner as to 
leave an end to the withe of sufficient length to hang the bundle on the stalk, in 
the cleft where the ear shoots from the stalk. When these bundles are suf- 
ficiently cured, collect and shock; this is essential before stacking, as the fodder 
undergoes a sweat, and this should take place in the shock and not in the stack. 

Tops to be cut at the usual time, and in the usual manner, but I would recom- 
mend a slight but important change in the usual manner of shocking the tops. 
The usual plan is to shock and tie them around a stalk of corn; this plan is 
objectionable, because it causes a loss of time in their removal. When this is 
done, the shock must be untied and then laid in parcels on the rope, or vine, for 
removal, thus consuming a good deal of time at each shock. 

Instead of this plan, I recommend that the tops be shocked in the middle of 
the row, between the drills, and not round a stalk of corn. Thus, when they are 
to be removed, the hand lays his rope, or vine, along-side, and turns the shock 
immediately upon it — an instantaneous operation. 

Blade-fodder is more valuable and nutritious than many suppose it to be, and 
ought, therefore, to be carefully preserved ; slovenly stacks are an eye-sore to a 
good farmer. To insure this, I propose that the bottom of the stack, for a foot 
or two, be made of tops — as less valuable — and then the blades carefully stacked 
above, the stack to be furnished, for a foot or two below the apex, with tops also. 
13 



194 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

This plan effectually secures the blade and does not injure the top fodder. Any 
tops left after stacking the blades, can be ricked or stacked to themselves. If 
convenient, a bed of rails should be laid for each stack, and where these c nnot 
be obtained, bushes form a good substitute. 

Whenever it is practicable, both kinds of fodder should be stacked near the 
edge of a field road, whence they may be removed without injury to the wheat 
crop. ™ 

The management of the shucks cannot be described without explaining the 
mode of gathering and preserving the corn crop, and though the latter is not re- 
quired by the schedule, yet I deem it important briefly to notice the subject. 
As soon as the corn is ripe enough to cut, which generally occurs about the time 
the fodder is properly secured, I advise the following plan as decidedly more ex- 
peditious than the ordinary one of chopping down the stalks with a hoe. 

To a handle of some two or three feet in length — as the operator may prefer — 
attach a scythe-blade knife at right angles, to one end of the handle. This 
gives a kind of knife-hook, which being applied to the bottom of the stalk with 
the back of the knife touching the ground — to insure cutting the stalk close to 
the earth — and then jerked upward quickly and smartly, severs the stalk rapidly 
and effectually. The left hand of the operator grasps the stalk and throws it 
when cut into a pile like a top-pile, all ready for removal. 

This plan saves time and labor, for under the common system of cutting off 
with the hoe, the stalks fall helter-skelter, and a set of hands is required to pile 
and straighten them before they can be removed. It saves the work of one en- 
tire set of hands, and a cutter will sever at least one third more corn in a day 
with a knife — such as I have described — than with the inefficient and tiresome 
hoe. 

I prefer removing the corn to an adjacent field, if possible ; this can generally 
be done on a small farm ; if, however, it is found impracticable, I advise by all 
means to remove and shock it on the sides of the field road, and in the spring to 
seed the land thus occupied in oats. As soon as the wheat is seeded, the husk- 
ing or shucking of the corn should begin. 

On a small farm I would advise that the ear be pulled off i"n the shuck, piled 
and then shucked; securing the shucks in a rail rick covered with tops or straw 
and putting the corn in pens to dry thoroughly before being housed. When the 
corn is dry, separate the good and bad, measure and house. In no case — on a 
small farm, where every edge should cut — omit carefully measuring the corn 
crop ; you then know how much you have for sale, having previously ascertained 
the amount necessary for farm use. 
f While housing, select with care the largest and most perfect ears for seed, 
\ and keep them In an upper room or loft. With a small force, it may seem 
at the first blush almost impossible to shuck the corn in the way proposed, but 
by pulling off half the day and shucking the other half, the operation is easily 
accomplished. A man can ' readily shuck five barrels per day ; in fact, I have 



1861. ] THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 195 

myself known men who were tasked at this rate, to finish their task hy two or 
three o'clock. The farm hands and the manager — for he is expected to lend a 
helping hand at such times — making six in all, by shucking half the day, will 
husk fifteen barrels, or three hundred barrels in twenty working days. 

Having fully, and I trust, distinctly discussed the cultivation and preservation 
of the corn crop and its provender, I shall now proceed to the wheat cr op. 

One of the 40 acre fields is to be fallowed for wheat, and this, with the addi- 
tion of the corn land — also to be seeded in the same crop — will give 80, acres in 
„ hpat *-HUUL Qjvh-i (\%nt)o^^. #* Cmv^J'^JuJ *~A crvxcfMa }-U+ 

The fallow should be made with three-horse plows, and immediately after 
threshing the wheat. It should be completed in July, if possible ; certainly not 
later than the 20th of August. Other things being equal, early fallows are de- 
cidedly more productive. 

In our climate, it is advisable to seed the wheat crop between the 20th of Sep- * 
tember and the 20th of October. If the time included in these dates is not suf- 
ficient, then I would recommend beginning on the 15th of S eptember, so as not 
to continue the seeding under any circumstances beyond the 25th of October. 

I would pursue Jhe following plan in preparing the fallow for seeding : 

Early in September the land should be stirred and thoroughly torn to pieces 
with the bull-tongue cultivator, and I would then follow on with the harrows, 
making the tilth fine and even and free from any oversized clods. 

If necessary, the clod-crusher must be used to break hard clods that resist other 
implements. 

Then use the drill, putting in one bushel and a half of seed per acre ; an ap- 
proved kind of white wheat preferred for fallow land. Some farmers think one 
and a quarter bushels enough, but I think the most successful wheat growers will 
sustain my opinion, especially where the drill is used. ^V^^ij// 

It is a mistake to suppose that thin land requires less seed than'rich. * The re- 
verse i3 the case, and for the obvious reason that thin land puts forth few 
branches, while rich land makes up for a deficiency in seed by its fecundity in 
this respect. 

When the fallow is prepared and the drilling begun, I would turn to the pre- 
paration of the corn land. 

Here again I would use the bull-tongue cultivator, running across the corn- 
beds. Lay off the rows with a stick or coulter for broadcast seeding, parallel 
with the direction of the corn rows and harrow in the wheat in the same direc- 
tion. The harrowing to be done thoroughly by running twice in a row. The 
drill also may be used on corn land, by harrowing and then drilling. Many far- 
mers prefer this to broadcast seeding. 

I prefer an early red wheat for corn land, and would again recommend one 
bushel and a half per acre. 

* If thought best, a portion of the corh land might be reserved for oats. For my own 
part, however, I am by no means partial to the oat crop. 



196 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

I deprecate reversing corn land for wheat. The fall grasses — such as crah 
grass and fox tail — if turned under will ferment without decaying, and injure the 
wheat by throwing out a superabundance of acid. In addition to this objection, 
reversing the soil and turning under the fall grasses, is apt to make it too porous, 
and consequently subject to saturation from water and to spewing up, which ex- 
poses and eventually destroys the roots of the wheat. 

The wheat should be cut as soon as ripe, avoiding shattering from over ripe- 
ness. The reaper to be used wherever available, and the wheat well bound and 
carefully shocked and capped. 

Before proceeding further, and while discussing the cultivation of wheat — 
which shows the beneficial results of it more perhaps than any other crop — I 
. propose to say a few words on the subject of drainin g. The subject is one of 
vital importance in the profitable management of a farm, and one that is entirely 
too much neglected in Virginia. The intelligent farmer, who is at all conversant 
with English farming, and the extraordinary benefits derived from a system of 
thorough draining in England, will need no demonstration to prove its utility. 

Every farm should be efficiently and thoroughly drained by open and secret or 
underground ditches. The underground drains to be made of rock or tile, for 
the slovenly plan of logs rarely succeeds and eventually requires tearing up and 
repairing at great cist in time and labor. A firm bottom must be sought, and if 
not provided by Nature, an artificial one of thick plank must be constructed to 
receive the rock or tile. 

Make the ditch deep, so deep that the plow can never touch or disturb the 
material used. 

The ditch must be left open for sometime to ascertain. if it is effective; and 
when filled in with rock, the upper surface of the rock should be firm and level 
as possible, and reversed sod, weeds or straw carefully laid on before the earth 
is thrown in. The earth then becomes firm and compact, and there is little 
chance of .the interstices of the rock filling up. 

Tile of course — as it acts by absorption — requires only careful laying and fil- 
ling in. S«-"VfftW^ -TWW- Ifo~o • > 

Open ditches must be of sufficient width, depth and fall to carry off rapidly 
the ordinary, and as a general thing, the extraordinary supply of water. 

Especial care should be taken to make open ditches as straight as circum- 
stances will permit. 

After a rain of any duration or violence, the open ditches should be examined 
and all obstructions to the free passage of the water removed, and all injuries to 
the ditch repaired at once. So much for general and primary draining. 

I come now to special and superficial draining in its application to the wheat 
crop. 

A plenty of drains should be run in all damp soils where wheat is seeded, 
this ought to be one of a farmer's axioms. Let them have ample slope and 
depth, and open well into one another and into the main ditches. The sides of 



1861.] THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 197 

drains in wheat land, should be neatly and carefully smoothed down, and all fall- 
ing dirt and clods thrown out of the drain itself. During the winter and spring, 
these surface drains ought to be examined occasionally and any obstructions re- 
moved and inefficient construction rectified. 

I beg leave to call the readers attention to the following remarks on the sub- 
ject of draining, which I find in a periodical of the day, and which present the 
whole matter — as it were — in a nut shell : 

"One of the great hindrances to good tillage and productiveness, and often 
where it would not be imagined to be the case, is surplus water in the soil. This 
renders the land heavy, inclines it to bake and crack, and keeps it too cold for 
the roots of the crop. Besides, if much water must evaporate off the surface of 
the soil, this of itself occasions increased cold ; but if drained away on, or be- 
neath the surface, this cause of cold is in a large degree removed. A soil satu- 
rated with moisture, contains at least one fourth its bulk of needless water. 
Taking it to a depth of one foot only, this is equivalent to three inches depth of 
water; and this gives to every square rod eight hogsheads, and to an acre, not 
less than 1,280 hogsheads ! 

"Think, then, how much the farmer is losing who allows his soil to be chilled 
by evaporating so much needless water, the rooting of his crops retarded, and 
the powdery and porous quality of the land prevented to a corresponding extent. 
It has been calculated that the heat required to convert the surplus above sup- 
posed, on 100 acres to vapor, would be sufficient to boil 640,000 hogsheads of 
water, if properly applied. 

"It will surprise the unthinking farmer, who has sweated and ached over his 
fields for years, thankful for very moderate crops, that one of the greatest obsta- 
cles to his better success has been all the while just such an undreamed-of cir- 
cumstance as this, of too much water on his land. 

" Still more will it surprise him to learn that the greatest need of draining often 
exists on what is called upland, but which may be cold till late in the season, 
and produce a stinted crop. Of such fields and farms there are tens of thou- 
sands in our country. They are deceitful, because the eye, and even the plow, 
does not always show their true character. They are already brought under ex- 
cellent cultivation, perhaps, in every respect but this — they have too much water 
in them. 

"Drainage of any kind is good, whether by ditches, mole, or tile — whether open 
or under draining. Wherever the latter is not forbidden by the condition of 
soil or some other circumstance, it is best. With hardly an exception, it en- 
larges the production of the land; it increases the yield of all manner of crops. 
It warms the soil, forwards the crop, and so protects against insects. AVhere sur- 
face streams are scanty, it collects from a large area, and discharges, at some 
practicable point, an artificial stream — a great advantage in some sections. It 
insures a gain in fertility, by inviting the rains, and what they wash out of the 
air. all downward, depositing their contributions in the soil, and not leaving 



198 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

them to flow off the surface. It removes excessive dampness and stagnant water 
from heneath house, barn, and pastures, and so insures better health to the house- 
hold, and to the domestic animals on the farm." 

In reference to threshing the wheat crop, I would advise — where the force is 
small — that the wheat be first hauled together and stacked in each field. The 
machine I have already mentioned — combined thresher — then to be used. 

With a small force as we have in the present instance, it will be necessary to 
stop time enough in the evening to haul and house the wheat in the barn, rick 
or stack the straw, and pen the chaff. It may be necessary to hire some help at 
this time and in harvest, although I am inclined to believe that with the assis- 
tance of the manager and the woman and girl — who must be extra smart and 
active at such times — the work may be accomplished without aid. But with the 
assistance of a hand or two, at least one hundred and twenty-five bushels of wheat 
ought to be threshed and housed per day, and the straw and chaff of the same 
properly secured. The chaff must be preserved in a rail pen well covered with 
straw, and both it and the straw should be secured against the depredation of 
stock by a temporary enclosure. 

. Let it be a rule never to thresh wheat in damp weather, and to be careful to 
spread it out as thin as possible in the barn, and to stir it up every day or two 
until all danger of heating is over. Before delivery, it should be passed through 
a good fan and completely cleaned of injured grains and all kinds of foreign 
matter. Once fanning is generally sufficient, when threshed and cleaned by the 
machine I have recommended. 

Every three or four years the seed wheat should be changed, and new seed 
ought always to be procured from a locality north of any given farm. 

It will be recollected that I have separated four lots of five acres each. The 
location of these lots should be near the farm buildings, and their cultivation 
must — in the light work — be chiefly done by the woman and girl in their spare 
time, aided of course when necessary by the legitimate farm hands. 

One of these lots is to be cultivated yearly as a truck patch, for raising vege- 
tables for the hands and stock. Peas, beans, rutabaga, common turnip, pump- 
kins, cabbage, carrots and sugar beets should be raised on this lot, to be followed 
in the Spring by oats. 

I have said nothing as yet about the grasses and home-made manure; a few 
words on these subjects will illustrate my views. 

All the arable land not in cultivation is to be well set in grass ; I prefer a mix- 
ture of Clover, Timothy and Orchard grass. If one fails, the others will proba- 
bly succeed; and thu.;, under all circumstances, a stand will bv obtained. 

Nothing is said in the Schedule of bought manures, but the use of plaster is 
clearly inferred, as grass cannot be successfully raised on other than meadow land, 
without the aid of this valuable and cheap fertilizer. 

! Grass seed should always be rolled in plaster previous to seeding. The best 
plan is to wet the seed and then mix with plaster. By this plan every seed be- 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



199 



comes coated with it, and thus the "young and tender plant" carries with it its i 
own food. I have scarcely ever seen the grasses fail when this plan was adopted. I 

I advise that one half of the required seed be sown in the fall and the other . 
moiety in the Spring, thus taking a double chance for a good stand. S 

I would turn under some grass in a green state on the wheat fallow, but prefer 
the land to be well trampled, and the first growth of grass to be beat down and 
ground up before plowing. 

To attain this object, I would not graze the field set aside for fallowing until 
'; the grasses were getting into the brown state, and would remove the stock a suf- 
ficient length of time before plowing, to allow the grass to spring up again 
to the height of five or six inches. To aid this resuscitation, apply a slight 



r 



sprinkling of plaster. 



If it is 



All the grass land must be sprinkled with plaster in the Spring, 
equally and properly distributed, a very small quantity will suffice. 
The lots are to be seeded in grass when the oats are seeded. 
The grass on fields to go in corn should be thoroughly trampled to pieces, and 
the field clean of grass before plowing. 

Turning under green vegetable matter — to be buried during winter — is of no 
advantage to the corn crop. It does not rot, but breeds innumerable worms, 
which come forth in the Spring and effectually destroy all chance of a good corn 
crop. 

Some farmers turn under cover by making each furrow-slice lean against an- 
other at an angle of 45°, and not reversed; but this is not only difficult to do, 
but is in fact bad plowing. I decidedly prefer the land to be completely re- 
versed, and the turf to be thoroughly trampled and breath-scented by stock. .7 ."■ 
r Under the divisions indicated and the system suggested^ two of the forty acre , 
■ fields, and two of the five acre lots, besides the three acres of meadow, will al- 
! ways be in grass ; the fields and one of the lots I set aside entirely for grazing, 
t while the other lot and meadow should be reserved for hay, to be grazed after 
the hay is cut and the grass somewhat recuperated. After the wheat and oats 
! are severed and removed, two more fields and one lot can be moderately grazed to 
\aid in supporting the stock, b <u- flJtA-L' a^^U^L ~R.A+M** u^Weuu^^/ 

f In the application of home-made manure, I would most earnestly recommend 
that it be applied as a top-dressing during the Winter and Spring on the poorest 
' parts of the grass land. It might be well, however, in case the corn land is not 
rich enough to bring a good crop or any required quantity, to manure the most 
indifferent portions in the hill, and thus — to use a vernacular phrase — " make aj 
I rash trap mctim of it." 

Experience all over the world — so far as I am informed — indicates top-dress- \ 
ing_as the most beneficial and economical method of applying manure. The 
question of the application of home-made manure to tobacco, is of course ex- 
cluded in this essay and entirely foreign to the subjects under discussion. y 
Though not required to touch on the subject, I deem it essential to a proper 



200 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

discussion of farming interests, briefly to notice the management and contribu- 
tion of stock to the profits of farming. It is unnecessary to say anything of 
their management during the season when they seek and obtain their food at will, 
but a brief notice of the sheltering and feeding time may not be inappropriate- 

The lots should be constantly littered with cornstalks, and the racks — as I have 
already mentioned — must always be filled with food; in addition to this, I would 
recommend a regular supply of boiled or steamed food. Shucks now come into 
use. They should be cut up, mixed with chaff and the vegetable roots and 
pumpkins — also cut up — and a little meal added, then steamed or boiled in an 
ample supply of water. This wash given to cows morning and night, will keep 
them fat and add to their milk as effectually as the grasses do in the summer. I 
would treat the oxen to the same food, only reducing the mixture to a thicker 
compound than that given to the cows. Short corn may be used in this wash. 

The shgejx must be fed occasionally on chop, a little fodder or hay and raw-cut 
vegetables. The calves to share the commons of the sheep. 

In good weather the stock should be driven to pasture every day to crop any 
grass that may be growing. This arrangement contributes to their health and 
gives them exercise. 

In feeding stock of all kinds — horses and mules included — I would most earn- 
estly advise, never to feed on corn in the natural state, but to use it in all cases,, 
and under all circumstances, in the form of meal, and then to be mixed with cut 
food or chaff into a damp chop. Meal goes farther than corn, and is therefore 
more economical, it is more easily digested, and hence more nutritious. Oats 
should always but cut up in a cutting-box. 

'• I would say a few words here to the young farmer. Should he, on taking 
charge of a farm, find it materially injured by the exhausting system pursued by 
his predecessors, let him not be dismayed by the difficulties before him. These 
are not to be overcome at once. Let him begin with a system, the best he can de- 
vise, and adhere to it for a time at least. If a suitable improvement is suggested, 
unless he can substitute it for something already determined on, it will generally 
be best for him to decline trying it until he has planned a new campaign. Many 
of these improvements are good in the abstract, and good for farmers differently 
situated from him ; but, unless he can weave it into his general plan, he had 
better let it pass as an empirical crochet. Let him not forget however that Agri- 
culture is no longer entirely empirical, but has become a science upon which 
many other sciences are dependent. Let him read, observe and enquire, and he 
will find " remedies for all the ills that land is heir to." Apply these remedies 
prudently and judiciously, and he will soon change the desert into a blooming 
garden. 

I have now given a statement of all important matters connected with the 
management of a farm of the assumed size, and possibly done all required by 
the schedule ; but I deem an estimate of the crop, income from all sources, and 
legitimate farm expenses — fairly made — to be a necessary addendum, in order 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



201 



to place the whole subject before the intelligent reader in a clear and satisfactory 
manner, as well as to call the attention of the Virginia farmer to the greater 
comforts and greater profits — in proportion to size — of a small over a large farm. 

Owners of large farms look to the general aggregate, while the owner of a small 
one is compelled, from the nature of things, to look to the special and individual 
results. 

A man who cultivates one acre in corn, will, as a general thing, make more 
per acre than the man who cultivates five hundred acres of similar land in the 
same crop. The per centage, therefore, of crops, and of profits, upon a small, 
are greater than upon a large farm. This seems to be a wise dispensation of 
Providence, for if this was not the case, the poor man would find it impossible to 
sustain his family on his few acres. 

Although I have carefully endeavored to make fair and just estimates, I wish 
the reader, nevertheless, to bear in mind the marked difference, in percentage, 
between small and large farms, to which I have already alluded. It must be 
manifest to every sensible man, that these estimates cannot be made in reference 
to any particular part of the State, but must be of a general nature, subject to 
such modifications or enlargements as may, in the opinion of farmers, suit their 
particular locality. 

Let us now see at what the crops, expenses and profits, may fairly be estimated, 
assuming that the land is of fair quality. 

We have stated that the number of stalks of corn to the acre — fractions in 
these estimates to be omitted — is 5460; estimating the amount of shelled corn 
per each stalk, at fess than half a pint, gives us 7 barrels per acre, and 280 
barrels for the 40 acre field, ^"t-j-t X \% :r C~+?C £t*MC> . "pu*£-» 

The wheat crop, on the two fields — 80 acres in all — estimated at 15 bushels 
per acre, gives 1 200 bushels for this crop. Nine cows, estimated to yield less 
than half a pound of butter per day, per cow, or say, four pounds a day for the 
9 cows, will give us 1460 pounds of butter annually. 

With a good breed of hogs, careful attention, and the feeding of the uncon- 
sumed buttermilk to the pigs, it is fair to say, that at least 35 hogs should be 
annually slaughtered, weighing an average of 175 pounds each, and 6125 pounds 
in the aggregate. 

Forty Merino sheep ought to yield a clip of four pounds of wool each, or 160 
pounds for the flock. 

Making allowance for accidents, and a few for the manager and hands, there 
should be 30 lambs and 5 veals for sale each year. 

Now let us see what amount of these products is required for farm use; what 
amount to be sold, and the average prices; what the expenses of the farm and 
the balance in money. 

I deduct 150 barrels of corn for farm use. This allows 2 barrels for each hog 
slaughtered, or 70 barrels for hogs; 32 barrels for meal, an average for each 
man of 1£ pecks per week, and for the women 1 peck; and also 2£ pecks for 



202 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

the manager. This leaves 48 barrels for seed and for the stock, in addition to 
the oats and refuse grain. Taking, then, 150 barrels from 280, leaves us 130 
for sale, which, at four dollars a barrel, yields §520. 

Deducting 200 bushels of wheat for seed and for flour, for the manager and 
hands, and we have 1000 for sale, which, at one dollar and twenty-five cents per 
bushel, gives us $1,250. 

Reserving 1500 weight of pork, for the use of the farm hands — over 4 
pounds a week for each hand — and 500 weight for the manager, 2000 weight in 
all, and we have 4125 pounds for sale; this, at 8 cents per pound, gives us §330. 

One hundred and sixty pounds of wool, (Merino,) at 40 cents per pound, 
yields $64. Thirty lambs, at two dollars and a quarter each, gives us SOT. 
Retain 260 pounds of butter for the manager and hands, and we have 1200 for 
sale, which, at 20 cents per pound, gives $240. 

Five veals, at $5 each, will bring $25. 

Adding these sums together, we have $2,406 as the aggregate amount of sales. 

Now let us note the expenses: Manager's wages $150, wear and tear, cloth- 
ing, plaster, grass seed, taxes, blacksmith's account and medical bills, &c, &c, 
estimated at $346. This leaves a nett balance to the owner's column, of profits, 
of $2,000, which is 10 per cent, upon $20,000, or a fraction over 6 per cent, 
upon $33,000. 

When it is borne in mind that I have excluded the lard, extra vegetables, 
poultry and fruit, from these estimates — which may be applied to the column of 
profits, or to farm expenses, as the reader prefers — I think even the most skepti- 
cal reader will admit that my estimates are in the bounds of reason and proba- 
bility. It is scarcely necessary to suggest to the intelligent farmer, that these 
profits might be greatly augmented by the judicious use of the bought fertilizers. 

A very distinguished author has observed, that " it is pleasing, with the elder 
Pliny, whose judgment is sanctioned by Leibnitz and Gibbon, to believe that 
scarcely any book was ever written, (not positively immoral,) which did not con- 
tain something valuable; some contribution, however small, to the general stock 
of human knowledge, and still preserved, in other forms, for succeeding ages, 
though the book itself, like its author, had become food for worms; or something 
which tended to mould and influence some contemporary mind, destined to act 
with greater power on distant generations." 

May I not, then, hope that some of the suggestions contained in this essay, 
will prove beneficial in some quarter to the agricultural interests of our 
dearly loved State ? I trust it may be so, for I shall feel far more satisfaction in 
contributing, however humbly, to the advancement of " the nursing mother of 
the arts," than in coming off victor in a hundred contests, either in the Literary 
or Agricultural arena. 

Note. — We are requested by the author to inform the reader, that the strictures on the 
use of the " Rafter Level,''' in that portion of the foregoing essay contained in the ..March 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



203 



number of this Journal, were not intended for that instrument, but for another, known 
as the •'Horizontal Level," the name of the former having been inadvertently inserted 
instead of the latter. We commend this admirable essay to the careful consideration of our 
readers, who will, no doubt, cheerfully unite with us in the expression of the hope, that 
the pages of the Planter may be frequently enriched by communications from one so 
competent to enlighten and instruct the brotherhood of farmers on subjects pertaining to 
practical Agriculture. — [Eds. So. Planter. Ctn^^v- Jt£*~7trL~tt*^-t Amv^*^ jpr i*fU*A 

Notes of a Microscopical Examination of " Measled" and other Pork. 
i?y "William Smith, F.L.S., Professor of Natural History, Queen's College, CorJc. 

The subject of the present paper has of late excited much attention in 
this locality, the trade of the port of Cork and the industry of the neighboring 
counties being immediately connected with the produce and export of provi- 
sions, a main portion of which consists of cured pork. 

The disease in pigs popularly known as " measles" (though without any re- 
semblance to the complaint bearing the name in the human subject) is one of 
frequent occurrence in the South of Ireland, and as its presence in the flesh of 
the animal is usually regarded as detrimental to its value as an article of food, 
the market-price of the commodity is- thereby lowered, and the profits of the 
producer proportionally diminished. 

Questions connected with the supply of provision to the Crimean army having 
called increased attention to this subject, an attempt was lately made by the pro- 
vision-merchants of Cork to arrive at more certain conclusions respecting the 
nature and extent of the disease, and its precise influence on the character and 
condition of the flesh affected by it. 

Having been invited to assist in this research, by reporting on the micro- 
scopical appearance of the disease, and the meat affected by it, the following 
notes of a careful examination of fresh and cured pork, supplied to me, were my 
-contributions to the inquiry : 

The facts noted are not new to science, the subject having attracted the atten- 
tion of several German, French, and British physiologists, and the results of their 
investigations being for the most part similar to my own. 

The matter has not, however, been discussed in the Micr. Journ., and the 
following record of independent observation, and personal inquiry, may interest 
the readers of this magazine, and possess corroborative value when taken in con- 
nection with the more important investigations of other naturalists. 

Nineteen specimens were supplied to me, viz. : 

f) of healthy' fresh pork from various parts of different pigs ; 
6 of fresh muscle, " slightly measled ;" 
6 of fresh muscle, " badly measled ;" 
1 of cured pork, " badly measled." 

The "measles" are occasioned by the presence of a parasitic worm, known to 
physiologists and anatomists as the Cysticercus cellulosse. 



204 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

This worm, as it occurred in the muscle or flesh of the pork supplied to me, 
consists of an external bag or cyst of delicate rugose membrane, enclosing the 
animal of the Cysticercus, retracted within its folds ; the space not occupied by 
the worm being filled with a clear watery fluid. 

PI. II. fig. 1, represents the natural size of the " measles" in fresh muscle; fig. 
2 the same in stale or salted pork ; and fig. 3 the same from fresh muscle, mag- 
nified 6 diameters. 

The animal of the Cysticercus, when withdrawn from the cyst, within which 
it lies invaginated, and curled up, in all the specimens, consisted of a slightly 
enlarged head, fig. 4 a, and a neck formed of numerous rings, fig. 4 b, gradually 
enlarged into a bladder-like vesicle, fig. 4 c, which constitutes the body of the 
worm. 

The neck and body of the Cysticercus, are filled with a mass of minute trans- 
parent bodies, which a further examination leads me to regard as cellules dis- 
charging the function of assimilation, i. e., the material endosmosically absorbed 
by the cyst and bladder-like vesicle into the substance of the Cysticercus. The 
form of these cellules is usually that of a flattened circular disc, and their aver- 
age diameter one fifteen -hundredth of an inch, but neither their size nor form 
is constant, some being linear, other irregular in outline, and many not exceed- 
ing one three-thousandth of inch in diameter.* 

The head of the Cysticercus, is provided, at its extremity, with a circlet of 
about 24 booklets (fig. 5 a), immediately beneath which are situated 4 circular 
organs (b, b), afterwards more fully developed in the mature condition of the 
Cysticercus. 

The hooklets upon further examination with higher powers of the microscope, 
are seen to consist of a stem fixed in the flesh of the head (fig. 6 a), a barb (fig. 
6 6), and a sickle-like point (fig. 6 c). 

The Cysticercus, as above described, constituting the "measles," is embeded 
between the fasciculi of the muscle, and occupies a chamber formed by the infla- 
tion of its cyst. 

The cyst which in a fresh state fills the entire chamber, on the death of the 
pig parts with its contained fluid, which permeates the surrounding tissues. 

The chambers then collapse, and the muscle in consequence becomes soft, and 
flabby to the touch. 

The " measles" in the specimens supplied to me were all visible to the naked 
eye, the cysts when inflated being of an elliptical form, and having an average 
length of about one third of an inch. 

The coil of the enclosed worm was nearly globular, with an average diameter 
of about one tenth of an inch. 

* [These elliptical bodies are composed in most part of carbonate of lime, and would 
appear to be intended more for the purpose of giving greater firmness or solidity to the 
part of the entozoon in which they occur than for any other function. — Editor's Micro- 
scopical Journal.] 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



205 



In the slightly " measled" pork the size of the worm was often less than in the 
" badly measled," but in every case the Cysticercus seemed to have reached the 
same degree of organic growth, and in none of specimens, " healthy" or other- 
wise, could I detect the slightest trace of the animal in an earlier stage of de- 
velopment. Had the eggs, or young animals, existed, they could not have es- 
caped my notice. In the specimens marked " healthy" there was no trace what- 
ever of the Cysticercus. 

The muscular tissues at a little distance from the cysts did not present distinct 
alteration in their normal and healthy character, but in the immediate neighbor- 
hood of the cysts there were evident traces of the altered or diseased condition 
of muscle known to physiologists under the name of "fatty degeneration." 
Where the " measles" are numerous, fatty degeneration would be proportionally 
great in comparison with the amount of healthy muscle. 

In the salted specimen the cysts were empty of fluid, and the " assimilating 
cellules" in the body* of the worm had become somewhat opaque, presenting a 
central granular nucleus instead of the clear transparent appearance noticed in 
the fresh specimens I conclude from this that the life of the Cysticercus is 
destroyed by the process of " curing." Fig. 7 shows the appearance of the as- 
similating cellules in the fresh, and fig. 8 in the cured specimens. 

It is maintained by the most eminent physiologists of the present day, that 
the Cysticercus of the pig is the "seolex," that is, the intermediate or arrested 
condition of the " Tsenia solium" or tape-worm of man and other mammalia. 

The organization of the Cysticercus, as above described, goes far to establish 
this opinion, and direct experiments instituted upon dogs and other quadrupeds 
fed upon fresh " measled" pork seems to place it beyond a doubt. 

In the present case there was neither time nor opportunity to verify by direct 
experiment. 

The history of the early condition and future development of the Cysticercus, 
the pathological and hygienic deductions to be drawn fx-om the above observa- 
tions, and their bearing upon the wholesomeness or otherwise of fresh, cured, or 
cooked " measled" pork are questions which appertained to the branch of the 
inquiry entrusted to my colleagues ; I may, however, observe, that the micro- 
scopical examination here detailed would lead to the conclusion that the presence 
of the Cysticercus in the numbers which occur in "slightly measled" pork does 
not appreciably affect the healthy condition of the muscular fibre, and that it is 
only when the numbers of this parasite are considerable that the degeneration 
and watery condition of the muscles become apparent ; and as it further appears 
that the operations of curing, or cooking, destroy the assimilating powers of the 
cellules, and consequently the life of the Cysticercus, it would seem that no 
apprehension need be entertained of tape-worm following the use of u measled" 
pork provided the flesh be carefully cured or thoroughly cooked. — Veterinarian. 



Never refuse instruction. 



206 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



Talk About Sheep. 

" Our best mutton now comes from Kentucky," was the reply of a seller in 
Quincy Hall Market, in Boston, to our inquiry during the last November, as to 
the supply of Boston market with meats. The English steamers bring across 
the ocean, we are informed, a portion of the mutton served up in the fashiona- 
ble hotels in New York. It is notorious, that while in England, mutton furnishes 
a large proportion of the animal food of those who are fortunate enough to see 
meat upon their tables ; in America, where we fancy nobody is too poor to be 
abundantly supplied with the best of food, there are large sections of the coun- 
try given over to " hog and hominy" — where a mutton-chop or roast leg of mut- 
ton is unknown, and even Beacon Hill in Boston, cannot spread her elegant and 
hospitable table, without a contribution from the rich pastures of Old Ken- 
tucky . The yankee notion seems to be that sheep were made to bear wool, but 
all through New England, where the farms are old, and fche land is compara- 
tively poor, of late the opinion is gaining ground that it may be profitable to 
copy our mother England, and give more attention to producing sheep that may 
yield the double crop of food and clothing. 

Great Britain is the model agricultural country in the world, producing now 
an average crop of twenty-eight bushels of wheat to the acre, while the average 
crop of the United States, by the census of 1850, was but nine and one-eighth 
bushels to the acre, and the average crop of France, naturally a better wheat 
country than England, is estimated at thirteen and a half bushels to the 
acre. Sheep-husbandry is the foundation of British agriculture. Mr. Webster 
returned from England impressed with this fact, and, both in public and in pri- 
vate, advocated something like their sheep and turnip system for our country. 
England proper, with an area something less than that of Virginia, is sup- 

( posed to contain forty-five millions of sheep, producing annually two hundred 
and fifty million pounds of wool. In a pretty thorough examination of English 

^.agriculture in 1857, we did not see the flock of Saxony or Merino sheep, or of 
any breed which with us would be reckoned fine woolled. We attended several 
county shows of animals, as well as the exhibition of the Royal Agricultural 
Society, and found the sheep-pens filled only with animals of the coarser 

I grades. It is an interesting inquiry why the coarse woolled sheep should 
alone be found profitable in England, while in America attention is given almost 

'j exclusively to the fine wools. There is, howeyer, no great mystery in the mat- 

Uer. " Thus far, America has pursued the only course possible for her, but it is at 
least doubtful, whether, in many parts of her wide domain, the time has not 
come for a change in her policy, by the adoption of breeds with reference, in 
part at least, to the production of meat. 

We are fully aware of the difficulties of discussing this subject in a journal 
having a circulation as well in the cold North, and long settled New England 
states, as in the fertile prairie regions of the West, and in the milder of the 



1861.] THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 207 

South, yet there are general principles which eventually must control the whole 
matter, and some of these it is my purpose to discuss. It is obvious that where 
the market is remote, and where feed is abundant, as in Texas, and the new 
states of the West, and in Australia, wool must be the main object of the grower, ' 
because wool is easily stored, and light of transportation, and nice calcula- 
tions as to the cost of keeping are unnecessary, while meat could find no market^ 
and indeed the unlimited supply of pasturage at trifling or no cost, renders it for 
the interest of the owner of the flock to increase as rapidly as possible its num- 
bers, and of course forbids the slaughter of any. On a given farm of limited 
extent, on the other hand, as in New England, where the winter is long and 
severe, the questions presented are nice, and of difficult solution. Here the 
railroad is at every man's door. The demand for meat is uniform and beyond 
the supply at reasonable prices. Every acre of pasturage, and every pound of 
hay has its market value, and the success of the farmer depends upon his con- 
verting the products of his farm eventually into cash, so as to bring him a 
reasonable profit for his labor and capital ; and at the same time maintain the 
productive capacity of his farm. The practices of new settlers, who cut and 
burn off the primeval forests, and crop the land, year after year to exhaustion, with 
Indian corn and wheat, have no claim to the name of agriculture. This is only 
a system of plunder — a development of the resources of the soil, by taking out 
of it its life blood and sending it away to market. 

The feeding upon the unocupicd lands of a new country, although not like 
these, ruinous and exhausting, is a mere pioneer operation, temporary from its 
nature, and not therefore to be considered, when inquiring into the merits of a 
permanent and self-compensating system. 

We see in England a constantly improving agriculture. The land, instead of I 
becoming exhausted, after centuries of cultivation, now yields greater crops than 
ever before. Instead of becoming poorer, like many American fields, so as not \ 
to produce a crop of wheat which repays the labor of a half cultivation, many : 
English fields under modern high farming, produce forty or fifty bushels of 
wheat to the acre, and are cropped contrary to the general principles of their 
husbandry, with two white crops in succession , because they are actually too rich 
It is a complaint with the brewers that the-best farmers produce a crop of barley 
too heavy, per acre, to be best suited for malting purposes. 

Sheep husbandry, as has been said, is the basis of the English agriculture.^ 
It not only sustains the farm in increasing fertility, and renders it productive of 
crops to be sold, such as wheat and barley, but returns a profit of itself. 
>. The farmers with whom we conversed, uniformly declared that they considered 
it a satisfactory result, in stall-feeding bullocks, if the increased value of the 
animals paid the actual cost of their food, the manure being all they expected to 
gain ; while all seemed to agree that the sheep leaves them a profit in wool and 
flesh in addition to the expense of keeping. 

That it may be clearly seen how conspicuous a character the sheep has become in 



208 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



British husbandry, a brief sketch of the general system of the agriculture of 
that country is essential. The old iour-course or four-shift system of England 
had its origin in Norfolk County, but has spread over the whole country, modi- 
fied indeed by circumstances, but still remaining the basis of English husbandry. 
The lands of England, it will be borne in mind, are not usually owned by those 
who cultivate them, but are leased by the large proprietors, in farms varying 
from one hundred to one thousand or more acres each to the farmers, who are 
often men of large capital, and of good education and training for the business. 
Holding either by written leases, or by customs equally definite and obligatory, 
the farmers are bound to a systematic course, usually very similar, over a county 
or wide district of country. 

' The regular four-course system divides the arable land into four divisions nearly 
equal, cultivated alternately with turnips, barley, " seeds" and wheat. The 
third crop, which they call " seeds," is a crop for green fodder, usually clover, 
rye-grass, or vetches, called also tares. This system provides, it may be ob- 
served, for two white crops, barley and wheat, which are sold, and two green 
crops, turnips and seeds, which are consumed upon the land The great problem 
of husbandry is, to consume enough upon the farm to preserve its fertility, and 
at the same time, to sell enough of its produce to pay a fair rent and the cost of 
labor, tools and other expenses of maintaining the farm and the occupant with 
■his family. 

^ We had intended to sketch in a few lines, the common four-course system of 
England, but find that it cannot be summarily disposed of. Without a clear 
idea of this system, the management of sheep in that country cannot be at all 
understood ; and we will therefore in a future number describe the course of this 
f husbandry, with sufficient minuteness to render manifest the importance of the 
1 slieepj and show how that humble animal is made not only to support herself 
but the farmer and farm. If we cannot adopt their management in full, we 
surely may gain many useful hints of practical value, and combining what is 
valuable from abroad, with what has been learned at home, we may create a sys- 
tem adapted to the various and varying wants of our country, so diversified in 
soil and climate, yet nearly all of it adapted to sheep husbandry. — American 
Stock Journal. 



Belle Clarke was reading of some men starting into the field '"'with their 
hoes on their shoulders." But, being a city girl, and better acquainted with 
another use of the word, she thought it were " the last place where she would 
think of carrying her stockings." 



Two old ladies, who we knew to be of the same age, had the same desire to 
keep the real number concealed ; one, therefore, used always upon a New Tear's 
day to go to the other, and say, " Madam, I have come to know how old we are 
to be this year." 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



209 



For the Southern Planter. 

The Culture and Management of Tobacco. 

[A Premium Essay.'] 

Tobacco bas for some years past engrossed the attention of a large portion of 
tbe agricultural community of this State and North Carolina. The counties of 
Henry and Pittsylvania, and some parts of a i'ew other counties in this State, and 
Caswell and Rockingham in North Carolina, have far surpassed any section of the 
United States in the producing of an extra fine manufacturing article ; and 
although it must be confessed that the lands of this section are belter adapted to 
the production of this commodity, yet we have seen lands suited well for making 
fine tobacco where only a very common article was produced. Believing, there- 
fore, that a great deal depends on the management, and that the finest crop on 
the hill may be butchered and ruined by bad management, we will in this article 
give such directions as are backed by practical experience, and will venture to 
assert that no manager of the weed will lose anything by following the path here 
laid out before him. First, then, we will begin with 



*4 



ML V 



J . i vu 



THE KINDS OF TOBACCO. 



We have no hesitation in asserting that there is a very great difference in 
crops, managed in the same way, arising from the different kinds of tobacco 
planted. 

The two kinds mo.~t used in this section are the broad and narrow leaf Oro- 
noco. The latter, though rather an uncertain crop, owing to its liability to spot, 
is of by far the finest texture, and will ripen at least two weeks sooner than any 
other article grown in this section. It is liable to the objection of being rather 
small for wrapping, and when planted on very rich land will, if the season is at 
all wet, be almost certain to fire up; but planted on moderate new land, or kind 
grey old land, it will produce a finer and sweeter article than any other kind. It 
is very heavy, and will outweigh a larger plant of the other kinds. 

The broad leaf is very desirable for wrapping, and when not too large will 
make a very pretty article, but its texture is decidedly coarser than the other, 
even on the same land. The leaf is thinner, the veins coarser, and it is to a 
certain degree lacking of that oily richness which the narrow leaf possesses. It 
is much less liable to spot, and therefore can be grown on stronger land. The 
other kinds, we think, are about equal in all respects; while some possess one 
desirable quality, they also possess many objectionable ones. There is a kind 
now greatly used in our county which seems to be a mixture of the broad and 
narrow leaf Oronoco, which is very desirable, and our experience is that it should 
be cultivated, for it loses many of the objections of both by the mixture; and 
while it loses some of the good qualities, it is, upon the whole, a very fine kind of 
tobacco. It will be observed by what has been said, that neither this nor the 
narrow-leaf proper, is fit for any other than a fine manufacturing article. 
14 



210 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



TApril 



SAVING SEED. 

The earliest and most promising plunts should be turned out for seed. These 
should be pruned of everything except the large leaves, and only the two top- 
most branches left to bloom. 

The plant should be carefully suckered as the rest of the tobacco, and about 
the first of October every pod, not thoroughly ripe should be plucked off and 
the seed cut off and put in a dry place to cure. When dry they should be rubbed 
out and sifted, and put up in some dry vessel, such as a dry gourd, and kept 
where no dampness can get to them. Seed preserved in this way will keep ten 
years. 

SELECTION AND PREPARATION OF PLANT LAND. 

We prefer a gentle slope, with a southern or south-eastern exposure, a rich 
grey soil, remote from any field or other opening if it is possible. We never yet 
have known any other land absolutely certain for plants. While some years 
plant-beds in the field may turn out well; yet the utmost precaution, other years, 
will not be sufficient to keep the insects from devouring them. While, if the 
beds are in the woods, they are very rarely found by the fly, and scarcely ever 
injured to any great extent. We never knew a bed in the woods, properly se- 
lected and properly managed, to fail. We have seen some land in second growth 
of pine to produce plants admirably, and as far as our experience goes, some of 
the very best is this kind of land. But a bed in an open field is never certain. 
This is the conclusion of years of practical experience, which, to us, is worth all 
the slip-shod theory ever published. 

Avoid land that is too wet, for on it your plants, though they may eventuilly 
come, will very generally be too tall, and a hill-side be damp enough, if it is in 
the woods, and the plants will be at least three weeks earlier. Red land, no 
matter how rich, is uncertain, and should be avoided. 

After a piece of land has been found, select a dry time, from the 1st Decem- 
ber to the 1st February — the sooner the better — and after raking off the leaves 
lay down skids about three inches in diameter and about three feet apart, across 
which lay down a bed of wood five or six feet wide, and high enough to burn 
about an hour and a half, and then leave a sufficient quantity to move, so that 
there will be no difficulty in kindling after the first time. When it has burned 
enough, move the fire about as far as the width of the first layer, then throw on 
brush and a good bed of wood, and so on. Brush adds greatly to the burning of 
the fire, and must be used with every layer. Every farmer ought to provide 
himself with iron hooks for pulling plant-bed fires. There may be such a thing 
as burning land too hard, but we give it as our opinion that where one bed is in- 
jured by hard burning, ten are injured for the want, of it. We have heard a 
great deal about raising plants with guano, and without burning, but in every case 
we have witnessed it proved a signal failure, if the spring was at all a dry one. 
We have seen the most carefully prepared bed without burning, by the side of 
well burnt beds, and receiving double the attention of the other, prove worthless, 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



•211 



while the burnt beds were good. Therefore, we advise, with the present lights, 
that no one shall leave the old way so far as to miss a crop of tobacco for want 
of plants. 

We think, that for every ten thousand_hi_lls to be planted, there ought to be*] 
at least ten yards sqare of plant-land. A bed ten yards square will plant more I 
than ten thousand, if it is good ; but it is much better to have some for jour 
neighbor than to be under the necessity of begging plants. S 

After the land has been well burnt, it should be allowed to lay until the first 
or second week in February, so that the rains and frosts may have the effect of 
pulverizing the land as much as possible; then, with mallock, dig up the land so 
as not to turn it over at all; and. with hilling-hoes and rakes pulverize the land 
thoroughly, remove all the roots, and if the land is thin, sprinkle a lijjit coat of 
stable manure, (clear of grass seed,) and chop it in and rake again, and the bed 
is leady for sowing. 

We think a large table spoonful of seed to the ten yards square is full enough. 
The seed should be carefully mixed with nice sifted ashes, about half the seed 
sown over one way and the other half sown by walking across the first sowing. 
By this the seed will be more regularly sown. After the seed are sown, the land 
should be lightly raked and rolled or trodden until it is smooth — and now is the 
time to manure. Along in the fall there should be some stalls in the stable 
cleaned out, and the horses kept in them should be fed exclusively on corn and 
fodder, and no litter of any kind be put in. The manure from the horses should 
be suffered to collect and remaiu until you wish it for plant beds. It should then 
be chopped fine and sprinLled a little more than half an inch thick regularly 
over the beds. This manure should not be suffered to get wet until it is 
u-scd. This should be the last manuring, unless the spring is very dry, then a 
light top-dressing once a week would be beneficial. As to the use of guano on 
plant beds, we are not prepared to recommend it as highly as stable manure. It 
has never acted for us as well, and we see no use in trying it, when we can so 
easily get a better article out of our stables. We like to try experiments, but 
do not think it safe to venture too far from the good old way, until experience 
ha.s taught us the new way is better. We have known men, sensible in all other 
matter?, to trust their whole crop« to unburnt guano beds, and have uniformly 
known that they were plant-beggars, and very considerably cooled in their zeal 
against old fogy ism. 

We will add, that in the absence of stable manure, a light top-dressing of plas- 
ter will be of service; but if you have good stable manure 'let well enough 
alone," for if the direction as to land and management be followed, there is about 
as much chance to fail in plants as there is to fail to go to sleep at night after 
burning land hard all day. 

About the 1st of March the beds should be re-trod and carefully covered with 
straight fine twig-brush. Dogwood is the best brush, o"wing to the fineness and 
thickness of its twi^s. 



\ 



212 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



The brush should never he removed until the plants are large enough to pretty 

well cover the land. There are few circumstances under which a plant-bed, in 

the right locality, well burnt and manured, should be watered. We are disposed 

to think that watering is generally a disadvantage, unless the spring is very dry. 

PREPARATION OF NEW LAND. 

The first thing is to take up every growth not too large to grub, and throw 
these in heaps, then cut the smaller trees, the brush of which throw on the 
grub-heaps, and then the larger timber. The brush of a new ground should, if 
possible, be carried to gullies and galls; but, if this cannot be done, the old way 
of burning, though objectionable, is the only alternative. After the ground has 
been raked and cleaned off, it should be coultered at least three times, which, if 
well done, will be sufficient; then laid off and hilled. The hilling is very im- 
portant, for a plough in new land will not prepare it right, and " whatever is 
worth doing is worth doing well." The manuring of new land, though trouble- 
some, pays well. We would always recommend for it to be applied in the hill, 
if the land is rough, as broadcast will waste a great deal of manure the first year. 
It may be broadcast the second year. Thin ridge-land will produce a beautiful 
crop with a table-spoonful of guano to the hill. The second year it may be ma- 
nured as other land, for if the first year's work is done well, it will be prepared 
to receive manure broadcast. The hilling of new land may be done at any time 
after March. 

OLD LAND. 

It is useless to think of making a fine article of tobacco, with manure, on stiff, 
red land, for though it may be strong enough, it will be too slow in the first 
place ; and in the next, it will grow the plant, as the negroes say, of a " greasy 
green" colour, and though it may be cured, with very great patience and labour, 
of a tolerable colour, yet it will not be fine. A grey, gravelly soil, with manure, 
will make a fine article of tobacco, if the manure is properly applied. On com- 
mon corn land, the application of two hundred pounds of good Peruvin guano, 
to the acre, will insure a fine crop, applied broadcast, but if the present crop is 
the object, it may be made by half that amount applied in the hill. We have 
succeeded well by the application of guano in drills. After the land has been 
thoroughly ploughed, lay it off in rows, three feet apart, and in these rows strew 
the manure, and with a small one-horse turn-plough, make beds on the rows, so 
that the manure shall be immediately under the bed. and then hill the land nicely. 
We think all upland ought to be hilled. About one hundred and twenty pounds 
guano will be enough to the acre when drilled. 

CULTIVATION. 

The main secret in this, is to keep the land clean and well stirred. In new 

land this may be done by two good workings in the proper time. If the land is 

freshly hilled, about two weeks after planting the hills should be scraped down 

and a little fresh earth put to each plant; about three weeks after this it should 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



213 



be hilled up, and in ordinary cases this will be sufficient, except to keep down 
the sprouts that may put up. Tobacco ought not to be worked after topping, as 
it will break the leaves, beside making it too late. If the crop be planted in 
right time, (say from the 20th May to the 5th June,) it ought to be " laid by" 
certainlj by the 1st of August. Ploughing smooth, new land once (at the last 
working) is of service, but if it be rough and stumpy, keep a plough out of it 



altogether. 



CULTIVATION OF OLD LAND. 



Old land should be planted as early as the 20th May, if possible. It requires 
more work than new land. As soon as the plant gets sufficient hold, it should be 
ploughed and worked with hoes, and should never be allowed to remain more 
than two weeks without working until it gets in the top, and the work every time 
should be well done. -40 '> ■ 

TOPPING. 



This should begin as soon as there is a sufficiency of plants large enough to 
make a respectable topping. In an early crop, large plants may be topped to ten 
and twelve leaves, from about the 20th of July to the 1st of August; but after 
that time no plant should be topped to more than eight leaves, to make fine to- 
bacco. The priming should be according to the plant, but never too high. As 
a general rule, four or five of the bottom leaves should be pruned off. We have 
no faith in topping tobacco to fifteen and twenty leaves, with the expectation of 
making a fine article. It will invariably be too thin, and though it may be cured 
yellow, it will be wanting in strength and sweetness. The low leaves will never 
ripen with the top ones. In many sections of the State, the very mistaken idea 
prevails, that all yellow tobacco is necessarily fine. It is known to all good to. 
bacco makers, that a half-ripe plant is as easily cured yellow as a fully ripe one, 
and it is also known that its the meanest chewing tobacco that ever was made. 
By high topping a yellow crop may be made, but a fine one, never. It is like 
the Irishman's persimmon, "it is pretty to look at, but, faith, 'tis bod to the 
taste." 

Tobacco topped to just so many leaves as that each leaf may get fully ripe, and 
when cured, of a rich yellow colour, possesses beauty, sweetness and flavour. It will 
please the sight, the smell, and best of all, it will give entire satisfaction to the chewer. 
It is also a very mistaken notion that fine tobacco can be made on rich bottom 
land by topping high. If you wish to make fine tobacco, do not plant land rich 
enough for shipping tobacco. A crop that will average less than six plants to 
the pound is too large for manufacturing purposes. 

SUCKERING AND WORMING. 

This should be done at least once a week, and if the worms are numerous, 
twice would not be too often. The process is understood by every man that ever 
made a plant of tobacco, and all that is necessary to say is, to do it well. Destroy 



214 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



every egg than can be found, and send the little negroes to the Jamestown-weed 
patch every evening, about sunset, to kill tobacco flies. CU4~t^i, * 

CUTTING. > 

By the middle of September, if your crop has been planted early, it will 
be fit For cutting. Never cut immediately after a rain, if you can possibly help 
it. We will give several modes of cutting : First, if the weather is settled, com- 
mence about two hours before sunset, and cut until night. It will not fall at all 
until the sun breaks out next morning. As soon as the sun has limbered it just 
enough to handle, pick it up and put in heaps, or stacks, as they are called, be- 
ginning with a handful of ten or twelve plants, set with the stalk as straight up 
as they can be made to stand, and the leaves slightly tucked on the ground. 
Then, with other handfuls, set around so that each handful shall bear its own 
weight. When all the tobacco near the spot is set up in this way, have the stack 
covered with bushes, so that the sun cannot burn the out-side, and as soon as it 
is all packed up, have it hauled to the barn-door and scaffolded. 

If the cutting is put off 'till morning, manage in the same way, and always be 
sure not to let it get too limber; for it is impossible to haul limber tobacco 
without bruising it, when too limber, and a bruise, so far as it extends, is as bad 
as a frost bite. Another mode for cutting is, for two hands, each cutting two 
rows, and a third hand, with a tobacco stick between them, and as they cut the 
plant, instead of laying it down, to throw it across the stick held by the hand 
between them. As soon as the stick is lull, it is laid carefully down, and suffered 
to remain until it is limber enough to move. It is then carried to the scaffold on 
wagons, care being taken to pack it so that it will not bruise. This is a very 
swift way, and will do if the barn is not too far off. 

SCAFFOLDING. 

This should always be done at the barn-door. The scaffold should be made 
with the poles pointing to the door, so that there is no necessity of walking 
across them. It should be made just high enough for the tails of the tobacco to 
touch the ground, to prevent the air from passing under, and if the weather be 
mild, the tobacco may be suffered to remain on the scaffold until it is sufficiently 
yellow for firing; but if the weather is cool and windy, the tobacco should be 
put in the house as soon as it is cut. Wind will disfigure the finest tobacco in a 
very short time, and make it look very common. After the 1st of October, it is 
best to house immediately. 

When the weather is favourable for yellowing on the scaffold, it will generally 
take from three to five days, according to the colour of the plant on the hill. In 
the house it will take longer to yellow, and will take greater care to cure it so. 
But it can as certainly be cured yellow by housing from the hill as by scaffolding, 
but we are disposed to think that it is not so sweet as when it is suffered to yellow 
in the sun. 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



215 



CURING. 

There are only two modes by which fine manufacturing tobacco can be cured, 
viz: by flues, and with charcoal. We do think that to cure tobacco with chunks 
is a disgrace to the tobacco-making community. It has been totally abandoned 
in all the fine tobacco-growing sections; and as for sun-curing, we have very 
little faith that a pretty article can be cured in that way. The process of curing 
with flues is certainly more simple, a greater saving of time and labour, and of 
more certain success than any other known. In some sections the stone for 
building flues cannot be procured, and we recommend as next best, the curing 
with coal. With flues, we recommend, that as soon as the tobacco is yellow 
enough on the scaffold, that it be put in the house, the sticks about six inches 
apart, and if the barn is clear of dampness, and the tobacco dry, it may be cured, 
stalk and stem, in twenty-four hours, if the flues are properly constructed. Noth- 
ing is necessary, when all this is the case, but to heat the flues as quickly as 
possible. The door should be left open for the first eight or ten hours, or until 
the leaf begins to crook, after which no heat, short of bad scorching, can hurt the 
tobacco. Rut if the tobacco is damp and clammy; the flue damp; the floor of 
the barn moist, the tobacco should be put in at least thirty-six hours before it is 
yellow enough for hard firing, and slow drying fires be applied until the barn is 
dry, by which time the tobacco will be sufficiently ye low; then fire as before 
directed, and in no case slacken the fires, after the flues are heated, until the 
tobacco is thoroughly cured, stalk and stem. 

If the tobacco is to be yellowed in the house, it will be best to build a small 
fire in the flues once a day, so as to create about Summer heat, and never more 
until you begin to cure. Lt will take a good deal of patience and care, if the 
weather is cool. If it is warm and pleasant, it is best not to put fire to it all 
until you begin to dry off. Care should be taken not to let tobacco, housed from 
the hill, get too yellow, for the dampness will be almost certain to turn it red. 
A day or two before it is yellow enough for curing it should have drying fires 
not enough to cure at all, for if it commences to cure, the best plan is to keep it 
on, as to spot it is certain to ruin it. 

Curing with coal is done by the same process. The coal will raise a heat 
much quicker than flues, and care must be taken not to heat the tobacco too sud- 
denly. Flues cannot be heated too suddenly, for under the best circumstances 
it will take three or four hours to get them hot, and if the tobacco is right for 
firing, this is gradual enough. 

CONSTRUCTION OF BARNS. 

We believe in small barns for any kinds of curing. A house built 16 feet in- 
side and divided into four rooms and six tier high in the body is the preferable 
size for flue or coal curing. For flues they should be built on a very slightly 
sloping place; jast enough to make the flues draw well. Flues four inches lower 
at the eye than the chimney will be slope enough. 



216 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



The door should be always between the flues and in the end of the house, to 
prevent the drip from falling before the door and the eye of the flues. The 
tiers should begin eight feet above the ground and be placed two feet above each 
other to the top. They should be placed across the house so that the roof tier 
can conveniently be placed above them. The door tbree feet wide and six feet 
high, furnished with a good close shutter. A barn of this size will cure 800 
sticks of common size tobacco, which will weigh about 1200 lbs. The proper 
construction of the flues is of great importance ; they should be built ef any stone 
that will stand fire without bursting. White sand stone, bastard soap-stone, or any 
other that does not contain flint. The size of the flue, for a sixteen foot barn, is 
generally about 12 inches wide by 14 inches high inside. Not much care need 
be taken to have them smooth on the outside. If stone can be had to make the 
inside smooth so as not to obstruct the putting in of wood, it is all that is neces- 
sary. They should be run just far enough from the house-side not to set the house 
on fire, and there is not as much danger of this as may be supposed. Run the 
wells of the flue parallel with the house-side, turning with the corner so as to 
preserve the same distance from the house-side all round, running the stem out 
at the middle of the upper side. The stem should be run far enough above the 
wall of the house to avoid danger of sparks from the chimney. The height of 
the inside of the flue should be preserved ils whole length. The width may be 
slightly decreased from the elbow to the chimney. The inner wall is carried all 
around. Rut too much explanation often bewilders; we think we have said enough. 

As before said, we like small barns; where too much tobacco is together, it all 
cannot receive the heat alike, which is our main objection to large barns. 

As to the number of barns necessary, we would say that there ought to be 
enough to receive all the crop without moving any. Say one sixteen foot barn 
to every 8,000 hills of tobacco planted. As a general rule, plant one thousand 
hills for every hundred sticks house-room. That is, if you have three barns 
plant 24,000 hills, and if it is common tobacco, they will receive it. A much 
larger quantity may be saved in this number of barns by curing and moving out, 
but is very troublesome. 

STRIPPING AND ASSORTING. 

Tobacco should be stripped when it is in tolerably high order and hung back 
in the barn immediately and suffered to remain until the Spring. We don't like 
the idea of bulking tobacco to lay all the winter. The " coming and going" is 
a decided advantage. Furthermore, it cannot be put down in keeping order until 
the Spring. 

In stripping, it should be tied up in moderate size bundles not too small, and 
a lug leaf should always be used for tying, as the tie leaf will always mould. 
The assorting is somewhat important to those who prize for market, but as our 
tobacco is always bought at the barn by country manufacturers, and a certain 
price given for the crop round, we generally make only two qualities — fine and 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



217 



lugs. But, where the farmer is dependent on the whim and caprice of the town 
tobacconist, he must try to please him. 

We have often thought that a fine crop of tobacco needs very little assorting, 
and a mean crop needs less, for if a crop is strictly fine, there can be only two 
qualities made of it; if it is mean, it ought to be sold as mean tobacco, and the 
few fine leaves ought not to be taken away to make mean meaner. This may be 
thought novel reasoning, but it must go nevertheless. 

ORDERING AND DELIVERING, 

If you do not suffer your tobacco to hang up during the Winter, it should at 
least be hanging by the middle of March, so as to take the first good season 
thereafter for putting down. This should be done in a warm season without rain 
if possible. The tobacco being previously thoroughly dry, as soon as the leaf is 
in order enough to bulk without breaking, it should be put down on a platform 
made of plank two or three feet from the floor. There should be at least three 
hands at each bulk. One to take it from the stick, two bundles at a time, and 
hand it to the second, and he, after straightening, will hand to the packer, who 
will put it down as carefully as if he were packing it in a box or hogshead for 
market. After the bulk is thus made, it should be covered with plank and weighted 
heavily. Nothing adds more to the looks of tobacco than careful handling at 
this stage. It it is to be prized it will be ready for packing without further 
trouble. If it is to be hauled loose to the factory, it packs a great deal better in 
the wagon than when carelessly handled. It will also preserve its order through 
the whole year, even if allowed to remain in the bulk. We know but little about 
prizing for market. Very little of our tobacco finds its way to town market in 
the leaf. When it is sent, it is generally packed in boxes lightly prized for 
wrapping tobacco. Presuming to know but little about this department, I shall 
not attempt to instruct others. One thinsj I will say : make your tobacco fine 
and very soon you will have a market at home for it. A fine article will never 
want for buyers, while a common article will always be dull of sale, and while there 
is so much land in Virginia and North Carolina that will produce fine tobacco, 
there is little or no excuse for making a rough article. One point more, and we 
are done. 

AMOUNT OF FORCE TO THE 1000 HILLS. 
There is an old saying that ten thousand to the hand is enough, but with young 
active hands, at least fifteen thousand to the hand may be well managed. This 
will insure a crop of about two thousand pounds to the hand, which, with a 
moderate crop of other things, is very good work. The crops for several years 
past have commanded from fifteen to twenty-five dollars round Two thousand 
pounds at these figures will be good wages to the hand, after making enough 
other crops beside to support him and pay all expenses. And on our fresh lands 
it can be done with ease. We have cultivated as much as twenty thousand to 
the hand, but it is too much to manage nicely. We have now said all that time 



218 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



and space will allow. We hope it may be of benefit to some, and if the prize is 
not awarded to it, we hope at least we have lost nothing by writing it. 

Samuel C. Shelton. 
Irisburg, Henry County, Ya. 



For the Southern Planter. 

The Habits of the Earth-Worm. 
Being somewhat confined to the house, I shall endeavour to give an account of 
a well known animal. Nature exhibits wonders that surpass credulity, and yet 
many marvellous things are believed which are totally unfounded in fact. Among 
the rest, it is said of the subject of my discourse, (popularly termed the Earth- 
Worm,) that if it be cut in pieces, each piece will turn out a complete worm. 
This is not true any more than to say that the claw of a lobster, taken off, will 
produce another lobster. The lobster, up to a certain age, will indeed put forth 
another claw, and the excised claw will, for a long time, exhibit muscular irrita- 
bility. Human beings, if history lirs not, exhibit in their members the same 
muscular irritability after death, as Charlotte Corday was said to blush and frown 
when her head was in the hand of the executioner, who slapped the face. If a 
worm be cut through, in a particular part of his body, neither part can be made 
to survive, but if the tail part, for a considerable length, be cut off, that will ex- 
hibit muscular irritability for a long time, but ultimately perishes, while the 
head part will have its wound healed and seems to get on very well without the 
other part But, still, many things can be related of worms sufficiently wonder- 
ful, and we shall endeavour to prove that he has really a high organization. In 
fact, he is the most thorough ventilator known in nature, and requires constant 
supplies of food, water, and, above all, fresh air. We will relate how we became 
familiar with the habits of worms, so that some curious investigator may pursue 
these researches, and verify or disprove our conjectures. Being fond of fishing 
and on some days being able to obtain any amount of worms, while on an emer- 
gency we often failed to obtain a sufficient supply, and being advised by old fish- 
ermen to put up a large supply of worms in nidal, as they said to purge them of 
the grit in their bodies, rendering them more palatable to the fish, we began 
to speculate on the subject. We concluded that they only swallowed grit on the 
principle, that a hungry boy would swallow cherry and grape stones, not that he 
liked them, but was unwilling to take time to separate pulp from seed, and so 
the worm, if he could get at meal or flesh unmixed with grit, would do so. So 
we obtained a box, pierced the bottom with holes, so small thtt the worms could not 
escape, but that water could drain out, filled up the box with a kind of sandy 
clay, embedded a brick on top of the clay, put in a handful of worms and kept 
them supplied with meal, blood or flesh sprinkled on top of the clay, and put the 
whole in a place secure from all kinds of animals, keeping a good supply of wa- 
ter in the box. The worms soon seemed at home in their new domicile and ho- 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



219 



neycombed the clay soon with their galleries. The rapid disappearance of their 
food testified to their appetites, and they evidently used a great deal of water. 
They soon became too much our pets to think of devoting them to fish, and the 
following observations we make on their habits. Whether the British worm is 
like our earth worm, we know not. We have never seen them accurately delin- 
eated in print, and we are such an inditFerent draftsman, that we cannot begin to 
draw one accurately. 

Being a very poor naturalist, we cannot describe fully the parts o such deli- 
cate organs, as stomach, spiracles, organs of generation, ovaries, &c. We have 
often seen worms in such close contact, that we have concluded that impregna- 
tion takes place by a kind of pressing of the organs of generation lying in a sack 
under the stomach of the worm, and the semen of the male thus ejected upon 
the ovaries of the female, mouth to mouth. However this matter takes place, 
the mother worm incorporates a jelly-like substance with earth, and in this de- 
posites the spawn which comes out alive. So abundant are these spawn in some 
places, that hogs will eat the earth, and probably that is the kind of earth which 
certain tribes of savages are said to devour. The young worms soon form innu- 
merable galleries in this earth, almost invisible to the naked eye, feeding upon 
the jelly, until large enough to provide for themselves. Each worm has a system 
of gallaries for ventilation, and when near the surface of the earth, probably to 
avoid the effects of evaporation, they hide under a stone, brick, log, or any 
thing else partially embedded in the ground, with several galleries running out- 
side of them to the air. How far they extend we kno.v not, probably to run- 
ning water, as we have seen worms thrown out near the bottom of a deep well. 
The walls of the galleries are cemented with a kind of glue from their bodies, so 
as to be air-tight, but not water tight. They are not exactly cylindrical, but are 
full of smooth cavities, so that the worm can fill them by his swelling out his 
body, and thus pull himself along by muscular power. No one can form an idea 
of the swiftness of a worm, under ground, by seeing him crawl on the earth, for 
he has not such cavities on the surface, as in his galleries, to fill up with his body 
and thus afford him a purchase by which to pull himself along. When he re- 
quires ventilation, he first rises to the surface of the earth to see that all his gal- 
leries are clear, and then commences to pump air into the cavities, as he fits the 
cavity precisely by shortening and enlarging his body, he pushes out the foul air 
before him, and then converting each end of his body alternately into a piston 
and piston rod, by proper motion, he can send the air along the gallery in any 
direction that he pleases. He then descends, drawing the air along with him. 
Thus his gallery has constantly a supply of fresh air drawn into it, and the foul 
air pumped out. In some rivers in Virginia, there is a fish which never rises 
from the bottom, and unless the bait is kept on it, the fish will never bite. When 
the fish is caught, if his stomach be opened, fresh worms will be found in it, 
which shows that they get a plentiful supply at the bottom of the stream. Yet 
a worm cannot live long under water. Neither can an otter, but both can feed 



220 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



in it. The worm gets under some log: at the bottom of the stream, running a 
gallery to the places haunted by the fish to feed, perhaps on their spawn and ex- 
crements, or dead fish ; then he constructs another to the bank, and thence to 
the air. He has a kind of cell under the log air tight, and upon the principle 
of a diving-bell, he pumps air into the cell under the log from the aperture in the 
bank, and thus furnishes himself with a supply of air; when he forages upon the 
fish ground and feeds, he retires to his cell lo get a fresh supply of air ; no doubt 
when seeking his food, under water, the fish catches him. 

Norborne Blow. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Tobacco Barns. 

Louisa, February 18th, 1861. 

In reply to " A Subscriber," making inquiry concerning the best method of 
building tobacco barns, I submit the following plan : 

A house 24 X 4-1 feet; 20 feet high, will cure 10,000fbs. of tobacco, if it is 
large and ripe. 

The house should be raised 18 inches from the ground and cellared 6 inches. 

The first, or " ground tier," must be 6 feet from the floor, and a space of 3 
feet from the top of 1st tier, to the top of 2nd, and so on through the house. 

The perpendicular framing must be 4X6 inches, and 4 feet apart, the hori- 
zontal " laths" 2X3 inches, and let into the perpendicular " studs," at the proper 
distances for the tier poles to rest on ; the house to be covered with perpendicu- 
lar boards, and the joints covered with strips, the strips should be omitted in the 
upper part of the gable ends. 

The roof must project 1 foot at both sides and ends, for ventilation, and if 
covered with shingles, (as it should be.) ventilated again on the south side, near 
the " comb" of the house. 

A window must be left 6 indies wide at both ends of every row of tier poles, to 
be closed with an inch plank, hung with 4 butt hinges. 

A house built on this plan, is perfectly close when desired, and the reverse 

wherr air is needed. Respectfully, &c, 

A Planter. 

For the Soutliern Planter. 

Fertilizers—Drilling versus Broad-Casting. 

In the Planter for February, I find an enquiry from " A Farmer," as to the 
drill in comparison with broad-casting the same quantity of fertilizer per acre ; 
and though I may not be able to give a single new idea in regard to either, I 
can give my experience in regard to both. 

Before I do this, suffer me to say that I have been impressed, frequently, with 
the importance of suggestions made through the " Planter," that farmers might 
interest and enlighten each other, by regularly contributing, in condensed form, 
their experience in regard to a multitude of things which pass under their obser- 
vation. Many have done so to their credit, and to the improvement of others. 



186].] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



221 



But what a vast majority, in our State, have kept silent. Why may not these 
devote an hour now and then to this subject? Much of what might he written 
in this way would no doubt be considered by many as of small importance ; 
but some, beyond doubt, would prove valuable. As you, Messrs. Editors, print 
this farming experience for nothing, of course you must exercise the right of 
excluding the indifferent and publishing the best. 

I have heretofore held back from considerations identical, no doubt, with those 
which have influenced others ; but as I mean now to begin to show my faith, in 
the importance of this interchange among the farmers of Virginia, by my works, 
I hope that many others who, like myself, have heretofore been afraid of being 
seen in print, will follow the example. 

I hope " A Farmer" — for whose benefit more especially I send my first effort 
in agricultural essaying to the Planter — will pardon this digression. 

For several years past I have used a drill, and, except part of a field in 1859, 
have always drilled Guano or Sup. Phos. of Lime (chiefly the latter) with the 
wheat, putting in about half my crop every year in this way, and broad-casting 
the remainder, both wheat and fertilizer. 

I have a great liking for the drill; not so much because of any very obvious 
difference in the crop at harvest, all things being equal at seeding time, but for 
other reasons. Now, if " A Farmer" had reference in his inquiry, specially to 
exact difference in yield between the two methods, I cannot inform him; but 
if to ease and regularity in sowing fertilizers, then I may offer the following 
having an eye to the amount of work as well as the regularity of it. You can 
with one hand and a pair of horses put in with a drill from six to sixteen acres 
a day, according to the size of the drill and character of land, depositing wheat 
and fertilizer with almost exact regularity. When 200 pounds or upwards of 
fertilizer is required to the acre, the drill, for regularity in distributing it, is 
far superior to any broad-casting by hand. When 100 or less to the acre is 
required, the drill in very damp weather is not so reliable; the guage has to be 
drawn so close, that all descriptions of fertilizer which I have used will clog. 
My experience is, that 100 pounds or less to the acre by hand, is very difficult 
to regulate, but even this small quantity in dry weather can be done nicely with 
the drill. 

Broad-casting fertilizer by hand is both hard and dirty work. The drill avoids 
both. In high winds the regular distribution of fertilizer by the drill is not in- 
terrupted, indeed the accuracy is promoted thereby, because the wind dries out 
the fertilizer, and prevents all clogging. 

Broad-casting by hand in windy weather with accuracy is simply impossible. 

Wheat properly drilled is safer in the majority of winters against frost than 
that sown broad-cast. Then, if this be the only advantage the average yield of 
a given number of years must be in favor of the drill. 

I do not think the drill saves anything in the quantity of wheat sown. Our 
stiff lands require from one and a half to two bushels per acre however sown. 



9M>, 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



Grass following fertilizers sown by the drill has, with me, done quite as well 
as that after broad-casting, in most cases better, — owing, no doubt, to the pro- 
tection afforded the young plants by the drill furrows. 

I have no experience in sub-suiling. 

Limestone. 

Clarke County, Ya., Feb. 23rd, 1801. 



For the Southern Planter. 

On the Importance of elevating Mechanics and Artizans to a Social Equality 

with other Professions. 

Messrs. Editors. — The improved dress of the January nnmber of the Plan- 
ter and the value of its contents, (allow me to say greater than usual,) suggest 
the propriety, if not the duty, of those acknowledging its benefits, to contribute 
a quid pro quo. I was formerly an occasional correspondent of the Planter, and 
propose resuming that post, after years of additional experience, provided my 
reflections are deemed worthy by you of a place in your columns. There are 
several subjects of peculiar interest to Virginia farmers, which, in my opinion, 
have not hitherto been duly considered, upon which I propose, at an early day, 
to submit to you some thoughts. 

The excited condition of the public mind at this time, however, precludes the 
consideration of questions not bearing, in some degree, upon the disturbing 
causes of the present unhappy condition of affairs. Your extract from De 
Bow's Review presents vividly the humiliation ot the South in this her day of 
trial, the necessary result of long and passive dependence upon our bitterest foes 
for a thousand articles, some trifling in themselves, yet necessary to our com- 
fort, which could and ought always to have been manufactured by our own citi- 
zens. Our Souihem people seem hitherto, in a great degree, to have been the 
victims of a fatal delusion or stupid fully regarding their own and the best in- 
terests of the country. The professions of Law and Medicine, and another not 
less popular and equally a profession — that of gentlemen of leisure — have chiefly 
been the avenues through which the sons of landed proprietors, large or small, 
have sought honour, wealth or distinction. Into the comparative merits of these, 
or the comparative degree in which they have contributed to the material inter- 
ests of society, I will not now enquire. 

While it must be admitted a vast improvement has taken place, more recently, 
and our young men are beginning to be educated with a view to the more prac 
tical interests of society, yet how little attention is even now bestowed upon 
mechanical pursuits by educated youths ! Why is this ? Is an educated mau 
less a gentleman or less refined in his tastes because of mechanical occupation ? 
Is he less entitled to consideration and respect because he is the ingenious man- 
ufacturer of wares which are indispensable to the ordinary comfort of both rich 
and poor ? Is the cunning architect of the stupendous locomotive, carrying 
progression and civilization in its train, of minor consequence in comparison 
with the briefless advocate or the village doctor ? Or what claims to precedence 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



223 



has the retail vendor of dimity and tape over him, whose skill and science in 
his humble vocation, shapes our vestments to adorn the person or hide the de- 
formities of nature ? These are pertinent enquiries, Messrs. Editors, and their 
force must be admitted, however inveterate our prejudices. The truth is, our 
public mind is diseased on this subject ; there exists a moral delinquency which 
must be reformed; we must learn to appreciate and to honour intelligent useful- 
ness, to co-operate with and sustain it, if we would be released from a degrading 
dependence on those who despise us, for nearly every necessary article — from 
the brush of the toiiet to the tacks in our boots. This absurd sentiment has 
driven from our midst in the past half century an army of youth, whose talent 
and enterprize if fostered at home by an enlightened and patriotic public senti- 
ment, would by this day have placed Virginia in a position of material wealth 
and independence as unrivaled as that she has ever occupied for patriotism and 
devotion to principle. 

But, sirs, it is useless to discuss this subject further; action is what we want 
immediate action, as well on this as on others of vastly more importance at 
this particular crisis, and we may tremble for the consequences if it is not had. 
It is in our power to force into existence amongst us manufactures of almost 
every indispensable article, by united and concentrated patronage, and others 
will speediiy follow. The progress of our woollen factories in the last twelve 
months is proof of the declaration. By a firm and determined policy in socially 
elevating the followers of mechanic arts ami bestowing merited honour on in- 
dustry and talent, the South c*n in a few years sever its degrading and chafing 
bands, and feel secure in its dependauce on its own work shops. 

Upon whom, than the farmers, can the patriotic duty be devolved with more 
propriety of inaugurating a new order of things? A few years since, and even 
now to some extent, we get from Baltimore, and cities even farther North, much 
of our agricultural machinery. Is there any substantial reason for this course? 
Is it a wise policy on our parr", or just to our mechanics? We have amongst us 
uative mechanics — men to the manor born — who will compare most favourably 
with any upon the continent in intelligence, patriotism and fidelity ; who work 
up native materials, and faithfully contribute <heir quotas to the national wealth. 
At .-V'merset in Orange county you have A. P. Routt and at Gordonsville, Fish- 
bjck & M<yers — faithful, intelligent and entcrprizing gen!lemen, who understand 
their business, and are always prepared to supply you with any implement, 
from the pimple coulter to the threshing machine of the highest capacity, and 
of 'lie best material. The improvements and perhaps inventions of the former 
fairly constitute liim a benefactor of the farming community. As efficient and 
labour-saving implements, his Drain-Plow, Iron Double Shovel, and Tobacco 
Cultivator, need only to be used to be appreciated. 

These are the men, our own citizens, whom duty and patriotism require should 
be patronized. It is the talent and enterprize of these and such as these, that 
must be relied on to expel from amongst us the thousand cheats palmed upon 



224 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

us by the Yankees in the form of painted wares and chip-soles. When correct 
views are cherished on the subject of our independence, and men shall fall into 
those pursuits for which nature designed and fitted thein, with the assurance of 
domestic patronage and future competency, the period will not be remote when 
we shall be liberated and disenthralled from a worse than colonial vassalage ; 
and industry and enterprizc shall pervade our land, shedding conteutment and 
prosperity throughout our borders. 

Piedmont. 



From the Working Farmer. 

The Tomato— Its Uses and its Cultivation. 

The following letter on this subject will be read with interest by all who have 
contemplated the influence which the universal cultivation of the Tomato is des- 
tined to have upon public health and economy. Probably few persons have be- 
stowed more attention on the Tomato, than the writer of the subjoined letter. 

[Ed. Far. 

Dear Sir : — Since you and many other cultivators of the Tomato have ex- 
pressed your surprise and satisfaction on examining some of my Seedling To- 
matos, and a desire to know their origin and proper treatment, I will, with plea- 
sure, comply with your request. 

Until within a few years, very little was known in this country about the To- 
mato. It. was grown as an embellishment in some corner of a flower garden, 
and called the Love Apple. Now, it is an article of daily food ; and in a few 
years it will be in common use in almost every part of the globe. Its culture 
and use will everywhere extend just in proportion as reliable and exact informa- 
tion on the subject is spread. It does not take long now to scatter facts. The 
human race is coming near together, and all facts concerning our common wel- 
fare should be freely disseminated. I have grown the Tomato, and watched its 
culture in many of the climates and countries of Europe and America, and I 
will furnish my little quota of observation and practical experience, hoping there- 
by to draw out valuable information from others. Everybody knows something 
of the value of the Tomato as a fruit, and how we should miss it if it could be 
raised no more. But very few persons know how easily and abundantly it can be 
grown in perfection, how cheaply it can be preserved for future use in many forms, 
nor its invaluable medical properties as conducive to health and vitality. I will 
speak only on two or three of these points. 

1st. The best Kinds and Varieties. — Six years ago I began a more thorough 
system of experiments than I had ever practised or seen. I prepared my beds 
for growing Tomatoes, and the analysis of the soil corresponded very closely with 
the chemical components of the fruit. I then germinated ten or twelve of the finest 
varieties I had, or could get, and obtained large, vigorous plants of the same 
kinds from our New York gardens. One of each was planted by itself, where it 



1861.] THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 225 

could not hybridize. In another bed I planted all the varieties together, to make 
them hybridize, and multiply new kinds. 

I succeeded in getting one variety, which I found superior to any I had seen, 
in the following qualities — (1) delicacy of flavor, thinness and smoothness of skin, 
fewness of seeds, solidity of meat, earliness of ripening, richness of color, evenness 
of size, and ease of culture. The next year I cast all other varieties away, and 
brought this to perfection ; and it has been universally pronounced by Agricul- 
tural Fairs, Farmer's clubs, and Scientific Horticulturists, to be superior to any 
other. 

2d. My Mode of Culture. — Germinate in a hot-house, hot bed or kitchen ; for 
very early fruit, transplant when quite small into pots. The Tomato improves 
by every transplanting, and each time should be set deeper. From the time four 
or six leaves appear, pinch or cut off the larger lower leaves and the terminal 
.buds, and continue this process of pruning, till the fruit is far advanced ; so that 
when ripe, the bed will seem to be covered by one mass of large, smooth, even 
sized Tomatoes, of the richest pomegranate color — and the leaves hidden by the 
fruit. 

Set plants three or four feet apart, in the warmest spot you have, and let theml 
fall over to the Northern frames twelve or filteen inches high ; or on pea brush ; 
anything to sustain them; and keep the fruit from touching the ground, which 
delays ripening, creates mould, invites cut-worms, and always gives the Tomato 
an earthy taste. Try for only one cluster, (the first that blossoms,) and cut every- 
thing else gradually away. This will give you Tomatoes in perfection in the lati- 
tude of Buffalo, four or six weeks earlier than they are usually ripened in our 
climate. If you wish late Tomatoes, pull up each plant by the root (just before 
the frost comes) and hang them up on the south side of a building, top down, 
with a blanket to roll up in the day and let fall in the night. When ice makes, j 
hang them up in any room that does not freeze, or in a dry cellar, and you will/ 
have fresh Tomatoes all winter — somewhat shrivelled, but of fine flavor. / 

Having thus brought this Tomato to comparative perfection, I wish to have 
the seed scattered as widely as possible. This last season I saved, with great 
care, some of the seed from the most perfect fruit in my garden, and I have left 
it with Mr. Charles V. Mapes, (at his Agricultural Warerooms in Nassau street,, 
New York,) to whom any communication on this subject may be addressed. 

Most respectfully, C. Edwards Lester. 



Summer Pinching. — By a judicious pinching in of the terminal bud3 of 
growing trees, in itself an art that can only be acquired by practice, almost any 
tree or shrub, if taken in season, can be made to assume almost any form desired. 
The beautiful pyramidal pear trees of nearly all foreign gardens, as well as other 
dwarf fruit trees, broad at the base and gradually tapering to a point at top, is 
the result of a systematic, summer pinching in. 
15 



226 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



From Hunt's Merchants' Magazine. 

Statistics of Population, &c 

United States Census for 1860. 

The returns furnished by the Census Bureau to the Governors of States for 
the purpose of apportioning members of Congress, give the following aggre- 
gates : 

NORTHERN STATES. 



Maine, 

New Hampshire, , 

Vermont, 

Massachusetts, . . . 
Rliode Island,. . . 

Connecticut, 

New York, 

Pennsylvania,. . . 
New Jersey, 

Ohio, 

Indiana, 

Illinois, 

M i c h i ga n , , 

Wisconsin, ...... 

Iowa, 

Minnesota, 

Oregon, 

California, . . . . - 
Kansas, 



1850. 

583.169 

317,976 

314,129 

994,514 

147,545 

370,792 

3,097.394 

2,311,786 

489,555 

1,980.427 

988,416 

851,470 

397,654 

305,391 

192.214 

6,077 

13,294 

92,597 



-Population.- 



1860. 

619,958 

326,072 

315,827 

1,231.494 

174,621 

460.670 

3.851,563 

2,916.018 

676 034 

2,377.917 

1,350,802 

1,691,233 

754,291 

768,485 

682,000 

172,793 

52,566 

3S4,770 

143,645 



Apportionment. 



Total, , 



13,454,169 18.950,759 



New. 

5 

3 

3 
10 

1 

4 
30 
23 

5 
19 
11 
13 

6 

6 

5 

1 

1 

3 

1 

150 



Old. 
6 
3 
3 

11 
2 
4 

33 

25 
5 

21 

11 
9 
4 
4 
2 
1 
1 
2 
1 

149 



SOUTHERN STATES. 



Delaware, . . . . — 

Maryland, 

Virginia 

North Carolina,. 
South Carolina,. . 

Georgia, 

Florida 

Alabama, 

Mississippi, 

Louisiana, 

Arkansas, 

Texas, 

Tennessee, 

Kentucky, 

Missouri, 

Dis. of Columbia, 



, Pop 

Free. 

89,242 
492,666 
949.133 
580.491 
283.523 
524,503 

48,135 
428,779 
296.648 
272.953 
162,797 
154,431 
763.154 
771,424 
594.622 

48,000 



ulation in 

Slave. 

2,290 

90,368 

472,528 

288.54S 

384,9S4 

381,682 

39,309 

342,892 

309.878 

244.809 

47.100 

58.161 

239.460 

210.981 

87,422 

3,687 



1850. , 

Total. 

91,532 
583,034 
1,421,661 
869.039 
668,507 
906, 1 85 

87,455 
771,623 
606,526 
517,762 
209,897 
212.592 
1,002.717 
982,405 
682,044 

51/87 



, Popul 

Free. 
110,548 
646,183 

1.097,373 
679,965 
308.186 
515.336 
81.885 
520,444 
407,051 
354.245 
331,710 
416,000 
859,528 
920,077 

1.085J595 



ation in 
Slave. 
1,805 

85,382 
495,8.6 
328 377 
407.185 
467.400 

6S.S00 
435,473 
479,607 
312.186 
109.065 
184,956 
287,112 
225,490 
115.619 



1860. , 

Total. 

112,353 

731,565 

1,593.199 

1,008.342 

715,371 

1,082,736 

145,685 

955,917 

886,658 

666,431 

440,775 

600,956 

1,146,640 

1,201.214 

1,145.567 

75,321 



Appor'nt. 
N. O. 
1 
6 
11 
7 
4 
7 
1 
6 
5 
4 
3 
4 



1 

6 
13 

8 
6 
S 
1 
7 
4 
4 



Total, 6,470,506 3,204,099 9,664,650 8,434,126 3,999,283 12,508,730 

TERRITORIES. 

Nebraska, 28.893 



10 
10 



84 89 



New Mexico,... . 

Utah, 

Dacotah, 

Washington,. . . 



Total Territories, 

Total United States,. 



61.547 
11,354 



72,901 
23.191,871 



93,024 

50,000 

4,839 

11.624 

188,370 

31,647,859 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



227 



Oxen, Horses, and Mules. 

The consideration of the relative advantages of the different teams named 
above, when used for draft purposes, is of great importance to the agriculturist; 
for heavy loads for short distances, oxen may be used on roads with profit, as 
their gre3t weight enables them to move corresponding quantities, if not re- 
quired to carry them for too great a distance, where the return trip without loads 
would consume much time from their slow gait. In sub-soil plowing, oxen alone 
can be used with the highest profit ; their steady pull together, with their im- 
mense force as compared with horses, render them peculiarly suited to this kind 
of use, and when those of quicker motion, such as the Devons, can be procured, 
they are invaluable for drawing the breaking plow, the sub-soil plow or soil 
lifter, when used in the making of drains ; indeed, no team can be used for sub- 
soiling or in the making of drains, requiring a whifBetree, as the latter in rest- 
ing upon the furrow slice or ditch bank, will prevent the descent of the plow. 
With oxen, by the use of a long yoke, the sub-soil lifter, attached to a chain on 
which is hung a weight immediately in front of the plow-beam, to secure the 
parallel position of the beam with the bottom of the ditch, becomes a horizontal 
pick, disturbing two inches or more at a time, of even the most compact soil, 
and thus permitting its being thrown from the ditch by long shovels, etc. In 
sub-soil plowing the same effects in degree prevail ; the chain permits the lower 
side of the bottom of the beam to sink into the bottom of the surface-plow fur- 
row, and thus enables the sub-soil lifter to penetrate the sub-soil to the greatest 
depth. Oxen do not start sudenly, and they move with a steady gait ; and, 
although not so quick as the horse or mule, they are capable of giving greater 
intensity of force by this loss of speed. 

The yoke and narrow bows impinging on the oxe's breast, occupy so narrow a 
space, as to materially annoy them and abridge their entire weight to the draft. 
We have lately made the experiment of using for our oxen a very large collar, 
with a broad face, so as to rest over a large surface, ****** 
* * * and doing away with the heavy yoke ; the collars are split at the 
top and there buckled, so that they may be easily put on and taken off. To this 
collar is attached a set of traces, supported by loops hung from a saddle and 
attached to whiffletrees, thus permitting the oxen to act independently of each 
other, each drawing as with the ordinary method of harnessing horses. Under 
such arragement, the oxen throw their heads about, and exhibit a vivacity never 
found in oxen wearing the inhuman yoke. They draw a much heavier load, 
and with less annoyance, nor do they lean away from the centre, calling en each 
other for support, as when yoked; they perform a larger amount of labor in a 
less space of time; indeed, they become a lively and good road learn for the 
transportation of heavy loads. The age of the ox does not interfere with his 
weight and consequent strength. When too old to continue his service as a 
draft animal, he may be suddenly fattened, and will then give better beef than 



228 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



if he had not been previously worked ; his value is always increased, and he 
meets a market never to be over-stocked. 

Horses are so well understood that it is scarcely necessary to recapitulate any 

of their advantages. For rapid work, loads, etc., they are inestimable, and their 

superior speed renders them great favorites, hence the term " noble animal," 

etc , has been applied; although it should not be forgotten, in estimating the 

value of horses for the transportation of heavy loads, that no animal can give a 

propelling force superior to his own weight. The difference in animals, in this 

particular, is entirely due to their ability to exercise greater intensity of action 

for a time, in place of a more divided and continued force ; for this purpose the 

f horse is very superior. When we require greater speed with lighter loads, the 

i horse far surpasses the ox, while for intense action for short distances, the ox is 

livery superior. 

Mules have many advantages over the borse ; they cost one- third less for feed 

and other expenses. They are not subject to many of the diseases of the horse, 

have much greater power of endurance, live to greater age, without depreciation 

in value. We now have a mule at our place sixty years of age, ami perfectly 

i active. 

The charge of stubbornness so often made against the mule, is entirely due to 
the fact that he is generally more roughly used than the horse, and has a capac- 
ity to know it. When mules are as well cared for as horses, they are equally 
kind. They will stand greater degrees of heat and cold than the horse, and are 
more intelligent, that is, capable of being more readily taught. The mule has 
one fault; if he is left in the stable six weeks without use, he requires to be 
broken again. His memory is not equal to that of the borse, although his im- 
mediate intelligence is greater. He may be sustained on coarser food, with less 
expense for harness, shoeing, etc. No one ever asks the age of a mule, for 
they seem equally valuable at any age. Dickens tells us, " that sailors with 
white top boots, and dead mules, are never seen." 

The ordinary cost of a fine mule is much greater than that of a good farm 
horse, but this is soon compensated for, in the difference of cost of the keep. 
It is difficult to understand why mules, so intelligent in comprehending new 
kinds of service, should be so deficient in some other respects; for if a mule be 
bedded with the commonest salt hay, and his manger filled with good oats, 
underlaid with a half peck of thistles, he will probably eat the thistles first, his 
bedding next, and the oats afterwards, unless intermediately be should take a 
notion to feed on his crib or the side planking of his stall. 

A mule may be taught to drag a carrot weeder, No. 0. lifting sub-soil plow, or 
a horse hoe, through rows of every width. At a late visit of a committee of 
the American Institute to our place the mule Kitty, sixty years old, carried a 
sub soil lifter through rows of celery plants, planted twelve inches apart, which by 
their growth had reduced the space to eight inches, without treading on a single 
plant; she moved her feet parallel with the ground beneath the plants and close 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



229 



to the surface of the ground, placing each in front of the other without difficul- 
ty. The mode of drilling a mule to perform this operation, is by placing two 
joists, twelve feet long and four inches in diameter, on the ground at three feet 
apart, early in spring, driving the mule through the joists, without reins and by 
the word, twenty or thirty times; then turn over one joist toward the other, thus 
bringing them four inches nearer together, and drive the mule through again twenty 
tmes, practicing the short turning byword; then move the joist four inches 
again and so on until they are quite near together. If the animal should tread 
on one of these joists, it will turn inward and trip it up. When the mule is again 
on its feet it will tremble with fear; then place the joist one inch wider apart than 
the width of either of its feet, and the mule should be then walked through 
between the joist, thirty, forty, or fifty times, this it will do by placing the right 
and left feet alternately before each other, occupying but one line of space. If 
kept actively employed thereafter, it will be found capable of duplicating this 
action between row crops, carrying either the No. 0. sub-soil lifter, the carrot 
weeder, or the horse hoe, and doing the work of forty or fifty men with hoes, 
spades, or forks, and in a manner every way superior both as to depth, exactness 
of action, and quality of result 

In the stabling of animals it is well to observe that too low a temperature calls 
for the use of a greater amount of food. Animal heat must be furnished, and 
in cold stables this can only be done by increased digestion; proper ventilation is 
also called for, for the exosmose action of the animal throws forth from the sur- 
face of its body, large quantities of gases, which should be removed by proper 
ventilation, as rapidly as presented. In addition to this method of freeing the 
stables from such base materials, their bedding should contain those materials 
which are capable of absorbing those excretory gases, which may be brought 
about by seiving plaster under the bedding, filling a concave gutter passing 
beneath the hind legs with swamp muck, decomposed by the lime and salt mix- 
ture, with charcoal, or with head-lands. This will not only receive urine as 
voided but will also absorb all those gases which, if remaining near them in 
excess, are calculated to reduce the health of the animals. 

All must have observed the amount of ammonia given off from the feces of 
animals in stables, and where the mucus membrane is exposed, as on the surface 
of the eye, etc., it is peculiarly annoyed by its presence. When the absorbents 
we have recommended are present, and proper ventilation is afforded, this prolific 
cause of disease is removed. 

Animals of different ages should not be stabled together; we refer of course 
to too great disparity of age ; the young are found to fail when breathing atmos- 
phere which has been exhaled by older animals, and charged with carbonic acid, 
etc. It may not be out of place here to refer to similar effect to the human 
species ; it should be remembered that every man renders twelve gallons of air 
per minute, by breathing, incapable of sustaining human life; hence the deaths 
at the black hole of Calcutta. This, in degree, is equally true of mules ; we 



230 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



should remember that men and animals breathe air for the purpose of abstract- 
ing from it a certain amount of oxygen, and that the lungs, by nature's laws, 
configure themselves so as to take in the greater or less amount at each respira- 
tion, dependent upon the extent of dilation of the atmosphere. If we walk up 
hill, holding in our hand a closed balloon filled with atmosphere, even if but a 
single foot in diameter, and made of varnished silk or paper, it will burst before 
we ascend one hundred feet. This is due to the fact, that as we ascend in the 
atmospheric ocean the weight of the superincumbent portion lessens, and while 
at the surface of the sea it impinges itself with the weight of fifteen pounds on 
every square inch, it lessens as we ascend the mountain side; this dilation of the 
outer air permits the air within the balloon to expand, and the consequence is the 
bursting of the balloon. Birds of high flight have larger air vessels, because 
they are called on to breathe a larger amount of atmosphere to procure the 
same amount of oxygen. Fishes in mountain ponds contain air vessels of larger 
size than those of fishes found in the streams of the valleys. They have the 
power to compress their air vessels, so as to sink, as in winter, to a depth where 
they can find a proper temperature to enable them to exist. This temperature 
seems to be about forty degrees, which is the usual temperature of the blood of 
a fish in full health. 

The man or animal residing on a mountain, always has a broad chest and large 
breathing apparatus. The City of Mexico, 9000 feet above the level of the sea, 
has never contained one consumptive man, not emigrating there, while the level 
lands of Mexico, nearear the sea, find pulmonary diseases their particular 
scourge. The hardy mountaineer is a common expression, and it is usually at- 
tributed to his active habits; but we have known many broad chested men resid- 
ing on mountains, who indulge in excessive indolence, and the same may be 
observed of animals. Horses, oxen, sheep, even the wild animals in mountain- 
ous districts, are found to be broad chested ; but if the God of nature had not 
provided the means by which the capacity of our lungs could be increased as 
we ascended the mountain side, every being would be forced to remain at a 
defined level. Pulmonics who go to the islands of Cuba and Santa Cruz, are 
materially benefited, while those who remain in the sea coast towns, die, for 
want of that condition which prevent the surfaces of their tubercular lungs from 
coming in contact with each other. As they ascend the mountain, they are 
called on to make respirations of a greater quantity of dilated atmosphere, each 
respiration is required to be of the same weight, and therefore of greater bulk ; 
this prevents the slight breathing so readily observable in the growth of pul- 
monic diseases at the level of the sea, and therefore the tuberculous parts never 
come in contact with each other, and the patient has a hope of a recovery from 
his malady. All these facts are applicable to animals. They should never be 
placed in cellars, where the denser atmosphere will not call for full mechanical 
action of the lungs; we have known many an incipient consumptive relieved, by 
removing his dormitory from the ground floor to the fourth or fifth story of the 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



231 



house. In addition to these effects of natural law, the owner of a stable should 
remember that the atmosphere is the vehicle of all of the exudations from decay- 
ing nature, also of the gases given off from the surface of every animal ; and 
imperfect ventilation, like the pest houses of Egypt in a plague, reproduces dis- 
ease while nature is making efforts to ward against it. All this has to be com- 
pensated for by extra amounts of food, sometimes ending with loss or failure 
either of the life or vigor or of several animals. Clean stables, well ventilated 
and at proper temperature, constitute in a great measure the difference between 
successful and unsuccessful farmers. — Working Farmer. 



Deep or Shallow Vessels for Milk. 

Many suppose that the quantity of butter obtained from milk depends greatly 
upon the treatment before churning, particularly upon the kind of vessels it is 
kept in. Thus, some prefer deep pans, and some will use none but shallow; 
some add saleratus to the milk to keep it sweet longer to give the cream more 
time to rise. Experience has convinced me that the amount of butter depends 
on the quality of the milk, rather than on its management. All the butter con- 
tained in the milk can be obtained, and no more. I remember fifty years ago, 
that my father, who had thirty or more cows, tried several experiments to ascer- 
tain this point. He first procured large, flat " keelers," — wooden tubs about four 
inches deep — but the labor required to keep them sweet was so great, that a 
number of twelve-quart tin pans were also used. There was no difference in the 
amount of butter obtained from each. After this he was persuaded to have 
smooth, oak tubs made, each holding about four gallons, having been told that 
the milk would remain sweet much longer in them and the cream would be in- 
creased, but there was no improvement in the quality. I have for years used 
twelve-quart tin pails for convenience in handling, and find by keeping the tem- 
perature right, to allow a moderate cooling and a gradual rising of the cream, I 
get all the butter there is in the milk, which is the best any plan can do. — 
American Agriculturist. 

The Tobacco Worm Poison. - CoV)^"*-* 

Mr. Wra, Shepherd, of Anne Arundel county, to whom tobacco planters are 
indebted for his continued experiments with the tobacco worm poison, of which 
we have made frequent mention, informs us now, that he thinks any tobacco 
planter may protect his own crop by the poison, even if his neighbors neglect it. 
He says the poison, if made stronger than heretofore recommended, is more 
effectual — that he would use as much as a quarter of a pound of cobalt to a com- 
mon tumbler full of water. The cobalt should be reduced to powd er by the 
druggist when purchased. He thinks that loaf sugar, enough to make the water 
very sweet, is better than honey — not so liable to sour. The mixture is put 
into a small bottle, with a quill in the cork, and two or three drops through the 
quill deposited in the Jamestown blossom, or in the blossom of the tobacco 
plants. The horn blower will suck the poison till he dies. — Amer. Farmer. 



232 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[March, 1861. 



For the Southerti Planter. 

Monthly Abstract of Meteorological Observations— Kept at the Virginia 
Military Institute, Lexington, Va , January, 1861— Elevation above the 
Sea, One Thousand Feet. 





THERMOMETER. 


BAROME- 
TER. 


RAIN. 








7 
A.M. 


2 
P.M. 


9 

P.M. 


DAILY 
MEAN. 


DAILY 

MEAN. 


INCHES. 




1 


5. 


20.2 


15 5 


13.56 


29.310 




Fog in morning, clear in evening. 


2 


5. 


27.2 


30.2 


20.8 


29.032 




Cloudy, rain. 




3 


32. 


39.2 


356 


35.6 


28.689 




Cloudy, rain during night. 


4 


36.1 


36.8 


26.6 


33.17 


29.032 




Cloudy. 




5 


15.2 


33.2 


23.7 


24.70 


29.269 




Cloudy, clear. 




6 


8.2 


32.5 


31. 


23.9 


29.153 




Cloudy. 




7 


32.4 


41. 


37.5 


36.9 


29.199 


0.097 


Cloudy, rain from 9 


-10 A. M. 


8 


38.2 


46.5 


34. 


39.7 


28.908 




Cloudy. 




9 


38.5 


37 4 


34.2 


36.7 


28.718 


0.361 


Cloudy, rain. 




10 


34.8 


41.1 


31.5 


35.8 


28.682 




Cloudy. 




11 


21. 


29.8 


39.5 


30.1 


28.865 




Cloudy. 




12 


3.7 


40. 


38.5 


38.5 


28-837 




Cloudy. 




13 


25.4 


27.8 


24.2 


25.8 


29-347 




Cloudy. 




14 


21.8 


29. 


30.6 


27.1 


29439 




Cloudy, rain, snow. 




lo 


32.1 


34.8 


34. 


33.6 


28-812 




Cloudy, rain. 




16 


35. 


48.8 


45.2 


43. 


28-587 


1.475 


Cloudy, clear, cloudy. 


17 


39.2 


46.8 


35.5 


40.5 


28-989 




Cloudy, clear. 




18 


34.8 


35. 


34.7 


34.8 


28-898 


0.421 


Cloudy, rain from 6 


i-12 M. 


19 


41.8 


47.4 


42. 


43.7 


28-863 


0.915 


Cloudy. 




20 


31.7 


39.2 


29. 


33.3 


29-033 




Clear. 




21 


22.7 


39.2 


32.1 


31.3 


29.187 




Cloudy. 




22 


18.2 


36.3 


27.2 


27.2 


29.333 




Clear. 




23 


24.4 


29.5 


24.4 


26.2 


29.385 




Cloudy, snow about 3 inches. 


24 


29.4 


36.2 


31.8 


32.5 


28.902 




Cloudy, rain. 




25 


30.2 


40.1 


32.8 


34.3 


29.040 


0.915 


Cloudy. 




26 


31.1 


26.5 


28.8 


28.8 


28.981 




Cloudy, snow. 




27 


31.8 


35.8 


27.8 


31.8 


29.004 


0.624 


Clear. 




28 


24.2 


31.2 


21.2 


25.5 


29.018 




Clear. 




29 


21.2 


48.9 


42.8 


36.9 


28.839 




Cloudy, clear. 




30 


37.4 


38. 


26.1 


33.8 


29.976 




Clear. 




31 


21. 


33.2 


26.4 


26.8 


29.063 




Clear, Cloudy. 




JANUARY. 


MONTHLY 
MEAN. 


MAXIMUM. 


MINIMUM. 


VARIATION. 


BAROMETER. 2 


3.004 | 


29.516 | 28.509 


1.007 


THERMOMETER. 3 


1.8 i | 


48.8 5. 


43.8 



Amount of rain and melted snow, 3.893 inches. 



Whitewash. — Whitewash of a superior quality, is u:ade by mixing one bushel 
of lime, (slacked in hot water) one quart of salt, four of sugar, two ounces isin- 
glass, and two ounces saltpetre. Each ingredient dissolved in hot water, and the 
whole mixed while hot. This whitewash will neither wash nor rub off, and will 
last for years. 



: 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



233 



For the Southern Planter. 
The Skin and its Functions. 

This paper will be the first of a series of articles to be presented, from time 
to time, to the readers of the Planter; the object of which will be to discuss 
various physiological subjects in a plain and practical manner; and those will be 
especially selected which are calculated to awaken the attention, and arouse the 
interest of the farmer and naturalist. 

The subject of the present article is, unquestionably, one of much importance 
and no little interest, inasmuch as the skin may be considered an immense gland, 
scarcely inferior, in respect to the value of its functions, to the liver or the lungs, 
and hence playing a much more serious role in the health of a man and lower 
animals than is commonly supposed. 

The skin subserves, at one and the same time, the various purposes of pro- 
tection, absorption, secretion, and sensation. Each of these will be considered 
in order, but before doing so it will be necessary to give a brief description of 
the structure of the integument. It is strong, firm, pliant, and elastic, and may 
be said to consist of three layers, an internal, which is soft and made up of 
cellular and adipose matter — a middle, true skin, or derm, formed of interlaced 
fibres, nerves? blood-vessels, and absorbents— and lastly, an external layer, or 
epidermis. This external layer, or cuticle, will first claim our notice, as being 
chiefly concerned in the office of protection, and is composed of a series of layers 
of flattened cells, super-imposed and cemented together. Under the microscope 
it presents the appearance of a tesselated pavement, and so constructed as to 
leave no vacant spaces between the edges of the cells, eacli stratum being 
cemented by an exuded plasma from the true skin beneath. As the formation 
of this cuticle is continually going on from within, so its superficial layer is con- 
tinually falling off, constituting what is known as desquamation, or loss of dead 
skin, and an equilibrium between its loss and re-production must be maintained, 
in order that perfect health be preserved. 

This phenomenon of desquamation frequently takes place in a most obvious 
manner after certain cutaneous diseases, such as scarlet fever, measles, erysipelas, 
&c; and there are certain animals, especially those of the reptilian order, which 
desquamate the entire cuticle at regular periods of the year, which process is 
commonly termed " casting the skin." By means of the cuticle, the delicate 
extremities of the sentient nerves of touch are protected, and thus the tactile 
sense is not impaired by pain. Again, it protects the true skin, and prevents 
the absorption of very many deleterious gasses, and liquid animal and vegetable 
poisons; for it is well known that their contact is not usually productive of injury 
unless the cuticle be denuded. 

In most of the mammalian class, the skin is more or less thickly covered with 
hairs, which subserve the two-fold purpose of protection from injury, and pre- 
vention of the loss of bodily heat. Indeed, of so much importance has this 
tegumentary appendage been deemed, that it has been proposed as a basis of 



234 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

classification of animals, viz : pilifcrs,pennifcrs, and squamifers, accordingly as the 
skin is protected by hairs, feathers, or scales. The hair developed on animals 
having different physical uses, has received different names, and although ap- 
parently so unlike, are but modifications of one and the same product. We are 
familiar with them under the names of quills, bristles, fur, wool, hair, down, &c. 

In regard to wool, the colour of it, whatever that may be, is dependant, proba- 
bly, upon a fatty substance, which is soluable in boiling alcohol, and if it be 
removed from any kind of wool, the colour is transformed into a yellowish grey. 
Sulphur exists in all kinds of hair, and by union with iron, imparts to it a black 
colour. Advantage is taken of this fact in the manufacture of hair dyes, for 
the sulphur of the hair will readily enter into chemical union with the salts of 
silver, mercury, lead, &c, forming sulphurets, which give the hair a dark hue. 

Climate very materially influences the development, growth, and texture of the 
hair. Thus, in the arctic regions, we have the thickest and finest furs, obvi- 
ously because they are required to prevent the loss of bodily heat, being non- 
conductors, and to check radiation also; while under the tropics the hairs of 
animals are short, sparse, and stiff, or even entirely wanting. The same law 
regulates the production and development of hair during the winter and summer 
seasons in temperate latitudes, as exhibited in the shedding of hair — the moult- 
ing of birds, &c. The growth and development of feathers, or the plumage of 
birds, is entirely analogous to that of the hair, and like it, an epidermic product. 
The plumage of birds differs not only among genera, but in the same species at 
different seasons, or in different climes, the most gorgeous and brilliant being 
found in the torrid zone. There is this remarkable difference, however, between 
the physiological use of feathers and hair; that while both subserve the purpose 
of protection, ornament and beauty, each feather is penetrated by a central canal 
communicating with the lungs. This admirable contrivance greatly extends the 
respiratory apparatus, and by the extensive introduction of air, not only renders 
their bodies specifically lighter, enabling birds to fly with ease, but also to main- 
tain their long continued flights, and, at the same time, keep up their bodily 
temperature. All aquatic birds have their feathers protected by an oily material, 
which enables them to frequent the water without fear of wetting their bodies. 

Absorption by the skin — That the skin possesses the power of absorbing fluids 
with great facility is a matter of every day experience, in the immersion of the 
body in water to allay thirst, in the absorption of medicines when rubbed into 
it, by the passage of gasses through it, &c. But in addition to this function the 
skin is an important agent for exhalation, both in the form of vapor and also of 
carbonic acid — the former giving rise to cutaneous transpiration or insensible 
sweat, the latter to cutaneous respiration. By the former means is accomplished 
the elimination of a very large proportion of all the matter thrown out of the 
system — possibly as much as five-eighths — while by the latter process the extri- 
cation of much carbonic acid is achieved. The average diurnal quantity of 
water exhaled from the surface of the skin is about thirty-two ounces, or one 



1861.] THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 235 



quart, and this quantity is independent of the amount lost by sensible perspira- 
tion or sweat. But it must be remembered that this exhalation varies greatly 
according to the hygrometrij and thermal state of the air. The more humid 
the atmosphere the less the exhalation, and conversely the dryer the air the 
greater the amount exhaled. Hence this loss is greater in winter than in sum- 
mer, while the reverse is true of sensible perspiration. Whenever this exhala- 
tion is checked by cold and moisture, an increase in the urinary secretion com- 
pensates for it, and thus prevents the system from suffering injury. 

To ascertain the importance of respiration, as carried on through the skin, ex- 
periments have been performed upon domestic animals, such as horses, sheep, 
and dogs. These animals have first been carefully shaven and then their skins 
painted over with an impermeable varnish. This of course suspends both cuta- 
neous respiration and exhalation. The animals so experimented upon have uni- 
formly died in a few hours, and after death the organs and tissues of the body 
were found gorged with venous, black, or carbonized blood ; thus proving that 
the cause of death was the non-interchange of oxygen and carbonic acid through 
the skin, and that the condition was one of asphyxia. In other words, that death 
was as effectually, though more slowly produced, as it would have been by the 
suspension of pulmonary respiration. 

Now what is true in regard to domestic animals is so, inferentially, with man ; 
for if in him asphyxia and death be produced by suspending pulmonary respira- 
tion for the brief period of three or four minutes, it is reasonable to suppose that 
a complete suspension of cutaneous respiration for two or three hours would be 
attended by the same fatal result. 

These facts are suggestive and bring prominently forward the serious impor- 
tance of attending to the state of cutaneous cleanliness not only in man himself, 
but also in those domestic animals which minister to his wants. But this subject, 
together with kindred topics, must be deferred to another paper. M. 



Spaying Cows. 
Translated from the "Journal a" Agriculture Pratique." 

A farmer has recently demanded that there should be a law made to prevent 
the slaughter of calves; it would be necessary to demand at the same time a law 
requiring the farmer to produce two, three, or four times the usual amount of 
forage. The second decree should at once follow the first, for we cannot suppose 
it would be possible for a farmer to keep or raise a calf when he has not food 
sufficient for it. 

If we consume more of veal in France than in England, it is for the reason 
that we produce less roots and forage. Now in interdicting the slaughter of 
calves, we do not make the least gain in the world. Is it true that at the end of 
year there remains a surplus of unconsumed forage? If not, it is not true that 
consumers are wanting. 



23(5 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

This simple argument answers the objections which have been made to the 
spaying of cows. 

"But you diminish the production of meat, you dry up the sources of public 
aliment. 

Do you believe, then, that if we spay cows at the age of eight or ten years, 
after they have borne three or four calves, the quantity of edible meat will be 
diminished? It is probable that the number of calves will decrease, that is to 
say, the number of calves from old cows, and which are killed at six weeks old — 
animals of bad shape, with skeletons prominent with narrow chests and big bel- 
lies, poor consumptive beasts, children often of consumptive mothers. 

There will be, perhaps, less veal, but more beef. It is not so much the num- 
bers of animals killed upon which depends the quantity of edible meat, but the 
state of the animals as to their more or less perfect fattening. What advantage 
is there in having a mass of bones covered with muscular fibres containing neither 
juice or other nutritive qualities? What we do need is flesh, and good beef 
flesh, when at least it can be produced by the cow. 

Do you not know that among domestic animals the flesh of the female is more 
tender and succulent, than that of the male ? To make the cow a better animal 
than the ox, we have but to do as with the male, — to take from them those or- 
gans which have become useless and which by their powerful influence upon the 
animal economy tend to prevent their taking on flesh. 

We shall thus slaughter less poor cows and more good ones. There are old 
worn-out cows killed at fifteen or eighteen years of age, of which the flesh is 
hard, tough, and with but little nutritive quality, to the detriment of the reputa- 
tion of the beef of cows. Rut we are well convinced that the production of 
meat in place of being diminished will augment. Instead of losing nourishment 
in a bad machine which consumes much and returns nothing, we put roots and 
forage into an excellent apparatus which receives little and returns much. A 
beef animal is a machine to produce flesh, as the field is a machine to produce 
corn ; there are good and bad animals in point of fatteniug, as there are good 
and bad fields in point of production. 

Consider an unhappy man afflicted with a tape worm; he eats like an ogre and 
remains as thin as a nail; nothing profits him. Most old cows have a tape 
worm. 

But the production of milk ? you will say. Nourishment given to a spayed 
cow produces a double effect. It augments the production of milk at the same 
time that it predisposes the animal little by little to lay on fat; thus when the 
cow does not produce a quantity of milk sufficiently remunerative, she is found 
presently fatted and all ready for the butcher. A good spayed cow gives in the 
first year of milking four, five, and six thousand litres (quarts) of milk. These 
figures have been sufficiently established by the most unquestionable authori- 
ties. 

The flow of milk is as abundant during the year as in the first days, and lasts 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



16 i 



much longer than with an ordinary cow. It has heen estimated that for 
an ordinary milch cow receiving sufficient aliment, the augmentation of milk 
may be reckoned at the least at thirteen hundred and fifty litres. 

On the other hand, the yield of milk is not only superior with spayed cows, 
not only is the fattening of these animals quicker, more easy and complete, but 
the milk will return a third more in butter and cheese, and the flesh is more suc- 
culent, tender, and more thoroughly penetrated with fat. 

This double phenomenon is easily explained by the youth of the cow, by the 
distance from calving, by the placidity of the cow disembarrassed of the troubles 
caused by the rutting seasons. The digestion is always good, and the animal is 
always quiet, and all that it consumes goes to its profit. 

In proportion as the time of calving grows distant, the milk becomes more 
equal and more homogeneous; it acquires, in a word, more of the quality of that 
which comes from a cow not spayed when she is in a state of perfect quiet. 

But it is often very difficult, if not impossible, to obtain witheut spaying, this 
state of quiet ; above all, when we give much provender to obtain large products. 
And if we prevent the covering of the cows, what disorders are produced in the 
milk functions from the fact that the natural desires are unsatisfied? How many 

ows contract then the terrible malady of hysteria or nymphomania ? The num- 
ber of cows " bull mad" can fairly be estimated at one-tenth, and all these cows 
are sick animals. 

It is easy to render an account of the advantage offered by spaying cows under 
the report given of their milking qualities, wheu we know to what regimen the 

erdsmen in the vicinity of Paris submit their milch cows, to the end that they 

lay relieve them of those affections which spaying makes completely and sud- 

enly to disappear. 

The milch cows of Paris receive abundant and succulent nourishment, but 
hat which debilitates them and renders them lymphatic, and augments the quan- 
ity of milk to the detriment of quality. They are confined permanently to 
tables, and never allowed to see the light, in order that the rutting season may 
)e delayed as long as possible. They become rapidly consumptive, and produce 
joor milk during their period of lactation, and give, after they are slaughtered, 
lesh worse than the milk. 

With spaying, the necessity of this unwholesome treatment ceases. The 
lerdsman buys good cows after their third or fourth calving; he has them spayed, 

nd puts them on good healthful treatment; he obtains more and better milk 
han from his poor and consumptive cows. When the milk diminishes the animal 
akes on fact, and is sold for a good price and in excellent condition. 
These are the different considerations which have determined us after a long 

nd serious study of all the facts gained by repeated experiments, to put the 
pajing of cots among the number of operations that it is needful to encourage 

mong farmers. — \American Farmer. 



238 THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

From the British Agricultural Magazine. Plow and Farmers' Journal. 

Jethro Tull's Principles of Cultivation. 

BY PROFESSOR WAY. 

Two lectures were delivered [in 1852] on the above subject, at the Rooms of the 
Royal Agricultural Society, in Hanover-square. 

FIRST LECTURE. 

Prof. Way stated that his object in the present lectures was to call attention 
to the principles enunciated by Jethro Tull fully a century ago, and to make 
such quotations from his work as would seem most forcibly to illustrate his views 
and the arguments by which they were supported. In doing so Mr. Way wished 
it clearly to be understood that he was not advocating any system or practice 
founded upon those principles, but simply pointing out how far the ideas of an 
author who wrote almost before the dawn of modem chemical science were com- 
patible with the facts and laws which have been since recognized and established. 
As might be anticipated, wherever Tull attempted any scientific explanation of 
facts, the terms he employed were antiquated and obsolete — in accordance with 
the vague and fanciful theories of the older chemists and physiologists, but ut- 
terly inconsistent with the present state of these sciences. Still, in the midst of 
all these crudities there might be seen a large amount of philosophical reason- 
ing ; and those who carefully studied the writings of Tull would find that 
many of the discoveries in agricultural science which are accorded to philoso- 
phers of the present day, were more or less clearly anticipated and announced 
by the author in question. Cobbett, to whom we are indebted for the most con- 
venient edition of Tull's book, takes occasion in his preface to pay a deserved 
compliment to the excellence of its contents, and to remark that the re-publica- 
tion of the work would strip many modern agricultural writers of their borrowed 
t plumage. The great principle of Tull was, that the soil and the air together 
'■ contained all that icas necessary, without the aid of manure, for the production 
■ of luxuriant vegetation ; but that, in order to render the one and the other 
• available for this end, it icas necessary that the soil should be opened vp by abun- 
dant pulverization and comminution rf its parts. 

The arguments with which this view was sustained were most forcible and 
oonvincing. The better to illustrate his meaning, he had compared the parts of 
the earth to which the roots of plants attach themselves with the grass or herb- 
age on which animals feed. Thus the fissures or openings through which the 
roots penetrate, and the internal surface upon which they spread their delicate 
fibres, constitute, in Tull's language, the " pasture of plants" — a most happy ex- 
pression, and one which facilitates in the mind the comprehension of his sub- 
sequent reasonings. So then, as an animal will grow and fatten in proportion to 
the suitability in quality and sufficiency in quantity of the food to which it has 
access, in the same manner the rapidity of growth and the luxuriance of a plant 
will depend upon the nature and abundance of the pasture provided for it iq.j 



1861.] THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 239 

the recesses of the soil. But the pasture of plants differs from that of animals 
in this important respect — that whilst in the latter case the quantity can. only be 
increased by taking in more surface, the pasture of plants may be indefinitely 
extended and renewed by the pulverization of the soil, which is constantly ex- 
posing new surfaces to the roots. Nothing can be more true, as Tull says, than 
that for all practical purposes the soil is infinitely divisible; and that, since the 
roots of plants cannot by possibility occupy every insterstice which may exist in 
a highly comminuted soil, each additional stirring is tantamount to the produc- 
tion of a new internal surface, and a fresh source of food. Then he argues that"! 
constant comminution and opening of the soil not only enables the roots of 
plants to benefit by the stores of food already existing in the soil, but that it at 
the same time materially increases that stock, by letting in the atmosphere 
loaded with invigorating and healthful supplies. It is obvious that Tull could 
have had only a faint notion of the changes in the nature of the soil which 
might be brought about by the influence of the air, and we can imagine the 
pleasure which he would have derived from the acquisition of the more exact 
knowledge which in relation to this point we now possess ; but none the less was 
he convinced that such an influence was exerted, and one of the objects of his 
method of cultivation was to take full advantage of it. Acting upon these prin/ 
ciples, Tull had introduced a system of cultivation of crops planted in rows by 
the drill, and had earned thereby the gratitude of posterity, which was exhib- 
ited in the almost universal adoption of that system. But he had also attempted 
a method of growing crops which had not been so generally followed. In ad- 
dition to the provision for stirring the soil between the rows of plants, he had 
left intervals of varying but very considerable width, between every second or 
third row, which enabled h'm at all times of the year to carry out his principle 
of pulverizing the soil. These intervals were in fact in the position of a 
naked fallow for the year, and were in the succeeding season, in their turn 
brought under a crop. Mr. Way did not intend to enlarge upon the practical? 
part of this subject, which many of his hearers understood far better than him- \ 
self; but he wished, irrespectively of any particular form of accomplishing that 
end, to impress upon them the great importance and value of a thorough com 
minution of the soil, both as rendering available its present riches and enabling 
it to receive troni the air whatever beneficial effects the latter was able to pro 
duce. Mr. Way read a number of passages from the author's work, comment 
ing upon and explaining them as he proceeded,- and concluded his lecture by 
commending the book to the careful study of all those who had not yet become 
acquainted with it. 



SECOND LECTURE. 
Prof. Way's object in this second and concluding lecture was to examine how / 
far the views and principles of Tull were consistent with the modern discoveries 
of agricultural chemistry. Plants consisted of certain organic and mineral clc- 



240 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



f merits, the nature of which was now well understood. The question was, could 
these substances be supplied by the air and by the soil without manure, as Tull 
supposed? It was pretty generally conceded at the present day that carbonic 
acid, ammonia, and water, together, were capable of furnishing all that was 
necessary to build up the organic structure of plants ; whilst no soil of ordinary 
fertility would be found, upon examination, to be absolutely deficient in any 
of the mineral ingredients that were required by vegetation. The air contained 
both ammonia and carbonic acid, but it might be open to question whether in 
sufficient quantity not merely for a natural but for a forced production of wheat 
and other crops, such as alone would suffice for the wants of a populous com- 
munity like that of this country. The quantity of carbonic acid in the air had 
been found by repeated experiments of M. Saufeure to amount, on the average, 
to a thousandth part of its weight, and Liebig had calculated that at any one 
time there was in the air as much carbon in this invisible form as would suffice for 
the production of the whole coal fields existing throughout the world. It re- 
quired no stretch of the imagination, therefore, to suppose that with the air 
constantly in motion, and constantly renewed to the roots of plants, they migh t 
receive from this source all the carbon which was required for their growth 
Whilst, too, every disintegration of the soil gave access to this carbonic acid in 
larger quantity for the direct supply of food, indirectly it contributed to the sus- 
tenance of plants by rendering available the necessary mineral elements of their 
food, which water impregnated with carbonic acid was capable of dissolving. 
"With regard to the quantity of ammonia in the air, we did not possess such sat- 
isfactory information. Of its existence there, no one entertained a doubt; it 
was produced by the decay of animal and vegetable bodies, given off in the ex- 
halations of living animal bodies, and probably in the sweet perfumes of flowers, 
and thrown out in certain parts of the world in immense quantities by volcanoes- 
Rut to ascertain the proportion of ammonia in the air was extremely difficult, 
and although it had been attempted by more than one able experimenter, the 
results must only be looked upon as distant approximations to the truth. Fre- 
senius, to whom the most careful experiments on record in regard to this matter 
are due, found that 1,000,000 parts by weight of air contained 0.133 parts of 
'""ammonia. Without stopping to examine the probability of these figures rep- 
resenting the average amount of ammonia in the air, we might ask whether such 
a quantity would suffice for the wants of an abundant vegetation. This question 
it was impossible to answer. Mr. Way's own recent investigations had brought 
to light the existence in the soil of certain double silicates, possessing the power 
of abstracting the carbonate of ammonia from the air with as much avidity as 
if they were strong acids. A good soil, well opened by cultivation, would there- 
fore be constantly at work, day and night, collecting ammonia from the air ; 
and the quantity that could be so obtained would only be limited by the fre- 
quency of the renewal .of the air. Of course we could not say how often this 
would take place ; but what with alternations of temperature, differences in the 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



241 



heat of the soil and the air, the influences of wind, and perhaps also a constant 
interchange in the particles of air themselves, it was evident that the renewal of 
the air in the soil, and the consequent acquisition by it of ammonia, might go 
on to a very great extent. And it was worthy of remark, too, that this collec- 
tion of ammonia by the soil was quite independent of rain and dew, and was 
always proceeding. The more, therefore, the soil was exposed to the air the"^ 
richer it would become. Of course Mr. Way spoke of soils containing a suffi- II 
cient quantity of clay. Some light soils there might be that would be injured,/ 
not benefitted, by such exposure. Mr. Way went on to speak of the experi- 
ments of the Rev. Mr. Smith, at Lois-Weedon, expressing the great gratification 
which he had experienced from a visit to that place. These crops of wheat, 
which were now growing on land which had been for six years under wheat 
without manure of any kind, looked as if they had received a dressing of am- 
moniacal salts ; and that, indeed, was the fact, though the ammonia had been? 
added not directly, but indirectly, and from the air, by the abundant cultivation] 
which Mr. Smith's method enabled him to give. Mr. Way was of opinion, then/* 
that, so far as the organic elements of vegetation were concerned, there was no 
absolute impossibility, but, on the other hand, every probability, that they might 
be secured in all abundance for large crops without manure, provided that the 
soil was fully exposed to the influence of the air. The only question that re- 
mained was in regard to the exhaustion of mineral matters by this mode of 
cropping. Mr. Way believed that the danger of mineral exhaustion in soils 
was frequently very greatly overrated. There was no doubt that the continuous 
cropping by wheat, or any other plant, without the return of anything in the shape 
of manure, would gradually, but certainly, reduce the quantity of mineral matter 
contained in the soil ; but the quantities so removed were now accurately known, j 
and it would be found that a continuous course of cropping by wheat for many 
years took from the land only a very insignificant quantityof these substances- 
The following table showed the amount of phosphoric acid, potash, &c, removed 
by a large crop of wheat in one year and twenty years respectively, and in an- 
other column of the table would be found the per-centage composition which 
the soil must have to yield them for twenty such crops : — 

THIRTY-FIVE BUSHELS OP WHEAT AND TWO TONS OF STRAW: 



) 





1 crop 




lb. 


Silica, . 


. 171 


Phosphoric acid, 


. 30 


Sulphuric acid, . 


. • 8 


Lime, . 


. 16 


Magnesia, 


. 10 


Potash, 


. 39 


Soda, . 


3 



20 crops. 


Per-( 


v entage removed 


lb. 


from 


soil by 20 crops. 


3420 




0.152 


600 




0.027 


160 




0.007 


320 




0.014 


200 




0.009 


780 




0.036 


60 




0.003; 



277 



5540 



0.248 



16 



242 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



The per-centage removed from soil by 20 crops is calculated on the assump- 
j tion that the soil is 10 inches deep and weighs 1000 tons. 

,, Those who had had anything to do with the analysis of soils would see that 
no soil of ordinary fertility would be found without a small quantity of those 
minerals here mentioned — indeed, it is usually the case that a loamy soil would 
contain from two-tenths and upwards of potash, and other things in proportion ; 
and although the whole of this might not be available at any one time, the con- 
stant stirring of the land bringing into play the action, furnished a constant 
supply adequate to the wants of the plants. But although there might be no 
danger of exhausting the land by this system of cultivation, Mr. Way did not 
see what good reason there was for continuing it on the same land for more than 
a certain number of years — say seven or ten — and then alternating with other 
•.land which had been meanwhile under manure. In conclusion he begged to 
fsay that, having shown as far as he was able, the admissibility of the improved 
Tullian system on theoretical considerations, his duty was over : it was for prac- 
tical men themselves to test thoroughly the merits of the plan, and to decide 
upon its ultimate adoption or rejection. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Defense of the "Rafter Level;" Separating- Onion from Wheat, and Pro- 
tection against Sheep-killing Dogs. 

March 18th, 1861. 
Dear Sirs. — In your last number I have just read, with much pleasure and 
profit, the premium Essay of Mr. Edmund Taylor, and while I ratify the most 
of his positions, and smiled at his happy hit at a the Devil on two sticks," I 
must nevertheless take leave to make my earnest protest against his denunciation 
of the " rafter-level as utterly useless." I know not how they are made, or how 
used in his section, but opine that he has never seen one rightly constructed. 
For fifteen years or more I have used one, and would not be without one for a 
hundred times its cost. Neither can I believe that his " legged scantling'' will 
answer well unless supplied with proper pedestals or horizontal foot-boards. 
Anyhow, I would not exchange mine for his. I admit that as first used, without 
pedestals to obviate depressions, the Rafter-Level was unreliable on plowed or 
uneven land ; but with horizontal foot-boards attached from two and a half to 
three feet long, I know from years of experience that the Rafter-Level thus 
constructed is as reliable, cheap and convenient as any instrument of this kind 
can possibly be. Being too old to manage one myself, I trained a couple 
of my men to use mine, and though not smarter than negroes generally, they 
manage it without any difficulty and with rare failures, and travel with it almost 
as fast as they can walk. I very seldom superintend them, but entrust them 
with general directions, and I am sure that their work will abundantly commend 
both them and the implement. Anyhow, I would be very happy to compare 
the results of my Rafter, managed with negroes, with the results of friend Tay- 



1861.] THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 243 

lor's, even if managed by himself, and I will give him the benefit of my hori- 
zontal pedestals to help him. 

While with pen in hand, I trust I may be pardoned if I drop another might 
in your charity-box for our brother farmers. A portion of my farm, which has 
six shifts, is badly infested with wild Onion, — and the more so the seldomer 
it is cultivated. Year before last a portion of my wheat-field was so much be- 
set with this pest that in reaping I ordered it to be gathered and kept to itself. 
The land being well manured, the grain was very good, and the quantity too 
considerable to be thrown away or given up without an effort to redeem it. 
Wherefore, after threshing and cleaning the body of the crop, I then threshed 
the infested portion, and tried to clean it with the fan, but soon found it was 
labour to little avail. Despairing of this means, it occurred to me that 
the Onion would probably float on water, while I knew that sound wheat would 
sink to the bottom. I determined instantly to test the idea, and on doing so in a 
tumbler of water I was much pleased to find the experiment admirably success- 
ful. Without any difficulty, except the labour of toating the water, pouring in 
the wheat and skimming off the floating Onions, I soon washed and cleared my 
wheat, and when dried, had it ground into fine and pure family flour. I deem 
this a very valuable discovery, especially to sea-board farmers, if they have found 
no better mode of separating the Onion. For large crops this means may not 
be available without appropriate fixtures, but for seeding and for family flour it 
may be used without difficulty and with much despatch. The quantity of 
Onions thus separated would, I suppose, amount to three bushels. But I 
am grieved to add, that this triumphant success cost me no less than from 
twenty-five to thirty dear little Muscovies, which, as soon as they espied the 
bright shining globules poured out to the ground, gathered themselves with 
more than usual alacrity and delight to the tempting treat; but, alas! not one 
escaped, but in an hour or so they all paid the sad penalty of their delightsome 
debauch by giving Up the ghost in violent convulsions, and for whom my old 
house-keeper mourned one week at least. 

And while in the good spirit of communicating, perhaps my brother farmers 
will not grumble if I drop them another mite in your treasure-box. In our sec- 
tion, dogs have ever proven a serious impediment to sheep-raising. My own 
flocks, in particular, suffered from this enemy so often and so much, that I was 
once on the verge of abandoning the care altogether. Like other beasts of 
prey and assassins in general, dogs do their depredations under cover of the 
night, and rather shun the day, lest they be identified and have to pay the pen- 
alty of their crime. Now, I have found a remedy for this pest also ; and it is 
as simple and sis sure as my other mite. It is to pen your sheep with one, two 
or as many more cows as you like. Covjs having young calves are preferable. 
Cows, as everybody knows, abominate dogs, and will not suffer a dog to tarry 
with them a minute in the same pen ; and hence they are a certain defence 
against this enemy. I pen them also for their manure, and in bad weather I 



244 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



put tliem with my cows under a common shelter. Whoever may try this rem- 
edy, will never repent it, and if he values mutton and wool as I do, will never 
drop it, while there are any dogs to fear. But I must stop, lest I be deemed 
vain-glorious of mites ; and three mi*es at one offering ought to suffice for a 
sexagenarian. Your friend, 

Ilount Latium. R. H. De Jarnette. 



Influence of Different Kinds of Manure on Herbage- 
The grasses form a most important tribe of farm plants. Nutritious in their 
bulky green state, and highly conducive to the health of the stock which browse 
upon them in our pasture fields, they are no less valuable when dried into hay- 
The natural history of the grasses has long since been written ; they are what 
belong to one great family of plants — the graminaceous — and possess certain 
characteristic properties, by which we readily recognize them. The chemical 
and other properties of the grasses differ very considerably. One contains more 
albuminous compounds; another, more mineral ingredients; one is most nutri- 
tive at the period of flowering; another contains most nutritive matters when 
fully matured. It is, however, singular that we are not in possession of reliable 
data whereby to pronounce an opinion on the relative merits of the grasses. 
Science has thrown some light upon this subject; it is but a dim glimmer which 
prevents our seeing the entire distance before us. There is a dark place which 
must be illumined, and an ignorance which must be corrected, ere the farmer and 
the grazier can truly balance the merits and demerits of particular grasses, for 
particular purposes. Chemical analysis alone will not accomplish all that we 
require, any more than the empyrical conjecture of the more practical man; the 
two must cooperate, and naturally correct and assist each other. 

The grasses, like other plants, are amenable to those various physical agencies 
which influence vegetable life. Heat, air, and light, exercise their own dis- 
tinctive functions in modifying the size, etc., of plants. That there is a most 
intimate connection, too, between the soil and character of the vegetation which 
it naturally bears, is well known. It is also a well known fact, that the manures 
with which we top-dress grass lands very considerably influence the character of 
the sward, diminishing the proportion of one species of grass, and increasing 
that of another. The laws by which these modifications were effected, remained 
unknown, however, until Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert undertook to investigate the 
subject. In experiments instituted to test the effects of different manures, in 
simply increasing the valuable yield of grass, they were so struck with the 
marked effects of some of the manures in destroying certain plants and families 
of plants, that they sought the assistance of the late Prof. Henfry, in classifying 
the plants composing the sward. The plots selected for botanical examination 
were : 

1. Not manured. 

2. Manured with ammoniacal salts alone. 



186].] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



245 



8. Manured with mixed mineral manures alone. 

4. Manured with do. and amoniacal salts. 

5. Manured with do.- and double quantity of do. 

6. Manured with farm-yard manure. 

7. Manured with do. and ammoniacal salts. 

The herbage was classified chiefly into (a) graminaceous plants, (i) legumin- 
ous plants, (e) miscellaneous herbage, principally weeds. 

The graminaceous plants formed, at the time of cutting, 75 per cent, of the 
produce of the unmanured portion; on the part manured with farm-yard manure, 
they found 87} per cent.; 79} per cent, when farm-yard manure and ammonia- 
cal salts were used; 72 per cent, on the portion to which mineral manures were 
applied; 80 per cent, where forty pounds of ammoniacal salts alone were used; 
97± per cent, where the double allowance of both ammoniacal salts and mineral 
manures were applied. The quality of the graminaceous herbage varies, no less 
than the proportion of it which composed the herbage under the different 
manures. 

At one time, the graminaceous portion of the herbage consisted of 6G per 
cent, of flowering or seeding stem, and 34 per cent, of leaf and undevel- 
oped stem, on the unmanured plot; 59 per cent, of flowering and seeding stem 
by mineral manure alone; 40 per cent, of the same by ammoniacal salts only; 
75 per cent, by the joint application of animal and mineral manures; 67 per 
cent, by double application of both manures; and 80 per cent, when farm-yard 
manure and ammoniacal salts were applied. 

It has been found that the manures which increase the amount of whole pro- 
duce, also increase, in a very high degee, the proportion of graminaceous herb- 
age, a conclusion which is not of less interest than importance. The foregoing 
facts also lead to another instructive conclusion, namely, that nitrogenous manures 
have a special effect in developing the " proportion of leaves and shoots," while 
mineral manures tend to the increase of the flowering and seeding of the plants; 
a conclusion of great practical value to the farmer, as it teaches that guano and 
sulpha'e of ammonia produce very different results from those mineral manures 
which depend for their efficacy on their containing the ash constituents of 
plants. — Irish Agricultural Review. 



Cure foe Fever and Ague. — Just before the chill comes on have a pot 
of very strong coffee made and keep it hot, and when the first chill is felt, pour 
out about a pint and squeeze the juice of a couple of lemons into it, and a little 
sugar to make it palatable, drink it off, go to bed and cover up warm. One trial 
of this often cures, whilst two or three trials never fail. 



The Worst Form of "Hanging." — The following gives the substance of 
a verdict of a recent coroner's jury on a man who died in a state of inebriation : 
" Death by hanging — round a rum-shop !" 



M 



tf Mttmtnt, 



Clover and Plaster. 

A question asked by " A Farmer," in the February number of this journal 
in regard to the experience of farmers in the use of clover and plaster, suggests 
a few remarks upon their importance in agriculture. The use of clover and 
plaster as improvers of land have become so general and the experience of far- 
mers almost everywhere is so decidedly in their favour, that any arguments at 
this time wonld seem to be almost unnecessary, if not out of place, if it were 
not that the question asked by "A Farmer" would seem to imply a doubt upon 
his mind, and that in our own experience we have seen so many farmers who 
practically ignore the use of clover, if not both clover and plaster, as to lead to 
the belief that they know nothing of their virtues. 

In every country in which agriculture has made any progress, the growth of 
certain crops to be plowed in as green manures is very common, and in those 
countries where agriculture is most advanced^ their use is almost universal. 
Prominent among the plants used for this purpose, on all soils suited to its 
growth, stands the common red clo ver. Indeed, so well known have its virtues 
become, that when in the improvement of land, the former gets it in such con 
dition 
suscepti 

, "" All plants derive their nutriment partly from the air and partly from the soil ; 
the inorganic portion, that which constitutes the ash when the plant is burned, 
is derived exclusively from the soil through the roots, while the organic, or 
vegetable portion, is derived in part from the soil through the roots, and in part 
from the atmosphere through the leaves — by far the largest portion, in most 
cases, being derived from the latter source. Those plants, such as clover, which 
have long roots, take up mineral mat ter not only from the surface soil, but from 
the subsoil also, provided it is not too hard to permit them to penetrate it, and 
when they are turned into the surface soil by the plow, the latter becomes the 
recipient of mineral fertilizing matter from below, while it at the same time re- 
ceives large supplies of vegetable matter which the plants derived from the_at- 
mosphere. And thus they become important agents in supplying the soil with 
nutriment for future crops. I a> C y*-*j*** <>-aj fl *^f'\*fr l *d 1 

The native forest trees send their roots down deep into the earth, many feet 
sometimes, from whence they draw up and deposit in their stems and leaves such 
mineral matter as may be necessary for their development; while their leaves 
are spread out to draw organic food from the air. The leaves, small branches, 
&c, fall, taking with them, of course, all the fertilizing matter they contain ; 



as to produce good crops of clover, judicious farmers regard that land as 
ttible of a high degree of improvement. , ' 






(WSi(«%V 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



247 



thus the surface soil receiving this annual top-dressing, hecomes more fertile 
from year to year. Again the exhausted field, after being turned out as no 
longer worth cultivating, grows up in old-field pines, which deriving their mineral 
food from the subsoil below the exhausted surface soil, and like the forest trees 
drawing their organic food from the air, a large portion of both of which being 
returned to the surface soil in the falling leaves, &c, the surface soil in the 
lapse of years is restored to fertility. In this way thousands and tens of thou- 
sands of acres, which were impoverished by the exhausting system of our 
forefathers, have been restored. 

Now, the farmer who grows green crops and plows them in, imitates nature 1 
in her processes ; his land goes on improving from year to year, or he keeps 
it in good heart, and he is enabled to take large crops from it without any 
apparent exhaustion. 

"In addition to the matter these plants collect from the air and from the sub- 
soil for the use of future crops, we must not overlook the physical influence they 
possess. In a strong clay, warmth and porosity are given ; and upon light and 
friable soils, tenacity and firmness are imparted by the fibrous roots. Without 
a previous crop of this kind, many lands are too light to grow wheat." 

Among the plants grown for green crops, clover deservedly holds the first 
place in our country. Its growth is rapid and vigorous; its roots are long and 
abundant, &c, so that if cut for hay, or is pastured — if not grazed too close — the 
roots will still yield a large percentage of organic matter to succeeding crops. 
It has been shown by actual experiment that the quantity of dry vegetable mat- 
ter contained in the roots after cutting the clover, is more, than half of the, 
weight of the hay which the clover yields. C^Mr ^Vw*Af_|w( 

But we do not propose to confine ourselves to theoretical considerations ; the 
almost universal use of clover by good farmers as a green manure, wherever it 
can be successfully grown, demonstrates its great value as a fertilizer. It is 
universally conceded, too, that, excepting in particular localities, the plowing in 
of the clover crop is the cheapest possible way to keep up the necessary supply of 
organic matter in the soil, or to restore it after exhaustion. 

Plaster, on a great variety of soils, is found to exert a marked influence upon 
the growth of the clover crop, very largely increasing its yield, and thereby 
becoming an exceedingly valuable fertilizer. 

Examples illustrative of the great value of clover as an improver of land, 
and of plaster when used as a top-dressing to clover, may be found in every 
neighbourhood in which clover is grown; in our own limited experience we could 
point to many farms that have been brought up to a high state of fertility by their 
niae. Of these we propose to mention a single one, and we mention this because^ 
of the fact, that by the use of clover and plaster only, in connection with the I 
straw, corn-stalks, &c, of the farm it has been brought up from a state of great 
apparent exhaustion to a condition of great fertility. We refer to the farm of/ 
Mr. Samuel Line, of Rockbridge. This farm had, for many years before Mr. 



248 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 






L. purchased it, been growing poorer and poorer, and two or three successive 

owners had been broken up by it. Now it is one of the most productive in the 

county, the simple result of twelve or fifteen years judicious use of clover and 

(^plaster. Mr. Line's rule is, to fallow his grain crops with clover in all cases, [ 

< which is kept on the land for from two to three years. The clover is seldom 1 
cut, and but little stock is allowed to graze upon it; hence the soil seeds 

1 itself from year to year, until now he does not find it necessary _to_ sow. idoxej. 

i seed after any crop of grain ; the clover follows the grain crop without fail. J 

Softer breaking up the clover sod, one crop of a;rain only, except in rare instan- 
ces, is taken from the land before it is again allowed to come up in clover, after 
which, as we before remarked, it stands from two to three years. He keeps but 
little stock on the farm, and hence has but little stable-manure. But all the"*] 

t straw, corn-stalks, &c, are returned to the land, generally as top-dressings to the j 
clover, and now the land in good seasons yields from thirty, to forty bushels of 
wheat per acre, with corresponding crops of oats and corn. Mr. Line, by this^ 
nursing system, may not, and we believe has not, realized the same profit from 
his farm that he might have done had he varied his system somewhat; but all 
must see that he has been eminently successful, and the great benefits resulting 
from the use of clover in this instance, furnishes the strongest possible 
argument in favour of its extensive use by all fanners who look to ( their own 
interests, or wish to improve their lands. j^££££ \^*pp£H >iutrTtc* l*%uuau7 



/ 



v 



The Virginia Central and Orange and Alexandria Railroads.J.V . ftj 

Through the kindness and courtesy of some of the officers of these two roads, 
we have lately enjoyed the treat of a free ride over them to Alexandria. As a 
boy, we were well acquainted with many of the farms situated on them, and had 
in " auld lang syne" spent many happy months and days among the farmers of 
Orange and Culpeper, taking then, as we do now, much interest in agricultural 
operations. 

We don't like to acknowledge how long ago it has been since we enjoyed the 
plain, cordial, genuine Old Virginia hospitality of these gentlemen farmers, since, 
in our recollections of the past, we cannot trace farther back than " time icas." 
However, we do most heartily rejoice for ourselves, and for them that time is, and 
that they at least are improving its fleeting opportunities in works of usefulness 
and good example to our agricultural brethren, if the increased value, fertility, 
and beauty of their farms may bo received as testimony in favor of their indus- 
try and success. 

There are many valuable farms along the route between Gordonsville and Al- 
exandria — the cultivation of which has perceptibly improved within the last few 
years. The wheat crops were looking remarkably well, and we could see an in- 
creased energy and neatness in the preparation of the lands, on the part of the 
owners, evinced by the general appearance of the plantations. 

Much of the scenery is charming to the traveller's eye — particularly if he be 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



249 



a " low-lander," to whom a glimpse of the mountains is something new and 
agreeable. 

For our own paTt, we cannot go in sight of the mountains without feeling as if 
we were a boy again, when the first view we had of them, was our very first as- 
surance that we were to be free from the drudgery of lessons and school for two 
months of " vacation " — during which we had a perfect right, and the most hon- 
est intention, to "run wild," until compelled by "higher law" than our own 
inclinations to return to schools and lessons again. 

Well ! we must confess to being just a little older now, or wc are in danger 
again of running wild over the memories of "time was." 

We must say, however, that having known this region well in earlier years, we 
noticed it as closely as we could to detect the changes made in it during our 
years of absence from it. It is as important for the farmer as it is for the poli- 
tician that he should " tread no step backward." If we would avoid loss, we 
must press on. We were gratified to note many changes for the better. The 
improved style of building some fine new houses — the remodelling of some old 
familiar ones — the manifest effort to render the tillage of the soil neat, as well as 
useful and necessary, all tended to show an increased cultivation by the farmers 
themselves, in matters of rural taste and accomplishment. 

The country would be still more improved by Draining, and we would suggest, 
to some of our friends there, some experiments with Tile for this purpose. We 
are sure they will be pleased, as well as profited, if they will make them. 

In Alexandria we were glad to see so much of the "Old Virginia" feeling 
prevailing, notwithstanding they live in such close proximity to "the powers 
that be," and the Lig guns and troops of armed men icJiich at present make up 
so conspicuous, -if not necessary a portion of the "forms of government " observed 
among them.. We found some of the good citizens quite " sassy," politically > 
or, at least, they might be so considered by some of the members of the " Con- 
stitutional majority !" 

We heard talk of "secession" amongst them in such tones that we concluded 
they had forgotten where the "border" is, or that they were not at all fright- 
ened by the chances and dangers of the " first fire." They are a creditable set 
of representative men for the " Old Dominion " to have on her border to show 
to all incomers as samples of the " Old Virginia Gentlemen." We shall not for- 
get their kindness and hospitality readily. Having no particular claim on either, 
we found them unmeasured, and enjoyed them exceedingly. 

In the city we found evidence of increased energy and business effort among 
the merchants of the place. We paid a visit to the Guano Works of Messrs. 
Fowle & Co., and had an opportunity of witnessing the process by which their 
guano is "manipulated" and rendered "soluble" under the special superinten- 
dence of Dr. Stabler. We were glad of the opportunity politely afforded us, as 
we like to know how the "Peruvian Guano" is mixed with the "phosphatic ma- 
terials" before it is offered for sale to the public, since we have for sometime 



250 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



past believed in, and acted upon the theory of mixing the two, upon our own 
farm. 

We have access to the mills of this city at all times, and the most perfect con- 
fidence in the genuineness and good quality of the guano sold by them and by 
Messrs. Fowle & Co. 

In recommending the "Manipulated Guano" of Richmond and Alexandria, 
we do not wish to be understood as undervaluing any put vp outside of the State, 
but simply to appeal to our own citizens to buy nothing from the other side of 
our borders, which can be, and is produced among ourselves as cheaply, and of 
as good quality as can be promised elsewhere. 

Some of the hest jrfasfer we ever examined was being ground and sent off to 
some of the "Planter's" friends on the Central Railroad, at the mill of H. D. 
Wright, Esq., at the rate of Six Dollars a ton, too. 

Look well at this, you Richmond manufacturers, if you please, and see if you 
can, give us the benefit of a reduction in price here. Mr. Wright has a large steam 
mill, situated between the railroad and the wharf — admirably located and ar- 
ranged for filling orders with promptness, and our word for' it, every customer of 
his will get satisfaction, in a good article, and good measure. We could wish no 
friend of ours any better luck than to fall into his hands, as we did. 

We looked into the large agricultural warehouse of our old patrons, Messrs. 
Meade & Marye. We were sorry not to find them at home, but we did find an 
admirable selection of implements and seeds of every description, needed by our 
brother farmers. 

During our stay it Alexandria we took a ride out to Mr. Geo. D. Fowle's farm, 
" Burgundy," for the express purpose of seeing the effects of the guano he man- 
ufactures upon his own soil. We found it acting well there, and we had the 
extra gratification of closely examining a herd of fine Alderney cattle, the des- 
cendants of six cows and bulls, which Mr. F. imported from the Isle of Jersey 
in 1855. We were so much pleased with them, that we wrote to Mr. Fowle 
after our return home for their history, and give herewith an extract from his 
reply, describing them, and a remarkably fine eolt of his, which we thought 
promised great speed as well as beauty : 

Alexandria, March 12th, 1861. 
Dr. J. E. Williams, Richmond : 

My Dear Sir — Your valued favor addressed to my firm is before me, and in 
accordance with your request, I beg to state in reference to my herd of Alder- 
neys, that they were imported (6 cows and 2 bulls) from the Island of Jersey by 
myself in the summer of 1855, and were- all premium animals, having taken the 
first prizes at the Fairs of the "Jersey Agricultural Society." I have, at present, 
about twenty head, having disposed of a number of calves to farmers residing in 
various parts of the county. Hon. Jas. B. Clay of Ashland purchased from my 
herd after having examined others. He pronounced my herd to be the most 
thorough-bred looking he had seen. I have, however, never made an effort to 
bring them into notice, having imported them for my own special use. My stock 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



251 



is now becoming rather larger than I desire, and I should like to dispose of a 
number of calves at moderate prices. 

My Black Hawk colt, " Black Prince," was sired by my Black Hawk stallion 
Greyhound — purchased by myself from a Mr. Stone of Bridgport, Vermont. 
Greyhound was sired by old Black Hawk, as is proven by a letter addressed to 
me by David Hill, his owner, and now in my possession. His dam (so says Mr. 
Hill in said letter) was sired by a horse called " North America," whose sire 
was " Sir Walter," "said to be from Yiaginia." Black Prince's (my colt) dam 
is my grey mare "Pet," one of the most perfect animals I ever drove. The 
pedigree is unknown to me. I remain, very truly yours, 

Geo. D. Fowle. 

We cannot take our leave of Alexandria without mentioning one article of 
their " home produce," which struck us as being particularly abundant in quan- 
tity and very extraordinarily good in quality, to wit — -pretty girls. Happy boy 
should he be who lives here, or in Petersburg, surrounded by so much beauty of 
an attractive kind. They can well afford to brag of their ladies. For oursevles, 
we are out of the market; and while we cannot help "risking one eye at them," 
whenever we get a chance, we are somewhat afraid to talk too loud, or too much 
about them, afterwards. 

For the Southern Planter. 

Suggestions to the Editors. 

Messrs. Editors. — As I have been always a subscriber to your excellent 
journal, and very earnestly desire its full success, you will, I hope, excuse me 
for venturing to offer a suggestion in respect to the conduct of it. It is, that 
you adopt the plan of those excellent journals the American Farmer and Rural 
Register, of having at the commencement of each number a head of " Work 
for the Month" — with sub-divisions, for the " Vegetable Garden," " Green 
House," &c. It makes those papers not only agreeable but very valuable, and 
far more useful and popular than long essays, although these are not to be dis- 
pensed with entirely. You will render much service, too, by giving the quan- 
tities of seed of all kinds proper to be sown and planted. 

Allow me, if you please, to offer another suggestion. It is, to use your scis- 
sors more ; give us more clippings and cuttings from other agricultural papers, 
and sometimes even a little bit of news proper. Among the selected articles I 
would especially ask for Dr. Voelcker's article on Manures, before the Royal 
Agricultural Society of England. May I ask you to re-publish, also, a descrip- 
tion of a subsoil plow, which you will find on page 250 of the number before 
last of the Farmer, and recommend to some of our vendors of agricultural im- 
plements to obtain one or two specimens of it, at least ? I will purchase one. 
If it is the thing it is described to be, it is an admirable implement, indeed, a 
great dissideratum. Laburnum. 

Remarks. — We are glad that our old patron "Laburnum" has kindly man- 
ifested so friendly an interest in our success, as to induce him to give us the 
benefit of suggestions which he thinks calculated to make our efforts more ac- 
ceptable and useful. We sincerely thank him for it, the more especially since 
we must, in reply, act on the defensive, and plead somewhat in justification of 
ourselves in regard to the manner in which we have conducted this journal. 
We think we have discovered under the disguise of " Laburnum" a gentleman 



252 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



well known and distinguished in our community for his great courtesy and ten- 
der respect for the feelings. of others, which so beautifully adorn the conduct 
and character of " the pefect gentleman." We know, therefore, that to such a 
friend we may speak with no fear that aught we say will be unprotected by the 
mantle of charity. 

1st. We have thought always that the best way to serve the interests of our 
patrons, was to give them all the essays on Agriculture and its kindred sub- 
jects — from the pens of distinguished and practical farmers — that we could pro- 
cure, became our journal, being "put up" in magazine form, is suitable for 
their preservation, and for rcterence to them at all times. 

2nd. We have not hesitated to use our scissors freely, transferring to our 
columns any article, from any paper in any quarter of the globe, which we 
thought would benefit or interest our readers, and make them more zeal- 
ous and active in the cause of farm improvement ; in short : we have tried, 
to the best of our ability, "to improve the soil and the mind" of all those who 
were disposed to place themselves amongst " our readers." 

For this cause we have been scolded, and (old that if ice did not yive more of 
the experience of Virginians, we would not be supported. 

We have been asked more than once in this connection, " What have we 
to do with England or English agriculture ? What do we care for extracts from 
other papers ? " 

We, in common with such complainants, want communications from Virginia 
farmers. We print what we can get, and are always asking for more. This 
fault and the remedy for it lie entirely in the hands of Virginia farmers. 
They " will not consider" and repent of the one, nor apply the other. Rut we 
hope they are waking up at last to a sense of the good they can do one another, 
and to poor begging Editors, and will begin to write, and aid us by all the 
means in their power in circulating everything "' of good report" in agriculture- 

3rd We have been warned to print nothing but strictly agricultural matter. 
We run the gauntlet, and not un frequently " catch it" on both sides- — so that 
our correspondent will not fail to see that the post of Editor, or any other ser- 
vant of the Public, is neither " a bed of roses," nor a sinecure. 

It would give us the most unalloyed happiness to ^possess the power to " please 
everybody," could we exercise so desirable a charm without any sacrifice of duty 
or principle. We beg to assure all the friends of the " Planter," particidarly 
the old ones, icho, like " Laburnum," have been steadfast and kind, that we are 
always willing and ready to receive gratefully any suggestions of improvement, 
and to do everything in our power for their gratification and interest. All we 
ask is, that our faults may be considered (as they truly are) " errors of the 
head, and not of the heart." We desire the support of farmers everywhere — 
from Virginians, we. think we have almost a right to claim it. 

We will cheerfully attend to the requests of " Laburnum," and comply with 
his suggestions as far as is in our power. 



61.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



25J 



Iliis cut of "Black Hawk," although a good engraving, as a drawing, does not do justice 
the horse by any means. Be is very far superior in appearance to his likeness, as here 
resented. 







-^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

BLACK HAWK. 

Black Hawk, (late Hardroad,) now the property of S. TV. Ficklin, of Belmont, near Char- 
tesviile, Ya., was foaled the property of Col. Bela Howe, of Shoreham, Vermont; his dam 
8 a raven black, by a colt of old Hamiltonian, owned by Isaac Bishop, of Granville, Vt. 
Black Hawk was sired by Hill's famous Black Hawk, he by Sherman, and he by Justin 
>rgan ; is now eleven years old, a glossy black, 15£ hands high, weighs 1,085 fts., is pcrfec- 
Ti in form and power, his gait and style inspiring his appearance so much, it is difficult to 
ieve him to be the horse the above cut represents. 

He was trained but three weeks when six years old, and trotted in a race with " Sherman 
Wgan" or "North Horse," (his half brother,) over the Colchester track, near Burlington, 
, making six heats of one mile each — trotting a mile in 2.44; and has been keptsinee^only 
Stock purposes, and the last eighteen months as such by his present owner. 



254 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



Agricultural Communications. 

Since our connection with the Agricultural Press, we have not failed to beg 
the farmers of Virginia to write for our pages on any and every subject of in- 
terest to them, and we have often felt discouraged at the want of success attend- 
ing our appeals. We hopd a better condition of things is about to be inaugu- 
rated, and that we shall have very frequent essays, not only from our particular 
friends, but from farmers who are actuated both by the desire of improving 
themselves, and of doing good to others by imparting useful instruction, the re- 
sult of their experience, or making hints for farm management or experiment, 
which may add variety and interest to our employments, and money to our in- 
comes. 

Farm Literature has been too much neglected in our own State, and if we can 
all communicate the results of our practice to one another, we shall doubtless 
find much of good to copy from others, and something to abandon in our own 
systems. 

Again we ask every farmer who may read these lines, to determine at once to 
communicate either to our own, or to the paper of some brother Editor, any and 
everything connected with rural matters which he thinks may be useful or in- 
teresting to the rest of his craft. 

The time has passed when any sensible man can be found willing to hazard a 
sneer at "book farming," as everything new and of a scientific nature used to 
be called. Agriculture has advanced with rapid strides during the last decade, 
and its useful progress has, in a great measure, been promoted by the number of 
good agricultural books and papers, which are scattered through the length and 
breadth of -our country — by the discoveries and teachings of chemistry, and by 
the advice of many of our most energetic and public spirited " book farmers." 

Depend upon it, in ten years more, the " Old Fogies" in farming will be left 
out of sight in our race of progress, and they deserve to be, as they are rapidly 
becoming, out of mind. 

The sensible, scientific farmer is the only man who can keep up. Muscle 
alone won't bear us along in safety to success. We must have brains as well. 
We must be forewarned, to become forearmed against the ruinous errors of igno- 
rance and prejudice; and there is no better way foV us to place ourselves in such 
a position as farmers, than by careful study and experiment, and by frequent 
consultations with each other. We offer you a medium for such intercourse in 
the " Southern Planter," and will be happy if you will avail yourselves of it. 

" A word to the wise is sufficient." 



Piedmont Communication. 
The article which the reader finds in this number of the Planter from the 
pen of our correspondent, " Piedmont," contains the " seeds of things." With 
philosophical discernment and the pen of a ready writer, he traces out some of 



1861.] 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



255 



the principal causes of the humiliating dependence of Virginia on the North 
for many of the most common necessaries and conveniences of life, while if we 
did but obey the impulses of patriotism and the dictates of sound policy, we 
should exclusively patronize the producers of such articles at home, as entitled 
to preference on account of the highly important relations they sustain to our 
national and social interests. We hope to hear from " Piedmont" frequently.- 



Dwarf Pear Trees. 
We return our thanks to James Guest, Esq., for a bundle of excellent 
Dwarf Pear Trees, to which we promise to devote our best attention. We take 
pleasure in commending the Nursery of Mr. Guest to public notice, as he is in 
all respects reliable and skillful. 



The Bee Journal 

Is an excellent little volume, published monthly in Philadelphia, by the Editor 
of that valuable agricultural paper, The Farmer and Gardener. It is entirely 
devoted to the interests of those engaged in raising Bees and Honey; and it 
should be liberally encouraged by all persons who are interested on the subject, 
and who wish to improve their knowledge of the proper mode of managing Bees 
to the best advantage. 



Catalogues Received. 

Messrs. Barnes & Washburne's Flower and Vegetable Seeds. Harrison 
Fquare, Boston. 

Brid^eman's Flower Seeds, with directions for culture and treatment. No. 
876 and 878, Broadway, N. Y. 

Affleck's Rural Almanac. Thos. Affleck, (near Brenham,) Washington 
"bounty, Texas. 

The Mutual Re-action Between Thought and Language. 

Thought and language have ever been most intimately allied. If language, 
by its originality of structure, and its native richness, can, in its delineations, 
interpret thought with grace and clearness, and if, by its happy flexibility, it 
can paint with vivid truthfulness the objects of the external world, it re-acts at 
the same time upon thought, and animates it, as it were, with the breath of 
life. It is this mutual re-action which makes words uiore than mere signs and 
forms of thought; and the beneficent influence of a language is most strik- 
ingly manifested on its native soil, where it has sprung spontaneously from the 
minds of the people, whose character it embodies. Proud of a country that 
seeks to concentrate her strength in intellectual unity, the writer recalls with 
delight the advantages he enjoys in being permitted to express his thoughts in 
his native language ; and truly happy is he, who, in attempting to give a lucid 
exposition of the great phenomena of the universe, is able to draw from the 
depths of a language, which through the free exercise of thought, and by the 
effusions of creative fancy, has for centuries past exercised so powerful an influ- 
ence over the destinies of man. — Humboldt's Cosmos. 



256 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April, 1861 



coisrTEisrTS. 

A Premium Essay on the Practical, 

Economical and Profitable Manage- 
ment of a Farm of 300 Acres de- 
voted to the Cultivation of Corn and 
Wheat as Staple Crops. By Edmund 
Taylor. (Concluded.) . . 103 

Notes of a Microscopical Examination 
of. "Measled" and oilier Pork. By 
Wm. Smith, F.L.S., . . .203 

Talk about Sheep, . . .206 

The Culture and Management of To- 
bacco, . . . .200 
The Habits of the Earth-Worm, .218 
Tobacco Barns, . . 220 
Fertilizers — Drilling versus Broadcast- 
ing, . . . . .220 
On the Importance of Elevating Me- 
chanics and Artizans to a Social 
Equality with other Professions, . 222 
The Tomato — Its Uses and its Culti- 
vation, .... 22-1 
Statistics of Population, &c, . . 226 
Oxen, Horses and Mules, . . 227 
Deep or Shallow Vessels for Milk, . 231 
The Tobacco Wo m Poison, . . 23J 
Monthly Abstract of Meteorological 
Observations — Kept at the Virginia 
Military Institute, Lexington, Va., 
Jan'y, 1861 — Elevation above Sea, 
One Thousand Feet, . . 232 
The Skin and its Functions, . . 233 
Spaying Cows, . . . 235 
Jethro' Tull's Principles of Cultiva- 
tion. By Prof. Way, . . 23S 
Defense of the " Rafter Level ;" Sep- 
arating Onion from Wheat, and Pro- 
tection against Sheep-killing Dogs, 242 
Influence of Different Kinds of Ma- 
nure on Herbage, . . . 244 
Clover and Plaster, . ... 246 
The Virginia Central and Orange and 

Alexandria Railroads, . . 248 

Suggestions to the Editors, . . 251 

Black Hawk, ..... 263 
Agricultural Communications, . 254 

Piedmont's Communication, . . 254 

Dwarf Pear Trees, . . . 255 

The Bee Journal, . • . 255 

Catalogues Received, . . . 255 

The Mutual Reaction between Thought 
and Language, . . . 255 



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