THE 



SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



A MONTHLY PERIODICAL, 



DEVOTED TO 



AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE AND THE HOUSEHOLD ARTS, 




VOLUME II. 
C. T. BOOTS & L. M. BURFOOT, EDITORS, 



RICHMOND: 

PRINTED BY P. D. BERNARD. MUSEUM BUILDING, 

1842. 



INDEX 



A. 

Accounts — Should be kept by farmers, p. 173. 

Address — Extracts from an address delivered by the 
Hon. Jas. M. Garnett, p. 257. Mr. Rives' address 
reviewed, p. 276. 

Agricultural Papers— Advantages of taking them. p. 
179. 

Agricultural Societies — Organization and objects of the 
United States Agricultural Society, p. 93. The 
King William Working Agricultural Society— its 
constitution and objects, p. 121. The Hole and 
Corner Club of Albemarle — its institution and ob- 
jects, p. 153. Do. do. of Mecklenburg, p. 243. 

Alpaca — The animal described, with a portrait, p. 12. 

Analysis — Directions for analyzing soils, p. 43. 

Apples — Value of as food for stock, p. 238. 

Arsenic — Danger of using in curing mange, p. 171. 

Ash — The medicinal properties of the white ash, p. 198. 

Ashes — Their operation, how and when applicable, p. 
107. Coal ashes — their value and properties, p. 180. 

Asparagus — The mode of cultivation in Spain, p. 187. 

Ayrshire Cattle — A description of them, with a por- 
trait of a cow, p. 4. To be preferred for short pas- 
turage, p. 171. 

B. 

Bacon — Directions for curing, p 133. 

Barley — Culture and management of, p. 185. 

Bearing-Rein — Reasons for abolishing it, p. 280. 

Beets — The yellow Silesian recommended, p. 137. 

Beef— Recipe for curing, p. 189. 

Berkshires — Compared with Woburns, p. 55 — their 
origin and history, p. 127 — the difference between 
the China and the Siamese crosses, p. 151 — a chal- 
lenge to feed the Berkshires against the Dickens 
hogs, p. 161 — accepted, p. 191. 

Birds — To prevent their depredations in gardens, p. 33. 

Blacksmithing — Improvements in, p. 174. 

Bleeding— To stop, p. 136—263. 

Blue Grass of Kentucky — Its value as an improver, p. 
1 — when, where, and how to sow, p. 137. 

Board of Agriculture of Virginia — Inquiries propound- 
ed by it, p. 40. 

Boilers — Mr. Pedder's described, with a cut, p. 78 — 
111. Pickard's recommended, p. 119. 

Boiling — Preferred to steaming in cooking food for 
stock, p. 53. 

Bone Dust — Its properties, p. 42 — a failure with, p. 
110 — fertilizing properties injured by fire, p. 110. 

Bonnets — The Amazon, p. 55. 

Book- Farmers — And their opponents, the two extremes, 
p. 257. 

Bommer — His patent for making compost, p. 183 — 224. 

Butter — Temperature important in making, p. 30 — 
directions for the management of, p. 45, 92, 106 — 
importance of using good salt in making, p. 104. 

Buttons — New kind, p. 126. 

Buckwheat — Recommended for turning in, p. 136. 

Bugs— A wash to destroy, p. 228, 248. 

Briers— To eradicate, p. 187, 233, 249. 

Bread — New method of making, p. 35. 



Cattle— Should be kept warm in winter, p. 10. 

Candles — Directions for making, p. 76. 

Carpet — New and beautiful kind described, p. 236. 

Calves — Proper management of, 244. 

Cement — Made of rice, p. 82. Rye preferred to flour 

in making paste, p. 131. Fire and water-proof, p. 

200. Weather proof, p. 204. Recipe for making, 

p. 264. A cement for porcelain obtained from 

snails, p. 275. 
Choking — To relieve choked cattle, p. 104. 
Clitshrjicld — Col. Burfoot's Berkshire boar, with a 

portrait, p. 184. 
Charcoal — Its value and operation in agriculture, p. 

204. 
Chickevs — To raise, p. 236 — the proper food for, p. 279. 
Cloth— New kind, p. 126. 



Coffee— Directions for making, p. 13, 55. 

Corn — Should be soaked for horse feed, p. 28. Mr. 
Dicken's mode of cultivating, p. 37. Mr. Drum- 
mond's mode of cultivating, p. 51. Merits of 
different kinds of implements for planting, p. 69. 
Report on the cultivation of corn from a committee 
of the Agricultural Society of Elizabeth City coun- 
ty, p. 73. Corn recommended to be used as hay, 
p. 90, 130. The Albemarle mode of cultivation, p. 
100. The Baden corn recommended, p. 123. Late 
ploughing of corn deprecated, p. 137. Discussed, 
p. 261. Hussey's Corn and Cob Crashers recom- 
mended, p. 144. Dr. Sams' investigations and de- 
ductions, p. 1 76. Recommended to be sown broad- 
cast and turned in, as an improver, p. 253. 

Cotton Gin — Late improvement in, p. 45. 

Cooking Food for Stock — How it should be conducted, 
p. 53. Its value doubted, p. 92. Mr. Pedder's 
boilers described, with a cut. p. 78. 

Compost — To prepare quickly, p. 54. Directions for 
making, p. 59. Bommer's patent for making, p. 
183, 224. 

Covering — The value of, p. 90. 

Cotton — Production of, in India, p. 123, 178. 

Coal Ashes — Their value and properties, p. 180. 

Colic in Horses — To cure, p. 2, 231. 

Cream — Should be scalded, p. 45. 

Cultivation — High cultivation the most profitable, 105. 

Curculio — To destroy, p. 160. 

Cucumbers — Mode of cooking, p. 237. 

Cymlins — Cultivation of, recommended, p. 134. Di- 
rections for, p. 135. 

D. 

Distemper— In. cattle, to cure, p. 70. Col. Hampton's 
remedy confirmed, p. 119, Another, p. 252. In 
dogs, to cure, p. 227, 244. 

Ditches — Hill-side ditches recommended, with direc- 
tions for their construction, p. 251. 

Dogs — To cure them of the habit of killing sheep, p. 
47. Trap to catch dogs, p. 182. See Mange, Dis- 
temper, &c. 

Draining — Cheap plan for under-draining, p. 98. 

Drilling — A machine for drilling described, with an 
engraving, p. 117. The merits of different kinds 
discussed, p. 69. Mr. Garnett's described, with a 
cut, p. 132. How to sow wheat in drills, p. 116. 

Drought — Evil effects of, obviated by pulverizing the 
soil, p. 201. 

Durhams — The character and attributes of Durham 
cattle, p. 170. 

Dye— Recipe to make a nankeen color, p. 20. 

E. 

Earthen Pots — To cleanse, p. 124. 

Economy — To be distinguished from parsimony, p. 228. 

Edge Tools — The manufacturing establishment of the j 

Messrs. Barnes recommended to Virginia farmers, \ 

p. 166. 
Eggs — To preserve, p. 227. 
Emigration — To Virginia, account of, p. 278. 

F. 

Farming — In the olden time, p. 40. Profits of Eng- 
lish and American farming compared, p. 80. 

Fencing — Made by machinery at ihe North, p. 9. To 
make an ornamental fence, p. 77. Propriety of the 
passage of a stock law discussed, p. 185. Direc- 
tions for laying a worm fence, p. 267. 

Fire-Proof Composition — Directions for making, p. 83. 

Fistula — To cure, p. 136. 

Fish Ponds — The establishment of, recommended to 
every country gentleman, p. 156. 

Food — Corn should be soaked for horse feed, p. 28. 
The advantages of generous feeding from the start, 
p. 3-2. The principles of feeding, p. 199. The di- 
gestibility of different kinds of food, p. 230. Dis- 
advantages of using too much dry food, p. 263. 

Founder — To cure speedily, p. 278. 

Friction Paste — For wheels, &c. p. 249. 



INDEX 



in. 



G. 

Gilds — In land, to remedy, p. 56. 

Gate — A description of, with a cut, p. 84. Another, 

p. 261. 
Glass — Directions for cleaning-, p. 45. 
Glue — To make water-proof, p. 126. 
Grapes — To prevent their rotting, p._37. 
Grubs — Remedy lor, p. 2, 172, 244. 
Grass — Proper mode of seeding, p. 209. Should be 

more cultivated in lower Virginia, p. 249. 
Grafting — Recommended as a means of transferring 

the forest tree to the yard, p. 228. Applied to a full 

grown tree, p. 237. 
Granary — Advantages of air tight casks for keeping 

grain, p. 234. 
Greensward — See blue grass. 

Green Sand — Result of an experiment with, p. 26G. 
Green Crops — On turning in for manure, p. 67, 189, 246. 
Guano — An account of, p. 124. 
Guinea Grass— lis character and properties, p. 275. 

H. 

Handling — The meaning of the term applied to cat- 
tle, p. 14. 

Harrow — Conklin's described, with a cut, p. 44. 

Hay-Press — Van Hosen's described, with a cut, p. 138. 
A suggestion for making one, p. 221. 

Harvest Drink — The advantages of temperance in the 
harvest held, p. 234. 

Hens — To make them lay, p. 92. To make them lay 
perpetually, p. 130. 

Headache — To cure, p- 234. 

Henrico Agricultural Society — Account of their exhibi- 
tion, fall of 1842, p. 255. 

Hominy Mortar — Directions for making, p. 10, 87. 

Hollow Horn — To cure, p. 35. 

Horses — Proper treatment and management of, p. 6. 
To break, p. 59. Proper treatment of, on a jour- 
ney, p. 76. Indian mode of training, p. 206. 

Hogs — A grazing pen described, with an engraving, 
p. 68. Mr. Dicken's preferred to the Berkshires, 
p. 81. Their relative merits discussed, p. 113, 140. 
To cure the staggers, p. 87. Directions for choos- 
ing breeders, p. 103. Require salt, p. 110. Direc- 
tions for their management, p. 123. Management 
of brood sows, p. 126. Thrive on cymlins, p. 134. 
An importation by R. B. Haxall, recorded, p. 159. 
Mode of preparing food for, p. 262. See Berkshires. 

Horseradish — Good medicine lor animals, p. 125. 

Hole and Corner Club — Of Albemarle; its constitution 
and object, p. 153. Of Mecklenburg; its institu- 
tion, p. 243. 

Hoisting Machine— One described, with a cut, p. 221. 

Humbugs — A chapter on, p. 57. 

I. 

Ice — How to keep, p. 166. 

Implements — The farmer should be careful to have the 

best, without regard to price, p. 202. 
Improvement — To be effected by cultivating less land 

more highly, p. 277. 
India Rubber — Used for floating cotton p. 206. 
Ink— To make blue, p. 231. to make black, p. 266. 
Ivory — A new kind discovered, p. 130. 
Insects— Destroyed by salt water, p. 134, 228, 248. 
Impregnation — Of plants, explained, p. 172. 

K. 

Kentucky Blue Grass — Its value as an improver, p. 1. 
When, where, and how to sow it, p. 137. 

L. 

Lard Od—lts introduction and importance, p. 203. 

Labor — The superiority of slave labor, p. 36. 

Laird. — Col. Burfoot's Ayrshire bull, with a portrait, 
p. 207. 

Legislative Action — Its application to agriculture de- 
precated, p. 5. 

Leather — Water-proof paste for, p. 207. 

Lice — On cattle, to destroy, p. 71. 

Lime — Useful in preventing murrain, p. 83. Its ap- 
plication in the quick state recommended, p. 250. 
Mr. Rives' remarks on, p. 276. 



Litter— The advantage of hauling in leaves, trash, 

&c. p. 116. 
Lucerne — On its cultivation, p. 104. 

Rf. 

Mange — In dogs, to cure, p. 101, 171, 244. 

Manure — Hints for the management of stable offal, 
p. 15. Loss from fermentation should be guarded 
against, p. 21. The value of scrapings, p. 29. 
Should not be exposed to sun and rain, p. 29. The 
proper disposition of weeds, leaves, &c. p. 41. 
Quantity and kind required for different soiK, p. 91. 
Should not be exposed on the surface, p. 98. An 
essay upon the making, preserving and applying, 
p. 102. How to distribute equally, p. 172. Mr. 
Bommer's artificial method of producing, noticed, 
p. 183. More fully described, p. 225. See Guano. 

Manufactures — The capability of the South to manu- 
facture for herself, p. 99. 

Measures — Rules for constructing, p. 88. 

Mechanical Knowledge — The necessity of the farmers 
possessing and exercising a certain degree of me- 
chanical knowledge, p. 11. 

Millet — Its cultivation recommended, p. 43. 

Milk — Reduced to a powder, p. 102. 

Milking — Directions for performing properly, p. 263. 

Mollebart — Described with an engraving, p. 38. 

Morus Multicaulis — Used for paper, p. 245. 

Musquite Grass — Recommended by Col. Hampton, p. 
80. Recommended by Capt. Merriwether, p. 182. 

Murrain — Prevented by liming the land on which the 
cattle graze, p. 83. In cattle, to cure, p. 252. 

Mud — The river deposit used with great advantage 
by Mr. R. G. Morris, p. 171. Its value denied, p. 250. 

Musquitocs — An application to relieve the bite. p. 198. 

N. 

Nails— To facilitate the driving, p. 39. 
New Grounds — Proper management of, p. 5. 

O. 

0?7---Its singular effect upon boiling fluids, p. 236. 

Old Fields — To renovate, p. 127. 

Ornament — Too much neglected about Virginia home- 
steads, p. 3. The profit of, p. 3. 

Orchards — Directions for transplanting and manage- 
ment of, p. 34. Directions for management of, p. 79. 
Directions for pruning and management of, p. 128. 

P. 

Paste — Should be made of rye instead of flour, p. 131. 

Paint — Should be applied between November and 
March, p. 86. Directions for painting houses, p. 94. 

Pen — A moveable hog pen described, with a cut, p. 68. 

Piggery — Mr. Pierce's described, p. 86. Another, p. 101. 

PUes — A remedy for, p. 242. 

Pickle Vinegar — Recipe for making, p. 124. 

Philosophy— Pretensions to, derided, p. 177. 

Plaster— Result of experiments on corn, p. 2. Result 
of Mr. Ruffln's experiments, p. 90. Produces rust 
in wheat, p. 6, 241, 253. Effect of burning, p. 164. 
Should be ground fine, p. 176. How it should be 
used, p. 204. 

Plough— Hernley's patent, noticed, p. 36. Watt's de- 
scribed, with a cut, p. 143. The Centre Draught 
of Prouty & Mears, with an engraving, p. 254. 

Ploughing — Result of an experiment in deep plough- 
ing, p. 102. Sub-soil ploughing recommended, p. 
131. Frequent ploughing obviates the effect of 
drought, p. 201. 

Plum Pudding — Recipe for making, p. 164. 

Plant Protector— Described, with a cut, p. 235. 

Potatoes— Directions for cooking Irish potatoes, p. 33. 
The long red recommended, p. 13. Remarks upon 
the different kinds, mode of planting, &c. p. 77. 
Result of Mr. Curtis' experiments, p. 104. 

Poultry— Should be more attended to by the farmer, 
p. 62. See Hens. 

Posts— To prevent their rotting, p. 236. 

Provender — Waste of long food, p. 33. 

Propagation of Trees— Chinese method, p. 110. See 
Grafting. 

Pruning— Directions for, p. 128. 



IV. 



INDEX 



162. Additional re- 
Produced by the use 



Premiums— The reasons for awarding them should be 
made public, p. 219. 

Profits of Agriculture — Considered, p. 10. Greater in 
America than in England. 
R. 

Bake— The revolving horse rake, recommended by 
Mr. Fontaine, p. 157. The use of, recommended 
in the cultivation of corn, p. 174. Objected to, p. 
203. Revolving horse rake described, with a cut, 
p. 177. A wrought iron one, described, with a cut, 
p. 189. An excellent English one. described, with 
a cut, p. 198. 

Reaper— Mr. M'Connick's recommended, p. 181. 

Reaping Machine — One in Indiana, p. 45. 

Renovation of Poor Lands — How to be accomplished, 
p. 87. Of worn-out lands, how to be effected, p. 
127. Proper mode of renovating sandy soils, dis- 
cussed, p. 285. 

Report — Of Dr. Harrison in reply to the queries of 
the Agricultural Board of Virginia, p. 195. 

Rip Van Winkle— Mr. Bement's boar, with a portrait, 
p. 247. 

Roots — Their value as food for stock, p. 25. Proper 
mode of cultivation, p. 26, 64. Their preservation, 
p. 49. The merits of the different kinds of roots 
considered, p. 49. Their value compared with hay 
and corn, p. 70. To preserve, p. 248. 

Rocks — An economical mode of blasting, p. 205. 

Rotation — The theory of sustained, p. 213. An essay 
on, from J. H. Turner, Esq. p. 268. 

Rust— A peculiar kind described by Mr. Massie, of 
Nelson, p. 160. 

Rust in Wheat — Causes of, p 
marks, p. 203, 220, 242, 253. 
of plaster, p. 241, 253. ' 

S. 

Sainfoin — Recommended as an improver of old fields, 
p. 127. 

Sassafras— To destroy, p. 232. 

Sandy Soils — Value of, p. 1. Proper treatment of, p. 
1. How to treat them, p. 175. Mode of renova- 
tion discussed, p. 265. 

Salt— Should be sprinkled on straw, hay, &c. p. 86. 
Necessary for hogs, p. 110. Used to destroy in- 
sects on cabbages, &c. p. 134. Valuable both as a 
manure and a destroyer of worms, p. 151. 

Saio Mill— Page's described, p. 159. 

Scrapmgs — The value of, as a manure, p. 29. 

Scare Crow— New kind, p. 111. 

Seeds — The effect of changing, p. 33. Directions for 
sowing different kinds of garden seed, p. 125. The 
effect of blue glass, on germination, p. 236. 

Seed-Sower— Merits of different kinds, p. 69. 

Sheep — To break dogs from killing, p. 47. Effect of 
a Mack streak under the tongue, p. 176. 

Shoring— Directions for shoeing horses, p. 77. An 
English mode of shoeing the horse, p. 190. Horse 
shoes made by machiery, p. 229. 

Sheepskins — To cure with the wool on, p. 237. 

Shimrle Machine — Mr. Raymond's described, with a 
cut, p. 152. 

Shinglmg — Should be done on laths instead of sheet- 
ing, p." 249. 

Side- Wiper — An implement used in cultivating corn, 
described, with an engraving, p. 100. 

Silk—- Sixteen reasons why it should be made in the 
United States, p. 80. Successful manufactory of, 
in America, p. 1 J 9. 

Silkworms— Paper nets for, p. 31. 

Slide — A fixture for moving haycocks, recommended 
by Mr. Fontaine, p. 157. 

Snunt Farms — Higher cultivation and less land re- 
commended, p. 252, 377. 

Smut— To prevent, p. 118. 

Soaking — Substituted for grinding in preparing corn 
for liorse-feed, p. 28. 

Soiling— Its merits, p. 32. Recommended, p. 173, 182. 

Soap— Directions for making, p. 56. 

Soap-Suds— Used to destroy the rose-bug and other 
insects, p. 55. Useful in destroying worms upon 
cabbages, &c. p. 248. 



South — The manufacturing capabilities of the South, 
p. 99. 

Southern Climate and Soil — Their capabilities, p. 229. 

Soicing Machine — Hatch's described with an engrav- 
ing, p. 28. 

Spontaneous Combustion — Arises from the contact of 
oil and cotton, p. 249. 

Stables — Plank or dirt floors, p. 56. 

Steaming — Boiling preferred to steaming in cooking 
food for stock, p. 53. 

Steel Pens — Proper management of. p. 2. 

Staggers — In hogs, to cure, p. 87. 

Straw— Should be salted, p. 86. 

Slravv Cutler — Improvement made in Bott's, p. 212. 

Stains — To remove from linens, &c. p. 216. 

Stone — For building, different properties of different 
kinds, p. 265. 

Stones — Should not be removed from land too freely, 
p. 233, 263. 

Slumps — To remove, p. 263. 

Superintendence — The necessity of the personal super- 
intendence of the farmer in every department of 
his business, p. 278. 
j Subsoil Ploughing — Recommended, p. 131. 
j Sweet Potatoes — Vines of, capital manure, p. 118. To 

preserve, p. 251. 
j Sugar— Made from corn-stalks, p. 97. 

T. 

j Threshing Machine — McKeever's, described, with an 
engraving, p. 158. 

Theories— Difference between a hypothesis and a theo- 
ry, p. 126. 

Tobacco Prize— One made in Baltimore, described, 
with an engraving, p. 20. Another, p. 109. 

Tobacco — A history of its rise and progress, p. 46. 
Mr. Dodge's report on, p. 89. A report on the cul- 
ture and curing of tobacco, p. 149. Commented 
on, p. 183. Treated of, also, in, p. 226. Interest- 
ing particulars concerning, p. 194, 223. 

Top Dressing— Its value, p. 90. Objected to, p. 98. 

Toothache — To cure, p. 87. 

Trampling— Advantages of on a light soil, p. 1 , 53, 264. 

Trees — Proper soil and location for different kinds, p. 
54. The forest trees of Eastern Virginia described, 
p. 169. Continued in, p. 193. 

Transplanting — Early vegetables, new plan, p. 89, 260. 

Turnips— -To save from the fly, p. 63. Mode of cul- 
ture and preventive of fly, p. 253. 

Turning in Green Crops— Recommended, p. 129, 136. 

U. 

Urine — The value of, and mode of saving, p. 16. 30. 

V. 

Velvet Grass — Recommended by Capt. Merriwether, 
of Albemarle, p. 162, 182. 

Ventilator— Espy's, described, with a cut, p. 230. 

Virginia Farming — Criticised by Mr. Brown, of Ver- 
mont, p. 17. 

Virginia — Mr. Turner's Berkshire sow, Avith a por* 
trait, p. 165. 

W. 

Warts— To cure, p. 89. 

Water Wheel — A novel one described, with a cut, p. 58. 

Washington — Letter from General Washington to Ms 
overseers, published for the first time, p. 217. 

Weevil— To prevent, p. 199. 

Wheal— Its transformations in the progress of its 
growth, p. 90. A good mode of sowing, p. 116. 
Report upon the probable causes of failure in the 
wheat crop of Virginia, p. 6. The remedy, p. 145. 
Commented on, p. 183. Early cutting recommend- 
ed, p. 155. Report of experiments in cutting, made 
by a committee of the Hole and Corner Club of 
Albemarle, p. 222. An astonishing estimate of the 
loss in harvesting, p. 166. Caution against the Ca- 
lifornia wheat, p. 186. The merits of the Mediter- 
ranean and fly-proof, p. 204, 210, 243. Advantages 
of the May wheat, p. 198. 

Wheels — The proper form and construction of, p. 22<f. 

Woodland— How to manage, p. 107. 

Woollens— 'To wash, p. 206. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER; 

DcbotcU to Slgrtcr ture, gijortfculture, autr the Jtioustlxol* Slrts. 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. 

Xcnoplwn. 



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



C. T. Botts, Editor. 



Opposite Merchants' Coflee House, Main Street. 



Vol. II. 



RICHMOND, JANUARY, 1842. 



No. 1, 



THE VALUE OF LIGHT SOILS. 

From our position at the capital of the State 
we frequently have opportunities of personal com- 
munication with distinguished agriculturists, sel- 
dom enjoyed by the generality of our readers. 
It is this direct, personal, communication from 
which we derive the most valuable information, 
and we never fail to improve such an opportu- 
nity to the best of our ability. The meeting of 
the Board of Agriculture lately brought us in 
contact with Gen. Steinbergen, from the county 
of Kanawha. The General is one of the most 
celebrated farmers and graziers in the western 
part of the State. As an assessor upon the line 
of the James River Canal, he has had an op- 
portunity of inspecting the celebrated farms in 
its neighborhood, and he has looked upon them 
with the critical eye of a farmer. The result 
of his observations and conclusions, by permis- 
sion, we communicate to the public. Be it re- 
membered, that it was with great diffidence that 
the General advanced his opinions of the proper 
mode of cultivating these lands, and that he 
made many objections to the seeming imperti- 
nence of a stranger's pretending to give advice 
upon such a subject. We think our readers 
will thank us for our exertions in conquering his 
scruples upon this head. 

In the first place, the General thinks very 
highly of the capabilities of light soils, as con- 
tradistinguished from stiff ones. His own farm 
consists of rich alluvial Ohio bottom and what 
was formerly sand barrens, at the back. Into 
these sand banks, he assures us, he has fre- 
quently run his ramrod to the head — these sand 
barrens now yield him an average of seventy- 
five bushels of corn to the acre, and are produc- 
tive of more clear profit than his stiff, alluvial 
bottoms. He thinks the process, by which they 
have been brought to this point, would render 
our light lands infinitely more productive. This 
mighty effect is to be produced by grass and 
cattle. Of all the grasses, the General esteems 
the Kentucky blue grass (our English sword 
Vol. 2-1 



grass) by far the most valuable ; as an improver, 
he reckons it, to clover, as twelve to five. This 
grass, he is certain, may be introduced into our 
country ; indeed, he sees it springing spontane- 
ously upon every nook of uncultivated rich land, 
about James River. His process is this; he 
hauls all his long forage, corn stalks, &c. upon 
a piece of poor, sandy land, for which they form 
a cover of several inches. Upon these he feeds 
and winters his stock ; the following summer, 
he is sure to find a sprinkling of blue grass ; 
this he encourages by every means in his power, 
cutting down all noxious weeds before they 
ripen their seeds, top-dressing, and again win- 
tering his stock above it. By these means, in 
the course of two or three j'ears, he obtains, a 
thick sod of blue grass, when he considers his 
business as finished. To make a crop of corn 
or wheat, all he has to do is to turn under this 
fertilizing sod, and plant, or sow, upon the top 
of it. The same process of covering, trampling, 
and feeding, follows every crop, which causes 
an immense re-production of the buried blue 
grass. This may now be grazed, and top-dressed, 
to be again turned under for a crop of anything, 
enriching the land at every turn. The General 
attributes much of the value of this process to 
the trampling of the cattle. He thinks that 
this mechanical pressure is as beneficial to light, 
as it is injurious, to stiff clay soils. Particular- 
ly beneficial does he esteem it to the production 
of blue grass. 

In this system we have great faith. What 
say the owners of light, sandy soils. Will ye 
try it ? In the first place, we believe in the 
hauling out of vegetable matter, and making a 
cover of it, instead of hauling it into the farm 
yard. The value of the trampling we are not 
so sure about, but in the top-dressing, that is 
afforded the grass by wintering cattle upon it, 
we have the most implicit faith. We have long 
held and maintained, that the most advantageous 
mode of applying manure, is to lop-dress a grass 
sod. We have, moreover, entire faith in the 
value of blue grass. We believe it to be supe- 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



rior to any thing known in this country as a re- 
novator, and we do entertain the most lively 
hopes, that there is nothing in our soil or climate 
inimical to its growth. We care not whether 
the main crop be tobacco, corn, or wheat, we 
believe the greatest yield may be obtained from 
a sod which has been increased and strengthened 
by an application of all your manure in the shape 
of a top-dressing. We sincerely hope that our 
friend may be right in his opinion, that blue 
grass is only a stranger to our lands for want of 
manuring and patience. 

We have received many other valuable hints 
from Gen. Steinbergen, which we shall, perhaps, 
on suitable occasions, give to the public, without 
always crediting the source from whence they 
are derived. 



For the Southern Planter. 
COLIC OR GRUBS. 

I give you here a recipe for curing horses of 
colic or grubs. I have tried it more than a 
dozen times (with severe cases of belly-ache, 
whether from colic or grubs I could not say) 
and without failing in a single instance to afford 
almost instantaneous relief. 

Simply rub the large vein on either or both 
sides of the neck of the horse with spirits of 
turpentine. Rub it in strongly the whole length 
of the neck over the vein, and in twenty minutes 
the horse will be relieved. 

I was told of this practice two or three years 
ago — and have acted upon it ever since, and 
have never known it fail. Further than this, I 
vouch not for it — but any thing that may lessen 
the suffering of that noble and useful animal 
ought to be known to and tried by all. 

So if you think it worth a place in quackery, 
I give it you for insertion in your paper anony- 
mously. 

The above is an extract from a letter written 
us by a friend who is entitled by hereditary right 
to know something about horses, and for whose 
veracity we will vouch. The remedy is one of 
the most convenient character we have ever 
heard suggested, which is a point of great im- 
portance. 



For the Southern Planter. 

PLASTER. 

Stony Point Mills, Dec. 8, 1841. 

Dear Sir, — You expressed a wish, when I 

had the pleasure of forming your acquaintance, 

to receive communications on practical subjects. 

I have nothing of my own to offer, but send you 



the results of some experiments, made by Capt. ! 
Thomas Wiley, of Amelia, with plaster on the 
crop of corn. The results were tested, as the 
value of all experiments should be, by weigh- 
ing, and therefore the more to be relied on. 

1st. Row not plastered produced 50 lbs. — corn 
soaked and rolled in plaster when planted. 

2d. Row plastered produced 81 lbs. — com j 
soaked and rolled in plaster when planted. 

3d. Row not plastered produced 55 lbs. — ap- 
plied when the corn was shooting. 

4th. Row plastered produced 78 lbs. — applied 
when the corn was shooting. 

5th. Row not plastered produced 40 lbs. 

6th. Row plastered produced 45 lbs. 

7th. Row, urine saturated with plaster, pro- 
duced 61 lbs. 

The two last applications were made as late 
as the 5th of July. 

I think the above results prove beyond a doubt 
the value of plaster, and that the farmer is re- 
munerated for the money and labor. If you 
think the above worth an insertion, you are at 
liberty to use it. Wishing you success in you* 
enterprise, I remain, 

Yours, very respectfully, 

Nathaniel M. Osborne. 



For the Southern Planter. 
STEEL PENS. 

Mr. Botts, — I noticed in the December num- 
ber of the "Southern Planter" an article on 
" Mending Steel Pens," which does very well 
as far as it goes ; but mending merely, is not the 
most important means to preserve them in a 
writing condition. They will lose their quality, 
and become good for nothing from corrosion, 
unless proper measures are taken to prevent this; 
which may be done in this way : 

After writing with a steel pen, it should be 
wiped dry with the skirt of your coat, or some 
woollen material, (broadcloth is preferable) and 
stuck, with the point downward, in a tumbler- 
glass half full of fine mustard-seed shot, where 
it should remain until necessity again requires 
its use. In no instance should it be suffered to 
remain wet with ink for even one minute ; if so, 
the fluid penetrates the metal, destroys its elas- 
ticity, and in a short time reduces the steel to 
scales of rust. 

By following the directions set forth above, a 
steel pen may be preserved in good condition, 
with occasional mending, as directed in the ar- 
ticle first referred to, for several months. 



aUERIES. 

We comply with the request of a practical 
and experienced farmer in this vicinity by in- 
serting the following queries. We shall be very 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



happy to be enabled to furnish answers to any 
or all of them. The querist himself can richly 
repay any information he may obtain by com- 
munications of his own. 

11 Question 1. What number of fields do you 
think it best to divide your farm into? In an- 
swering this question, 1 expect the number will 
be governed by the number of acres and its dis- 
tance from town. 

"Question 2. What is the best and most 
economical way to dispose of your manure? 
also what crops will give the best return, having 
regard to profit and the permanent improvement 
of your land ? 

"Question 3. What is the most profitable 
crop ? To this question 1 shall expect an answer 
from each one, according to his own locality. 

" Question 4. At what stage of improvement 
must your farm arrive, to make it advisable to 
graze ? 

11 Question 5. Have you been in the habit of 
using lime or plaster, what quantity, and what 
effect, and what kind of soil is it best adapted 
to? 

u Question 6. With what crops can you with 
the same amount of labor make the most rapid 
and permanent improvement, taking in view the 
profit at the same time. 

11 Question 7. What is the best and cheapest 
mode of raising hogs ? 

" Question 8. What is the best and cheapest 
feed for milch cows, and how prepared ? 

11 Question 9. What is the best kind of grass 
for hay, improvement, and grazing ? This ques- 
tion will be governed by locality and soil. 

"Question 10. What are your views as to 
the best mode and time of ploughing ?" 



For the Southern Planter. 

ORNAMENTAL FARMING. 

I am happy to see, Mr. Editor, your frequent 
endeavors to excite in your readers a spirit for 
taste and ornament. Nothing is more wanting 
in our community. The necessaries of life we 
all have in the greatest abundance. It is the 
refinements and elegancies of society of which 
we are in search in this country. The poorest 
farmer in Virginia makes enough to eat, to 
drink, and clothe himself and family. But there 
is something beyond these mere necessaries uni- 
versally sought for. Artificial wants have arisen 
with artificial society, which must be gratified. 
These wants are of all grades and degrees. — 
Their gratification constitutes the difference be- 
tween civilized and savage life. Many of them 
are expensive and hurtful ; others are simple, 
cheap, and gratify, while they elevate, the soul. 
Amongst this latter class should be ranked the 
pleasure of an ornamented homestead. There 



is no good that may not be abused, and an ex- 
travagant fool may spend thousands that he can- 
not afford upon pleasure grounds, to the neglect 
of the productive farm. On the other hand 
though, you will frequently find a thrifty farmer, 
as he is called, who is laying up money rapidly, 
his stables are good ; his barns are good, but 
his house is uncomfortable, and his yard ne- 
glected ; his cattle and horses are well provided 
for; only his family are disregarded. I know 
not which of these characters is the biggest fool. 
What does the industrious miser lay up his 
hoards for? If he reflects, he will tell you thit 
it is only valuable to procure the luxuries of life, 
and yet he is doing forever without the cheapest 
and best of these luxuries, that he n ay lay up 
that which is only useful to procure them. This 
is very like the man, who, seeing a heavy shower 
coming up, jumped into a pond to protect himself 
from the rain. 

But as gain is the order of the day, and as in 
truth the only avenue to the senses of our coun- 
trymen lies through the glittering plain of riches, 
I will drop any farther comments upon the hap- 
piness to be derived from a neat and ornamented 
homestead. It is not only, as you have fre- 
quently asserted, productive of elegance and re- 
finement, but it is the most profitable outlay that 
can be made upon a farm. I once knew a very 
slovenly neighbor of mine to sell out an excel- 
lent little farm for the sum of five thousand dol- 
lars. The purchaser, by the use of paint, re- 
freshened the appearance of the buildings — he 
enclosed the yard with a neat paling, which was 
also prettily painted. Grass plats, flowers, and 
shrubs altered the whole appearance of the place, 
and without having added a dollar to the fertility 
of the soil, he received an offer of nine thousand 
dollars for what had originally cost him five — 
his outlay in improvements had certainly not 
exceeded fifteen hundred dollars. The offerer 
was a gentleman to appreciate the beauties of 
such improvements, but had not the judgment 
to calculate the cost of them. I verily believe 
that a man of taste and energy might make a 
fortune by going about the country buying up 
dishevelled old farms, improving the appearance, 
and selling them again. Eveiy body appre- 
ciates such work when it is done, but very few 
are aware of its excellencies until they see it. 
Now, in this shifting country, where every man 
is ready to sell, can there be a more profitable 
outlay than that expended in bringing to order 
and neatness the dwelling, yard, and general 
appearance of the farm. Say it adds not a cent 
to the product, and say the owner takes no plea- 
sure in such things himself, will not the increased 
j price that his farm will bring an hundredfold re- 
I pay him for the labor required ? Why, sir, to a 
1 certain extent, and that a very considerable one, 
! it will not cost a cent. The children and other 
' members of the family, at times at which they 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



would otherwise be idle, might be plantingfiowers 
and shrubs, which would not only add to their 
own comfort and pleasure, but greatly enhance 
the value of the property. I wish some poor 
man, who reads this, living in a log cabin in an 
old field, would only try it ; whitewash his house, 
enclose a little yard with a neat paling, sod it, 
make two or three gravel walks, plant some 
flowers around the borders; his children will 
help him and thank him ; he can do it at all times 
that would be much worse spent ; and see if his 
condition does not begin to improve from the 
moment he completes it. My word for it he 
becomes a better, and happier, and richer man 
from that hour. He will soon begin to enjoy 
pleasures and delights, that are wanting to many 
of his richer and more heedless neighbors. His 
home will have a charm for him unknown be- 
fore ; his wife and children will thank him for 
the new and elegant amusement that he has 



afforded their leisure hours, and his neat and 
comfortable little homestead will become the 
envy of every passer-by. B. 

Our correspondent is perhaps a little enthu- 
siastic in his calculations, but we doubt not that 
neatness and ornament, to a certain extent, are 
'profitable as well as pleasing. A farm that is 
neatly kept, with the dwelling house and ground 
about nicely ordered, gains a reputation that 
will cause it to command a purchaser at a high 
price, whenever the owner chooses to part with 
it. Let any one ask himself the difference he 
would make between a place surrounded by a 
general air of comfort, and one of those dingy, 
cheerless dwellings that disfigure the country, 
and he will find it much greater than the cost 
of improvement. 



AYRSHIRE COW 




We have heretofore intimated an opinion that 
this stock of cattle was best adapted to cross 
upon our native breed, which, we believe, must, 
at last, form the foundation for a permanent im- 
provement. We present our readers with a spe- 
cimen of this stock, to which the engraver has 
not done as much justice as we could have de- 
sired. They are a hardy race, coming from the 
North of Scotland, accustomed to slender herb- 
age, and, therefore, not requiring the luxuriant 
grazing that our pastures seldom afford, and 
which it is well known is absolutely necessary 
to the constitution of the Durham family. 

Their milking properties are very great, by 
some esteemed superior to the Durhams them- 
selves ; amongst the supporters of this opinion 



we have already recorded the name of the cele- 
brated Sir John Sinclair. Whilst it is perhaps 
true, that, upon the most generous keep, no stock 
can vie with the /ar famed Durhams, we still in- 
cline to the opinion, that the Ayrshires are more 
hardy, better calculated to rough it, and infinitely 
superior for a short grass country. 



For the Southern Planter. 

LEGISLATIVE ACTION. 

A few of the formers of this country are 
making loud demands for "legislative action." 
Let them take care that thay do not renew the 
old fable of the frogs that would have a king. 
Being a little old-fr hioned in my notions, I amj 
somewhat jealous of legislative action. I sup-. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



pose I have not kept up with the modern march 
of intellect. I am behind the age, &c. ; but, sir, 
I am a devoted friend to agriculture, and I should 
like to know what it is these gentlemen seek. 
They say that manufactures are protected and 
agriculture neglected. Do they desire a duty 
upon foreign grain : it is not necessary ; we find 
sufficient protection in our natural advantages ; 
a protection much more safe and certain than 
any that can be afforded by legislative action. I 
am afraid, you too, sir, have been smitten with 
the rage of improvement, and you will probably, 
shudder when I tell you, that, as a farmer, I re- 
joice that the bill establishing an agricultural 
board is likely to fail in our State Legislature. 
I looked with horror upon the proposal last win- 
ter, and began to tremble for our agricultural 
prosperity. I considered it only as an entering 
wedge to further "legislative action," and much 
dreaded that agriculture was at last doomed to 
experience the deadly effects of a legislative 
embrace. Luckily, the sound sense of the peo- 
ple of Virginia seems to have inspired her legis- 
lators this winter and they recognise the prin- 
ciple, that it is always safest to trust favorite 
occupations to private direction. Pursuits, de- 
sirable in themselves, but unpopular on account 
of natural or artificial obstacles, may require 
legislative aid. But this surely is not the case 
with agriculture. It is the favorite pursuit of 
America, numbering three-fourths of her inha- 
bitants amongst its followers. No, gentlemen, 
agriculture is built upon a stronger foundation 
than legislative support. All she asks is, that 
you will let her alone in the full tide of pros- 
perity, and all she has to dread is, the Upas- 
breath of the Legislature. 

What do these brawlers for legislative action 
desire ? They say that manufactures and com- 
merce are nursed at the legislative breast, whilst 
agriculture is left to cater for herself. Fools, do 
they not know, that commerce and manufactures 
are but the handmaids of agriculture, and, that, 
if these arts are benefitted by legislative aid, 
agriculture is best encouraged and sustained. — 
If it be indeed true, and I do not mean to dis- 
pute it here, that the direction of labor is the 
proper object of legislative action, what prayer 
should agriculture prefer to the directing autho- 
rity, but that it would please to convert raisers 
of agricultural products into artificers and con- 
sumers of agricultural products. No, no, noble 
gentlemen of the Legislature, work away upon 
commerce and manufactures and, if you please, 
upon the currency ; agriculture will not be jea- 
lous of your favors — if her name is never called 
in your legislative halls, none but a few unthink- 
ing fools will ever complain. I do not mean to 
call down upon my humble head the vengeance 
of your honorable body, for I know that you are 
potent, to kill, at least ; but I am afraid your 
{ouch has not always been Midas-like, and I 



think the grey-headed farmers of America have 
seen enough of " legislative action" to forbear to 
invoke its aid for the cause of agriculture. 

An Old Virginia Farmer. 

After some hesitation, we have consented to 
introduce our antiquated correspondent to our 
readers. Of course, we shall not be held re- 
sponsible for all his opinions ; especially, do we 
disclaim any participation in those unbecoming 
sneers at that honorable body, the Legislature 
of Virginia, that we half suspect lie lurking in 
his communication. It would be tedious and 
unnecessary to say wherein we agree, and where 
we differ from the old gentleman, but wherever 
the reader is in doubt upon this point we beg 
him to imagine that our opinion exactly corres- 
ponds with his own. 



NEW GROUNDS. 

From a conversation with our friend, Mr. 
Thomas S. Dicken, whose practical knowledge 
of farming is equal to that of any gentleman 
with whom we are acquainted, we derived the 
following hints for the management of new 
grounds : 

Cut down your trees in spring or summer, 
whilst the sap is in full flow : this expedites ex- 
tremely the decay of the stumps and laps. — 
Great advantage is obtained by cutting your 
trees as close as possible to the ground ; your 
swingletree then passes over the top of the stump, 
and }'ou can plough much closer to it ; besides, 
the saving of fire-wood is considerable, and if 
the tree is a timber one, every body knows the 
most valuable part is that next the ground. Af- 
ter removing your fire-wood, never burn the laps 
and leaves, but permit them to remain upon the 
surface of the land, two years, if possible ; by 
that time, if they were cut when the sap was 
up, they will be greatly decayed. Proceed, then, 
to fallow your ground, turning under everything 
that the plough can manage ; if any large sticks 
remain undecayed, they must of course be re- 
moved by hand. This fallowing should be done 
during the fall or winter. In the spring, plant 
your corn and take a little pains to cover it with 
dirt as free from the trash as possible. The pro- 
cess of decay still goes on, and a quantity of 
decomposed vegetable matter is obtained, much 
greater in quality and quantity, than could have 
been derived from the ashes of the burnt trash. 

Mr. Dicken, whose experience is very great, 
and who attends to every operation on his fa* ti 



8 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



in person, informs us, that this system was once 
accidentally pursued, because it was not conve- 
nient to follow the old, and favorite, plan of 
burning. He was astonished at the result ; he 
of course continued it, and he assurs us that he 
has never seen such crops of new ground corn 
as it is sure to produce. 

Here, again, is the cover afforded to the land 
for two years producing extraordinary effects. 
Mr. Dicken gave no credit to this fact ; but we 
are satisfied that the office of covering and shel- 
tering alone, which the trash had performed for 
two years, would have been worth more than 
any benefits that could have been obtained by 
burning. 



PLASTER. 
A distinguished agriculturist lately expressed 
to us the opinion that wheat was greatly bene- 
fitted by plaster, scattered at the time of sowing; 
but the application to the growing crop, in the 
spring, he considered highly injurious, inducing 
rust by the absorption of moisture. 



THE HORSE. 

A writer in the Cultivator has undertaken to 
give a series of very minute and particular di- 
rections for the keep and management of this 
noble animal. His treatise, which is chiefly a 
compilation from some English works, published 
by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Know- 
ledge, although containing nothing new, forms, 
we think, a good summary upon the subject. — 
We are of opinion, however, that the writer has 
fallen, now and then, into a popular error, and 
we design to give a condensed view of his di- 
rections, accompanied with our own poor criti- 
cisms. 

First, of the stable. He recommends that 
it should be so constructed, that its temperature, 
during spring, summer and fall, should be very 
nearly the same as that of the open air, and in 
winter, not more than ten degrees above that of 
the external atmosphere. Now this we appre- 
hend should depend very much upon what is 
the temperature of the external atmosphere, 
which, certainly, varies much in different lati- 
tudes. We should prefer saying, construct your 
stables so that you can ventilate them and make 
them cool in summer, and close them and keep 
them warm in winter, rendering the horse at all 
times comfortable. It is undoubtedly true that 
serious injury might arise from keeping a horse 



too long, even in winter, in the close and con- 
fined air of a heated stable, but we are inclined 
to think that animals in this latitude are in little 
danger yet awhile of suffering from that ex- 
treme. We are satisfied that a good warm sta- 
ble, with a temperature much more than ten 
degrees above that of the external air, will add 
much to the health and comfort of the horse. 

With the following directions we have no 
fault to find — the advice concerning the light 
we think particularly valuable : 

" The whole stable, especially the stalls, 
should be kept clean as practicable, by frequent- 
ly changing the beds and strewing plaster of 
Paris on those spots where the urine falls. This 
not only prevents its offensive odor, by combin- 
ing with its ammonia, but thereby forms one of 
the most powerful of all the new manures yet 
discovered. The floor of the stalls should be 
sloped barely enough to drain off the urine not 
absorbed by the litter and plaster of Paris, since 
a level position for the horses' feet is the most 
natural, and consequently best for the muscles 
and sinews of their legs and ankles. 

"Light is quite as essential to the soundness 
of your horse's eyes, as pure air is to the health 
of his body. But it should be let in through 
glazed windows, and open gratings, which serve 
also as ventilators, under the eaves of the roof. 
No openings should be made, either under the 
mangers, or opposite, or just above the horses' 
heads, as partial streams of air often produce 
colds, with all their bad consequences in horses ; 
especially if they are put up in such stables im- 
mediately after being much heated, and before 
they are rubbed dry. A glaring light, however, 
should always be avoided, since horses can nei- 
ther rest, nor sleep, nor fatten so well in such 
light, as in that which is moderate." 

Under the head of Grooming, good currying 
and rubbing is of course recommended. To ob- 
tain a glossy coat, an occasional mixture of two 
or three table spoonsful of brown sugar with the 
food is recommended in lieu of blanketing, which 
he deprecates altogether. We have no doubt 
that cold may be induced by exposure after 
heavy blanketing — but a light cover we hold to 
be indispensable to the high grooming which 
should mark a gentleman's riding horse from top 
to toe ; and we would as soon fear the effeminat- 
ing effects of a stable itself, as of such a cover. 

We have never used the sugar, but have 
found carrots, in the spring of the year, a very 
healthy food, imparting fine life and spirits, and 
inducing a speedy shedding of the winter coat. ; 

What follows appears to us to be unexcep- 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



tionable, and we hopo we shall not be considered 
captious in the few objections we have had to 
make to this excellent essay : 

"It is common, immediately after hard work- 
ing or travelling in hot weather, to wash horses 
all over, or to swim them in water much cooler 
than their skins or their atmosphere. This prac- 
tice is very dangerous, often producing colds, 
fevers, and frequently fatal chronic complaints, 
unless the same exercise is speedily repeated. — 
Even the partial application of very cold water 
to parts of the body, or the legs, when the horse 
is much heated, should be avoided ; for his ap- 
pearing to be gratified by it is no more a proof 
that it is good for him, than the manifest grati- 
fication of a sot in dram-drinking, after having 
been drunk, is proof that he is benefitted thereby. 
The poor horse, which knows no better, expe- 
riences present relief, at the expense of future 
suffering that he is incapable of anticipating, or 
brute as he is, he would probably reject it. Rub- 
bing in the shade and leading the horse about 
at intervals, constitute the proper treatment both 
for farm and other horses, when much distressed 
by severe work of any kind. 

u But all precautions to preserve the health 
and vigor of your horses will prove unavailable, 
unless you pay equal attention to the kind and 
quality of their food; the manner of feeding 
them, and also of giving them water. 

" To enable either farm or other horses to ren- 
der the utmost service of which they are capa- 
ble, they should be fed wholly on dry food, the 
grain and long forage to be old anoVsound, the 
first of which should be ground, and the latter 
chopped in all cases where practicable. For 
saddle and carriage horses under hard and con- 
stant usage, oats are better than Indian corn, and 
that is preferable to every other grain. The 
blades also, when well cured, are better than 
any other kind of long forage, as they contain 
more saccharine matter. When either farm or 
other horses are much heated, and great haste 
is indispensable, no other food should be given 
them than a small handful or two of old oat- 
meal stirred into a few quarts of soft water, with 
a little salt dissolved in it. Before this is given, 
let their nostrils, inside and out, be cleansed by 
a sponge or rag wet with vinegar and water, if 
the former can be procured, if not, with water 
alone. After a very hard ride or travel in har- 
ness, the horse should be suffered to wallow, be- 
fore any thing else is done to him, if time and 
weather permit, rather than to be led immedi- 
ately into a stable to be cleaned and cooled. 

"Manger feeding with ground grain and 
chopped long forage, is now very generally pre- 
ferred in England and Belgium, as well as by 
the best judges in our own country, to the old- 
fashioned, most wasteful way of giving unground 
grain in mangers, and unchopped forage in racks. 



These last are disused every where, but in a 
few places for green grass ; and in lieu of the 
rack, wide, deep mangers are adopted, with 
small iron or wooden bars fastened across them, 
to prevent the horses from throwing out their 
food. In England the most common food for 
farm horses consists of a mixture of bruised 
oats, beans, and chaff, in the proportion of eight 
pounds of oats, which are equal to about five 
quarts, (their oats being a few pounds heavier 
per bushel than ours) two pounds of beans, with 
twenty of chaff. Thirty-five or six pounds of 
such food is the day's allowance for medium 
sized horses while at work, and forty pounds of 
it for large horses. Such is the common allow- 
ance during winter, when the horses are con- 
stantly stabled. But from the end of April to 
the end of July they are usually turned out at 
night, and the whole of rest days. Other kinds 
of food, however, are much used by small far- 
mers, such as barley, unmerchantable wheat, 
beans, peas, Sweedish turnips, carrots, and pota- 
toes, with grasses of various kinds, but very 
little oats or rye. In Belgium the chief food of 
their farm horses consists of green clover in 
summer, and roots with cut straw in winter. A 
few oats are occasionally given, but not in so 
regular a manner as to give great muscular 
strength. They usually go to work as soon as 
it is light, continue at it until ten, then rest and 
feed until two or three o'clock, when they re- 
sume and continue their labor till six or seven. 
In harvest time they work from daybreak until 
evening, resting only a few hours in the heat of 
the day. A pair of horses with one plough are 
allowed for every forty acres of arable land, the 
whole of which, on an average, is ploughed 
twice and harrowed three times ; besides this 
they cart fodder and manure, and do the harvest 
work. Both in Belgium and England, they are 
moderately watered before and after feeding. — 
When not worked, water is given them three 
times a day, and always of the softest kind, 
when it can be procured. In ordinary travelling 
also, a liberal supply of such water is strongly 
recommended to be given, a little at a time, 
which prevents excessive thirst, and the conse- 
quent drinking to excess. This is very dan- 
gerous, especially to a horse much heated, espe- 
cially if the water be very cold. 

"In addition to the foregoing condensed re- 
marks, taken chiefly from the two excellent 
works already mentioned, permit me now to 
offer such information as I have derived from 
others, and from my own long experience as an 
owner of every kind of horse but the race horse, 
in regard to the best mode of managing those 
most useful animals, in our own country. I will 
1 begin (as the saying is) at the beginning.' 

" Colts should always be weaned before the 
grass is generally gone, and should be put into 
some enclosure where they cannot hurt them- 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



selves. Their dams should be stabled for a few- 
days, and milked if iheir bags swell much. — 
These colts should never be stabled until broke, 
nor much after that before they are full grown. 
But they should have well covered shelters, 
open to the south, under which to protect them- 
selves from bad weather. Plenty of good corn, 
fodder, or hay in winter, and grass when it 
comes, and as long as it lasts, will keep them 
whilst unbroke, in a healthy, growing condition, 
which is far better than keeping them very fat 
to force their growth beyond what is natural ; 
for overgrown horses, like overgrown men, rare- 
ly, if ever, have hardihood, vigor, and activity 
in proportion to their size. In fact, very large 
horses are objectionable, for all purposes, except 
slow and heavy drafts. The gentling of colts 
should commence soon after they are foaled, and 
continue until they are backed. Frequent han- 
dling, occasional salting or feeding them out of 
your hand, and stroking their necks are all good 
practices. From two or three years old, they 
should be accustomed, by degrees, to the saddle 
and bridle ; a light snaffle is best. Thus treated, j 
the breaking becomes so easy, that they will 
rarely play any trices, and may be soon taught, 
even to stand fire, by shooting off a gun or pistol, 
for a few days, just as they commence eating. 
In a word, uniformly kind, gentle treatment by 
their master, will always make such good, do- 
cile, gentle horses, that they will often follow 
him, like his dog, and will manifest equal regard 
for his person. 

"All the general directions for the treatment 
of horses in England will suit quite as well for 
the horses of our own country. But the arti- 
cles of food being somewhat different with us, I 
will now add a few remarks on that subject. In 
most of our States, the chief food for horses is 
Indian corn and the fodder thereof. Both are 
usually fed away in the most careless, extrava- 
gant,and wasteful manner — the corn being given 
in the ears, and the fodder in bundles, which are 
thrown united into the horse-racks or on the 
ground. Much, then, is wasted by being tram- 
pled under foot, and so dirtied that the horse' re- 
jects it, whilst many of the grains of corn pass 
through his body undigested, and of course, ren- 
der him no service whatever. He also loses all 
the benefit of the cobs, which he rarely eats 
when whole, although they make an excellent 
food, if ground up with the grain. This mode 
of feeding is much the most general, notwith- 
standing it has been indisputably proved by ac- 
tual and numerous experiments, that to give the 
corn and cob ground together, which is called 
cobhominy, and the fodder chopped in a cutting- 
box, not only saves more than enough to pay 
the extra expenses of grinding and cutting, but 
actually keeps the horse in better condition than 
the same quantity of corn and fodder given in 
the usual way. Moreover, it is a cheaper food 



than any other of which grain, either whole or 
crushed, forms a part. Take oats, for example, 
which are the most common, where corn is not 
used, and let us estimate the former at forty and 
the latter at sixty cents a bushel, which I think 
a fair general average in the States wherein 
corn is a staple crop. Now as only half the 
cob-hominy is grain, the mixture will cost only 
thirty cents a bushel, and is generally deemed 
fully equal in nutritive qualities to a bushel of 
oats. If these also be crushed, we must add 
about four cents to their cost, and the difference 
between the two kinds of ground food, (the 
chopped fodder being the same in both cases,) 
will be about fourteen cents per bushel, in favor 
of cob-hominy. Suppose, then, that one gallon, 
three times a day, is enough, as experience has 
proved it to be, for an ordinary sized horse, with 
eighteen or twenty bundles of fodder, the saving 
in one week, by feeding with cob-hominy, will 
be a fraction over thirty-six cents, or nearly nine- 
teen dollars a year for each horse, which is the 
annual interest of rather more than three hun- 
dred and fifteen dollars. Yet not one in a hun- 
dred of us ever think of saving it ! Few south- 
ern and western men who are ( well of,' (as the 
saying is,) keep less than three or four horses 
that do no farm work, and this they do at an 
additional yearly expense, when oats and un- 
chopped fodder are their food, of fifty-seven dol- 
lars for three, and seventy-five dollars for four 
horses, rather than be at the small trouble of 
having their fodder chopped, and their ears of 
corn ground into cob-hominy. Ten or twelve 
poor children might be annually schooled for 
that sum. For horses that are often hard ridden 
and rapidly travelled, oats are generally deemed 
better than corn, as less heating ; but a greater 
quantity of them must be given, in the propor- 
tion of about one and a half gallons of oats to 
one of corn at each feed. Under such usage, 
green food should never be given if avoidable. 
But when the horse can rest for a few days some 
may be allowed him, in small quantities, by way 
of medicine. Any kind of grass that a horse 
will eat, may answer the purpose, but lucerne 
and clover of the first cutting are deemed best — 
the second always salivates — an effect, by the 
way, for which no cause, I believe, has yet been 
discovered. Presupposing that a horse has a 
plenty of wholesome food and proper grooming, 
if you would give him a finer coat than these 
alone can produce, let half a pint of sound wheat 
or a small handful of brown sugar be mixed 
with his food, about once in every six or eight 
days, for a few weeks, and the object will be 
attained far better than by blanketing, which 
always makes him more liable to take cold, when 
exposed to bad weather, as he sometimes must 
necessarily be. On long journeys, in hot wea- 
ther give your horse a double feed at night ; in< 
the morning travel sixteen or twenty miles before 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



9 



you feed him again, then do it lightly and after 
he is perfectly cool. Give a few quarts of soft 
water both before and after his food, then resume 
your journey and go fifteen or twenty miles far- 
ther. This will enable you to stop early every 
evening, without any night-riding, and will give 
both yourself and your horses a long rest to re- 
cruit your strength. If your horse be sound, 
you may thus travel him hundreds of miles 
without danger of his failing. 

" Farm horses may be kept in good order at 
much less expense ; for they may be fed, when 
unemployed, upon any of the roots which it is 
customary to give them in England. In addi- 
tion to these, we have the pumpkin and its va- 
rieties, all of which are good food for horses, but 
the seeds should always be taken out, as they 
are powerfully diuretic. If such food be at first 
rejected, horses may soon be taught to eat it, by 
mixing a little salt with it, and offering them 
nothing else for a few days. To this should be 
added, as soon as they will eat such a mixture, 
from thirty to forty pounds of chopped provender, 
for every twenty-four hours, and this may be 
made either of well cured corn tops, blades, hay, 
wheat, oats, or rye straw, or chaff. Corn shucks, 
(which is the southern name for the covering of 
the ears,) answer well to mix when chopped up, 
with the roots or pumpkins ; if they are salted 
as they are put up and kept dry. Another very 
good long forage peculiar to our country, consists 
of the various kinds of Indian pea-vines. These 
make excellent food for farm horses, if exposed 
to the sun until they are somewhat wilted, then 
stacked in alternate layers with the straw of 
either wheat, rye, or oats, and each layer sprin- 
kled with salt, as they are stacked. Thus fed 
and protected from bad weather by warm shel- 
ters, open only to the south, and well covered 
with any kind of thatch, or corn tops or loose 
straw, farm horses may be kept healthy and in 
good order throughout the southern States, with- 
out their owners incurring the expense of wooden 
or brick stables for them. Stalls, however, should 
be made for them under the shelters, with divi- 
sions high and close enough to prevent their 
fighting, and in those they should be tied while 
eating. Their mangers or troughs should be 
wider and deeper, than when racks also are used 
although they never should be, or lazy hostlers 
will be sure to avail themselves of them, if not 
closely watched. When put to constant farm 
work, horses should have only dry food, three 
times a day. It may consist either of bran, shorts, 
cob-hominy, ground rye, oats, broom corn, or oats 
mixed with chopped stuff in the proportions alrea- 
dy mentioned — that is, about thirty-five pounds 
for horses of common size, and forty pounds for 
the largest. But after the grass is in plenty, 
and as long as it lasts, (if it does not salivate,) 
they may be turned out of nights and rest-days, 
although if your pastures are large, more lime 
Vol. 2-2 



is lost every morning in catching them and get- 
ting ready for work, than would amply compen- 
sate, if spent in farm labor, for the expense of 
keeping them up, especially should you have 
any grass to give them a moderate quantity in 
lieu of a portion of their dry food. To fatten a 
horse rapidly, his fodder or hay should always 
be chopped and steamed, before it is mixed with 
the meal of either corn, oats, or rye, and as much 
should be given him, three times a day, as he 
will eat without leaving any. Give him also 
salt alone as often as he will eat it, and soft wa- 
ter at least thrice a day, but always with some 
meal of either of the above mentioned grains 
stirred up with it. A small quantity of ground 
Indian peas will add much to the nutritive pro- 
perties of his food ; and thus treated, with mo- 
derate daily exercise, in good weather, the pro- 
cess of fattening will soon be completed, provided 
the horse be in health at the commencement." 



FENCING MACHINE. 

The Editor of the New York Mechanic speaks 
of an improvement in the shape of a fencing 
machine, w T hich will enable the workman to 
afford a very superior fence at a much lower rate 
than the ordinary price of the common post and 
rail. He thinks it will soon be as common for 
a farmer to apply at an agricultural warehouse 
for this fencing as for his ploughs and axes. — 
Although well aware of the vast amount of la- 
bor that may be saved by well constructed ma- 
chinery, we doubt very much if it can ever come 
into competition with southern labor, which is 
either employed at this work during the winter 
months or idle altogether, especially, when the 
cost of transportation and the city value of lim- 
ber is to be added. For these reasons, this is 
the last subject to which we would have thought 
of applying any machinery, except that which 
could be worked by every farmer on his own 
plantation. The subject, however, is one of vast 
importance, and we should be glad to hear far- 
ther particulars of the improvement. 



From the New England Farmer. 
KEEPING CATTLE WARM IN WINTER. 

When I commenced farming, I prepared a 
good barn-yard, inclosed w T ith a close fence, and 
a well of water therein, covered with a shed. I 
used to turn out my cattle in the morning, and 
suffer them to remain out all day, unless there 
was a severe storm. The cattle were fed at 
noon with some coarse fodder spread on the 
snow in the barn-yard, or in racks under the 
shed. A plentiful supply of water was kept 



10 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



constantly in a trough in the }^ard. Now, sir, 
for years I thought that this was the best way 
I could manage. I have since adopted a diifer- 
ferent course. My cattle are fed several times in 
the morning, and carefully carded ; and at about 
nine o'clock are turned out to water. While 
the cattle are drinking, the stalls are cleaned out 
and littered, and in about one hour the cattle are 
again tied up. If the weather is stormy or very 
cold, they are permitted to return to their stalls 
as soon as possible ; but if the weather is mild, 
they are suffered to remain out longer, but not 
more than two hours. They are fed in their 
stalls several times during the day, always giv- 
ing them little a time. In the afternoon they 
are again turned out and watered, and suffered 
to remain out as long as in the morning. The 
stalls having been again cleaned out and littered, 
the cattle are again tied up for the night. Great 
care is taken to make the barn warm. When 
the weather is cold, the doors and windows are 
closely shut. In this way the cattle being more 
comfortable, are kept at much less expense, and 
thrive better. A cow will give more milk when 
kept warm than when exposed to the cold. — 
Every farmer knows that cattle eat more in se- 
verely cold weather ; and, notwithstanding, then 
cows give less milk. Few farmers take suffi- 
cient care to protect their stock from the severity 
of the weather. Hogs, also, thrive more on the 
same food, when kept warm. 

William A. Hayes. 
S. Berwick, Maine, Feb. 18, 1841. 



A HOMINY MORTAR. 
To some people, a hominy mortar may be a 
small matter, but without a mortar, there can be 
no hominy, and every body knows what that is 
to a Virginian. It is the national dish, the fa- 
vorite alike of master and of slave. We doubt 
very much if a Virginian does not derive those 
characteristics, which are peculiar to him, from 
his devotion to hog and hominy ; so that, al- 
though, abstractedly, a hominy mortar is nothing, 
relatively, it is every thing ; and we return our 
profound thanks to Mr. Fontaine, who has not 
considered this matter beneath his notice. How 
the negroes will grin at the idea of a white 
man's making a hominy mortar ! The only 
difficulty we have about the matter is in the be- 
lief we had entertained, that the subject did not 
admit of improvement. Mr. Fontaine, however, 
is a true Virginian, and, we warrant, a connois- 
seur in the article. A sample out of this new 
implement might satisfy us that there is room 
for improvement, even in hominy mortars. 

To the Editor of the Southern Planter: 

Dear Sir, — I send you two contributions to 



your paper — my dollar for the present year and 
the following description of a hominy mortar — 
an implement of household comfort, I have 
found by no means easy to construct upon the 
old-fashioned plan of burning a hole in one end 
of a log ; and as hominj' is peculiar]}- a Virgi- 
nia dish, you may possibly spare enough room 
in a corner of your paper for its admission. 

Let a piece of timber, of sufficient size, be 
split through the middle with a whipsaw, three 
feet, and then sawed off — describe with a pair 
of compasses the cavity you wish to make on 
the two sides just divided with the whipsaw, 
and when hollowed out with a foot-adze and 
gouge, you have only to put the two pieces to- 
gether and you have the hominy mortar. To 
confine them together, have two bolts going 
through the solid end, with a screw and tap at 
one end and a head at the other; and on the 
upper or hollowed end put an iron hoop. 

Respectfully, E. Fontaine, 



PROFITS OF AGRICULTURE. 

Suppose you were to tell an individual on the 
look out for an investment of capital, that you 
could point him to a business, peculiarly adapted 
to the natural resources of the country, in which, 
the demand was greater than the supply, and 
which was conducted in a very imperfect and 
slovenly manner, would he not exclaim, here is 
an opportunity for investment which I shall cer- 
tainly embrace ; and may not all this, and more, 
be said for the pursuit of agriculture in this 
country, at this day ? 

Whilst the professions, as they are called, are 
confessedly overburdened — whilst there is more 
talent brought to them than is required, such is 
certainly not the case with agriculture. All 
admit, that talent has been diverted into other 
channels, and we repeat, there never was a finer 
opening for the exercise of it than this pursuit 
now affords. Men seek, every thing else equal, 
those pursuits in which they will meet least 
competition. When the supply is not greater 
than the demand, the cost of production regu- 
lates the price, that is the cost of production to 
the great mass. If, then, in any business, the 
mass are unskilful and ignorant, the price is al- 
ways far above the rate at which an individual 
of skill and information can afford it. Of ne- 
cessity, he gets rich, under such circumstances. 
Wheat, tobacco, and the growth of the earth in 
general, are not produced in the cheapest man- 
ner ; consequently their price is far above what 
skill and ingenuity can afford them at, and we 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



11 



have demonstrated the proposition with which 
we started, that their cultivation offers a fine 
field for the exercise of those qualities. 

We do not mean to say that men of talent 
are not engaged in the pursuit of agriculture — 
far from it; but we do mean to say that they 
do not devote their talents to it. Why and how 
is this ? We will endeavor to explain. Agri- 
culture is partly mechanical ) that is, a great 
many operations, upon which its success de- 
pends, are pure mechanical ; and a most un- 
just and fatal prejudice exists against mechani- 
cal employments. 

Of the different pursuits of life, all require the 
exercise of certain proportions of mind and body. 
These proportions differ in different occupations ; 
some requiring much mental and little physical 
effort, and others uniting great physical exertions 
with small mental exercise. We naturally and 
properly admire more the efforts of mental, than 
physical, skill — hence, as all men are ambitious, 
those pursuits are most like to be overburdened, 
which are of the latter class. But although 
those occupations, requiring most of the mental, 
are most prized, we doubt very much whether 
wisdom would lead us to their pursuit. We 
believe that mankind are so constituted, that the 
greatest happiness is afforded by those employ- 
ments, that exercise a due proportion of the 
mental and physical faculties, with which we 
are blessed. Of this character, is the pursuit of 
agriculture. The mental labor, which it most 
powerfully calls forth, is relieved by the bodily 
exercise which is equally necessary to its prose- 
cution ; and health and happiness are the result. 
We believe, that no occupation is healthy, (and 
without health, there can be no happiness) which 
does not allow, aye, require, a large portion of 
physical exertion: indeed, nothing is so well 
calculated to increase and cherish mental vigor 
as bodily exercise: the health of the mind is 
extremely dependant upon the health of the 
body. Away then with the absurd and ridicu- 
lous prejudices against occupation, combining 
high mental, with a certain degree of physical 
exertion. Such are the callings for which the 
God of nature intended the best of us, and it is 
from such, you may always select those speci- 
mens, conferring the greatest honor upon human 
nature. 

But, unfortunately, these evil spirits, as they 
did not come at our calling, will not vanish at 
our command. They are the offspring of pride 



and folly, and upon no pursuit in life do they 
exert a more baneful influence, than upon agri- 
culture. 

If we are right in saying that the pursuit of 
agriculture is in a great part mechanical, it fol- 
lows of course, that he who pursues it, should 
be, in spite of prejudice, a mechanic Where 
is the farmer who is a mechanic? Where is 
the farmer who thoroughly understands the sim- 
ple tools that are even now required in his pro- 
fession ? What avails it to him to be chock full 
of science, if he knows not how to apply it ? 
Can he teach his servants how to handle the 
tools of his trade ? Can he learn one to spade, 
another to plough, or another to reap? Does 
he even know whether his dependants are skilful 
or not ? Many that we have seen did not even 
know when their tools were in order, and full 
of learning they were working at the greatest 
possible disadvantage. 

A farmer in Virginia has a smart, likely ne- 
gro boy, of twelve or fourteen years of age, and 
he wants to make a ploughman o( him. What 
does he do ? He tells old Jim, that he must 
learn Joe to plough. A proper teacher truly ! 
Is he not aware, that if he knew how to plough, 
himself, that he could teach Joe more in an 
hour, than Jim would learn him in a year ? 

The mechanical knowledge of which we 
speak is, in the present retarded state of agri- 
culture, of an inferior degree, easily acquired, 
but absolutely necessary to the successful pro- 
secution of the art. It is much more rare than 
the science of agriculture, and not a whit less 
important. You will find ten men that read, for 
one that practises. How is this to be remedied 1 
Instead of filling the ranks of agriculture from 
the trained off of other professions, men who 
have devoted their best and earliest days to other 
callings, train your children to this profession, 
as you would to any other. Select your finest 
boy, he will find verge and scope enough for 
any talents he may possess, and make a farmer 
of him — induct him into the practical details of 
his business. Teach him, that in no profession 
is time more precious ; learn him to rise with 
the lark, and remind him that every moment he 
loses is multiplied by the number of his depend- 
ants; let him thoroughly understand the labo- 
rious mechanical operations, upon which his 
success so much depends, and then, will he be 
ready to avail himself of labor-saving machine- 
ry, by which those labors can be so much 



12 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



abridged. In addition to all this, give him a 
liberal education, and then will he be prepared 
to study the science of his profession — then will 
he be enabled to detect the errors into which the 
mere chemist is daily falling for want of practi- 



cal knowledge — then will he by the application 
of mind to agricultural facts draw the art from 
its present obscurity into the broad day-light of 
glorious science. 



ALPACA. 




The Alpaca is a species of the Lama, and 
indigenous to the mountains of Peru, in South 
America. Its valuable properties are attracting 
great attention in England, where attempts are 
being made for its domestication. It is described 
as most beautiful in appearance, its flesh more 
highly flavored than venison itself, and the hair 
of a quality between silk and the finest wool. — 
Many splendid articles are made from it, almost 
equal in beauty to the far-famed fabrics of Cash- 
mere. The animal is represented as being much 
more hardy than the sheep, and affording the 
farmer, every two years, a shearing of its fine 
and silky coat, without requiring any attention 
at his hands. About eighty of them are now 
in England, and no doubt seems to be enter- 
tained of their adaptation to the mountainous 
regions of Wales and Scotland. Indeed, they 
are quite the fashion, at present, and we are 
told that, "In 1811, when Mr. Cross exhibited 
his first Alpaca in London, the late Lady Liver- 



pool repeatedly went to see it, and so much was 
she delighted with its beauty, the softness and 
brilliancy of its coat, and its animated and beam- 
ing features, that she kissed it, as if it had been 
a child, and had it turned loose on her own 
lawn, in order that she might witness its move- 
ments when freed from restraint." 

Several manufacturing houses in England 
are preparing to make large importations of the 
wool, the manufacture of which they find ex- 
tremely profitable. We are very happy to hear 
that some enterprising gentlemen of our own 
State have sent out orders, through our new 
Charge d'AfTaires to Chili, for some of the 
finest specimens of this valuable animal, for the 
purpose of establishing it in the mountains of 
Virginia ; in whose temperature and bountiful 
herbage, we hope they will find a satisfactory 
substitute for their native homes. Their arrival 
in the city of Richmond may be expected during 
the spring. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



13 



HOW TO MAKE GOOD COFFEE. 

The question is often asked, why it is, that 
good coffee cannot be procured in this country ? 
The reason is simply this : coffee is spoiled in 
the burning, and sufficient care is not taken in 
preparing it for the table. To make coffee equal 
to the French is very simple, and very easy, and 
for the benefit of all good housewives, and all 
lovers of good coffee, we will state the manner 
in which it should be done. First, procure the 
best coffee possible. See that your cook does 
not burn it, but roast it to the color of a golden 
brown, and never allow it to remain in its burnt 
or roasted state for more than three days, as af- 
ter that time it will lose its strength. Secondly, 
in lieu of the ancient method of boiling your 
coffee for an hour or more over a hot fire, and 
then being obliged to settle it with such rarities 
as fish-skin, egg-shells and the like, procure a 
biggen, as it is termed, and make a distillation 
or decoction by putting the coffee in the apart- 
ment in which the strainer is, and turning there- 
on boiling hot water. Take care that the nose of 
the coffee pot has a stopper to prevent the steam 
from escaping, and cover the top of your biggen 
immediately after having turned the water upon 
the coffee ; as it is a most important requisite to 
have the steam confined. Judgment is also to 
be used, as to the amount of coffee required, 
and also as to the quantity of water to be used. 
The best coffee may be spoiled by too much 
water applied to it. The coffee should be made 
very strong ; and if strong enough, its color will 
be quite black. Lastly, having made your cof- 
fee of great strength, do not use hot ivater to di- 
lute it, but in lieu thereof, take boiling hot milk, 
and weaken the coffee to your taste. By fol- 
lowing these directions you will have as fine a 
cup of coffee as can be made in any country. 

The time required for making coffee in this 
manner, is but a few minutes, the coffee being 
made as fast as the liquid issues through the 
strainer. — Daily Times. 

We endorse the above without any kind of 
hesitation. The formula has been long ago 
adopted in our culinary department, and the re- 
sult has been such as to give entire satisfaction. 
Nothing but a reverence for the customs of an- 
tiquity could obstruct the progress of patent 
coffee-pots. Now, we have a fondness for old 
things, ourselves, always excepting old eggs and 
old butter, yet is our morning cup of coffee an 
item of too much importance to be sacrificed at 
the shrine of antiquity. 

We beg leave to remark, that the addition of 
boiled milk is altogether a matter of taste. We 
ourselves prefer to substitute a couple of spoons- 
ful of thick cream. 



HOUSE PAINTING. 

We shall give general and full instructions in 
the arts of house painting, and carriage paint- 
ing, when we have completed those of "Land- 
scape Painting on walls of rooms." 

We copy the above from that most excellent 
paper, (which by the bye no mechanic should 
be without) the ' : New York Mechanic." We 
have endeavored, heretofore, to impress upon our 
readers the advantage and economy of a more 
general use of paint. We promised, moreover, 
to give some simple directions for its preparation 
and management. We were about to redeem 
that promise, when our eye fell upon the para- 
graph at the head of this article. Recognising 
at once the superior ability of our cotemporary 
to do justice to this subject, we resolved to await 
his instructions, and adopt them instead of our 
own. May we respectfully request our friend, 
that, in addition to the rules that he may lay 
down for the use of artists, he will be pleased 
to furnish the public with some simple directions 
for mixing and laying on, that will enable any 
man who can handle a brush, to paint his own 
gates, implements, &c.? By complying with 
this request, he will add another to the long list 
of favors he has already conferred upon the agri- 
cultural community. 



COMPOST. 
We believe that no vegetable matter that will 
form a covering for land should ever be hauled 
into the farm pen, but there is much of it un- 
suitable for such purpose ; all such should, un- 
doubtedly go into the compost heap, along with 
the muck, mud, dirt, and stable manure. For 
the management of such a heap, we have the 
following directions from professor Jackson. We 
should be careful to add the lime whenever any 
symptoms of fermentation are perceived. 

"When we compost together, through the 
winter, peat, swamp muck, rotten wood, or any 
vegetable matters, with barn-yard manure, and 
in the spring season we mix into the heap, about 
three weeks before w T e intend to use the com- 
post, some recently slacked lime, (or, if that is 
not to be had, some unleached ashes or potash 
will answer,) we generate, from the decomposi- 
tion of the animal matters, an enormous quan- 
tity of ammonia, which will be absorbed by the 
vegetable acids, and the manure will be power- 
fully augmented in strength and value. 

" The proportions in which peat or swamp 



14 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



muck and stable manure have been employed 
on a large scale, successfully, are as follows : — 
Three loads of swamp muck or peat and one 
load of stable or barn-yard or any animal ma- 
nure. 

" These are made into a compost heap, and 
are allowed to ferment over winter, or long- 
enough for decomposition to commence. 

11 In the spring season, one cask of recently, 
slacked lime is to be carefully mixed in while 
digging over the heap. The lime extricates the 
pungent, gaseous alkali ammonia which pene- 
trates every part of the compost heap and neu- 
tralises the organic acids, forming valuable so- 
luble compounds." 



From the Farmers' Cabinet. 
HANDLING. 

How few of us ever think any thing about 
the quality of an animal, if it only please the 
eye ; and how little did I myself know or care 
for this distinctive property until the perusal of 
the excellent article at page 363, Cabinet, Vol. 
V. by that spirited and first-rate judge of cattle, 
W. H. Sotham. In the article above alluded 
to, Mr. Sotham has said, very properly, it is ab- 
surd for a man to form a correct idea of the 
quality of an animal by the eye alone, that is 
ascertained by the hand; and as the handling is 
the governing point in purchasing with all gra- 
ziers and butchers, breeders also should look to 
that point. I find some excellent observations 
in Culley on this very important subject. He 
says: 

" We undoubtedly first judge by the sight, 
which, being pleased, we then bring the sense 
of feeling to its aid, and, if this also approves, 
we conclude that the animal suits our purpose, 
or is answerable to the idea we have formed of 
it. A nice or good judge of cattle or sheep, 
with a slight touch of the finger upon the fat- 
tening points, the hips, rump, ribs, flank, breast, 
twist, shoulders, core, &c. will know in an in- 
stant whether the animal will make fat or not, 
and in what part he will make fattest. I have 
often wished that I could convey in language 
that idea or sensation we acquire by the touch 
or feel of our fingers, which enables us to form 
a judgment when we are handling an animal 
intended to be fattened ; but I have as often 
found myself unequal to fulfil that wish. It is 
very easy to know where an animal is fattest 
that is already made fat, because we can feel a 
substance or quantity of fat upon all those parts 
which are denominated fatting points; but the 
difficulty is to explain how we know or distin- 
guish animals in a lean state which will make 
fat, and those which will not, or, rather, which 
will make fat in such and such points or parts 
and not in others, which a person of judgment, 
and in practice, can tell instantly — I say in prac- 



tice, because I believe that the best judges out 
of practice are not able to judge with precision. 
We say 'this beast touches nicely on the ribs, 
hips,' &c. because we find a mellow, pleasant 
feel on those parts ; but w 7 e do not say soft, be- 
cause there are some of the same sort of ani- 
mals which have a soft, loose handle, of which 
we do not approve, because, although soft and 
loose, they have not that rnelloiu feel above men- 
tioned — for although they both handle loose and 
soft, 3 T et we know that the one will make fat and 
the other will not; and in this lies the difficulty 
of the explanation. We clearly find a particu- 
lar kindliness or pleasantness in the feel of the 
one much superior to the other, by which we 
immediately conclude that this will make fat, 
and the other not ; and in this a person of judg- 
ment, and in practice, is very seldom mistaken." 



For the Southern Planter. 

It is with much satisfaction, Mr. Editor, that 
I have observed your efforts to establish an agri- 
cultural journal, in the metropolis of the Old 
Dominion, and with more, that they have been 
successful. To render an agricultural journal 
emphatically useful to the farmer, every one, 
engaged in this occupation, who writes legibly, 
and spells so as to be understood, should circu- 
late any useful information he may have ga- 
thered from long observation and experience. — 
Mind acting upon mind speeds on improvements; 
and an interchange of opinions, is the quicken- 
ing spirit of agriculture. 

With motives such as these have I sat down 
to give you my mode of moving some kinds of 
trees, which are difficult to transplant success- 
fully, in the ordinary way. Some of the most 
beautiful trees for the yard or an avenue, are to 
be found in the forests of Virginia. Amongst 
them, the yew, the holfy, the oaks, the ash, the 
locust, the sycamore, the red bud, and the Ame- 
rican tulip tree. I have met with the greatest 
success in transplanting all these, more particu- 
larly that beautiful evergreen, the holly, by] 
adopting the following mode : — I select the most/ 
beautiful and flourishing trees from five to twelve 
feet in height, and about the last of ihe fall, or 
during winter, when the ground is soft, and be- 
fore very cold weather, have them dug around 
in a circular shape. This circle must vary from 
four to seven or eight feet in circumference, 
according to the size of the tree. You dig your 
trench about a foot straight down, then incline 
the spade towards the tree, and dig a little 
deeper, so as to have the lower circumference 
much smaller than the upper. The circle or 
ball of earth left to the tree being neatly dressed, 
leave it till there happens a freeze, when you 
will find your tree ready for removal. A coarse, f 
strong sleigh frame, with plank placed across it, 






THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



10 



is the best conveyance for removing the tree and 
its balls, should there be snow on the ground- 



if not, an ox cart, thou 



;h not so convenient, will 



answer jour purpose. 

Your ball of earth being hard frozen, prize it 
up on one side with a lever, and pass under it 
an ox-chain, which hook about half way from 
the circumference of the ball and tree — do the 
same on the opposite side, then thrust two strong 
poles, ten or twelve feet long, through the chains, 
one on each side of the tree, and several strong 
fellows will be able to lift it out of its place, and 
deposit it in the sleigh or cart. By the aid of 
two strong planks reaching from the back of the 
cart or sleigh to the hole previously dug, you 
may easily slide the ball and tree to their new 
place of abode. This is of course a slow mode 
of adding trees to your avenue or yard ; but it 
is almost in every case successful — and is ac- 
complished at a period of the year when labor 
is cheap. Thus may you remove hollies, yews, 
the American tulip tree, and the oaks, all beau- 
tiful and highly ornamental, but rarely surviving 
transplanting in the usual way ; or if they do, 
in so crippled a state that you can barely ob- 
serve an increase of size in a series of years. 

Ety the method above recommended, told in a 
bungling way, but I hope understanding^, the 
forest may be robbed of maHy a beautiful tree, 
so cunningly, that it grows on, not aware, so to 
speak, of the change in its condition. 

There is perhaps no object of inanimate na- 
ture, more beautiful than a fine tree. Even seen 
on a foreign soil, it imparts a pleasure which no 



thins: of the kind can give. The 
fruits, or its 



other gro^ 

unfolding verdure of its leaves, its 

shade, produce associations and reflections in the 

enlarged mind, which are virtuous, and therefore 

agreeable. How much greater then the delight 

of cherishing a tree planted by the hand of a 

beloved ancestor, or one planted by yourself and 

growing into treehood, under your fostering care. 

One of the best and greatest of men, Sir Wal- 
ter Scott, took great delight in planting trees. — 
Not long before his death he had the satisfaction 
to learn from the lips of a nobleman of England, 
[that to a remark he met with in one of Sir 
Walter's novels was he indebted for a fine grove 
of oaks, then in a flourishing condition. In re- 
commending the planting of trees, Sir Weaker 
says, " while you sleep the tree will grow." — 
Let no man, then, be influenced by selfish con- 
siderations, when his better nature prompts him 
ko plant a tree. Life is ever on the ebb and 
flow — to-day we may transplant a tree — to-mor- 
row we may be growing cold for the grave ; yet 
stay not thy purpose — it may do good ; some 
kind successor may bless thee for it, and w T atch 
its growth with pleasure. My love for trees 
may lead me to enthusiasm on the subject, but 

believe the luscious fruit, the graceful shape, 
or the cool shade of a tree may arouse in the 



heart of a fellow-creature emotions so vivid and 
touching as to calm excited passions, or soften 
unkind or bad thoughts. 

The planting and taking care of trees, is at 
any rate, Mr. Editor, part of the farmer's calling. 
But it is not sufficient that your tree be dug up 
and put in the earth as you insert a post Far 
from it : take up the roots of the tree as well as the 
body; and this do with care. The fibrous roots 
supply a " removed tree," at any rate for some 
time, with food, and one must be careful not to 
injure them. The only certain made to avoid 
this is, to have two hands, each with a spade, 
who should insert their spades on opposite sides 
of the tree, prize them up a little, then move 
half-a round ; repeat the operation, while a third 
person gently pulls up the tree; which will be 
found to have attached to it all the young or 
fibrous roots. The hole to receive the tree should, 
if practicable, be previously dug, and larger in 
size than the extent of the roots. Plant it about 
I an inch deeper than it grew, and as the earth is 
thrown upon the roots, arrange them neatly, and 
j as nearly as possible as they grow. Give your 
tree a stake, to which attach it with a nail, by 
a piece of leather an inch broad, and a few 
inches long. Cultivate the ground about your 
trees in potatoes or peas, and cover the earth 
around them with chaff, saw-dust, or rotten 
wood, which will keep the roots shaded and 
moist. Many young trees are killed by a stroke 
of the sun — and shading the roots the first year 
or two, is all-important. Keep your tree pruned, 
and curtail the longest horizontal limbs so as to 
give it a good body and a round head. 

With well-wishes for the success which the 
" Southern Planter" so well deserves, 

I am, with respect, yours, H. 

Port Royal. 



MANURE. 



To the Editor of the Southern Planter: 

Dear Sir, — Manure has been very justly styled 
the :( Sheet Anchor of the Farmer" — as such, 
I esteem it. Every well directed effort, there- 
fore, to improve the quantity and quality should 
be regarded with interest by intelligent and en- 
terprising farmers. I shall attempt, in as plain 
a manner as I can, to throw out some hints by 
which both the quantity and quality of manure 
may be greatly improved. Farmers should 
make their stable floors where horses or other 
animals are kept perfectly tight so that none of 
the urine would pass through them, and they 
should elevate the floor a little, next to the man- 
ger, that the urine may flow out ; fix underneath 
lowest point of the floor, a gutter or conductor 
to receive the urine, so constructed as to convey 
it to a reservoir, prepared to receive it, which 
must be well sheltered, and protected from ihe 
weather. The reservoir may be made of timber 



16 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



or of bricks. If of the latter, it should be well 
plastered inside with hydraulic cement, to make 
it tight. Let the solid excrements, with the or- 
dinary cleanings of stables, be thrown into this 
reservoir, with the liquid ; put also, for every 
layer of the solid excrements of a foot in thick- 
ness, a thin layer of plaster of Paris. I will 
briefly state my reasons for recommending this 
plan. The liquid excrements are of much greater 
value than the solid ; as stable floors are gener- 
ally constructed, the whole of the liquid is lost, 
except what is absorbed by the solid excrements 
and the litter. 

It is the liquid excrements alone, which en- 
ables the solid excrements to emit ammonia, 
which being thrown out in the usual way, un- 
protected from the weather, the moment putre- 
faction takes place the ammonia escapes into the 
atmosphere, in the state of carbonate of ammo- 
nia and is lost ; the other soluble salts are washed 
out by the rain ; the remainder is of but little 
comparative value. The plan proposed has this 
advantage, first, a saving of all the urine, (any 
one who may practice this plan effectually, will 
soon be astonished at the quantity of urine made 
by animals, which he has heretofore lost) ; se- 
condly, protection from the weather ; and thirdly, 
all the ammonia will be retained. Plaster of 
Paris being the sulphate of lime, will convert 
all the carbonate of ammonia (which is very 
volatile) into the sulphate of ammonia, which 
has no volatility ; thus the whole value of the 
manure is retained for the use of crops. Having 
been engaged for the last six months in manu- 
facturing chemical manures from human excre- 
ments, I have been compelled to turn my atten- 
tion to the study of agricultural chemistry, I 
can, therefore, with confidence recommend the 
above plan to your numerous readers. Manure, 
made in this manner, will be vastly superior, 
perhaps ten times as valuable as that made in 
the usual way. I am making an interesting 
experiment upon wheat with urate, and in the 
spring I shall make an experiment with pou- 
drette and bone dust on corn. 

The results I will make known in due time 
to my brother farmers through your journal. 
Very truly, yours, 

George Woodfin. 

Richmond, Jan. 12, 1842. 

Mr. Woodfin, from the official station which 
he fills, has a most excellent opportunity of ex- 
perimenting upon urate and poudrette, which. 
are exciting so much attention in the agricul- 
tural w T orld. This opportunity, we are pleased 
to hear, he has improved in a manner as credit- 
able to himself as beneficial to the community. 
We are very happy to add his name to the list 
of our correspondents, and will look with much 
interest for his promised communications. 



HENRICO AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

At a meeting of the Executive Committee of 
the Henrico Agricultural and Horticultural So- 
ciety, held at the Capitol on the 8th day of Janu- 
ary, 1842 — present, J. H. Turner, Jos. Rennie, 
William D. Wren, and William H. Richardson, 
the following were determined upon as the sub- 
jects for and amount of the premiums to be 
awarded at the third exhibition of the Society, 
to be held on the 25th May next : 

For the best brood mare for domestic 

purposes, $10 00 

For the best mules raised by the ex- 



hibitor. 



10 00 



For the best horse colt or filly, not ex- 
ceeding two years old, raised by the 
exhibitor, 10 00 

For the best bull of the imported im- 
proved stock, 10 00 

For the best cow of the imported im- 
proved stock, 10 00 

For the best heifer of the imported im- 
proved stock, 5 00 

For the best bull of native stock, raised 

by the exhibitor, 10 00 

For the best cow of native stock, raised 

by the exhibitor, 10 00 

For the best heifer of native stock, 

raised by the exhibitor, 5 00 

For the best oxen, raised by the exhi- 
bitor, 5 00 

For the best boar, of the improved 

breed, 5 00 

For the best sow and pigs, of the im- 
proved breed, 5 CO 

For the best boar of native breed, 5 00 

Do. do. sow and pigs, do. do. 5 00 

Do. do. fatted beef, raised by the 

exhibitor, 5 00 

For the best buck, 5 00 

Do. do. ewes, 5 00 

Do. do. specimens of early fruits, 5 00 

Do. do. 2d do. do. do. 2 50 

Do. do. specimen of rare and beau- 
tiful plants and flowers, 10 00 

For the second specimen of rare and 

beautiful plants, 5 00 

For the best market garden, not less 

than an acre, 20 00 

For the second best market garden, 



not less than an acre, 



15 00 



For the best specimen of vegetables, 
regard being had to variety as well 
as quality, 5 00 

For the second best specimen of vege- 
tables, regard being had to variety 
as well as qualit}', 2 50 

For the best specimen of domestic 

wine, not less than one gallon, 5 00 

For the best specimen of domestic 

silk, not less than one pound, 5 00 1 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



17 



For the best specimen of butter, not 

less than five pounds, $5 00 

For the best suit of clothes of domes- 
tic manufacture, 10 00 

For the best plough, to be exhibited 
in actual operation with dynamome- 
ter, at the expense of the exhibitor, 10 00 

For the second best plough, to be ex- 
hibited in actual operation with dy- 
namometer, at the expense of the 
exhibitor, 5 00 

For the best corn shelter, 5 00 

Do. do. cutting machine, 5 00 

Do. do. threshing machine and fan, 10 00 

Do. do. specimen of farming tools, 

axes, spades, hoes, 5 00 

For the best specimen of worsted work, 
intended coverings for chairs, otto- 
mans, hearth rugs and shade mats, 10 00 

For the best lot of three shirts of the 

neatest workmanship, 5 00 

For the best essay on root culture, 5 00 

Do. do. on making, preserving and 

applying manures, 5 00 

For the best essay on the cultivation 

of grass, 5 00 

Resolved, That die Executive Committee, 
with Mr. Charles T. Botts, attend the first exhi- 
bition of the Hanover Agricultural Society. 

We hope that our readers will remember that 
these premiums are open to general competition, 
and that many of them will grace the coming 
fair with their presence, not only as spectators, 
but as competitors. 

The successful candidate not only secures the 
amount of the premium, which is a small mat- 
ter, but he enjoys the honest satisfaction of hav- 
ing outstripped his competitors in a noble race ; 
moreover, he gains for his production a reputa- 
tion it can acquire in no other way, and this 
may, under certain circumstances, be a matter 
of vast importance in a pecuniary point of view. 

Exhibitions of this kind are always interest- 
ing ; but those of the Henrico Society, held as 
they are, in the metropolis of the State, ani- 
mated and enlivened by the presence of its in- 
habitants, presents a spectacle of the deepest 
interest to the eye of a farmer, and never fails 
to repay him for the trouble of a distant visit. 
The coming fair is already the common topic of 
conversation, and great preparations are making 
for its arrival. We venture to say, that it is 
fated to throw the preceding ones, interesting as 
they were, completely in the shade. He, who 
is absent from Richmond on the 25th of May, 
1842, will have much to regret. 
Vol. 2—3 



VIRGINIA FARMING. 

Our attention has been called to a very inter- 
esting letter from Mr. " Simon Brown" to the 
Editor of the Farmers' Visitor, giving an ac- 
count of a tour, made lately by the aforesaid 
Mr. Brown, through a portion of the Old Domi- 
nion. Mr. Brown speaks rather slightingly of 
our system of cultivation ; now, although we 
take the liberty, occasionally, of rating our own 
people roundly for their carelessness and inat- 
tention to their business, that is no reason why 
we should stand by and permit a stranger to do 
so with impunity. 

We had gotten thus far, quite nettled with 
the aspersions thrown upon our good old State, 
and determined to refute, and punish the as- 
perser ; for this purpose we re-read Mr. Brown's 
communication, and really there is so much of 
justice, and withal of liberality in his observa- 
tions, and what he has to say, he says so well, 
that we have concluded e'en to pocket the af- 
front. But if we are compelled to bottle the 
wrath we had prepared for Mr. Brown, it shall 
be only to pour it out upon the heads of our 
own citizens, who render our State the subject 
of such disparaging remarks. In the first place, 
we arraign all ye, (alas ! your name is legion,) 
who have made us powerless to deny the truth 
of the following imputations : 

DEFICIENCY OF COMFORT AT THE SOUTH. 

With all the advantages, however, of a most 
generous soil, and a mild and general climate, 
with good markets for all the produce they can 
spare, the planters through all the South lack 
many of the comforts and elegancies of life 
which are a common blessing throughout New 
England. Their houses are in the first place 
loosely constructed, and there is generally a care- 
lessness about making the necessary repairs, 
which gives them a dilapidated appearance, in 
one or two years after their erection. During 
the short, but frequently severe cold weather, 
they are cheerless and uncomfortable tenements. 
They seldom have barns, and what I believe is 
still more rare, wood-houses. The consequence 
is, in regard to the want of the first, that their 
stock requires much more feeding than would 
be necessary if housed during the long, cold 
storms of rain, hail and snow which always 
prevail in the winter, and then come out lean in 
the spring, and unprofitable for milk or labor. — 
But the wood-house, trhteh to the thrifty New 
England housewife is deemed indispensable, can- 
not be expected, where the animals themselves 
are denied a shelter. The want of it, however, 
is often a source of vexation, and is bad economy. 



18 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



On many plantations the wood is brought up 
from time to time, just in sufficient quantities to 
afford a scanty supply, and used in its green 
state — or, if collected in considerable quantities, 
suffered to lie exposed to all weathers, and con- 
sequently much of the time unfit for use. But 
particularly as regards many of their domestic 
arrangements — that peculiar methodizing, and 
those thousands nameless comforts and conve- 
niences which give home an air and delight 
above all other places, there seems to be an in- 
difference which is altogether inexplicable. And 
this is often the case where there is wealth suffi- 
cient, not only to ensure the comforts of life, but 
to introduce the graces themselves. But in the 
improved mode of husbandry abroad, which 
shall bring neatness and method into the corners, 
and under the fences, of every field, we may 
hope to see a corresponding improvement in the 
out-buildings, as w r ell as the kitchen, dairy and 
parlor. To make note, however, of all to which 
my observation extended, would, perhaps, make 
my remarks out of place in your paper, and oc- 
cupy too much of your space. 

But " all is not evil." Mr. Brown pays the 
following handsome compliment to a gentleman, 
with whom, in former ckiys, we were slightly 
acquainted ; and who, we doubt not, deserves 
all, and more, than he has received. We say 
more, because, Mr. Brown, with an ignorance 
that is excusable, seems to expect a form of fif- 
teen hundred acres to come up to the standard 
of a New England onion patch. Now, this we 
apprehend would be neither practicable nor pro- 
fitable. Northern men, who have settled amongst 
us, have long ago discovered, that the system, 
that was adapted to a few acres of root crops, 
was by no means applicable to the cultivation, 
on an extended scale, of our great staples, of 
corn, wheat, tobacco, &c. The inevitable ac- 
cumulation of our labor forces us to cultivate 
extensively, and there are many peculiarities, 
flowing from this circumstance, invisible to the 
eyes of a stranger. We certainly do not mean 
to insinuate that there is not great room for im- 
provement, but we do mean to deny, that it is 
practicable to cultivate a farm like a hot bed. 

A NODLE EXAMPLE. 

Travelling through Fairfax, into Prince Wil- 
liam county, I sojourned three days at the hos- 
pitable mansion of Alfred Ball, Esq. Here I 
found myself upon one of the old Virginia plan- 
tations, with all the substantial about me which 
go to make life comfortable and happy. His 
homestead consists of about fifteen hundred 
acres, containing all the varieties of soil com- 



mon in that part of the State, and watered by 
the Bull Run river, which flows nearly through 
the centre of the estate. His house, a model of 
the old Virginia, palace-like mode of building, 
stands upon a gentle eminence, overlooking every • 
part of the plantation. Around it is a handsome 
area, planted with fruit trees and shrubbeiy, 
among which are interspersed numerous bee- 
hives. About one-half of this estate fell to Mr. 
B. by inheritance, and while walking over a 
large tract on which the new 7 , thickset clover 
had almost hid the ground, he informed me that 
when he came upon it there was not a field 
which would produce crop enough to pay the 
expenses of cultivation. When his determina- 
tion to cultivate it was made known, his friends j 
remonstrated against such a step, and predicted'! 
starvation as the result. But with most com- 
mendable ambition he told them he had an irre- 
pressible desire to restore what had been lost ; 
upon the lands of his ancestors, through neglect . 
partly, and the want of a proper knowledge of" 
the true modes of husbandry ; and that he could 
not sit down and appropriate the labors of others, 
with their improvements and results, with that 
satisfaction and contentedness which he fancied 
he should realize, after overcoming the difficul- 
ties which surrounded him by his own energies 
and industry. How nobly he has succeeded — 
how the once barren waste now r pours into his 
lap the full reward cf all his labors and cares, | 
may be seen by a ramble over portions of his I 
plantation. Still, it must be borne in mind that 
this is Virginia improvement, and will not bear 
contrasting with a well managed New- England 
farm. It will be noticed by the remarks which 
follow 7 , that, notwithstanding he considers him- 
self amply repaid, by the crops produced, for 
any extra labor bestowed, the capabilities of the 
soil have been nothing like fairly tested. 

Mr. Ball cultivates only about four hundred 
acres. One hundred he plants with corn, the 
average }neld of which is twenty bushels to the 
acre. He usually sows one hundred and fifty 
acres in wheat, the average crop of which is not! 
over five bushels to the acre ; seeds a bushel and! 
a peck. On these crops, with the other neces- 
sary labor of the plantation, eight efficient menf 
six horses, and three yoke of oxen, are employed; | 
There are no stones. Immediately in front of 
his house he has enclosed a field containing one 
hundred acres. This he calls his pet field ; and! 
is to be thoroughly dressed and tended in future, 
in preference to every other part of the farm. — i 
Here he has commenced the new system of cul- 
tivation, in which he expects to be greatly aided! 
by a careful perusal of the Visitor, of which he' 
is a subscriber. He reasons in this manner. He, 
now seeds one hundred and fiftj 7 acres with! 
wheat, and obtains five bushels to the acre, anctt 
an aggregate of seven hundred and fifty bushelsf 
Now, he says, if by extra dressing and labor hf I 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



19 



can increase the crop to fifteen bushels to the 
acre, (and of which there can be little doubt,) 
there will be an aggregate of two thousand two 
hundred fifty bushels, and a nett gain of fifteen 
hundred bushels, or nearly so, taking into the ac- 
count the value of the extra quantity of straw. 
Now if this reasoning be correct, and I have no 
doubt the result would prove it so, it shows at a 
glance the great importance of cultivating a less 
quantity of land, and of bestowing upon that 
more than all the labor which has been bestowed 
upon a much larger quantity. The same pro- 
cess will hold good with respect to all other 
crops as well as that of wheat. Mr. B. will 
open an account of debt and credit with this 
field, and such minutes as will show the cost 
and kind of dressing, the amount of labor ex- 
pended, the ploughing, harrowing, seeding, time 
of planting, sowing, reaping, &c. of all of which 
he has engaged to furnish me a paper, which 
shall be forwarded to you in due time when I 
receive it. 

We are glad to see this " Ball in motion," but 
hope he will find no necessity for rolling himself 
into New Hampshire, whilst he has the oppor- 
tunity we shall be happy to afford him of un- 
folding himself nearer home. 

Mr. Brown went down into the Northern 
Neck, and speaks in glowing terms of the tim- 
ber he found upon the banks of the Potomac. 
He declares that, although not so extensive, the 
forests are not less thickly covered than the ce- 
lebrated timber districts in the State of Maine, 
with which he professes to be well acquainted. 
He does not however leave this region without 
hitting us another hard lick; hear him: 

VIRGINIA FARMING. 

Leaving the river, and travelling nearly south, 
[ passed through extensive timber forests on 
bottom lands, which, when cleared, prove of the 
best quality. On my way lay a plantation be- 
longing to a nephew of Col. Taliaferro, the pre- 
sent member of Congress, but now occupied by 
i Mr. Brown. On this' plantation seven thou- 
sand bushels of corn and fifteen hundred bushels 
3f wheat have been raised this season. A few 
miles farther south I tarried two or three days 

Dn one of the plantations of Dr. Murphy, 

i gentleman of much agricultural as well as 
medicinal skill, possessing vast landed estates, 
md who has set an example which is already 
working a revolution in the modes of husbandry 
in the section of country in which he resides. — 
As the land is generally flat, and consequently 
wet, he is ditching round large tracts of "old 
fields," fencing, manuring and ploughing, and 
endeavoring to bring them back to vegetable 
iife, and is determined no longer to act upon the 



principle which always takes but never gives. — 
What is uncommon, he has a fine barn and 
granary, a garden handsomely laid out and well 
tended, and a thrifty orchard. The house, a 
neat cottage, overshadowed by lofty locusts, and 
standing nearly in the centre of a field of corn 
containing one hundred and fifty acres, has a 
most quiet and inviting appearance. From this 
point, fields beyond fields rise to the sight, 

"Far as the circling eye can shoot around, 
Unbounded tossing in a flood of corn." 

Every planter I conversed with in this region 
stated to me his conviction that their system of 
farming is wrong ; that they attempt to cultivate 
too much — that their lands are rapidly becoming, 
or have already become, impoverished, and that 
they do not understand the method of renovating 
them, and that each succeeding year brings less 
and less under their present practice. Melan- 
choly as is this picture, the whole aspect of 
things, as you travel through much of Virginia, 
Maryland, and probably all the southern States, 
proves it to be true. Thousands upon thousands 
of acres lie in "old fields," lands which have 
been worn out by successive crops of corn and 
tobacco, with scarcely the appearance of verdure 
upon them, not affording even a pasturage for 
sheep worthy of the name. My host informed 
me that if his field brought him fifteen bushels 
to the acre he should consider it a good crop ! 
The land is a light, sandy loam, and is as capa- 
ble of producing fifty or sixty bushels to the acre 
as fifteen, if rightly cultivated. A new impulse, 
however, has been infused into many minds. — 
x4gricultural papers are sent for — compost heaps 
are gathered — lime, plaster, and ashes are intro- 
duced, and a spirit of inquiry is abroad in the 
land. But experiments will be combatted by 
ignorance and prejudice, and many years will 
elapse before their fields will be divided into 
"convenient lots," — their fodder housed, their 
cattle stocked, and their manure saved. But 
the conviction that they are in error, is a great 
point gained, and we cannot but hope that, even- 
tually, it will embrace and correct the most pre- 
judiced minds. 

In another part of the State which I have 
more recently visited, Fairfax county, the same 
spirit of inquiiy, and desire for improvement is 
manifested. Recently, a number of individuals, 
practical farmers, from the State of New York, 
have purchased large tracts of the worn-out 
lands in the vicinity of the court-house, and 
have commenced a system of operations which 
has at once awakened the surrounding husband- 
men to new efforts, and enhanced the price of 
land. They have settled upon the lands, erected 
barns, divided the extensive fields, introduced 
better implements, and are setting examples of 
industry and carefulness, which are giving a 
new aspect to all the adjacent country. 



20 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



We flatter ourselves, however, that Mr. Brown 
did not see the best Virginia farming, notwith- 
standing he extended his visit, a little way, into 
the celebrated county of Loudoun ; and as he 
seems to be a good, gbntlemanlj 7 fellow, who 
has a high relish for the Virginia hospitality, of 
which he has had a taste, we invite him, if he 
has no objection to thawing a little earlier than 
usual, to join us in our projected tour this spring. 
We will take him along on James River, and 
will show him some things that will gladden 
his heart, and afford him opportunities of writing 
home the prettiest sort of letters to his friend, 
Governor Hill, of the Visitor. 



PREMIUM TOBACCO PRIZE. 




In our last number, we furnished a cut of Mr. 
Morriss' Tobacco Prize ; we now give an en- 
graving of another, manufactured by Sinclair 
& Co. of Baltimore, which the Editor of the 
American Farmer recommends in high terms, 



and which obtained the highest premium offered 
by the Prince George's Agricultural Society at 
its late fair, held at Upper Marlborough. 

The machine is so clearly delineated as to 
make an explanation almost unnecessary. It 
is, however, thus described in the American 
Farmer : 

11 It consists of a strong horizontal frame work, 
which is secured by iron bolts, braced at the 
tops by heavy iron rods, in which, in the opera- 
tion of pressing, as will be seen by the figure, 
the hogshead is placed. The six wooden levers 
represented in the cut, work a pinion which 
operates on a large wheel, in the centre of which 
an iron shaft is secured, upon the bottom of 
which is another pinion, which operates on the 
line of cogs placed on the side of the stvffer 
shaft, which forces the tobacco into the hogs- 
head with a pressure that gives it the desired 
compactness." 

This machine is sold at $125 00, and is, we 
think, in no whit superier to that of Mr. Morriss, 
which is in pretty general use amongst our 
planters, and the whole cost of which, we sup- 
pose, would be covered by the sum of twenty 
dollars, at the outside. It is true, that a little 
time may be saved by the former, but, in our 
opinion, this is much more than counterbalanced 
by the fact, that repairs cannot be effected with- 
out going to a machine shop. It is a matter of 
the utmost importance in getting up a machine 
for a farmer, to give him one, if possible, that 
he can construct without, going off his planta- 
tion — for what he can construct, he can work, 
and what he can construct, he can repair. This, 
we think, is a point not sufficiently attended to 
by the committees, who award premiums for 
agricultural implements. 

We do not desire by these remarks to injure 
the enterprising manufacturers of this new prize. 
Our opinion is, that the desired object can be j 
effected by a press of easier, cheaper, and sim- 
pler construction, but we place both plans before 
our readers, leaving them to form their opinions, 
which may probably differ from our own. 



A pail full of lye, with a piece of copperas 
half as big as a hen's egg boiled in it, will pro- 
duce a fine nankeen color, which will not wash 
out. This is very useful for the linings of bed- 
quilts, comforters, &c. — Western Farmer. 



A correspondent of the Boston Transcript says 
that a small quantity of green sage placed inj 
the c oset will cause red ants to disappear. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



21 



MANURES. 

Sir Humphrey Davy, long ago, demonstrated 
that in the process of fermentation some of the 
most valuable properties of manures were eva- 
porated. By means of a retort, filled with heated 
dung, the neck of which was introduced in the 
soil amongst the roots of vegetables, he produced 
an extraordinary luxuriance of growth. Indeed, 
it is certain, that all the valuable properties of 
manure are volatile and soluble; that is, may 
be evaporated by heat, or washed away by wa- 
ter. How necessary then to imprison these 
subtle agents before they have time to escape, 
and what folly it is to expose them to the se- 
ducing influence of heat and rain. Remember, 
uiat these thieving devils are ever on the alert 
to rob you of your most valuable property ; and 
do not forget to guard your dung heap against 
the rogues with the same care you bestow upon 
your corn house ; and, as you lock your door 
upon the latter, turn the soil over upon the 
former ; or, what is still better, throw it abroad 
amongst your growing crops ; they will act as 
a most vigilant police, and arrest the runaways 
just as they are flattering themselves with the 
certainty of escape. 

The celebrated Mr. Coke fully recognised the 
fact that fermentation occasioned loss, but still 
he permitted it, to a slight extent, because, the 
vitality of noxious seeds, contained in the ma- 
nure, was thereby destroyed ; and he thought, 
that, in that way, he gained more than he lost 
by the escape of the fertilizing gases. 

With due deference to Mr. Coke's opinion, we 
incline to think that, in a majority of cases, the 
sooner manure is applied the better. 



NEW PAPERS. 
We have been much pleased to observe the 
extended influence of agriculture, as evinced in 
the course of many of- our political and miscel- 
laneous papers. The truth is, this great inter- 
est, the pursuit, for which nature and circum- 
stances have peculiarly adapted our country, 
begins to make itself heard in every direction. 
Our people have just awakened from their gol- 
den dreams, to return, with all the ardor of first 
love, to this certain, honorable, and congenial 
occupation. The consciousness of the delusion 
under which thej' have been laboring, the utter 
folly and madness, and crime, of substituting 
speculation, which is but another name for gam- 
bling, for the toil of honorable occupations have 



become apparent, and these wild dreamers, con- 
science stricken, humble, and repentant, have 
submitted themselves again to the great law of 
nature, which dooms man to obtain his bread 
by the sweat of his brow. Amongst the many 
honorable pursuits of life, which have been thus 
recruited, agriculture has come in for its full 
share. This circumstance has given a new im- 
pulse to this noble art, and has excited an in- 
terest in the community, which has secured it a 
place in many of the political journals of the day. 
Amongst these, we are happj^ to find our friends 
of the Compiler taking a distinguished part. — 
They have remodelled their paper ; reducing the 
price, and adding an agricultural head, which, 
from the long experience and known ability of 
the conductor, will, we doubt not, render the 
Compiler as acceptable to the agricultural, as it 
is now to the commercial, community. 

Mr. Fisk, too, late of the " Old Dominion," 
Portsmouth, has started, in this city, a weekly 
paper, called the State Rights Republican, in 
which, we understand, a considerable space is 
to be devoted to the cause of agriculture and 
mechanics. We hear that Mr. Fisk has figured 
largely in the political world, and doubt not, he 
will sustain, in his new sphere, the reputation 
he obtained in his old one. We wish him suc- 
cess in his enterprise. 

We have also received, indirectly, an intima- 
tion that a new agricultural paper will be started, 
shortly, in the city of New York, under the su- 
perintendence of that well known breeder and 
writer, Mr. A. B. Allen. We shall look forward 
to its arrival with much interest, and have no 
doubt it will prove a powerful aid to the Culti- 
vator, which has already done so much for the 
cause of agriculture. 



CORN. 



The following is an extract from a letter ad- 
dressed to the Editor of this paper. Mr. Green 
is not the only one of our subscribers who is de- 
sirous of a " talk" upon the cultivation of this 
important crop. Much contrariety of opinion 
exists, where certainly experience should by this 
time have arrived at some definite conclusion. 
Although difference of opinion may be frequently 
owing to difference of soil, climate, &c. still 
there are great general principles upon this sub- 
ject yet unsettled. We hope Mr. Green's inqui- 
ries will bring to the columns of the Planter a 
full, fair, and condensed discussion of this impor- 



22 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



tant topic. We assure him we will do all we 
can to elicit it. We undertake for at least one 
essay upon the subject in the February number 
from an " experienced, practical corn planter." 

" Can you not induce some experienced, prac- 
tical corn planter to furnish for the Planter a full 
and minute account of the best plan of raising 
corn ? Such a paper would be invaluable to a 
large number of your subscribers, who, like my- 
self, are beginners, and not too old to learn, nor 
too wise to be benefitted by the instruction of 
others. To meet our wants, the paper should 
embrace the preparation of the ground before 
planting — the time of planting — the distance be- 
tween the rows, and the distance between the 
hills — the number of stalks to be left in a hill — 
howitshould becultivated — the kind of plough — 
how often ploughed — how often hoed — when it 
should be laid by — whether the seed should be 
soaked, and if so, in what 1 If you can procure 
some instruction upon these points from an ex- 
perienced and successful corn grower, in time 
for your February number you will render a 
great service, not only to me, but to many others, 
and the author of the paper will be a benefactor 
both to man and beast. Col. Isbell's paper in 
your last number is very valuable, and I for one 
am under great obligations to him for it, but it 
does not go sufficiently into detail to supply my 
wants fully. 

" With the sincerest desire for the success and 
prosperity of the Southern Planter, I am, sir, 
Very respectfully, yours, 

Nathaniel T. Green." 



MISCELLANY 



TO GET ON IN THE WORLD. 

Volumes have been written to tell how it is 
done, and the condensed substance of the whole 
is contained in the following paragraph from 
Blackwood. The advice there given is infallible. 

" To get on in this world you must be content 
to be always stopping where you are ; to ad- 
vance you must be stationary ; to get up you 
must keep down ; following riches is like follow- 
ing wild geese, and you must crawl after both 
on your belly ; the minute you pop up your 
head, off they go whistling down the wind, and 
you see no more of them. If you hav'nt the 
art of sticking by nature you must acquire it by 
art; put a couple of pounds of birdlime upon 
your office stool, and sit down on it ; get a chain 
round your leg, and tie yourself to your counter 
like a pair of shop scissors ; nail yourself up 
against the wall of your place of business, like 
a weasel on a barn door or the sign of the spread 
eagle; or, what will do best of all, marry an 
honest poor girl, without a penny, and my life 
for yours if you don't do business ! Never mind 



what your relations say about genius, talent, 
learning, pushing enterprise, and such stuff; 
when they come advising you for your good, 
stick up to them for the loan of a sovereign, and 
if ever you see them on your side of the street 
again, shiver me and welcome; but, to do any 
good I tell you over and over again, you must 
be a sticker. You may get fat upon a rock if 
you never quit your hold of it." 



We cut the following from an exchange pa- 
per. It is not new, but well worthy of preser- 
vation. It is penned in a strain of lofty inde- 
pendence that must find a response in the breast 
of every freeman. 

A NOBLE EPITAPH. 

The following epitaph, found upon a cannon 
in the Island of Jamaica, near the spot where 
the remains of Bradshaw, the chief of the regi- 
cide judges, was interred, and published in a 
newspaper in this country in 1775, is the noblest 
production of its kind I ever met with. The 
reader will find in the closing line that great 
maxim which has hitherto been erroneously as- 
cribed to the immortal Thomas Jefferson : 
STRANGER ! 
Ere thou pass, contemplate this cannon ; 
Nor regardless be told, 
That near its base lies deposited the dust of 

JOHN BRADSHAW, 

Who nobly, superior to all selfish regards, 

Despising alike the pageantry of courtlysplendor, 

The blast of calumny and the terrors of vengeance, 

Presided in the illustrious band of heroes and 

patriots 

Who fairly and openly adjudged 

CHARLES STUART, 

Tyrant of England, 

To a public and exemplary death ; 

Thereby presenting to the amazed world, 

And transmitting down through applauding ages 

The most glorious example 
Of unshaken virtue, love of freedom, and impar- 
tial justice, 
Ever exhibited on the blood-stained theatre of 
human action. 
o ! reader! 
Pass not on till thou hast blessed his memory ; 
And never, never forget, 
That Rebellion to Tyrants is Obedience to God. 



YANKEES. 

Jeffries, the celebrated British review, once 
paid, unwittingly most likely, a handsome com- 
pliment to the indomitable perseverance of our 
countrymen. He remarked that it was his firm 
belief that if a premium of one thousand dollars 
were offered for the best translation of the Greek 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



23 



Bible, it would be taken by a Yankee, who till 
the offer was made, had never seen a word of 
Greek in his life — that he would commence 
learning the language immediately, to qualify 
himself for the great undertaking-, and would 
finish the whole work quicker than any other 
person, and bear off the premium. 



We have not much fancy for " Lady" poetry 
in the general, but there are some subjects that 
seem to fall peculiarly within the province of 
the gentler sex. We are sure none but a wo- 
man could have written the following beautiful 
and touching lines from the pen of Mrs. Sigour- 
ney. They are called, 

THE WIDOW'S CHARGE, 

AT HER DAUGHTER'S BRIDAL. 

Deal gently thou, whose hand has won 

The young bird from the next away, 
Where careless 'neath a vernal sun 

She gaily caroll'd day by day — 
The haunt is lone, — the heart must grieve, 

From whence her timid wing doth soar, 
They pensive list, at hush of eve, 

Yet hear her gushing song no more. 

Deal gently with her, — thou art dear, 

Beyond what vestal lips have told, 
And like a lamb, from fountains clear 

She turns, confiding to the fold ; 
She round thy sweet domestic bower, 

The wreaths of changeless love shall twine, 
Watch for thy step at vesper hour, 

And blend her holiest prayer with thine. 

Deal gently, thou when far away, 

'Mid stranger scenes her foot shall rove, 
Nor let thy tender cares decay, 

The soul of woman lives in love ; 
And should'st thou wondering, mark a tear 

Unconscious from her eyelid break, 
Be pitiful, and soothe the fear 

That man's strong heart can ne'er partake. 

A mother yields her gem to thee, 

On thy true breast to sparkle rare — 
She places 'neath thy household tree 

The idol of her fondest care ; 
And by thy trust to be forgiven, 

When judgment wakes in terror wild, 
By all thy treasur'd hopes of heaven, 

Deal gently with the widow's child. 



A SEASONABLE HINT. 

Dean Cowper of Durham, who was very eco- 
nomical of his wine, descanting one day on the 
extraordinary performance of a man who was 
blind, he remarked, that the poor fellow could 
see no more than " that bottle." " I do not won- 



der at it at all, sir," replied Mr. Drake, a minor 
canon, " for ive have seen no more than ' that 
bottle,' all the afternoon." 




TO THE READER. 
We must apologise for the lateness of this 
number, and taking time by the forelock, for 
what will be the lateness of the next. We did 
not commence the Planter until late in Februa- 
ry, 1841, and our desire to finish the twelve 
numbers within the year induced us to publish 
a double number in December. This circum- 
stance, together with the great press of job work 
at the office where our paper is printed, (as yet 
we have none of our own,) has put us a little 
behind hand. Our printer, too, is so good a fel- 
low, and labors so hard to accommodate all the 
custom that his well earned reputation brings 
him, and withal, gives us our work, when we 
do get it, in such neat and handsome style, that 
we cannot find it in our hearts to scold him for 
the vexation, which the delay has occasioned us. 
Nevertheless, we are well aware of the value of 
punctuality, and we are determined that the 
Planter shall be punctual to the first of the 
month. Probably it will be the first of March 
before we effect this desirable object, but let us 
once get matters straight, and it shall go hard 
but we keep them so. 



BACK NUMBERS. 
The second number is now completed, and 
the fifth, the last to be reprinted, is in hand. By 
the middle of February, the back numbers will 
be mailed to our old subscribers, and the whole 
of the first volume will be ready for delivery, 
bound or unbound, to new ones. 



O^r We have been induced to believe, that 
many of our subscribers, who intend to renew 
their subscription, will, from the procrastination 
that is natural to mankind, fail to do so for a 
time, greater or less, as the case may be. Now, 
as it is extremely important for us to know, as 
soon as possible, the extent of our subscription 
list, we have taken the liberty of sending this 
number to all of our old subscribers, whom we 
respectfully request to renew their subscriptions. 
If they decline doing so, will they be good 
enough to envelope the number and direct it 
again to the Southern Planter? We would 
not trouble them with this request, but that the 



24 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



number is valuable to us as one of a series. Of 
course no other number will be sent until the 
money is remitted. 

For the many renewals that we have already 
received, and the very great addition of new 
subscribers, with the thousand kind and compli- 
mentary encomiums that have been bestowed 
upon us, and which we dare not flatter ourselves 
we have deserved, we are profoundly grateful. 



Richmond Markets, January 20, 1842. 



Butter — Mountain Butter, wholesale 12^ a 
16 cents for firkin ; 20 cents for roll. 

Cotton — 8 a 9 cents per lb. 

Cattle — For Cattle on the hoof, from $4 to 
$5 50 are the general prices. Mutton — There 
is great variation in the quality ; indifferent sheep 
bring cv\y from $1 to $2, while the finer quali- 
ties bring from that to $5 per head. 

Fish— Mackerel, No 3, $7. Herrings— No. 
1, N. C. $3 50; No. 2, $3; Potomac cut, $3 
25. Shad $8 50 per bbl. 

Flour— $6— dull. 

Grain— Wheat $1 15 a $1 20, are the 
prices now paid for good red and white. Corn 
55 cents per bushel. Oats — 40 to 42^ cents 
from vessel ; from wagons and depot 45 cents. 
Very little grain coming into market. 

Hides — Green 5 cents per lb. ; Spanish 15 
a 16. 

Iron — Pig, $25 to $35; Swedes, $100 per 
ton. English, $85 to $90; Tredegar, (Rich- 
mond manufactory,) $90 ; Up Country bar, 
$75 a $80. 

Lumber — Clear white pine $36 ; refuse clear 
32b merchantable $22 ; refuse last sale at $14 ; 
flooring $15 a $20 per M. 

Lime — $1, and dull — none now afloat. 

Meal — 65 to 70 cents per bushel. 

Provisions — B^con — Old Smithfield dull at 
G cents ; new city cured, 7|a8 cents — demand 
small ; old Western sides 3 a 5, as to quality ; 
shoulders 2 a 4 cents — demand for old sides fair. 
Lard 7 a 8, retail demand only. 

Plaster — Last sales at $3 50 at Rocketts. 

Salt — $2 a $2 25 per sack, sales. Stock 
very light. 

Soap — For brown 4 a 6 cents per lb. ; white 
and variegated 12 a 14. 

Steel — American blistered $135 to $140 
per ton. 

Tobacco — But little doing — no change in 
price. 

Teas — Imperial and Gunpowder 80 cents a 
$1 05 per lb. ; Black 45 a 60 cents. 

Whiskey — Very dull. We quote Hhds. 25 
cents ; barrels 26 a 27 cents. 
FREIGHTS. 

On the Canal — To Lynchburg and inter- 
mediate places, 10 cents per 100 lbs. 



EXCHANGE. 
Foreign — On London 15 per cent, premium. 
domestic 

New York Checks 6 a 6^ premium. 
Philadelphia |a 1 premium. 
Baltimore 2\ a 3. 
North Carolina Bank Notes, par. 

Do. do. do. under $5, 2^ discount. 
South Carolina 3 premium. 
Savannah, par. 
Augusta, par. 
Alabama 15 discount. 
Tennessee 15. 
Specie 4^ premium. 



CONTENTS OF NO. I. 

Soils — Gen. Steinbergen's opinion of the value 
and proper mode of managing light soils, p. 1. 

Blue Grass — Its value as an improver, p. 1. 

Grubs — A remedy for, p. 2. 

Plaster — Results of experiments with, on corn, 
p. 2. 

Queries — Agricultural, propounded, p. 3. 

Ornament — The profit of ornamental improve- 
ment, p. 3. 

Ayrshire Cattle — With a cut, p. 4. 

Legislative Jlcfion — Deprecated as far as agri- 
culture is concerned, p. 5. 

Neiv Grounds — Hints for clearing, p. 5. 

Plaster— When it should be applied to wheat, p. 6. 

The Horse — Rules for the management and 
treatment of, p. S. 

Fencing — A new machine for making, p. 9. 

Cattle — Should be kept warm in winter, p. 9. 

Hominy Mortar — Improved plan of construction, 
p. 10. 

Agriculture — Offers a fine opportunity for invest- 
ment, p. 10. The practical part of the pur- 
suit neglected, p. 10. 

Alpaca — A description of, with a cut. p. 12. 

Coffee — A recipe for making, p. 13. 

Paint — A request for directions in mixing, &c. 
p. 13. 

Compost — How to manage, p. 13. 

Handling — The only sure test of an animal's 
fattening properties, p. 14. 

Transplanting — Directions for removing large 
and difficult trees, p. 14. 

Manure — The value of liquid excrements, p. 15. 

Premiums — A list of those offered for the spring 
exhibition of the Henrico Agricultural So- 
ciety, p. 16. 

Virginia Farming — Mr. Brown's opinion of, with 
comments, p. 17. 

Tobacco Prize — Cut and description of a pre- 
mium one, p. 20. 

Com — Inquiry for the best mode of cultivation, 
p. 21. 

Manures — Should not be allowed to ferment, 21. 

New Papers — Agricultural, noticed, p. 21. 

Miscellany — p. 22.