THE SOUTHERN PLANTER; 

Beboteti to agriculture, horticulture, auti the g?ousenoH» arts. 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. 

Xenoplwn. 



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



C. T. BOTTS &. L. M. BURFOOT, Editors. 



Vol. III. 



RICHMOND, JUNE, 1843. 



No. 6. 



RULES FOR BREEDING. 

Although there is a great discrepancy of opi- 
nion upon some portions of the mysterious art 
of breeding, the following precepts, from the 
pen of one of the most distinguished anatomists 
in Europe, Professor Cline, are, we believe, 
universally received as established doctrines 
amongst those who have the best right to knGW ; 
although dame nature sometimes amuses herself 
in setting at naught the most ingenious theories 
of philosophers. 

When the professor objects to large bones he 
must not be misunderstood. From the bone 
and muscle strength is derived, and, we presume, 
the greater the quantity of either, the greater 
will be the strength of the animal: but the 
quantity is not always to be measured by size ; 
indeed, as Mr. Cline remarks, they are generally 
found in an inverse ratio. In some animals a 
much greater quantity, both of muscle and bone, 
is condensed into a much smaller space than in 
others, and this constitutes the great physical 
difference between the Arabian and their de- 
scendants, commonly styled "blooded horses," 
and those of other descriptions. The ivory of 
the blooded-horse will always outweigh, though 
it will never outmeasure, the open, porous bone 
of the cart-horse. But where the density of 
fibre is equal, size will indicate quantity, and 
therefore, strength. With equal quality of bone 
and muscle then, the larg&st animal will always 
be the most powerful. With this commentary, 
we give to our readers the Professor's opinions 
upon the following subjects : 

"Muscles. — The muscles and tendons, which 
are their appendages, should be large ; by which 
an animal is enabled to travel with greater fa- 
cility. 

"The Bones. — The strength of an animal does 
nor. depend on the size of the bones, but on that 
of the muscles. Many animals with large 
bones are weak, their muscles being small. — 
Animals that were imperfectly nourished during 
growth, have their bones disproportionably large. 
If such deficiency of nourishment originated 
Vol. III.— 16 



from a constitutional defect, which is the most 
frequent cause, they remain weak during life. 
Large bones, therefore, generally indicate an 
imperfection in the organs of nutrition. 

"On the Improvement of the Form. — When the 
male is much larger than the female, the off- 
spring is generally of an imperfect form. If 
the female be proportionably larger, the offspring 
is of an improved form. For instance, if a well- 
formed large ram be put to ewes proportionably 
smaller, the lambs will not be so well shaped as 
their parents ; but if a small ram be put to larger 
ewes, the lambs will be of an improved form. 

ir The proper method of improving the form 
of animals consists in selecting a well-formed 
female, proportionably larger than the male. — 
The improvement depends on this principle : that 
the power of the female to supply her offspring 
with nourishment is in proportion to her size, 
and to the power of nourishing herself from the 
excellence of her own constitution. 

" The size of the foetus is generally in pro- 
portion to that of the male parent, and therefore 
when the female parent is disproportionably 
small, the quantity of nourishment is deficient, 
and her offspring has all the disproportions of a 
starveling. But when the female, from her size 
and good constitution, is more than adequate to 
the nourishment of a fcetus of a smaller male 
than herself, the growth must be proportionably 
greater. The large female has also a greater 
quantity of milk, and her offspring is more than 
abundantlysupplied with nourishment after birth. 

" To produce the most perfect-formed animal, 
abundant nourishment is necessary from the ear- 
liest period of its existence until its growth is 
complete. 

" The power to prepare the greatest quantity 
of nourishment from a given quantity of food, 
depends principally upon the magnitude of the 
lungs, to which the organs of digestion are sub- 
servient. 

" To obtain animals with large lungs, crossing 
is the most expeditious method, because well- 
formed females may be selected from a variety 
of large size to be put to a well-formed male of 
a variety that is rather smaller. 

"Examples of the Good Effects of Crossing 
the Breeds. — The great improvement of the breed 
of horses in England arose from crossing with 
those diminutive stallions, Barbs and Arabians ; 
and the introduction of Flanders mares into this 



122 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



country was the source of improvement in the 
breed of cart-horses. 

"Examples of the Bad Effects of Crossing the 
Breed. — When it became the fashion in Lon- 
don to drive large bay horses, the farmers in 
Yorkshire put their mares to much larger stal- 
lions than usual, and thus did infinite mischief 
to their breed, by producing a race of small- 
chested, long-legged, large-boned, worthless ani- 
mals," 



aUACKERY. 

We hail with pleasure and gratitude any in- 
telligent and scientific communication upon the 
subject of diseases in the horse. This noble 
animal has too long been surrendered to the ten- 
der mercies of the ignorant and designing. In 
the human frame, science and learning are pre- 
pared to contest, if not to conquer, the preten- 
sions of quackery, even in the present day of 
humbug. But dominion over the lower animals 
is surrendered to the pretensions of ignorance 
almost without a struggle. It is even ludicrous 
to observe the process to which a sick horse is 
frequently subjected. The owner generally com- 
mences by poking and thrusting a variety of 
compounds down his throat, one after another, 
at random, because he is sure he has heard either 
that, or something like it, recommended for 
something, and then, if he fails to strangle or 
kill him, he sends for the " horse doctor ;" who, 
with equal ignorance and a great deal more 
pretension, subjects the poor brute to a similar 
course of treatment. The sagacity of the ani- 
mal is sometimes greater than that of his mas- 
ter, and we knew an old horse once, who had 
been so long subjected to this kind of treatment 
that he would, instinctively, recognize and shy 
from a horse doctor whenever he met him. 

Defects of the eye are very common, and we 
recommend the following extract, particularly, 
to the notice of our readers: 

"Cure for Inflamed Eyes of the Horse. — Not- 
withstanding my occupation requires my atten- 
tion and exertions in attempting to cure or pal- 
liate the " ills that flesh is heir to" in the human 
species, my sympathies have been occasionally 
enlisted in behalf of that noble animal upon 
which we are so much dependant for many of 
our pleasures and comforts, and derive so much 
important service — the horse, in consequence of 
the empyric and barbarous treatment frequently 
practised upon him. 

"If the animal who claims for himself the 
image of his Maker, is willing to indulge in 



Brandreth's Pills, Lobelia, Magnetic Ether, an;? 
Jew David's Plaster, and write for his epitaph,- 
'I was well, took physic and died,' let his curi- 
osity be gratified ; but while we assume to our- 
selves the guardianship of the fourfooted par* 
of creation, let us discharge the duty in that 
manner that shall at least entitle us to the virtue' 
of humanity. 

" Not unfrequently when I have been giving 
my horses high feed and severe service in hot 
weather, over hard and dusty roads, I have ob- 
served them frightened and shy from objects to 
which they usually paid little or no attention ; 
and upon examination of the eyes, have disco- 
vered the external membrane {tunica conjunctiva) 
thickened so much as to impair or obstruct the 
vision, presenting a whitish appearance occa-* 
sionahy in spots, but frequently involving the 
entire membrane covering the organ. At this 
discovery many kind friends, actuated by the 
best of motives, would volunteer their aid and 
advice, for the purpose, of removing the difficulty. 
Mr. A., exhibiting an air of great confidence in 
his skill in such matters, would say, ' You must 
pound glass until it is very fine, and blow it into 
the eye through a quili, to cut the scu?n.' A re- 
medy, or rather an intended remedy, that would 
most assuredly render him blind, even though 
the disease should fail to accomplish that result. 
Then comes Mr. B. : ' Sir, you must blow burnt 
alum in that eye.' Mr. C., quite as knowing 
as his neighbors in these affairs, makes the fol- 
lowing prescription : ' Blow powdered blue stone 
into it, and rub a little rabbit's grease above the 
eye, and my word for it, to-morrow morning it 
will be as bright as a diamond.' 

" By just such treatment many a noble road' 
ster has been prematurely consigned to the cart 
or tread-mill; whereas, had the matter been en- 
trusted solely to the operations of Dame Nature, 
the result would have been widely different. 

" The course that I invariably pursue in such 
instances, is to keep the animal in a dark stable, 
to be fed upon hay, or if practicable, fresh cut 
grass and coarse bran — bleed freely from the 
mouth, and administer one and a half pounds 
of Glauber salts, two drachms of nitre, and fifteen 
grains of tartarized antimony in a bucket of 
water, and repeat the same daily until free pur- 
gative operation is produced. The animal will 
be invariably found in a feverish condition, and 
if kept from water for a short time will drink 
the mixture freely. If these means do not soon 
produce a salutary impression, I bleed from the 
large vein immediately below the eye. By 
placing the thumb of the left hand firmly upon 
the part, the vessel soon becomes distended, and 
the operation may be most conveniently per- 
formed with a common spring-lancet. By this 
means I have frequently succeeded in extracting 
from twelve to twenty ounces of blood, which 
has acted like a charm, by relieving the en. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



123 



gorged vessels of the inflamed membrane. The 
whitish or sometimes yellowish appearance, de- 
pends upon the effusion of coagulated lymph 
deposited during the acute stage of the disease. 
When the absorption of this does not progress 
freely, a' d the eye fails to assume its accustomed 
lustre and transparency, I blister a semicircle 
below the eye, one and a half inches in diame- 
ter, by applying daily with the point of the 
finger, a mixture of three parts of the common 
blistering preparation as obtained from the drug- 
gists, and one part Venice turpentine. Some- 
times the other membranes of the organ become 
diseased from similar causes, to remedy which, 
the foregoing treatment as detailed Avill be ap- 
plicable. Care should be observed in not too 
suddenly exposing the patient to a strong light, 
high food, or active service. 

" Thus I have given you, as our Buckeyes 
term the science, a chapter on ' horse-doctoring,' 
and if you perceive any thing in it that will re- 
pay you for the trouble, you are at liberty to 
publish it, with the promise, if it meets your 
approbation, of resuming the subject in some 
future number. 

Andrew Campbell, M. D. 

Middletown, Ohio, February, 1843." 

American Agriculturist. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Wood Lawn Farm, Orange, May 4, 1843. 

Messrs. Editors, — There is not a more palpa- 
ble truism in all the pages of the Southern 
Planter, than the following sentiment given in 
your April number from a western paper : "After 
the imagination is completely exhausted in eu- 
logizing the various products of mother earth, 
there is nothing to be compared to the old-fash- 
ioned blue grass for permanent pasture." Now, 
gentleman, as you have hoisted this flag, permit 
a recent and humble patron to urge upon you 
to nail it for a season to your editorial mast-head, 
for if we can get this invaluable grass to take 
permanent hold upon our soil, it will be worth 
more to the agricultural interest of our division 
of the Commonwealth, than all the theories of 
agricultural chemistry, from professor " Liebig," 
and the essays from Loudoun's encyclopcedia 
put together. If we can get such a friend to 
stick with us, either upon the virgin soil of our 
protected forest when freed from its unprofitable 
undergrowth, or upon our river bottoms, the tide 
of emigration would soon cease to set its face 
to the setting sun. It is worth the trial — then 
to give you an earnest of the willingness with 
which I will commence a little experiment upon 
a tributary of the York, I will become (if you 
can procure it) a purchaser of a half bushel 
clean geed if they are "sound and fresh, pro- 
vided it can be gotten under $1 a bushel, by the 



first of next January. I am emboldened to 
make this experiment from the luxuriant turf of 
it I find about my garden walks, as well as 
other uncultivated spots about my farm. 

I agree with you, that the great defect in our 
farming system " consists in too muck tillage, and 
too little pasturage." Then, gentlemen, fly the 
blue grass flag, and get others to try its culture 
too. 

Respectfully your obedient servant, 

P. Scales. 

We think we have done the State some ser- 
vice if we have been the means of inducing 
even one gentleman to make a fair experiment 
with this valuable grass. We will do our best 
to obtain the seed for Mr. Scales, and hope to 
procure it for much less than ten dollars a bushel. 



ENGLISH AGRICULTURE. 

Whatever opinion we may form of Britain, 
her pride, arrogance, insolence, presumption, va- 
nity — faults, too, that will have to be amended 
within ten years by the compulsory process of 
a general alliance of nations against her — yet 
we must all confess that her agriculture is the 
most stupendous thing under heaven ! When 
it is remembered that the crop of turnips 
grown in Norfolk alone is greater than the value 
of her trade with China ; that the market price 
of geese brought from the Lincolnshire fens is 
more than her trade with Denmark ; that^you 
shall see, as a common thing, a hundred acres 
of turnips, or a hundred acres of beans, or thirty 
acres of cabbage in a single field — a farm of 
three hundred acres all mown, or a farm of the 
same size, (three hundred acres) all in crops — 
the live stock on a single farm worth $50,010 — 
twenty horses emploj'ed on one farm every 
working day in the year, and by means of thrice 
ploughing, (heavy clays,) turning nine hundred 
acres in a single year — I say, when this is re- 
membered, it will be seen that " great" as Bri- 
tain is in every thing, the superlative degree of 
greatness is in her agriculture — in her soil, na- 
turally poor, but made rich by the application 
of capital and unwearied assiduity, good sense 
and enterprise. While in this country we fail 
most from the want of capital, and from the cir- 
cumstance that agriculture does not rank as an 
employment with others (especially with trade 
it is not valued) as it ought to be. The Eng- 
lish contend that it was never so valued in a 
democratic country ; agriculture being, in their 
estimation, substantially an aristocratic employ- 
ment; and it must be confessed that this is true 
of England. To be wanting in the dignity 
conferred by landed possessions, is to want that 
which conducts to the highest offices and the 
most exclusive society. The term country gen- 



124 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



tleman, is in England almost an actual patent 
of precedence ; and so far do they carry this, 
that no man in trade can marry into a family of 
landed descent and possessions, unless he add to 
wealth an eminent character for talent. 

Farmers' Monthly Visitor. 

There is nothing in a democratic government 
that deters from the pursuit of agriculture. — 
There is no portion of the earth more zealously 
devoted to our democratic institutions than the 
people of Virginia, yet are they strictly an agri- 
cultural population. In truth, wherever nature 
has granted a favorable climate and soil, such 
are the innumerable advantages of this delight- 
ful occupation, that it must enlist amongst its 
votaries the great mass of mankind. Those, 
whose means induce them to look rather for en- 
joyment than accumulation, will always seek 
the noble pleasures of a country life ; and he 
who wishes to engage in agriculture where it 
is sanctioned by the example of the aristocracy 
of wealth and learning, need not go to England 
to seek it. He will find it throughout the whole 
southern country. The farmers compose the 
aristocracy of Virginia, certainly ; they know 
and feel it ; you can see it in the slow and so- 
lemn gravity with which they pace our streets, 
when business brings them to the city ; they 
look down upon the hurrying cit, as they meet 
him on the side walk, with ineffable contempt; 
they know that he is the patient drudge who 
labors in their service ; whilst they, the lords of 
the land, revel in the luxury and ease that their 
more favorable occupation secures them. We 
know nothing here of that which is so often 
complained of to the North, the unjust degrada- 
tion in which agriculture is held. The name 
of Planter, at the South, is almost equal to a 
patent of nobility, and the occupation, in point 
of dignity and importance, has nothing to fear, 
with us, from the sneers of the most haughty. 



POULTRY BETTER THAN PORK OR BEEF. 

In this age of improvement in the production 
of animal and vegetable food, if there is any 
good reason why all the science, skill and enter- 
prise of agriculturists, editors, chemists and phi- 
losophers, should be applied to the melioration 
and refinement of one or two classes of animals, 
to the exclusion of others as good by nature as 
they are, we should like to know it. The hog 
and the bullock, dubbed with the English titles 
of Berkshire, and Durham, seem to walk over 
the land with a sort of John Bull swagger, that 



has commanded all attention, arid left all their 
brute brethren in their uncultured native defor- 
mity ; while those foreign titled gentry have, in 
the eyes of some, become absolute perfectionists. 
Now, in the language of our declaration of 
rights, " we hold these truths to be self-evident, 
that (by their constitution) they are all created 
equal." 

We are aware that the noble Berkshires,.by 
their elaine and stearine, have kindled up a great 
light in the West, (which we hope may dispel 
the black cloud of repudiation that hovers over 
that region,) and are about to monopolize all 
the care and labor of the farmers thereabouts ; 
but we can see no reason why the delicate, fea- 
thered race should thereby be debarred from 
sharing in the benefits and perfectionisms of cross 
breeding, in-and-in breeding, and all other scien- 
tific advancements in the world. The noble 
and ancient family of Chanticleer, whose clarion 
note has been the world's time-piece, ever since 
Peter denied his Master, and has never failed to 
sound the approach of every rising sun ; the 
bird that saved Old Rome from conflagration by' 
her warning voice in the dead of night, — shall 
these lose their old established rank, and give 
place in man's affections to "herds of swine" 
and the sturdy Bulls of Bashan ? What are 
all their uncouth grunts and frightful bellowings 
about the farmer's cottage, compared with 
the music of the cheerful chirping, chatting, 
cackling, crowing, gobbling, quacking, squeak- 
ing, squalling, with which his poultry-j'ard re- 
sounds from day to day ? 

But, to come to more sober matter of fact, we 
think this branch of the farmer's concern is de- 
serving of more attention than it has generally 
received. The profit derived from a well ar- 
ranged, well managed poultry yard, is greater, 
in proportion to the investment, than that of any 
other stock, bees excepted. More attention has 
been devoted to poultry in the vicinity of Phi- 
ladelphia, than any other part of our country. 
The Eucks county poultry have acquired a 
good degree of celebrity, even in the New York 
market, where they are sometimes found in 
abundance. They are, however, but moderate 
layers ; but their eggs are large and well fla- 
vored. Yet they are not considered equal to 
our dung- hill fowl in all respects. 

The Dorking fowl stands first in the estima- 
tion of those who have raised them. They will 
weigh from five to eight pounds. Their bodies 
are large, and better proportioned than any 
others, being long, full, and well-fleshed in the 
breast. They have short legs, and beautiful 
plumage, with five, instead of four toes; are 
good layers, good sitters, and good nurses. — 
Their eggs are large, clear white, and of excel- 
lent quality. When caponed, in the English 
mode, they weigh from ten to twelve pounds. 
Mr. L. F. Allen, of Buffalo, to whom we are 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



125 



indebted for the Dorking history, has them for 
sale. 

Our object in writing this article at this time, 
is chiefly to suggest to our agricultural societies 
the propriety of offering liberal premiums for 
the besj specimens of the various kinds of poul- 
try, at tueir next annual fairs. We need say 
nothing in favor of the richness and delicacy of 
this luxury of the table. Good premiums will 
soon bring out new species and valuable im- 



provements in this, as in any other branch of 
agriculture. 

A writer in the Maine Cultivator says his 
experience tells him, that the best mode of fat- 
tening poultry is, to shut them up where they 
can get no gravel — keep corn by them con- 
stantly — give them dough once a day, and skim- 
milk for drink. Thus they may be fatted in 
ten days. If kept up longer, should have some 
gravel, or they will fall away. — Farmers' Gaz. 



POST-AND-RAIL FENCE 




We have been the steady advocates of post- 
and-rail fencing, which we believe to be, under 
ordinary circumstances, by far the most conve- 
nient and economical mode of constructing a 
farm enclosure. Its only rival in this part of 
the world, is the unsightly worm-fence, which 
requires double the quantity of timber, now get- 
ting scarce amongst us, and involves a much 
greater amount of labor. The greatest objection 
heretofore has been the labor of mortising the 
posts. A year or two ago, we pointed out a 
mode of procedure which very much facilitates 
this operation, and which we have reason to 
flatter ourselves has not been without its effect 
upon the public. We recommended the boring 
two holes close together with a two inch auger, 
and the use of a long narrow-bladed axe for 
cutting out the wood between them, thus afford- 
ing a mortise of four or five inches long, two 
inches wide, and round at the ends, in a few 
minutes. We were, therefore, much pleased to 
find in the basement story of the Patent Office, 
a few weeks since, a fixture, of which we 
made a sketch, (as engraved above) which we 
think will be found a great convenience in bor- 



ing the holes. The post to be bored is placed 
between the uprights on the frame, and an ordi- 
nary auger, having a crank affixed, is made to 
turn in certain holes cut to fit the shank. By 
removing a pin and raising the cap, which turns 
on a hinge, the auger may be shifted from hole 
to hole, as required. A stop or guage should 
be affixed to the frame against which the head 
of the post should be placed, so as to make the 
mortises in the different posts correspond with 
one another ; but then care must be taken in 
setting, always to leave the same length of post 
out of the ground. 

The advantages of this machine are that it 
saves the trouble of laying off the posts, and 
guards against error in the same. It also bores 
the hole straight, which will not always be ef- 
fected by a common laborer. It requires little 
or no more labor to construct it, than is required 
for the common clamp to hold the post. 

We see that Mr. Ellsworth has recommended 
this machine in his report. He advises the use 
of a two and a half inch auger. Having had 
several applications for them we have given an 
order for some of the mortising axes alluded to. 



126 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



CURIOUS METHOD OF PLANTING CORN. 

Mr. John W. Sweet, of Tyringham, Berkshire 
.county, informs us that he plants his corn in the 
following' manner, and has realized 110 bushels 
shelled corn to the acre. 

He spreads what manure he intends for the 
field on the surface of the greensward ; then he 
ploughs the land into ridges about three feet 
apart in the fall — each ridge or row being made 
of two back furrows turned upon a narrow strip 
of sward which is not disturbed. In the spring 
he rolls and harrows these ridges, and on the 
top of each ridge, twelve or fourteen inches 
apart, he plants his hills of corn, three or four 
kernels in the hill, and cultivates the corn through 
the season with the hoe, cultivator and plough, 
as much as he deems necessary. In this me- 
thod, he remarked that he was not troubled 
with weeds or the drought. 

In the fall, as soon as his corn is ripe, he ga- 
thers the ears, then pulls up all the corn-stalks 
and lays them down lengthways between the 
furrows, and then splits the ridges with his 
plough, and covers these stalks up completely. 
Thus is made his ridge for his second crop of 
corn, to be planted the succeeding spring. The 
110 bushels was the second crop planted over 
the buried stalks. 

The above is sufficient to give the reader an 
idea of this system. He contends after the first 
crop he wants no more manure for his corn ex- 
cept the stalks applied as we have described. 

It is quite probable, the three sods and manure 
being under the corn the first year, that while 
these are undergoing decomposition, being the 
whole period of the growth of the corn, the 
crop will suffer less from drought than it would 
were there no vegetable matter beneath it to at- 
tract and detain moisture till its decomposition 
is completed. 

As to the fact that com-stalks are the best 
manure for corn, the idea is strictly philosophi- 
cal, and is fully sustained by chemical analysis. 
The doctrine seems to be well settled, that each 
crop requires its own peculiar food, and unless 
the soil contains this, the crop will pot flourish. 
Hence the necessity of rotation of crops, or the 
well established fact, with practical men, that 
potatoes will not thrive for many years in suc- 
cession on the same piece, because the crop has 
already exhausted the soil of the peculiar food 
of the potato, while some other crop requiring a 
different kind of food from what the potato re- 
quires, will succeed well on the same land 
where the potato crop has failed. Thus as the 
ox and the sheep, when put to the same stack 
of hay, the one will eat what the other leaves ; 
so it is with plants. 

Now, if you shoot a partridge, and cut open 
its crop, and find in it acorns and buds, you at 
once infer that acorns and buds are the natural 



food of the bird. So when by chemical analysis 
you ascertain the precise elements of which 
corn stalks are made, you have ascertained pre- 
cisely what kind of food the corn crop requires. 
Now as corn-stalks contain the very elements 
of the food required by the corn crop, and return 
to the soil all the substances of which they ex- 
haust the soil, the chemistry of agriculture 
teaches us that corn-stalks, while undergoing 
decomposition, furnish the growing crop with 
those very gases required for the elaboration of 
the solid stock and ears. 

But this is not only the conclusion of science, 
but a universal law of the vegetable world, by 
which an all-wise and bountiful God has pro- 
vided that each precise species of plants shall 
be re-produced and perpetuated. Thus the forest 
land, for centuries subject to a mighty growth, 
from year to year, not only increases in fertility, 
by an annual top-dressing, fitted to the very pur- 
pose for which it is wanted, and composted by 
the unerring hand of Deity, but also, from year 
to year, has something to spare for the good of 
man and beast. 

Thus in the vegetable as in the animal world, 
there is a wise provision, that each shall be sus- 
tained and re-produced ; and as these natural 
laws are more and more developed by science, 
we may expect the purposes of Infinite Wisdom, 
as to the vegetable world, will be less and less 
frustrated by the hand of unskilful culture. 

Boston Traveller. 



For the Southern Planter. 

COMMENTS ON THE MARCH NUMBER OF 

THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 

Indian Corn and Old Field Pines. — J. H. Fu- 
qua, of Amherst, writes with a strong farmer's 
hand, and it is hoped he will let us hear from 
him again. 

Tobacco. — Mr. Venable's communication in 
this number on tobacco is very good, but I have 
a few objections. In the first place, I object to 
the underlaying of a plant-bed with tobacco 
stalks. If the stalks were beaten fine and cast 
over the bed after sowing, the effect would be 
far superior. Or if, instead of the stalks, lug 
tobacco were made into snuff, and thus applied, 
still the better. I should never think of sowing 
tobacco seed in the month of December, parti- 
cularly on a warm bed, immediately after burn- 
ing; for there is certainly danger of their vege- 
tating and being destroyed by frosts. In situa- 
tions where a plant-bed is liable to be cloyed by 
drift leaves, the covering should not be put on 
till the latter part of March or first of April, 
when the bed can be trodden the second time, if 
required. The best manure for a plant-bed, is 
poudrette, or the dung of fowls. The latter 
part of this communication I particularly com- 
mend to the perusal of planters. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



12? 



Poudretle. — Mr. Woodfin's determination to 
improve his lands is highly commendatory; and 
if he does not succeed it cannot be his fault. If 
I lived in or near Richmond I should undoubt- 
edly seek the privilege of saturating plaster 
with urine, at the capitol. Also that of com- 
posting dead animals with marl near Rocketts. 

Broom Corn Hay. — There can be no doubt as 
to the good quality of broom corn hay ; as to 
the mixture of peas, the idea is new to me. I 
should not object to rich land for any hay crop ; 
for all that is necessary is to sow thicker. 

The Manner of Applying Manure. — So far 
from objecting to spreading out manure, made 
the previous summer and fall, as early as the 
month of February, I object to keeping it on 
hand thus long. My practice is to spread the 
manures above referred to, on the meadow or 
elsewhere in the fall of the year. That made 
early in summer, can be profitably used amongst 
the crops in the garden or field.- 

COMMENTS ON THE APRIL NUMBER. 

Jerusalem Artichoke. — I agree with T. F. in 
all he says, except the distance of planting, 
which is too great ; and the planting of corn 
and artichokes together, which 1 think should 
never be done. I do wish that some person 
would undertake an experiment for the purpose 
of ascertaining whether artichokes, like pota- 
toes, cannot be improved by growing from the 
seeds. 

Charcoal. — To those who have surplus wood,- 
Za. Drummond's communication on coal is 
highly interesting; and it is hoped he will give 
the result of his experiments. 

Blue Grass. — The editorial and extract from 
T. F. is good and true in all its parts. I would, 
however, remark that the Kentucky blue grass 
is the Virginia green grass. The blue grass of 
Virginia is a different and inferior article. 

Double-Eared Corn. — Never too late to do 
good ; so Mr. Hart now answers a question 
thirteen months old. He does not, however, 
answer to my satisfaction, for we all know that 
a single stalk to a hill is apt to bear two or 
more ears, and thus it may be that the two ears 
outweighed the one. There is no way of test- 
ing the question which is the most productive 
corn, except by the acre, or other given quantity 
of land. 

Suckering Corn. — If Mr. Hatton will plant or 
leave his corn thick, he will not be troubled 
with suckers ; for if the plants be sufficiently 
numerous to digest all the food within their 
range, all is right. As Mr. Hatton's land is 
rich, he should never manure in the hill, but 
rather between the rows, that the stalks may be 
perfect, and the ears weighty. Or what does 
Mr. Hatton, or other persons with poorer land, 
say to manuring with plaster or poudrette, one 



or both together, at the last ploughing of the 
corn % 

Edward Hitts Experiment. — I wish Mr. Hill 
had told us how long his com rows were, so' 
that an estimate could be made. 

To Improve a Piny Old Field.— I think " Old- 
Flu." intended to saj 7 , that the pines should not 
be cut down and turned into coal until the se- 
cond spring after being belted. With this cor- 
rection, I hope to try his plan. 

The Preparation of the Land and the Cultiva- 
tion of the Tobacco Crop. — I wish I could recom- 
mend this number of Mr. Venable as highly as 
his first, but as a system, I must object to much 
of it. When clearing is to be done, I care not 
how many armed knights make the attack, nor 
how quick they conquer. I cannot assent to 
the assertion, that twice as much tobacco can' 
be made on manured land, and that invariably 
more can be had for it ; for many of the new 
grounds in my neighborhood produce as much 
as the manured lots, and we invariably get a 
higher price for the tobacco. Mr. Venable seems 
to think that a tobacco grower, on new land, 
cannot find time to spread manure ; now I do 
not pretend to any great things, but I make 
nearly two hogsheads of tobacco to each hand, 
yet, by manuring, keep my whole farm in a 
state of improvement. 

It does seem to me that Mr. Venable's remedy 
for preventing fire, or rot, is worse than the dis- 
ease ; for undoubtedly the tobacco must be small 
which grows on a light fallow with a hard pan 
between the hills, a scraping culture, and that 
not continued longer than the time the tobacco 
is liable to fire. My rule is to force my tobac- 
co, by deep and late culture, to grow as large 
as possible, and risk consequences. I have no 
objection to the application of litter to tobacco 
land, for it is not only a direct food, but it ab^ 
sorbs water; and here it seems to me that Mr. 
V. is reasoning against his own argument. Mr, 
Minor and Mr. Venable are both right about the 
cut worms, for there are not only two, but three 
kinds. If Mr. V. would pulverize his ground 
by the second ploughing in the winter, he would 
not only kill the cut worms, but all others. 

Short Hints. — Argus seems to be a new hand 
at the bellows ; I hope he will try again. 

Premium for the Best Specimen of Ploughing, 
to be performed by the farmer himself. — Oh ! I 
wish I lived near your city ; I would show you 
how to wield the plough handles. It does seem 
to me that this ploughing match should, and 
will, draw together a great many farmers, "and 
may I be there to see." 

I trust that Mr. Venable and all others will 
take my remarks in the kindest spirit ; as my 
sole object is the general good. 

Investigator. 

May, 1843. 



12S 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



PREMIUMS. 

In a letter from Mr. Bement to the Editor of 
the "American Agriculturist," he complains 
much of the want of judgment in the indivi- 
duals frequently selected to award premiums at 
our agricultural exhibitions. The fact that the 
best judges are frequently competitors, presents 
a great obstacle to a good selection ; but it is 
certain that complaints are frequently made, and 
not without reason, of the decision of premium 
committees. Tt is not uncommon to see a ma- 
chine receiving a premium that the public en- 
tirely discards, and the manufacturer himself, 
after a little while, totally abandons. We know 
several in that predicament. We have seen 
mechanics not a little amused at the inquiries 
and observations of an examining committee, 
and truly they have been sometimes of rather a 
funny character. The fact is, we settle these 
things, as we do some others in this country, 
too much by guess work. Irreparable injury 
may in this way be done to the public as well 
as to the deserving breeder, or manufacturer ; 
and thus, unless great care is taken in the se- 
lection of judges, these exhibitions may become 
public nuisances, instead of public benefits. 

We recollect noticing and commending, at 
the time it was made, the suggestion of Mr. 
Allen, referred to by Mr. Bement. He proposes 
that the chairman of the committee, in making 
his award, shall state clearly and distinctly the 
principles by which the committee were go- 
verned, referring directly to the competing arti- 
cles, and pointing out the supposed advantages 
of the successful one. W T hat an interesting 
and practical commentary this world afford upon 
each particular subject. The objection made to 
it, is, that there are many men who are good 
judges of an article, that can't make a speech. 
We admit it, and we like them all the better, we 
believe, for not being able to make a " speech ;" 
but a man must be very unfit to be a judge or 
any thing else, who, when he has six heifers 
before him, can't tell the public why he prefers 
one to another. In alluding to this subject on 
a former occasion, with too much respect for the 
bashfulness (not modesty) of some gentlemen, 
we hinted that the same object might be effected 
in a written report, but, on reflection, we are 
satisfied that nothing would be so satisfactory, 
and so calculated to increase the interest in, and 
instruction to be derived from, these exhibitions, 
as the plan proposed by the Editor of the "Agri- 



culturist." Who, for instance, would not go a 
hundred miles to hear " Billy Johnson" com- 
pare the "points" of six of the most distin- 
guished horses in the Union, with the subjects 
before him 1 It would form a discourse more in- 
teresting and instructive than all the essays that 
were ever written upon the subject. 

Mr. Bement insists that some fixed principles, 
as far as practicable, should be adopted by the 
Society, as a standard for the decision of the 
committee, and as a source of information for 
the producers. For instance, he proposes that 
the following should be agreed on as the points 
of horned cattle for comparison, and that the 
animal combining, or possessing, the greatest 
number of these points, shall be deemed most 
meritorious : 

"1. Head small with a bright and prominent 
eye. 

" 2. Horns small and tapering. 

" 3. Neck small at the junction with the 
head, and gradually thickening to the shoulders. 

" 4. Brisket broad, deep, and projecting well 
forward. 

" 5. Shoulders full and no hollow behind them. 

" 6. Body deep, round, and capacious ; back 
straight. 

" 7. Loins broad, and wide between the hips. 

" 8. Legs short, full, and muscular above the 
knee — small below. 

" 9. Flanks well let down. 

" 10. Tail set on even with the line of the 
back, small and tapering to the end. 

"11. Broad in the twist, and if a cow, large 
milk veins and capacious udder. 

"12. Though last, not least, soft silky hair, 
thin skin and good handling of the flesh. 

" Other points might be given, but the above 
will exemplify my ideas on the subject." 



AGRICULTURAL CLUBS. 

A Farmer's Club has been formed by our 
friends near Wilmington, Delaware, on a some- 
what novel plan. It consists of twelve mem- 
bers only, who meet on the first Tuesday, of 
each month, at the house of one of the members 
in rotation, at 10 o'clock, A. M., when "an ex- 
amination," says the Delaware Gazette, "is 
made by the club of all that pertains to the 
farm, stock and cultivation of their host — his 
fields, his fences, farming utensils, mode of ap- 
plying manure, rotation of crops, &g. &c. The 
conveniences and accommodations of his farm- 
house, barn, piggery and poultry-yard, are all 
matters of observation and discussion. At an 
early hour a plain farmer's dinner tests the thrift 
and cookery of his better half — her bread and 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



129 



bulter, her savory meats and pies, well fatted 
poultry, her cheese, milk and cream, rich, fresh 
and cool from the just admired dairy, all afford 
practical themes at the dinner for discussion of 
their merits, and of woman's worth ; as far as 
practicable, the products of the farm are required 
to be u< d for this part of the entertainment. Po- 
litics and political matters are at no time alluded 
to or admitted. After dinner, agricultural sub- 
jects are discussed and experiments reported ; 
agricultural works and journals exchanged, nox- 
ious weeds noticed, and all the agricultural im- 
provements and publications since the last meet- 
ing are passed upon and reviewed — seeds, plants, 
new grains, &c, distributed — the entertaining 
member for the next month is agreed upon, and 
the club adjourns, always early, to attend to the 
feeding and foddering at home, before dark. The 
gentlemen who compose this club, consist of 
Messrs. Bryan Jackson, C. P. Holcombe, John 
W. Andrews, Jesse Gregg, Sam'l Canby, Henry 
Dupont, J. Boies, J. W. Thomson, Francis Saw- 
den, Wdham Boulden, George Lodge and Major 
Joseph Carr." — CvXtivator. 

This is exactly the plan of the " Hole and 
Corner" clubs in Virginia, from which no doubt 
it has been taken. We most sincerely wish we 
could see them extended into every hole and 
corner of the Union. 



For the Southern Planter. 

Bluestone, May 4, 1843. 

Messrs. Editors, — The enclosed was written 
at the request of the Upper Corner Club of 
Mecklenburg, and read at its last meeting, when 
the following resolution was adopted : 

"Resolved, That the paper just read by the 
President, Mr. A. C. Morton, be placed upon 
the records of the Club, and forwarded to the 
Editors of the 'Southern Planter,' with a re- 
quest that they publish it in that journal." 



ON THE COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES OF 
HERDSGRASS AND CLOVER, AS GENER- 
AL IMPROVERS OF THE SOIL. 

Gentlemen, — I should not have ventured to 
deviate from the rules of the Club, in submitting 
rny views in writing on the subject of the com- 
parative merits of Herdsgrass and Clover, as 
general improvers of the soil, but for the invita- 
tion to do so, which was given to me at the last 
meeting. With this apology, 1 shall proceed at 
once to the subject in hand. 

That no extended system of improvement can 
be rapidly and successfully carried on, without 
the aid of the artificial grasses, as a general 
rule, will, I presume, be conceded by all present. 

Manure, which is essential to the improve- 
Vol. III.- 17 



ment of all soils, should be abundant on every 
farm, and every agent, which aids in increasing 
the quantity or quality, without detracting from 
the fertility of the soil, whence it is taken, is de- 
sirable, in proportion as it effects this object. — 
No agents of this kind, so susceptible of ex- 
tended application, have yet been employed, as 
the artificial grasses. As food for stock, they 
constitute the cheapest, as well as the most nu- 
tritious ; as covering for the soil, to shield it 
from the impoverishing effects of the frost and 
winds of winter, and the parching sun of sum- 
mer, they constitute the most complete ; as litter 
or soiling for stock, they are the cheapest, rich- 
est, and most abundant ; and as agents to pre- 
vent the gradual washing away of the soil by 
heavy rains, none have been found so effectual. 
So, that, whether we use them as food for slock, 
top-dressing for lands laid out to rest, or litter for 
our stables, farm-pens, &c. their value must be 
admitted. That they, or some of them, are in 
general, essential to extensive improvement, will 
also, be readily admitted ; but the question of 
the comparative advantages of herdsgrass and 
clover, is one that admits of more doubt. When 
land, and especially tobacco land, is to be culti- 
vated on the three shift system, clover is cer- 
tainly preferable to herdsgrass, for the reason, 
that it forms a more speedy, and a more com- 
plete covering for the land, when laid to rest ; 
the clover requiring one year only to arrive at 
maturity, while the herdsgrass requires several, 
to produce such a turf as is adequate to any 
great improvement. But when the four or five 
shift system is pursued, I have no hesitation in 
giving the herdsgrass the preference ; and so far 
as the tobacco crop is concerned I have never 
known it to fail on herdsgrass turf, well culti- 
vated, while clover lots frequently fail entirely, 
from want of its necessary concomitant, plaster, 
or from the ravages of vermin, or some other 
unknown cause. As a fallow for wheat, I con- 
sider the herdsgrass totally unsuitable, on ac- 
count of the difficulty of eradicating it, particu- 
larly on moist land — while the clover is easily 
destroyed by summer fallow. As a forerunner 
of corn, I consider the herdsgrass objectionable, 
on account of the difficulty of preventing its 
growth among the young corn, and the addi- 
tional labor which it requires to reduce the strong 
turf which it forms ; all which may be partially 
overcome by early working. But it is chiefly as 
a hay crop, and as a grazing grass, that 1 give 
this the preference to all other meliorating crops 
relied on in this country. Among the many 
errors maintained and exploded in the agricul- 
tural community, there is not a greater, than 
that a small stock in proportion to the size of 
the farm, or in other words, that the " non-graz- 
ing system" is essential to improvement. Under 
the mode pursued by many in this country, of 
keeping a large stock, without the aid of the 



130 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



artificial grasses, this might seem plausible 
enough, but many enterprizing farmers and 
planters have discovered, that just in proportion 
to the quantity of the artificial grasses culti- 
vated, is the means of grazing and keeping 
stock, and just in proportion to these, is the im- 
provement in the stock, the facility of making 
manure, and the consequent improvement of the 
land. My own observation has satisfied me, 
that the dung dropped by cattle running on land 
cultivated on the three and four shift systems, 
without the aid of the grasses, bears no propor- 
tion either in quality or quantity, to that from 
land laid down in herdsgrass or clover. As hay, 
herdsgrass has no superior, whether you regard 
the quantity or the nutritive qualities of the 
food, for every variety of farm stock, or the litter 
which it affords for the stables and farm-pens. 
Here the herdsgrass has the most decided ad- 
vantage over clover, not only in the quantity 
and quality of the hay, but in facility of curing 
and preserving it from the effects of moist or 
rainy weather, or from heat and mould in the 
shock or stack. Another advantage is, that 
those, who cultivate herdsgrass, can always ob- 
tain their seed at a trifling expense of time and 
labor, while, as every tobacco planter knows, 
who has tried it, the clover seed must either be 
saved at a great expense of both time and labor, 
at a very busy season, or be purchased, and thus 
become annually a heavy tax. Another advan- 
tage of herdsgrass over clover, is, that land once 
well turfed, will remain so for years, while clo 
ver begins to decline after the second year. And 
again, clover is not only not valuable for grazing 
after the month of June, but actually deleterious 
to stock, and particularly to horses, mules, and 
sheep, while the herdsgrass affords fine grazing 
for every variety of farm stock throughout the 
whole year, with the exception of those portions 
of winter, when every species of vegetation is 
locked up with snow or frost. Farther, the 
herdsgrass when once sufficiently thick to form 
a strong turf, even on land really poor, will, in 
a course of years, restore it to tolerable produc- 
tiveness ; while on the same land clover will not 
grow sufficiently without the aid of manure, to 
produce any obvious improvement of the soil. 
More than twenty years experience has produced 
but little change in my views in regard to these 
grasses, except, that I am now persuaded that 
a judicious system of grazing ought to go with 
them, hand in hand. The long practice of 
seeding poor, thin and pipe clay flats, in herds- 
grass, has satisfied me that there is scarcely any 
such lands that may not thus be brought, even 
to tobacco heart, and especially, where they are 
occasionally inundated. And I have long known, 
and probably you all know, that there is no land 
which produces finer tobacco than the old herds- 
grass meadow. But I have yet to learn that 
any such land, or any other poor land, has been 



restored to tobacco heart by the use of clover 
alone. 

I have but recently turned my attention ex- 
tensively to the cultivation of herdsgrass on 
Bluestone, having from one or two failures to 
get a good stand, erroneously supposed that the 
fault was in the soil. I have ascertained, how- 
ever, from the experience of the two last years, 
that it only requires, on oat land, to be seeded 
thick, immediately after the land is ploughed 
and before a rain ensues, to ensure a good stand. 
And that the soft, sandy hills, on the west side 
of the creek, present at this time as good a 
stand as any close, moist soil not more thickly 
sown. 

While I would most urgently impress upon 
our Club, the importance of sowing grass ex- 
clusively, and especially herdsgrass, I am far 
from wishing to disparage, or enter the lists 
against clover. For I am myself pursuing the 
three shift rotation, of tobacco, wheat, and clo- 
ver ; and so far, have much cause to be gratified 
at the result. There is much too, depending on 
the peculiar situation of the farm, character of 
the land, and other circumstances, to determine 
the planter as to the expediency of cultivating 
the one or the other. I would earnestly recom- 
mend both, but with my present views, founded 
on the experience of others, as well as my own, 
I am constrained to give my most decided opi- 
nion in favor of herdsgrass, as a general im- 
prover; and in coming to this conclusion I have 
not lost sight of the benefits to be derived from 
either. For the value of any material or crop 
used on the farm for improvement to be fairly 
estimated must be considered in all the various 
uses to which it is applied ; and in all these I 
consider the herdsgrass as adding to the re- 
sources of improvement, not even excepting the 
raising hay for market ; for I doubt not that af- 
ter abstracting the hay crop, the meliorating 
effects of the remaining turf, will richly com- 
pensate the owner for all the trouble and expense 
of preparation, seeding, &c. 

In this part of the country, we have no avail- 
able resources for manure but those derived from 
the farm and its appurtenances. We have no 
right to expect that marl, lime, plaster, poudrette, 
or any other substance of foreign growih or 
manufacture can ever be obtained here sufficient- 
ly cheap, to justify their general and extensive 
use. It becomes us, therefore, to cast about for 
some other material to supply their place ; and 
to do this, we must (and the sooner the better) 
look at home, and here we may, in some mea- 
sure, help to check that constant drain which 
empties our purses for the foreign capitalists and 
brings no corresponding benefits to ourselves. 

Vegetable matter mixed with animal and 
other substances, must ever constitute our chief 
resource ; and there is no vegetable matter more 
valuable, and none can be raised in greater 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



131 



abundance for the purpose, than herclsgrass. 
Our branch flats, creek bottoms, and lands sub- 
ject to inundation, might be profitably employed 
in its production. If it escapes the water, it 
will furnish the stock with food, if inundated, it 
will furnish them with litter. My own most 
valuabl resource this year has been the yield 
of an inundated meadow, mowed and regularly 
cured and stacked in season — furnishing a quan- 
tity of good seed, as well as an abundant sup- 
ply of litter. I prefer the herdsgrass, however, 
for food, and the quantity and quality of the 
manure raised from the stock to which it is fed. 

Let me now, gentlemen, urge some considera- 
tions in favor of the artificial grasses which 
ought to come home to the feelings and the 
taste, as well as to the pride of our Club. Is 
there not something humiliating in having our 
eyes, whenever we ride or walk into our fields, 
greeted with the yawning gall, or the more hi- 
deous gully ? or meeting by the wayside, the 
kine of Pharaoh, who, having devoured all the 
miserable trash and weeds, which mar the beau- 
ty of our fields, are themselves, just about to be 
devoured by the buzzards? How do these 
scenes contrast with the verdant grass spring- 
ing up in all its vigor and luxuriance, and cloth- 
ing our fields in its beautiful habiliments ; with 
the cattle of a thousand hills grazing bounti- 
fully through the day, and returning home at 
eve laden with deposites, richer than those of 
the mammoth bank, and laying their grateful tri- 
bute at the master's feet, and causing his table 
to groan under the teeming abundance of milk, 
butter, cheese and beef? 

This, gentlemen, is no ideal picture — it is in 
reach of every man who will adopt the cultiva- 
tion of the artificial grasses, and avail himself 
of all the benefits which will result from their 
judicious and economical use. 

Should doubts still remain after the interesting 
discussion of this subject had at our last meet- 
ing and what has come before us at this, they 
can only be solved by judicious experiments of 
our own, or observation of the experiments of 
others. Permit me to state, however, in conclu- 
sion, that there is one fact which ought to Aveigh 
with no little force on the minds of our Club, 
and that is, that we know no instance of a skil- 
ful and enterprizing farmer or planter, who after 
having gone fully into the cultivation of the ar- 
tificial grasses, " has returned, like a sow that 
is washed, to her wallowing in the mire." And 
that we know no insta.nce of a country in a high 
state of agricultural improvement, where the 
artificial grasses are not regarded as the main 
stay and the one thing needful. 

With these views, gentlemen, I must close 
this subject, not, however, wiihout expressing 
rny regret that I have not had time to prepare 
something more worthy of my enlightened au- 
ditory and the interesting and important cause 



which has brought us together, and which it is 
to be hoped each member intends, to the best of 
his ability, to promote, whether in his own im- 
mediate practice at home, or generally through- 
out the bounds of the Club. 



ASPARAGUS. 
We see some writer in the " Farmers' Cabi- 
net" advising the cultivators of this vegetable 
to let the stalk grow twelve or eighteen inches 
above the surface of the bed, and then to cut off 
six or eight inches of the top for the table. — 
This is an old story, and goes the round every 
spring. We will warrant, he who spoils one 
dish in this way, will never try it again. The 
very moment the shoot is exposed to air and 
light it begins to lose the delicacy and flavor 
for which the vegetable is remarkable. It is 
true that the bud is the tenderest part of the 
shoot, and that it retains its superiority even af- 
ter it has begun to turn green from exposure, 
but this is not in consequence, but in spite of 
the exposure. A much greater improvement 
we should esteem a plan, we have seen lately 
recommended, of enclosing the shoot after it 
comes through the ground in a tin case, or hol- 
low reed, or even covering it over with a com- 
mon flower pot. By this means, it is said, it 
may be grown to an enormous size, without in- 
jury to its flavor. 



From the Farmers' Gazette. 
BUTTER. 

Manufacture and Preservation. — The 

good or bad quality of butter, depends much on 
the feed, age, and quality of cows. The best 
and greatest abundance of milk, is produced 
during four or five years of their middle age, 
when they are considered in their prime for all 
good purposes. The comparative quality of 
the different cows in a herd, is best ascertained, 
when they feed on grass only, as other kinds of 
food more frequently change the quality. Close 
observation is necessary, to ascertain the merits 
of each cow in this respect. The feed which 
greatly increases the quantity, generally depre- 
ciates the quality in some measure. Brewery 
grains particularly have this effect. Roots are 
generally an exception, as they make rich milk 
and greatly increase the quantity. Carrots, ruta 
baga, and mangel wurtzel, are preferable in our 
estimation to any other. Grass of a natural 
growth, or that grown on unmanured land, is 
preferable to that on rich and highly manured 
soil. 

Cleanliness and pure salt are indispensable in 
making good butter, as every body well knows. 



132 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



There is no butter that bears the West India 
climate equal to the Irish. Indeed we believe 
scarcely any other can be preserved sweet there, 
any length of time. This is probably owing, 
first, to their mode of scalding or melting it, in 
order to make it more compact, and expel all 
the butter-milk. And in the second place, to 
their custom of charring the inside of their fir- 
kins. This important fact should be known to 
every dairyman. The conservative power of 



charcoal, is well understood in the preservation 
of fresh meats, eggs, and every other article af- 
fected by exposure to the warm atmosphere. It 
is a perfect preventive of every bad quality im- 
parted to the butter by wood, which is generally 
found in that put up in firkins. If surrounded 
by charred wood, the deleterious effects of the 
atmosphere, which is very searching, will be 
perfectly prevented. The charring should be 
so slight, as not to impart color to the butter. 



For the Southern Planter. 
GATE AND FIXTURES 




The above is a sketch of my manner of fixing 
posts and gates, which I think is superior to 
Mr. Rice's, as published in the last number of 
the Planter. The posts are planted three feet in 
the ground, which is important, and a sill is accu- 
rately fitted in between the posts, which will 
prevent them from inclining towards each other ; 
in addition, there is a brace from each post to 
the sill, which still farther prevents the gate 
from swagging ; but they answer the still better 
purpose of preventing careless drivers from run- 
ning against gate or post, which is at the ex- 
pense of the gate or vehicle, and not unfrequent- 
]y giving fright to a young horse, from which 
he does not soon recover. You discover that 
the posts are capped, with an inclination out- 
wards, by which they shed the water and are 
thereby preserved, and it looks as well as any 
other finish, when neatly done. The hinges are 
made to embrace the frame and to extend eight 
or ten inches on the top and next to the bottom 
rails with screws or bolts to pass through them. 
The gate is much stronger, as the rails cannot 
draw out from the frame, which is too often the 



case with the cuff hinge, or the hinge like Mr. 
Rice's. 

The last number of the Planter is worth all 
of the subscription money. 1 think I shall keep 
a standing lot of the Jerusalem artichoke for my 
hogs. No root crop can surpass the sweet po- 
tato for hogs, but the artichoke has an advan- 
tage in its withstanding the winter, which su- 
persedes the necessity of digging, and I would 
say of planting, if the hogs are taken off of 
them in good time. 

If the tomatoes be as valuable for milch cows 
as the S. C. Advocate says it is, it is truly a 
valuable vegetable — none superior to it for the 
table — few equal to it for pigs and poultry, and 
the ripe fruit forms a most excellent application 
for the bite or sting of insects, allaying pain and 
destroying the effect of the poison almost in- 
stantly; and, to "cap the climax," I have been 
told by those who have tried it, that there is 
nothing better to destroy that dire enemy to 
" tired nature's sweet restorer," the bed bug. 
Yours, &c. 

Albert E. Wrenn. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



133 



THE NUTRITIVE PROPERTIES OF 
DIFFERENT CROPS. 

Our estimate of the nutritive value of differ- 
ent kinds of food is generally of a very vague 
and indefinite character; the ordinary farmer 
can el imate the effect of different supplies only 
by long and close observation ; and indeed the 
health and growth of his stock is liable to be 
effected by so many causes, over and above the 
food they eat, that the result of his observations, 
even when closely made, may be far from satis- 
factory. It would be a great thing then, if by 
chemical analysis we could discover exactly the 
properties of different kinds of food ; in producing 
for market, no such investigation is required, the 
best test of a saleable product being its market 
price ; but the farmer wants to know whether 
to cultivate an acre of land in potatoes, or car- 
rots, or sugar beets, or whether old-fashioned 
Indian corn is not more profitable than any of 
them. He can calculate the expense of culti- 
vation of each ; he can estimate the quantity of 
product in each, and if he could ascertain the 
comparative nutriment of each, he could at once 
draw a thorough comparison between them. — 
Vegetable substances, it has been long known, 
consist, invariably, of certain constituents, as 
gluten, albumen, gum, starch, water, salts, &c. 
in different proportions. Some of these princi- 
ples are known to be more, and some less, use- 
ful in supplying the animal economy : the glu- 
ten, albumen, &c. it is said are converted by the 
vital functions into flesh, whilst the gum, starch, 
sugar, &c. are only useful in creating fat. It 
would seem then, that we would have only to 
ascertain the proportions of each constituent in 
a given substance, which chemical analysis will 
always do, to tell exactly for what purpose it is 
adapted. Accordingly, scientific men, from time 
to time, have endeavored to obtain this estimate 
by analysis: but unfortunately not always with 
the same results. Indeed, we presume, that the 
constituents of a vegetable will vary, to a cer- 
tain extent, with the climate and soil in which 
it is raised, and we presume too, that these con- 
stituents may, in a measure, be differently ap- 
propriated by the digestive organs of different 
animals. Moreover, so intricate and complex 
i3 the chemical action of compound substances, 
especially when subjected to vital action, that 
nothing can be predicted without an exact know- 
ledge of all the constituents present in any given 
case. Although these circumstances, unfortu- 



nately, render the deductions from chemical ana- 
lysis even more uncertain than those drawn 
from common observation, yet the use of both 
methods may lead to more certainty than could 
be obtained from the sole application of either. 
We give to our readers, therefore, the latest es- 
timates of the celebrated French chemist, Bous- 
singault, on some important points. He found 
that the nutritive properties of 

100 bus. of beans was equal to 120 bus. of yellow peas. 

100 " " " " 191 " of wheat. 

100 " " " " 200 " of rye. 

100 " " " " 232 " of barley. 

100 " " " " 246 " of Indian corn, 

100 " " " " 1,096 " of potatoes. 

100 " " " " 1,361 " of carrots. 

100 " " " " 1,446 " of cabbage. 

100 " " " " 2,383 " of turnips. 

Dr. Dana, of Massachusetts, has also lately 
made a comparative analysis of corn, ruta baga, 
and potatoes, from which he has deduced the 
following table : 

100 lbs. of Corn. Ruta Baga. Potatoes, 
fresh dug. fresh dug. 
Contain of flesh forming princi- 
ples: gluten, albumen, &c. 1.26 1. 2.07 
Fat forming principles: gum, 
starch, sugar, woody fibre, 

oil, &c 88.43 13. 24.34 

Water, 9. 85. 72. 

Salts, 1.31 1. 1.39 

For the growth of animals and the formation 
of flesh, it will be seen, that Dr. Dana places a 
very low estimate upon Indian corn ; whilst he 
esteems it very highly for the formation of fat. 
Without drawing this distinction between fat 
and flesh, Boussingault estimates its nutritive 
properties infinitely above both potatoes and 
turnips. 



SOOT AS A MANURE. 

Improvements in agriculture, scientific and 
mechanical, are and will be the staunchest props 
of the landed and fanning interests ; it is with 
regret, therefore, that we ever observe a want of 
candor among those who ought to act as bre- 
thren. Much has been said lately of a new 
and highly fertilizing manure — one which will 
enable land to sustain and bring to the highest 
condition successive crops of the same plant. — 
But why does any secret attach to discoveries 
of such deep import ? Why are a few vague 
hints dropped, which tend only to mystify, and 
excite conjecture in the minds of thousands? — 
Is individual profit to be the result 1 We are 
told that the basis is carbon or some carbonized 
substance ; but the same thing might be said of 
starch, sugar, malt-dust, or any other vegetable 
product. While we are thus left in the dark a 




134 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



and, with Macbeth, must be content with the 
question, "Can such things be true?" it is con- 
solatory to refer to the evidence of facts, such 
as are detailed in that estimable article by John 
Morton, Esq., in No. XLI. of the Royal Agri- 
cultural Society of England, Vol. I. part iv., 
giving an account of the mode of cultivation 
adopted on Stinchcombe Farm, by Dr. Dirnme- 
ry. Herein we perceive a simple three-course 
rotation practiced for more than twenty-five 
years, with increase rather than diminution of 
produce, and wherein one of the chief fertilizers 
is cool soot. "The general price is 6d. per 
bushel, the quantity used on the farm is up- 
wards of 3,00 U bushels a year, one half of which 
is applied to the potato and the other to the wheat 
crop" A large flock of sheep gives " tail-dress," 
preparatory to turnips, which follow the wheat, 
and intervene between it and the potatoes. It 
is not the present object to enter into any further 
detail of the particular routine, but merely to 
make use of the preceding quotation as a pre- 
lude to the question of soot as a manure. " We 
have not," says Mr. Morton, " been able to ob- 
tain from Dimmery an idea of how soot acts in 
producing such effects, as it evidently does both 
on the potato and wheat crop ; the effect of it 
is particularly evident on the wheat, for however 
sickly it looks in the spring, its color and the 
vigor of its growth is changed in a few days 
after it has been applied." p. 401. Whatever 
may be thought of the limited and special ap- 
plicability of soot, yet where it does suit, and is 
proved by continuous facts to be eminently use- 
ful, even when applied in quantity so small as 
twenty-five bushels to the acre, in such places 
it is, to all available intents and purposes, the 
very compound itself which comprises the es- 
sentials of the vaunted, mystified, preparation 
of carbon, that now bores the imagination. — 
Soot is the purest carbonized product of mineral 
coal ; it contains oil and volatilized resinous 
matters, and above all, a fixed neutral salt of 
ammonia, which is perfectly soluble in watery 
menstrua, but retentive of its ammonia till a 
more powerful alkali displace it ; then as by 
mixture with lime, potass, or soda, the volatile 
ammonia is liberated, and revealed by its pun- 
gent odor. Without ascertaining what may or 
may not be the components of any nostrum, we 
unhesitatingly offer a strong opinion of the effi- 
cacy of soot — an efficacy not to be rivalled or 
surpassed by any known preparation whose 
chief component is free carbon. 

Mark-lane {London) Express. 



SALT FOR GRUB WORMS. 
In our last volume we recommended the ap- 
plication of a spoonful of salt to the hills of corn 
or cabbage to prevent the ravages of the cut or 



grub worm. We have noticed many testimo- 
nials to its efficacy since, and consider it more 
than ever worthy the attention of our readers. 
It is advised to apply it in quantities from one to 
two table-spoonsful on the surface of the hill 
without placing it in contact with the corn. — 
One individual remarked that a lot of cabbage 
plants watered from a salt pork barrel daily, es- 
caped the ravages of the worm, whilst the 
neighboring plants were entirely destroyed. 



EFFECTS OF CULTURE. 

The almond, with its tough coriaceous husk, 
has been changed by long culture into the peach, 
with its beautiful, soft, and delicious pulp ; the 
acrid sloe, into the luscious plum ; and the harsh, 
bitter crab, into the golden pippin. Attention to 
nutrition has produced quite as marked changes 
in the pear, cherry, and other fruit-trees'; many 
of which have not only been altered in their 
qualities and appearance, but even in their ha- 
bits. Celery, so agreeable to most palates, is a 
modification of the apium graveolens, the taste 
of which is so acrid and bitter that it cannot be 
eaten. Our cauliflowers and cabbages, which 
weigh many pounds, are largely-developed cole- 
worts, that grow wild on the sea-shore, and do 
not weigh more than half an ounce each. The 
rose has been produced, by cultivation, from the 
common wild-brier. Many plants may be mo- 
dified with advantage by suppressing the growth 
of one part, which causes increased development 
of other parts. 



AMMONIA. 
Since the publication of Liebig's work on 
vegetable chemistry, it has been assumed that 
the ammonia constituted the most valuable part 
of stable manure. To arrest and retain this 
volatile gas then, has been the great desidera- 
tum. The use of plaster, the sulphate of lime, 
has been recommended for this purpose. It is 
advised to be strewn over the stable litter before 
it is removed from the stall. In this case, Lie- 
big says, a double decomposition will take place, 
from which will result, sulphate of ammonia, 
and carbonate of lime ; by this means, the am- 
monia will be retained in a soluble shape for the 
use of plants. Mr. Partridge, of New York, 
who proclaims himself a practised and experi- 
enced chemist, denies that any such action will 
Tesult from the combination, at atmospheric tem- 
perature. Now, nostrum tantas componere lites, 
that is, it is not for us to decide when doctors 
disagree. But we see it recommended, possibly 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



135 



by way of settling this vexed question, to scat- 
ter common salt on the dung heap, or to water 
the litter of the stalls well with strong brine, an 
hour or two before removal. From this mixture, 
result, it is said, muriate of ammonia and car- 
bonate, of soda. In noticing this suggestion 
touching the salt, the Editor of the "American 
Farmer," whose practical experience is worth a 
hundred theories of the most learned chemists, 
says, 

" We are not chemist enough to avouch for 
the action of salt in the manure heap as above 
described ; but this we can state, that some years 
back, we bought twenty barrels of rotten fish to 
use as manure for corn. In each of these bar- 
rels there were about half a bushel of fish salt, 
of course, highly charged with the oil of the 
fish. After using the fish in the hills of corn, 
one to each, we mixed the salt with ten loads of 
barn-yard and stable manure, suffering it to 
remain a few days, when we turned it over 
with the shovel and gave it a more thorough 
mixing. We then hauled it out to the field, 
and spread it on half an acre : on an adjoining 
half acre, we spread ten other loads of the same 
manure, but unmixed with salt. We ploughed 
up the piece of ground and planted the whole 
in corn. The half acre of corn planted on the 
ground fertilized with the salted manure, grew 
from the start more luxuriantly, looked of a 
darker green throughout the season, and yielded 
more grain than that on the adjoning half, though 
the soils were precisely alike, and each had re- 
ceived the same quantity of barn-yard and sta- 
ble manure, and the same culture. The blades 
on the salted part maintained their greenness 
until pulled, although those on the other part, 
when pulled, were considerably fired. It is here 
worthy of remark that the ears on the former 
were some days later in hardening. 

" We have stated the above fact ; and with- 
out referring the result of our experiment, at the 
time, to any chemical combination between the 
salt and the ammonia of the manure, we were 
induced by our observation of the effect pro- 
duced, to conclude that the salt used, had im- 
parted to the earth the capacity of attracting from 
the atmosphere more moisture, as well as that 
of preserving it longer from the evaporating in- 
fluence of the sun's rays ; for the surface of the 
earth always looked, and was, in fact, much 
more mo'i3t than that of the contiguous piece 
of ground. What we looked upon at the time 
as unevaporated dew, may have been the ammo- 
nia abstracted from the atmosphere, and fixed, 
through the chemical agency of the salt upon 
the surface, and there made to await absorption 
by the earth, thence to be taken up by the roots 
of the plants as nutriment. If this union takes 



place, and, we have no right to question it, for 
the result of our experiment would seem to cor- 
roborate the assumption, salt must form a most 
valuable acquisition to the dung-heap, as any 
substance, not too costly, which can give fixed- 
ness to the eliminating properties of manure — 
which can prevent the escape of the rich gases — 
must operate greatly to the advantage of the 
husbandman, because it would impart to his 
fertilizing materials, a degree of durability which, 
alone, they do not possess — and this property of 
salt, we should think, would be greatly increased 
in value, in sands and other porous soils, where, 
as it is known, the effects of manure are much 
less lasting, owing to the escape of its volatile 
parts. 

" But whether the chemical action imputed 
to the salt be as stated, or not, we have no hesi- 
tation in affirming, that every farmer, who can 
afford to incur the cost, should procure a few 
bushels per acre, to mix with his manure in- 
tended for his corn ground, as it would prevent 
injury from the cut and grub worm, as was 
proved by our experiment ; for although the 
corn on that portion of the ground where the 
unsalted manure was used, suffered greatly 
from the ravages of these enemies, that on the 
part where the salted manure was used, escaped 
without any injury from them. 

" The quantity of salt used by us was greater 
than we would recommend. It was at the rate 
of twenty bushels per acre : having it, we used 
the whole as stated ; but we think that five 
bushels per acre would have answered equally 
well for the time being. In other experiments 
which we have made with salt, in sowing it 
broadcast over turnip ground, after it was ma- 
nured, ploughed and harrowed, we only used 
six bushels per acre, and witnessed the finest 
effects from it on a corn crop grown on the 
ground the succeeding year." 



SUBSTITUTE FOR CREAM. 

Beat up the whole of a fresh egg in a basin 
and then pour boiling tea over it gradually to 
prevent its curdling. In flavor and richness this 
preparation closely resembles cream. 



THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND. 

We have the pleasure of presenting to our 
readers on the opposite page, another portrait 
from the celebrated stock of Short-horns, belong- 
ing to Thomas Bates, Esq. of Kirkleavington, 
England. The pedigree of this animal is of 
the deepest kind, and his appearance is equal 
to his breeding. The artist has hardly done 
him justice in the loin and quarter, but his beau- 
tiful, fine, masculine head, wide, deep brisket, 
and round barrel, are to the life. His color is a 



136 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



rich roan, intermingled with a few patches of 
red and white. He is an animal of great pre- 
sence and finished action, and upon the whole, 
the choicest bull we ever looked at. He has 
been repeatedly exhibited with his dam, Duchess 
34th, at the great Agricultural Shows in Eng- 
land, and was never beaten. — Am. Agriculturist. 

For a splendid portrait of the " Duke of 
Northumberland," now considered the finest bull 
in England, we are indebted to the kindness of 
the Hon. Andrew Stevenson, Esq. The picture, 
which was presented to Mr. S. by Mr. Bates, 
the owner of the " Duke," graces our office 
walls, where our visiters, for whose benefit it 
was intended, can have an opportunity of seeing 
for themselves to what matchless perfection this 
noble animal can be brought — on paper, at least. 
We are assured, however, by Mr. Stevenson, 
that superb as the picture is, it is by no means a 
flattered representation of the original. 

Our ex-minister, who has been an importer of 
some of the finest stock in America, talks of 
agriculture with a gusto, that leads us to think, 
that his capabilities as a farmer, are only second 
to those he has exhibited to the world as a di- 
plomatist. 



having ploughed land to turn on. 2. The 
ploughed land is not trampled by the team be- 
ing turned on it. In ploughing from the out 
edge of the land to the middle, the team is un- 
necessarily fatigued by turning on ploughed 
land, and the ploughed land is so much trampled 
as to require a second ploughing. Try this ; if 
you have not heretofore practised it, it will be 
awkward at first, perhaps, but when you adopt 
it once, you will not be apt to abandon it. These 
remarks have reference to stubble land, not to 
sod, — though to some extent they are applicable 
to sod land. George W. Williams." 



TO HOUSEWIVES. 

Recent experiments in more than one family 
in this city, says the Delaware Gazette, have 
established that the plant known to botanists as 
the Pologonum punctatum, commonly called wa- 
ter pepper, or smart weed, and which may be 
found in great abundance along ditches, roads, 
lanes and barn-yards, is an effectual and certain 
destroyer of bed-bugs. It is said to exercise 
the same poisonous effect on the flea. A strong 
decoction is made of the herb, and the places 
infested with the insect are carefully washed 
therewith. The plant may also, with much ad- 
vantage, be strewn about the room. Elderberry 
leaves, laid upon the shelves of a cupboard, will 
also drive away roaches and ants in a very short 
time. 



PLOUGHING. 
We make the following extract from a letter 
to the Editor of the "Agriculturist," on the sub- 
ject of ploughing : 

" Plough from the middle of the land out. — 
The usual mode is to plough from the out edge 
of the land to the middle. In ploughing from 
the middle, out, the team must at each end be 
turned to the right. In following this course 
two things are gained: 1. The team has firm 
ground on which to turn, and is not fatigued by 



IT HAS COME AT LAST. 

We have it now. The latest and most inter- 
esting information we have to impart to our 
readers, is, that Mr. T. H. Bickes, of Frankfort, 
G rmany, has discovered a method of growing 
the most luxuriant plants in the poorest soil 
without manure, and without cultivation ; we 
are not sure whether he finds it necessary even 
to use seed or not ; at any rate, they will un- 
doubtedly be dispensed with as soon as the pro- 
cess arrives at a higher degree of perfection. — 
This wonderful process, strange to tell, has been 
in use in Germany for the last twelve years, al- 
though, of course, it remains a profound secret ; 
extremely profound, we haven't a doubt. 

At one of the late agricultural meetings in 
London Dr. Jackson guessed that seeds might 
be coated with some gummy substance, and 
then rolled in guano, whereby all the wonders 
of this extraordinary "secret" might be pro- 
duced. 



HOW TO PRESERVE HEALTH. 

It is stated in a foreign paper that M. Four- 
cault, a French physician, has recently made 
some important discoveries and experiments, 
which go to show that an important means of 
preserving or of restoring health is a due atten- 
tion to the access of air to every part of the body. 
He succeeded in producing, at pleasure, in ani- 
mals, before healthy, suppressions of perspira- 
tion, congestions of the blood, the derangement 
of the internal organs, affections of the heart, 
and the foundation of aggregation of matter in 
the lungs analogous to the tubercles in pulmo- 
nary consumption, and even death itself as the 
consequence. 

The means by which he arrived at these re- 
sults was the simple prevention of the access of 
air to the skin, which, by checking the functions 
of perspiration, caused the matters usually car- 
ried off through their agency to be thrown back 
upon the internal organ. — Boston Journal. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



137 



For the Southern Planter. 
AGRICULTURAL APHORISMS. 

NO. II. 

My eye has been upon you, and sure enough 
you have read my first number of hints — I now 
send 4. jecond. 

A. Well neighbor B. what do you think of 
rotten wood as a manure ? 

B. I think it is no manure at all, but a poison 
to land. 

A. Well what do you think of chips as a 
manure 1 

B. When they have rotted they are first rate. 
Christ directed the apostles to take up the 

fragments that " nothing be lost," which is equi- 
valent to saying take up the fragments, that 
every thing be saved. So will every wise far- 
mer obey the command, by appropriating every 
fragment and atom to its proper use. The Chi- 
nese manures his ground with the beard which 
he shaves from his chin; and if you say this is 
nothing, so is a grain of wheat, consequently 
so is a bushel of jrrains. 

I write whilst I am resting, and rest whilst I 
am writing. 

The blindest of all is he that will not see — 
so we often see persons blundering over lots of 
manure, and articles which can be converted 
into it, yet say they have nothing of the kind. 

The farmer and the usurer are the only two 
characters who are accumulating whilst asleep. 
Nature is at work for the first and art for the 
last. Nature never errs, but art frequently fails. 

When I want to see what my people are do- 
ing on the mountain I take up my telescope ; 
when I want to see what they are doing behind 
the mountain I takeup mySouTHERN Planter. 

The best book I ever read was the Bible ; 
well, in one place it says positively that, "if 
one work not, neither shall he eat." 

A few days past I learned that one of my 
neighbors gave away a fine chance of manure, 
because he had no time to cart it on his own 
lands. Now, reader, this is not so bad a story 
as you might suppose, for friend, remember the 
story of the dog in the manger. 

A youngsier once inquired of a substantial 
farmer why he did not dress finer? to which 
the farmer replied, my son, I have just spent 
$500 for a fine coat to put on one of my fields, 
and I could not at this time afford a new one 
for myself. Furthermore, I will say, that if you 
have cause to be proud of the fine coat which 
covers your little back, I should be more so of 
the fine dressing which I have put on my broad 
field. When your coat has faded, mine will be 
of bright color, and when yours is tattered, mine 
will be thicker and stronger. 

Argus. 

Amherst, April, 1843. 

Vol. III.-JS 



STONES ON CULTIVATED LANDS. 

It is an error to suppose that stones should be 
entirely removed from land which is under cul- 
tivation. The stones which would be in the 
way of the scythe while mowing, of course 
should be removed, but all the smaller ones 
should remain ; and if wholly or partially em- 
bedded in the soil, they preserve the moisture 
during a drought, and thus serve materially to 
increase the crop. The following article from 
the Gentleman's Magazine, published in 1773, 
is to that point : 

" It has been long known to experienced far- 
mers, that taking away very small stones and 
flints, is detrimental to ploughed lands in gen- 
eral ; but more particularly so to thin light lands, 
and all lands of a binding nature. It was, how- 
ever, never imagined that the damage could be 
so great, as it is now found to be, since unusual 
quantities of flints and other stones have been 
repeatedly gathered for the use of turnpike and 
other roads. In the parish of Sterenage, in 
Hertfordshire, there is a field known by the 
name of Chalkdell field, containing about two 
hundred acres ; the land in this field was for- 
merly equal, if not superior, to most lands in 
that county ; but lying convenient for the sur- 
veyors of the roads, they have picked it so often, 
and stripped it of the flint and small stones to 
such a degree, that it is now inferior to lands 
that were formerly reckoned not much over half 
its value, acre for acre. 

" Nor is it Chalkdell field alone that has ma- 
terially suffered in that county by the above 
mentioned practice; several thousand acres bor- 
dering on the turnpike roads from Wellwyn to 
Baldock, have been so much impoverished, that 
the loss to the inheritance forever, must be com- 
puted at a great many thousand pounds. What 
puts it beyond a doubt that the prodigious im- 
poverishment of the land is owing to no other 
cause but picking and carrying away the stones, 
is, that those lands have generally been most 
impoverished, which have been most often 
picked ; nay, I know a field, part of which 
was picked, and the other part ploughed up be- 
fore they had time to pick it, where the part 
that was picked, lost seven or eight parts in ten, 
of two succeeding crops ; and though the whole 
field was manured and managed in all respects 
alike, yet the impoverishment was visible where 
the stones had been picked off, and extended not 
an inch farther; an incontestible proof of the 
benefit of the stones." — Exchange paper. 



SWEET POTATOES. 

We have been endeavoring, since the receipt 

of Mr. Hatton's communication, to comply with 

his request by obtaining Mr. James Gordon's 

method of managing the sweet potato. Although 



138 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



the information Comes too late, perhaps, for the 
growing crop, we avail ourselves of the oppor- 
tunity afforded by a visit from Mr. Gordon, to 
transfer his views to our columns for the fu- 
ture use of the reader. 

Land intended for sweet potatoes should not 
be manured too highly — a light, sandy loam, 
which would bring five or six barrels of corn to 
the acre, is to be preferred. If the ground is 
too rich, a luxuriant growth of vine and a large 
quantity of small and indifferent roots will be 
produced. 

To grow the plants, prepare a hot-bed by lay- 
ing down ten inches of strong, fresh, stable ma- 
nure, and cover it with an inch of good surface 
mould. Upon this lay down the potatoes, as 
thick as they can be placed, and when the 
sprouts- begin to break ground, cover your bed 
an inch thick with the poorest sand you can 
find. This will smother the grass and save the 
labor of hand weeding. The proper stage for 
setting out, is when the sprouts just begin to 
turn down, preparatory to running into vines. — 
When the)' have arrived at this state, they are 
to be plucked off by introducing the finger and 
thumb as closely as possible to the parent root, 
taking care not to bruise the plant more than is 
necessary in the process. 

To prepare the field for the reception of the 
plants, it should be deeply and freshly stirred : it 
should then be thrown into ridges, ten inches 
high, four feet apart ; if the plough does not 
make the ridge of sufficient height, the earth 
must be drawn up with the hoe ; as it is impor- 
tant that the plants should be placed in a high 
and dry position. After the top of the ridge is 
levelled, proceed to set out the plants, fifteen 
inches apart. As soon as they have taken hold, 
run the plough as close as possible to ihe plant, 
turning the earth from it on each side ; clean 
out the ridges between and about the plants 
with the hoe and hand, taking particular care 
never to let the grass grow upon the ridge. — 
The next process is to hill up the plant by 
throwing the dirt to it on each side, when the 
hoe and hand should be again put in requisition, 
if necessary, to complete the hilling or to un- 
cover the bud. After every rain, the vines 
should be examined, and wherever a joint has 
put forth a root, which many will do, it should 
be severed from the earth, else your product will 
consist in a great number of little tubers, instead 
of a smaller quantity of fine potatoes; 



This is all the cultivation that will generally 
be necessary ; but the crop must at any event 
be kept clean and free from grass. 

Mr. Gordon has never succeeded well in keep- 
ing the potato, although he has tried many 
plans ; if he could discover a mode of keeping 
in which he had confidence, he would prefer the 
crop, as a food for stock, to any he ever raised. 



CURE FOR WORMS IN CHILDREN. 

A writer in the Farmers' Register, who being 
a slaveholder has a large family under his care, 
says that for nearly thirty years he has found 
the following preparation a certain cure for 
worms : " Take the fat of old bacon, sliced and 
fried in a pan until the essence is all out of it, 
take out the rind first, then put in as much 
wormseed (vulgarly called Jerusalem oak,) as is 
necessary, as much sugar or molasses as will 
make it palatable, and give it three mornings in 
succession. The children will eat it freely — 
some you will have to restrain from eating too 
much. Incredible as it may appear, I have 
known as many as one hundred and twenty or 
thirty large worms come from a child three or 
four years old. I usually give the medicine 
spring and fall. 



For the Southern Planter. 
RECIPES. 

Messrs. Editors, — The following are the re- 
cipes obtained in Maryland, to which I alluded 
in my last : 

Recipe for Dyeing Green. — Take 5 lb. of oil 
vitriol, 2 oz. indigo — put in a bottle and let it 
stand three or four days ; shake it well every 
day ; then boil a strong liquor of hickory bark ; 
dissolve 2 lbs. alum in water, put 6 lbs. yarn in 
the alum water, pour all the ingredients into the 
dye, put it all on the fire, and boil it well. The 
same dye will then color 6 lbs. more of a paler 
green. After it is dyed, and dried, it must be 
washed out with good soft soap. 

To Dye Red with Red Wood. — 1 lb. red wood, 
(hacked) 2 oz. alum, powdered; the red wood 
must stand twenty-four hours in river or spring 
water ; then boil it well, and after straining, mix 
your alum and aquafortis and boil it well for 
several hours. Mix 1 oz. aquafortis, 1 oz. block 
tin, in a tumbler, and set it in the sun about one 
hour. The above will color 2 lbs. of yarn. — 
After being dried, wash out with soft soap. 

To Dye Pink. — 2 oz. cochineal, £ lb. cream 
tartar, 1 lb. alum, the whole put in a kettle of 
soft water ; then put in 6 lbs. clean yarn, and 
boil it well ; not to be washed after being dried. 
I saw several very beautiful carpets that were 
dyed with the above recipes, and for brilliancy 
of color, they Would compare with the finest 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



139 



Turkey. I was particularly struck with the 
substantial appearance of one carpet, and on in- 
quiry, was informed that the filling was entirely 
cow's hair, carded and spun by hand ; the cost 
was but a trifle, and a more durable looking 
carpet T never saw. I think the whole filling 
of cow* hair, all white, did not. exceed two dol- 
lars for a whole carpet. Persons near a city 
would do well to turn their attention to the ma- 
nufacturing this article, as it has generally been 
deemed useless. A small quantity of cow's 
hair, with the inferior and coarse wool, would 



make a carpet that would outlast any carpet 
that could be bought : and in these hard times, 
every thing that tends to economy should re- 
ceive attention. Politicians may rant as much 
as they please as to the why and wherefore, and 
settle the cause of hard times among themselves, 
but when they come to the remedy, they will 
find that nothing but industry and economy will 
afford relief. 

Yours, respectfully, 

George W. Craven. 
Franklin, May 10, 1843. 



For the Southern Planter. 
A JUMPING COULTER 




Messrs. Editors, — I noticed that in No. 4 of 
your valuable periodical some allusion is made 
to the form of a grab for getting up ivy roots, 
&c. Now, I don't know much about ' grabbing,' 
but I will try and give you a description of a 
plough that is in common use in this country, 
that will destroy ivy and every other small 
growth with which it comes in contact. We 
call it a "jumping coulter." Our mode of clear- 
ing our forest lands is to cut off every thing 
(with the exception of the large trees) close to 
the ground : we then rake off the trash, and 
put the "jumping coulter" to work, with three 
mules hitched to it, and they break it up tho- 
roughly, cutting and tearing almost all the grubs 
and root3 to pieces ; we then cross-plough it 
with the same implement and the land is ready 
for cultivation. You would be astonished to 
see what large roots will be severed by the 
coulter-plough, which I will now endeavor to 
sketch and describe. 

In the first place, you have a shovel made, 
such as is common in Virginia, only much 
stouter, that is, much thicker: then, have a coul- 
ter made of bar iron, one inch thick, and two 
inches wide, shaped a3 in tbe drawing; this 



coulter is to be layed on the front with the best 
cast steel, and brought to a perfect edge ; it is 
all-important to keep the coulter sharp, which 
must be effected by grinding whenever neces- 
sary. The temper should be as much regarded 
as that of any other cutting tool. The wood 
work is like that of other ploughs, except, that 
it must be made uncommonly strong and heavy. 
The coulter must be put in the beam inclining 
as represented, and as it wears shorter, it must 
be driven down, so that its point will always be 
kept about two inches below the point of the 
shovel. 

If we had to grub our lands in the old Virgi- 
nia fashion, a man would hardly open a farm in 
his lifetime ; for the growth here is heavier, and 
the roots twice as numerous as with you. We 
use a hoe something like your grubbing hoe, 
only it is broader and is layed with steel, and 
with this we cut off every thing under the size 
of a man's arm — the larger growth we cut with 
axes. You know, and every body else who 
has had any clearing to do, knows, that a hand 
can cut off in this way three or four times as 
much as he could grub. 

Another advantage in these ploughs, is, that 



140 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



you can break so much more land in the same 
time than can be done in the. old way, that is, 
with the common coulter; for if the jumping 
coulter comes in contact with any thing that 
cannot be cut in two (even if it is a stump) it 
will immediately hop over, and strike into the 
ground on the other side. Instead of hanging 
in a root or stump, and whooping and hallooing 
to back the horses and extricate the coulter, with 
this fixture, your plough is continually going 
on, doing the best work I ever saw done in new 
ground. 

Your obedient servant, 

R. C. Dickinson. 
Spring Grove, Todd Co., Ky , April 19, 1843. 



For the Southern Planter. 
VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL SUPPORTERS. 

NO. II. 

Water. — Water is one of the great vegetable 
and animal supporters : it exists in three distinct 
forms — solid, fluid and vapor or gas; if a small 
degree of heat enters water in a solid state it 
becomes liquid ; if a still greater, it is changed 
to a state of vapor. Water is a compound, and 
not a simple elementary substance ; containing 
oxygen and hydrogen in the proportions of eigh- 
ty-five parts of the former, to fifteen of the latter. 
It congeals at 32° of Farenheit's scale, boils 
and becomes vapor at 212°, and evaporates at 
every point of the thermometer without being 
decomposed: a very high or very low tempera- 
ture promotes combustion, hastens its decompo- 
sition, and if confined, it becomes ignited. The 
atmosphere sustains water 34 feet, viz : a co- 
lumn of water of a given diameter is equal in 
weight, to a column of air of the same diame- 
ter, extending to the height of the atmosphere : 
so that we can by removing atmospheric pres- 
sure from fountains, raise water 34 feet ; beyond 
it, forcing pumps are necessary. Water is con- 
veyed over valleys, under ground, and may be 
carried over mountains whose height does not 
exceed 34 feet above the fountain ; provided a 
syphon be first filled with water to exclude air. 
Springs are supplied from elevated fountains — 
they are continued, reciprocating, intermitting, 
or remitting, depending on the supply of the 
fountain : there are also, natural and artificial 
jets of water ; daily, weekly and monthly springs, 
and occasionally rivers. Such springs have sy- 
phons under ground, communicating with the 
bottom of the reservoir above, and as the angle 
of the syphon reaches the height of the fountain, 
water cannot flow until it passes the angle ; then 
it descends through the longest arm of the ca- 
nal, and falling below the bend of the syphon, 
causes the stream to weep, stop and run alter- 
nately, according as more or less time may be 
required to fill the fountain. The atmosphere 



is loaded with water in a state of vapor, and if 
suddenly condensed would deluge the earth : 
when raised by heat, it is condensed and returns 
again to the earth, variously modified into dew, 
mist, rain, hail and snow. The particles of wa- 
ter, have a strong affinity for each other ; clouds 
passing over arid countries, seek a humid at- 
mosphere and find their way to water courses ; 
blending and uniting with moist clouds from the 
ocean. Many tribes of plants, are nourished and 
supported by air and water alone ; our seas are 
frequently covered with weeds and mosses in 
such large masses as to obstruct the progress of 
ships. 

Water is contained in all bodies, in a greater 
or less quantity, and is either in a state of sim- 
ple mixture, or in a state of combination. In 
the first, it renders bodies humid, is seen by the 
eye and may be disengaged with facility: in 
the second, it exhibits no character showing it 
to be in a state of mixture. It exists in this 
form in the wonderful variety of salts, crystals, 
plants and animals; imparting to them trans- 
parency, strength and firmness. Crystalized 
quartz, gems and diamonds, lose all transparen- 
cy when deprived of their water of ctystaliza- 
tion. Many bodies are indebted to this fluid for 
their fixity, ihe acids, for example, acquire fixity 
by combining with water. This element is the 
grand solvent and the grand cen ent of nature ; 
without it the vegetable and animal kingdoms 
become skeletons, the mineral world loses its 
force of cohesion and tumbles into dust; the 
great globe itself a pulverulent mass, and if at- 
traction be removed it will cease to exist ! Wa- 
ter facilitates the coagulation, re-union and con- 
sistence of the particles of matter, and when 
disengaged from its combinations and in a state 
of liberty, is one of the most powerful agents 
on earth. It bears a part in the formation and 
decomposition of all bodies in the mineral world — 
is the life of vegetation, aye, and the death toe — 
animals are dependant on water for the free ex- 
ercise of all their functions, and it hastens and 
facilitates decomposition as soon as they are de- 
prived of the principle of life. This fluid has 
never been compressed, but is very obedient to 
the action of heat, by which it expands and fills 
immensity. Its pressure upwards, downwards 
and laterally, is the same at any given depth ; 
the upper particle in any column presses upon 
the next particle with its whole weight, and is 
equalty pressed upwards by the re-action of the 
second: the pressure upon the bottom of a ves- 
sel, is equal to the product of the area, multiplied 
into the perpendicular altitude of the longest 
column ; and in two vessels of equal bottoms, 
the pressure will be proportionable to the per- 
pendicular altitude. To find the pressure on a 
mill-dam, multiply the area of the dam in square 
feet, by half the depth and that product by 62 
pounds, the weight of a cubic foot of water. 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



141 



Bodies of water, large or small, are regularly 
convex, being part of a sphere of the same 
magnitude with the earth : a vessel of water at 
the centre of the globe, would run over through 
the whole of its ascent to the surface ; as its 
conve-.ity would continually decrease while re- 
ceding from the centre. One body of water 
however small, will balance another however 
large, which seems to be a hydraulic paradox. 
Branches, creeks and rivers, are inclined planes, 
and yet their velocity is not accelerated ; the 
resistance of the sides and bottom causes uni- 
form motion : hence the water moves slowest 
near the sides and bottom because of the greater 
resistance. If a dam be thrown across a stream, 
the water becomes refluent from one point to 
another, until it reaches the height of the dam ; 
the refluent point is then at rest. The velocity 
of a stream is greatest where the bottom has 
the greatest declivity, and where the velocity is 
least, the breadth or depth is greatest : the same 
quantity of water, however, must pass through 
every part of a stream, deep or shallow, broad 
or narrow in the same time ; otherwise some 
parts of the channel would become dry : where 
the channel is narrow the velocity is greatest, 
and the reverse when wide and extended. — 
Hence the momentum of moving waters in the 
whole river at any particular section, is the 
same. Rain water is the standard for compar- 
ing the specific gravities of bodies ; a cubic foot 
weighing 62 pounds avoirdupois: then as the 
difference between the weight of any body in 
air and water, is to its weight in air ; so is 62 
pounds to the specific gravity of the body; in 
this way w r e may compare the specific gravities 
of any number of bodies. The weights of bo- 
dies of the same magnitude, are to each other 
as their specific gravities ; the specific gravity 
of gold is 19, viz: gold is 19 times heavier than 
its bulk of rain water. The most brittle and 
delicate substances, are embraced and protected 
by water ; the thinnest glass or egg shell, bears 
the greatest pressure, without being broken when 
immersed in this fluid. It is yet a doubt with 
the philosopher, whether water in its gross state, 
enters directly into the composition of plants ; 
the probability is, that when it comes in contact 
with their roots and leaves, they cause a decom- 
position of this element, and after performing 
the great work of elaboration, and evolving sap, 
oil, mucilage, sugar and other secretions, these 
principles again unite and form water. But of 
this we know nothing, it is all doubt and con- 
jecture ; we know, however, that water is ob- 
tained from plants by pressure, excision, heat, 
&c. which is proof positive that it is a compo- 
nent part of vegetables. Galen. 

P. S. — Correct an error in the first number, 
viz : for " 5,500 species of plants," read 55,000 
species of plants, and oblige G. 



For the Southern Planter. 
TO PICKLE STURGEON. 

If you Wish to make a round, take the back 
bone out Without cutting it in two, wash it and 
lay it in salt Water not very strong, that day and 
night, the next day, put it in a strong brine ; the 
third day, wash it, tie up the round with a cord, 
then boil it until you can run a straw through 
it ; then take out the large scales, and draw the 
cord tighter ; if you find it is not salt enough, 
set it on the end and sprinkle it with salt, let it 
remain until the next day — whilst it is boiling, 
skim off the oil ; when it is done, take all the 
oil off the liquor and strain it : to two gallons 
of liquor, put four table-spoonsful of allspice, two 
table-spoonsful of pepper, two pods of red pep- 
per, boil the spices in the liquor well ; if it re- 
quires more salt, add it to your taste, then put 
jit in the vessel in which it is to remain when 
[ cold, add half a gallon of strong vinegar and 
| put in the sturgeon. It will be fit for use in 
twenty-four hours. 

We received the above from one of the best 
housewives in Virginia, but our trial with it 
was a total failure : we hope our friends may 
have better luck. 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 
We have been not a little surprised lately at 
receiving orders for articles upon the faith of our 
having recommended them so highly, when in 
truth we knew nothing more about them than 
the person sending the order. We hope we are 
not to be held responsible for every puff and re- 
commendation that may appear in the Planter. 
We admit freely, statements on both sides of 
any subject, and express our opinion when we 
please; for any statement made upon our per- 
sonal knowledge, we are of course responsible, 
but no man in his senses will attempt to extend 
the principle any farther. For instance, in the 
last Planter " Exall & Brother" advertise and 
describe, over their own signature, a threshing 
machine, which we have never examined, and 
immediately one gentleman writes to make fur- 
ther inquiries about this machine, which, he 
says, is so highly recommended by us. Again, 
We announce ourselves the agents for Bom- 
mer's method of making manure, and insert an 
advertisement of Mr. Bommer's, over his own 
name, describing its excellencies, &c. To this 
we append a statement that we had understood 
at the North, that Mr. Bommer was there con- 
sidered a gentleman and a scholar, and that we 
met with many who, without trying it had 



142 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



formed a favorable opinion of its merits. This 
was all we said ; for it was all we knew. Well, 
a gentleman immediately encloses us twenty 
dollars for the method, as he says, entirely upon 
the faith of our recommendation. Now, we 
protest against this buckling responsibility on 
our backs, whether we will or no. As faithful 
chroniclers, we are bound to tell all we know, 
hiding nothing, concealing nothing ; but this is 
all you can ask, and if with a knowledge of all 
the facts, you come to an erroneous conclusion, 
that is your lookout, not ours; if even our poor 
opinion should serve to mislead you, we should 
regret it, it is true, but if conscientiously given, 
we cannot repent it. 

We beg our friends to notice the distinction 
between statements made by us on our indivi- 
dual responsibility, and statements appearing in 
the Planter from other sources. Whilst we will 
not permit our readers to be mislead by what 
we know to be the misstatements of others, we 
can never consent to be considered responsible 
for the truth of all that appears in the paper. 



For the Southern Planter. 
BUCKWHEAT. 

Messrs. Editors, — I see your correspondent 
Mr. Ship asks for information for raising buck- 
wheat, and since our wheat crop is so precarious, 
I think we should not rely on it altogether, and 
in a mixed crop I know nothing better than 
buckwheat. I have a little practical knowledge 
about its culture. I will endeavor to give it. — 
As to soil, sandy loam is best : a northern expo- 
sure of any good land will bring buckwheat. 
The ground should be prepared as for any other 
small grain. I have generally sowed three pecks 
to the acre; cut when half the seed is ripe, 
taking care to cut in the morning when the dew 
is on, or on a damp day, as it shatters very much 
when cut dry. I have generally seeded just be- 
fore going into harvest, but any time before the 
first of August will make a good crop, if the 
season is not too dry. It should be set up in 
small armfuls, and twisted at the top to keep it 
from falling down ; it should stand until you are 
ready to thresh ; it can be hauled to the barn in 
a tight body or threshed in the field. It is the 
best grain that is grown for fowls, and it is very 
fine for bees, as they make a quantity of honey 
from it at a time when they cannot get any 
thing else: ground, it is fine for hogs or horses. 
There is some art in making good flour, as the 
hull is black. The plan adopted by my father, 
who owns a mill, is, to hull it by raising the 
millstones just so as to rub the hulls off, then 
he runs it through a fan and mixes a small 



quantity of wheat and corn, and grinds and 
bolts the whole together. The cakes that are 
made from this flour, with good butter, are 
"hard to beat," and if friend Ship should have 
the good luck to make an abundant crop, and 
will ship some of his flour, made as above, to 
Richmond, he will find pretty ready sale for it. 
Take care and keep it clear of grit. 
Yours, respectfully, 

Geo. W. Craven. 



IMPORTANT TO FARMERS. 

A New Era in the History of Agricul- 
ture. — Meeting in Flateush. — It will be 
observed by the following statement that every 
farmer may now manufacture any quantity of 
manure he may require for his own use. 

A committee consisting of the following gen- 
tlemen, Elias Hubbard, Esq. of Flatlands ; Fer- 
dinand L. WyckofF, of New Lotts ; Michael 
Stryker, of Flatbush ; Henry S. Ditmas, of 
Flatbush ; Johannes Lott, Jr. of Flatlands, ap- 
pointed from a large company of farmers, as- 
sembled to examine Mr. George Bommer's me- 
thod for making vegetable manure by fermenta- 
tion, on the premises of Garret Kouwenhoven, 
Esq. of Flatlands, in this county, respectfully 
report, 

That after careful examination of a heap kid 
up on the 19th of April and opened this after- 
noon, (May 3d, 1843,) they most cheerfully ac- 
knowledge that the change produced upon the 
materials used, far exceeded their most sanguine 
expectations ; said materials, consisting of straw 
and salt hay, presented, when opened, the ap- 
pearance and smell of rich manure. 

Said committee further report that they also 
examined the book containing Mr. B.'s method, 
and are fully persuaded that the various ingre- 
dients used, are all, in themselves, beneficial, and 
in their combination must produce the most fa- 
vorable results. The committee most cordially 
commend the above method to the serious con- 
sideration of the farmers of Long Island. 
By order of the Committee. 

Elias Hubbard, Chairman. 

Flatlands, May 3, 1843. 

The above is taken from the " Long Island 
Star," and goes far to corroborate Mr. Bommer's 
claim to the discovery of a valuable agricultural 
invention. Since the publication of our last 
number, we have received so many applications 
and inquiries relative to the merits of this pro- 
cess, that we wrote to Mr. Bommer, advising 
him to authorize us to place the method in the 
hands of some individuals whom we would se- 
lect here at home, known to us, and known to 
the public, for their integrity and judgment, and 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



143 



upon their certificates of its merits to sell his 
rights, without any farther guarantee or warran- 
ty. To this application Mr. Bommer promptly 
responded, authorizing us to take any steps we 
chose to test the merits of his invention, in which 
it is ce/. ain he entertains the most unbounded 
confidence. Accordingly, we have been making 
the necessary arrangements, and hope, as soon 
as the nature of the thing will permit, to furnish 
our readers with satisfactory information upon 
the subject. 

In the meantime, we see from the last number 
of the American Farmer, that Mr. Bommer's 
claim to the title of discoverer is disputed by an- 
other French gentleman, who claims to have 
been the first to introduce the process into this 
country. The public, probably, are much less 
interested in settling the honor of discovery, 
than the merit of the invention. We copy the 
article as we find it in the " Farmer." If we 
understand it correctly, Bommei's right to sell 
is not disputed, but an equal claim is set up by 
other parties, which is totally denied by Mr. 
Bommer : so that the purchaser from the one is 
upon sure ground, whilst the oiher may be much 
harassed if Mr. Bommer succeeds in establish- 
ing his exclusive claim. The Editor's testimony 
as to the result of the operation, as far as ap- 
pearances go, is very satisfactory. 

"Gouliart's Mode of Making Manure. — 
We rode out to Mr. David Carlisle's, in Balti- 
more county, on Saturday last, to view a pile of 
manure put up by Mr. Gouliart, for that gentle- 
man, upon what is called the Bommer plan. Of 
the claim of the latter gentleman to the inven- 
tion there is at present a doubt, but as we are 
not called upon to decide the claim to invention, 
all we will say at the present time, upon that 
head, is, that a French gentleman by the name 
of Bear, appears to us, from what we have 
heard, to be the first one who introduced it into 
America, and that he and his partner, Mr. Gou- 
liart, have made improvements in the mode of 
preparation. Now for our opinion as to the value 
of their plan. The pile at Mr. Carlisle's was 
put up on the 1st of March, when the materials 
vjere much covered with, the ice and snow ; and, of 
course, in a very bad condition to be operated upon. 
They consisted of unbroken corn stalks, leaves from 
the woods, coarse marsh grass, and the harsh rubbish 
usually found on a farm. And notwithstanding 
the unsuitable condition in which those materials 
were at the time the pile was made, the uncon- 
genial state of the weather nearly ever since, 
and the unavoidable neglect by Mr. C. as to the 
regular application of the decomposing liquid, 



we found a mass of most excellent manure, 
which was for the most part of black, unctious, 
and of fertilizing appearance, and we hesitate not 
in saying, that we have not the slightes doubt 
as to the intrinsic value of Messrs. Bear <§• Gou- 
liart's method of rapidly converting all ligneous 
and woody substances into good fertilizing ma- 
nure, and that their plan will be worth millions 
to the agricultural community of America. We 
will refer to this subject again, probably in our 
next." 




TO CORRESPONDENTS. 

We are obliged to Mr. Bement for his com- 
munication on the culture of roots, received too 
late for this number. We are doubly indebted 
to this gentleman for any communication from 
his pen, because, with a liberality unparalleled, 
he affords his valued assistance to our columns, 
whilst he is engaged in editing a paper of his 
own. It may not be known to our readers that 
the "Central New York Farmer," a paper at 
all times worthy of their especial patronage, has 
placed its claims to public favor on the highest 
grounds, by securing the services of Mr. Bement 
as assistant Editor. A single article from his 
pen would at any time be valued, in the editorial 
market, at ten times the price of the paper, 
which is only fifty cents per annum. 

Articles from "A Young Farmer ;" from S. 
D. M. on the improvement of old land ; from J. 
Duval on the division of arable land ; from W. 
O. G. ; and several others, received too late for 
this number, will appear in the next. 



POSTAGE. 

Of all the ridiculous laws that disgrace the 
statute book, the postage law of Congress, as 
construed by the Postmaster General, is the most 
absurd. Our paper, without a cover, was de- 
clared by the Postmaster to be, from the nature 
of its contents, an agricultural newspaper, and 
like the " Cultivator," it was subjected to news- 
paper postage, the maximum of which is 1$ 



144 



THE SOUTHERN PLANTER 



cents. But as soon as it was stitched and co- 
vered, the nature of its contents remaining the 
same, mark ye, the Postmaster decides, and no 
doubt properly under the law, that it is a pam- 
phlet, and as such, subject to pamphlet instead 
of newspaper postage. 

The cover " if used for general advertising 
purposes" is charged as another sheet. When 
we became aware of this fact, to save a portion 
of this unjust burden to our subscribers, we dis- 
continued our general advertising business, al- 
though a small source of profit to us, and used 
the cover only for our private purposes ; then the 
postage was, under our construction, marked 
"I5 cents under a hundred miles, and 2£ cents 
over a hundred miles." But having received 
orders that the number was wrongly marked, 
and that it should pay 2£ and 5 cents, we of 
course made the alteration required, and have, 
in consequence, opened again our columns to 
our advertising friends. 

The effect of this regulation is, that the paper 
published at one dollar is taxed to distant sub- 
scribers with a postage of sixty cents, or more 
than half the subscription price : whilst the large 
periodicals of the North, as the " New World," 
&c, three times our size, and burdening the 
mails three times as much, because they are not 
pricked by a needle, pay about one-fourth the 
postage. What a ridiculous and impolitic dis- 
tinction ! Works of a substantial and perma- 
nent character, which the government should 
rather encourage than depress, are precisely 
those which are most likely to be furnished in 
that form, which subjects them to this ridiculous 
tax. 

Many of our subscribers object to the dispro- 
portion between the subscription and the postage, 
and we are so often the sufferers by this absurd 
regulation, that, in self-defence, we shall proba- 
bly be compelled, another year, to forego our 
neat and convenient form, and issue our publi- 
cation in the style required by the capricious 
whirn of our Congressional representatives. 



EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT. 

In consequence of an intended change of re- 
sidence, Col. Burfoot has disposed of his interest 
in the Planter to the subscriber, who is now 
sole Editor and Proprietor of the paper. By 
this arrangement, the subscribers to the paper 
will sustain no loss, for whatever it has hereto- 



fore been, it will be likely to continue ; it having 
so happened, that from the hour of his connec- 
tion with it until the present moment, the junior 
Editor has never written a word for the paper, 
or even seen a sheet of it until it was in the 
hands of subscribers. Indeed, we entertain a 
strong hope that the Colonel may be induced to 
do more for " love than money," and now that 
the irksomeness of duty is removed, we expect 
to receive from his pen those contributions that 
he is so able to afford. 

C. T. Botts. 



Erratum. — For now, nostrum tantas, &c, in 
the last line but two of the 134th page, read, 
non nostrum tantas componere lites. 



CONTENTS OF NO. VI, 



Breeding — Rules to be observed in breeding animals, 
p. 121. 

Eyes — Treatment of inflamed eyes, p. 122. 

Blue Grass — Its cultivation urged by a correspondent, 
p. 123. 

Agriculture — Its dignity and importance, p. 123. 

Poultry — Deserves more attention, p. 124. 

Post and Rail Fence — Machine for mortising described 
with a cut, p. 125. 

Corn — Novel mode of cultivation, p. 126. 

Comments — On the March and April numbers, p. 126. 

Premiums — Proper mode of awarding, p. 128. 

Points — Desirable in horned cattle, p. 128. 

Agricultural Club — One established ai Wilmington, 
Delaware, on the Virginia plan, p. 128. 

Herdsgrass — Recommended in preference to clover, p. 
129. 

Pasturage — Artificial grasses and the extensive keep- 
ing of stock recommended, p. 129. 

Aspaiagus — How and when to cut it, p. 131. 

Butter — Its manufacture and preservation, p. 131. 

Gate and Fixtures — Described, with a cut, p. 132. 

Comparison — Of the nutritive properties of different 
crops, p. 133. 

Soot — Its value as a manure, p. 133. 

Salt — Its effect upon worms, 134 — used to retain am- 
monia, p. 135. 

Culture — Its effects, p. 134. 

Ammonii — Different modes of retaining, p. 134. 

Cream — Substitute for, p. 135. 

Duke of Northumberland — Notice of, p. 136. 

PtottffAmg-^Directions for, p. 136. 

Smart Weed — Its effect on cninches and fleas, p. 136. 

Secret — For making a crop without manure and with- 
out cultivation, p. 136. 

Health — To preserve, p. 136. 

Worms in Children — To cure, p. 138. 

Recipes — For dyeing and painting, p. 138. 

Aphorisms — No. 2, p. 137. 

Stones — Should not be removed, p. 137. 

Sweet Potatoes — Mr. Gordon's mode of cultivating, 
p. 137. 

Jumping Coulter — Described, with a cut, p. 139. 

Vegetable Supporters — No. 2, p. 140. 

Sturgeon — To pickle, p. 141. 

Buckwheat — To cultivate, p. 142. 

Bommer's Manure— Additional particulars, p. 142,