T HE 



s 



OUTHERN r LANTER 



P. 



DEVOTED TO 



AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, LIVE STOCK AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 



T. W. ORMOND, 
W. C. KNIGHT, 
W. C. JACKSON, 



Proprietor. 
Editor. 
Advertising Agent. 



44th Year. 



JANUARY, 1883. 



No. !. 



OOITTEITTS: 

Farmers and Farming in Virginia in the Olden Time 1 

A Riddle 6 

Shorth( rns at the State Fair 7 



Winter 

Cabbag 

^he Ins 



Dats, 



9 

10 



oection of Eggs 12 

lecent Progress in Oyster Farming 14 

leport of Experiments in Wheat Culture on the Experimental Farm of the Uni- 
versity of Virginia, 1882 18 

What Will Dr. Pollard Say to This?. .. 27 

Influence of Lime on Soils 

Keeping One Cow - ... 

The Tag Question..... ,,.. - ; 

The Fisheries of Virginia ■. 33 

The Progressive Farmer 34 

England and the Turnip .,..., 35 

Enquiries 36 

Sheep Husbandry , , 37 

Broad Ties , .'. 38 

Furman's Farm. 39 

Editorial : 

A New- Year's Greeting 44 

The Ashley Phosphate Company, 46 

Sheep at the Last State Fair 46 

Farm Gates 47 

How Much Seed Wheat to the Acre? 48 

Editorial Notes : 
To our Subscribers Again; Notice to Correspondents; Tuckahoe Farmer'sClub Papers; 
An Item for Dr. Pollard; James J. H. Gregory; Complimentary to the Planter; 
Eastern Lunatic Asylum ; W. D. Blair & Co.; The Prang Christmas Cards; The 
Poem of Paul H. Hayne on the Wheat Field; Theodore Pryor, D. D., of Virginia ; 
South Georgia and Florida; Prof. Tice's "Annual National Weather Forecasts ; " 
Fallow— Poetry ; Digitated Stockings; Peabody Educational Fund; The Popular 
Science Monthly for December ; Arms and the Man ; The Complete Poultry Book ; 
The Development of Art in America ..50-54 



Richmond : J. "W. Ferg-usson & Son, Printers. 



RICHMOND FARM-IMPLEMENT HOUSE, 



Office 1422 




"Champion" Barbed "Wire. 

ENSILAGE AND FODDER CUTTERS, CORN SHELLERS OF ALL KINDS, 
SOUTH REND CHILLED PLOWS, DIXIE PLOWS, STEAM ENGINES. 

ASHTON STARKE, 
Office : 1422 Mam Street. [jy] RICHMOND, Va. 



The 
Best 



BUTTER 

Fop COLOR and SWEETNESS 

Use BEAN'S CONCENTRATED 

Extract of Annatto. 

[Nature's own Color. Brightest 

and Strongest. Buy of your Mer- 
chant, or send 25 cts. in stamps for a sample, coloring 500 lbs. to 

BEAN & RABE, Prop., 47 & 49 N. 2d St., PHILAD'A. 
ap 15 — ly ^^ 




POLAND-CHINA PIGS. 

A choice lot just farrowed for which I am 
now booking orders. Prices reasonable. 
J. B. GRAY, Fredericksburg, Va. 
mar 1 — ly 



H. A. S. HAMILTON, 

Fishersville, Augusta County, Va., 

BREEDER OF PURE 

Southdown Sheep. 

My flock took seven premiums at Virginia 
State Fair in 1881. Am prepared to fur- 
nish buck of any age at reasonable prices. 

my 15— 11* .^__— 

CHEAPEST BIBLES&i£Z^iffi£ 

tra features. Both Versions New Testament A &ENTS WANTED 
FORSHEE & McMACKlN.Cincinnati.O. """ ■ "—— • 

15— 



^LIBRARY 
^ Col'ege 



■THE — 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 

DEVOTED TO 

Agriculture, Horticulture, Live Stock and the Household. 



T. W. ORMOND, 



Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts.-XENOPHON 
lillage and pasturage are the two breasts of the State.— Sully. 



W. C. KNIGHT,' . " Proprietor. 

Editor. 



44th Year. RICHMOND, JANUARY, 1883. = nTw. 



FARMERS AND FARMING IN VIRGINIA IN THE OLDEN TIME. 



No. 6. 



[The following articles were found among the papers of the late Joseoh C P.h.n 
and were sent to ns by the junior relative, to whom he bequeathed the entire c'oH *, ' 
of hi. books and papers, and who vonehes for the correctness of the copie leCt '° a 

The accoun of the Monticello estate may be compared with that given by the Due d 
L.ancourt, which was reprinted in the Farmer', Register, Vol. 1, pa4 725 The ! 
adopted on the ShadweU farm, adjoining, was more nearly in accorf vrith that of Id" 
mg practical farmers in the same county. 0f iead " 

The system then pnrsned at Weyanoke, a. herein described, may also be advanfa,™ , 
compared with the same system as afterwards modified and mproved by tteTrS^ 

well-informed farm^, '£Z K ft. t ^VdSSL^ 17 
for agricultural purposes in Tide-water Virginia, on a large scale. '' 

Our contributor has promised to send us some further excerpts from the sum* „„ 

containing notes or memoranda on diver, matters pertaining to rn»T econZ T? 

as be,ng either enrious or nseful, he thinks worthy of preservatfon and n 7' " ° h * 

aecooot of Mr. Cabell, own efforts in behalf of iJS£^ft£5 

MONTICELLO [in 1806 or 1807.] 

There are 900 acres of landfo this little mountain which i. 
crowned by Mr. Jefferson's seat. Twelve springs £e : 'sS tered 
events surface, the nearest of which to the hf use is St 
about 200 yards. Besides these there is a well sunk near Z 

416228 



2 SOUTHERN PLANTER. . [January 

house to the depth of sixty feet, most of which is solid rock. 
The mountain is laid off into three principal divisions — the 
pleasure-grounds, the farm, and the park : the first consisting 
of 150 acres, and occupying the summit of the mountain; the 
second of 200 acres, and lying below the former on the southern 
side ; the third covering all the rest of the mountain, and stretch- 
ing along its northern side, where it is beautifully terminated 
at its base by the meander of the North river. 

The mere outlines only of this plan are at present traced. 
Mr. J. means to fill up the details on his retirement from public 
life. The pleasure-grounds will be in imitation of the English, 
and particularly of those of Lord Littleton [at Hagley], as far 
as the situation will admit, in which, however, there are some 
obstinate difficulties. There can be no lake, and from the 
steepness of the surface, the walks must be conducted in con- 
centric circles, in order to avoid fatiguing ascents and descents. 
From the warmth of the Virginia climate another deviation from 
the general rules of [landscape] gardening will be necessary. 
In England, open space is the principal trait. Here it must be 
shade. Hence the necessity of high trees throughout nearly 
the whole plan. But by trimming their lower branches in cer- 
tain parts, Mr. J. hopes to have sufficient prospect, and to sacri- 
fice less in appearance than would be expected. Of the con- 
centric walks there will be three, and a connexion between them 
formed by sloping ways. The last of them form the outline of 
the grounds. The trees will consist of the growth of the moun- 
tain — locust, poplar, walnut, sasifras, &c. In this respect the 
grounds will be a curiosity to Europeans, for the rich variety 
of American forest trees is nowhere more remarkable than on 
the mountain of Monticello. In several old gullies on a par- 
ticular part of its surface, I remarked young trees of locust, 
walnut, and poplar — the usual indications of a fresh and fertile 
soil. 

The farm will be laid into four shifts of fifty acres each, in 
which there will be a rotation of crops of oats, clover, and peas, 
for the support of the stable, and the fattening of the smaller 
animals. Mr. J. will procure all his corn from his farm on the 
adjacent plain. 

The riding around the foot of the mountain is between five 

and six miles in extent, and on a level the whole way, except 

at the gap where the road passes between Charlottesville and 

Milton. The road from the mill to the house rises one foot in 

en, but in five or six places it runs for some distance on a level 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 3 

in order not to take too much from the farm, on the left in 
ascending. 

The pioportion of i to 10, or of 6° of a circle, is the right 
one in laying off roads on declivities. Mr. J. said he obtained it 
from Dr. Walker, and that in England, in some of their finest 
roads, the ascent was only 3°, or 4 in ascending. His instru- 
ment for laying off roads was the rafter level. By a barometrical 
calculation the elevation of Monticello above the North river is 
510 feet; distance from Monticello to the Blue Ridge, 20 miles ; 
from Monticello to the Eastern horison, 40 miles ; to the farthest 
visible mountain to the north, no miles; to Willis's mountain, 
70 miles. 

At one time during the drought of summer there were upwards 
of 500 bags in Mr. J.'s mill. His canal runs three-eighths of a 
mile through solid rock. The expense thence arising might be 
the cause of his observing that he regretted his having not pur- 
chased land with his money instead of building a mill, in which 
way it would not yield him 5 per cent. His manufacturing mill 
has five floors, and two pair buhr-stones, one of five and the 
other of six feet diameter. Of the latter, one of the stones 
weighed 5,000, and the other 4,000 pounds. He means to rent 
the manufacturing mill at $1,200 per annum. He has purchased 

for its use a movable fire-engine, which cost $ . In his toll 

mill, he means to have erected in the long entry which leads to 
it, a beam, with a pully to slide thereon, for the purpose of con- 
veying bags with ease in and out of the mill. This is an imita- 
tion of the manner of conveying boats across rivers in France 
and Italy. The dam across the North river consists of wooden 
pens filled with stone ; and when the wood shall have rotted ; he 
will not pull down and rebuild the old dam, but place another 
of the same size immediately below and touching it, the inclined 
plane only being in a different direction, is that there will be a 
rising in the middle, over which the water will flow when high. 

The drought lasted at Monticello from June to August, and 
about fifty days. 

WEYANOKE. 



Nov. 2d, 1807. — I was at Mr. Fielding Lewis's, in the county of 
Charles City. He has about 700 acres of land; works three 
shifts of about 200 acres each ; has about twenty working hands 
six plow horses, twelve oxen for two carts, one horse cart ; three 
spinners — only for his fifty negroes, who make many little arti- 
cles for the white family, such as napkins, table-cloths, &c , and 



4 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

manufacture all the clothing- for the women, and all that of the 
men, except their coats. They are often called out to assist in 
the crop. 

His crops are wheat, rye, and oats, after corn. 

He divides his corn-field into three parts, according to the 
fertility of the soil. The best part is laid off into hills five and a 
half feet apart, with two stalks in a hill. This distance gives 
1,440 hills to the acre. The second part into hills five and a half 
feet one way, and three feet three inches the other. These dis- 
tances give about 2,700 hills to the acre. The third part into 
hills six and a half feet one way, with an intermediate pea hill 
between each couple, and three feet three inches the other ; 
there being three feet three inches between all the hills, and 
room enough to plow between them. This distance gives be- 
tween 3,000 and 4,000 hills to the acre. 

The first and second divisions, being the strongest land, are 
generally sowed in wheat and oats ; and the third, being the 
thinnest and most sandy, in rye. Of this last, he makes on an 
average from eight to fourteen bushels on land which, if tended 
in wheat, would not make the seed. 

The cow-pea flourishes on this division. It shades and im- 
proves the land. The stock are turned in to feed on a part in 
the fall ; the rest are gathered, and fed out to the hogs, &c., in 
a boiled state, in the winter. The vines are gathered and put 
on the farm-yard. 

He selects the most damp soil for oats. 

He makes no tobacco. 

He puts his wheat in generally with the corn-stalks still stand- 
ing, in the usual way. But where the grass is very thick, he 
gathers the stalks together with the ears on them, into stacks, 
in the manner of the farmers of Charles City. Where this is 
practiced, he recommends the laying a pole on two forked stakes 
fixed in the ground, and laying the corn against the pole, so as 
to leave a vacancy for the circulation of air in the middle of the 
stack. 

He plants his oat and rye fields in the cow*pea. The rye 
may be sowed at any time before Christmas, after the peas are 
removed, and the oats follow in the spring. 

He sows about ten acres annually of his wheat in red clover, 
which is grazed in the fall after the wheat is removed, and is 
cut for hay during the second year, when the shift, of which it 
forms a part, lies out. A temporary fence is thrown around it, 
to keep off the stock that run on the rest of the shift. These 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 5 

clover lots are successively placed on different parts of the land, 
in order to widen the benefit arising from the clover, which Mr. 
Lewis thinks is equal to that of manure. 

He sows fifteen or sixteen bushels of pug, or red clover seed 
in the chaff, to each acre. Pug yields one pound seed to the 
bushel. One bushel clear clover seed, equal to sixty pounds, or 
one peck to fifteen pounds ; six bushels red clover seed would 
sow thirty acres, and Mr. L. thinks it waste to sow it on weak 
land. He advises only four or five pounds white clover seed 
to the acre. Sixty bushels cow-peas would be necessary to 
plant with corn 300 acres of land. One and a half pecks rye 
per acre ; fully sufficient for seed, in Mr. L's thin land, and 
enough in general. More causes the rye to run altogether into 
straw. 

He has five lots of two acres each near his house. The crops 
on these are red clover, two years ; turnips, oats, cow-peas in 
the broadcast, and mowed to lie ; wheat, clover again, &c. He 
cow-pens for the turnips, and manures for the wheat. The lots 
are highly manured. He says land tended constantly in the 
cow-pea will improve, from his own observation. 

Cotton will succeed at his house, on James river, for market, 
from small but repeated experiments by himself. 

He turns all his straw, and most of his corn stalks and pea 
vines, into manure on his farm pens. He would purchase five 
times as much straw as his own farm produces, could it be had 
in his neighbourhood. 

He has four farm pens : first, for his milch cows and fattening 
calves ; second, for his steers, which is his treading-yard at his 
barn ; third, for his outer cattle ; fourth, for his calves. The 
first are fed on boiled peas, turnips, pumpkins, &c, and give the 
richest manure. The second, on chaff, shucks, &c. The third 
on tops and shucks. He says that cattle fed on tops and shucks 
look better than those fed on corn alone. 

He makes compost with successive strata of manure and 
earth, &c. He puts his blades in his fodder-stacks, and throws 
his corn in the shuck into his barn and shucks it in the house in 
winter. He has a large pot constantly boiling for his stock. 

His mode of making a farm pen is very simple and cheap. 
Rails are laid slanting, and as close as possible. They are sup- 
ported by poles placed opposite to them. Corn-stalks are placed 
between the rails, straw on these, and the whole covered with 
pine bushes, &c. He says land tended in corn, cow peas, and 
rye, will improve. His corn averages him 1 5 shillings per barrel. 



6 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

His coal stands him at twenty-two cents per bushel — viz.» 
eighteen cents at Richmond, and four cents for carriage. This 
is the best kind of coal. A more indifferent sort costs fourteen 
cents at Richmond. One-half bushel coal, mixed with gum or 
green pine, makes a fine fire in his dining room from 12 till 10 
at night. 

At each of the proposed plantations at Corrotoman, he ad- 
vises two carts — twelve oxen perhaps would be better. The 
dividing lane should be forty or fifty feet wide. Each corn shift 
of 300 acres should be divided into three parts : first, of 1 50 
acres, to be put in wheat; second, of 100 acres in rye; third, 
of fifty, in oats. Two last in cow-peas also with the corn. 



A RIDDLE. 



A great many years ago a prominent merchant promised an old lady 
a prize if, taking her subject from the Bible, she would compose a rid- 
dle he could not guess. She won the prize by the following : — 

Adam God made out of dust — But thought it best to make me first 
— So I was made before the man — To answer God's most holy plan — 
My body God did make complete — But without arm or legs or feet — 
My ways and acts he did control — But to my body gave no soul — A 
living being I became — And Adam gave to me my name — From his 
presence I then withdrew — And more of Adam never new— I did my 
maker's law obey — Nor from it ever went astray — Thousands of miles 
I go in fear — But seldom on the earth appear — For purpose wise which 
God did see — He put a living soul in me — A soul from me my God 
did claim — And took from me my soul again — For when from me that 
soul had fled — I was the same as when first made — And without hands 
or feet or soul — I travel on from pole to pole — I labor hard by day 
and night — To fallen man I give great light — Thousands of people, 
young an old — Will by my death great light behold — No right nor 
wrong can I conceive — The Scriptures I cannot believe — Although my 
name therein is found — They are to me an empty sound — No fear of 
death doth trouble me — Real happiness I ne'er shall see — To Heaven 
I shall never go — Or to the grave or hell below. 

Now, when these lines you slowly read — Go search your Bible with 
all speed — For that my name's recorded there — I honestly to you de- 
clare. — Cincinnati Herald and Presbyter. 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



SHORTHORNS AT THE STATE FAIR. 



The exhibition of this breed at the late Fair was rather below the 
average in numbers, but fully up to the average in quality. The ma- 
ture bulls in the class three years old and over were three in number; 
one shown by Palmer & Bowman, of Saltville; one by Major W. W. 
Bentley, of Pulaski, and one by the Agricultural College. Bentley's 
bull took first; second went to Bowman & Palmer. The bull ex- 
hibited by Major Bentley is the calf of his cow, Illustrious 5th, bred 
by Mr. Abram Renick, and selected for Major Bentley from Renick's 
cel'ebrated beard by the late Alex. Matthews, the well known writer 
on Shorthorns. The sire of this animal was Raleigh, the pure bred 
Renick Rose of Sharon, late the property of the Agricultural College. 
There has never been but one bull shown at Richmond, within the ex- 
perience of the writer, nearly equal to this animal in style and perfec- 
tion of finish in all his points, except a two-year-old exhibited in 1879 
by Mr. Oglesby, of Wythe, a young Mary bull by Joe Johnston, the 
sire of Raleigh. Bentley's bull is just three years old, and what he 
will come to be in his four- and five-year-old forms remains to be seen. 
He is not quite equal in his handling qualities to Rosebuds' Oxford, 
the bull shown by Bowman & Palmer, but surpasses him in style and 
the fineness of finish exhibited at every point. This animal is a bright, 
handsome, red color. He has the neatest and finest horns ever seen on 
the head of a bull ; full, bright, mild eye and perfect nose and muzzle. 
His neck is short and well set into the shoulders. The crops are well 
rounded and roofed over and exceptionally good. The breast and 
brisket are full and well shaped and come low down between the fore 
legs, which are neat, fine boned and well placed under the body. Im- 
mediately behind the shoulder, the fore rib at first view seems a trifle 
flat, but when viewed in connection with the extra broad and well 
rounded crops and the greatly expanded back ribs, it is evident that 
the appearance of flatness there is only relative. Along the back the 
bull is level and broad all the way from base of horn to root of tail. 
The space between the last rib and the point of the hip is shorter and 
better filled with substance than I have ever seen in any other Short- 
horn. This is the best bull in that I have ever seen of any age or 
breed. I heard it objected to this animal that his fineness of finish 
was carried to excess, and that he lacked masculine character. This is 
not a criticism which ought to come from a Bates standpoint. As an 
appearance, it is true, but the beast is obviously full of health and 
vigor, and is a very sure getter and impressive sire in point of fact. 



8 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

Rosebuds' Oxfords is a good bull, and fit to bead any herd. He has 
handling qualities of the highest type, and is, in point of fact, a vigor- 
ous feeder, and rapidly takes on condition, but he is not in as good 
show form as he was last year, being no longer quite level along the 
back. I suspect he has had a hard year's service, and probably wa3 
not as carefully fitted as he might have been for exhibition. Neverthe- 
less, as a show bull, he is not, and never was, the equal of Bentley's 
bull. Mr. Renick's bulls are large masculine appearing animals, not 
often show bulls, but, if they are mated with neat, rather small cows, 
they have produced the best plow bulls ever seen in Virginia. The old 
horse breeders maxim — "blood from the sire, beauty from the dam" — 
seems to find verification in this case. Raleigh was not a show bull, 
but he was, when he ended his career, the best Shorthorn bull in 
America. He had more of the blood of Imported Rose of Sharon 
than any male then living, and possessed the great breeding and 
feeding qualities of the Red Rose tribe in their very highest de- 
velopment. Raleigh 2nd, shown by the Agricultural College, by 
Raleigh, dam Bertha 2nd, is a good bull in any company, but not a 
show bull. The College is now done with him, and anybody in want 
of a good useful Shorthorn bull cannot do better than to secure him. 
His dam is the greatest milch cow of her day. The Rose of Sharon 
family are great milkers, and some of Raleigh 2nd heifers show the 
predisposition to deep milking very prominently. In two-year-old bulls 
there was only one entry, and yearlings were not remarkable. The 
bull calves shown by the College were a very nice lot, and I believe 
were all sold on the ground. In the cow classes, two roans, shown by 
Palmer & Bowman, one a Gem, one a young Mary, took first and 
second. Two better cows have never been shown at Richmond. Su- 
san 6th, Palmer & Bowman's last year's first premium cow, is out of 
form, getting somewhat patchy, and her show-ring triumphs are ended. 
Last year she was about as good a cow as could be made. The Golden 
Pipins, to which family she belongs, are evidently prone to begin to 
get patchy in their five-year old forms, and I think the Oxford cross 
rather intensifies that predisposition. Early maturity is, after all, the 
grand desideratum in Shorthorns, and, in this respect, the Golden 
Pipins and Oxfords equal any tribes. I have sometimes thought that 
the same qualities which secures early maturity tends toward the pro- 
duction of patchiness after maturity. The Oxford blood seems to carry 
with it handling of the highest quality. And I believe that the Oxford 
cross would have done probably more for the Rose of Sharons than 
the Duke cross has done. If Mr. Renick's herd had had the services 



1883. SOUTHERN PLANTER. 9 

of the 2nd and 10th Earls of Oxford, I believe they would have been 
better cattle than they are with 4th Duke of Geneva at the top of their 
pedigrees. If they had been in-bred to such bulls as Joe Johnston 
and Raleigh, they might have been better still. There were two ani- 
mals on the Fair Grounds this year illustrating incestuous crosses. 
One, a heifer, by Raleigh, whose dam was by Raleigh. The other, a 
two-year-old bull, by 5th Duke of Hilhurst, and his dam by 5th Duke 
of Hilhurst also. I examined both animals critically, and there was 
nothing about either of them that could suggest any harm done by 
such breeding. The heifer is the best female in the most excellent 
herd at the Agricultural College, and the bull one of the best of his 
age in the great herd at Saltville. 

M. G. Ellzey, M. D. 



WINTER OATS. 

Editor Southern Planter ; 

As per request, I will give the reasons I consider the Russian White 
oats so superior to other varieties : 

First. They will, under equal circumstances, produce at least twice 
as much as any oats I have ever seen. 

• Second. They are strong growers, and I believe entirely rust-proof. 
I have seen as many as ten stalks (with heads from ten to sixteen 
inches long) from a single grain. 

Third. They weigh from two to eight pounds more to the measured 
bushel than other kinds. 

Fourth. The straw being very large and stiff, they are more liable to 
stand through a storm, and also better adapted to very rich land. 

You are mistaken in thinking this a winter variety. 

Messrs. D. M. Ferry & Co. say they have been sown in the fall in 

some parts of the South with good results, but I think we are too far 

North for fall sowing; at least this section of Virginia is. Those who 

doubt their many good qualities should send to Messrs. D. M. Ferry & 

Co., Detroit, Mich., and get their circulars and testimonials, also one 

pound, or two, or a bushel, and try for themselves (the cost will be 

very small — only a dollar or two), and they will never regret it. My 

crop was seen by more than a dozen gentlemen, who can verify the 

statements made by me. 

Yours truly, 

A Young Farmer. 
December 4, 1882. 



10 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 



CABBAGES. 



Twenty eight varieties of cabbages, early and late, were tested under 
garden culture. The seeds — 30 of each sort — were planted in the cold- 
frame April 7th and 8th, and the plants transplanted to the garden 
April 27th, in rows 3 feet apart, plants 2 feet apart in the rows, the 
soil made moderately rich and the plants kept cultivated throughout 
the season with a hoe. 

One of the first troubles which we met was in the varieties not com- 
ing true to name, although the seeds were procured of one of our most 
reliable seedsmen. Thus, Henderson's Early Summer gave but 13 gen- 
uine plants, Schweinfurt Quintal 25, Sugar Loaf 15, American Savoy 
13, etc. But little difference was perceived in the time required for 
vegetation, varying only from 9 to 10 days in the varieties. There was, 
however, quite a large difference between the germinative powers of the 
different varieties of seed. In no case, however, did all 30 seeds vege- 
tate. In 2 cases 29 seeds; in 4 cases 28; in 2 cases 27; in 2 cases 25; 
in 1 case 24; in 2 cases 23: in 6 cases 22, etc. The first to arrive at ed- 
ible maturity was the Early Oxheart and the Nonpareil on July 26th. 
Yilmorin's Early Flat Dutch and Newark Early Flat Dutch *came two 
days later, then followed, on August 1st, the Early Ulm Savoy, the 
Early Jersey Wakefield, and the Early Winnigstadt; on August 4th, 
Cannon-ball and Little Pixie; on August 11th Henderson's Early Sum- 
mer, Crane's Early, Schweinfurt Quintal, Early Blood Red Erfurt; on 
August 12th, Sugar Loaf, Fottlers Improved Early Brunswick, Large 
York and Danish Drumhead; on August 22, Premium Flat Dutch, Im- 
proved American Savoy, Early Bleichfeld, Early York, Stone Mason, 
Red Drumhead, Drumhead Savoy and Red Dutch; on September 1st, 
St. Dennis Drumhead, and on October 17th, Bergen Drumhead. 

Those plants which produced as many heads as there were plants, 
were Schweinfurt Quintal and Early Winnigstadt. Green Glazed pro- 
duced no heads, and among those which produced but few may be men- 
tioned the Early Ulm Savoy, 7 heads from 29 plants ; Henderson's 
Early Summer, 10 heads from 28 plants; Sugar Loaf, 9 heads from 22 
plants; Fottler's Improved Early Brunswick 12 heads from 28 plants; 
Improved American Savoy, 8 heads from 27 plants; Early York, 5 
heads from 22 plants; Drumhead Savoy, 7 heads from 19 plants; Ber- 
gen Drumhead, 5 heads from 12 plants; St. Dennis Drumhead, 6 heads 
from 23 plants. Selecting the few varieties which commend themselves 
to us, we can name the Vilmorin's Early Flat Dutch, at edible maturity 
July 28th, 10 seeds germinating, giving 17 heads, and the trimmed 



1882] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 11 

heads weighing about 4' pounds apiece; the Newark Early Flat Dutch, 
at edible maturity July 28th, furnishing 19 heads from 22 seeds which 
vegetated, and the trimmed heads weighing about 5 J pounds; the Early 
Winnigstadt, which was edible Angust 1st, furnished 23 heads from 23 
plants which vegetated, the trimmed heads weighing about 3J pounds; 
the Schweinfurt Quintal, was ready for the table August 11th, which 
gave 24 heads from 29 plants, the trimmed heads weighing about 7 
pounds and very solid. 

We were troubled considerably by the ravages of the cabbage but- 
terfly, pieris rapae, or rather by its larvse. The butterfly was seen fly- 
ing about the plants early in summer, and in the latter part of June 
the first brood of caterpillars appeared. These did less destruction, 
however, than the second brood, which came about the middle of 
August. In order to test the efficacy of a few of the so-called remedies 
for the cabbage worm, wc confined some of the caterpillars in a bottle 
and noted their behavior under various treatments. One specimen, 
confined for three hours in a bottle partly filled with black pepper, 
crawled away discolored by the powder but apparently unharmed. The 
second, repeatedly immersed in a solution of saltpeter, and a third in 
one of Boracic acid exhibited little indications of inconvenience. Bi- 
sulphide of carbon produced instant death when applied to the worm, 
though its fumes were not effectual. The fumes of benzine as well as 
the liquid caused almost instant death, but when applied to the cabba- 
ges small whitish excrescences appeared on the leaves. Hot water ap- 
plied to the cabbage destroyed a portion of the worms, causing also the 
leaves to turn yellow. One ounce of saltpeter and two pounds common 
salt dissolved in three gallons of water formed an application which 
was partly efficient. The most satisfactory remedy tested, however, 
consisted of a mixture of Jib. each of hard soap and kerosene oil in 
three gallons of water. This was applied August 26, an examination 
the following day showed many, if not all, the worms destroyed. 

The growing cabbage presents such a mass of leaves in which the 
caterpillars may be concealed that it is hardly possible to reach all the 
worms at one application. It is of importance, therefore, to repeat the 
use of any remedy at frequent intervals. 

E. Lewis Sturtevant, M. D., Director. 
N. Y. Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, iV. Y, Nov. 4, 1882. 



Success is always invigorating, but to truly great minds never intox- 
icating. Only light fabrics are puffed up by a breath. 



12 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 



THE INSPECTION OF EGGS, 



METHODS OF EGG-CANDLING. 



Many a housewife in this vicinity has expressed her surprise, when 
purchasing fresh eggs from the market, and being in total ignorance 
whence they came, that they were so uniformly perfect and gave no 
signs of decay. The old joke of "Spring chickens" in the eggs at 
boarding houses and hotels has also gone out of date and people now 
buy and eat of this favorite food with perfect confidence that it is fresh 
and wholesome. This state of affairs has been brought about by the 
custom, which has been universally adopted, of inspecting each egg 
separately by the dealers, and rejecting all that show the least sign of 
not being perfectly fresh. 

There are few articles of a farm produce which are so easily affected 
as eggs by a damp, foul atmosphere, and the extremes of heat and cold. 
The shell of an egg is exceedingly porous, and when the place of sto- 
rage is* too warm and dry the albumen evaporates, and when too cold 
and damp the egg seems to loose its vitality and rapidly become stale. 
The porous shell also admits of absorption, and a single rotten egg, the 
shell of which happens to be broken or cracked, will contaminate 
whole dozens of eggs in the same package. As remarked in a recent 
article of the Cultivator, the almost universal custom now is to ship 
eggs expressly prepared for the purpose. This system of egg carriage, 
which was designed simply to prevent breakage, has done a great deal 
to improve the market quality of eggs. They do not come in contact 
with each other, and after they are once packed no amount of knock- 
ing about will addle them. 

The system of inspecting is called "candling" and the method may 
be described as follows : A dark room is provided, or a corner is cur- 
tained off from the store, in which no ray of sunlight is allowed to in" 
trude. Within this enclosure a single candle, oil lamp, or gas jet is 
provided so that the "candler" may face it conveniently and have the 
light on a level with his face. If the lot of eggs which he is about to 
inspect is known to be a good one, that is, having come only a short 
distance, and from a party who has a good reputation, the operator 
grasps three eggs in each hand, from a case at his side and quickly 
passes each egg between the light and his eye. Those which are good 
have a clear transparent shell and a vividly rosy light shows through 
them. An egg which is perfectly fresh seems to carry its freshness 
with it and appeals to the favor of sight at once. 



1882.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 13 

A rotten or addled egg is perfectly opaque, black in color and is de- 
tected at once. Not so with those which are a "little old" or having 
remained on one side for a considerable length of time, begin to show 
signs of decay. In these cases a small, sometimes a very faint, black 
spot is seen and to the quick glance of the inspector this is enough to 
condemn it and consign it to a lot which is to be eaten at once, proba- 
bly the customers of cheap restaurants and boarding houses. In no 
case where the least sign of decay or old age is visible, is the egg placed 
in the receptacle set apart for those of the first quality and known as 
"fresh." Should the consignment be found to "run bad," or come 
from a long distance, the inspector goes about his work in a much more 
deliberate fashion, for experience has taught him to be conscientious, 
and his work is much more difficult. In this case he only handles two 
eggs at a time, one in each hand, and the process is necessarily slower, 
more careful scrutiny being necessary. 

With the best of packing and the utmost care some eggs in every 
case or package are sure to crack. These the candler places one side? 
generally with those which are slightly damaged or old, and all are sold 
together. In making his returns for the consignment the rule is for 
the dealer to allow one half price for these, and this rule is found to 
work quite satisfactorily. In Chicago and some other markets " egg 
candling" is followed as a regular business by men who have become 
experts at the trade, for trade it really is. These men charge a regular 
price of ten cents per case of thirty six dozen, and when they are at 
work are enabled to earn as much as $3 per day, or even more. In 
Boston the inspection is done by some one in the employ of the seller 
or by the seller himself, and no charge is made for the work. It may 
be safely said that our dealers as a rule are conscientious and furnish ■ 
their customers with only fresh or first-class eggs. There are some, 
however, who do not pretend to be honest and only seem to care for 
the immediate profit. These men are soon well known and should be 
avoided, not only by the customer, but also by the shipper. A shipper's 
reputation is quickly known by all the dealers in the market. They 
exchange notes and compare, one with the other, their observations on 
the quality, style of package and general qualities of merit or demerit 
of the different shippers, and will take nothing which comes from a man 
who is not considered by them firstclass. 

We clip the foregoing article from the American Cultivator, Boston, Mass., and we 
know that the handling and proper inspection of eggs should be regarded of the greatest 
importance to the farmers who produce for sale, the merchants who hold and sell, and 
those who purchase and consume them. Eggs are a product of the country, and the 



14 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

cities, towns and villages are dependent on the country for them. They are thus an im- 
portant item of traffic to the extent of a million, or more, of dollars each year in the 
United States. 

These candling fellows, if they are honest and faithful in their assumed expert judg- 
ment, are doing the right thing for all persons concerned. They who send eggs to mar- 
ket are taught to know that good eggs will only bring a profit, and the merchant who 
buys and sells them, and the purchaser who buys and consumes them, will feel protected. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN OYSTER FARMING. 



The modern oyster-farm is essentially a Connecticut idea. The laws 
of other States do not yet make it a possibility elsewhere. In Rhode 
Island the oyster grounds are rented at $10 an acre for a period of ten 
years, but those who wish to cultivate farms have no guarantee that 
they can reap the final results of their best endeavors. The Liw in 
Maryland and Virginia is that a man having riparian rights, can stake 
out and have a life-interest in one acre contiguous to his own shore 
property, not for cultivating, but simply for planting. All else is pub- 
lic property. In Connecticut, however, while the "natural oyster-beds" 
remain free to all corners, the remainder may be sold to private indi- 
viduals. 

An oyster commission is appointed to hold the office for four years, or 
longer on reappointment, whose duties are of a very general nature, 
sufficiently clear on the main points. At the present time these com- 
missioners are Messrs. William B. Hudson, Robert G. Pyke and 
G. M. Woodruff". They have drawn a shore-line from point to point, 
within which all is the property of the several towns along the 
shore of Long Island Sound. Each town has its own oyster ground 
committee, with whose management we need not now concern our- 
selves. Outside the shore line, and as far as the lately defined State- 
line between Connecticut and New York are about 300,000 acres of 
water territory, a large amount of which is supposed to be suitable for 
the cultivation of oysters with modern appliances. All this is under 
the jurisdiction of the oyster commission, who are to map it out and 
who may designate the portions surveyed to applicants for the purpose 
of actual cultivation. The price is $1.10 per acre, for which a deed of 
permanent possession is given. Among the conditions, however, is one 
enabling the purchaser to return the ground if it should prove to be 
worthless for the purpose in view ; in which case he gets his money 
back. But, on the other hand, if he allows it to lie unimproved for 
five years, it returns to the State as forfeited. 



1882.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 15 

Of course numerous questions arise, some of them sufficiently vex- 
atious, concerning the practical operation of this system. One of these 
has reference to the reservation of natural beds, from which any one may 
remove oysters provided he does not dredge for them by steam. Cases 
are now pending that will settle many of these disputed matters. Mean- 
while the fact remains that in Connecticut waters there is room for en- 
terprise, as shown in the cultivation of what may very properly be styled 
"oyster farms." There are at this time more than 300 applications 
before the commissioners for the designation of grounds, varying in 
size from a few acres up to 1,000 or more ; and some of the grounds 
hitherto sold and now under cultivation include several thousand acres. 

The largest oyster farm in Long Island Sound, if not the largest 
anywhere in the world, belongs to Mr. H. C. Rowe, of Fair Haven, a 
gentleman whose sagacity has done much to shape the legislation of 
Connecticut, and whose shrewdness has enabled him to profit by op- 
portunities as they presented themselves. Mr. Rowe now controls be- 
tween 10,000 and 11,000 acres of oyster-ground, and has it all staked 
off by buoys, so that he can go from one field to another, as a farmer 
traverses his wheat-fields and grass-lots. For the successful cultivation 
of such extensive grounds resort has been necessary to steam dredging, 
but not without strenuous opposition from those who feared that such 
a method WjPuld injure the natural beds. Several other persons have 
now entered farms rivaling his in size, including from 2,000 to 6'000 
acres, and more will be staked out as soon as the surveys can be com- 
pleted. There is quite a contrast between the old method of "tonging," 
but even the more effective but uncertain mode of dredging by sail- 
boats (often at the mercy of the wind and tide), and the trim, wide 
awake little steamers that run four large dredges and rake up a thous- 
and bushels of oysters a day. With the facilities thus furnished gronds 
are managed under water from 25 to 50 feet deep. 

Not long ago the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Science accepted 
an invitation to visit the oyster-farms, on the new steamer the Gordon 
Rowe, in company with the commissioners, and Lieut. Francis Wins- 
low, U. S. N., of the U. S. Fish Commission. The day was favorable, 
and a large party went, including Profs. Dana, Brewer, Waldo, Piatt, 
and others learned in geology, agricultural chemistry, astronomy, law, 
and theology, but confessedly having much yet to learn as to the growth 
of shell-fish. Omitting the incidents of the excursion, it is my inten- 
tion to explain to the reader the facts exhibited to us by Lieut. Winslow. 

Preliminary to doing so, it should be stated that fishing without re- 
Istriction tends to destroy the source of supply. This fact seems so ob- 



16 SOUTHERN" PLANTER. [January 

vious as to be self-apparent. Yet a wrong impression has prevailed 
that the millions of eggs annually laid would repair any waste resulting 
from human invasion. Under this wrong impression they did away 
with the "closed season" in England some time ago, and in conseqnence 
their oyster-beds were nearly destroyed in six years, and it was found 
necessary to restore the old usage. 

Count Pourtales made observations for a single season, ten or twelve 
years ago, in the Great South Bay and in the Hudson River. In 
1877 the Maryland oystermen began to make inquiries as to how far 
up the stream ousters could be raised in brackish water. About the 
same time Lieut. Fred. Collins made investigations as to the density of 
the Chesapeake Bay. These steps were designed to be preparatory to 
similar investigations to extend over the entire area of national oyster- 
grounds. In 1878, Lieut. Winslow relieved Lieut. Collins in the Ches_ 
apeake Bay, and began his inquiries as to the conditions having special 
reference to domestic economy. They were continued in 1879, and 
the results, in part, have been published by the Maryland Fish Com- 
mission, but are to appear in full in the report of the U. S. Coast Sur- 
vey, next fall. Dr. Brooks, of the Johns Hopkins University, began 
and successfully concluded, in 1879, his experiments in artificially fer- 
tilizing the egg of the female oyster, and raising the embryo from the 
period of segmentation through various stages up to the formation of 
the shell. An account of these interesting experiments was published 
in the proceedings of the Johns Hopkins University Laboratory. In 
1880, Mr. J. H. Ryder, of the Philadelphia Academy of Science, in- 
vestigated further, but with no results of especial importance. In the 
same year, Lieut. Winslow, following Dr. Brooks' methods, succeeded 
in raising from the eggs, artificially, the ^Portugese variety of the Eu- 
ropean oyster, the first attempt of the kind abroad. 

During the present year, Lieut. Winslow has been able to reduce the 
period required for the hatching operation from six or eight days to 
two or three ; and has been trying to devise methods of raising oysters 
artificially that would be of practical value. His investigations show 
that tbe Chesapeake beds are rapidly disappearing, and it remains to 
decided whether experiments for restocking them are to be carried onj 
by individuals or by the States. The latter seems to be impracticable 
because the young brood will unavoidably attach themselves to locali 
ties, instead of benefiting the public oyster grounds at large. Henc 
Lieut. Winslow has been carrying on his experiments in Connecticu 
waters, where he can put large quantities of newly hatched oysters d 
rectly on the beds where they are to stay. 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 1 

The parent oysters are first cut up by knives, or more usually ground 
fine in a small mill, and mixed in glass jars holding sea water. As 
soon as the particles have settled somewhat, the excess of spermatozoa 
is drawn off by a siphon, and the remaining mixture is set away to 
await further developments. The principle difficulty thus far is to 
supply the young with a sufficient quantity of food and lime in suita- 
ble proportion to aid in the formation of the growing shell. It is now 
known that the male and female oysters differ little in their appearance 
to the eye, but the • " milk," as it is termed, differs greatly under the 
microscope, that of the male consisting of an infinitude of minute par- 
ticles gyrating among themselves, while that of the female contains 
true eggs. In the mixture each egg is forthwith attacked by the sper- 
matozoa, afterward taking the form of globules. All this takes plaee 
in a few minutes after the chopped particles are stirred together. The 
process of segmentation lasts for perhaps twenty-four hours, after which 
numerous cilia are put forth, and the young oyster uses them to enable 
it to swim about during its brief life of freedom. The sight is a strange 
one of a hundred of these diminutive creatures darting about in a drop 
or two of water, executing a sort of dance under the magnifying glass. 
The shell on its first appearance is single, then it parts into two valves, 
at first separate from each other, and afterward joined by a hinge. The 
cilia grow into a sort of hairy tuft, by means of which it is conjectured 
that the final attachment is made to the old shells, or other objects at 
the bottom where the shell fish is to stay. When this has been accom- 
plished, the upper valve grows far more rapidly than the under one. 

Each female oyster is estimated to contain from one to ten million 
eggs, not a tenth of which are vitalized in the course of nature. But 
by the artificial process, when perfected, it is hoped that fully one-half 
may be brought safely through the embryo state and then left to take 
care of themselves. As the matter now stands, each five-gallon plant- 
ing-can used by Lieut. Winslow, when finally lowered with its load of 
young oysters, is thought to contain about fifty million alive! These 
cans are provided with double caps, one at each end, which are remov- 
ed by cords attached to them, after the can has been let down to- the 
spot to be occupied by the young colony. Care is taken to mark the 
location exactly, so that it can be found again ; and thus in a few months 
we can tell if the experiment has been followed by practical results. 

It may as well be added, for the information of those not familiar 
with the mysteries of the oyster trade, that "seed oysters" are those- 
that have attained the age of one or two years, when they are about as 
large as a dollar; the size varying according to the waters. At this 



18 SOUTHERN" PLANTER. [January 

stage they are gathered by shiploads from the Connecticut beds and 
sold to oyster-raisers in New York and Rhode Island and elsewhere, at 
fifty cents a bushel. This is a profitable operation to both seller and 
buyer. For, while it thins out the beds of the former, it allows what 
are left to grow to better advantage, on the same principle that thin- 
ning a bed of beets will benefit the plants that remain; and for the lat- 
ter it is profitable, because the third year of an oyster's life witnesses 
an extremely rapid growth, ending in a fine and marketable bivalve. 
Those that are four years old, and have been properly cared for, are the 
so called "saddle rocks," for which the consumer must pay a fancy 
price. 



REPORT OF EXPERIMENTS IN WHEAT CULTURE ON THE 

EXPERIMENTAL FARM OF THE UNIVERSITY OF 

VIRGINIA, 1882. 



"Whatever may be its constitution and physical properties, land yields lucrative crops 
only in proportion as it contains an adequate quantity of organic matter in a more or 
less advanced state of decomposition." — Boussinqault. 

DIAGRAM. 



Plots. 


Varieties. 


Fertilizers Used. 


1. 

2. 
3. 
4. 

5. 

6. 


German Amber. 
Yellow Missouri. 
Bill Dallis. 
Sandford. 
Australian. 
Ohio Swamp. 


Ober's Dissolved Phosphate, 200 pounds. 
S. C. Undissolved Phosphate, 200 pounds. 
S. C. Dissolved Phosphate, 200 pounds. 
S. C. Undissolved Phosphate, 200 pounds. 
S. C. Undissolved Phosphate, 200 pounds. 
Aid. Co. Alkaline Phosphate, 200 pounds. 



The above diagram represents a piece of land divided into six-acre 
plots, running east and west. It has a southeastern exposure, and 
slopes to the east and to the west from about its middles. The soil is 
a gray micaceous sandstone, naturally very poor. It was in corn last 
year, following a tolerably good stand of clover, of two years' duration, 
allowed to remain in the ground until plowed for the corn crop. The 
corn crop was cut off, and it was plowed for wheat the 19th to the 22d 
of September; an indifferent crop of peas sowed at the last working 
being turned in, harrowed and put in thorough order for seeding 
with the drill on October 13th and 14th, at the rate of five pecks per 
acre, with 200 pounds per acre of the above-mentioned fertilizers. 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 19 

PLOT I. 

German amber wheat, bearded; seed obtained from Staunton, Va.; 
sowed with 200 pounds of "Ober's Dissolved Phosphate" in the drill, 
at the rate of five peeks to the acre; harvested June 19th, threshed 
July 26th; yield of wheat, lOf bushels per acre; weight per bushel, 
61 pounds; weight of straw, 1,022 pounds per acre. This is a hardy 
variety of wheat, usually very productive, and very highly esteemed 
by the millers. It grew vigorously all the winter and spring, but was 
very seriously damaged by the myriads of " aphis avense " or oat plant 
lice, which attacked the heads before it was out of bloom. 

PLOT II. 

Yellow Missouri wheat, beardless, sown in the same way as the above, 
with 200 pounds of " Undissolved S. C. Phosphate," from W. A. James, 
agent, Richmond, Ya. ; harvested June 21st, threshed July 26th; yield 
of grain, 9J bushels; weight per bushel, 60 pounds; weight of straw, 
1,400 pounds per acre. This variety was more injured by the insects 
than the German amber. 

PLOT III. 
Bill Dallis wheat, beardless ; seed originally obtained from Northern 
Georgia; treated in the same way, with 200 pounds of "Dissolved S. 
C. Phosphate," from W. A. James, agent, Richmond, Ya. ; harvested 
June 19th, threshed July 27th; yield of grain, 11J bushels per acre; 
weight per bushel, 60 pounds;, weight of straw, 1,568 pounds per acre. 
Also very much injured by insects before it was out of bloom. 

PLOT IY. 

Sandford wheat, bearded; seed originally obtained from Kentucky ; 
seeded with the drill, like the others, with 200 pounds of the " Undis- 
solved S. C. Phosphate" per acre, obtained from the Maryland Fer- 
tilizing Company, Baltimore ; harvested June 20th, threshed July 27th; 
yield of grain, 9 bushels per acre; weight per bushel, 58 pounds; weight 
of straw per acre, 1,300 pounds. The light weight of this wheat is 
undoubtedly due to the insects sucking the sap, as it has generally 
weighed well heretofore. 

PLOT Y. 
Australian wheat, beardless; seed originally imported by R. B. Haxall, 
from Australia; seeded with 200 pounds of " Undissolved S. C. Phos- 
phate" per acre; harvested June 20th, threshed July 29th; yield of 
grain, 9f bushels; weight per bushel, 60 pounds; weight of straw, 



20 SOUTHERN" PLANTER. [January 

980 pounds per acre. This variety also suffered from the insects, and 
was probably on ground more uneven than the others. 

PLOT VI. 

Ohio Swamp wheat; seed bearded; seeded with 200 pounds of "Alka- 
line Phosphate," from the Maryland Fertilizing Company, Baltimore, 
Md. ; harvested June 20th, threshed July 26th; yield of wheat, 19 
bushels per acre; weight per bushel, 61 pounds; weight of straw, 
2,080 pounds per acre. The land of this plot is more level, and natu- 
rally a better soil than that of the other plots, but the variety of the 
wheat and the mixed fertilizer were undoubtedly the main factors in 
the larger yield. 

Golden Strazv wheat, yellow beardless variety; seed originally ob- 
tained from Northern Georgia. The land on which this wheat was 
seeded is greatly more improved than that of the foregoing varieties. 
It has an exposure to the west and south, and a gray sandy soil, with 
numerous small flint rocks. It comprised 3f acres, and was cultivated 
with corn last year, after remaining in grass three years. Having been 
thoroughly prepared, it was divided into five sections, and seeded on 
October 13th and 14th with the following fertilizers: 

Section A. — 500 pounds " Undissolved S. C. Phosphate " (Etiwan), ob- 
tained from W. A. James, agent, Richmond, Va. ; harvested June 21st 
and 22d, threshed July 27th; yield of wheat, 16 bushels per acre; 
weight per bushel, 62 pounds; weight of straw, 1,400 pounds. 

Section B. — Dissolved S. C. Phosphate (Etiwan), 500 pounds per acre ; 
yield of wheat, 15 bushels; weight per bushel, 62 pounds; weight of 
straw, 1,476 pounds. 

Section C. — Fine ground Undissolved S. C. Phosphate, 500 pounds, 
from Maryland Fertilizing Company, Baltimore, Md. ; yield of wheat, 
15 bushels; weight per bushel, 62 pounds; weight of straw, 1,400 
pounds per acre. 

Section D. — Acid or Dissolved Phosphate, 500 pounds, from the Mary- 
land Fertilizing Company, Baltimore, Md. ; yield of wheat, 18 bushels; 
weight per bushel, 62 pounds; weight of straw, 1,224 pounds per acre. 

Section E. — Alkaline Superphosphate, 500 pounds, from Maryland 
Fertilizing Company; yield of wheat, 19 bushels; weight per bushel, 
62 pounds; weight of straw, 1,568 pounds per acre. 

Section F. — Dissolved or Acid Phosphate, 200 pounds, from the Mary- 
land Fertilizing Company ; yield of wheat, 14J bushels ; weight per 
bushel, 62 pounds; weight of straw, 1,775 pounds per acre. 



1883.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER. ■ 21 

It will be observed that no nitrogen compound was used with the 
fertilizers applied. 

The stand of clover and orchard grass over all the land comprising 
these sections is equally good — as good as I have ever seen. But it 
will be noted that the yield of sections " D " with the Acid or Dissolved 
Phosphate, and " E '' with the Alkaline Superphosphate, also more 
soluble, is from two bushels more than section " A " to three more than 
" C," with the tine-ground undissolved phosphates. This indicates 
that the greater solubility of the acid and alkaline phosphates has in- 
creased the yield to this extent. m But it is questionable whether the 
permanent improvement to the land will be any greater with the one 
than the other; and the difference in price considered, whether the one 
is really more valuable than the other to the farmer. The observations 
of practical farmers have induced the belief to some extent that the 
large use of acid phosphates has not been followed by as great perma- 
nent improvement as fine ground bones and fine-ground undissolved 
phosphates, and our experiments, in the main, bear out the same con- 
clusion. 

Oats. — Experiments with new varieties of oats, and with various fer- 
tilizers, were rendered entirely worthless by the ravages of the plant 
lice (aphis avense). 

Experiments in Corn Culture on the Experimental Farm of the Uni- 
versity of Virginia, 1882. — The object of the following experiments is 
to test the action of nitrogen in different forms and quantities, along 
with superphospates of lime and potash, on Indian corn. 

The most important forms of nitrogen are (1) nitric acid, (2) ammonia, 
and (3) organic nitrogen. The most common fertilizers containing nitro- 
gen in these forms are, (1) for nitric acid, nitrate of soda and nitrate of 
potash; (2) for ammonia, sulphate of ammonia; and (3) for organic 
nitrogen, dried blood, meat scrap, fish scrap, and fish guano, and leather 
scraps. The above-named substances are used in quantities called 
"rations," viz: "one-twelfth," "one-sixth," "one-third," "two-thirds," 
and " full rations," corresponding to 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 pounds of 
nitrogen per acre. 

The nitrate of soda- used is 96 per cent, pure, with 16 per cent, of 
nitrogen. The sulphate of ammonia contains 21 per cent, nitrogen, 
and for organic nitrogen, meat scrap is estimated to contain 11 per 
cent, of nitrogen, fish guano 8 per cent , and leather scraps — finely 
pulverized — 7 per cent nitrogen. Nitric acid, ammonia, and organic 
nitrogen together are called " nitrogen mixture," and consists of nitrate 
of soda, 16 per cent, nitrogen; sulphate of ammonia, 21 per cent, nitro- 



22 SOUTHERN PLANTER. ["January 

gen ; and dried blood 11 per cent, nitrogen in equal parts — all together 
containing 16 per cent, nitrogen. 

In the u nitrate of soda group," one-twelfth ration is contained in 38 
pounds of nitrate soda, one-sixth 76 pounds, one-third 150 pounds, 
two-thirds 300 pounds, and "full ration," 450 pounds. 

In the " sulphate of ammonia group" one-twelfth is contained in 29 
pounds of sulphate of ammonia, and so on, multiplied up to the " full 
ration," which is contained in 343 pounds. 

In the "dried blood group" one-twelfth ration is contained in 55 
pounds of dried blood, and likewise multiplied up to the " full ration " 
of 660 pounds. 

In the " nitrogen mixture group" one-twelfth ration is contained in 
38 pounds of the " mixture," the same as in the nitrate of soda group. 

The term "mixed minerals" is applied to a mixture of superphosphate 
and potash salts, in proportion of 400 pounds of the superphosphate 
and 133 pounds of muriate of potash. 

In the " preliminary group " it will be noticed that the nitrogen 
mixture, one-third ration, 7.5 nitrogen — superphosphate, 20.0 pounds 
phosphoric acid, and muriate of potash, 6.7 pounds potash, are used, 
each by itself, and two by two, to show the action of each separately 
and two combined. So much by way of explanation. 

The land has a gray soil derived from micaceous sandstone rock, is 
nearly level, and had lain out in clover for two years. It was w T ell 
plowed in November, replowed on April 17th, harrowed thoroughly, 
laid off into rows four feet apart, and planted on the 18th of May. The 
fertilizers were sown carefully by hand along in the furrow, and 
thoroughly mixed with the soil by running a coulter twice in the fur- 
row. One row without any fertilizer was left between each section, and 
in addition to the mineral fertilizers, hen manure mixed with sand, 
separated by the distance of one row from the next section, and stable 
manure in a like manner, were both used as eminently nitrogenous 
manures for comparison, as will be seen in the subjoined tabular state- 
ment. The work in conducting this experiment was done with the 
greatest possible care and accuracy. The different sections were staked 
and labeled and numbered, as represented in the tabular statement. 
The land was well worked, and the season was altogether very favora- 
ble. The corn was cut down, hauled off, and shocked on the 5th of 
October, and shucked and weighed on the 10th of November, with the 
result shown in the accompanying tabular statement : 



383,] 



SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 



23 



TABULAR STATEMENT. 



Groups. EXPERIMENTS WITH INDIAN CORN. 






* 






Number 

of 

Plot. 



0. 
00. 

r i. 

2. 



L D ' 

000. 

r 7. 



9. 
10. 

. "• 

6.a 

0000. 

00000. 



Fertilizers Used. 



No fertilizers applied 

Hen manure mixed with sandy earth. 

Nitrogen mixture, one-third ration. ... 

Superphosphate 

Muriate of Potash ... 

/Nitrogen mixture, one-third ration. .. 

\ Superphosphate 

f Nitrogen mixture, one-third ration... 
\ Muriate of potash 

Superphosphate 

Muriate of potash 

No fertilizers 

Mixed minerals 

Nitrogen mixture, one-twelfth ration. 

( Mixed minerals 

\ Nitrogen mixture, one- sixth ration.... 

f Mixed minerals 

\ Nitrogen mixed, one-third ration 

f Mixed minerals 

\ Nitrogen mixture, two-thirds ration.., 

Mixed minerals 

Nitrogen mixture, full ration, , 

Mixed minerals 

Stable manure, one cart load in row.. 

No fertilizer.. 



Each Section One- 
slxteenth of an acre. 



Pounds 
Applied. 



7.5 

20.0 

6.7 

7.5 1 
20.0/ 

7.6 \ 

6.7 i 
20.0 

6.7 



26.7 \ 
1.9/ 

26.7 
3.7 

26.7 
7.5 

26.7 

15.0 

26.7 

22.5 

26.7 



Weight 

of 

Corn. 

Pounds. 



131. 
160. 
152. 
143. 
170. 

197. 
230. 



198. 

146. 
305. 
165. 



Weight 

of 
Stover. 
Pounds. 



89. 
125. 
115. 
127. 
119. 

150. 
180. 



276. 


193. 


182. 


160 


150. 


182 


171. 


90 


140. 


125 


201. 


190 



170. 

80. 
209. 
123. 



It will be noticed in scanning the tabular statement given, that in 
the " preliminary group " of the substances used separately, the muri- 
ate of potash gave the largest yield, 170 pounds; the nitrogen mixture, 
one-third ration, the next largest, 152 pounds, and the superphosphate 
the smallest, 143 pounds. Where they were used two and two re- 
spectively, the largest yield was in favor of the superphosphate and 
muriate of potash, 276 pounds; the next of the nitrogen mixture, one- 
third ration, and muriate of potash, 230 pounds; and the least was from 
the nitrogen mixture, one-third ration, and the superphosphate, 197 
pounds. This would indicate that muriate of potash has a very de- 
cided effect upon corn — a fact borne out by experiments of a similar 
character in various parts of the country, as well as my own, during 
the past three years. In 1880, in my experiments conducted in the 



*This experiment is believed to be perfectly correct, with a certain allowance made for 
depredations, at roasting- ear period, by a class designated as " nati consumer 'e f rages. 1 ' 



24 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

same way as between nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash compound, 
used separately, the yield stood : nitrogen, 60 pounds; phosphoric acid, 
148, and potash 97. Where they were used two and two, nitrogen and 
phosphoric acid stood 15 S, nitrogen and potash 108, phosphoric acid 
and potash 156, while the three — nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potash, 
used together, stood 148. In this experiment the effect of phosphoric 
acid was much more marked than in those of the present year. In 
1881 the drought rendered the experiments unsatisfactory. But the 
nitrogen compound used stood 34, the phosphoric acid 24, and the 
potash 37. Used two and two, nitrogen and potash gave 37, while all 
three together, in full rations, gave only 34. The yield of the section 
marked 000, tabular statement, between 6 and 7, without any fertilizers, 
over the tw T o similarly treated, is most probably due to the beneficial 
effects of having the roots shaded by the contiguous corn on each side, 
and perhaps to a participation in the fertilizers as well. 

In the " nitrogen mixture group," it will be noticed that the differ- 
ence between "one-twelfth," " one-sixth," "one-third," "two-thirds," 
and "full rations" is very marked, and is in favor of the two-thirds 
over the full ration. The one-twelfth and the one-sixth also exceed the 
" one-third ration," while none of the group attain the yield of number 
6, with superphosphate and muriate of potash in the preliminary group 
(mixed minerals without nitrogen in any form). The disparities in the 
nitrogen mixture group are doubtless due to the difference in the char- 
acter and condition of the soil of the sections, and may be to robbing of 
roasting ears rather than to any defect in the fertilizers or the conduct 
of the experiment. These variations show the importance of repeated 
experiments, and of duplicating them in various ways in order to at- 
tain the greatest accuracy. It is to be hoped that the large number 
carried on now throughout the whole country, under the auspices of the 
United States Commissioner of Agriculture, and the zealous and un- 
tiring Professor W. 0. Atwater, will furnish valuable information in re- 
gard to the exact value of each and all of these substances, used sepa- 
rately and in combination on all the various crops we cultivate. All 
the experiments that I have made with corn with different fertilizers, 
tend to establish the following general propositions : 

(1.) That fertilizers supplied by fine-ground phosphates, superphos- 
phates, and potash salts, do better for corn than the highly-nitrogenized 
or ammoniated mixtures. 

(2.) That corn has generally done well without any artificial supply of 
nitrogen, and is always benefitted by phosphates and by potash. 

(3.) That the opinion that potash is generally found in sufficient quan- 



1883.] SOUTHEKN PLANTER. 25 

tities in our soils, and that an artificial supply is not required, is utterly 
incorrect. All of our crops are increased by the use of potash salts — 
corn especially. 

(4.) While mixtures of phosphates and superphosphates with the 
compounds of nitrogen act well with wheat, rye, oats, the presence of 
potash seems to be necessary for corn, to. insure the best results. 

(5.) Corn, like the leguminoid plants, does not seem to be dependent 
on an artificial supply of nitrogen, like most of the other cereals, but 
is able to gather its own ; and hence it is believed that corn is really 
not an exhauster of the soil to anything like the same extent as the 
other cereals. 

(6.) That not only corn, but all the crops we cultivate, can be pro- 
duced with greater profit and more permanent improvement to the soil 
by the use of fine-ground phosphates, potash salts, and leguminoid 
plants than by any other system whatever. On seven acres of land 
cultivated in corn the present season, with S. C. Phosphates, the average 
yield was eight barrels or forty bushels per acre, where ten bushels 
could not be produced five years since. 

Lucerne. — This leguminoid plant is grown for soiling animals during 
the spring and summer, and has no superior for this purpose. On the 
11th and 12th of April it was killed down to the ground by severe 
frost when it was fully knee high, and would have been ready to cut 
in a few days. On the 23d of May it was first mowed, and again on 
July 21st and August 14th. The three mowings yielded 4,560 pounds 
of green food for soiling from one-eighth of an acre, producing at the 
rate of 36,480 pounds per acre. Fed with a little meal and salt 
sprinkled over it, it is a wholesome and highly nutritious food for 
horses and cattle of all kinds. That it is not more extensively culti- 
vated for this purpose by farmers generally is very much to be regretted. 

Red Clover, Orchard Grass, Timothy, and Randall Grass. — These are 
cultivated separately and mixed together, because they are believed to 
be best adapted to the soils we have to deal with, which are superficial, 
naturally poor, and deficient in lime and alkalies. The great difficulty 
in the cultivation of grasses is to procure a good stand or catch of the 
seed, and the question as to the time of seeding seems to be the one 
uppermost in the minds of most farmers. But this is a matter of minor 
consideration in our experience. It makes very little difference whether 
the seed is sowed in the fall or spring, provided the land is in thorough 
tilth and properly prepared. To sow grass or clover seed on land 
merely plowed, or fallowed, and seeded with wheat or oats, even with 
fertilizers, is, in a majority of cases, to throw the seeds away. The 



26 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

land should be thoroughly stirred, aerated, and reduced to good tilth 
by cultivation with some plow or hoe crop, as tobacco, com, root crops, 
or truck, with which lime in some form, or potash and phosphates, have 
been liberally used. Clover and all the leguminoids are essentially 
lime pla?its, while the grasses are more especially benefitted by the use 
of the salts of potash and the phosphates. The seeds, when sown, 
should be harrowed in thoroughly, and the land then rolled, so as to 
pack the soil about the seed, exclude the air, and prevent the drying 
up of the young roots. There can be no valid objection to seeding 
clover and orchard grass in the spring on land with w T heat, following a 
corn crop, which is the plan we generally pursue. The idea that what 
the wheat consumes it takes from the grass and clover seed, and vice 
versa, is true only in part, and the chances of a good and permanent 
stand, with a good crop of wheat, is as good as by any other method 
we have pursued. Clover and grass seeds should receive an applica- 
tion of plaster as soon after the wheat is cut as possible, and the plas- 
ter should be applied late in the afternoon or early in the morning, to 
have the benefit of the dew, to protect the young plants from the in- 
jurious effects of the sun. 

The following is the yield of clover and grasses on the Experimental 
Earm this season, weighed as cured when housed: 

Eed clover alone, three-fourths of an acre, - - 3,200 pounds.. 

Clover and orchard grass from hillside, 4J acres, - 8,000 do. 

Two half-acre plots near the gate, 1 acre, - - 5,500 do. 
Clover, timothy, and Randall grass, " bottom plot," 

2f acres, 6,900 do. 

Corner plot, clover and timothy, seven-eighths of 

an acre, - 6,140 do. 

Timothy alone, oblong plot, 1J of an acre, - - 7,130 do. 
Randall grass or meadow fescue one-eighth of an 

acre, - - - - 900 do. 

Total cured, weighed, and housed, - - - 37,770 pounds. 

Of course there will be some loss of weight during the process of 
curing in the house. Clover (red), when growing, or freshly cut, con- 
tains about 79 per cent, of water. When it is dried, as for making 
hay, the greater share of this " free water of vegetation" escapes, so that 
" air-dry " clover contains only about 17 per cent, water. " Meadow 
grasses " are estimated to contain about 72 per cent, of free water of 
vegetation when growing or newly cut, and 15 per cent, in the air-dry 



1883.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER 27 

plant as in making hay. The exact loss in the process of house-curing 
I have no means of estimating now. The fact most interesting to the 
farmer is, that 18 tons and 880 pounds of cured hay has been produced 
on a fraction over ten acres of land (an average of 1,880 pounds 
an acre), more than half of which, eight years ago, was a " caput 
mortuum" having been deprived of the surface soil to the depth of 18 
inches to 2J feet to make an adjacent railway embankment. Except 
the drainage, the means used to bring this land up to its present con- 
dition have not been expensive. The use of lime, salt, ashes and 
plaster, peas and clover, and after the first two years a regular order or 
succession of crops, with a liberal use of phosphates and potash salts 
in the cultivation of them, and the turning the clover in regularly, has 
made a surface soil or tilth, in which plants find now a congenial home. 
The crops produced during this period steadily increased, and may be 
credited as paying a considerable portion of the expense of improve- 
ment. Farm-yard manure was applied as a top dressing last fall to the 
poorer parts of the area denuded of the soil, but has not been used 
to any extent on any other portion of the ten acres in question. 

Jno. E. Page. 



WHAT WILL Dp. POLLARD SAY TO THIS? 

"Wheat. — Experience teaches me that thorough culture of the soil 
pays in nothing better than in wheat-raising. The slip shod farmer 
never succeeds at wheat. Occasionally the season is propitious, his 
seed good, and by scratching the ground a time or two he does make a 
tolerably fair crop of corn in spite of himself, but such farmers have never 
experienced the pleasure of checking off thirty bushels of wheat per acre, 
and rarely twenty even where their land is of the best quality and well 
drained. The great secret in wheat raising may be summed up in two 
words: Thorough pulverization. Some argue that cloddy ground feeds 
the wheat, and is therefore preferable. Such men are content with 
from six to ten bushels of wheat per acre. Their bank account is not 
fed from their wheat profit, but, if it is fed at all, the sustenance 
comes from some other crop. It is no uncommon thing to meet a far- 
mer who is excellent in tobacco, corn, potatoes and all other crops of 
his farm, and yet he is a failure in raising wheat. The explanation is 
to be found in the fact that he has not time, as he thinks, to harrow, 
and roll, and crossbreak, and pulverize thoroughly his ground. "I am 
pushed to my work this year," he thinks, "but another year I'll have my 
ground like a lettuce patch and no mistake. Anyhow, my friends 



28 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

Slowcoach and Nogood and Tailend — all large wheat raisers — say clods 
feed the wheat and they ought to know." "[Blessed is he who reconci- 
leth unto himself whatsoever he doeth." If this is not in the Bible it 
ought to be. Such farmers would be miserable if they could not find 
some good excuse for doing their work wrong, or rather, for leaving it 
undone altogether. That "ciods-are-good-for-wheat" business was hatch- 
ed out by some fellow who hadn't time, or was too lazy, to put his 
ground in proper condition, and who had pride enough to try and hide 
his slothfullness beneath a bushel of wisdom made to order. He fell 
among friends when he offered his secret to the public ; and his disciples 
are occasionally heard from now. We do not desire to get into a contro- 
versy with these disciples, but admit to a real curiosity to hear the sci- 
entific side of their question. 

But to business : What I started out to do was to give my idea of how 
a crop should be treated in the beginning ; in a word, how a crop should 
be "put in." 

We still cling to the old notion that our fallowing should be gone 
through with as early in the summer as practicable — say, commencing 
as near June 1 as possible and continuing until finished. The ground 
should be smoothed with a roller or harrow as soon as plowed and re- 
broke or cross-plowed early in September. The harrow should then be 
put upon the field and the ground harrowed closely ; this should be fol- 
lowed by a heavy roller. This programme, so far as it relates to the 
harrow and roller, should be repeated, to form a good seed bed. Do 
not stop until every clod as large as a goose egg is mashed into smith- 
ereens. Every time you rework your field you will experience an in- 
creased heaviness of your pocket, which may not be very marked un- 
til after your crop is made and sold. If you have raised wheat in the 
same field before, and will follow my advice to roll and harrow your 
ground until it is perfedtly pulverized before sowing this fall, the in- 
crease in yield will be very surprising as well as gratifying. 

The seed wheat should be soaked invariably in bluestone and put in- 
to the ground by means of a drill. Drilling wheat has almost entirely 
superseded broadcast sowing, and it is useless for me to pause for the 
purpose of declaiming the excellencies of the former method and its 
superiority over the latter. 

After a shallow seed bed has been obtained by repeated workings, 
and just previous to drilling, the manure pen should be emptied and 
its contents applied to the surface of the wheat field and harrowed in. 
This will put the manure within reach of the wheat roots, which ruu 
very shallow, and give the crop a vigorous start, enabling it when win- 
ter comes to stand the freezes without injury. 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 29 

In almost every neighborhood the custom varies as to the best quan- 
tity of seed to use to the acre. In my opinion this matter should be 
regulated by the strength of the soil. Rich ground makes the greatest 
returns when thinly seeded. Every man knows, or should know, the 
characteristics of his own soil, and it is of the highest importance that 
he should ascertain by repeated experiments the proper quantity of 
seed to be used on his land. No man can find this secret in one year, 
or two; it is only by repeated trials and experiments that the truth can 
be reached. The main thing, in my judgment, is to pulverize and ma- 
nure as much as possible. I am satisfied that every load of manure I 
spread on my wheat last fall, at a cost of $1.50 per load, was worth at 
least $15 to me. — Farmer^ World. 



INFLUENCE OF LIME ON SOILS. 



Sir John Bennett Lawes, writing concerning the statement made be- 
fore the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture that the action of an appli- 
cation of lime to some soils might continue during thirty years and 
might cease at the end of seven, remarks : — 

When we consider that the influence of lime upon a soil that is nat- 
urally deficient in this substance is due to several distinct causes, and 
further that the after treatment of the land which has received the lime 
differs in different cases, we have no difficulty in understanding that 
there must be considerable variations in the periods of time during 
which the beneficial effects of the lime will be apparent. Two of the 
crops which are grown at Rothamsted in our ordinary rotation — roots 
and clover — contain large quantities of lime in their ash, and when pot- 
ash is not abundant in the soil they possess the propert yof utilizing this 
lime in its place. The ash of leguminous plants growing in an ordi- 
nary pasture which has been supplied with potash, contained 32 per 
cent of potash and 22 per cent of lime ; but on pastures where potash 
was not supplied, the ash contained 32 per cent of lime and 14 per cent 
of potash. Lime, therefore, economizes the use of potash. 

The first application of lime to moor land, or to pastures which are 
deficient in lime, is often followed by a growth of white clover so 
abundant as to have led some to the conclusion that the plant was spon- 
taneously generated in the soil. It may be observed that it is only 
plants with creeping roots which can so rapidly cover the ground ; a 
similiar instance in the case of arable land may frequently be observed 
in the equally rapid covering of the soil by couch grass ; this being a 



30 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

graminaceous plant can find in all soils an abundant supply of its own 
proper food — silica ; but lime, in many soils, is by no means abundant, 
and if the supply is insufficient, a liberal dressing is essential, not 
merely for the purpose of furnishing the lime which the plant takes up, 
but also to enable the roots to be in constant contact with that sub- 
stance. 

I must observe that, although the amount of lime dissolved and re- 
moved in drainage waters is considerable, still the necessity of repeat- 
ing the application after a few years appears to be rather due to a de- 
scent of the lime to a lower level in the soil, where it is less accessible 
to the roots of the plants. Lime also acts as the medium by which 
nitrification takes place ; and the almost entire absence of nitrates in the 
water passing through the peat soils in Scotland — which abound in ni- 
trogen — must be mainly due to the absence of lime. A reference to 
the returns in the table shows that the effect of lime is most durable 
upon pastures that are grazed ; that its effects are very good on virgin 
soil ; that it lasts longer upon good than upon bad land, and upon clays 
and heavy loams than upon light land. The amount of soil nitrogen 
which is nitrified each year must depend somewhat on the amount that 
the soil contains, but where each application of lime is attended with 
less benefit than the preceding one, we may feel tolerably sure that 
the resources of the soil have been too largely drawn upon, and that 
the export of fertility has been too great. 

Lime, therefore, acts in a double capacity ; it furnishes an important 
ingredient in the food of roots of leguminous plants, and in addition 
it furnishes the key by which the stores of organic nitrogen in the soil 
are unlocked and rendered available as the food of plants. It is in 
this latter capacity that its functions are more liable to be abused. As 
lime does not furnish any of the more important or of the more costly 
ingredients which plants require to form their structure and seed, it is 
quite evident that these must be derived from the soil ; this being the 
case, if the views of those who hold that agriculture should be carried 
on without any reduction of the fertility of the soil are correct, it is ev- 
ident that an application of lime should be accompanied by an appli- 
cation of all those ingredients which are carried away in the crops or 
by feeding with stock. My own opinion is that the soils are generally 
competent to yield a certain portion of their fertility without injury, 
and that practical experience of the particular district will be the best 
guide for deciding the amount of fertility that may be thus removed. 



He who by the plow would thrive, should make an effort to get the 
best. 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 31 



KEEPING ONE COW. 



The management of a single cow differs from that given the herd in 
the dairy, as she usually comes under the care of the whole family, 
and possesses a monopoly of attention and privileges that cannot be af- 
forded under the wholesale system. She is the dependence of the 
poor farmer, and her place cannot be filled by any other animal. But 
it is quite a business to so manage the family cow that she may be of 
the greatest service, but how to furnish her with green food is com- 
monly an important question. Where pasture can be had at a small 
cost advantage is usually taken of the opportunity, but there are times 
and places in which no such opportunity occurs. If the family possess- 
es a small piece of ground, there can be grown a large variety of green 
feed, for early in the season a crop of peas can be grown for the family, 
the vines given the cow, and the whole taken off in time for some other 
crop. Small places are made rich in such instances when all the ma- 
nure is given them, and for that reason the seeding down of one crop 
before the first is removed is but the practice of a high system of farm- 
ing, to which the small farm and family cow have contributed more than 
anything else, for it has compelled the adoption of the best methods in 
order to attain success. Green corn can be cut several times, if only 
fodder is wanted, and Hungarian grass will spring up as fast as it is 
cut down. A few cabbages put away in the fall will help the cow 
along in winter, and a large crop of carrots, turnips and beets, enough 
for one cow, can be grown on one-fourth of an acre, to say nothing of 
the crop of millet that can be quickly grown and stored away late in 
the season. A Jersey cow or grade Jersey, is small, and better adap. 
ted for a family cow than any other breed, if butter is the desideratum; 
but the Holstein or Ayrshire is better for milk, and it is cheaper to 
keep a good cow than a poor one. The owner of a farm of one acre 
in JSTew York State reports that his cow gives him about five hundred 
pounds of butter every year, but it is by good feeding and attention 
that she does so ; and while he claims that the profit from her is large, 
he admits that his cow would be an expense if she were an inferior ani- 
mal. It is bes, therefore, to be willing to pay for a good cow. The outlay, 
though large at first, will bring in a quicker and surer return than a 
small investment in a scrub. As the family cow receives kindness as a 
general thing from all, the lesson to dairy-men is that by carefully man- 
aging the herd, and treating each cow with the best care, there is no 
reason why the profit may not proportionately be as great. The soil- 
ing system is the familyjplan on a wholesale basis.— Phila. Record. 



32 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 



THE TAG QUESTION. 



Mr. Editor, — In your December number of Southern Planter is a 
communication from the late Commissioner of Agriculture, Mr. Thos. 
Pollard, reviewing the remarks of the editor in the November number 
on the "Tag Question." In that number the editor said : "The Com- 
missioner has the legal right, and ought to affix a tag or brand on all 
fertilizers inspected and licensed by him." Ex-Commissioner Pollard 
says if this be so, he misunderstood his legal right, and failed to per- 
form his duties when Commissioner of Agriculture. This may be, and 
probably is, true. I have never seen a copy of the law, but it was 
enacted at the urgent request of the farmers to protect them against the 
fraudulent material sold them by manufacturers of fertilizers, as gen- 
uine. The object of the law was protection to the farmers. This being 
admitted, Did ex-Commissioner Pollard understand his legal right, and 
did he perform his duties when Commissioner of Agriculture ? Let us 
see what he did. He tells us all he did. "In the first circular I issued 
to manufacturers requiring samples of their goods for analysis, I called 
their attention to this old law concerning brands, to see it enforced. It 
is the duty of the Commissioner of Agriculture to have analyzed such 
fertilizers as he may deem of importance." " Then the farmer can 
compare this analysis with the brand on the bags of the manufacturer, 
and decide whether the brand comes up to the analysis, and make up 
his mind whether to purchase." This is protection " with a ven- 
geance" ! ! Then come the depositions of Dr. Wm, H. Taylor and Dr. 
Pollard, which prove beyond peradventure (one exception) that manu- 
facturers of fertilizers need no watching ! ! ! 

Let us look some further into this protection of the farmers. The 
samples being analyzed, the faimer can take the analysis and compare 
with the brand on the bags, "and decide whether the brand comes up 
to the analysis." This is child's play. Does it follow that because the 
sample is a valuable goods, the bags have same goods in them because 
same analysis is branded on them ? I don't say any manufacturer 
would exhibit a sample of good fertilizer and fill his bags with spurious 
goods, and brand on them the analysis of the good sample, but the 
farmers throughout our State have called aloud for protection against 
frauds, and we all know the analysis of a sample to be compared with 
the brand on the bag, is no protection whatever. Well, how are you 
to protect him ? By such rules and regulations as a practical business 
man would at once adopt. Require samples to be analyzed, and by 
the Commissioner's tag on the bag tell the farmer this is analyzed and 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 33 

registered on Commissioner's books.- But this is only one step. Send 
agents, as Dr. Blanton did, to every part of the State to meet these 
goods, take samples, and send to the department for analysis, to detect 
rascality if attempted. I don't expect the law directs this to be done, 
but don't any praetical man see at a glance the necessity of such regula- 
tion to carry into effect the law ? There has been a great deal said 
about the law in this case, but had not partizan political feelings en- 
tered into this case, Dr. Blanton would have been by public sentiment 
fully sustained in all he has done in this great work. 

Mr. Editor, let you and me have a little business talk on this subject. 
We will, for the time, be manufacturers of fertilizers; you are manu- 
facturing honest goods, I a fraudulent stuff, which I can sell far below 
what you can sell for; would you not be willing to pay, say fifty cents 
per ton, to force me to show my hand by an analysis of our goods by 
an impartial officer? You would, although you might not be able to 
tax the farmer with it. But, sir, if on the other hand, by adulteration 
you could make more, you would oppose the scrutiny into your manu- 
factures. This tax is the great " bug-bear " in the way of the manufac- 
turer. Admit he paid it, is not the burden of this office imposed on the 
farmers to screen them from fraud (as they allege), on the part of the 
manufacturer, and if he should be required to bear some portion of the 
expense, is it other than just ? There is something about this fertilizing 
business I don't understand. In passing through South-western Vir- 
ginia on the Norfolk and Western road, I saw a brand of fertilizer, 
"Registered in Virginia," when I knew it was not registered at the 
Agricultural Department. At what other place are fertilizers regis- 
tered ? 1 thought that was not frank dealing. Fertilizers may be reg- 
istered at some other place than the Agricultural Department, if so, this 
brand was right. " J. M. S. 



THE FISHERIES OF VIRGINIA. 



Virginia comes seventh on the list of fish-producing States, the oys- 
ter, menhaden, and shad fisheries being the three branches in which 
her citizens are most extensively interested. In the first-named fishery 
she ranks second only to Maryland, having 16,315 persons employed, 
with products valued at $2,218,376. Her menhaden fisheries are of 
recent origin, but they have developed with remarkable rapidity. In 
1880 the fleet numbered 102 sail, and the oil, scrap, and compost pro- 
duced sold for $303,829, 88,213,800 being utilized in this way. The 
3 



U SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

mi- . 

river fisheries are also important, furnishing employment to 2,641 per- 
sons, and over 3,000,000 pounds of shad and nearly 7,000,000 pounds 
of alewives (locally known as herring), with many other river species, 
were taken, the whole having a value of $272,828. Table XVII, which 
gives in full the fishing interests of the State, shows the following : 

Persons employed 18,854 

Fishing vessels 1,446 

Pishing boats 6,618 

Capital dependent on the fishery industries.. $l,914,li9 

Pounds sea products taken (including oysters) 146,122,545 

Value of same ,.." $2,851,616 

Pounds of river products taken 12,752,064 

Value of same $272,828 

Total value of products to the fishermen $3,124,444 

[We are indebted to the Hon. R. Edward Earl, of the Census Bureau at Washington, 
for the above statement of the fisheries of Virginia. — Ed. S. P.] 



THE PROGRESSIVE FARMER. 



[For the Southern Planter.] 

The true farmer does not stop to count the cost of improvement, for 
his reason prompts him to believe that he cannot go wrong by endeav- 
oring to improve. Every acre of his farm is or should be cultivated 
to its greatest capacity, and his soil never deteriorates in quality. He 
rotates his crops with a view to increased fertility, and he estimates his 
profits by the amount of expenses entailed in securing that profit. The 
failure to realise immediate results does not discourage him, for he 
knows that through his judicious system of cultivation, the realization 
is best deferred for a little* while longer. He farms for profit and he 
spends for profit. He knows nothing of stinted economy which saves 
to-day and robs to-morrow. The farm is his bank, his workshop, and 
his occupation ; no stone being left unturned, and no portion slighted 
at the cost of another part. A good farm means good stock. The 
r&ssor-back hog has no place on it, but must be superseded by the 
thoroughbreds. The scraggy cattle are seen no more, for the Short- 
horns, the Holstein, the Jerseys, or their grades occupy their places. 
The thoroughbred, the Percheron, the Clydesdale, and their get plow 
th* fields that formerly yielded to the wind-broken horse, and the im- 
plements used are of the most approved labor-saving patterns. All this 
moans capital and is expensive, but when the fact is considered that it 
cosfea no more to keep the best than the bad, and that expense means 



83.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 35 

profit in the end, the cost is not so formidable as it seems. The ma- 
nure heap is the most important of all. The good farmer can be 
selected by the manner in which he keeps his manure. The manure 
is the wealth, the bank on which the check is drawn ; it is therefore 
very improvident to neglect it. Drenching rains and scorching suns 
carry upward and downward the soluble and volatile constituents of 
the unprotected heap, and often ditches are dug to allow the black 
liquid riches to pass off and are lost forever. But the good farmer 
works differently, he makes the manure fine, attends personally to the 
process of decomposition, protects it from the weather, and endeavors 
to make it a ready food for the crops when hauled to the fields. Farm- 
ing pays to good farmers. 

A few words more about manure. Many Southern farmers appear 
to regard the saving of manure as something unworthy of their atten- 
tion, not because it would be unprofitable, but because it is considered 
a disagreeable or undignified employment. Much money is often ex- 
pended by them for " commercial fertilizers," when they have on their 
own lands considerable quantities of fertilizing material which is much 
better for the soil and for their crops. Southern farmers could add 
thousands of dollars to their wealth by making manure at home, which 
would not cost a dollar in money, nor require anything, indeed, but a 
little time and care. There is little profit in paying out nearly as much 
as a crop will be worth for manure to produce it. M. 



ENGLAND AND THE TURNIP. 



Few plants are better known to farmers than the turnip, called with 
affectionate intimacy "'neeps" by our Scottish, and "tumults" by 
provincials of North-Hurnber-land. It was imported by Viscount 
Townshend in the seventeenth century, and was, according to Ray, the 
naturalist, first used for feeding kine about 1688, that is at the time 
ef the glorious revolution, when James II fled in disguise. We do not 
remember any mention of the humble and bucolic root in Macauley, 
but we venture to say that a greater and more glorious revolution was. 
accomplished by the introduction of the turnip than by a change of. 
dynasty. What would England be without it ? If, as we are informed,. 
Lord Viscount Townshend, who represented England at the States 
General, introduced the turnip, he is worthy of a higher monument 
than the Duke of York. We owe fresh meat for eight months out. of.! 



36 SOUTHERN PLANTER, [January 

the twelve to his enterprise. We owe our freedom from leprosy, scurvy 
and other disagreeable consequences of feeding salt flesh, to him. The 
wonderful increase in population in these countries would not have 
been possible without the turnip. The employment of millions hangs 
upon the turnip. The investment of millions sterling is due to the 
turnip. The turnip is one of the mainstays in England, and the Lord 
Chancellor might well sit upon one, instead of a woolsack, were it not 
a trifle too hard and otherwise incommodious for such a purpose. 
Poets, statesmen and historians are apt to consider the acts of Kings 
and of Parliaments as of the first importance; but to the vast majority 
of mankind, who governs is of no matter whatever. Work and food 
are of more importance, and it is difficult to exaggerate the value of 
the turnip as a source of both. — London Agricultural Journal. 



ENQUIRIES. 



Editor Southern Planter: 

Will you be so kind as to write me whether the refuse lime used in 
the manufacture of gas is a good fertilizer. If you have no experience 
with it yourself, perhaps you might find out from some gentlemen who 
have been using it near Richmond. I have heard that it was good for 
wheat and grass. I am looking out something that is cheap that is 
suited to the improved grasses, and more lasting than the manipulated 
fertilizers that we find on the market. When is the best time to use 
lime on grass ? To sow it on grass that was seeded last spring, at this 
season of the year, would it kill it? or how would it do to sow it on 
wheat this fall and seed to grass next spring? It is my wish to get my 
farm in grass that I may improve my stock, and also improve my farm, 
hoping to make the stock pay for the fertilizer, and the seed and all the 
benefit the land may derive, let that come in as a clear gain. Any in- 
formation you will give me on the subject will be thankfully received. 
Yours truly, J. T. King. 

P. S. — I notice that " T. R. C," in Country Gentleman, says that an 
application of dissolved South Carolina rock and kainit will almost 
insure a crop of wheat. What does he mean by dissolved, and what is 
the price of the South Carolina preparation or kainit in Richmond by 
the ton? J.T. K. 

Omega, Halifax county, Va. 

[We have written our subscriber and friend a private letter giving such responses as we 



1883.] 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



37 



deemed best to his several enquiries ; but we give his letter to our readers with the hope 
that some of them will respond who are better informed than we are. As to kainit and 
South Carolina rock-phosphate, and the methods and results of composting, we refer him 
to an article from the Atlanta Constitution we publish in this issue, and to advertisements 
of the Stono and Ashley companies in the Planter. — Ed. S. P.] 



SHEEP HUSBANDRY. 



"Shirley," City Point, Va., December 2, 1882. 
Editor Southern Planter : 

Dear Sir, — Your postal card of 14th ulto. duly received; acknowl- 
edgment deferred in order to see the editorial note referred to. This, 
I find, requests " practical experience on adaptation of this section to 
sheep husbandry." My experience is hardly a fair test, as I have kept 
only a small flock on a grain farm, of five eighty-acre fields, heavily 
stocked with other animals, so that the sheep have no very extensive 
range nor opportunity to cleanse and improve exhausted pastures, but 
are, nearly all the year, in good grass, either clover or stubble fields. 
They have access to a slab-shelter in the field during winter, and when 
snow or sleet prevent their grazing, two bundles of fodder to each 
sheep a day are put under the shed; no other feeding, except salt and 
ashes, at any time. I tabulate results below, not caring to venture an 
opinion on the question by your West Virginia correspondent until re- 
quested. 



CO 

«~ 
e3 
03 


a 

s-. a> 

a M 

a o 

03 
SUO 

03 

f-t 

03 
> 
< 

31 
46 


Lambs. 


Fleeces. 


Muttons. 


£^ 8 

03 eo -2 

|i 

$138 00 
224 00 


REMARKS. 




H3 
03 
C 
03 C8 
&0O3 
S3 *** 
03 O 

<* 

30 

46 


33 
"0 

03 M 
o3 O 

> 

11 

23 


03 
O 

03 q. 

a3 

u 

03 
> 


7? 

o3 

03 03 

e3 « 

03 O 


C3 03 

> 

< 


•n 

03 
GO 

o3 

■8 3 


2 

03 SQ 
bD • 
S3 O 

03 tt 

> 

2 
4 


03 
O 

a* 

o3 

03 
> 
<4 




■a* 

.2 

03 


The average number 
of flock is the mini- 
mum; for from Jan- 
uary to May, counting 
lambs, usually make 


1st. 
2nd. 


$6 00 
4 62 


31 

46 


6£ lbs. 

n u 


29c 
24c. 


$9 25 
9 00 


double the number, and 
they all eat young clo- 
ver. 



In 1866 I took to pasture, on shares, twenty-four mixed-grade sheep,. 
each party using what mutton he required for the table. At the end 
of two years we divided the flock — forty-two to him, thirty-five to me. 
Then, taking periods of seven years each, say first period from 1869 
to 1875, inclusive; second period from 1876 to 1882, inclusive, I 
tabulate, from my records, the yearly averages adjoined. The mutton 



38 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

and lamb used at my table would more than pay for expense of fodder, 
shearing and of four Cotswold bucks bought during the sixteen years. 
I turn out a young buck each year. A few sheep die every year, and 
all skins, either if killed or dying sheep, are sold to credit of flock. In 
the flock are included usually two rams and about five wethers. 

Use the letter as you may wish. I shall not be disappointed if it is 
not considered worth notice 

Very truly, &c, R. R. Carter. 

[We thank Mr. Carter for his response to our enquiry, and we think he makes a good 
showing. If we understand his tabulated statement, he has made about five dollars per 
capita on his flock for each year; and this is about one hundred per cent, profit. We 
think our West Virginia enquirer may be satisfied with this. We have just returned 
from a short visit to Westover, five miles, by land, from Shirley, and was shown by Maj. 
Drewry a flock of pure Southdown sheep, of which each one was a perfect beauty and 
rolled in fat. The saddle of mutton from this flock, which the Major had on his table, 
could not be excelled in fatness and flavor by any section of this State or country. — 
Ed. S. P.] 



Broad Tires. — A farmer who has used a wagon with broad tires on 
wheels long enough to ascertain their relative value as compared with 
narrow tires, writes : " A four inch tire will carry two toas over soft 
ground with greater ease to the team than a two-and-a-half inch tire 
will carry one ton. The wheels are not so much strained by stones 
and rough tracks on the road, and the road is not cut up, but, on the 
contrary, is packed down and keeps smooth. The prevalent idea that 
the draft is increased by widening the tire is altogether baseless ; on 
the contrary, a wide tire reduces the draught. The extra cost of the 
tire is repaid many times over every year in the extra work that can be 
done by a team." 

[The Farmer's Review, of Chicago, Illinois, publishes the above item. We have long 
thought that broad tires on our wagon- and cart-wheels will lessen draught and improve 
the roads by packing the surface. Why do not our wagon- and cart-makers adopt the 
idea, and why do not our farmers demand this change ? The common roads of Virginia 
are bad enough, all know ; and if broad tires will improve them, and at the same time 
lessen draught, they should be universally used. — Ed. S. P.] 



In constructing barn floors too much care cannot be given to making 
them water-tight. This is especially true of stables. The time when 
the urine of cattle and horses was left to run through the floors to get 
rid of it has gone by forever. In some elements, particularly potash 
and nitrogen, urine is richer than the solid excrement. With air-tight 
floors and an abundance of bedding the urine can all be saved. 



1883.] . SOUTHERN PLANTER. 39 



FURMAN'S FARM. 



Growing from Eight Bales of Cotton on Sixty- Five Acres to One Hundred 
Bales, and how the Increase was Made — Formula Feeding the Earth. 



I suppose there are few readers of the Constitution who do not remem- 
ber Farish Furman. 

He was a bright and brainy senator in 1876, and led the capitol cam- 
paign against Atlanta, was mentioned for Congress, and I always 
esteemed him one of the best equipped and most capable of our young 
politicians. A few years ago he quit politics and went to farming. I 
heard that he had settled on a thin piece of land with poor prospects, 
and in common with many of his friends thought he had dropped out 
of affairs. 

At the last agricultural convention he electrified the older farmers of 
the State with the details of the most astounding five years' farming 
ever done in a Southern State, and is to-day more talked about in the 
State than if he had served twenty years in Congress. 

I have heard the record of his wonderful work several times within 
the past few months, and the comment with which it is usually greeted 
is, " I don't believe it." I simply say that I have the authority of three 
excellent gentlemen for the truth of the following main points : 

Furman started work with sixty-five acres of the very poorest land 
in middle Georgia five years ago. The first year he made eight bales 
on the sixty-five acres, or less than one bale to eight acres. This shows 
that it was the poorest of scrub land. 

The second year he put 500 pounds of compost to the acre, and made 
twelve bales of cotton where he made eight before. 

The third year he used 1,000 pounds of compost to the acre, and 
increased the yield on the sixty-five acres to twenty-three bales. 

The fourth year he used 2,000 pounds of compost to the acre, and 
increased his crop to forty-seven bales on sixty-five acres. 

The fifth year he used 4,000 pounds of compost to the acre, and his 
crop is certainly above eighty to the sixty-five acres, and may reach 
one hundred bales. 

He has done all this work with two plows and eighteen days extra 
plowing. His official and detailed statement shows that the total ex^ 
penses were $2,300, and his net profit $2,725, a fine record on a two- 
horse farm, In addition; the land that was worth $5 an acre five 
years ago, is now worth $100 an acre. So with two mules this year he 
has raised at least 80 bales of cotton, 1,000 bushels of oats and 400 
bushels of corn. 



40 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

Isn't that a better record than he could have made in Congress ? 
Hasn't he done the State more good by this demonstration than he 
could have done by ten years of political speeches ? 

I had a talk with Furman to-day. He is the very picture of health, 
prosperity and intelligent enthusiasm. With a perfectly independent 
income, and the secret of a better one in his hands, he is truly a happy 
man. He said to me : 

" When I determined to go to farming five years ago, I saw that it 
would not do to farm in the old way. I saw farmers around me get- 
ting poorer every day, though they worked like slaves. I saw them 
starving their land so that each year their land was scantier, and their 
farm less valuable. I saw that it was still the plow following the ax, 
and as fast as a farmer starved one piece of land he cleared out a new 
piece. With 800,000 immigrants pouring into this country annually, 
and the public domain virtually pre-empted, I realized that this waste- 
ful system must stop somewhere and soon. Worse than all, I saw that 
my own land rented to small farmers was 25 per cent, poorer and less 
valuable than it was a few years ago, and that it would soon cease to 
pay me rent. I knew that Georgia was blessed with the best condi- 
tions of season and soil, and that if properly treated it would yield large 
results. 

I therefore selected sixty-five acres of the poorest land I had and 
went to work. The first thing, of course, was to enrich the soil. To 
do this there was but one way; to feed it, and to give it more food 
than the crops take from it, and above all to give it the proper food. 
I knew that certain phosphatic manures stimulated the soil so that it 
produced heavy crops for awhile and then fell off. I wanted none of 
this. I did not believe in soil analysis. That was not exact enough. 
What I wanted was to know exactly what a perfect cotton plant took 
from the soil. That ascertained, then to restore to the soil exactly 
those elements in larger quantities than the crop had abstracted them. 
This is the basis of intensive farming, and it will always give land that 
is richer year after year. I had a cotton plant analyzed, and found that 
I needed eight elements in my manure, of which commercial fertilizers 
furnish only three, and the soil only one. I therefore determined to 
buy chemicals and mix them with humus, muck, decayed leaves, stable 
manure and cotton seed till I had secured exactly what was needed. I 
did so, and at last produced a perfect compost for cotton. I then ascer- 
tained that my crop of eight bales had taken out of each acre of my 
land as much of the constituents of cotton as was held in 250 pounds 
of my compost. I therefore put 500 pounds of compost on each acre, 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 41 

restoring double what the crop of the year before had taken off. The 
result was that I made four bales extra. I then restored double what 
the twelve bales had taken out, and made 23 bales. I doubled the 
restoration the next year and got 47 bales. I double again and this 
year have at least 80 bales." 

"But does this extra manuring pay?" 

" Immensely. Here are my figures : 2,000 pounds of my compost 
costs $7.20, or $3.60 a thousand pounds. The first year I put 500 
pounds to the acre — cost $1.80 an acre, $111 for 65 acres. But my 
crop rose from 8 to 12 bales, the extra 4 bales giving me $200 surplus, 
or $83 net on my manure. The next year my manure (1,000 pounds 
per acre) cost $234 ; but my crop increased to 34 bales from 8 on un- 
manured land. These extra bales give me $650, or net profit on ma- 
nure of $516. The next year I used 2,000 pounds per acre at a cost 
of $7.25 per acre, or $471 for total. But my crop went from 8 to 47 
bales, giving increased income of $1,950, or net over cost of manure of 
about $1,500. This year I used 4,000 pounds to the acre, costing $14.50, 
or $942 for total manure. But my crop is at least 80 bales with this 
manure, where it was 8 without. This increase of 72 bales is worth 
$3,600. Deduct cost of manure, $940, and we have $2,650 as the net 
profit on the use of manure." 

"And then the land is so much richer." 

" Certainly. It is worth $100 an acre where it was formerly worth 
$5. You must credit the manure with this." 

" Where will you stop in this progression ?" 

" I don't know. I shall double my manuring next year, putting 
8,000 pounds to the acre. I believe I will get 150 bales from the 65 
acres. I hope to push it up to three bales an acre. I have a few acres 
on which I put 10,000 pounds of compost as an experiment, and every 
acre of it will give me three bales this year." 

" Mr. Warthen raised five bales to the acre? " 

"Yes, but left his land poorer. He pushed it, stimulated it, and 
took the very heart out of it. After taking off my enormous crop, I 
leave my land richer than before. I cultivate my sixty-five acres with 
two plows, and I will make 150 bales with those two plows on sixty- 
five acres. That will be glory enough for me, and will be a revelation 
to the world. I believe I will get ninety bales this year with two plows. 
I have already picked thirty bales and the best judges say hardly one- 
third is picked. This is an astounding result, and simply shows what 
intensive farming will do." 

" How do you make this compost ? " 



42 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 

" Here is my formula : Take thirty bushels well-rotted stable manure 
or well-rotted organic matter, such as leaves, muck, etc., and scatter it 
about three inches thick upon a piece of ground so situated that water 
will not stand upon it but run off in every direction. The thirty bushels 
weigh about 900 pounds; take 200 pounds good acid phosphate, which 
cost me $22.50 per ton, delivered, making the 200 pounds cost $2.25, 
and 100 pounds kainit, which cost me by the ton $14 delivered, or 70 
cents for 100 pounds, and mix the acid phosphate and kainit thoroughly, 
then scatter evenly on the manure. Take next thirty bushels green 
cotton seed and distribute evenly over the pile, and wet thoroughly ; 
they will weigh nine hundred pounds. Take again 300 pounds acid 
phosphate and 700 pounds kainit, mix and spread over the cotton seed ; 
begin again on the manure and keep on in this way, building up your 
heap layer by layer until you get it as high as convenient, then cover 
with six inches of rich earth from fence-corners, and leave at least six 
weeks ; when ready to haul to the field, cut with a spade or pickaxe 
square down and mix as thoroughly as possible. Now we have thirty 
bushels of manure weighing 900 pounds, and 300 pounds of chemicals 
in the first layer, and thirty bushels of cotton seed weighing 900 pounds, 
and 300 pounds of chemicals in the second layer, and these two layers 
combined form the perfect compost. You perceive that the weight is 
2,400 pounds. Value at cost is : 

30 bushels cotton seed, 12Jc $3 75 

400 pounds acid phosphate 4 50 

200 pounds kainit...., 1 40 

Stable manure — nominal 

Total $9 65 

Or for 2,400 pounds a total value of $9.65. This mixture makes prac- 
tically a perfect manure for cotton and a splendid application for corn." 

"This restores to the soil everything taken from it?" 

" Except silica, which is in the soil in inexhaustible quantities. So 
that when you put in a larger quantity of these than the cotton took 
out, your soil is evidently richer." 

" You do not believe in commercial fertilizers? " 

"In a certain respect. There are many fertilizers that are made 
with a view to showy results that really parch and impoverish the 
land, besides taking all the farmer's cash. I do not believe in them. 
But the chemicals that are prepared for composting are very reliable, 
and we could not do without them. The secret of success is buying 
these chemicals judiciously and composting with leaves, humus, cotton- 
seed, etc. No farmer can succeed permanently without composting. 



1882.] SOUTHERN* PLANTER. 43 

The greatest waste in the South is with stable manure. Many farmers 
never think of saving it. In Ohio, the compost raised on one fifty-five- 
acre farm from ten head of horses and thirty head of cattle in one year, 
was estimated by the State Chemist at $2,650, and scattered 4,000 
pounds to the acre, made a net profit of $300 an acre. 

"Another thing is that our farmers do not appreciate cotton-seed. 
That comes nearer to being a perfect fertilizer than any one thing in 
the world. And yet over 100,000 bushels was sold at my depot for a 
trifle and hauled away." 

"You do not believe in cotton-seed oil mills then?" 

"Yes, I do. I think the seed is just as good a fertilizer after the 
oil is extracted as it was before. The trouble is that when it goes to 
the oil mill it never comes back. Once made into cotton meal, it is 
sent to England for stock food, and the Southern farms are robbed 
of it." 

" You see the English or Northern farmer can afford to pay more 
for it than we can, because he feeds it to his stock, and then saves the 
droppings of the stock. In this way he fattens his cattle with it and 
still uses it as a manure after it has performed this function. We do 
not reach the economy because we have not the stock to feed it to and 
because we do not save the manure of the stock we do feed. The ideal 
system would be to take the cotton to the oil mill, sell the right to the 
oil, have the pressed cake returned, feed it to stock and then return it 
to the soil in the shape of droppings from the animal. This will come 
in time. It is one of the results of the intensive system of farming. 
The more manure we use for compost, the more sheep and cattle we 
will need. The more stock we have, the more cotton-seed cake we 
will need. The more cottonseed cake we feed to stock at home, the 
richer our lands will be. "We waste millions of dollars annually from 
the failure to pen our stock at night. There is no excuse for any 
Southern man staying poor or starving his land. 

"With his cotton-seed and stable manure saved and composed with 
decayed leaves, fine straw, etc., any farmer can become rich if he wants 
to and double the value of his land in three years." 

(To be continued.) 



The injuries to the Western corn crop from frost appear to be mostly 
local rather than wide-spread. Whatever failure exists will be due to 
the cold and wet early season, not to premature cold at the time of 
ripening. It is reasonably certain that the crop cannot be large enough 
to make very low prices. 



44 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 



Editorial. 



A NEW YEAR'S GREETING. 



The Planter has now reached its forty -fourth year. This is a good 
old age for an agricultural, or any other journal, dependent upon the sup- 
port of a community of readers of diversified tastes. It shows, at least, 
that its efforts in behalf of practical agriculture are well sustained. Its 
corps of editors — starting with Botts — and the prime of its life upheld 
by such men as F. G. Ruffin and Chas. B. Williams, establishes a con- 
fidence which accidental circumstances and changes cannot erase from 
the minds of the farmers of Virginia, and of all other States, where, in 
this long term of years, it has found its way. 

Its present editor, who was one of its first subscribers, has kept up 
his regular reading of it and has often sent it farm-letters ; and now 
that he is placed in charge of it, with verg great pleasure he is enabled 
to send a new year's greeting to its readers. 

The year 1882 has been great in its productive results over the entire 
country. Its agricultural production has been very favorable; the 
mining, manufacturing and other productive interests have been largely 
advanced; and so agriculture, which is the fostering mother of all, and 
the farmers who are the workers in her fields, are to be congratulated. 

Whilst we pen these words, as generally applicable to our State and 
country, our heart swells with sympathy for a large number of bad 
farmers, we may say, in special sections who do not feel the exhilarating 
influences of a great progress. To them we would say, study better 
your methods ; do not accept the idea that farming is a menial or low 
occupation, but on the other hand, educate yourselves to the knowledge 
and belief that it is one of the noblest of callings, which demands edu- 
cation, and active and practical effort to ensure success. All other profes- 
sions have the same demands on them, and that of agriculture has a 
wider and broader scope than any other. 

The Planter enters on its new year with a determined purpose to do 
its part in the great work of agricultural advancement. Hundreds of 
other journals, all over the country, are doing the same thing, and the 
Planter only asks for itself a just share of the support which may be 
distributed. The field is large. The division by States, agricultural 
sections, soils, climate and products, make work for all; and reader* 
are what is wanted. 

The Planter goes to every State in the Union, and has a fair circula- 
tion beyond the Atlantic Ocean, but a larger home circulation is desirable. 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 45 

It will club with every agricultural paper of the country, or any other 
paper on its exchange list, to new subscribers at 20 per cent, below the 
regular subscription rates of each paper. So that we may say, that 
every new subscriber to the Planter and any one or more of other agri- 
cultural journals, will get them at this reduction by a prepayment for 
a year's subscription. We have not space now to give terms for com- 
bination with other papers by name, but will do so on application by 
letter or postal card. 

We do not say more for the Planter than for other journals, when we 
say that farmers will find their pleasure and profit in reading papers 
which teach of their business. There has been a time in the past when 
book-farming — so-called — was held in contempt by farmers who thought 
themselves successful and knew more than they could execute. There 
may be some such farmers now, but as they go but little beyond the 
fences which enclose their lands, they rest contentedly on an old and 
fixed belief, and rejecting information to be obtained from books and 
papers, they have but a faint idea of scientific progress in any depart- 
ment of business, which these same books and papers, if read, would 
teach them. This class of farmers have a sandy foundation to rest upon. 
They are running in opposition to the current, and reject information 
through well conducted farm reports, experiments with prevailing and 
new crops, manures, rotation of grain and other cultivated crops with 
the grasses for hay and grazing fields, the green fallows, improved live- 
stock, and many other methods of improvement which are taught by 
publications they neglect to subscribe for and read. If they can stand 
such a neglect of their vital interests, it is their business. We have 
another class w T ho read agricultural papers and profit by them. They 
afford support and encouragement, and so agricultural journals and 
papers are not likely to fail by the non-reading class. Our words are 
addressed to them in their own behalf. It makes but little difference 
what publication they may subscribe for and read, so that it is adapted 
to their tastes and ideas, to the crops they may cultivate, cattle or 
fowls they breed, or fruits they produce. They can find good publica- 
tions which make all these subjects specialties, and others which teach 
of farm production in all its varied branches — the household, garden, 
poultry-yard, cattle-pens, stables, and the field, as well as of the vin- 
yard and orchard. 

We, therefore, say to the farmers of the whole country, read, and be 
well-informed of the progress which is made, and attempted, in agricul- 
ture, on which the subsistence and commerce of the world depends, 
and, at the same time, their own industrial profits and family comforts. 



46 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [January 



THE ASHLEY PHOSPHATE COMPANY. 



We invite attention to the advertisement of this Company, appear- 
ing in this issue of the Planter. In our last we referred to the Stono 
Phosphate Company and its advertisement. Both of these Companies 
are located at Charleston, S. C, and are engaged in working up the 
large phosphatic deposits of that section into the most convenient and 
profitable shape for agricultural use. The phosphate of lime, which 
those South Carolina deposits so abundantly furnish, is what may be 
said to be the life-blood of wheat and other grain crops; and when 
potash, another important element, is furnished through German salts, 
or kainit, the two most important elements of grain and general plant 
growth are secured. 

An Old Farmer, writing in the Philadelphia Practical Farmer, fur- 
nishes the following formula for one ton of what, he says, is a good 
fertilizer, costing only about fifteen dollars per ton, and, in the same 
connection, says: l Avoid commercial ammoniated fertilizers. They 
act on the soil very much like alcoholic stimulants upon our physical 
constitution — arouse it to temporary energy, to be succeeded by cor- 
responding exhaustion, &c." 

FOKMULA FOR ONE ToN. 

600 pounds ground phosphate. 

400 " kainit (German potash salts). 

50 " nitrate of soda. 
200 " land plaster (gypsum). 
800 " dry earth (surface soil). 

We desire to say that we have no adverse feeling against any person, 
or company, who are honestly endeavoring to furnish to the farmers 
the best and cheapest manipulated fertilizers, and hope that all will 
have a just share of success; but, at the same time, we must say that 
the farmer who loses his hold upon Ins home-made manure-heap, which is 
his banking capital, and transfers the control to any manufacturer of 
fertilizers, whatever may be his brand, is in a bad way. 



SHEEP AT THE LAST STATE FAIR. 



As explained in our notice of the late State Fair, we were unable to 
go into a detailed notice of the exhibition. 

We only propose now to make brief mention of the display of 
sheep, which all good judges say was of great merit. 



1883. SOUTHERN PLANTER. 47 

Looking over the premiums which were awarded, we see that H. A. 
S. Hamilton, of Augusta county, was the largest recipient in long- 
wools, and Dr. J. A. Reid and brother, of Orange county, and R. R. 
Carter, of Shirley, Charles City county, followed. Mr. Hamilton was, 
also, as to number, the most successful exhibitor of middle-wools, but 
an old friend, Dr. Jno. R. Woods, of Albemarle, came in with a limited 
number of very fine animals, after an absence for several years, as 
did William Green, and Graves and Bradbury, of Orange county, and 
Dr. J. G. Beattie, of Henrico. Mr. W. C. Preston had also a number 
of awards in this class. 

In the class of fine-wools, that constant and veteran exhibitor, Col. 
S. S. Bradford, of Culpeper, won all the awards except one, which was 
given to R. M. Newman, of Orange. 



FARM GATES. 



There is nothing so useful and contributes more to the convenience 
of the farmer and his visitors than a well-hung gate, secured by a sim- 
ple, safe and handy latch. The mechanism of gates may be elabo- 
rate and ornamental, and yet solid and useful, or it may be plain and 
simple ; and in either case, there is no fixture about a farm which de- 
serves more attention. Bad enclosures and gates involve trouble, in- 
vite stock to vicious habits, lead to heavy losses, and show the farmer 
in a very bad light. We have had opportunity to see on some of the 
best farms of Virginia on which culture and enclosures were, in the 
main, to be commended, that the matter of gates was sadly neglected. 
We have also seen, in the past year, farms of fair reputation which had 
all their gates of a saggy character, which a latch was superfluous and 
the primitive fence rail was used as a prop. This class of gates whilst, 
possibly, secure against the ingress and egress of stock, must be es- 
pecially annoying. To dismount from a horse and lift oft* the rail and 
then, with much exertion of strength, to lift the gate from its saggy 
rut, demands more than an ordinary degree of patience. If the farmer, 
himself, has to do this thing many times a day, his interest will prompt 
him to duplicate the labor in closing the gate, but one not so interested 
may pass on in a spirit of ill-temper and leave a breach through which 
trespassing animals may enter and do much damage. 

Other farmers, still less appreciative of a good gate, use "draw bars," 
or a gap in the old Virginia worm-fence across their roads and en- 
trances into fields. Such as these deserve no consideration at all, and 



48 SOUTHERN" PLANTER. [January 

should be read out of the farming fraternity. We hold that any farmer 
of ordinary pluck, and having a proper regard for decency and comfort, 
if he owns an axe, hand-saw, an auger aud a chisel, can do better. 
And should this be done, the general appearance of the country would 
be improved, home comforts will be advanced, and the agricultural 
character of the State elevated. 

Our remarks have been suggested by the advertisement in the Planter 
of a new-patented gate-latch by Dr. P. J. Winn, of Fluvanna county, 
which was exhibited at the late State Fair, and received from a com- 
mittee of practical farmers the award of a Diploma. We have ex- 
amined the latch at the Agricultural House of Ashton Starke, in this 
city, and commend it for its simplicity and apparent efficiency. 

We may add, that we have had frequent visits, recently, from one of 
our subscribers residing in Canada who, for two months, has been 
searching for a home in Virginia, and his greatest draw-back has been 
in the neglected condition of farms which are offered for purchase; 
and this neglect is owing, in a great measure, to what our farmers re- 
gard as small things — pleasantly -appearing homes, including good farm 
gates, &c. Waste, or unoccupied, lands will be purchased, provided 
the surroundings are pleasant, but bad cultivation, bad enclosures, bad 
gates, dilapidated houses, &c, drive immigrants away. 



HOW MUCH SEED WHEAT TO THE ACRE? 



Eds. Press, — I have never seen the question satisfactorily answered. 
Some say 100 lbs., some 90 lbs., some 75 lbs., and a few say 60 lbs. 
Scarcely any say less. But when we consider how marvelously a single 
kernel of wheat, when deposited in suitable soil, will multiply itself in 
the way of reproduction, it must be conceded that even the least of the 
above mentioned quantities is far in excess of the exact quantity re- 
quired to properly seed an acre. A single kernel of wheat, under fa- 
vorable circumstances, will produce from 30 to 40 stalks, each bearing 
a head containing from 60 to 75 kernels ( I have seed heads of 
wheat which contain over 100 kernels). Take, however, the least of 
the above multiples — 30 and 60 — and a bushel of wheat can be made 
to produce 1,800 bushels of wheat. But it will be objected that this 
sort of seeding for wheat could not be made practically successful. Be 
it so ; the fact still remains, and has come under the observation of 
every intelligent wheat farmer, that every kernel of seed in his wheat 
fteld maturing into a crop has produced from three to eight stalks, bear- 



1883.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 49 

ing heads containing from 30 to 50 kernels; say, averaging five stalks, 
and 50 kernels. His yields from 60 lbs. of seed ought to be 200 bush- 
els, or from 90 lbs. 300 bushels; but instead of such yields, he is well 
satisfied if he reaps 1,800 lbs. from his 90 lb. sowing. Given 90. 
Pro=1800 rt^T = A'» ^at * s on ^ A" 1°- °f n ^ s 90 lbs. seed sown came 
to maturity and produced his 1,800 lbs. wheat; 1-20 lbs. of his seed 
was absolutely lost. Yet, if his land was in good order and he sowed 
good seed, it is safe to assume that nine-tenths of his seed sprouted 
and put forth blades. What, then, became of eight-tenths of it ? 
Smothered by the remaining tenth — the fittest only surviving. 

These facts coming under my observation during my long experience 
as a wheat farmer, both here and in the Atlantic States, led me to a 
series of experiments, the result of which led me to the conclusion 
that wheat growers used altogether too much seed — that if they pre- 
pared their lands well and took pains to properly sow the necessary 
quantity of seed, they would largely increase their yield per acre. 

Having arrived at that conclusion, I put it to a practical test some 
10 years ago, being the last year that I have farmed my lands to wheat. 
I selected an eight-acre lot, which had been cultivated to beans the 
year previous, plowed the lot, measured off three acres and harrowed 
it down; took a one-horse plow, for want of a drill, and marked off the 
three acres into shallow rows 18 inches apart; then took a part of a 
sack of seed, having previously weighed the same, and distributed in 
the rows very sparingly till the whole three acres were thus seeded. I 
then weighed what was left of my sack of seed, and I found I had used 
15 lbs , or a peck of seed on three acres. I then, on the same day, 
sowed the remainder of the lot broadcast, using about 75 lbs. of seed 
to the acre, thoroughly harrowing down the whole lot both ways. After 
the wheat was well up, I went through the three-acre portion with a 
hoe to clean out the young grass and weeds starting. Now for the re- 
sult. The three acres yield, 160 bushels,or 53J bushels to the acre. 
The other five acres yielded 40 bushels to the acre ; but whether I got 
the right quantity of seed on the three acres is still undetermined in 
my own mind. But I was satisfied 75 lbs. of seed were too much. 
The wheat smothered itself out to a great extent, the fittest only sur- 
viving. 

Wm. C. Blackwood. 
Haywards, Nov. 11, 1882. 

[From the Pacific Rural Press, California. Keep it and think over it before the next 
seeding time. In considering the matter remember that 60 lbs. make a bushel. — Ed. S. P. 
4 



50 



SOUTHEBN PLANTER. 



[January 



TheS outhern Planter. 



SUBSCRIPTION: $1:25 a year in advance, or 
$1.50 if not paid in advance. 



TERMS OF ADVERTISINGS 

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4@» Reading notices, 25 cents per line, of brevier 
type. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 

TO OUR SUBSCRIBERS AGAIN. 

With the commencement of this new 
year, we renew our appeal to subscribers 
who are in arrears for the past year, and 
some for a longer time, to settle up their 
accounts. All such will find bills in the 
present issue, and we are glad to say that 
the number is not large. Our former ap- 
peals have been generously met, and we 
take it as evidence that the readers of the 
Planter appreciate its efforts to supply 
them with good agricultural reading. We 
hope, therefore, that before the close of 
the month all arrearages will be paid up, 
and that the Planter, will have its track 
cleared for a new years business which will 
be profitable and pleasant to itself and its 
readers. 



Notice to Correspondents. — We are 
Dot conducting the Planter now as has 
been done for some years past, when its 
issues were delayed for a week, or more, 
past the first day of the month of its date. 
Our plan is to issue it by the 25th of the 



month preceding date, so that it will reach 
its subscribers promptly, by, or before, 
the day of its date. 

All communications, therefore, should 
be received by the 15th of the month pre* 
ceding the date of issue. We have now 
in hand several interesting communica- 
tions which we should have been pleased 
to have in the January number, but they 
came too late, and will have to lie over for 
February. Our correspondents and adver- 
tising friends will, therefore, take notice 
of this fact. 



Tuckahoe Farmer's — Club Papers. — 
We have received from F. Guy, Esq., Sec- 
retary of this Club, three good and practi- 
cal articles which constitute a part of their 
proceedings and regret that we did not get 
them in time for our present issue. They 
will appear in the February number under 
the above heading, and we hope this active 
association of practical farmers will keep 
us supplied each month, so that our head- 
ing can be continually preserved. 



An Item for Dr. Pollard. — We clip 
the following from the Georgia Macon Tele- 
graph and Messenger, which quotes from 
the South Georgia Clarion ; 

Mr. J. H. Hall made 165 measured gal- 
lons of fine, thick syrup, from the cane 
off a patch 66 by 17 feet square. We have 
a sample of the syrup in our office and it 
is the finest we havj ever seen. Don't 
that beat cotton ? 

It is true it beats cotton and everything 
else. There must be a great mistake in 
the figures. As given there would be a 
yield of upwards of 6,000 gallons of syrup 
to the acre, and at fifty cents per gallon 
more than $3,000. If the figures given for 
feet mean yards, then the yield would be 
marvelous, and give about 700 gallons to 
the acre, worth $350. 



One of the largest seed establishments 
in the United States is located at Marble- 
head, Mass., and is owned and managed 
by James J. H Gregory. Mr. Gregory 
has earned a reputation second to none^ 
throughout every State in the Union, of 
selling the most reliable seeds that can 
possibly be obtained. Notice his adver- 
tisement in another column. 



1883.] 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



51 



The Southern Planter for the present 
month is filled with articles of great value 
to agriculturists. This is the best agricul- 
tural journal in the country and no farmer 
should be without it. — Eastern Virginian. 

Thanks, friend Brent, for your compli- 
ment. We have received many such from 
other portions of the country — inside and 
outside the State — but when one comes 
from away yonder at Onancock, beyond 
the Bay, we especially appreciate it. We 
do not know, distinctly, whether this is 
near "Peyankelank, where bull-frogs jump 
from bank to bank," but we do know that 
it is the place of which our esteemed friend, 
Henry A. Wise, has, in the latter days of 
life, talked and told us of. We wish we 
could now recall the statement of Gov. 
Wise of his sales from cherry trees planted 
in the corners of the fence along the ave- 
nue leading to his Onancock residence. 
His account was graphic as to the skipper 
who anchored at Onancock and purchased 
the cherries for the Boston Market; how 
he arranged his sheets to prevent contact 
with the ground ; the clipping of the bun- 
ches of fruit, one by one, with scissors ; 
then pressing and barreling the juice for 
wine ; the packing of skins and pulp for 
vinegar ; and the saving of the stones to 
be converted into a chemical acid. Whilst 
the Governor thought he received a large 
price for his cherries, he saw that the skip- 
per's skillful manipulation gave him the 
best of the bargain. 



Eastern Lunatic Asylum. — We have 
been favored by Dr. R. A. Wise with a 
copy of the Annual Report of this Institu- 
tion for the fiscal year ending September 
30, 1882. 

We have read it with much interest, but 
are only at liberty to refer to its agricultu- 
ral and horticultural features. The gross 
annual production of farm and garden for 
the year is stated at $5,519.04. Not many 
farms and gardens in Virginia make so 
great a yield. We have no knowledge of 
the extent of surfaces cultivated in farm 
and garden products, and the Report does 
not give the cost of production, in the 
shape of labor, tools, seeds, manures, su- 



perintendence &c. If they are reported at 
a fair average, then, we think, the farm 
and garden of the Asylum have not only 
done a good thing for the State, but have 
placed them in an enviable position before 
the farmers of the country. 

We have heard that our friend V. Vaid- 
en, when steward, made fine crops of farm 
and garden products. If such an institu- 
tion can beat the average farmer in net 
profits we should like to know it, and the 
reasons for it. 



W. D. Blair & Co.— We call attention 
to the card of this long established house, 
of which Julian Binford and L. B. Tatum 
are now the proprietors. As a first class 
family-supply store none can exceil it. 
The late Walter D. Blair, who established 
the house more than a half a century ago, 
and who only passed from life a few years 
since, was so well known in this city and 
throughout the State, as to give assurance 
that his successors in business will faith- 
fully guard its reputation. People from 
the country or city who may patronize it, 
will have ample guaranty of fair dealing 
and the best of goods. 



The Prang Christmas Cards. — Messrs. 
Prang & Co. of Boston, Mass., will please 
accept thanks for a lot of their elegant 
cards. We regret that they did not come 
earlier, so that we might have noticed 
them in our issue for December, but many 
of them are good for New- Year's Day as 
well as Christmas, and hope this notice 
may attract the attention of our readers. 
Each one in a beautiful work of art which 
the most fastidious taste will not fail to 
commend. The prices range from fifty 
cents to $1.25 each, and are put up in sets 
of a half dozen. 



The Poem of Paul H. Hayne on the 
Wheat Field. — We have received from 
the Editor of the Home and Farm, Louis- 
ville, Ky., a personal letter calling our at- 
tention to the fact that the poem of Mr. 
Hayne was copied into the December 
number of the Southern Planter without 
giving the proper credit for it. We are 



52 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[January 



greatly obliged to the Editor of the Home 
and Farm for inviting our attention to an 
omission either of ourself or of the prin- 
ter. We prefer to take it on ourself, as 
we are never disposed to cast blame on 
others, and especially on such a careful 
printing house as that of Fergusson & Son 
who print the Planter. We thus make the 
amende honorable to our brother of the 
Home and Farm, and thank him that he 
has called our personal attention to the 
matter. Every Editor should feel himself 
honorably bound to credit properly all his 
selections from other papers. We see, 
daily, instances of neglect of this duty. 
We have suffered by it, and have been 
tempted, like the Home and Farm, to write 
personal letters, but have forborne. Ar- 
ticles written for and printed in the Plan- 
ter, and editorials as well, have been copied 
without credit, and for the time we were 
annoyed, but let them pass as among the 
tricks of journalism. A striking case oc- 
curred not long since, when we were dis- 
cussing with ex- Agricultural Commissioner 
Pollard the question of substitutes for the 
wheat crop. Our eye, therefore, caught 
readily anything written of wheat culture; 
and in an editorial article in one of our agri- 
cultural papers we saw our views advocated 
in our own words, but the quotation marks 
were omitted, and thus they appeared as 
the utterances of that paper. We did not 
complain as its editor was on our side, and 
we only mention it to show that editors 
should be more cautious in respect to this 
matter of crediting properly their clippings. 



The venerable Theodorick Pryor, D.D., 
of Virginia, last month preached at Shiloh 
church, Nottoway county, a sermon com- 
memorative of his fifty year's labor in the 
ministry. Just half a century before he 
was ordained in that church by the Pres- 
bytery of Hanover. And after all these 
years of untiring work, he is to-day an 
able, earnest, and effective pastor and 
preacher, and ''always abounding in the 
work." 

We clip the above from the New York 
Observer, one of our regular exchanges. 
Dr. Pryor ministers, in the main, to agri- 
cultural people. We have known him 



from the time he commenced his ministra- 
tions in the Nottoway Presbyterian chur- 
ches. He preached the funeral sermons 
of our father, mother, sisters, and broth- 
er ; and performed our own marriage cer- 
emony forty two years ago. There is no 
man for whom we entertain a higher re- 
gard. We love him; and trust our readers 
will pardon our departure from agricultu- 
ral topics and allow us the opportunity for 
this brief tribute to his personal and min- 
isterial character- 



South Georgia and Florida. — J. L. 
Taylor, Esq., general passenger agent for 
the Savannah, Florida and Western Eail- 
way, will accept our thanks for his neat 
pamphlet of 72 pages, entitled "A Guide 
to South Georgia and Florida." It is 
beautiful in its typography and illustrations. 
Besides its special railway information, it 
treats of the soils, climate, farm products, 
flora, sports, &c of this semi tropical 
region. The residents of the northern 
section of our country will, we dare say, 
be much interested by its examination. 



Professor Tice, the distinguished Me- 
teorologist and Weather Prophet of St. 
Louis, has issued his ANNUAL NA- 
TIONAL WEATHER FORECASTS for 
1883, in which, besides foretelling the 
weather for every day in the year, and 
clearly explaining the theory on which his 
predictions are based, he gives much other 
information concerning atmospheric phe- 
nomenon — the whole designed not only to 
give the facts as to the weather, but to 
teach the masses the facts determining 
weather changes. In the present number 
the Professor has a timely article on 
"Comets," and also on Electricity as "The 
Fuel of the Future." In view of the ter- 
rible storms of last summer, his "Notions 
about Tornadoes" are specially interesting, 
and his directions for guarding against 
their destructive effects, possesses rare prac- 
tical value. The pages of the Almanac 
for 1883, are further enriched by a variety 
of fresh, popular and instructive matter 
relating to the fascinating science of Me- 
teorology — the whole making the most 
complete and useful annual for the farm, 
the household and the shop ever published. 
For sample copy and terms to the trade 
and to agents, send 20 cents to Thomson, 
Tice & Lillingston, of St. Louis, Mo. 



1883.] 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



53 



FALLOW. 



LUCY LARCOM. 



I like these plants that you call weeds — 

Sedge, bardhack. mullen, yarrow 
That knit their roots and sift their seeds 
Where any grassy wheeltrack leads 
Through country byways narrow. 

They fringe the rugged hillside farms, 

Grown old with cultivation, 
With such wild wealth of rustic charms 
As bloomed in nature's matron arms 

The first days of creation. 

They show how mother earth loves best 

To deck her tired-out places; 
By flowery lips, in hours of rest, 
Against hard work she will protest 

With homely airs and graces. 

You plow the arbutus from her hills ; 

Hew down her mountain laurel : 
Their place, as best she can, she fills 
With humbler blossoms ; so she wills 

To close with you her quarrel. 

She yielded to your ax, with pain, 

Her free, primeval glory ; 
She brought you crops of golden grain : 
You say, "How dull she grows! how plain," 
The old, mean, selfish story 1 

Her wildwood soil you may subdue, 

Tortured by hoe and harrow ; 
But leave her for a year or two, 
And see! she stands and laughs at you 

With hardback, mullen, yarrow ! 

Dear earth, the world is hard to please 1 
Yet heaven's breath gently passes 

Into the life of flowers like these ; 

And I lie down at blessed ease 
Among thy weeds and grasses. 



Digitated Stockings. — We note from 
the London, England, Lancet, the follow- 
ing : 

"That digitated stockings — that is, stock- 
ings with a stall for each toe — would con- 
duce much to comfort, and spare many 
persons who now suffer from the develop- 
ment of soft corns between the toes a se- 
rious trouble. They would also prove 
more cleanly than the stockings in com- 
mon use, because they would naturally ab- 
sorb and remove the acrid moisture which 
accumulates between the toes, and which 
is the general cause of offensive odors 
from the feet. They will, moreover, give 
the foot better play, allowing its phalanges 
greater freedom of action. And, lastly, a 



well fitted digitated sock or stocking will re- 
move a mass of material from the toe of 
the boot, and at the same time give in- 
creased breadth and space for expansion 
across the base of the toes. The new 
stockings, supposing them to be well-cut 
and fitted, possess many advantages. 

Peabody Educational Fund. Proceed- 
ings of the Trustees at their Twenty-first 
meeting, held at New York city, 4th Oc- 
tober. 1882, with the Annual Report of 
their General Agent, Dr. J. L. M. Curry. 

We have received this interesting pam- 
phlet of fifty eight pages. It shows the 
working of this great charity of Wm. Pea- 
body ; and under the skillful management 
of Dr. Curry, a devoted, learned and expe- 
rienced educator, the country may be as- 
sured of its great benefits. 



The Popular Science Monthly for De- 
cember, 1882. 

This is a very interesting number. The 
great feature of this Monthly is having ar- 
ticles on one subject by specialists. Prof. 
Ferdinand Cohn's article on the "Cell 
State" is of remarkable interest of a sum- 
ming up of the latest views on the subject 
of cell structure and cell action. The 
professor treats in a very lucid manner the 
problem as to the cost of the phenomena 
of life. The article on speculative zoology 
is a fine study of the past life of the earth. 
There are other articles full of instruction 
and interest, especially the first by Gold 
win Smith in reply to Mr. W. D. Le Sueur. 
The editorial department in this number is 
quite equal to the others in excellence. 



Arms and the Man. A metrical address 
recited on the one hundredth anniver- 
sary, ( 19 October 1881 ) of the surrender 
of Lord Cornwallis, at Yorktown, on in- 
vitation of Joint Committee of both 
Houses of Congress, by James Bar 
ron Hope, of Norfolk, Virginia. 

Messrs. Randolph & English, publishers, 
will accept thanks for this interesting 
book. Apart from its conceded merits as 
a metrical address, the associations which 
surround the subject, appeal to the mind 
and heart of every American citizen. 

This ode is subdivided under nineteen 



54 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[January 



heads, commencing with the Prologue, the 
Dead Statesmen, the Colonies, the Oaks, 
the Tempest &c, and ending, in beautiful 
rhythm, with "the South in the Union." 

Some additional poems by Mr. Hope 
are included in the publication. 

The Complete Poultry Book. A manual 
for the poultry yard, by C. E. Thorne, 
Associate Editor of the Farm and Fire- 
side, Springfield Ohio. 
We have received a copy of this book, 
neatly bound in cloth, pp. 220, and have 
taken some time to examine it : It ap- 
pears to be a complete compendium of all 
that is now known of poultry. It is well 
illustrated with cuts of diffeient breeds of 
fowls, and treats of methods of manage- 
ment, diseases and their remedies, ^and 
many other matters of detail which will 
be interesting and profitable to farmer's 
wives, as well as to professional breeders. 
We may add, that its illustrations of 
poultry-houses, incubators, feeding boxes, 
&c. are, to our inexperienced eyes, excel- 
lent. 



The Development of Art in America. 

It is difficult to trace it, and its progress 
has been great. 

We have received four elegant steel en- 
gravings, published by Messrs. Stetson 
& Co, of Portland, Maine. They are fine 
works of art and do credit to the publishers. 
They represent the original paintings, and 
the steel plates are said to cost $33,* 00, and 
engravings are priced at $15.00 per copy. 
These engravings are entitled: "Sing, 
Birdie, Sing;" "Remembrance;" "The 
Bather's Attendant;" and "The Garden 
Gate." 

Messrs. Stetson & Co. advertise in the 
Planter the opportunities presented to 
agents — men, women, boys, and girls — to 
sell these and other works of art. 

1 Af I tfll P 1 P eo P le are always on the lookout for 
IMjtf I %T 1_ chances to increase their earnings, 
■h I ij^ i an ^ * n time hecome wealthy; those 
■ ■ Ivm who do not improve their opportu- 
nities remain in poverty. We offer a great chance 
to make money. We want many men, women, boys 
and girls to work for us right in their own localities. 
Any one can do the work properly from the first 
start. The business will pay more than ten times 
ordinary wages. Expensive outfit furnished free. 
No one who engages fails t o make money rapidly 
You can devote your whole time to the work, or only 
your spare moments. Full intormation and all that 
is needed sent free. Address Stinson & Co., Tort- 
land, Maine. janly 



DARBY'S PROPHYLACTIC FLUID, 

For the prevention and treatment of 

DIPHTHERIA, SCARLET FEVER, 

SMALLPOX, YELLOW FEVER, 

MALARIA, &c. 

The free use of the Fluid will do more to 

arrest and cure these diseases than any 

known preparation. 

Darby's Prophylactic Fluid, a safeguard 
against all Pestilence, Infection, Con- 
tagion and Epidemics. 
Use as a Gargle for the Throat, as a Wash 
for the Person, and as a Disinfectant 

for the House. 
It neutralizes at once all noxious odors 
and gases. Destroys the germs of diseases 
and septic (putrescent) floating impercepti- 
ble in the air or such as have effected a 
lodgment in the throat or on the person. 
PERFECTLY HARMLESS USED 
INTERNALLY or EXTERNALLY. 
J. H. ZEILIN & CO., Proprietors^ 
Manufacturing Chemists, Philadelphia. 
g^'Price, 50 cents per bottle. Pint bot- 
tles, $1. 

u^^nHimrai !!■!■ ■iimwiii ■igaaiifi i nnwiwmi^g— 

Are you DEAF? 

FERRIS' RESTORATIVE will invariably cure 
you. It is endorsed by all home and foreign physi- 
cians and scientists. It eures where all other means 
fail. Don't neglect to send for circulars ; it will pay 
vou. Ask your Druggist for it. EDWIN FER- 
RIS & CO., Piker Building, Cincinnati, O. jaly 

I l»I H «!■■■ ■■!■■ BIMMII ■■■■111 II I II I 

Sawing Made Easy. 

The New Improved 

MONARCH LIGHTNING 

Is the cheapest and best. 

A boy sixteen years old 

can saw logsfast und easy. 

£ent on lest trial. Send 
postal for Illustrated Catalogue containing testimon- 
ials and full particulars. AGENTS WAXTED. 
Monarch Lightning Saw Co. , 163 Randolph St. , Chicago. 

GEORGIA MELONS] 

CHOICE SEED FSOM SELECTED FRUIT. 
/RATTLESNAKE, (or STRIPED.) \ 

^ SCALt-BARK, (DARii GREEN.V 

The Premium "Watermelons of the World ! Seed from 
choice crops of Richmond Co, inty, and from selected 
Large melons of perfect qualities. Price, ounce 20 cents 
pound $2.00. Postage 16 cents Tier lb. Address 

J. ik. ALEXANDER, 
Drug and Seed Store. Augusta, Georgia. 



BEST MARKET PEAR 

PEACH. PLUM, PEAK, APPLE, 

QU1KCK ;:v.it ■ ;■-') sorts 

STRAWBERRIES-^^ 

$2 per lOOO. Eae] 
berries, ( urran 

i - 

«.»'. P. C<fl :-.sl(p«'B.i. J. 





jan3t 



A LIBERAL OFFER! 

THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE OF 

The Southern Planter 

Is $1.25 a Year. 
The subscription price of TEXAS SIFTINGS 
the celebrated Humorous Weekly, is $2.50 a year. 
Will send, postage paid, to any address, 

M Papers One Year for $2 50. 

TEXAS SIFTINGS is now the most popular 
paper in the country, and has a larger circulation 
than any paper of its class. Its publishers, being 
desirous of still further increasing its circulation, 
have made special arrangements with us whereby 
we are enabled to make the above liberal offer. 



f ©2ga§ Ultimo 

A LITERARY PHENOMENON! 

The Greatest Journalistic Success of the Age. 

m The humorous departments of Texas Siftings are 
simply unequalled in this or any other country.— 
Herald. 

Texas Siftings, which is quoted all over the world, 
is not only a very funny paper, but is an earnest, 
progressive paper— Register, New Haven, Con. 

Texas Si/tings has achieved a wonderful success. 
It is to-day quoted wherever the English language is 
spoken and newspapers published.— Columbus (Ohio) 
Capital. 

Texas Sijtings, a weekly forty-eight column paper, 
contains every week, besides its humorous sketches 
and # comic illustrations, a volume of reliable infor- 
mation about Texas. Exactly what intending im- 
migrants, farmers, clerks, mechanics and capitalists 
want. 

Sample copies of Sittings will be mailed to any 
address by Sweet & Knox, Publishers, Austin, Tex. 



EAST TENN M VIRGINIA & GEORGIA 

RAILROAD. 

GREAT SOUTHERN TRUNK LINE 
Between all principal Southern cities. For 
freight and passengers. Shortest, most Di- 
rect and comfortable route to all Eastern 
and Virginia cities. Only direct route to 
the watering places and resorts of East 
Tennessee and Virginia. The Great Emi- 
grant Route to Texas and the Northwest 
via its Memphis and Charleston Division, 
and to all points in Southern and Central 
Texas via Calera or Meridian and New Or- 
leans. 

THROUGH SLEEPING CARS between 
New Orleans and Lynchburg, Memphis 
and Lynchburg, connecting with Through 
Sleepers, Lynchburg to New York, Way 
Cross Line to Florida, via its Macon and 
Brunswick Division. Illustrated Pamphlet 
free on application. 

For Bates or Information, address, 
Jas. R. Ogden,G. F. & P. A., Knoxv'le,Tenn 
Jos. Gothard, A. G. F. & P. A., " " 
T. S. Davant, " " " " Memphis 

Ray Knight, " " " •« Selma, Ala. 
J. J. Griffin, " " " " Macon, Ga. 
M. M. Welch, Western Agent, Chattanooga 
H. W Lowry, Ticket " Dalton, Ga. 
W. R. Kerr, Passenger " Knoxv'e,Tenn 
H. D. Boyd, Ticket " Chattanooga 

J. Bunting, Jr., " " Bristol, Tenn. 



J. W. FERGTJSSON & SON, 

BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS 



-AND- 



Corner of Main and Fourteenth Streets, 



UNORDERS from Clerks of Courts, Country Merchants, Colleges 
and Schools promptly attended to. 

^^° We have unusual facilities and many years experience in the 
printing of every description of TOBACCO LABELS, in plain black, 
bronze, and in colors. jy — It 



Receive! MA 

AND 

HIGHEST AWARD 




AT f- 
CENTENNIAL. 

Send for Catalogue. 

SAWMILLS 




STEAM' ENGINES, 
A.B.FWHABJork.Pa.. 

Cheapest and best for all pur- 
poses — simple, strong, and du- 
rable. Also Horse Pow- 
ers and Gin Gear. 

Saw, Grist and Cob 
Mills, Gins, Presses 
ANDMACHT-NEmr gener- 
ally. Inquiries promptly 
answered. 

VerticalEnginos,with ortvithout & g- 1 
wheels, very conveni- 
ent, economical and 
complete in every de- 
tail, best and 
cheapest Vert- 
ical in the 
world. Fig. 
VI is engine 
linuse^Fig. 
i ready for 
Iroad. m - 2a 

The Farquhar Separator 

(Warranted) 

Pensa. 

Agricultural 
Works, 





itr 

Catalogue* 

£ E so 




TUB 

SILVER MEDAL 

separators, ^^SP^P^ Paris Exposition. 

VXbA f— Tllr«fi>— '- "I <~i.talogue. Address A. V. Farquhar, TorJi,P* 

sep 1 — eot 

CUESAPEAKE AXD 01110 RAILWAY 

Opened through the beautiful BLUE 
GRASS region of Kentucky to Louisville 
and Cincinnati. Connecting at these cities 
with all of the Great Lines of Railways 
diverging for 

Indianapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, 
Kansas City, Nashville, Mem- 
phis, and all principal points 
West, South and Southwest. 

SOLID TRAINS with Pullman Sleeping 
Coaches, run through daily between Wash- 
ington, Richmond, Charlottesville, Waynes- 
boro, Staunton, Clifton Forge and Louis- 
ville and Cincinnati without change. 

SHORTEST « MOST DIRECT ROUTE 

and the only route without transfers, 
Avoiding the uncertainty by other routes 
of making connections. 

For rates and full information, call on 
the nearest Chesapeake aud Ohio agent, or 
address 

C. VV. Smith, H. W. Fuller, 

Geu'l Manager. Gen'l Pass'r Agent. 




^ HAY PRESSES „ 

are sent anywhere on trial to operate against all 
other Presses, the custom- 
er keping the one that 
suits best. No one has ever 
dared show up a^y other 
Press, as L>cdorick r s Pres3 
is known to be beyond 
competition, and will bale 
with twice the rapidity of 
any other. The only way 
inferior machines can be 
sold is to deceive the in- 
experienced by ridiculously 
false statements, and thus 
sell withoutsi^ht or seeing, 
r-id swindle the purchaser. 
Working any other Press 
alongside of Pederick's al- 
ways sells tho purchasers 
Dederick Press, and all 
know it too well to show 

up. Address for circular and location of "Western 

and Southern storehouses and Agents. 

F. B. DEDERICK & CO., 

- Albany, JST. Y. 

fe 15— ly 



Greenfield Cutlery Co. 




Manufacturers of 




Superior Solid Steel 

Silver Plated Pie, Butter, Table, Dessert, 
and Tea Knives, to Match. 

ALFORD, WARD & DAVENPORT, 

85 CHAMBERS ST., NEW YORK. 

In order to introduce our iroods to the people, we 
will send by mail, prepaid, 

1 Pie Knife, 

1 Butter " 

6 Tea Knives, 

mch 1 — ly 



$2.00 I 6 Table Knives, $3.oU 

50 6 Dessert " 3.25 

3.00 I or any portion pro rata. 







SI 



Beech-Loadmg 

CLE SHOT GUN 



Side Snap Action, Pistol Grip Stock. Choke 
Bored. Either Brass or Paver Cartridges can 
be used in it. Bore. 10, 12, 14 and 1(5. Nickeled 
Mountings. t"~lcE,$i6. Auxiliary Rifle 
Barrkl can be GsEn in this gun. tiius making 

VIRTUALLY TWO GUNS — A BrULCH LOADING SHOT 

Gun and Rifle. 

ALFORD, WARD, DAVENPORT & CO. 

85 CHAMBERS STREET, NEW YORK. 

feb 1— ly 



Beekwith's Anti-Dyspeptic Pills. 

For the Cure of Dyspepsia. 

The late Hon. Thomas S. Gholson, of 
Petersburg, Va. , says:. 

"For two years I had labored under 
severe Dyspepsia, and had tried various 
remedies without relief, when I was in- 
duced by a friend to trv BECKWITH'S 
ANTI DYSPEPTIC PILLS. The effect 
was most happy, and in the course of a few 
weeks I was entirely relieved, the tone of 
my stomach restored, and my general 
health much improved. For the last 
eighteen months I have taken no other 
medicine, and, I may add, no other medi- 
cine has been taken in my family. The 
high reputation which these pills have ac- 
quired is, in my opinion, richly merited, 
and I confidently recommend them to the 
public as a most valuable medicine." 

They have stood the test of [more than 
sixty years, and have lost no reputation. 

Prepared solely by E. R. BECKWITH, 
Pharmacist. Petersburg. Va., from the 
original receipt of Dr. John Beckwith, and 
sold by druggists generally. Price, 25c. 

Sold in Richmond by 

POLK MILLER & CO. 

feb 1— ly 



-?J)H Has a Patl discing iron; ail othara, 

S# is cupsliapa, with Se)f- Adjusting 

Ballin center, adaptsi tselftoail 

poeiiion3 cf the tody, while ih<3 

Bal ! 1 n the cup prosssa fc ?.ck tfco 

T7iih tiso JF!ng«r. With I is: h ft 
pressure the Herciftls *ifild seoi'aly 




■TSENSiBLEj| 




Bay and r.u-a?,, aaJ a radical euro certain. It? 
B&d cheap. Seal by mail. Circulars free. 



EGCI^--^-< 



SCOmCUm.^ 



de6t 



GttSS Gold Watches. 

U SILK. DRESSES and FANCY GOODS 

Gilt with Every Book! 

<MfiHfi WOBTHO i 1 USEFUL GIFTS 
$1UUU Willi EVKBY 1,000 BOOKS. 

Send 3c. Stamp for Catalogue. Agents Wanted. 
PHJLADELPHIA PREMIUM BOOK CO., 
252 north Eighth street, Philadelphia, Pa. 
mch 15 — 12t 



4fc m§ ff\ a week made at home hy the industrious. 
m U m Best Dusiness now before the public. 
Jm I B Capital not needed. We will start you. 
\ff | &a Men, women, boys and girls wanted 
everywhere to work for us. Now is the time. You 
can work in spare time, or you can give your whole 
time to the business. No other business will pay 
you nearly as well. No one can fail to make enor- 
mous pay, by engaging at once. Costly outfit and 
terms free. Money made fast, easily and honorably. 
Address True & Co., Augusta, Me. janly 



AGEIITS 



can now grasp a fortune. Out- 
fit worth $10 tree . Address E. G. 
RIDEOUT & CO., 10 Barclay St., N. Y. 



KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. 

READ! 




KNOW THYSELF. 



The untold miseries that result from in- 
discretion in early life ma' be alleviated 
and cured. Those who doubt this asser- 
tion should purchase ar.d read the new 
medical work published by the Peabody 
Medical Institute, Boston, entitled the 
Science of Life : or, Self Preserva- 
tion. It is not only a complete and per- 
fect treatise on Manhood, Exhausted Vi- 
tality, Nervous and Physical Debility, Pre- 
mature Decline in man, Errors of Youth, 
etc., but it contains one hundred and twen- 
ty-five prescriptions for acute and chronic 
diseases, each one of which is inval- 
uable, so proved by the author, whose ex- 
perience for twenty-one years is such as 
probably never before fell to the lot of any 
physician. It contains 300 pages, bound 
in beautiful embossed covers, full gilt, em- 
bellished with the very finest steel engrav- 
ings, guaranteed to be a finer work in every 
sense — mechanical, literary or profession- 
al — than any other work retailed in this 
country for 82.50, or the money will be re- 
funded. Price, only $1.25 by mail. Gold 
Medal awarded the author by the National 
Medical Association. Illustrated sample 
sent on receipt of six cents. Send now. 

Address PEABODY MEDICAL IN- 
STITUTE, or Dr. W. H. PARKER, No. 
4 Bulfinch street, Boston, Mass. The au- 
thor may be consulted on all diseases re- 
quiring skill and experience, 
dec — It 



Established 1840. 

THE CELEBRATED 

"BRADFORD" 

PORTABLE MILL 

CORN, WHEAT & FEED, 

FLOUK MILL MACHINERY. 

Send for descriptive Circu- 
lar. Address plainly 

THOS.BRADFORD&CO. 

174, 17G, 178 W. Second St., 
CINCINNATI, O. 




jan3m 



janly 



SOUTHERN AC€IJMATEI» RFGIS- 
TERKD JERSEYS for sale at fair prices. 
Eight registered Jersey cows, from 4 to 8 years old, 
bred to choice registered bulls. Also imported bull 
Jersey Express No. 5771 ; solid cr>lor, black points; 
dropped December 20th, 1879 : and several registered 
bull calves, from 6 to 9 months old, two from im- 
ported sire and dams, and both solid, fancy colors. 
Also, 6 pvre bred unregistered Jersey heifers, from 6 
to 16 months old, all from good butter stock. Ad- 
dress ROWE'S CO-OPERATIVE STOCK FARM, 
Fredericksburg, Va. jantf 






W. J. ANDERSON 




Manufacturer and Wholesale and Retail Dealer in 

Grates, Fenders, 

TIH, SHEET-IROIT MV JAPANNED WARE, 

830 and 832 Iain St. (bet 8te and 9tH), ant corner of Fourteenth ana Main Sts, 

EICHMOND, VA. 



MARBLE1ZED MANTELS,' KEROS1NEJ LAMPSiAND OIL, CUTLERY, 

HOUSE-FUBNISHING GOODS, &c. 

ROOM, PLUMBING, AID GSS-FSTTING PROMPTLY ATTENDED TO. 

A GENERAL ASSORTMENT OP ALL KINDS OF GAS FIXTURES. 
nov3t 

WHAT WiLLTHE WEATHER BE TO-MORROW 

Pool 's Signal Service Barometer 

OK STORM GLASS AND THERMOMETER COMBINED, 

"V^IXjXj tell UTOTJ I 
It will detect and indicate correctly any change in the weather 12 to 48 hour3 
in advance. It will tell what kind of storm ia approaching-, and from what 
direction— invaluable to navigators. Fanners can plan their work 
according 1 to its predictions. Saves 50 times its cost in a single season. 
Has an accurate thermometer attached, which alone is worth the price of the 
combination. This great WEATHER INDICATOR is endorsed by the 
lost, eminent Physicians, Professors B6T©Y l&l TUC llffftEH l> I 




BEST IN THE WORLD 

)utin a nicely finished walnut frame 



d Scientific men of the day to be the 
The Thermometer and Barometer are put in a nicely finished walnut frame, 
with silver plated trimmings, etc., making it a beautif id as well as useful os- 
nament. We will sendyoua sample one,deliveredfree, to your place, in good 
order, on receipt of $1, or six for §4. Agents aremaking from $5 to $20 
daily selling them. A trial will convince you. Order at once. It Sells at 
SIGHT ! Just the thing to sell to farmers, merchants, etc. Invaluable to 
everybody. U. S. Postage Stamps taken if in good order, but money pre- 
ferred. Agents wanted everywhere. Send for Circular and tennis. 
Address alforders to OSWEGO THERMOMETER WORKS, 
{Largest establishment of the kindin the world) Oswego, Oswego Co., N.Y. 

We refer to the Mayor, Postmaster, County Clerk, First and Second 
National Banks, or any business house in Oswego, N. Y. 

Write your Post Office, County and State plainly, and remit by money-order, 
draft on Neva Yorh cr registered letter, at our risk. 

Tliis will make a Beautiful and Very Useful Present. 

READ WHAT THE PUBLIC SAY ABOUT IT. 

I find Pool's Barometer works as well as one that costs fifty dollars. You can rely on it 
every time. Capt. Chas. B. Rogers, Ship '"'Twilight," San Francisco. 

Barometer received in good order, and must say that the instrument gives perfect sat- 
isfaction in every respect. It is neatlv made and wonderfully cheap at two dollars. 

Geo. B. Parsons, M. C. R. R. Office, Detroit, Mich. 

Pool's Barometer has already saved me many times its cost, In foretelling the weather. 
It is a wonderful curiosity and" works to perfection. F. J. Robertson, Milwaukee, Wis. 

BE WAR K OF WORTHLESS IMITATIONS. None genuine 
without our Trade Murk, and Signature of J. A. Pool, on back of Instru- 
ment, as below : r \ ^-^ „ ^ . « a b *. •fe^^v 

C^^^-^^r^L^ MARK. ^0 

Every instrument warranted Perfect and Reliable. Size 9J£inches long, 
3)4, Wide. If not satisfied on receiving 1 the instrument, return it atonce and 
we will refund your money. Please state whero you saw our advertisement 



nov3t 



JOHN E. DOHERTY, 

822 BAST MAIN STREET, 

Solicits an examination of his 

Pine St ©©Is of Foreign Goods 

FOXfc FALL AINT> WINTEK. 

UNEXCELLED FOR VARIETY, STYLE AND QUALITY by any offered in this 
market. Will be made by skilled workmen in the LATEST AND MOST APPROVED 
STYLES at PRICES THAT MUST SUIT. 

t N. B.— SHIRTS, COLLARS and CUFFS made to order as heretofore and satisfac- 
tion gnaranteed. 



Franklin Davis. 



Edward H. Bissell. 



RICHMOND NURSERIES. 
FMNELIN DAVIS «£ CO. 

400 Acres in Nursery Stoc T K ! 100 in Orchards ! 100 in Small Fruits ! 

We offer to our customers an immense stock of APPLES, PEACHES, CHERRIES, 
APRICOTS, GRAPES, &c— all the standard sorts. Also, the new varieties of FRUITS, 
ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, ROSES, &c, Wholesale and Retail. To dealers 
we can offer stock on favorable terms, and the best facilities for packing and shipping. 
Catalogues mailed on application. 

FRANKLiN DAVIS & CO., 



dec — 4m 



Office : 1013 Main Street, RICHMOND, VA. 



IISTOO RPORATED 1832. 



VIRGINIA m k HABINB INSURANCE COMPANY 

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. 

Half a Century in Active and Successful Operation. 



ASSETS, 



$557,000.00. 



Has paid hundreds of thousands for losses in this State, and over three millions 
altogether. All kinds of Farm Property taken at lowest current rates. Insures against 
Fire and Lightning. Agencies throughout the South and West. Home Office ; Rich- 
mond, Va. 

WM. H. MCCARTHY, See'y. W. L. COWARDIN, Pres. 

feb 1— ly 



Hi 



Ttoe PEEet Jr. Seed-Drills, Whwinio'r* ;.-.« 
them so perfect, or in such variety, nor publishee 
every one who plants seeds or cultivates the soil. 
Engravings, showing the tools :>i worh among Or 

of ('reps. Send your own address, and ten nei 
8. L. Ali.KX & CO.. Patentees and Sol- 






total descriptive work, of thirty-two pag'-s, with over Thirty Kew 
Celery, £c, and also contains a chanter on the proper Cultivation 

interested in Farming and Gardening, a-id we will mail it free. 

PLANET JU. GOODS, Nns. V'7 and 129 Catharine St., Phila., Pa. 



The 



New 




Pfr&ntiss, 



Pocklington, Duchess, Lady Washington, Ver-' 
gennes, Moore's Early, Brighton, Jefferson, c 

Prices reduced. Also other Small Fruits and all older varie- 



Extra quality. Warranted true 



ties Grapes. LARGEST STOCK IN AMERICA. 

Jheapbymail. Lowrate3 to dealers. Illustrated Catalogue free. T.S.HuBBABD,FredoDia,N T .Y. 



sep — 9t 



JlJLIEN BlNFORD. L. B. TATUM. 

"W. r>. BLAIR & CO. 

(ESTABLISHED 1829), 

Dealers in Fancy Groceries, Teas, Wines and Liquors 

And Manufacturers' Agents for KEY "WEST and other Fine Cigars, 

1109 Main Street, RICHMOND, VA. 

Proprietors of the Celebrated " B- SELECT," "GLENWOOD," "MONTROSE" and 
"ALPHA" WHISKIES; also, HARVEST WHISKEY in Great Variety. 




. / 



My Vegetable a 
1888 will •« sent F 



1 ¥ lower Seed Catalogue for 

I ; *r.Ii to ail who apply. Customers of 
List season need not write for it. Aii seed sent from my 
establishment warranted to be both fresh and true to name, 
so far, that should it prove otherwise, 1 agree to rel'dl the 
order gratis. My collection of vegetable seed is one of 
the most extensive to be found in any American catalogue, 
and a large part of it is of my own growing. As the 
original introducer of' T.ar'y OLio and Burbank 
I otatoes, Marhleiiend Early Corn, the Hubbard j 
Pquash, Mavblehcad Cabhagre, i'liinney's Melon, 
and a score of other new Vegetables. I invite the patron- 
age of the public. In the gardens and on the farms of 
those who plant my seed will be found my best advertise- 
ment. James J. H, CrSgOry, Marbl?heau\ Mass 



MAKE HENS LAY 



An English Veterinary Surgeon and Chemist, 
now traveling in this country, says that most 
of the Horse and Cattle Powders sold here 
are worthless trash. He says that Sheridan's 
Condition Powders are absolutely pure and 
immensely valuable. Nothing on earth will make hens lay like Sheridan's Condition Powders. Dose, 1 teasp'n- 
fnlto 1 pint food. Sold everywhere, or sent by mail for 8 letter-stamps. I. S. Johnson & Co., Boston, Mass. 

deJyeot 



ESTABLISHED IN 1870. 



STONO-PHOSPHATE COMPANY, 

CHARLESTOISr, S- CL 
WE OFFER TO THE PLANTERS 







GROUND TO A POWDER AS FINE AS WHEAT FLOUR— 

" PHOS PHATE FLOATS," 

FOR APPLICATION TO 

GRAIN, GRASSES, AND FOR COMPOSTING. 

The Rock is subjected to FREQUENT ANALYSIS by the Company's Chemist, 
and is of the BEST QUALITY. 

For TERMS, etc., address the Company. 

SAMPLE sent by mail upon application. 
de!2m 



ASHLEY PHOSPHATE GO. 

::OHARLEST03ST 3 S- G.:: 



SOLUBLE GUANO- 
DISSOLVED BONE- 
ACID PHOSPHATE- 
ASH ELEMENT- 



Highly AmmoniatecL 
Very High Grade. 
For Composting. 
For Cotton, Wheat, Peas, &c. 



FLOATS — Phosphate Kock, reduced to an Impalpable Powder by the Due 
Atomizer, of Highest Grade. SAMPLE sent on application. 

SMALL-GRAIN SPECIFIC— Rich in Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, 
Potash, Magnesia and Soda. 

GENUINE LEOPOLDSHALL KAINIT. 

The above FERTILIZERS are of very high grade, as shown by the Official Reports 
of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. 

For TERMS, ILLUSTRATED ALMANACS, &c, address 



N. B. — Special inducements for Cash Orders. 



THE COMPAJVY. 

[6mjy] 



The Session begins on the FIRST OF OCTOBER, and continues until the Thursday be- 
fore the fourth day of July ensuing. 

The Institution is organized in separate Schools on the Eclectic System, embracing 
FULL COURSES OF INSTRUCTION IN LITERATURE AND SCIENCE, and in 
the PROFESSIONS OF LAW, MEDICINE, 

THE EXPENSES of the student (except such as enter the practical laboratories), 
exclusive of the cost of textbooks, clothing and pocket money, *are from $356 to $391, 
according to Schools selected; or, for those who economize by messing, these expenses 
are from $266 to 8300. No charge for tuition candidates for the ministry unable to meet 
the expense. 

Apply for Catalogues to F. W. Page, Secretary, P. 0. University of Virginia, Albe- 
marle county, Va. JAMES F. HARRISON, M. D., Chairman of the Faculty. 

apl 15 — ly 

LnfflVIlL I Ow F wTum&vgigmi*** -« 

SEEDS Fffcrthft MERCHAMT on our Ne w Plan 



For the MARKET GARDENER 
For the PRIVATE FAMILY 

CrOWn Ky fiiii-CAlt/pg on our own Farms 



SEEDS 

E^" Handsome Illustrated Catalogue and Rural Register FREE TO ALL. 
MERCHANTS, SEND US YOUR BUSINESS CARDS FOR TRADE LIST. 

DAVID LANDRETH&SON$,SEED GROWERS, PHILADELPHIA 

my 15— 3 y 



BELMONT 

Stock Sl Stud Farm. 

I continue to breed Thoroughbred Riding, 
Trotting, Light and Heavy Draft Horses. 
The best families of Shorthorn Cattle and 
Berkshire Swine for sale at prices and 
terms to induce sales without jockeying. 
Those stallions not sold early in the year 
may be farmed on sound business terms to 
suit clubs, individuals and patrons. 

S. W. FICKLIN, 

jan Near Charlottesville, Va. 

gj 1L, %^ I before you die, something mighty 
^ ji g\ I and sublime leave behind to conquer 
Hlla%^ I time. $66 a week in your own town. 
$5 outfit tree. No risk. Everything new. Capital 
not required. We will furnish you everything. 
Many are making fortunes. Ladies make as much 
as men, and boys and girls make great pay. Reader, 
if you want business at which you can make great 
pay all the time, write for particulars to H. Hal- 
lett & Co., Portland, Maine. janly 



neen the South 

FARM MILLS 

For Stock Feed or Meal for 

Family uss. 

10,000 nsr *crsEf. 

Write for Pamphlet. 

Simpson & Ganlt M'fg Co. 

Successors to Straub Mill Co. 
CINCINNATI, 0. 




Q 



jan3xn 



PZ.LES.SI.IE FARM. 

THOROUGHBRED HORSES, 

Sbflrttorn Cattle, Cotswold Sheep, 

For Sale. Apply to R. J. HANCOCK, 

jan Overton, Albemarle county, Va- 




TW MINNESOTA SWEET G0RN 




Educated and. practical growers now assent to our 
motto *' That the further North Seeds are 

grrown the eariier their pro<Inct will foe." 
We offer this year a full line of Standard Potatoes, 
true to name, grown on dry upland ; Scotch Fyfe and 
Blue Stem Wheat ; White Russian Oats ; Etampes Cab- 
bage, saidto be one week earlier than Early York • our 
North Star Yellow Dent Corn still takes the lead, and 
for fodder is equal to any ; of onion seed, tomatoes, 
carrots, peas, &c, &c, a full line andlaapge crop, all 
1882 growth on our own farms. Wild Rice for duck 
ponds always on hand for Spring- or Fail Rowing-. 
7th Annual Catalog-ue. Free. T. M. M BTCAliF* 
iiro wer, liui>orter& Jobber* st. Paul 3 Minn. 
ja2t 



Agents wanted. $5 a Day made sell- 
ing our New HOUSEHOLD ARTI- 
CLES and PLATFOliH FAMILY 
SCALE. Weighs up to 25 lbs. Price, 
SI. 50. Domestic Scale Co., Ciu'ti.O. 




OD SEED 



-■7 iZ^far 



houpermdf 
prize essays 



la t lie b < sis of NiceVci 
edibles, Ceautiful 
\ Flowers* and Big 1 
-^'"iiruj crops. Our 

" is testedioxvi- 

,talityand purity, 

/ \ .', f.-V ,-^r-Y --i'v. only the 

aiethefary- 

V 4 /bra &deal- 

■■ -i .y where. 

'(■''■ iii/('(i,'alt>(j>is 

' .1 ' ■ ' . - f , Ve«eta- 

'0%i£~%j0%k** ??H<ta b'.-;nic,andTree 

I, free. Cata- 

- : W lo;i„e of Floicerinv 
i&li'&v.iiSigsE^' Bulbs and Plants tor 
JttG&B8ibley' , 8rmftn era" 1 A Im <znac,i' 500 
oial crops.North'n or South'n edition, 
IFarmSeeds Manual — history, descrip- 



tions, culture of best Grainb,Grasses,Pot;itoes, 10 cts 

HERAM SIBLEY & CO., Seedsmen, 

Rochester* N. Y. and Chicago, 111. 




We continue to 
act as solicitors for 
patents, caveats, 
trade-marks, copyrights, etc., for 
the United States, and to obtain pat- 
ents in Canada, England, France, 
Germany, and all other countries. 
TEiirty-six years' practice. No 
charge for examination of models or draw- 
ings. Advice by mail free. 

Patents obtained through 113 are noticed in 
the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, which has 
the largest circulation, and is the most influ- 
ential newspaper of its kind published in the 
world. The advantages of such a notice every 
patentee understands. 

This large and splendidly illustrated news- 
paper is published WEEKLY at $3.20 a year, 
andis admitted to be the best paper devoted 
to science; mechanics, inventions, engineering 
works, and other departments of industrial 
progress, published in any country. Single 
copies by mail, 10 cents. Sold by all news- 
dealers. 

Address, Munn & Co., publishers of Scien- 
tific American, 261 Broadway, New York. 
Handbook rbont natonfs mailed free. 

— Mi— —<■■■— — mum! 1 1 limn mmtm ^— — — — *m. 

MALES' "PERFECTION" RIDING SAW. 

Three Days' Trial Given. 
Saws by weight •('operator, runs lighter, lias 
jwer, longer and quicker stroke, making 
•120 strokes per minute. One man does 
2 men's work with ease. A boy 15 
does the work of 2 
men.Agentswant* 
ed. Ask jour 
/ dealer. Cir- 
culars free. 
The S. Wales 

AgrM Co., 
Hamilton, O, 

jan2m 

FARM & FEED MILLS 

The Cheapest and Best* 

Will Crush and Grind Any thing. 
Illustrat d Catalogue FREE. 
Address L. J B MILLER, Cincinnati, 0. 





nov4t 



YE 

DEAl; 



Garmore'SEa'J'S?!,^. 

£ As Invented and worn by him 
perfectly restoring- the hearing. En- 
tirely deaf for thirty years, he hears with 
them even whispers, distinctly. Are 
not observable, and remain in posi- 
tion without aid. Descriptive Circular 
Free. CAUTION: Do not be deceived 
by bogus ear drums. Mine is the only 
successful artificial Ear Drum manu- 
factured. 

JOHN GARMORE, 

Filth & Race Sts., Cincinnati, Q* 



nov6t 



POMONA NURSERY. 
Oriental & Hybrid Pears. 

Manchester, Bidwell and Mt. 
Vernon Strawberries, Raspber- 
ries, Blackberries, Flowers and 
Fruit Trees. Catalogues free. 

WM. PARRY, Parry P. 0., N. J. 
jan 1— ly 




7GREAT WESTERN 




GUN WORKS, J 

Pittsburgh,* 



Write for Large Illustrated Catalogue y^^r 2 
) Rifles, Shot Guns, Re vol vera, sen t c. o. d. for examiaatooa. 

nov3t 




fe 1—1 2t 



Sent FREE! 

TREATISE ON {COIEST 
EVAPORATING f iff U I I 
Profits and General Statistics. 

American MP g Co., Waynesboro, Pa 



FARMERS and FARMERS' SONS 

CAN MAKE HgMJgtt 

Durin? the Fall and Winter. For particulars, address, 
B J. C. McCurdy «fc Co., Philadelphia, Pa. 

delt 




|i|j | : ; Hililil!lllllllll!llll|lllllllllillP HiJRjJ!@ 

Dana's White Metallic Ear Marking Label, stamped 
to order with name, or name and address and num. 
bers. It is reliable, cheap and convenient. Sells at 
sight and gives perfect satisfaction. Illustrated 
Price-List and samples free. Agents wanted. 

C. H. DANA, West Lebanon, N. H. 

de 



EJ. GREGORY & CO., 
(Successors to Bain, Parrack & Gregory,) 

COMMISSION MERCHANTS, 

102 Shockoe Slip, Richmond, Ya. 
[E. J. GREGORY, late of Bain, Parrick & Gregory.] 

Prompt personal attention given to the sale of all 
produce consigned to us. Leaf Tobacco, Cotton and 
Grain specialties. 

D. E. Davidson, Book-Keeper. 

W. V. Gregory, Ass't Salesman. fe 1— 12t 



DIPLOMA AWARDED BY VA.STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 

THIS LATCH NEVER FAILS TO LOCK. 

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ICHMOND.VA. 



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WILLIAM L BRADBURY 

NASON, ORANGE COUNTY, VA., 

IMPBHTEI, BREEDER. AND SALES AKEIT, 



OFFERS FOR SALE 



Shorthorns, Jerseys 



DETONS 



ittiwtii sail 

FROM THE CHOICEST HERDS AND FLOCKS IN VA. 

He would call SPECIAL ATTENTION to a very superior Jot of— 

YEARLING COTSWOLD BUCKS that sheared an average of fifteen pounds 
last spring. Also, BUCK LAMBS, EWES, and EWE LAMBS. 

MERINO EWES for Sale Low. They are a SPLENDID LOT OF YOUNG 
SHEEP. Can supply both Thoroughbreds and Grades. 

STOCK SHEEP, delivered in Car load Lots at any Railroad Station in Virginia. 



JERSEY-RED PICS. 



<f H@!I@W©IIJ1III!!) F®TO®E¥, 

HOUDANS, LIGHT BRAHMAS, SILVER SEABRIGHT BANTAMS, 
GENUINE WINTER OATS FOR SEED. 

(Send for Special Oat Circular.) 
J&^ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE AND PRICE-LIST— FREE. 



Sept— ly 



Address WM. L BRADBURY, 

Nason, Orange County, Va. 



WHEN YOU FLOW 



GET ON TRIAL THE 

WATT CHILLED 



THEY ARE SUPERIOR IN EVERY ESSENTIAL OF 

STRENGTH, DURABILITY, ECONOMY, LIGHT DRAUGHT, 

PERFECT BURIAL OF VEGETATION, THOROUGH DISINTEGRATION OF 
THE SOIL, FREEDOM FROM CHOKING. Warranted to be as represented, and 
sold subject to approval by trial. Return at our expense if not satisfactory. 

WATT No. D E and No. A B W PLOWS are the favorites in the Cotton 
States. They are th. '. perfect combined Turning and Cultivating Plows made. The 
BEST and the CH T ' APEST for Corn, Cotton, Tobacco and Vegetables. 

J^Send lor Illustrated Circulars.^! 




FARM WAGONS 

made of the best material and fin- 
ished in the most attractive manner. 
We are prepared to furnish at prices 
as low as any first class Wagon can 
be sold. Every Wagon warranted 
for twelve months. All expecting to 
purchase Wagons will find it to their 
interest to examine our stock and 
prices. 



CORN SHELLERS for HANi.» OR POWER, separating Corn from 
Cob, and guaranteed to shell clean. FAN ATTACHMENTS for blowing out chaff and 
dust. 



ROSS &IANT ENSILAGE CUTTERS 



HAVE RECEIVED oyer 240 MEDALS 
AND HIGH AWARDS OF MERIT. 

Successful at every competing trial at cut- 
ting. Will do more work with less power 
than any other Cutters made. THIS WE 
GUARANTEE, and warrant every one to 
give satisfaction. We furnish these Cutters 4| 
with a capacity of TEN TONS per HOUR 
down to fodder cutters of one-man power. 
We can meet the varied wants and tastes of 
all, in size, price and make. 



8®"On receipt of six cents in postage, we will mail a HANDSOME BOOK ON 
ENSILAGE, of seventy pages, bound in cloth. 




ALL INTERESTED in the use and sale of IMPROVED IMPLEMENTS 

AND FARMING TOOLS, including Adjustable Iron-Frame Cultivators and Horse 
Hoes, Walking and Riding Cultivators, Mowers, Reapers and Threshers, Wheel Rakes, 
Farm Wagons, Grain Drills, Broadcast Seed Sowers, Harrows of various patterns, 
Plows, Plow Castings, and plow material of all kinds, are invited to send for Special 
Circular and Price- List. 

WATT& CALL, - Richmond, Va. 

jy