SOUTHERN PLANTER 
(1882) 



VOL. 45 
1884 



MISSING: NO. 2-3, 6-7, 9, 11 



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THE 



Southern P 



OUTHERN ILANTER 



DEVOTED TO 



AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE, LIVE STOCK AND THE HOUSEHOLD. 

- Office, 26 Wilker son's Hall, Ninth Street. 



T. W. ORMOXD. Proprietor. 

W. C. KXIGHT, Editor. 

W. C. JACKSOX. ----- Advertising Agent. 

45th Year. APRIL, 1884. No. 4 

OOITTE1TTS: 

Pea-Fallows. 157 

Drilling Wheat Prepared to Prevent Smut 160 

Pea and Green Fallows 161 

The Two Leonards _ 162 

Ensilage for Eastern Virginia 165 

"Illiteracy" in Relation to Farming 167 

Subsoiling and Tillage ' .. 170 

Repairing Roads 171 

Fencing 172 

A Few Years" Experience with Three Jerseys 173 

Floods.... 175 

Fruit Raising on the Farm 176 

Gumption. (?) .. 179 

Making Ponds for German Carp _ 180 

Pea-Fallow m 181 

The More Enlightened Policy Once More 181 

A Stirring Appeal to Southern Planters ; 184 

Notes on French Agriculture 185 

Underdraining Land 188 

Inq liries 191 

■ '" Legislation for Farmers" 192 

Principles Governing Rotation of Crops 193 

Apples. No 2 194 

Editorial : 
Cotton; India and the Wheat Situation ; Tobacco Beds and Flies 195-201 

Editorial Notes : 

Domestic Architecture; Fire Insurance on Farm Buildings; A Partial Answer to 
Mr. Rugg, &c. : Books and Magazines; Catalogues, Reports, &c; Xew Adver- 
tisements .-... 202-208 

Richmond : J. W. Fergrusson & Son, Printers. 



ORGANIZED 183S 



THE 



Virginia Fire and Marine 

INSURANCE COMPANY, 

op niaHnvcoirciD, Virginia, 



ASSETS, - $557,000.00. 



Insures against Fire and Lightning. 



HALF A CENTURY IN ACTIVE AND 
SUCCESSFUL OPERATION. 



Virginia Fire id Iuiii Iiiimie Co. 



A HOME INSTITUTION. 

This old Virginia Institution offers solid security to those desiring Insurance. The 
Company has paid Hundreds of Thousands in losses in this State, and nearly 
Three Millions in all parts of the country. 

All Descriptions of Proprrty in Country or Town — private or public— insured 
at fair rates and on accommodating terms. Agencies in every county and city. 




DIRECTORS. 

W. L. COWARDIN, - - - President. 

E. 0. Nolting, E. B. Addison, (Jr. W. Allen, 

W. S. Donnan, Thomas Potts, D. 0. Davis. 

.Home Office, N. 1015 Main Street. Richmond, Va. 

W. L. COWARDIN, President. 

WM. H. MCCARTHY, Secretary. 

^"CORRESPONDENCE SO LICITED."©a 



■THE- 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



DEVOTED TO 



Agriculture, Horticulture, Live Stock and the Household. 



Agriculture 
Tillage anc 


is the nursing mother of the Arts. — Xenophon. 
1 pasturage are the two breasts of the State. — Sully. 


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





Proprietor. 
Editor. 


45th Year. 


RICHMOND, APRIL, 1884. 


No. 4 



PEA-FALLOWS. 

Sunny Side, Albemarle Co., Va., March 1, 1884. 

Editor Southern Planter, — I observe in the Planter for March a letter 
from Mr. J. J. Ambler, of Amherst county, making enquiries about 
pea-fallows. As Mr. Ambler lives, as I do, in the Piedmont country, 
and as I have had several years' experience with pea-fallows, I will with 
pleasure give him the result. 

Let me premise by saying that where the land has " heart " enough 
to produce a fair crop of clover, I would not use peas, but would de- 
pend on clover, plaster, and bone, or South Carolina phosphate. But 
much of our land in Piedmont Virginia has been so worn out as not to 
produce clover — for such land my remedy is rye and pea-fallows. I 
can best illustrate the beneficial effects of a rye and pea-fallow from an 
experiment made by my son, at that time my manager, and myself. 
In the year 1879, I purchased fifty acres of land one-half mile west of 
the University of Virginia. Much of this land had been cleared many 
years since. It was rather thin originally, had been cultivated until it 
was regarded as quite poor, and had been turned out for some twenty 
years. It was covered with hen-grass and broom-straw, and much of 
it had a considerable growth of old-field pine and sassafras. The 
13 



d 



158 SOUTHERN PLANTER. L A P ril 




largest of the pines were from six to eight inches in diameter. In the 
Winter of 1879-80, we had all the pines and sassafras cut up, removed 
from the land, and used for fuel. The smaller bushes were grubbed 
up and, along with the brush, were burned on the land. In March and 
April this land (about twenty acres) was plowed up with a three-horse 
plow, harrowed and planted in corn. The corn being manured in the 
hill, with a mixture of ground bone and rich earth, we did not ex- 
pect much corn, but it was well cultivated and the land was made clean. 
We cut up the corn near the ground in September, and shocked it in 
the field. It gave about three barrels per acre. We never pull fodder 
or cut tops. The land was then flushed up and one bushel of rye per 
acre was drilled in with about 200 pounds of ground bone and rich earth. 
About the last of May, 1881, when the rye had headed and was begin- 
ning to bloom, it was turned under with a three-horse plow. Black 
peas were then sown at the rate of about one bushel per acre. In Sep- 
tember we gathered some twenty-five bushels of peas, and the vines and 
peas not gathered were turned under with a three-horse plow. The 
Summer of 1881 was quite dry, and the pea vines made a poor growth 
and bore a small crop. After the peas were turned under the land was 
seeded to wheat, using a drill, and sowing with the wheat about 300 lbs. 
per acre of the ground bone and rich earth, or fine manure — the ma- 
nure being the sweepings of the barn-yard in the Summer; the earth 
and manure are both run through a coarse sifter, and the coarser par- 
ticles thrown out to prevent the drill from being choked. In March, 
1882, clover was seeded upon the wheat, and an iron segment roller 
was run over the wheat field. The wheat crop produced about ten 
bushels to the acre, and there was a good stand of clover. In the 
Spring of 1883, we gave the clover a dressing of plaster, and in June 
cut a fine crop, and have no doubt of a good crop this year. 
We did not do — what all farmers should do — keep an exact account of 
the cost and income, but we are satisfied that the corn, peas and wheat 
more than paid all expenses for labor, seed, and fertilizer. We have 
the clover crop, which we have sold for fifty cents per hundred weight 
in the field, as clear profit; and the land is now worth at least twice as 
much for agricultural purposes as it was when we took it in hand. 

The experiment above described is not the only one we have made, 
but I give that as the best illustration. We have now fifteen acres of 
thin land in rye, which will be turned under in May, to be followed by 
peas, wheat, and clover. 

The process above may seem slow, and if Mr. Ambler has a good 
balance at his banker's we can put him upon a plan to improve his 




I 



1884.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 159 

land much more rapidly; but if his condition is like that of most of us, 
his motto should be " hasten slowly," and, I will add, surely. 

We greatly prefer the black pea. It is much richer than the black-eye, 
and has much more vine. They can be had in Richmond, and range 
in price from §1 to $1.50 per bushel. As we have raised our own peas 
for several years, I have not kept up with the price. It is too late in 
the season now for Mr. A. to follow the plan suggested above, and I 
would suggest this plan : Go to work at once and clear up some fifteen 
or twenty acres ; w y ork on this whenever it is too wet to work on the 
land in cultivation ; have the wood cut off and use it for fuel, thus sav- 
ing his timber. Leave all the brush upon the land. Get from Rich- 
mond some five bushels of black peas. About the middle of May drill 
these peas in drills about eighteen inches apart upon land in fair condi- 
tion ; work between the rows with a cultivator once on twice. These 
should furnish him with all the peas he will need next year. About 
the middle of August haul off the brush and spread upon thin spots 
near. Plow and sow rye, to be followed next year with peas of his own 
raising, and wheat and clover as indicated above. 

I will add a few words as to the value of brush — especially brush 
with all the leaves on — as an improver of thin land. We have been for 
several years in the habit of clearing up our branches and fields in 
August and hauling the brush and weeds upon thin spots. We 
think that a good covering of brush is about equal to a top dressing of 
manure. From an observation of several years I am satisfied that the 
ameliorating effects of the brush and leaves far exceeds the effect which 
would be produced by the actual amount of vegetable matter in the 
brush and leaves. If this be true, then why is it? I am no chemist, 
and it is probable that the conclusion to which I have come will appear 
absurd to the "scientists," yet I will venture to give it. We are told 
by the highest authority on agricultural chemistry, that although the 
atmosphere is charged with nitrogen, plants cannot take up nitrogen 
directly from the atmosphere ; but we have reason to believe that clover 
and some other plants contain more nitrogen than would appear to be 
present in the soil upon which they are grown. Now, the effect of the 
use of brush and leaves upon thin land I think can be accounted for in 
this way : The brush and leaves shade the land and keep it moist; the 
leaves, as the} fall off, afford a small amount of humus; we then have 
shade, moisture, and humus. Now, the atmosphere penetrating this 
mass is charged with nitrogen ; may it not be that some nitrification 
of the surface soil takes place under these circumstances, and would 
not this nitrification of the surface soil account for the very bene fie 





160 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

effect of the brush and leaves? But may I not go a step further. The 
clover plant shades the ground and preserves moisture; this shading 
commences so soon as the plant begins to grow, as its tendency is to 
spread out — as well as up — wards. May not this shade and moisture 
cause a slight nitrification upon the surface of the soil? The nitre thus 
produced is soon absorbed by the earth, and then taken up by the roots 
of the young clover plant. This causes additional growth, and this 
additional growth produces additional nitrification in the surface soil. 
Thus the plant itself, whilst not absorbing nitrogen directly from 
the atmosphere, is Nature's own beautiful laboratory for evolving from 
the surrounding atmosphere and depositing upon the soil the very food 
most needed for the development of the plant. 

I have written more than I intended; my hope is that what I have 
said as to the value of brush, weeds, and straw as fertilizers, may in- 
duce our intelligent and observant farmers to preserve and spread upon 
their thin lands much material which is now permitted to go to waste. 

Yours, &c. R. T. W. Duke. 




DRILLING WHEAT PREPARED TO PREVENT SMUT. 

To the Southern Planter : 

I notice in the February issue of your journal R. E. Bridgforth's arti- 
cle recounting his difficulties last Fall with his wheat drill, and the 
more serious troubles of his neighbor, Dr. W. C. Booth; with each the 
machine failing to sow wheat blue-stoned and limed as anti-smut. The 
writer calls for experiences in that article. For the last eighteen years 
I have use a drill, but not the " Pennsylvania," without irregularity of 
distribution or annoyance of any kind, preparing the seed much as Mr. 
Bridgforth does ; my method differing from his only in this, that /pour 
six or eight bushels upon a floor and sprinkle upon it strong blue-stone 
water, stir this heap well up, and dry with all the air-slacked- lime the 
berries will hold, adhering to them : he immerses in blue-stone water 
and skims off the floats. By the time we can bag in my way and reach 
the field, it is dry enough to go well through the drill, using the four- 
peck wheel, which will deliver this partially swelled grain a little less 
than it is guaged for. In this eighteen years I do not remember seeing 
one smutty head. I am acquainted with the drill used by Mr. Bridg- 
forth only so far a concerns the mechanism for sowing guano. This I 
thought nearly perfect, while that to my drill is faulty. I did not look 
into the wheat-sowing arrangement because I supposed all on the 






1884.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 161 

market were good, now that the drill for seeding wheat has been so 
long in use. It is likely the manufacturer can give him directions for 
avoidance of his former trouble ; for surely no machine of the reputa- 
tion of the "Pennsylvania" would be built upon principles preventing 
the sowing of wheat fixed as Mr. Bridgforth's was, when it is so well 
known that smut is only kept off in this or some other kindred way. 

Wm. F. Jackson. 



PEA AND GREEN FALLOWS. 

Editor Southern Planter, — Agreeably to your request, I will give you 
what little I know about green fallows. My mode is first to sow rye 
or oats in the Fall ; let it grow, and as soon as headed in May, I 
fallow in; then sow peas on the rough land, then drag in; but I 
always use lime on the land when I fallow in the peas, unless it has a 
plenty in the soil already, at the rate of thirty bushels per acre. By 
this mode I have made poor land produce twenty bushels of wheat per 
acre and a good stand of clover. A better plan would be to apply 200 
pounds South Carolina fine bone and 200 pounds of kainit just before 
seeding the peas, then a light dressing of plaster, when the peas get 
six inches high ; and use lime with the pea fallow in Tidewater Vir- 
ginia; the mountain counties having lime-stone in the land, would not 
need the lime I imagine. The peas should be sown early in May — 
one and a-half to two bushels per acre, and let them grow until about 
half the pods are ripe ; hire women and boys to pick for five cents per 
flour-barrel full of pods, and you will save all you need for seed, plow- 
ing the balance in. Norfolk is the best market to buy in. Most any 
commission merchant can procure them, and the sooner bought the 
cheaper. There is no doubt in my mind that green fallows are a great 
help, even oats, corn, or peas; and I have heard a very reliable farmer, 
in fact two, assert that they had tried corn along-side of peas, and were 
surprised to find better results from the corn. F. Guy. 

Manchester, Va. 



Many think themselves to be truly God-fearing when they call this 
world a valley of tears. But I believe they would be more so, if they 
called it a happy valley. God is more pleased with those who think 
everything right in the world, than with those who think nothing 
right. With so many thousand joys, is it not black ingratitude to call 
the world a place of sorrow aud torment? — Richter. 

Among mortals second thoughts are wisest. — Euripides. 



162 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 



[For the Southern Planter.] 

THE TWO LEONARDS. 

Mr. Editor, — At the commencement of this century, in a plain stone 
house, on the Long Glade, a small tributary of the North river, that 
runs out of Augusta and unites with it just below the village of bridge- 
water, in Rockingham, and that strikingly resembles that historic man- 
sion at Valley Forge, we wish we had time to tell you about, there 
lived Captain William, and his brother Francis Ervin. The first was 
a long time as an elder — the clerk of the session of Mozzy Creek 
Church. Each raised a large family, and jointly farmed the acres of 
the paternal farm. To their lasting credit — a memorial of each — a 
harsh or unkind expression was never heard from any member of the 
one family towards any member of the other. All this as an introduc- 
tion, and, in one sense, apposite to the subject in hand. 

There will be observed by the traveller over the old turnpike that 
connected Staunton and Scottsville, as he journeys from Roekfisk Gap 
towards the former, two attractive looking white houses. They shelter 
John and Edward Leonard. The first, nearest the road, has a wife and 
an adopted daughter ; the last a small family. They were raised a few 
miles east of their present home, and are two of perhaps seven brothers. 
John went through from first Manassas, to Appomattox, as a good 
soldier in Captain Wm. Patrick's company in the First Virginia Cav- 
alry. Edward was a member of Mosby's command, and all knew the 
character of his following. We do not know how long they have been 
the joint owners of the one hundred and forty acres of land (twenty 
in timber) which they own and farm together. But about five years 
ago determining to build, there being a small cabin and a barn that es- 
caped the burning of the house of the former owner. To show the 
good sense and economy that characterizes all they do, we will men- 
tion that they hied away, five or six miles, and with their team hauled 
logs from the land of a farmer, favored with pine timber of excellent 
quality, to a steam saw-mill, and got their lumber without a dollar cash 
in the outlay. John's house, the largest, has eight rooms aud two dry 
cellars; the one for fruit, canned goods, &c, is dark, a sine qua non, and 
free from frost. His house cost him from $800 to $1,000 in cash. The 
entire farm is well fenced, the most of it on the lane, with plauk; the 
worm fence encloses the balance. The yards and gardens are substan- 
tially and tastefully enclosed. The fields are clear of stone, briers, 
&c. ; fence corners clean ; not a rail down or out of place. About the 
out-buildings, barn, &c, everything in place and presenting a neat ap- 




1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 163 

pearance. The team of four or six horses, as the occasion arises to use 
six, it is conceded by their neighbors to be equal to any, if not the best, 
in the county. And there are yet a few among your oldest citizens 
who will recall the character of Augusta teams near a half century ago. 
We may recur to what they were on the occasion of Daniel Webster's 
big speech on the 5th of October in 1840, when there was perhaps 
near a half a hundred from our old county present. Gen. Bernard 
Peyton, who will be recalled as one of the polished and most popular 
men of that day, was the Chief Marshal, and, at his suggestion, 
coupled with the entreaty of Lewis Webb, John Thompson and others, 
the finest team was selected, the Augusta farmers being the judges, and 
I regret I can't now recall the owner's name, for a place in the grand 
procession. The farmers, in "their Sunday go-to-meetings," and their 
wagon-whips under their arms, as the badge of their honored profes- 
sion, filled the wagon. And I tell you, friend Knight, they were the 
observed of all observers. I am not sure that it wasn't Mr. Charles B. 
Trimble who drove the fine team ; at any rate, it was his ready wit and 
repartee that somewhere caught the ear of that sterling old merchant, 
"Lewis Webb," who deserves a monument at the hands of his fellows, 
when Trimble designated his load as "the silk-stocking gentry." On 
the morning he was leaving the city, Webb called him to his store and 
presented him with a neat package, addressed to " Mrs. Trimble and 
her daughters." On opening it, there was found a pair of the nicest 
silk hose for each. Pardon this running off, as it was Leonards' fine 
team ran away with me. 

In brief, every thing on the farm and the premises of each has a 
place, and is always in it. The stock — horses, cattle and hogs — are in 
fine condition, and if the big, plump, fat hens are an indication of hen- 
fruit, it must be plenty. Then, the bee-hives are numerous, and look 
well cared for. 

But the crops do thern great credit. The wheat crop approximates 
thirteen hundred bushels, and the corn in the same ratio, whilst the bay, 
at a safe estimate, is one and a-half tons per acre. Their wheat is look- 
ing remarkably well. But I must not forget to mention that their 
sound judgment and observation taught them the benefit of lime, and 
years before they built their houses they erected a pair of well-con- 
structed kilns, and have used lime ever since, and concur fully with 
the best educated farmers of Pennsylvania in its application always on 
the sod if possible. By the way of parenthesis, we think you might 
do well to publish a series of letters from Pennsylvania in January, 
1852, your unworthy correspondent addressed to your illustrious pre- 



164 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

decessor (that Madame Rumor says has been hid away somewhere in 
the basement of the Capitol, with a teat of some sort he is industriously 
milking) that treats of the construction of kilns and the application of 
lime. These gentlemen are closely observant, and say that they find a 
difference in the space of a hundred yards in the character of the lime- 
stone, both in its burning and character of the lime, as also in its effect 
on the land. In evidence of their thoughtfulness in quarrying for the 
kiln, as for burning, a fine stone, suitable for building, was put aside, 
so that when ready to build, the stone for the foundation was ready. 
I had occasion to see one of them the other day, and it was the evening 
of the 29th February, when the mercury was at zero night before, and 
Jack Frost wouldn't let you forget there was a pair of flaps to your 
knowledge-box — usually called ears, where, think you, did I find them? 
Roasting their shins around the fire and enjoying " otium-cum-dignitate" 
with a mug of the nicest boiled cider, we presently tasted, between 
their digits? Not a bit of it, but away off, in a forest of four hundred 
acres, belonging to a neighbor, where, to keep them out of mischief, 
as we are somewhere told " an idle brain is the devil's work-shop," I 
found them preparing a watering-trough for their horses. I do tell you 
it was a trough, and with the help of a third man, three days were 
consumed in constructing it. It was out of a mammoth of the forest — 
a white-oak, three feet or more across the stump, and before reaching 
them, my attention was arrested by frequent clumps of that useful, 
durable, valuable and much-abused tree, the ailanthus, away out in the 
dense forest ; you know it is domestic, and I was greatly puzzled to ac- 
count for its growth there. Yet, on enquiry, found that Gen. "Whar- 
ton's brigade camped for weeks in that forest during the war. Do you 
know, friend Knight, it brought up sad reminiscences, and as I looked 
on the several tall, graceful, lithe trees, me thought of them as memen- 
toes, memorials, if you please, of many a brave member of that regi- 
ment that sleeps, it may be, in an unknown grave. 

I couldn't but connect our friends, the Leouards, with that other es- 
teemed friend, whose comfortable stone mansion stands almost forninst 
that classic spot, that is marked by the ruins of the third Opequon 
Church, and which was almost within the centre of the battle of 
Kerns-Town. I refer to the Rev. Wra. A. Crawford, who, you once 
told me was very happy, might I say adroit, in coupling agriculture, 
as represented by the silo and osage orange hedge, with Sunday- 
schools and the Concordance. 

I said to them, I wished they could see friend Crawford's farm, as all 
they wanted to make theirs perfect, was to follow his lead in adopting 




1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 165 



the " silo and hedge." I am sure that my friends here stand at the 
head, as among the best farmers in Augusta, as our friend Crawford 
does in Frederick. Occasional. 



ENSILAGE FOR EASTERN VIRGINIA. 

Mr. Editor, — I have been using ensilage for three years, and com- 
menced the use of it with many doubts of its value, but after thorough 
experiments with it, I think it invaluable for dairy cows, also for calves, 
and I have come to the conclusion that there is no reason why dairy- 
ing can't be made a most profitable business in Eastern Virginia. 
My cows fed on ensilage give as much milk as they do in Summer on 
grass, and I think richer and most palatable milk; and the quantity of 
butter made is in proportion to the milk. It is said that the best dairy 
cows now go up to 750 pounds butter a year, but let us take the half 
of it, or 300 pounds per annum ; and surely that is not a high estimate 
for well-fed cows; and you have, at thirty cents a pound, ninety dollars 
a year from each cow. I'm told the labor of the dairy is heavy and 
must be conducted with care and skill. I would ask what industry of 
this age can be made to pay without care and labor (there is the trou- 
ble ; our Virginia people expect to live easy without either work or 
skill)? And it would seem to me that the calf from the dairy cow and 
the skimmed milk to the pigs can be made to pay for all the additional 
labor of the dairy over that of feeding and grazing beef cattle for 
market. Three hundred pounds of beef is a full average of weight 
put on by good feeding; at seven cents a pound, makes a profit of 
twenty-one dollars on the animal, while 300 pounds butter, which the 
dairymen say can be made with the same feed that makes the 300 
pounds beef, is worth thirty cents a pound, or ninety dollars a head. 
Then I contend that the calf and pig pay for the additional labor of 
butter-making; both have to be provided with food and fed. Now, 
where is the balk? Is it in making the silo? One that will feed ten 
cows cost me sixty-seven dollars ; that is a permanent investment; one 
that will last fifteen years, even if walled with timber. Mine is walled 
with stone, but that is not accessible to many farmers in Eastern Vir- 
ginia. Ten acres of good fodder-corn will fill my silo, and that will 
amply feed ten cows. The cost of planting and raising and securing 
that forage is not greater than securing corn and forage to feed ten 
head of beef cattle, one yielding at least ninety dollars a cow, say noth- 
ing of the calf and pig, and the other twenty-one dollars a steer, with 



166 , SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

no prerequisites to fall back on. Now, where is the difficulty ? It 
seems to me to be in preparing the product for market and getting it 
there ; and, my word for it, if you will give it to the lady of the house, 
be she wife or sister or who, she will make it pay in the house com- 
forts, and if on a large scale and the farmer will attend to it, ten cows 
will bring him in a revenue of $900 a year less the consumption of the 
family. And, supposing no revenue in money is required or demanded, 
is there anything that will pay better than to have plenty of milk and 
butter in a family and a surplus for the housewife to sell rather than 
feed merely to keep alive the same number of cows and to have barely 
milk enough to put in the coffee, as is too often the case in Old Vir- 
ginia? I would advise the use of silos and ensilage as I use it, only 
for family comfort; even if annual revenue is not required, or if the 
farmer has not enterprize enough to utilize it, there is nothing that will 
pay better. I write this thus early because the ensilage ground and 
the silo should be determined on early in the season. The fodder-corn 
should be planted in May on as many acres of good land as you wish 
to put cows in the dairy, and the silo should be made ready not later 
than August — a pit dug in the side of a hill and walled up with stone, 
if you have it; if not with timber (that is studs and plank), covered 
with a common board or straw or fodder roof to keep out the water. 
1 have never seen any food better for breeding ewes, that will produce 
more milk and make lambs early for market than ensilage. Then why 
can't our Tidewater young men, on land and in a climate especially 
suited for fodder-corn, work up these two industries to equal anything 
that can be found in Texas or the West, far away from any social en- 
joyment that makes the man of worth and the man who builds up his 
State and his country, take hold of this industry and succeed in it ? 
There can be but one reason, because it seems enterprising, far better 
say adventurous, to leave home and friends and our Old Mother Vir- 
ginia, that thus far nursed them and has produced more good men than 
all the other States combined, and go to some inhospitable clime to 
eke out a precarious living with the occasional chance, one case in 
fifty, of rising to the surface and making a man, or come back to the 
Old State, as most young men do, having lost the time, labor and pri- 
vation' in the experiment. I can't see why Eastern Virginia, in close 
proximity to the large cities of the Union, and which, on the sea coast, 
must rapidly increase, the home of Indian corn, the best plant known 
for ensilage, can't be made the greatest dairying- and lamb-producing 
country on this Continent. 

Please excuse this hurried scrawl and abrupt conclusion, as I am just 



1884.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER 167 

called to "Washington to advocate our enterprize before Congress for 
the extension of the Signal Service to agriculture. 

Hastily your3, Robert Beverley. 

P. S. — I did not say above how to produce the ensilage. My plan 
is to plant, say ten acres (or as much as you can make rich), in fodder- 
corn about the 15th of May in rows three feet wide and about two 
grains together, twelve inches apart, in the row; plow it twice and cut 
and ensilage it when in full roasting-ear state, say 15th of August. As 
soon as you cut off the corn-fodder sow the land down in rye, and it 
will get a good growth and afford excellent pasture for your calves or 
yearlings all winter. Turn them off 15th of April, and by 15th May 
you will have a good green fallow to turn under for your next crop, 
and if possible put the manure from the ten cows on it also, and you 
will have to enlarge your silo for next year. 



, "ILLITERACY" IN RELATION TO FARMING. 

The article in our columns from the Husbandman, of Elmyra, N. Y., 
is intended to prove by statistics taken from the tenth census, and 
from the report of the Department of Agriculture, that " illiteracy " 
bears fixed relations to poor farming, as intelligence does to better 
farming. There can be no doubt that the diffusion of knowledge 
among our farming population leads to more abundant crops and 
greater prosperty. We are in full accord with the Husbandman on 
that point, but we«think the mode of reasoning by which he endeavors 
to prove it fallacious, and his tables and figures deceptive. 

He selects Indian corn as the crop on which to base his reasoning, 
as one that is universal. Now although Indian corn is planted all 
through the country, it is a well known fact that this crop is more pro- 
lific in grain in the cooler regions of the Middle and Northern States 
than it is under similar treatment further South. Soil and climate 
affect its productiveness — not "illiteracy." 

It so happens that the five Southern States comprising the cotton 
belt, and lying very much in the same latitude, where the soil is light 
and well adapted to cotton but not to Indian corn, are also (from ob- 
vious causes) those in which there is the largest percentage of illite- 
racy. No doubt illiteracy is a serious impediment to the best results, 
but clearly in this case it i3 soil and climate that affect the productive- 
ness of the crop. 

If it were possible suddenly to interchange the entire poulation of 
any two of the extreme States — say South Carolina and Iowa — there is 
no doubt that the Iowa corn crop made with South Carolina's " illite- 
racy," amounting to forty-eight per cent, of her population, would far 
exceed that of the crop of South Carolina made by Iowa's population 
where the " illiteracy " only amounts to 2.4 per cent. And this simply 







168 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

because the soil was better and the climate more suitable for grain 
crops. 

We are as strong advocates of a higher order of intelligence among 
the farmiug population as the Husbandman, believing fully with in- 
creasing knowledge there is increased farming prosperity, but the selec- 
tion of a particular crop for comparison which is naturally more pro- 
lific in a higher latitude, does not help to prove it. 

With the same results we could select the Irish potato crop, or 
wheat, or cabbages, or apples, all of which do better in cooler regions, 
without regard to the intelligence of those who cultivate them. Sweet 
potatoes are planted in all the Middle and Northern States. With 
equally good seasons that crop might be selected for comparison, to 
prove by its greater prolificacy here that " illiteracy " was rather an 
advantage in farming. — The Charleston S. 0. News. 

[Figures of Husbandman presenting a novel statistical investigation, 
but still we agree with the News. — Ed. S. P.] 

Av. corn crop, 1876-80, 

Per cent, illiteracy. 5 years, bush. 

South Carolina 48.2 8.8 

Louisiana 45.8 17.6 

Alabama 43.5 12.5 

Georgia 42.8 10.2 

Mississippi 41.9 14.7 



Average 44.4 12.7 



North Carolina 33.3 14.7 

Florida 38.0 10.0 

Virginia 34.0 20.2 



Average 36J UA 

Arkansas 28 8 24.2 

Tennessee 27.7 23.2 

Texas 24.1 22.6 

Kentucky 22.2 29.5 



Average 25.7 24.9 



Maryland. 16.0 28.5 

Delaware 15.3 27.2 

West Virginia 12.1 28.3 



Average 14.5 28.0 




k 



1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 169 

Av. corn crop, 1876-80, 
Per cent, illiteracy. 5 years, bush. 

Missouri 8.9 29.7 

Rhode Island 7.8 32.4 

California 7.1 31.5 

Massachusetts 5.3 35.0 

Average 7^3 321 

Vermont 4.9 37.4 

Indiana 4.8 30.9 

Pennsylvania 4.6 35.7 

New Jersey 4.5 37.6 

Illinois 4.3 28.6 

Connecticut 4.2 29.8 

New Hampshire 4.2 38.8 

New York 4.2 33.1 

Oregon 4.1 28.9 

Wisconsin 4.0 34.3 

Michigan 3.8 35.0 

Minnesota 3.7 32.6 

Ohio 3.6 35.1 

Kansas 3.6 35.2 

Maine 3.5 34.4 

Nebraska 2.5 36.4 

Iowa 2.4 35.2 

Average 3.9 34.3 



This is, perhaps, the most comprehensive, and it certainly is the 
most characteristic, paragraph in the posthumous paper by Mr. Dar- 
win on " Instinct," read before the Linnean Society, London, on De- 
cember 6: "It may not be logical, but to my imagination it is far 
more satisfactory, to look at the younsj cuckoo ejecting its foster 
brothers, the ants making slaves, the larvae of the ichneumonidse feed- 
ing within the live bodies of their prey, cats playing with mice, otters 
and cormorants with living fish, not as instincts specially given by the 
Creator, but as very small parts of one general law leading to the ad- 
vancement of all organic bodies — multiply, vary, let the strongest live 
and the weakest die." The above contains the substance of the whole 
memoir, and it will, no doubt, form the text of those who may attempt 
to confute the theory of the great student of nature whose death was 
mourned the other day by the world of science. 

The earlier in the season that land plaster or gypsum is sown on 
clover the more certain it is to produce good results. Some expe- 
perienced farmers sow it on the last snow, and insist that to do most 
good it should be applied before spring rains have passed. 







170 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [ April 

SUBSOILING AND TILLAGE. 

Prof. Sanborn, of the Missouri Agricultural College, has, the past 
Summer, been conducting experiments bearing upon the question 
whether subsoiling and frequent stirring of a cultivated soil tends to 
make land dryer or less dry during a continued drouth. He gives his 
experience in Bulletin No. 5, from which we condense the following 
extracts: — Twwo areas of similar land, side by side, of one-tenth acre 
in area, each, were plowed seven inches deep. No. 1 was subsoiled 
nine inches deep, or stirred sixteen inches deep in total. September 
12, when the severe drouth had become very pronounced, I drove an 
inch gas pipe fifteen inches deep in four places on each plat; mixed the 
soil of each plat thoroughly, and tested for moisture. From 960 garins 
subsoiled plat, 97 grains of water were evaporated. From 960 grains 
of soil not subsoiled, but 80 grains of water were lost by evaporation, 
making a difference of much importance in the total moisture of an 
acre, and which was made evident in the total product of the two plats. 
The subsoiled plat yilded of corn at the rate of 70.1 bushels per acre, 
while on the unsubsoiled plat the yield was but 49.3 bushels, while the 
variation in the yield of stover was only the difference between 4734 
pounds and 4022 pounds, the diminished grain yield on the unsuboiled 
plat being undoubtedly due to a lack of moisture at the critical period 
in the growth of the crop when the ears were being filled out. To 
show the difference in another way itmay be stated that on the sub^ 
soiled plat it required only 67.5 pounds of stover to yield a bushel of 
grain, while on the plat not subsoiled, it required 81.6 pounds* of sto- 
ver, or stalks, for a bushel. 

J^'The experiments in tillage were made upon bare soil, an area being 
stirred daily, to the depth of two inches from Aug. 10 to Sept. 7, du- 
ring which period the drouth had become very severe. On another 
plat adjoining, the surface was stirred but once during the period named. 
At the expiration sf the period, samples of soil were taken at half-past 
five o'clock in the morning, from both plats, dried and weighed, the 
scales showing that the upper six inches of soil contained most mois- 
ture from that portion which had been stirred daily. Prof. Sanborn, 
however, would have it understood that tillage, to conserve moisture, 
must be very shallow, say not over two inches in depth, the aim being 
to get a thin layer of dry surface soil, that will act as a non-conductor 
of moisture between the dry air above, and the moist surface below. 
" Hence, deep tillage of surface rooted crops, like corn, is an erro- 
neous practice, founded in erroneous views. Plowing out corn involves 
too deep tillage in dry weather, but adds to the mischief by severing 
the roots of corn needed at such times. Our double shovel plows 
work too deeply. Our true policy in drouth for corn is frequent and 
shallow tillage." The Professor thinks that nearly all our cultivators 
are defective in that they run too deeply for the best results in dry 
weather. — New England Farmer. 



The'more an acre will produce the larger the profit, and the better 
you cultivate that acre the more it will produce. 




1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 171 

REPAIRING ROADS. 

To the Editor of the Southern Planter: 

Every farmer and planter in the State should subscribe to your valu- 
able periodical, and should, through its columns, give such aid as is in 
his power to the great work you are doing for the material development 
of old Virginia. I, as a commissioner appointed by the court, have 
had occasion to give some study to the repair of a road across a creek- 
flat, which is very often overflowed. The road was in a most desperate 
condition — horses often falling into the sloughs, and the axles of con- 
veyances not unfrequently sliding on the soft mud. I wish to state 
very briefly how I had the road repaired, with the hope that some as- 
sistance may be given others who suffer from our wretched highways. 

I had the road ditched on one side to drain the ponds, which had 
formed by washing; then it was leveled, as can be easily done with a 
scraper; then pine poles 12 feet long were laid across the road, and 
secured at both ends by logs or poles pinned down. And upon this 
causeway gravel was placed to the depth of three inches. It is per- 
fectly underdrained, you perceive, by the causeway; the floods cannot 
carry away the gravel over the logs which confine the causeway. These 
pine poles will last thirty years when thus buried. The section of road 
to which I refer was repaired a year or two ago ; a great number of 
freshets have been in the creek since, yet the road is as level as a plank 
floor, and as firm as Broadway. I saw a loaded four-horse wagon pass 
over it, and the tires did not sink into the gravel. I think if the logs, 
which secure the poles and gravel, were removed, the causeway would 
remain, so firmly does it seem imbedded in the earth. 

All this seems much like the old way of putting down pine poles and 
throwing earth on them; but with this difference, that in the one case 
every freshet takes off the earth and leaves the bare poles to drive 
over, which is the greatest temptation to swear 1 ever experienced, 
while in the other case there is a perfectly smooth, hard road during 
all kinds of weather. 

The expense of making such repair is not great ; any one can make 
the estimate. Gravelly earth or very coarse sand will answer the pur- 
pose if gravel is not convenient. 

I was laughed at by wiseacres in such matters when this repair was 
made, and I was told that only the contractor would reap any benefit; 
that the gravel would wash away, and probably the whole thing, which 
would be a most fortunate riddance. But the section of road remains 
as perfect as when built. 



172 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

Besides advantages already enumerated, others will readily be seen 
upon reflection; the road is not softened by a heavy rain; the gravel is 
so wedged in between the poles that even after, and, indeed, during'a 
freshet, it is perfectly solid and compact. It is better than if the repair 
had been made of stone, because it is absolutely smooth, is infinitely 
more economical, and will last almost indefinitely. R. 



FENCING. 

[For the Southern Planter.] 

The four barbed double wire is the best for making fences, and when 
made according to my newly patented plan (dated Oct. 16, 1883), is 
not only the cheapest, but is harmless and safe from damage to stock, 
whilst having all of the good qualities of the most dangerous. In 
making a stationary fence, I use only one post in every forty-eight feet 
running measure (the posts are put 2 feet into the ground), thus saving 
five posts in every 48 feet, and also the labor, &c, of putting them into 
the ground. Between the post 48 feet apart are put 7 upright battens 
(6 feet apart), and these are 1 inch thick, 2 inches wide, and say 5 feet 
high. These battens embrace the different wires, and one piece is put 
on each side, of the wires opposite to another piece, and a ten-penny 
fencing nail is driven through the two pieces as near each wire as can 
be, which holds all of the wires tightly in their places and prevents 
them from sagging and being separated by stock, whilst the battens 
an inch thick on each side of the wires prevents the stock from injury 
by throwing them off from the barbs. On each post over the wires 
is nailed an inch thick strip also, thus in passing parallel with the fence 
and close up to it the stock are thrown off from the barbs by the bat- 
tens on each side of the wires. Another. device of this patent fence is 
a wire put on the top wire between the battons in shape of small loops, 
through which loops are put small poles, like fishing poles, from the 
woods, as a warning on approaching the fence. These poles lay beside 
the top wire of the fence loosely, and can be seen a good distance off. 
The battens can be split out of straight oak or ash, or may be sawed 
out as palings, 1 inch thick, 2 inches wide — not wider. The cost of 
battens is much less than the posts saved, and the work of putting them 
up far less than placing posts, &c. Wire has become much cheaper 
than it was two years ago, and the cost of this fence is not more than 
one-half of the 8-foot pannel fance, whilst it can't burn up, nor blow 
down, and is more formidable and durable than any fence known. 
The portable or moveable fence is like the stationary fence, except it 



1884.J SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 173 

is made in sections of 48 feet, and has 2 posts to every section, with 
hattens between the posts, as in the stationary fence, and a wooden 
key with notch near the top to draw it up by is used to key it into the 
ground. This fence can be moved often for years without the least 
injury, and moved quicker than any fence ever made. I will sell farm 
rights, county rights, or State rights to put up this fence, and in doing 
so will say on most reasonable terms, that will be a saviug and benefit 
to the buyer, and a benefit to me. 

Geo. Watt. 

[For the Southern Planter.] 

A FEW YEARS' EXPERIENCE WITH THREE JERSEYS. 

BY A VIRGINIA FARMER. 

Prompted mainly by curiosity, I purchased in September, 1881, three 
Jerseys, all pedigree stock. A bull, "Blanco 2180," a heifer and a 
heifer calf. I had the two last registered in A. J. C. C. as " Spot of 
Spring Hill 14699" and " Caroline of Spring Hill 14700." These 
Jerseys were turned in with my Shorthorn cattle and so remained all 
of next winter, faring as they did, only a little worse, as they were 
smaller. In the Spring of 1882 they went into pasture in quite as 
good condition as the Shorthorns. On the 1st of September, 1882, 
" Spot dropped a H. C; on the 3d of July, 1883, she dropped another 
H. C. She has been in full flow of milk since birth of first calf. 
These two calves were sold last Pall respectively for $ 200 and $150." 
One of them has since sold for $225. Spot is now four years old. 
In calf by my imported Jersey bull " Express," and due to calf on 
the 28th of April, 1884. 

" Caroline " dropped a heifer calf on the 12th of April, 1883. Reg- 
istered " Bonnie of Spring Hill 23631," on 6th December. This calf is 
worth §4,200. Caroline is three years old this month, and in milk. 
She is due to calve by " Express " in March next. 

Now to be practical. Do Jerseys pay ? Your readers can answer 
this question by a solution of the following problem : What is the 
value of any cow that from the 1st of September, 1882, to the 28th of 
April, 1883, inclusive, has brought and probably will bring three calves 
at prices above named, to which may be added her milk and butter? 
Again, Jerseys are good breeders (the best). They also breed for many 
yeare. Assume that " Spot " will probably bring eight to ten more 
calves. Take the two sold as an approximate standard of the value of 
all, and what will be the approximate nett profit on these calves. The 
breeders in the Valley of thoroughbred Shorthorns can easily solve 
14 




174 SOUTHERN PLANTERER [April 

this problem. A gentleman in Henrico County, who raises the best 
horses in the world (real blue bloods), can answer it, although not a 
Jersey or cattle man. Again, I do not expect to sell another calf from 
Spot or Caroline at above prices. Why ? Because Jerseys are steadily 
advancing in price. Secondly, they will be served to the very cream 
of " blue bloods." 

Having satisfied my curiosity ; having experimentally discovered that 
Jerseys are not " humbug ; " having derived from Spot and Caroline 
much comfort by way of superior milk and butter; and having in my 
judgment received enough of profit from them to satisfy any reason- 
able farmer, I made arrangements with Messrs. A. P. & M. B. Rowe, 
of Fredericksburg, to run a "co-operative Jersey farm." Here during 
the Spring and Fall of 1883 my herd was increased to thirty breeding 
registered cows and heifers. After reserving from the heifer calves 
such as we wanted, the rest, six in number, were sold last Fall at from 
5 to 9 months old for $900. The B. C. did not bring so much. These 
are the beginning ; the first fruits of my herd. 

Butter. — With no other dairy arrangement than that for my family, 
the proceeds of sale of butter for 1883 exceeded my expectations. For 
1884, in January (an unfavorable month), I shipped 114 pounds of but- 
ter to Richmond at 40 cents per pound (not printed). This butter yield 
is the l'esultant after the calves are supplied from their mothers. My 
calves are not raised on skimmed milk or gruel. 

From "Blanco" I also obtained a number of grades, Jerseys and 
Shorthorns. They have not been sold. Here I am unable to state 
profit from this source. 

I am induced to write this, because in the February number of your 
valuable paper I did not read one line about " Jerseys," whereas the 
agricultural papers north, west, and even south of Virginia, are filled 
with letters and statements about butter yielding cows, particularly about 
the Jerseys, the queen of them all. Again, the demand in the States 
south of Virginia has never been equaled before. Again, Virginia is 
a middle State, between the extremes of temperature and free from 
the suddeu changes of the West. She more nearly approaches the 
climate of their native " Channel Isles." Why then being the best of 
all the States for raising Jerseys, is she not the first to supply the grow- 
ing demand for them ? 

John Washington. 

Spring Hill, Feb. 4, 1884. 



Abstinence from lawful pleasure is exercise against unlawful. 




1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 175 

FLOODS. 

In new countries where the forests have not been destroyed, and the 
lands on which these forests stand have not been cultivated, floods of 
great extent don't occur often, and when floods do occur in such coun- 
tries, they are comparatively small in extent, whilst droughts are less 
common and less serious in their consequences. The reasons for both 
of these results are one and the same. Native forests particularly are 
trees of all heights and of many kinds — each tree is a worker of the 
soil in which it grows. The winds blowing against and swaying the 
tall trees back and forth causes their lateral roots to lift up the earth to 
a considerable depth, and make it loose for the easy sinking of the 
heaviest falls of rain, whilst the fallen leaves, dead wood, &c, hold the 
water like a sponge to keep the earth's surface moist and friable, and 
to return back to the clouds by evaporating the moisture necessary for 
the formation of rains. In this way the larger portion of rain-falls are 
held back from going into rivers, and thereby preventing both floods and 
droughts, whilst in summer the intensity of the heat is lessened by a 
greater amount of moisture in the atmosphere from this increased 
evaporation constantly going on. Destroy these forest trees (God's 
forest ploughs) and take from the earth's surface this spongy mass of 
leaves, dead wood, &c. ; put in the plough and break it about as deep as 
a turkey gobler would scratch it if pulled backwards by the tail in 
cultivating crops for ten successive years, and you will find the surface 
of the earth has gradually become closer and harder, until the rain 
must rapidly flow into rivers forming floods, and the hard dry earth 
refusing to send up moisture to temper the hot summer air and to 
form rain to make the earth fruitful for man's good. 

Is there a remedy for this ever-increasing evil, whieh must and will 
increase year after year until the heart of stone will bleed at the dreadful 
consequences of both flood and drought. There is one remedy for it, and 
only one, I can think of, and that will take some time, perhaps years, 
to work it out, whilst the country is kept open for cultivation, as it 
must be. This is my remedy : Gradually plow deeper and deeper every 
year, until the broken earth will drink up or absorb the rains that fall, and 
not run into rivers to form floods, whilst the broken earth holding a 
larger supply of water because of being broken deeply, will give a 
cooler atmosphere from the rising moisture, and more frequent rains 
for having a greater water supply to draw from. In the meanwhile 
forget not to use all the good manures you are able to procure, for the 
more you use in reason the more friable the soil will become, whilst 






176 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

every rain, snow, frost, dew and fog will give you a large amount of fer- 
tilizing properties if the earth is broken deep so that they are retained 
and absorbed; and I will add, keep all land not under the plough iu 
grass. 

Geo. "Watt. 

FRUIT RAISING ON THE FARM. 

Mr. Editor, — The importance of growing fruit is an important branch 
of economic husbandry. The farmer generally has his attention so en- 
grossed with what seems to be the more important parts of agriculture, 
such as the growing of cereals, the breeding and raising of horses, 
cattle and swine, that not much thought is given for a supply of fruit 
for their families. A neglect to thus provide a full supply of these de- 
licious aud health-giving articles of diet, is due either to ignorance of 
their value, or to such a desire for wealth as to lead them to ignore 
whatever does not promise immediate returns in, money for investments 
made, or to indolence. This putting off from day to day, until this 
piece of wheat is attended to, the corn ground in order, and this or 
that work is done, until it is too late for planting trees and plants with 
a certainty of success. It is not true that the planting and care of 
trees, and fruiting plants and vines is not as profitable an investment 
as the same expenditure in other departments of farm work. This 
has been demonstrated over and over again that an average cash profit 
of twenty-five per cent, should be realized upou such an investment. 
Assuming an assent to this statement, and also to the fact of the health- 
fulness of a diet composed largely of fruit, it is passing strange farm- 
ers have neglected for so long a period apple, peach and pear orchards, 
vineyards, the various berries, such as the strawberry, the raspberry, 
currants and gooseberries. 

The farmer appears to be possessed with the idea, that all he has to 
do is to put a tree in a hole in the earth; that it will grow and bear 
fruit in due season; that the tree does not require care and attention 
in order to make it a thrifty one. Ordinary observation and common 
sense should teach such an one that a tree, or indeed anything else 
that is undertaken requires attention, if not, the object will not be at- 
tained; the tree will die of starvation and neglect, or be ruined by in- 
sects, and when this occurs, the husbandman blames himself for un- 
dertaking such a senseless piece of work, and declares he will never do 
so again. This conclusion is wrong. Let the farmer go to work sys- 
tematically, follow plain directions, what and how to plant, and how to 
cultivate such common species of fruits as can be easily and profitably 







1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 177 



grown upon every farm. Any rich soil, made deep and fine, such as 
will produce, say fifty bushels of corn to the acre, with inclination of 
surface sufficient to turn off surplus surface water, is a good soil for a 
fruit garden. For all kinds of berries on the farm the rows should be 
laid out wide enough to allow the plants to occupy all the space needed, 
and to leave ample room for cultivation with a horse between the rows, 
and to make this work more expeditious, the rows should be as long as 
may be, and, of course, less in number than if shorter. For straw- 
berries make out the ground three and one-half by four feet; for cur- 
rants and gooseberries, four to five feet; for blackberries, six feet; for 
red raspberries, seven feet; and for blackberries, eight feet apart. The 
red raspberries and blackberries should not be planted amongst the 
other species, as the sprouting from the roots, when so planted or when 
close along side other plants, is a serious annoyance, and the suckers 
are quite liable to take possession of the whole ground. Therefore 
leave a clear space of six or seven feet between other sorts and those 
which can easily be kept clear of these usurpers by occasional plowing 
with a sharp share plow. Plant but two to four sorts of strawberries, 
and only those (for a farm garden) which have perfect blossoms, marked 
"staminate" or "hermaphrodite" in the catalogues. These should be 
procured from sources known to be reliable, and never from un- 
authorized, itinerant tree pedlars, as such are generally worthless; 
nor from the old bed of a neighbor, unless it is known to you that his 
plants are unmixed, and that the fruit is all you wish in quantity and 
quality. It is just as easy to raise a bushel of large luscious berries as 
a bushel of small ones, or those of inferior varieties. 

For an abundant supply through the length of the strawberry season, 
the following varieties are probably as reliable on all soils as any : Piper, 
Charles Downing, Minor and Kentucky. The last is later than the 
others. If any of these are not easily obtained, the Longfellow or 
Cumberland Triumph, both large, splendid berries, may be substituted. 
Two rows six rods long of each of four varieties named will produce 
all the fruit a large family will need, both to use in a fresh state and 
for canning and drying. The plants should be kept in damp moss, or 
old water-soaked straw from stock bottoms, from the time they are 
taken out of the ground till planted, taking them from the pail or 
bucket in which they are carried only as fast as they are needed. Plant 
with the roots spread and in their natural position, not doubled up, 
cramped or crowded; have the top of the crowns just even with the 
surface, and press fresh earth firmly against the roots. Plants set two 
feet apart along the row will fill the row by Fall. Cultivate with cul- 



178 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

tivator, steel rake and hoe, allowing the row of plants to gradually 
widen, till it is eighteen' inches wide, distributing the young forming 
plants along the row space by pressing them slightly into the ground, 
where an even stand is to be secured. Continue the cultivation till 
Fall ; late in November or early in December, cover the plants lightly 
with any available material, which has no weed or grass seeds amongst 
it. This may be left on through the next Summer, unless too thick to 
allow the plants to come through it, in which case it may be partially 
removed by drawing into the spaces. One or two mowings is all the 
needed cultivation until after the crop is gathered, when cultivation 
with a bull tongue plow (or subsoil plow), and diamond tooth cultiva- 
tor or harrow should be given. 

Black raspberries may be planted either in Autumn or early Spring, 
using only tips of the Fall's growth, planting no deeper than they 
grow, and if set in Autumn cover well till Spring. These should be 
planted about three feet apart, and where plants are not too expensive, 
it is better to put two plants in the same "hill," or very near, so as to 
secure a stand. The same is true of red raspberry and blackberry 
plants. Cultivate well, as for corn. In spring the canes should be 
shortened to about two and a half feet. This and all trimming of 
raspberries and blackberry plants is rapidly done by use of a corn 
knife. The growing canes should be shortened or stopped at two and 
one-half to three feet, and another clipping given the after growth ; also 
to the side branches. This trimming is not absolutely necessary, but 
will be found to pay in the increased size and quality of the fruit. 
The Sanhagan for early and Gregg for later sorts are the best. Doo- 
little and Mammoth Cluster are good varieties. Red Empress may 
be planted as closely as two feet in the row to advantage, or, if two to 
three feet they will close up the row the second year. Cultivate as for 
corn, and scatter manure along the rows and among the plants in the 
Fall. The second year, and each year afterwards, the growing canes 
&hould be slashed off at three to three and a half feet high, one trim- 
ming being sufficient; and in no case trim any raspberries or black- 
berries later than the 1st of August. The Turner and Cuthbert are 
early and late sorts, hardy and prolific. 

The directions given for red raspberries apply also to blackberries. 
The dead canes can be removed at any time during Winter or early 
Spring. It is well, where material is at hand, to cover the entire 
ground, after cultivation is given the second Spring, to the depth of 
four inches with straw, old hay or cornstalks, giving a good sprinkling 
of manure along the rows to those as well as all other species each al- 



1884.] 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 179 



ternate Winter. The Snyder is the most reliable and satisfactory of 
any one variety. Early Harvest is a very early sort, and satisfactory 

wherever grown. . . 

Two rows each of black and red raspberries and blackberries six 
rods long will give an abundance of fruit for the family, and to spare. 

GUMPTION. (?) 

If called upon to express in one word the »ential qnali^ttonB for 
success i„ rural industry, I would unhesitatingly use the old English 

"Afl^er^'have energy, intelligence and -ansbut^ he lacks 
gumption he will tail of success. Gumption not only directs how bu 
whTto farm-what products bring the largest returns from the labor 
and monev expended thereon. 

Gumption discourages going on increasing from year to year on 
over supply of any commodity, when others are in demand which pay 
better ami which could be as readily and more proh tabl, ^ocUm e d 

Gumption never risks all on one crop, but diversifies and after 
m aking P the farm as near self-sustaining as possible as regards home 
needs then directs attention to what is wanted and can be best and 
most profitably produced on the farm, consulting adaptability of soil, 
oanacitv and experience in management. . 

It s the province of gumption to select the best tools and imple- 
ments and take proper cafe of them ; to keep the best stock and teams 
and to properly care for them ; to feed and improve the soil, beautify 
the homestead and surroundings, adding every <* nvenieD ?° "^Tin 
to prepare for work and execute at the proper tune, using system in 
ne P manacement and adapting it to favorable or unfavorable conditions 
of seasons and circumstancesfmaking the most of the first and wrench- 
ino- success from the other. , . 

This is gumption, a faculty allied to common-sense and greatly im- 
proved by cultivation. . , . . 

Gumption is by no means confined to the rural population, but is 
potent in other callings and occupations. When the writer was a pupil 
fn co lege, he had for associates" two young men both o more than 
ordinary intelligence and capacity. One called himself « a genius 
and stood fairly well in his classes, without much study; while the 
other, a quiet, modest youth, said » I have to study closely and long on 
my lessons to prepare for recitation." These two were often pitted 
against each other in debate in the literary society and it was the ver- 
dict of that society that the "genius" often got the benefit of his op- 
ponent in discussion." But the former went to the g ^ a wreck 
leavino- no impress of his genius upon the age in which he lived, while 
the atter is now a distinguished Bishop of the church, of humble piety 
great learning and commanding influence. One had genius, the other 
had gumption.— The Mural Messenger.— &. L. R. 
Hyco, Halifax County, Va. 



180 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 



MAKING PONDS FOR GERMAN CARP. 

As many are desirous of information in regard to making ponds and 
raising carp, I will add a few thoughts to what I have said heretofore, 
and you may publish them in your reliable paper if you think them 
worthy. 

On draining my pond in November, I counted 4,000 young carp, all 
of which were raised from eggs deposited by two females, that weigh 
twelve ponnds each; the two males weigh ten pounds each. 

I have 400 year-olds, which will average two and one half to three 
pounds each. These will spawn next spring, yet they will not produce 
as many eggs as those three years old. 

I consider them excellent food. I sampled them in the spring months 
— they are good and juicy. They are good food from November 1st 
to June J 5th. Like the fish of our streams, they are not good during 
the summer months when the water is impure. 

The Maryland Fish Commission says: " The cultivation of carp is 
of sufficient importance to fully warrant the construction of ponds for 
the purpose." But there are already existing in many places stock 
ponds that could be easily converted into carp ponds at a comparatively 
small cost. There are also many depressions in the land which could, 
with little labor, be made to answer the purpose. It is very desirable, 
on several accounts, that the pounds be constructed so as to permit the 
water to be drawn off. The fish then can be captured and assorted. 
Those that are intended for breeding purposes can be returned to the 
pond, while the remainder can be placed in tanks or boxes and con- 
veniently got at for market or for food. In drawing off the water you 
are also enabled to get rid of such enemies as the branch minnows, 
frogs, turtles, etc. I have also the Pekin duck, large and very beauti- 
ful, and white as snow, yellow bill and feet, which I make very useful 
in destroying toad frogs, little frogs, and other vermin that infest the 
ponds. In spawning time, however, I shut them away from the ponds 
until the eggs are hatched. 

One deep place for them in winter is all that is necessary — three feet 
will do in this climate. Then vary the depth from that to one inch. 
Warm water is best for growth. The carp is, indeed, a vegetarian — 
the products of the garden are his most delectable dishes. A true epi- 
curean, he fares better with them well cooked. His appetite how- 
ever, is such that he will take anything that a pig will eat, and like a 
pig ar chicken, can be taught to come at feeding time in swarms and 
feed from the hand. He will do as well without feeding as a chicken. 
In winter he sleeps the frozen hours away in the deepest water and re- 
quires no feeding. 

It is estimated that a ton of carp can be raised off a pond of one 
acre. This is a small estimate. But even this at ten cents per pound 
would be $200. I have three small ponds covering an area of about 
half an acre. From the number I have I will keep 500 for the table, 
and the others I can dispose of at my leisure from now until Christmas, 
then from February 1st until March 1st. — S. M. Clayton, in Observer. 



1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 181 



PEA FALLOW. 

Editor Southern Planter, — I have managed a farm for my father for 
the last five years, during which time we have sowed peas nearly 
every year, and if my experience will be of any use to any brother 
farmer, he is most welcome to it. Peas can be bought in Alexandria 
or Washington, generally, at from eighty-five cents to $1.15. The 
land should be thoroughly ploughed and harrowed, and from three 
pecks to one bushel of peas seeded to the acre any time from the first 
to the twentieth of May. A drill is very good to sow them with, but 
if seeded by hand, I think a cultivator is the best thing to use, followed 
by a good harrow. Most people think a pea can come through any 
clod, which is a great mistake. They should be put in nicely. Or- 
chilla guano is the best fertilizer to use on them. 

I prefer to fallow sometime in August, and have had best results 
from peas fallowed then, but four or six acres can be kept for seed, and 
to see which is the most satisfactory time to fallow. 

Peas should be fallowed with a good plough and team and thor- 
oughly turned under. They are a valuable fertilizer, used with other 
manures; but it takes time to make land rich when using them by 
themselves. 

If this information should be of any use to any one, I shall be more 
than repaid for writing it. Most truly, J. L. B. 

P. S. — The common black pea is the best kind to use for fallow, and 
can be bought much cheaper. J. L. B. 



THE MORE ENLIGHTENED POLICY ONCE MORE. 

Mr. Editor, — Another beautiful winter is well-nigh over, and from 
its blanket of snow and ice, unexpectedly, the wheat has emerged un- 
harmed. Thus far, the prospect conspires with the promises found in 
Prov. ix, 3d, to induce on our part care to " honor the Lord with our 
substance" if we would see heavy returns of this cereal harvested. 
But with this, the problem of large returns of this and other crops, 
most of your correspondents are already occupied ; and for this reason, 
to mention no othf/rs, this correspondent will not turn aside to the doc- 
trine of First Fruits and its connection with heavy crops, but pass on 
to his original problem of the new honors awaiting the very fields 
where, on the part of the people, due honors are done the Lord's Day 
and the Lord's Word. 

But why should the readers of the Planter be interested in these new 






182 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 



honors as he styles them ? Our sons and daughters, we reply, are not, 
of course, to be denied their right to culture and access to the master- 
pieces of art and nature, and if not, then they are not to live by wheat 
alone, but by turf and shade and alternations of meadow and wood- 
land, not to say forest and stream. Skies such as bend over the people 
whose habitat is on the river system of the Chesapeake, were never in- 
tended to find the landscape denuded, swept by Winter winds and 
parched with Summer heats, with little or no relief from growing trees 
or grasses. Any system which thus taxes our arable lands and keeps 
them incessantly under the plow, plays havoc with the landscape, be- 
trays into toil unprofitable. Expenditures, injudicious and perplexities 
fatal to the "otium cum dignitatem once associated with the life of the 
agriculturist. 

There are man}' vexed questions, and that of keeping sons content 
with the career of a planter is one of them. It is for this the writer 
selects as his apology for specifying for the present, simply new honors 
awaiting the fields. For him, the osage orange hedge has, for some 
ten years, proved a border of coral for hours, if not days, together at 
this season, and all Summer long a border of verdure. Intended origi- 
nally for restraining flocks, it has been found not only to do this effect- 
ually, but also to furnish for their security dog-proof enclosures, solving 
by a single stroke, as it were, the two vexed questions of security for 
your flock for one and that of expensive fencing for another. For him 
and his sons, for the last four years, the ensilage of corn has furnished 
the key to gilt-edge butter in February and cattle stalking about the 
straw-yard in coats of satin. This last year, the ensilage of clover, 
direct from the wagon to the silo, without the use of a cutting-box, 
confirms us in the impressiou, that this process of ensilaging is set for 
magnifying clover and its uses and securing in the rotation larger scope 
than ever for the presence of this soil-renovating plant, for a week and 
more in June rivalling in its rich crimson bloom the very roses of 
Damascus. 

These are some of the honors achieved for fields lying along the 
Valley McAdamized road, and coming under the eye of such as travel 
it. The objections of Dr. Pollard to the hedge fail to apply here, and 
he will be pleased to learn that Ex- Governor Holliday is one who has 
driven for miles along its course and failed to observe a single sprout. 
Let the fields have the opportunity to clothe and shade and fence them- 
selves, with such assistance from the hand of man as his duty to God 
will admit and no more. This will remind all readers of the Concord- 
ance mentioned in his first article in October last, and of the interest 



1884.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 183 

claimed for the agriculturists of the State as such, in the effort then 
being made and soon to be resumed, of organizing the Sunday-schools 
of the State, county by county, into associations — inter-denominational. 
Yes, your correspondent has a mission of a higher order. He is not a 
member of the State Sunday school Executive Committee, but as the 
State's representative on the Executive Committee of the Sunday- 
school International, he is in frequent correspondence with Richmond. 
Next June the Convention, Sunday-school International, is to meet at 
Louisville, Ey., in their regular triennial session. Our State will be 
asked to send up to this Convention twenty-four delegates — chosen 
men, and as many alternates. Now, the Sunday-school has been a 
Virginia institution for some sixty years, but what of this new design 
upon these schools ? The Lesson Leaf is the reply. Insignificant as 
that leaf is and inexpensive, it has, under God, wrought marvellously. 
The Publishing Houses of England and America have, it is said, felt 
its elevating power and gracefully yielded to it. Wherever mails can 
penetrate, wafted by them to every nook and cranny of our land, it 
has carried the Scripture Lesson of the coming Sunday, if not an expo- 
sition of it. No man can tell what blessings for our State may be 
found yet as a sequel in the future. Chief among those your corres- 
pondent thinks he sees, is the Correspondence School, the resumption 
on the part of our people of the use of the Concordance, and a better 
observance of the Lord's Day. 

"With many thanks, Mr. Editor, for the privilege accorded hirn of 
bringing thus our Virginia, and indeed Southern homes, face to face 
with this effort to compass ultimately their highest culture, sitting at 
the feet of the Highest, learning wisdom's lesson from His Word, 

He is, very truly yours, 

W. A. Crawford. 

At the Curve: P. 0. Kernstown, Va., Feb. 8th, 1884. 



pRor. Huxley has declared that in his voyage around the world, 
and in all his studies of savage life, he found no people so miserable, 
wretched and degraded as those who exist in the poorer quarters of 
London. The barbarians who live in a constant state of violence and 
depredation, and who are exposed to the worst rigors of climate and 
weather, have more enjoyable and independent lives than these misera- 
ble workers and artisans, and he says that it he had to make his choice 
he should unhesitatingly prefer the existence of the former. 

To remove rust from tools, first scour them with emery moistened 
with sulphuric acid diluted with six volumes of water, rinse dry and 
finish with oil and emery flour. 



184 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 



A STIRRING APPEAL TO SOUTHERN PLANTERS. 

To the Editor of Farming World : 

Since my last communication, written some time last year, many 
changes have taken place in this country. The sad experience of last 
year caused the farmers to curtail the acreage of cotton, and well they 
should, for last year there was an immense crop of cotton raised in Old 
Navarro and adjoining counties. There was not a farmer anywhere to 
be found who could, with his own force, gather his cotton, and they 
were therefore forced to hire their cotton gathered, and pay one dollar 
and twenty five cents per huudred for gathering, and board the hands 
while they did the work. Cotton was seven and eight cents per pound 
when carried to market. Now, let us see what their profit was, 1,800 
pounds of seed cotton make a 500-pound bale of lint cotton. The cost 
of picking one bale of seed cotton at $1.25 per hundred is $23.50. An 
average hand will pick one hundred and fifty pounds per day; in 
twelve days will pick 1,800 pounds. Seventy-five cents per day, board 
for twelve days, $9, which, added to cost of picking, is $32.50. One 
bale of cotton at eight cents per pound, $40. Deduct $32.50 from 
$40, and we have $7.50 for our bale of cotton, to pay cost of produc- 
tion and expense of hauling to gin and to market, which, if we hire, 
will be $1.50 per bale hauled to gin, and $1.50 to haul to market, 
which would leave us the great sum of $4.50 ! These are facts. It is 
no overdrawn picture. Brother farmers, what are we doing? Are we 
accumulating anything to lay up for future days, when we are not 
longer able to work, or when sickness and other adverse circumstances 
overtake us? Farmers of the South, we to-day are looking to the 
North and West for our food supply ! Why should we do it, when we 
have soil that will produce from 140 to 175 bushels of corn per acre, 
and that without fertilizers or manure of any kind. Wheat from ten 
to twenty-five bushels any year, and that badly put in. Hogs thrive 
as well here as in any country on the globe. 

Farmers, we have the lever that will move the world if we would 
only use it. All the non-producing class (and they compose about 
four-fifths of the population of the world) are dependent upon the 
farmer for all they have. We can withhold our produce and still live, 
and compel the world to come to terms with us. Why then should we 
be so dependent, when we can be the most independent and free people 
that the world ever beheld. Why produce a few bales of cotton that 
will barely cover cost of production, and depend on some one else for 
food supplies? S. Q. French. 

Nevarro county, Texas. 



Dr. C. H. Yelvington asserts that the copperhead never bites when 
coiled up, but will throw the middle of his body into long, almost rec- 
tangular, curves, and with his head and an inch or so of the neck 
slightly elevated above the ground is ready to defend himself. 



1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 185 

NOTES ON FRENCH AGRICULTURE. 

AGRICULTURAL CREDIT. 

Editors Press: — Oue great obstacle to Erench agriculture lies in the 
absence of pecuniary credit for the farmer. He is not considered a 
trader by the law — that is to say, he is not engaged in commerce and 
industry; cannot be declared a bankrupt; hence if the banks come to 
his assistance it is as a private individual. French agriculturists com- 
plain that it does not pay them to borrow 5 per cent. Those who 
adopt this view belong to the class, who, after obtaining a loan, have 
not the skilled knowledge for its profitable application, and that which 
is too often the case, the loan is invested in other projects. Farmers 
who borrow when they are on the road to ruin, will find the lowest in- 
terest excessive. 

Lombardy is perhaps the best cultivated land in Europe; there farm- 
ers are thriving. They borrow money at 7 or 8 per cent, and remain 
not the less prosperous. The reason is they know how to utilize it. 
Mr. Leou Say, ex Finance Minister, has just visited Lombardy to ex- 
amine into the working of the agricultural banks, to which the pros- 
perous condition of the farmers is due. In France the standing eco- 
nomical and administrative vice is, that the State governs everything, 
and everything goes to the State. In Lombardy it is just the contrary. 
There each townlaud has its savings bank, which is at the same time a 
loan fund, and fed by the local deposits. The little banks are managed 
gratuitouslj T , and loans are granted, not on the farmer's property, but 
on his value as a shrewd, industrious, and steady man. These attri- 
butes count almost for nothing in France, where the security must be 
material. 

Lombardy is thus covered with a net work of mutual loan fiends, 
and these in turn are sustained by the Grand Central Popular Bank, 
that advances money to cash bills. The rate of interest, perfectly free, 
never exceeds 8 per cent. Each depositor or shareholder has his bank 
book, and the amount therein registered can be at once negotiated by 
means of the book, which is scrip and ever property of the bearer. 
The chief bank of Milan has 2-8 'of these little saving-loaning banks, 
manipulating a total of 216 millions of francs annually; there is a total 
of 356,000 depositors — for traders and citizens can co-operate as well 
as farmers — representing an aggregate of 280 million francs — all thrift; 
frugality without parsimony. 

HORSE NOTES. 

France has certainly not yet got into the secret of horse breeding. 
However, her government since 1651 has been dabbling with solutions. 
In Austria, Russia and Germany the State breeds, rears afnd trains 
nearly all the horses required for the army. In France the State 
merely has regional studs, occupied by about 2,520 stallions, of which 
218 are pure English and 187 pure Arab blood; there are 1,860 half- 
blood. These stallions are sent over the country to cover whatever are 



186 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

presented. But while the government devotes much care to providing 
good sires, it pays no attention to the mother. 

It is not thus in the countries as above alluded to. Further, Austria, 
etc., aim to obtain a light horse, suitable for all kinds of work, the 
saddle as well as draft. Now French agriculturists desire a heavy ani- 
mal, awkward, unenergetic and lymphatic, something of the mastodon 
type, perhaps. Now, a circumstance over which they have, likely, no 
control compels to this preference — the habit of employing two-wheeled 
carts instead of the four-wheeled wagon. The two-wheeled vehicle in 
turn is necessitated by the nature of the roads. There is great loss of 
power in the yoking of five or six horses in a tandem line to very prim- 
itive carts. 

France expends 20 million francs annually for the remounting of her 
cavalry. All this money could be kept in the country did the army 
buyers offer a higher price. As it is, all animals higher than the 
chartered rates are exported. Horses are set to work too young in 
France; some at eighteen months, and so become prematurely used up. 
Farmers would not be able to work good blood colts at such a low age, 
hence why they prefer heavy, massive sires. 

The army vets are experimenting a new mode of procedure; they 
purchase the horses at three years of age, and peuding two years, allow 
them to have the run of meadows, in addition to the stable, feeding 
them well and training at the same time. These two years of idleness, 
though costly, pay in the end, as the animals endure longer, having 
been spared premature fatigue. It has been found also, that colts thus 
brought up remain peculiarly exempt from the maladies of cavalry 
horses condemned ever to remain so many hours daily tied to the 
manger. 

While on the subject of horses, I may observe, that in the buying of 
them the seller's recommendation never receives any weight. He is 
too well known to have an ax to grind. The intending buyer en- 
deavors to obtain a private peep at the animal in the stable, take the 
horse unawares, as when the dealer is present it would appear different. 
A look can thus be obtained at the animal feeding; its age controlled; 
the eye peered into to ascertain if the owner be mild or wicked. Care 
is taken to have the horse shown off, not on a little run, but on a hard, 
or stone-covered road, making it at first walk, and next to stand in a 
horizontal position. Then order a trot, observing well if the animal, 
on turning, yields to a side to relieve some drawback to the feet. After 
the run, listen to the respiration and note the movement of the flanks; 
press the throat to provoke a cough; if the latter be frank and sonor- 
ous, the horse is in good health; if dry and short, beware. In the case 
of saddle horses, the purchaser ought to mount himself and remark if 
the animal replies to the pressure of the knees and the spur; if the 
buyer is occupied with a pair for a carriage, have them put to and take 
the ribbons yourself. 

AMERICAN PORK. 

The government has recovered from its scare; the great hog ques-' 
tion is settled. American pork is again admitted into France ; never 



1884] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 187 

having communicated trichnosis to Americans themselves, or the Eng- 
lish, it was a strange conclusion to consider it would poison the French. 
All's well that ends well. But salicylic acid is now in as illogical posi- 
tion as American pork; the acid, in addition to being a powerful anti- 
septic, is efficacious in the treatment of foot and mouth diseases, yet 
the government prohibits its use as if it were dynamite. 

THE FOOD QUESTION 

Is ever at the front. M. Gayot confirms his experiments, that the ad- 
dition of a little phosphate of lime to the rations of young horses 
stimulates their development. Many farmers have laid in supplies of 
leaves of the elm, linden, and willow. Avoid those of the ash, as they 
are astringent, for the Winter feeding of sheep. Chemically, such 
leaves are ranked in point of nutrition, on a par with ordinary meadow- 
hay. Though palm cake and meal are excellent fatting substances. 
Professor Holdefleiss, of Damstadt, finds the meal less rich in fatty 
matters than the cake. In the latter case the oil is extracted by pres- 
sure; in the former by chemical agents. The mean percentage of tatty 
principles in the cake is 12. Attempts are again being made to popu- 
larize the use of chestnuts for feeding stock. Mixed with the ordinary 
rations in the proportion of 2 pounds daily for sheep, and 16 for cattle, 
chestnuts have given fair results. They are tannic and bitter, and 
hence liable to induce constipation, but they impart no special flavor to 
milk, and add firmness to the flesh. 

Sorgo has never really taken in France. It was in 1851 that the 
French Consul at Shanghi sent a number of the plants for experiment. 
It was introduced with too many flourishes of trumpets. However, it 
was from the industrial, not the fodder point of view, that the culture 
was advocated. It was thus brought into competition with maize and 
beet. Sorgo requires rather much care, and is cultivated as maize. 
The soil must not be poor, nor made too rich; the climate must have 
at least a mean temperature of 69 degrees for 150 days; associated with 
these conditions must be a fair amount of humidity, or irrigation, for 
sorgo is a tropical plant. The plant grows to 6 and 11 feet high, in a 
tuft of 8 to 10 stems, of which two or three bear the seed. Dr. Sicard 
has discovered that the sacheriue substance disappears from the sum- 
mit of the plant pending the maturation of the grain, while it con- 
tinues to accumulate in the stem. The -experiments of Biot and Sou- 
beiran confirm that on removing the ears of maize before their matur- 
ity, this did increase the secretion of juice in the stem more than two 
per cent. The same remarks apply to sorgo. Bear in mind the ma- 
turation of the plant must not be confounded with its natural desicca- 
tion, a process quite distinct and taking "place at a different epoch. In 
France the yield of sorgho is about 25 tons per acre, giving 25 per 
cent, of its weight of juice, that which represents about 19 cwts. of 
crystallized sugar. But this corresponds to the yield of beet sugar, 
and the latter can be worked more easily and above all more surely. 
For forage — tilled like maize — 50 tons per acre have been reaped; the 



188 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

plant must be cut before it hardens and the knots get woody. It is 
chaffed and mixed wtth brau. Some suggest to dry it like hay. Its 
great competitor, however, is maize. A beet-sugar manufacturer at 
Eichhofen undertakes to buy roots at 12 fr. ton all round, plus an in- 
crease for roots above a fixed richness. 

Hawthorn hedges along fields and railways are being utilized. At 
every six feet distance a good hawthorn is allowed to grow above the 
clipped surface; on this a shoot of a pear tree is grafted, and trained 
in the form of a pyramid, will soon yield excellent fruit. — Agron. — In 
Pacific Rural Press. 



UNDERDRAWING LAND. 



Much of the richest and best land in the Eastern States remains as 
waste land, because no one has taken the trouble to bring it into a pro- 
ductive condition. The wet land is generally the richest land. The 
fertility of the higher land, for- ages, has been washing down and col- 
lecting in the hollows, swamps, and wet places, and very little, if any, 
of this fertility has been removed by crops or in other ways. When a 
country is first settled, the higher land is more easily cleared and 
brought into a productive condition than the low land. The low land 
needs draining as well as clearing, and consequently it is left until the 
value of land increases to such an extent that the owner feels that he 
can afford to be to the necessary expense of draining it. There are 
thousands of acres in every one of the older States which need draining, 
and which would well repay the expense of doing it, 

Draining has not been extensively practised, and farmers are back- 
ward about engaging in it. Those who have tried draining, have 
found that it well repays the expense incurred. Nearly every farm has 
more or less land that might be improved by draining. So long as land 
is saturated with stagnant water it will not prove productive, however 
rich it may be. An excess of water in cultivated lands prevents wash- 
ing them early in the Spring, and the evaporation of the water cools 
the soil so that it is colder than well-drained land. By drainage, the 
land is made warmer, and the season during whioh the crops can be 
growing on it is lengthened — two very desirable improvements. 

INCREASED PRODUCTIVENESS ATTENDING UNDERDRAINING. 

The fertility and productiveness of wet lands are well demonstrated 
by the abundant crops which are obtained after they are thoroughly 
underdrained. A few instances of the profitableness of draining may 
be given. A piece of rough, pasture land in Essex county, Massachu- 
setts, containing 2|- acres, worth $120, was cleared of alders, birches, 
and huckleberry bushes, and stones, and then underdrained. The cost 
of clearing, draining and cultivating during five years, was $1,507, in- 
cluding cost of land. The total receipts during the same time, reckon- 
ing the land worth $350, was $2,462. The profit for four years on this 
piece of 2| acres of rough pasture land, was $955, leaving the land in 



1884.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 189 

good condition, and well underdrained 3J feet deep. Underdraining 
certainly paid in this instance. An acre of swamp land was purchased 
for $17, was ditched and worked at an expense of $100 for four years, 
during which time it yielded hay and potatoes worth $132, and left the 
acre worth $100 instead of $17. 

In Michigan, 25 acres of swales, producing only bog grass, flags, 
rushes, and other worthless rubbish, were tile drained at an expense of 
$480. The grass product the first year after draining was worth $1,570, 
while the product previously had not been worth anything. 

An Ontario, New York, farmer had 12 acres of land which was so 
wet that except upon knolls, it would not produce wheat. He laid 
drains 2J feet deep, and 36 feet apart at a cost of $40 per acre, and 
plowed deep. He could then raise 40 bushels of wheat per acre. 

In the New Hampshire Agricultural Report for 1870-76, George F. 
Beede states that 2J acres of low land, from which he got only 1J tons 
of hay before draining, he cut. after draining, in one season, eight tons 
of cured hay, in two crops. The increase in the crop at market prices 
would have paid for the draining, which cost $50 per acre. Mr. Beede 
adds: " What a rush there would be among capitalists if there was an 
investment paying from 50 to 100 per cent, annually ! Farmers have 
just such an investment in draining their wet lands, and seeding them 
with the grasses. " 

Peter Henderson, in his " Gardening for Profit," gives an instance of 
a "German who leased for ten years, eight acres of land near New 
York. After working it for three years, with late and stinted crops 
that barely afforded him a living, he was advised to drain it, but hesi- 
tated, as his lease had but seven years to run. He finally acted on the 
advice, and spent $500 in tile draining. He then obtained early and 
luxuriant crops, and at the termination of his lease, purchased and paid 
for his eight acres $12,000, the savings of six years on his drained gar- 
den. I honestly believe," says Mr. Henderson, " that, had he gone on 
without draining, he would not have made $1,200 in twelve years, far 
less $12,000 in six years." 

THE EFFECTS OF DRAINING ON THE SOIL. 

The beneficial effects of drainage are very marked. The stagnant 
water is removed from the surface, and from the soil to the depth of 
the drain. Plants need water, but they do not thrive in stagnant 
water. The roots of plants will even decay if kept too wet. Culti- 
vated plants will not usually extend their roots into the soil below the 
line at which water stands permanently. Land which is well drained 
will not only be dry early in the Spring, but will suffer less from drought 
during the hot weather of Summer than the wet soil. The surface of 
wet land generally bakes into a hard cruet when the water dries out of 
it, while if it is underdrained so that the water drains away, the surface 
will be left soft and pulverant. 

Col. Geo. E. Waring, Jr., in his " Hand-book of Husbandry," sums 
up the advantages of tile draining, as follows: "1. It greatly lessens 
the evil effects of drought. 2. It enables the soil to receive a larger 
15 



190 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

supply of the fertilizing gases of the atmosphere (carbonic acid and 
ammonia). 3. It warms the lower portions of the soil. 4. It lessens 
the cooking of the soil by evaporation. 5. It greatly facilitates the 
chemical action by which its mechanical texture is improved. 6. It 
tends to prevent the grass lands from running out. 7. It deepens the 
surface soil. 8. It renders the soil earlier in the spring, and keeps off 
cold weather longer in the Fall. 9. It prevents the throwing of grain 
in winter. 10. It enables us to work much sooner after rains. 11. It 
prevents land from becoming sour. 12. It lessens the formation of a 
crust on the surface of the soil after rains in hot weather." 

The late John H. Klippart, in a similar manner, summarized the ad- 
vantages of draining as follows : " 1. The drainage removes stagnant 
water from the surface. 2. It removes surplus water from under the 
surface. 3. It lengthens the seasons. 4. It deepens the soil. 5. It 
warms the soil. 6. It equalizes the temperature of the soil during the 
season of growth. 7. It carries down soluble substances to the roots of 
the plants. 8. It prevents ' heaving out,' or ' freezing out.' 9. It pre- 
vents injury from drought. 10. It improves the quality and quantity 
of the crop. 11. It increases the effects of manures. 12. It prevents 
rust in wheat and rot in potatoes." 

Many a man who has sold his farm in the Eastern States and gone 
West to obtain rich land, might have obtained rich land at home by 
draining his wet land. 

THE BEST MATERIAL FOR DRAINS. 

The best material for the construction of the drains is tile. Some- 
times, however, it is desirable to use other material, such as stones, 
where there is a large supply near at hand, which it is desirable to dis- 
pose of. When stones are used, the ditch must be dug wider, and 
must be at least three or four feet deep. Stones should be laid each 
side of the drain, and covered with larger stones so as to leave an un- 
obstructed passageway for the water. The small stones should be used 
to fill in above the large stones so as to stop all the holes. Hard earth 
should be placed next to the stones so as to prevent rats and mice from 
entering the drain, and opening a way for the dirt to rattle into the 
main drain, or for water to run in and wash dirt in. Unless the stone 
drains are made with much care, rats, mice and water are pretty sure 
to find places where they can run in and injure it. Well made stone 
drains have been known to last forty years. Tile, however, will gene- 
rally be found the most satisfactory material, and the cheapest in the 
long run. Less earth needs to be removed for using tiles than for other 
materials, and this is an important consideration as regards expense. 

DEPTH AND DISTANCE OP DRAINS. 

The depth and distance of the drains depends upon the character of 
the soil to be drained. Where the upper bed is retentive, and of such 
depth that the drain does not reach below it, the drains may be shallow 
and near together. But if the soil is porous, the drains should be 
placed deeper, and at further distances apart. When the soil is to be 



1884.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 191 

cultivated, the drains should not be less than three feet from the sur- 
face, so as to give a good depth for the roots of the plants to extend. 
Prof. John Scott, in a work on drainage, recommends that the dis- 
tances between drains on strong clay lands, should, generally speaking, 
be from four to six times the depth ; on strong loam, six to eight times 
the depth, and on light soils, eight to ten times the depth. The length 
and depth of the drains and their distance apart regulate the size of 
pipe that should be used, but level ground requires larger pipes than 
where the inclination is greater. The capacity of the pipes should be 
sufficient to carry off the maximum flow of water. It is well to have 
the drains placed at a good depth, say at least three feet, and four is 
better. The roots of plants generally penetrate to the water level, which 
is at the bottom of the drain. 

Mr. Bailey Dunton reports that he has traced the roots of wheat nine 
feet deep, and the roots of perennial grasses, he has found in drains 
four feet deep, while he cites an instance where the roots of mangolds 
were found at a depth of five feet. It is evident that there is little 
danger of placing the drains too deep. By placing the drains deep, a 
larger portion of soil will be opened to the plant roots to feed upon, 
affording more nourishment, and in times of drought more moisture, 
the soil dries off earlier in Spring, and heavy rains are less likely to fill 
to overflowing the deep drains than they are the shallow ones. In 
draining, much care and skill is required to lay out the drains so as to 
secure the best results when the work is completed. Every farmer 
might do a little work every year in the way of draining, and in a few 
years would have his farm well drained. — II. Reynolds, M. D., in New 
England Farmer. 



INQUIRIES. 

Editor Southern Planter, — Being a subscriber to your valuable jour- 
nal for seven years, and desirous of obtaining information on sheep, 
etc., I wish you to ask through the medium of your journal some one 
posted on diseases of sheep, the following : 

I had two ewes that lambed about February 1st ; ten days afterwards 
I found their bags were diseased — very hard, high fever, and the sheep 
looking badly and would not eat. I began using carbolic acid, which 
stopped the disease, though their bags were decayed and rotted out. Is 
there any such disease as bag rot in sheep ? This is no milk-fever case, 
a3 the lambs had milked for ten days. 

"Will some one having had experience with sheep give me the cause 
of this disease and its remedy? I have quite a large flock of fine sheep 
and am almost a novice in the business. 

Query No. 2. — Will Dr Ellzey or some one else answer this? 

Are mares that are sucking colts as likely to conceive as those that 
are not ? and what is the best time to put a mare to a stallion between 



192 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

the having of a colt and its weaning — or the time she is most likely to 
conceive ? 

Now with cows and hogs I know that if they are not put with the 
male immediately after having young, or in five days' time they will 
not come in heat again until they wean their young. There are some 
exceptions to this rule, but not many. 

I should like to have these questions answered as early as possible, 
as I don't know how soon the disease may affect more of my sheep. 
Very respectfully, Edwin T. Rugg. 

Westhampton P. 0., Henrico Co., Va. 



" LEGISLATION FOR FARMERS." 

Editor Southern Planter, — The article " Legislation for Farmers," is 
thought in the right direction. Every farmer ought to read, ponder, 
and act upon it until they stand up in their majesty and demand the 
right to make their own laws, and make them just and equitable for 
all classes. 

It is unnatural and outrageous that any profession or business should 
have its laws and duties made and assigned by another class, trade or 
profession. Who makes our laws? Does the farmer? I think not. 
If he happen to be a large element in the legislature, his stupidity is so 
conceded (falsely) by the professional element, that he is thrust aside, 
and his modesty allows others to word the laws, often in misunderstood 
terms, for which he votes, and thus acts against his own interests. 

Farmers ought to make their own laws, because they are the bone 
and sinew of the country. Upon their calling every other trade and 
profession in life depends. They are the head of the world. All other 
businesses of men in their various trades and professions are but the 
members of that body politic, of which farming is the grand and enno- 
bling head, and as such deserves the greater honor. 

In proportion as the head is injured, measurably does the body suffer 
in its arms, legs and feet. The head is the only part of the body which, 
if destroyed, all other parts are destroyed. Stop the cultivation of the 
soil, and you kill the world, because you stop the source of all life. 
Stop the merchant, you only cripple the world. Abolish any other 
trade or profession, the world yet lives and draws its food and clothing. 

All honor to this noble calling. Let all classes seek to promote her 
interest. Hand in hand, help her to obtain just and wise legislation, 
and faithfully administer it. 

Very respectfully, A. J. A. 



1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 193 



PRINCIPLES GOVERNING ROTATION OF CROPS. 

No matter how fertile a soil may be, constant cropping with one, two 
or three kinds of grain which require the same elements of plant-food, 
will soon result in permanent exhaustion. It may be laid down as an 
axiom, ' 4 that every system of culture which does not bring from an out- 
side source the materials — whether nitrates, phosphates or potash, etc., 
rare in a soil, and carried off by the produce, must ultimately cause the 
soil to suffer in fecundity." 

As the most important elements of plant-food are nitrogen, phos- 
phoric acid and potash, it is necessary that such crops be grown in suc- 
cession as do not require the same substances in equal amount. For 
example, while the cotton crop appropriates much more nitrogen than 
the corn crop, it takes quite as much more potash and phosphoric acid. 
Or, as stated by Prof. Pendleton, there is taken up by one crop of cot- 
ton, 31.00 uitrogen, 9.06 phosphoric acid, 11.06 potash ; four crops of 
coro, 36 00 nitrogen, 10.08 phosphoric acid, 8.58 potash. Thus it seems 
that cotton and corn feed alike on these substances, the main difference 
being as to the qantity of each. A double crop of corn would consume 
about as much of these substances as half a crop of cotton. Of the 
other principal crops in the South, the oat crop destroys more potash 
than the others, and the field pea less phosphoric acid, while each of 
these crops consumes more nitrogen thau corn and wheat. 

The need of a rotation that will leave the soil in the best possible 
condition is apparent. Every bushel of grain, pound of cotton, beef, 
mutton, pork, or bone, and every ton of straw or hay carried off the 
farm, reduces the productive capabilities of the land by exactly the 
amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potash, etc., removed from the soil. 

A single system of rotation is not, nor can it be applicable in all 
localities. The only true test of any system is its continued success. 
In planning a judicious rotation it is advisable to alternate with the 
narrow-leaved cereals, such as wheat, oats, barley, or rye, those having 
broad leaves, such as clover, peas, and the root crops. Perpendicular 
rooting plants, and such as root horizontally, ought to succeed each 
other. Two plants favorable to the growth of weeds ought not to suc- 
ceed each other. Grain and oil plants should only be grown at inter- 
vals, unless the soil is in excellent condition. Plants which prove to 
be the least exhaustive should invariably be alternated with those of an 
opposite character. 

Among the many special advantages of rotation, a very decided one 
is that it affords the means for destroying weeds and noxious insects. 
The latter, if deprived of their special food for two seasons in succes- 
sion, usually die of starvation. Clover is of special value in a rotation, 
as the shade produced by its rank growth of foliage favors the develop- 
ment and storage of nitrogenous matter near the surface. Another 
advantage gained by rotation is that it affords the land an opportunity 
to rest. The length of this rest should be determined by the supply of 
vegetable matter in the soil. The less the quantity the more frequent 
should be the periods of rest and recuperation. As a general rule, a 



194 SOUTHERN" PLANTER. [April 

system involving rest every fourth year is the best. However, the lead- 
ing object in any system of rotation should be to realize the highest 
profit from our land, and, at the same time, to preserve or increase its 
fertility. While it cannot be consistenly claimed that rotation is indis- 
pensable, it is undoubtedly the best economy of manure, time and 
labor. A rotation of manures may be substituted, in part, at least, for 
one of crops, but the most skillful farmers are those who combine a 
rotation of crops with one of special manures for special crops. — W. M. 
K., in Farm and Fireside. 



APPLES, No. 2. 

Editor Southern Planter, — In the December uumber, page 601, in 
speaking of the Roman Beauty apple, the types make me say " the 
fruit should be thick," when it should read the fruit should be thinned, 
as the tree is disposed to overbear. The fruit of this tree was thinned 
twice last year, the limbs propped up, and then some of them broke. 
As an experiment, I took some of the Roman Beauty, Ben. Davis, Mid- 
lothian and Smith's Cider apples, wrapped them in paper, put them in 
a paper-bag, and then kept them in the cellar to test their keeping 
qualities. The Smith's Cider was the first to go sometime in Decem- 
ber ; the Ben. Davis began to rot, and was eaten about January 5th ; 
the Midlothian about February 15th, and the Roman Beauty is keeping 
yet, and will keep until 15th March, which is far beyond my expecta- 
tions as a keeper, and which will give it a season of over six months' 
(From 15th August to 15th March is seven months.) 

A friend of mine, who read the article in the number above, said to 
me, as the limbs of the Roman Beauty tree hung down nearly to the 
ground, that that was an objection with him, as he could not plough 
under them. Be that as it may, I shall plant more of them. The Old 
Father Abram and the Adkins apples are keeping yet. JSTow, if any 
of your readers have better Winter apples than the two last, that will 
succeed here, let them speak out. 

Our peaches are all killed; killed the 5th or 6th of January. Can 
you, or any of your readers, inform me of a peach (if there is such a 
one) that will not kill in Winter, and that will withstand the late frosts 
of Spring. Yery truly, yours, 

Geo. B. Adkins. 

Chesterfield Co., Va., March 3d, 1884. 



During the year 1883, 830 head of polled Aberdeen Angus cattle 
were imported from Scotland. 



1884.1 SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 195 



Editorial. 



COTTON. 

We have come into possession of a letter written by a Carolina 
planter, dated at Liverpool, England, December, 1868, and addressed 
to the Charleston, S. C, Courier, and also a postscript written thirteen 
years afterwards, in November, 1881. The author having seen the re- 
sults of three years of cotton plauting in. the South, immediately suc- 
ceeding the war, condemns the course usually pursued by the planters, 
which was leading the most of them to disaster and bankruptcy. Look- 
ing at the fact of the emancipation of the negroes, and the influences 
which impaired their value as hired laborers, he saw that the old 
method of culture and management could not prevail without great 
loss. A new system of more intensive planting and farming would 
have to be adopted. To borrow large sums of money from factors in 
the cities at a high rate of interest, and to place a lien on the crop be- 
fore it was planted, to meet the expenses of labor, fertilizers, and for 
food for man and animals to be supplied from the Western States, with- 
out counting the hazards of the seasons, was the old system not now to 
be endured. The letter referred to makes an early protest against it, 
and we present it as evidence of wise forethought and good judgment. 
Yain was the hope to make cotton, once said to be King, bear such 
burdens. 

In a trip we made to the South in the Winter of 1870, we learned, 
to our sorrow, how matters were going with the planters. The rail- 
roads were constantly bringing from the West supplies of grain, hay, 
pork and bacon to be paid for by cotton, and the money for this pur- 
pose was drawn from commission merchants at a rate of interest, vary- 
ing from twenty-five to thirty per cent. A merchant in Augusta, Ga., 
was asked how such interest could be conscientiously demanded ? The 
matter, he said, was simple. The money had to be borrowed by the 
merchants from the banks at from twelve to fifteen per cent, and the 
twelve or fifteen per cent, added by the merchants was but a reasona- 
ble charge for their risk, for if crops failed, the loss would fall on them 
to the extent of their notes at bank, if no more. At that time money 
was scarce and credit much impaired in commercial operations, but 
the farmer had none at all except by a pledge of his lands and crops at 
a small fraction of their value. 

Great changes have since taken place, and the Cotton States are 
now becoming the most prosperous and progressive in the Union. 



196 SOUTHERN" PLANTER. [April 

They have learned that they cannot live by cotton-planting alone, and 
are now producing their supplies of food for man and beast, and in 
many ways are building up their home industries by manufactures, 
mining, roads, land improvement, &c. ; and these are the great bene- 
ficial results which come from the vain effort, with a sad experience, to 
make the production of cotton "the one thing needful." The lesson 
is also being learned, that cotton does not demand a broad acreage, 
but, like other crops, is made most profitable by good tillage and proper 
fertilization with a surface limited to [these conditions. And so this 
fact becomes more pregnant when it is seen that under a system of in- 
tensive culture the crop has more than doubled itself in the last ten 
years, and at the same time left ample room for the production of food 
supplies, which were before brought from other sections. 

Liverpool, Eng., November 9, 1868. 

* * * "Well, I know, Messrs. Editors, that you think this to be 
a strange way to 'talk cotton.' Allow me to say that it was once called 
'King,' and we should be cautious in the presence of Princes. 

" Certainly by this time nearly every planter can look back at his 
profits, losses and vexations in cultivating cotton. I am sure few 
would continue it, with the next year's tax, two and a-balf cents 
per pound, and the vexatious labor, if they could find another field for 
operating. Now, I wish to present that field to them. 

" Every man worthy the name of planter knows .that when he hires 
vagabond negroes at a money price to work his depleted fields, buys 
manures, and goes in debt on the faith of the crop to carry him through 
the year, that, to say the least, is a precarious business, leaving out 
of the count, bad seasons, low prices, high taxes, caterpillars and 
thieves. "With such prospects, who can hold that energy necessary to 
success. It must be some of those who do not think. Indeed, 1 am 
sorry to add, that the most practical answer has been taught to many 
by the sad experience of the past three years, and left many behind 
hope or thought on the cotton subject for the future. 

"I will show up the remedy, which is easy, in my opinion. In the . 
first place, let no one cultivate an acre of land which he cannot calcu- 
late clearly to pay a profit without manure, or that which is made on 
the plantation ; have but few laborers, and those personally known to 
be of good character and industrious ; then to be certain before be 
plants a seed of cotton, to plant enough grain to insure a home sup- 
ply ; and as the negroes will not live with live hogs, but must have the 
meat, add to his written contract the authority to hold the cotton 
crop for three months after Christmas to pay hire, and if possible se- 
cure only a crop of one and a-half millions of bales of cotton, which 
will pay the producers largely more than if they attempted to make 
three millions of bales the old way, and verify my assertion that poor 
men can be rich if they choose to be. The planters have this thing 



1884.] SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 197 



perfectly in their power, and surely they might be as smart as the Ne- 
gro Loyal League, which spreads over the whole country secretly as if 
by magic. I say the planters have it now in their easy power to make 
the same parties row them down Salt river, who rowed them "up" 
last season. Manufacture all the cotton you can at home; if no mills, 
use the old spinning-wheel. You do not need much cloth now. Where 
is that false patriotism which has caused so many nations to use their 
own coarse materials, rather than buy fine ones, and that too, just to 
spite their neighbors? Really, we can do so, because our poverty jus- 
tifies coarse cloth. Fie on the man who bought corn all last Summer 
from East Tennessee to feed his laborers (the writer did it), and these 
East Teunesseans took his cotton money willingly to pay for their corn; 
but I am not sure that they would give the poor rebels a bushel if they 
were starving for it. 

" Well, newspapers, Neil & Co., and other circulars put strange no- 
tions in people's heads about cotton, the big crops to be made every- 
where else, and that England can do without a bale of American cot- 
ton. The writer has had letters to that effect, 1866 and 1867, from 
England. Allow him to say, this is not a fact, and, that he almost 
knows if fifty cents per pound could produce no more cotton in India, 
Egypt and Brazil, than has been showed up, how can twenty cents the 
pound be expected to increase the supply? 

" The three thousand millions invested in cotton machinery on the 
Continent must be fed, as well as the operatives dependent ou it; and 
whilst I acknowledge that we are slaves to our former slaves, shall we 
tamely submit to continue even our children as the hewers of wood 
and drawers of water to cotton lords and speculators ? I repeat again 
it will be our own choosing, and that he who will go stumbling on the 
old system to produce and continue these results, justly suffers. 

"Let us make our own manures until we make money to buy and 
pay for the foreign ; we will then get it purer and it will be surely 
profitable. Thitigs are changed ; we are no longer compelled to make 
more cotton to buy more negroes to wear out more lands. 

"Planter. 

"POSTSCRIPT. 

"November 27th, 1881. Just thirteen years are numbered with the 
past, and the great Atlanta Ga.. Cotton Exposition (the first ever held 
anywhere before) is in its second month. Amongst the lions, at the 
show and in the newspapers, is Mr. Jones, who, on the old system of 
farming cottou, had become bankrupt; but, by the wonderful com- 
mon-sense change in his tactics — that is, by reducing his number of 
acres cultivated to the capacity of two mules and within the compass of 
his labor and capital — he, in a short time, had worked out of the quag- 
mire of debt (seven thousand dollars), and is now independent. This 
is also the case with many of his neighbors, who followed his example. 
Mr. Furman, of Georgia, recently deceased, in the past six years has 
proved my theory of iutensive farming. 



198 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

" Thirteen years since, when I wrote to the planters to do as Mr. 
Jones has done, they could not expect less than twenty cents per pound 
for their cotton. Mr. Jones has sold at ten cents, paid off his debts, 
and has gotten rich, and this, too, while the crop reached five or six 
millions of bales. 

" The natural business of man is to cultivate the earth and subsist 
on its produce. The wise know and enquire, says the Indian proverb, 
but the ignorant know not even what to enquire for. 

"Ignorance must be the main cause of the want of profits and suc- 
cess in farming in the Southern States, to a great degree, before the 
war, and even since. 

"Indeed, I am induced to believe that a majority of them have no 
system ; no accounts, and no calculation of the cost of producing a 
crop of cotton. They do not seem to consider what sum the crop 
made will net in money, nor do they take into their account that a few 
acres of good land, well cultivated, are almost certain to leave a profit, 
whilst too much land, badly cultivated, is sure to leave a loss. 

" They borrow and buy at a disadvantage, they sell at a disadvan- 
tage, and, like the unthrifty, do everything at a disadvantage. The 
majority are so hard pressed for money that they are compelled to 
hurry their crops to market. Thus, as supply and demand rules the 
value of every article of produce, the markets are crowded with cotton, 
the price goes down ; and, if there be a reaction before the season 
closes, the speculators only get the benefit of it. 

" 1 agree that I am not much of a farmer, that my first lesson was 
learned in my boyhood, from the frontis-piece on Cottom's Virginia 
and North Carolina Almanac. A man holding the handles of a plough, 
with the motto, " He that by the plough would thrive, must himself 
either hold or drive," and again, in Skinner's Plough, Loom and Anvil, 
and Ruffin's Farmer's Register, I read in these books, that thorough 
draining, deep ploughing, and thorough cultivation, were the secrets of 
good farming. I had tried it for forty years, when I attempted to ad- 
vise and write in regard to cotton, and after thirteen years, I find out by 
Mr. Jones and Mr. Furman, of Georgia, that I was correct in this thing. 

" Planter." 



INDIA AND THE WHEAT SITUATION. 

We have before us a copy of Bradstreetfs, of January 12th, which 
reached our table when we were under medical treatment. The sub- 
ject of the relation of wheat production in India to that of the United 
States is so well discussed in the copy of the jourual we have mentioned 
by Mr. Bookwalter, a recent traveler and intelligent observer, and is 
one of such vital importance to the farmers and commercial men of this 
country, as to deserve serious consideration. Rs length only prevents 
us from publishing it entire, but some of its main points may be men- 
tioned. 



1884.] SOUTHERN PLANTER. 199 

The first and leading one is, that India is now rapidly becoming a 
competitor of the United States in the export trade in wheat to Great 
Britain and European countries; and in proportion as this competition 
is successful our exports will be diminished and prices reduced. The 
argument that India may become a formidable competitor is deduced 
from observed facts. The adaptation of its soil and climate to the pro- 
duction of wheat, and a large capacity therefor, is made significant by 
such facts as these : " Although the Indian farmer plows his ground 
with a forked stick, and employs in all respects the crudest methods of 
tillage, he succeeds under these conditions in raising a little over eleven 
bushels per acre, varying but little from the average yield of this country, 
where we have all the appliances of science and skillful methods of 
farming." It is also stated that India has over 150,000 square miles of 
land adapted to wheat, but not now cultivated, whilst the Punjaub has 
over 30,000, the Northwest Provinces and Oude over 50,000, and the 
Central Provinces and Bombay have nearly 60,000 more, or a total of 
290,000 square miles. That this vast territory will ultimately, and at 
no distant period, come under cultivation, must be admitted. The 
British Government is active and liberal in its efforts to promote the 
agriculture of its eastern provinces, as may be seen by the fact that it 
has now a well established School of Agriculture at Madras, as also an 
Experimental Station ; and we maybe pardoned for saying that they 
are both regular subscribers to the Planter. Through these organiza- 
tions the Government is also liberally sending out from England im- 
proved implements, and gratuitously distributing them amongst the 
ryots, or farmers. More than this, some of the enterprising manufac- 
turers of the United States are finding a market for their agricultural 
implements and machines in this far-off country. What has already 
been accomplished in respect to production is seen from the statement 
that " during the last and the present year India has shipped 80,000,000 
bushels of wheat, representing §100,000,000 of value at the port of New 
York." If the value of exported wheat from India has reached these 
figures, it is easy to comprehend how it may be largely increased by 
improved methods of culture on lands now tilled, and by bringing under 
cultivation the large areas mentioned ; and when the fact is remembered 
that the inhabitants are not a wheat-consuming people, but subsist 
mainly on rice and millet, the surplus for export is largely increased 
thereby. On the other hand, the American people are large wheat 
consumers, and fully three-fourths of our crop are required for bread 
and seed. It is plain, then, that Great Britain and the European pop- 
ulations must draw their deficits in breadstuffs mainly from North 



200 SOUTHERN PLANTER. [April 

America at the West, and India at the East, and how the United States 
will stand in respect to the competition is the important question pre- 
sented in the article in Bradstreet's we are now noticing. We quote 
from it the following paragraph, which forcibly portrays the importance 
of our great agricultural interests and the necessity of guarding and 
promoting them : 

" The importance of guarding the great agricultural interest of this 
country with jealous care is manifest from a brief retrospect of that in- 
dustry for the past ten years, revealing what a mighty factor it has been 
in the maintenance of the commercial prosperity of the nation. Not 
only have the farmers and planters of the United States raised for home 
consumption in that period $20,000,000,000 worth of produce, but they 
have supplied about $6,000,000,000 worth for foreign use. How im- 
portant a part the wheat crop of this country constitutes of the grand 
total of exports is shown by the fact that from 1873 to 1883 about one- 
fourth of the whole value of agricultural exports was made up by wheat 
and flour. The export of those articles for the period named was over 
1,200,000,000 bushels. We may safely calculate that fully one-half of 
this great aggregate was due to the deficiency of crops in Europe dur- 
ing those years; for taking the average quantity exported a few years 
prior to 1873, and the present rate of exportation as a joint basis of es- 
timate, the result would be, for ten years, at least 600,000,000 bushels 
less than was actually sent abroad. The enormous exportation of our 
products since 1873 created, for the ten years ending with 1882, a bal- 
ance of trade in our favor amounting to over $1,000,000,000, contrasted 
with a balance of equal amount against us for the period beginning 
with 1856 and ending with 1872. It has given 80,000,000 tons of 
freight to be carried by rail and water eastward, a distance of over 
1,000 miles, worth to the carrying companies $400,000,000. It has 
given a like amount of tonnage from this country to Europe, taxing to 
the utmost the transatlantic carrying capacity, and yielding, at a low 
estimate, $400,000,000 to the ocean commerce of this country and 
Europe. Unfortunately, the United States has been almost wholly de- 
prived of its share in this valuable trade by the unwisdom of our com- 
mercial and fiscal policy, which has operated to hand it over to our 
foreign competitors, more than half of it falling to Great Britain. 
Further than this, American agriculture has given to the domestic car- 
rying trade of our own country, during the ten years in question, prob- 
ably 500,000,000 tons of freight for internal distribution. These few 
salient points only serve to show what a gigantic factor the agriculture 
of the nation has become in its general economic scheme." 

How is the great question in respect to the growing rivalry from In- 
dia to be fairly met and solved? It is one for the best minds and most 
patriotic men of the nation. In onr own feebleness of thought we will 
venture on three suggestions: 

First. Let the governments of all the States and the Union by wise 



1384.J SOUTHERN PLANTER. 201 

legislation encourage and protect, agriculture in all its varied depart- 
ments of crop production, horticulture, stock breeding, dairying, etc. 

Second. Every farmer should study and practice the best methods of 
culture, looking to the improvement of his land, with a fair profit on 
his crops aud a progressive increase in their yield. 

Third. The railroads of the country should harmonize with, and not 
antagonize, each other, and give to the farmers everywhere a fair, just 
and liberal tariff of freights, which will leave them free to choose their 
markets and to reach them without undue burdens. 



TOBACCO BEDS AND FLIES. 

A subscriber asks the following question: "Please state in your 
April issue what quantity of Paris green or London purple is proper to 
be used in mixture with plaster as a top-dressing to plant-beds for the 
destruction of the tobacco fly?" 

"We regret to say that we are unable to respond from experience to 
this inquiry. When we grew tobacco such poisons were not resorted 
to at all; and if they are used now we do not know it. Upon theory 
we would say that the remedy would not be efficacious, and if of doubt- 
ful efficiency it would be best to let it alone and try something else. 
The tobacco fly is a very small insect, and would not likely find and 
take into its stomach enough of the poison to destroy it, unless the 
quantity applied to a tobacco bed was so great as to be injurious to the 
plants. Plaster itself, without the poisons named, is a very good rem- 
edy whilst it is a good fertilizer. "We have used it with success by dust- 
ing the plants well with it for several mornings in succession whilst the 
dew is on them. But it frequently happens when the fly is most 
troublesome, in dry and cool weather, that there is not enough dew to 
wet the plants sufficiently to make the plaster adhere to them. In such 
a case, prepare yourself with a large watering pot with a very finely per- 
forated nozzle, wet the bed and immediately follow with the plaster. 
The best way is to let one man lead with the water and another follow 
with the plaster. When the leaves become encrusted with the plaster, 
the fly will be obstructed in its work and will)|leave. Another good 
remedy is to use cheap snuff, or the dust of old tobacco, and apply in 
the same way as plaster. Every tobacco grower has his own plan for 
fighting the flies, and it is not difficult to get advice on the subject, but 
in many cases the insect gains the mastery. If any reader of the 
Planter knows a sure remedy, we should like to hear from him before 
the season passes away. 



202 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



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EDITORIAL NOTES 



DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE. 
This is a subject which should interest 
every farmer who has advanced and ad- 
vancing ideas. If he desires to improve 
his lands under a system of improved cul- 
ture, he cannot disregard or ignore the ad- 
vantages, comfort, taste, and convenience 
which attach to neat and well arranged 
buildings and enclosures. The judgment 
which directs the plowing, the seeding, and 
the reaping and mowing, should also com- 
prehend the fact that the fruits of those 
operations will fail of their full fruition if 
the barns and stables are imperfect and in- 
convenient in structure and unsightly in 
appearance. The same respect for neat- 
ness, order, and thorough cultivation on 
the far ja will, and must with most men, in- 
spire a taste for, and a proper appreciation 
of, the comforts of a neat and convenient 
dwelling accompanied by corresponding 
features in all its surroundings. The at- 
tractiveness of a farmer's homestead is not 
restricted to the pleasure and comfort it 
affords to himself and family, "but it sheds 



a wholesome influence upon his neigh- 
bors, and presents an example, when gen- 
erally followed, which leads to agreeable 
intercourse and mutual profit. The value 
of a farmer's property is largely measured 
by the appearance of the neighborhood in 
which it is located. Lands may be good, 
or easily made so, but if they are encum- 
bered with unsightly buildings and dilapi- 
dated fences, a purchaser, if one is desired, 
will pass them by unnoticed, except to 
condemn them and the people who own 
them. 

There is a prevailing error in supposing 
that farm buildings which are constructed, 
or repaired and improved, after models and 
legitimate rules and styles of architecture 
are necessarily costly. The quantity of 
materials which will cost $1,000, if put in 
a barn-like dwelling, will cost no more if 
used in the construction of one which will 
possess architectural order, taste, and con- 
venience. The difference is in the arrange- 
ment and handling of the materials. That 
which may be regarded as ornamentation, 
and therefore costly, is made up by the ju- 
dicious use of materials under proper archi- 
tectural rules. Every farmer is not an 
architect, and but few, it may be, who have 
sufficient knowledge of the art to form their 
own plans; but a small percentum on the 
cost of a building will secure the services of 
an architect who will give plans and work- 
ing drawings which any carpenter can exe- 
cute. More than this : books of designs 
and working plans are now published, and 
can be had at a cost of two or three dollars, 
which will give an intelligent farmer all the 
information he will need. In this connec- 
tion we may state that we have recently 
received from Messrs. Palliser, Palliser & 
Co., of Bridgeport, Conn., their Useful De- 
tails in architecture which embrace work- 
ing drawings and designs for all classes of 
work — exteriorand interior — and contained 
in forty plates, each of the size of 20x26 
inches. These details are most valuable 
to carpenters or builders, but at the same 
time they furnish many valuable ideas to a 
farmer who desires to improve his grounds 
by enclosures, gate-ways, trellises for vines, 



1884.] 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



203 



or to improve his dwelling with porches, 
verandahs, bay-windows, cornices, etc 
The simplest cabin, by the exercise of a 
little taste, with the aid of paint or white- 
wash, and adding here and there some sim- 
ple contrivance for convenience or orna- 
ment, may be made attractive, and thus 
give pleasure to its occupants. It is to en- 
courage ataste for home adornments, pleas- 
ures and comforts, that such publishers as 
the Messrs. Palliser are furnishing for the 
use of the people architectural designs 
which are applicable to the rural homes of 
the farmers, or to the residences of the 
dwellers in towns and cities of all grades of 
wealth. In this respect the residents of 
cities will generally take care of themselves, 
but there is a great deficiency in the tastes 
and desires of the country people. It is to 
be regretted that this is so, for no country 
can be regarded as prosperous, and its peo- 
ple intelligent, when the homesteads are 
uninviting in appearance. Much money 
may be hoarded away, but its possession 
may generate miserly feelings, whilst a 
moderate and discreet use of a part of it 
for the gratification of legitimate tastes 
would elevate character and cement the 
affections of families to the most sacred 
and dearest of all places — home. 



FIRE INSURANCE ON FARM 
BUILDINGS. 
As a sequel to what we have said of Do- 
mestic Architecture, it is fitting again to urge 
upon the farmers the importance of keep- 
ing policies of insurance on their most val- 
uable buildings. Had we the statistics at 
hand it might be shown that millions of 
dollars are lost annually by the people of 
the country by a neglect of this precaution. 
Viewed in the nature of a tax, as we have 
before put it, it is one which should stand 
side by side with the public taxes. The 
one comes from law and the obligations 
imposed by citizenship and are necessary 
for the support of government ; but the 
other, though self-imposed, protects against 
the hazards of consuming fires, whether 
they come by accident, the torch of the 
incendiary, or the lightnings of the clouds. 



Rather than fail of this protection the 
farmer should even deny himself the few 
luxuries which would be necessary, if not 
bought, to make up the sum required to 
secure it. What would the merchants and 
manufacturers of the cities do without this 
protection? Twenty years, or less, might 
suffice to bankrupt them. The money re- 
ceived from insurance reestablishes busi- 
ness, and it often happens that the losers 
are the gainers. New stocks of goods re- 
place old and unsaleable articles, new and 
improved machinery facilitates and cheap- 
ens products of factories, and new build- 
ings take the places of old with improve- 
ments in plans of construction. If the 
farmer loses his dwelling or his barn and 
stables, it is a dead loss, which he is illy 
able to sustain, and yet the payment of a 
small annual tax by insurance would put 
back into his pocket in cash the value of 
the property destroyed by a fire, and, like 
the merchant and manufacturer, he can use 
it to good advantage in the reconstruction 
of his building with improvements in style 
and convenient arrangement. 

We therefore say : Farmers insure your 
best buildings, and in so doing patronize 
your home companies, which you see ad- 
vertised in the Planter. Their responsi- 
bility is undoubted, and for this reason the 
farmers of the State should prefer them ; 
and for the additional reason that their 
capital is kept in the State and is not taken 
away, as it is with companies whose char- 
ters are received from other States. 



A Partial Answer to Mr. Rugg. — We 
suppose the disease of the two ewes men- 
tioned is the same which is known as garget 
with cows. It affects the lymphatic glands, 
and writers on animal diseases say that 
sheep are subject to it. The treatment 
recommended is this : When the inflamma- 
tion and other symptoms appear, give an 
ounce of Epsom or Glauber salts with 
about a teaspoonful of ground ginger, and 
bathe the udder with warm water, and 
should there be a rising and pus formed, 
puncture with a sharp-pointed knife and 
let it out. After the discharge, wash with 



204 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[ April 



a weak solution of chloride of lime, and 
with a syringe inject the same solution into 
the wound once a day. Will our friend, 
Dr. Ellzey, respond to the inquiries about 
mares, and amend, if necessary, our re- 
sponse as to the ewes? 



We have a communication from Sir J. 
B. Lawes, Bart, of St. Albans, England, 
in which favorable mention is made of the 
article of Prof. Scott, of Blacksburg Agri- 
cultural College, which was published in 
our February number. We regret that our 
issue for the present month was so far ad- 
vanced when Dr. Lawes' article was re- 
ceived as to make it necessary to defer its 
publication until the next month. 



We are indebted to the kindness of three 
good farmers for their prompt response to 
the call for information by a Bedford 
farmer on the subject of land improvement 
by means of pea-fallows. We give our 
readers and our friend in Bedford the ben- 
efit of the experience and views of all three, 
as the subject is one on which too much 
cannot be said. 

BOOKS AND MAGAZINES. 

The Writings of Dr. Bagby. — In ac- 
cordance with the wish of the late Dr. 
George W. Bagby, the undersigned, who 
were appointed his literary executors, will 
prepare for publication a Volume of Selec- 
tions from his writings, to be issued during 
the coming Summer, and to contain from 
350 to 400 pages octavo. The price of the 
book will be $2, and as it will be published 
by subscription, and the edition will be 
governed by the number of subscribers, it 
is desired that those who wish to secure 
copies will at once send their names to 
either of the undersigned. 

The literary material left by Dr. Bagby 
is very large, and if the proposed publica- 
tion meets with the favor that is hoped for, 
it will probably be followed by others. 
Mrs. George W. Bagby, 
Jas. McDonald, 

Richmond, Va. 



Hand-Book of Tree- Planting; or, Why 
to Plant. When to Plant, What to Plant, 
How to Plant. By N. H. Egleston. D. 
Appleton & Co., publishers, New York. 
Price 75 cents. For sale by West, John- 
ston & Co., Richmond, Va. 

The object of this book is to treat of 
planting trees in masses, rather for profit 
than for ornament. The information it im- 
parts is especially valuable for use in open 
or prairie sections of the country. There 
are many sections in Virginia, and further 
South, where good timber for fence-posts 
is scarce. This want may be supplied by 
planting a few acres with the locust and 
catalpa, which are quick of growth and the 
most lasting woods known. To all who are 
disposed to avail themselves of this sug- 
gestion this book will give proper informa- 
tion as to details in respect to seed, nur- 
sery culture, planting out, &c. 



Darwinism Stated by Darwin Himself. 
Characteristic passages from the writings 
of Charles Darwin, selected and arranged 
by Nathan Sheppard. D Appleton & 
Co., New York, Publishers. For sale 
by West, Johnston & Co., Richmond, 
Va. Price $1.50. 

Every educated person knows of Darwin 
and his writings. His books are volumi- 
nous and have made their impression on 
the world, and to a degree scarcely equalled 
by any other autbor. This publication is 
designed, as the compiler states, "for those 
who know but little, or nothing, about his 
(Darwin's) line of research and argument, 
and yet would like to obtain a general idea 
of it in a form which shall be at once au- 
thentic, brief, and inexpensive." 



Flowers and their Pedigrees. By Grant 
Allen. D. Appleton & Co., New York, 
Publishers. For sale by West, Johnston 
& Co., Richmond, Va. 

This book appears to be an American 
reprint from an English author. As its 
title somewhat indicates, it treats of the 
evolution of plants from degenerate sources 
and their full development into the beauti- 
ful and useful. To the florist the chapter 
on the "Daisy's Pedigree," to the horticul- 
turist that on the " Strawberry," and to the 
farmer that on the " Origin of Wheat" will 



1884.J 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



205 



prove very interesting. To a seeker into 
the mysteries of nature the work opens a 
rich field of thought, and the reader is led 
on from page to page by an enticing inter- 
est in the subjects and the author. 



Veterinary Medicine and Sttrgery in 
Diseases and Injuries of the Horse, com- 
piled from star.dard and modern author- 
ities, and edited by F. 0. Kirby. Illus- 
trated with colored plates and engrav- 
ings. Wm. Wood & Co., Publishers, 
New York. 1883. 

This valuable book, containing 332 pages, 
is neatly bound in cloth, and comes to us 
through Messrs. West, Johnston & Co., of 
this city. Its frontispiece is a beautiful 
colored engraving of the skeleton of the 
horse, and every bone and joint is so num- 
bered as to be made plain to the reader. 
All known diseases of the horse and the 
most frequent injuries are clearly defined, 
and the best remedies prescribed. The 
apparent object of this hand-book is to 
supply in a concise form a practical man- 
ual of the diseases and injuries of the horse, 
and their treatment, for the use of practi- 
tioners of medicine and other intelligent 
horse-owners. 



Grandpa's Fairie- ; or, A Peep into the 
Mysteries of Nature. By R. J. H. 
Hatchett, M. D. Southern Clinic, 
Richmond, Va , Publisher. 

This is a neat and well printed little book 
■which is designed to interest and instruct 
children of suitable age. Its conception 
was that of a grandfather who, around the 
circle .of the fireside, sought to amuse and 
at the same time instruct his grandchildren. 
These talk3 with the little ones are now 
embodied in the form of a book, that other 
family circles may be benefited by them. 
The drift of the publication may be best 
seen by a few extracts : 

" But I hasten to te:l you another fairy 
tale. * * * God in His great mercy has 
given us a great many fairies, that are all 
the time working for us, that give us the 
air we breathe, the water we drink, the 
fires that warm us, and a thousand other 
things that we little dream of. * * * He 
has sent these ministering beings which 
learned men call eltments, but I call them 
fairies. They are electricity, oxygen, hy- 
16 



drogen, nitrogen, carbon, &c. * * * I 
will now tell you about fairy No 2 — Oxygen. 

" Well, I must tell you that he is a won- 
derful fellow. Born, or created, long be- 
fore Adam was ; when the first breathing 
animal was created he was there to give 
his first breath. You must remember that 
he (Oxygen) is invisible — most fairies are — 
that is, you cannot see them. * * * This 
fairy could not be seen for ages — for many 
hundred years nobody knew he was about, 
and was rendering much service. * * * 
A thousand things he has been doing for 
the world, without receiving so much as 
'thank ye,' until a little more than one 
hundred years ago, one Dr. Priestly found 
him out and named him ; and since that 
time mankind has turned him to many 
uses." 

The author, after thus defining his fairies 
and their characteristics, in a familiar way 
tells of their wonderful combinations and 
results produced thereby; and the subject 
is brought within the comprehension of 
children as soon as they have learned to 
read. Another commendable feature of 
the book is the moral influence which per- 
vades it. 

We commend the book to the attention 
of parents. Price in paper cover, 25 cents; 
in cloth, 50 cents. For sale by all book- 
sellers. 



" No. 40," A Romance of Fortress Monroe 
and the Hygeia. Second edition. J. W. 
Randolph & English, Richmond, Va. 

This little book comes to our table after 
we had the opportunity to read a copy of 
the first edition. That a second should so 
soon follow is an evidence of appreciation 
by novel-readers. The author, whom we 
learn is a young lady of Virginia, has suc- 
ceeded in producing a story, the characters 
of which are well drawn ; and the incidents 
are of recent occurrence, and follow each 
other in a natural and interesting manner. 

Forest Leaves. By W. W. Johnson, 
of Snowflake, Michigan. A practical 
work on the propagation and manage- 
ment of trees for forest and ornamental 
planting. Second edition. 

This is really a very valuable book for 
the purposes indicated. Its illustrations in 
colors of the leaves of trees by Armstrong 
& Co., Boston, Mass, are in the highest 



206 



SOUTHERN PLANTER, 



[April 



style of art, and true to nature. No lover 
of our native forest or of the so-called or- 
namental trees should be without it. 



Bartholdi's Statue. — We are indebted 
to the Traveler's Insurance Company, of 
Hartford, Conn., for a copy of the official 
engraving of the French Statue of Liberty 
upon its American Pedestal, to be erected 
in the harbor of New York. This picture 
of the great work of Bartholdi is 26x36 
inches in size, and is in itself a fine work of 
art, and is prepared especially for the Ameri- 
can Press by the Travelers' Insurance 
Company, which has also contributed 
largely to the Pedestal Fund. We have 
seen it stated that this company, in a com- 
paratively new line of insurance, paid to 
dead and disabled members last year about 
one and a quarter million dollars. 



'' When the Violets ake Blooming'' is 
a pretty ballad, set to music, which we 
have passed to the hands of an apprecia- 
tive lady. Published by Spear & Dehn- 
hoff, 717 Broadway, N. Y. 



We have received the following maga- 
zines for April, but too late for special 
notice : North American Review, Popular 
Science Monthly, The Century, St. Nicho- 
las, Harper's Monthly, Godey's Lady's 
Book, and Art Amateur. 



CATALOGUES, REPORTS, &c. 
The Upper James River Valley. In- 
ducements to Settlers, Investors, and Man- 
ufacturers, with descriptive list of proper- 
ties in Virginia. This catalogue is gotten 
up under the auspices of the Richmond and 
Alleghany Railroad and the Bureau of Im- 
migration of Virginia — Capt. R. Irby, Com- 
missioner. 



Catalogue of Pomona Nurseries for 
1884. Wm. Parry, Parry P. 0., N. J. See 
advertisement in this and oiher issues of 
the Planter. 



Descriptive Catalogue of Machinery 
for Cultivating Corn and Cotton. By 
Sandwich Enterprise Company, Sand- 
wich, 111. 



Catalogue of Mapes Complete Manures, 
manufactured by Mapes Formula and 
Guano Company, 158 Front street, N. Y. 



Catalogue of English and American 
books and of the publications of R. Worth- 
ington, 770 Broadway, New York. 



Catalogue of Oakland Nurseries, Bow- 
man & Brickbill, proprietors, Forgy, Ohio. 



Catalogue of Powell & Douglas, manu- 
facturers of Star Wood Pumps, Champion 
Wind Power, &c, Waukegan, 111. 



Seventh Annual Report of the Com- 
missioner of Agriculture of Virginia. Com- 
missioner Blanton will accept our thanks 
for a copy of his report. It contains much 
valuable information for farmers in respect 
to crops, tobacco plant beds, fertilizers, and 
an excellent and exhaustive article on carp 
culture. It contains, also, interesting tab- 
ular statements in respect to power used 
in manufactures in the State, mining, quar- 
ries, fisheries, persons engaged in all 
classes of occupation, with ages and sex, 
areas of land surface, dwellings and fami- 
lies, &c, &c. 



Report of the number and values of 
farm animals, causes affecting wages of 
farm labor, &c. February, 1884. Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Washington. 



Almanac for 1884 and hand-book of 
Ashley Phosphate Company, Charleston, 
S. C. This publication is humorously illus- 
trated, and contaits much valuable infor- 
mation iu regard to the South Carolina 
phosphates. See advertisement in the 
Planter. 



Almanac for 1884, furnished by the 
Maryland Insurance Company of Balti- 
more, is a beautifully illustrated book, 
suitable for a parlor table and practical 
use. 



PRACTICAL POULTRY KEEPING 

Fourth edition. An illustrated book on 
Poultry by mail, 50 rents. Postal note 
preferred: stamps taken. 2ct. stamp for 
illustrated circulars of choice poultry. 
J. M. T. Johnson, Binghamton, IS. T. 




ap It. 



1884.] 



SOUTHERN" PLANTER. 



207 



NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. 
Dr. J. C. Axer & Co., Lowell, Mass., 
advertise their proprietary medicines, which 
are known throughout the world. 



Durham Tobacco Company, Durham, 
N. C, offer their celebrated brands of to- 
bacco and advertise through N. W. Ayer 
& Son, Philadelphia. 



D. S. Morgan & Sox, Chicago, 111., and 
Toledo. Ohio, through Messrs. Ayer & Son, 
Philadelphia, bring to the notice of our 
readers their light draft Reapers in time 
for the coming harvest. 



Jno. Bowers, of this city, one of the 
largest stove dealers and gas-fitters and 
plumbers, and dealer in bouse furnishing 
goods, is too well known to need a com- 
mending word except to those at a remote 
distance. 



C. Lumsden & Son, jewellers and dealers 
in watches and silverware, are favorably 
known througbout Virginia and adjoining 
States. Without exception, probably, Mr. 
Lumsden has maintained his business for 
a longer period than any one in the same 
trade now living in the Commonwealth. 

Gordoxsville Female Seminart, Prof. 
J. Wade Shelburne, Principal, is located 
in a beautiful and healthy section of the 
State, and deserves a large patronage. 



J. M. Thorburn & Co., New York, 
through Messrs. Rowell & Co., agents, offer 
Bermuda Grass seed. This is an oppor- 
tunity for farmers in the Southern States. 



Messrs. Ed. Alden & Bros., advertising 
agents of Cincinnati, Ohio, send us the 
following: 

1. A fifty page book, " Twenty-five 
Years in the Poultry Yard." By A. M. 
Lang, Cove Dale Farm, Ky. 

2. "The Sugar Cane Hand-Book," of 
Biymer Manufacturing Company, Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. This is an opportunity for 
some friends who have written us from 
North Carolina for information about sor- 
ghum. 



3. "Practical Poultry Keeping." An 
illustrated book. By J. M. T. Johnson. 
Binghampton, N. Y. 

4. " Opium and Whisky Habits Cured." 
By B. M. Worley, M. D., Atlanta, Ga. 
We are generally inclined to look with dis- 
trust on specifics of this kind, but as it 
comes through one of the best known ad- 
vertising agencies in the country, we can 
but deem it worthy of trial. No greater 
blessing could be conferred on the world 
than an efficient and innocent remedy 
which would create a distaste for opium 
and alcoholic drinks. The many unfortu- 
nates who are slaves of intoxication, when 
their judgments and noblest instincts are 
powerless to arrest them in a downward 
progress, would be restored to health, hap- 
piness, and usefulness by such a remedy; 
and if there is such an one, every man, 
woman and child should rise in a grand ac- 
claim of praise. 

H. A. S. Hamilton, of Fisherville, Au- 
gusta county, Virginia, advertises his stock 
of sheep and hogs. There is not a more 
reliable breeder in the State, or more 
prompt and correct in his dealings. His 
name is familiar to the readers of the 
Planter. Send for his catalogue. 



Powell Brothers, Springboro, Pa., for 
the first time advertise in the Planter their 
valuable stock. They are large importers 
and breeders of Clydesdale, Percheron- 
Norman, English Draft Horses, Trotting 
bred Roadsters, Coauhers, Shetland Ponies, 
Holstein and Devon Cattle. We have fre- 
quently called the attention of our readers 
to the importance of breeding from the 
heavy French and English horses. They 
are the best for wagon and coach draft and 
for the plow. Negroes and mules were the 
best drivers and draft animals for the farm 
in years gone by, but the white man and 
the horse are best adapted to each other. 
With free labor there must be a large in- 
crease of horses in the South, and the 
Clydesdales and the Normans, with their 
crosses, will best supply this demand. We 
have been promised by the Messrs. Powell 
details of their stock at their " Shadeland " 



208 



SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



[April 



farm, and when we receive them may be 
able to say something further. 



Robertson & Conrad, Gordonsville, 
Va., are the manufacturers of the cele- 
brated white oak, or spit-bottom, chairs. 
Such is the ease and comfort of these chairs 
that they are held in high repute for com- 
mon use in the best furnished houses of the 
cities. This firm also grind and furnish 
plaster for farm use, lumber, &c, for 
building. 



Tested Seeds. — It is seed that some seed 
houses are carrying over large stocks of 
seeds from last years surplus, which they 
will offer for sale this year. The only 
safety against bad stocks is to deal with 
thoroughly reliable houses, and we believe 
that Sibley's Tested Seeds are as good as 
the best. Our readers should send to 
Iliram Sibley & Co., at Rochester, N. Y. , 
or Chicago, III., for their catalogue and 
price-libt of tested seeds. 



The Monarch Manufacturing Com- 
pany, through C. H. Fuller, advertising 
agent, Chicago, 111., bring to the attention 
of farmers their Horse-hoe and Cultivator 
combined. This is said to be the latest im- 
provement in agricultural implements, de- 
signed for hoeing (with horse) potatoes, 
corn, cabbage, turnips, beets, &c. Read 
their advertisement. 



China and Japan Art Seeking Company, 
Louisville, Ky. This seems to be a pecu- 
liar name, but it is made significant by 
their bazar of Chinese and Japanese wares, 
which display the wonderful art and skill 
of people generally regarded as heathen. 

Geo. L. Squier, Buffalo, N. Y., through 
S. H. Parvin's Sons, Cincinnati, Ohio, 
advertise mills for grinding sorghum and 
other cane. 



J. H. Finney &. Brother, Richmond, 
Va., are dealers in lamps, oils, &c. We 
can commend these boys, for they are both 
under age, to the public. They deserve 
encouragement, not only for a manly effort 
to make a living, and we hope a fortune, 
but for their personal worth. It is rare 
that two brighter, more intelligent and well 
mannered young men are met in the walks 
of business. 



Consumption Cured. — An old physician 
retired from practice, having had placed in 
his hands by an East India missionary the 
formula of a simple vegetable remedy for 
the speedy and permanent cure of Con- 
sumption, Bronchitis, Catarrh, Asthma, 
and all Throat and Lung affections; also 
a positive and radical cure for Nervous De- 
bility and all Nervous Complaints, after 
having tested its wonderful curative powers 
in thousands of cases, has felt it his duty 
to make it known to his suffering fellows. 
Actuated by this motive, and a desire to- 
relieve human suffering, I will send free of 
charge, to all who desire it, this receipt, in 
German, French, or English, with full di- 
rections for preparing and using. Sent by 
mail by addressing with stamp, naming this 
paper. W. B. Noyes, 149 Power's Block, 
Rochester. N. Y. jan 8t 

~nuiuiiMHBi»iiiiiii»iimiiyiiifn¥iTmr 

Tell the children to cut out and save the comic 
Bilhouette pictures as they appear from issue to 
issue. They will be pleased with the collection. 




This space ia owned by 
BLACK-WELL'S BULL. 



Of couTRe we mean the famous animal appearing 
on the label of every genuine package of Black- 
well's Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco. Every 
dealer keeps this, the best Smoking Tobacco made. 
None genuine without trade-mark of the Bull. 

i jf i ni«i i i»u»Hn i iinni ii i i ! ; inMt a iy ffiTii 

ap 

"THE BEST IS CHEAPEST." 

1 8 nnEOnE.nO Clover Hnllerg 

(Suited to all sections. I WriteforFMEEIllus. Pamphlet 
and Prices to The Aultman & Taylor Co., Mansfield, Ohio, 
nov 12t 



Horse Powers 



Twin Foes to Life ! "WORTHY 



Are Indigestion and Constipation. 
Their primary symptoms are among the 
most distressing of minor human ailments, 
and a host of diseases, speedily resultant 
from them, mutually aggravate each other 
and assail at once the whole machinery 
of life. Nausea, Foul Breath, Sour 
Stomach, Dizziness, Headaches, 
Bilious Fever, Jaundice, Dyspepsia, 
Kidney Diseases, Piles, Rheumatism, 
Neuralgia, Dropsy, and various Skin 
Disorders, are among the symptoms 
and maladies caused by derangement of 
of the stomach and bowels. 

A Thorough Purgative 

medicine is the first necessity for cure. 
Then the cathartic effect must be main- 
tained, in a mild degree, just sufficient 
to prevent a recurrence of costiveness, 
and at the same time the liver, kidneys 
and stomach must be stimulated and 
strengthened. 

Ayer's Pills 

Accomplish this restorative work better 
than any other medicine. They are 
searching and thorough, yet mild, in their 
purgative action. They "do not gripe the 
patient, and do not induce a costive re- 
action, as is the effect of other cathartics. 
"Withal, they possess special properties, 
diuretic, hepatic and tonic, of the highest 
medicinal value and 

Absolutely Cure 

All diseases proceeding from disorder 
of the digestive and assimilatorv organs. 
The prompt use of Ayer's Pills to 
correct the first indications of costive- 
ness, averts the serious illnesses which 
neglect of that condition would inevitably 
induce. All irregularities in the action of 
the bowels — looseness as well as consti- 
pation — are beneficially controlled by 
Ayer's Pills, and for the stimulation 
of digestive organs weakened by long- 
continued dyspepsia, one or two of 
Ayer's Pills daily, after dinner, will do 
more good than anything else. 

Leading Physicians Concede 

That Ayer's Pills are the best of all 
cathartic medicines, and many practition- 
ers, of the highest standing, customarily 
prescribe them. 

AYER'S PILLS, 

PREPARED BY 

Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Mass. 

[Analytical Chemists] 
For sale by all Druggists. 



Of Confidence. 

& VST S'G Sarsaparilla is a medicine that, 
H I Cn O during nearly 40 years, in all 
parts of the world, has proved its effi- 
cacy as the best blood alterative known 
to medical science. 

SARSAPARILLA ffiSSffffi 

genuine Honduras Sarsaparilla) is its 
base, and its powers are enhanced by 
the extracts of Yellow Dock and Stil- 
lingia, the Iodides of Potassium and 
Iron, and other potent ingredients. 
|Q your blood vitiated by derangements 
IO of the digestive and assimilatorv func- 
tions? is it tainted by Scrofula? or 
does it contain the poison of Mercury 
or Contagious Disease? 
jyc leading physicians of the United 
I ilk. states, who know the composition 
of Ayeu's Sarsaparilla, say that 
nothing else so good for the purifica- 
tion of the blood is within the range of 
pharmacy. 

USiLI possible for a person 'who has 
corrupted blood to attain sound health 
and prevent transmission of the de- 
structive taint to posterity. 

THOROUGHLY ffiSSSTES 

include not only the removal of cor- 
ruption from the blood, but its enrich- 
ment and the strengthening of the 
vital organs. 

RCI lADi C witnesses, all over the 
£L!LIAL»LICi world, testify that this 
work is better accomplished" by Ayer's 
Sarsaparilla than by any other 
remedy. 
r> | ft n r» that is corrupted through dis- 
Dt."JJJ ease is made pure, and blood 
weakened through diminution of the 
red corpuscles 'is made strong, by 
Ayer's Sarsaparilla. 
D18 9ir"t/ ! " , 1 "* the blood and building 
rUnJrlSniai up the system require 
time in serious cases, but benefit will 
be derived from the use of Ayer's 
Sarsaparilla more speedily than 
from anything else. 
u r* m r» I M r for which like effects are 
HI C.U lb !!!*£. falsely claimed, is abun- 
dant in the mark"t, under man v names, 
but the onlv preparation that has stood 
the test of time, and proved worthy of 
the world's confidence, is 



s oan 



prepared by 

Dr. J. C. Ayer & Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Sold by all druggists : Price 1 ; 
six bottles for $5. 



POULTRY. 

The Planter has not heretofore been 
able to devote the space and attention to 
an important domestic interest which it de- 
serves. To meet the growing demand for 
thoroughbred poultry and all the best in- 
formation in regard to its management, we 
have arranged with the proprietors of the 
Poultry World, of Hartford, Conn., to sup- 
ply the readers of the Planter with their 
new monthly publication, known as the 
Poultry Post. 

We therefore propose to send to each 
new subscriber the Planter and the Poultry 
Post for one year for the sum of $1.50, 
payment to be made in advance; and for 
the same price will send both papers to all 
the existing subscribers of the Planter who 
are not in arrear, and will pay in advance 
for one year. Their accounts may be set- 
tled, and then the advance payment made. 
Address, 

SOUTHERN PLANTER, 
mh 3t 



ANIMAL LABELS. 

We have a number of Animal Labels, 
made by C. H. Dana. West Lebanon, N. H. 
They were taken in payment for an adver- 
tisement, and. having no use for them, will 
sell them at twenty-five per cent, off Mr. 
Dana's list of prices. 

The Labels will be properly stamped 
with name and number, and forwarded by 
Mr. Dana to a purchaser. 

Orders should designate whether Labels 
should be required for cattle, hogs or sheep. 
Address, 

SOUTHERN PLANTER. 

mh 2t 

THE NEW ENGLISH COMPANY, 

FOR THE 

Sale and Purchase of Land in Virginia, 

Have many enquiries for the purchase of 
farms and real estate, and have already 
made extensive sales at good prices. Those 
wishing lo sell or buy land, or farm prop- 
erty, should apply at once to G. B. Lynes, 
Ivey depot, Albemarle county, Va. 

Parties wishing to look at farms can be 
boarded by advertizer. 

G- B, LYNES. 

mh 6t 




"4? 















ap 3t 



^^h 1 LmII J l.ll.l.kl.<li'liil i 



ANEW AND VALUABLE TREATISE ON SUGAlfi 

CANES, (including the Minnesota Early Amber) and their 

manufacture into Syrup and Sugar. Although comprised 

in small compass and -furnished free to applicants, it is the* 

BEST PRACTICAL MANUAL ON SUGAR CANES 

thit lias vet been published. 

BLVMYER MANUFACTURING CO: 

Cincinnati O. 

Manufacturers of Strain Sugar Machinery, Steam Engines, 

Victor Cane Mill, Cook Sugar Evaporator, etc. 

ap It 



THE JAPANESE STORE 



Highest Medal Southern Exposition, l his paper induksks oue 
reliability.— Official advices from Tea-Fields of Japan authorize 
us to publish a tremendous free offer, giving every Jamily in the 
U. S. and Canada a pkge. of the only Pure Basket-Picked Tea 
in* the world. Mail us 2b cts. for postage and we will mail you a 
package of the Tea, and the Ten Imported Hems below — Free. 



GRANT) FRE# OFFER 



1 Handsome Parlor Tidy. 
1 Elegant Painted Scroll. 
I Magnificent Lamp Shade. 

1 Beautiful Lamp Mat. 

2 Hand-painted Toilet Mats. 



1 Hand-made Book Mark, 

1 Decorative Fan. 

1 Ornamenting Parasol. 

1 Fancy Napkin. 

1 Lady's Folding Fan. 



: "547r4th - AVE.; L0 U ISVI LLE, 



ap 




SUGAR MILLS 

Eighty Sizes, lor Hand, 
Animal, Steam and Water Power. 

The Best, The Cheapest 

~' jusands in use throughout 

Tropical World and by all 

leading Sorghum growers 

tne West, I'utalogoe. and 

Prices, and Prors. WEBER 

& SCOVIILS Northern 

CANE MANUAL tent free 

bj GEO. L. SQ.U1ER, 

Buffalo. N. T. 



an It 



YEARS 

IN THE 



1 



2^ 

^W^ Bt JH 'OS Pasjos. It teaches you how to 
flfifl ^gr rear them to take care for them, to 
feed, to have them lay eggs in cold weather, to 
prevent and treat all diseases of old or young, to be 
a " successful " poultryman . Only 2c,c. in stamps. 
A Fiily-pagre book FREE FOR ALL with it. 

A. At. LANG, Cove Dale Farm. Concord. Ky. 

ap It 



CIBLEY'S TESTED SEEDS. 

UFor all Climates, | For all Soils, \f All Plants. 

EVERY SACK. TESTED FOR VITALITY. EVER Y VARIETY TESTED IN TRIA1 
GROUNDS FOR PURITY' AND VALUE. 

CATALOGUE AND PRICE LIST of vegetable, flower and field 

SEEDS OF ALL TESTED VALUABLE VARIETIES; FREE ON APPLICATION. 

HIRAM SIBLEY & CO., Rochester, N.Y., Chicago, III 

mh 2t 



JOHN E. _D O HERT Y, 

822 EAST HIAIZV STREET, 

Solicits an examination of his 



Fine Stock o 



FOR, FALL AND WINTER. 

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

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

ELKHART CARRIAGE M HARNESS M FG CO. 

^Makers of all styles ofj CARRIAGES, BUGGIES, SPRING WAGONS, SINGLE & DOUBLE HARNESS & SADDLES 
o. 1. Team Harness ^^Bv__4i We employ no agents, and if fl*QK **■ *'• Tv»o-seat«(l BuggrJ 
Lwhat you order ia not satis- 
factory, we pay all expenses. 
No. 42 Buggy (see cut) is just 
1 the same as others sell at $130. 
Top Buggies at §90, fine as 
usually sold for $125 to $140. j 
Our Harness are all No. 1 Oak 
Leather. Single, S8.50 to S20. 1 
Everything fully warranted. Be- , 
fore buying-, send for our Illustrated 
80-page Catalogue free. Address W. B. 
PRATT, Sec'y, Elkhart, Indiana. 




Retail at Wholesale Prices. 




STiT^PR^SESf S3 Examining Betore Buying. 



GEO. S. COOK 

(Successor to D. H. Anderson) 



"-g'Y 






o 



CEO. S. COOK, Successor to D. H. Anderson. 

Photographs Unsurpassed in Artistic Effect. All the Negatives Retained in this Gallery. 
Over 20,000 Most Prominent People of this City and State. 



913 Main Street, 



RICHMOND, VA. 



CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILWAY 

— FROM— 

CINCINNATI, LOUISVILLE and 
COLUMBUS, OHIO, 

— TO— 

CLIFTON FORGE, STAUNTON, 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, and 

RICHMOND, VA. 

LAND BUYERS and parties from the 
West and Northwest, who are looking for 
New Homes in the mild climate of Virginia 
and the Carolinas, will find the 
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway 

the only direct route to Virginia. 
Call on Agents of the Seneca Route, 
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific. 
J. H. MARTIN, General Agent, Indian- 
apolis, Ind. 
Or following Agents of C. and 0. Ry. : 

W. P. FOSTER, 108 N. Third Street, St. 

Louis, Mo. 
FRANK W. BUSKIRK, 171 Walnut St., 

Cincinnati. O. 
J. J. ARCHER, Gen. Pass. Agent, Scioto 
Valley Railway, Columbus, 0. 

H W. FULLER, 
General Passenger Agent. 
C. W. SMITH, 

General Manager, Richmond, Va. 

wanted for "The Lives of the 
Presidents of the U. S. The 
largest, handsomest, best 
book ever sold for less than 
twice our price. The fastest selling book in Amer- 
ica. Immense profits to Agents. All intelligent 
people want it. Any one can become a successful 
agent. Terms fee. Hallktt Book Co., Portland, 
Me. [feu ly] 



AGENTS 



a-, "w. cronsnes, 
DENTIST, 

Office: No. 807 Franklin St., bet. 
Eighth and Ninth. 

Elegant rooms ; uses best materials ; gentle, quick 
and thorough work ; long experience, and prices re- 
duced. Uses gas and chloroform in extracting teeth. 

nov ly 

TRADE 

PI 

LA] 

Send description of your Invention. L. BING- 
HAM, Patent Lawyer and Solicitor, Washington, 
D- C. de 6t 

THOROUGHBRED 

SHORTHORN CATTLE. 

MERINO SHEEP and BERKSHIRE 
PIGS. Bred and for sale, at moderate 
prices, by S. S. BRADFORD, 

ja 1 — ly Culpeper, Va. 



'BADE- p» ■ | OOPT- 

«*kks, Untonto RI<JHTS < 

•KIS its, rA I H| I \ l>!-:M<i\S, 
.A«l I.S.I U lUII iUB RE-ISSUES. 




WABE 



ANOFORTES. 

U^iKuUALLED IN 

toe.TonclijWorMnsliifl anil Durability. 

WILLIAM KNABE «& CO. 

Nos. 204 and 206 West Baltimore Street, 
Baltimore. No. 112 Fifth Avenue, N. Y. 

te 3t 



Dr GEORGE B. STEEL, 

723 Main Street, Richmond, Va. 
Chas. L. Steel, M. D., D. D. S., Assistant. 
oct ly 



EnginemoIlerS 
NEW AND SECOND HAND. U 

ALL KINDS OF MACHINERY AT L0W P R'CES 

Eagle Gins, Saw Mills, Planers, Resaws, Ac. 
RANDLE & DUGAN MACH'Y CO., 

(Mention ttai. Paper.) CINCINNATI. OHIO 

mh 3t 



1838 It 18S4 




POMONA NURSERIES. 

I (ESTABLISHED 1838.) 

WILSON JUNIOR, 

The Largest Early Blackberry. 

KIEFFER HYBRID PEARS. 

100,000 Peach Trees. 

100 Acres in Small Fruits. 
Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, GRArrs, Cur- 
rants, &c. Fruit and Shade Trees. Catalogue with col- 
ored plates free. WM. PARKY, Parry P.O., New Jersey. 

mh 3t 

S188<3L- gU Farmers will find it to 
^L their interest to plant 
TpTpTl ^%onr Early Seed 
JjUjJJ %JrCorn, Potatoes and 

coming Spring. For 50 cents in 2 cent 
stamps we will send to any address, by 
mail prepaid, 2 pounds either variety se- 
lected seed corn, Mammoth Yellow King, 
Golden Yellow, Chester Co. Yellow, Learn- 
ing, Normandy White, Champion White or 
White Pearl. From the above varieties 
we have received better reports the past 
two years, and more first premiums than 
any house in the TJ. S. Price for either 
variety by express or freight, purchaser to 
pay all charges, 1 peck, 75 cents ; 1 bushel, 
82.40; 8 bushels. $4.50; 5 bushels, $10.00; 
sample any variety, 10 cents. Satisfaction 
guaranteed. (Catalogue free) 

THOS. M. HAYES & CO., 
jan 6t Cincinnati, 0. 



PLANT-FOOD 



TO MEET EVERY 

SHADE OF DEMAND, 



A crop not well fed can no more do good work than a horse kept on starva- 
tion rations, but not a few, following the business of farming, seem to think it 
can. They spend money on labor and teams to work a big surface, but feed 
that surface so badly that it utterly refuses to respond at harvest, and disap- 
pointment (otherwise called bad luck) is the result. It is folly to accept from a 
hundred acres what ought to be produced by ten. This is especially the case 
now, when plant-food, in the most available shape, can be commanded for com- 
paratively so little money. That the farmers of this latitude might have the 
advantage of this provision, and at a point perfectly accessible to them, the 
Southern Fertilizing Company, of Richmond, arranged, as early as 1866, 
to prepare fertilizers specially adapted to every staple crop they grew. As 
raw materials have become, from year to year, more available, and the ap- 
pliances for their preparation more perfect, the price of the completed articles 
has been reduced, until now it is possible for a farmer to make a 400-pound-to- 
the-acre application for no more money than 200 pounds used to cost. 

The Southern Fertilizing Company will have ready, for the Spring de- 
mand, their complete goods, bearing the general name of the 




"ANCHOR (.ti^BRAND" 



-FOR.- 



TOBACCO, COTTON, TRUCKS, PEANUTS & POTATOES. 



<■•»> -«^- 



For CORN and PEANUTS, the unrivalled 

"B. P." A MM ON I AT ED, 

Also, the 

"B. P." (Potash Mixture), and the "F. 8," 
(Flour of South Carolina Bone.) 

We will be glad to correspond with intending buyers, or to see them in per- 
son, whenever it may be their pleasure to call. If they will tell us what they 
want to compass we can tell them what to use ; and feel sure we can present 
such figures as will be acceptable to them, especially for the cash. 

Our Factory covers 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007 Dock Street, and our office 
i3 at 1321 Gary Street, Richmond, Va. 

JOHN OTT, Secretary, 

fe 3t Southern Fertilizing Company, Richmond, Va. 



GRAND TRIUMPH IN HAY PRESSES ! 



ffjLr f$ 



44 ECONOMY.** 

FIRST PREMIUM 

At Virginia State Fair, 1883, over the "Dede- <( 
rick" and all others. 




%rfe 




THE 



** FARMER*S FRIEND P 

Are the cheapest; will bale hay at less expense ; load more in 
railroad car than any other ; so warranted or no sale. Send for 
illustrated circular. 



NO COG WHEELS ! 



RAPID IN WORK. 



NO COMPLICATED PARTS! 

DURABLE ! 



ASHTON STARKE, Agent, Richmond, Va. 

WE CZIALI.EIJJ&E THE WORLD TO A TRIAL ! 

[feb 3t] 



BALTIMORE, LIGHT AND GERMAN STREETS, BALTIMORE, MD. 



RATES: $4.00, $3.00 and $2.50 per day, according to Location of Room. 

Extra Charges for Parlors, Bath and Double Rooms, according to size. The most 
convenient and latest built Hotel in the city. 
ELEVATOR runs continuously to all floors. 
All lines of city passenger cars pass its doors. Electric Light used. 



feb 



P. W. COLEMAN, Manager. 




BQOKWALTER ENGINES. 

UPRIGHT ENGINES : 3 Horse, 4% Horse, 
(>>£ Horse and 8% Horse Power. Safe, 
Simple and Durable. Over 3,000 in suc- 
cessful operation. 

New Style 10 H. P. Horizontal Engine. 

Center Crank Engine. All wrought iron 
Return Flue Boiler. Compact, Substan- 
tial and handsomely finished. Illus- 
trated Pamphlet sent free. Address 

JAMES LEFFEL&CO., 

- SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, » 

Eastern Office : 110 Liberty St., New York. 





(Successor to MILLER & HA WES), 

SOUTHERN SAW WORKS, 

Circular and other Saws, Machinery, Edge Tools, 
Tobacco, Straw- Cutter, Book-Binding, 
^'~7J- ■■* 3 *"" Planer, and Other Knives. 

18 and 20 south Fifteenth Street, Richmond, Va. 

Burnt Saics Repaired. [no 3t] Special Attention to Repairs of all kinds 




BIMCOWT STUD &. STOCK FARM 

Was commenced in 1847, and has been continuously improved, and two grazing farms 
added, with the kind of stock my experience has adopted as best suited to our country's 
wants. I have bred only from stallions or mares of my breeding or importation, and 
suited to the wants of any section, and will sell any of above of three years old and over, 
and in plain, unpampered condition, will let stallions, if not sold on safe business terms, 
for seasons of 1884. I have bred of several breeds of Cattle, but of late years only the 
Pure Shorthorns, and have all ages for sale, especially young Bulls, Heifers and Calves. 
I breed only the best Berkshire Swine, and have a number of Boar and Sow Shoats and 
Pigs for sale ; also, White Brahma Fowls and their Eggs. There may be other stock as 
good, or better, but my experience has settled on these, and I feel that I am doing a pub- 
lic good to forward the propagation of these improved breeds. 



Near Charlottesville, Va., Jan. 1st, 1884. 



S. W. FICKLIN. 

ap,jly 



H 



i@; 



FEED CUTTER. 



This machine is constructed on an entirely different principle from any other 
Feed Cutter in use, and is unequalled in three essentials, viz. : 

RAPID WORK, STRENGTH, AND FACILITY IN SHARPENING THE CUTTERS. 

They are made for both hand and power, and surpass any other machine for 
light running. It cuts cornstalks, ensilage, hay and straw with equal facility. 

Orders addressed to the undersigned, or any information desired regarding 
this machine, will secure prompt attention. 

MOSES & CLEMONS, 



Richmond, Va., Nov., 1883. 



[de 6t] 



General Agents for Manufacturers. 



ASHLEY PHOSPHATE GO. 

-CHARLESTON, S. O.:: 

FLOATS AND KAINIT MIXTURE of best materials, thoroughly 
mixed by machinery, containing Bone Phosphate, 25 to 30 per cent. ; 
Snlph. Potash, 12 to 14 per cent., besides Magnesia and Soda and 
Lime, &c. 

SOLUBLE GUANO— Highly Ammoniated. 

DISSOLVED BONE— Very High Grade. 

ACID PHOSPHATE— For Composting. 

ASH ELEMENT— For Cotton, Wheat, Peas, &c. 

FLOATS — Phosphate Rock, 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 Report* 
of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. 

For Terms, Hand-Books, 'Agricultural Primers, and good Articles on Floats, Peas and 
Ash Element, Kainit, &c, address the 

ASHLEY PHOSPHATE COMPANY. 

N. B. — Special inducements for Cash Orders. Special Formulas made carefully 
to order of best materials. [ja ly] 



ESTABLISHED IN 1870. 



STO NO-PHOSPHATE COMPANY, 

CHARLESTOM, S. O. 
WE OFFER TO THE PLANTERS 




GROUND TO A POWDER |AS FINE AS WHEAT FLOUR— 

"PHOSPHATE 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. 
del2m 



D. C. Whitehttrst. 



E. H. Whitehurst. 



mmmMmwmm * »»§* 



Mf 



DEALERS IN 



FURNITURE 



CABPETS, MATTINGS, OIL CLOTHS, MATTRESSES, Pictures, &c. 

157 Church Street, Norfolk, Va. 



nh 3t 



THE- 



UPPER JAMES RIVER VALLEY. 

All things considered, the advantages of this section cannot well be over-estimated. 
The advantages are, viz. : Health and salubrity of climate, good and productive soil, 
abundant supply of pure water, excellent timber, an inexhaustible supply of the staple 
minerals (coal and iron), accessible to the best markets with rapid transit. These lands 
are now cheap, yet must rapidly increase in value, and make sure and speedy fortunes to 
those who secure them at present prices. Send stamp for pamphlet, giving full particu- 
lars. Address 

Lock Box 47, Richmond, Va. W. A. PA.HSOINS. 

mh 



7 Market Street, NORFOLK, VA. 

Invite attention to their stocks of Field, Garden and Flower Seeds, which have been grown with the utmost 
care in the districts and countries where theyaitain their greatest perfection, and wit li a careful view to 
the soil and climate of the South, and which they know to be as good as can be found in the world. De- 
scriptive Catalogue mailed on application. mh 3m 



§rfalk Etiti; 



A cheap and reliable fertilizer for Tobacco. Cotton, Peanuts, Wheat, Oats, Clover, Grasses, &c. $15 per 
ton, delivered at any of the depots in Norfolk or Portsmouth, Va. 

Manufactured by STYRON, WHITEHl'RST & CO., Norfolk, Va. 

Office, Bigg's Wharf ; Factory, Burton's Point, South of Navy Yard. 
mh3t 



ilillEitlPiis 



embraces every desirable Novelty of the season, as well as all standard kinds. A special feature 
for 1884 is, that you can for C» K iTfrfYS se!eot Seeds or Plants to that value from their 
Catalogue, and have included, i9^^m\i>%Jf without charge, a copy of Peter Henderson's New 
Book, ** Garden and Farm Topics," a work of 250 pages, handsomely bound in cloth, 
and containing a steel portrait of the author. The price of the book alone is £1.50. Catalogue 
o£ " Everything for tlte Garden," giving details, free on application. 

DETER UCMUCBQny 9s PfTI seedsmen & florists, 

rfcl til nENiJfcnaUll GCf hiJ. 35&37CortlandtSt.,NewYork. 

mh 3t 



J. T. GATEWOOD, 



DEALER IN 



4Jhw $t0ftrit0, 

LIQUORS AND FEED. 

116 E. Broad Street, Richmond, Va. 

Families having a surplus of anything produced 
j n the Dairy, Barnyard or Garden, will do well to 
a< jvise with me. Correspondence solicited. auly 



P. A. SUBLETT. 



W. M. Cart. 



SUBLETT & GARY, 

Commission Merchants 

No. 113 South Twelfth Street, 
RICHMOND, VA. 

Specialties: Tobacco, Cotton, Flour, Grain and 
Forage. Grain Sacks furnished to order. 

J. F. Jacob and B. Lorraine, of Richmond, Ya., 
and Nat Fkazer, of Orange County, Ya., respect- 
fully solicit the patronage of their friends. au!2t 



OF MERIT 

CENTENNIAL. 

Bend for Catalogue. 
SAWMILLS 




HIGHEST 



STEAM' ENGINES, 

LB.FARQUHAB,Iork,Pa.. 

Cheapest and best for all _ 
poses — simplev strong, and 
rable. Also Horse Pow 
ers and Gin Gear. 

Saw, Grist and Cob 
Mills, Gins, Pcesses 
ANDMACHi-NEr.Y gener- 
ally. Inquiriespromptly 
answered. 

VerticalEngines.with orwithoutg. g- m 
' wheels, very eunveni- *^. 
ent, economical and 
• complete in every de^ 
.tail, best and 
<■. cheapest Vert- 
ical in the 
world. Fig. 
ft J is engine 
,Hinusa.Fig. 
''ML 2 ready for 
^road. 3^^ 

The Farquhar Separator 

(Warranted) 

Penna, 
Asricultunl 

Woris, 

Tnrlt, Pa. 
LVtiteatdruft, 
Ir-oat durable. 
»im,If.it, most 

economical 






AND 

AWARBSO ^ 
.WTCR3. 

•-.ir^tpa CJatalopue, 

nov tf 



TUB 

0H.VE3 KESAI, 

AT 

Paris Eznosition. 

Addrcao A.D. Farquhar, Tork,P* 



Sawing Made Easy 

Monarch Lightning Sawing Machine! 



A Great Savins ot 
JLabor •& Muuej', 






Aboy 16 years old can saw logs PAST and EAST Mixes 
K m *^VT P .°£ t 2& e \^! c ' h _- writes ' "Am muchnleased with 
T sal^&W LIGHTNING SAWING & &CHINE. 
1 sawed oft a oO- inch log- in 2 minutes. " For sawing- loS 
into suitable lengths for family stove- wood, andallsora 
of log-cutting-, it is peerless and unrivaled Illustrated 
Catalogue, Free. AGENTS WANTED. Mention this 

CO r iaW^W MANUFACTURING 
CO. k 163 E. Eandolph St., Chicago, 111. 

nov6t 



Premium Chester White, 
Berkshire and f oland Chin> 
Pigs, Fine Setter Dogs, 
Scotch Collies and Fox 
Hounds, bred and for sale 
by ALEX. PEOPLES, West 
Chester, Chester county, Pa. Send stamp for circu- 
lar and price-list. fe ly 



DR. HENRY FREHLING, 

ANALYTICAL & CONSULTING CHEMIST 

Laboratory: 17 South Twelfth Street, 
RICHMOND, VA. 



■pa TO BE //AD AT H\ 

Flemings 



a ig ffl mT ? n . rg)yta« i ft86 




we will send you a watch or a chain 
BY MAIL OR EXPRESS. 0. O V., to be 
examined before paying any money 
and if not satisfactory, returned at 
our expense. We manufacture all 
our watches and save you 30 per 
cent. Catalogue of 250 styles free. 
Every Watch Warrantkd. Address 
STANDARD AMERICAN WATCH CO., 
PITTSBURGH, 1'A. 



oct ly 



MORISON'S PILLS 

A remarkable remedy for Stomach, Liver, 
Kidney or Bladder Disorders, Jaundice, 
Chills, Malaria, Sick Headache, Indiges- 
tion and Costiveness. 

Mailed free to any address upon receipt 
price, $1. W. S. PILCHER, Agent, 
Broad and Pine streets, 
aul2t RICHMOND, VA. 

IT DAVC *° se 'l our ^ an d Rubber Stamps. 
lAlu Samples free. Foljambe & Co., 
Cleveland, O. fe It 




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

Patents obtained through us 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- 
paperis published WEEKLY at $3.20 a year, 
and is admitted to be the best paper devoted 
to science, mechanics, inventions, engineering 
works, and other departments of industrial 
progress, published m any country. Single 
copies by mail, 10 cents. Sold by all news- 
dealers. 

Ad dress, Munn & Co., publishers of Scien- 
tific American, 2G1 Broadway, New York. 
Handbook about patents mailed free. 



HOME INDUSTRY ! 



DIXIE SHIRTS! 

"ACME" DRAWERS 

FINE DRESS SHIRTS a specialty. 

UNDERWEAR of all kinds ready made 
or to measure at short notice. Write for 
prices and printed blanks for self-measure- 
ment. We employ the most experienced 
cutters and skilled operators. We use the 
most improved steam machinery in our 
factory. 

We guarantee the quality and fit of every 
garment that goes from our factory. Cor- 
respondence solicited. 

H. T. MILLER 8l CO., 

MANUFACTURERS, 

Cor. Nintli and Main Sts., EiclimoM, Ya. 

[oct ly] 






■ SI ■ A M. & Return to ua with TEH 

lit This Qut CTS - ,fc - vou ' Ueetl £ mai1 

til I IBIJWWt AGUIDEH BOX Of GOODS 
tftat^nTTrTig'yoTmMORE MONEY, in One Sianth, 
than anything else in America. Absolurc''ertannTy. 
Keed no capital. M. Young,173 Greenwich St.N. York. 

0Ct8t 




EUREKA! 

Is the Standard Incubator the wor icr. 
Made by J. L. CAMPBELL, West Eliza- 
beth, Allegheny Co , Penn. jely 

JERSEY RED PIGS 

From largest herd South, which took eight 
premiums and great sweepstakes as finest 
herd in Virginia at State Fairs, 1881- ? 82. 
This hog is free from disease, a natural 
grazier, prolific and early to mature, and 
in the Western markets brings a higher 
price than anv otber breed. 

T. LOVELOCK, 
mh ly Gordo nsville,Va. 

j±. t. zbtt:r.:r.'S 

STANDARD 

CARRIAGE REPOSITORY 

1505 Franklin Street. 
Custom-made work. Buggies, Phaetons, Carriages 
and Farm Wagons at wholesale factory prices. All 
work warranted. ap ly 



QEEDS 



Our -Annua! -Catalogue, 

Beautifully Engraved 
and Illustrated: Hints 
r. and Treatise on South- 
^ IPV- MA 19 em CULTURE, VK(iE- 
^rDl IVlnllU, TABLKS.tiR ASSES, 
SHALL GRAINS and FLOWERS 

X MAILED FREE UPON APPLICATION. V> 

E. M. SARGENT & CO., 

Seed Growers, Macon, Georgia. 

mh 2t 



IBF 

QTS.k 

For 25 nniduvlt 



ARLY CLUSTER 

NEW BLACKBERRY 



and teatimonlnli 



FROM A 



^i^iSingle Hill 



quality !»HOST PKODUOTI 1 ! 

"The berries were the best I ever tasted." — Farm tbOarden. 
"Berries received and simple-,] :C-j r l Joel I ariro RorrU 
sweet and good. 1 ' FarmJournalZ.<X\ IICOl LdlgC UCl I I 
liEST SOKTS Strawberries, KaipWrries, Grapes, I'earh and 
«ther Fruit Trees, &c. J. S. COLLINS, aioorest»wn,N. J, 

mh 2t 



American Fertilizing Company, box 677, of Norfolk, Va. 

IMPORTERS OF GUANOS AND CHEMICALS AND MANUFACTURERS 

OF HIGH-GRADE AND STANDARD SUPERPHOSPHATES, 

No. 163 and 165 Water Street, Norfolk, Va. 

C. L. UPSHUR, President. W. J. ROBINS, Secretary. 

UPSHUR'S STANDARD 10 PER CENT. AMMONIA GUANO.— This is one of 
the very highest grade guanos on the market, and will grow any crop as quick and give 
as large a yield as any Peruvian guano, no matter what grade it is, and claims to be 
second to nothing in the market. It is especially fine for top-dressing, or used in any 
way Peruvian is used, and good on all crops. It is made of the highest grade and finest 
materials. Analysis: 10 percent, ammonia, 16 to 20 percent, bone phosphate, 2 to 
3 per cent, potash. 

UPSHUR'S STANDARD 7 PER CENT. AMMONIA GUANO, OR SPECIAL 
IRISH POTATO GUANO. — This guano has excelled the Peruvian guano whenever 
used in competition with it, and is prepared especially for the Potato Crop. It matures 
the potatoes earlier, produces more and a superior quality, costs $16 to $20 per ton less 
than Peruvian, and permanently enriches the soil. In the finest mechanical condition, 
and is very bulky. Analysis ; 7 to 8 per cent, ammonia, 16 to 20 per cent, bone phos- 
phate, 2 to 3 per cent, potash. 

UPSHUR'S PERUVIAN MIXTURE, ESPECIALLY FOR COTTON, TOBACCO, 
&c, &c. — This is prepared from bone flour, fish and Peruvian guano, and is one of the 
best preparations for cotton on the market. Analysis : 3 per cent, ammonia, 15 to 20 
percent, bone phosphate lime, 1 to 2 per cent, potash. 

We keep on hand the best Peruvian guano, in its natural state, and guarantee it per- 
fectly pure and of the highest grade. Wc also offer for sale Lobos's Guano, Standard 
Analysis. Also, all kinds of Fertilizing Chemicals, such as Sulph. Ammonia, Nit. Soda, 
Sulph. and Muriate Potash, Kainit, Bone Dust, Pure Fish Srcap, Fine Ground Fish, 
South Carolina Acid Phosphate, &c, &c. Our President is an experienced manufac- 
turer of guanos, also a practical farmer, and employees of the Company are practical 
and experienced fertilizer manufacturers and dealers. 

AMERICAN FERTILIZING COMPANY, 



mh 3t 



C. L. UPSHUR, President. 



mm, 



a®@w 



I 3 © 




(Super-phosphate.) 



The great tobacco fertilizer, produces the brightest and best tobacco, while it perma- 
nently enriches the soil. 

FISH HAWK CUANO, 

For Wheat, Corn, Oats, &c. 

Universally regarded as the fertilizer for these crops. 

We guarantee these brands absolutely free from leather, wool waste, hoofs, horns, or 
any of the cheap and worthless materials to be found in many brands now on the market. 
Our goods do not contain one ounce of cheap stuff. We use only the purest and best 
materials, and wherever POCOMOKE and ,F1SH_HAWK have been used, they have 
taken the lead. Correspondence solicited. 

FREEMAN, LLOYD, MASON & DRYDEN,) 

Manufacturers, Norfolk, Va. 

W. D. TOMPKINS & CO., Agents, Richmond, Va. 
mh 8t 



GOLD 



for the working class. Send 10 cents 
for postage, and we will mail you free 
a royal valuable box of sample goods 
that will put. you in the way of mak- 
ing more money in a few days than you ever thought 
possible at any business. Capital not required. ,VVe 
will start you. You can work all the time, or in 
spare time only. The work is universally adapted 
to both sexes, young and old. You can e.isily earn 
from 50 cents to So every evening. That all who 
want work may test the business, we make this un- 
paralleled offer: to all who are not well satisfied we 
will send SI to pay for the trouble of writing us. 
Full particulars, directions, etc., sent free Fortunes 
will be made by those who give their whole time to 
the work. Great success absolutely sure. Don't de- 
lay. Start now. Address Stixson <S Co., Portland, 
Me. fely 

I^or sale. 
JERSEY RED PIGS, 

Two Months Old, Each, $4. 
Each additional month of age, $1. 
C R. CULLEN", 
1305 Main St., Richmond, Va. 
mh3t 

SEEDS, 

Garden, Flower and Field Seeds. 

Bed, White Alfalfa and Alsike Clover Seeds, 
Timothy, Orchard, Blue, Red Top and Hungarian 
Grass Seeds, Millets, &e. 

Prices as low as any reliable seed-house in the 
Stales. Send for Descriptive Catalogue. Trade 
price-list furnished- on application. 

CHA3. C. McCOLGAN & CO., 
Cor. Light and German Streets, Baltimore, Md. 

Opposite Carrollton Hotel. 

mh 3t 



Jersey Red Spring Pigs 

From Largest Herd South. 

Also Sows in Pig. All our breeding 
stock will be recorded in the " Duroc- 
Jersey" Herd-Book. Send tor catalogue 
to T. LOVELOCK & CO., 

ap tf Gordonsville, Va. 

GRASS 
SEED. 

We have a limited quantity of Seed of the 
above most valuable Grass for our South- 
ern States. From 8 to 10 pounds of seed 
to the acre, which must be sown only dur- 
ing hot weather. Per pound, by mail, $2; 
reduced rate in large quantities ; catalogues 
free. J. M. THOKBURN & CO., 15 
John Street, New York. ap It 

0. LUMSDEN & SON, 

823 Main Street, Richmond, Va. 

Fine Watches, Jewelry, 

Clocks, Spectacles, Wedding Rings, &c. 
[ap ly] 



OPIUM 



andWHIiSK'i hAJSITS cureUk 
at home without pain. Book 
of particulars sent Free. 

B. M. WOULLE i', M. D., Atlanta, Ga. 



ap ly 



F. STEARNS' No. 1 TOBACCO FERTILIZER. 

To the Farmers of Virginia : 

We continue the manufacture of this superior Fertilizer, for the reason that those who 
have used it continue to send their orders. Our formula is — 

1200 pounds Bone Meal, 60 per cent, dissolved by acid. 
600 " Ground Fish. 
100 " Potash (Muriate, 80 per cent.) 
100 " Ground Plaster. 

2000 pounds. 

These materials are purchased by us in their raw state, and ground and mixed by our- 
selves — their combination being known to be perfectly free from all adulterations. 

We can confidently recommend this fertilizer as peculiarly adapted to all spring crcps, 
particularly tobacco, not only as entering into and forcing the growing crops, but leaving 
a large residuum of Bone Phosphate, than which there is no better permanent manure 
for the land. Price of the fertilizer, $40 per ton ; Price of pure Bone Meal, $38 per ion. 
Delivered on board cars in Richmond. STEARNS & HALSEY, 15 south 15th street. 

[mh 3tJ 



- SEED 
£atalo 



1854.-1884' 



All my Seed is warranted to he fresh and 
sQ true to name, so far that should it prove 
rv. otherwise, I agree to refill orders gratis. 

<fy> A .large part of the great collection of 
Ss. ft. Seed I offer is of my own growing. As the 
original introducerof Eclipse Beet, Car- 
bank Potatoes, MTarblehead Early Corn, 
the Hubbard Squash, and scores of other 
new Vegetables, 1 invite the patronage 
of thepublic. In the gardens and on the farms 
of those who plant my seed will be found ray 
best advertisement. Catalogues FREE to all. 
AMES I. H. GREGORY, SEED GROWER, MARBLEHEAD, MASS. 



R. B. Chaffin, Jas. B. Hartie. R. H. Gilltam. 

R. B. CHAFFIM c£ GO., 




^"WRJITE^'F^EE'-Vi^CJlNl^' f\EAl EfiTATJESIDtiluMJ^? 



Large Quantity of City Property and 600 Farms and Mills For Sale and 

Exchange. Land Shown to Buyers Free. Purchasers 

Introduced to Owners. 

Property in City and Country sold privately or by auction. Rents collected and advances made thereon. 
Money loaned on Real Estate in the City or Country. Deeds written and acknowledgments taken. Wriie 
for FREE Real Estate Journal. The largest advertisers of Real Estate in America, except Western Railroads. 

Reference by permission, First National Bank. 

No. 1 N. Tenth Street, Richmond, Va. . 

To give our readers 30rae idea of the extensive business we have built up, we present an exact picture of, 
perhaps the most conveniently arranged Stable in "Virginia which we have built to accommodate the large 
number of horses and carriages required in our business. We will give in detail for the benefit of our 
readers who may have fine horses, a description of this (-table: It fronts 54 feet by 33 feet, divided into two 
compartments. The Stable proper is 33 feet by 30 feet with eight-loot hall through centre, containing seven 
box stalls, each having patent mangers, water troughs, elevators for drying bedding during the day and city 
culvert connections. 

The carriage department is 33 by 24 feet, with capacity for six carriages, harness presses, &c. The first 
story is 12 feet high, and the second story 10 feet high, with hostler's room, bins for grain, and capacity for 
storing a year's supply of provender, and their Office has telephonic connection to Stable, which has also 
burglar alarm attachments. 

Aplt 



T. LOVELOCK & CO., 

Gordonsville, "Va., 
Breeders and Shippers of 

Registered Devon Cattle, 

Jersey Red Swine, 

Shropshiredown Sheep and Fancy 

Poultry. 

Send for Circular. Our stock took 73 
premiums at the Fairs last Fall. ap tf 



" BARBOUR" CORN DRILL. 



fe4t 



Unequaled for STRENGTH 

and SIMPLICITY. Drops 

positively only ONE Grain 

a place, twelve, sixteen 
twenty inches apart. 




Washington, D. C. 



Richmond & Alleghany R. R. 

Through Passenger, Freight and Ex- 
press Route ; North, East, South, 
Southwest and West. 
EQUIPMENT FIRST-CLASS IN ALL 
OF ITS APPOINTMENTS. 

Scenery Unsurpassed, Traversins as it 
does, the Beautiful James River Valley its 
entire length, 230 miles. 



CONNECTIONS. 

The completion of the Valley Branch of the Bal- 
timore and Ohio railroad, offers a new and attractive 
route for travel, freight and express. 

Connecting at Lexington with Baltimore and Ohio 
railroad, making close connection at Harper's Ferry 
to and from Pittsburgh, the West, North and East. 

At Bichmoud with Associated Railways for all 
points South, and Richmoud, Fredericksburg and 
Potomac Railroad for all points North ; at Lynch- 
burg with Virginia Midland railway for all points 
North, and Norfolk and Western railroad for Knox- 
ville, Chattanooga, Atlantic, Cincinnati, St. Louis, 
Nashville, Louisville, Memphis, New Orleans, and 
all points in the South, Southwest and Texas. 
Sleet er from Lynchburg to New Orleans and Chat- 
tanooga without change, and on all night trains. 
Morning train makes close connection to Memphis 
and all southwestern points, and avoids several 
hours lay over at Chaitanooga; at Clifton Forge 
with Chesapeake and Ohio railway for the South- 
west, Northwest and West. 

Sleeping-car altached to Night Express for Lynch- 
burg. J. R. MACMURDO, 

ap tf Gen. Pass, and Express Agent. 



GORDOXSVILLE FEMALE COLLEGE 

GORDONSVILLE, VA. 

Seventh Session begins about the middle of Sep- 
tember, 1884. Located in the finest climate in the 
State. Mountain air. but free from the severe 
changes of the more elevated regions. 

A full faculty, thorough instruction, good fare. 

Charges very moderate. For catalogue address 
Prof. J. WADE SHELBURNE, 

a P 3t Principal. 

OIL STO¥E BEP£T, 

812 E. BROAD STREET. 

John H. Fotey, Lewis H. Finney Jr 

Formerly with Christian & White. 

J. H. FINNEY & BRO., 

Atmospheric and other approved Lamps, 
Chimneys, Wicks, and Burners, Kerosine, 
Headlight and Non-Explosive Oils of supe- 
rior qualities Wholesale and Retail. It 

BESt "market PEAR. 

99,999 PEACIf TREES Allien 

vaTwAv.H of new and old Strawberries, 

nts, Giapea, Raspberries, etc. 




EARLY CLUSTER 



'Hew Blackberry, early, hardy, ffood. 
Smale hill yielded ] 3 quarts at one 
mckinsf. Send for Iree Catalogue. 



A BIG SCHEME. 

We intend that " Texas Sittings " shall reach a cir- 
culation of 250,000 copies weekly before the end of 
1884; and to get that circulation we are prepared, if 
necessary, to spend every cent we make in our busi- 
ness during the year 1884. 

Subscription price ol " Texas Sittings," one year, 
$2.50. 

To induce the reading public to subscribe, we 
make the following offers, good for 30 days from date 
of this paper. 

We will send free, postage prepaid, to every sub- 
scriber who sends us the subscription price, either 
direct or through an agent, the following Seven 
Complete Novels, in one "Volume, illustrated, and 
bound in handsome colored covers ; also an 8x11 inch 
lithograph, printed in eleven colors, and suitable for 
framing. 

''John Jago's Ghost, by WiTkie Collins. 

"The Dream Woman," by Wilkie Collins. 

"Lcttie Leigh," by Bertha M. Clay, author of 
"Dora Thome," etc. 

"The Missing Letter," by Mrs. Henry Wood, au- 
thor ot "East Lynne," etc. 

"Ninety-nine Choice Readings and Recitations," 
compiled by J. S. Ogilvie 

"Mugby Junction," by Charles Dickens. 

"Phil. Scott, the Indian Detective," by Judson R. 
Taylor. 

To every person who will send us a list of Three 
Subscribes and remit the subscription price, $2.50 
each, we will give any one of the following articles : 

A Gentleman's Stem-Winding Nickel-Silver Watch, 
warranted to keep good time. 

A 32-Caibre Revolver, 7 inches in length, Solid 
Silver-plated Handle, Gold-plated Cylinder and Base 
Pin. Beautifully Engraved. 

Combination Set, containing half a dozen Solid 
Silver-plated Medium Forks and half a dozen Shef- 
field Silver-plated Table Knives, neatly set in a fine 
hinge cover case, which is enclosed in a strawboard 
box. These are Sheffield (Eng.) goods, and are of 
the best quality. The set weighs more than two 
pounds, ai.d is very heavily silver-plated. 

Every reader ot "Texas Sittings" has certainly 
three friends who would be willing to subscribe for 
the paper if asked. Get three of them to subscribe, 
send us the money, and we will send you, free, either 
the Watch, the Pistol, or the Knives and Forks. 
If you want sample copies of "Siftings" to distribute 
among your friends, send us 10 cents in stamps, and 
we will mail you a bundle of sample copies Send 
us Six Subscription.", and you will get any Two of 
the Premiums. Send Eight Subscriptions, and we 
will send you all Three of the Premiums. 

Remember that each subscriber gets the paper one 
year lor the $2 50 subscription price that you send, 
and also gets free the seven novels above described 

A Lady's Solid Gold Watch, in beautiful ilk-lined 
Morocco case free to every person who sends us 15 
yearly suhsciiptions to "Siftings," 82 50 each. 

We stake our reputation on this walch being as 
we represent it. The works are of the finest, and 
are enclosed in Solid Goid Hunting Cases, beauti- 
fully engraved. 

For lurther (illustrated) description of these pre- 
miums, see this week's "Siftings." 

Remit by Registered Letter or Post Office Order. ' 

Subscription Department, 

TEXAS SIFTINGS PUBLISHING CO.. 

mh New York, N. Y. 



"THE BEST IS THE CHEAPEST.'* 

SAW CIIPIUeO THRESHERS, 

tNGINtSi 



MILLS, 



I Horse Powers, 



(For all sections and purposes.) Write for Free Pamphlet 
and Prices to The Aultman & Taylor Co. , Mansfield. Ohio. 



Peek's Patent Tubular Cushioned Ear Drums cure Deafness in all stages. 
Recommended by scientific men of Europe and America. Write for illustrated descrip- 
tive book and testimonials from doctors, judges, ministers, and prominent men and 
women who have been cured, and who take pleasure in recommending them. They are 
unseen while in use. comfortable to wear, and make a permanent cure. Address, 
de 5t WEST & CO., 7 Murray St., New York, Agents for South and West. 

BLUE WINDSOR PLASTER. 

We will furnish at bottom prices prime ground Blue Windsor Plaster, which it would be to the advantags 
of farmers in this section to buy, on account of its purity. 

Corn Meal, Planing and Moulding. 

Guarantee satisfaction in every particular. It is hardly necessary to mention the 

The Judges at the State Fair said that " they were the finest they had ever seen for the money, and the 
finish was superior to any of the kind they had ever seen at any price." 
Our Chairs secured first premiums at the last Fairs held at Culpeper, Staunton, Lynchburg and Richmond. 
Trusting to receive encouragement and patronage in our enterprise, we are, very respectfully, 

ap 3t ROBERTSON & CONRAD, Gordonsville, Va. 

No. 7 Iron Block, Governor St., 
RICHMOND, "V.A.. 

REFRIGERATORS, MARBLE AND SLATE MANTELS, 

FRONTS AND GRATES, STOVES FOR COOKING AND HEATING. 

Call and examine my elegant show-rooms. ap 3t 

Established 1865. Standard Guaranteed. 

ALLISON t£ ADDISON, 

MANUFACTURERS OF 



JOHN BOWERS, 




"STAR BRAND 77 SPECIAL COMPLETE MANURES 

FOR EACH OF THE FOLLOWING CROPS: 

TOBACCO, MEAT, C0TT03I, C0R31, OATS, VEGETABLES AND GRASS. 

Pure Flour oj Raw Bone, Acid Phosphate, Ground Phosphate Bock, Sulphuric Acid. 

— DEALERS IN — 

German Kainit or Potash, Nitrate of Soda, Plaster, &e. 

OFFICE -1 322 Cary Street. > DIPUMnMn \i A 

FACTOKY— Opposite Kocketts,/ Klvfl IYI \J Vi Uy V Ms 

All orders and communications promptly attended to. fe tf 



Most Extensive Pure-Bred Live Stock 

Establishment in the World. 




Clydesdale, 

Percheron Norman 
English Draft 

Coachers, Trolting-Bred Roadsters, 

Shetland Ponies, 
Holstein and Devon Cattle. 

No over-fed, pampered or worn-out stock. Our 
customers have the advantage of our many years' 
experience in breeding and importing large collec- 
tions, opportunity of comparing different breeds, 
low prices, because of extent of business, and low 
rates of transportation. Circulars free. Corre- 
spondence solicited. POWELL BROTHERS, 
Springboro, Crawford county, Fa. 

Mention Southern Planter. ap 3t 

H. A. S. HAMILTON, 

Fishersville, Va., 

BREEDER AND SHIPPER OF 









SHEEP 



COTSWOLD and 

SOUTHDOWN 
Chester White and Poland-China 
HO OS. 

My flocks of Sheep were exhibited at three Fairs 
in the fall of 1833, and were awarded 57 Premiums 
amounting to 8625. 

Write for description and prices. ap 6t 



$66 



week at home. 85 outfit free. Pay 
absolutely sure. No risk. Capital not 
required. Reader, if you want business 
at which persons of either sex, young or 
old, can make great pay all the time they work, with 
absolute certainty, write for particulars to H. Hal- 
lett & Co., Portland, Me. fe ly 

T3T??TC!TfiTTC toT aQ y disability; also to 
A £jl\ OlwlN O Heirs. Send stamps for New 
Law3. Col. L. BINGHAM, Attorney, Washington 
D. C. de 6t 



MONARCH HORSE HOE 

AKD CUl T1VAT0R COMBINED 



For Hoeing & Hilling Potatoes 

Corn, Onions, Eeets, 
•Cabbages, Turnips, &c. 




An immense saving of labor and money. 
We guarantee a boy can cultivate and hoe 
and hill potatoes, corn, etc., IS times a* 
easy and fast as one man can the old wav. 
Illustrated Catalogue FREE. AGENTS 
"WANTED. Mention this paper. Address 

Monarch Mfg. Co., 206 State St.,Chicago,nL 

aply 

266th EDITION. PRICE ONLY $1. 

BY HAIL POSTPAID. 





KNOW THYSELF. 

A Great Medical Work on Manhood. 

Exhausted Vitality, Nervous and Physical Debili- 
ty, Premature Decline in Man, Errors of Youth, and 
the untold miseries resulting from indiscretion or 
excesses A book for every man, young, middle- 
aged and old. It contains 125 prescriptions for all 
acute and chronic diseases, each one of which is in- 
valuable. So found by the Author, whose expe- 
rience for twenty-three years is such as probably 
never before fell to the lot of any physician. 300 
pages, bound in beautiful French muslin, embossed 
covers, full gilt, guaranteed to be a finer work in 
every sense — mechanical, literary and professional — 
than any other work sold in this country for $2.50, 
or the money be refunded in every instance. Price 
only 81 by mail, postpaid. Illustrative sample, 6 
cents. Send now. Gold medal awarded the author 
by the National Medical Association, to the officers 
oi which he refers. 

This book should be read by the young for instruc- 
tion, and by the afflicted for relief. It will benefit 
all — London Lancet. 

There is no member of society to whom this book 
will not be useful, whether youth, parent, guardian, 
instructor or clergyman — Argonaut. 

Address the Peabody Medical Institute, or Dr. 
W. H. Parker, No. 4 Bulfinch Street, Boston, Mass.. 
who may be consulted ou all diseases requiring skill 
and experience. Chronic and obstinate diseases that 
have baffled the skill of all "J BJ" » I other 
physicians a specialty. Suc h l I Cm s* *Y p a treat- 
ed successfully without ■*■* MM t^ C* JC I K? 
an instance of failure. I I %9 fen La ■ 



FAY'S CELEBRATED] 

WATER-PROOF 

MANILLA ROOFING 

Resembles fine leather; for Roofs, Outside 
Walls, and Inside in place of plaster. Very 
rtronx and durable. Catalogue with testimo- 
nials and samples FREE. Established 1866. 
W. H. FAY & CO., Camden, N.J. 



W. H. Palmer, Pres. B. C. Wherry, Jr., Sec. 0. F. Weisiger, Jr., Ass't Sec. 



^XHE! -A-KTD MARINE. 



VIRGINIA HOME 

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. 

Office in Company's Building, Uo. 1014 Main St. 

DIRECTORS. 

W. B. Isaacs. P. W. Grubbs. John Enders. Edward Cohen. 

Jno. C. Williams. R. E. Blankenship. Geo. K. Crutchfield. T. Wm. Pemberton. 

Jas. T. Gray. Moses Millhiser. 
seply 



INCORPORATED I2ST 1865. 





OH 



OFFICE— 1006 MAIN STREET, RICHMOND, VA. 
CASH CAPITAL, - $800,000. 

Insures Dwellings, Stores, Merchandize, and other property against loss or damage by fire 

DIRECTORS.— J. L. Bacon, President ; Thos. W. McCance, Vice-President. Wm. H. Haxall, James 
Allred Jones, A. D. Williams, A. Osterloh. 

Eobt. E. Richardson, Sec. Bazil Gordon, Jr., Ass't Sec. Jno. B. Grant, Solicitor. 

A®~Agents in all the prominent Cities, Towns, and Villages of Virginia seply 






BMTV 



= OF VIRGINIA, ^eee^ 

(INCORPORATED 1794) 

INSU.REo BY FEKFETUAL OR. ANNUAL POLICY. 

Office, Coi\ of Tenth and Bank Streets. 

HERBERT A. CLAIBORNE, Principal Agent. 

F. D. STEGER, Secretary. T. BOLLING, Jr., Assistant Secretary. 

JOHN BLAIR, Collector. oct ly 






FARMERS, USE 

OBCHILLAGUANO! 

The BEST and CHEAPEST for ALL CROPS. 

That ORCHILLA GUANO positively and permanently uiriches the land; that it in- 
creases the crop and improves 'he quality of the land; and that it never fails to ensure a 
luxuriant groicth of grass for succeeding years, aie facts which 10,000 larmers, who are 
using it in the States of Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania are willing 
to testify. 

This guano is found on the Orchilla Island, in the Carribbean Sea, and comes to us di- 
rect by vessels, and all we do to it on arrival is to screen out the lamps and bag it. 
Every cargo is analyzed before leaving the Island, and comes guaranteed to us to contain 
from 3-5 to 45 per cent, of Bone Phosphate of Lime, and other valuable ingredients. 

ORCHILLA lb LOW-PRICED— because we have left off the cost of manu- 
facture. 

ORCHILLA IS SUCCESSFUL— because it is Nature's own provision for her 
exhausted fields. 

THE CHEMISTS ENDORSE IT. 

Dr. W. J. Gascoyxe, Chemist of the Agricultural Department cf Virginia, certified 
officially that the commercial value of Orchilla Guano as analyzed by him was $41.12. 

Dr. Wm. H. Taylor, State Chemist of Virginia, certified the commercial value of 
Orchilla as analyzed, by him to be $44.12. 

Dr. C. W. Dabxey, Jr., Chemist of the Agricultural Department of North Carolina, 
officially certified the commercial value of Orchilla as analyzed by him to be $43.97. 

HOW TO APPLY ORCHILLA, 

The best method of applying Orchilla Guano, when used for corn is, to sow it broad- 
cast. The roo's of corn extend a long distance from the stalk; hence the importance of 
fertilizing, not around the stalk, as is done when the fertilizer is put in the hill, but away 
from it, and this cannot be better accomplished than by broadcast sowing. 

ORCHILLA FOR CORN. 

The sooner this Guano goes upon ground intended for corn the better. Our most suc- 
cessful farmers apply it broadcast in mid-winter — February is not too soon — let it lie un- 
til the ground is fit to plow, then turn under, and prepare for corn planting. 

Make a liberal application — 300 to 400 pounds is not too much. It is never lost, for 
not only will it produce a large yield of corn, but it will put the land in good condition 
for a following wheat crop, which may be safely sown on the same land, after the corn 
is gathered, without any additional application of any kind of manure ; and where the 
wheat is followed by grass, the effect of the former application of Orchilla will be seen 
in the production of three or four crops of good grass. In this respect Orchilla far sur- 
passes all manipulated fertilizers, whose virtues, if any, are exhausted on the one crop 
to which they are first applied, any future benefit must be sought from a renewed appli- 
cation. Orchilla, on the contrary, increases the crops by improving the land; hence its 
effects do not end with one crop, but are permanent and abiding. 

BALTIMORE, l^LID. 

TRAVERS, SNEAD & CO., Importers' Agent, 1326 Cary St, Richmond, Va, 

We sell Orchilla at a low price. Send for our LITTLE BOOK, giving testimonials of 
farmers who have used it for years. 




The Eureka Corn Planter. 

The use of this Planter, invented and 
pa; eiited by H. M. Smith, insures ab- 
solute certainty as to the quantity of 
seed planted and as to the distance 
between the hills. All Planters de- 
pending upon a brush to keep back the 
corn, are liable to variation, as any 
press of the seed causes the brush to 
yield, and increases the quantity drop- 
ped. The Eureka has no brush. 
A new an! simple device supersedes 
the necessity of it, and insures absolute 
regularity in the number of grains deposited. The distance between the hills can be 
regulated at will. Tr.e latest improvement in this Planter is the Narrow Boot or 
Spout, instead of the wide as shown above. This improvement lessens the draft, and 
makes it superior to any Planter ever introduced to the farming community. We can 
also furnish the farming community with the best TWO-ROW CORN PLANTER,, with 
check rower, and with or without fertilizer attachments ; and for transplanting we carry 
a stock of the best HAND CORN PLANTERS made, embracing the "BROY" and 
"CHATAUQUA," which stand at the head of the list. 

THE IKON AGE CULTIVATOR. 

For the cultivation of Corn, Cotton, Peanuts, 
etc., the use of this implement is indispensable to 
the farmer, and will pay for itself in a day's use, 
and with its attachments can be converted into a 
" HORSE HOE " or CORN COVER at will We 
furnish all the different modifications of this Culti- 
vator, and reversible steels of all sizes, from one , 
to nine inches. Beats everything in the market 
for effectiveness and low price. Light and easily 
handled. Over 30,000 now in use. Try it and be 
convinced. Be sure to get the genuine trade 
mark " Iron Age.'" 

Buy the Best and Save Money in the 
-Long Run. In presenting these cele- 
brated Plows to the public, special atten- 
tion is directed to an improvement in the 
form of an ADJUSTABLE CLEVIS on 
our. Malta, Iron Beam Plows, the object 
of which is better to adapt the imple- 
ment to variation in the height of team 
and to deep or shallow plowing. Our 
cross brace is so arranged that either 
beam can be moved in or out to suit the 
plowman, without changing the position 
of the other, and the handles are easily 
adjusted to suit the tallest man or a small boy — points of excellence which none other 
possess. There are already a number of makes of so-called " Malta " .Double Shovel 
Plows in the market, but very seldom any of them prove to be satisfactory. With these 
inferior plows thousands of farmers have been deceived, and condemn the genuine with- 
out even having tried one, and to such we would give this advice : Buy a Plow that is 
made by the Original Manufacturers, a well known and responsible company, who have 
already manufactured and sold nearly 500,000 of these Plows, and cannot afford to sac- 
rifice their reputation for the gain of atfew dollars. 

In addition to the above Implements for the Spring trade, we would invite special atten- 
tion to the "Brown" Walking and Ridinu Cultivators, unquestionably without a supe- 
rior. Remember that we sell it with the broad guarantee that it is the Best Wheel 
Cultivator in Use, and this guarantee we stand ready to make good in the field. Those 
contemplating the'purchase of Agricultural Implements of any description, will find it to 
their interest to examine our stock and low prices before buying. Correspondence solicited. 

h. m. smith & co., 1532 Main Street, RictooM, Va, P. 0. Box£8, 

MANUFACTURERS OF AGRICULTURAL1IMPLEMENTS.