rr (/ •iption REDUCED to TWO DOLLARS Per Annum in Advance . £ 1 S 4 O fM3j S@W1H11:1 PLANTER Al Ml 6W DEVOTED TO ^tiivfttm; ftwtiatltitM, and tlu fitting, fflttfomit mu\ fousdtottt §ntt. Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. — Xenophon. Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the State.— Sully. CH: WM. WILLIAMS, - - r\ - . Editor and Proprietor. General Agent. New Series. RICHMOND, VA,, OCTOBER, 1868. Vol. II.— No. 10. CONTENTS : Agricultural Department: page. Thirty Years' Experience in Wheat Culture— The Proper Depth of Seeding Discussed— By I. I. Hite 581 Remarks of the Editor and Mr. Merri wether's Letter 583 Experience of A Young Farmer in Wheat Growing, Manuring. &c 587 Gadsden County, Florida— Its Topography, Population, Agricultural Produc- tions, &c 590 Kentucky state Fair at Louisville, by M«rlow 594 Our Exhausted and Abandoned Lands— What Shall We Do With Them?— No. 8, by Rev. T. S. W. Mott 601) Texas and Her Resources, No. 1, by Thos. Affleck 605 Ploughing 608 Horticultural Department : Hints to Tree Planteis 612 The Order of the Plants Solanacese or Potato Tribe, by A. Featherman 612 Are Plants Killed During Winter by Exce^sive Evaporation, by A. Feather- man. 615 The Culture of the Butter Bean, by S. A. S 615 The Scuppernong Gi ape— Mode of Cultivation, by Jesse Wood 617 Virginia Horticultural and Pomological Society's Exhibition— Annual Meet- ing—Premiums, &c 620 The Jupjin Grape. leported in a Letter from James W. Joplin 625 Another Vegetable Phenomenon— A Cymbling Grown Upon a Hackberry Tree— Reported by Dr. Thos. P. Atkinson 625 Apple Upon a Grape Vine Again— The Mystery Explained— Communications from Jacob Fuller and from C. V. Riley, Editor American Entomologist 627 il Household Drpartmk.nt: Unticm Poultry be Made Profitable, by J. W. L 629 [Editorial Department: Installation of Commodore Maury as Professor of Physics in the Virginia Mili- tary Institute 633 Addresses of General F. H. Smith, Superintendent 633 Commodore Maury's Address to the Faculty 635 Circular of Commodore Maury to the Public 636 CORKESPONDRNCK OF SOUTHERN PEANTRR AND FARMER: Crops and Fertilizers— Letter from David J. Evans, Jr 658 Deep Ploughing, Clover, Plaster and Chesapeake Guano— Letter from S. E. Ed- munds 639 The Wheat Crop and Growing Corn Crop in the Lower Part of the Valley, by Hon. Will>ughby Newton 639 Acknowledgments— Agricultural Fairs and Lespedeza Striata .-... 642 Editorial Notices 643 Commercial Report .' 644 FERGUJSSOX & RADY, Printers, 1328 Main Street. TO is w £* d i •ss o ■H 0! 05 o s H 03 Ha © S C3 o3 M 'A H r^4 o p^ p 03 TO p o o p- c3 M P h3 NOAH WALKER & CO. WHOLESALE AND RETAIL CLOTHI 1315 Main Street, RICHMOND, VA, Chief House— Washington Building, 165 and 167, Baltimore St., Baltimore, Md. Branch Houses— Petersburg, Va., Norfolk, Va., Washington, D. C. feb— ly BIITM0E1 ll&iHIA EMPORIUM. SISCO BROTHERS, No. 14 North Charles street, corner of Fayette, Baltimore Md., MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS IN MASONIC, I. 0. 0. F., RED MEN'S, SONS OF TEMPERANCE AND Alili OTHER SOCIETIES' REGALIA, JEWELS, &C, &C. HF" Paticular attention paid to FLAGS and BANNERS. Designs furnished free. Send for Price List. sep — ly DAVENPORT & CO. Office No. 1104 Main Street, over National Exchange Bank, GENERAL AGENTS IN VIRGINIA, FOR THE pMprt and §m&m m& <»£ f ttflwatwe (6>o. GOLD CAPITAL $16,000,000! Will Insure on most favorable terms BUILDING or MERCHANDISE in CITY or COUNTRY. All claims paid on proof of loss without abatement for interest. Will BUY and SELL STOCKS and BONDS and NEGOTIATE LOANS on fa- vorable terms. fe- DAVENPO BT & CO. "WEST & JOHNSTON Have RESUMED BUSINESS in the NEW AND ELEGANT BUILDING just above tlie Post Office, And offer for sale, as before and during the war, a large and varied stock of BOOKS IN ALL DEPARTMENTS OF LITERATURE; As also a well selected stock of STATIONEEY of Foreign and Domestic Manufacture, Uusually kept in a First-Class Establishment. A call from the Public is respect, fully solicited. BINDING and BLANK BOOKS executed to order. ftgg~ Subscriptions received for the " Planter and Farmer." ORDERS promptly attended to. Address WEST & JOHNSTON, mh- Booksellers and Stationers, two doors above P. O. Richmond, Va, THE SOUTHERN TEE & FAB1ER, DEVOTED TO Agriculture, Horticulture and the Mining, Mechanic and Household Arts. Agriculture is the nursing mother of the Arts. — Xenophon. Tillage and Pasturage are the two breasts of the State.— Sully. Off- B. WILLIAMS, , Editor and Pr OPR [ETOR. New Series. RICHMOND, TA,, OCTOBER, 1868. Vol. II- -No. 10. Thirty Years' Experience in Wheat Culture. THE PROPER DEPTH OF SEEDING DISCUSSED. Before the introduction of the wheat drill into common use. ei- ther the harrow, the single shovel or the double shovel plough, was generally adopted, in Eastern Virginia, as the most approved im- plement for covering wheat sown broadcast. The most successful farmers in the lower valley generally preferred the single shovel plough, following its use, however, with careful harrowing, until the surface was rendered smooth and fine. The use of the drill has ex- tensively revolutionized former practices in both of these sections of the State, not to speak particularly of changes elsewhere. A more thorough preparation of the ground by the use of the harrow and roller is demanded as indispensably necessary to the successful and easy operation of the drill. One of the peculiar advantages claimed for this instrument is, that it deposits the grain deeper, and of more uniform depth, than could be attained by any of the other modes of covering previously in use. I believed, theoretically, in the importance of sowing deeply ; and was inclined to adopt it as an axiom, " that the deeper the cover- ing, the less liability of the wheat to be spewed up and winter- killed.'.' I also believed that the alternate freezing and thawing of the ground during winter and early spring, was the best preparation it could receive to fit it for the nourishment and invigoration of the growing plant. Cherishing these theoretical views, I was not pre- pared for the frequent disappointment of my expectations which oc- curred, in regard to the effects of deep sowing upon the productive- vol. ii — 38 584 THE SOUTHERN [October The practice has been common, if not general, to cover wheat at a greater depth than formerly, and that, too, without discrimina- tion in regard to the earlier or later stage of the season at which it is sown. Is it not worthy of strict inquiry, whether the continued and suc- cessive failures of the wheat crop for a series of years past may not be assignable in part, at least, to the questionable practice of sowing too deeply, generally, or, at any rate, too deeply at or near the close of the sowing season ? It is certainly worth while to institute some such experiment as that suggested by Mr. Hite, in order to test the truth, in all its bearings as to time, circumstances, &c, upon this question of such vital importance to the farming interests of the State. The practice of deep seeding has probably arisen from an im- pression that, if not per se, the best calculated to secure a more certain and larger product, it is at least the means best adapted to Kj counteract the influence of the Hessian fly in diminishing produc- tion. Fifty years ago this subject was canvassed with much earn- ^j estness in the publications of the time, as the best countervailing V force which could be opposed to the ravages of the fly, then much more annoying and destructive than at present. In Skinners American Farmer, vol. 2, p. 126, we find a letter copied from the Richmond Enquirer, over the signature of a " King William Farmer," on the habits cf this insect, and urging decided objections to the practice of grazing, which had been proposed as a means of counteracting its ravages. The concluding paragraph of this letter reads thus : " I have no doubt that, if we would sow our wheat earlier, and cover it at least three inches deep, our crops would be better guarded against the fly than they ever can be by grazing." In a letter of Wm. Merriwether, of Amelia, addressed to Dr. John Adams, then Secretary of " The Society of Virginia for Pro- moting Agriculture," dated May 31st, 1818, the theory of deep sowing is earnestly controverted as altogether inconsistent with the natural habits of the wheat plant. With respect to the proper pre- ventives of the influence of the fly, he suggests the importance of " first tracing the natural history of the insect by a careful and mi- nute attention to its progress through its different stages," as a necessary method of attaining that accurate knowledge of facts in relation to its history and habits, which is so essentially necessary to the discovery of any efficient " means of counteracting its per- nicious effects." He then proceeds as follows: 1868.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 585 " After having minutely traced their natural history, the next object that presents itself is, to ascertain the nature and manner of the growth of the vegetable of which we propose to counteract or prevent their injurious effects, viz : wheat. This becomes the more necessary, as there have been plans proposed of more injurious con- sequences, as I believe, than the fly itself; particularly one pub- lished some time ago in the Richmond Enquirer, by a person sign- ing himself " A King William Farmer," who recommends early and deep sowing — a remedy which I have often seen totally destructive of the crop, the seed having rotted in the ground." He then proceeds to elucidate the manner of the growing of wheat from the grain till it branches considerably, in the following extract : " If a grain of wheat is placed six inches beneath the surface, it will, vegetate and throw out two leaves, which are generally called seminal leaves, and corresponding roots; then a thread is thrown out, which, as soon as it reaches near enough to the surface to come in contact with atmospheric air, it there forms a knob or enlarged point, which is the part from which a new set of branches and roots are thrown out, which, in the autumn, is about an inch and a half or two inches beneath the surface. After this period, the seminal leaves, roots, and the thread denominated caudex, dies and becomes useless to the plant : above which, it has a new set of roots, branches, &c. On examining many roots of wheat, some had. a knob between the seminal and coronal roots, &c, appearing to be an effort of nature which proved abortive, being not near enough to the surface to obtain air. If the seed is placed anywhere between six inches and two from the surface, there will be a set of coronal and seminal roots and branches ; but if the seed is placed anywhere between the surface and two inches below, there will be only one set of roots and branches, and those immediately progressing in their different directions from the seed. I have said the stem or thread arises from the seminal roots to within two inches of the surface, in the autumn ; but this depends on the dryness and porosity of the soil at the time of vegetating ; for, after the soil has settled by rains, and according to the tenacity and specific gravity of the soil, also its moisture, which increases the specific gravity, and prevents the access of atmospheric air, so will it be found nearer the surface ; so that in the spring of the year, if any branching takes place at a late period, it will be found to be entirely on the surface. "From the above statement of facts, I draw this inference: that if a grain of wheat is deposited upwards of two inches below the 586 THE SOUTHERN [October surface, that it has an extraordinary effort of nature to make, to come up to that point beneath the surface where it has access to atmospheric air ; and is proportionably great according to the depth, quality of the soil, moisture, &c, which must occupy a pro- portionable length of time, and consequently is equal to having been sown so much later, if put its proper depth ; and this I take to be the secret of the " King William Farmer's " deep and early seed- ing, as he particularly mentions a mother root, which I take to be the seminal root, which is an evidence of the grain being deposited deeper than nature intended it should, for it is not to be found in wheat unless deposited upwards of two inches beneath the surface. He having mentioned the mother root, ought to have told us somewhat about where the daughters were to be found ; for it is * upon them that the Hessian fly commits its ravages ; and I fancy k they will always be found within less than two inches of the surface, J the depth which he admits the fly to penetrate. He admits, also, ) that all the seminal leaves were dead — a pretty good proof that the roots were dead also. \ " The next inference I make is, that the branching of wheat < being within that distance to which the Hessian fly is known to pen- etrate, and that its branches become shallower and shallower, ac- ) cording to the lateness of its branching, that deep seeding is no preventative against the ravages of the fly. " The last inference, and not the least, is that where the seed is deposited deep and out of the influence of atmospheric air, that should the season be moist or wet at the time of seeding, the specific gravity of the soil being increased, and its pores closed with moist- ure before the vegetation has reached the branching point, the seed : will rot in the ground, and either partially or totally destroy, or rather prevent a crop being made. This happened to several of my friends this last fall, and is a circumstance that I have seen often happen, notwithstanding the strong disposition farmers have discov- ered of late years for deep seeding. To conclude, from a consid- eration of the above facts, and thirty years' experience, I am of opin- ion that the best depth for seeding wheat is from one to two inches." " Thus, I have endeavored to communicate my ideas respecting the growth and depth of seeding the wheat crop," &c. We will only add that the foregoing articles, we think, establish the following facts : 1st. That wheat ought not to be sown deeper, at any time, than two inches ; and especially ought it not to be done in the more ad- vanced stages of the sowing season. 1868.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 587 2d. That to cover it three or four inches deep, is to throw away the advantages of early seeding, and to waste a large proportion of the seed sown ; because of that which germinates at all, much of the vital energy of that portion which does not perish in the strug- gle, is expended in the effort to reach that favorable point near the surface which constitutes the true matrix of the plant ; that is to say, the point where light, heat, atmospheric air and moisture com- bine their influence for the promotion of its nutrition and growth, and where the plant puts forth that system of roots in the surface mould, through which it draws from the soil the materials of its or- ganism, so far as it is dependent upon it for its inorganic, and a portion of its organic constituents. 3d. That if not established by the foregoing discussion, it cer- tainly is by the concurrent testimony of many intelligent and prac- tical farmers, that, in order to secure an early harvest, it is necessary to sow early, to sow thickly, especially poor land, subject to winter- kill, and to cover lightly.— Ed. S. P. & F. Experience of a Young Farmer in Wheat Growing, Manuring, &c. Mr. Editor, — As the time for commencing another wheat crop is approaching, I propose to give a little experience in that line ; also, to ask the advice of some older and more experienced farmers, through your valuable journal, on the same subject, and on the use of fertilizers. My experience for the last few years has been anything but suc- cessful with high manuring, deep ploughing, and careful seeding ; whereas in former years I made, comparatively speaking, fine crops, by no manure, shallow ploughing, and careless seeding. I don't wish to argue that the latter style is the best one, (too much young America in me for that,) but can any of your readers give the rea- sons for successive failures in the wheat crops for the last five or six years ? I first thought the seed had degenerated, or, as some say, had run out. Sent to Baltimore and got the very best white seed wheat, and sowed ; crop no better. Ploughed my land up deep in the fall, turning under a fine crop of green weeds ; wheat crop still worse next summer. Not caring to wait any longer to see what was going to turn up (politically), I went to work and ploughed again ; bought largely of guano (Pacific), and sowed seventy-five bushels of wheat ; when, to my sorrow, I harvested one hundred and eighty bushels of chaffy screenings, all on the best red clay land, that pro- 588 THE SOUTHERN [October duces the best red clover, some of the land having a good crop of clover turned under the fall previous to sowing the wheat. Now if there is any encouragement in such pay as that for a poor young farmer, will some of your readers be kind enough to point it out. Such has generally been the quality of all the wheat crops in this portion of the State for the last four or five years. I think I would be safe in saying there was, last fall, more wheat, by two- thirds, sown in this section than ever before, thinking it the best crop, tak- ing no labor, scarcely, until harvest (a great consideration now) ; and I am almost certain the seed will not be made, as I know several of my neighbors have gathered their crops, and are minus one-third of their seed. And why is all this ? Can it be that the seasons, as well as the labor, have undergone such a Radical change in the last few years, that we will have to abandon the wheat crop ? And then what ? There is no crop, under the present disorganized state of labor, so well suited for this portion of the country ; labor being so scarce, and it requiring so little, except at harvest, or, as our fellow-farmer, Gilmer, styles it, the frolic of a few days. I find it much easier to preach than to practice. It is charming to sit down and listen to a theoretical farmer ; he can paint the pic- ture beautifully when he tell3 you of the deep soil, fine crop of wheat, prairies of clover and grasses, fine agricultural implements? fine sheep, blooded stock, of the phosphates, super-phosphates, lime, guano, etc., etc.; but when it comes to the pay and labor of the case, it is quite different. The picture loses some of its lustre when he has to pay five or six hundred dollars for a few tons of guano, seventy-five or a hundred dollars for preparing and seeding his land, two hundred dollars for a reaper, and, counting all costs, he only gets one hundred and seventy-five or two hundred bushels of wheat. So far as fertilizers are concerned, I am out of the ring, except that made on the farm. Take five hundred dollars and expend it at home in making and hauling manure, and it will go a good dis- tance towards improving the land, not only for a crop, but perma- nently. It may be that all the guano we get in this country has lost its virtues by handling (very probable, I think). For instance, take a cart, mule, and two boys (three dollars per day), and they would haul two hundred days, at fifteen loads per day on an ave- rage, of muck and settlings from the low ground, on your clay fields. What would be the result ? First, it would save you from paying out any ready cash, comparatively, and in the second place, 1868.] PLANTER AND FARMER 589 your lands would be in a much better condition. At fifteen loads per day, they would haul three thousand loads, which would cover several acres. I will state a little experience of my own the same fall in manuring. Wishing to make a turnip patch, and having a lot behind my barn for a Lucerne grass lot, when I got the land in suitable condition, I commenced with two four-horse wagons and teams, and in three days hauled one hundred and fifty loads of sand and muck from the creek bank on not quite an acre of land, that being the size of the lot ; then I put on fifteen four-horse loads of stable manure, well rotted, nine loads ashes, and about one and a half bushels of Liverpool salt ; broke it up deep with bull-tongue plough several times, until the ground was well pulverized, and sowed in turnips about the first September. Now what was the cost of the manure on that lot ? Two wagons ha.uling muck three days, at five dollars per day, would make thirty dollars ; fifteen loads stable manure, at one dollar per load, would be fifteen dollars ; nine loads ashes would be about the same as stable manure — nine dol- lars ; and a bushel and a half of salt, at one dollar and a half, ploughing, harrowing, &c, at a guess about five dollars, making in all sixty dollars the cost of that one acre in turnips, which made at least five hundred bushels turnips. These I sold at eighty-five cents and one dollar per bushel, and fed to my cattle and sheep that win- ter, to say nothing of the benefit of the nice greens which my neigh- bors and myself enjoyed the next spring, and seven dollars I got for seed the next fall. So you see from my manuring with sixty dol- lars at home, it made me more than five hundred dollars' worth of artificial manure, or, as some call it, Soluble Pacific. I know of only one or two farmers who say they have been benefited any by it, when there are dozens who say that they have suffered by it. Not having the cash to throw away last fall in this great humbug (guano), I concluded to go it alone, and taking one hundred bushels of nearly every variety of wheat, sowed it in good land, mostly new ground that was worked in cotton, putting it in carefully in the months of September and October, thinking that this year my har- vest would be plentiful. I have just. finished threshing, and cleaned up three hundred bushels, or three to one sowed, of very fair wheat, without the aid of manure ; and last year, about two to one, with the aid of the guano. So this year I have saved the five hundred dollars cash, and have over one hundred bushels more of wheat. But all this is very poor farming, and why is it ? The same land has yielded from ten to fifteen bushels per acre. Will some of your experienced wheat-growers give us some light on the culture of grain in this portion of the Old North State ? D. S. D. Argyle Place, (j-aston county, Aug, 5, 1868. 590 THE SOUTHERN [October Gadsden County, Florida— Its Topography— Population— Agricultu- ral Productions, &c. To the courtesy of our friend, Dr. Monroe, of Florida, we are indebted for a copy of The Commonwealth — a paper published at Quincy — from which we are enabled to present to our readers the following report of the Gadsden County Auxiliary Agricultural and Immigration Society, to the State Association of Florida. It emi- nated from an able committee, of which the President, Judge C. H. Du Pont, was chairman. The report treats of the organization of the county, its topography, contour, water, soil, forests, character of population, agricultural productions, &c, &c. We offer it as an admirable formula for the adoption or imitation of our Farmer's Clubs now existing or to be constituted. If each of our counties had a Club, and each Club would inquire carefully and minutely into the history, variations of soil and cli- mate,, agricultural resources, mineral wealth, manufacturing power, statistics of crops, farm stock, implements, machinery, &c, and make up and publish annually a full report upon each head of in- quiry — who could estimate the value of the service thus gratuitously rendered to the Commonwealth? Or who could tell how many thousands of dollars profit would accrue to the producing interest, if proper attention were paid by intelligent and trustworthy gentlemen to the attainment of approximate statistical accuracy in relation to the amount of the different crops — sufficiently in advance of the usual time of bringing them to market — to enable the producer and purchaser the more readily and fairly to adjust their reciprocal in- terests in determining the prices the several crops should command. But enough. Various other reflections will be suggested by the reading of the report. We regret the necessity, but are compelled to divide it on account of its length. We reserve for our next issue the continuation of the subject of agricultural productions in a full account of the cultivation of the Cuba Tobacco — a specialty of the county — followed by grasses, fruits, &c, all of which we flatter our- selves will prove both instructive and entertaining to our readers. — Ed. Southern Planter and Farmer. " report of the gadsden county agricultural and immigra- " tion association to the state association of florida. " Gadsden county was laid off and organized soon after Florida had passed under the jurisdiction of the United States, and took its name from Christopher Gadsden, a distinguished citizen of South 1868.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 591 Carolina, of Revolutionary fame. In territorial limits it extended from the Georgia line on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south, and from the Ocklockonee river on the east to the Apalachi- cola river on the west, embracing a territory about sixty miles in length and forty in breadth. " The quarter section of land upon which the town of Quincy was originally located, was donated to the county by the Government of the United States for a ' county site,' the selection being made by commissioners appointed for that purpose, two of whom were the Rev. David L. White and the Hon. Jonathan Robinson, both now deceased. The name given to the county site was in compliment to Josiah Quincy, a distinguished citizen of the State of Massachu- setts, and thus happily perpetuating the fraternal love which existed in ' the time that tried men's souls,' between two of the original States, which inaugurated and established the American Union. " The corporate limits of the town of Quincy have been extended to meet the requirements of an increase of population, but, by re- cent legislation, the territorial limits of the county have been greatly curtailed, but not to such an extent as to deprive her of the charac- ter of ranking amongst the large and populous counties of the State. By an addition to the county of Franklin, and the organization of the new county of Liberty, she has been entirely deprived of her Gulf coast, and the southern boundary now extends to only about twelve or fifteen miles below the county site. " This loss of territory, however, is amply compensated in the increased convenience and facility afforded to the citizens in the discharge of their public duties. She still retains her eastern and western boundaries intact. " TOPOGRAPHY — FACE OF COUNTRY — WATER — SOIL — FORESTS. " The present territorial limits of Gadsden county embrace a tract of country of an undulating surface in strong contrast with other sections of the Southern States bordering on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, and is said in many localities to resemble very much the northern portions of Virginia. It abounds in innumerable springs of the purest free-stone water, and is intersected by a very large number of clear running streams, which afford ample facilities for the erection of grist and saw mills and other manufacturing ma- chinery. In this respect, Gadsden county will compare favorably with any section of the United States, North or South. " The soil is for the most part based upon a strong red clay, which gives it great advantage in the retention of such manures and 592 THE SOUTHERN [October fertilizers as may be applied. The oak and hickory and cultivable pine lands invariably have a substratum of clay lying from one to two feet under the surface. The hammock lands are of a much lighter character ; the substratum of clay being more remote from the surface, and, though by far the most productive when first cleared and brought into cultivation, is not esteemed of so lasting a character as the other description of lands. In proportion to its area, Gadsden county contains as large a proportion of cultivable lands as any county in the State. " One great peculiarity in the character of this section of the country, with the exception of a narrow strip on the Apalachicola river is its entire exemption from the presence of ' rotten lime-stone,' which pervades so large a portion of the Southwestern States. This is undoubtedly a loss so far as the fertility of the soil is involved, [ but finds ample compensation in the superior excellence of the I drinking water, and the consequent health of the population at- I tendant thereon. "Until within the last year the presence of 'marl ' was not even \ suspected to exist, but an intelligent and enterprising gentleman of this county, who has recently turned his attention to the subject, reports indications in the southern and eastern portions of the ) county, of the existence of .extensive beds of this valuable fertilizer. It is his opinion that the supply is not only easily accessible, but inexhaustible. The specimen exhibited by him, under the chemical tests, which have been applied, proves it to be of the very best quality. If his anticipations shall be realized (and there is no ground for reasonable doubt on the subject) there will no longer be any complaint of a lack of lime on our soil. The forest growth j is of very great variety, but the yellow and pitch pine, suitable for fencing and milling purposes very largely prevail. The oak ridges furnish the finest supply of red and black oak, post oak, hickory and dogwood, and the hammocks abound in the white, Spanish and basket oak, beach, magnolia, bay, walnut and cherry, and almost every other description of forest growth that can be named. The pine forests, besides furnishing an ample supply of fencing and building material, afford fine summer pasturage for the live stock, and the hammocks and branches are equally beneficial in that re- spect in the winter. " CHARACTER OP POPULATION AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS. " Owing to the undulating surface of the country the lands in this county were never very attractive to that class of immigrants known 1868.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 593 as large 'cotton planters,' and hence the county was settled up by men of moderate means and of industrious habits. This circum- stance has stamped upon the population more the character of 6 farmers ' than of ' planters.' With this characteristic they have always produced their own supplies of provisions ; and prior to the close of the late war, it was a matter of rare occurrence that either meat or bread was imported from abroad. The same spirit of inde- pendence is still observable in the tone and bearing of the agricul- tural population of the county, and though cramped in their present means and suffering under the great change which has so suddenly and unexpectedly occurred in the system of labor, is a cheering augury, that they are rapidly conforming to their altered circum- stances and fast returning to their former thrift. In a word, the soil, climate and habits of the population afford all the essential ele- ments of a successful farming community. " In thus characterizing the habits of our people, the committee would not be understood as intending to intimate that those engaged in agricultural pursuits ignored or neglected the cultivation of the great Southern staple — cotton. Their only design is to record the fact that the cultivation of the great staple was subordinated to the production of all necessary agricultural supplies, which distinguished them as a self-sustaining community. From a pretty thorough knowledge of the average productiveness of the soil the committee are of opinion that, to the number of acres planted in cotton, no portion of the State gave a more satisfactory result. And it may here be noted that of the amount produced, the Sea Island, or long staple, has always entered very largely into the aggregate. Such was the case before the war, and the indications of the growing crop show that there has been no change in that respect. The expe- rience of our planters has fully demonstrated the fact, that the larger portion of our planting lands are admirably adapted to the production of this valuable species of cotton, and that from care- fully selected seed, a fibre is produced, which for fineness, length and strength is not excelled by that produced in any other section of the State. "Emulation begets emulation." A spirit of emulation excites industry and diligence : these, by their natural results, induce pros- perity, and our success stimulates our neighbor to similar exertion. " The beginning is the half of the whole." The most appropriate illustration of this is to be found in our own proverb, " well begun is half done." 594 THE SOUTHERN * [October Kentucky State Fair at Louisville, 1868. EXHIBITION OF LIVE STOCK. " The Eair Grounds " are located three miles from the city on the Louisville and Lexington Railroad, and comprises about fifty acres. They are in elegant condition ; a beautiful green sward covers the entire ground, and ample shade, under clumps of trees, gives a rural aspect to the whole. Walks and trotting courses are all laid out on the most approved plans, and the stabling for all kinds of stock is sufficient to accommodate vast numbers. Then there are floral halls, machine and implement buildings here and there, that not only add to the convenience of the exhibitors and to the excellency of the arrangement of things, but they have been t erected with so much good taste that they add materially to the ' "general effect." In the midst of the whole an immense circular amphitheatre stands superior to all else, and capable of accommo- dating many thousands under roof, and comfortably seated. It is 3 one of the finest and largest of the sort I ever saw. The ring within is very large, and twenty to thirty carriages may be driven around at the same time with ease and safety. A sort of Pagoda, or a two-story judges' stand, is in the middle of the ring, on the J second story of which the band of music was located, and the first, the judges. The fair opened September the 8th with the exhibition of live \ stock. At your distance, it would not be worth while to deal in particulars — to give the names of victors and amounts of premiums, . et id omne genus. I will try to give you some account of the '• stock without reference to anything more, unless it be an occasional l comment. [ Cattle were first brought into the ring. The "different rings" embraced all ages, ranging from four years and upwards down to the merest calves. The breeds exhibited were the Durham, Ayr- shire and Alderney — bulls, cows and calves of each. I never saw finer cattle. Their carcasses were huge, and loaded with fat and muscle. It would be idle to guess at their weights. It is only ne- cessary to say that they were as big as cattle ever get to be. The Durhams were more frequently and more numerously exhib- ited, and were, of course, far the larger, finer looking cattle. It seems to me that if one could always have what an agricultural friend once said to me, "Durham pastures," it would be unwise to breed any other sort, except as a variety, or, to supply a demand. That is to say, if one could always have rich blue grass and heavy 1868.] ' PLANTER AND FARMER. 595 red clover fields for ranges, then, indeed, would the Durham be ever far excellence — the king of bulls for every farm. Such, of course, cannot be always the case. Without rich and abundant pastures, I doubt whether the immense frames of the Durham can be filled so as to make the breed desirable on thin land. But to the exhibition : The bulls, of which there was a very large number, were particu- larly fine ; but Daniel Blake, of 'Buncombe, and W. Connel, of Henderson county, N. C, and the proprietor of Wharne Cliffe, in the same county, have each a Durham bull, which, if pampered as these have been, would not be much inferior to the very best I saw. I noticed that great care, among other things, had been taken with their horns. They had been filed and polished from yearling calf- hood. The cows' horns had been neglected, and the diiierence was at once perceptible. In making the awards, I perceive the color as well as the "points" had a good deal to do with the decisions. A deep red, or a white and red intermixed, invariably took the premiums, while the spotted cattle, though proven to be the genuine blood, and though large and handsome and, in one instance, superior in form and size to every other in the ring, yet eacjj. and all failed to win even a " certificate." A few years ago, tlife pure white Durham was "all the rage;" but soon, both in Europe and America, the deep red or the intermixture of white and red — a sort of brindle — are colors decidedly preferred by all "bull men," as cattle-breeders are elegantly (?) called here in Kentucky. The Ayrshire breed was next in the ring. The cows are not large, but beautifully formed, and are said to be admirable milkers. The Ayrshire bull, however, to my judgment, was the finest animal exhibited, though, in the estimation of the judges, a four-year-old Durham took the sweepstakes' premium. The Ayrshire was not only large, but of almost perfect symmetry. The color in this variety did not seem to modify any decision, as some of the best cows, and most successful, were spotted. The bull, however, and, perhaps, the greater part of the finest cows and heifers, were of a light red. 'The Alderney — the fawn-colored and the fawn-like Alderney — are beautiful cattle, notwithstanding their diminutive size. They are the great milkers, not as to quantity, but as to quality — rich- ness. More of their food turns to milk, and less into fat and mus- cle, than in other breeds. Their limbs are exquisitely delicate and small, perfectly shaped, and not dissimilar to those of a deer. The purest blood is fawn-color, and the breed are proverbially gentle. 596 THE SOUTHERN [October After seeing these beautiful little cows, I was taken all aback at tbe entre'e of two magnificently huge bulls that followed the exeunt of the cows, roaring and pawing, eager for a mutual " but." Though not quite as large as the Durham or Ayrshire bulls, yet they were noble animals, and satisfied me of one thing that had hitherto prejudiced, in my mind, the Alderney stock, viz. : that the males are quite large enough for stock cattle anywhere remote from blue grass pastures, while the females surpass every other variety in their milking qualities. Besides, they are the hardiest and most easily kept and fed of any other cattle. According to my notions, this would prove a very profitable breed for Virginia and North Carolina. For the dairy business they have no equal, and then, if the males can be made into good stock cattle, it seems to \ me that the herd is very desirable, to say nothing of their hardi- * hood and easy keeping and feeding. J The Sheep were driven and led into the ring next. Of these, I there were three breeds — the Southdown, the Cotswold and the In- fantado Merino. The sheep were very fine — some of them direct \ importations — most of , them, however, natives of Kentucky. The \ Cotswold were especially beautiful, and seem to be favorites in this State ; but I do not Relieve they will be so long. They are cer- i tainly the handsomest of all sheep. They yield the heaviest fleece, averaging, when well fed and cared for, ten pounds of washed wool, and afford also excellent mutton. Their carcass is very large, and for both wool and mutton for market, they are, doubtless, the most desirable. The Southdown affords both better wool and mutton, but not so much of either as the Cotswold. The disadvantage, how- ever, of this breed is, that the difficulty of parturition is so hazard- ous, and the danger of wintering is so great, to say nothing of their being far less prolific than the Southdown, that the latter will, sooner or later, be restored to the favor of Kentucky husbandry to the partial exclusion of the Cotswold. The Spanish Merinos were inferior of their kind. I saw one buck, whose owner refused, he said, six thousand dollars for him. Whether that be so or not, I am sure that had he been for sale, he would then and there have brought in the ring, in cash, a fabulous price. There were quite a large number of these sheep on exhibi- tion and for sale. They are miserable looking little creatures, and appear as if their owner had covered them with a coat of tar. An oily gum oozes out through skin and fleece, and makes an outer coat, unsightly enough, but a great protection against rain and sleet. As all the world knows, the Merino is worthless for mutton. The 1868.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 597 carcass is very small, and the meat, in consequence of the continual discbarge of its oily substance, is poor and tough. This is the breed for the sheep-grower whose ranges and walks are remote from market. If wool is the exclusive or chief interest, then the Merino or Saxony is the sheep that will pay best. The washed wool brings in New York fifty cents and over, and the average annual fleece of a well cared for flock will weigh ten to twelve pounds to the sheep. This species is not only hardy and easily fed, but it alone, of all others, may be herded or folded together in great flocks, of even as many as five thousand, without detriment to their health. But as it is almost a life business to accumulate a large flock, except with the outlay of a small fortune in the purchase of one, the next best thing that ordinary husbandmen can do is, to buy full blooded Merino bucks, and cross them with the common country scrubs or Leicesters. A cross will not simply improve the texture of the wool, the amount of the yield and its oiliness, but the hardihood, and the capacity to herd in large numbers without damage, will also be imparted to a considerable extent. The hogs exhibited were the Berkshire and Chester White; but, with few exceptions, they did not equal the other stock displayed. The Berkshire, in the long run, I believe to be the most reliable hog for the farmer. The other depends too much upon slops and meal and pampering generally ; though as pen hogs, they are unrivalled, weighing often over one thousand pounds. At the close of the first day buggy and carriage teams entered the ring. A large number of beautiful and well-trained spans con- tended for premiums ; and the most unfortunate driver won the highest prize. One of the single-tress came loose while in rapid motion, and the gentleness of the animal, whose "hind heels " were beaten by the tree, won the " Blue Ribbon." But, as in some other cases, I believe the decision was unjustly made. There were a half dozen teams in the ring superior to this one. Misfortunes sometimes will breed good luck. The prize for the best equestrianship was contended for by a large number of knights in the ring, mounted on as fine stock as ever bore against a bit. Then followed a half dozen boys on ponies riding also for prizes. It is noteworthy that all the educated boys and men proved to be, as they actually were, the best equestrians. They handled their horses steadier and easier than our city contest- ants and the same thing held good after changing and riding each his rival's horse. After Tuesday, every day during the fair, horses and mules of vol. n — 39 598 THE SOUTHERN [October every description, and in very large numbers, filled the ring from hour to hour. Full bred stallions and mares of distinguished ances- try — racers renowned in Europe and America — buggy and carriage teams — horses in single harness and under the saddle — draught horses and roadsters. It is said that never before at the State Fair was there collected such a splendid array of superior horses. Evi- dently General Grant must have given inspiration to the Kentucky horse-breeder and the jockey in return for their political hostility — thus doing good to them that despitefully use him. Be that as it may, however, I stood amazed at the perfection of horse flesh, and the great number of superb and well-trained IE qui ! Here, in Ken- tucky, every farmer and gentleman of any means takes pride and pleasure in either improving the original stock, or in purchasing at home or abroad the best of horses. The streets of Louisville are constantly crowded with horses and mules, in carts and drays, wagons and carriages, in buggies or under the saddle, so large and w T ell formed that you have but little patience for the indifference to stock of this kind, as we have it in the South. I am satisfied that good horses come from good care and breeding, and that, deprived of these in a few years, Kentucky horses and mules would be no better than ours. While praising Kentucky stock, I must not pass by a stricture well deserved by most of the drivers in the ring. With one or two exceptions, I never saw poorer, more muggerish performances with the lines — ribbons, as the jockey would say. They would hold the two lines, one in each hand, like a man drives a plough with a dou- ble line — a rope in either fist. In a sulky contest, the victor, evi- dently by his intelligent bearing, the owner of the span, held both lines firmly in his left hand, with his right stretched out over the twain, the fingers of which guiding, checking, controlling the horses. And yet he did not do it as well und as uniformly as he might and ouo-ht to have done. But still he kept his horses solidly together; each bracing up the other, and never breaking gait. It is said, there are few men that know how to read that can read ; and I will add, there are fewer still that know how to drive that can drive ! This is paradoxical, but true. In regard to fairs, I'am at a loss as to what judgment to set upon them. They evidently do great good, yet, it must be confessed, they do some harm. There is so much personal bias, so much, too, in the name of celebrated stock breeders, so much influence of money in the ring, and that, too, I believe, apart from anything like bribery, that the common farmer stands no chance whatever. 1868.] PLANTER AND FARMER. 599 There was, however, a laughable exception to this stricture. There was a young farmer — a plain man from the interior — who had been lucky enough to have a full-bred Durham calf dropt to him, as fine as ever came out of a cow. It was four months old, and had been pampered by his own hand ; and was exhibited, not by a hired servant, but bravely by himself. He stood by his calf, hold- ing its halter, changing its position, holding up its head, patting and quieting it, in the midst of hirelings white and black, who were sim- ilarly employed for the other owners — the celebrated cattle-breeders of the "Blue Grass Region." The contest was a prize for the best calf under one year old. When the " blue ribbon," the token of the highest premium, was being tied around the neck of his calf by the Ring-master, I never saw a face shine with such happiness in my life. Everyone that noticed him was "highly amused." Then he took oil his hat and bowed gratefully to the judges and people. On the entre"e of all Durhams of all ages and sexes, for sweep- stakes, he won the second premium : and this seemed to cap thf climax of his joy. The same illuminated face — hat off and bows, and he made his exit with his calf, the proudest man in the State of Kentucky, that day. I will venture to predict a brilliant future for that young farmer, as a Kentucky " bull-man." I must not omit to say that none but full-bred stock was permit- ted to enter the rings. I saw therefore, I presume, the best cattle, sheep and hogs in the State ; and equally as good horses as can be found anywhere. A large silver band discoursed superb music every day of the Fair, and announced, by different strains, the changes of pro- gramme, the proclamation of the victors, and entre'e to the different rings. All the arrangements were on a grand scale. Stock-breeders and raisers, and friends of agriculture, from Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and other States, were present in considerable numbers, and like myself, appeared delighted, es- pecially with the bovine royalty of Kentucky. Maelow. Wharne Cliff e, N.